As soon as Lennok plucked the flower, he promptly extended his hand toward the next seedling.
Two blossoms, three, four, five… In less than five minutes, more than thirty flowers graced Lennok’s hands without a single misstep.
Confronted with this astonishing sight, Byzen hesitated and reached out his hand.
“Uh, wait a minute. What is this…?”
“You, your mastery over mana is incredible! Among the friends I’ve seen recently, you’re undoubtedly overwhelming.”
The elderly gentleman who had been elucidating the wizards’ tasks earlier observed the duo.
Had he been conducting surveillance in the vicinity?
The elderly man’s countenance softened instantly as he gazed upon Lennok.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a flower maintain its vitality so well after being picked. Young friend, you’ve learned very well. Would you consider working on my farm for just one more day?”
Lennok stood upright and replied.
“That’s okay. I have a few more places to visit.”
“If you have skills like that, you shouldn’t have to bow down anywhere else.”
The old man’s eyes gleamed with avarice as he rubbed his hands together.
“If you listen to two of my requests, I could even show you my secret cuttings… Are you interested?”
“…”
Lennok remained silent and met the old man’s gaze calmly.
Byzen, sporting a frustrated expression, anxiously observed the exchange between the two.
A moment of quiet lingered, and then Lennok chuckled and shook his head.
“I’m sorry. My schedule is tight, so I can’t stay long.”
“Is that so? That’s too bad. I wanted to show a talented person like you some precious items that recently came in.”
“Precious items, you say?”
“Yes. Thanks to the person sponsoring the autonomous region recently, I’ve been able to get my hands on some rare seeds.”
Sponsorship… It wasn’t uncommon for those who used the Floating Island Cluster to also support plant-related endeavors.
While seeing such a valuable item once might be tempting, Lennok felt uneasy about the old man’s intent gaze and ultimately declined.
He wasn’t skilled at concealing his intentions.
Typically, when someone made suggestive remarks like that, it often led to trouble.
Freelancing to that extent was not his intention.
Upon Lennok’s refusal, the old man clicked his tongue in disappointment.
“Well, if you’re not interested, that’s fine. If you change your mind later, do come again.”
“Alright. Let’s finish today’s work with this.”
Lennok handed over the bouquet of freshly harvested Moonlife flowers, and the old man nodded in agreement.
“Good. Follow me. I’ll prepare a sample that suits you right away.”
Byzen, who had been watching the scene with a blank expression, quickly offered the flowers he was holding.
“Um, could I possibly see those seeds too?”
“Hmm? What did I just say?”
“…”
Byzen was left speechless by the old man’s audacious attitude.
The old man peered down at Byzen with a cold gaze, chuckling as he turned away and headed towards another section of the greenhouse.
“A parasite-like fellow… Unfortunately, I like talented people. You’ll have to try harder to win my favor.”
Byzen clenched his teeth as he watched the old man walk away.
Ignoring him, Lennok promptly moved on.
***
On the journey back to their lodging after purchasing a sample of Basilis mushroom from the greenhouse.
The sun had long dipped below the horizon, and the sky had darkened.
Lennok boarded the wing boat stored at the docking station on the floating island and took control of the wheel.
The island where Lennok had arranged accommodations was situated more than 200 meters below their current location.
Starting the engine and ascending into the sky, the mode of transportation was remarkably quiet, with no discernible noise until that point.
In the past few days, while utilizing the wing boat, Lennok had contemplated the rising currents enveloping the Philenom Autonomous Region. It wasn’t merely a matter of granting buoyancy to powered objects; there were numerous enigmatic facets to these ascending currents.
The staggering efficiency of achieving strong buoyancy with minimal energy expenditure, albeit within a restricted environment, raised suspicions. It appeared less like a naturally occurring phenomenon and more like a purposefully crafted environment for the denizens of the floating islands.
Did these countless floating islands, adrift in the Sea of Understanding, truly maintain their positions thanks to these mysterious rising currents? Did the Sea of Understanding possess some unique attribute that allowed a small infusion of power into the island’s surface to lift these colossal landmasses? Alternatively, could it have been the intention of the Ascender who had established a lighthouse here and observed the outer sea?
“……”
Lennok was well aware that Ascenders were beings transcending the limitations of mortal life, but he struggled to gauge the extent of their power. These were entities with immense capabilities who voluntarily restricted themselves to confront fate in their pursuit of Ascension.
If they were to unleash their full potential, could they indeed permanently alter the fundamental laws of physics within the region? The very fact that one couldn’t definitively assert the impossibility of such a feat demonstrated the caliber of the Ascenders.
Challengers who had transcended humanity. While they refrained from intervening in the mundane world, the fact that no one uttered their names lightly paradoxically attested to their greatness.
As he navigated this invisible path, would he eventually draw closer to them? Despite the passage of what felt like numerous moments, Lennok still couldn’t provide a conclusive answer.
“Sigh…”
Lennok decided to set aside these intricate thoughts for the time being. He had acquired the item he sought from the greenhouse, and most of his errands had been completed. Now, it was time to officially embark on exploration and fulfill the promises he had postponed.
With this in mind, Lennok slowly turned the wing boat’s steering wheel downward. As he smoothly descended through the clouds, two wing boats emerged beside him, cutting through the thick fog.
Whoosh-!
“Where are you going in such a hurry?” inquired Byzen, sporting a mischievous grin, while a young wizard beside him wore a somewhat subdued expression.
Lennok gazed at the two individuals blocking his path and shook his head without uttering a word.
Unperturbed by Lennok’s reaction, Byzen cheerfully maneuvered his wing boat.
“The best part about wing boats is right here. No matter how much you move, neither sound nor any other signs are emitted.”
“……”
“All sounds are swallowed by the beautiful sea wind and disappear. In other words, if you just conceal the driver’s mana and life reactions, anyone can follow.”
With that declaration, Byzen waved an object he held in his hand, displaying it as if to boast. Lennok recognized the artifact’s familiar shape—an amulet, crafted with Druid natural magic.
Hadn’t Lennok also received such an amulet from Mila during the contaminant subjugation and employed it several times? While it had limitations on the number of uses and required the caster to remain still for a specific duration, it had its advantages…
If one could meet these stringent conditions, the amulet had the capability to blend seamlessly with the surroundings, momentarily bewildering even Lennok’s senses.
‘But ultimately, it’s an amulet that doesn’t help with surprise attacks or initiating combat. I suppose he deliberately revealed himself because its limitations are clear.’
Maintaining a firm grip on the steering wheel, simply tailing Lennok required minimal effort. However, any attempt to initiate a surprise attack would shatter the cloak of invisibility provided by the amulet. Furthermore, the amulet’s effect had a time limit, preventing Byzen from shadowing Lennok all the way to his lodging, thus necessitating his revelation here.
Nonetheless, Byzen seemed content with this, wearing a smug smile.
“I’ve been holding back because there are too many watchful eyes, but now I can finally speak my mind.”
“Are you talking about how great Nick’s badge is as an artifact?” Lennok inquired.
“…”
Byzen’s smile gradually faded, and the look on his face underwent a swift transformation as pretenses and deceit melted away, revealing his true sentiments.
Lowering his head, he pushed his glasses up and locked eyes with Lennok. Bathed in moonlight, his expression now radiated disdain.
“This lowly mana-user… You knew everything and yet played with me?”
“Rather, I don’t understand you even more.”
Lennok retorted with a sardonic grin.
“Did you really believe that I, who possess an artifact worth coveting, would carry it around like a treasure without knowing anything? I can’t believe you never doubted that ridiculous fact even once.”
Incredibly avaricious and, in comparison to that greed, remarkably naive. While there was no point in harboring prejudice against the wizards of the Magic Tower, Byzen’s upbringing was glaringly evident.
Byzen contorted his face in response to Lennok’s mockery but failed to find a suitable retort and instead shouted, “Shut up!”
Whooosh!
Gathering his mana, a towering flame erupted from behind him, illuminating the night sky. Even in a state of diminished rationality, the ability to summon such a colossal flame with a Shadow Spear indicated that Byzen possessed exceptional talent. He was probably unparalleled among wizards of his age.
Otherwise, it was difficult to fathom how someone with such talent could exhibit such immaturity.
Byzen muttered while glaring at Lennok with hostile eyes, “With just that badge… I could live freely without interference from anyone. I could use it far better.”
“…”
“I’ve also been patient for a long time. Enough talking. The products of Duris Workshop are not suitable for bugs who only know some crude magic. Hand it over.”
Instead of responding, Lennok extracted a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. At this point, he was hardly perturbed by such nonsense. In fact, he found it somewhat surprising to encounter something so familiar even after leaving Vulcan.
“Alright,” Lennok chuckled, exhaling smoke, “If you want it, go ahead and take it.”
Simultaneously, he took the badge and flung it into the air, leaving Byzen gaping in disbelief.
“Are you insane!? What are you doing!?”
With his body stretched to its limits, Byzen pushed the wingboat to its maximum power to intercept the badge Lennok had tossed.
The badge landed in Byzen’s outstretched hands, and a look of delight washed over his face. However, in a baffling twist, the badge reappeared, seemingly by magic, back in Lennok’s grasp.
It was a teleportation ability granted by the Compassion of Archangel. The item had returned to its original form, and its teleportation capability had been further enhanced.
Staring down at the dumbfounded Byzen, Lennok couldn’t help but laugh.
“Fell for it? You’re naive.”
“You son of a—!”
[Flame Lance]
Byzen bellowed loudly as the elongated flame he had conjured transformed into a spear, hurtling toward Lennok.
The mist rising from below the sea evaporated instantly, heating the surrounding air.
Instead of directly confronting the obvious attack, Lennok concentrated on maneuvering the wingboat.
‘The wingboat is practically useless outside the autonomous region. However, opportunities to engage in aerial combat with such an aircraft are rare.’
Small aircraft with the capacity to operate with such limited power were a rarity.
In essence, outside of the autonomous region, the chances of piloting such a personal aircraft were exceedingly slim.
While it relied on unique rising air currents, the aircraft still adhered to the laws of physics. This meant that if Lennok missed this chance, there might never be an opportunity to gather data on high-speed aerial maneuvers.
‘What if I train Davie to operate the small aircraft, thus completing an auto-pilot spell? Just imagining it excites me.’
Although his current actions were perilous, should Lennok successfully develop a personal aircraft suitable for use in Vulcan, the flight data gathered during this encounter with Byzen would prove invaluable.
Lennok held no particular interest in the wizard before him; he was investing in a distant future.
A future so remote that not even those standing beside him could fathom.
“Davie, how much time should I give?”
[Enough samples have been collected for level flight over the past three days. Predictably, with the current data, it will take about 2 minutes to build an algorithm for high-speed and combat flights.]
“Good. Let’s hold on until then.”
Lennok abruptly turned the steering wheel in the opposite direction.
“I think I can catch on if I watch just a little longer.”
A cigarette was clamped between his teeth, its end flickering with an unusual light.
