Although the load had clearly increased, the dragon beast Hefis was still flying very fast.
Before long, Gauss and the others arrived above their destination, Shattered Shell Shoal.
Gauss gazed at the flat shoal, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
If he really wanted to compete for rankings, how could anyone else beat him?
For other adventuring squads, just getting here might take several hours.
The straight-line distance might not be that great, but land travel was nowhere near as convenient as flying. The area was crisscrossed with waterways, and they would often have to wade across rivers before long, seriously slowing their progress.
Flying mounts really were a game-changer.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Dragon beast Hefis beat its huge wings, sending sand and stones swirling everywhere as it slowly descended onto a relatively flat patch of ground at the edge of Shattered Shell Shoal.
Gauss and his companions climbed down from the dragon.
"That was so fast," Alya exclaimed sincerely.
What kind of miserable days had she been living before this?
"Still, we should take it easy. For now, we'll have to travel overland for long-distance trips," Gauss remarked casually.
For one thing, dragon beast Hefis was still a juvenile dragon. Its size and stamina weren't enough to sustain long flights. For another, flying in the sky for too long made them far too conspicuous, increasing the risk of being spotted by other creatures.
Whether it was people or other flying monsters in the sky spotting the dragon beast, it would always bring a little trouble.
The former might invite unwanted attention and trouble. As for the latter...
The wilderness skies, especially far from towns, were not absolutely safe.
No one knew whether powerful flying monsters might be lurking above the clouds.
So for now, Gauss only took Hefis