The mountain air was sharp and cold around them. Below, the oppressive, controlled static of the Holy System was already intensifying, focusing on the coordinates of the small clearing on Mt. Thiya. The 5.44 GHz suppression funnelwas tightening rapidly around the coastline.
Ruichi, kicking the last dirt over his extinguished fire, looked at the small, six-year-old Elemental Prodigy. "Listen carefully, ajussi! This is not a game. I am providing the initial thermal output to break through the local gravity and suppression field. You have to stabilize the ascent and steer us. We must maintain a vertical thrust-to-weight ratio that exceeds the System's counter-force."
Ryota, energized by the technical challenge, nodded fiercely. "Wind Affinity is steady, ajussi! Tell me the code!"
Ruichi pulled out his specialized palm terminal, the screen displaying a complex calculation based on his and Ryota's combined kinetic potential against the System's external regulation.
"We need to achieve a rapid thermal lift that cancels out the localized gravity effect," Ruichi explained, his voice low and intense. "The total net force (Fnet) must be greater than zero. I will handle the upward thrust (Fthrust). You must handle the downward resistance (Fdrag) created by the Suppression field."
He showed Ryota the required formula for a sustainable vertical trajectory:
Fnet=Fthrust−(W+Fdrag)
Where W is the total weight of Ryota and Marcus, and Fdrag is the resistance imposed by the System's 5.44 GHz suppression pulse.
"I will generate Fthrust using a high-density, controlled Fire Affinity pulse—a burst of thermal energy that instantly drops our collective density and provides lift," Ruichi explained, focusing his hands.
The Wind Affinity Counter-Force
"Your job is Fdrag," Ruichi continued. "The System is using the 5.44 GHz signal to create a chaotic air wall, increasing the atmospheric resistance against us. You must use your Wind Affinity to generate a precise, localized laminar flow—a 'tunnel' of perfectly smooth air—that reduces Fdrag to its absolute minimum, allowing my thermal lift to function."
Ryota understood. His Wind Affinity was not just about force; it was about structure.
"I make the air neat!" Ryota declared, his eyes shining.
Ruichi nodded sharply. "We need to drop the drag coefficient (Cd) to Cd(min) by creating a pressure boundary layeraround us. Your affinity must maintain a flow that calculates the required dynamic pressure (Q) against the suppression field: "
Q=21ρv2
Where ρ is the density of the air they are moving through, and v is their velocity.
"We cannot stabilize ρ or v against the System, so you must use the Wind Affinity to maximize the pressure gradient across the boundary layer, minimizing the resistance!" Ruichi commanded.
Ruichi positioned himself directly beneath Ryota and Marcus (who relied purely on his physical strength to hold the boy). He took a deep breath, channeling the pure, limited Mana from his core. His hands began to glow with intense, orange-white heat.
"Get ready! Fthrust initiated!"
Ruichi unleashed his Fire Affinity not as a blast, but as a controlled, upward thermal field. Marcus cried out as the force yanked them violently upward.
Ryota, however, was already concentrating. The chaotic 5.44 GHz suppression field felt like sandpaper against their rapid ascent. He deployed his Wind Affinity, not to push, but to organize.
A small, perfectly smooth, invisible bubble of laminar air formed around the trio. The immense resistance created by the System's counter-pulse vanished.
They shot upward, accelerating vertically over Mt. Thiya faster than any natural force should allow.
The Gravity Affinity Counter-Strike
They passed the 1,500 meter mark rapidly. The suppression static was fading below them.
"We need 2,800 meters to escape the local grid!" Ruichi shouted, his energy reserves critically strained. "I can't hold the Fthrust much longer!"
Just then, the System reacted. A sudden, deep CLANK of regulated air sounded high above them, followed by an intense, cold drop in temperature. The air around them became brutally heavy.
"They increased the atmospheric density!" Marcus yelled, his face turning pale. "It's the Gravity Affinity Enforcer! They are hitting the high-altitude zone!"
The effective density (ρ) in Ryota's laminar flow formula spiked instantly. His small Wind Affinity bubble was collapsing under the gravity-amplified pressure.
"I can't hold it, ajussi!" Ryota wailed, his nose starting to bleed from the effort of fighting the overwhelming pressure. "The air is too thick! The bubble is breaking!"
Ruichi realized the desperate truth: The Gravity Affinity Enforcer had anticipated their sky-based escape.
"Ryota! You have to convert the Wind Affinity! You can't reduce Fdrag!" Ruichi screamed, channeling his Mana Incarnate power to partially stabilize the child's straining core. "You must use your affinity to initiate lateral translation! Get us out of this vertical funnel now!"
Ryota, guided by Ruichi's stabilizing Mana, shifted his focus from neatness to escape.
He didn't know the full math, but he felt the requirement: a precise, horizontal force vector strong enough to break free of the collapsing vertical pressure.
With a final, desperate shove of pure, unadulterated Wind Affinity, Ryota converted their upward acceleration into a massive, eastward surge.
The resulting force tore them free of the vertical pressure trap. They were launched horizontally over the ocean, skimming the clouds, safely outside the 5.44 GHz funnel.
But the effort cost Ruichi the last of his thermal power.
The G-Rated Cliffhanger
Ruichi's Fire Affinity vanished. The thermal lift instantly ceased. They were left suspended high above the dark Pacific, traveling at breakneck speed, but now completely unsupported.
"Ruichi! The fire is gone! We're falling!" Marcus yelled.
Ruichi, his face pale, shook his head. "I'm empty. We are falling toward the ocean."
Just as they began their terrifying descent, Ryota's small hand brushed against something cold and unexpected: a single, glistening droplet of water that materialized out of the clear air—the first burst of his Water Affinity.
The droplet instantly expanded, freezing into a jagged, precise chunk of ice. The last thing Ryota saw before they began to plummet was a sudden, flash-frozen message carved into the ice:
"The solution is Lg."
Ryota, exhausted and terrified by the sudden shift in his elemental core, let out a heart-wrenching sob. "My Wind... it feels ugly! It feels broken!"
Ruichi looked at the ice, recognizing the formula, but his Mana was gone. They were plunging toward the ocean, and the Elemental Prodigy had just been hit by a profound sense of failure—a loss of confidence in the only power he knew.