The white room is just as white as I last left it. A very nice boring white with a dabble of eyeballs.
“Red, Green, it’s delightful to see you both. How have your administrators duties been going? Got any new skills to offer me?
“Negative, Negative.” They answer in unison.
Yeah, I kinda expected that.
I frown. “Damn. Alright, let's start with green. How many levels have I gained?
Green blinks. “You have gained a single level. You have one attribute available.”
“What? Bullshit. I killed a shit ton of [Pirates] and basically electrocuted most of a ship's crew. That’s at least worth three levels.”
“You have gained a single level. You have one attribute available.” Green repeats.
“Well fuck you too,” I grumble. “Show me my trait sheet.”
“Acknowledged”
Traits.
Human Average
Individual Base Calculations.
Level modifications
Trait Actual Value
Strength
10
41
+44%
59
Endurance
9
46
+0%
46
Vitality
12
0.27%M/R/M
28
0.63% M/R/M
+0%
+9.31%
28
9.94% M/R/M
Perception
9
29
+0%
29
Intelligence
11
16
+0%
16
Mana
388.8
510
+0%
510
Control
12
10
+0%
10
Attributes Available/Attributes total:
2
46
Level:
26
Titles Obtained: 4
Title Name
Leviathan Slayer
Title Rank
Legendary
Title Effect
+10 Attribute points
Title Name
Underdog Boarder
Title Rank
Rare
Title Effect
[Captain’s Authority] stat decay is slowed when boarding enemy vessels.
Title Name
Mana Fur
Title Rank
Divine
Title Effect
Increase Mana Regeneration by fur density.
Current Bonus: +9.31% M/RM
Title Name
Storm Swimmer
Title Rank
Rare
Title Effect
Reduce damage of storm currents by 90%.
Storm Swimmer? I got a new title? Was it because I piloted a ship inside a storm cloud?
“Alright green, just put the trait po- wait. Why do I have two trait points? I only leveled once!”
“That information is restricted.”
“Your mom is restricted,” I say, aggravated.
Green does not show any emotion to my petty remark.
Well, I’m going to take a guess and say that my new class gives me more trait points per level.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
I wave my hand. “Put both trait points in strength and get out of here.”
“Acknowledged”
While green disappears, I turn my attention to Red. The eyeball has been patiently waiting for his turn.
“Red, you better give me a lot of levels. I did a lot of impressive captainy shit today. I plundered booty, clapped [Pirate] cheeks, Lasered lightning, and tasered a destroyer. I think I earned a good helping of girthy [Captain] levels.”
Red blinks, unfazed by my explanation. Hell, the eyeball probably doesn’t even register my whining. He just floats there, just blinking and waiting.
I sigh. “Just show me my crew page.”
“Acknowledged”
Job: [Ship Captain]
Level: Level 17
Job Skills: 2
Ship Size: Frigate
Primary Jobs Available: 8
Support Jobs Available:5
Maximum Job Capacity: 22
Primary Jobs
[First Mate] level 10: Irmgard Von Braun level 12 [Sword Officer]
[Quartermaster] level 10: Cillian Wallace level 18 [Merchant]
[Security Chief] level 10: Boriss Smirnov level 17 [Skirmisher]
[Chief Carpenter] level 6: Emma level 29 [Rune Smith]
[Head Chef]: N/A
[Chief Physician]: N/A
[Artillery Chief]: N/A
[Navigator]: N/A
Support Jobs
[Boatswain]:[Gunner]: [Cook]:
[Carpenter]:
[Rigger]:
[Physician Assistant]:
“Seven levels!” I clap my hands. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
I continue reading, finding that Irmgard nearly doubled in levels since I last checked. She should be getting a job and class skill now.
I’ll need to ask what she gets.
“Let's see… Cillian got a level in [Merchant]. Not sure how. Maybe from the castle looting.”
I grin wide on the next line. “Six levels, Boris. You got six levels of [Security Chief].”
I chuckle.
When I stop on Emma, I am a little surprised. I knew she was repairing some of the old runes on the timbergrove, but I wasn’t expecting her to get so many levels from it.
“Everyone is making progress. This is good, but now I have to figure out what Job to give Nepenthes. Maybe Rigger?”
I shake my head.
She’ll just cut the ropes or something.
“Anything else for me Red?”
Title Name
Storm Swimmer
Title Rank
Rare
Title Effect
Reduce damage of storm currents by 90%.
“I figured that out with green already, but thanks anyways. If there is nothing else, that’s all for now.”
“Acknowledged.”
Red disappears into a portal. Not a moment later and my eyes open to the sight of my room. I blink several times before stretching. I glance at the clock.
“twelve hours? I must have been pretty tired.”
I hop off the bookshelf and walk outside of the [Captains] cabin. The moment I step out, I’m met with the scent of meat and conversation.
I walk into the Galley to find everyone minus the serpentine plant woman.
I hop up to the table to find it filled with cooked meat and grilled veggies.
“Fluffy, Good morning!” Clay squeals.
Morning? Oh, right. I slept for half a day.
“Good morning to you too,” I reply. “Where Nepenthes?”
“On the deck,” Irmgard answers. She places a massive cooked leg in front of Boriss. “She asked to consume the [Pirate] corpses for learning and modification. I allowed it.” She walks to the kitchen.
I nod slowly. “Odd, but alright. Anything else happen?”
“Treasure!” Cillian yells while raising a gourd. “W-weee gonna be -hiccup- rich.”
The Scot is thoroughly drunk, more so than usual. The man's cheeks are a very bright red. Two empty gourds sit next to him.
“Did you swipe sake from the tower people?”
“N-n-n- Burp.” He giggles.
Irmgard sigh’s. “While you were in the tower, Cillian traded with the Tower Ecclesiasticus. We got a case of Sake and a chest that freezes food. ”
That explains the fresh meat.
“I still want a walk-in fridge.” I glance at Emma.
She nods. “I can do it now if I use the gems from the chests.”
“That’s fine, but no rush. We don’t have anything to put in it until we make port. Speaking of which.” I look to Myers. The old man is happily drinking a saucer of sake. He looks very relaxed, like a man in his element. “Myers, we have treasure and we have to sell that treasure. What's the nearest town?”
His expression hardens somewhat. “That won’t be so simple. Those chests are worth far too much to be sold to your average city, let alone a town. If you want to get a fair price, we’re going to need to find a major city with a Merchant Guild branch.”
“Does Breston have a Guild Branch?” I ask.
“No. Breston is too far from a slipstream, so the Guild wouldn't bother putting a branch there.”
“Then where?”
Myers sighs. He places his saucer on the table. “We’re heading north. In two weeks, we’ll enter the slipstream. From there, we can be in Memphis in two days.”
“And Memphis is…”
“A trade city owned and operated by the Merchant guild. It is a major storage depot used to move and trade goods. You’ll get the best price there. I’ve also heard there is a tower near the city too.”
“Then Memphis it is. We’ll set course after lunch. Now then, Boriss. What new skill did yo-” I pause when my eyes fall on the russian. The man has what looks like an entire lamb leg in his hand and is biting into it like a drumstick.
He stops mid-bite.
I wave a paw. “Later. Keep eating.”
Irmgard returns from the kitchen. She places a plate in front of me with fresh meat cuts.
“Thank you. By the way, what new skills did you get?”
She raises a brow for a moment, glances at the others, then speaks.
“For my [Sword Officer] class, I took [Unlocked Joints].” She then stretches and bends her body in ways a yoga teacher would find nearly impossible to reproduce.
“For my [First Mate] class, I took [Sense Stowaway].”
Myers coughs as the sake runs the wrong pipe down his throat. Once he recovers, he looks at her in surprise. “That’s a well-coveted skill to have. Usually, it’s offered to [Captains] and rarely a [First Mate].”
I tilt my head. “Doesn’t seem that impressive considering there are alternative ways to find someone hidden on the ship.”
He coughs again to fully clear his throat. “You’re wrong. [Sense Stowaway] allows her to sense anyone that doesn’t belong on the ship at all times. That includes when being boarded. If you board someone with the skill and fight them, imagine that they have eyes behind their head.”
Oh! That Buxon I fought must have had the skill. That’s why he could block and dodge when he shouldn’t be able to see me.
“Sounds alright. Still, it does require being boarded,” I counter.
“Skills can improve with levels,” Myers explains. “As an advanced class, new skills you get may improve existing skills at the same time. I know of a [Captain] who had [Sense Stowaway] evolve to [Sense Presence]- which allows him to sense people a ship's distance around him at all times.”
“Hmm, good to know.By the way. I got a level and two attribute points instead of one from leveling. Is that normal?”
“Every class upgrade doubles the trait points you get from leveling.”
“Damn. That’s an exponentially increasing curve. I imagine someone like Valentine is quite the monster with all those points.”
“Valentine's individual strength comes not from stats, but from runed equipment. Without the equipment, he’d be nothing more than a highly skilled [Warrior].”
Boriss swallows. He places the leg down on the plate without making the least bit of noise.
“[Silent Shipwalking],” he announces.
“Your new skill?” I ask.
“Da. Is good skill. Extra sneaky on ship.”
Before I can ask more, the man grabs the leg and begins biting into it.
Not a moment later, I hear the door to the deck open, followed by the squeaking of stairs. Turning to the sound, I see Nepenthes walking towards us on six legs minus the pincers. Instead of something that looks like a snake mashed together with a praying mantis, she now looks more like a human mashed together with a spider and praying mantis. No longer does she have a serpentine tail and instead is now sporting a bark armored spider-like abdomen. Connected to the abdomen is some combination of human upper body and mantis. She now has two human-like arms with six pincers folded to her back. Her head is somewhat more humanoid, but still mostly mantis.
Regardless of the changes, she is still much larger than the rest of us.
“You've got a new look,” I state.
Nepenthes stops at the table, her eyes scanning all those present.
“Yes. After recent conflict and the gorging of human flesh, I have found my previous form limiting in ways that do not fit the situation. I have compressed my body into a more streamlined, more maneuverable, and more durable form with a higher degree of adaptability.”
She raises her two human hands. “I have also added human appendages so that I could utilize items designed for them.”
I nod slowly. “Sounds like you’re ready for battle.”
“I am [Captain], especially against humans. My consumption of their bodies has shown me many of their strengths and weaknesses. I know what organs to puncture, the speed of their muscular contractions, the durability of their flesh and skeleton. I know how well they can see, hear, and feel. I have created poisons whose lethality will immediately kill such creatures.”
Everyone present grimaces at her explanation except for my-self, the drunk, and a certain Russian.
Boriss licks his lips. “You are like KGB trained. Is smart.”
“KGB Trained?” Nepenthes asks curiously.
Before Boriss can answer, I quickly shift the conversation.
“Nepenthes, since you’re part of the crew now. I need to give you a Job. Umm, hmm. I was thinking [Rigger] unless you have some skills I don’t know about.”
She clicks her pincers. “I know not what jobs are offered- but I will accept what the Matriarch chooses.”
“Is good communist,” Boriss comments.
Myers clears his throat. “Generally, the best Physicians I’ve ever met are all Phytonids. They either have the [Healer] or [Druid] class.”
“I am a [Druid],” Nepenthes announces.
“But can ye fix me liver.” Cillian chuckles.
Nepenthes turns to the drunken scot.
“If you are human, then yes. I have consumed numerous human livers and understand their functions. Surgically modifying or injecting poisons to restore full functionality is simple to do.”
“Perfect. You’re my [Head Physician].” I decided.
She clicks her pincers. “I accept the responsibility.”
“Then welcome aboard the crew. I’ll show you where your room is later. For now, let's eat.”