In a small courtyard, on the open ground—
Gauss could hardly contain himself.
Level 3 spell [Fly] Lv1 (1/10)
"You really have it down?" Alia asked again, just to be sure.
"Want to try it first?" Gauss looked at her.
"Uh… better not. I'm afraid of heights. I mean—maybe test it on something else first, like Ulfen?" Alia patted the big wolf at her side. "He's tough—won't mind a tumble."
"It's fine. I'll do it myself—the feel will be clearer," Gauss shook his head, thanking her for the thought. "Besides, I've got a safety net: [Feather Fall]."
He'd quietly bought and practiced that soon after getting Fly. He could pre-cast Feather Fall on himself before taking off; if Fly cut out for any reason and he started to drop, he could trigger Feather Fall the instant he fell.
Feather Fall drastically slows descent and negates fall damage on landing. Of course, if you get hit midair, or drop into lava or a poison bog, Feather Fall won't save you.
Used together, Fly is safe in most cases. Still, he reminded himself, flight carries its own risk: up high you're an easy focus-fire target, and your options are narrower than on the ground.
Fly also eats mana—it's a Level 3 spell, difficult and costly, not something most casters can spam, and it's not a day-to-day travel method so much as a tool for specific situations.
Even so, it's hard to resist.
Gauss's heart began to race. He'd wanted this for a long time.
"I'm going to start."
He warned the three, then, under their curious stares, primed Feather Fall on himself so he could trigger it at once if anything went wrong. He closed his eyes, steadied his breathing, and reached for the model of Fly within, linking it to his mana.
A Level 3 spell, Lv1 (1/10), and learned "early" for his level—this wouldn't be fast, and even getting it off at all was tough.
He tried, silently, several times.
Finally, mana began to pour from the chalice within. Power drained; a strange, buoyant force wrapped his body.
First came a faint weightlessness; his heels rose from the ground—not a jump, not a yank, but a natural hover, as if the world's pull had let him go.
He thought, "Up."
His body rose. One meter, two… The ground fell away without a sound. Alia and the others' excited faces shrank; the sky-wind ran wild against him. He soon topped the nearby roofs, rising higher.
He looked down on a view most people never see: roof tiles that once towered above him lay neat beneath his feet; people and carts on the distant street became tiny moving pieces.
A mixed thrill—excitement with a lick of fear—ran electric through him. Unblocked wind snapped his robe and cooled his skin. A sense of freedom he'd never known filled his head. Every worldly shackle fell away.
Incredible.
Maybe a bit too incredible: the light energy holding him flickered out. He lurched, then dropped. Alia shouted a warning; Gauss triggered Feather Fall. His speed bled off, and he settled lightly to earth.
Boots on the ground, his heart was still pounding. His body and mind were still reliving that lift from gravity's grip.
"How was it?" Alia rushed up.
"Amazing—like real freedom." Gauss grinned. In his old life he'd been a bit afraid of heights, but this first flight had brought no panic—just release.
"But I need more practice. It's a tricky spell." Feather Fall was insurance, but constant "crashes" wouldn't do. In a real fight you can't afford the time or mana to drop and relaunch.
He'd gotten permission to practice here, so he tried again—this time waiting for his emotions to fully settle. Feather Fall up, a few failed attempts, then Fly caught again.
That light force sheathed him, and at his will he slid up, down, and side to side. He kept his speed modest; when he tried to push it, Fly felt unstable—likely a matter of proficiency.
For now, smooth and slow was best. He also stayed close; flying high and free outside a designated area would break the rules—and risk a ballista shot from the city. Fly doesn't mean "go anywhere."
Safety first. Remember the flight code.
Farther off, passersby pointed up at him with envy. Even commoners know flight is normally "for high-rankers." ("High-rank" in quotes: Fly typically takes a Level 5 caster—a "big deal" to ordinary folks.) There is a Level 2 [Levitate] that lifts you off the ground, but few learn it just to "enjoy flight"; it's used to avoid danger briefly or move cargo. Levitate is vertical only, height-limited, and tactically inflexible. Fly is true 3D maneuver.
Otherwise, you rely on items—flying potions, carpets, special boots, cloaks, rings…
Gauss ignored the onlookers and focused. When Fly hit Lv1 (5/10), he tried carrying teammates—first just Alia. A simple run worked, so he brought everyone up. "Don't fight it," he reminded them.
He Feather-Falled them each, then extended Fly's mana to them; soon Shadow and the rest felt that same weightlessness—and each controlled their own path once the spell took.
Gauss could only bestow or cancel it; it cost his mana and needed his maintenance. If it broke, the target dropped.
First-time flyers were just as giddy. Even Alia—who could fly by transforming—said this felt different from doing it in an animal's body.
They drifted around at leisure, keeping the speed down. Gauss noted Fly helped him most: with ranged tools already in hand, against enemies with no anti-air he could own the sightlines and angles, raining attacks while staying out of reach. For the others, the benefit was smaller.
But Gauss urgently needed proficiency. Casting another spell while in flight spikes the difficulty; he'd need Fly very solid to do both.
The good news: for someone with his panel, the hard part was getting in. Once he'd entered the gate, massed practice would grind proficiency fast. He kept at it; Fly and Feather Fall both ticked up.
…
Level 3 — Fly Lv2 (17/20)
Level 1 — Feather Fall Lv3 (5/50)
He was pleased with the progress. When idle, he'd float a few hand-spans off the ground for practice; no need to go high. Fly burned mana fast, though. Cruising speed was fine, but push a little faster and the drain jumped.
His total mana was far beyond peers—several times a normal caster's—and still "free flight" wasn't realistic. No wonder he rarely saw it used.
Even a Level 5 caster with Fly wouldn't use it often; mana limits are real. The "bar" may be level 5, but to use it comfortably, you want to be higher.
Height isn't capped, but caution is: higher means thinner air, colder temps, meaner currents.
Feather Fall's duration isn't infinite; if you're too high and it runs out… GG. For now, he kept it to a few hundred meters. He'd measured speed, too—about 15 m/s for now. Not fast, but enough—city-street car speed in his previous life. It would rise with proficiency and mana—at the cost of even more drain. The kind of aerial weaving, counter-casting, and high-G dodging he'd seen in films? Still a ways off.
Back to reality.
Gauss rode his chocobo with Sena shrinking behind them. Alia and the others watched the scenery in silence. Their new commission wasn't at sea—it was inland. With Sena's tensions rising, both Rachel and Adèle had urged a job away from the coast.
It was an interesting one: a long-term, unofficial Guild commission—likely because they'd nailed the last special job so well the Guild trusted them with another "inside" assignment. Half "one of us" treatment.
Gauss thought it over and accepted. It fit their current state perfectly: help and train village militias north of Sena to build basic self-defense, and cull the hyper-active low-tier monsters nearby.
No hard kill quotas; the focus was "training." Pay was weekly; all battlefield loot was theirs. Wages: 15 gold per person per week. With over a hundred gold still on hand, the money was fine; more importantly, it was easy—and offered lots of low-tier monster reps.
He needed time to digest recent gains: solidify Fly, drill team synergy, keep learning Fireball, and grind fundamentals for his new class, [Sword Soul].
"I need to cram these basic sword and fist forms," Gauss said, holding a training manual. Not hard—meant to build militia bodies and, maybe, spot a few with talent he could nudge toward a class.
"I'll take a look too," Alia said. Each of the four had been given foundational techniques for their path.
…
Ten-plus kilometers away, in the East Branch office, Rachel stood at the window, facing a certain direction.
"They should be on the road by now?"
"For a little while," Adèle answered.
"Let's hope it goes smoothly," Rachel said, thinking of Gauss. His talent was unreal. This commission was tailored for him—ordinary adventurers wouldn't get it; only prospects the Guild had already earmarked.
On the face, it was grunt work with a padded wage, but the meaning ran deeper: it banked reputation. Nearly every adventurer who later became a legend had stretches like this—leaving footprints in the wide countryside and along the borderlands, keeping a corner of the world safe; their names carried quietly from mouth to mouth.
~~~
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