More than one hundred players gathered on a clear plot of land outside the academy’s walls, filling the air with excited chatter. Prominence, Zero, Storm, Chicken, Patrick, Scarlet, Butterfly, Thunder, Locktekei, Aphrodite, CookieMons, Auralise, Dominique, MsMelody, and Sean, aka KuroUsagi, stood in a loose circle, surrounded by a crowd of envious onlookers.

  “So, how are we getting there?” Prominence raised a question all of a sudden, leaning on his magic staff.

  “Maybe a carriage?” Storm shrugged. “Considering the setting of the game, it seems like the most classic mode of transportation.”

  “Yeah, a horse-drawn carriage would be fitting,” Zero agreed, thumping his fist on his palm. “We’ll probably walk to the village first, then borrow a couple of carriages there, I think.”

  The others nodded in agreement, though some voiced concerns about the discomfort of riding in a carriage without a suspension system. “We’re going to be feeling it all day long,” one player muttered.

  “I hope we won’t have to walk all the way to the city,” Locktekei added half-jokingly.

  Sean, however, had a different idea. He’d heard rumors about something unusual happening at the blacksmith workshop. Curious, he had even interrogated a few players who had become apprentices to Eleanor, the cheerful and beautiful NPC blacksmith. Though he hadn’t been able to get a definitive answer about their mode of transportation, he was certain it wouldn’t be as simple as a carriage ride.

  Just as they were chatting about the idea, a faint hum began to resonate through the ground beneath their feet, growing louder with each passing second. Instinctively, their heads tilted upward, and gasps of surprise rippled through the group as a massive shadow loomed overhead.

  “What the—?” Chicken’s jaw dropped as the source of the shadow came into view.

  On the horizon, a sleek airship was slowly floating toward them. As the ship approached, a massive shadow covered the area, and it seemed as though darkness had descended upon the earth.

  “No way!” Prominence breathed, with his eyes wide in disbelief. “We’re taking that?”

  “My god!” someone yelled.

  “It’s a fucking airship!” another shouted, pointing at the ship.

  “Damn, how beautiful!”

  “Shit, why wasn’t I selected for the grand expedition?!”

  “Nooo! Please, add me to the list! I want to go too! Also, you three didn’t leave me with any curse words!”

  The surrounding players were unable to contain their awe and stood with mouths gaped so wide, it seemed they would almost be able to fit a pineapple in their mouths. Those who hadn’t been selected were consumed with jealousy, some even rolling on the ground in frustration, making a scene. Meanwhile, a few, like Auralise, managed to maintain a semblance of composure, though their surprise was still evident.

  “An airship, huh? Interesting.” Auralise murmured, a touch of nostalgia in her voice. “It’s been a while since I last enjoyed a slow cruise above the clouds…”

  Hearing that, Butterfly mocked, “This little girl still dreams big, huh? What’s next, owning a private jet or a luxurious yacht to tour the world?”

  “Hmph. I’m not in the mood to argue with you right now,” Auralise retorted, turning her head away with a scowl. It seemed she was still bitter over the fact that none of her underlings had lasted more than ten seconds against Butterfly last time.

  Sean ignored their banter and refocused his attention on the dirigible as it slowly descended from the sky. Even from a distance, the vessel was impressive, though not the largest he’d seen on the internet, being about forty to fifty meters in length and twenty to thirty meters in width. What set it apart, however, were the intricately designed runes glowing along its hull. Moreover, there was a mysterious spherical engine that appeared to be powered by magic. It was an impressive blend of magic and science.

  Other than that, it was similar to the blimps of the real world, and it carried a large aerostat gasbag on top of it. Sean couldn’t help but wonder if it was filled with hydrogen gas or some other magical gas he didn’t know of.

  Suddenly, the headmaster’s voice echoed through their Shadowlink Marks, clear and authoritative. “Attention, acolytes. This is one of the modes of transport used by wealthy and powerful Magi — a dirigible! It shall be the vessel that carries you on this expedition.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Moments after the announcement, a figure descended gracefully from the direction of the dirigible, landing with a soft thud on the ground. His blue hair and handsome, commanding presence left no doubt; that it was none other than the headmaster himself.

  The players were momentarily stunned into silence, their earlier ideas of traveling by carriage now seeming laughably quaint. As they regained their composure, grins spread across their faces, excitement filling their hearts, including in Sean himself.

  “Now this is how you make an entrance!” Storm laughed, already striding toward the gangplank.

  One by one, Sean and the other selected players began boarding the dirigible. Even a few players who weren’t selected rushed toward the ship, desperate to join, only to crash into an invisible barrier midway, injuring themselves in the process. The rest of the crowd could only watch in envy as the gangplank retracted, and the dirigible began to ascend into the sky, carrying the chosen few toward their grand adventure.

  ***

  A surge of pride warmed Victor as he watched the dirigible ascend, carrying the selected players on board. His grand entrance had unfolded precisely as planned, leaving the players awestruck and the academy fizzing with excitement. With a satisfied smirk, he strode confidently up the gangplank and entered the airship’s main cabin.

  Inside, the atmosphere was lively. The chosen players were buzzing with excitement, chattering about the surreal experience of cruising through the air — some were even acting like bumpkins as they touched everything that caught their interest or gazed out the windows in shock. But Victor’s attention was immediately caught by a surprising sight. Standing at the center of the room, engaged in a lively conversation with several players, was Eleanor.

  For a moment, he simply observed her, watching as she laughed at something one of the players said. As he expected, she had a natural ease in connecting with others, especially the players.

  She soon spotted him and waved with a cheerful grin. “Let’s go, Patron! Anchors aweigh!”

  To maintain his composure in front of the players, Victor sent a mana transmission or telepathic message to Eleanor, instructing her to meet him at the bridge. It was very easy to do this as an official Magus without using a spell.

  Once they reached the bridge, Victor finally voiced the question that had been nagging his mind: “You’re coming too?” He had assumed she would disembark after bringing the dirigible to the clearing. But now that he thought about it, the dirigible had ascended before he even took the helm… He was a tad too excited to notice.

  “Are you stupid?” She shot him with a look of incredulity. “Of course, I’m coming! This baby needs constant attention. Someone has to make sure the ship doesn’t fall apart mid-expedition, right? Or what, do you want it to crash before reaching halfway to your destination?”

  Victor blinked. “I suppose you have a point,” he conceded, though he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to her decision than she was letting on. But as the one who repaired the dirigible and even improved it, she would understand this ship better than anyone. Bringing her along would give more pros than cons, not that he could think of any disadvantages except for…

  “It’s just… Don’t you have a big backlog of orders of weapons and equipment to manufacture back at the workshop?”

  Eleanor flashed a confident grin. “No worries! My apprentices can handle most of the work now. I’m free to roam the world.”

  “I see.” Victor nodded, regaining his composure. “Well then, it seems this expedition just got a lot more interesting.”

  Speaking of the personnel left behind at the academy, Victor had entrusted Lizbeth to hold the fort in his absence. Though capable and trustworthy, she seemed reluctant to see him gone for an extended period of time, almost as if wanting to utter something but held back… Perhaps the loneliness that had built up over millennia had left her with some lingering trauma.

  There was also concern about the academy being attacked when he was away, but he had repaired most of the magic barriers and replenished the used mana crystals. It should be fine as long as he wasn’t gone for more than a century, or a powerful force intentionally targeted the academy.

  At any rate, Victor planned to be gone for only a week or two at most and intended to return to the academy as soon as his business was concluded. Instead, he was more worried about finding a stray Magus willing to join him.

  Suddenly, Eleanor’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “Patron, you’ve been awfully silent. Something on your mind?”

  “Oh yeah,” Victor replied, reminded of something, “there’s something I’ve been meaning to show you. You were too busy with the dirigible repairs previously, so I didn’t get the chance to mention it.”

  “What is it?” She tilted her head curiously.

  Ever since the last update, Victor had yet to inform her about the feature that allowed access to the internet on Earth through the black mark on her hand. He had actually sent a message about it via the Shadowlink Mark, but she must have missed it in the rush to meet the deadline. Now, with a moment of calm, he seized the opportunity to explain it to her.

  “Eh! You can do this now?!” Eleanor’s eyes bulged as her holographic screen displayed a Wikipedia page on advanced metallurgical techniques. “Where is all this super mega wealth of knowledge coming from? No wonder those acolytes’ learning abilities have skyrocketed — they’ve been acting even weirder than usual since two weeks ago! I thought they were just messing with me.”

  “All that knowledge. How about we consider all that knowledge your reward for fixing this ship?” Victor had already given her the Elemental Adept insight that would help her advance to become an official Magus, so he couldn't think of much else that would top it.

  “What are you talking about? I don’t need a reward!” Eleanor responded, not even bothering to look up as she continued to browse the internet. “Hehehe. I could drown in this for weeks— no, years!”

  “It’s good that you’re excited,” Victor said with a smile. “However, since you’re here, there’s one more task that needs your attention.” He glanced at the controls in the room. While he had grasped the basics of operating the dirigible, he still wasn’t completely confident. Maybe bringing Eleanor, a mechanical expert as well as a third-stage Initiate Attunement acolyte, along was the right choice after all.