CHAPTER 183: CHAPTER 183 DRAGON DIVE

There was really nothing much for Xavier to do but to look at the skies. Star was focused; she wasn’t speaking to him, and then Xavier thought of something.

Xavier sat up with his legs still holding her neck so he wouldn’t lose balance, then he stretched his hands to the side.

[Frost Reflection]

He created a copy of Star beside them, which was also gliding. The copy was able to fly because it was created in the air; if Xavier had created it on land, he wasn’t sure it would be able to fly since its wings were made of Ice.

’What are you doing?’

’Testing’ Xavier replied.

Xavier continued creating copies of Star, having them fly away and picking them off with his [Radiant Lance], each time the dragon he created would move far away as he was testing how far his spell would reach, and he was pretty impressed.

Next, he created a copy of himself. He wanted the copy to use [Wind Stride] and try to attack the dragon he created, but immediately the copy stepped off Star, and it was left behind.

The speed of Star’s flight was incredible, his clone was left behind in an instant and crumbled away, meaning if Xavier were to step off Star, he would never catch up to her using his [Wind Stride].

Xavier could absorb Mana without needing a crystal, so he continued his testing for almost an hour till he was physically and mentally tired. Then, he created a clone who also tightly gripped Star’s neck to avoid falling, and Xavier gave the clone one job: to hold him.

Xavier lay down and closed his eyes. With how tired he was, sleep came almost immediately. The rush of wind was soothing to him, almost like the wind wanted him to fall asleep.

Xavier slept for a while, even though they had only spent several hours in the air.

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.

.

After a while, Xavier’s stomach grumbled loudly, forcing him awake. He blinked a few times, feeling the wind brushing against his face and the warmth of the sun above him.

The sun, which was behind them, was currently above them, meaning in some hours it would be in front of them, and it would be evening. Xavier couldn’t tell how many hours he spent sleeping, but he knew he slept for a long time.

The clone of himself he created was still firmly in place holding him down, and once Xavier stood up, the clone jumped off Star’s body on his command.

"Guess I really did fall asleep," Xavier muttered, rubbing his eyes. His stomach growled again, louder this time.

Star’s voice echoed in his mind, "You humans get hungry too easily. And I thought you’d sleep till evening"

"I would love to but my stomach won’t let me"

Xavier reached into his inventory and pulled out a piece of bread and a small piece of meat. As he took a bite, he looked ahead at endless blue sky, the faint shimmer of the horizon, and Star’s massive wings cutting through the clouds.

Xavier thought nothing could go wrong, but had no idea it was about to get worse.

Star raised her head even more, looking sideways instead of forward. Xavier noticed it and also looked sideways. He wasn’t sensing anything, and he was sure nothing would dare attack them in the air.

There were a lot of flying beasts, but none of them would dare to get near a dragon, so he wasn’t worried, but Star was looking worried.

"Is something wrong?" Xavier asked.

"A storm is coming, a big one, a very big one," Star spoke, and Xavier turned around.

He could see some dark clouds, but they were far away, and Xavier wasn’t sure why they would be worried about a storm when she could outrun it or go above the storm clouds.

"Is the storm going to be a problem?"

"It’s going to catch up to me eventually, and if I want to fly above the storm cloud, I’ll have to go too high up, too high you won’t be able to breathe up there," Star spoke.

"I thought you said you could get me to the human continent in one day. How can the storm outrun you?" Xavier asked.

"I’ll have to fly at full speed, and you won’t be able to do anything apart from holding on, you won’t even be able to open your eyes," Star replied.

"You can see the ground from this height, right? I want you to go at full speed, but aim for a group of islands. We can probably wait there and wait out the storm," Xavier spoke.

"Alright then, hold on with everything and keep your head down" Star spoke as she began to ascend even higher.

"I thought you were increasing your speed, you’re just going higher" Xavier spoke as he lay on his stomach, his legs still holding onto her neck and now his hands too.

"Give me a second," Star spoke as she finally stopped ascending, and then she flapped her wings once before folding them in.

The moment Star folded her wings in, Xavier felt his stomach drop, like the world suddenly tilted. The air around them shifted, growing heavy for a second before Star burst forward with a thunderous sound.

*BOOM!!*

The wind roared past them like an explosion, and Xavier’s body pressed tightly against her neck from the sheer force.

Star had entered what Xavier could only describe as a "dragon dive" similar to a peregrine falcon’s stoop except Star wasn’t falling.

She was maintaining her altitude while tearing through the sky like a streak of lightning. Her wings were half-folded, angled just right to slice through the wind without losing height.

Xavier couldn’t open his eyes. Even the smallest movement made the wind sting like needles. He tightened his grip around Star’s neck and pressed his body closer to avoid being thrown off.

"Are you sure you’re not falling?!" Xavier asked in his head.

Star’s voice echoed in his mind, "I’m not falling, I’m flying faster than I ever have. This is called Dragon Dive. Dragons don’t use it often because it drains stamina, but it’s the fastest way to fly"

The only thing Xavier could think of was that he was spot on with the naming.