[The Edge of the Battleground]
The massive silver ramp of the Northern Star hissed as it touched the frozen ground, sending a cloud of steam into the air. Captain Carod turned toward Techyon, his cracked visor humming as it recalibrated.
"So, Techyon," Carod said, gesturing toward the open hangar of the ship. "Where exactly are you heading? I've got enough fuel to cross a few systems; I can drop you off wherever you need to be."
Techyon shook his head, looking around at the jagged ice and the ruined arena. "I was heading toward Netland, and since I'm here, I've already arrived. You don't need to drop me anywhere, Captain."
Carod let out a metallic, filtered laugh that sounded like a bag of bolts rattling. "Arrived? Techyon, look around. This isn't Netland."
Techyon frowned, pointing a finger at a massive, ancient stone monument nearby. "What are you joking about? Look at that board right there! It says in big, bold letters: NETLAND'S BATTLEGROUND."
"Yeah, because it is the battleground," Carod corrected, leaning against the hull of his ship. "But this is just the neutral zone. The actual kingdom of Netland—the capital where the high-rankers live—is still hundreds of miles deeper into the frozen wastes. It's not a place you just 'walk' to unless you want to become a permanent ice sculpture."
He paused, his mechanical eyes glowing with curiosity. "By the way... why are you even going there? A kid with your power level doesn't just travel to the world's freezer for the scenery. Are you going there to meet someone?"
Techyon's heart skipped. He thought of Cynthia's flaming bike disappearing into the distance. Wait... did he figure out that I'm here for her? "Yes," Techyon replied cautiously. "I am going to meet someone."
Carod nodded knowingly, tapping his armored chin. "I knew it. I know exactly who you're going to meet."
Techyon tensed, his hand twitching near his storage pocket. He knows about the Arcon bloodline?
"You're going to meet Yoru, right?" Carod asked with a confident smirk.
Techyon let out a long breath he didn't know he was holding. "Yeah... yeah, that's it." He looked down at the snow, thinking to himself, Hopefully, he doesn't figure out the truth yet. But wait... I didn't even know Yoru lived in Netland.
"I'll do you a favor," Carod said, signaling his sidekicks to clear the hangar. "Since you saved the galaxy from that Gudmaro freak, the least I can do is give you a lift. I'll drop you right at her Mountain Peak."
Techyon's eyes widened. "What? She lives on a mountain peak? Like... a literal top of a mountain?"
"Not just any mountain," Carod said, his voice turning serious. "The Peak of Silence. It's the highest point in the Northern Hemisphere. Even my ship struggles to breathe up there."
[Aboard the Northern Star]
As Techyon stepped through the pressurized airlock, he stopped in his tracks, nearly tripping over the threshold. From the outside, the silver vessel had looked like a compact scout ship, but as he stood in the main corridor, his eyes widened at the sheer scale of the interior. High-gloss white walls stretched out into multiple sub-decks, and the ceiling was high enough to house a small giant.
"This is impossible," Techyon muttered, running a hand along a wall that hummed with a low, blue frequency. "It looks so small from the outside, but it's almost ten times bigger in here!"
Captain Carod walked past him, his heavy boots echoing against the metallic flooring. "Spatial compression, Techyon. I've integrated advanced dimensional technology into the hull. Why build a big target when you can just make the inside larger than the outside?"
Techyon wandered toward a sleek, chrome machine tucked into a corner alcove. It looked remarkably like a simple water filtration system he had seen in the lower districts of Hydro City. "And what about this?" he asked, pointing at a glowing panel on the front. "Is this for cleaning the air?"
Carod let out a short, metallic chuckle. "Oh, that? Watch this." He reached out and tapped a sequence on the touch-screen.
With a hiss of steam and a whirring mechanical sound, a small door slid open. A ceramic bowl slid out onto the tray, filled to the brim with steaming, spicy noodles, perfectly seasoned and garnished with fresh greens.
"Woahhh!" Techyon exclaimed, the delicious scent hitting him instantly. "What kind of magic is that? You just summoned food out of thin air!"
"That's not magic, Techyon," Carod replied, heading toward the cockpit. "That is molecular reconstruction—technology. Though, in this world, I suppose the difference is just a matter of perspective."
Techyon grabbed the bowl, the heat warming his hands. He took a bite, his eyes lighting up. It was better than the food at the palace!
"Techyon," Carod called out, his voice turning serious as he strapped himself into the pilot's seat. The controls in front of him flickered to life, a thousand holographic displays reflecting in his visor. "I would strongly suggest you find a seat. We're about to break the sound barrier, and the gravity stabilizers take a second to kick in."
The two sidekicks quickly moved to their stations, snapping their heavy seat belts into place with a series of sharp clicks. "We are ready, Captain! Engines at one-hundred percent!"
Techyon, still clutching his bowl of noodles, hopped into a plush command chair and buckled up with one hand, his mouth full of noodles. "I am... gulp... I am also ready!"
Carod's hands flew across the controls. "Then hold on to your lunch,boy. Engaging warp-thrusters. Destination: The Peak of Silence!"
The ship let out a low, vibrating roar that resonated in Techyon's chest. Suddenly, the view out the main viewport blurred into a tunnel of white and blue light. The gravity pressed Techyon back into his seat, and for a moment, he felt like he was flying faster than his own light-speed sprint. They were no longer walking to the north—they were hunting the wind.
[Aboard the Northern Star – In Flight]
Techyon stared out the side viewport, watching the clouds drift by. He shifted in his seat, tapping his fingers impatiently on the armrest. To anyone else, the ship was a blur of silver crossing the sky, but to his hyper-perceptive senses, it felt like they were crawling through honey.
"Why is this thing going so slow?" Techyon asked, looking over at the cockpit. "I feel like I could have walked there and back twice by now."
Captain Carod didn't even turn his head, his hands steady on the steering columns. "Isn't it obvious, Techyon? Your perspective is warped by your own power. Most S-Rank adventurers are already faster than light. But Z-Ranks? They are massively faster than light—plus plus. To someone like you, a physical vessel traveling through the atmosphere feels like a snail."
Carod adjusted a dial, and the ship's engines hummed deeper. "I could perform a dimensional jump or push the engines to their absolute maximum, but we're still within the planetary atmosphere. If I ignited the MFTL drives down here, the kinetic shockwave would vaporize every forest and village for a thousand miles under the spaceship. I'm a Protector, Techyon, not a world-breaker."
Techyon leaned back, realizing the responsibility that came with such speed. It wasn't just about moving fast; it was about the destruction left in the wake of that movement.
"But don't worry," Carod said, tilting the ship's nose upward. "Look out the window to your left. We've arrived."
Techyon leaned against the glass, his breath hitching. "Woah..."
Rising out of the swirling white mists of the north was a mountain that defied gravity. It didn't just have a peak; it was a jagged spear of obsidian and ice that pierced through the very roof of the world. It was so tall that the top was bathed in the eternal purple glow of the upper atmosphere, untouched by the storms below. This was the Peak of Silence, the home of the strongest warrior he knew.