Chapter 176: Starting New Training (1)
Jumping down from here? Since I’m going to die anyway, does that mean I should just make it quick and stop worrying?
Alfoy asked with a trembling voice.
“What? Why? Why are you jumping?”
The speed of their fall was increasing, making it hard to even keep his eyes open.
He was already holding onto the basket tightly with both hands, fearing he might bounce out, and now he was being told to jump voluntarily!
He didn’t want to do anything that scary.
But Kaor spoke quickly, as if he couldn’t spare a moment to explain.
“You can’t see how far we are from the ground when we’re up here! Even if you time the spell perfectly, it might get tangled with the air pouch, and who knows what kind of accident could happen! It’s safer to cast outside!”
That made sense. Getting tangled with the equipment while falling could be even more dangerous.
“Ah, fine! So I just jump alone?”
“Are you crazy! I’ll grab you and jump, so just follow my lead!”
As soon as Kaor finished speaking, he grabbed Alfoy’s waist and jumped from the device.
Jumping bare-bodied from such a height without any safety measures was terrifying.
The strong wind hitting his body made Alfoy squeeze his eyes shut and scream again.
“Ahhh! Save me!”
“Shut up! For the love of all that’s good, just shut up! I’ll check the distance, so when I signal, cast your spell right away! Got it? Stop flailing around! Where are you touching?”
“Ahhh! Got it!”
Kaor narrowed his eyes and focused.
There couldn’t be a mistake. Even a Swordmaster like his grandfather would struggle to survive a fall from this height.
There was no need to hold out until the last second. He just had to reach a height he could handle.
With this training, his realm had increased a bit, so he could endure most heights with just his mana.
If things got bad, he was even prepared to break a limb or two.
Whoooosh!
As they got closer to the ground, their descent speed increased even more. Even blinking would make the distance to the ground decrease rapidly.
Calculating the distance meticulously, Kaor shouted as soon as they reached a survivable height.
“Now!”
Alfoy, who had been tightly closing his eyes, heard Kaor’s signal and immediately reached out, pouring out his magic power.
He truly put his all into it. He had never used magic so desperately since learning it.
The chance of failure increases the more concentration wavers, but Alfoy, the Mage Tower’s heir, risked his life and succeeded in casting the spell.
Thud!
Suddenly, the bodies of the two stopped mid-air.
“Ugh!”
“Eww!”
With the direction of the force suddenly changing, their bodies didn’t fare well. They screamed, unable to endure the pain that felt like a hammer smashing their heads and their insides being crushed.
But it was better than crashing to the ground and getting broken.
Feeling a success coming, Kaor summoned all his magic power.
With all my might, I drew up the mana.
Now, all I had to do was endure the impact by using my body as a shield.
But that should be easy…
Bwooooom!
The two of them quickly shot back up into the air.
“Uh? Hey, stop! Stop it, you crazy idiot!”
Alfoy nearly lost his mind the moment the shock hit his body, terrified beyond belief.
He had his eyes closed, so he had no idea just how far off the ground they still were.
Casting magic with all his strength to survive turned out to be the real problem.
“Stop it! You fool!”
Alfoy snapped back to reality at Kaor’s shout. But by then, they had already risen to a tremendous height.
“S-sorry… I didn’t mean to use so much power…”
“Forget it! Stay focused! We almost succeeded, so let’s do it again! I’ll give the signal again…”
“Sorry… I’m out of mana now…”
“What?”
“I used up a lot of mana during the demonstration earlier… I’m pushing myself too hard to use magic now… Ugh…”
Alfoy hung his head, tears streaming down his face. His tone spoke of having already given up on surviving.
Kaor was furious. It was understandable; they had just blown their only chance like absolute fools.
“Hey! You idiot! You should’ve just reduced your speed and hovered to stop!”
“Sorry… I was so scared… But at least I’m not alone, so it doesn’t seem like the path to death is so lonely… Let’s die together…”
“Shut up! I’m not dying!”
Kaor gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on Alfoy.
‘How have I survived all this and made it this far!’
He had just barely grasped the Mana Circulation Method and swordsmanship, and it was far too unjust to die like this.
But they had risen too high. If they hit the ground now, their bodies would shatter into pieces.
A choice had to be made. Would they both die, or would he gamble on at least saving one of them?
‘Damn it!’
He considered using Alfoy as a cushion, but quickly dismissed the thought.
Not out of pity but because Alfoy was too weak to even serve as a cushion.
Trying that would only end with them both crashing together.
‘Stupid idiot! Can’t even use magic properly! Dumber than Vanessa!’
After cursing inwardly, Kaor changed his position.
He could strengthen his body with mana. His skills had improved, so if he fell first and lessened the impact, Alfoy might just survive by pure luck.
‘No need for both of us to die. I thought of dying together, but if you can live, then go ahead. You’re an idiot, but you’d be more useful than me.’
Resolving his mind, he lifted his head and spotted people running from a distance.
But what good would it do? They’d have no way to help in this situation.
Seeing Ghislaine, Belinda, and Gillian at the front, Kaor silently said his goodbyes.
“Hey Butler, I’m sorry for picking on you every day. Live well. I don’t have money, but take the remaining alcohol from my place. Consider it a parting gift.”
“Old man, I wanted to have a match, but it looks like we won’t get to. But you know I’d win if we did, right?”
“Lord, it was fun hanging out with you. Thanks to you, my skills have improved, but now I might die without using them.”
“It’s a shame, but I have no regrets. It was somewhat enjoyable.”
Now his body was about to crash into the ground and be completely wrecked.
Kaor closed his eyes. A tear welled up at the corner of his eye.
“Grandma, I’ll see you soon.”
Just as he had resigned himself to letting Alfoy survive, he raised his mana to the limit, only to suddenly hear Ghislaine’s voice ringing out.
“Kaor! Let go of the power! Lower the mana!”
‘Why? What for? Just to let me die?’
Confused, Kaor instinctively followed Ghislaine’s orders, a reflex hammered into him after countless beatings he had taken from her during training.
It was the training effect engraved on his body from taking a beating.
Wham!
Ghislaine stretched out his hands toward the two and unleashed strands of mana.
With the acceleration added, there was no way they could hold on with any clumsy strength. He caught both of them with his maximum power that could explode up to the 3rd stage of the core in one go.
Crack!
He felt the mana strands giving way. However, the speed of their fall had noticeably decreased.
“Kaor! Throw Alfoy!”
As soon as Ghislaine shouted, Kaor lifted Alfoy and hurled him away.
Having wanted to throw him for a while, there was not the slightest hesitation. That guy really deserved to die.
Ghislaine continued to pour mana with both hands, slowing the descent of Kaor and Alfoy.
“Gillian! Belinda!”
The moment Ghislaine’s voice fell, Gillian and Belinda leaped into the air.
As soon as Gillian caught Kaor, he threw him straight to the ground. It was to disperse the shock.
Boom!
“Kack! Old man, you!”
Kaor screamed in pain as his whole body was struck. Gillian chuckled and wrapped mana around his legs for a safe landing.
But Belinda couldn’t handle Alfoy as easily as Gillian did.
Alfoy was among the weakest in the territory. He was just a flaccid fish. If thrown down like Kaor, he might just die.
“Ugh!”
Belinda let out an annoyed shout, snatching Alfoy and spinning him around in the air a few times.
Releasing just enough power, she landed, and Alfoy collapsed, shouting.
“I-I’m alive! I’m alive! Thank you, Butler! Hahaha! I’m alive!”
“Hahaha! The Lord is truly incredible! Good job, old man! Cough!”
Kaor and Alfoy lay flat on the ground, laughing uncontrollably. After almost dying, how could they not be happy?
Ghislaine let out a sigh of relief and approached the two, asking.
“Are you okay? What happened?”
Then Kaor and Alfoy pointed at each other and spoke.
“That guy’s fault! He’s a stupid idiot who can’t even use magic properly!”
“This guy said to go up first! He’s a complete bad guy!”
As the two bickered, Ghislaine shook his head after hearing the whole story.
It seemed that as the altitude increased, the hot air balloon’s airbags couldn’t hold up.
Since they had gone beyond the agreed safe altitude, it couldn’t be solely blamed on the balloon’s defect.
It was those two idiots who had brought on the danger.
But accidents can happen anytime and anywhere. At such heights, if an accident occurred, it could be dangerous, so there was a need to reinforce safety even more.
A moment later, the dwarves, who were examining the fallen hot air balloon, approached cautiously.
They had built it with confidence, so it was understandable that they felt demoralized after an accident.
“What was the problem?”
“Well… I’m not sure if it couldn’t withstand the high-altitude winds, or if the air was just too hot, but… anyway, the connections of the air pouches were torn, and the fabric was ripped.”
In response to Ghislaine’s question, Galbarik answered politely. They had been arrogant earlier, but now, facing their disadvantage, they had become humble.
Ghislaine nodded a few times and continued speaking.
“I’ve confirmed that we had no issues reaching the desired altitude, but it’s better to reinforce it. Make the air pouches triple-layered and wrap the outside with a net for precautions. Also, think of ways to make other parts sturdier and safer.”
“Understood.”
After delegating the reinforcement and additional production of the balloon, Ghislaine looked around and said.
“Alright, there was a small incident, but you all saw that the flight was still fine, right? It was these two who pushed it too far; if you go up moderately, it’s safe, so don’t worry. If anyone wants to ride during the next demonstration, just let me know anytime.”
“Say it whenever you want.”
The people shook their heads with smiles. They definitely didn’t want to ride something that dangerous.
In the awkward atmosphere, those who finished cleaning up started to leave one by one.
They were already busy with work, and now they wasted too much time watching hot air balloons and accidents.
Claude chatted quietly with Wendy as he headed back to the office.
“Not everything made by dwarves is perfect, huh? Don’t you think so? Some of it seems pretty lame, right?”
“…Chief Officer, wait a minute.”
“Isn’t the dwarves’ reputation just a bubble? For example, something like this. ‘You may be short, but you have good skills.’ Just trying to cover up the whole race… Ah, why are you pushing me! Let’s walk slowly! My legs hurt!”
Wendy hurriedly shoved Claude and quickly left. However, the dwarves had already heard all that jabbering.
“Ugh… My pride is hurt.”
Galbarik bit his lip several times.
His first creation since coming to this territory had failed.
Of course, it was true that Kaor and Alfoy had climbed recklessly, but it couldn’t be denied that they had failed to predict such dangers despite conducting several safety tests.
This was an unbearable, bone-deep mistake for the artisan dwarves.
“Come on, let’s go quickly. We have to make it perfect even if we have to stay up all night.”
The dwarves resolutely nodded at Galbarik’s words.
Now it wasn’t a matter of having too much or too little work. It was a matter of dwarves’ pride.
Ghislaine didn’t scold the dwarves too harshly because he understood their temperament well.
On the way back to the workshop, Galbarik kicked the ground in frustration.
“Ugh, look at this dust. We need to sprinkle some water. Does it ever rain in this town? It’s all dirt and dust.”
It felt like the weather had gotten incredibly dry lately. It had been a while since it rained, yet everyone acted like it was no big deal.
When he asked around, the only response he got was that although it had gotten a bit worse, there weren’t any significant differences.
“Then why does it keep getting hotter?”
The dwarves, accustomed to temperature, were more sensitive to the weather changes than others.
They had heard that the North was cool, but it was hot and dry instead. It was no different from desert weather.
They knew it was barren, but it strangely felt worse compared to when they first arrived.
“Tsk tsk, I don’t know how everyone lived here. Oh, but I have to keep living here too. I really hate it.”
Galbarik, who came from the warm and pleasant South, couldn’t adapt at all to the North’s environment.
“Sigh, the weather is dirty, the work is dirty, this town is a real dump. Oh, that Chief Officer, the more I think about him, the more annoying he gets.”
Galbarik’s grumbling continued until they arrived at the workshop.
In truth, it wasn’t so much the weather that bothered him, but rather the bitterness over the hot air balloon failure.
He was just venting his frustrations because he had nowhere else to channel them.
As the dwarves began to grumble and restart the hot air balloon production, Ghislaine approached the resting knights.
“Did you all rest well? We’re starting new training now. There’s not much time left.”
At those words, the knights doubted their ears. Had it really been long enough for another training session?
Honestly, they didn’t want to do it at all.
A few brave souls raised their hands and shouted.
“We’re fine!”
“We have plenty of time!”
Ghislaine grinned and shook his head.
“No, I’m not fine. We don’t have time. Everyone, assemble.”
‘I wish I hadn’t become a knight if I knew this would happen.’
The knights teared up and awkwardly got up from their seats.
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