Ship [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPNsRQMRIY3NzwezQnL4Kow98K-cGWEfIlbE635FREl8gDhgFS-5Nbl_gkbJ41pwc_qaGwpg9oWl9Xjnia4vTfB_xZJlVmdqN2Vet2M8uu1l0-UuMsKQ69pELh82FlUSc0TWsP0D-6aboWzwC9-8EUc=w661-h992-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
The ship Dazien had managed to book passage on was named The Victor’s Tribute and was mostly used for shipping goods rather than people. However, they had a few bunks to accommodate small groups, usually of Adventurers or Mercenaries who often traveled around.
Phoenix was fascinated by the runes carved into the side of the ship and tried to get a closer look before Rayna finally dragged her from blocking the walkway. Camilla turned out to be a good source of information, as she joined their group temporarily.
The researcher, who actually had time to dedicate to magical studies, unlike Phoenix’s path of monster slaying, was able to inform her about the various magical enchantments built into the ship’s hull that allowed it to glide through the water effortlessly and made it more resistant to damage or wear.
It still mainly utilized wind sails for propulsion, but they were magically altered to adjust automatically to the direction of the wind and were also more resistant to tearing. It did have a device that used Mana Bits to help push the transport forward when no wind was available or they needed more precise maneuvering, but it was used as little as possible. The cleaning enchantments alone were impressive to Phoenix, and all together, it required less crew to handle the upkeep of the large galleon.
Their ship captain, Mary Clisson, was an Emerald Caste human woman with the Sea Commander Class who liked to keep a tight schedule and was accommodating as long as that schedule wasn’t compromised.
Dazien had promised punctuality and staying out of the way. So far, he was able to keep that promise as the group convened in the room the six of them would be sharing. Two hammocks stacked atop each other were hanging in each of the four corners, and nothing else occupied the room.
The ship's minimalism was reflected throughout, as Captain Clisson preferred function over form, efficiency over comfort. If everything went according to schedule, the group would only need to deal with the cold and barren room for about a month.
Dazien simply pointed out that it would give them more motivation to train on the deck instead.
Once the signal was given and the ship started to make its way from the dock, Phoenix couldn’t help the curiosity and excitement brimming inside her as she leaned against her best friend at the ship’s bow to watch the event while staying out of the way of any of the minimal crew.
The feeling of adventure was almost palpable as the cold air whipped across her face, and the smell of salty ice water filled her magical lungs as she took a deep, unnecessary breath just to experience sailing for the first time in her life.
The large northern sea gate opened long enough for them to exit the port area. Then, they were free and flying through the waves as the ship quickly gained momentum.
“Ready to train?” Dazien’s voice asked from behind her, and Uriel chuckled from beside her.
She turned to flash him a smile. “Give us a few minutes, okay? I need to soak this view in a bit more and get used to this rocking motion.”
He laughed. “Alright, Princess, but Lady Saiya and Rayna will be making their way up soon. I thought you could spar with Rayna while I help teach Lady Saiya to use that new short sword against Uriel.”
“Short sword?” she asked, not recalling when that happened.
“Yeah, I actually got it for her a while ago when we went shopping together, but with the whole cult fiasco and then the end of moon celebrations, we only just recently began training with it together. She still has a long way to go.”
“Oh. Well, I was hoping to get to spar against you and finally knock you on your arse, but we can save that for later if you want,” she replied with a teasing grin.
Uriel surprised her by laughing as he asked, “You think you have a chance at beating, Daze?”
“I know you have that sparkly new weapon, but do you really think it will make up the difference in our skill levels? It’s still my sword against yours,” Dazien replied, matching her teasing tone.
“You will be eating the deck, oh brother dear.”
“This I must see,” Uriel said as he followed her and Dazien back to the main deck.
The Warrior King immediately doffed his heavy traveling cloak back to his [Armory] in a shimmer of golden sparkles and began stretching in the silver Sliksilk compression gear he normally wore under his armor or when training.
It was barely more than a thought later that Phoenix was in her own Shifting Twilight armor that she used for both practice and the real thing. In one hand was a crystalline sword that seemed cut from dark onyx, and in the other hand was Sanctified Hope, the sleek silver blade currently displaying swirls of rainbow colors moving through it.
“Wait a second, when did you get a second sword?” he asked, giving the darker blade a curious look. “Remind me what that upgrade to your [Night Blade] did?”
“It actually changed its name to [Night Armament] after bonding to that Blood Spirit Gem,” she replied, conjuring her book to show him.
Ability: Night Armament
Type: Utility (construct, magical, dark)
Cost: Low mana.
Cooldown: None.
Current Caste: Sapphire 1 (2%)
Crystal Effect: Constructs a magical dagger that inflicts additional Dark damage and an instance of [Mana Siphon].
Sapphire Effect: Can imbue equipped weapons with the effects of your Construct ones. Construct weapons will also inflict an instance of [Life Siphon].
* Mana Siphon (bane, drain, magical, arcane, stacking): Drains a low amount of mana over time.
* Life Siphon (bane, drain, magical, blood, stacking): Drains a low amount of health over time.
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“This doesn’t make it a sword, though,” he pointed out. “It just lets your other sword inflict the same Banes, which is a great bonus, honestly, since you seem to prefer dual wielding.”
“I think that’s probably the biggest motivation for how it upgraded,” she admitted. “I kept using other weapons with it. The sword form, though, was a nice surprise from attuning to Sanctified Hope.”
With another thought, she displayed the new updated information on the weapon now that she had attuned to it and put it into a usable weapon form.
Item: Sword of Sanctified Hope
A sacred weapon forged in the hope that a worthy hero would one day wield it.
Caste: Sapphire, Cultivating, Blessed.
Availability: Legendary Unique.
Type: Weapon, sword.
Requirements:
* Soul Attuned to Phoenix Wayland.
* Phoenix Wayland must be Crystal Caste or higher.
* Phoenix Wayland must be Attuned to Light and Radiant magic.
* Phoenix Wayland must have a Divine connection to the deity: Hero.
Effects:
* As Phoenix Wayland cultivates her Caste, the weapon increases with it.
* Can shift form into a different weapon type. Each form type grants the wielder a different Boon.
* Current sword form grants [Sacred Striker].
* Sacred Striker (boon, divine, radiant): Agility is increased. Attacks made against Corrupted or Dark-Attuned targets have increased effect. Physical attacks inflict increased damage.
* Each Caste level further entwines itself to the Attuned Caster’s nature.
* Crystal Effect: Your [Night Armament] can be constructed to match the form of this weapon’s current one.
* Sapphire Effect: Attacks dealt by this weapon also drain the target’s mana to generate additional [Starlight Qi].
* Inflicts low Radiant damage with each attack and an instance of [Fallen From Grace].
* Fallen From Grace (bane, divine, radiant, stacking): Decreased resistance to Radiant effects.
“Well, that’s overpowered,” he muttered. “If you’re using two, does that mean I’m using my shield as well?” Dazien asked as he conjured Excalibur, the glittering diamond blade glinting in the early dawn light.
“Sure,” she replied with a shrug. “You’ll end up on your back either way.”
He laughed. “Don’t tell me that sword’s abilities are what have you so confident this time.”
“Yup,” she said with a grin. As soon as he conjured the replica of his Dawn Shield, she attacked. Moving quickly so as not to give him a chance to gain the upper hand.
Dazien was used to this, though; even if Phoenix didn’t always take that approach, Rayna did. He lifted his shield in time to knock away the silver blade, which caused sparks of rainbow light on impact. He didn’t let that distract him, though, and brought his own holy blade up to intercept her [Night Armament] as it followed closely behind the first attack. The force of the parries caused her to take a few steps back from him, and he gave a smug smirk at not budging an inch with his abilities that enhanced his Strength surpassing her lack of them.
Phoenix continued to move with the momentum, however. He tried to shift to block the follow-up slashes he obviously expected but was caught completely off guard when both weapons became silvery chain whips that wrapped around his ankles, and she smiled before yanking hard.
Dazien gave a loud grunt as his feet were pulled from under him, and he landed on his back, staring up at the sky while slightly stunned. When she leaned over to check on him, he muttered, “You cheated.”
She grinned and replied, “Pretty sure you said it’s not cheating if it’s not against the rules.”
He rolled his eyes and sat up as he said, “new rule: No shifting weapon forms mid-combat without letting me know that’s what we’re training.”
Phoenix held out a hand to help him stand again, almost falling on top of him as the ship dipped unexpectedly, and they both ended up laughing. “I wasn’t expecting the shifting tides,” she said. “It’s like an extra training challenge.”
Dazien smiled. “That’s good because challenges are exactly what we need to push our abilities forward.” He glanced over to Uriel, who was holding tightly to the side rail of the ship, and asked, “You doing alright, Senesh?”
“I’m fine. Not sure Saiya and I will need the extra balancing challenge while practicing basic sword forms, though. She’ll be more focused on the learning part.”
“That’s a fair point,” he replied, then looked back at her. “What does that chain form give you? I might not mind focusing on the balancing and footwork portion with you wielding that rather than a normal spar.”
She conjured her book and focused just on the boon granted when the weapon was in its chain form.
Status Effect: Reverent Retribution
Type: Boon (divine, radiant)
Effects:
* Mind is increased.
* Attacks made against Corrupted or Void-Attuned targets have increased effect.
* Retribution abilities have reduced cost.
“Interesting, and did I mention overpowered?” Dazien asked with a teasing grin.
“Indeed you did. Is that jealousy I sense?”
He laughed. “I learned long ago that jealousy is an emotion that normally eludes me. I prefer sharing things. However, I will admit my sorrow that you cannot share that sword with me; it’s a fantastically versatile weapon. Instead of pining for it, though, I plan to have you use it for my benefit.”
“Won’t killing monsters and sharing the loot accomplish that?”
“Sure, but I was thinking about you using that against me while I’m unarmed so I can simply practice dodging more. After that Corrupted Golataur, I realized that dodging would have served me better than attempting to block a strike that was far beyond my Strength to handle. It’s just been difficult for me to come up with an adequate training method for focusing specifically on that.”
“So, you just want me to attack you with these while you dodge?” she asked, lifting both chains in question. “Should I be trying to trip you up with them?”
He smirked. “What kind of challenge would it be if you didn’t?”
“Fair point,” she replied with a chuckle. “I won’t go easy on you then.” She glanced over to Uriel and added, “Then we’re going to focus on getting you over the threshold and ascending to Sapphire. You should easily hit it before we arrive in Serenydi.”
Uriel grimaced but gave a small nod. “I’m right on the edge, but it’s so hard for me to focus on that last little sliver.”
“Have you tried going back into your Soul Space like Kara taught us? That made it way easier for me,” she suggested.
He glanced away and confessed, “No. I…” He trailed off, obviously searching for the words to either explain his fear or find an excuse, and she interjected.
“Hey, it’s fine if you’re not ready, but for what it’s worth, I think you are. You seemed to do okay with your room, right? You mentioned that they felt similar.”
“Yes and no,” he replied, still refusing to look at either of them. “You all mentioned how there was an obvious action that you needed to do in order to help guide the cultivation, but when I managed to slip into mine… it’s nothing but chaos.”
Phoenix frowned slightly, unsure how to help her best friend.
“There’s no rush, Senesh,” Dazien reassured. “Just don’t give up trying, and I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
She nodded in agreement, then turned back to Daze and asked in a lighter tone, “Well, while he tries to figure that out, are you ready to get knocked on your arse again?”
Phoenix almost fell again when a body slammed into her back suddenly, and she heard Rayna exclaim, “Me too! Please let me attack King, too! I still owe him for the last time when he totally cheated by saying Mohala was walking through the door.”
“It’s not cheating if it’s not against the rules,” all three of them replied in unison before breaking out laughing.