Chapter 236

Playing Captain Matchmaker

Gentle Solar Breeze.

The air was fresh, far crisper and clearer than it had any right to be. But then again, we were a few thousand feet up, at least that is what I assumed by the way everyone who took a chance to stare over the side of the ship now felt.

“Ohh!” Was probably the most often term said, before everyone’s eyes went wide at the sight below.

“This is so wonderful!” Penelope cooed as she stared all over the place, clearly excited by the fact that we were up and flying.

Yes, flying in my new, finally functional QiMO powered airship.

The ship was an open deck design with two steering wheels, one on the top deck that was exposed to the elements, and a second one down below that I installed as a backup. The one below deck could steer just as well, but there were no windows, making steering generally impossible for most people. There was also a back up QiMO line feed there as well.

Basically, if this first steering column got injured we would all run below deck, I would Teleport to the sealed off room and pilot knowing that eyesight was irrelevant for me.

Shucka-shucka-shucka.

The combined flapping wings and QiMO propulsion system worked tirelessly together.

Just using the device for a few minutes was thoroughly exhausting, which meant it was amazing. Particularly as I could feel a number of my skills being pressed and worked all at the same time to pilot this amazing exercise machine.

In a way it almost felt like I somehow managed to create a flying machine based on the idea of spinning a hamster wheel, while occasionally reaching out and throwing projectiles at different targets, while making sure to hit certain dance moves to avoid hitting particularly worn treads that would break the hamster wheel I was spinning.

To be succinct, it was perfect, for me.

Since we were in the spirit realm, I took three people with me on the ship’s maiden voyage.

The reason why I chose three exactly was because of my class specific ability Death Shroud. While most of the other students would either be able to ignore the constant damage caused by being in the spirit realm, I wanted my students to truly enjoy the entire day and not have to think about cultivating, coming to me for heals. Or pester me with how they could cultivate spirit energy and why it looks and feels so differently from mortal Qi.

“So what is this device that you have attached to you?” Penelope, one of my most promising magical students asked.

“This is the Qi and Mana Flow device, where I pump out amounts of Qi and Mana through this pipe in a fused state. It then runs around the ship like a circuit, where each device gets momentarily charged by stream of energy before the motes of energy ultimately come back to me and let me start the cycle all over again.” I state.

“Wow, you built this?” Maranda, a promising female from my morning Qi classes asked.

“Oh no, I just found the discarded remains of this ship, then painstakingly took every part of it that didn’t work, replaced it. Reworked the designs until they actually made functional sense. Then put it all together and finally got it ready for this its maiden voyage.” I stated.

“Wow, that must have taken a long time.” Maranda said.

“It did, like two weeks, fortunately I needed a distraction at that time, so this was the perfect challenge.” I stated.

“Two weeks?” Penelope asked.

“Yeah, not my best work, but for a pet project that works, it seems kind of fun. Also, right now we are flying through these levels.” I state, and I meant it too.

While we had started off at floor 235, we were already cruising past floor 238, and climbing.

“Now that is the great tree Yggdraspirit?” Penelope asked.

“Yeah, apparently it is the spirit version of Yggdrasil, but obviously we have never found that tree on the continent yet.” I state.

“Do you think you could find it?” Maranda asked.

“I mean, I guess. Logically it would just be somewhere far out in the as yet unseen Blighted lands, right?” I ask.

“Yeah. Though I assume with a ship like this, it would be relatively easy. Well easier.” Maranda added.

“Hey, where is Jhonny?” Penelope asked.

At that I just shake my head. As the captain I am sort of stuck here, as I need to power the ship to keep us going at a steady but constant rate of ascent.

“Jhonny is apparently taking a moment to himself.” I admit.

I can see him, waiting by the cabin door, apparently wanting to come out on top and join us, but I can see a slight tremble in his body as he makes his move.

This is sad, as I set up this whole trip with the two fellow students that he has shown interest in for him.

“So how does this even work? Flying with Qi and Mana?” Penelope asks, turning from me to look at the display panel that shows the different levels of Qi and Mana that I am providing at any one time.

“Good question. Essentially this is based on the understanding of the two types of energy. Mana is more gaseous, and tends to rise. As such, if we want to rise faster, all we do is steadily increase the ratio of Mana to Qi that we are using.” I state, and do just that.

LURCH!

With that, the ship noticeably rises by a few degrees and lets changes the rate of ascension.

Instantly the two girls begin to slide back, which I stop with a quick but gentle application of Telekinesis.

Not much, just enough to offer resistance to their movements.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Both seem to instantly note the sudden change and use of mana against them, but just seem to nod appreciatively at the gesture more than anything.

The truth is, I have had everyone coated in a layer of Telekinesis that I can gently snap into place at a moment’s notice. Even Jhonny has this, but his fear of heights is apparently far greater than even the comfort of me offering to catch him should he fall.

“Okay, so if Mana provides the rise, what is Qi for?” Penelope asks.

“For propulsion,” I state as I begin to cycle more Qi into the system.

VROOM!

As would be expected, the ship that is at an already steep rate of ascent begins to rocket forward.

Entering floor 239. Entering floor 240. Entering floor 241.

Then after a quick burst of speed, I slow down and begin to let us go back to what I consider our cruising speed.

Penelope for her part just seemed to cower in place a bit. Even using my Telekinesis to hold her and keep her upright as she tried to gain control over her body.

“Wow, that is.” Was all Penelope could manage to say, before she was cut off.

“AWESOME! That was so completely awesome! Can we do it again?” Maranda asked.

With that I could all but sense the complete discomfort coming to Penelope’s features as her body went into fight of flight mode, as she visibly showed the signs that she was going to vomit.

For her benefit, and for Jhonny, who was doing even worse now than he had been previously, I decide to stop.

“No, unfortunately that is really tough on the ship, so we are just going to have to steady out a bit for now.” I state.

With that Penelope seemed to exhale in relief, while Maranda just sadly nodded her head in understanding.

“We will make it past floor 250 before the night is over at least, so that should be a good thing.” I pose.

“Yeah, about that, I think I am going to go down below deck and check up on Jhonny before returning to see us break through floor 250.” Penelope said.

“Thank you, also check with him for food and drinks. I know he brought some for this, so if you need anything just ask him.” I tell Penelope as she begins to slowly stagger her way back to the hull where Jhonny who apparently notices her coming decides to leave the immediate are and try to look like he was just coming up.

They meet in the hallway, and Jhonny looks like his about to go past her, but then decides to follow her to a seated table with a positioning safety strap.

Phew.

Watching him finally make his move, I let out a sigh of relief, as I didn’t think he would ever take advantage of this situation.

“So now that I have you alone, can I ask why you didn’t take your new secretary with you?” Maranda asked.

Hearing the question, I let out a bit of a huff of annoyance.

“I did offer, but she said she had other plans for tonight,” I state. I know the new girl is kind of squirrely, which coming from me should mean something. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear she was up to no good, which if that’s the case, then more luck to her.

I know she is a high-ranking member of an opposing city’s Thieves Guild.

Apparently that is a thing all Thieves Guild Leaders get, a once daily Perk called, True Allegiance.

Where you can see one True Allegiance held by an individual related solely to their Thieves Guild membership.

For the record, aside from me, no one on this ship is a Thieves Guild member anywhere. That’s right, Maranda the workout enthusiast and adrenaline junkie, Penelope the Tailor and most promising mana manipulator, and Jhonny my personal assistant who is performing moderately well at both Qi and Mana classes and progressions. Not one of those three students are members of Thieves Guilds anywhere.

This makes them perfect for each other, and why I kind of chose them to come here with me. With all three of them not being in the Thieves Guild, it makes my hiding my position that much easier. At least that was the logic I was going with.

At least that logic sounds better than the truth, which is something along the lines of my not wanting to deal with constantly having to hand out quests and assignments to annoying people who will try to steal from you or stab you in the back if they could. Not that I have ever stolen from a Thieves Guild leader, but now that I think about it, stealing from Lucky Lenny and somehow getting Glenn promoted in his place does sound appealing.

Just as I finished having that thought, I received a new system message.

New Questline Found: Thieves Guild Leader Exclusive: CrossRoad’s Thieves Guild Hall New Leader (Ongoing): You have made it a personal goal to have Lucky Lenny, the Thieves Guild leader for the Crossroads Guild Hall on the second floor of the Arcanarus Tower deposed as the rightful leader and wish to appoint Glenn as his replacement. Conditions: Lenny deposed as Thieves Guild Hall Leader (0 / 1); Glenn appointed as his successor (0 / 1). Rewards: Experience, Variable.

I pause for a moment, but then smile.

“Oh ha-hoo.” I exclaim in excitement, momentarily forgetting where I am.

“Everything okay?” Maranda asks.

“What? Oh, yeah, everything’s great. Sorry just got distracted.” I state, realizing this suddenly got a lot more fun. Now not only do I need to worry about my own status and position being outed, but I can also take down other Thieves Guild hall leaders? Oh this is so much fun!

“You are suddenly smiling a lot.” Maranda stated.

“It is just a beautiful day out and I’m enjoying the scenery.”

“It’s nighttime.”

“Wait, even here?” I ask, realizing that we are at least a few time zones ahead of where we normally exist at the western most point of the world’s end.

“Yeah?” Maranda asks, rolling her letters like I am somehow crazy.

“Okay, okay, blame the blind girl for not being able to tell if the sun is out or not.” I state a bit defensively.

“You really can’t see can you?” Maranda asks, bending down from her tall frame to look me right in the eyes. Right now she is so close that I can almost feel her breath on my face, and for my part I try to turn my eyes and face in her direction, but again with my Angel’s Sight, this is a mostly empathic gesture.

“Nope, I can’t even tell if the ship looks like it is color coordinated.” I reply.

At that Maranda just twists her lip. “It’s not. There are new tiles that are over most of the deck, while the older tiles just stick out like an old, aged eyesore.”

“Is it that bad?” I ask.

“It’s definitely not the worst, but not the best either. It is clear that you are a superior craftsperson than the one who created the base ship, as at least all of your parts look clean, smooth, and polished.

Entering floor 242.

At that, the notification that we just crossed yet another floor chimes off, letting us know that we are almost there.

The two of us just stand there quiet for a moment.

As for me, I am focusing on avoiding what appear to be other airships that are dozens of kilometers away from us. I don’t think they have seen us, but I just level out our rate of ascension and begin steering clear of the other vessels.

“So how often do you come out to fly?” Maranda asks.

“Unfortunately, this is the first time I got a chance to fly, though I do hope to make it a thing from now on.” I answer truthfully.

“Would you want someone to keep you company when you go?” Maranda asks, a slight note of something in her voice.

“Are you asking to be my first mate?” I ask.

With that Miranda just pauses, but then shrugs and states, “yeah, if you’d have me.”

“Hmm,” I say, mentally increasing the mana and Qi once we are out of my visual range of the other ships, so we can increase our distance from them.

Entering floor 243.

“Well?” Maranda asks.

With this, I realize that even with our accelerated rate of ascent, Maranda for her part is standing perfectly still, not even needing my Telekinetic shielding to keep her in place. Instead, her feet seem to be suctioned to the deck.

A quick glance, lets me realize that she is using her Qi to reinforce her connection between herself and the ground. Almost like she is creating a temporary magnetic bond, but not exactly.

“You’re using your Qi to maintain your balance?” I ask, somewhat impressed that my student is working on her craft, even up here.

“Yes, I always try to find new ways to work on my craft.” Maranda states.

Hearing her, I pause for a second.

I also take a moment to look in the ship to see that Penelope and Jhonny are both clinging to each other for dear life as we continue to ascend rapidly. This is good, at least those two are finally getting the chance to get together.

Entering floor 244.

Then seeing that she is still resolute with her intentions, “okay, Navigator.”

“Navigator?”

“Yeah, you’ve been promoted to help guide us. This means I need you to be my eyes and spotter. Tell me, where are the other flying vessels or creatures?” I ask.

With that Maranda looks around the sky wildly, before pointing up overhead and to the aft of our ship.

“There’s some.” Maranda says, while pointing at the group that I already noted.

Hearing that I just nod in approval.

“Then there looks to be another larger group up ahead of us as well.

Entering floor 245.

At this, I finally feel the new group of flying constructs enter my sphere of vision.

Judging by our height and how far I can see, I realize this is either a trap for floor 250, or just after we reach 250.

Then realizing I need to be better at explaining myself to others, I state what I am thinking.

“All right Navigator, how do you feel about handling yourself in an aerial battle?” I ask.

“Really! This is so cool!” Maranda asks, actually appearing to be hyped about the whole situation.

Hearing her I can’t help but wonder what I’ve gotten myself into, as she clearly appears to be a battle junkie.

“You are that excited to go into battle?” I ask.

“What? Me, no. I don’t think I could offer much. Though I have heard tales of your exploits, and am super excited to see what you will do to these clowns.” Maranda stated.

“I regret to inform you that, the stories of my exploits are likely well over blown.” I suggest, realizing this will likely just be me having to defend my ship.

Though having a friend to help did seem to make it all a little easier to stomach.

Also, Maranda should be far over leveled for anything these next few floors have to offer, so we should be fine.

I am mentally going through my own battle program and routine of what I could do in an aerial battle while channeling both Qi and Mana through these pipes, when I am hit with a question that caught me completely off guard.

“So, what is the name of this vessel?” Maranda asked.

Sucker punch.

Yeah, like that, the wind came out of my lungs, as I realized I didn’t have a name for this crazy ship.

“She doesn’t have one.” I replied.

“What? She needs a name, especially if we are going into battle.” Maranda stated.

As she spoke, I could feel golden threads flowing from her to me and then anchoring us both to the ship. In that instance, I sort of understood the importance. By giving this ship a name, I could increase its attributes, and in time likely cause it to level in some meaningful way. While Prototype 1 was the first idea that came to mind, I quickly discarded it as, that would be a terrible name for a ship with an obvious design flaw, like an open exhaust port that led to the ship’s power core.

No, I needed something big, something powerful. Something that would strike fear into the hearts of enemies and get them to leave me alone.

That’s when it came to me.