Precedence System: I Take My Rewards In Advance

Mana spread outward into the road ahead of them, forming a geometric frame several dozen meters long. The air inside the frame distorted as if the space occupying it had been folded inward and then pulled open from another direction.

Something enormous began emerging.

Zishan stopped asking questions.

A long silver hull appeared first, followed by sweeping stabilizer fins shaped almost like narrow wings. Dark glass ran along the forward section, while hundreds of engraved Mana channels covered the vessel in patterns too precise for Zishan to follow. The channels brightened one after another as the craft completed its transfer onto the road.

It never touched the ground.

Four circular arrays beneath the hull activated and held the entire vessel several meters above the ruined station.

Zishan slowly raised his head. The craft extended far beyond the space he had expected one ring to contain.

His gaze moved from the vessel to Elinox’s hand, then back to the ring as if his brain was still trying to accept what he had just seen. ”That entire thing was inside there?”

Elinox nodded. ”Artifice Engineering combined with spatial storage construction.”

Zishan stared at the ring with a completely different level of respect now, while murmurs began spreading among the soldiers behind him.

”Skyforge...” one of the younger officers whispered.

Another soldier turned toward the vessel at once. ”That’s the Skyforge Vessel?”

The name spread through the nearby group faster than any formal announcement had managed all afternoon. Even officers who had spent years around military Aether Crafts were staring.

Zishan looked around. ”Why is everyone acting weird again?”

Corporal Tagum gave him a long look. ”You genuinely don’t know what that is?”

”I’ve been in this world for—”

Zishan stopped.

Several people looked toward him.

He corrected himself. ”I’ve been around military camps for weeks. When exactly was I supposed to study rich people’s flying ships?”

Corporal Tagum accepted that answer with visible reluctance.

Commander Holtz’s attention moved across the vessel. ”Skyforge is one of the most advanced privately commissioned Aether Crafts in Olmost.”

”Aether Craft?”

”The general term for Mana-powered flying vessels,” Elinox explained.

Zishan looked up at Skyforge again.

Calling it a flying vessel barely seemed sufficient.

Its hull had no sails, no visible engine, and none of the machinery he associated with aircraft from Earth. Mana moved through the engraved channels like blood through veins, feeding the levitation arrays beneath the hull while separate patterns pulsed along the stabilizers.

The Lieutenant kept his eyes fixed on the craft. ”I saw it once in the capital.”

Corporal Tagum glanced at him.

”From three streets away,” the Lieutenant added.

Zishan looked toward Elinox. ”Is it expensive?”

Several officers reacted before she did.

One man gave a short laugh that sounded less like amusement and more like disbelief that the question had been asked.

Commander Holtz answered instead. ”A military officer could serve his entire career and never see enough money to purchase the materials used in that vessel.”

Zishan looked at him.

Then, the Commander continued, ”The Magic Stones used in its primary flight arrays alone are the kind normally reserved for the Kingdom’s most advanced Aether Crafts.”

Elinox seemed far less impressed by her own property. ”Skyforge was built by several of the capital’s best Magic Engineers. Most of its major systems use Artifice pathways that have to remain synchronized while the vessel is moving.”

”How expensive?”

Elinox looked at him. ”Below the royal family’s Mana Cruiser.”

Zishan waited for her to elaborate, but when no explanation came, he finally frowned. ”Which means what?”

The Lieutenant stared at him for a moment before explaining that the Mana Cruiser was the royal family’s Aether Craft, regarded as the most advanced vessel in Olmost and used for royal transport, long-distance military travel, and important occasions. Even its defensive arrays alone were worth more than most military Aether Crafts.

Zishan slowly looked back toward Skyforge. ”And this thing is priced just below that?”

”Yes,” Elinox answered.

His gaze moved from the vessel to the storage ring on her hand before finally settling on Elinox herself. ’How fucking rich is she?’

[Insufficient information.]

Zishan’s eye twitched. ’I wasn’t asking you.’

[The question was directed internally.]

’You know damn well when I’m talking to myself.’

[Incorrect.]

Zishan dismissed the System before it could ruin the moment further.

The lower section of Skyforge opened with a soft metallic movement, and a wide boarding ramp extended toward the road. Mana traveled along its edges rather than mechanical joints, slowing the descent until the end rested against the ground.

Several injured officers were already being directed toward another transport, while a small group assigned to travel with Elinox began preparing to board Skyforge.

Zishan noticed Commander Holtz passing his appointment documents to one of the officers preparing to board. He glanced toward Skyforge again. ”So I’m going on that?”

”You and Ollie,” Elinox replied, which made the boy turn toward her in surprise.

”Me too?”

Elinox explained that Ollie’s records also needed to be processed in the capital, especially if Zishan intended to begin the family-registration process. Sending them separately would only complicate matters.

Zishan smiled at that, while Ollie’s attention drifted toward Skyforge as though he had temporarily forgotten what he wanted to say.

Elinox headed toward the boarding ramp, and Zishan expected her to simply tell them to follow. Instead, she stopped halfway, turned back, and extended one hand toward him.

The nearby officers noticed at once. Even Corporal Tagum raised his eyebrows, while Commander Holtz looked from Elinox’s extended hand toward Zishan, seemingly wondering whether the young man understood how unusual it was for a High General to personally offer assistance to a Soldier who had only just been given a field promotion.

Zishan understood enough to know everyone was being weird about it.

Regardless, he took her hand. ”Thanks!”

Elinox helped him onto the first section of the ramp, and Zishan reached back with his free hand toward Ollie. ”Come on.”

Ollie grabbed it and followed him aboard.

Stepping inside only made Zishan’s growing suspicion about Elinox Holmes’ wealth worse, because every part of the interior looked expensive enough to demand an explanation.

Polished Mana channels ran beneath transparent sections of the floor. Seats adjusted themselves when someone approached them, storage compartments opened through touch-sensitive engravings, and the walls gave off a soft light without a single visible lamp.

Zishan turned around slowly. Elinox stepped inside behind him.

Several officers remained near the entrance, watching.

Zishan looked toward the High General, then toward the absurdly expensive vessel surrounding them.

A doubt finally appeared on his face. ”Do we really need to board something like this? Is this even fast or just luxury?”