The wind buffeted Ryan’s face with a violence that would have terrified any ordinary person, yet he maintained an almost unnatural serenity as the void swallowed their bodies.
Helen wrapped her arms and legs around him, clinging as if she were an extension of his own being, letting out bursts of laughter that were lost in the roar of the rushing air.
Ryan glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, noting that she didn’t show even a shred of fear despite the fact that the ground was approaching at an alarming speed.
"Since when did you beco so reckless, Helen?" Ryan asked, his voice raised so she could hear him over the air pressure.
He wasn’t angry. In fact, he felt unusually calm.
In another ti, back when he was barely a B-rank, a fall like this would have been a death sentence or at least a reason for absolute panic.
But now, with his S-rank status and the evolution of his skills, he felt he had total control of the situation even without touching the ground.
Power had given him a confidence that bordered on arrogance, a certainty that nothing in this world could simply kill him by accident.
Helen tightened her grip further and rested her head on Ryan’s shoulder, looking down with a defiant smile.
"The most surprising thing is that you don’t even flinch, Ryan. You’re very calm for soone who is about to crash into the forest," she shouted in an amused tone.
"But well, I guess the sa goes for . I know you wouldn’t let anything bad happen to ."
Ryan watched the clouds they were passing through and thought for a mont that Karol would appear at any second.
She was the one who usually handled aerial transport and cushioning their falls with her wind magic.
He was about to say that the mage would surely help them when a powerful sound sliced through the air above them.
He fell silent upon seeing what was coming at high speed. It wasn’t Karol or any of the other girls.
It was a massive, scaly silhouette diving downward, breaking through the clouds with a rhythmic and powerful wingbeat.
"Impossible. You have him far too spoiled; I can’t believe he’s the one coming to get us," Helen comnted while letting out a genuine laugh.
Both of them laughed as the wyvern approached.
The creature pierced through a cloud formation like an obsidian dart, passed beneath their feet, and kept going for a few ters to adjust its trajectory.
With a maneuver that demonstrated an intelligence superior to that of any wild beast, the wyvern made a quick turn, matched its masters’ falling speed, and positioned itself smoothly beneath them.
The impact of the landing on the creature’s back was cushioned by the flexibility of its muscles and scales.
Ryan remained seated at the front, holding onto the ridges of the neck, while Helen settled right behind him, hugging him tightly around the waist.
Ryan reached out his hand and stroked the rough, warm skin of his mount, feeling the vibration of the animal’s grunt of satisfaction.
"Good job. Take us down," Ryan ordered in a low voice while guiding the wyvern to begin the descent toward the forest.
While they flew over the treetops, enjoying the view of the territory they now considered theirs, Ryan took advantage of the calm journey to speak with the warrior who continued to hug him.
"Tell , Helen, are you getting along well with Beatrice? I thought I saw that you were very focused in the dungeon," Ryan asked with curiosity.
Helen let out a snort, but it wasn’t out of annoyance, but rather recognition.
"She’s a very diligent demon, I have to admit. At the beginning I gave her beatings that left her unconscious on the floor, but she never complained. On the contrary, she always got up and repeated that by the ti you returned she would be stronger," Helen explained in her usual gruff tone.
There was a small pause in the conversation. Helen clung closer to Ryan, tightening the hug in a way that wasn’t just to keep from falling, but to feel his closeness after the ti they spent apart.
"She’s an interesting girl, Ryan. I’m not bothered at all by the decision you made when you brought her into the group. At least she knows how to keep up and isn’t a burden," she added with a sincerity that surprised the young man a little.
Ryan smiled but preferred not to say anything.
He only thought that, despite all her childish temperant and her desire to fight with everyone, Helen had matured if only a little.
The fact that she accepted Beatrice and recognized her effort was a sign that the group was consolidating beyond their individual interests.
The wyvern began to glide in a circular fashion until it stopped near the hidden entrance.
Both of them got down from the beast with agile movents and walked toward the portal that protected the elven village. As soon as they crossed the magical barrier, the sound of a bugle resonated throughout the settlent, alerting everyone of their arrival.
The elven soldiers patrolling the area straightened up imdiately, showing a level of respect that Ryan still found a bit strange.
Almost imdiately, an elegant and swift figure moved toward the entrance. Mirian arrived with impressive speed, sweeping the distance that separated them in a few seconds.
Without saying a word, she wrapped her arms around Ryan’s neck and kissed him with an intensity that made it clear how much she had missed him.
Helen grumbled off to the side, crossing her arms over her chest with an expression of obvious annoyance.
She still hadn’t done that since seeing him again and felt that Mirian was stealing the spotlight from her once more.
Without waiting for them to separate, Helen shoved Mirian aside with a firm push and took the woman’s place to kiss Ryan as well.
’These two are hopeless. They always find a way to compete over every little thing,’ Ryan thought as he let the situation calm down.
At that mont, a young woman appeared in front of him with a formal posture and a notebook in her hands. She was his personal assistant, the one who would be in charge of coordinating supplies and internal orders for the settlent.
She gave a small bow and welcod him in a soft voice.
Ryan greeted her with a wave of his hand, but he realized that he didn’t rember her na. Ryan’s pragmatism sotis played tricks on him when it ca to social details.
"Tell one thing, could you repeat your na for ? I’ve had my head in a thousand things lately," Ryan asked directly.
The assistant lit up completely. Her eyes sparkled with joy upon noticing that Ryan was taking an interest in her that way.
With a kind smile and a bit of a blush on her cheeks, she responded imdiately.
"My na is Alicia, Lord Ryan," she said.
’Alicia. It’s a pretty na. I must try not to forget it next ti,’ he thought while nodding.
Mirian, recovering her composure after Helen’s outburst, approached Ryan again with a more serious and professional look.
"Did you achieve the objective in the city of the dwarves? Did you bring the person we needed?" the woman asked with interest.
Ryan smiled and nodded.
"Yes, everything went according to plan. Alicia, I need you to convene a eting with the village elders imdiately. We have much to talk about," Ryan ordered firmly.
Just at that mont, the portal glowed again and the rest of the group began to enter.
Karol led the way with her usual air of superiority, followed by Irina, Beatrice, and the newest mber, Runa, who looked at everything around her with distrust.
Ryan gestured toward the dwarf to formally introduce her to those who were there. At the sa ti, the village alchemist approached the group with a hurried pace, drawn by the commotion of the arrival.
"How tily. Just the people I needed to see," Ryan comnted calmly.
Runa took a step forward, ignoring the introductions for a mont. Her eyes were fixed on the structures of the village and the flow of mana feeding the portal.
"Before entering, the mage ntioned part of what you intend to do with this place," Runa interjected in a dry and direct tone. "I’ll be honest with you, Ryan. I believe this entire place can be moved, but don’t deceive yourself. To move a village of this size through space, a very great power is needed, sothing that far exceeds what I have seen in conventional relics."
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