At the news that the hot air balloon had been completed, Ghislain’s face lit up. The thought of having a flying device was exciting, as it could be used for many purposes. He had secretly been looking forward to the completion of the hot air balloon. “Good, that’s exactly what I expected from you dwarves. See? I told you it was possible to make a flying device.” “That’s right! We’ve really completed the hot air balloon based on the instructions you gave us! Hahaha!” Galbarik laughed heartily. Although they had received help from Ghislain, mastering a new technology was a source of pride. In his excitement, Galbarik showered Ghislain with praise. Compliments were free, and it wasn’t hard to give a few. “You are truly remarkable! To think you came up with something like this!” “Well, I suppose it is impressive.” “Come on, celebrate more! We’re the first in the continent to create a flying device!” “Yes, we are indeed the first.” Having seen hot air balloons countless times in his previous life, Ghislain responded to the overjoyed Galbarik with a dry tone. To him, their success was expected, not particularly novel or exciting. But to Galbarik and the other dwarves, it was a different story. Creating the hot air balloon was an achievement that would go down in history. “Finally, humanity can soar through the skies with its own power, independent of magic! This is truly a victory of technology! Hahaha!” In this era, flying was considered an impossibility without the use of magic to defy natural laws. But now, they had crafted a machine that could ascend into the sky without relying on magic. For the dwarves, who valued technology above all, this was a moment of triumph. The dwarves cheered at Ghislain. “The lord is amazing! To observe even the smallest phenomena with such keen insight!” “But more than that, it’s even more incredible that he could use those observations to create new technology! That’s a rare mind!” “I’ll never doubt the lord’s knowledge again! He’s a genius! A brilliant scholar!” “How much must you have studied since you were a child to know all of this?” The flood of compliments made Ghislain awkwardly scratch his cheek. He had barely gotten used to being called the kingdom’s best healer, and now people were calling him a genius scholar. At this rate, his tombstone would read, “Here lies the great scholar.” ‘Ah, this is a bit embarrassing.’ Ghislain’s real expertise lay in combat, and everything else was just knowledge from his past life, cobbled together as needed. Still, seeing the dwarves so happy, he didn’t want to ruin the mood. “Ahem, it’s just something I happened to know. It’s not like I studied much...” “Exactly! True geniuses don’t need to study for long! They say a genius can see the whole from a part!” “No, that’s not really what I meant...” “It’s a pity, though. If you had gone to the academy, you would have been the top graduate for sure! Being the top student at the Royal Academy is highly regarded, you know?” He probably would have been the top student—though more for causing trouble than studying. Feeling embarrassed, Ghislain waved his hand and changed the subject. “The test is over, right? There were no safety issues?” “Don’t worry! We tested it by putting a sheep, a duck, and a rooster on board for a 20-minute flight. Afterward, a mage boarded it to confirm everything. It’s perfectly safe! The demonstration version is also larger and sturdier than the prototype!” Why they used a sheep, duck, and rooster, Ghislain didn’t know... But since a mage had also tested it, there didn’t seem to be any safety concerns. “Good. Let’s start the demonstration. Tell everyone to gather.” As soon as the order was given, the retainers of the estate quickly assembled. They gathered in a large open space, their curious eyes fixed on the hot air balloon resting on the ground. Word had already spread throughout the estate that the dwarves had created something amazing. With something floating in the sky, rumors were inevitable. Claude, excited to the point of spitting as he spoke, asked Ghislain, “My lord! Is it true that this was designed for reconnaissance? That’s what the dwarves said! It’s true, right? This would be perfect for spotting enemies during a siege!” “Yeah... that’s mostly what it’s for.” “Khh, I knew you would change your mind! Right? You can’t go to war with sick men!” Claude, overwhelmed with emotion, wiped away the tears welling up in his eyes. According to what he’d heard from Galbarik, the hot air balloon would be extremely effective during a siege. One of the biggest challenges in a siege was determining what the enemy was doing beyond the walls. With a hot air balloon, they could easily monitor the movements of the enemy army. To Claude, this invention meant that the lord had reconsidered his plans for war. Watching Claude celebrate by himself, Ghislain clicked his tongue and asked, “Are you happy?” “Ah, of course!” Claude had come to realize a truth about life: no matter how reckless a person might be, if you persist in your sincere persuasion, they will eventually understand. ‘Our lord has changed. He’s finally listening to reason.’ Beside the tearful Claude, Belinda’s eyes sparkled as she asked, “Young master, does that really fly? Can it soar through the sky?” “Of course. The tests have already been completed.” “Wow! Let’s go for a ride! It’ll be so fun!” “That sounds good. It is really fun to ride. But first, we need to do the demonstration. Let’s begin!” At Ghislain’s signal, Alfoi approached the balloon’s air chamber. He reveled in the attention focused on him, wearing a smug expression. As someone who had been part of the development process, Alfoi felt that the focus on the balloon was also a focus on him. Using wind magic, he quickly filled the air chamber, and once it was inflated, he released fire from his hand. Although the balloon had a heating mechanism, using magic made the process much faster. Fwoosh! As the air quickly heated up with the magic fire, the balloon slowly began to lift off the ground. “Oooh!” The onlookers gasped in awe as the balloon rose. Alfoi, showing off, shrugged his shoulders arrogantly before jumping into the basket and lighting the fuel tank connected to the air vent. Since the mage couldn’t continuously release magic to keep the balloon afloat, they used a mixture of hay, wool, and oil to maintain the heat. The hot air balloon, anchored by a long rope, floated up to about 20 meters and then stopped. As the minutes passed and the balloon remained afloat, the crowd began to cheer. “Wow! It’s really flying!” “Amazing! How did they create such a thing?” “As expected of our lord! And the dwarves, of course!” Amid the crowd’s enthusiastic cheers, the dwarves stood with their hands behind their backs, basking in the admiration, while Ghislain smiled in satisfaction. After about ten minutes of flight, Alfoi descended with an exhilarated expression. “Now we’ll cut the rope and let it fly freely. Anyone want to try it? It’s not that big, so we can only take one person!” Alfoi, sounding like a child with a new toy, spoke with a tone of inflated pride. Seeing this, the other mages sighed and shook their heads. Alfoi had refused to give up his place after the test flights. He was acting ridiculously. In truth, the balloon could be operated without a mage. But Alfoi insisted that having a mage on board to adjust the temperature quickly was better, and so every time the balloon was launched, he made sure he was on it. In a place like Ferdium, where there wasn’t much to entertain oneself, the hot air balloon had become one of the few fun activities. “Come on, if you want to ride, decide quickly! We’ve successfully flown several times, so it’s safe, I promise!” Having just seen Alfoi ride the balloon himself, there was no room for doubt. People began raising their hands, eager to go next. “Me! I want to ride!” “My lord! Let me be the first to ensure it’s safe!” However, their shouts were drowned out by one man’s booming voice. “What are you talking about? As the future commander of the Fenris Knights, I should go first! Anyone who wants to live, back off!” The speaker was Kaor, who had spent the past few days locked in the training grounds, constantly practicing. The moment he saw the hot air balloon, his eyes lit up. Such an exciting new experience was something he had to try first. It was part of his creed as a man. “Let’s settle this with a duel! Whoever wins gets to go first!” At Kaor’s words, the crowd flinched and took a step back. No one wanted to cross swords or even exchange words with that lunatic. But not everyone backed down. Belinda and Gillian immediately drew their weapons and approached Kaor. Sensing the brewing conflict, Ghislain clicked his tongue and spoke. “I’ll let everyone ride eventually, so stop fighting. Kaor, you go first.” It was better to let someone as openly greedy as Kaor go first and get it over with. “Ah, as expected, the lord knows how to handle things.” Kaor, beaming with pride, climbed into the hot air balloon while the others watched enviously. Once Kaor was aboard, Alfoi launched the balloon again. This time, they cut the rope, allowing the balloon to drift with the wind. To prevent any accidents, they had decided to keep the balloon airborne for only a few minutes at a safe altitude before bringing it back down. “Wow! This feels incredible!” As the balloon rose higher, Kaor looked down at the ground and couldn’t help but be amazed. The crowd below followed the balloon with their eyes, walking along beneath it. The sight was so captivating that they hardly noticed how far they were walking. Kaor looked down at the tiny figures of the people below, his expression smug. They looked like mere dolls from his elevated vantage point. ‘So, this is what it feels like to look down on others from a high place.’ It was only after rising so high that Kaor realized how much he belonged in the air. An idea flashed through Kaor’s mind, and he immediately shared it with Alfoi. “This is amazing. Let’s go higher. Let’s rise all the way up to the heavens.” “What? You want to go higher?” “Yeah, let’s soar even higher and look down on those ants below! We’re the rulers of the sky now!” “That’s a great idea. Actually, why don’t we take this and escape to the Tower of Magic?” There was no reason for either of them to disagree. As soon as Alfoi agreed with Kaor’s suggestion, he stopped adjusting the temperature and looked down at the people below with a haughty grin. ‘Ah, looking down from here feels so satisfying! The successor to the Tower of Magic should always be in a position like this! Look up at me! Worship me!’ As the two idiots giggled to themselves, the balloon, now out of control, began to rise rapidly. As the balloon rose higher and higher, the expressions of the people on the ground began to shift to confusion. It wasn’t just that the balloon was rising too high. The air chamber was also being buffeted by strong winds, causing it to sway wildly. “Why is it moving like that? It’s shaking too much.” “Did something go wrong?” “It looks dangerously high...” Behind the murmuring crowd, Ghislain tilted his head in confusion as well. Something was definitely wrong. Why had the balloon risen so high? Then, the balloon suddenly swayed and began to descend. The onlookers were struck with panic. “The air chamber is shrinking!” “Is it falling?” “Oh no, it’s speeding up!” At first, the balloon descended slowly, with some air still left in the chamber. But falling objects naturally accelerate. As the chamber deflated further, the balloon began to plummet at an alarming rate. No one could help them. The balloon, although clearly visible, was far too high for anyone to intervene. As panic spread among the crowd, Alfoi’s terrified scream echoed down from above. “Help meee!” Then came Kaor’s bellow. “Damn it! We’re screwed!” Watching the balloon fall, Ghislain muttered to himself. “Oh, it was defective.” It was unfortunate, but inevitable. After all, invention is rarely perfect on the first try. As Ghislain clicked his tongue in disapproval, the balloon continued its rapid descent. “Aaaaah!” Alfoi clung to the basket, screaming in terror. To think he’d end up dying after suffering as a slave in this wretched estate—it was an unjust and bitter end. ‘I should have stayed at the Tower of Magic! I was happy there!’ But that thought didn’t last long. As the fall accelerated, his mind went blank with fear. At that moment, Kaor’s booming voice rang out like thunder. “Hey! Snap out of it! If we fall like this, we’ll really die! We’re going to die!” “I don’t care! I’m scared!” Alfoi, eyes shut tight, trembled uncontrollably, shouting in panic. Having spent his life as a researcher at the Tower of Magic and laboring at the construction sites in Fenris, Alfoi had no real experience in handling emergencies. His ability to respond to danger was nonexistent. Kaor, on the other hand, was a veteran of countless battles. Forcing himself to stay calm, Kaor widened his eyes and shouted, “You’re a mage, aren’t you? Don’t you have some kind of flying magic? All you need to do is float us for a moment before we hit the ground! Then we can survive! Think!” “Huh? What?” Alfoi’s eyes flickered with a glimmer of hope at the thought of survival. There was a way. A 3rd-circle levitation spell. He couldn’t use gravity magic, which required a 7th-circle mage, but a 3rd-circle spell like Levitation was well within his abilities. While the spell drained a lot of mana for a 3rd-circle spell, making it difficult to stay airborne for long, it would be enough to slow their fall. “I-I can do it! I can make us float for a bit!” Hearing this, Kaor’s face lit up with relief. “Good! Listen carefully! We’re going to jump off this thing!” Alfoi stared at Kaor in disbelief, as if he had just declared a suicide pact.