The helicopter kept climbing. Because it was spinning too fast, the dizzy Luo Wei didn't realize they'd already flown out of the academy and were getting farther away.
Hessel knew, but she didn't care. She'd planned to fly the helicopter out of the academy anyway to test how far it could go on a full tank.
Under the sunset, the spinning helicopter finally straightened out. It flew over the tall Hilian Mountains, heading east until it plunged into the dark night.
By the ti Luo Wei's dizziness eased and her mind cleared, they'd reached wild mountains over seventy kiloters from Siria.
"We're almost out of fuel," Hessel said, looking annoyed. "Didn't expect it to burn through so fast."
She could fly back and forth between Siria and the Magic Beast Mountains in one night. This flying device had been going for so long and only covered seventy kiloters—barely faster than a crawling turtle.
Luo Wei disagreed. "Senpai, this is your first helicopter and it flew this far—that's already amazing!"
Before takeoff, her only hope had been that it wouldn't explode. She'd had zero expectations about speed or altitude. Yet this helicopter had given her a huge surprise.
And in such a short ti—just over a month!
In one month, Hessel had figured out the helicopter all by herself. The first test flight went this smoothly. Sure, the cabin turbulence was a bit strong, the riding experience wasn't great, the wind was loud, and the floor got hot—but aside from that, its performance was excellent.
Luo Wei believed that given ti, Hessel could definitely build passenger aircraft that could fly thousands of miles and push this world's tech tree way higher!
If magic disappeared soday in the future, human productivity wouldn't have to stagnate.
When Chronicles of Galan launched, magic and gods had long since vanished. That day wasn't far off—only about ten years from now.
What would happen in the future to cause such drastic changes to the Star of Galan in just over ten years?
Luo Wei's mind wandered. If the gods disappeared, would she vanish too?
But it was too early to worry about that. By then, she'd have already returned to her own ti.
Snapping back to attention, Luo Wei said to Hessel, "Senpai, let's head back. Who knows how long we've been out."
Hessel answered while multitasking, "Not sure. We'll know when we get back. I checked the clock tower when I left—it was six o'clock."
"Six o'clock. It was getting dark. We've probably been out over an hour."
Right after Luo Wei spoke, her vision blurred. The fuselage suddenly tilted sixty degrees to the right, and her body slid down toward the lower right.
"Senpai!" she shouted, quickly gripping both armrests and bracing her feet against the cabin floor to keep from falling out.
Hessel's hands flew across the control panel adjusting buttons. The helicopter slowly righted itself.
Luo Wei breathed a sigh of relief. Before she could settle back in her seat, she heard Hessel ask, "Luo Wei, can you jump out?"
"What?" Luo Wei was stunned.
"The fuel tank's about to explode. We need to jump together." Hessel's face was serious.
Luo Wei stiffly turned her head. "I can jump, but how do we get back to the academy after?"
She'd lost a lot of blood these past few days. Her senses were a bit dull. Plus she'd drained her magic today—she probably couldn't fly very fast.
"I'll transform and carry you back," Hessel said.
Luo Wei took a deep breath. "Okay. When do we jump?"
"Now!" Hessel released the control stick and leaped out of the cabin.
Luo Wei: !!!
Weren't you supposed to count down first?!
The out-of-control helicopter headed straight for a cliff ahead. Luo Wei grabbed the seat back and stood up. Seeing the thousand-ter drop outside the cabin door, she closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and jumped.
"BOOM—"
Fire flashed. The helicopter exploded into pieces. Before it could hit the cliff, it disintegrated mid-air. The next instant, flaming debris fell toward the ground like teors.
Luo Wei flipped over during her rapid descent, facing the sky. Snow-white wings sprouted from her back, allowing her to right herself in the air.
"You okay?" Hessel flew over, flapping her black dragon wings.
"I'm fine." Luo Wei looked toward the western mountains. "Heading back?"
"Wait," Hessel said. "I need to find sowhere to take off my clothes first, or I won't have anything to wear back."
She couldn't return to the dorms naked. She didn't care, but those delicate noble ladies would start screaming again.
"Okay." Luo Wei looked around and pointed at a mountain peak below. "Let's go there."
Hessel nodded. They flew down together and landed on a grassy area at the summit.
Hessel retracted her wings and prepared to remove her clothes.
Luo Wei was a bit worried. What if soone recognized her flying back in black dragon form?
People feared dragons, especially the legendary Despair Black Dragon said to destroy the world. If soone saw her and reported it to the Church, they'd be in trouble.
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"Wait," she stopped Hessel. "Actually, you don't need to take off your clothes. We can just fly straight back to the academy."
Hessel looked down at her. "Can you fly? Didn't you get injured?"
Luo Wei was surprised. "How did you know I was injured?"
"I can sense it. I can feel your body is very weak," Hessel paused. "It's a talent of us black dragons—we can sense the aura of decay and death."
Luo Wei froze. "I have an aura of decay and death?"
"No," Hessel shook her head. "Your aura is strange. Like spring's new buds, but also like autumn's withered leaves."
Life force and death energy mixed together. Prosperity and decline coexisting.
Hessel usually only sensed vigorous life energy on babies and the withered decay energy on the elderly.
Luo Wei had both, and the two energies were perfectly balanced.
Though today her death energy was slightly stronger than her life force. Hessel guessed she must be injured.
Plus, she could sll a faint trace of blood on her.
Luo Wei cupped her chin, thinking. "Decay" and "death," "new life" and "withering"—could this be the aura of the withered Tree of Life that Haisya and the dark elf had ntioned?
Hessel took off her top and packed it in her leather bag. "My human form isn't convenient for carrying people—I might drop you. It's better if you ride on my back. My back is wide, you can lie—"
Before she finished, Luo Wei suddenly shushed her and whispered, "Listen. I think there's sothing moving down there."
She pointed at the forest below the slope.
Hessel frowned and walked to the edge of the slope to listen carefully. The sounds of dry leaves and branches breaking ca clearly to her ears.
A black dragon's hearing and sense of sll were as good as a werewolf's. She twitched her nose and caught a whiff of sheep.
"There are sheep down there," Hessel concluded.
"Sheep?" Luo Wei looked down the slope. The night was too dark to see clearly. "Wild mountain sheep?"
Hessel picked up a rock from the ground and tossed it down. "Let check."
"Baa Baa baa"
Startled sheep burst out of the bushes, bleating one after another.
"What a fat flock of sheep!" Hessel stared at the round, plump sheep on the slope, her eyes brightening.
"Why would there be sheep here?" Luo Wei grew suspicious. These sheep were fat and healthy—clearly dosticated livestock. How did they end up in these wild mountains?
Hessel said, "Maybe they escaped from nearby herders?"
"Herders' sheep ran this far?" Luo Wei pointed at the distant plains. "The nearest pasture is thirty kiloters away. And what herder would let such fat sheep into the forest? Aren't they afraid of wolves?"
"There are plenty of wolves in the forest. Plus sumr's coming—lots of snakes too."
Hearing this, Hessel hesitated. "Could soone have deliberately put them here?"
But why would anyone leave fat sheep here? To lure wolves?
The two exchanged glances, both realizing—there was a conspiracy here!
The sheep on the slope bleated as they ran toward the other side of the mountain. Just as Hessel was about to suggest following them, a black shadow passed overhead. Then she heard delicate bird calls.
"Chirp? Chirp chirp chirp?"
[Huh, why is Fragrant Master here?]
Hearing the familiar voice, Luo Wei looked up sharply and saw the Griffin landing with spread wings on the nearest large tree.
"CRACK—"
The sound of a breaking branch rang out. The Griffin, having misjudged its own weight, tumbled down from the tree.
"Screee—"
The startled Griffin let out a deep, resonant eagle cry, flapped its wings, and landed on the ground, shuffling sowhat awkwardly toward Luo Wei.
"Chirp chirp chirp..."
[Fragrant Master, that branch was a bit brittle...]
As the huge eagle-headed, lion-bodied beast approached, Hessel's black pupils imdiately narrowed into slits, shock appearing on her face. "A Griffin! This is a Griffin?"
"Chirp?"
[Who called ?]
The Griffin turned its head toward Hessel. After looking for a mont, its neck shrank back. "Chirp chirp chirp..."
[Black dragon sll, not nice...]
The Griffin could actually sll that Hessel was a black dragon. Luo Wei's eyes flickered. She stepped forward and reached out to pet the Griffin's lowered head.
"Careful!" Hessel grabbed Luo Wei's arm. "Griffins like to eat people."
The Griffin's bright yellow eyes imdiately widened. "Chirp! Chirp chirp chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp! Screee screee screee—"
[Nonsense! I love eating fat little sheep! People sll like pee! Black dragons like eating people—bad black dragon!]
"Senpai," Luo Wei patted Hessel's hand soothingly. "This is my Griffin Knight. It doesn't eat people. Don't worry."
"Griffin... Knight?" Hessel released her hand, looking dazed.
Luo Wei turned around and stroked the Griffin's sleek head. "Okay, okay. You don't eat people. You love fat little sheep. I know. You're the most elegant, most handso Griffin."
The Griffin rubbed its huge eagle head against her palm. "Chirp chirp chirp!"
[Fragrant Master is so nice!]
"But how did you know I was here? Did you see while out playing?" Luo Wei asked.
The Griffin looked confused. "Chirp, chirp chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp..."
[Huh? I don't know. I just ca to check if my sheep went back to their cave. It's dark—they should go in and sleep.]
Luo Wei: ...
Her voice drifted as she asked, "This mountain area... is the pasture you claid?"
The Griffin puffed out its chest and swept one wing outward proudly. "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp..."
[All these mountains are! I put thirty sheep in here. Big sheep had little sheep—now there are over seventy!]
Luo Wei: "...That's good. Very good."
She was silent for a mont, then said, "You're not afraid of wolves killing these sheep in the wild? Or bad people stealing them?"
Griffin: "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp chirp..."
[No way! I co check every few days. I chased away all the wild animals in the mountains—only fat little sheep here.]
[Bad people don't dare co either. At first so people snuck in to hunt. I scared them a few tis, and now they tell everyone there's a monster in the mountains. They're too scared!]
Luo Wei: Mixed feelings.
"Chirp chirp," the Griffin crouched down, its golden glowing eyes looking at her. "Chirp chirp chirp chirp?"
[Fragrant Master, what are you doing here?]
Luo Wei kept a straight face. "Ah, well, I ca out for a walk. I was just about to head back to the academy. Can you take us back?"
"Chirp chirp!" The Griffin happily agreed, lowering its wings to invite her onto its back.
"Thanks!" Luo Wei patted its neck, then turned to call Hessel. "Senpai, let's go. We'll ride the Griffin back."
Hessel walked over stiffly. "What were you two just talking about?"
"Nothing much," Luo Wei tried to sound casual. "Those sheep you saw—the Griffin put them here. These mountain peaks are its pasture. It's raising sheep here."
Hessel's mouth opened, too shocked to speak.
What?
Griffins raise sheep?
This news was even more horrifying than just learning that Griffins could serve as knights!
Even after sitting on the Griffin's back, Hessel still couldn't believe what she'd seen and heard.
Griffins could raise sheep. Griffins raised sheep. She couldn't even do that!
She was worse than a Griffin!
Under the night sky, the Griffin carried Luo Wei and the annoying black dragon toward Siria.
Seventy-plus kiloters was just two sneezes' worth of distance for the Griffin. A few wing flaps and they'd flown into the city.
Most commoners couldn't afford oil lamps. Once it got dark, they went to sleep. Now there were hardly any lit places left in the city.
The Griffin set them down near Academy Street, chirped a few tis to show its affection for Luo Wei, then flapped its wings and flew back outside the city.
It still had to supervise its fat little sheep going into their cave!
Luo Wei and Hessel walked toward the academy gates.
"DONG—"
The night bell suddenly rang. Luo Wei's whole body jolted. "Quick, quick! We need to run!"
They were still fifty ters from the academy gates. The heavy iron doors slowly closed before their eyes.
Luo Wei shot forward like an arrow, pulling Hessel as they charged ahead.
Their shoe soles nearly sparked from friction. They finally squeezed through the gap just before the gates closed.
"Whew," Luo Wei gasped. "Thank god. Made it back before the gates closed."
Hessel looked gloomy, staring at the chanical clock hands on the clock tower without speaking.
"What's wrong?" Luo Wei asked curiously.
Hessel said glumly, "Two hours. Seventy kiloters. The helicopter flew for two hours."
She'd thought it was only one hour. Turned out it was two hours. The helicopter's speed wasn't even as fast as a horse!
Luo Wei consoled her. "No experint succeeds on the first try. Flying this far is already great."
Would've been even better if it hadn't exploded, she thought to herself.
"Plus this helicopter's completion level exceeded my expectations. Not only does it have a fuel engine, but it also has fully functional controls. Sothing that would take others many years to make, you did in less than a month. Senpai, you should be proud of yourself."
Hessel let out a heavy sigh. "Luo Wei, actually those control devices weren't made by . Wordsworth made them."
"Wordsworth... the undead senior?" Luo Wei said in surprise.
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