Chapter 132: Across the Frozen Sea

After boarding the airship, the sun rose and set countless times. Staring blankly at the vast sky was only fascinating for the first few hours of the first day.

The winter whale, which had appeared not long after the voyage began, had long since been forgotten.

Some of the mages argued that the airship should change course to follow the massive whale, but the idea was rejected due to the dangers involved.

Humans fear the unknown. That’s why they try to uncover and clarify things they don’t understand.

The mages who wanted to chase after the whale that vanished between the clouds were simply following that instinct.

“Still whale watching today?”

“Oh, Sena.”

I turned toward the voice beside me. There stood a woman mage with a tired expression, holding a thick book in her arms as she looked at me.

Sena—the first person who spoke to me on this airship. She was knowledgeable and kind, and we had grown fairly close during the voyage.

“No, I’m not really looking for the whale…”

Trailing off, I turned my gaze toward the endless blue sky. The white clouds scattered like waves beneath the airship. I furrowed my brow and continued.

“I just felt restless.”

“Sounds like you’re getting bored with the voyage. But we should be arriving soon.”

“Already?”

“Yep. Airships are incredibly fast. Since they keep moving even while we sleep, we’ll be seeing the Tower’s dock shortly.”

Sena was right. About an hour later, a huge dock began to appear faintly in the distance.

Several smaller airships were moored at the dock, shrouded in white clouds. As I stared blankly at the scene, Sena offered an explanation.

“Looks like the exploration ships have returned.”

“Exploration ships?”

“Ships that venture into the vast skies. The land of the beastkin—Janghon—was discovered by one of them.”

“Oh…”

“Maybe they’ve discovered a new land again.”

Our airship finally docked at the massive platform. Dozens of mages began disembarking, carrying all the items they had gathered in Janghon.

Sena and I followed behind them on Nightmare.

After disembarking, Sena and I headed straight to the dock’s administration center. We wanted to hear what the returning exploration ships had found.

Unfortunately, they had brought back nothing of interest. They had simply wandered through empty blue skies for several days before returning.

After taking a warp gate down from the dock, Sena and I said our goodbyes.

“Looks like we’re parting ways here.”

“You’re not returning to the Tower, Seris?”

“I still have time left on my assignment.”

Sena widened her eyes and nodded at my reply. With her round face and now-wide eyes, she looked surprisingly cute.

It was a refreshing change from her usual half-lidded, exhausted expression.

After parting with Sena, I rode Nightmare and wandered aimlessly.

Though I was once again traveling alone, I didn’t feel lonely.

Because I still had one of the peaches the golden monkey had given me. Sharing the peach with Nightmare, we set off toward Hafen, the largest port city in the Abel Kingdom.

The Magic Tower and Hafen were close. Even walking slowly, it would take only about two days, so when Nightmare started galloping in earnest, we arrived before sunset.

At this pace, I’d definitely be able to find a ship bound for the Karma Empire.

As I headed for the port, I recalled memories of that land. The Karma Empire, as I remembered, was a frigid country where cold winds always howled.

But it would be different now. The mana of Kashpa, which had blanketed the entire empire, was gone. Surely spring had come at last.

While immersed in those memories and wandering in search of a vessel, my eyes fell on the Ice Dragon Sword hanging at my waist.

Why was I even looking for a ship?

After all, I had another way to cross the sea.

“Nightmare.”

Snort—

He perked up his head at my call. Judging by the drool dripping from his mouth, he was craving another peach.

I took out the last piece and popped it into his mouth as I spoke.

“Want to run across the ocean?”

Whinny—

Running across the frozen sea—it wasn’t a new experience.

I’d already done it while fighting the Sea God. It wasn’t hard, and I wasn’t worried about running out of mana either.

Even during that battle, I never once feared I’d exhaust my magic.

I drew the Ice Dragon Sword and swung it toward the ocean.

Swoooosh—

The blade unleashed a wave of frost, freezing the blue sea ahead. Nightmare charged forward, hooves pounding the forming ice path without hesitation.

Clack—

Whinny—!

If there’s no path, I’ll make one. I had the power to do that now.

–Th-The sea froze!

–A mage…? Is that a mage?

As I pulled the reins, Nightmare’s full-speed dash began.

The murmurs of astonished bystanders quickly faded behind me, the world stretching around us in streaks of motion.

Nightmare ran at top speed. The Ice Dragon Sword created an ice path just barely fast enough to keep up.

Each time Nightmare’s hooves were about to touch the ocean, ice formed beneath them.

Crack—!

His speed far outmatched any normal ship.

A journey that would’ve taken days was completed in the blink of an eye. At this rate, we would reach the Karma Empire by morning.

And then, a strange feeling came over me. As I watched the ice form beneath us, I felt… like I was wasting energy.

Humans often instinctively sense the limits of what they can and cannot do. And at that moment, I felt—no, knew—that I could run across the sea without freezing it.

That confidence quickly became conviction. I cut off the mana flowing into the Ice Dragon Sword.

The cold disappeared, and so did the ice path. And then, Nightmare’s hoof struck the ocean.

Splash—!

What happened next was unbelievable—yet it felt perfectly natural to me.

Nightmare didn’t sink. His hooves firmly pressed against the blue waves, galloping forward as if it were solid ground.

And I understood why.

It was the twisted divinity of the creature once called the Sea God. The moment that power had fused with the two swords, this had become possible.

And so, Nightmare charged ahead over the blue sea without pause.

The sun that had hung at its zenith set, and the moon rose in its place. A pale, glowing moon appeared over the sea—but still, Nightmare didn’t stop.

He chased the guiding star shining ahead without slowing.

Nightmare had always possessed tremendous stamina. And after consuming the crystal dragon heart, fully transforming into a monster, he no longer knew fatigue.

As the moon in the sky began to blur, the port of the Karma Empire appeared on the horizon. Even after hours of non-stop running, Nightmare’s breathing remained calm.

When we reached the docks filled with massive ships, Nightmare burst from the sea and soared.

Clack—!

For such a huge creature, he landed with astonishing lightness. He set down quietly on the dock.

“What… What the—did that horse just leap out of the sea?”

“Whoa, watch it! If that big horse had crashed into someone, they’d be dead!”

Despite the early hour, the dock was bustling with people. Judging by their reactions, none of them had seen Nightmare and me cross the ocean.

I apologized to those who had fallen over in shock and headed into the silent dawn streets.

The Karma Empire’s early morning streets were wrapped in deep stillness.

Even the adventurers had yet to rise. As I wandered in search of a decent inn—

“You’re really going to accept it? A ruin under the sea? That’s just ridiculous…”

“Shu. Keep your voice down.”

A completely unexpected reunion found me.

I blinked blankly as two children emerged from an alleyway.

They were tall now—but I remembered those faces. The twins with water-colored hair. Shu and Su.

“Uh…”

“Oh…”

Just as I froze upon seeing them, the two also stopped in their tracks when they saw me.

I frowned slightly. When I left home, we were about the same height. How had they grown this much?

Even just eyeballing it, they looked at least 20 centimeters taller.

If I got off Nightmare, the height difference would be even more noticeable.

I gripped the reins tightly and waved with my free hand.

“Long time no see.”

“Emily!”

Shu, the boy of the twin pair, broke into a bright smile and ran toward me.

But Nightmare’s stomp quickly brought him to a halt.

Thud—!

A shard of crystal rose from the ground with a powerful thrum, its sharp edge pointed at Shu.

“Ugh…”

Shu retreated awkwardly and gave a sheepish smile.

“S-So that’s Nightmare, huh? What an incredible horse…”

“You know about Nightmare?”

“Selion told us about him.”

“Selion…? She knows too…?”

Then Su, who had been silent until now, slowly approached. Always the quieter of the two, Su had grown into a cold-featured young woman with water-colored hair that suited her well.

“Hey, it’s dangerous…!”

But unlike with Shu, Nightmare didn’t reject Su’s approach. She reached out gently, stroking his face as she spoke to me.

“Emily.”

“Yeah.”

It had been a long time since someone called me that. I never expected to run into these two here. I smiled softly as I looked down at Su.

“You’re still small.”

Her eyes briefly scanned my body. I frowned slightly. She stepped back from Nightmare’s head and added,

“Are you eating properly?”

“I’m eating fine.”

“Hmm…”

She frowned slightly at my reply, then glanced at my waist before proudly puffing out her chest.

“I’ll buy you a meal.”

Shu and Su hadn’t changed at all—despite how different they looked now. I couldn’t help but smile down at them.