Now that we have some alone time and Nick taking full control of the plane, I take this opportunity to text Daisy. I read all of the old text Daisy sent me, nothing worth repeating, but I should let her know what happened.

After I sent the text, Daisy responded to me.

So will you be able to make it back tonight?

I can’t make any promises. I text back. But this job shouldn’t last longer than two days, I think.

OK, see you soon. 

I put my phone back in my pocket. This is why I like dating Daisy, she’s so easy to get along with and doesn't require me to spend loads of money. She doesn’t start any drama with anybody nor does she get jealous. I don’t know if it’s due to her upbringing as a noble or just something she was natural at. Whatever the reason, I am just glad that she’s low-maintenance.

“Do you have any idea where we’re at?” Gwen says from behind Nick.

Nick glances at the map on the console. A light blinks on and off, indicating where the next Phoenix Crystals sit, theoretically.

“It looks like we’re near Nippon.”

“More specifically,” I add. “We’re heading for some island called Wayoi.”

“Wayoi?!” Barbara sounds excited.

“I haven’t been there for over two hundred years!”

“Why did you visit it in the first place?” Gwen asks Barbara.

“It was my first archaeology expedition, I was an intern at the time. I was studying the ancient religion of dragons at the time. It was so much fun! I should show you guys all of the old temples once we get the Phoenix Crystal.”

Nick and I exchange glances.

“As much as we would love to go dungeon crawling in some dusty old temples, we are on the clock here,” Nick says.

“Ah, I guess you’re right.” Barbara concedes.

I personally would love exploring old dungeons, not because I like walking in dusty old temples (I don’t). But because it can hold some valuable treasure. A lot of people become adventurers because it’s an easy job to get into. Others do it because they are adrenaline junkies. I became one because I was just lucky to get chosen to be a Holy Knight. I don’t really care about finding a legendary treasure or becoming a “king” of a boony village in the middle of nowhere. Heck, I don’t even care about trying to be the strongest guy that ever was. 

If I am forced to be an adventurer, then I might as well get some decent money out of it. Frankie barely pays us as is. All three of us are only fourteen years old and so we are exempt from getting paid the minimum wage. Legally, we’re not supposed to be working at a guild but we’re working for a Holy Knight directly so the law looks the other way.

As for selling treasure, as a member of Millennium, I am only allowed to sell it there while the guild gets eighty percent off of the cut, ninety percent if you're under the age of sixteen.

Having some money is better than being flat-broke, so I don’t complain all that much. 

Nick lands the Blue Jet in a clearing in a thick forest. Gwen steps out of the jet first and surveyed the area. Once she saw no possible threats, Barbara came out next followed by me and Nick. It’s the perfect defense when out in the wilderness like this.

Barbara was looking at the screen of her Magictek. “It looks like it’s five miles east of here. Do you guys want to walk there or fly? You can fly right?”

“Of course, we can,” Gwen says, puffing her chest with pride. “We are not low-rate adventurers!”

Barbara shakes her head. “I didn’t mean any offense by it. I was thinking more of having you kids experience Wayoi’s wilderness.”

“You don’t give up, do you lady,” Nick says.

Barbara smiles smugly. “What can I say, it's the educator in me.”

“We'll have to pass,” I say, as I glance around the area, making sure we’re not surprised by a monster. “Besides, it’s way too muggy to be walking for five hours.”

“Not to mention what kind of bugs we can find here,” Gwen says, wiping away invisible bugs off of her arm. “ I am not trying to catch any diseases out here.”

Barbara shrugs.

“You can’t blame me for wanting to teach today’s youth about ancient culture”

“Yeah, we can. This is summer vacation, and nobody wants to learn anything. It’s the time for having fun and wasting time and shit.” Nick says.

“Quite the wordsmith as always, Nick.” Gwnn teases.

“You got what I meant. Let’s quit wasting time and get going.”

“Alright everybody, follow me!” Barabra ascends towards the sky and ushers us to follow.

We did so, forming a diamond pattern in the sky, with Barbara in the lead. Flying is no different than walking, swimming, or riding a bike. Learning how to fly is difficult at first, and you’ll crash a lot (except you could end up breaking something or dying), but once you get the hang of flying, it’s impossible to forget.

Frankie was the one who taught Nick and me to fly, but I don’t know where Gwen learned how, probably from the guild. Millennium has its own martial arts that it teaches to all of its members. It doesn’t have an official name, but people just call it “Millennium-Fu”, a dumb name I know. Anyways, many of the techniques remind me of things you’ll see in an anime or video game. Or if you want to get real old school, wuxia novels. It’s pretty easy to learn but nearly impossible to master. So far only Master Ava and the Holy Knights seem to master Millennium’s martial arts.

Barbara is flying a little slow for my liking. We could be at our destination in under five minutes and be off to get to the next one. I can already hear your questions now: But Yugi, why don’t you just fly yourselves to get all of the Phoenix Crystals?

I’ll tell you why. For one, Gaia is a huge planet, the biggest in the known galaxy in fact, possibly in the universe since it was created by the Primordial goddess Huanglong. Two, Gwen and Barbara don't have the energy to fly around all over the globe searching for magical crystals. Nick and I can do it with no problem, but we are not looking for the Phoenix crystals alone so there’s nothing I can do about it. 

“How close are we to the Crystal?” I ask Barbara.

“We’re almost there, just about two minutes away, if I had to guess.”

I am about to suggest we fly a little bit faster when I notice something out of the corner of my mind. Missiles, flying straight towards us.