Chapter 187: A Quick Pit Stop

Early Morning - Late Fall : Central Sirathian Mountains

-----

*deep inhale* "Haah..." As I casually hovered in the upper atmosphere, I simply couldn't take my eyes off the night sky.

Although I wasn't sure why my vision was so much clearer and more vibrant than before, I wasn't complaining. The added beauty it gave the night sky made for an experience that simply healed my mind and soul.

The bliss my mind felt at that time was immeasurable, making me immediately forget about the slight achiness I felt around my body and putting me into a deep trance.

It wasn't till a few hours later that I was eventually pulled out of it by the orange glow of the sun as it peeked over the distant, slightly curved horizon. -Huh? It's morning already?-

Glancing towards the horizon, I saw the warm orange glow of the sun and felt its warmth finally hit my body. "Haah..." -It's been four months since I felt that warmth...-

Without realizing it, I had grown so accustomed to the cold water in the depths that I had nearly forgotten how good the sun felt.

But after basking in the sun for a short moment, I looked back towards the ground and saw Ilios sitting on the mountain top, wagging his tail.

As my chest filled with warmth and a warm smile came to my face, I folded my wings and dove towards the ground. -Haha, it's good to see that not much has changed...- But as I thought that, he stood up and bent his legs a bit. -What is he doing?-

In the next instant, the ground beneath him shattered, and a white shockwave rippled through the air. -Wait, WHAT?!-

Immediately spreading my wings, still nearly 4 kilometers off the ground, I tried to slow down as much as possible, but it wasn't fast enough.

*WHAMM* Immediately bringing me to a halt in the air, Ilios slammed into my chest with immense force.

"Oof..." I quickly lessened the impact as much as possible to try and minimize the strain on Ilios's legs.

But my worry about him getting hurt was needless. "Woof!!" The instant he slammed into me, he climbed up on my neck and started licking my face.

-Thank goodness he didn't hurt himself...- "Sorry for not visiting over the past few months, buddy." As we plummeted towards the ground, I nuzzled my head against him and spread my wings to control our descent.

*lick-lick-lick-lick-lick* His tongue was simply relentless until we finally made it to the ground a few seconds later, where he hopped off my back and darted into the cave. 

-What is he...- Before I could finish my thought, he came trotting back out with my greatsword in his mouth.

I couldn't help but chuckle a bit as he held the greatsword in his mouth like a toothpick. "Haha, you already knew it was time to leave, didn't you?"

He gave a strong nod as he trotted back to me.

"Well, in that case, let's not linger!" As he hopped onto my back and set the sword under my wing, I spread my wings and threw us into the air. -Now, where should I go first? I told Amara and them that I'd bring alcohol, so I guess I'm crossing the Banvænn (Desert)...- But as I turned in that direction, I remembered that it had been a while since I checked up on Captain Lassar and her settlement. -Actually, that works out. It's about the same distance either way, but pirates probably know their alcohol better than some random tavern in the middle of the western continent...-

Quickly changing destinations, I turned around and made my way over the ocean, but it wasn't long before I hit a stump. -What direction should I be flying in exactly?-

I knew the general direction I should go, but the mental map of the world I currently had was split between the continents, making my estimation extremely inaccurate. -Since I took the space rune to get to Bahamut, my sense of direction to find the main continent is all out of whack...-

But that was when I realized I was just being dumb. -There is a space rune marker in the temple there, so why don't I just go through the void?-

But as I glanced back at Ilios, I started to question whether he could even survive in the void before deciding not to risk it. -I'll just pop my head in to get my bearings.-

And that I did. With a light toss, I threw Ilios up a couple of meters, jumped in the void, figured out where I needed to go, then came back out and gently caught him.

*thump* As he landed on my back again, he casually laid back down and closed his eyes, seemingly not caring about what just happened.

-Alright! Now that he seems comfortable and I know where I'm going, it's time to cruise!-

The next couple of hours passed rather quickly since I fiddled with antimatter to pass the time, but since I decided to just cruise instead of blasting thrusters, it still took a bit.

Nevertheless, we arrived before we knew it.

-Hm?- Looking up from the ocean, I could just barely see the green tropical treetops cresting the horizon. -Oh, we're here already?- Turning just slightly, I started following the coast around the island until I got to the north side and saw the familiar, massive, overgrown temple. -Man.. it's just as big as I remember...- But it wasn't all the same.

All around the bottom of it, trees had been cleared out and a small wall had been constructed, with several people patrolling it. -To think she kept up with her promise...-

Feeling a tad more optimistic about the visit, I cloaked myself and flew closer to the ground before continuing a bit further around the island.

Not long after that, I came across a large port with several massive ships docked. -Here we are!-

Quickly finding an isolated place to land, I finally touched down and took a moment to hide the massive mana core I was still absorbing into the ground. *pat-pat-pat* -That should be fine, right?- I ended up burying it a couple meters down and coating it in steel, so even if someone managed to dig it up before I got back, they wouldn't be able to damage or move it. -Yeaaah... It should be fine.-

Casually changing to my humanoid form, I reached down and picked up my greatsword to sheath it, but froze when I saw my reflection in the blade. -Huh?-

With even a simple glance, it was apparent that my wolf ears and stub-like horns had gotten a tad longer, and my hair was well past my shoulders, making me look quite unkempt. -I'll just cloak the horns but...- For a split second, I contemplated cutting my hair but ended up just tying it back and trimming the front after a bit of thought.

-Heyyy.. that doesn't look half bad!- Enjoying the new look, I casually sheathed my sword and carefully cloaked my horns and visible scales.

*Brush-Brush* Giving my clothes a quick pat down to make sure everything was in place before finally turning towards Ilios. "You ready?"

He gave an exaggerated nod while he trotted up to my side.

I couldn't help but lean down and rub his head since it was so cute, but after a short moment, we made our way out onto the beach and down towards the port.

As we got there, I avoided contact with the several pirates unloading a ship and made my way down a wooden pathway into the trees. -This should be the right way...-

As we walked down the path, we passed several people, all of whom gave me odd looks, but surprisingly, none of them stopped me. It wasn't until I got to the outskirts of the town that I was finally interrupted by a group of guys playing cards on some barrels next to the walkway. "Hm? That's a new face..." The muscular man gave me a suspicious look. "Kid, di' ya break out of someone's brig er somethin'?"

I gave the man an indifferent look as I spoke. "No, I'm just here to pick up some good alcohol."

There was a short moment of silence as everyone nearby locked their eyes on me. "Pffftt-hahaha!! I didn't think a noble-looking guy like yourself would know where to come for that!" His suspicions disappeared before I even did anything.

-Well, it looks like I came to the right place...- "If you could point me in the direction of a tavern or bar, that would be great."

Almost immediately, the man's smile widened. "Haha, a tavern er bar? This is the alcohol capital of the east, The Eastern Oasis! There's one on every corner!"