Nil

My nap was interrupted by unparalleled bloodlust. I shot up, only to be caught by some strap that was keeping me from falling so it turned more into swinging my face into the deck. Luna began laughing beside me. What was that? I got up, rubbing my face as I undid the strap keeping me attached to the bench. Luna was smiling at me, looking mighty amused.

“How’d the deck taste?” Luna inquired with a smile.

“Woodsy.” I answered, realizing we were on the sea. How is the ship moving this fast?

“Nautilus was scaring away some of the wildlife.” Luna informed me as she saw me looking around.

“How are we moving this fast?” I checked, admiring seeing such a large ship cruising at such a speed.

“Nautilus. We should only take about two weeks to reach home if she keeps this pace up.” Luna explained. That’s convenient. I'm curious how she is moving a galleon this fast.

“Glad to see you’re awake.” Ailla chimed, also smirking. She must’ve seen me eat the deck too. Wait.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. What else happened while I was napping?

“Lilas and I were uncomfortable letting you two hire the pirate by yourselves, so we tagged along.” Ailla answered. Ah.

“I see.” I quipped, trying to think.

“I’d like my collar back by the way.” Ailla requested and reached out her hand. Wait.

“They know your full name.” Luna told me as she sensed my confusion, taking the collar off. Within seconds, the collar was returned. That feels great having that off.

“I do have a question, are you two engaged?” Lilas asked. What? We’re kids?

“But we’re kids?” I replied, not understanding.

“Doesn’t answer the question.” Lilas pointed out.

“We are not. We are friends.” Luna answered for us. For some reason, I didn’t like that.

What’s this sensation? We are friends though? Who would marry kids? I mean, mentally neither of us are, but I still didn’t like her answer. Luna was giving me an odd look. What? I shook my head, dispelling the thought for now. I could just talk to her tonight about it. For now, we needed to pass the time. I could work on making black powder which t felt would be a bit of a waste of time. I mean, I thought a gun would be a good idea initially, but after seeing that man and Nautilus however, I knew that was woefully naïve. Fireworks exist. Someone probably thought of it as a weapon, but who needs a gun when you have ? I could ask Luna what became of guns. She asked me originally, so I assumed they must’ve worked; I was doubting it now though. Luna could definitely help. Why did I want to talk it over with Luna so much? Because she knows what happens? That wasn’t it. She listens? Why am I so self-conscious about it? Forling Lilas, asking such a weird question that made me uncomfortable. I began glaring at him.

“Nil, don’t glare. It’s a logical question.” Luna lectured. How did she know?

“What?” I asked, looking towards the sea.

“You began glaring. It’s fine. He’s not going to go on a rant like Grisbane.” Luna explained. But that’s not what I was thinking.

“I think I know the answer.” Lilas chuckled. What’s so funny?

“Oi, lad! Ya awake, so get over here!” Nautilus ordered before I could follow up.

I walked over to her, wondering what she wanted. Before I even said hello, I was kicked back into the deck. I’m sorry I sassed you; that was a grave mistake. Nautilus began counting to ten. Seriously? I got back to my feet; she was relentless as I tried making a small field of around me. I could use my , but then I would get greeted by the monster of Nautilus; she radiated so much it was unreal. Nautilus also was not human; I didn’t know what she was. My ten seconds were up, so Nautilus attacked. I tried using the same method for the lightning field against her, but it made little difference. Nautilus course corrected her attack faster than I could try to dodge. Her hits were hard enough to hurt and launch me, but not enough to inflict lasting damage. She began counting again. What do I do against her? She was holding back to where it would technically be fair. Part of me wanted to try and summon my sword; the rest of me didn’t want to find out how fast she’d swing if I was actually armed. Attacking back was a pipe dream for now. Just dodging her would be a great start.

“Why is the lad tryin’ t' dodge?” I heard the one ask as they all began laughing.

What else is there? Nautilus attacked again. Again, I was greeted by the deck. I can’t dodge her. That much was obvious as the crew was laughing their butts off. I’m clearly doing something stupid. What? It’s obvious to all of the crew.

“Aren’t you going a bit harsh on him?” Ailla inquired, sounding a bit concerned.

“The grublins need t’ be stronger.” Nautilus shot back.

My time was up, and Nautilus attacked again. I used to get away this time. I then learned a valuable lesson; it was possible to track . I knew the lunged in the direction of my , but Nautilus was instantly upon me at the end of my . Not a little off, as Nautilus was slamming her palm into my chest. Unlike the other things I dodged, she made sure I wasn’t escaping her range. Lords her hits hurt.

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“Nil keeps standing up, so let her keep going.” Luna chimed in. What am I doing wrong?

Dodging her on this ship was not happening, but I wasn't sure more space would help. Her corrections and tracking were too fast; I nearly slapped myself. I’m not supposed to dodge her. That’s why they were all laughing. I needed to practice fighting more, my skills were not that good if I couldn't use my . I stood back up and summoned my sword which after I heard a whistle from the crew. She’s about to put me into the deck again, but I need to be able to do the answer with my sword. Every fiber of my body was wincing in anticipation of the upcoming hit. I took the stance Uncle Nox showed me, getting ready as Nautilus descended upon me. I tried deflecting her kick with my sword. WHAM! My arm went completely numb from the force. I nearly dropped my sword from how much it was vibrating in my hand. What the hell? To my great elation, I actually deflected the kick, but that joy was quickly ended by a hook from Nautilus.

“Yer turn lass.” Nautilus ordered as I clutched my wrist.

My arm was screaming from the hit. Part of me wanted to watch Luna, but I began practicing my while I was injured. Luna was able to go for all of five minutes before it was my turn again. I picked my sword up, retaking my stance. I can deflect her opening kick once. Nautilus quickly demonstrated she was changing the opening attack to a feint. Shiza. BAM! I was launched back into the ground, wondering how the deck didn't splinter from me slamming into it. That pattern repeated for over an hour. We each were given five minutes of fighting practice, and five minutes to recover with . Well, i was using , Luna was recovering her body with and recuperating her after. Nautilus was hitting her less hard, so her injuries were not as bad as mine. It was getting hard to even stand after the hour regardless; Nautilus kept the ship cruising the entire time. How was she so strong? Luna and I were finally given a break to recover more. One of the crew members walked over and healed the two of us up a bit, so Luna could recover more.

“Thank you Egoff.” Luna panted, looking about how I felt.

“Thank you.” I added on. The being just smirked and went back to his post.

“Ten minutes.” Nautilus barked. Taskmaster.

By the way, what race is Egoff? I inquired. I had never seen whatever he was.

He’s a Gigant. Luna informed me. Interesting.

What happens to the guns I make? I asked Luna. She mulled over her answer for a second.

I don’t know if I’d call them an utter failure or an accidental success. Luna told me after a moment.

Can you clarify? I requested. I’m not surprised after the last several days.

Your original goal of a usable dueling gun was a failure. It worked, but as you’ve noticed from that man and Nautilus, it most certainly was not effective. Guns did evolve to cannons which are good on ships and other inanimate objects. You did innovate as far as carriages and ships were concerned, but the overall effectiveness was nowhere near what you wanted. Luna explained with a bit of a smirk.

What’s the smirk for? I inquired as she chuckled to herself.

You were so determined to make them work but overall, they were one of your more notable failures. Luna told me, smiling still.

Why is my failure funny? I grumbled at her. Luna only chuckled more.

You tried so hard to make them work. Lords above you tried countless times to make them work. Luna informed me between chuckles.

Why didn’t you tell me? I inquired. Luna pretended to think it over.

I think you learned a valuable lesson from it. Luna answered, still smiling.

The sunken cost fallacy is real? I joked, which made Luna look a little confused.

What’s that? Luna asked, looking at me with the hardest trying not to bust out laughing smirk.

Being unwilling to abandon something because you’ve spent too much time and effort on it. I explained. Luna was trying so hard not to laugh; I felt my ears get a bit red.

I see. Luna quipped; her face completely contorted at the moment.

It’s not funny. I defended myself. Luna’s face begged to differ.

Whatever you want to believe. Luna chuckled at me.

“C’mon. Yer up lad.” Nautilus barked at me.

I took the starting position, getting ready for her attack. Nautilus was upon me in the blink of an eye. I tried using my sword to deflect her again, but that ended up with my arm going numb again. Her hits were way too strong as my sword vibrated like a bell. After the first punch barely missed me, Nautilus stepped in with a headbutt to launch me into the ground. This just confirmed that I definitely abused the castle limiter and salvia to win against Grisbane. Another thing was abundantly clear: I needed a method of blocking and deflecting her that didn’t rely on me touching the attack. Luna confirmed for me that dueling guns never worked out for me, which sucked because it would look cool. My nerdy side might have gotten the better of me there. I was racking my brain as I stood back up. What else have I been thinking about wrong? Just because science and technology were useful, didn’t make them instantly better. Wait. What happened if you kicked liquid ? If it was Lux I was testing the idea on, I’d be apprehensive. Nautilus is made of much tougher stuff however.

I got back up, taking the starting position. I had kept my offhand free for doing maneuvers as needed, so i wouldn't need to change my stance. Let’s try using to deflect her attack. Keep it simple. A flat disk, or as some would call it, technically a shield. Additionally, I reinforced my arm and body as well as I could. Please don’t blast my arm off. Nautilus began her attack again as I tried making the shield; Nautilus’s face was something I was going to cherish as overwhelming surprise washed over her. The burst out with enough force to actually launch her back. Bad news, said force went through my arm as well making several things shatter as I was slammed into the deck. My vision was nothing but blurry waves. I think there was laughter as I couldn’t distinguish the sounds as my ears were ringing heavily. That was a bit stronger than I intended. Egoff walked over and began healing me. After a few moments my vision returned. Luna was next to me, looking a bit distressed. That was not my brightest idea; it worked. I just couldn’t withstand the force of it detonating. I saw Nautilus glaring daggers at me, with water dripping off her.

“Are ya forlin’ suicidal?! That wa’ incredibly reckless! Do not ever do somethin’ that dumb on m’ watch again! Am I clear?!” Nautilus snarled at me, releasing a level of that made my skin crawl.

“Yes ma’am.” I squeaked while nodding my head.

“Nil, we talked about this.” Luna added, looking quite unhappy.

“I didn’t think the force would be that strong.” I grumbled. I mean, I knew it’d be strong enough to stop the hit, I just assumed it would be more directional. Nautilus took a deep breath before letting out a long, deep sigh.

“Yer idea was close. I neve’ thought ya’d use the ‘splosive t' do it.” Nautilus explained calmly.

“Bet ya were surp’ised Cap’n. He sent ya flyin’.” One of the crew taunted.

“More o’ he lucky I didn’ power through. That would’ve ended poorly for th' grublin.” Nautilus retorted with an unamused stare.

“Fine, we’ll drop it Cap’n.” a different one conceded.

“Now, that’s enough o’ a rest. Back up.” Nautilus ordered with a wicked smirk.