Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 111: Mission Complete, Next Step of Reis

Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 111: Mission Complete, Next Step of Reis

Oscar, Emily, and George walked on the well-paved path to the Outer Hall. They had split off from Celestina and Phillip after arriving. On the way, Oscar spotted Elder Saul raking a field near his hut.

"You go on ahead of me." Oscar stepped off the path to the uneven stone steps to Elder Saul's hut.

Knowing they had no business here, Emily and George nodded and bid Oscar farewell. Their backs grew smaller into the distance.

"I have returned, Elder Saul." Oscar bowed and took out the case containing the Thousand Serpent's heart. Even after a month, there was no sign of decay. It looked as fresh as when it was first cut out, other than not beating.

"You have done well in getting this back." Elder Saul took the heart and put it aside. His attention barely stayed on it and returned to Oscar. "How was the mission?"

Oscar did not understand Elder Saul's meaning in asking this, but this elder liked to have a small talk sometimes. "It was incredibly dangerous. Too dangerous. We almost died if not for being saved at the end."

"Dangerous? Indeed. It was near suicidal to go as you were." Elder Saul seeded the freshly raked fields. They scattered all over the soft fertile soil.

"Suicidal?" Oscar looked uncomfortable. "If I may be rude, why did you send me on that mission?"

Elder Saul stopped seeding and turned to Oscar with his old eyes that held a powerful light. "Then why didn't you say anything? You accepted it without a moment's hesitation."

"I was too focused on Frederick and thought it would be alright if we had a good team." Oscar uttered with great self-deprecation. As Robert said, he was too arrogant and did not consider the consequences. Oscar knew well that it was his fault.

"I gave you that mission to test you. But you did not stop to think about the consequences. You had lost some common sense since returning from the Hurin Plains." Elder Saul sighed and began to water the soil. "If you had said something about it, I would have postponed it."

"I know. I realized that after harsh suffering." Oscar said.

"It is important to stop at times and calm yourself. If you keep moving, you may miss the smaller details that remain still." Elder Saul finished watering and gave Oscar a biscuit. "Eat. I can see you have been through much, but I'm glad you have returned to your senses. Be calm at all times."N/nêw n0vel chap/ers are published o/n n0v/e/(lb)i(n.)co/m

Oscar gratefully took the biscuit and bit into it. It was extremely dry and tough, making Oscar wince as he desperately tried to chew. With his dry mouth full of sand, he asked, "What about our rewards?"

"I will send them in a package to your rooms. Rest for now." Elder Saul went into his hut and closed the door. Oscar was left behind to chew on this dry biscuit.

.......

Oscar made it back to his room after a struggle with the biscuit. It was the same as ever except for a large box in the center of the room with a note.

The note was from Ivanka Klein. It mentioned that the box was full of Hytr Elixirs, but the costs were deducted from Oscar's contribution points. He quickly checked his contribution points and saw it was at 10.

Blood dripped down continuously on the clean floor. His fingertips were red with the flesh exposed. The muscles underneath were torn as if they had gone through an intense workout.

Oscar held a Hytr Elixir and drank a sip. The muscles underneath repaired themselves immediately, but the skin was still gone. The Hytr wasn't a healing elixir but a muscle stimulant.

Oscar carefully wrapped bandages over his fingertips and started the training again.

This was what was written in the book given by Draven. The earlier training he did was for flowing the Reis and guiding it to an exit point. But now, he had to contain the power in his body.

The next step of Reis training was to hone the body so it could contain and hold the Reis. The Reis would act as a tonic that would gift Oscar's body with incredible strength.

But the problem was how to hone the body. A person had to draw the Reis into their body and trap it in an area. The Reis would swirl and transform the muscles and flesh into a constitution to hold the Reis.

However, like Robert's continuous flow of Ein to awaken the third eye, Oscar had to keep inputting Reis in an unknown number of sessions. At a certain point, Oscar would have to release the 'Reis Awaken', or the Reis would implode, resulting in the bloody mess.

SPLAT

The rampaging Reis tore off Oscar's bandages; more blood splattered on the floor. Thankfully, Oscar had many Hytr Elixirs, and this muscle damage only required a mere sip.

"If I keep bandaging myself, it'll be a waste of time. The bandages don't hold on anyways." Oscar opted out of mending himself and continued training with his bloody fingertips with exposed flesh.

Upon closer inspection under 'Reis Awaken', Oscar found that the muscles in his fingertips were slowly separating out more clearly. He could almost see every individual string of the muscle fiber, no matter how minuscule.

Undeterred by the blood, Oscar continued on. The blood flow from the fingertips stopped as he focused the Reis in them. His shirt looked like he had been cutting meat at the butcher's shop.

His face also had small splatters of blood all over. But his obsidian eyes were clear and focused on his fingertips.

"Master said this would take an unbelievably long time to accomplish. I can see why. Even the smallest parts of the fingertips aren't finished yet."

The progress was incredibly slow. But Draven wrote that it would be worthwhile for Oscar, so he believed and trusted.

He remembered the last words of the manual.

"Master this to 100% of your body. This is the next step of Reis, the Adamasreis."