Atlas decided that we would be heading to Synacri, the Dwarven continent. He also said it would be good to regear since it was the closest continent to us. I asked him about the Dragon continent, Omnilev, but he said no almost immediately.

Apparently they have some weird passport law or battle ritual… or something? I don’t know, I wasn’t paying too much attention after he said we weren’t heading there.

I guess I get to see how different dwarves are in this world compared to my imagined version of them. If they are similar then they’ll drink beer, make armor and tools, be short, probably bitter or something. What else is a good description for a dwarf?

Grumpy? Maybe… whatever, I’ll just find out when I get there.

Oh- and throughout the entire time Atlas was talking—since he had to make some adjustments to our course since we were south of Synacri—I made sure we stayed locked up in the bridge, which was around an hour or so. The main reason I did this was because Esther was still crazy with hunger… and I didn’t really want her eating a piece of me…

“How’s it going, Atlas?”

“Just finished up, could ya call Levin in for me to collect Four?”

“Doesn’t that mean I have to-”

“Go outside? Yes. Now hurry up.”

“But-”

“No buts.”

I made a face that was similar to a pout while walking toward the door. I opened it cautiously and peeked my head out. I looked left and right, checking to see if Esther was anywhere nearby.

I didn’t see her so I stepped out and quickly made my way to the bulkhead on the back of the ship. I slipped inside and crept around the halls cautiously, searching each room slowly to find Levin.

“Wait-... Ode, didn’t you say you’d talk to him though?”

<Oh… my bad. I forgot.>

“You bi—”

“Gotcha~!”

Esther rammed into my back making me lose my balance and fall onto the ground. She jumped onto me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck and her legs around my waist. I turned to my right and saw her smiling toward me from over my shoulder. I then paused, looking through the door to see Levin and Laviel sitting together. Levin almost looked like he had fainted and was slouched over back on his seat, while Laviel sat happily with her hand in his. Their fingers were intertwined, she noticed me and tilted her head slightly with a smile.

“Cyn, I’m restraining myself quite a bit right now~”

“Y-y-you’re restraining yourself?!”

Levin almost jumped awake before collapsing again.

“Levin, you gotta go pick up Four-”

Before I could even finish my sentence he disappeared. Slight sparks in the air followed soon after. Laviel looked around the room quickly before looking out of the porthole to see the water kicking up from Levin bolting toward the beastmen continent.

“Cyn…”

“Heh-?”

“You just ruined some of my quality time with Levin…”

Esther abruptly reached forward and pressed her middle finger firmly against my left eye. My body erupted into shock and became paralyzed before it completely crumbled to the ground.

“I learned that from mom– I mean Lydia~”

Why… can’t I move my body?

What the fuck happened?

I looked up toward Esther, but I noticed something strange. Two light-blue spots around the same size as eyes were sitting on the roof looking down toward us. 

That bastard-

He’s bending the air perfectly around his body to refract light and make himself invisible. So that means they were trying to hunt him down as well? Can’t you help me out too, Risible?!

Before I knew it Esther and Laviel had dragged my body to the ship's deck, they hung me up on the side of the wall. My body was still paralyzed and I had no idea how long it was going to last for.

“What should we do with him now?”

“Use him as a dart board.” Esther said bluntly.

So cold-

“Where do we get darts from though…”

“Risible! Get your ass out here or I’ll do the same thing to you!”

There was silence.

“I know you’re invisible.”

I saw the two light-blue eyes moving behind Esther, the mirage around him dispersed. Esther turned around and looked him in the eyes.

“Make us some darts.”

⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱

Out in the middle of nowhere…

⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱

I’m free!

I can finally have some personal space. Thank you Cyn!

Ahhh… the wind feels so great against my skin~

I want to take my time, but I need to go and get Four. Maybe I can just hang out on the beastmen continent with him for a bit~

The bolting blur of white and light-blue electricity zipped across the top of the ocean. The water splitting as Levin’s feet rapidly collided with the surface. Sonic booms ruptured behind him, after reaching what was roughly Mach 20 his leg work changed into long strides as opposed to the small quick steps like he did on Chroterr. He was moving multiple miles per stride, the lightning under him pulling him forward.

The lightning surrounding Levin when he runs acts like a form of protective barrier. Even though he can’t die from going high speeds, his body can still get affected in certain ways. For example, catching on fire. When entering the atmosphere an object catches on fire from the atmospheric drag, more specifically the air pressure. The same effect is mimicked when Levin increases beyond a certain speed level, to avoid this he wraps his body in small electrical currents to form an armor-like protection… it serves no physical purpose so if someone were to attempt stabbing him it would still work.

“Ahh~ I love run-”

“Khaa- ke- Gke-”

Levin closed his eyes… a bug flew into his throat.

His foot caught slightly under the water and he went tumbling forward. His head slammed into the ocean and he wiped out across a few miles, skipping like a stone over water.

Gurgle

Glug

Levin’s foot slid against the water’s surface, he was trying to rebalance himself. His electrical currents warped out across his body again, his other foot slammed down heavily causing him to rocket forward.

Instantly accelerating him to Mach 15.

“Haaa… that was close…”

<Levin, you’re barreling toward a large target in front of you.>

“H-huh?! O-Ode? What large-”

Levin boosted straight into the side of a military cruiser. He was approximately a hundred feet out from the ship’s hull. Levin’s foot heavily pressed against the water within a split second, instantly causing the ocean to shoot up from the pressure of his step. He slid diagonally to the right, just out of the way of the ship before making the same movement again with his opposite foot and returning to his course.

⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱

“Captain, we have something coming toward us at a ridiculous speed.”

“What in the… it’s going to hit us- prepare for interception!”

The radar pinged faster and faster, detecting the object getting imminently closer.

“Hm? Captain, what's the fuss about?”

“Oh- Guild Master Silas! Something is approaching from the starboard side.”

Silas went out onto the deck to see a light-blue and white beam of light shooting across the ocean toward them. 

“Holy-”

Within a mere second the bolt instantly swapped onto the port side and kept racing onward. The ocean exploded upward, spraying water across the ship.

“Shit…”

Silas blinked a few times, the crew tried to recover from the shock of ocean water raining onto them. Their ears ringing slightly from a sonic boom that occurred after the light entered the port side.

⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱

“Why am I having so many close calls today?”

<Dunno, but you’re about to miss the continent, it’s way to your right.>

“H-huh?!”

Levin jumped up slightly, his legs lifting off of the ocean’s surface. He formed curved slime blades on his feet before they retouched the ocean. His body swerved in the shape of a crescent moon, his footwork ripping up the ocean as he bolted forward again. The ocean got caught by the wind pressure and started swirling up in a rapid chase after him. Essentially… the ocean was being dragged by the intense slip stream from him running.

So Levin… accidentally created an artificial tsunami.

Within a minute or so Levin reached a point where he could see the beastmen continent, Viantis. He lowered his speed level down by over a dozen, he leapt the gap between the ocean and the continent’s sandy beach. His foot pressed down hard as he did so. And right in sync with his foot, the ocean shot outward leaving the beach stretching below sea level. Levin raced along the dirt roads, the ground being torn up slightly.

He spotted a town and began to slide, his foot pushing down hard like a car brake, his body sliding straight through the town’s arched gate. He canceled his electrical currents, his body instantly igniting in a wide spread flame. He slid back until this alleyway was at his side, his body was steaming. Levin patted out a few small flames attached to him before walking into the alleyway. Smoke was rising up from the buildings behind him, fire brushing through the easily ignitable walls.

“H-hey! Four! Where are you?!”

<He should be behind a stack of boxes off to your left.>

Levin walked forward before peeking behind these wooden crates. Four’s head was leaning against them, his body curled into a ball. He was staring off into space blankly, his mouth slightly hung open. His eyes received and held nothing, they were devoid of life.

“F-Four…?”

<Four! Buddy, wake up!>

“Ah… why… she…”

“Wh-what happened to him?”

<Don’t worry about it, just grab him and go.>

“Okay…”

Levin helped Four up slowly. His shoulders were limply hung down, he gazed up toward the blue sky. Small bits of smoke flowing over the buildings above.

Levin then hoisted Four over his shoulder before getting ready to run again.

“I h-haven’t carried anyone in a while… so it might be a bit bumpy…”

The lightning coated both of them. As Levin took a step forward sparks erupted and a soft boom went off as they disappeared, Levin bolted through the town.

“It looks a little brighter now… good for them~” Levin said with a smile.

Fire was raging across the town as Levin zipped out of the front arch. Black smoke filled the sky, the buildings were swarmed by an unstoppable flame. Screams echoed out of the town, light-blue and white electricity zigzagged back to the shoreline. The water was fully pulled back, a massive wave had accumulated. Beastmen of all types stood on the shore and in their farming fields as the impending doom of oceanic prowess prepared to wipe them all out, a gigantic hundred foot wave of pure heavy water.

Levin accelerated along the wet sand down to the sea floor. He started trailing up the slight watery incline before instantly boosting to Mach 20, he smashed straight through the center of the rising ocean. He landed on the ocean’s surface and bolted out to sea again. Lightning traveled through the wave, a sonic boom colliding with the water. The wave imploded, sparkles of light-blue and white fell from the sky with small rain drops from the shattered wave. The water slowly started sloshing back to normal as the beam of pure light shot across the sea.

“What was that…”

“The ocean just-”

“A beam of light… it’s sparkling…”

“Hero… that blue light’s our hero!”

“The hero!”

Little did Levin know… he caused the beastmen to start searching for a hero of light that day, and little did those same beastmen know… their hero was the same one who also nearly wiped them out.

⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱

“Ode… am I going the right way…?”

<Yeah, mostly. Maybe a little more left…>

Levin ripped across the sea, Four was still dazed over his shoulder as he ran. Levin slammed his foot against the sea, he pushed his foot down and leapt up. He flew in the air for a couple hundred feet before he went over the ship’s railing. He quickly canceled his lightning, they slammed into the floor and rolled before slamming into the other railing. Levin stood back up and shook his head. He lifted Four onto his shoulder again and looked toward Risible.

“H-Hey I’m back–... heh?”

“Oh… uh, Levin-” Risible went to say.

“Risible. Another dart.”

“Y-yes, ma’am!”

Risible formed another light-blue dart in his hand and passed it off to Esther. She lined herself up and whipped it toward the ship’s wall. It slammed directly next to my head.

Levin’s eyes blanked out as he saw me being used as a dart board against the ship’s wall. I was being hung there, ropes around my arms and legs.

Laviel turned around and saw Levin.

“Levin~!”

She ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his back, her head resting against his chest.

“Cyn took you away from me… you aren’t going to leave again… right~?”

She had this sort of smile on her face that horrified Levin, making him pass out on the spot and drop Four’s body.