Hours later, I spotted a ship in the distance as I flew around with a bird clone. It displayed a flag divided into seven equal rectangles, representing the seven city-states of the Heptarchy of Parthina. Only the first partition of the flag was colored green. The rest was blank.  

Canceling the skill, I told the good news. Ichiha went to get Irisa, and we all gathered on the deck—Lei rested in Erin’s arms. Surtr and Kengu returned to their bracelets. Retreating to the hold, I looked at the clothing in [Void Storage]. The black and gold outfit I loved was destroyed in Ria, and I couldn’t remain in this robe.    

Before we left Aetos Village, I ransacked the closets. I had a lot available to me. The problem was my body was an amalgamation of Amos’s Soul Warriors. Even though I looked like Susize from a distance, my legs and arms were slightly longer, and I was much bustier than her, thanks to Beccy, the Cowfolk. Susize also didn’t have to worry about a penis.   

But after some help from Tris, I managed to recreate a specific look Susize preferred to wear when attending diplomatic functions. These clothes were formal enough to meet kings, queens, emperors, and empresses while being flexible enough to fight should the need call for it.   

She also wore it when she went on dates with Reina. There’s that other outfit. The one with the green corset and black waist girdle, but I think I like this one better. It really does make me feel powerful... 

But it’s also not mine. It’s borrowed clothing. It’d be nice to have something I could call my own. 

---

It still took about fifty minutes for the ship to get close enough for a Hawkfolk to fly from his boat to ours. He came with a group of four-- all wore the same style of heavy metal armor with thick, powerful greatswords attached to their backs.   

Landing, the beastfolk folded his green wings and removed his helmet, exposing his sharp eyes, avian beak, and deep, dark black hair.  

“I’m Captain Caulk of the Mengoire, Plymoise navy,” he said. “Judging from the state of your ship and the sinking heap next to it, I assume pirates tried to attack you? Wait, those blisters... You wouldn’t happen to have come from Dirge? Around Ria?” His eyes narrowed slightly, but his allies didn’t tense or react. They weren’t relaxed, though-- they were trained enough to maintain a battle-ready state without letting it show. 

[Deduction] states it’s a Craine-class battleship? It almost reminds me of a frigate used by the French navy in the 17th and 18th centuries.    

I took the lead and explained a rehearsed story Tris came up with. We were simple merchants getting ready to deliver cargo from Ria to Plymoise when the barrier appeared. When it suddenly broke, we managed to get away, but not unscathed, which explained the blisters on my family’s body. The pirates came upon us when we anchored for the night.  

“I mean no disrespect, but how did you defeat them?” asked the captain.  

“Surtr, come out and introduce yourself,” I replied. Flames danced to the deck from my bracelet.  

Its color had slightly changed. While the lion’s body was mostly made of abyssal flames, it could subtly alter its shade and hue to become more akin to abyssal ice. Regardless, it was terrifyingly awesome. Its presence could be felt. Surtr returned to its home after exclaiming it was a pleasure to kill such filth that wished to cause its lord any harm.   

“I can sense great power from your spirit.” Surtr wasn’t a spirit, but I wouldn't correct him. “On behalf of Plymoise, thank you for removing that scum from our society. Ah, a question, if you don’t mind. Last night, did you perhaps hear a voice from the sky? Something about a limit being broken?”   

“You are welcome, and yes, I did. It suddenly came out of nowhere and frightened us, but that opened an opportunity for us to gain the upper hand in the battle. But our ship was damaged from their opening salvo. We lack the skill to repair our mast and do not have another sail.”  

“Hmm... My heart's anxious to know we didn’t hallucinate the voice, but please, give us a moment.” Captain Caulk excused himself and spoke with his men. All but him flew to the sinking pirate ship and investigated it, and then he departed for the Mengoire. Ten minutes later, he returned to our boat with good news. “Our primary objective was to learn more about Ria’s predicament and discover what happened. Will you come with us to Plymoise and speak to our ruling lady about your experiences? To thank you, we shall give you and your vessel a ride. Is your cargo damaged?”  

I shook my head and led him to the hold. He verified the cargo and looked at the charter document. Rickard, the previous owner of this vessel, was ‘killed’ in the chaos at Ria.   

No, he didn’t die. He escaped overboard. If we run into him, I need to kill him.    

I told Captain Caulk we were friends of his. He gave us his condolences and then offered us a room on his vessel. It was a military ship, so it wasn’t made with comfort, but it was better than remaining here.   

The Mengoire came much closer and extended a bridge, allowing us to board it. A group of aquatic beastfolk jumped into the ocean and attached heavy iron cables to our ship, allowing it to be pulled. Before being escorted to our room, the ship’s medic gave us an exam. He told his assistant to fetch a handful of a specific ointment. The Hawkfolks investigating the boat returned and reported to Captain Caulk below deck. I used my [Skyview] to spy when he spoke with four others, and they were talking about that necklace I took from the captain.   

It seemed that was the primary objective. Learning about the Ria Incident was secondary, contrary to what he’d just told me. Was it that important?  

I also wondered if the pirate captain used the Essence of Wrath’s attacks as a decoy to pull off a heist earlier than intended. There were firesalts aboard this vessel… Could I trade the necklace for some? I thought about it while he returned topside with bread and water. We ate, and he told his crew we were guests of Plymoise.    

After applying the ointment, another soldier led us to a large room near the ship's stern. He apologized that they couldn’t offer anything better, but I thanked him and said this was good enough.  

The soldier left me and my family alone in an empty room. There were no beds, blankets, furniture, or anything. In fact, it reminded me of a brig. The door was unlocked, so we weren’t prisoners.   

I sat near Niva, asking what she decided to spend her SP on while holding her hand.    

It turned out she had forgotten about it. No, I didn’t think I ever told her I gave her an infusion of SP back when we killed Oswell’s group.   

Then again, considering what followed that, it was understandable she didn’t have a chance to use that SP. Her pledging loyalty to me granted me access to her Skill Menu, but I removed my authority to purchase or upgrade on her behalf. I was a mere observer, nothing more and nothing less. Since she was going to be a mage with a side specialization on spirit summoning, she decided to purchase [Spirit Enhancement: Strength], [Spirit Enhancement: Intelligence], and [Spirit Enhancement: Dexterity] to improve the three core aspects of her spirits whenever she leveled up. Those passive skills were always active, and she upgraded them to Lv.5.   

She spent 135 more to buy and upgrade [Mana Perception] to Lv. 2. If Primrose and Kokan were correct, eventual mastery of this skill would allow Niva to see the flow of mana, thereby being granted the gift of sight. Kokan said it would be like a bat was able to get around. They used sonar and echolocation. 

Since mana was nearly everywhere, there wouldn’t be many places where it was useless. In fact, I had the skill unlocked for purchase. “When I get enough SP, I’ll learn it, and we can master it together, okay? Does that sound good?”  

“It does, Mistress… Thank you.” Niva smiled.   

“Primrose.”  

“Hmm?”  

“What method do you use to fight? Sekh told me spirits can enhance and offer their summoner additional skills while supporting them or use their own weapon and fight with their spirit backing them up.”  

“I can do both. Right now, I know [Vine Manipulation], [Razor Wind], and [Minor Heal]. When I’m out of my crystal, my summoner has those skills. When I run out of mana, I use my summoner’s mana to fuel my spells. But I’m more than capable of creating my own weapons. Incidentally, Master, take this staff.” Primrose placed a hand on the floor and created the same walking staff Niva used when we returned from Aetos Village. It was either lost in the chaos or left behind in Ria, but Primrose could make multiple.   

“Then what’s your recommendation? Niva has 342 SP left.”  

“Summoner, that depends on how you wish to fight. Lord Springfield protected my core against fire and ice, but my skin is still susceptible. [Barrier Magic] is what I would recommend, but you do not have it available for purchase.”  

“Lord…Springfield? Mistress!!! Mistress!!! Did you hear that?!” Niva exclaimed, gripping my hand.    

“It’s—it’s not that big of a deal, Master!!!” Primrose blushed. With a huff, she crossed her arms and looked away. “My feelings have changed, so continuing as normal would increase your chances of becoming injured. I could not allow that.”  

“Aww, I think someone’s embarrassed!” Irisa finally laughed for the first time in a week, and the chuckles continued to the rest of her family. Primrose was even more flustered. With another huff, she returned to her crystal and spoke telepathically to Niva.    

Niva wanted to take a more defensive role because her condition rendered her incapable of being as proactive as she liked. The more Primrose fought, the more skills she would learn. Spirits received a Skill Menu, but it was more like a general list of abilities they could acquire. Instead of spending SP, they selected one, and experience and SP earned by their summoners went towards unlocking the skill they desired.   

As such, Primrose was all about [Nature Magic], which enabled her to attack, defend, and heal with [Razor Wind], [Woodland Shield], and [Minor Heal], the second of which she was currently working towards. But if Niva unlocked [Nature Magic] and worked to obtain spells not available to her spirit, then those would be passed to Primrose even before she had them available to select.   

But picking the same element as your spirit was risky. It was sometimes a dumb move because it meant wasting SP. But with my gift of sharing SP, that problem was moot. Still, she decided to be in more of a supportive role. Acquiring any summoner title unlocked a set of skills to buff your spirit. So along with the three Niva bought earlier, including [Nature Magic], she purchased [Spirit Recall], which returned her spirit to her core, [Spirit Overdrive], a somewhat risky skill to immediately flood her spirit with half of their summoner’s mana for an explosive burst of power, and [Spirit Sync], a skill to cast synchronized magic with their spirit to increase a spell’s effectiveness.  

Some of those skills were boring and lackluster, but the more powerful, appealing ones took much effort to unlock. Besides, Niva needed experience in [Mana Language] and [Mana Perception] before fighting on the front lines. 

“I promise to work very hard, Mistress! Umm… It might take time for my body to adjust to spending so much SP—”  

“I understand. It was the same way with me. Tris, how far are we away from Plymoise?"  

"It is difficult to say. We have not been there, but I still see the country's outline on our expanded [Skyview]. We are going noticeably slower than a vessel of this caliber is known for, so I believe a correct estimate would be 4 days.”  

“Good to know.” I stood up. Mom asked me where I was going. “Gonna take a look around the ship. I got something to discuss with the captain.”  

“Be safe, Mistress,” Niva said. Dad and Irisa echoed that sentiment, and out the door I went with a necklace hidden in my fists. Emerging into the corridor, I immediately walked to the deck, receiving odd, almost volatile glances from the other soldiers. After turning a corner and heading up the first set of stairs, I focused on them with [Skyview].   

Apparently, the Mengoire was hastily mobilized to investigate Ria when the Essence of Wrath used that tremendous attack to shatter the barrier and catch the clouds on fire. This ship was in the middle of being supplied, so they were running on fumes. Adding another handful of mouths to feed stretched their food even thinner, meaning they only received a quarter portion of bread and a third cup of water to last the entire day. My sharp ears, through hushed whispers, learned that the pirate captain had stolen a valuable necklace during the chaos. It must’ve been filled with sentimental value because it looked like a regular emerald cut into a cross. It didn’t have any enchantments, either.    

Even if it wasn’t their objective... They’ll be happy to have it back, yeah?  

But when I emerged onto the deck to get a whiff of that salty air, I felt all eyes turn to me.   

I wonder if they’re seeing a High Elf for the first time? Either that or news of Surtr and how he destroyed the ship is spreading.    

“Hey, do you know where the captain is?” I asked a deckhand swabbing a mop. He seemed younger than Erin and flinched. Stuttering, he said the captain was likely in his office and pointed me in the right direction.   

I knew where he was, of course. His location was marked with a waypoint, but arriving directly without letting people see me asking about it would be strange. But this also gave me a chance to see our ship being towed. The technology of this world paled to the one I came from, but still… It was incredible to see some advancements, even if literal iron cables were hooked into the ship by force.    

“Wow… High Elves…they’re really pretty…” the boy whispered when I turned around. “My sister won’t believe I’ve met one… That I spoke to one…”  

I guess that’s that. High Elves are probably mythical to people who haven’t seen one. I wonder if it’s a mistake to remain one… Maybe I should masquerade as a regular elf? 

Off I went.  

I knocked on the captain's door eight minutes later. To get there, I passed through the mess hall. The scornful stares were disguised as curiosity, but I felt them nonetheless.    

“Come in!” I opened the door and found him penning a hasty report. He looked up for a second with a quizzical expression. “Ms. Springfield? Is there a problem? Ah, my apologies. Should I refer to you as Lady Springfield? Wait, that woman in the hat calls you her lord. Which do you prefer?”   

“Lord Springfield is acceptable,” I said, showing him the necklace.   

Instantly, he hurdled across his desk, knocking over stacks of paper. “Please, give it to me. It was stolen from Plymoise’s ruling lady during the disturbance in Ria.”  

“Don’t worry, I have no need to keep something like this. Here.” Captain Caulk pulled a velvet pouch and stashed the emerald necklace inside it. “But there are two things I want from you.”  

“If it’s within my grasp, then you shall have it. I swear upon it.”  

“This ruling lady. I imagine she’s rich? Do you think she will repair our ship? It was damaged in the attack, and I recovered her necklace." 

“I think that is a reasonable request. I was going to ask that myself.”  

“I need firesalts. You have some aboard this ship, yes?”  

Captain Caulk nodded, but he asked why. I pulled a handful of bullets from [Void Storage] and said I needed the firesalts to finish them. Perhaps he knew better than to ask too many questions, like where the bullets came from or why a High Elf, not a Dark Elf, was even making bullets, but he gave me a look from my feet to my head, took a second to think, then nodded. “I will have some delivered within the hour.”  

I clapped my hands and smiled. “Great! Oh, I do have one question, if you don’t mind answering.” I asked if there was a bounty-hunting guild in Plymoise. He nodded and replied they were called the Bloodhounds, then asked if I was a member. Instead of answering, I held up the pirate captain’s severed head after I pulled it from my inventory. Captain Caulk went to his desk and retrieved the pirate’s bounty tag, then tossed it to me.   

Again, he didn’t ask where it came from.    

This fool was worth 14 gold and 50 silver for grand theft, piracy, murder, smuggling, and rape against the people of Plymoise. 

Why so much for someone so weak? 

Since I had nothing else to do, I returned to the room and told my family what would happen. And as expected, there was a knock at the door within the hour. Opening it revealed a timid-looking Horsefolk carrying a small metal box. I thanked him, he nodded, then left.  

“What’s that?” Irisa asked, hugging her knees while leaning against Dad.  

“It’s a crate of firesalt. Check out these bullets,” I said, tossing Irisa a casing and projectile. “Usually, the part that hits your enemy is made of lead, but I didn’t have any. Instead, I used iron and steel, but I would prefer brass for the casings.” I continued speaking while sitting near her. Tris scooted over and sat on her knees, staring at my face. “In my world, a bullet’s made from four parts. You have the projectile, the casing, the gunpowder, and then a primer. The primer is a small explosive that sounds like a weak firecracker. But a primer is often made of a material sensitive to impact, so that’s where you get the explosion when it's struck. Tris, are firesalts the same way?”  

“Yes, they are. Compared to your world, firesalts are exponentially more dangerous than gunpowder. It is often considered an excellent idea to carry firesalts in a reinforced box and to only transfer them in small amounts. Charcoal and sulfur, and the ingredients to compose saltpeter, are naturally occurring elements found here." 

“Then that’s good to know. It’s time to experiment,” I said, creating a clone. It took the form of a small fly, then flew out through the small window. It went in the opposite direction and turned into me once it couldn’t see the Mengoire.   

It was time for the clone to get to work. Prepping in the brig was too dangerous, so it was left to it. Since the boat was moving, and it took more mana and biomass to stabilize my clone, I made a second clone. It took a shark’s form and steadily swam along with the ship, eating and assimilating whatever it came across.  

When we were too far, though, I’d have the clone store everything, vanish, and I’d make it anew and start it all over again.  

A tedious effort, but it was worth it in the long run. In the meantime, since Irisa was asleep when I passed around my revolver, I handed it to her and let her look at it. I also gave them my rifle so they could see what weapons looked like in a long-ago period of my world—before the advances in flight and technology changed the face of war forever.    

---

The next three days were more of the same. The soldiers left us be. The captain personally delivered our meals, though, which was nice. Before we ate, Tris scanned and checked for poison. It wasn’t like she thought someone was out to get us, but it was a precaution.  

A thoughtful one.  

Primrose and Niva practiced [Mana Perception]. The first time she used it, I couldn’t hear the words she spoke, but I knew they were in the language of mana. I would have to learn that from her, but Niva said it just came to her like someone snapping their fingers. She understood it on a level that was like breathing. Most of the time, you just did that without knowing, and only once you were aware of it did you have to focus.   

But when she managed to activate the skill, even just for a few seconds, a holographic—or maybe it was ethereal—but an eye appeared where her second eye should have been. It looked much like the one she had, but the iris was a magic circle of rainbow, possibly meaning that she could see the different elements of mana surrounding us. The first time she channeled it, she exclaimed that everything was white. Primrose explained it was like that because Niva had to close the ‘angle of viewing’ or something. Maybe that was like a flashlight? I knew there were some that you could twist the top to make it a smaller, brighter beam, or you could make it dim but thicker.  

Tris nodded and said it was different, but the same concept still applied.   

As for [Mana Language]? The name was misleading. It wasn’t a single, concise language. I had thought it was, but it wasn’t, and that deception tricked many novice mages into quitting. However, it still involved speaking to the mana and asking it to act as you wanted. You needed to will it into a spell.  

[Mana Language] was different for everyone. If it was a higher level, I would’ve heard Niva’s chant being translated to something I had a deep connection with other than garbled nonsense. Tris said it would’ve been Latin since I was fascinated with ancient militaries and their strategies.  

“If you had a connection to something else, [Ira Ignis] would have a different name, but it would function the same way. My lord, think of how sentences are created and their different parts. Chants of spells are formed quite similarly, but I am not familiar with the structure of the Latin language. I could perhaps max my processing power and attempt to deduce it, but I don’t know how long it’ll take,” Tris said. She explained and told me she could enter a mode where her analytic capabilities were maxed, but she couldn’t move or talk until leaving it.   

“Now that I think about it, it does make sense, I guess. [Ira Ignis] means something like the wrath of fire. [Furia Glacies] is the fury of ice, I think. That makes sense with the whole flaming wrath and cold fury the Essence of Wrath kept yammering about. Shit, let me think... I should’ve paid way more attention. But wait, how come [Fireball] is just fireball and not the Latin word for it?”   

“The spell’s name is an identifier, but the chant differs for everyone. That is a limit imposed within the system. [Ira Ignis] and [Furia Glacies] are in Latin because they’re exclusive to the wielder of the Divine Skill it belongs to.”  

“If you want to try to crack the language from that, you’re free to do so.” Tris thanked me, closed her eyes, and rested her hands across her lap, staying perfectly still.   

Until she had something, I checked in with the crafting clone about 2,000 feet behind the ship. There was good progress being made. To make the primer for the revolver, you carefully packed enough firesalts to make a thin primer 0.120 inches tall and 0.212 inches wide.   

Too thick? It was useless. Trying to carve off too much was too dangerous. 

Too small? You could add more, but it often blew up in my clone’s face. Luckily, it never caused any real damage, but it took experimentation to get the perfect primer.  

The .45 colt, or long colt, as it was also called, required 40 grains of gunpowder between the primer and the bullet. Firesalt was more powerful, so I experimented with different amounts. Thirty was too much. When the clone pressed everything together and loaded the round in the Colt Single Action Army, the gun blew apart. Luckily, I could summon another copy by expending soul energy. I suppose it was a weak gun--the starter-- so I needed 1/10th to recreate it.  

But soul energy takes a while to recover.    

The Winchester Model 1873 used the same primer for its bullets. It also needed 40 grains of gunpowder, and after some more failures, I realized 23 grains was the perfect amount. The only thing better would be if we had brass for the casing. Until then, iron and steel bullets were the path forward.  

It took me 2 days to get this far, but goddamn, was it satisfying to achieve a dream of mine. [Ammo Creation] helped me out a ton. Without it, it probably would’ve taken me three times as long to make one bullet worth a damn. Combined with the data Tris was sure to gain from this, the hard part was out of the way.  

I couldn't yet transfer my consciousness into different clones-- I could control them, but that was different from what I wanted to do-- so I watched it load 10 rounds into the rifle and 6 into the revolver. Another appeared and threw infinitely reusable plates into the air, and it took aim. 

Bang!  

Bang!  

Bang!  

Bang!  

Bang!  

Bang!  

Bang!  

Bang!  

Bang!  

Bang!  

Ten objects blew to bits, and I knew the clone felt like a real western outlaw when it used the lever to load the next round. And the revolver was just as much fun. Six plates were tossed, the clone fanned the hammer, and she only missed two because it stopped shooting to spin the revolver around her fingers before slotting it into her holster. 

“I can see your experiments were successful, my lord,” Tris said when I returned to my primary body. She went ahead and started on mass production of both rounds in equal amounts. The number of materials I had appeared in my vision. Tris hid it, then said she’d let me know when I was running low.   

“It was more than that,” I replied, reloading my weapons. I had to do it by hand, but Tris said there was a skill to automatically reload. Even better, she could link it to my [Void Storage].  My clones had had the fun, but it would soon be my turn to take my guns for a spin. 

Once finished, I looked up at the nearby window. The moon was high in the sky, and according to the captain, we would be in Plymoise before noon. Mom, Dad, and everyone else were asleep, but Niva struggled against drowsiness to practice some more before snuggling next to Primrose. “I see you’re back from your processing mode. Discover anything?”  

“I did. The data gained from your experiments allowed me to compare the properties of gunpowder with firesalts, and I now know the correct ratio to substitute them for each other. Additionally, when we change to brass, compensating for the weaker material has already been accounted for. My calculations will not be wrong again, but I require a few hours to cool down and return to normal operating procedures. Until then, my abilities will be severely limited. Do you see a mechanical gauge with a number under your map?”  

“Good, and yeah, I see it. It says, ‘Cooldown Remaining: 3:54.’”  

“Once the cooldown is finished, the number replacing it will represent my current processing power. There is only so much I can do at once as of now. If it pleases you, you can divide my current resources into different tasks to prioritize what you need to produce, such as potions or bullets, or direct me to keep track of our surroundings with [Skyview]. Or you can leave it at my discretion. The choice is yours, my lord.”  

“I’ll leave it to you, but it was lonely without hearing your voice.”   

Tris perked up and smiled. She touched the tips of her fingers together and blushed. “As for my initial reasoning for entering my enhanced processing mode...” Tris frowned. “I am sorry I could not be of further use, my lord. Please forgive me.”  

“If anything, I could level up [Mana Language] and ask people to cast spells, right? If it's a high enough level, the chants will be translated?” I learned [Mana Language] when Niva summoned Primrose. It was a byproduct of having Murag’s [Scholar’s Tongue (Lv. 10)], a skill designed to grant me mastery over languages the moment I heard them for the first time.   “With enough spells learned that way, would it be enough to decode it?” 

"Yes... That may work. It's a solution I hadn't..." Tris went silent for a few seconds. "I am sorry for not coming to that conclusion earlier instead of raising your hopes.” Tris looked downcast, averting her gaze from me. “If I had only thought of that, you wouldn’t have missed my voice. Please, forgive me. I promise--” 

“There’s nothing to forgive, Tris,” I replied, hugging her. Her body was of flesh and blood, so she felt like a woman. Soft and supple, her skin was smooth and warm. Lifeblood circulated through her bloodstream, though that was just for her to take on a more humanoid form. “You’re special to me. I’ll allow you to worship me, but don’t downplay yourself like that. I won’t forgive—"   

Before I could finish, Captain Caulk’s voice echoed from overhead, waking everyone up.  

We were under attack.