Standing in the very center of the room, Bai Xiaodu kept his eyes closed, his short hair fluttering messily.
His silver fox tail pointed upward, defying gravity, its fine fur blown flat in unison by the howling wind.
A faint, greenish-white wind energy constantly swirled and flickered around him.
Even though he had deliberately controlled and amplified it, the howling sound in the empty room grew even louder.
Yet, surprisingly, the winds clinging to Bai Xiaodu's body became increasingly gentle and obedient.
It was as if, after repeated resistance, they finally realized they were powerless to fight back and had no choice but to bow their heads submissively.
The greenish-white energy gathered at his legs, and Bai Xiaodu gave a light upward hop.
If anyone else had been present, they would have cried out in shock right now.
Because Bai Xiaodu's feet had literally left the ground, and he was balancing in midair.
To be precise, he was floating.
Immediately after, Bai Xiaodu raised his hand and leaned his upper body slightly forward, with practiced ease controlling the flow of green energy to distribute it across his chest and the front of his limbs.
As his body leaned forward, the wind rapidly and evenly flowed out from the edges of his front side.
The flow at the front was visibly slower, while the flow from the back pulled the surrounding air along, moving at an extremely high speed.
Utilizing the principles of avian aerodynamics, Bai Xiaodu truly achieved flight in the air for the very first time.
His speed was very slow, about one meter per second.
As his movements became more practiced, his movement speed slowly increased.
After playing around for quite a while, he finally came down, reluctant to stop.
He couldn't help it; the word “flight” was simply too alluring to humans.
To fulfill this distant dream of conquering the unknown, some people were even willing to strap explosives—powerful enough to blow themselves into a hundred pieces—to a chair and sit on it with a look of pure anticipation, all just to experience the thrill of the skies.
A new notification popped up on his system panel.
【Gust】 has reached the 【Proficient】 rank.
【Cast time reduced by 1s, range increased by 50%, repulsive force moderately increased, additional wind control effect granted】
Excellent. Bai Xiaodu nodded slightly.
He turned to open the package he had just picked up from the security booth, its exterior still damp with water stains.
A dozen or so bottles of pre-mixed, light-blue liquid potion came into view, neatly arranged.
In addition, there were a few bottles of red potion for emergency healing, and a thin, tattered book page exuding an ancient aura.
Carefully sliding it out with one hand, Bai Xiaodu looked thoroughly pained.
These items had cost him over 200,000 credits in total, and this spellbook page alone accounted for 150,000.
But he had to buy it, so Bai Xiaodu could only soothe his pounding heart.
He even felt a sudden urge to get back the 200-credit tip he had just given the dispatcher!
Dispatchers usually kept call recordings. If he filed a report based on the receptionist's completely different attitudes before and after the tip, he might even get compensation from the Federal Explorers Association!
And it would teach that dispatcher a lesson, letting him know that a poor person's money wasn't so easily taken, and that he shouldn't casually cheat an honest, kind citizen like him.
...
Bai Xiaodu rubbed his nose and ultimately decided against writing a complaint.
A man had to have some self-respect.
If he actually did something like that, how would he face anyone in the Federal Explorers Association in the future?
Sitting down cross-legged, Bai Xiaodu held the spellbook page in one hand and began to learn it quickly, just like last time.
Practice makes perfect.
This time, his speed in inscribing the spell rune was much faster than it had been for 【Gust】.
In just ten short minutes, he quickly stood up.
His right palm turned slightly.
The air not far away suddenly rippled, and in a daze, a pale blue palm slowly materialized.
Bai Xiaodu knitted his brows as he stared at it.
The Mage Hand quickly performed actions like gripping, stroking, and striking according to his thoughts.
The items in the room were already topsy-turvy and in complete disarray, so Bai Xiaodu simply sat on his bed.
Slowly, he used the Mage Hand to repeatedly tidy up the furniture's positions.
The results were highly satisfying; the Mage Hand consumed very little mana.
Furthermore, its strength was adjustable. The more mana he consumed, the stronger it became, with its limit being about a quarter of his own strength.
One had to keep in mind that Bai Xiaodu's current Constitution was by no means weak.
If the Mage Hand struck a vital spot with full force, knocking someone unconscious was entirely possible.
But right at that moment, his fox ears twitched slightly.
This was his subconscious reaction whenever he sensed something amiss.
After investing points into his Perception attribute, they twitched even more frequently.
The joy on Bai Xiaodu's face instantly vanished.
The wind and rain outside were quite heavy, but Bai Xiaodu could still easily distinguish the sounds of someone moving, stepping on the lawn, and brushing against the walls.
What did they want, sneaking around his house in the middle of the night?
With a cold expression, Bai Xiaodu lightly jumped off the bed and quietly cracked the window open.
Sure enough, a figure was stealthily moving about outside, doing who knew what.
Bai Xiaodu turned his right hand once more.
The Mage Hand inside the room instantly dissolved like mist.
Outside the window, a ghostly hand appeared silently, floating in midair.
The figure didn't seem to notice anything unusual, remaining crouched on the lawn.
After a brief thought, Bai Xiaodu quickly constructed the spell rune.
Of course, the Mage Hand couldn't cast spells on its own; without spiritual support, it couldn't utilize spell runes.
However, it could act as a relay. Bai Xiaodu sent the already condensed spell rune over to it.
Zzzt, zzzt... Dozens of electrical arcs condensed in the palm of the Mage Hand, crackling wildly against the falling raindrops.
As if a miniature ball of lightning were slowly forming in midair, the electrical arcs made no attempt to hide their violent arrogance, casting a bright blue-white light downward.
At this point, the person outside the window finally noticed the anomaly.
Once he clearly saw what was floating right above his head, his body began to shake violently.
A miserable and terrified voice quickly cried out.
“Mr. Bai! Mr. Bai, don't shoot! I was sent by Boss Katemor!”
“Don't kill me, Mr. Bai! Please, I beg you!”
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