Chapter 101 - Take Off

The next day began in a rush as I was filled with both excitement and eagerness to leave for the hunt and grind. When I'd first arrived, I'd enjoyed the new discoveries, but after my run-in with the princess and the subsequent takeover of a kingdom and ascending to the throne, I had lost that and essentially been stuck in a large palace.

Now, I was finally going to get to see more of this world, which from what I'd seen had a lot of to offer and many interesting sights to see. There were plenty of races I'd yet to see. Larra for the most part only had beastkin, humans, and a few of the more common types of elves, and even then it's not like I'd really spent much time around them since I'd been busy and even though I was going to be grinding I hoped I ran into some interesting things and with Knov it didn't matter how far I traveled since I could make it back to Larra easily enough.

Thank god, for those communication crystals Richard had given me. At first, I'd assumed they had a range limit, which they did, but not in the way you'd think. As long as you were in the same realm and the crystals were fully linked and attuned to each other, then no matter where you were, they could be used to contact each other, which was amazing. They were like old phones from earth but with perfect reception at all times.

If something happened in Larra, then Richard or Susana, could call me and I'd be back in a flash and after Misaki had checked them, I knew I could trust Richard and Susana and that both were truly dedicated to their positions, which was a good thing to know since I didn't want to get replacements for them. Even though I hadn't known them long, I'd gotten used to them and liked the way they accepted certain things about me so easily, while others might have gawked, and they had the perfect amount of respect yet friendliness to them.

This kingdom would be safe in their hands and Lelouches while I was gone since I had given him the title of, the hand of the king, which I'd taken from game of thrones since it wasn't an actual title in this world, or at least not in the Tyrofell empire. I had given him some guidelines and rules but I wasn't worried about anything happening since like all my other summons, he was utterly and completely, loyal. They would handle the political side with Misaki watching over them and helping Lelouch keep things in check while using her powers to level up and they had the talon riders and Sebas, who could probably defeat an army by himself, so both sides of defense were accounted for, leaving me able to leave.

Everything was packed and ready, and after a quick breakfast, I headed to the birdcage. It was where we would be taking off from. Asara, who was coming with me, would not be taking her silverhawk with her, and even though she had protested, I hadn't budged. Knov's portals were not large enough for a silverhawk. I could send my summons to storage, Asara couldn't do the same, and though I felt bad, I had to think about logistics, and that problem pushed me further to want to increase my level and get summoning tokens so I could summon something with a teleport that could work for long-range and larger beings and objects.

The more summons I got, the easier things would be, and the more I would be able to do.

"We're all set then," I asked as I entered the birdcage to see Asara waiting by Rathalos. The summons I was taking with me were in storage, including Leone, who normally flew with me, but three people would make Rath's back feel crowded and I couldn't send Asara to storage.

"Yes lord," She said. In private when around only others of their kind, the talon riders called me lord instead of your majesty, as to them it transcended my title as king. To them, sky lord meant more, and I was fine with it.

"Good," I said, jumping onto Rath's back. A few weeks ago that feat would have been impossible, but with Migi, my levels, and attack force, it was easy. It was odd, in a way, how things like that felt so normal now.

Asara hopped up behind me, and with a quick goodbye and promise to the talon riders around us, I sent a mental command to Rath to take us up and out. With a might flap of his crimson wings, Rath burst up and out of the birdcage and into the open sky.

I smiled and with my sight, I gained from reaching level ten, I knew Asara was doing the same. It felt good to be out in the open skies, feeling the wind and looking at the landscape. After a few minutes, the capital had become somewhat distant and I sent a mental command to Rath to head west, where a large mountain range split Larra from the old Denzin plains, a place hat from what I'd read had once been home to a great clan, but had fallen over a hundred years ago to outer realm incursion, which was something that apparently happened in this world. Portals opening up, and forces from other planes, invading, killing, taking and robbing, then leaving.

Another reason to get stronger.

With a smile on my face, and a cold fire burning within me, I was ready to face whatever awaited me in the Densin plains and was prepared to get stronger, for my kingdom, for those I cared about, for my family, and for myself.

Asara let out a whoop of joy, as Rath increased his speed, now faster than a silverhawk due to his level increases, and I smiled as I let out a matching cry, letting myself forget about all my troubles and problems for a moment and enjoying the freedom and exhilarating I felt.

Whatever happened, I wouldn't regret this decision.