Ba the Timbergrove, within the bowels of the ship’s mess room, a makeshift priceless lightsource hangs from the ceiling on a bit of string. The light source illumihe room with a violet glow like a ntern with purple tinted gss. Below the lightsourd directly oable, Cillian unrolls a map.

  “This is Tristique.” He says.

  The map of Tristique is a map of the archipego on steroids. A rge ndmass occupies the ter of the map, which is surrounded by several rge isnds. Further away from the ter are even more, smaller isnds, which get smaller and smaller as you get farther and farther away from the ter. The isnds easily number iens of thousands, if not more.

  “Oy, Myers, where are we?” I ask. My eyes roam the map and the various names writtehe isnds, but nothing stands out as our location.

  The old man stands up and then points at the edge of the map, at the furthest er he . He taps a tiny little dot. “This is Arbor.”

  Theaps ainy dot an inch closer to the ter. “This is Breston, our destination.”

  Holy shit, Tristique is massive. “You said it takes us a month to go from Arbor to Breston. What if I o go to the ter?” I point a paw at the rgest isnd. “It’s going to take us a year.”

  Myers shakes his head, “It will if you don't use the slipstreams.”

  “The slip what now?”

  Myers leans forward. “The slipstreams. They’re not marked on this map, but-” he traces a fihrough the map as though he is making a route past isnds. “They are streams of rapidly moving wind and mana that allow ships to traverse at higher speeds. If we’d had a slipstream between Arbor and Breston, we’d be able to get to Breston in three days instead of a month.”

  Airship Highways. That's pretty .

  “Good to know. Now, mind giving us a refresher course on the major powers and the various species?”

  “I .” Myers turns to the side. “Cy, listen closely. This is important for you to know as well.”

  The child perks up. “Okay!”

  “We’ll start with the six major species. The most numerous are humans. We are everywhere, but we are also the most short-lived in parison to the others.”

  “I’ve not seen any other species except for humans.” I add.

  “We’ll see some ion,” Myers adds, “though probably not much. The closer we get to the ter, the more you’ll see.”

  He clears his throat.

  “, we’ve got the Gemma, better known as the Stone-kin. They are a long-lived species generally rger than humans with a lifespan three times lohan ours. Their skin is as hard and as rough as stohey are mostly crafters and artisans that have the highest level [Rune Smiths] in all of Tristique.”

  Myers points at one of the isnds closer to the ter. “Their capital is called Lapis and is where a vast majority of all high-end Runic ons are fed.”

  “So, long-lived master crafters. Got it. ?”

  Myers g ake sure the child is following along.

  “, we have the Buxon. The Buxo least seveall, extremely strong, and are covered in bone armor uheir skin. They are a very warlike species that would have dominated all others if not for their inability to use mana.”

  I perk up, “They 't use mana?”

  Myers shakes his head. “They t use external mana and their internal supply is generally too low to be of any use. The Stone-kin also 't use external mana, but their internal mana is exceptionally rge- which allows them to wear runic equipment and use runic ons in mass.”

  “But the Buxon 't.”

  “No, nor do they o. A single Buxon take out aire ship's crew on their own if they were to ever board. They are fast, agile, powerful, and intelligent. Even the Wolven avoid fighting them.”

  I perk up. “Wolven?”

  “Yes. The species is the Wolven. They are bipedal beasts simir to a Fenrimorph- minus the four eyes, horns, spiked tail, and are generally smaller. They are stronger, faster, and mile than humans, with a marginally lower supply of mana.” Myers grimaces as he g me.

  “They are also the source of the curse. The curse of Fenris is a siess that transform aient monster into a Fenrimorph.”

  I yawn, “Yea, I know. I kinda watched the transformation happen ahrough it. It's not fun.”

  “You’re taking this too lightly.” Myers growls uedly. “The sighting of a single Fenrimorph in a town will have the Wolven Inquisitioerminating everyone. If you transform at the wrong pd wrong time, you could damn aire popution to death.”

  I lean ba surprise at the anger and frustration in the old man's tone. You’ve got history.

  “I uand. Don't get seen and don't actally i someone. Got it.”

  He frowns at my answer, but leans ba his chair.

  “Good. Let's head into the species. The Phytonid are se pnts that differ greatly in looks and capability except for their ability to utilize magic. Ead every one of their kind are exceptional spellcasters that few humans ever hope to pete against.”

  “Pnt people? Really? What do they look like? Or are all of them different?”

  Myers tilts his head ba thought. “It’s hard to expin. I’d give a poor expnation if I tried.”

  “Will Breston have any of these Phytonid?” I ask.

  “They… might. Again, wait till you see them.”

  I pout at his answer. I’ve met only oient pnt-based ra all of my summons, and that race arasitic to every living thing..

  “Fine. I’ll wait. What’s the st species?”

  “Ioid- or as many call them, bugs. They are a race of oversized is ruled by massive Queens that trol hives the size of towns. The Queens produce the ioids- of which each hive differs from the others.”

  Myers leans up and makes a circle at the northwestern point of the map. “Most of the hives are generally in this entire area. Many of them are stantly at war with one-another ao be antagonistic to the other races. Their lifespans range from a decade to thousands of years- with the queens generally living the lo.”

  “ they use mana?” I ask.

  “If the Ioids are bred to, thehough, it is quite rare as it seems very few queens know how.”

  I nod to Myers and then stand up on my back legs so as to get a better look of the map.

  “Six species including humans. Ioids are in the northwestern part of the phe Stone-kin capital is here,” I point at the ishe ter. “What of the other races? What about major powers?”

  “The wolven empire is located on the isnd of Okami.” he points at another of the isnds orbiting the ter of the map. “The Buxon dictatorship is farther to the west- on one of the rger isnds called Taurus.”

  He points at an ishe stone-kin’s capital with a grimace. The kingdom of Falntis on the isnd of Faln. They have the rgest human popution and are sidered by many to be humanity’s capital.”

  “The Phytonid don’t generally have a capital, but some would argue that their capital is,” he points at the rgest ishe tral ndmass. “On the isnd of Magnis where the Republic of Guilds is located.”

  “And the republic of guilds are…”

  “A bination of both major and minuilds- with the three rgest and stro guilds taking up the major leadership positions. The Mert guild, the Smith guild, and the Mage Guild. The Mage Guild in particur is led by the Phytonid.”

  “Now, those are merely the major powers. Numerous Kingdoms, city-states, and the like reside across all of Tristique. But, none of them have the equivalent bined political, militaristid financial might as the major powers I mentioned.”

  I y paws and stare at the map in its ey for several seds of silence, which is only broken by the sound of my growling stomach.

  “Lunch-Break. It’s time for a lunch break.” I decide.

  _____________________________________________________________________

  “Emma.”

  The sound of stone scraping wood emanates for a moment as the door is bsted open.

  “Have you been w for free again?” a deep, manly gruff voice excims resolutely. The man, a hulki foot statue with granur gray skiers the bedroom.

  The woman yawns. Her eyes flutter open with a grimace when she eyes her fathers grimace.

  “Dad, it’s early-.”

  “It’s nearly evening!” The father says. He stares at the young Gemma resting on a wooden mattress. Not a stone one like his- like a normal Gemma would have.

  “Now, answer my question. Have you been w for free again?”

  She groans again. Then pouts. She looks at her father- the man's expression is far less expressive in parison to the human she’d grown up around. No ges of facial color or much structural ges in his face or posture. The man is more statue than Gemma- whiost is uling. But, that's why you focus on the yes. And from his eyes, she notices that he’s upset more than usual.

  “Yes, dad. I was doing some work in the impoverished district. The water purifier had some damaged runes. I only repaired them.

  “You pletely redid the runes and used aire emerald for the drawing.”

  She quickly sits up. “How did you-”

  “Because I redid your work.”

  “You did what?”

  “I chipped away the emerald and repced it with a low quality sapphire.”

  “WHY!” She cries out. “I spent all night redoing the whole runietwork and I installed the emerald precisely because it will st far loheir purifier keeps breaking and an emerald should be more resilient to the elements.”

  “You are an ignorant child.”

  Emma’s anger fres. Her skin hardens as adrenaline courses through her. “Me? Ignorant? No, you’re the heartless, ignorant one! All you care about is ! How about growing a heart and helping people!”

  “You don't uand.” he says.

  “NO.” She hops up off the bed. “YOU DON’T UAND!” she yells and then walks out of her room.

  The father watches his daughter rush past him. Her legs scrape the hardened wood floor, then he hears the impacts of her feet as she rushes dowairs. A door opens and then crashes closed followed by the ringing of a bell.

  The father blinks slowly.

  “So young and ignorant.” He says as softly as his gruff voice .

  He hears the ringing of the bell again downstairs.

  “Hmmm.” he rumbles thoughtfully. He walks out of the room, dowairs, and then moves to the store ter.

  “Agron, good afternoon. Your, uh, daughter seems upset.”

  Agron looks at the human at the other side of the ter. The man is dressed well, with a nice armored coat and thick cargo shorts that mesh well with the tri on his head. “How do you deal with such childish ignorance?”

  Florence chuckles. “You’re talking about teenagers. As for dealing with them, well, that's part of parenting. All you do is be there to lift them up when they fall.”

  “For how long?”

  Florence scratches his , “For however long it takes.”

  Agron nods slowly, which elicits the sound of grinding stohat I do… now. What is it you need?”

  Florence clears his throat while his ears turn red. “Well, you know that Refrigerator Rune you installed in my ship's pantry?”

  “Yes.” Agron nods.

  “I, uh, may have filled the pantry too much.”

  Agron waits and tinues listening.

  “Then there was a manastorm nearby.”

  “The rune froze over and got damaged.” Agron quickly cludes. “I informed you to make sure there is plenty of airflow within the pantry so if the temperature decreases too much, there will be plenty of airflow. It seems you did not take my dires to heart.”

  stantine blushes. “Yea, sorry about that. It was w so well, I bought a little too much meat- and well.” He shrugs with arms spread. “I hope this won’t e too much.”

  “The rune lied retly- so it will merely need a slight repair. I’d send my daughter, but she seems to be a bit emotionally indisposed. Give me a moment to grind a gem and I will follow you to your ship. It should not take long.”

  stantine sighs… and then realizes he’d never heard the price.

  “The price-.”

  “Will be given after I fully assess damages. Now give me a moment.”

  _____________________________________________________________

  As a cat, you’d think it would be difficult to fall asleep- what with the super hearing and bundles of energy in the middle of the night.

  Well, no. It’s actually quite easy. I climb the bookcase and then y down on the pillow at the top. And then I'm bato the white room with not one, but two ships floating near me. Both the Timbergrove and Immi Huntress are present alongside two floating eyeballs. One green and the other red.

  “Alright,” I say, “I’m naming you green and I’m naming you red.”

  The eyeballs blink in silence. “So, sidering you’re here, I leveled in both Job and Css. But before we start talking about that, why the fuck ’t there be only one of you. Why 't a single eye trol both Job and Css?”

  Green and Red blink at me. Then, both at once:

  “That information is restricted.”

  “That information is restricted.”

  I sigh.

  “Alright, whatever. Red, you're my css eyeball. What's new?”

  Traits.

  Human Average

  Individual Base Calcutions.

  Level modifications

  Trait Actual Value

  Strength

  10

  36

  +0%

  36

  Endurance

  9

  43

  +0%

  43

  Vitality

  12

  0.27%M/R/M

  22

  0.54% M/R/M

  +0%

  22

  0.54% M/R/M

  Perception

  9

  27

  +0%

  27

  Intelligence

  11

  16

  +0%

  16

  Mana

  388.8

  480

  +0%

  480

  trol

  12

  8

  +0%

  8

  Attributes Avaible:

  27

  Level

  18

  Titles Obtained:

  1

  “A single level? Really? Now that just doesn't seem fair.”

  The eyeball blinks ond doesn't ent. Just floating and staring, awaiting my decision.

  “Fine. Be weird.”

  Now, where to put my attributes. sidering each attribute is a single pert increase, I should foy rgest traits: Endurand Strength. Endurance was useful for when I got shot by a gun- and would give me quite a bit of resistao getting shot iure. But, wearing armor is a far better way to avoid damage. Instead, let's go with strength. I’m already strohan your average human by quite a bit, but is that really enough strength to go head to head with other species? Holy, it may not be. If the Buxon single-handedly wipe out a ship's crew on their own as Myers cims, then they must have strength near or equivalent to my own.

  I probably should have asked about their average stats, but my gut says they’re signifitly higher than humans but not at my own physical level. Strength would give me the ability to move about faster and overpower easier.

  But, I shouldn't fet about the other traits. I don’t need vitality sidering a longer lifespan won’t help me get to the seventy-two towers sooner. And mana regeion is not a problem currently, though it could be iure.

  Perception is a strong possibility too. Too many fet how important senses are to uanding aing properly to the world around you. But, I think i’m at the point that increasing it further will only allow me to hear the beating of a heart louder than I already . Also, I really don't need a better sense of smell.

  Intelligence be useful, but pletely unnecessary. I’ve already got ways to learn quickly and my wisdom is at a level no mortal could hope to pete with.

  As for mana? That's not a problem unless I want to turn into a leviathan. But, one pert increases aren’t going to help get me there. I’d need a skill of some kind instead.

  Finally, we have trol, and arguably the one I’m most curious about. The skill enhances precision and all-around usability of skills. I would holy choose to put points in this skill if not for the fact that my trol is less than the average humans. Which makes sense. I feel like a lumbering bear instead of a graceful kitten when I’m a fenrimorph.

  “Wait a sed.” I say allowed in realization.

  I increase my base stats! The fenrimorph’s lumbering movements are a result of degraded muscles. With training, I should be able to improve my trol.

  Wait! Not only trol, but I also increase my strength. Increasing strength should be much easier too.

  “Alright Red, put all my attribute points intth.”

  “It is done.”

  Traits.

  Human Average

  Individual Base Calcutions.

  Level modifications

  Trait Actual Value

  Strength

  10

  36

  +27%

  46

  Endurance

  9

  43

  +0%

  43

  Vitality

  12

  0.27%M/R/M

  22

  0.54% M/R/M

  +0%

  22

  0.54% M/R/M

  Perception

  9

  27

  +0%

  27

  Intelligence

  11

  16

  +0%

  16

  Mana

  388.8

  480

  +0%

  480

  trol

  12

  8

  +0%

  8

  Attributes Avaible:

  0

  Level

  18

  Titles Obtained:

  1

  “Traits round. Good to know.”

  “Will that be all?” Red asks.

  “Yup, I’m doh you.”

  The eyeball disappears. I turn to green.

  “Alright. Show me my Job stuff.”

  Job: [Ship Captain]

  Level: Level 3

  Job Skills: 1

  Ship Size: Frigate, Destroyer

  Primary Jobs Avaible: 3

  Support Jobs Avaible:5

  Maximum Job Capacity: 7

  Primary Jobs

  [First Mate] level 1: Irmgard Von Braun level 1 [Sword Officer]

  [Quartermaster] level 1: Cillian Walce level 3 [Mert][Navigator]: Limit 1

  Support Jobs

  [Boatswain]:[Gunner]: [Cook]:

  [Carpenter]:

  [Rigger]:

  Only two levels from stealing a ship? That's just bull-shit. I deserve at the very least ten.

  “Oh, wow. I see the csses and levels of my crew. This is probably why Myers refuses to take a job. He doesn’t wao see his css.”

  I frown at the ck of ges. Other than my level increasing and my two new subordinates getting a job- and the other ship. Nothing else has ged.

  “Is my [Captain's Authority] trait bonus active? I didn't see the bonus applied to my stats page.”

  “ditional trait enhas are not calcuted.” the eye answers.

  “Huh, I'm surprised you answered.”

  The eyeball blinks once.

  “Will that be all?” It asks.

  “Yup. You send me back.”

  “Uood.”

  The eyeball disappears and then I start dreaming about milk.