Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 159: Cleaning Up

Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 159: Cleaning Up

"That little brat!!!!"

Elder Dustin lost all pretenses and shouted while swiping at the image of Oscar as if he could tear him apart. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The steel construct broke apart before Dustin's teary eyes, but the destruction of the artificial core was the most shocking.

"That was a spell he used. The artificial core should have activated its failsafe and restricted the Ein of the spell. How was it still destroyed?!" Elder Dustin stared at Oscar with bloodshot eyes.

Ava turned from watching her niece, Mary Jones, sighing at the frenzied state of Elder Dustin. "That spell was 'Steel Drill', a spell with high penetration but is supposed to be heavy. However, he moved quite fast with it."

"Heavy? Yes. Sharp tip? Yes. But that doesn't explain how the steel construct broke apart in that strange manner." Elder Dustin slammed his wrinkled fists on the table. The cracks that formed over the constructs were certainly not from a sharp attack.

"Perhaps you made a mistake with the defense setup of the artificial cores." Ava Jones stated.

Elder Dustin was about to retort when the doors opened, and an attendant ran inside, accompanied by a Judge. His face brightened up as he beckoned the Judge forward. "Let's see what this brat has been doing so far."

Ava Jones stood by the side and read along. Her eyes narrowed when she read the part about Oscar in prison. "He's been to the Abyss Prison twice? The records say he was punished for minor crimes but wouldn't the Pavilion have done something with multiple infractions?"

"The second time was six months. This is strange, he had an estimated seven months total in the Abyss Prison, yet he's still this strong as a Grade Four." Elder Dustin read on but found nothing else noteworthy on the records. "Incomprehensible."

Ava Jones heaved a sigh and returned the record to the Judge. "This is highly unusual but thank you for coming here."

The Judge nodded and left.

Elder Dustin paid close attention to Oscar, fixated on him alone. "If he reaches the last wave, he'll have to reveal his tricks."

.......

The chakram construct was defeated, and the bow construct was still trying to unfurl out of the thread. Oscar stared down the three other constructs. The two with shields and spears stomped loudly and slowly advanced while the sword construct was in between.N/nêw n0vel chap/ers are published o/n n0v/e/(lb)i(n.)co/m

It was a good formation to enclose Oscar, who was by the corner of the room. Oscar breathed in and out to recover during their slow crawl. These were constructs, and they didn't notice his current state.

The use of Adamasreis and 'Steel Drill' consisted of him utilizing the 'Dual Awaken' to perfect the attack even further. However, this left him somewhat weakened and unable to use either 'Awaken', so he could not draw up Reis. If they attacked fast, they would gain the advantage since Oscar's strength wasn't just his Ein but the combination of Ein and Reis.

Thankfully, they continued their slow trek with a hint of cautiousness. With this, Oscar regained the use of his 'Awaken'.

Oscar smiled and used Reis to tug the bow construct. His threads spun and untangled, letting the bow construct free, but it was above the shield construct.

The bow construct had no expression, but it fell hard on the shield construct that caught it. This move proved fatal to both as Oscar rushed with his deer anima.

He moved very close to the shield construct and swung his buckler upward in a ferocious uppercut. His deer anima did the same with its antlers. The bow construct was helplessly flung in the air again, but this time with its shield construct companion.

"It had a strong front, but the back was very lacking. Maybe that was the point of this wave." Oscar looked at the ruins of what he had caused. He had grown stronger to the point of defeating these mindless constructs, but what about a person?

The banner changed its wording, snapping Oscar out of his thoughts.

"Third Wave will start in one minute. You can leave the room if you wish to stop."

Oscar sat down and meditated to recover. The scroll in his hands reflected that his points were now at 250. This second wave had given him 200 points.

"I wonder what the last wave will give."

.......

Elder Dustin wiped the sweat from his brow. "Thank goodness he realized he could beat them into submission. I would have made a complaint if we kept losing the cores."

Ava Jones sighed, thinking why she was paired with this elder from the Palace of Whirpools, the home of alchemy in the Pavilion. "I wonder why the weakness was the back."

"Ask those idiots at the Foundry! They said since this was a trial of waves and groups, there should be some weaknesses that the constructs would cover for each other. The ranged ones were supposed to deter attacks to the back."

"But this young Exalt went straight for the ranged ones. He's only a Grade Four, but he's already using his anima well and in conjunction with himself." Ava Jones praised Oscar but didn't forget to give one last remark to Elder Dustin. "He's also a one-star fabricator."

"No wonder he's so insensitive and unruly." Elder Dustin cursed, but his gummy smile appeared. "But what will he do about the last one."

.......

The third wave was about to start.

Oscar stood up, having recovered a bit from the damages of the second wave. However, he was confused when the three gates didn't open.

Instead, a fourth gate appeared. It was larger, and Oscar felt a more ominous aura spilling from it. The gate slowly opened.

Oscar's eyes narrowed as the construct stepped out. This last wave wasn't a group but one enemy. However, this construct differed from all the others, and Oscar tensed up; this would be a harder fight.

The lone construct had two short swords and a more defined face with a nose, eyes, and mouth. Unlike the other constructs, it hopped around and swung its swords with agility and flexibility.

It was gold in color with silver armor. Its eyes shone with blue light and did not wait for Oscar to come. It dashed out on its own and slashed its swords.

The last enemy had come.