126 Beach City

As john got up, the water slid from his drenched face down to his top. 

"So... What was that for?" John asked 

"That's because you wouldn't wake up normally" Said Serena 

"Sorry but master said We have to get going soon" Said Ariel 

"Oh... Okay" said john while taking off his shirt 

"Wha- What're you doing?" Asked Serena while looking slightly embarassed 

"Y-Yeah! Y-you shouldn't be taking off your clothes, we're supposed to leave..." Said Ariel 

"It's not my fault that someone decided to dip water on my face" Said john 

The guilty one didn't reply and instead looked away, occasionally glimpsing due to her curiosity. Ariel covered her face with her hand 

"Relax I'm just taking off my shirt" Said john 

"Oh" Said Ariel as she stopped covering her face 

"You should have said so" Said Serena as she turned back to john 

[That was rather quick...] John thought to himself as he separated the water molecules from his clothes 

Even though he was just shirt-less, their faces got a bit red as they stared at his figure. Before he was all skiny and supernaturally strong, now he had a buffer build and looked ripped. 

Toned 6 pack, nice abdominals, not too big or small biceps. John's build was completely balanced, and looked great 

John proceeded to dry his top with wind magic, before putting it back on 

"Hey john, you didn't really need to take your shirt off to do that did you?" Ariel asked 

"Nope, just think of it as a little revenge for splashing it on my face, your reactions were 10/10" Said john 

*** 

The 4 were now flying around in the air, master got them some fruits and bread for breakfast, and they made sure to properly brush their teeth before eating 

"It landed on me again... Very well, john, truth or dare?" Asked Serena 

"Serena... you're always picking the same person" Said Ariel 

"Sorry ariel, can you wait just one more turn, please? There's something I need to ask this guy." Said Serena as she stared at john 

"Fine..." Muttered Ariel 

"John, truth or dare?" Serena asked again 

"Hm? Ah? It's my turn? Uhm... Truth" 

"What's wrong?" Serena asked as she stared at him 

She had noticed that John had his head in the clouds, and seemed worried about something, 

"Wrong? What do you mean?" John asked 

He didn't really want to tell them that he had a dream about them getting hurt, or the words that came from that ladies mouth. 

"No point in acting, anyone could tell that something's bothering you, so follow the game rules and tell us" Said Serena as she pointed at him 

John let out a sigh before saying 

"I had a dream about a near future where you two got badly hurt" He said clearly while looking at them 

They were surprised 

John knew where this was going 

"So you were down on the dumps all day because of a silly dream? Really john? Sometimes I don't get you, you look fearless but end up worrying over such simple things..." 

"She has a point..." Said Ariel 

"Simple? What if it wasn't a dream but a vision? What if something bad was really going to happen to you two?" John asked 

"We're not kids anymore, well at least I'm not. If we're going to end up facing danger, then we'll just have to get stronger. Isn't that how it works?" Serena asked 

John who heard this, nodded 

"You're right... instead of wasting time worrying, it'll be better to start preparing counter-measures" John muttered 

"That's right" Said Serena with a smile 

And Ariel nodded 

"Serena... You... You can actually give good advice..." John muttered 

"Oi." 

Of course, john had already considered that, but that wasn't the only worries he had in his mind. Regarding Serena and Ariel's case, he knew all he had to do was train them harder. What was on his mainly on his mind, was how he was going to deal with the original kid that was put into a slumber. 

So technically he didn't break the rules. 

"But, you're still free to worry about us..." Serena mumbled 

John was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't hear it 

"Hm? Did you say something serena?" John asked 

"Nothing." Serena replied with her lips forming a pout. 

John suddenly got up and walked towards master who was still on the drivers seat. She didn't need to stay there as the horses didn't play a single role in the flying carriage, but she seemed focused on something 

"You two keep playing, I'll see if I can increase the speed to get us there faster" 

Serena who heard this john a nervous smile with a thumbs up and Ariel nodded 

"Hey master sylvia" 

"?" 

"Is it alright if I increase the speed?" 

[We're moving at around 20 mph] 

Master who heard this nodded 

"Thank you." Said john before walking to the back of the carriage 

"Did you get permission?" Ariel asked 

"Yeah, I'm about to increase it, can you help me?" 

"Of course" Ariel replied 

As The two stood at the back of the carriage, john began to gather more air to propel the carriage forward, while Ariel kept making sure it maintained balance. 

The speed slowly started increasing, all that was left was to keep it constant, everything was putting a constant drain on john's magic power but he didn't feel tired at all. 

"*Phew* We Finally did it" Said John as he looked towards Ariel 

"John, you're magic pool is really big... I've been wondering but are you sure you're fine? You're basically doing everything, I'm just using wind to keep it balanced, isn't it draining to make it float and propel it?" Ariel asked 

"Yeah... sort of, but it doesn't take as much of a toll as you think" John replied 

Lies. 

"I see..." Said Ariel as she stared at him 

"Master, how long will it take at this speed?" John asked 

Master raised a finger 

"1 Week?" John asked 

Master nodded 

*** 

The days passed and it was all the same. Waking up, brushing your teeth, eat, stare at the amazing scenery while you think of new games to play. 

By the time he realised it, a week had passed. 

"John, I'll leave my dare for later, Ariel, You also owe me a dare." Said Serena 

"Huh? You can't do that" John replied 

"Yeah, that's a bit unfair serena" Ariel responded 

"There's no rules that say you can't do that, and a debt is a debt" Said serena with a grin 

"Then ill use the 1 of the 2 dares that you owe me to get rid of your dare." Said John 

"Me too" Said Ariel 

"W-Wait, you owed me 2 dares too, john" Said Serena 

"Then ill just use both to cancel out yours." 

"... Fine, how about we all get a dare to use whenever we want. How does that sound?" Serena asked 

John believed that it was risky, but if she ever tried to use it for something dangerous, then he'd just use his to make her do it too. 

"Alright" John replied 

"S-Sounds fair" Said Ariel 

Ariel was relieved with this result as they only owed her 1 dare in the first place 

"John." Master called out to john 

"Yes, Master?" John answered 

"Bring us down, we're here." 

The moment master said those words, they all got up and looked over at the beach city they were told about. 

"Woah..." Muttered Ariel 

"I expected it to look like the bay at atlas but it looks a lot different..." Said Serena 

Serena was right, it didn't look anything like the atlas bay, it was genuinely a city, not a bay where there's a few facilities and inns. 

There were shops districts, and even a wall which surrounded the whole city. 

From the sky, john could see mansions, shops, a palace and a giant beach. On top of that, there was one thing that stood out the most 

"A dungeon..." John muttered 

"John, I have a question, that tower isn't the real reason why we came here right?" Serena asked 

John looked towards master and she nodded 

"Yeah, we're going to conquer this dungeon, it should be fine too, it doesn't look like this city relies on it like atlas did" 

"I see... I guess this will be a good way to show you" Said Serena as she looked towards John and then ariel 

"Show me? Show me what?" John asked 

"How much we've improved" Ariel replied 

During their time in school, john made them promise not to use chant-less magic, they could only practice it on their own. The same applied to john, so john had no idea how much their skills and control had grown. 

But judging by Ariel's control with wind over this trip, it definitely improved. 

On the beach there was a giant yellow stone tower 

"Master... This is less like a bay and more like a city..." John muttered 

"It is a city." 

[With all that space, it does make sense...]