Chapter CXXXIX High Flying and Sightseeing

Ovi’ta beat her wings slightly, not that she really needed to. Ahead of her, Arlie flew with her own wings held unusually still. Below them, the sea and land moved at a speed she had never before seen. It was also much further down than she was used to. In fact she wasn’t sure how they had gotten this high. All she really knew ws that Arlie was doing something crazy, and dragging her along for the ride.

Curious she inquired, “How close are we to the Celestial void?

“Hmm, given our current position in the Stratosphere? That's still quite the distance honestly. Though I guess we can take a detour, it is a beautiful place. Been awhile since I have been there too.”

Arlie’s wing shifted, and suddenly they were gaining altitude. She could feel that weird pull bringing her along for the ride again as well. Arlie then spoke, “You should pay attention, It can be quite interesting going through the upper layers of the atmosphere. Although quite worth going beyond the sky.”

She exclaimed, “I was only curious. I didn’t say I wanted to visit that place.”

“Are you sure? Someone of your level doesn’t often get a chance to visit the Celestial void. Not to mention you would be passing up a chance at unlocking a very special evolution.”

Ovi’ta needed a moment to process that. With a requirement like that, it was almost certainly a Legendary evolution or better. Most likely better, and it was hard enough to get a legendary one. Something better was a once in a lifetime sort of thing. If she had a chance at unlocking one, she would be a fool not to take it. Besides, not many could say they got to see the void with their own eyes. Before she could voice her conclusions Arlie looked back with a smile, “Glad you made up your mind. I’m going to start picking up speed. Tell me if it becomes too much for you.”

Arlie’s wings flashed, and she suddenly felt increasing pressure on her own body. As the distance between them, and the ground grew with ever-increasing rapidity. A moment later, Arlie’s body began to glow, and then a shimmering wave of blue light expanded from her body. It passed over Ovi’ta with an electric tingle and soon solidified into a barrier around the pair. Before she could ask, Arlie informed her, “That is more for you than me, I don’t think you have noticed thanks to my air trick, but the air up here is very thin, and it is only going to get thinner the higher we go. Not to mention that at this altitude, while unlikely, we can be struck by flying rocks. I’ll be fine, shield or no shield. You won’t.”

Ovi’ta didn’t know what to say about that and said nothing. Instead, she looked up and noticed the sky was getting darker. Far faster than it should. The sun was quite visible, and it was getting harder to look in its direction as well. Something that made the growing darkness weirder. She had never been this high before, so she knew not what was going on.

In silence, they climbed higher. Before she knew it the sky looked like it did at night. Below her the world looked very different. The sea, and land curved beneath them. The sight was like nothing she had ever imagined. It was breathtaking. Arlie commented, “It is quite something isn’t it? Technically, we haven’t even entered the void just yet. That will change in about 20 seconds though.”

Ovi’ta didn’t say anything. As she was too focused on the view. Suddenly, however, a blue box interrupted her vision.

Congratulations!

Achievement; ‘Beyond the Sky’ Earned

Through your wings or that of another, you have reached beyond the sky. You will be forever touched by this experience.

+25 Levels

10% Bonus to All stats
50% Bonus to Light, Dark, and Celestial Affinities

All magic related stats boosted by 75

Your mana pool has been doubled

Mana regeneration has tripled

Vacuum Resistance gained

Solar Radiation Resistance gained

Evolution Requirement Met

After a moment’s silence, she commented, “An achievement that just straight up gives levels? I’ve never seen one do that before.”

“Well, this isn’t an achievement you can easily get. Unless you are a dragon, then it is. Which is why they aren’t eligible for it. Speaking of dragons, they are just about the only life up here. Although if you go out far enough you can encounter other creatures. For others of my kind, you would have to go very far out.”

“Dragons? They live up here? There doesn’t seem to be much life here?”

“Hmm, well plants can’t live up here, but there are many species here that fill the same role. Dikmak for example, are small reptiles that feed off solar rays, and are the preferred prey of several different species of Celestial Serpent, the most common form of Celestial Dragon. In these parts anyway.”

“A Celestial Serpent? Can’t say I have ever seen one. Kind of hard to think of them as common.”

Arlie pointed to the left with her one hand, “Then now is your chance, there is one over there. A Raylaris to be specific, a tier eleven dragon race. However you need not worry, that shield I am generating will protect us from anything up here. Although don’t leave the shield.”

“Because it would kill me right?”

Arlie said, “They are quite aggressive and territorial, but the environment itself is quite hostile as well. Factoring in your resistances, if you left the shield’s perimeter you would be dead inside ten minutes. Serpent or no serpent.”

“That fast? How hostile is this place!!?”

“Hmm, very. Without those resistances you just unlocked, it would have killed you in seconds unprotected. Anyway, we should be heading back down soon. No reason to stay up here, and besides there is a second achievement you need that will be triggered by returning to Solkira’s surface.”

“An achievement for returning? Would that not be easier?”

Arlie looked back, and said, “No. It can be just as challenging. Re-entry alone has a few challenges, but there is also the fact that dragons are common up here. Still the two achievements are meant to be pair, and are quite rewarding.”

Ovi’ta needed a moment to consider the implications. A part of her was suddenly wishing she had already been a tier higher than she was right now. It would have made these achievements more rewarding. Mainly since they straight up gave levels, instead of experience. Even if it was possible to earn more levels all at once, that often required completing a high-level quest while being under-leveled for it. Every quest had its own difficulty rating, and recommended level range. Being below that range would grant a boost, the lower you are the greater the boost. Of course there were other factors the system considered as well, for determining how much experience you get, such as how many people are in your party, and what level they are. Even with the loopholes, the system remained largely fair in many respects.

“So what will this other achievement get me?”

“Another 25 levels, two more affinity boosts, and it increases your understanding of heat. That last one actually ties into one of the affinity boosts. In your case, you gain a boosted affinity for ice. Although that won’t be quite enough to get you to level 200. It will get you close though, and when you do evolve, you will have the option to evolve into a race that can get here naturally.”

Ovi’ta scoffed, “Like I would ever do that. I’m not stupid, a level difference that great means it would be suicide to come up here on my own.”

Arlie giggled, “Maybe, although I know a couple of tricks for dealing with dragons.”

“Any easy ones that I could use?”

Arlie replied, “You could always roll over. Dragons don’t kill surrendering opponents. They may do other things, but you will keep your life.”

Ovi’ta blushed.

Meanwhile back at Bordertown. Zemoria was out exploring. Well more like taking a leisurely walk through the outskirts. She was quite bored at the moment. Mira having taken off for some quest. Eris on the other hand, had found a new friend, and was off playing. She was keeping an eye on her, but she didn’t need to physically be there. There was Ivy, but she didn’t know exactly where she was. It could only be somewhere in the dungeon. There wasn’t any other place she could be. Perhaps an investigation of the dungeon was in order.

At the moment she was out here. Pondering how exactly she would do that. She didn’t want to alarm the dungeon without need. Sure it was several tiers below her, but dungeons were actually the strongest living entities in the world. Especially within their own halls. Now that didn’t mean she was afraid of the dungeon. She was merely being rightfully cautious, as it was the only being here that could actually hurt her. Assuming a god didn’t interfere that is, but if she played her hand right there was little worry of that.

She sighed. Then again, Arlie was a concern, especially now that she was present. Zemoria knew that pesky Skylord, well enough. That warning and earlier encounter was planned. She was playing a game. The question was what game. It was never easy figuring her angle out. Didn’t help that Arlie was an unmatched prophet. No other being could see the timelines as clearly as she could. Not even the great Goddess of Prophecy could see the timelines the way Arlie did. Zemoria couldn’t either, but she would be first to admit that her foresight was not all that good. Her previous mistakes could attest to that.

She rounded a larger tree in the forest, and what came into her view was a sight she had not expected. Dead ahead, a number of lightly dressed lust demons were working the land. Not farming though. They were clearing trees, and digging. For what purpose she did not know, but she could feel the dungeon mana on them. They were connected to the dungeon, but she didn’t know why they were here. The dungeon must want something here. Normally a dungeon would just assimilate what it wants within its reach. Zemoria’s walk however had taken her outside the dungeon’s region of influence. Meaning it could not just do that.

This action was curious however. She expanded her senses, and quickly discovered something interesting. The ground beneath was rich in a special type of stone. One very useful in the construction of magical artifacts, and structures. The real question was, why would the dungeon want it? They could just materialize anything they wanted. The only idea which made sense to her was that the dungeon was building something. Something very large, and that it didn’t have the mana capacity to materialize. That begged the question, just what could the dungeon be building that would be so expensive, even to a dungeon?