A stream of air hit his face, the surrounding landscapes rushing downward. Reyn gripped the saddle's pommel tightly, leaning slightly forward to press closer to the griffon's back, and felt an acceleration similar to that during an airplane takeoff.
But this was far more thrilling than flying in a plane!
Once airborne, the griffon continued gaining altitude. The distant horizon stretched before his eyes, and the higher they climbed, the clearer the outlines of Longsand became.
At first, Reyn was a bit nervous.
When they reached an altitude of two to three hundred meters, the griffon stopped climbing and flew straight, maintaining height. Sitting on its back became very steady, without the slightest jolt, and Reyn's pounding heart gradually calmed.
He gazed at Longsand from above, strong winds buffeting him, and an indescribable sense of exhilaration overwhelmed him. He wanted to shout loudly to release the overflowing emotion.
"Even if it's not as safe or comfortable, riding a griffon is incomparably cooler than any plane!"
By the time the excitement subsided, the griffon had already covered several kilometers. The Public Safety Bureau building below had shrunk to the size of a palm.
"How fast it flies!"
Reyn activated the Eye of the Soul to gauge the distance and quickly calculated: the griffon's flight speed was about eighty kilometers per hour. And that was cruising speed; at full throttle, it could probably exceed a hundred.
Moreover, the griffon's endurance was astonishing. As a magical beast, it had greater stamina than horses and could fly continuously with a load for over three hours. After a short rest and meal, it was ready to fly again. This long-range capability made griffons the best flying steeds and allowed for powerful griffon legions.
At that moment, Reyn heard a strange sound behind him amid the wind gusts. Glancing back, he saw Martin catching up on another griffon. This one was larger, weighing around one and a half thousand pounds sterling, with a wingspan over five meters, and it flew faster.
In less than two minutes, the big griffon drew level with him. Martin, riding its back, wore protective goggles against the wind.
"Don't fly too far," he shouted loudly. "Practice here, do the maneuvers I taught you."
"Got it!"
Reyn focused and began precisely directing the griffon's flight path. Turns, accelerations, climbs, hovering, dives... The griffon carrying Reyn executed various aerial maneuvers flawlessly. It was excellently trained and carried out every command from Reyn's leg kicks without a single mistake.
After half an hour of continuous practice, Reyn had grown accustomed to flying and coordinated perfectly with the griffon.
"There, you've mastered griffon riding," Martin said loudly, quite pleased with Reyn's progress. "If you want to improve further, come to me more often. Fly each griffon a few times so they get used to your scent, and then you won't need the safety straps anymore."
In nearly thirty years of training griffons for the Public Safety Bureau and teaching hundreds of people the art of riding, he had never seen anyone master it so quickly. Many superhumans trembled in fear on their first griffon flight. It took them at least three or four sessions to overcome their fear of heights, get used to the lack of footing, learn balance, and gain some riding skill. His riding technique wasn't limited to griffons; once mastered, it could apply to other flying steeds with similar builds.
Reyn thanked Martin for the thorough instruction. His gaze lingered on the old man: during the training, no matter where his griffon flew or what maneuvers it performed, Martin and his massive griffon always followed closely, never lagging and staying exactly ten meters to the side. Such flight mastery filled Reyn with admiration, and he knew he had much more to learn.
Martin was about to head back and land, but seeing Reyn wasn't ready to stop flying, he let him circle freely over Longsand.
Reyn saw Longsand from such a height for the first time. While controlling the flight, he could make out streets and buildings below. Flying so high, the griffon looked no bigger than a hawk from the ground, so it drew no attention. Reyn himself had never noticed people on the backs of hawks soaring in the sky before.
"Honiton District, Rian District, Los District, and there's the Ferreglen river..."
They continued flying, carefully avoiding crossing the Ferreglen river or entering the Silver Star District. Martin had warned before takeoff that the area around the Duke's Mages' Tower was a no-fly zone. If a griffon entered the view of the Spiritual Demon's Eye on the tower, it would panic and throw off its rider.
They flew for quite a while when a black dot appeared on the eastern horizon. It grew rapidly, and from several kilometers away, Reyn made out its shape and recognized it immediately.
"An airship!"
Reyn had heard about airships and sometimes seen them passing high in the sky, but he'd never flown on one.
This world's airship resembled earthly ones: a massive elliptical balloon with a gondola attached below. The total length was about one hundred fifty meters—a true flying ship powered by steam propellers. Wing-like sails flanked the gondola, shimmering with magical energy. They moved smoothly up and down, aiding stability and adding speed.
"A magical airship, and not slow either—almost as fast as a griffon."
Reyn estimated the airship's speed neared a hundred kilometers per hour. Though far from airplane speeds, it likely matched in comfort and safety. Reyn didn't know the cost of a magical airship, but it was surely astronomical, affordable only to the elite. Most Empire residents opted for cheaper steam trains. This was practically exclusive to nobility and tycoons; its docks were in the prestigious Silver Star District, far removed from common folk.
The airship headed straight toward them, growing larger. With the Eye of the Soul, Reyn could already make out figures on the gondola deck. He wanted to just admire the magical airship, but noticed the people on deck arguing. Two groups of armed superhumans faced off; it looked like a fight was about to break out.
"What's going on?"
Reyn thought for a moment and decided to fly closer. Now he was a member of the Demon Extermination Squad, part of the Public Safety Bureau—a true enforcer of order. Though he usually handled demon-related matters, he had authority to intervene in any order disturbances in Longsand territory. Even if this airship hadn't landed yet and was still airborne, an enforcer was duty-bound to step in.
The two griffons sped toward the airship. Several hundred meters out, they arced wide, turned to fly parallel, and slowly approached.
The people on deck spotted the griffons too and, halting their argument, stared at them.
"Martin, follow the airship, don't descend. I'll board and check it out."
Reyn noted these superhumans were quite strong. Martin was elderly, and aside from riding skills, little different from an ordinary human. Boarding the airship would be unsafe for him.
"Go on, be careful," the old man advised.
Reyn directed his griffon to the airship's side and landed softly on the deck with a dull thud.
On deck, he found an invisible force field blocking air currents, shielding from the strong wind. It was quiet and calm, the deck like a spacious observation platform.
"Definitely another amazing magic application," Reyn couldn't help admiring.
He didn't unclip the safety straps and, staying on the griffon's back, flashed his badge.
"I'm from the Public Safety Bureau," he said authoritatively, looking down at them all. "Who are you? Planning a brawl on an airship?"
Among the arguers was a luxuriously dressed noble lady, an ordinary human, accompanied by four or five bodyguards, two of whom were Iron Guards.
Opposing them were two superhumans: a man in leather armor with a longbow on his back, sword and dagger at his belt, and a coil of rope—clearly a ranger; and a woman in a mage's robe, with a pretty face, very pale skin, long hair in a ponytail with emerald-green tips.
Reyn's heart skipped: the woman was a third-level plant shepherd, her ranger companion also third-level. Both struck him as very dangerous opponents.
When Reyn showed his badge, they barely glanced at it and stayed silent. But the noble lady, as if seeing a savior, exclaimed,
"Enforcer sir, I'm Kaina Hodgson, and these two..."
Reyn had never heard of the Hodgson family and wasn't interested in their conflict's cause. From the lady's behavior, it seemed a petty squabble where she'd clashed with two stranger superhumans. She lacked the sense to grasp the situation, but her bodyguards knew better than to tangle with these two—though they couldn't voice it to their employer, leading to the standoff. If it came to blows, these two could dispatch all the bodyguards in one strike.
Nearby stood several confused-looking people. Likely airship crew, including two superhumans responsible for flight safety. Due to the noble lady's status, they could only plead, not use force.
A crowd of passengers had gathered on deck, awaiting the spectacle's continuation.
Reyn's gaze swept over the passengers.
"I don't care what happened between you," he cut off the lady, "but no fighting on an airship. If you don't comply, you'll come with me to the Public Safety Bureau."
With that, he stared pointedly at the noble lady. Clearly, the words were for her. She trembled with rage and, pointing at Reyn, screamed,
"Do you know who I..."
Reyn already knew there'd be no fight; the noble lady was just throwing a tantrum. He had no patience to listen further. He turned his griffon, leaped off the deck, and flew away.
The people on deck were stunned, not expecting such decisiveness from the enforcer: he appeared and vanished as quickly, spending less than half a minute aboard.
"Had I known it was such a trifle, I wouldn't have bothered boarding," Reyn thought. "But there was some benefit."
He had the griffon hover in the air and, gazing at the receding airship, fixed his sight—as if piercing the gondola—on one passenger. In his quick scan of the deck, he'd spotted a Lohi follower. Luckily, the distance was great enough that the man hadn't noticed the Seal of Discord on Reyn, so he'd hurried off to avoid exposure.
Reyn memorized the man's appearance and decided to track him after the airship landed.