It waste at night, and you could tell that by how sleep-deprived Niki’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. Hees to realize that the true treasure was no other than his friend, the Divine Alchemist.”


    “Sigh…” Niki 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?” Niki smirked.


    “Hehe.” Sergio sheepishlyughed 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.” Niki turned, leaned on the railway, and looked at the flying ships in the sky. “The meaning is found along the way.”


    “Deep!” Sergio eximed.


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


    “Nice one, bossman!” Sergio shouted after him as Niki 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’sndscape, giving parts of it the ability to ignore gravity.


    Humans used these parts to explore the inds in the sky and isted 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, Niki 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.


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


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


    “We’re here to buy a ship.” Niki’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 arge book which contained all models of ships.


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


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


    “I’ll take this one.” Niki 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 exined, but Niki was already aware.


    “No crew needed. I’ll drive it myself. When can I receive it?” Niki 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.” Niki smiled as the receptionist hurried to get them the ship’s key.


    “Sir, we need an adventurer license.”


    Niki 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 byw was execution.


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


    “Set one now.” Niki 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.” Niki 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 smallpared 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?” Niki 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!” Sergioughed and hurried to buy the supplies from the harbor.


    “I…” Niki wanted to say it wasn’t apliment, 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. Niki 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 ck paint. He handed the brush to Niki, who looked at him with confusion.


    “Name it!” Sergio grinned.


    Niki 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, Niki 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,” Niki exined. “They say it was faster than the wind, and its name is Alias.”