Chapter 47: The Floating Airship—Soaring
Ryan stared dumbfounded at the colossal object that had appeared above his head.
Nika and Nila wore the same expression he did.
Isabella was only slightly surprised.
She had seen this treasure of her father’s before, but she had not expected him to bring it out and show it off.
In the next moment, she seemed to realize something.
Could it be that her father intended to trade it for the Magic Tool?
Alfred was delighted when he saw Ryan’s expression.
“So, I’ve finally managed to show you something that can surprise you. Well? This floating airship is impressive, isn’t it?”
“Mr. Alfred, th-this is... what exactly?”
Ryan asked haltingly.
“The floating airship—Soaring. It is one of my private collectibles. I just heard that you want to travel and adventure, so I thought Soaring would suit you perfectly as an aerial fortress.”
Ryan unconsciously muttered, “Suit me...”
He felt as though he had suddenly developed megalophobia.
The massive thing blotting out the sky above him was simply overwhelming.
“We’re too far away to appreciate it properly. Let’s get a little closer.”
With that, Alfred controlled Soaring and brought it down to the ground.
Fortunately, the Jurgen Family castle grounds were large enough to accommodate Soaring.
Otherwise, it would not even have been able to land.
As Ryan listened to Alfred’s introduction, he carefully observed Soaring.
The floating airship was one hundred and fifty meters long. Its overall structure was a streamlined fortress, like a suspended European-style castle.
The outer layer was covered in dark gray alloy armor, and silver energy patterns ran through the seams between the armor plates, emitting a faint blue glow.
The gasbag was positioned on top of the fortress, oval in shape and made from multilayer translucent composite materials. Its surface was coated with a color-changing layer that normally appeared dark gray, blending seamlessly with the armor, making the internal light source invisible from the outside.
There were six engine nozzles on each side of the gasbag. The nozzles were circular, with brass-colored metal rings around the edges. When activated, they expelled pale violet streams of air that propelled the airship forward.
The front of the fortress had a three-tiered arrowhead structure. The edges of each tier protruded slightly and were covered with spiked alloy plating. At the center of the lowest tier was a massive emblem of the Jurgen Family.
On either side of the emblem were ten cannon ports. Their diameter was enormous. Normally, they were covered by armor plates, but when activated, the armor slid open to reveal silver cannon barrels.
There were two rows of porthole windows along the sides of the fortress. The windows were vertical in shape, with brass metal frames. The glass was made of one-way transparent material, appearing pitch-black from the outside, making it impossible to see inside.
Between the portholes ran horizontal metal patterns set with red crystals that served as energy indicator lights.
There were four landing gears at the bottom, shaped like support struts and made of alloy. At the end of each strut was a round shock-absorbing pad engraved with anti-slip patterns.
When the landing gears retracted, the bottom armor plates closed together, forming a complete flat surface.
At the rear were three vertical tail fins. The central fin was the tallest and bore a huge red crest. The two side fins were slightly shorter, and each was fitted with a propeller. The propeller blades were made of silver alloy, with serrated edges that emitted a humming sound as they spun.
As Alfred watched Ryan’s expression and saw that he was interested in Soaring, he finally relaxed.
This Soaring was one of his private collectibles.
Even if he used it to trade for the Magic Tool, no one in the family would have anything to say about it.
And now that he was the head of the Jurgen Family, it was impossible for him to roam all over the world as freely as he had in his youth.
Keeping Soaring in his hands merely as a collectible was a bit of a waste.
Now that he had met Ryan, Soaring finally had a reason to soar through the skies once more.
“So? Isn’t it magnificent?”
“Mhm, mhm, mhm...”
Ryan stared at the gigantic aerial fortress before him, his eyes practically shining.
A voice in his heart kept shouting:
Buy it!
I have to buy it!
This was practically his ideal means of transportation.
“Come on, then. Let’s go inside and take a look.”
Alfred led Ryan into the interior of Soaring.
They entered through the top hatch. The first thing they saw was the entrance hall, whose floor was covered with a huge red carpet woven with golden patterns that formed an intricate European-style design.
The upper level was the command deck. At its center stood a circular command platform made of transparent alloy, beneath which blue streams of energy surged. Silver control levers and holographic screens were distributed across the platform, and the screens displayed images of the surrounding exterior.
Around the command platform were twelve seats made of black leather, their backrests engraved with the Jurgen Family emblem, and control buttons built into the armrests.
The middle level was the living area. The floor was covered with a deep brown carpet woven with silver star patterns.
Oil paintings hung along both sides of the corridor, their frames gilded in gold and depicting scenes of airship battles.
The main hall was covered with a white wool carpet trimmed with golden tassels.
On the other side was the dining hall. Around the dining table were twenty-four high-backed chairs. Their backs were gilded and carved with grapevines, while the seat cushions were made of red leather.
Above the table hung a crystal chandelier composed of over a thousand crystals, its light refracting through them into rainbow-colored patterns.
What surprised Ryan the most was that there was actually a small swimming pool inside Soaring.
The pool was located on the west side of the middle level. Its walls were made of white marble, and its bottom was paved with blue tiles arranged in European-style patterns.
Golden handrails lined the edge of the pool, and every meter along them stood a dolphin statue, each spouting a fine stream of water from its mouth.
Beige anti-slip tiles surrounded the pool, and eight reclining lounge chairs had been placed nearby. The chairs had silver metal frames with cushions made of blue waterproof fabric.
Next to them was a bar counter made of brass, with a green marble countertop. Silver drinking sets and crystal bottles were displayed on it, filled with all kinds of fine liquor.
The lower level was the residential area, its floors covered in wool carpet.
Inside each room was a large bed. The headboard was gilded and carved with decorative patterns, while the mattress was made of memory foam and dressed with silk sheets.
Each room also had an independent bathroom. The bathroom walls were marble, the floor was paved with anti-slip tiles, and the bathtub was made of white ceramic with golden patterns inlaid along the rim. Above the tub was a brass showerhead that could adjust both the temperature and the pressure of the water.
The storage area was located on the bottommost level. The floor was made of metal, coated with gray paint, and drainage outlets were set into the corners.
The storage area was divided into multiple compartments for storing weapons, fuel, and supplies.
After seeing the whole thing, Ryan was satisfied with Soaring beyond measure.
It could be lived in, it could fly, it could attack, and it could defend.
Soaring was exceptionally versatile.
For someone like Ryan, who wanted to travel and adventure, Soaring suited his tastes perfectly.
“Mr. Alfred, what powers Soaring?”
“Soaring runs on Magic Crystals. One hundred Magic Crystals are enough to keep Soaring flying for an entire day.”
“One hundred Magic Crystals? That is pretty cheap.”
Ryan was truly being a little too extravagant there.
To ordinary people, Magic Crystals were an expensive luxury.
Not only that, for low-ranking Mages, condensing Magic Crystals every day and selling them was one of their main sources of income.
They would never dare to touch something as luxurious as Soaring.
They could not even afford the fuel.
But for Ryan, none of those problems were problems at all.
He had so many Gold Coins now that he could barely spend them all.
Supporting Soaring’s daily consumption was no issue whatsoever.
“Mr. Alfred, you didn’t bring out Soaring just to introduce it to me, did you?”
Ryan asked.
Given the value of Soaring, one handgun alone probably would not be enough.
He estimated that he might have to exchange another firearm from the System as well.
“That’s right. My intention is to trade Soaring for your gun. What do you think?”
“What?”
Ryan froze.
“Is it not enough?”
Alfred frowned.
Soaring was already the most valuable item in his private collection.
“No, Soaring is more than enough.”
Ryan hurriedly said.
What a joke.
Just from the look of it, Soaring was incredibly expensive. There was no way it could be bought for less than tens of thousands of Gold Coins.
And yet Alfred only wanted to exchange it for a handgun.
Ryan quietly checked the System exchange price for handguns.
They ranged from 200 Gold Coins to 800 Gold Coins.
This was a profit margin of over a hundred times.
What outrageous profit!
Even robbery would not be this fast.
“In that case, to make sure Miss Isabella can keep using it, I’ll send over a large supply of bullets every so often.”
Ryan even threw in some after-sales service for Alfred.
Under normal circumstances, he would only have left behind a small amount of ammunition.
Once those bullets were used up, they were gone, and the firearm would effectively become useless.
Unless they managed to research a method of making bullets themselves.
But for firearms produced through the System, if the bullets were not System-made, or personally made by Ryan, then the firearm could not be used at all.
“That is wonderful.”
Alfred said happily.
Ryan said nothing, but inwardly he could not help grumbling, I just hope that when you learn the true price of firearms in the future, you won’t blame me for selling them at such a high price.
Something worth 800 Gold Coins had been sold for tens of thousands.
Even capitalists would weep at that.
And yet, Alfred and Isabella were still deeply grateful that Ryan was willing to sell it to them.
A monopoly really was that easy to profit from. This was completely and utterly a seller’s market.
Whatever price Ryan named was the price.
Then Ryan walked over to Isabella and placed the Desert Eagle he had just tested into her hands.
“I... I...”
Isabella looked at the Desert Eagle in her hands, so overwhelmed with excitement that she could hardly speak.
Then Ryan looked at Nika. “Nika, teach Miss Isabella how to use the gun. Once she learns how to fire it, she can start practicing.”
Ryan exchanged ten thousand bullets from the System for Isabella to use in training.
This time, he did not exchange them in the form of loaded magazines.
He only gave Isabella five empty magazines.
After all, the Jurgen Family had plenty of servants and maids.
When Isabella practiced her marksmanship, the servants could simply help her load the bullets into the magazines.
Nika walked over to Isabella’s side. “Congratulations, Miss. You have obtained a gun of your own. I’ll teach you how to use it...”
From that point on, Isabella devoted herself completely to learning how to use firearms.
Seeing the change in his daughter, Alfred was overjoyed.
Although he had lost Soaring, being able to exchange it for his daughter’s happiness made it worth more than anything.