The Journey

The very next day, as the sun was rising slowly, a hundred soldiers, fully geared, were already marching on the cold sand. The Dalian empire was very big, but unlike planet Earth, there were three stars, three suns basically, warming it. However, the reason why the south of Dalian Empire was filled with sand was not due to the suns, but rather, due to high concentration of Earth and Fire elemental particles.

According to the Flying Citadel's research, it might have been caused by ancient magi who possessed immense cultivation, but most theorized that it was just a natural phenomenon. Still, the nights were quite cold, and the days were extremely hot. Wearing armour plates would cause the body to heat a lot. Many inhabitants in the area lost their lives to dehydration, and water eventually became a very priceful resource, causing the Empire to make a fortune out of people's misery as it controlled all of the water sources in the region, selling gallons for as much as several silver coins, whereas it was mostly free in other regions of the empire.

Each battalion possessed its specialty. Most were composed of footsoldiers, though, using a combination of shields and spears, or shields and swords. Greem himself enjoyed the combination of shield and sword, since it allowed him greater defense and higher sustainibility in long battles. If he were to use a two-handed weapon like a claymore or a heavy spear, then the slightest mistake in movement could claim his life.

In the front, Captain Sanders, Evangeline Parlier and Greem Bluehill were leading the soldiers. Evidently, the soldiers were quite upset about having another lieutenant commanding them, but every single one of them respected the hierarchy. After all, Greem was not any lieutenant. He was a rising star, the hope of Oasis, and more importantly, a fierce warrior who would gladly spar with a disobedient soldier. And...those who experienced it back at Oasis paid the offense with broken bones.

"What kind of place is the citadel?", Greem spoke, his eyes full of stars about this place.

He had hesitated for a long time about going at the academy, but eventually, it was not meant for him. Having low talent grade meant getting a dangerous master, or an incompetent one. Although the library definitely was an interesting place, which he would love to visit one day, he already had 38 books about magical theories to understand. Even after three years of daily studies in his personal tent, he had only completed 34 of them, with four of them being a bit too difficult for him yet. Evidently, the difficulty of each book varied greatly, and although he had his biochip to fill in the gap, it was sometimes difficult to understand a book that quoted others which were not in his possession.

"The Flying Citadel is the most beautiful place in Dalia", Neeko said cheerfully, her short hair and voluptuous body bouncing as she was riding a horse.

In the Oasis, there were not many women, and the attractive ones were usually too proud of themselves to indulge in casual relationships. In this world, casual relationships were actually quite rare still due to the influence of religion. In the military, women were beyond rare, and those who could show etiquette, elegance and cheerfulness were close to non existent.

"I heard that there was a library containing tens of thousands of books...How do you even choose what you read from this place?", Greem asked

Hildir frowned: "You sure are curious about the flying citadel. But your point is valid. Actually, we do not choose what we study, but rather, follow our master's instructions. This is why choosing a right master is a must in the flying citadel. Although it takes connection to do so, I have a few body refinement acolyte acquaintances who were stuck with studying elemental path magic, causing their growth to be much slowlier than me"

Greem titled his head: "Body refinement, you say?"

Hildir laughed: "Haha! I almost forgot that you were not an acolyte. You mentionned having a wandering acolyte relative who told you stories, so your knowledge had made me forget about the fact that you were a knight"

Ingrid smiled as well, nodding with understanding. It was quite refreshing for them to see a 'mortal', as they called them, having such an interest in magic, and possessing a vast array of knowledge already. The frail man spoke: "Let me explain. There are different paths that an acolyte can walk. Each path is the legacy of tens of thousands of magi having walked the same path before, and improving the spell matrices during their times. Each spell is the result of generations and decades of experiments, with countless geniuses improving them. This is why magi are stronger than monsters. Among those paths, the most common ones are the bloodline path, the elemental path and the body refinement path"

Neeko nodded: "Both me and Ingrid walk the elemental path. This means that our studies and spells are centered around elemental particles manipulation. In other words, we study and learn how to use elements. You must have read many stories about imperial mages casting fireballs at orcs in dungeons. Well, I can proudly say that I am one of these elemental path acolytes, having fire affinity and perfectly capable of casting fire balls!"

Hildir chuckled: "Well, you didn't mention that casting just one of these takes you roughly 5 seconds, and the burns are not even lethal. When you suceed in casting it, that is"

Neeko gave him a death stare, before continuing: "Ingrid possesses wind elemental affinity, and can cast sharp wind attacks with his [Wind Blade] spell. It is quite strong, but like me, we have a fatal weakness: we can't cast a spell without chanting an incantation, which takes time in battle. Fortunately, Hildir is a body refinement acolyte, meaning that his studies are centered around the growth of his muscles, and his spells about body enhancement. Actually, you could say that he is walking the bloodline path as well, considering that his bloodline allows him to enhance his instincts"

Greem was instantly intrigued. It would be amazing to be able to enhance his body through spells. It would, after all, allow him to boost his fighting prowess by leaps and bounds.

"My relative told me that bloodline acolytes were very rare, though. Are they common in the citadel?", Greem spoke, giving hints to gather even more information

"Bloodline acolytes are indeed rare. The requirements to walk this path are very selective. You need to possess the blood of an ancient creatures compatible with your genes. Most of the knowledge about creating a bloodline is lost, so the only acolytes who walk this path are actually coming from Magus Households. By all means, they are anything but weak, but they tend to be quite different to us. Since they can cast innate spells naturally, they do not have to study as much as we do as body refinement and elemental acolytes", Neeko explained

As time continued, Greem continued to acquire data from Neeko's words. The talkative acolytes who were bored in their journey were actually a golden mine of information. However, the cheerfulness ended when the battalion encountered danger.

[Beep! Danger spotted!]

Looking at his surroundings, Greem spotted a coming sand storm. After closer inspection, Greem realized that the battalion had actually encountered one of the most dangerous species of the region. This was not a natural sand storm, but actually a trail of dust left behind [Sand Goblin Raiders].

Evidently, Greem shouted in response: "SIXTH BATTALION! READY YOURSELVES FOR BATTLE! A GROUPE OF SAND GOBLINS ARE HEADING TOWARDS US!"

Their carriage of ores which was meant to bait bandits, actually attracted [Sand Goblin Raiders]!