Project Seraphina [LitRPG, Magitech, GL]
3.6 A Date in the Sky

Chloe and I ascend higher into the sky, higher than the highest man-made building in the city by a long shot. High enough that we can see the entire sprawling metropolis beneath us. Trees and parks, houses, shopping centers. Streets and the numerous highways around and through the city’s arteries. High enough that we can see the city for what it is as a whole. A mass of nature and concrete, human and machine all functioning— not always well— as a whole.

And yet, despite the gusts several thousand feet above the surface, the Tower Gauntlet to the north still stands triumphantly above. And I wouldn’t be surprised if more spatial or illusory shenanigans are afoot, ensuring that it always appears to tower over its observer, no matter our vantage point. Maybe to a limit, I add, wondering how awkward that would be for astronauts if there weren’t.

On a future day, we’ll definitely go exploring it. And we’ll conquer it, just like we have the other challenges we’ve faced to this point. But right now, it’s supposed to be a lazy morning for us to enjoy together. And, despite Trouble’s nagging insistence that it seeks us out wherever we are, I’d still like to have that moment, just the two of us.

I hover over the city, Chloe fluttering in small circles around me due to the difficulty she has hovering in place. I’d like to say that it’s so serene and peaceful up here, away from the hustle and bustle down on the surface below. But goddesses above, it’s loud as shit with all these gusts swirling about, the breeze not stopped by the surface or the many obstructions upon it. Both Chloe and I have enhanced senses, though, and so we’re able to carry out our conversation without too much difficulty.

“It’s… amazing,” Chloe says. “Being up here with you like this. Of all the places for a first date, floating in the sky was not anywhere near my daydreams.”

I giggle. “I guess we probably should have had a first date at some point before we slept together? Sorry, I guess I’m bad at this whole relationship thing.”

Chloe leans in and pecks me on the cheek. She immediately retreats, diving down a bit before pulling up into a glide. Her fluffy golden wings stretch outward, and with each majestic pulse, she soars up, higher and higher, reaching up as high as I am and then continuing even higher. Part of me wants to go after her, but seeing her soaring on the updraft beneath us, slowly spiraling downward as she raises her wing into a glide, it’s… ‘Beautiful’ does her sheer radiance an utter injustice. If I weren’t already several times over, I’d be madly in love all over again.

The two of us circle the city, hand in hand. We make our way down to the south, toward the suburbs. The houses down here, including Chloe’s— ours, now— are larger, cleaner, and more spread out. And there’s a certain sterility to them, the product of so many planned development communities growing the metropolitan area outward.

We spiral around to the west. The military base where we worked and lived for a couple of weeks has been expanded yet further. There’s now something resembling a fortress and a watchtower just outside town. After the loss of life we suffered dealing with the raptors months back, I can see why both are necessary to defend the noncombatants trying to live their daily lives. Just one of the myriad ways we as a society are trying to preserve our way of life.

For a moment, I do consider asking Chloe if she wants to stop by and see the folks there. I don’t know if Lindsey is back yet. She’s no longer formally involved with the military, and I’m willing to bet she’s still in Red Clay City, using her downtime to get to know Stefan a little more intimately. I’m not exactly keen on the idea of seeing Nicholas or Col. Wilson again. Not anytime soon, and not in a position where I’m primed to be taken advantage of.

Alana, though. Wouldn’t mind running into her again. Then again, she has a flight Skill as well, so maybe we actually will see her soon. Actually, I’m a little surprised we haven’t already seen her patrolling the skies, to be completely honest with myself. Then again, she still is on formal military assignment, and it sounded like she was relegated to the role of glorified carrier pigeon the last I heard anything about her. Poor Alana, the mythical [Valkyrie], forced to instead serve as a private courier for the military’s top brass.

We fly higher. Higher into the sky. If we were a mile above before, now we’re closer to two. High enough that even with the midmorning summer sun beating down upon us, the combination of the breeze and the altitude helps keep us cool. And with any luck, our [Vitality] will help prevent and repair sunburn. I have no reason to believe it will, but I suspect it might, based on, I guess… a woman’s intuition?

Eh, we have aloe vera back home if I’m wrong. For now, I just want to enjoy this date with Chloe.

And we do. Once we ascend to some twelve thousand feet, high enough that the Tower Gauntlet doesn’t bother keeping up the facade any longer, we drop. We hold one another in our arms, wings spread at each of our backs, and simply let the free fall take us, kissing deeply and passionately all the while. I think there are some species of bird that actually mate in free fall like this, and while I briefly consider the idea, I’m also not keen on adding public indecency to my growing rap sheet.

Not sure Chloe would want— no, she’s probably actually fine with it, if I really wanted to. I, in fact, don’t, and so we remain blissfully within our liplock for as long as we can. Which turns out to be less than a minute, much to my dismay. Once we get down to an altitude of a thousand feet, we reluctantly break our embrace, separating and breaking off from one another as we again begin another ascent.

My mobility in the air is greater than Chloe’s, but she’s closing the gap. Unlike my wings, a piece of equipment bolstered slightly by my [Cybernetic Body] and [Overland Flight] Skills, Chloe’s flight is all her. I’m not sure if it’s quite the same as the [Etheric Wings] Skill I had in my past life, but it looks like it is. In either case, though, that Skill is ranking up, and doing so quickly. With every burst of speed she picks up, with every subtle movement she makes, her body and magic are refining themselves. She’s becoming that little bit faster, stronger. Her movements are more forceful, more maneuverable, and in every way more incredible than they always were before.

And so we spend the morning together, just she and I flying over the city, taking in all the sights and surroundings from a vantage point that few people have ever before experienced. Chloe’s hand slips into mine, and we share a squeeze of mutual understanding. We might’ve only been a couple for a short while, but we’ve been inseparable for years before. I feel like I understand Chloe on a deep, unspoken level. One that will only grow deeper and vaster as we explore where our new relationship takes us.

Our musing, our quiet contentment of our sky date is interrupted by something approaching. And approaching quickly it is, from the east. Chloe floats behind me as best as I’m able. I draw my [Mechanical Arm Cannon] once more and ready it to fire the moment the creature gets within range. Something human-shaped. Something powerful, and fast. My breath hitches in my throat as I try to perform a threat evaluation. What are my options? Can I hope to defeat something with that level of aerial mobility? I’m still not great when it comes to aerial combat, something I need to work on to best utilize my full repertoire of combat capabilities.

But when the thing fast approaching gets closer still, my tension fades, and I switch my arm back to its normal configuration. It turns out that, having thought of the devil earlier, Alana herself is here. Just have to hope this is just a social call and not a harbinger of something less pleasant.

She waves once she gets within a few hundred feet of us. Unlike the two of us, who have kept a mostly svelte physique, Alana has somehow gotten even more buff since the last time I saw her. Her full-plate armor glistens in the sunlight, and her wings are like those of a swan, in contrast to my mechanical ones and Chloe’s, which take more after the great birds of prey. Despite that, though, Alana’s flight maneuverability and control are on par with my own.

“Sera, Chloe?” she half-states, half-asks. “What are you two doing up here?”

“Sky date,” I say. “Seemed like a good idea to get away from some folks trying to rob us at gunpoint. You know, leave your troubles back on the surface and just get away for a bit?”

This gets the blonde swordfighter to laugh uproariously. Chloe and I stare at each other with bemusement.

“You gave a number of locals quite a scare, you know that, right?”

Chloe’s and my bemusement turns to embarrassment. Yeah, I guess that tracks. Even though people have literal magic powers now, it’s not like everyone is out, fighting and training their spirits and bodies in the crucible of battle. As such, the number of people who can fly around under their own power is probably quite a bit lower than I’d initially thought. I suppose we haven’t seen others flying about for a reason. Except Yulia, but she’s… Well, she’s Yulia.

“We didn’t mean to do that,” Chloe says. “Sorry.”

Alana touches her finger to the top of her jaw, just beneath her right ear. “Located the two individuals involved. Friends of ours, belay the threat order.”

I hear a fuzzy “Roger that,” come from her earpiece. Goodness. I guess she was sent here to search and probably eliminate us. Didn’t realize there was a no-fly zone over the city.

“Sorry about the mixup,” she says. “Plenty of flying creatures just outside town that love stopping by and diving down to pick up a human-sized snack. We only have a couple of soldiers capable of patrolling the skies, along with a few drones, so we’re a bit short manned.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Chloe asks. I wasn’t going to press the issue, given this is supposed to be our day off. But since she seems eager to help despite that, I’m more than willing to forgo the rest of our date to assist if we’re able.

“Hmm…” Alana pauses for a few moments. She whispers something into her communication device, the gusts overpowering her voice at our distance. And she’s covering her mouth so I can’t attempt to read her lips, either. This conversation with whoever is at her company’s base of operations lasts for a couple of minutes before she turns back to us.

“Honestly, we could use your help, if you don’t mind. There’s been some–”

A faint yet deep roar bellows in the far distance, followed by a staticky screech as Alana’s communication device reactivates itself at nearly full volume. Alana herself grits her teeth— Chloe will probably need to heal her straight away.

“Big… Need help! Now!” The connection turns to full white noise before disconnecting.

Alana turns back toward the east, and sure enough, there is something approaching from the horizon. Something big, and, to my great horror, something draconic. “Looks like we could use your help, if you meant it earlier.”

Chloe nods. I follow suit, checking my stats as we dart off, following her.

“There’s no time to waste. I’ll explain along the way!”

[Name: Seraphina Mortensen]

[Age: 18]

[Level: 35; Experience: 497,245; To Next: 34,510]

[Current Stats: [Health]: 3,994 / 4,083; [Ether]: 2,744 / 2,856]

[Current Stats: [Strength]: 36; [Speed]: 34; [Vitality]: 76; [Mind]: 116]

[Combat Parameters:

[Attack (Physical Damage Dealing Capability)]: 141 (Base Strength 36)]

[Agility (Ability to Dodge Attacks): 84 (Base Speed 34 (+15 from Angelic Insight))]

[Defense (Damage Reduction from Physical Attacks): 114 (Base Vitality 76)]

[Magic Attack (Magic Damage Dealing Capability): 116 (Base Mind: 116)]

[Magic Defense (Damage Reduction from Magical Attacks): 121 (Base Mind: 116)]]

[Equipment:

[Weapon: [Mechanical Arm Cannon]: Attack +105 (+55 with glyphs inactive)]

[Helmet: [Bandana of Swiftness]: Defense +2, Agility +5]

[Arms / Shield: [Simple Buckler]: Defense +1, Agility +20]

[Body: [Brigandine]: Defense +30]

[Leg Armor: [Boots of [Impulse]]: Defense +5, Agility +5]

[Accessory 1: [Flawed Ring of Regeneration]: Magic Defense +5]

[Accessory 2: [Wings of Icarus]: Agility +5]]

Class 1: [Mechanical Angel]

[Class Skills: (0/6 Skill Slots remaining)

[Angelic Insight (Rank V)]

[Angel’s Grace (Rank II)]

[Ether Bullet Barrage (Rank VI)]

[Cybernetic Body]

[Trick Shot]

[Etheric Armor (Rank II)]]

[General Skills: (1/6 Skill Slots remaining)

[Basic Glyph Manifestation (Rank XI)]

[Intermediate Ether Manipulation (Rank XI)]

[Glyphcasting (Rank XV)]

[Overland Flight]

[[Ether] Strain Immunity]]

[Unique Traits:

[Touched by the Multiverse]

[Ṣ̸͆ẽ̸̜r̷̞͛a̸͈̿p̴̬͂ḫ̶͌ḯ̸͜n̸̻̐â̷̠ ̸̡̎O̷̥͘v̴̩͝è̴̱r̶̜̆l̷͙͗i̴͉͊m̵͉̿i̵̖͝t̸͓̕t̶͙̾]]]