Dreadnaught

“I’m sorry about my wife, Captain. She always wanted to see how far she could push someone without ‘walls’.” Vox, Ford’s son, Helena’s husband, and Ghili’s father had been my greatest support for the last couple weeks. A true sympathizer, apparently, as Helena’s own father had given Vox similar training when he experienced an event grand enough to cause his ‘walls’ to weaken at a young age, before his first level-up.

The training consisted of various forms of meditation to train Clarity, Will, and Attunement, intense study sessions to both teach me about this new world and train my Intelligence, this included having to take notes during the session, and quizzes going over everything we had learned so far immediately after, both written with some paper and pencils we found in my quarters, both in a different style of penmanship each day to train Dexterity, knot tying both as additional Dexterity training, and to teach the crew. One method of Constitution training was used at meals by eating poison fish Ghili and Henry, the other young child, caught while swimming. At the end of the day was the weighted gauntlet, which involved me running laps through a parkour course the crew would change as I ran it, while wearing and carrying bags of rocks, which were added to every time my Strength increased. During the gauntlet, Helena would throw stuff at me with a whisper right before she threw it. The weights, running, and jumping, increased my Strength, the difficulty of the movements required to avoid the obstacles and Helena’s projectiles trained Agility, the exhaustion trained Endurance, the whispering and the short notice before Helena threw trained Constitution and Clarity, and the recovery and rest that came after trained Vitality. All of this was done while having to find a random number of minute differences on the ship that Helena would arrange, which trained Wisdom, alongside a technique Helena taught me to drain mana for Clarity and Wisdom.

During our initial study sessions, I also learned what each stat covers, which included why each part of the training affected each stat. Will is my Qi capacity and density, which determines how powerful Qi skills are, and provides minor resistance to physical and mental pain, especially resistance to fear effects.

Attunement is how in line I am with the ambient Qi, or the world’s Qi, which affects Qi regen, the cast time and cost of Qi related activities, and the perception of Qi.

Strength is the strength and/or density of all muscles, this means that strength affects speed, as the muscles in the legs and feet generally determine that. Strength also increases the toughness of the rest of the body to an extent so that using your muscles doesn’t shatter your bones or anything like that. There is also a limit on how one's mass affects the world, you know, so someone who’s muscles are super dense from high Strength doesn’t sink through stone or become a singularity.

Constitution is how hard it is to hurt you, more so than Strength, your resistance to physical pain, your max hp, the strength of your immune system, your natural toxin filtering, your lifespan, and your senses.

Endurance is what level of effort counts as exertion and resting(i.e. Does walking still drain stamina, does holding a shield cause increased stamina loss, etc.), stamina, in all physical meanings, How much sleep the body requires.

Vitality is stamina and hp regen, fertility, and increases lifespan further than Constitution. Contrary to how one might think, increased stamina regen does not reduce sleep requirements, but that also means you don’t have to be asleep to get the bonus stamina regen that comes with ‘resting’. Apparently around 50 Vitality, you gain control of when you are and aren’t fertile. For women, this stat is highly prized for that reason.

Agility is your flexibility, and your wider body control( efficiency of movement, how fast one adjusts to changes in str, acrobatics, etc). Wider meaning mostly for your limbs and torso. At higher levels of Agility, you can decrease or increase your weight slightly, eventually to the point of walking on air. That’s pretty high level stuff, high enough that you're more likely to see someone accomplishing it through gravity magic, which I’ve been told is already very rare.

 

Dexterity is fine motor control, i.e. hand, foot, face, and mouth control basically. If you want to throw stuff with accuracy, have good handwriting, earn a reputation for your poker face, or be a really good kisser, this is your stat.

 

Intelligence is your memory, ability to recognize patterns, mana density, which similar to Qi density, equates to effectiveness, and your cast time for mana related stuff.

 

Wisdom is mana capacity, mana cost, and signal recognition. Constitution’s enhanced senses will let you realize there’s a fish in the lake, Intelligence will tell you it’s a bluefin tuna, but it’s Wisdom that will help you realize that a bluefin tuna shouldn’t be in a lake and what that means.

 

Finally Clarity is your mana regen, your thought speed, your mana perception, how much sleep the mind requires, and your resistance to illusions, mental attacks, and non-physical pain.

Honestly the worst part of the training was how effective it was. A part of me wanted the training to fail so I could stop, but results are results. As I stood at the helm, keeping the ship with the wind, I summoned my Status and reviewed my progress over these two weeks.

(Before)

 

 

 

(2 Weeks)

 

 

 

With every improvement I logged, I shed a tear. After all, every improvement was a reason for me to continue this hellish training. Helena had mentioned in passing that it was easier for world-travelers to raise their stats before the ‘wall’, as a way to help them play catch up, but this is ridiculous. Even my skills were improving! I had five new ones, two of which leveled, [Knotsmanship] leveled twice, I could feel [Climbing] was close, and [Helmsmanship] leveled as a byproduct. After all, I had to teach someone so that I could train and sleep without having to worry. Apparently teaching is a good source of skill levels. The only improvement that may have not been related to the training was my second [Profession], [Sailor], leveling.

In the last couple weeks, I had also learned more about the crew. I had been almost right about the crew being made of two families, but I was wrong about the relationships. I had initially assumed they were all siblings, but I have since learned I was wrong. Ford was obviously, Ghili’s grandfather, Vox’s dad, but he was also the father of one of the other girls on board, Delilah. On Ghili’s mother, Helena’s side was her father David and her mother Rita. Henry had apparently been an orphan who the families took in a couple years back

I was surprised to learn that you can manipulate the System screen to tell you how old you are down to the smallest unit of time you knew, as opposed to years. For me, that was the attosecond, a billionth of a billionth of a second. The number was a little long so I shortened it to years, then months, then days. This whole thing came up when someone asked for my birthday and I couldn’t answer because I didn’t know it in relation to this world. Turns out my birthday is the same as Ghili’s and a day before Delilah’s, The 17th of the month of the First Pantheon. Turns out, 13 months, 292 days, about 30 hours in a day, and a leap year every five years means there’s the same amount of time in a year here as on Earth.

Suddenly, Helena interrupted my thoughts as she climbed the stairs onto the Flybridge. “Are you ready for today’s lessons, Captain?” She asked with an unnerving smile.

“As if I have a choice. Cadet Ghili!” I had been teaching Ghili and Henry to man the helm while I was training. They were quick to learn, as children usually are. They loved it, especially since I started calling them cadets. The rest of the crew thought it was cute and started calling them cadets too. They’ve each gotten a level in [Helmsmanship] which was a cause for celebration on the ship. Apparently you don’t get your classes until age 12, and every skill level helped decide what classes you could choose, and more skill levels generally meant better classes. Skills were usually difficult to get and level, so them getting [Helmsmanship] was a big deal. It was nothing if not assured that the majority of their class options would be specialized for seafaring when you take our race's natural disposition into account.

Back to the present, I had followed Helena down into my quarters for lessons. In addition to being my bedroom, my quarters were also my office. I had a mahogany desk and file cabinets all secure to the ground, along with a magic chalk board I suspect was originally meant to be used for strategy meetings and somesuch. It made the perfect place for lessons.

“Alright Captain, you had mentioned before that you suspected the cadets’ quick acquisition may have something to do with one of your [Traits] or [Titles]. I think this would be a good time to talk about them.” I had mentioned that. I had a thought that maybe [Heart of the Ship] or [Pirate Captain] may have affected their learning speed.

“Let’s start with [Titles]. A [Title] at its heart is a proof of great accomplishment. They almost always grant powers related to the accomplishment or accomplishments that created it. For example, being chosen by a god will grant you a [Title]. Those [Titles] always give bonuses related to the god or goddess’ legacy and domains. As you are chosen by the patron god of deep-elves, Njord, you should have the [Title] [Child of Njord], which grants you bonuses to the effect of many of your stats while at sea and a [Trait] related to one of his domains. It so happens that almost all of those stats are related to both his domain of sailing and legacy. Those stats would be Agility, Constitution, Endurance, and Wisdom. Agility, as it helps one stay standing in rough waters, and from his legacy of fathering two literal sex gods, Freya and Freyr, as well as being a fertility god himself. Constitution, as a sailor needs keen senses to detect the change in the weather, and once again as the father of Freya, who presides over war as well. Endurance, as the life of a sailor is ever tiring, and his aforementioned sexual legacy. Wisdom, as a sailor must always be able to read the signs his senses detect, and, once again, for being the father of Freya, goddess of Magic. You should also get a bonus for Vitality, obviously related to his legacy as a fertility god, and for his children who inherited many of his domains.”

“So, Helena, let me get this straight. His children are a god and goddess of sex, and inherited many of his domains, and he’s already a god of fertility, which is a domain both his children preside over as well. It’s looking more and more like I’ve been chosen by a god of sex.” But that wouldn’t make sense.

“Oh definitely, but you shouldn’t be so reductive of Njord. Our patron is a god of the sea, seafaring, wealth, fertility, and sex, Captain.”

“But I’m a v…” I stopped my outburst and blushed. Hard. Helena looked at me with a devilish smile.

“You're what, Captain~. A viking? No, that wouldn’t preclude you from being chosen by Njord, they’re great traders and sailors. A vegan? No, you’ve been eating fish for two weeks now, and that wouldn’t keep you from being chosen anyway. Veteran? No, not that one. Villager? Nope. Villager? That can’t be. Oh, I bet you were going to say vir…” I cut her off then and there.

“Yes! I’m a virgin. Happy? I’m a virgin chosen by a god of the sea, seafaring, wealth, fertility, and SEX!” My face was red, and not with anger. Helena gave me an apologetic look.

“Sorry, Captain. I guess I took that too far. You don’t need to worry about being a virgin and a [Child of Njord] at the same time. Njord is a lot more than a god of sex, and you certainly embody his domain of seafaring. Our race to begin with is in line with the sea, and he is our patron. So no rush on that front. Probably better youcontinue to abstain for now, actually.”

“I understand the first part of your apology, thank you, but was the second part necessary? The only people on this ship are married, or there’s far too big an age gap on either side, even if our appearance would suggest otherwise. And why would it be for the best anyway? I know you didn’t mean it as an insult but it really feels that way.” I knew it was childish, but no 20 year old guy who isn’t ace wants to be told that it’s for the best that they stay a virgin. Meanwhile, Helena gives me a surprised look before answering me.

“It wasn’t necessary, but it’s good advice, if the Captain is into women. I would like to remind you, Captain, that Njord is a fertility god before his sexual aspect, and while I believe you would make an excellent father, I’m sure having a child relatively soon after arriving in another world wouldn’t be good for your mental health. As for your options, Delilah is single and only a day separates your ages.”

I sat and stared for a moment, before thanking whatever god or goddess made it possible to lower one’s fertility at relatively low Vitality. Otherwise, when I did start doing the tango to make a little mango, my mango making would be a little too efficient. I don’t know how much my patron’s domain would affect that, but I’d rather not have a kid every time. I got exhausting babysitting just one.

“Captain, are you okay? Your face is getting pale.”

“I just imagined raising the number of kids I might end up having if it weren’t for Vitality’s fertility control.”

“Understandable, Ghili was a napper until she was four. Quiet for a few hours, before screaming without attention the next few, day and night. But that’s enough of that. We got sidetracked. Back to the lesson. While [Titles] are manifestations of great accomplishments, [Traits] are intrinsic to who you are. They are a part of you more so than anything, except maybe stats or skills. That’s a bit of a controversial discussion, but beside the point. Even though you may have gained a [Trait] through a combination of other things, once they are obtained they are yours, even if what gave you that [Trait] is no longer yours. For example, let’s say someone has a [Title] for having fought a thousand battles in their life, and never losing. If that [Title] gave them a [Trait], then even if they lost and their [Title] changed or was lost outright, the [Trait] would stay. Of course, that isn’t to say a [Trait] can’t be lost, but it is difficult. Our [Retractable Fins] under [True Amphibian] for example. If they were cut off, and the wound treated so that nothing under divine intervention would return them, then we would lose the [Trait].” Helena paused as her face contorted with disgust. “However, to specifically target a [Trait] like that is a heinous crime. Cutting off an enemy's limbs is one thing, but to specifically target a [Trait] is something only the worst of the worst could stomach. Even Alastra, a country of human supremacists, forbids actions that would target a [Trait] regardless of it being a result of being born non-human.”

I’d never seen Helena so serious before. ‘For it to be considered so awful, there had to be something more to it. Helena did say that [Traits] were intrinsic to who you were. I thought it was just flowery words, but perhaps it’s something more?’

Before I could put more thought into it, Helena slammed a stack of paper into my desk.

“Quiz time! Remember, no notes. Those are for you to study for tomorrow's quiz. Remember, today’s style of print is Deidrich III’s.”

As I began my quiz, Helena hovered like a teacher ready to remind the whole class not to make whatever mistake I would make.

“Back to the topic of sex. Henry and Ghili had quite the amusing conversation last night.” My pen stroke jumped across the page.

“Aren’t they a little young for that?” Even as I spoke, I started to write once more.

“Yes, but that’s only if they knew what they were talking about. You see, Henry, like a born pirate, the little rascal, asked if you were going to kidnap a princess off a boat one of these days, and make her fall for you. Ghili then proposed that you might want to kidnap a prince. They really got going when Delilah asked why it had to be royalty. We all thought it was cute, until it got us thinking. Which is it, Captain?”

I knew it was a trap to get me to make a mistake on the quiz, but I decided to humor her.

“If I were a lady, the phrase straight as a noodle might fit.”

“So princes then.”

“No?” It then dawned on me. “Have you ever seen a dry noodle?”

“Can’t say I have, Captain. Noodles are pretty simple to make, so they generally aren’t shipped, and any we make are made in the ocean.”

“That makes sense. Well, when storing noodles, you dry the noodle so that it is straight and takes up minimal space. So a noodle is straight until it gets wet, which can also describe some women.”

“So, you generally are into women, but if the situation is hot enough, men are fair play?”

“Exactly. Only issue is that I’ve never found myself in such a situation, as previously established.”

“Then how would you know?”

“Don’t you guys have smut at least?”

“We do, I just didn’t peg you for much of a reader.”

Even as I was set up, I continued to write, and before long, the quiz was finished. I even wrote down what was different on the ship today. I gave my work to Helena, and walked out of my quarters to greet the sun once more. My senses were telling me we were due for a small storm, despite the calm waters and clear skies. It was still a ways off, and Ford had informed me there was a port a day away, so I wasn’t too worried.

I went to prepare for today’s knot tying lessons when I got a faint feeling from [Pirate Captain]. I looked ahead and port (forward and to the left) and saw a ship in the distance. I scrambled to and up the main mast and hauled myself into the crow's-nest. I had to push my Con, but I was able to make out some details. It looked to be a mid-sized cutter. I couldn’t make out how many were on deck, but I could spot the colors it was flying. The ship was flying the colors of the nearby port, Anastus, and the nation it belonged to, Tilas. It was likely a patrol boat looking for suspicious boats, one of which we were on. It seemed whoever was captaining that ship agreed, as it was on coarse to meet us.