After all, although Lyra didn't show her excitement like those apprentices, she was indeed expectant of the upcoming ride through the skies. The same was true for Aurora, and she also looked curiously at him.
"Hm? Who knows? Don't bother with these things. You will know in a bit anyway. Why be impatient?"
Ian turned to look at Lyra, hugged her a little habitually, and replied with a smile.
He wasn't some omnipotent god who knew everything. Who knew what those Knights were thinking? Besides, why they looked like that, wouldn't it be known to them immediately?
"Tch... I know that. Can't I even ask you?"
Lyra pouted with dissatisfaction while snuggling a little closer to Ian, not minding those looks from the crowd behind. Aurora also came a little closer to Ian unconsciously, not wanting to be left behind.
'Tch... this guy is too lucky.'
'We don't have one here, and he's swimming in two.'
Of course, their intimacy didn't go unnoticed by the crowd and Knights alike, gaining quite a bit of envy from them.
But since Ian showed his power on the first day he arrived at the ship, fighting with Borris, nobody ever tried to make trouble for him.
It might also be because Ian was a Passerby Villain and not a protagonist like Carl. Otherwise, he might have been taunted and attacked by some stupid third-rate villain—who knew?
Just as everyone was following Ron's figure orderly for a few minutes, they finally left the temporary base and walked to the open area ahead.
"WHOOOOOOOORRRRRMMM"
And the moment they arrived, what greeted them was a low but resonant call of the Leviathan that they had just seen flying in the sky.
Although the sound wasn't loud, it was like distant thunder, vibrating in their chests and stirring something primal within them.
"Oh my God!"
Although everyone saw its figure from the sky before, seeing it up close was something else, as everyone involuntarily exclaimed once again, feeling incredible.
In front, the Sky Leviathan, with its massive blue-gray body glowing with faint bioluminescence, was lowering its colossal head, scooping up a writhing mass of Cloudfish in its jagged mouth.
And suddenly, as if it had noticed their presence, its pale, moon-like eyes, filled with intelligence, settled on the crowd, looking at them curiously.
Although its massive size made it look intimidating, the lack of threat and the pure curiosity in its gaze suggested that it was indeed a gentle giant.
"You guys are quite fast."
Yela, who was standing beside the Leviathan, said after seeing Ron, Zane, and all the other apprentices around.
Since she was right beside the creature, she looked very small.
Still, their bond seemed strong, as when she reached up to touch its snout, and in response, it nudged her gently and let out a deep, reverberating purr vibrating through the air.
"RRRRRMMM!"
"She is Lina, a Sky Leviathan tamed by the Mystic Circle for transportation. She is the one who will help us reach Arcane Highland this time."
Feeling the curious gazes around, Yela introduced the creature to them before swiftly focusing on everyone.
"Okay, that's all you need to know. Since everyone is here already, let's leave this place. It might be dangerous if we stay any longer."
It seemed she wasn't in a good mood and didn't want to talk much. Losing that Dreamshard had indeed lowered her earlier enthusiasm a lot.
"Tsk... you and your delusions."
And, of course, Zane didn't like her one bit after getting attacked by her just now.
So, he just tsked at her in annoyance before directly floating in the air, heading towards the top of the Leviathan that couldn't be seen from below.
Anyway, he wanted to leave this place more than anyone. So, it just worked for him that Yela was also thinking the same.
While Zane was floating effortlessly, Ian noticed he didn't chant a spell but used some kind of artifact on himself instead. That was the case with Yela too when she was floating during the fight or her inexplicable appearance behind them.
Although those artifacts might be expensive, they did save them from chanting spells each time for small things.
'Quite useful. Let's grab some later too.'
Ian thought.
"Okay, all of you apprentices, gather a little nearer. Don't worry about her, she isn't dangerous."
Yela ignored Zane's sarcasm and ordered all the apprentices to come near her.
After all, unlike Zane, these juniors couldn't possibly climb to the top of the Leviathan. So, she had to help them somehow.
"Okay, do as Wizard Yela said."
Ron also nodded at the apprentices, then said to Yela,
"I will leave them to your care."
After saying that, Ron took out his staff and chanted a spell when suddenly a strong wind current began to revolve around him, swirling violently at first, before it coalesced into a steady, powerful gust that lifted him off the ground.
"Gale's Touch!"
Unlike Zane and Yela, Ron wasn't wealthy nor did he have many connections. So, he could only use the spell at his disposal to climb the massive behemoth that was almost finished eating her meal.
Seeing him flying up, Yela only slightly nodded, took out her staff, which was green in color, its surface adorned with intricate vines that seemed to shift with a life of their own.
Then, after all the apprentices, including Ian, came closer, she began to chant an obscure incantation while throwing a small, unrecognizable bean on the ground.
"Seed of Awakening!"
And, as soon as she completed her chant, the bean just thrown on the ground suddenly trembled and began to sprout rapidly into a mystical vine.
The process was so fast and magical that the apprentices, who had been silent during Ron and Zane's flight, showed astonished expressions on their faces involuntarily.
"Don't resist and let the vine wrap around you. We are leaving."
But Yela didn't care about their surprise, ordered them to be obedient, and waved her staff casually.
Suddenly, the vine that was sprouting from the ground rustled and split into multiple prongs, equal to the number of apprentices around.
Then, they swiftly rushed in the direction of each of them, wrapping tightly around everyone but not harming them, as if binding them in a protective embrace.
"Just let it wrap around."
Although it seemed long, from Yela chanting the spell to wrapping them around didn't take much.
So, Ian removed Lyra from his hand and asked both girls to relax while he himself allowed the vine to wrap around him.
As for Ignysyl, he directly flapped his wings and flew up the massive body, heading to the top with rapid speed.
He was a dragon. How could he allow someone to wrap around him like a dumpling just to climb this creature? How could his pride allow it?
"RRRRR?"
But, just when Ignysyl approached Lina, she looked at his figure curiously with her big eyes, finding him quite odd.
Although all the aura around Ignysyl had already been controlled by him to allow no leak, her beast instinct told her that the Raven in front was extraordinary.
Her blood was already boiling unconsciously inside as if she was in the presence of something incredible.
But seeing such a tiny figure flying to the top of her, she didn't know why she felt that way.
Fortunately, she wasn't like other magical beings with human levels of intelligence. Although her size was massive, her intelligence wasn't on par with that.
So, after looking at him for a little while, she lost interest and gobbled up the last Cloudfish in front of her, a look of contentment on her face.
"Hmm... although stupid, she does have some good sense."
Of course, Ignysyl saw her reaction. But he didn't care and rapidly ascended while flapping his wings. If he was in his true form, he could just teleport to the top without a care.
But there was no way he could do that here.
"Ascend!"
And while Ignysyl left Ian's shoulder, Yela also swiftly commanded her spell, causing the vine to extend rapidly, ascending at a fast pace while carrying all the apprentices. She herself stood at the top of a large vine ascending along.
Although the method looked quite crude compared to Ron and Zane, she was carrying dozens of people simultaneously.
Besides, Ian saw that she wasn't exhausted or anything and seemed nonchalant even after casting such a spell continuously.
'Another artifact? How rich is she?'
And Ian immediately found that the staff in her hand was also a precious artifact, although he didn't know its rank.
But it still laid her wealth bare before his eyes.
'Looking at her wealth, it didn't seem like a bad idea to make friends with her.'
Ian thought with a smirk, then hurriedly shook his head. What was he thinking?
Did he want a Sugar Mommy or what?
And while Ian was musing over things and the crowd was exclaiming, they swiftly arrived at the top of the Sky Leviathan, whose size was double that of the Silver Gull.