NOVEL NEXT B2 | Chapter 10
Aqua
I continue hunting for hours before I finally begin to run a little low on mana. At which point I head back through the tunnel towards the first cavern, where I enter one of the ships that don't have large holes in them. Then I go to sleep for the night inside a cabin of the ship.
When I wake up the next morning, I go ahead and begin doing my jobs for the morning. Including a film shooting for the drama, a photoshoot for some weapons this time, and an official meeting with the Pioneer Association.
My very first meeting with them since becoming a Pioneer.
Partially because I've been too busy, but mostly because I just haven't cared enough to meet with them. Even after they asked.
The Pioneer Association was established to manage interactions between the Pioneers and to explain the process of citizenship transfer to the Pioneers who actually look like they'll survive.
Meaning the Association doesn't generally bother contacting most Pioneers.
At least, not beyond a simple courtesy mail that they send with a written explanation.
Which is both messed up and makes some sense. Considering that hundreds of thousands of Pioneers are selected every year as multiple new galaxies are introduced to the System every year. With one Pioneer being sent to each newly initialized world.
And it's been like this for tens of thousands of years now. So there are millions of active Pioneers all the time.
A number that's far too great to keep track of every last one regularly. Especially when almost every single Pioneer dies within a month of being selected.
Although the Pioneers sent to inhabited worlds tend to have greater chances at survival than those sent to largely uninhabited worlds.
After all, Pioneers are sent to all kinds of newly initialized worlds. Not just ones that have large civilizations.
There are actually more worlds that have such small populations of humans that they're practically just full of some cavemen here and there with no actual civilized society set up.
In fact, there are even worlds that are initialized that have practically no humans at all and are almost entirely monsters. With some literally just being monsters and only being considered qualified for Pioneering due to dungeon monsters filling the world.
Like elves and dwarves and orcs.
Then there's the fact that people from Class V worlds are far more likely to be selected as Pioneers than people from Class IV or Class III worlds. And the people from the Class V worlds are thrown in just for entertainment without being expected to survive.
They have no training, a lot of them are malnourished, and a lot of them don't have as much of an education.
Which makes for precious few of them surviving.
Class IV world Pioneers have a much higher chance of surviving than Class V Pioneers. Almost at an entire percent chance in fact. Unlike the tiny less-than-a-fraction of a percentage chance that Class V Pioneers have.
And Class III world citizens are often trained for the off chance that they actually end up being selected as a Pioneer. On top of there not really being much poverty on Class III worlds, so most Class III citizens have much higher levels of education.
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To the point that even Class III citizen orphans have a minimum level of education equal to the wealthy Class V citizens.
So Class III citizens chosen as Pioneers often have an entire five to ten percent survival chance.
It's just that Class III worlds almost never have to participate in the selection process.
Maybe once every five to ten years at most.
Although, as usual, they choose between five to fifteen Pioneers during said rare selection.
Which is still enough to massively skew the overall survival rate that people are told.
Despite the number technically being listed as a 0.01% survival rate, the actual survival rate depends on the world. With Class V worlds having closer to 0.00000001%.
It's just that the Class III and Class IV worlds severely alter the average.
Which is exactly what the Grand Chancelor wanted most likely.
Since it lets him say that the survival rate is a lot higher than it actually is for most of the Pioneers.
I let out a sigh after dealing with the Association and returning to Oceana again.
All of that makes me really not like the Association. Since they're literally throwing people to their deaths and using it as entertainment.
While only actually giving the Class III world Pioneers a chance at survival in the process.
Although, the once in a billion or so Class V world Pioneer is always extremely popular just because they broke through the survival odds. So there's that.
I stretch again while putting on my armor. Then I begin to leave the ship and head through the tunnel towards the other cavern.
Where I find something unexpected.
Um… where did this thing come from?
I can't help but frown as I look at the large monster swimming around the cavern.
This thing wasn't here yesterday.
Or was it? Maybe it was here but just asleep or something?
The monster is literally in the form of a ghostship.
Some sort of undead pirate ship swimming – or should I call it cruising? – through the water. With a bunch of undead pirates on the ship at that.
It's entirely possible that the monster was here yesterday but I just didn't realize it. Since it's in the form of a ship.
So the thing easily could've blended in with the other ships here.
I frown at the monster and its identify result.
[Haunted Ship – Level 125]
Is this some sort of mini boss here or something? Like that double-headed shark from the last cavern?
Or are there more of them here?
Still. Just what even is this thing?
It's literally a ghost ship of sorts. A monster ship.
But it looks like a regular, albeit large and with pale wood, ship. So I'm not sure what's different about it.
Other than the monsters on the ship being higher leveled.
My thoughts suddenly come to a crashing halt when the ship turns towards me and suddenly opens the front of the ship up. Splitting it in two and revealing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.
Oh.
That's what's different about it.
On another note though, does this thing not have eyes? I don't see any.
How's it finding me without any eyes?
My frown grows deeper as the monster rushes at me. But the thing is too slow, and I manage to avoid it with ease.
That said, what isn't too slow are the monsters on its back that begin firing harpoons at me. With some of the harpoons hitting me while I'm dodging the ship itself.
Then the ship immediately begins turning towards me again. Still with no eyes.
Making me wonder if the ship can just see everything around it or something.
But that theory goes out the window when I find myself beneath the ship at some point as it chases me. And the ship appears to lose sight of me entirely.
I continue moving around the ship while slowly picking off the monsters on top with my abyssal servants and trying to strike the ship itself. But the wood of the ship proves too tough for me to really do much damage to. Surprisingly enough.
Does this ship focus on Constitution or something?
I wouldn't be surprised at this point.
After I finish clearing out the monsters on the ship though, I find something rather interesting.
The ship itself no longer seems to be able to see.
I guess the monsters on the ship were its eyes.
Right as I'm trying to figure out how to finish off the ship with its incredible Constitution, I find numerous other ships across the cavern beginning to move as well. At which point I identify them to find that they're all haunted ships as well.
Seriously?
I guess the thing isn't a mini boss type of monster after all.
It's just a common one in the area.
I frown before focusing on the haunted ship in front of me.
It might be best to kill this thing and make it an abyssal servant now to use against the others.
I focus on this one while the others are all beginning to move around.