Dreadnaught

SnowRabbitInnkeeper

All caught up. New releases come on Fridays from here on out. I couldn't change the font size without changing the entire paragraph, so if you want the full effect, here's the RR link

“Ugh,” I was getting annoyed of waking up with hangovers. Shouldn’t my stats help with these? I rubbed my temples as I got up. Last night's events came rushing back to me, up until Vox dragged me out of the bar. The goblin came to mind, and I couldn’t help but wonder how so much alcohol could fit in such a small body. I opened the left side of my vest and reached into the pocket. Inside was a flask of water. It was a bronze flask treated with wax inside to avoid corrosion. Its surface engraved with rolling waves had piqued my interest on the way to the bar, and I decided to buy it for quick access to water in case of hangovers. Luckily, I had gotten the bartender to fill it before I started drinking, because I needed it sorely.

After relieving the flask of its contents, I opened my door. I swore the sun was closer today than yesterday as its rays stung my eyes like a thousand bees. After the light came the noise of the port. My [Enhanced Hearing] was doing me no favors as my head throbbed in response to the sudden noises. The sudden blindness, pain, and confusion caused me to stumble, and I felt my hip bump into something. I felt myself tumble over the object, and my Constitution allowed my eyes to adjust quick enough to see the fast approaching water below. I crashed through the water’s surface headfirst, the cold and moist environment shocking my body awake entirely. My body’s instincts kicked in and my fins popped out and my gills flared. Water rushed through, and the sensation of getting oxygen and hydration simultaneously made me shiver.

I could clearly see the world below the waves. There were pipes coming from under the docks, likely carrying waste, traveling out to deeper sea, where they would empty the contents while causing minimal disturbance to sea life. Schools of fish swam around dock posts, coming and going from further out to sea under the hulls of ships cutting their paths through the water. I watched as fish dipped under the shelf, to the reef below. It was a mesmerizing sight.

“Are you okay, Captain?!” I turned to see Henry swimming up to me. Behind him, a jet of air bubbles descends from the surface. Ghili bursts through the bubbles and stops next to Henry.

“Wesawyougoovertherailing. Wewereworriedsincewe’veneverseenyou stumblelikethat.” Ghili’s speech slurred from speaking too quickly.

“I’m fine [Cadets]. I was just a little disoriented. I’m feeling a little better now that I’m in the water,” I put my hands on top of their heads and ruffled their hair.

While Ghili giggled, Henry scowled. “[First Marine] Darkfin requested your presence as soon as you awoke. Also, I’m a [Squire] and a [Cadet], Captain. Please treat me with dignity.” I knew he was being serious, but it was too damn cute to take it as such.

“Sure thing kid, but where is David?” I asked.

“Uncle David is on the upper deck with everyone else,” Ghili said cheerfully.

“Everyone was on the top deck?” Worry began to set in.

“Yup, everyone. I wonder why no one else came to check on you?” Henry stroked his chin.

I put my legs together and kicked. I shot forward, arms at my side, fins moving slightly to adjust my direction. I swam in a wide arc, picking up speed with every moment. I came to face the Frami and ended my arc, moving straight forward. Just before I went under the ship, I angled upward. The air was cold as it rushed past, and before I knew it, I was 40 feet in the air. I made sure of my landing point as I began to fall. My landing was graceful, like a greased landing in Medal of Honor: Airborne. Unfortunately, my smooth landing wasn't able to impress the group of grown adults laughing uncontrollably on the deck. Once more, Vox was the loudest, literally rolling on the ground laughing his ass off. “Vox, you’re mopping the deck again,” Vox stopped still. The speed at which his momentum depleted seemed to defy physics. “Henry will be your supervisor this time.”

“Thank you for your mercy, Captain,” he was on his knees bowing to me now. I nodded.

“For now, can anyone tell me what happened after Vox dragged me out of the bar? It's still a little hazy,” I said. Delilah’s skin darkened, Vox and Ford frowned and everyone else grew various grins. Helena’s spoke of villany, Rita’s of paternal joy, and David’s of innocent mischief.

“You don’t remember, Cap’n? Hohoooo, don’t worry too much. Since your stat training is over, the rest of your training can begin!” David said with glee. Everyone’s reactions flew out of my mind as I remember where Helena supposedly got her cruel tendencies from. Panic set in, and I would have ran back to the ocean if my legs were not frozen in fear.

“Don’t worry, Cap’n, this training is for skills and levels. It won’t be so monotonous, and it’s fun!” David attempted to cheer me up. Unfortunately, I could only see [Swordsmanship] training being fun for him. I could feel the bruises forming already. “Get some breakfast first, but right after we start. Even though there’s no time limit, only fools and weaklings dilly dally on training.”

“Okay Cap’n, let’s start with a spar. I ought to see how you fight before I can train you properly,” David stood across from me on the deck. His massive figure was terrifying to be across from. If I had to guess, he was about 6’11”, maybe 300 lbs? Almost all muscle, with a thin layer of fat making him look more like a world’s strongest man competitor as opposed to a Mr. Olympia competitor. “Ready kid?”

“Never will be,” I responded. I rushed towards David with a sword hand and a pistol in the other. As I got in striking distance, [Danger Sense] pinged me. Right after, I got a faint feeling from another Skill. I didn’t have enough time to figure it out, so I just trusted it. Just as David’s sword, dulled, making it more a heap of iron than a sword, was about to bat me across the deck and overboard, I felt a pull, and then I was looking at David’s back. I didn’t have time to take advantage though, as he used the momentum of his earlier swing to turn around and continue his attack. I took a step back and raised my pistol. A shot rang out, the sound changed through magic to let people know it was a rubber round used for training as opposed to something that required an arrest. The guards would still come to investigate to make sure someone didn’t illegally enchant a lethal round, but that wasn’t my concern as David used his massive sword to block my shot at point blank range.

I dove forward again, hoping to pick up momentum. I swung my sword aiming for his leg, hoping his sword would block his vision enough. It was a fool's errand though, as he stepped out of range and pushed the rest of himself into me, knocking me back. I managed to catch myself, and quickly jumped over David, who had managed to get in range for another game ending swing. He changed trajectory almost immediately, and began an upward swing that would meet me in the air. I reached out with [Water Magic], hoping I could do something before I was sent to space. I did feel a draw from my mana, but it was too late. I hastily put my sword in between me and the launch device. I felt the impact, and then I was 60 feet over the water in an uncontrolled tumble. I waved my aching arms hoping to gain control of my fall, but unfortunately, deep elves were not an ariel species. I hit the water, hard. Now that I was in the water, I was able to get my bearings and swam to the ship, wincing all the way.

David was waiting for me on the deck, “That was better than I expected. Your stats are higher than I thought, and you used your Skills alright. Not well, but alright. That teleport though, what was that? [Dark], [Void], or [Space]? Probably not dark, not shadowy enough.”

“Had to have been [Void Magic]. I just sort of trusted a feeling I got from a Skill I couldn’t identify, but I don’t have [Space] or [Dark Magic].

David stroked his chin, “Would you mind sharing your status? I want to adjust my strength to your level properly so that we can actually train your skills instead of just beating the ever loving shit out of you. Eventually, it will be beneficial to fight someone with significantly higher stats and skill, but for now, one or the other will be more beneficial.”

I gave silent thanks to Njord for looking out for me before trying to will my Status to be shared. I suspected it worked like everything else, and I appeared to be right as not long after David froze. I pulled it up myself.

‘Ooh [Void Magic] leveled. The teleport was definitely [Void Magic] then.’

“The fuck is this? Your stats are a little higher than I expected from the spar, but the rest of your Status is fucking bonkers. You should have had only a few skills above level two. Maybe a couple level three, one level four if your classes synergized on it well enough, or if your aptitude was great enough, but what the hell! You should have only gotten [Poison Resistance] three weeks ago, but it's already level four? Helena, I need some help!” I knew there was going to be something, but what is to warrant this kind of reaction? Also, what did they expect when the majority of food and drink I got while under intense training was poisoned? Isn’t it normal I would level the skill quickly?

Helena came running up from below deck in a panic, “What's wrong, is everyone okay?”

“Everything’s fine sweet heart, but I need you to tell me if this Status is still within the normal realm of world traveler shenanigans. I shared my Status with Helena too.