Suddenly, I have hope of being able to repair my damaged soul without using Origin Energy. So, I quickly start searching for more scorpions to kill, hoping for more crystals. Unfortunately, in the time it takes my mana to run low I only find and kill two more scorpions.

2 Hell Scorpions defeated! 200 Soul Exp gained!

Neither of the following scorpions dropped a crystal so I am fairly disappointed as I return to the gate. However, all hope is not lost, I will return and hunt more tomorrow night. Even if the crystal is a rare drop, I need to kill thirty-seven more scorpions to level.

The odds of me finding at least one more crystal are fairly good, so I am not too discouraged. When I exit meditation, after recovering my mana, I find that the sun is already up. Nala and Albion are already awake and as soon as I open my eyes they rush over to rub against me.

Laughing, I pet them for a bit and then give them what they are really after, their breakfast. Once I am done eating I head over and get to work on the ship as usual. Taking the two biggest branches, the ones I was careful with, I place them inside the hull.

Standing them upright, I use mana to merge them with the hull of the ship. Then I smooth them out and make them perfectly round, turning them into the masts. Luckily, with mana I can move them around, because I was slightly off the first time.

Once they are properly positioned, one fore one mid, I increase the support for them. With that done I move on to the next thing, which is inserting rib bones. Using mana I am able to create the hollow space within the hull of the ship to insert the bones into.

This allows them to add extra support and strength without weakening the hull. It isn't something that can be done without using mana to alter the density of the hull. This will make the hull much stronger than any normal wooden ship hull.

It won't matter much when fighting another ship, but I am more worried about monster attacks. Since any monster attacks are likely to come from below, they will target the hull first. With mana I will be able to repair the hull, but the speed of the repairs will be limited.

If the hull takes too much damage too quickly, we will sink before I can repair it. Which is why I thought of using the bones from the legendary beast to reinforce the hull. I also thought of using the beast's hide on the outside of the hull, but it won't work.

Instead, I will use enchantments to strengthen and protect the outside of the hull. The next step was to add the pontoons, but I have decided not to just yet. I want to get the ship in the water and see how it does before I decide if I want to add pontoons.

Hopefully, the ship won't need them to be stable and not having them will increase the speed. Of course, if it does end up needing them, then I can add them later. For now I move on to the internals of the ship, starting with the supports.

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This is where the other branches come in, using mana I shape them into the supports. The supports will hold the various decks and cabins, as well as adding strength to the structure. They will also help support the masts so that they don't sway too much.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Woodworking has progressed to level 8!

Woodworking

Level 8

Agi +8

You can make tools or structures from wood.

'Well, I guess shaping the branches counts as woodworking?'

Halfway through shaping and placing the supports I have to stop and recover my mana. It is fairly slow going since I don't have a blueprint to refer to, only my memory. Which is obviously not great, since I completely forgot to ask Stillwater about the siege weapons.

Since the platforms for the siege weapons will require extra supports I need to put them in now. Which I can't do since I don't know how many we are actually going to have available. So, I climb out of the ship and go looking for Stillwater to ask him.

Stillwater says "Oh, we have nine in total. Three catapults and six ballista."

"Alright, so three weapon platforms with a catapult and two ballista on each?"

Stillwater says "I guess so?"

"Were the crafters able to make any improvements?"

Stillwater says "Yes, but it took extra resources. That is why we only have the nine."

"That's fine. Any chance they could make a couple of smaller ballista?"

Stillwater says "I can ask. What are they for?"

"Well I plan to put one platform on the very bow of the ship and the other two on either side of the foremast. The smaller ballista would be for the top deck at the aft, in case anything attacks from behind us."

Stillwater says "Alright, I will have the crafters see what they can do."

"Thank you."

Armed with the knowledge I needed I head back to the ship and start placing the platforms. Once I figure out the placement of the platforms I can put in the proper supports for them. I am still working on the platform supports when it is time to stop for dinner.

After eating dinner and playing with the kids in the soulscape, I return to the desert world. Since I went north last time, this time I start walking towards the south. When my mana sphere detects a scorpion I stop and use an ice spell to kill it.

1 Hell Scorpion defeated! 100 Soul Exp gained!

It seems my luck is back in effect, the scorpion leaves something behind. Except when I pull it to the surface instead of a crystal I find four white coins. As soon as I touch the coins they disappear, but nothing else happens.

Then when I check my character screen I find them, it seems they are soul coins. It doesn't give any information on them, but if they are coins there should be somewhere to spend them. Wait, I remember the dragon saying this hall connects all the planes, meaning the higher planes as well.

If I find the door to the higher planes I bet I can use the soul coins there. Maybe I could even buy the upgraded version of the angel armor I have. Although that would probably require a lot of coins, I will just have to wait and see.

For now I put the coins to the back of my mind and continue hunting for scorpions. Since the coins are apparently held within my soul I don't have to worry about them anyway. However, my luck continues to be good as I find another three scorpions in the next hour.

3 Hell Scorpions defeated! 300 Soul Exp gained!

Soul Coins +11

Recovered 10 Soul Hp!

Not only did I find three scorpions in short order, but they all left something behind. On top of that, I managed to kill each of them in a single blow and took no damage at all. Since I have used up three quarters of my mana I turn and walk back towards the gate.