Supersonic Dash to the Capital
The carriage overtook the sound itself in no time flat.
“Ah, there you are. Did you enjoy sightseeing along the pilgrimage route?”
Marcus glanced back at Yriel and me as we flopped into the cargo hold. His tone was casual, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Yeah. Pretty amazing.”
A short review. But it only sparked more curiosity.
Aura and magic were fascinating, sure, but right now, holy power intrigued me even more.
Magic was just my daily routine, after all.
And “aura”? It wasn’t all that different from magic in practice. The main distinction was that instead of emitting mana outward like spells, it built up inside the body and exploded through the flesh alone.
Holy power, though, had nothing to do with mana—which naturally piqued my interest.
“Yawwwn…”
Maybe because I’d woken up earlier than usual, a yawn slipped out.
“Why don’t you rest a bit? It’ll take about a week to arrive.”
“A week?!”
“Yes. All thanks to your levitation magic, mage.”
Marcus chuckled heartily.
I’d meant “It takes a whole week?”, but he took it the opposite way.
Seven days. 168 hours.
The thought alone nearly gave me vertigo.
“Oh, look down there. That’s the scar where His Imperial Majesty the founding emperor slew the evil dragon with a single stroke.”
Following Marcus’s pointing finger, I spotted a massive canyon.
An impossibly deep chasm stretching into the distance.
“Hmm…”
Of course it was impressive.
But even staring out an airplane window gets old after an hour.
And my patience wasn’t exactly legendary to begin with.
I crawled on all fours to the back of the carriage and stuck my head out.
“Getting off again?”
“Nah, not that. Just hold on a sec…”
I gave Yriel’s question a vague reply and got back to it.
The carriage’s rear sliced through the wind and sky.
Mana churned into turbulent eddies behind us.
I reached out a hand into the slipstream.
Shh, shh.
I extended my index finger and etched a magic circle’s formula onto the tail end.
The turbulence gathered into the circle at once, sparking with tiny embers and igniting into light.
In other words: a booster.
Shwooo—!
High-pressure mana blasted from the nozzle I’d shaped.
Blue flames flickered at the rear—then a massive explosion rocked us back.
Good thing I’d prepped protective spells on the carriage, or my neck would’ve snapped.
“Whoa?!”
“Eeeek?!”
Marcus gripped the driver’s perch railing for dear life, while Yriel toppled beside me, landing flat on her butt.
I righted myself and leaned out the back again.
“R-R-R-Ruen…! What the hell was that?!”
Yriel scurried over and started smacking my protruding butt wildly.
“Ow, that hurts…! Just bear with it a sec. Ah, air drag coefficient’s a tad off.”
The carriage’s speed skyrocketed exponentially.
Clouds ahead burst apart with a pop the instant they touched the prow.
The roaring wind made my ears ring.
A normal carriage would’ve shredded under the wind shear and heat, but this one was slathered in my reinforcement spells. Lucky break.
Bracing against the shaking frame, I nimbly tweaked the circle with my fingers.
“Vortices are rough… Hold on tight, both of you.”
I layered mana barriers around us to shield from the wind pressure.
Obviously, all to ramp up the acceleration even more.
“Huh? Wait, no, hol—hold on, mage—!”
I cranked the booster higher, and a conical shockwave bloomed from the rear.
—BOOM!
The deafening roar was muffled by the protections.
Sonic boom.
The carriage had finally shattered the sound barrier.
The scenery blurred into thin streaks—blue lines, white lines.
Glancing down, the ever-shifting grasslands reduced to afterimages.
“This oughta get us there by tomorrow morning.”
Satisfied with the velocity, I flopped back down.
Yriel must’ve whacked me good in the meantime—my butt stung like hell.
“This is too fast…!”
“Ow… It’s fine! We won’t die.”
As long as we didn’t hit anything.
Of course, I swallowed that last bit.
Nothing flew higher than our carriage in this world anyway. Just paranoia.
I sprawled starfish-style on the fluffy furs, yawning.
Cozy and warm. Peaceful.
Earliest by dawn, latest tomorrow morning—so best to nap now.
Sandwiched between a nervous, backward-glancing Marcus and a sweat-drenched but mesmerized Yriel glued to the view, I dozed off.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
We arrived at the capital somewhere between dawn and morning, in that hazy twilight glow.
I woke right on cue and dialed back the booster.
As our speed dropped, a massive city gate loomed in the distance.
“That the capital gate?”
I poked my head forward from the cargo hold toward Marcus in the driver’s seat.
“Urp… Yes, that’s it.”
Marcus swallowed a gag.
I’d even applied gyroscope formulas for motion sickness prevention, but he still looked green.
“Uh… sorry…”
“No… it’s fine. You win some, you lose some. We got here way faster thanks to you.”
True enough, but I still felt bad.
Not the shaking—probably visual vertigo from the brain lagging behind the blurring scenery.
Gotta refine it with clinical trials on Kian when I get back north.
That’d boost transport speeds even more, so time to brainstorm new trade goods beyond furs and salt…
I sorted plans in my head as the carriage descended slowly.
The gate drew nearer, along with the guards’ faces.
I propped my chin on the railing to watch.
Third trade run, and the guards already looked familiar with the carriage.
For some reason, their eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“Hey, Marcus! Back already?”
“Yeah, has it really been a week?”
Marcus flashed an exaggerated grin, fishing a gleaming gold coin from his sleeve.
Figures they were too chummy after a dozen meetings or so. Mystery solved.
At least it meant skipping the line of backed-up travelers.
Marcus handed over Arwen’s stamped ID and a pouch of silver for tolls.
“Eh, no need to count this time, right?”
“Of course not.”
“Procedure’s procedure, though. Let’s see: one large carriage, one adult, two… kids?”
The guard counted the coins loosely while eyeing us—then rubbed his eyes.
Like he couldn’t trust what he saw.
And for some reason, his gaze landed on… me?
“Hmm…”
Am I famous or something?
My inner everyman clashed hard with a sudden craving for validation.
Then the guard spoke.
“E-El-Elmaster?!”
…Not me. His eyes were on Yriel at the back.
“Oh, you know me?”
“Wh-who in the empire doesn’t know an Elmaster…!”
The guard stammered, glancing around, then shoved the gold coin back at Marcus in a panic.
“Y-you idiot! I told you I don’t need this stuff!”
“Ah, my apologies for the rudeness. May we proceed, then?”
“Of course! Go right on in.”
The gate guards parted like the sea.
Even as we passed the massive portal, they kept stealing glances—giving me a thrilling rush.
Is this the taste of power…?
“Ruen? Your lips are puffed out like a baby duckling. So cute!”
“Shut up…”
Passing so smoothly was great, but why the sour grapes?
My face burned from the mix-up. Definitely altitude sickness.
Yeah, that’s it. Air pressure difference.
Once through the gate, Marcus tugged the dangling reins, lifting the carriage again.
“Can’t we just roll on the ground from here?”
“Dramatic flair. I’m heading straight to the market—want to tag along?”
“Hmm…”
I did want to see the northern specialties selling.
Only half a year there, but the North was my home in this world. My second one.
Building from nothing had its fun, so yeah, I was curious, but…
“Nah. I’ll check it out later on my own.”
Crowds were already gathering as we ascended—bound to be a hassle.
Better to sneak around solo.
“Alright, see you in a few days, then.”
I nodded to Marcus and hopped off the carriage.
The capital of the Solum Empire. Borrowing the novel’s words: where all prosperity gathered.
The main stage of the original story—and I’d just set foot on it for the first time.