Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 824 - 89: Racing Through the Loess

Chapter 824: Chapter 89: Racing Through the Loess

The rumble of engines echoed above the Butte Plateau. From above, on the dust-covered plateau, four giant snakes made of yellow soil slithered from the distance, growing louder with the roaring of the magic-powered motorbikes drawing near. The four motorbikes did not line up in a single file; the team spread out side by side, advancing along the flat yellow earth.

Indeed, when compared to other human nations, the road design in the Kingdom of Mages is quite poor. After all, in this country, official large-scale transportation of goods is conducted via Floating Islands, and government personnel move around using the internal magic teleportation network. Roads between towns are almost exclusively for civilian use, and thus in terms of load-bearing capabilities and quality, they fall far short of those in other countries. As everyone was currently experiencing, a majority of the roads connecting the cities were merely unmade yellow soil tracks. Fortunately, rain on the plateau was scarce; otherwise, once it rained, all the roads would likely turn to mud pits. Travelling on such roads meant that, even though the motorbikes were arranged side by side, passengers could not escape being enveloped in dust. Within just half an hour, everyone’s exposed skin would be dyed a tawny color.

However, a closer look at the passengers would reveal that they might have learned their lesson from the dust since all seven passengers wore a layer of white gauze over their faces to block the yellow soil from getting into their eyes, noses, and mouths. Of course, the so-called white gauze was only white once upon a time. Now it had turned to a dusty yellow.

"You never mentioned that traveling with a magic-powered motorbike here involves this kind of ordeal," Lina shouted to Pannis from the back seat of a motorbike, sitting behind Freya, "I never imagined the roads on the Butte Plateau would be so terrible. It’s absolutely horrifying."

Pannis had indeed never mentioned it. Although he had prepared seven pieces of white gauze in advance, he maliciously did not explain their purpose and slyly covered his face with a piece as soon as they left Fiery City. His plot failed to succeed, as the girls quickly saw through his trick. After observing his odd behavior, they snatched their own pieces of gauze, copied his actions, and covered their faces. Once they understood its use, they mockingly shook their fists at Pannis from a distance as a threat. As for the Elf chanter Muir, he always positioned himself as an observer, perhaps under someone’s instruction to watch and record the events. Anyway, he mainly wore a smile as he watched the interactions between the girls and Pannis, occasionally stirring trouble from a friend’s standpoint, pushing Pannis into an even more pitiful state.

Having left Third Flame City, it was now the second day. After planning the night before, everyone started to set off on their tasks first thing in the morning. Vivian and Lina went to the Mage Guild together. While verifying the accuracy of the news, Vivian also slightly leveraged her Upper Rank researcher privileges from Starshine Tower to efficiently update the Guild’s upper echelon, requesting negotiation with the Falar Empire. Meanwhile, Catherine accompanied by Freya and Ava, went to the adventurer’s branch to make a similar request and then to Fiery City’s main market, focusing on professionals, to replenish the Crystal Energy and other essential resources that Pannis had previously depleted, along with their most crucial task—purchasing four magic-powered motorbikes. As for Pannis and Muir, they ran straight to Fiery City’s City Hall. Before the City Hall began its official work day, they forced the staff, who had met them the day before and knew of their relationship with the governing officer Felic, to call Felic out of his lab on the Floating Island. After relaying the news of their imminent departure, they ignored Felic’s delighted expression and explicitly asked if Philarx could help investigate the Teleportation Array usage while they were away inspecting the crime scene for clues. For Felic, any small favor was a trivial matter if it could keep these visitors away from his teacher; naturally, he agreed immediately. Although he verbally invited them to visit Fiery City again, everyone understood that what he really meant was to never return.

So, after Freya and Vivian returned with news confirming the atrocity, the group wasted not a minute. They hopped onto their brand-new magic-powered motorbikes and sped out of Third Flame City’s gates.

Magic-powered motorbikes are a rather intriguing mode of transportation. Unlike Crystal Energy motorbikes that require large-capacity crystals as a power source, magic-powered motorbikes only require the rider to continuously infuse the bike with magical energy to keep it running. This not only seems economical but also convenient. However, the so-called economy and convenience are just appearances; the reality is far from it.

In fact, although it seems that anyone who is a part-time Mage can drive a motorbike, the amount of magical energy consumed by the bike is very high. A Silver Rank Mage can often only supply enough energy for the bike to travel twenty to thirty kilometers before exhausting their mana, necessitating several hours of rest for recovery. Even for a Gold Rank Mage, the limit would not exceed eighty kilometers. If full-time professionals are barely able to manage this, the distance that part-time Mages can drive is even less—almost less than half. Therefore, if you also factor in the rest time, it means that even an Upper Rank Mage, using a magic-powered motorbike, will not be much faster than traveling on horseback. Moreover, there would also be a period when they would be left powerless due to depleted mana, rendering them unable to fight. Hence, unless absolutely necessary, hardly anyone would choose to use a magic-powered motorbike.

But once someone breaks through the Legendary threshold, since the concentration and total volume of mana stored in their body increase significantly, full-time Legendary Magicians can often drive continuously for four to five hours, covering two to three hundred kilometers in one go before needing a rest. If they are willing to push themselves to the limit, they can even traverse four to five hundred kilometers in a day in areas with good road conditions. For this reason, many people jokingly say that magic-powered motorbikes are luxury toys specially designed for Legendary Magicians.

"I certainly don’t find a toy that costs tens of thousands of gold coins to be all that amusing," Catherine said, embracing Vivian’s waist, her tone filled with desolation. "Now, every time I hear the roar of a motorbike, my heart aches."

"Haha, don’t be sad, big sister," Vivian, who already owned a magic-powered motorbike, rarely rode it due to health reasons in the past. Even when she did, she would huddle at the front or back of the bike. Now, fully recovered, she was experiencing the thrill of rushing through the wind for the first time and felt like she couldn’t stop at all. She said excitedly, "As a knight, don’t you think racing through the wind is the ultimate pleasure?"

"Of course, I do," Catherine replied weakly. "But even the ultimate pleasure can’t bring back four motorbikes and the hundreds of thousands of gold coins they cost." (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)