Chapter 343: Going Underwater

We were airborne after a few minutes and indeed, this bastard had gone and saved the best seat for me. Right beside the wing where the engine screamed into my ears and blew hot wind from somewhere I couldn’t identify. A generous gift, truly.

’Is he just mad? N’o actually, he has to be insane and losing his mind if he thinks this is what best seat means!’

The aircraft itself, though, was a different story. Whatever Gilbert had done to it, the thing cut through the sky like a blade, fast and ruthless. The upgrade was crude and brilliant at the same time, faster and stronger than before, although that also meant noisier. So much noisier.

And somehow, something told this son of a gun that the seat next to the screaming engine was where I deserved to be. That I’d be thrilled to sit here.

Sincerely though...

’Maybe he just hates me and is too shy to say...’

We continued to scale through the upper clouds, cutting across wind with speed. We passed over the deserts of the Ashara continent and soon over open water, and in time we were nearing the first island of Crystalis, a place made of mountains.

Three large peaks and a scattering of smaller ones that looked like valleys folded between them. Lakes sat in the low spaces between the ridges, visible even from this height, small and bright like shards of glass.

I stared down through the window as we flew over it.

Nisha was seated next to me. Over the course of the past few hours we had spoken, but not in a way that suited people who had fucked each other. Now that she was here, I was having certain expectations. That maybe she had missed something. Not me, necessarily.

I turned back to the window as the island of mountains drifted behind us, and tried to shove the thoughts away. I knew for a fact that I was simply horny and at this point just about any woman would do.

I wasn’t craving brothel ladies. Those were too soft, too easy. These girls, Nisha... Kassie... Yuan... were something different entirely.

I turned to her. I’d glanced a few times already before I actually spoke.

"What is the Waterlands really? How is it different from Crystal’s Archipelago here?"

Nisha’s amber eyes had been lowered toward the window beside me. She turned away from it, her expression unreadable at first then her eyes held mine.

"The Archipelago is divided into two... the above and the below."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Oh? You mean..."

Nisha nodded.

"Yes. The Waterlands is just another archipelago. One that is underneath the waters, not above it."

My mouth opened. For a moment, I suddenly understood why Gilbert’s ship had looked more like something built for diving through the ocean than carving through the sky.

"So... we’ll be going underwater?"

Nisha smiled halfway.

"Of course... Quite deep."

Her amber gaze stayed on me.

"What? Scared?"

I scoffed.

"Why would I be? I didn’t do so well on top of the water. I’m wondering how I’ll fare under it." I leaned back. "Besides... I look forward to the experience."

She carried the fullness of her gaze away from me but somehow she was still looking, still smiling.

"If it’s a consolation, you’ll be seeing a lot of Merfolks."

"Oh..." I froze for a moment.

’Well, that certainly changes things...’

Having to fuck a fish hadn’t exactly been one of the experiences I had expected, but at this point, like I said, anything would do.

"But something baffles me... Clans of Martial Artists, living underwater, with Merfolks, and being the center of trade. It just feels... like... unexpected you know..."

Nisha tilted her head sideways.

"How so...?"

I didn’t know how to explain it really. It was one of those things where only someone from Earth who had read too many novels would understand what I was getting at.

I sighed, not finding the words.

She spoke again, her tone even.

"You do know the ancient martial arts clans are more distributed in Ashara than they are in the Waterlands. Those in the Waterlands are more influenced by the otherworlder called the Sword Saint. A martial practitioner that was peerless, as they called him."

I thought about what she said in silence.

’Feels like the same person Yuan told me about.’

At that moment, I remembered Yuan had told me she was going to the Waterlands. I just never imagined, and she never even bothered to mention, that the Waterlands was actually beneath the water.

And then I also remembered our little oath, our cute it had been. I had taken advantage at that moment, or at least thought I did. But here I was heading to the Waterlands on a mission.

’Don’t fuck with fate they say...’

My thoughts were interrupted because Gilbert’s voice sounded through the loud and scratchy speaker of his aircraft.

"Everyone, buckle up! Hold your seats. We’re going for a dive!"

I glanced around quickly, looking for a seatbelt.

There was nothing.

Nisha gripped the handle of her seat hard, then looked at me and paused.

"What are you looking for?"

"Seatbelt? There’s no seatbelt?"

She laughed shortly.

"I don’t know if I should be shocked that you somehow expect Gilbert to be that thoughtful."

’Eh?’

The entire aircraft jerked and no one had to say anything before I gripped the handles and leaned in close, however I could manage.

The space shifted and slowly changed direction as the nose of the airship tilted toward the water and continued. First at a steady pace.

Then all at once, the airship felt like it was simply falling from a great height.

The only thing keeping me in place was my hands locked around the arms of the chair. The rest of my body slammed around the cabin, colliding with loose objects that tumbled alongside me.

Amidst it all, I heard Kassie’s voice.

’Ride the gravity...’

My chaotic mind paused for a moment.

’Huh?’

She responded inside my head.

’It’s as I said... ride the gravity.’ She sighed. ’Let me teach it to you.’