Chapter 9: Taking Flight

A month had passed since the hivemind attack. Mercury, while still a bit shaken from what happened, has slowly been recovering. In order to help give her time to relax, Meta decided to take a few of her duties onto himself. One of those duties was kitchen work. On the GranEssex it is deemed important that everyone, regardless of position, does small jobs like working in the kitchen or janitorial work. While the youth already had his own scheduled times to work in the kitchen, he asked Kurabe and Mercury if it would be alright for him to take Mercury's kitchen duties until she was ready to return. Currently, he was in the middle of cleaning dishes, while his friend and senior, Tam, was cooking.

"If you want, Tam, I can take over for you." He said, looking back at her.

"Are you sure about that, Meta? You know you're not allowed to cook anymore for a reason." She replied.

Meta grumbled under his breath as he turned back to his dishes. "It was just that one-time, Tam. I don't need you to remind me about it..."

In reality, Meta was a horrible cook, not that he was ready to admit that fact.

The fox giggled in response. "Tell you what, if you want, I can give you some lessons."

The youth rolled his eyes.

"Thank you for the offer, Tam, but I'd rather focus on learning skills that are actually important."

"Are you sure? What about if you want to cook for sensei... or even Mer...cur... y." She uttered, emphasizing the last few syllables as she whispered into his ear.

Meta's face became a dark red. "I sincerely wish you would stop teasing me like that, Tam."

She only responded with her usual fox-like smile.

"Speaking of learning, how's the Wing Ability training going? Do you need help?" She asked, somewhat dropping her playful tone.

"Unfortunately, I haven't started yet. The past few weeks have been quite... eventful. I don't even know where to begin."

"Ah... I guess you were busy after everything that happened at Heimham's party. Did you ask sensei about it?"

Meta nodded in reply.

"I did." He said, his thoughts going back to that day.

It was during a standard training session between the two of them.

"Meta, you appear to have something on your mind. Would you mind telling me what's up?" Kurabe asked, sitting down as the youth was taking a drink of water.

"It's nothing serious, sensei, but I could use some help. I'm interested in learning about how to use the Wing Ability, but I don't know where to start or how to even get the wing ability in the first place."

His mentor fell silent for a moment. "...I see. Well, normally you would have to inhale birds or feathers, but I could see if I have a Copy Essence or Ability Item somewhere..."

Meta's eyes perked up. "Thank you, sensei!"

Kurabe smiled slightly. "You're welcome, but let me warn you about this now. Mastering the Wing Ability is something I can't help you with. It's up to you to figure out how it works."

"I know. It's because you never mastered it, right?"

If Kurabe was surprised by the accusation, she didn't show it.

"That's part of it. I never found the need to master it. With my mastery over ESP, I can teleport and even hover in the air. Wing always seemed pointless to me, but it could be a different story for you, Meta. If you're serious about mastering it then it's up to you and only you. I and the others can give tips and ideas, but mastering Wing is your responsibility."

He nodded in understanding. "What about grandpa? Could I ask him for tips?"

Kurabe shook her head. "You could, but even he hasn't mastered the Wing Ability."

Hearing that surprised her student. "Huh? Really? Even someone like him?"

"Of course. No matter how strong someone becomes, they will still have a weakness. Keep that in mind, Meta."

"Ok, sensei."

A thought sprang up in Meta's head.

"Sensei, what are your weaknesses?" He asked.

Kurabe laughed at that. "Sorry, Meta, but it won't be that easy to learn what my weaknesses are. If you want to surpass me, you have to figure them out for yourself."

"Oooh." He then seemed to pout.

"I can tell you what yours are if you want." She then said with a slight grin.

"That won't be necessary sensei." The youth replied with a sigh.

"Hey Meta, you still with me buddy?" Tam asked, snapping Meta out of his thoughts.

"Oh, sorry about that. But yes, I talked to sensei, and she gave me a Wing Ability Item. However, that's all the help she'll give me as she wants me to master it on my own. I just haven't had a good opportunity to train with it yet."

The girl took a moment to think. "Hmmm... how about we do some practice after dinner?"

Meta pondered the idea for a few minutes. "Are you sure, Tam? I don't want to keep you away from any business you have. I know you've been quite busy lately."

"Sure, I'm sure! I'd be happy to help you!" She replied happily.

"Well, if you're sure, then thank you." The youth nodded before getting back to work.

Tam smiled, noticing that Meta picked up his speed with the dishwashing.

"I'm quite excited myself to see what happens..." She thought.

Two hours had passed, and Meta was ready to begin his Wing Ability training after dinner. Thankfully, the GranEssex had landed on a nearby planet to refuel and restock supplies, meaning the youth had the entire outdoors to himself for flight practice. Standing outside, he breathed in the cool air around him. He didn't know this planet's name, but it was certainly gorgeous. The area he was currently standing was a wide open plain with a few trees scattered around. It was the perfect setting for flight.

"Well, better get started..." He said while taking out the Ability Item.

With a quick inhale, Meta felt his body absorb it and began to transform. His hands had become bat wings and on his head was what appeared to be bat ears.

"So, this is the Wing Ability. Interesting." He said while flapping his wings around.

Tam giggled at this as she watched this. "You're quite cute in that get up, Meta."

The youth quickly covered his face with one of his wings and muttered something along the lines of "I'm not cute.".

The fox girl pouted a bit.

"Oh, please, what's so bad about being cute? Sensei likes being called cute... and Mercury becomes adorably flustered if you call her cute."

Meta glared at her.

"They might be ok with it, but I'm not. I'm training to be a fierce warrior! Not a cute one!"

"You can be both! Like me for instance." She said with a mischievous grin.

He only pouted at that but then let out a sigh.

"Anyway, it's time I got started."

Meta started to run and then jumped up and began to flap his wings. It took a minute, but he soon found a good rhythm, flying around the open field with decent speed.

"You're doing great, Meta!" Tam shouted.

The youth mentally thanked her. While flying, though, he noticed a small issue. The Wing Ability didn't appear to have much, if any, ways of attacking. The incredible mobility he had was definitely useful, but if he couldn't fight with it then there wouldn't be much point to using it. It was too early to just give up on it, however. He still had much more to experiment with.

"Let's try something else now. Hey, Tam, do you have anything you can throw at me, like a block of wood, for instance?" He asked, raising his voice so that she could hear him.

Tam smiled. "I figured you would ask for something like that. You know those boards karate people like to break because they think it looks cool? Well, I asked the Bukisets to help me get some! Think fast!" She yelled while throwing one of the boards at him.

Meta flew towards the board and instinctively slashed at it with his wing, cutting the board in half.

"So, the wings can be used in that way..." Meta said with a smile. Perhaps it would be worth mastering Wing after all.

"If I can cut, I can win. If I can fly, then I'll soar! Tam, keep them coming!"

"Understood!"

Meta proceeded to cut every block thrown at him in half. He was satisfied with how effective at cutting his wings were. They were just as sharp as the usual steel swords he uses, maybe even a bit sharper. This was great news considering that he couldn't wield a blade while in wing form.

"You're doing great, Meta! How do you feel?" The fox girl then shouted from below.

"I'm feeling great. Though I can understand why sensei didn't try to master this ability. There's just not a lot going for Wing. I have excellent air mobility at least."

Tam then put on her thinking face. "Have you tried any projectiles yet, Meta?"

He shook his head.

"My wings don't have any feathers or scales that can used in that way. Wings have no ranged potential." Meta said, somewhat dejected.

"Then why don't you try adding projectiles to the Wing Ability?"

"...how do I add that to bat wings?"

That playful smile returned. "How do you shoot lightning from a sword?"

He grumbled to himself under his breath. However, when he attempted to create a projectile, he lost his balance and began to fall from the air. Before he could crash into the ground, Tam quickly caught him.

"Talk about rough landings. You alright, Meta?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine."

Tam let go of him as soon as he said that.

"I don't get it. I did what I always did with my sword..." The youth said, trying to figure out what went wrong.

Tam snapped her fingers. "Ah that's your problem, Meta. You're treating the wings as if they're the same as the sword you usually use. You can't do that. For example, look at all of my explosives. On the surface level, they achieve the same function, but that's just it. Surface level. My explosives have different properties, varying levels of strength. You can't just expect them to work the same way. Try it again, Meta, practice makes perfect~!"

Meta nodded in response at that. He couldn't argue with that assessment. He was incredibly adept at using lightning and wind magic with his sword. It was practically second nature for him at this point. The same couldn't be said for his wings. He was at square one with the wing ability, but he wouldn't let it remain that way for long.

Meta took flight once more and slowly let his mana flow through his body, channeling most of it into his wings.

"Easy now, easy." Tam whispered.

"Tam, please throw another board at me."

"Okey dokey!" She replied, any hint of nervousness gone.

She tossed five boards up, making him grin. Meta performed a slashing movement with his wing, shooting out blades of wind that tore the boards to shreds. As the boards fell to the ground, Tam looked on in excitement.

"Well, would you look at that?" She exclaimed.

The youth looked happy, but not entirely satisfied.

"That's a good start but until I can use electricity with wings I'm not stopping. That and I only used that move while stationary. I need to make sure I can still fight while flying."

Before he could keep going about what needed improvements Tam stopped him.

"One thing at a time, Meta. You can't expect to become a master in a single day."

He then pouted. "I can handle it!"

"Yes, but who's going to have to carry you back if you hurt yourself and explain everything to sensei?"

Meta paused and sighed in defeat. "I got carried away again, didn't I?"

"Yes, yes, you did."

The youth groaned at that. "Alright I'll slow down, but I won't stop until I can shoot lightning."

"Ok. Once you do that, we'll take a break, ok?" She then knelt to his level. "I'm sure that by the time you do, you'll be hungry and need some rest."

Meta nodded, adrenaline pumping through his body.

Closing his eyes, he then took to the skies once more. Sparks began to fly off his wings. It hurt quite a bit, but he was willing to endure it. It was nothing compared to the endurance training Kurabe put him through. With a roar, his wings became covered with electricity, and he pointed them upwards, shooting out a large blast of electricity. Meta smiled, but that smile turned into an expression of shock as he began to fall to the ground. Immediately, he felt himself being caught once more by Tam and felt himself be dazed.

"You alright, Meta? How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked.

"...you aren't holding up any fingers."

"Good, you're alright."

Meta sighed.

"Wait... I can't feel my wings!" He shouted in alarm.

"Relax, little buddy. You used too much energy and lost your Ability. Looks like you have no choice but to relax." She said with a giggle.

The youth gave a slight pout. "Well... I guess I'll relax then..."

The two laid down on the grassy surface, staring at the cloudless sky.

"Say, Meta. I have a question that's been on my mind this whole time." Tam suddenly said.

"What is it, Tam?"

"I understand that you want to master Wing, but what happens after you do? It's not like you can just magically grow wings. What will you do?"

Meta froze. Admittedly, he hadn't thought that far.

"I'm... I'm not sure." He replied, slightly embarrassed.

What was he going to do? It's not like he could always carry a Copy Essence or Ability Item on him. Even if he could, that would mean giving up his sword. The more he progressed the more he understood why Kurabe decided to ignore Wing.

"I mean, it'd probably be more helpful if you can just manifest it without an essence or item..."

That much was true, but how?

Tam smiled. "Would you like a hint? I'll give you one free of charge~!"

Meta took a moment to respond, as if he wanted to think about it himself first.

"What is it?"

Tam's smile widened. "Clothing! Now it's up to you to figure out what that means."

"Clo... thing...?"

He gave a pout as he laid back down in the grass.

"...what's that supposed to mean...?"

He then mumbled under his breath.

"Tam, could you please-"

He started to say until he noticed that Tam completely gone from sight.

"Damn illusions..." He grumbled.

He then stood up and decided to return to the ship. While doing so, he kept trying to figure out what Tam meant.

"How is clothing supposed to help? It's not like I can just transform my scarf or hat into a pair of wings. Clothing can't transform..."

Meta stopped walking and a lightbulb went off in his head.

"Normal clothing can't, but special clothing is a different story. I need to find Mercury!" He thought while picking up the pace.

In his rush, he failed to hear the satisfied laughter of a certain fox.

Upon returning to the ship, Meta went immediately to Mercury and asked her about magical clothing.

"Magic clothing? Meta, you do know my clothes are actually made from my body, right? Mercury asked, tilting her head.

"That would make them special clothing, right?"

Mercury giggled. "Well yes, but not in the way you want. I can control my clothes, that much is true."

To demonstrate, she created a pair of angel wings coming from the back of her outfit.

"But that's the thing. Only I can control it, no one else."

He then blinked. "...so, all the clothes I've seen you wearing were your own creations?"

Mercury laughed, which made him happy. "That's right. So, sorry, Meta, I can't help you with this. But I may know someone who can."

That piqued his interest.

"Oh? Who?"

"An elderly woman I met on a mission. Her name is Organza Valentina. She's a seamstress that specializes in making enchanted clothing, armor, jewelry, everything. I've seen the quality of her work and while it's a bit pricy, the price is deserved. Only problem is I don't know how to contact her, but Kurabe does."

Meta nodded in understanding after hearing that. "Ok, so then I can go ask sensei about it. Thank you, Mercury!"

"You're welcome, Meta." She said with a warm smile.

Before he left, the youth had another question he needed to ask.

"Mercury, how are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm feeling a lot more relaxed than I was a week ago, thanks." She tilted her body with a smile as she looked towards him. "What about you, Meta?"

"Oh, I'm doing just fine, Mercury, thank you. Well, I should be going. Thank you again for your help." He said, trying to hide his embarrassed face.

"No problem. I'm glad to be of help!" She smiled as the youth quickly walked off.

Meta travelled around the GranEssex to look for his mentor.

"Sensei!" Meta called out as soon as he saw her in the hallway.

"Ah, Meta, how's the wing training going? Need any tips?" She asked, turning around to look at her student.

The youth shook his head.

"Training has been difficult but I'm getting better at it. Sensei, do you know of a way to contact a woman named Organza Valentina?" He asked.

Kurabe looked confused for a moment before understanding why he would ask that. "Smart thinking, Meta. I assume you got that name from Mercury?"

Her student nodded. "That's correct, sensei. So can you get a hold of Organza?"

Kurabe smiled slightly. "I can, but..."

"But...?"

Meta hated whenever she added a "but" to her sentences.

"You have to be the one to negotiate with her. You need to tell her exactly what you want as well as work out a price. If you're serious about expanding your arsenal, you need to be able to handle this type of situation."

He only nodded silently. Admittedly, Meta was not very good at interacting with strangers. Not only that, but he also wasn't even sure what exactly he wanted. It would need to be something that he could wear without restricting his movements. A cloak or cape maybe.

"Sensei, what do you think-"

"I told you, Meta. It's up to you to figure this out."

He nodded silently, but then he got an idea. "...if that's the case, may I see your cape for a moment?"

Kurabe stared at him, causing Meta to internally panic.

"Of course. But if you do anything to damage it, there will be consequences."

"Understood."

With that, the warrior took her cape off and put it on the youth herself.

"There we go. It looks cute on you, Meta."

He gave a pout in response to that. He had to admit though, wearing a cape wasn't half bad.

"This could actually work out." He thought to himself.

"...sensei, is your cape enchanted?" He then asked.

Kurabe smirked. "It would be easier to show you."

Then her hands turned blue, a sign she was about to use her freezing touch. She touched the cape, but no ice appeared on it.

"Is your cape immune to ice?" Meta asked.

"And fire. You have no idea how many opponents I've confused with my cape's resistances."

The youth nodded in understanding. "Well... now I can test how to get Wing to work with these."

"How exactly? Just because my cape is enchanted that doesn't mean it can transform. You need a specific enchantment for that."

"...you do?" He questioned, tilting his head and blinking.

"Meta, you were paying attention during my lecture on magic I gave awhile back, right? Right?"

"Of course I was! But you never talked about enchantments during that lecture." Meta said, insulted by the accusation that he wasn't paying attention.

"That is true. However, I did explain how magic can differ wildly from one another. Think of it as a sword and spear. Both are weapons designed to stab and pierce. Would you wield them the same way?"

"Of course not. Both types of weapons require different styles of fighting to use effectively."

Kurabe nodded at that reply. "Exactly. The same applies to enchanted items. My cape can't be used for what you want. However, I will say you are on the right track with the cape idea. You just need a cape of your own. Now, I will call Organza and you need to tell her everything you want. Understood?"

Meta nodded. "So, a specific enchantment, but what exactly? I doubt there's an enchantment that can give wings. Then what? If only I could control clothing like Mercury can, this wouldn't... be... an issue."

The youth thought to himself, getting a huge grin.

"Have you thought of something, Meta?" Kurabe asked.

"An enhancement that can allow me to change its shape at will!"

His mentor smiled. "Yes, that will work. You're quite lucky that you haven't spent much if any of the money you've acquired from missions, Meta. No doubt an enchantment like that will cost quite a bit."

Part of that was because he had no idea what to spend it on, but it seemed that was a blessing in disguise.

"Ok. Let's go talk to her then." He said with a nod.

As soon as they walked into Kurabe's room, she immediately started a video call with the women.

"Hello, Organza, this is Kurabe calling."

On the other screen was elderly woman who was wearing a fancy dress, presumably one she made.

"Ah, Kurabe, it's been a while." She said sweet yet dignified voice. "Is there something I can help you with?"

The warrior shook her head. "Not me, but a student of mine would like to speak with you. Meta, introduce yourself."

The student stepped forward with a slight bow. "My name is Meta, I'm one of Kurabe's students. I'd like to request a cape that could allow me change its form as I wished."

He had been mentally rehearsing that for the past few minutes.

Organza laughed. "Straight and to the point, aren't you? That's good, I appreciate that in clients. Now let's talk specifics. How would you like the cape to look and what color would you prefer?"

"For color, I was thinking of something like a dark blue or navy blue. As for how it'd look..."

Meta thought back to how he looked using his Wing Ability.

"For how it looks normally, I would like it to look similar to sensei's and if it's possible, I plan to mostly use the cape to fly by transforming it into a pair of wings, so could you make it look somewhat bat like?"

Then the seamstress pulled out a sheet of paper and began drawing. Once finished, she showed the picture to Meta. It was a well-done drawing of a cape that looked exactly like how he wanted.

"By the look on your face, I assume this is satisfactory?"

"It's perfect! Thank you so much, Ms. Valentina!" He exclaimed.

"No thanks necessary, that was just the easy part. Now for what you want, it will cost seven hundred and fifty credits." She bluntly replied.

Meta thanked his inability to buy items, as he had more than enough for this.

"For what I'm asking, that seems fair."

Organza smiled at that. "Now it will take a month for me to make. Two months at the most. Is that alright?"

The youth pondered that question. While he'd prefer to have his own cape as soon as possible, he understood something like creating enchanted clothing would take time. Plus, he would at least have more time practice with his normal Wing Ability so that by the time he got the cap, he could use it more effectively.

"Yes, that's fine with me."

"Very well then. I'll contact you when it's ready."

"Ok. Again, thank you very much."

Once the call ended, Meta let out a sigh of relief. "Sensei, is ordering gear always this stressful?"

"Not really. We should work on your social skills, Meta." She then turned to him and patted his head. "Not that you did badly there. I think you did a great job. However, for the future, it'd make things much easier for you if you improved those skills."

As much as Meta wanted to argue, he really couldn't. He was lucky enough to be sent on missions that required little to no talking so far, but he knew eventually he would have missions that required communication.

"Understood, sensei."

"Now I think we can start by having you talk to the other members of the GranEssex, but for the next step, it would be best to talk to people outside of the ship." She then put a finger to her chin and murmured. "...I wonder what a good place would be for that...?"

Meta blinked, remembering something from earlier. "Wait a minute, Tam ditched me! I need to go find her."

Kurabe clapped her hands. "Perfect! You can ask around for information about where she could be."

While the youth wanted to comment on that, he knew it was not the time. He needed to find Tam.

"I'm going to go look for her." He said before running off. But before he left completely, he had to ask Kurabe one more thing. "Sensei, did you and Tam plan for this to happen?"

The warrior giggled. "I understand your skepticism but no, we didn't plan for this. Now hurry along, Meta. You know how good Tam is at hiding."

He then nodded and ran off.

Kurabe smiled and started another call.

"Hello, Reedy, I need to ask for a favor and no, it's nothing serious..."

Meta was starting to get annoyed. Everyone one he asked about Tam gave a different answer. The annoying thing was that none of them were lying. Tam liked to mess with people for no other reason than enjoyment. She never abused her powers for nefarious purpose, but small pranks were perfectly fine as far as she was concerned.

He gave a slight sigh in irritation.

"Did she leave the ship?"

"I don't know, maybe you should try asking around again?" A familiar voice said from behind him.

"I might as well. Thanks, Tam. Wait, Tam!?"

"That is my name last time I checked." She said, clearly enjoying Meta's fuming face.

"Why did you do that!?" He shouted with a pout.

"Do what, Meta? I'm afraid you need to be more specific."

He stuttered a bit over his words for a moment before blurting out. "WERE YOU FOLLOWING ME THIS WHOLE TIME!?"

"Of course not! I was following you for most of it." She deadpanned.

He only continued to pout. "Why did you leave me alone back there?!"

Tam's face became semi-serious. "Simple... to get you moving. After I left you came up with the idea for cape, right? And you ordered the cape on your own right? In order to grow, you need to take the initiative, Meta."

"Well, sensei helped me get into contact with Ms. Valentina but... yes..." He uttered, voice becoming softer as he spoke.

"And sensei only helped because you approached her about it. Right?"

Meta took a moment to process what Tam said. He knew exactly what she was trying to teach him. He needed to learn how to handle situations that aren't combat related on his own. The truth was he had become somewhat dependent on the guidance of Kurabe and Mercury.

"Thank you, Tam. But why did you hide from me afterwards?"

She only gave a smile.

"Tam! Don't just smile!" Meta said in a huff.

Tam just responded with her trademark V for victory symbol.

"That doesn't explain anything!"

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Tam disappeared once again. Meta's face became a dark red and his eye twitched.

"TAAAAAAAMM!"

Instead of chasing after her, the youth decided to go outside to help calm down. By this point it was nighttime, the only source of light coming from the stars and moon. He looked up and became amazed at the starry sky above him. While he often saw stars while on the ship, seeing them from the planet below was a whole other feeling. It filled him with a sense of wonder.

"These skies are beautiful. Someday I hope to soar through them freely. No... I will soar through these skies and every sky I come across. That I promise."

A chapter that's a lighthearted change from the dark and serious previous short arc. Hopefully the amount of wholesome in this chapter can help make up for it if you ended up either skipping them or you didn't like them.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed this and/or the previous chapters if you have read them. I've been really proud of this series so far, if I'm being honest.