NOVEL WEB Chapter 136: Conversion Science
Lia breathed deeply, taking in the scent of the sea. She had read about the ocean in books, but had never actually been herself, and she found herself surprised by the smell. Yes, she had read that the ocean smelled of salt, but she hadn’t expected it to be so…obvious. The sheer suddenness of the smell after Amelia had teleported her to this dock had caught her off-guard, and it and the endless expanse of water she could see made her feel like she was somewhere entirely new and different.
She was at a shipyard in Aura, where Alisha and Lily had arranged for there to be ships for her to try converting things with, and it was bustling with activity. There were all sorts of people and monsters scurrying about, and the sound of construction filled the air, giving the place the impression of somewhere you shouldn’t be unless you had a good reason to be.
“My Queen, it’s an honor to have you visit!” A tall, well-muscled catkin woman said, rushing over to Lia. “We were told you wished to do some work here?”
“Yes, thank you for allowing me to intrude.” Lia replied. “May I ask your name?”
“Oh, sorry, it totally slipped my mind with all the excitement! I’m Samantha, the harbormistress around these parts. If there’s anything at all you need, don’t hesitate to ask, the girls and I would be ecstatic to be of help.”
“How much were you told about what I’m aiming to do here?” Lia asked.
“I was told you’d be conducting some sort of experiment and would likely need our facilities” Samantha replied. “Right now, we’re in the process of inspecting our vessels and reinforcing them with modeling wax-made materials, so we’re a bit crowded, but just say the word and we’ll clear a space out for you.”
Lia nodded. “So, um, the thing is, I might need to…not borrow, but take one of the ships.” Lia said awkwardly. “Right now, I’m trying to determine if there’s a way to make a living ship, and I’ll have to convert something with one to do that.”
Samantha’s eyes lit up. “That’s a phenomenal idea!” She exclaimed. “We have a rather large stockpile of modeling wax, since we’ve been using it constantly, so I’m sure we’ll have enough to cover a ship. Or…at least, a small ship, probably not a full-on battleship, but if we go make more, I’m sure we can accommodate.”
“I think starting small is a good idea.” Lia said. “Show me your smallest ship that you’d consider an ‘actual’ ship, the kind you’d put sails on, not like…a rowboat, if you know what I mean.”
Samantha nodded. “I understand. I think I have just the ship for you, if you’d follow me.”
“That sounds wonderful.” Lia replied.
Samantha began to walk off, and Lia followed. “This ship was a merchant vessel, but her captain graciously chose to donate her to us after she was converted. Apparently, she had wanted to get out of the business, and this seemed like a good opportunity, since aquatic trade is going to take a hit for a while, between not being able to trade with unconverted people and the fact that the economy is being restructured thanks to monsters.
“The ship herself isn’t anything special, but we’ve been in the process of retrofitting her to be combat-ready, so you’ll have to forgive us if she looks a little incomplete.” Samantha explained, stopping in front of a ship that was surrounded with scaffolding. She turned away from Lia, then began to speak to the workers, shouting so they could hear. “Oi, you lot!” She said. “The Queen’s here and she needs this ship! Get down here and make yourselves ready in case she needs you!”
There was a chorus of assent from the workers, and within only a couple of minutes Lia was staring at a dozen or so women in workwoman’s clothing. “Thank you all for taking time away from your work to accommodate me.” Lia said. “I’m here to try and make a living ship, and I was hoping I could use this ship for a cocoon with which I can test things.”
Like Samantha, the workers’ eyes sparkled as Lia brought up the idea of a living ship, but instead of responding they all just looked at each other awkwardly, probably trying to decide who should speak.
Samantha sighed. “If you don’t mind, my Queen, I can act as a representative for them.” She offered. “They’re not used to talking with important people, and I don’t want them running around like chickens with their heads cut off.”
“Much appreciated.” Lia replied, giving Samantha a relieved smile. It still felt a little weird to be the one on this end of the scenario, the one people were nervous around, but each time Lia ran into it it became a little less odd. “Um, does anyone happen to know what will happen to the cocoon if we try and cover the ship over water?” She asked. “It’s something I’ve never really had to think about before, and if we need, I can move the ship out of the water, it’ll just take a fair bit of Mana.”
“We’ve tested it.” Samantha confirmed. “As long as the contents would float, the cocoon does too. Though…I’m not sure if that’s still the case if the modeling wax put into the cocoon is made of stone or the like, but we don’t have any of that nearby.”
“Thank you.” Lia said. “Could you all take a few minutes to retrieve any of your tools and other belongings that are on the ship, and then we can begin the process of cocooning it? And, um, if you don’t mind, would you help me actually cocoon it? I have a lot of modeling wax that I can just dump on it to cocoon it if we have to, but it’s more efficient if we do it manually, and having you all help would speed up the process.”
“It’d be our pleasure.” Samantha said. “You just sit back, and we’ll have it done within fifteen minutes.”
Lia shook her head. “No, I want to help.” She said. “At least in cocooning the ship. I’d feel bad if everyone was working while I was just sitting around. I’ll let you handle getting your stuff off of the ship yourselves, though, I don’t know what belongs and what doesn’t and I don’t want to get in the way.”
Samantha gave her a respectful nod, but it was somehow different this time around. Instead of the bog-standard respect Lia had become used to receiving when meeting new members of the swarm, it felt much more…personal. “That’s not something most people in your position say.” Samantha said. “It means a lot to us that you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and do the actual work with us.”
The workers gave nods of agreement, and Samantha gave them a determined look. “Alright, lasses, you heard the Queen! Get your stuff off the ship, and then report back here when you’re finished! I want everything off in five minutes, understood!”
“Yes, Ma’am!” The workers said, scampering back off to the ship.
“Anything else I can get for you in the meantime?” Samantha asked. “Stuff that might help in your goal that you don’t have yet?”
“Cocooned fish would be great.” Lia said. “The bigger, the better. I have some from the capital, but they’re small and I’ve read that non-monstrous fish that live in rivers and stuff can’t live in the ocean, so I want both kinds in the cocoon. Hopefully that’ll make it so the living boat can sail in both without issue.”
Samantha nodded. “We’ve been cocooning any monsters we fish up and parts of our normal catch, too.” She said. “We haven’t totally been sure what we’re going to use them for yet, so we’ve been saving them up. And if this doesn’t count as a great use for them, I don’t know what will, so I’ll send for the biggest ones we have.”
Samantha waved down a woman that was carrying a box, and she immediately trotted over. “You need something, Harbormistress?” Her eyes strayed over to Lia, and shock flashed across her face. “My Queen, forgive my rudeness!” She said hastily. “I didn’t realize you were here! I mean, I knew you would be coming, but I didn’t realize you were here here.”
“It’s fine.” Lia said, smiling in amusement. “I really don’t care, you’re in the middle of busy work, it’s understandable.”
The woman broke out into a relieved smile. “Thank you, my Queen.” She said.
“Again, not a big deal. Anyway, I think Samantha needed you?”
“Yes.” Samantha said. “The Queen is doing some experiments, and wants the biggest fish we have cocooned. As soon as you finish with that box, will you go and fetch…how many do you think you’ll need, my Queen?”
Lia shrugged. “Hard to say. Five or ten?”
Samantha nodded. “Go fetch the ten biggest fish we have, then.” She instructed. “If you see anyone who isn’t doing anything important, have them help bring the cocoons here.”
“At once!” The woman said, scurrying off to wherever she was originally taking the box.
“While we wait, has anything been bothering you or your workers lately?” Lia asked. “I may not be able to solve everything right away, but I would like to at least know the kinds of issues my subjects are facing so I can begin making plans to address them when things are more stable. It’s the least I can do for throwing your lives into disarray like this.”
Samantha snorted. “My Queen, what you call disarray is infinitely better than how things were before. Conditions under Alisha were bad, and constantly having nobles breathing down our neck was awful. We’re here, doing what we love in ways we would never even imagine were possible before. Yes, we have had to adjust, but we adjusted quickly and it’s incredibly clear that things will only get better from here.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, but it’s still my duty to try and improve things for you however I can.” Lia replied. “Please, tell me anything I can do to help.”
Samantha scratched her cheek thoughtfully. “Well, to tell you the truth, I hadn’t really thought about things being better, it seemed too greedy. Um…I don’t suppose you can do anything about the smell of cities? Whenever I have to head to a big one, I always end up feeling like the smell is trying to destroy my nose, and I dread going to one now that my sense of smell is better.”
Lia took out her tablet, brought up the notes app, then wrote down the request. “That’s a good idea.” She said. “I’ll have to consult Rose about it, if I recall my studies correctly, it’s an issue with sanitation that was always too impractical to deal with, but I think I might be able to make monsters that’ll help? Unfortunately, it’ll have to be put in the backlog of other stuff I’m getting to, but I’ll put it in pretty high on the list of things to look into when we’re more stable. In the meantime, I’ll see if there’s a patchwork solution we can make use of until we have a more permanent one available.”
“Please, don’t switch up your priorities on my account!” Samantha said hurriedly. “It’s not that big a deal.”
“No, it’s a good thing to think about.” Lia replied. “Especially since we’re still in the process of building the capital and if we keep that in mind while we’re building it’ll be a lot easier than trying to apply whatever new system we come up with to existing infrastructure. In fact, now that I’m thinking about it, I should probably consult with Izumi and Lily, see if they have any ideas…anyway, point is, I’m putting it relatively high on the priority list because I genuinely think it belongs there. Even if I didn’t, I would get to it eventually, but it deserves to be addressed.”
“I-I understand.” Samantha said.
“Good. Anything else you can think of?”
Samantha shook her head. “Not off of the top of my head, my Queen.”
“In that case, would you take a few moments to tell me what exactly you want from a ship? I’m not familiar with sailing, and if this living boat thing does pan out, I’d like to make it as good as possible.”
“That, I can do.” Samantha said. “First, the vessel needs to be sturdy so it can withstand attacks from monsters and other ships…”
Lia took a deep breath as she looked at the cocoon gently bobbing up and down in the water. She had just finished adding the last item to the cocoon, and it was time to see if the idea would actually work. The anticipation mounting, she placed a hand on the cocoon and began to look over her options.
Most of them simply combined the boat, fish, and various equipment she had set to be converted with the boat into one big fish, but, just as she was losing hope, she found an option that seemed like it was exactly what they wanted.
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Carrier Whale: |
Lia smiled happily. “It worked, it specifically says it counts as both a vessel and a monster.” She said. “But we’re not done yet; Samantha, would you do me a favor and open the conversion options? I want to see if we can make one that doesn’t require me specifically.
“Regardless of what you have, I’ll be the one to convert this one so as to boost its power, but preferably we can make it so I don’t have to personally be there for conversions like this and you can expand at your leisure. Of course, if I have to personally make each part of our navy, I will, it’s not that big of a deal, but it’d be annoying for you all to have to wait for me each time you want a ship like this.”
Samantha nodded, smiling excitedly and placing her hand on the cocoon. After a couple minutes, she withdrew it and shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t make anything like a ship with this.” She said. “Just a bunch of whales.”
“I thought that might be the case, I only had one option that would work, and it was towards the bottom.” Lia replied. “I get the feeling that most stuff that is because of my heightened conversion ability is down there. Anyway, do you have another ship we can work with? If so, I’ll get this one started and we can start doing more testing there, and we’ll do it a bit more…methodically, adding stuff one-by-one until we know what exactly is making the ship part work.”
“My Queen, all these ships are yours to use however you please.” Samantha said. “But, even if that were not the case, we’d be more than happy to make these ships living, the benefits are enormous.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask, are the benefits really that big?” Lia asked, beginning the conversion as she did. “I get that it makes the ships move on their own power instead of needing magic or sails, and it gives ships stats, but I’m not sure how much that changes. I’ve been taking Rose and Lily’s word for it, since they know much more about ships than me, but I’m curious as to what you think.”
“I’m not sure my opinion carries the same weight to it as Rose, and…sorry, who is Lily again?”
“Oh, sorry, I’m used to talking with people in the capital, who know her.” Lia said. “She’s our head of economics.”
Samantha nodded. “Ah, I see. Yes, uh, as I was saying, I’m not sure I have the same thoughts as them, but I have a few thoughts. For one, having the ships be living creatures makes repairs a lot simpler; we just need to use healing magic, and that’s a lot easier than getting a carpenter or wood mage to rebuild things in exactly the way we need. In a pinch, we can even just use potions.
“And moving under their own power is huge. By making the ships living things, they become a lot more agile, and as long as we have someone capable of communicating with them, we don’t have to worry as much about making sure our course remains correct.”
Lia frowned. “Why? Surely, they would get lost as easily as we would, right?”
Samantha shook her head. “Fish seem to having this strange capability to know where they are. Did you know that, every year, many types of fish return to where they were spawned, and we’re not sure exactly how? I think that, with proper guidance and the help of Skills, that instinct will translate to better navigation for us.
“Which brings me to another thing, Skills; if this is both a ship and a monster, not only will it benefit from a captain’s Skills, it can benefit from a monster tamer’s Skills as well, on top of being able to get its own Skills. And, as it levels, it can evolve and become greater, though…we’ll have to test if it’s safe to evolve while things are on it, but that’s a minor thing, and I suspect it’ll be fine. The only real downside is that it will need to be fed, and that’s negligible.”
“I see.” Lia said. “Thank you for the explanation, I appreciate it. Um, would you mind bringing me to the next ship now?”
“My pleasure.” Samantha replied. “Would you like to try a warship this time, or do you want to stay with smaller ships?”
Lia thought on that for a moment. “I brought all the modeling wax I could, since I figured we’d need a lot, but I probably only have enough for one warship. How are your stores?”
“We have plenty.” Samantha confirmed. “We were planning on using it to replace most of the materials on these ships anyway, so we stocked up. Modeling wax isn’t an issue.”
“In that case, let’s go for a warship. While we do, though, have another smaller ship cocooned so we can test things in a more controlled environment.”
Samantha grinned. “At once, my Queen.”
