“Alright, let's test my new skill. Boriss, lay your sword down on the table.”

Boriss obliges. He unsheathes and carefully lays the curved sword on the table, on its side. The metal shimmies off the lantern light as I take a good look at it. “Alright, how do I activate Remote Examination? Do I just think about using the skill while staring at it? Because I am right now, and nothing is happening. Myers, any advice?”

The old man leans forward. He examines the sword, more so the leather scabbard. “Many [Captains] get [Remote Examination] in the later levels because the requirements for unlocking the skill requires two or more skills of the type in your crew.”

“Wait! Are you saying that if Emma never joined, I wouldn’t get this skill?”

Myers nods. “Precisely so. Many skills have prerequisites that need to be completed before they become available. The same is true for classes- not that I know what a [Shifter] class is capable of becoming.”

I stretch my left back paw. “I see. I’ll keep that in mind. Now, [Remote Examination]. How do I activate it?”

“[Remote Examination] is a passive skill that allows you to activate the requisite skills of your crew. For that, you must think of them activating their skill for you and not your own.”

“Oh, so if I think about Emma using [Identify Item] then it sho- there we go!”

Name

Shamshir of Slicing

Rarity

Exceptional - 8 Runes.

* 1(1-Durability)

* 1(1-lightweight)

* 2(3- Enhanced Sharpness)

Description

This greatsword is +30% more durable, +30% lighter in weight, and is +150% sharper.

Sustain

0.10% Mana regeneration per minute.

A simple floating see through box of text manifests directly above the sword.

“Oh, that's neat. What if I use Cillians [Sense Rarity] skill next.”

Name

Curved Greatsword

Rarity

Exceptional

Description

This weapon is an overly large runed curved sword. You do not have sufficient knowledge to deduce where this weapon is made and by whom.

“Interesting. The information is different, and lacking. The sword is named Curved Greatsword instead of Shamshir of Slicing.” I glance at Myers. “Any reason for that?”

“These types of swords are created by the desert wolven. They call them Shamshir. A Shamshir of Slicing just means that the most advanced rune on the sword is [Enhanced Sharpness]. Hence the naming.” Myers explains. “Cillian, if given the option, would categorize the weapon as a Curved Greatsword.”

“I see. Well, this will still still be useful.”

A nearby door squeaks open and a drowsy Cillian walks towards the table.

“Comrade Cillian. You are awake, yes?”

Cillian blinks at Boriss’s grin. He then looks at me and Myers staring at him. The man looks like he’d awoken from a hangover.

“What happened?” He asks and I snort.

“You drank six bottles of wine and passed out on Morris’s floor. Boriss had to carry you back to the ship.”

He blinks rapidly as what I can only presume as memory enters his noggin.

“Didya get the contract?”

“I did. Checked it, signed it, and already loaded the goods. I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting twenty-seven thousand trist to leave the ship in their care. Morris looked kinda upset about it- like he just took a bite out a lemon, or smelled some shit.”

“He was greedy, I was greedier. Now, I think I need a drink.” He walks up to the cupboard and grabs a bottle of some new alcohol. “Finally something good.”

He uncorks the bottle and takes a gulp. “Yup, this is good. He glances around. “Where is everyone else?”

“Emma, Irmgard, and Clay are still sleeping. It’s five in the morning.”

“Shit… how long was I out?”

“Twelve hours.” I answer.

He nods slowly. “Must have been good wine, then. Shame I don’t remember much. So, when are we leaving?”

“Ten hours ago. We’re moving to our destination.” I look at the old man. “How long until we’re at the tower?”

“A day or two depending on the winds. Speaking of which,” he gets up off his chair. “I should check our heading and make sure nothings changed while I was down.”

Myers walks away from the table, up the stairs, and enters the deck.

When the doors shut, Cillian taps his chin. “Quasi, he’s got a secret. A big one.”

“Da, big secret.” Boriss nods. “Like KGB spy big secret.”

I lay down on the table right next to the Shamshir. “Doesn’t matter. I made a deal. He helps with information and I let him tag along. Granted, his willingness to play navigator and pilot the ship does put him in a good light. Also Clay. Clay is a good kid.”

“Da,” Boriss nods ,”good child.”

Cillian yawns. “Too polite if you ask me.” He grabs another bottle. “I’m gonna get some more sleep.”

The Scott leaves the kitchen with a bottle in both hands.

I stand up. “Well, looks like its us two. Grab the Shamshir and follow me to the hold. Lets see what you can do with that sword.”

_________________________________________________________________

Just like over an ocean, so too does the sea of mana rage. A storm brews far above, the clouds gray and stormy. Droplets of rain fall from overhead, mere warning of what is to come. Lightning surges and thunders like a musician tuning his instrument.

The only saving grace is that the winds have yet to grow dangerous. They are subdued… for the time being.

“This storm’s going to be big. If we turn back now, we can avoid the worst of it. Otherwise, we’ll be in danger unless we can tether to the tower. Frigates don’t do too well in storms, at least not ones as bad as the one brewing above.” Myers explains. The old man is currently holding firm on Timbergrove’s core while staring directly ahead.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Squinting on his shoulder, I can see the distant outline of what may well be the tower. Which is less vertical and more horizontal.

“I think I see something at the base of the tower. Some lump.”

Myers glances at me before removing his hand and grabbing his spyglass. He raises it up to his eye.

“Three ships are moored to the tower. One Galleon and two dedicated destroyers. All three have flags denoting them as part of the Tower Ecclesiasticus.” He lowers the spyglass and then takes the orb.

“Are they friendly?” I ask.

“Out of all religious groups, they are the friendliest and most welcome to outsiders. If we near the tower, they will likely assist in locking down the Timbergrove to weather the storm.”

“Sounds good to me. Full speed ahead.”

______________________________________________________________

Kneeling under the growing onslaught of rain, James continues his prayer towards the one divine great creation. Before him, the great tower's entrance lies open, accepting the worship of its pilgrims. Holding the tower rosary within his palms, he offers a prayer, one repeated by the [Priests] behind him.

The prayers continue even as the wind and storm intensify. But, such intensity is muted when so close to the tower's divine presence. Indeed, staring at the the entrance, raindrops fall and slide down an invisible barrier that only allow the immaterial to enter. It is through prayer, belief, and words that the divine may listen to his mortal servants.

Only with the sound of approaching clanking metal does James allow his prayers to halt. He turns to find a trim-bearded man in golden armor kneeling towards the tower but head swerved to face him.

“[High Paladin] Simon, have you come to join in prayer, or has something come up?” James asks. As devout as the man is, he takes his holy duty of protection very seriously.

“If only, [Bishop] James. I come bearing information. A thoroughly armed cored frigate approaches bearing the name Timbergrove.”

“[Pirates]?”

“Unlikely. Nor do they hoist any flag.”

James nods. “Then we accept them with open arms as is dictated by our teachings. Assist them with docking their ship. Then hoist a tent with food and drink and offer sanctity closer to the divine ear. If they accept, I will speak to the crew and offer prayers that they may need.”

Simon smiles and nods. “Of course, [Bishop].”

The [High Paladin] looks to the entrance. He offers a silent prayer before standing up and rushing away.

As he leaves, James returns to leading the service.

__________________________________________________________

The winds have grown violent and the rain has come pouring. Lightning violently rumbles overhead nearly every minute. With every rumble comes a flash as the storm seems to intensify.

“How’s the ship coming?” I ask Myers.

“Surprisingly well. The added weight is making it easier to deal with the winds. We should make it to the tower before it gets unmanageable.”

“Good, good.” I nod slowly. I glance at myself to find my fur having changed to a fluffy light blue color. As the droplets of water fall on me, they slide off as though I am made of oil.

At our current position, I can see the tower perfectly. The tower looks like a nail- where the bottom is a very large disc with the tower in the center. The radius of the disc is easily in the hundreds of meters, with the central towers radius in the dozens of meters. Vertically, the tower is as tall as it is wide.

It is then that I focus on the three ships docked at the edges.

Bacchante (Five-Mast Destroyer)

Max Speed: 15 knots

Construction: Wood

Modifications: Thick Hull. Expanded Gun Deck

Hull Integrity: 3740/3740 Mana

Mandrake (Five-Mast Destroyer)

Max Speed: 15 knots

Construction: Wood

Modifications: Thick Hull. Expanded Gun Deck

Hull Integrity: 3344/3344 Mana

Towers-Keeper (Four-Mast Cored Heavy Galleon)

Max Speed: 13 knots

Construction: Wood

Modifications: Expanded Living Quarters, Expanded Storage

Hull Integrity: 15,963/15,963 Mana

“Myers, how strong is a Galleon compared to a Destroyer? Actually, what's the rankings between ships all about?”

Myers grunts as he maneuvers the ship's side and top mast to realign the ship's direction. The man is soaking wet everywhere except on his face. Sitting on his head, I use my body as a makeshift hat to keep the rain from getting in his eyes.

Then he smiles as he usually does when questions regarding ships are asked. “Let's start with the second question first. As you know, the smallest class of ship available are corvettes and to a lesser extent, sloops. These ships are fast and very cheap to produce. But they must absolutely avoid storms and do not have enough storage space for long voyages.”

“So what's the difference between Sloops and Corvettes?” I ask.

“Sloops are much smaller and are more along the line of transport between islands. Many much larger ships may have a sloop or two they can deploy for easier docking on islands. Regardless, both ships are very small. Most [Captains] would look to quickly upgrade to a frigate, which is where ship size doubles. Frigates is where most [Captain] become less members of a crew and more a leader of them. They are a favorite of first time [Captains] and are sometimes permanent homes for an entire family.”

“You mentioned the smallest class had Corvettes and Sloops. Is there a different type for a frigate?”

“Some have attempted to produce a variant, but none have succeeded. Frigates are just not large enough for such significant customization.”

“But the smallest class is?”

Myers goes silent for a moment before he speaks. “I should mention that there are six class rankings of ships. They are based on the six rankings of cores. Core ranking from weakest to strongest is White, Green, Blue, Purple, Gold, and Orange. A ship is able to use a core equal to its ranking or one higher and one lower. Two cores lower and the core cannot manipulate the ship. Two cores higher and the ship's hull will be overloaded with mana- causing the ship's hull to degrade. A corvette can have a green core installed, but a sloop would degrade because it is so much smaller.”

Six rankings, six classes of ship sizes based on how well they can handle cores.

“Simple enough.”

“Good. The third class of ships after frigates are destroyers and haulers. Destroyers are combat focused vessels and Haulers are trade focussed. Compared to frigates, they are anywhere from a third to a half ship larger. Both haulers and destroyers can be modified into the other- except for dedicated military destroyers. Those ships will be built with a thick hull that cannot be removed, but they are far stronger and resilient in combat at the expense of internal space. Many [Pirates] fly haulers modified into destroyers. They add more cannons and speed, but nowhere near enough resilience to handle a dedicated military vessel.”

I shift my body more forward to better block the rain. “Yea, I noticed that by the difference in hull integrity. Dedicated military destroyers have three times as much hull integrity compared to my frigate.”

“Four times, actually. Cored ships have higher integrity.”

“Well, that big ass ship over there is a Four-Mast Cored Heavy Galleon named Towers-keeper. It has nearly sixteen thousand hull integrity- more than twice the amount of those two destroyers combined and nearly thirteen times the Timbergrove. Am I looking at the fourth class, or is this the fifth? Because that ship is only twice as big as a destroyer but is so much more resilient.”

Myers releases a rare chuckle. “Many [Captains] make the same mistake when they first set eyes on a class four. Which is understandable because all ships higher than a class three are built with different wood. Classes one to three use arborean wood for constructing the ship's hull. Such wood is cheap to produce and quick to grow. Unfortunately, Arborean wood cannot adequately support ships larger than class three. Instead, class four, five, and six ships are made using Cinder-oak, Darkwood, or Heart-Cypress. All three are much stronger than Arborean, but also more expensive. That galleon looks like it’s made using darkwood.”

“Is galleon the only ship type at class four?”

“No. Class four comprises galleons, cruisers, brigantines, and galleys. Galleons are vertically large with big holds. Brigantines are the same except a bit smaller and faster. Cruisers are more horizontal with higher speed and mobility. Galleys are similar to cruisers but with more speed and are exclusively used by the Buxon.”

Myers clears his throat. “Do note that these ships can be heavily modified for a variety of roles.”

I figured as much.

“Is Class five and six just bigger ships?”

“They are. Class five comprises Battleships, Barges, and Capitals. Battleships are as the name suggests, ships dedicated for combat. They are capable of taking on entire fleets of class four and coming out on top. Barges are trading vessels with enough space to feed cities. Capitals are ships that are built to be effective at everything, including combat. The admiral of a country's navy will commonly be aboard a capital ship.”

Myers frowns as a particularly strong bit of wind hits the ship. He maneuvers the sails and puts us back on course. “We’re almost at the tower. Looks like they’ve already got a welcoming committee.”

I stare at the dock to find several men of mostly human species standing ready with rope.

“We’ve got a minute. What's the last class of ships?”

“Class six is unique. They comprise only the Carrier class. Carrier class ships are from five to ten times larger than a class five. They also all require an orange core to function. The number of such vessels can be counted in the single digits.” Myers pauses for a moment. “We’re nearing the docks. I’m slowing down now. Get your crew to throw some rope as soon as we’re docked.”

The sails on the Timbergrove swerve and shift, causing the ship to rapidly decelerate.

“Got it.”

I hop off and rush inside to get help.