Chapter Fifty: Victorious

I expected another freezer to show up in the meantime but none showed up. 2 hours later, Duddul woke up. He was back to normal this time around.
“Rnn!!” he hugged me with his neck when he saw me next to him. It felt as though he was apologizing for hurting me.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine……… now let’s fly back.” his wings were still spread so I naturally assumed he could still fly.
And I assumed right. He flew like a bolt the minute I got on him. Hundred meters in the sky, we entered the barrier at full speed.
Hmm…..?
People are very small creatures indeed. Some distance away from the barrier stood a couple of people with their heads looking up at the sky.Of course they didn’t wave at me. It wouldn’t cross their minds that I’d be able to fly.
I changed my direction towards them and lowered down to the ground. Their expressions changed seeing me and their mouths remained wide opened from surprise. They were so shocked not a word escaped their mouths.
“FLAP FLAP.” Duddul touched down.
I put on a superior smile and glanced through them.
“What do you think of my new ride?”
“.……………………….???” dumbfounded, they all froze.
“H….. How did you……….?” Taht was the first to ask.
“What do you mean? We are in a fantasy world right? Of course I’d fly.” I acted like I expected all this to happen.
It is true that I thought of flying sooner than this. I assumed that I would be able to fly after absorbing the wings of a monster that can fly. But I was wrong. I wasn’t able to fly even after I absorbed the eagles wings. But now that I’ve absorbed another type of wings…………….
Wait, I didn’t try it out yet right? What if I can fly now that I’ve absorbed two different wings? That way I don’t have to ride on Duddul all the time.
With that thought in mind, I threw cautious to the wind and made Duddul fly up into the clouds.
The girls told me to hold on but I didn’t listen to what they said. If I can fly then I better test it out real quick.
“Duddul………. I leave everything to you.”
Up in the clouds, Duddul flew vertically and I let go of my hold on him.
I wont lie, it’s terrifying to fall at this distance considering all that I’ve been through until now, but this is something I have to do.
If it turns out that I cant fly, then Duddul will catch me before I fall.
Bad-ump! Bad-ump!
Piercing though the wind, I couldn’t help but feel scared.
The ground seemed so distance. I spread my arms wide when I realized something. ‘I don’t have wings.’ how am I supposed to fly without wings? That’s when I began to hesitate. But I still fell nevertheless.
Duddul followed me down shoulder to shoulder. He is almost too good at flying for someone who just got that ability hours ago. Did my blood stimulate his flying origin? That’s not what’s important right now.
Getting closer to the ground, the speed at which I was falling increased. The wind was not as strong as it was at the higher levels.
“Gulp!”
With just two hundred meters to the ground, I gulped. I could see my friends on the ground. They had their hands on their heads with a terrifying expression.
I shouldn’t worry them like this. I should have practiced my flight in the forest.
One hundred meters to go. It felt like I would hit the ground any second.
If I were to fly then now is a good time as any don’t you think?
“Fly! Fly!” I got desperate. I closed my eyes and yelled.
I know how things like this work. You have to use your imagination in order to succeed. I have to imagine myself flying with long beautiful white wings on my back.
“Huh!? why are they black!?”
The wings I envisioned were pure black just like a demon’s.
I should have hit the ground by now. Has Duddul caught me yet? It doesn’t feel like I’m falling and at the same time doesn’t feel like I’m in the ground. This feeling of stillness, what could it be?
“Hey, you did it!” one of the girls shouted excitedly.
I kept my eyes shut when I responded to that “I did it? What did I do?”
“You are flying dummy!”
“I’m…….. flying………..?” I opened my eyes. What welcomed me was the ground just 2 meters below me.
“What!?” I got scared. I wasn’t flying to be more precise. I was only floating.
Seeing the ground so close to me; I freaked out and lost my concentration.
“GAAM” I fell down on my right side.
It didn’t hurt at all. Not compared to the times I crashed from hundreds of meters anyway.
“You did it! You did it!” they rushed towards me full of excitement.
“I’ve never seen anyone fly before!” “Me neither!” “M-me too.”
“Uh….. Hahaha……” I could only laugh a little at their comments.
If they’ve never seen anyone fly before; then does that mean that the people here can’t fly?“That’s not it. Only less than one percent of the population can fly. So seeing one of those people is a very rare chance.” Taht answered my question.
“I’ve seen someone fly before. I still remember that scene like it only happened yesterday. I was on my way to the capital along with some traveler’s when I saw them. Leila and my friends left me in our town to chase their dreams so I followed after them. In the sky just outside of the demi-human state, I heard a ruckus in the sky. It turned out that two people were fighting in midair. Their attacks brought forth a powerful wind each time they used magic or their swords. We had to move away from them as fast as we could. I later heard the people in the cart I was in say something about those people being blessed by the fairies.”
“Fairies……….? I’ve heard of them before. If I remember correctly; they are in the sky above us right? Though we cant reach them by normal methods.”
“That’s right. Our parent’s used to tell Burte all sorts of stories about the fairies. They said that they met someone who had been there before. But they also said that the man was not able to fly. Only a few people are worthy enough to be blessed by the fairies.”
“Blessed huh? I think I need that blessing too. I could only float for a second there. So much for obtaining two different pair of wings.”
Taht seemed interested in what I said when she leaned her head over to me “You obtained two pair of wings?”
I nodded.
“Hmm……… that means you have 8 more to go. And that would explain why you felt that you were only able to float. Receiving blessings from the fairies isn’t the only way to fly. Most people attain flight through this other method. They collect ten wings from ten different monsters. They then pluck out a single feather from each monster and keep them in their possession. Some tie the feather’s on their necks while others keep them on parts of their body. Either way, they just have to be on you at the time of flight.”
“With so many feather’s on the wings, then a lot of people will be able to fly right?” I asked.
She smiled at my question the explained……..
“That’s what everybody asks. The thing is that the wings can only be used by the person who obtained them. They become completely useless after he has plucked out a feather from each of them. That way only one person will be granted flight per ten winged monsters killed. I’m surprised you managed to defeat the winged freezer though. He is said to be the fifth strongest among the winged monsters. You must be really strong.”
“Oh, about that……….”
“Hey hey, where is the wing you collected?” Meila looked on Duddul’s back to see if it was there.
“I want to see it too.” Burte joined her.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have it. The items I get always disappearing during the first time. I’ll be able to bring them back after I defeat another freezer.”“I cant wait!” Burte looked really hyped for it.
“Rnn……..” I heard Duddul’s voice. It seemed as though he was sighing.
I stood up and walked towards where he sat with his wings stretched for the sun.
“What’s wrong? Are you alright?”
“Rnn……………” he flapped his wings with his head sloped.
“You are feeling down? Is it because I was able to float a little? You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll always ride on top of you.”
I wasn’t sure if that was the cause but I became certain after he suddenly rose up and circled around me “Rnn!” he had become more energetic.
“You didn’t need to worry about anything. I cant even fly right now. How will I abandon you?”
I talked to him for a while. He calmed down and returned to his usual self.
His wings are red and sparkly with small scales on top of them. These scales weren’t always there. In fact his wings never opened before.
Speeking about wings, why was I only able to picture myself with black wings? I should have white wings or at least yellow ones. Black calls for trouble. Not like I have much to say in that aspect; almost everything about me is black.
My armor, sword and hair are all black too. There is definitely something at work here. I can’t allow myself to become like that girl in my dreams who is always surrounded with black.
I closed my eyes holding my chin with my right hand when the girls suddenly screamed.
“Stop! You are flying!”
Opening my eyes, I found myself five meters in the air. I was standing straight just like I was on the ground.
“Huh? What is going on?”
I lost my balance every time I tried to go against the flow of my body. My body kept on being pulled to the sky faster and faster.
“No!!” what if I fall down after going so high in the sky?
“Duddul!” I called for help immediately.
It didn’t fell like I had anything to hold onto. My legs dangled in the air like a dead chicken that was held up.
I could no longer hear the girls voices.In no time, I was pulled into the clouds.
Trying to figure out a way to make things work. I balanced my body horizontally and took a flying form. But that didn’t change anything.
The wind was so strong. It enters my nose before I breathe in.
I then tried moving to the sides. As if swimming, I attempted to push my body to the front. That didn’t work.
Duddul flew below me. He slowly flew up until I docked on him. But that only lasted for a second. My body got pulled away from his.
“Wait Duddul. I think I understand what’s going on!’
My body is trying to get me to learn how to fly. If that’s the case then……………
I cleared my head. And just like I pictured the wings earlier; I pictured myself going forward.
“Ho……!” it worked!
I started going forward just like I imagined. I then thought of going down. My body slowly lowered.
“This is easier than it seems.” or so I thought. The moment I glanced down at the ground; I got freaked out and lost my concentration.
Losing my concentration means losing my ability to fly and that means crashing to the ground. I had to be courageous enough to stare at the ground without getting scared.
After practicing above the clouds where they others were, I finally became able to land safely.
“Phew! That was tough!”
“Amazing! I want to fly too!” “Let me ride on Duddul!”
“Maybe next time? I want to rest a bit.” I wasn’t really tired. Well, I was tired mentally but not physically.
Even though it’s super exciting to fly, I called it off for the day and got back to Taht’s house. It was only around 11am at the time.
I thought of keeping the fact that I could fly a secret from the public. Since it’s rare to see a person fly, I would be calling too much attention on myself. That I don’t want.
But now that I can fly, one thing has become easier. Entering the sacred land!!