Su Cheng took the poetry collection to the bookstore owner and asked if there was a complete transcribed copy. "This one is falling apart, and many parts are illegible."
The owner glanced at the book and said that it was already a copy, and a newly transcribed one would be the same. "The one in your hands is ten silver coins, a new one is fifteen."
Su Cheng: "..."
For a torn book, wasn't this price a bit ridiculous?
Su Cheng: "Then what about the torn out parts inside? Does the new one have them?"
The owner's expression changed, and he started to change the subject. Su Cheng slapped a gold coin on the counter, and he finally relented.
This book was the work of a wandering poet from many years ago. That person traveled everywhere and witnessed various secret rituals of evil cults.
Later, he also drew some magic circles and runes in the book.
Normally, without anyone to guide them, ordinary people would find these drawings useless. The author just wanted to give these poems more atmosphere.
As it happened, the bookstore owner had a friend who was a cleric. Upon seeing those patterns, his friend urged him to destroy them immediately.
He even said that if the people from the Holy Church saw them, they would most likely send him to the Inquisition.
The owner was scared out of his wits and stayed up all night tearing out and burning all the relevant content from the books.
Su Cheng: "...I thought the torn parts were more of the story. If it is just that, I have no interest either."
The owner had been afraid she was some sort of heretic, so hearing this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Speaking of which," Su Cheng said as she walked out of the store holding the book, "is the content of these poems true?"
The commander had left at some point, leaving only the two of them.
The blood mage looked down at her. "Perhaps a part of it is."
"Hmm? So you know the truth?"
"I am not too clear about the God of Envy, but I have read similar poems recounting a story I know, and some of the content in them was fake."
"Oh," Su Cheng nodded. "Then that is artistic embellishment, or the author's own imagination."
There was a small alchemy workshop at the corner of the street. Camus went straight inside. She looked around at the entrance for a moment and suddenly realized that this neighborhood looked somewhat familiar.
Earlier, when she came out of the blacksmith shop, she had seen the commander from afar.
At that time, he was standing at the entrance of the tavern across the street.
Su Cheng could not help but tilt her head to look over. The shop's decor was old, with the door curtain half rolled up. Inside, the wine racks were built from rough logs, with various bottles and clay pots placed haphazardly on them.
There were very few seats inside, only two tables in total, both of which were full at the moment. Those people seemed to be a group, all wearing light leather armor, looking like mercenaries.
Kai stood by the wall, talking to one of them.
Su Cheng had only taken a quick glance when the black-haired, golden-eyed man turned his head and waved at her from a distance.
She jogged over curiously.
"I borrowed his mount from this gentleman," Kai pointed at the mercenary in front of him, "to give you some training."
The mercenary laughed. "Is it this lady? No problem, let us go."
Su Cheng followed them in a daze. The three of them soon left the town. She returned the horse to the farmer along the way, and then they arrived at a flat and open grassy slope.
The mercenary blew a sharp whistle.
A dark shadow hovering high in the sky let out a long cry, quickly dived down, and stopped ten meters in front of them.
It was a magical beast with a robust physique. Its front half resembled a steed, while its rear half looked like an eagle. It had a coat of ink-black short fur, a silver-gray mane, and broad, plump wings.
It was about the same size as an ordinary horse, considered a medium-sized magical beast. Its dark, round eyes looked bright and docile.
"...Lending her to you," the mercenary patted his partner's neck. "She is very gentle and will not hurt you. Do not hurt her either. Just clap your hands to call her."
Saying so, he muttered a few words into the magical beast's ear, then turned and left.
Su Cheng looked at the horse-eagle in utter confusion. "What in the world?"
A certain someone nearby was still carrying a box, and the wine bottles inside were mostly empty.
"A simple training," he said with a smile. "The Ink-plumed Steed-eagle needs to sprint before taking off. Their riders usually mount during this period. Go give it a try."
Su Cheng: "Why not get on her back before she sprints?"
Kai took another sip of wine. "That might affect her takeoff, especially for one that is not yet fully grown."
Su Cheng looked at the horse-eagle and thought to herself that the things she had ridden before were much more terrifying than this, so she could not help but nod and decide to try.
She asked about the approximate distance of the sprint, then started to back up. After retreating about a hundred meters, she took a deep breath and clapped her hands forcefully.
With a loud and clear neigh, the magical beast's front hooves lifted into the air, its hind legs exerted force, and it dashed out like a bolt of black lightning.
In an instant, it swept past her eyes. The fierce wind messed up her hair and blew her clothes so they fluttered endlessly.
Clouds of dust rose from the ground, and grass clippings danced in the air.
Su Cheng: "???"
She felt like a messy little stick figure in the wind from a comic book.
Blinking, the horse-eagle had already rushed high into the sky, turning into a dark shadow in the clouds.
Su Cheng: "..."
What kind of speed is this?!
She could not react at all. Let alone vaulting onto its back, she could not even touch it, right?
It was also a good thing it did not run straight at her, otherwise she would have been smashed into meat paste.
Soon the magical beast from the sky landed, circled her twice, nudged her with its nose, and looked at her in confusion, seemingly puzzled.
Su Cheng was sweating profusely. "I am sorry, I am sorry, I am just too terrible at this..."
Wait a minute!
She quickly went to find the commander. "Shouldn't this start at a slow speed? And gradually shift gears?"
The latter was sitting on the grass drinking. "No, it is just like that. I specifically picked the youngest one; its speed is already the slowest."
He pointed to his eyes. "Mages can all use spiritual power, and warriors can also use battle aura to enhance their sensory abilities. Figure out a way to coordinate these powers."
Su Cheng's face darkened with imaginary lines. "You make it sound so easy."
The reality, however, was extremely tragic.
Until the other two teammates arrived belatedly, she had not made much progress. Fortunately, this magical beast had a really good temper and showed no impatience at all.
Even so, she felt a bit guilty herself, feeling that she had let this little horse down.
Su Cheng: "..."
She simply counted down in her heart. Anyway, the magical beast's speed was very uniform; it would not be fast this time and slow the next. The time it took to reach her was about the same each time.
When the horse-eagle charged over again, she counted the seconds and, acting out of desperation, reached out her hand.
And then, without a doubt, she was sent flying by the impact.
Su Cheng lay on the ground looking at the clear blue sky and slowly closed her eyes.
"Do you think she is asleep or dead?"
Then a teasing male voice sounded above her head.
"...It is almost noon."
Another deeper voice said.
Su Cheng sat up in disbelief. "What?"
Camus stood two meters away, glanced at her, and then looked at the sky, seeming to gesture for her to look at the sun.
"Darling," Sasha squatted down beside her, looking at her with a smile, "if you want to learn to fight like a warrior, you must be able to use battle aura continuously and coherently, not limited to one posture or a brief one or two movements..."
He raised his cold, slender fingers, gently poking her shoulder, then moved along her shoulder blade to her spine, slowly sliding down the line of her backbone.
Su Cheng felt a bit ticklish and couldn't help but subconsciously dodge forward.
The vampire, however, did not let her go. His fingertips pressed against her lower back, moving forward along with her movements.
She was originally sitting on the grass, and now, being pressed firmly by him, her lower back suddenly felt numb and tingly, causing half of her body to go soft.
Then she fell to the side in a face-plant posture.
Su Cheng couldn't help but turn her head to scold him, "...What is wrong with you?"
Sasha still pressed his index finger against her waist. He didn't seem to use much force, yet she simply couldn't stand up.
He watched her at his leisure. Su Cheng originally wanted to curse at him, but suddenly she vaguely understood.
She tried to exert force but could only barely prop up her upper body. A laugh suddenly sounded behind her ear, and a cold breath brushed through her hair.
"Imagine your battle aura—"
The vampire raised his other hand. His cold fingertips slid across her tailbone and pressed heavily right above her pelvis. "Ignite your core fulcrum."
His left hand slid to the back of her thigh, forcefully pinching her trembling biceps femoris with a hard squeeze.
Then he bent his fingers and knocked on her lower abdomen, his palm pressing down slowly against her rectus abdominis.
Her belt buckle was pressed deeply into her flesh, and she couldn't help but groan.
"...Driving each other. You can imagine your battle aura as a chain, linking your bones and muscles together."
He wrapped his arm around her waist and squeezed the erector spinae muscles on the side of her waist. "Try it?"
Su Cheng took two deep breaths, feeling the heavy strength behind her waist. The force made her uncomfortable, and she instinctively wanted to resist.
The battle aura in her body also seemed to be stirring, flowing out as her waist and hips exerted force.
She pressed against the grass and leaped up.
Sasha stood up and gave her a thumbs-up.
Su Cheng's stomach still ached faintly. She glared at him in annoyance. "...Thanks, I'll try again."
Now she only had one problem left to solve.
—That was, when the magical beast rushed over, to enhance her capture of its movement trajectory, so she could reach out and grab the saddle reins at the critical moment.
Su Cheng apologized to the horse-eagle, stroking its mane to express that she was too clumsy and might have to trouble it to run a few more times.
The magical beast snorted. Whether it understood or not, it nudged her head with its own.
Su Cheng: "..."
So well-behaved.
She even wanted to keep one!
Although she could probably afford to buy one with her financial resources, the subsequent maintenance would be quite troublesome.
Then she tried for a while longer. In the harsh midday sun, covered in sweat, she finally managed to get her battle aura running.
Even if it was only faintly gathered around her eyes, the various sights within her field of vision became clear.
The soft greenery on the hillside became vivid.
When the green grass swayed in the wind, she could clearly see the jagged outlines of the leaf edges, as well as the insects and ants busy coming and going among the roots and stems.
Su Cheng looked at the magical beast preparing to sprint more than a hundred meters away.
Then came focus.
Actually, it was the same as using the perception of wind to listen, only with established magical guidance, the effect would be greatly improved.
Using her own spiritual power wasn't that obvious.
But she knew that state, and she was barely familiar with the feeling of invoking spiritual power—processing and analyzing those miscellaneous sounds every time she cast a spell.
She gently clapped her hands while completely focusing her attention.
The black shadow sprinted over.
This time, the magical beast's speed seemed a bit slower, at least in her perceptive world.
Thus, she was able to reach out and grab the reins. Her fingers throbbed with pain from hitting the solid muscles on the back of the horse-eagle's neck.
Su Cheng took a breath, and her battle aura circulation suddenly stopped.
She failed to mount the horse's back in time. Holding the rope with one hand, her whole body hung in the air, and then at the moment the magical beast took off, she fell to the ground.
If she hadn't had her battle aura, this fall would have likely broken her spine.
But she didn't suffer such a severe injury now. Although she felt a lot of pain, she could still move freely. She touched herself and felt that her bones didn't seem dislocated.
The audience did not comment on this.
In fact, Camus was still reading, and Sasha was sitting on the hillside poking ants on the ground with a small twig. They didn't seem to notice her.
Su Cheng patted the dirt out of her hair and decided to keep trying.
She kept repeating the whole process in her mind, and remembered her movement of getting up just now—the key was continuity: gathering, distributing, and circulating.
After falling three times, Su Cheng finally managed to flip onto the horse's back.
The moment she succeeded, she didn't even realize it herself.
The hand holding the reins was still faintly aching. The horse-eagle had already neighed cheerfully, flapped its wings, and soared into the sky.
In terms of flight speed, it couldn't compare to the previous dragon-eagle, so she didn't feel any discomfort, not to mention that this saddle was more complete and had stirrups.
Su Cheng sat steadily, looking down at the emerald green grassland and town below.
Half a minute later, the magical beast landed back on the ground. She was still sitting on its back, and the black-haired man not far away gave her a thumbs-up.
Su Cheng waved happily and stretched out her arms to show off. "I like her! If I have my own territory in the future, maybe I'll keep one too."
Kai put down the last wine bottle and walked over. "They can be free-ranged."
Su Cheng tilted her head. "What if it gets stolen?"
She was still sitting on the horse-eagle, so she could look down at him.
The man in front of her also raised his face. Those bright golden eyes held the blazing sun, looking even more brilliant and radiant.
Those seemingly fierce, needle-like vertical pupils were also warmed by a gentle and soft smile.
The next second, the scent of alcohol and leather hit her face.
A figure flashed before her eyes, and the man who was standing next to her disappeared.
A cold, broad chest pressed against her back.
A large hand wrapped in a leather glove gently clasped her slender fingers holding the reins.
The man's strong thighs bent on both sides, seeming to enclose her on the saddle. "You can form a contract with it."
When he spoke, his breath brushed over the top of her head.
Su Cheng froze.
Su Cheng: "?!?!"
Su Cheng: "Isn't it only supposed to carry one person?! Don't crush this lady!"
"That's for flying," the person behind her hesitated for a moment. "I thought you wanted me to come up? You just reached out—"
Their height difference was too great. Su Cheng didn't need to turn her head; she only had to tilt her head back to see his sharp, angular jawline.
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry for a moment. "I was just showing off to you... never mind, there's actually nothing to show off about."
"You are very impressive," he said in a deep voice, carrying a hint of a smile. "I was just thinking that I'm actually not very good at teaching people. I'm very glad to have met a student like you."
The horse-eagle strolled leisurely along the grassy slope, showing no special reaction to having an extra person on its back.
Su Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. "That at least shows you have a good eye, and the tasks you give me are all things I can accomplish—"
The magical beast's size wasn't very large. Although it could carry two people, they had to press closely against each other.
She was almost embedded in that cold, broad embrace. Beside her were bulging muscular arms, and a hard belt buckle pressed against her spine.
Su Cheng couldn't help but shift a little.
The man behind her caught his breath slightly and suddenly grasped her waist, his strong fingers pressing the rough leather of his gloves into her thin clothing.
"...Careful."
"?"
Did he actually think she was going to fall off?
"I'm fine," Su Cheng could not help but say. "That kind of contract isn't something you can just establish casually, right? Plus, it takes a lot of time—"
She was perfectly willing to spend time playing with magical beasts herself.
"The problem is that I can't guarantee I will always have that kind of time. After all, there are still a lot of things I have to deal with—"
Su Cheng paused and added in a joking tone, "Being a dragon rider would be pretty nice, though. Setting aside drakes, as long as wyverns and giant dragons aren't newborns, they are all very intelligent and not easily lured away."
"...A dragon rider?"
Kai's tone seemed somewhat subtle as he chewed over the word. "What kind of dragon do you like?"
Su Cheng: "?"
Most people might think she was indulging in wishful thinking if they heard her say that. Mr. Commander was not the type to say such things, but she had still expected him to offer some encouragement.
Su Cheng: "I don't know? Giant dragons can talk, right? So maybe one I can easily converse with? One that matches my temperament?"
The man behind her seemed to let out a soft laugh. "Alright, that shouldn't be too hard to find."
The hippogriff strolled along the lush grassy slope. The sunlight blended the riders' shadows into one, swaying together with the rhythm of the magical beast's strides.
