Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 103

The Windwalker had shrunk since our first encounter, a little, no, quite a bit, but it still looked big to my eyes.

I carefully petted the Windwalker’s head.

“Bwaaaack!”

Maybe it was enjoying my touch, as it threw its head back and let out a loud cry.

I quickly hopped onto its back.

When summoned as a mount, they always came with saddles.

Riding it felt different from riding the Hellfire Horse or the Wolf.

The moment I placed my foot in the stirrup, the Windwalker began flapping its wings.

Its gigantic, blue wings spread wide, creating a strange wind, and we started to ascend into the air.

“Oh.”

Keeping my balance wasn’t too difficult.

There was less swaying compared to running on rough ground. It was even steadier than riding a horse or a wolf.

Just as I gave a slight tug on the reins, the Windwalker kicked its legs against the air.

Just like its name, the Windwalker began to walk through the sky.

Slowly, it moved as if it was living up to its name, using the wind as a stepping stone to propel itself forward.

It felt completely different from flying with a skill.

I stared dumbfounded, looking down at my surroundings.

The duration of flying skills is short. Even then, you hardly have time to enjoy the view from above before you’re back down.

But this time was different. I could soar freely at this altitude, going wherever I wanted.

“Let’s go!”

It felt similar to controlling the horse and the wolf. I nudged its belly with my foot, and it began to speed up.

The fierce wind brushed against my cheeks. The wide-spread clouds fluttered by my body.

The Windwalker was indeed living up to its title as a ruler of the skies, reaching an incredibly high speed.

Whoooosh-!

As we zipped just above the trees, the wind from the Windwalker’s wings shook the branches violently.

Leaving leaves scattered behind, we continued to fly through the sky.

[Hey. Aren’t you going to school?]

At that moment, a familiar voice called out.

It was a voice coming from outside the game, not inside. It was Harang.

I quickly checked the game time.

It was showing 7:30 AM.

*

Thanks to Harang, I safely arrived at school without getting scolded by Mom.

I rubbed my tired eyes and closed them.

I still felt like I was floating in the sky.

The immense sense of freedom given to me by the Windwalker hit me like a rush.

Was this what it felt like to rule the sky?

While I was savoring the feeling of flying with my eyes closed, a familiar presence approached.

I didn’t even need to see. It was Sohee.

“Hey, Sohee.”

“… Did you know?”

“Yeah.”

I remained with my eyes shut.

I still felt like I was soaring. The pain igniting in my head was recreating that sensation in reality.

“You look like you’re having fun.”

“Yeah, I’m flying.”

“Flying…?”

“Yep.”

“Did you eat something weird?”

“I haven’t eaten anything except this morning.”

Weird? The only person who ever feeds me anything is Sohee.

I reached my hand out to her. It was time for my share of Soft & Chewy Cow.

“Give it to me.”

But no matter how long I waited, the Soft & Chewy Cow didn’t appear on my hand.

I cautiously opened my eyes.

Visual information registered in my brain. It was the scenery of a normal classroom, not the sky.

The moment I realized this, the feeling of floating vanished in an instant.

“Ah—”

A sigh filled with disappointment escaped my lips.

“You stayed up playing the game again, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s not good for your health.”

“I’m fine. I know my body best.”

“Your skin will suffer, too.”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

I poked my cheek with my finger to prove my point.

My soft and smooth skin was still the same.

Sohee stretched her hand out, as if needing to verify if what I said was true, and began kneading my cheek.

“How long are you going to do that?”

“Um…”

Eventually, Sohee went back to her seat when the school bell rang.

That day, I received four Soft & Chewy Cows.

*

Flying in the sky atop the Windwalker was truly enjoyable.

But I hadn’t forgotten about leveling up.

“Beepaaaaack!”

With the Windwalker’s fierce roar, I descended to the ground, swinging my sword.

The magic flowing from the large blade successfully decapitated the monster.

Slash—!

The true speed of the Windwalker came from flying.

Once grounded, the Windwalker showed a very slow speed.

“Hyah!”

Jumping off of the Windwalker, I swung my sword to wipe out a group of monsters in one fell swoop.

[Wheel Wind]

As soon as I activated the skill, my body began to spin, and red blood surged forth.

Swisha!

Like the blades of a blender, I spun mercilessly, grinding the nearby monsters.

As the spinning came to an end, my gaze quickly swept around.

I arrived just in time. The monsters were just regenerating and filling the area.

“Come out!”

No matter how fast the Windwalker was up in the air, it couldn’t beat the wolf on the ground.

Spreading my arms and legs wide, the Windwalker faded away, and the wolf popped out from the magical formation.

“Arph!”

The wolf emerged and let out a threatening roar.

It looked much more aggressive than before.

I hopped on its back and shouted.

“Let’s go!”

With the sound of hooves, I moved as if I was one with the wolf.

The swiftly galloping wolf dodged the monsters’ attacks and quickly escaped their range.

Crack! Crash! Slash—!

I swung my sword swiftly while moving to take out the monsters.

Common humanoid monsters could be hunted quickly without any special skills.

Whenever I swung my sword alongside the passing wolf, the monsters’ necks would be cleanly severed.

Slash—!

The moment I decapitated the last monster, a strange item appeared in my inventory.

[Suspicious Book]

A book that came from another realm.

It was written in the language of another dimension, so I couldn’t decipher it.

As the name stated, it was indeed a suspicious item.

I had taken down plenty of visitors from different realms before, but this was the first time I had received this item.

That meant it had a very low drop rate.

Out of curiosity, I checked to see if similar items were registered in the Auction House.

There were five books available in the Auction House.

There was no average bid price, and the registered prices were all different.

It seemed the usage of this item hadn’t been disclosed yet.

I nodded and shoved the item into a corner of my inventory.

It had only been two days since the new expansion pack launched.

The information to be gathered was quite limited.

Maybe it was because I got the Windwalker. The sub-quests cleared at a much faster pace.

I roamed the skies freely, flying around the city.

If flying wasn’t an option in a certain place, I rode the wolf instead.

It was only natural that I was miles ahead in difference compared to users without riding skills.

Helena—[Yeo.]

Yeo—[Yes?]

Helena—[Where did you get that blue bird?]

Helena began to take an interest in my Windwalker.

I had felt her intense gaze since we first met in the village, and I had been waiting for her to ask.

I kindly shared all the information with Helena.

Which sub-quest to start and how to capture it.

Helena—[Thanks.]

Yeo—[But I don’t know how long the respawn time is.]

Helena quieted down after finishing that sentence.

I lost track of how long it had been.

After repeatedly clearing the sub-quests and raising the Elf Clan’s affinity, the main quest was finally unlocked.

Suddenly, a huge shadow swooped down right in front of me from the skies, descending with a gust of wind.

“Whoa…”

It was Helena, appearing before me.

On top of a gigantic Windwalker.

“I got one too, just like Yeo.”

I looked down to check the Windwalker I was riding.

“Bwaack!”

The Windwalker spread its wings and let out a threatening roar.

It seemed displeased with the newcomer that had appeared before us.

Helena’s Windwalker responded by roaring back.

“Kreeee!”

But that roar was cut short.

Helena, who was perched above, struck its head with her staff.

With a thud! and a short sound, the huge Windwalker quieted down.

Suddenly, I glanced around.

There were quite a few others who had tamed Gryphons besides me and Helena.

But only Helena and I were riding the blue-feathered Gryphon.

“Hmm…”

Being on such a unique mount compared to others made everyone cast envious glances at me.

I slightly lifted my chin and wore a proud expression.

“Is that the same type?”

“It’s about twice the size. Isn’t it a mommy Gryphon and a baby Gryphon?”

“Did you hear the sound earlier? It said ‘beep’.”

“The Blood Demon King is riding a chick!!!”

Standing next to someone who could be a comparison wasn’t a pleasant thought.

I glared at the user who had insulted my Windwalker and said, “It’s not a chick, you know?”

How could it look like a chick? That person had to be out of their mind.

I unsummoned the Windwalker and dashed towards the giant temple in the city.

“I’m going to do a quest.”

“Ah, Yeo…”

“Blood Demon King, don’t run away!”

The Blood Demon King, when will I ever escape that nickname?

It was just a reckless phase of youth.

I bit my lip and turned away.

Helena looked disappointed as she tried to approach me, but she was unable to enter the temple due to lack of affinity.

The moment I entered the temple.

An intro video popped up before my eyes.

But—

I had one habit.

Whenever I saw a skip button, I pressed it without fail.

Tap—

As I tapped the skip button, the quest intro video vanished in an instant.

“Oh—”

At the very end of the temple, there was a large throne with a queen sitting on it surrounded by Elf Elders.

The Elders started to speak one after another as they looked at me, but I didn’t care.

My gaze was fixated above the queen’s head.

[Elf Queen Fridele]

What appeared above the queen’s head was a yellow exclamation mark indicating a main quest.

This was the moment when the long-stopped main quest began anew.