It was late at night, and you could tell that by how sleep-deprived Nikolai’s eyes were. He stood atop the balcony’s tower in the sky, overlooking the rest of Rohan and its twinkling lights.

“The Young Hero sets out on a journey full of danger, treasures, and heavenly beauties. He comes to realize that the true treasure was no other than his friend, the Divine Alchemist.”

“Sigh…” Nikolai sighed as he rolled his eyes at Sergio, who was narrating an imaginary scenario. “I have no qualms about calling yourself that, but really? True treasure?” Nikolai smirked.

“Hehe.” Sergio sheepishly laughed as he grabbed the railway and leaned back. “Everyone loves heroic tales and meaningful endings.”

“It doesn’t matter if they were meaningful or not. Endings are endings.” Nikolai turned, leaned on the railway, and looked at the flying ships in the sky. “The meaning is found along the way.”

“Deep!” Sergio exclaimed.

“That’s what she said,” Nikolai smiled before walking inside. Sergio’s face was confused before realization dawned on him.

“Nice one, bossman!” Sergio shouted after him as Nikolai walked into the harbor.

This tower was nothing ordinary. It was a harbor for flying ships. Legends say that thousands of years ago, a meteor changed the world’s landscape, giving parts of it the ability to ignore gravity.

Humans used these parts to explore the islands in the sky and isolated areas from the rest of the world. It was the beginning of the Sky Riders era. Ever since then, flying ships became the dreams of many.

Today, Nikolai wanted to get such a ship. He would need to charge its core after every trip, but it was worth it. There were two ways to get a flying vessel of your own.

“Welcome to The Dimond Harbor!” A receptionist welcomed as Sergio ran after Nikolai. “What’s your destination?” She asked with a sweet smile.

Nikolai could see the receptionist stealing glances at Sergio, entertaining her fantasies. He sighed inwardly but didn’t feel envious.

“We’re here to buy a ship.” Nikolai’s words made the receptionist’s eyes turn round.

“Buy? Right away! We have a catalog of ships over here that you can choose from.” The receptionist handed them a large book which contained all models of ships.

“Damn! These ships are at least 100 golds!” Sergio exclaimed. Nikolai could only share the sentiment. The ships were marvelous and gigantic.

Nikolai went to the end of the book and found the last ship on the list. It was a small ship that could barely fit three people. The price was just enough for Nikolai to afford, twenty gold.

“I’ll take this one.” Nikolai pointed at the ship. Sergio and the receptionist peaked at his choice and appeared awkward.

“Sir, this is a self-driving model. You’ll have to drive it on your own, as no crew fits that.” The receptionist explained, but Nikolai was already aware.

“No crew needed. I’ll drive it myself. When can I receive it?” Nikolai took out the twenty gold and handed them over. “I’d like a receipt too.”

“R-right away.” The receptionist hurried to register his purchase as Sergio fidgeted to tell him something.

“Bossman, is there a room on this ship for me to work?” Sergio asked like a shy maiden.

“You can work on the roof.”

“What about the wind? The fire will be chaotic!” Sergio’s face paled.

“It’s time to sharpen your skills then.” Nikolai smiled as the receptionist hurried to get them the ship’s key.

“Sir, we need an adventurer license.”

Nikolai gave her his license, and she registered the ship under his name. He knew that he was leaving a trail using his license, but forging an adventurer license was difficult and risky.

Its punishment by law was execution.

“Here you go, sir. You need to set a take-off before thirty minutes.”

“Set one now.” Nikolai took the key and walked toward the dock. It was on the highest floors where the big ships are. He found his ship ready in the spot written on the key.

“Our ship!” Sergio said excitedly.

“You didn’t pay anything.” Nikolai corrected as he studied the ship in front of him.

The small ship was seven meters long, five meters high, and three meters wide. It was small compared to the giant vessels out there, and its core was slower, but it would do. A red sail fell from its mast, and it had a Dimond Harbor logo pained on its beige surface.

“Bossman, are you sure you can drive this?” Sergio asked with worry. “We can hire a guy; I know of a retired Rider.”

“Do you have the money to hire someone?” Nikolai ran his fingers across its hull. “It’s an adventure. Take these coins and stock up food rations and basic supplies.”

“Basic supplies?” Sergio was confused.

“Toilet bags, man. Why are you clueless about anything other than potions?”

“Hehe, you don’t need to praise me. I’ll get the supplies straight away!” Sergio laughed and hurried to buy the supplies from the harbor.

“I…” Nikolai wanted to say it wasn’t a compliment, but the alchemist ran away already. He sighed with a smile as he climbed the ship.

As he reached the ship’s roof, a cold breeze of wind arrived. Nikolai looked at the small, but enough, space with great sentiment. It was the first time he owned something as ‘purely’ his. He either rented stuff before or used other people’s possessions.

“Bossman! I got the supplies!”

Before he knew it, Sergio was back. Several men carried the giant crates into the ship as the alchemist took out a bucket of black paint. He handed the brush to Nikolai, who looked at him with confusion.

“Name it!” Sergio grinned.

Nikolai looked at the brush and the ship in front of him. He jumped off and wrote with giant words on the hull of the ship.

“Alias.”

His handwriting wasn’t anything special, but it was readable. With bold and strong strokes, Nikolai pained the name he had in mind. Sergio looked at the word from on top of the ship, trying to glean off the reason behind it.

“There’s a spirit long forgotten,” Nikolai explained. “They say it was faster than the wind, and its name is Alias.”