Chapter 140: Flying Island

What, exactly, does a fantasy world look like in the mind of a small child?

Is it limited to swords and magic, heroes and demon kings, humans and all sorts of races, kingdoms and countryside? Is it only that much?

If that question were put to Julian, he would probably say no. Because deep inside Julian’s mind, when he thought about how he had pictured a fantasy world as a child, it would look like this.

Countless islands, some large and some small, each not sitting below but floating in the sky, quite close to the clouds.

Some islands showed rivers flowing, then reaching the edge of the island and creating gently pouring waterfalls, forming new river paths for the islands below them.

In the sky, there were so many kinds of flying creatures drifting about. Each one was enormous, with such unique shapes that they sparked anyone’s curiosity.

The quality of the air in this place was the best.

Julian let out a slow breath.

He didn’t know how far he had gone, but it must have been very far, considering that last time, he had apparently been running between islands filled with magma and things that were scorching hot and melting.

After moving by Flash Step for several hours, Julian had left that place and arrived at lush, leafy islands.

The sound of waterfalls pouring and splashing rang out. A strong yet gentle wind kept blowing without pause, giving a deeply refreshing sensation.

A chicken walked by, but it was not an ordinary chicken like the ones Julian knew. How could a chicken possibly have four eyes and huge wings, and be quite large too?

So, after a few moments of thought, watching the chicken, Julian glanced toward Monk for a moment.

"Euhm..."

The rabbit girl made a dizzy little sound, lifting her head weakly.

"...Euh... Good morning..."

"..."

With her eyes open, Monk yawned for a moment, stretching her body on Julian’s shoulder. Then, after a few moments, her breath caught as she seemed to realize and remember what had just happened.

Flick—!

Her body blurred, and in an instant, Julian lost the weight on his shoulder as Monk blinked away so fast and appeared not far from Julian’s position.

"W-we have to run! Wasn’t there a Dragon just now!? We have to get away from that arrogant Race if we don’t want to be eaten!!!"

She looked at Julian with eyes full of fear, shouting about this and that. Monk walked to the right, then to the left.

"We’re dead, we’re definitely going to die! We met a dragon, so we’re definitely going to die! We’ll be roasted, turned into roast rabbit and devoured so greedily. Ugh...! DAAAD MOOOM please forgive Monk for being so naughty, Huwaaa!!!!!"

Her mouth opened wide to cry, but once again she seemed as if she had choked. Her mouth shut tight, she looked at Julian, then at herself, puzzled.

"...Wait, if we met a Dragon, why are we still alive? Where did the Dragon go?"

Somewhat amused by that behavior, Julian smiled slightly with a small sigh.

"We got away."

"R-really!? How ca—wait...! Weren’t you Rank-D before? Eh, or was it Rank-E? I forgot! But I remember you weren’t Rank-B, right!?"

Then, her gaze shifted to Felicya. "EEEK—! What happened to her!? Wasn’t she Rank-B before? Why is she Rank-F now!? Did you two do something I don’t know about?!"

After that, Monk sank into her own thoughts, looking at Julian with horror and fear as she muttered something about someone who might be able to drain other people’s power, and that it had happened while she hadn’t woken up after being trapped in the void.

She muttered about it for some time. Since it seemed complicated, Julian decided to leave her be. Perhaps, just like Julian, Monk was bound to be a little confused after sleeping for such a long time.

Julian also guessed that their earlier conditions had probably been fairly similar.

If there was one thing that made him curious, it was what Monk had said, about him being at Rank-B.

’...Indeed, it feels like I have far too much Mana. My vitality and physique feel much better than before, too. But how?’

The only thing that made sense was that this had to be connected to Julian’s Authority. But for that to happen, didn’t it mean something had happened to his disciples?

What could have happened for them to do all this in a short time, giving Julian so many skills and so much Rank Progress?

Julian pondered for a moment, then found something uncertain.

’Short? I suppose... this isn’t short.’

Julian suddenly felt a chill.

’How long was I trapped in that sleeping state?’

His heart thudded a little, but strangely he was able to calm himself very quickly.

His gaze shifted slightly toward Felicya, who was asleep with her baby-soft cheek resting on Julian’s shoulder.

"Felicya?"

For a moment there was no response, only soft, steady breathing that occasionally tickled Julian’s neck.

And a few seconds later, one of her eyes opened lazily.

"...Did we land in the Dragon world you meant?"

"...Yeah."

Julian already knew, but he only meant to confirm it. It showed clearly just how unlucky he was in this regard.

Faced with three worlds to choose from, somehow Julian had ended up in the one Felicya considered a big problem.

As if understanding what Julian was thinking, Felicya looked at him with a slight intensity, and no one knew what was in her mind.

But after that, Julian heard Felicya’s whisper as she was about to drift off to sleep.

"...It’s fine. Because... maybe, it’s you... so... there’s... nothing... to worry... about..."

After that long, weak, sleepy sentence, Felicya fell asleep again.

’What on earth does she mean?’

Julian felt a little puzzled, but he didn’t react much. After all, this wasn’t the first time Julian had received something like this, sentences that always came vaguely and very strangely.

Anyway, Julian needed to check what he needed to check right now. Something that made him very curious, namely his own condition, the development that had suddenly appeared, and what exactly he had received after sleeping for such a long time.

In front of Julian, a transparent blue screen appeared immediately.