I’m met with silence from all those present. They stare at me, flabbergasted, while I just sit upon the table with a grin.

“Fluffy!” Clay squeals. The child rushes out of his seat to get near me. Then clay’s arms spread apart.

With a snort, I hop into clays arms, where I am met with proper hugs and pets. The child is ecstatic and happy, no doubt relived of my return.

Another glance at all the others, It’s clear that my presence was far more missed than I’d realized.

“Comrade fluffy, is good have you back.” Boriss grins.

“Aye.” Cillian raises a drink before downing the contents.

I’m met with additional words of relief from the rest of my crew, but I ignore them as Clay’s head scritches shove dopamine into my bloodstream.

Eventually, all pleasure must come to an end.

“[Captain] Quasi,” James calls, “It is good to have you back and in good health. I hope your trip into the tower was eventful.”

I hop out of Clay's arm and land on the table. “Yea, just a little bit. I’m level twenty five now with an additional blessing in tow. All it cost me was traversing a dangerous desert, getting penetrated by dozens of needles, nearly starving to death, and barely surviving against a scorpion as large as this tent.”

I smile towards James, who gives me an odd look. No, wait, not odd. The man looks focussed, like everything coming outside of my mouth is being thrown directly into long term memory.

“Would you be willing to go into detail?” He asks.

“Maybe later. I actually came here to ask if Valentines did anything while I was gone.”

“Done?”

I nod. “Torture, threats, pain, killing.”

“Valentine and his crew stayed on their ship the entire time after you left. They said that if anyone tried to leave, they would be killed.” James raises a finger to Irmgard. “She is the only one allowed to board the ship.”

I glance at Irmgard.

“He has threatened me only.”

I frown. “Did he act on those threats?”

“I did not give him a reason to.”

“Huh. That's very unpiraty of him. You’d think a man of his ability would have less self control.”

“Valentine's wants information.” Myers finally speaks. “Doing anything that could be perceived as going against the deal he made is something he will adamantly avoid.” The old man looks like he’d aged a decade over the course of three days. Or he didn’t trim his beard. Hard to tell.

“Right. Well, I can’t help but appreciate that. I guess I should be a bit more generous with information.” I hop off the table and land near the tent entrance.

“You said he’s on his ship, right? I’m gonna go talk to him.”

“Wati!” I hear James call, but my skill is activating. One moment I’m a cat, and the next, I’m a single eyed bird.

Flapping my wings, I exit the tent and ascend a dozen meters. At my heightened elevation, everything is visible to my sight. And I mean everything. I do not see the wavelength of light. I see ripples of mana in motion, all moving at different and varying speeds. I also see the concentrations of light, more specifically, the mana of individuals.

I can see through tents and items with ease. I can note enchanted items as well by the quality and density of mana. Unfortunately, seeing through the hulls of ships is difficult. I can somewhat see through the two uncensored destroyers, but cored ships have such bright hulls it’s not possible.

After a good minute of looking, I flap my wings and make my way to the largest ship I can see.

___________________________________________________________________

The bauble tilts ever so slightly near the edge. A crystalline paperweight, something made of gold, silver, and a fervent red crystal. The item is just at the corner of the desk, asking… wanting a little bit of force.

“Of those three options provided, I ended up choosing Chariots Control.” My paw tilts towards the paperweight. Yes, the other options are objectively better. Chariots Perception [Binocular Vision] would mean I’d never need to use a spyglass and Chariots Endurance is constantly useful if ever I need to recover from exertion.” My paw taps the paperweight light first… then a little more forcefully.

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“But that's the thing. Those are two skills whose benefits to me are very minor. They wouldn’t truly improve me in any significant way. [Minor Heat Resistance] on the other hand is a bit of an enigma. Sure, it probably makes me resilient to heat, but I don’t know by how much. It could be very slight, but it could also be more significant. It is the possibility of significance in why I’ve chosen such a blessing.”

The paperweight falls off the side of the desk to join the mug, candle, stack of paper, a sheathed knife, a bell, two decorated skulls, a fancy stamp, spilled ink bottle with quiver, and a good dozen scrolls. I stare at the floor for a bit before glancing at the now clear desk. Then I glance at the very amused Valentine.

“I don’t suppose you’d comment your own thoughts on the choice? Would you say it is the correct one, or no. Would you have chosen differently?”

After listening silently for the better part of an hour while watching a cat push object off his desk, Valentine takes a moment to lean forward. He then glances at his most trusted advisor.

“Everything except the details surrounding the fight against the Matriarch Scorpis is without lies.”

Valentine nods. “I figured as much. Punching through a Matriarch’s thick carapace is something an Expert Buxon [Monk] would struggle to do- let alone a [Shifter] only recently becoming an advanced classer.”

“There was punching involved.” Quasi adds.

“True.” Gazania says.

“Harr, harr, harr,” Valentine chuckles. “I’m sure. As for your question, Gazania, please explain.”

The [Storm-Forge Navigator] tilts her head towards the cat with a look not indifferent of a strict headmistress.

“[Minor Heat Resistance] is a passive skill that reduces all temperatures above optimum by 50%. This includes both internal and external temperatures. [Heat Resistance] reduces this further by 75% and [Major Heat Resistance] reduces it by 90%. The skill generally shows up in crafting classes like [Smith] or combat classes specializing in hot environments. The skill is also notable for its ability to increase max stamina as the body takes much longer to get to a temperature that would affect function. When [Heat Resistance] is combined with [Fire Resistance], the ability to withstand higher temperature is expon-”

“That's Enough, Gazania.” Valentine interrupts.

“Of course.”

Valentine's gaze returns back to the cat. “What happened after you chose your blessing?”

Quasi yawns. He glances once more at the clean desk, saddened by no longer having something to knock down. “I woke up at the entrance where I killed the first scorpis. From there, I left the tower, made sure my crew was treated well, and then ran here. We then talked. I cleared up your desk of useless baubles, and now we’re here.”

Valentine glances again at Gazania. The woman nods silently.

The leader of the Corsairs leans back in his throne-like chair and crosses his arms. “I find your explanation and story satisfactory, so much so that I’d like to extend an offer.”

“I decline.” Quasi answers immediately.

Valentine raises an eyebrow. “You haven’t even heard my offer.”

“Don’t need to. I imagine you would offer me to join your crew with a promise of riches, rewards, leveling, power, and all the typical stuff a powerful person like yourself can offer.”

“And you would refuse, why?”

“Because I’m better than you.” The cat grins while Valentine frowns. “You’re powerful, influential, leveled, but also overconfident, cocky, authoritarian, and your control over your emotions is lacking. Compared to me, you are but a child with visions of grandeur.”

The leader of the [Corsairs] stares at the talking kitten while his hand cracks the armrest of his seat.

Gazania places a palm on Valentine's shoulder. The man quickly relaxes.

After a moment, Valentine speaks. “Maybe it is you who are being the arrogant one.”

“What you believe to be arrogance is mere feline superiority. I am the superior species here, and you are but a stepping stone to my greatness.”

Valentine grins. Not a happy grin, but a more bloodthirsty one. “Maybe what you perceive is not a mere stone, but a mountain.”

The cat flicks his tail. “A pebble, a boulder, a mountain- all are but stones of different sizes and all can be traversed with time.”

The two stare at each other for long moments, two powerful egos in a single room. A silent battle of will unfolds, both staring and waiting for one to speak.

Eventually, the cat sits down and starts licking its leg- without breaking eye contact.

“Just get out.” Valentine finally voices. “Arguing with you is a waste of time.”

The cat stops licking. “Not just yet. I believe I am owed something.”

Valentine frowns curiously, then he remembers and grins. He reaches into his coat, retrieves a scroll, and then lays it in front of the cat. “Take it.”

“I will, but just to make sure. Our deal is still in place, right?”

He nods. “Yes. When you leave my ship, I will sail away and you can live your life as you please.”

“Purrfect.” The cat answers. Quasi picks up the scroll in his mouth and then leaves the room with the help of a [Pirate] manning the door. Once the door closes and the cat is firmly out of earshot, Valentine chuckles.

“Harr, harr, harrr. Gazania, please call Darran to my office. Tell him it's urgent.”

Gazania’s eyes glow for a moment. “It is done.”

Not a minute later and Darran Orgart, the Sky Piercer, rushes inside. “Did you need something, [Captain]?”

“I do. I need your [Wyvern Riders] to send a message to all the nearby [Pirate] havens.”

He nods. “That can be done. What is the message?”

Valentine stands up and walks to the side of the room where a large wall-sized map of the planet is located. “I need you to inform all of the havens that there is treasure located.” He raises a finger and points at a specific location. “here.”