I feel like I've been working too much lately. Unpaid overtime is never a good thing.

After I cleaned up the mess in the valley, I quickly returned to Vera.

"Home sweet home!" I announced as I returned to my residence. Though, an upset Smoothie was waiting for me with her arms crossed.

"You're late! So, where have you been?"

Eh... I'm an adult and you aren't my parent.

"Work." After a pause, I added, "And I went to level up a bit."

"Huh... You're not hiding anything, are you?"

I replied with a poker face, "Why are you questioning me? I'm perfectly honest and truthful! Have I ever lied to you?"

"Then tell me why you cut me off!" She raised her voice in tears.

Hmm? Cut her off? Please, I'm innocent. I know nothing about it!

"No, uh, what do you mean?"

"You cut off mana flow to me. I thought you abandoned me!"

I see... It probably had something to do with me entering my subspace. It had somehow cut off the flow of mana to her. But, she should have known with her ability unless... Hmm... I see how it is.

There was a possibility that her ability couldn't detect futures related to me when I was in subspace because it was technically another world. Thus, she might have deemed that I suddenly died at the moment I closed that entrance.

That's good to know. I'll keep that place a secret from her for now.

The idea of me working on secret projects intrigued me! Secrets were fun, always.

I clasped my hands together, "It was just a minor accident. I swear!"

"Then, I want it now!"

Oh right, I should restore it.

I gave her a hug to soothe her. Within seconds, mana began to slowly drip feed into her again through our link. It was really a negligible amount used to slowly help her level and sustain her form.

If only I can teleport her fey body with me to her plant body. She would level up super quick that way. And if only I wasn't keeping my subspace a secret, I could easily transport her to her plant body. How unfortunate! My secret base is a secret base. It wouldn't be a secret base if others knew about it.  

There were still many things I wanted to try out with my subspace. Now wasn't the best time to do so.

"Feeling better yet?"

"Mm."

"Does my mana feel dense to you?"

I was a bit uncertain whether dense mana had any negative impacts on her ability to absorb it. However, she had never complained about it before but I asked to be sure.

"It feels the same as usual."

I suppose the flimsy mana got transferred first. Maybe?

"Do you want to go back to your plant body later for your evolution?" I asked after checking her fey body's level.

"Do you not need to go somewhere soon?"

Well actually, can't I just ask Haelley or someone capable of flying fast to carry her? Why didn't I think of that sooner? Such a perfect plan was right under my nose.

"Well, yes. The thing is I need to go investigate somewhere for Kanoko. In the meanwhile, I was hoping I would get someone carry you to your plant body. It'll take a few days for you to get there. I'll meet up with you once I'm done with work. How about it? I'll ask Haelley. I'm sure she'll agree to help."

"We're not going to travel together anymore? Am I an unneeded baggage to you now?" She whimpered with teary eyes.

"No, no, it's not like that. I just have a feeling things might escalate quickly in the coming days so I want to get as many things done as possible. Please be understanding."

"Mm... I'll believe you."

Later, when I visited Haelley's living quarter, I was told she was training at the temple of Vera above the mountain. The temple was a forbidden ground for the general populace but it should be fine for me. After all, wasn't I a hero in the Battle of Vera? Wasn't I the one who vanquished countless foes single-handily? Why wouldn't I get special priviliges?

"Greetings! I'm Berry. Please let me in, I want to see Haelley."

The guards looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Please show your permit."

"Permit? What permit?"

"Only winged beasts and the guardian is allowed past this point."

"But... I'm a fey...? I'm acquainted with Princess Haelley though."

"Visitors are not permitted. Please turn back."

"Kuh..."

These were just regular guards. They weren't winged beasts or anything. From what I understood, winged beasts used different entrances directly connected to the top of the mountain from the inner city. Apparently there should some sort of living quarter above the palace. However, that was just hearsay and I had never been there.

Currently, the sloped path I was walking on was for land dwellers who couldn't fly.

Although I turned back, I wasn't about to give up. My plan was to be without fail!

I thought about it. There was only one spiral path up the mountain top. Why they even created a path was beyond me when no one was allowed to use it. If they didn't want anyone to use it, they should have just blew it up with explosives.

The slopes heading to the mountain top were quite steep and not fit for climbing. Obviously, I was no mountain climber.

Uh, can't I just fly up? Oh. Ah...!

After walking down the spiral path, I took a detour to the north side of the mountain. Then, once I was hidden from sight of guards, I gave a countdown.

Three, two, one, blast off!

I took off and made a beeline toward the obelisk because it was the only landmark visible to me at the moment. It was a mad dash to the finish line.

Ahhh! Almost there!

Bzzzztt.

Oww...

I crashed into an invisible barrier head first.

The most impressive thing about this whole thing was my flight speed. With just a bit of my condensed mana used as fuel, I was already at the barrier within a blink. Luckily I didn't have a physical body or else I would have died with a broken neck even with my high physical stats. If my body was like how it used to be, I might have went out with a splatter.

Although I wasn't seriously injured, I still took some damages, that being my forehead flattened unnaturally.

My pretty forehead... To think the barrier didn't receive a dent. Bummers!

I had to restore my forehead with [creation].

Okay, I'm abandoning the stealth mission. Commencing all out attack! Perfect, I'm in need of mana to furnish my subspace. Thanks for the meal!

After adjusting to a more preferable position, I gazed upon the temple and the obelisk from above like an heavenly emperor. With complete confidence, I demonstrated the immense prowess of my [creation] ability capable of absorbing anything I came in contact with directly and indirectly.

I felt like a whale swallowing huge gulps of water. It was a feeling of fulfillment! Though, that didn't last long because a flock of winged beasts swarmed out of their hideouts like angry wasps.

That was a rude description from me. From a different perspective, perhaps they could also be described like a heavenly army. It was a given they were elites. Their equipment were top-notch and shiny. In my mind, shiny swords equated to good swords. That was all I could say about their gears. Their formation was poor but that was understandable given my sudden intrusion. 

Here I was, hovering above the barrier and completely unfazed at the sight of a dozen elite fighters.

I briefly scanned their levels. They ranged from level 51 to level 62. But I knew at a glance, they were only the top of the cream and there should be lower levels that weren't mobilized.

Ah, even their lowest is level 51? That's some ridiculous high standards... As expected of elites. No wonder that magitech fleet was repelled. Now, how am I supposed to win against them? Eh... Diploma! Yes, I'm good at that.

On a side note, I kind of learned a trick when I was flipping through the [creation] menu. Apparently, I could relax my gaze when intending to see status. This would allow only the basic information to show such as species and level. Everything else would be hidden as to not overwhelm me with useless information. This was why I usually didn't bother checking statuses of soldiers. After all, level was the primary factor to determine an individual's strength. Of course, that didn't seem to apply to non-physical beings or maybe just me because I was an oddball.

"Wait! How do you do!?" I blurted out in a hurry before they could rush to my position.

Oops, I'm still gobbling up all that delicious mana.

I quickly ceased my inappropriate action and casted a force barrier around me.

A force barrier was basically a magical barrier that could block various attacks, both physical and magical. It was one of the more versatile magic and its transparency made it ideal for aerial combat. As for durability, it depended on the user. The only downside was the high mana output which was expected.

In my case, my barrier was superb. These folks could barely scratch my barrier with their sharp weapons. However, it didn't take them long before they started brandishing their traits and abilities to penetrate my defense.

It seemed a general purpose barrier really wasn't enough. Cracks and dents quickly multiplied.

"Hold your horses! Ladies and gentlemen! I just wanted a chat with Vorte! It was all but a simple prank to get his attention!"

And to find Haelley. That was all there was to it.