Everyone Else is a Regressor

Chapter 80

Everyone Else is a Regressor (80)

With its sharp golden beak, keenly shining eyes, a head full of abundant feathers, and elegant golden plumage around its neck, it had all the same features as a bird of prey that belongs to the eagle family, known as the Golden Eagle. However, unlike what the name might suggest, this creature wasn't bald at all.

KiJun marveled as he came face-to-face with the creature.

"Wow, it's huge."

"What is this thing?"

JiHye clung to KiJun in shock, only to be quietly pulled back by Lora and Cyntilla who had approached from behind.

Had it been just an unusually large golden eagle, JiHye might not have been so terrified.

However, the problem was that beneath the eagle's upper body and wings was the lower body of a lion.

It was a Griffin, a mythical creature known from legends.

"They're trying to dominate through intimidation."

Growl

nica attempted to subdue the griffin with the sharp horn on her forehead, commenting on its strategy.

"Griffins are known more for their rarity and symbolism than their strength. They're incredibly intelligent and loyal, but that also makes them difficult to tame. Owning a griffin is proof of a prestigious guild"

Screech

Whether nica failed to dominate it or not, the griffin grabbed a clump of dirt with its sharp raptor talons and flung it at her.

Of course, KiJun quickly intercepted it with his shield, preventing it from reaching nica.

"So, they're trying to show their authority and give us a hard time with this ill-tempered griffin. Is that it?"

"Exactly. ...Thank you."

"It looks kind of cute from the front..."

As KiJun dusted off the dirt from his shield and faced the griffin, its round eyes seemed to shoot him a fierce look. Then, sensing something beyond the fiery gaze, the creature suddenly shrank back.

Squeal

Surprisingly, the griffin began to nuzzle up to KiJun, seeking affection.

KiJun sheathed his shield and gently stroked the creature's head, watching nica quietly.

nica looked unfairly wronged but chose to stay quiet, not wanting to get hit by a dirt clod for intervening.

Instead, she turned to look at the belt and the large oval object connected to the griffin's waist, commenting, "If it's a griffin with a sky chariot, it's definitely among the high-end modes of transportation in Reta. Demander... I've only heard about them, but they must have considerable influence."

"Hmm, is that a sky chariot?"

"Come see, Jun. It's quite spacious!"

At Lora's call, everyone approached and inspected the interior.

While the exterior was covered in an unknown metal, the interior had plush seats like a carriage, complete with windows for observing the outside.

"It looks totally like a UFO from the outside..."

"Shh."

KiJun cautioned JiHye, who was speaking carelessly, and felt the seats.

Both KiJun and Lucy smirked with a sense of superiority.

Comparing the comfort of seats wherever they went had become a bad habit for the two.

"Shall we take off then? We were supposed to brace for some turbulence, but since that one seems to like Jun, we shouldn't have to worry."

"Are we really going to ride this thing...? It seems really unstable."

"The sky chariot is enchanted with magic to minimize turbulence during flight, so you can board with confidence."

"Let's get on, everyone!"

"Hehe, I'm going to fly in the sky...!"

As the party members boarded the sky chariot, filled with either trepidation or excitement, nica followed Lora, JiHye, and Gin inside, then Cyntilla urged KiJun to hurry.

"Come on in, Jun."

"Uhm."

But KiJun was still facing the griffin, which seemed to want something from him, making it impossible for him to just leave it be.

Then, the creature approached, bending its knees and offering its back, leading KiJun to realize what it wanted.

"You want me to ride on your back?"

Squeal

"Wait!"

nica exclaimed in alarm, popping her head out.

"Jun, do you possess a high-level Riding skill?"

"I was thinking of learning it now."

"Then stop joking and get inside! Griffins are not to be ridden without a Riding skill!"

Screech!

As KiJun made a bold move to try, nica got scared by the griffin's threat and ducked back inside the chariot.

Seeing her completely dominated, KiJun shook his head and patted the griffin's head.

"I'll give it a try, and if it's too hard, I'll give up."

"You must understand, the griffin is definitely trying to trick you into trouble on its master's orders."

Maybe so, but KiJun thought it might be good training nonetheless.

After all, the greater the challenge in training a skill, the greater the achievement when it's mastered. KiJun, determined to master the Riding skill during the trip to Kor, mounted the griffin's back.

"Let's go then."

Screech

With a loud cry, the griffin spread its wings wide.

As it took a powerful leap, the ground shook, and in an instant, the creature soared into the sky, lifting the connected sky chariot with it.

Despite the chariot's claim of minimal turbulence, it remained surprisingly stable in the air.

The cContractor doesn't need such things. Eventually, you'll be able to fly through the sky at the speed of light.

"Ah, that's a bit... Whoa?"

KiJun's legs instinctively tensed up.

The griffin's body shook uncontrollably as it flapped its wings violently to ascend, tilting almost vertically.

But KiJun, a skilled Tanker, maintained his balance, gripping the griffin's back with one hand and doing his best to hold on.

Squeal

Carrying the weight of six, including the five in the chariot and KiJun on its back, the griffin soared higher into the dawn sky, surpassing the sun and diving into the clouds with a pleased cry.

"Phew."

Breaking through the clouds into clear skies, KiJun dried the moisture on his armor with Ur's heat and grinned.

He was getting used to the rapid ascent.

"Shall we speed up?"

Squeal?

As if asking if he was sure, KiJun chuckled at the griffin's questioning cry.

"This is nothing."

Screech

Accepting KiJun's challenge, the griffin slightly folded its wings and, releasing a strong wind magic, increased its speed and dashed through the air!

"Oh, does this guy handle elemental magic!"

It seems so. No wonder it's a mythical creature. Can you handle it, Contractor?

"Anytime"

Of course, it wasn't comfortable.

The speed was so intense that any relaxation in his muscles felt like he'd be flung backward, and the wind cutting against his skin felt sharp enough to slice through.

But to surrender to just that would be a waste of his Legendary-grade stats.

As the griffin accelerated even further, KiJun adapted, finding a more relaxed posture and holding near its neck.

"Let's go faster."

Squeal?!

By now, even the griffin recognized KiJun's competitive spirit, but couldn't back down now, not if it wanted to maintain its noble mythical creature status.

Releasing all its magic for another burst of acceleration, the griffin's wings glowed with visible wind magic as it surged forward.

"Yeehaw!"

Hmm, the Contractor really does have an affinity for light.

Screech!

As KiJun easily adjusted to the speed, Lucy, for some unfathomable reason, felt satisfied.

After about three hours of flight, when the griffin began to slow, KiJun sensed its fatigue and gently coaxed it to descend, finding a wide plain nearby for a smooth landing.

"I wanted to try a dive."

Squeal.

He's saying let's hunt together later. ...Hey, I understood the griffin without Ur translating. Why are you butting in?

Heh.

With a stable landing from the griffin and the UFO... sky chariot following, a message appeared before KiJun.

You've achieved a rare feat! By riding the Griffin without a Riding skill and not only managing it splendidly but also breaking its speed limit, your Charisma (L) has increased by 1. As a reward for this achievement, you've earned 3,000 points.

You've obtained the rare title [Sky Rider]. With this title, your speed increases by 10% while riding, and you're more likely to gain the favor of all kinds of mounts.

With overwhelming talent that makes the impossible possible, legendary charm that wins the affection of mythical creatures, a body that withstands surpassing speeds, and achieving a feat that grants you a rare-grade [Riding] skill, you can now ride any kind of mount, including mythical ones.

KiJun had thought he might immediately gain the Riding skill, but to also achieve a feat was unexpected.

The conditions for the achievement seemed to be based on "surpassing speed limits through the rider and griffin's bond," which made sense since he used the power of the Light Spirit to break the griffin's limits.

"Um... well, if I got the title and the skill, that's enough. If anyone questions it, I'll say it was an attempt to highlight the laxity in the achievement system."

Not sure who that excuse is for.

Growl.

"Right, right, you did well. I'll feed you in a bit, just wait quietly."

After petting the griffin a few more times and dismounting, KiJun approached the chariot. As the door opened, nica appeared with a somewhat pale expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Jun... were you alright...?"

"Of course, why?"

"Wow... you're truly amazing. We experienced hell inside the chariot due to the turbulence... If JiHye hadn't cast a spell to reduce it, we might have all been found as corpses inside, except for Cyntilla."

JiHye, who had cast the spell, was the most deathly pale, sprawled inside the chariot, while Gin and Lora, having burnt everything to ash, hung their heads in shame.

"How was the griffin ride, Jun? You seemed to enjoy it."

Only Cyntilla, whose stats were evenly high across the board, stepped out of the chariot with a calm face, smiling broadly at him.

KiJun reported to her that he had successfully mastered the rare-grade Riding skill, as he had hoped.

Upon hearing this, nica, who had been listening, exclaimed excitedly.

"A rare-grade Riding skill, you say?! Riding skills start at common grade..."

"Oh, is that so? Why did I get the rare grade right away?"

"That might be because the Riding skill grants the ability to ride mythical creatures starting from the rare grade."

Cyntilla calmly explained her theory.

"Normally, you'd need a rare-grade Riding skill to even think about controlling a griffin. But since Jun did the opposite, he was recognized with the rare-grade skill."

"Is that... even possible?"

"It's not unheard of. Some people create Legendary-grade skills right from the start."

KiJun nodded in agreement.

Although it was bestowed by Bice, the unique way he utilized it to create Salutaris, which was Legendary-grade from the start, was a similar case.

"I see..."

"If you're envious of the skill, want to try riding too, nica? You might be able to get it too."

"No, thank you."

nica smiled faintly and immediately declined.

KiJun checked with the rest of the party, but they all declined with the same expression as nica, much to their misfortune.

Fueled by the meal KiJun provided, the griffin regained its energy and spent the afternoon breaking speed limits in the sky, covering the three-day journey in just half a day.

They arrived at Kor, a major city in Gratia.

* * *

[Bice(Dimensional Waiting Room): Meeting an old colleague by chance? Becoming part of the same party?]

[Bice(Dimensional Waiting Room): And it's a woman?]

[Bice(Dimensional Waiting Room): Ah, no chance on that front? There's another guy in the party you like...]

[Bice(Dimensional Waiting Room): Yeah, like you have time for romance now. You're still only Rare-grade. Don't even dream about it.]

[Bice(Dimensional Waiting Room): I'll come and judge for myself. You know, right? Consider every woman a foe and be wary until then.]

[Bice(Dimensional Waiting Room): A Flame Human? So your disguise was a Flame Human? Ah...]

[Bice(Dimensional Waiting Room): A bit of a complicated story with that race. As far as I know, they belonged to only one civilization.]

[Bice(Dimensional Waiting Room): Yes, just one. They made it hard to track them by pretending to be from different civilizations, but as far as I know, they're all from the same civilization.]

[Bice(Dimensional Waiting Room): So if there's a survivor, it's definitely noticeable.]

[Bice(Dimensional Waiting Room): Still around, huh? Must be a civilization representative then.]

[Bice(Dimensional Waiting Room): Yes, I know. Who else but you? Hang in there, Jun.]

[Bice(Dimensional Waiting Room): I'm always on your side. You won't lose to anyone.]

[Bice(Dimensional Waiting Room): ...But don't try too hard just to show off. It'll be annoying if that woman ends up liking you and clinging to you.]

[Bice(Dimensional Waiting Room): It's already too late for that?]

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