Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

BANG…

With a loud creaking sound, the airship trembled intensely. The ship started slowly falling from the altitude scaring some of the crew members and passengers silly.

At this moment, Simon who was worried about their swiftly decreasing acceleration asked "What about the other four wind mages? Are they all alright?".

Duke Montford looked towards the pilot, he too wanted to know the answer to that question. Since the air engine was malfunctioning and eating more magic than usual, then doesn't that mean that all the crew members operating the ship, were affected the same.

The pilot wiped the sweat from his face and replied nervously "Although the pressure on the wind mages is low due to them having more numbers, it couldn't be said how long they can hold on".

Everyone's eyes widened when they heard that. Losing two out of the three fire mages was already a big blow to the functioning of the airship; however, now they would also have to worry about the other mages who were somehow keeping the air engine floating.

Seeing the tension in the cockpit reach a boiling point, the pilot suggested a solution with a pale face.

"There is a way to resolve this crisis; however, it would require your assistance. If any of the passengers who use fire or wind magic could lend us their help, then it would be possible...".

Everyone present when they heard his words, made a pondering face. Duke Montford nodded his head all the while wearing an intense frown on his face.

"Lucas please lend us your strength". He looked at the young man in red robes and asked.

Lucas stepped forward and spoke dissolving the tension in the air "What is his grace saying. It is natural that I help out when all of us are in this crisis".

Duke Montford nodded his head, he then directed the pilot "This young man has incredible mastery over fire magic, make use of his powers as you see fit".

The pilot hurriedly obliged, he then looked at the pale faces of the other four wind mages and asked "Is there anyone with mastery over wind magic?".

Seeing everyone's pensive look, Alvara glanced at Cynthia before stepping forward.

"I use Gale magic to strengthen my attacks. Although my class is a warrior class more focused in agility and magic stats, I'm quite confident over my mastery of the gale magic". The guard commander stated, her voice was neither hesitant nor boastful.

The intense frown on duke's face finally receded a little "Quick pilot direct them what to do before the whole ship falls down".

BEEP… BEEP at this moment, the airship was fiercely shaking, its hull making creaking noises. The pilot gulped and immediately set forth to direct the two towards their position in the magic array laid in the cockpit.

"Sit in your respective seats and channel your wind magic through that large magic stone in front of you. The principle behind keeping the airship afloat is the same as how you engulf yourself in your magic. In this case, your body is this airship and your magic is this formation".

Alvara and Lucas nodded their head before sitting in their seats and channelling their magic.

BANG… the shaking of the ship intensified and it was hard to keep balance with the ship tilting left and right every now and then.

The passengers of the air engine audibly gulped, the tension only faded when they felt the altitude of the ship was stable now. Little by Little, the air engine started to rise and reached its top altitude once again.

The journey that became rickety for a while, seemed to have become smooth for a while when eventually the remaining four wind mages ran out of mana. It seemed that the consumption from the air engine was still too much for them.

Fortunately, they did not faint like the two fire mages and simply got up from their seat to rest.

"Will the airship be alright with the support of just the two of them for a while?" Duke Montford asked.

The pilot who was holding the staring wheel, seemed to look at the multitudes of gauges and meters on his dashboard before somewhat hesitantly nodding his head.

"Although our speed would be reduced marginally, the air engine will still remain floating and work nonetheless. If we want to increase our speed, we would need another mage or a warrior with a high level who can support that miss with the wind magic".

Cynthia crossed her hands in front of her ample chest and pondered. The ship would still work even if it's only the two of them working together, however, their journey would be delayed and they would be arriving later than expected. It was not only the princes but all the passengers including Adalinda who thought the same.

Simon who made an expression like he had no other choice stepped forward, and decided to use this chance to offer his help.

"I can use wind magic too… with my help and after the recovery of the other mages, how long will it take us to reach the capital?".

Hearing his question, the passengers and ship's crew, focused their eyes on him. They were all rejoicing internally that they had another person with mastery over wind magic with them.

However, those who have travelled with Simon for the past couple of weeks, looked at him with gobsmacked eyes. If they were to believe the young man, then didn't it mean that not only was he adept with fire and electro magic, but was also proficient in wind magic?

  A person with mastery over three different kinds of elements, how rare was that? Even in the capital, they thought that there were only a handful of such skilled individuals.

"Hoh… you can also use wind magic? That is great news, pilot do you think our speed will increase now?" Duke Montford stroked his beard and asked.

The pilot mused over it for a few seconds before replying in a relieved tone "In that case it will only take us half a day more than the estimated four days of journey".

Everybody nodded in rejoice after knowing that the voyage wouldn't take more than four days. The trip after that was extremely smooth without any more hiccups, with the help of three people with enormous mana, even the ship's crew could take it easy and preserve their mana.

On the morning of the fourth day, they approached near the capital which was only half a day's distance away. From their elevation, they could see multiple air engines in the distant skies arriving from different regions of the kingdom.

The allure of the tournament that is soon going to be held in the capital was so great that it brought people from every corner of the kingdom.

Simon who was watching the many air engines dotting the distant sky from the gallery, noticed that all of them were gathering in a certain direction. After the mages of the airship recovered from their mana drain, they held their respective positions once again which made Simon, Alvara and Lucas free to do whatever they want.

"Since the capital city of Ellesmere is a no flying zone, the air engine has to land at the airfield a few kilometres away from the capital. That is why all of the airship will be heading there".

"Look over there, beyond the vast mountain range that you see, lies the capital" Cynthia who had entered the gallery at some unknown point in time, explained after seeing the direction he was looking at.

Simon nodded his head and nonchalantly inquired gazing at the distant mountain range "So you were a princess huh?".

Cynthia tucked her violet hair behind her ears and smiled "It was not like I was hiding it, it's just that the situation at that time did not allow it. Besides I never wished for such an identity". Her smile had an unknown depth of emotion in it.

"We will be reaching the capital soon and your job as my escort will also end. What will you do after that?" She asked turning her gaze towards the man who was lost in his own thoughts.

Simon focused his eyes, an unusual glint flashed in them as he replied "We naturally have our reason for coming to the capital so we will be parting ways after this".

Cynthia tilted her head and pried "You are not here for the 'Battle of the Finest' tournament that is going to open soon?".

The young man simply smiled neither agreeing nor denying her words. Well, it was not like the reason they were here in the capital was not related to the 'Battle of the Finest'; after all, the disciple that they are searching for is headed for the capital with the exact same reason.

"Hnn~ anyways our Serene Palace Merchant Guild is going to open their auction two days before the tournament. Obviously, there is going to be many good items and rare artifacts. I'm sure all of the participants of the tournament are looking forward to the opening of the auction to increase their powers. If you have time, you should visit our auction, I'm sure you won't be disappointed".

Cynthia leaned against the railing of the gallery and rested her hand on her cheek. At this moment, the evening sun cast a reddish hue across the horizon painting the sky with its brilliant colour.

It had been more than four days since they had boarded the air engine and amidst a couple of hiccups in between, they were finally about to reach the capital of the kingdom of Ellesmere.

Simon spread his senses and was astounded to find hundreds of thousands of presences coming from the direction of the distant mountain range. 

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