54 Another Short Journey (2)

As Seran soared through the sky, back to the ground to soak in the sunlight, he contemplated what his approaches to a negotiation with the legendary Founding Emperor Barnett. On Earth, there was a general rule of 'respect your seniors, whether you know them or not', and he had a deep respect for the Western Continental Conqueror. Even back on Earth, with a total landmass of only as much as the Western Continent alone, nobody had ever managed to pull such a thing off. Only a handful of people had the title of conqueror, while nobody had ever managed to conquer the entire world. Genghis Khan remains the number one conqueror, and one of the few people to have ever invaded Russia and been victorious. Almost all of Asia was conquered by Khan, a significantly bigger total area than the Roman Empire, France during the era of Napoleon, and Germany's occupations during the Nazi Regime combined. The British Empire, as it was once known, came the closest to world domination, but it was over a generational span.

Knowing that his choices would impact the entire continent, Seran had to deeply plan his responses to Barnett. Offending such a legendary figure was not only less than ideal, it was downright suicidal in the grand scheme of things. If the Founding Emperor wanted to, he could once again conquer the two other empires with just a turn of the wrist. Crushing Greenwood City would be far easier that that. Seran was the most powerful person in his kingdom, and there was a good chance that, should he be defeated, his kingdom would perish. With 2000 years of experience on top of his incredible power, Barnett was easily the most terrifying person Seran could think of. Hopefully, he could manage to secure an agreement for mutual benefit, as he had originally planned to with the Elf Queen Layla.

With his speed, it only took about 4 hours for Seran to cross the long distance and lay eyes on the towering mountain that held his destination aloft. Compared to the exalted World Tree, Yggdrasil, the mountain was not only taller than it, it was taller than it by a half. Considering Yggdrasil has been around since the beginning of the world, and it had never stopped growing, for a mountain to be so large was incredible. If not for the peak having been chopped off, it would be nearly double the height of Yggdrasil. The size of the mountain reminded Seran of Mount Olympus from the animated Disney movie, Hercules.

Soaring above the clouds, Seran took in the sights of multiple Cloudrunner Cranes, the wondrous white birds flying at the speed of a modern passenger plane, yet ascending faster than one could. The white-haired demigod's entire boy was smaller than the eyeball of the enormous bird, no bigger than a fly would be to a human. He smiled to himself as he casually flew up beside one, still laying on his back as he flew alongside it. The massive head turned a little so that its eye could face him, to which he waved. The Cloudrunner Crane made a little squawk of surprise at the tiny child with such immense power. Magical beasts all have a greater sense for magic than any other race, making it easier for them to pick up Seran's quirks far faster than others.

Applying a translation spell to himself this time, the boy spoke to the Crane, "Hey there! Mind if I catch a ride? I've been flying for hours."

Once again, the Crane was stunned, as per the usual, when Seran spoke in the Beast Language, "A child that speak the tongue of Beasts? No no, that's not important. A child that's as strong as you exists?"

Seran shrugged, "I'm used to people looking at me like that now. Comes with my status. Anyway, do you mind if I do?"

The Crane turned its head back to its direction of travel and said, "While I don't mind, my current master might not. Free rides aren't common, and the company that I am a carrier for might not like it, no matter how strong you are. I suggest you ask him."

"Well, where can I find him, then?"

"You see the pavilion on my back, right? There's a few floors, but the fourth is specifically for the crew and my master. If you wish to speak to him, he is most likely there... Still, it's nice to meet someone who can speak with me so naturally."

Seran laughed, casually pulling a fish out of his inventory, one the size of a full-grown orca on Earth, and tossed it to the Crane, "No problem. Thanks for the help." He flew towards the fourth level whilst the Crane happily caught the fish.

---

"Sir, there's something flying next to the Crane's head..." A mustached man said as he stared forward from the fourth floor. At his level, which was roughly Level 40, which was 10 over the threshold for a second job advancement to a third-grade job, he could easily see the giant bird's feathers with clarity, even the ones on its head.

A large man, who Seran would likely to refer to as being the size of an exercise ball, grunted as he was awoken from his nap. "What, what is it? Is it a beast? Is it a threat?"

"It's not a beast, from what I can tell... It's a child, about 10 years old."

The large man stared at the crewman, "Hector, please don't play games with me. It's not funny."

"Well, I'm not joking, Sir Arclight, it's a white-haired child. You can see him just as well as I can. It seems he's talking with the Crane." Hector's gaze pierced the air as he watched the interaction between beast and child, "I don't know what it was about, but the child was smiling the whole time... Wait, that's a Great Whitefin Tuna! Where'd he get that!?"

"Those giant fish? A child suddenly pulled a giant fish out of thin air? Are you drunk?"

"I am most certainly not drunk. If you weren't still sitting down, you'd see this! Ah, never mind, it seems the child is... flying here." Hector perked up an eyebrow in intrigue.

As Sir Arclight was preparing to retort, Seran deftly flew in the window, the frame of which was enchanted to keep the wind out, landing lightly on his fight, "Oto, stuck the landing." Straightening his clothes out, the young demigod bowed in a semi-polite manner, "My apologies for intruding, sir. After speaking with your Crane, I learned it was best to ask you about catching a ride to Skyhaven."

Sir Arclight sat up, giving Hector a mildly apologetic look before giving the odd youth a cold, militaristic stare, "And who are you, to break into the Crane Transport of the Cloud Palace Merchant Company?"

"Ah, that's right, I should have introduced myself. It is quite rude. breaking and entering." Expecting the ever-so-normal result from doing so, Seran gave his guild card to Sir Arclight and said, "I am Seran Greenwood. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."