“I’ll cast magic now.”
“Okay!”
Lord Viol unleashed several spells at my go-ahead.
“Whoa!”
“Amazing…!”
A little way off from the group, offensive magic spells rained down but somehow caused no damage to the ground at all? It seemed Lord Viol had first cast a barrier, then aimed attacking spells at it.
“That should do it.”
I heard Lord Viol’s steady voice, slowed down, circled the group once, then glided to a smooth landing beside Arshtag.
“How’s that?”
For a moment, there was silence. I looked around to see everyone looking at us with inscrutable faces.
“Er…?”
“No! I mean! We expected something amazing, but…!”
“It’ll take a lot of training to match that… But what a display.”
Arshtag looked impressed… Beside him, Vellia had raised an eyebrow.
“In a real fight, there will be real monsters… You’ll need to be even more flexible, even more agile. Do your best, everyone.” Lord Viol’s sobering words of advice made everyone gulp back their nerves.
“Okay, I think everyone gets the idea,” Arshtag said. “Now, each team will begin their individual training!”
“Roger!”
At Arshtag’s command, the small carts all rose up at once and scattered in different directions. The individual training, which began with each group keeping a moderate distance from each other, went great at first.
They spun around at the same height, went up and down diagonally, and slowly leaned their bodies in the same direction while flying in figure eights, seemingly testing their balance as pilot and passenger.
“Oh, that’s risky…” Lord Viol muttered softly. I looked where he was looking and saw Gil’s cart tilting quite far over. “It looks like he was trying out an attack with a spear. Unlike casting magic, it takes more arm movement. And then there’s the recoil from hitting a magical beast. Or from being attacked. It’s difficult to maintain balance with a melee weapon like that.”
“Indeed. Ah, Vellia and Arshtag’s team, too…” I pointed out.
“Yes, Arshtag’s using a sword. He’s quite agile, as expected. But Vellia’s got it held steady.”
The other teams were gradually learning to work together by practicing increased speed and turning while avoiding the branches of the large trees.
After watching the training for a while, Lord Viol muttered, “Just watching feels like a waste.”
“Really? But it’s amazing to watch the others. I’m enjoying it!” I said.
“I still need time to acclimate to flying. You can advise me just as well in the air, can’t you? I think I’ll take this opportunity to join the training myself.”
“What?”
“Seren, jump on the back. I’m going to fly us.”
My eyes widened. Lord Viol didn’t waste time.
“Hehe. Okay, then, I’ll see how things feel back here!” I said.
“Please do. And if you have any advice, let me have it.”
“Okay!” I clambered up onto the back, and Lord Viol gently levitated the cart.
“It’s been a while… I’m a little nervous,” he admitted.
“You’re doing good, though.”
“I’m still not very steady. Please hold tight.”
ZOOM! The cart glided forward. It was more than a little unsteady.
“Whoa, hold on! What’s Archmage Viol doing?” Vellia yelped in surprise to see us in flight.
Yep, I could understand the surprise…
“I just wanted to try it myself,” Lord Viol said.
“Wow. All-element mages are all like this…” Vellia sounded exasperated but amused and quickly upped her speed. “All right, let’s fly! I’m not losing to our Archmage there. As a proud wind mage, I won’t have it!”
Vellia and Arshtag’s cart picked up speed rapidly. Good old Vellia. She was flying at lightning speed, almost matching us.
“Gaaah! Wait! Vellia! Stop! Waaait!” Arshtag bellowed in terror at the sudden height and speed.
“It’s fine, it’s fine! Just trust me!”
“Argh!!!”
Vellia’s delighted shrieks and Arshtag’s wails of despair grew increasingly farther away.
Wow, I can hardly hear them anymore, I thought, but then they went into a big figure eight, going slower on the loops, even throwing in a somersault! Yikes, that DOES look scary. I can’t hear from here, but Arshtag must be screaming his head off.
In contrast, Lord Viol flew safely, with deliberate movements. He seemed to have adjusted to having me ride behind him. He was very steady now. Nodding to himself after trying out each different maneuver. Under the bright blue sky, it was exciting and fulfilling to witness the others training so well, too.
After a little flight training, everyone had gotten a lot better. Both pilot and passenger moved in perfect unison, and now, when they accelerated, decelerated, or turned suddenly, there was no danger of anyone over-balancing.
And, of course, Lord Viol’s flying skills were improving at a rapid pace as well.
“I think I’m getting the hang of it,” he said.
“Yes! You really are, Lord Viol.”
“Everyone’s flying skills seem to have improved quite a bit.”
“They have. Now, I think we can definitely handle fighting off a few beasts while flying!”
Just as I said that confidently, Vellia and the others flew towards me at incredible speed from the sky above the forest. In the blink of an eye, they were close enough for me to see their faces.
At the same time, Arshtag’s screams also came closer and closer, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
“Wow! Everyone’s piloting skills have improved immensely!” Vellia was beaming with enjoyment. Arshtag looked exhausted and was clinging white-knuckled to the railing. I’d never seen Arshtag, usually so brawny and sturdy, look so weak and shaky.
“All right! I think it’s safe for everyone to head into the forest now!”
When I said that, the trainees turned towards me. Privately, I had my doubts about whether “everyone” actually included Arshtag…
“But maybe it would be better if we all took a break first…” Feeling bad for Arshtag, I added that, and he looked visibly relieved.
“…Good idea.” Beside me, Lord Viol muttered a spell, lifting both hands.
“Ah…”
Lord Viol’s special skill.
Using earth and fire magic, he conjured a large mug, then filled it with ice water using his water magic. Then, he smoothly offered it to Arshtag.
“Drink.”
“Th-Thanks…!” Arshtag looked incredibly grateful. Around him, the others muttered.
“That’s amazing.”
“So that’s what it means to be able to conjure all the elements.”
“Me too! I want a drink, too!”
“And me!”
“How nice! Looks so refreshing!”
The crowd was split between those longingly gazing as Arshtag chugged back the water and those gazing at Lord Viol with envy.
Eventually, everyone was looking at Lord Viol. Caving in to peer pressure, he ended up serving everyone mugs of ice-cold water. So kind, so like Lord Viol. This is just one of the many reasons why I love him.
Under the clear blue sky, our group thoroughly refreshed themselves with the delicious ice-cold water, and after that, they completed their hunting training in the forest without a single injury.