Chapter 16: Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion – Chapter 16: The Hunter becomes the Prey

A large pile of twigs and branches was gathered in front of Oscar, Frederick, and Emily. It was easy to find all the materials in this dense forest. It was not noon, so the Night Raptor was likely still sleeping, making it perfect.

"Each of us takes a part of the pile. There are five caves in total, so Frederick and Emily will take two while I take one." Oscar knew he was not as fast as Frederick when he used his 'Wind Steps' or Emily since she was a Middle Apprentice Exalt.

"Os! Be careful." Frederick took his bundle and made for his two caverns.

"Good Luck." Emily did the same.

"Let's hunt this beast." Oscar was serious but also nervous. He had only battled with Frederick in spars. This was his true first battle.

Oscar jumped down to the ravine to one of the caves. He dropped the branches he carried inside the cave. Oscar used his Ein and some flint to heat up and start a fire on the branches. He was not yet capable of directly creating fire with Ein.

He waved his hand to direct the smoke deeper into the cavern. Oscar remembered the first Trial of Storms with Robert's tremendous gales. Trial Master Robert was truly a master.

Judging that the smoke had traveled far enough, Oscar retreated to the center of the ravine. Emily and Frederick arrived a few moments later.

"The whole place should be filled with smoke. Unless there's a deeper place that it could not reach." Oscar said. He hoped this would work; otherwise, they had to travel into the caverns.

SCREECH

The trio was shocked by the loud, ear-piercing noise. It came from the Night Raptor.

Oscar signaled his companions to be ready. Frederick readied himself, gathering Ein on his feet.

The caverns still echoed with the screech of the Night Raptor. Finally, a beast burst out of one of the openings, looking around in a furious confusion.

Oscar observed the creature; it was exactly as pictured in the books. It was covered in black feathers with wing-like extensions out of its front arms. It was a slender creature, but the most horrifying features were its sharp claws and teeth that were the size of Oscar's hand.

The Night Raptor noticed the trio staring at it and screeched, releasing a burst of Ein. It was a Middle Apprentice Exalt Beast. The Ein around it dissipated into nothing. Beasts did not need to wrap themselves in ein like humans since their bodies were naturally infused with it from birth.

"Here it comes!" The Night Raptor dashed from side to side. Oscar wished he could use his stone gaze right now, but it was too far and too quick for him to catch it in the eyes.

Frederick utilized the 'Wind Steps' spell and summoned his hawk. The hawk dove towards the Night Raptor. It tried to swipe down on it, but the hawk was fast and spun to its side.

While the Night Raptor was distracted by the hawk, Frederick got closer and put out his fist. As his punch drew closer, Frederick felt an ominous feeling and withdrew by using 'Wind Step'.

The ground had been cut as a curved line appeared where Frederick had been standing. The Night Raptor screeched as its tail was flailing around.

"Close." Frederick's spine shivered from the brush with death. This creature was cunning and lashed out its tail at the last moment to catch him off guard. Thankfully, he had some instincts and the speed to retreat.

"Use your hawk to keep distracting it. I'll go in." Emily rushed in and summoned her Anima. The orange Ein around her transformed into an orange staff with beautiful etchings of beasts around it.

Emily took a stance and thrust her staff towards the Night Raptor, who swiped its claws in retaliation. The claw and staff created sparks as they clashed. Emily's staff was unexpectedly tough enough to withstand the sharp claws.

Meanwhile, Frederick and his hawk tried to maneuver for another attack. The Night Raptor used its free tail to create distance between it and the two. Although Frederick could not draw close for a good attack, he was keeping the tail preoccupied. Thus, Emily was free to fight without worry.

"Oscar!" Emily shouted, asking if it was time for Oscar to make his move.

"It's still too vigilant. You need to capture its attention." Oscar had tried to move closer but noticed the Night Raptor was keeping a part of its attention on him.

Exalt Beasts truly had a good sense of battle. They could not be as intelligent as humans, but they were still competent.

"Fine!" Emily gripped her staff closer and spun it. Her Ein concentrated on its tips. It was like a sharp disc which she moved towards the Night Raptor. The Night Raptor felt a sense of danger from this attack, and only thoughts of retreat entered its mind.

It jumped to the right side and saw Oscar right in front. It screeched and opened its jaw with massive teeth. The Night Raptor felt slightly insulted that it was being jumbled around. It had pride as a creature feared in the night.

Oscar smiled as everything went according to plan. Frederick and the hawk kept the Night Raptor's back occupied while Emily took the front. Eventually, it would be forced to dodge to the side where it had no choice but to meet Oscar.

If Oscar approached it from the front, he might have died before using his 'Stone Gaze'. There would be little point in attacking from the rear. Even if he could catch it with his spell, it would most likely break the link in a moment due to the difference in strength.

So they made the plan to keep it busy to drain its Ein and disturb its mind. With those two factors, the Night Raptor would be less resistant to his 'Stone Gaze'. The extra moments provided would be exactly what Emily and Frederick needed.

'Stone Gaze!'

Oscar focused, and a singular blue dot flowed in the center of his pupils. After several months of training, Oscar finally reached the point of singularity. He had mastered the 'Stone Gaze', and this was the perfect timing.

The Night Raptor froze in place, unable to close its jaw on Oscar's head. Two thin blue lines connected their eyes. It could not comprehend what was happening. It felt something twist in its mind, crippling it from moving.

"NOW!" Oscar roared as he maintained his spell. His eyes started to bleed slightly as the Night Raptor struggled to break his hold.

Emily leaped and slammed her staff squarely on the Night Raptor's skull, shattering it. Frederick also followed and put his fist on its spine.

The Night Raptor screamed in pain, echoing its cries all over the ravine before crashing helplessly to the ground.

The three breathed out huffs of air and stared at their kill in wonder.

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"We did it!" Emily jumped up and down in joy. The Night Raptor could not move as its brain and spine were reduced to pieces.

"Carve it up." Frederick took out a knife and passed one to Emily. Oscar knelt to recover from the strain of 'Stone Gaze'.

Emily was well acquainted with the act of dismembering a beast. She carved out its bones, claws, and teeth neatly. Frederick managed to fill ten bottles of blood.

"The meat can be discarded, but the most important part is the core." Emily pulled out a smooth black orb. Oscar felt a large amount of Ein inside and glanced yearningly at it.

"It's a shame it's part of the mission. I heard beast cores are great sources of Ein." Oscar sighed.

"That's foolish. You need to refine it first so that it can be stable. Same for this blood. I heard the blood has some healing properties, but it induces a ton of pain if absorbed before refinement."

To refine parts of an Exalt Beast required a stream of Ein to tame the rampaging instinct within. That process took time alone, but an alchemist or forger could hasten the refinement with their methods.

The Night Raptor was dissected piece by piece by Emily. Oscar and the rest smiled in joy at their first mission being successful.

"Thank you, Emily. We could not have done it without you." Oscar was grateful to her. Although they got off the wrong foot, they worked well together.

"Allying with you two wasn't that bad. Let me know if you have another mission you want to undertake." Emily smiled back in a pleasant tone. For a long time, she had only gone on hunts with her father, but working with others didn't feel bad.

"I'm surprised you actually said something nice." Frederick stood shocked at her nice words and grateful voice. How could she suddenly flip out of her beastly mode?

"Hoh?" An orange staff appeared in the air, moving menacingly towards Frederick. He immediately surrendered and said, "Forgive me!"

Emily and Oscar laughed while Frederick felt annoyed at being a joke. But he couldn't help but join in. This was their first mission, and it was successful. How could their moods not soar high?

'I wonder how Isabella is doing?'

Oscar thought about his childhood friend who joined the Blue Ocean Pavilion with him. Her father, Carlson Thorn, asked him to take care of her, but she was far away in the Inner Hall.

'I should try to contact her soon.'

He was so busy training and becoming stronger; that he neglected his promise to Carlson. Isabella was often helpless when it came to that. She was impulsive and rash, so Oscar had to hold her back numerous times.

"Hey, Os! What are you thinking of using your contribution points for?" Frederick and Emily were surprisingly getting along better. They were discussing what to spend their points on.

"I would like a weapon." Oscar voiced his desire.

He could not rely on using his body forever. Since his Exolsia core was only Grade Four, he needed another edge against an enemy. A weapon was a great choice to expand his options and strength.

"I need a staff. I can't keep using my anima as a weapon. Too dangerous, and I need to practice to the Meld stage." Weapon anima was far tougher, but the danger of breaking was still prevalent. Emily needed a real staff to cover that weakness.

"Can you still control the weapon anima while using your own weapon?" Oscar asked.

"Of course, it just takes more concentration. The weapon anima can float in the air and attack like my bird without the need to hold it." Frederick responded. "My aunt uses a weapon anima, and I've seen her use it."

"Your aunt?" Emily was curious.

"My aunt works at the Blue Ocean Pavilion as a Judge." Frederick responded proudly.

"A Judge? That's impressive." Emily was in awe of the information.

"Hah, I'll shoot right past her." Frederick smiled confidently at Emily, who just scoffed and said nothing. She did not want to entertain his delusions.

"We've rested enough. Let's head back." Oscar felt better, and it was best to leave the Glenwoods before nightfall.

The three packed away their hard-earned materials and stepped out of the ravine. However, Emily stopped for a moment in vigilance.

"Who's there?" Emily shouted, to the surprise of Oscar and Frederick.

"This woman was able to spot us out?"

"It doesn't matter; we can just crush them." Samuel and two of his underlings crept into view from the trees.

"Samuel?!" Oscar and Frederick shouted. They never expected Samuel to follow them here.

"This is the Samuel you mentioned?" Emily was surprised this person was vindictive enough to follow them here. Wasn't it just some simple quarrel?

"You've mentioned me? I don't care either way. I'm here for the two of you."

Samuel's body burst into a bright yellow flux of Ein. His tiger anima manifested and roared menacingly toward the three.

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