Jake was raking his brain on how Harry came up with the FTL design as the usual was an FTL system would work was that the FTL engine would uses mana to create a stable hole into subspace and as subspace is a space filled with neutral arcane energy when the vessel returns to normal space a back wash of neutral arcane energy would be forced out of the hole in to normal space and To move in subspace it requires the impulse engines to propel it forward. Which usually means the speed of travel is limited to the speed of the impulse engines. But what Harry has done is to bypass the tearing of space his engine simply expanse the space behind the ship and contracts the space in front of the ship and by doing this no one can track the fluctuations in subspace to detect a vessel in transit but there is one thing that remains the same and that was the impulse engines are the main form of movement, and as for how impulse engines work, well, that is just as interesting. The FTL system wasn't any worry, as Jake had just followed the blueprints, but it was still bugging him that he didn't understand it. He couldn't ask Harry to explain it again, as he had already done that five times, and each time the execution got simpler to the point it was at now.
Jake stored the blueprints for later and moved on to his next project, which was something he knew: the weapons systems. Jake had a group of ten assistants with him at all times, half of whom would just make potions to keep him going. To Jake's amusement, Potion X had been modified by a group of alchemists and was now being sold by the crate full. Jake would have to ask Jayne about that in the future, because if she is not getting royalties for that, something is really wrong.
As the days passed, Jake moved from one job to another until finally what was left was to install the main cannon. For that, Jake wasn't needed, as a group of runabouts modified with arms pushed the barrel into place while a team of mages fused it to the receiver. By the time this was completed, the time remaining was less than an hour. Jake brought up the notifications command while holding his breath.
Notification
Item upgrade
Waiting for item completion before determining upgrade.
Warning: If the item has not been completed before 00:00:51:19, the token will be destroyed and the item will be locked in an unranked grade.
Jake was scared as he looked at the message, but as he continued spamming the command, he received the message he was hoping for.
Notification
Item upgrade complete
Item: Rusty Bucket (Mythical) from Arcane Soul Shuttle of the Wandering Path (Rare)
An item built with the love of so many has surpassed the original restrictions and created a new line of ships. The Rusty Bucket class corvette is a robust ship that can take on vessels outside of its class. The system welcomes all who helped create this masterpiece.
Soulbound Unbound
Warning: Unbound items usually can be bound to anyone, but this item is locked to its former owner, Jake Everval, and will only be unlocked upon his death.
Title
System Masterpiece
By helping to create an item outside your ability, you have gained the title System Masterpiece, ×2 multiplier to base stats and ×1 multiplier to conversion stats.
Jake quickly brought up his stats before he could be interrupted and limited the output to just show his stats and not those of his servants.
Universal Constant Terminal Interface
Name: Jake Everval
Race: Demon of the Past (Unique)
Grade: F
Information on F Grade:
Upgrades: 600 above previous. Anyone below this grade in the open universe will not survive unless protected by life-sustaining means such as planetary shields and the like. No F graders have ever entered space and survived for more than two years without adequate protection.
Level: 78. Levels required until next grade evaluation: 1000 total.
Class: Trooper Shadow Mage (Common)
Class Level: 1099
Profession: Arcane Smith (Common)
Profession Level: 538
Information: At common rarity, your profession will have less impact on the environment around you.
Stats points available: 109,459
Conversion multiplier: ×6
Mana: 1,000,000
Arcane: 1,000,000
Stamina: 2,000,010
Health: 1,526,500
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Base multiplier: ×7
Strength: 100,101
Agility: 100,000
Intelligence: 100,000
Wisdom: 100,000
Perception: 100,000
Integrity: 152,650
“Now that's what I'm talking about," Jake said before realising he had actually spoken out loud.
“What is it? Can you show me?” Aaliyah and Harry asked at the same time.
“I don't know how to do that in my system,” Jake said without thinking.
“Oh, forget I said that at all, but on a different note, if you had to enter a command line for something that would allow you to share a notification, what would it be? Thinking about it, I could just ask him/her; I don't really know, do I? Maybe it's they.”
Jake opened up the command line to see that someone wanted to talk to him, so Jake obliged the system.
S:\>help. So you want to talk. But first, that book—what's that about, and are you a man or a woman or something else?
S:\>help. First of all, that book was some of my best writing, and second, I was once a man, but now I am neither.
S:\>help. So do I call you a him/his or something else?
S:\>help. Why is it so important? Just call me whatever you want.
S:\>help. Okay, if that's what you want. I will call you him/his as that's easier for me. Now, what did you want? And one last thing, how do I share notifications and the like?
S:\>help. Well, one and two are actually related; to share something, put the tag -s and that will share it. But be careful, as if the information that I have put you in this version of the system is compromised, then they will come for you. So I would recommend sharing it with the snake, as she is an oddity in the system, or the lady you call Erica, and you should understand why I chose her as the other one, right? They will then be able to share it without your interface being noticed. Jake quickly sent the information to Jayne and Erica, then with a grin said, “Share it with the rest,” before sitting on the ground and watching the faces around him. A second later, a lot of the people had a tinge of greed in their eyes, but none acted on it.
“Okay, it's time to give it a try.”
“Wait, what is this? Why is it called a rusty bucket? Just look at it. It's a glistening gem, not a rusty bucket,” Aaliyah said.
“Just watch, and you will find out.” Jake bound the corvette to himself then, as Erica had to, he brought it into his soul before beginning the arduous task of bringing it back out. Jake's eyes got heavier until finally, the ship was back out on full display as gasps echoed behind him.
“Now do you understand?” Jake said in a flat tone.
“What is wrong with your soul?” Aaliyah blurted out.
“Rude, but yes, my soul is amazing, isn't it?” These were the last words Jake said before his eyes went dark.
Jake woke up in a bed and, to his surprise, he was not alone; not by a long shot. There were three beautiful ladies with him, but only one of them was wrapping herself tightly around his body.
“Jayne, what are you up to? And why are they here? You I get, but these two I'm very confused. Did something happen when I was asleep?”
“Nothing happened, husband; it was just that we argued about some things for days until fatigue set in, and all three of us fainted here.”
“And where exactly is here?”
“In your quarters on the rusty bucket.”
“My quarters? I didn't know I had any.”
“We set it up for you. Do you like it? It's a short walk to the bridge, and the lift is right across the hallway.” Jake looked around the slightly cramped but cosy room. “I don't mind it at all, thank you for your help as always,” Jake said as he let the snake continue to wriggle around his body.
After three days of rest in his quarters, Jake and the three ladies exited looking just as tired as they did going in. “Alright, let's get this thing to fly, shall we?” Erica looked over at the other two before pulling out her signature space suit and started putting it on. Jake smiled, thinking back to their first encounter, and summoned his suit as well but not before Jayne entered his sleeve. “Alright, everybody on this ship; if you don't want to be here when the ship goes to space, then I suggest you disembark now. The ship will be going on its shakedown cruise in one hour,” Jake said as he began looking over the controls one last time. Then he took his position and started the startup sequence, which would give everyone enough time to exit the ship.
“Grab a seat. Also, who wants to fly this beast? I can do it all, but I would like to monitor the systems for now.” Jake looked over the people standing on the bridge before one raised his hand, and that man was none other than Harry.
“Well, it would make sense that you get to fly it; after all, it's mostly your design. Take the helm,” Jake said, gesturing at the chair in front and slightly below himself.
The moment the hour was up, Jake gave the command for a final systems check before ordering Harry to take the ship out. From the ground, the roar of the engines shook the mining camp as the majestic rusty bucket came to life and moved forward and up at a sedate pace. Only once the ship was far enough away did Harry even begin to open it up a bit before quickly breaking the atmosphere and entering orbit. Jake then looked at the people on the bridge and ordered a complete check on all data points so far before getting up and saying, “Harry has the bridge,” before leaving for engineering. Moments later, he was standing in an elevator heading to the bottom of the ship. Exiting the elevator, Jake stood on the engineering deck with a small group of five people in white coats scurrying over the consoles.
“Cavendish, how is everything going?” Jake asked the man with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail.
“Everything is running within expected parameters, sir. We only used 20% of maximum engine thrust to escape the atmosphere. Other than that, there was a slight buffeting, but the automatic dampeners corrected, and we're flying smooth now.”
“Sir, reporting the shielding took a minor draw just as we passed the atmosphere. I only just went through the numbers, but I still haven't found the course yet,” another man said. Cavendish stared at the man before excusing himself and walking over to him.
Jake, on the other hand, headed back to the bridge, hoping that everyone would have finished their checks and begun getting ready for the next test, and that was the big one: FTL.
Entering the bridge, the commotion was hectic as commands were flying one after the other until Harry noticed Jake sitting behind him and got up to inform Jake of the progress.
“We have gone over the logs and found some minor inconsistencies but nothing too bad, although I would not recommend exceeding 60% engine power for the time being as we don't know the effects of that buffeting yet.”
“Are we ready for the next test?” Jake asked.
Harry yelled over the commotion on the bridge for confirmation.
Moments later, the ship was in the process of squeezing space on the biggest scale the universe has ever seen.
Watching the consoles closely, Jake said, “Active FTL.” Seconds later, all the sensors went black, leaving everyone in the dark before Jake gave the command to enter normal space. The room shifted, stretching and retracting as the ship entered normal space. “What's the issue, Harry?”
“I don't know yet. The engine worked, but we lost all data. Navigation, give me a position.”
“We have exited around two days on an impulse, away from the home planet, Sir.”