Chapter 8 – Taking You for a Flight

On Siren Island, there were no seasonal changes. The only thing that varied was the surrounding sea. Four times a year, the sea would seem to surge with endless waves, followed by days of dark clouds and violent storms.

The islanders called it the “Seasonal Tide.” Every time the Seasonal Tide came, the two giant dragons that usually patrolled the skies would descend. Meanwhile, Ansel’s old friends—the top-tier magical beasts of the ocean—continued to swim leisurely around the island.

Aquatic magical beasts possessed extraordinary water affinity, and these top-tier beasts were no exception. With them by the island, even the fiercest waves wouldn’t harm the buildings or the precious magical plants. Moreover, their abilities improved as they controlled the waves.

It was said that over a hundred years ago, when Ansel first arrived at Siren Island, the then-headmaster of the Magic Academy was overjoyed.

—With a beast-tamer whose “friends” were scattered across the continent, the academy no longer needed to activate the magic array to protect itself during the Seasonal Tide, saving a significant amount of precious magic crystals.

This year’s fourth Seasonal Tide had lasted for over twenty days and was nearing its end. Lin Wei’s first year at the Magic Academy was also coming to a close.

“The Floating Sky Capital consists of one main floating island and two large floating sub-islands. The main body of the floating islands is entirely made of Five-Colored Sunstones, making them incredibly sturdy. Inside the Sunstones are numerous giant magic arrays…”

Lin Wei closed the book The Floating Sky Capital and grumbled, “I’m tired of reading!”

Haitie and Duan Yu had finally gained the approval of their teacher, Althos, after the last Seasonal Tide and had begun formally studying magic.

Once these two started learning, sparring became a regular occurrence.

And Lin Wei inevitably became the victim.

Being used as a practice target was one thing, but today, due to the wide range of one of Duan Yu’s spells, Lin Wei, who was standing at the edge of the floating island, was pushed off by the elemental fluctuations.

The floating island had no protective barriers because, in general, mages could fly.

However, for some reason, Adele had never taught Lin Wei how to fly.

Thinking he was out of the spell’s range, Lin Wei was caught off guard and plummeted.

Fortunately, he wasn’t so panicked that he let himself fall. He quickly summoned the Abel Vine that Adele had given him.

The vine anchored itself to the edge of the floating island, its tendrils rapidly extending downward to wrap around Lin Wei’s waist and pull him back.

The eldest son of a Duke, knocked off a floating island and dragged back unceremoniously by a vine like a corpse, only to be mercilessly mocked by Old Anuo!

Although it turned out fine, Lin Wei was extremely displeased. So much so that when he was reading to this annoying guy, his attitude was quite negative.

Duan Yu, rarely encountering a situation he didn’t know how to handle, could only apologize to the young master who was in a bad mood: “It’s my fault.”

His eyes were closed at that moment, and paired with his expressionless, finely featured face, he looked utterly innocent, which only made Lin Wei angrier.

“Open your eyes,” Lin Wei barked.

Duan Yu opened his eyes, but they were unfocused.

—It didn’t seem to make much difference.

Knowing that in Duan Yu’s eyes, he was just a blob of magic elements, Lin Wei stared at him shamelessly, feeling like one of those idle noble youths in the Imperial Capital who spent their days bullying others.

This realization was quite novel for Lin Wei, who hadn’t had the chance to live the life of a spoiled noble in either of his lifetimes. If it weren’t for the lingering annoyance, he might have even tried to tease Duan Yu.

In his past life, he couldn’t beat Duan Yu, and it didn’t seem like he could in this life either. Might as well take advantage of the fact that Duan Yu couldn’t see and get his fill of staring.

So he continued in a gruff voice, “You almost scared me to death today!”

Duan Yu had no idea that Lin Wei had fallen into this strange state of mind.

“Sorry,” he said softly, “I was scared too at the time.”

His softened, already pleasant voice carried an inexplicable tone of gentle concern, sending a tingling sensation straight into Lin Wei’s ears.

What did he say?

He was scared too?

Lin Wei suppressed the urge to smile: “Scared of what?”

“Scared you’d really fall.”

Knowing that Lin Wei couldn’t fly, and that due to the Seasonal Tide, neither the dragons nor Ansel were in the sky, the moment Duan Yu sensed the light blob representing Lin Wei plummeting in his mental perception, the feeling of his heart being clenched was all too real.

“Right,” Lin Wei said nonchalantly, “If I died, there’d be no one to read to you willingly.”

“That’s not it.”

“Huh?” Lin Wei stared at Duan Yu’s eyes.

Though he wouldn’t get a response from this gaze, it made him feel like the answer he received was especially sincere.

“Because you’re a good friend of mine, not because you read to me.”

Lin Wei’s feelings at that moment were hard to describe.

If someone had told him a year ago that this would happen—

—he wouldn’t have believed it, and might have even killed the person.

An innocent, harmless Duan Yu, sitting shoulder to shoulder with him under the same bookshelf, earnestly telling him, “You’re a good friend of mine.”

Unthinkable, right?

But after a year of living together—spending mornings with their respective teachers, reading together, returning to their rooms together—anyone without deep-seated hatred would naturally grow closer.

As for the mess from his past life, once he gradually overcame the occasional fear and awkwardness, he found that getting along with Duan Yu like this was actually quite novel and interesting.

But he had to admit, those words made the last bit of his annoyance dissipate.

He patted Duan Yu’s shoulder: “Alright, big brother forgives you.”

If Duan Yu considered him a good friend, then clinging to past grievances was pointless.

Lin Wei sighed, wrapping his arms around his knees and resting his head on them, muttering:

“I didn’t have many friends at home either.”

His suddenly subdued tone and the content of his words made Duan Yu pause.

Lin Wei continued, “The people my age were all boring. My family is very influential in the Imperial Capital, so I didn’t need to seek them out, and I didn’t want to hang out with them either.”

“Later, my mother gave birth to a younger brother, but he was born too late. When I left home, he couldn’t even speak properly.”

“After that, I left…”

Cloaked in black, as if wrapped in the night.

It seemed that whether amidst the hustle and bustle of the Imperial Capital or the chaos of the battlefield, he had never had someone to talk to from time to time.

Duan Yu listened quietly, not saying a word.

Then Lin Wei’s voice came again.

“I want to be good friends with you too…”

There was a note of uncertainty in his words.

Duan Yu frowned slightly: “Can’t we?”

Lin Wei buried his face in his knees: “You don’t understand…”

Lin Wei’s mind was a jumble of thoughts, but when he felt Duan Yu lean closer, they miraculously dissipated.

This is actually pretty good, he silently told himself.

So, just as Duan Yu’s heart grew heavy from Lin Wei’s words, Lin Wei let go of his knees and leaned over, wrapping an arm around Duan Yu’s shoulder with a grin.

“I was just teasing you,” he said, sounding a bit complaining. “You’re always so cold, who knew you actually considered me a good friend?”

Duan Yu stiffened for a moment but quickly relaxed, apologetic. “I’m not good with words.”

“I know,” Lin Wei’s smile widened. “It’d be weird if you were.”

A Duan Yu who was cold and taciturn in daily life fit the image of the god of slaughter from his past life.

“Why?”

“I’m not telling you,” Lin Wei stood up. “Anyway, the book’s almost done. I’m going out for a walk.”

It seemed like he had finally crossed the biggest mental hurdle since meeting Duan Yu in this life. Lin Wei felt his steps were much lighter.

Stepping out of the library, the low, vast sky was a deep gray, occasionally lit by lightning tearing through the clouds and the rumble of thunder.

Footsteps followed him—Duan Yu had come too.

“Duan Yu, teach me how to fly,” Lin Wei said. “Teacher Adele never taught me.”

Duan Yu’s reply was certain and straightforward: “You can’t fly.”

Lin Wei: “?!”

In his past life, whenever he needed to fly, he’d just summon a flying creature—it was efficient and stylish.

But now, summoning a high-tier magical beast capable of sustained flight was too taxing on his mental energy. Lin Wei felt he needed to learn the common mage method of flying.

And now Duan Yu was telling him he couldn’t fly?

“Flying involves assimilating yourself with the surrounding magic elements, but you don’t have the sensitivity.”

Lin Wei: “…Alright.”

“If you want to fly…”

As he spoke, Lin Wei felt a strong arm wrap around his waist, and suddenly, his body became light. Duan Yu lifted him into the air, and they swiftly ascended.

Lin Wei looked down at Siren Island. The massive shadows of the underwater creatures were clearly visible, while the sea beyond the island churned violently. The endless roar of the waves and the thunder filled the sky and earth. On this ancient, isolated island, it was easy to forget the world outside.

Even after living here for a year, the desolate scenery before him and Duan Yu by his side still made Lin Wei feel like he was dreaming.

“When my mental energy is strong enough, I’ll summon a dragon to take you flying,” he glanced at Duan Yu. “One bigger than Old Ansel’s.”

Lin Wei wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he thought Duan Yu might have smiled at that.

In the sky, a bolt of lightning stretched across half the horizon, splitting the dark clouds, followed by a thunderclap that shook the heavens.

“Speaking of which, it’s been over twenty days. Why hasn’t the Seasonal Tide shown any signs of ending…”