Everywhere within their field of view was encompassed by the sunny, blue sky. It was as if they were standing on the summit of a tall mountain. White clouds surrounded them so closely that they might be able to pluck one just by reaching out their hand.
After boarding multiple transmission formations from the Mage Tower, the girls' cries of awe and wonder showed that they had not expected the sudden, stark change of scenery.
"Have we… have we finally reached Heaven?" Laeticia asked Baiyi in a dumbfounded tone as she looked around.
'Excuse me, but can you be less morbid than that?'
"This… This is one of those cities-in-the-clouds, right?" Tisdale, who was more knowledgeable than the others, said. "I read somewhere that many powerful sorcerers are capable of constructing their own city in the clouds…"
Baiyi shook his head sideways, then replied casually, "Nope. We're now in the realm of Gouve 1 ."
"Huh?!""Eh?!"
The girls exclaimed in unison. They had not expected that—after only going through multiple transmissions—they would arrive at a different realm altogether
"C'mon, don't be too surprised. We did pass through a lot of transmission formations, didn't we?" Baiyi smiled at their bewilderment. "I just thought that since we sought a good getaway, we might as well as travel to somewhere far."
"Ooh, but this is… so much farther than I'd ever thought of…" Little Mia stuck out her tongue in anticipation and a little nervousness. This was her first time leaving the realm of Isythre.
"Oh, you won't regret this trip," Baiyi replied reassuringly, leading the girls down a slithering, mountainous path leading down the slope. Owning to how close they were to the clouds atop of the mountain, the girls thought it would take a pretty long time to reach the foot of the mountain; however, after passing through a puff of clouds, they found themselves bracing the sight of a town.
Unlike the bustling towns that someone would normally have in mind, this town was quiet. Even the huts with shop fronts were closed. It was as if the whole place had been deserted for years.
"Do settlements like these also exist atop mountains?" Laeticia asked out of curiosity. "Though this one looks so empty…"
Baiyi did not reply. Instead, he led them through the ghost town until they reached the edge of a cliff. He then waved the girls over. "Hey, check this out!"
"Eeehhh! That's dangerous! Right?" Little Mia asked, but her feet had shuffled close to Baiyi's out of her curiosity. The Soul Armature then wrapped his arms around the girl's tiny waist and tipped her forward a little so that she could see clearly.
Little Mia froze. She realized that she was not at top of a mountain; instead, she had been standing in the sky! The land beneath her was actually a small floating island which was hovering in the sky!
And close to their island were many more identical floating islands, scattering across the fabric-like blue sky like stars.
This marvelous revelation triggered another cry of exclamation from the other girls who had managed to muster enough courage to inch close to the edge. The fact that they were standing on top of a land hovering on air also compelled them to huddle close to Baiyi unconsciously.
' And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why this is the perfect place for vacations 2 .'
"Gouve is actually a far larger realm than Isythre, but there isn't a complete continent here. The only thing that defines the realm as a whole is the large ocean way down below—and these little islands that float on air perpetually for some unknown reasons. Now, the island that we're on is one of the higher ones, but there are still some more islands floating at an altitude far higher than ours. Like that one, behind the clouds," Baiyi explained, pointing at the sky.
Academics were still debating about the origin of Gouve's unique geographical conditions, but due to how ancient the realm was as a whole—more ancient than the human civilization—no scholar could come up a really convincing theory. One scholarly conjecture stated that Gouve used to have a large continent similar to Isythre, but a major catalytic event occurred that caused the land to fracture into what it currently was.
So what could be that catalytic event? Many believed it was a cataclysmic world war.
However, could a war fracture an entire continent into smaller slabs of land and produce some kind of energy that caused the slabs to float forever? Baiyi couldn't picture a war of that magnitude. He himself might be able to cause such a damage if he tried, but even his attack could not leave behind forces that would cause the slabs of land to hover in the air for eons.
Oh, well. It didn't matter why and how it happened; Gouve was a strange place, regardless. Over here, more humans and other living beings would gather on islands that were slightly larger than others, and these inhabitants transported themselves by taming and riding flying beasts. In possession of these animals versed in flight, the inhabitants managed to connect each island with one another, and together, they constructed their own dazzling civilization.
"No wonder this realm was famed for its dragon riders 3 ," Tisdale commented quietly after Baiyi's briefing.
"A place like this a haven for all kinds of wildlife. They dominate the floating islands, safe from the predatory eyes and harassment from humans. Life's good!" Baiyi added, half-jokingly. The truth, however, was that building an infrastructure of any kind in this realm was more difficult than trying to plant a potato in Siberia. Nevertheless, the realm, as a whole, enjoyed a level of tranquility that Isythre would be envious of. There were no demonic attacks, and only a few wars occurred between mankind here. A few large nations situated on large islands had existed for thousands of years; they had always maintained peace with each other.
Since the realm was vast and traveling around it was tough, coupled with the fact that the environment was harsh, staying alive became a blessing and a priority. No one had the luxury to disrupt the lives of others here. Hence, despite being the largest of all three realms, Gouve had the smallest population and was the most peaceful.
It really was the most perfect place for a vacation.
"Now that you mentioned it! Aren't we at a really high altitude? Why don't I feel cold? Not only that, I don't even feel a draft! This place really is amazing!" Little Mia announced suddenly. The girls wanted to look their best for their outing, without knowing that they were going on a long trip, so they had chosen to wear short summer wears. Their skirts were above knees, and their legs reflecting the warm sunlight made Baiyi a little dazed.
Baiyi unexpectedly agreed with her notion.
"What's amazing isn't the place, though. It's magic," He replied calmly, extending his right hand to tap on the air, removing the magic that he had secretly placed on the girls' bodies.
Then, he waved around the air a bit. Immediately, the girls felt the surrounding temperature drop so low that they almost jerked from the chill. Yelping, they felt as if they had been lowered into a cellar. A gust of chilly gale swept by, mercilessly lifting up their skirts…
Pfft. Mia still hasn't outgrown her teddy bear one? …and Tisdale shouldn't wear something this mature. Laeticia was the most demure, as she was wearing a long skirt, but no one could say the same for Attie...
Baiyi redid his thermal spell on the girls, then very swiftly pinched each of Attie's cheeks as he nagged. "Haven't I told you to dress properly? Haven't I told you to dress properly?!"
"Uhhhhhh….!" Attie's whimper had come dangerously close to an actual sob. ' Didn't I dress properly on the outside already? In c -conclusion, this most definitely is the perfect place for a vacation… '
"Got your lesson, girls?" Baiyi released his grip and asked with a trace of sarcasm. "Why don't you girl wear even less, huh?"
"Owww, it was so cold!" Little Mia was still shaking from that tiny demonstration of the actual temperature, so she huddled close to Baiyi, grinding her cheeks against his body to steal some warmth. That was surprisingly comfortable.
"Before magic was common, no one could actually live up here, at such an altitude, you know. The strong wind and the overtly low air pressure are both fatal to humans, so the few islands that were actually habitable were those that lay close to the ocean," Baiyi explained. "Back then, you couldn't even build anything concrete on the islands, so people had to live in caves—like mice in a house. After the popularization of magic, humans gained a little more advantage. And they built a large area wind-shielding barrier so that those islands at higher altitudes can be more habitable."
"No wonder that town had been deserted," Laeticia said, hugging herself to shake off the chill she felt just now.
"Deserted? Oh, not really," Baiyi said, leading the girls back to the town.
He pushed open the door of a boutique shop.
There was no counter and no shopkeeper, but there was a spiral staircase that led downwards. The girls could barely contain their curiosity as they followed the Soul Armature downstairs.
Down there was a very different story.
The real town was down here! Everywhere they looked had been lit by strong, bright lamps which were powered by magic, rendering the whole place as bright as day. The air was packed with people and lively chatters, finally displaying the true vigor of a Gouvian town.
Another marked observation one could make, though, was the way the people here were dressed: none of them wore as little clothing as the girls had. Instead, they were garbed in thick winter garments as if they were planning to wait out the winter in a cave. Even their conversation was marked visually with white wisps of fog escaping their mouth every time they spoke.
"This particular island had been inhabited for a long time. As for the transmission portal erected by the Sorcerer Association, it was above the ground. Although they had also erected some wind-shielding barriers above ground, the underground catacombs had already been developed by humans prior to the erection of the barriers above ground. Folks here just preferred the old way of living underground," Baiyi explained. "Of course, for the benefits of us outsiders, the locals still built some decorative huts up there to lead us here."
He pointed at a boutique shop located close to the entrance of the cave and led the girls there.
As soon as they entered, the shopkeeper was inches from their nose in elation, "Oh! Visitors from afar! Welcome, welcome, welcome! Oh, such beautiful girls. Aren't you freezing to the bone, wearing something like that? Don't worry, I have just about the finest wears for all of you that will complement your beauty!"
When Baiyi finally paid for their new clothing, the girl exited the shop looking like a ball of yarn. They were adorable, but at the same time, their new look made the Soul Armature cracked a smile of amusement.
I can almost see a title card of the word The realm of Gouve in the bottom left of the screen—have I been watching too many movies? Yea, in the same vein as to why horror movies are great for dates. Ya know? I knew this was familiar! Wait, of course. So many video games…If you accidentally jump down into the air, you probably lose a life!