The giant bird responded to its master’s command. It bent its two large legs. Its silver body lowered until its belly almost touched the crystal sand.
Zaefal jumped first. His feet landed steadily on the bird’s back. Rasie followed with a quick jump and sat beside Hasya.
Illya and Fyar prepared to jump. Cyhas tried to climb the bird’s leg feathers. Her hands slipped on the surface of the feathers, which were slippery, hard, and cold. The girl struggled to find a foothold.
"Hurry up. Come on, hurry," Hasya said in a bored tone.
"Tch."
Hasya raised his right hand slightly. His fingers moved slowly.
A thin golden light enveloped Cyhas’s small body. The girl was lifted into the air. She floated up and landed smoothly on the bird’s back near Rasie.
Before Fyar and Illya could react, the same golden light wrapped around their bodies. Hasya pulled them up at once. They landed beside Cyhas.
"Hmm. Safe, safe?" Hasya asked.
He looked back. His eyes ensured no one was left behind.
Hasya then snapped his fingers.
Click.
The air around them vibrated softly. A transparent wall enclosed the bird’s back.
Hasya looked at Rasie who was sitting beside him.
"Ready, darling?"
"Y-yes," Rasie answered hesitantly. Her eyes blinked rapidly, her hands gripping the bird’s feathers tightly.
"Hold on tight," Hasya said without turning around.
The bird straightened its body again. It flapped its wide wings once with force.
Whoosh!
Their bodies were pushed back as the bird shot up. However, no wind slapped their faces. The invisible shield blocked the air pressure.
The scenery around them changed. The crystal ground receded quickly.
The night sky opened up above them. Purple, green, and blue auroras moved slowly in the sky. Distant stars twinkled steadily in the dark.
The air inside the shield felt cold and calm.
The gazes of Zaefal, Illya, Cyhas, Rasie, and Fyar were locked downwards. Giant mushrooms as tall as skyscrapers grew on the floor of the vast cave. The mushroom caps emitted neon blue light. The light illuminated the darkness below. A glowing river flowed between its massive roots.
"Beautiful, isn’t it... Rasie?" Hasya asked. He stared at Rasie’s profile.
Rasie nodded slowly. "Yes... beautiful."
"Beautiful..."
Behind them, Fyar poked Rasie’s back gently. His eyebrows raised slightly, giving a signal.
Rasie turned back. "What?"
Fyar brought his face closer and began to whisper to Rasie.
Hasya, seeing the reflection of the movement, just laughed lightly. "Why? You want to ask what my goal is through Rasie? Is that it, Fyar?"
Fyar flinched slightly. He pulled his face back and nodded stiffly. "Yes."
Hasya fell silent. He looked forward, staring at the expanse of aurora.
"First of all, I ask you to act normally around me."
"Yes, I could kill you right now. That’s a fact. But..."
Hasya turned back. "I won’t."
Hasya tilted his head slightly. "Maybe."
He chuckled. "But no, no, no. I won’t."
Hasya smiled. "Tell me your activities for the past year."
Hasya paused for a moment before adding, "Honestly."
Fyar turned to Zaefal. He moved his chin toward Hasya.
Zaefal understood.
He began to tell their experiences from the past year. He told about the condition of their party before Fyar, up to Fyar’s arrival and the events afterward.
Hasya listened intently. Occasionally he nodded, sometimes chuckled, and at other moments his eyes widened in awe.
"So that’s what happened. I’m telling the truth," Zaefal concluded.
"Interesting. Interesting. Interestiiiing!"
"You guys live an exciting life," Hasya turned to Rasie. "Right, Rasie?"
Rasie nodded. "Yeah, sort of."
Hasya fell silent again. His fingers tapped his chin slowly.
After a moment of silence, Hasya spoke again. "Let me join you."
"What?" Fyar asked. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"J-join?" Illya said. Her mouth opened slightly.
"Y-you want to join us?! Wh-why?! What’s the benefit for you? And aren’t we just a bunch of weak adventurers in your eyes?"
Rasie frowned. "Are you playing with us?!" she snapped.
Hasya rubbed the tip of Rasie’s ear gently while smiling.
"W-what are you..." Rasie’s face turned red. Her ears felt hot from the touch.
"First, of course because I want to see you every day, my angel."
He stopped rubbing Rasie’s ear and looked at Fyar, Zaefal, Illya, and Cyhas.
"Second... what you guys experienced is more interesting than what has happened in ten years of my life."
Hasya looked forward again. His eyes stared at the horizon. "I will train you and help you get out of here."
"Train? You?" Fyar asked, still feeling suspicious.
"Yes," Hasya answered. "Like I said, the minimum level to get out of here is 49."
"But well, when we get out, I won’t come with you immediately."
"Not immediately?" Rasie asked. Her brows furrowed in confusion.
Hasya nodded. "There is still one thing I have to do here."
"But weelll don’t worry, don’t worry."
"I will give you an artifact that can teleport me to your location instantly."
Hasya spread his arms wide. "So? How about it, how about it?"
"Is this handsome man accepted in your party or not? Hmm?"
"Oh yeah, you guys can discuss it first."
Hasya touched Rasie’s shoulder. "You discuss too, Rasie."
"No need."
"I already agree," Rasie answered quickly. She turned her still-red face away.
"Oh? Is that so, is that so?" The smile on Hasya’s face widened.
"Alright! Thanks!"
In the back seat.
"What do you think, Zaefal?" Fyar asked in a low voice.
"Well, his motivation is clear. On the other hand, he is very strong." Zaefal’s brow furrowed in thought. "But he is not human. If the kingdom knows this, they will use us even more as their tools."
"You’re right," Fyar agreed.
So far his motivation is because he likes Rasie. But what happens if he meets a woman he finds more interesting than Rasie? Will he leave?
This person is smart and strong. He will be very useful to us if we meet strong enemies like members of 00, Whitening, or that bastard Zalvarich.
But what happens if we refuse him? Will we be dropped just like that from this height?
Logically, in this position it would be better to accept him first. At least until we get out of here. Plus he will train us to reach level 49. If he causes trouble or betrays us, then we will ask the Guardians for help , Fyar muttered inwardly.
Fyar coughed lightly. "I agree he joins for now."
"Oh? Why?" Zaefal asked.
Fyar then whispered his thoughts to Zaefal.
After Zaefal nodded in understanding, he whispered to Illya.
Finally, Illya whispered to Cyhas to inform her of the possible situation ahead.
"So? Do you agree with my thinking?" Fyar asked.
Zaefal nodded. "Well, it makes sense."
"You, Illya?" Fyar asked.
"I agree with you, Fyar. I trust your decision," Illya answered. She smiled reassuringly.
"What about you, Cyhas?"
"I agree, Fyar. I also trust your decision."
"Thank you," Fyar said. He sighed in relief.
Fyar turned back to the front. "We agree," he said loudly.
Hearing that, Hasya shook his head left and right, looking satisfied with Fyar’s answer.
"Yoooysh!" he said.
He then patted the bird’s neck gently. The giant bird accelerated its wingbeats, flying faster through the night sky.
The bird flew over a different forest area. The plants down there looked withered and gray.
Hasya pointed down with his thumb without looking. "Spore Forest Area. Monsters there are on average level fifty. Lots of poison in the air. But ingredients for high-level poisons and rare medicines grow there in abundance."
"And maybe we’ll go there later for training. So get ready, okay."
Fyar and his party looked down, observing the gloomy area closely.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a large shadow passed slowly over their heads. The aurora light was blocked for a moment.
Illya and Cyhas looked up.
Amidst the aurora light, a giant transparent whale was swimming in the sky. Its body emitted a soft, translucent blue light, its internal organs faintly visible glowing. Its large fins moved slowly, cutting through the night wind. Behind it, several smaller whales followed in formation, swimming calmly in the sea of stars.
"Don’t worry. Don’t worry! They only eat aurora energy in the sky. Harmless as long as they aren’t disturbed," Hasya said upon seeing the tension on their faces.
"Unless you throw magic or shoot lasers at them."
Hasya pointed his hand at the whale. "Want to see that whale rage?"
"No need, thank you!" Fyar answered firmly and quickly.
Hasya laughed lightly. "Okay, okay, okaaaay."
Rasie beside him clenched her fist slightly on her knee. She bowed a little.
"T-thank you, Hasya," she said softly.
"Hmm?" Hasya turned to Rasie.
"Thank you. If you weren’t here, maybe Fyar and Zaefal..." Rasie didn’t finish her sentence.
Before Rasie could finish her sentence, Hasya stroked the girl’s red hair.
"Repay my gratitude with a date with me later. Okay, okay? Okaaaay?"
Rasie was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly.
The owl swooped slightly, then turned sharply to the right, toward a darker void area.
In front of them, in the middle of the vast emptiness of the air, a giant stone island floated alone. The island hung in the sky, surrounded by small island rock fragments orbiting it slowly.
On the island stood a magnificent building. A Gothic-style castle with tall, pointed towers piercing the sky. Its large stained-glass windows reflected the colorful aurora light.
A waterfall poured heavily from the edge of the island, falling into the bottomless darkness below. The roar of the waterfall was heard faintly carried by the wind.
"We’re here, we’re heeeere," Hasya said.
The bird slowed down. Its legs stretched forward, ready to land. It landed on the castle’s spacious front courtyard paved with stone. The bird’s claws gripped the stone with a loud sound.