Daniel was walking down the street among the people, deep in thought.

  "I am a man who doesn't know what to do. I have no goal or passion. Sometimes, I talk to myself in my mind as if someone is listening—just like I'm doing now. But aside from that… what is the purpose of living? Life… what makes it so important? Why do so many people want to live, struggling to survive? To me, the only thing worth living for is money. As long as I have money, everything will be fine. Money… money… as long as I have it, everything will be fine…"

  ---

  Three hours after the students left the Dwarfs City

  Beatrix: "Leo, I have a question that's been on my mind since we left the Dwarfs Village."

  "What is it?" Leo asked.

  Beatrix: "What is your dream?"

  "My dream? I want… to bring peace to the world." Leo answered.

  "Darkness bringing peace? Sounds like a great story." beatrix said with a grin.

  Leo: "You should stop reading so many comics…"

  Beatrix: "But seriously, do you think peace is possible?"

  Leo: "Of course. Nothing is impossible."

  Beatrix: "I like your confidence."

  Leo: "What about you? What's your dream?"

  "My dream? Me?..." Beatrix hesitated.

  Leo: "Yeah."

  Beatrix: "I… don't know."

  Leo: "Then why did you decide to join the academy?"

  "I was bored…" beatrix answered a bit embarrassed.

  Beatrix: "That's fine. Let's just say you wanted friends."

  "And I got them." Beatrix said smiling purely

  ---

  Neron: "Are you sure your ability is just walls?"

  "That's what I know," Kyotai answered with the same disintersted tone

  Neron: "You should explore your ability more."

  Kyotai: "What about yours? Why don't you tell anyone about it?"

  Neron: "I have my reasons…"

  "You do realize you probably won't reach your full potential without your ability, right?"

  "If that's reality, then I will destroy it!" Neron declared with a stern and determined look on his face, but his eyes still empty, but also hungry for power.

  ---

  "Itor," Damian called.

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  "What?"

  Damian: "What are you thinking about?"

  "I just… I don't want Mary to replace Brika." Itor answered, his eyes still having lingering sadness for his first friend whi was his only one for a long period of time in his life.

  "Replace Brika?" Damian said, surprised a little.

  "Yeah, I feel like she's being replaced by Mary in everyone's eyes." Itor said looking at Brika.

  Damian: "You're wrong. Mary never replaced Brika, and she never will. She's one of the people who mourned her loss, even though she didn't know her for long. So, don't worry. Calm down."

  Itor: "I think I need to clear my mind."

  Damian: "Take your time."

  Itor: "How do you feel? You lost Siron, your childhood friend."

  Damian: "I'm trying to adjust… It's hard… but I have to adapt."

  Itor: "Don't push yourself too hard."

  ---

  "Kani, they told me you were amazing when you fought in the Elfs City," Kano said.

  "Yeah, you kicked that fast enemy spectacularly," Kaiser added.

  "Thank you both for saying that." Kani answered, visibly happy by their comments.

  Kaiser: "We're just telling the truth."

  Kano smiled and thought to himself: "Don't ever think you're weak, Kani. You're strong and truly unique."

  ---

  "What do you think we'll see in Sky Kingdom?" Karez asked.

  "I'm looking forward to finding out because I have no idea," Garin replied.

  Karez: "Leaving the kingdom is something I've never done before."

  Garin: "It will be a unique experience."

  Karez: "Definitely."

  ---

  "Did you make any new poisons while we were in the Dwarfs City?" Sai asked.

  "I didn't make many because I had already prepared some in the Elfs City. But making some poisons has become easier now," Kinto replied.

  Sai: "You need to prepare before a fight. That's annoying."

  "That's called patience," Mary said.

  kinto: "Exactly,"

  Mary: "What's the difference between your old daggers and your new ones?"

  Kinto: "Before, I could only coat my daggers with poison. But now, I asked Kara to install an internal system in them. There are now buttons on the dagger's handle—each one switches the stored poison type."

  Sai: "That's amazing!"

  Mary: "That will make things much easier for you,"

  Kinto: "Of course."

  ---

  "Your hands," Hakan said.

  "What about them?" Arian asked.

  Hakan: "There are no impact marks on them. It looks like breaking rocks has become easy for you."

  Arian: "Indeed. I should start training on metals now."

  Hakan: "Rocks won't make your hardening stronger anymore."

  Arian: "That's right."

  One hour of walking later, a figure appears before the students—it's Silva Ryum.

  Silva: "I finally found you."

  Leo: "S-Silva??!"

  Sai: "What are you doing here?"

  Kano: "Did you become a fan?"

  Silva: "When I saw you in the newspaper, I wanted to meet you. But I was busy, so I only managed to catch up with you now, after you left the Dwarfs City. I also want to help you with something, heroes."

  Kinto: "Help us?"

  Beatrix: "We've been getting a lot of great opportunities thanks to the Elfs City."

  Damian: "What do you want to help us with?"

  Silva: "With reaching your next destination."

  Mary: "How do you even know our next destination?"

  Arian: "Are you spying on us?"

  Silva: "After you left the Elfs City, you headed to the Dwarfs City. Usually, the Dwarfs City is the last stop for travelers before they set out to other kingdoms because they go there to craft, upgrade, or repair their weapons before moving on. The closest kingdoms to Anastasia are Sky, Atlantis, and Ogrulia. Obviously, you wouldn't head to Ogrulia first, since it's a great kingdom and you'd likely leave it for later. That leaves Sky and Atlantis, both of which require a guide to enter, as gaining entry isn't simple."

  The students are stunned by Silva's analysis and intelligence.

  Itor: "Oh, my god…"

  Karez: "What an analysis…"

  Neron: "I never expected paying attention to small details to be this important."

  Kani: "That's amazing…"

  Leo: "Silva… You're incredible! That's why I want to surpass you!"

  Silva: "That's the spirit."

  They start moving with Silva. After half an hour, they arrive at a place entirely different from the forest surroundings—a vast empty space with a single pillar. Silva walks toward the pillar as the students whisper among themselves, wondering what he's about to do. He pulls out a card and places it on the pillar. He then steps back, and suddenly, the pillar expands, revealing an entrance.

  Silva: "I can't go any further. Step inside, and you'll understand what's next."

  Though surprised, the students have no other choice. If this is the only way to reach their next destination, they must take it. They step inside, and as the door closes, they suddenly feel themselves ascending.

  This is the rocket that transports Anastasia's students to the Sky Kingdom. It was specially designed for them by the Sky Kingdom at the request of Limitless Academy.

  The students are in awe.

  Hakan: "W-We're flying??!"

  Kani: "I feel dizzy…"

  Beatrix: "I have a feeling the Academy had a hand in this."

  Kaiser: "I never thought something like this existed!"

  Karez: "This rocket draws its power from stored Shinta. Current technology isn't advanced enough to create something like this, so the best alternative is to store Shinta and use it as energy."

  Sai: "Complicated… but amazing!"

  Kyotai, to himself: "Rivan… is this something you also knew? Because you're really starting to impress me."

  Leo, to himself: "Limitless Academy… never ceases to amaze me!"

  Forty-five minutes later, the rocket stops. The door opens, and as the students step out, they are greeted by a man with white wings—his name is Lunan.

  Lunan: "Welcome, students of Limitless Academy. I'd like to welcome you to the floating lands—the Sky Kingdom."

  The students look ahead and see islands suspended in the air. They are at cloud level. Waterfalls cascade from the floating islands down to the sea below—the Sky Sea. Plants dangle from the islands like giant vines stretching down to a place beyond their sight.

  Leo: "This… is beautiful…"

  Sai: "The height is insane…"

  Kaiser: "Am I dreaming…?"

  Itor: "Rest assured, this is all real. My homeland is spectacular in every way."

  Kaiser: "Y-Your homeland?!"

  Mary: "You never mentioned that this was your homeland before."

  Beatrix: "And you don't have wings. Every member of the Sky race is supposed to have wings."

  Itor: "It's a bit of a long story… Let's just say we migrated here."

  Lunan: "Awe isn't what you should be focused on right now. You won't be able to enter the kingdom so easily, students of Limitless Academy."

  Karez: "What do you mean?"

  Lunan: "Didn't you wonder why there was a 'Rokin' specifically to transport Limitless Academy students to Sky?"

  Hakan: "Rokin?"

  Arian: "Is that a kind of food?"

  Kano: "Are they speaking in riddles or what?"

  Garin: "He must mean the 'rocket' that brought us here."

  Kyotai: "Are you saying we have to do something to enter? From the way you're speaking, it doesn't sound simple."

  Lunan: "Exactly. Only those who can land a single hit on me will be allowed to enter the kingdom."