Unlike his previous life, the seashore of this world was no synonym for sunshine, beaches, or leisurely beauty. Owing to the abundance of spiritual energy, many regions untouched by human hands had instead become sanctuaries for magical beasts. Among them, the most infamous were the Northeastern Forest and the Eastern Seas.
Of these, the Eastern Seas were shrouded in particular mystery. So much so that the royal capital had established fortified defenses five li inland from the coast, with garrison troops conducting regular patrols to prevent incursions by sea-born aberrations. At the same time, they did their utmost to deter ignorant adventurers from wandering in to throw away their lives.
Jody, however, had no intention of swaggering through a military checkpoint. It was not a question of permission. With barely half a month remaining before the assessment, and the Eastern Coast lying at no great distance from the academy yet far enough that a land route would consume too much time, the choice was obvious.
He would fly.
"Even I can't sustain windflight over such a long distance," Elinor said coolly. "And why, exactly, should I go with you?"
Whenever their teacher was absent, her senior-sister demeanor reverted to calm composure and gentle restraint.
As for why Jody had invited her, the reason was simple. He wanted an affordable bodyguard. The Eastern Coast was described in records as peril incarnate, and venturing there alone as a so-called "low-tier mage" was hardly prudent.
Anticipating her concerns, Jody reached into his storage ring and produced two gadgets he had tinkered together in his spare time.
Gliders.
"You're saying flying with this would consume less energy?" Elinor asked, studying the crude-looking wings skeptically.
"Wind mages already rely on airflow to lift themselves," Jody explained with quiet confidence. "But the human body is irregular in shape and presents little surface area, so it wastes mana. With this, flight becomes faster, more agile, and far more efficient. Try it and you'll see."
"What do you mean by 'surface area'?" Elinor asked, puzzled.
Jody fell silent.
She did not press the issue. Over time, she had grown accustomed to hearing novel terms spill from his mouth. Stranger still, they almost always proved effective. By now, she trusted him.
"As for compensation," Jody added lightly, "once we reach the Eastern Coast, I'll give you a gift."
What he did not say was that now that he could sense silicon, a sandy shore was the perfect place to fashion a crystalline sculpture from silica. No matter the world, few girls could resist something that sparkled. And in this world, where glassmaking and crystal refinement were likely unknown, such an object would be a rare treasure indeed.
Elinor's interest lay primarily in testing the glider. She paid little heed to his promised gift and agreed readily. With her strength, as long as they avoided venturing too deep into the sea and remained along the coast, there should be no great danger.
"One last question," she said. "Why are you going to the Eastern Coast?"
She was not usually so inquisitive, but this boy carried far too many secrets.
As for Jody, the answer was simple. The ocean was a vast reservoir of elements. After his breakthrough, the newly awakened elements were nearly impossible to find within the academy grounds. If I can store a few kilograms of pure sodium, he mused, and pair it with fireball magic in battle, even a water mage will be in for a nasty surprise.
Why not extract it from salt in the academy kitchens?
Because salt was a controlled commodity in this world. Its purity was low, and any unexplained loss would trigger an investigation. Jody had no desire to invite that sort of trouble. A trip to the sea was far simpler.
Naturally, he could not explain any of this to Elinor. Instead, he smiled enigmatically."There's something by the sea that can make me stronger."
And so they set out.
To Elinor's surprise, the glider proved remarkably effective. By condensing wind elements beneath the wings, she found that she could fly far more smoothly than before.
Even more astonishing was that after a full day of flight, Jody showed no signs of mana exhaustion. She was a seventh-tier mage, while he was merely a freshman who had enrolled a few months prior. Matching her speed was one thing. Sustaining it for so long was another entirely. By her calculations, his mental reserves should have been comparable to those of a fifth-tier, perhaps even a sixth-tier mage.
Jody, meanwhile, gave it little thought. This was his first long-distance flight. At the outset, he used the same method as Elinor, displacing air to generate lift and forward momentum. Before long, however, he recalled a famous principle from his previous life: Bernoulli's principle. Simply put, faster flow meant lower pressure.
Through trial and adjustment, he gradually increased the airflow speed above the wings, dramatically reducing the mana required for lift. It was this optimization that created the illusion of vast reserves.
Once he had mastered the technique, Jody shared it freely with Elinor.
After her initial shock, she quickly grasped it herself. When she had misjudged Jody's mental strength earlier, she had been merely surprised by his talent. Upon learning this technique, her emotion transformed into something closer to reverence.
This had nothing to do with innate aptitude. If Jody were willing to disseminate it, every wind mage could elevate their capabilities by an entire tier.
As she watched him flying ahead, Elinor's gaze grew almost fervent.
Jody, unaware of her thoughts, might have scoffed if he knew. A pity I didn't study fluid mechanics in depth in my last life. Otherwise, the change wouldn't stop at wind magic alone. Any mage, even ordinary people, could see their productivity skyrocket.
Soon, their flight grew ever more fluid, even playful, as they traced elegant arcs through the sky. Laughter echoed between them. After all, humanity's yearning to conquer the heavens transcended worlds.
In less than two days, they crossed beyond the coastal defense perimeter. Jody selected a stretch of open beach, and the two descended.
"Recover your mana quickly," Elinor said, tidying her hair. "The coastline isn't peaceful."
Jody, his legs weak after two days of flight and constrained by his lower rank, dared not slack off. He immediately began meditating. Separating elements consumed a tremendous amount of mental energy.
Not long after, faint sounds of combat drifted to their ears. Elinor caught it first and alerted Jody.
They exchanged glances and decided to investigate. Better to understand the situation than be dragged into something blindly.
The clash lay around a bend in a rocky cliff. When they rounded it, the scene unfolded in full.
It was Jody's first time seeing a magical beast in the flesh.
A colossal octopus-like monstrosity.