Before I worry about that, I make seven more sets of propellers, shafts, and pipes. The ship is going to have eight propellers, four on the main hull and two on each pontoon. Between the propellers and the sails the ship should be able to move pretty fast.

However, it won't be able to stop easily, hence why I reinforced the bow, just in case. Now I just need to figure out how to turn the mana from the rock into turning the propeller shafts. Since I don't want to mess with gears, I decide to figure out an enchantment.

After experimenting for a while I find the most effective way is to use a water spell. Putting a small wheel on the end of the shaft and then moving it with a water spell. I find it works even better if I surround the wheel with an enclosure and fill it with water.

Then the spell just moves the water in a circle to turn the wheel, it is very efficient. The enchantment is set so that the more mana it receives the faster it spins the water. The enclosures are made from gems, so it is a good thing that I got extra gems to use.

It takes me a while to make the enclosures and install everything into the ship. Then I have to run wires from the engine to all of the propellers and enclose them in pipes. I have never been more grateful for the ability to manipulate the wood at will.

I can't even imagine how hard doing all of this would have been without that ability. In fact, I may not have even been able to upgrade the ship without that ability. When all the wires are in place and I have tested them, I take a break and fly to the beach.

However, when I enter the tent I find that no one is here, not even the babies. It looks like I missed lunch, so I leave the tent and look around, looking for Lin. I don't see her, but I can smell her, so I follow my nose and head down the beach.

However, after a couple of minutes of walking I see some people that I need to talk to. It is the elven crafters, so I stop to talk to them for a few minutes and ask them to make more ballistae. Only after talking to them do I resume my hunt for Lin and the food pouch.

I eventually manage to find her in a small copse of trees just above the beach. She is standing by a tree smiling as she watches Mulan and Mushu exploring. They seem to be having a lot of fun and they don't look scared at all, but they stay in Lin's line of sight.

Lin says "Hi, handsome. Were you looking for me?"

"Yes, I was. Can I have some lunch please? I am hungry."

Lin laughs, sits down beneath the tree, and starts taking out food for me from the pouch. Mulan and Mushu run over and I give them some affection while I am eating. Now that she doesn't have to watch them, she takes out a book and reads while I eat.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

After I finish eating I play with the kids for a bit and then let them go back to exploring. Seeing this, Lin puts her book away and goes back to keeping an eye on them. I give her a long kiss before I fly back to the ship and head to my cabin.

First I take out two of the windows at the back of the cabin and replace them with doors. Then I move some mass and create a platform big enough for me to land on. To be safe I put a railing around the outside and I even create an awning that is retractable.

When I walk out of my cabin and look around at the ship, I realize that I forgot something. Currently there is no way to get to the pontoons from the main deck, only below deck. So, I create two ramps that lead down to each of the pontoons and I make them nice and sturdy.

They will also help to secure the pontoons to the ship, now each pontoon has five supports. Since people may need to run back and forth I put railings on the ramps. Then I move down to the pontoons and put emplacements for three ballistae on each.

I also add some archer platforms around the emplacements for the elves. Now the ship has quite a bit more fighting power, it will be even better with the ballistae. In total we will be adding eight more ballistae to the ship, almost doubling our firepower.

Not to mention that it will be easy to modify them during phase two to allow them to fire above and below. I had an idea about setting up the pontoons so they could separate and act as attack ships. Unfortunately, I would have to find more mana producing rocks to be able to do that.

If I do find some more then I can always make those modifications later. Next I return to the lower deck, make some short pipes, and enchant them. The enchantments are to allow water to only pass one way, to attract water, and to force it out.

Then I go through and install them in the floor of the deck to act as drains. The secondary enchantments will be linked to the core so they can be activated as needed. That is as close to pumps as I could come up with, at least with my current knowledge.

This wouldn't have been possible without Lin sharing her knowledge with me. Just with what she has taught me so far, Lin has earned a place by my side. Even if I didn't already like her, I would keep her around for her knowledge.

Although, I may end up losing her for a year or more to the tower's library. It will be interesting to see if her thirst for knowledge or her desire for me is stronger. No matter which it is, my feelings for her won't change, but I will just have to wait and see.

For now, I have finished the physical modifications and now need to work on enchantments. First, I head to the bridge and access the core, then I restore the existing enchantments. Then I begin modifying them to fit the new shape of the ship and optimize them some more.

After that, I connect the engine and propellers to the core and make sure they can be controlled. To make things easier, I create a lever to control the speed next to the core and connect it. When I connect the drains to the core I also make a switch for them.

After thinking about it I decide to make a primitive control panel and place it between the wheel and the core. I make sure to test and label the lever and the switch before I move on. I also link the sail enchantments to the core and add controls for them as well.

This way whoever is on the bridge can raise or lower the sails without leaving the bridge. With all the extra controls, we will need less sailors on duty during normal times. Since we have more elves, we have more sailors available, but we will only need them during combat.