We circled the island as the defenders took potshots at the Retribution.Few of them hit and the volume of fire wasn’t enough to worry the shields.“Why do you want this island?” Em’ah asked for the second time.“Because we need a place to stage our raids from. Preferably away from prying eyes,” I replied.“I don’t see how you’re going to hold it with the four of us,” she mumbled in return.True, holding it with only four people would be impossible. But I didn’t plan on sticking anyone here to hold it. I would simply set up active defenses that would ambush anyone that stepped foot on the island. Heck, it might even make a nice trap for pirates.Given more time and resources I could add automated cannons to defend it better but I didn’t know if I wanted to spend that much time or resources while I was in this area. It was bad enough I was going to have to burn through some of my spare parts to fix up the damage the ship incurred thus far.“We have to take the island first,” Barcos sno
We docked at an open slip, not that we had much of a choice where we docked. The three ships that followed us in, shepherded us to a specific area in the docks. When we arrived there were eight gruff-looking men in white uniforms standing along the dock with two individuals at the end of the dock, wearing white as well, but piped in black trim. I assumed that meant they were of a higher rank.I saw Barcos cock a smile when he spotted those two men and he practically jumped from his chair and raced to the top deck before the ship even settled. I got to watch him jump from the deck, landing in front of the first honor guard, startling the man enough to make him reach for his weapon.Barcos didn’t bother acknowledging the man as he swiftly walked past the eight and towards the other two. He opened up his arms for what looked like a hug, seeming to surprise the two men, before he hauled his arm back and socked one of them right in the nose.I groaned as all hell broke loose on the dock an
Khikall and I had spent the better part of an hour watching the soldiers try different attempts to get on board. Thankfully – for their sake – none of their attempts caused any damage. Although, they had worked out some strange rubberized suits and were starting to put them on to attempt boarding again.By this time eight ships had entered the cove and were spaced evenly around to cut off any retreat. They even had a few blocking off our escape over the island and below it. Not that that would be a good idea given all the gun emplacements. They even had three triple deck airships blocking the exit to the cove as a backup.I guess I should be impressed that they thought my little ship was this big a threat but it annoyed me more than anything.I felt the ship jostle and I turned to see three men had jumped aboard wearing the rubber suits. I reached over and pressed a button on my console, switching the defense from electric to thermal. Khikall just watched curiously to see what I had d
We entered the first port town without anyone batting an eye. Apparently, it wasn’t all that strange to see two humans and a Jerboa walking about together.At first glance I estimated the city to be about the size of Saint June. And while that held true for the size it wasn’t even comparable when it came to the sheer density of people.The city was crowded, making it difficult to even move through the streets with the press of bodies moving one way and the other. I mentally thanked my high stats as the three of us pushed through the crowd to get to the market.We had other locations to search but the market here was the first stop.The market was full of covered stalls and the noise of merchants trying to draw in customers. Surprisingly, it was laid out in a neat grid pattern as opposed to most of the city’s wandering paths. The atmosphere was reminiscent of the Bazaars but more crowded. While the Bazaars were massive in scope, they were so large that overcrowding wasn’t much of an is
We spent a few days resupplying in Houston before we set out.“So, what's the plan?” Martin asked as he followed me onboard.“First I need to pick up some new abilities.”He looked at me in confusion, “Uh, why didn’t you do that in the bazaar?”“Why pay, when I can get them for free?” I said with a wink.“Part of your new class?”I nodded.“Well, this oughta be interesting.”Ska and Fiona greeted us in the kitchen as I went over the plan.“First we take out these contracts for the Marshall. Try to keep as many alive as possible, I want to try my skill on all of them to see what comes up. I figure with our speed and ability to track these men we can probably finish in a few days. Then we head for the Jackal pit.”Ska gave a toothy grin and growled happily at this news.I set out two rings I had purchased with that destination in mind. “These are mind barrier rings. They should be able to protect us for six hours, enough time to clear that dungeon. If my theory is correct and I gain the
I set the fortress down within spitting distance of the dungeon. I had no time or patience to be stealthy. Every hour it felt like an invisible noose was starting to tighten around my neck. I didn’t know if it was my imagination or some part of that damn ability that Randy was using. Considering it lessened as I got closer to Chicago, my money was on an ability.Well, let him use his abilities, I had surprises of my own to bring to our next encounter.The four of us rushed through the dungeon, killing off the lower-level kobolds with ease. I used it as a testbed to try out some of the new skills. Maddening Laugh turned out to be highly effective against the barely cognizant kobolds. After only one use they devolved into nothing more than aggressive animals their more animalistic tendencies taking over. They didn’t last long enough for me to cast it again, and I chose not to waste Multicast on it.Underhanded Blow was also effective. My ability to instantly enhance my speed by two poin
The trip north was mostly uneventful. I say mostly because, holy shit, had the land changed. We flew near a lake that looked like blood. Massive tentacles squirmed within the liquid, just below the surface. Thankfully, I had spotted it before we flew directly overhead, who knew what creatures waited within.Another problem was a bright flash in the distance. Normally, I would have avoided that completely but the ominous mushroom cloud after made me decide to detour near the area. We needed to make sure it wasn’t something we had to worry about. Turns out someone had gotten ahold of a tactical nuke, leveling some small town on the east side of what was once northern Arkansas. After seeing what lay beyond, I couldn’t blame the people for setting the weapon off.The land for as far as you could see was dead. The radiation detector was blipping away and I chose to turn back toward the west. Fiona returned from scouting with news of what was on the ground.“Entarior locusts,” she said, loo
The war - if you want to even call it that - between the Black Dragon, and our ragtag team of four went on for weeks.The Black Dragon had numbers, more than I had ever thought possible. Every time we thought we cleared out the entrenched heavy weapons more would be rolled out and the battle would commence again.We were hounded every time we landed, they even found our damn island sanctuary and pounded it to dust with long-range artillery. The fortress was a mess but it was holding together better than I could have hoped for.The fortress floated toward downtown Chicago, listing a bit to the left where a portion of the levitator had been blown away. Both Ska and Martin had hairless heads, a blast of flame cooking their flesh before I healed them. The scars were gone but the hair would have to regrow on its own. I hoped Ska’s regrew fast, grimalkin did not look good furless. It was a mix between a naked molerat and a wrinkly testicle.Our approach had been uncontested. That was mostly
Was the person in the mirror really Henry and not an international supermodel?Henry could not help but wonder.However, Mia's reaction told Henry that it was not an illusion.Mia's mouth was wide open as she walked to Henry's side in shock. She looked at him in the mirror and was amazed."Oh my God, Henry, I never realized that you're so handsome! Gosh, you look so good."As Mia spoke, she couldn't help but touch Henry's firm chest."Oh my God, these firm pecs are worth dying for…"Henry looked at Mia, who was acting like a pervert. He shook his head helplessly and slapped her hand away."Alright, now that I've changed my clothes, let's hurry to the banquet before we go late. I'm not known for attending any events late." Hearing this, Mia finally came back to her senses. "Ah, yes. We have to hurry over. With such a handsome companion by my side, I'd like to see if those little b*tches will still show off in front of me," Mia proudly said as she pulled Henry's arm.After that, they q
Martin strode down the hall of the capitol building with a worried smile on his face. He was a bit greyer now but he still oozed charm and confidence. Time had been kind to him.The city had become a booming metropolis in the ten years since Paul returned, after his year and a half of being missing. Martin knew something had happened because one day a bunch of massive flying ships had come from nowhere and obliterated the ships that had been harassing the city non-stop for over six months. They had quickly taken care of Lord Vik’t and his remaining forces, the man managing to flee back to his homeworld before the Guild caught him.When Paul had returned, he had returned a quiet man. You could see the loss in his eyes. But the man pushed on and his businesses flourished, producing the Earth’s mightiest warships and most advanced runic items. Then five years after Paul returned, he took a fleet of ten of his capital ships and vanished for another year.When he returned again, the ships
As soon as the pirates realized the Guild ships were approaching the island, they broke off the fighting and retreated toward the edge of town to dig in. They weren’t stupid enough to attack the Guild but it seemed they wanted to ensure there wasn’t an accidental incident.One of the Guild ships docked and the Captain stepped off to greet the three of us. I had been carried over by Barcos and Em’ah on the same chair she plopped me in the night before. My legs were looking less like mashed potatoes now and instead looked like mushed putty. It was hard to ignore the sensation of the bones moving around within my shattered legs but I was managing.“Captain Paul, I hope this wasn’t a last-ditch attempt to hold off your enemy. I can assure you, we will leave for safer shores immediately if it was.”I ignored the man’s condescending snark before replying. “You have the agreement from the Director?”“I do,” he smiled. “Do you wish to review it?”I nodded and he produced a stack of documents
Groaning, I opened my eyes. All I saw was darkness. I tried turning my head or moving but it seemed like I was pinned in place.I fought down the urge to panic as I evaluated my condition. My arms were still broken, the sharp stabbing pain when I tried to move them told me as much. I could breathe though so my organs had healed after the beating I had taken. That was something at least.Seeing as I was in no immediate danger of dying, I checked my skills. My blood ran cold as I saw what remained of my abilities.[Rejuvenate][Multicast][Eye of the Storm][Aura of Rage][Calcifying Strike]Frostwave][Orb of Darkness][Energy Lance][Overcharge][Tempest Ball]That was the sum total of all the skills I now had. They had stripped me of every ability I had stolen from them along with every ability my second class gave me by default, making it impossible to recover skills by stealing them from others.I let out a morbid little chuckle as I lay there. Tears of frustration leaked from the
Those two words seemed to freeze everyone in place, but it wasn’t magic that caused it, it was fear. My body was frozen along with everyone else but my eyes rose into the air, tracking two creatures as they forced the magical fog away from the entire area with some ability.It was hard to tell by their alien physiology but I got the distinct impression they were looking directly at me. The initial fear was subsiding and people were starting to move again until the larger of the two squid-like creatures cast a spell. I managed to get off an Identify before the spell hit.[Ulq | Void Hunter/Maw of the Void | 47/41][Xiph | Psy Commando/Maw of the Void | 45/42]My body shook as I realized they were here for me but not a single person or even the entire pirate armada currently assembled here would be able to kill these two creatures.I felt the spell wash over the area and everyone was frozen again but a halo of golden light burst into existence above my head, washing away the spell’s eff
The meager fleet of ships I was now in charge of, rose from the dock and slowly spiraled into the air to get above the mist. The chaotic coloration of the mana storm was visible in the distance even through the mist. That meant the enemy was almost upon the island.The Retribution was the first ship to breach the thick covering and it was no surprise to see the enemy ships had spread out in a crescent shape to surround the island. Enemy fast attack craft zipped toward our location and I double-checked that everything was working as it should. I had also turned the mana accumulator back on.I sometimes wished I had been able to fit multiple layers of shielding on the ship. But my experiments in that regard had not gotten anywhere. Shields that close together acted like soap bubbles. Either they popped completely or merged together, but it didn’t increase the strength of the shield when they did. The only way to prevent this was to have separate bubble shields that only covered a certai
After weeks of sitting around, the Retribution finally got to fly again.Knowing we were leaving, the harbor was a beehive of activity. Cobbled together crews were drilling aboard the other captured pirate ships. The people knew it wasn’t a matter of if, but a matter of when another enemy would appear.As soon as Khikall got us away from the docks and any possible collision, I engaged the cloak. It was far more effective now that I could enable and disable the automatic recharging system. The massive disruption of mana we used to leave in our wake was now a tiny trail.I hadn’t had time to figure out a way to smooth our passing completely but this would have to do. I also had Em’ah watching for trails from a crudely assembled periscope. Now she didn’t need to be on the deck to use her Mana Sense skill.Speaking of skills… I had picked up a few from the last fight. I also managed to finally hit level twenty in my Maw of the Void class. I stuck two of my stats in Strength, one in Endura
I watched as the workers placed the last armor panel in position and began to weld it into place. It had taken a few weeks to repair the damages from our fight but the Retribution was looking almost new.The replaced sections were clearly visible by the heat transfer in the titanium. I could easily fix that when I turned the thermal defenses on. It should make everything a uniform color. Paint would work too, I suppose, but why cover up the beauty of the metal.It was a good thing the ship was complete, over the last few days, we had been getting reports from the Guild merchant ships that were stopping to trade, and they weren’t good.Large fleets of pirate ships spotted raiding islands. The Capital of the Avulian Protectorate was sacked and all of the leadership missing. The remaining fleets of the Protectorate were attacking any ship that wasn’t theirs or the Guild's. Cities burning due to the slaves I helped free, it was madness and it was spreading.Already I could hear concerned
Captain Grulaine hissed in annoyance as his second in command handed him his “orders”. His second flinched back and hurried out of the room. If he hadn’t, Grulaine may have cut him down in a fit of pique. It galled Grulaine to be under the thumb of another. He had gotten rid of his father for that very same reason. And now thanks to a series of unfortunate events, he found himself beholden to the damn pirate king Black Gar’s lap dog.How was he to know the repair yard where he went was controlled by that snake. If he had he certainly wouldn’t have agreed to the loan to effect repairs to his cannons and ship. Repairs that had taken far longer than necessary, and left Grulaine on the sidelines as the entire protectorate seemed to be crumbling around him. An opportunity-rich environment he wasn’t able to take advantage of.But that wasn’t the most galling part. He found that his repairs were delayed on purpose so Gar could tighten his stranglehold on the local pirates. By the time Grulai