Book 1: Chapter 34: Farewell Letter and A Snappy Encounter

Book 1: Chapter 34: Farewell Letter and A Snappy Encounter

Lone spent an entire two weeks working on the ship.

Unfortunately for him, creating a boat that could brave an ocean was not a simple thing to do when he was avoiding relying solely on his Creation Magic.

Still, he greatly enjoyed the process. Hed never done anything even close to this back on Earth and it was honestly very cathartic for him.

He didnt have to worry about goblins, elves, nearly dying, getting drugged nothing. He could just happily work away on the boat day-in-day-out while Sophie trained the recovering women.

It did come to an end though. Eventually, he was done patching up the ship to the best of his ability.

Congratulations! The hosts passive skill [Woodworking] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 4.

Congratulations! The hosts passive skill [Woodworking] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 5.

The host has developed the passive skill [Shipbuilding].

Passive skill: Shipbuilding

A skill typically earned only by professionally trained shipwrights.

Makes any ships built by the host 5% more durable.

Cost:N/A Mastery: Beginner Level 1

Lone greatly appreciated that his hunch was right. While it was an incredibly niche skill with minimal uses in most situations, that 5% boost could be the difference between surviving a storm and having the ship get entirely destroyed.L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

I knew it was a good idea to fix it by hand. Besides, I needed the downtime. If I wasnt worried about Rewalehs camp, Id suggest we just sail around the island for a while so I can gain a Sailing Mastery or whatever. Oh well, Lone thought.

He sighed, cracked his neck then got to work using his Creation Magic to make up for his lacking skill.

Tomorrow, they set sail in hopes of finding a mainland and perhaps actual civilisation.

Did you really not want to say goodbye? Soph asked from his left.

The two of them were already aboard the repaired ship and Lone was focusing pretty intensely on the wheel in his hands.

They had only set sail a few moments ago and the island was still very close.

Wouldnt have done any good, Lone said with a shake of his head. Sophie could barely communicate with them. Those women need years, not weeks to come to a better place mentally.

Soph frowned. I still think you should have said goodbye, at least.

Maybe, Lone conceded. Whats done is done though.

Soph nodded. She couldnt argue with his logic. Instead, she picked up the compass he had sitting on the railing next to the helm.

"Hey, be careful with that," Lone said. "Don't drop it, kay? It was a real bastard to make. I don't wanna have to Creation Magic up another one if I can afford not to, so don't let it fall into the water."

Soph turned to look at him as she asked, "How much MP did it take to make?"

A bit over 15,000, Lone admitted. Thats more than I have, by the way.

Soph wore a concerned look on her face. Doesnt that mean your MP is sealed?

Lone nodded. Yup. Not for much longer though since I do nearly have 12,000. Still, if I can avoid another headache, Id appreciate it.

Soph carefully put the small device back into the little groove on the railing that Lone had carved out for it. I-Ill just leave it there.

Thanks, Lone said with a smile.

What does it do anyway? Soph asked with a tilt of her head.

It points north so you can reliably figure out which cardinal direction youre going in at all times, Lone explained before he quickly recalled Sophs knowledge base. Right, north and south have been a thing for over a thousand years but them being cardinal only started in the fifteenth century.

"Anyway, its basically for telling which direction youre going in. Lone scratched his chin in thought. "Wanna keep an eye on it for me? We want the arrow pointing that way."

He pointed to the left side of the ship.

Soph happily accepted the task put upon her. "I can do that. The arrows a different colour of mana from the rest of it. Whats the direction were going in called anyway?"

Of course, Lone had also gained a new skill during that time.

The host has developed the passive skill [Sailing Mastery]

Passive skill: Sailing Mastery Makes it 5% easier to sail all ships. Cost:N/A Mastery:Beginner Level 1

Simple, yet helpful. Right now though, instead of being at the helm, Lone was laying down on the deck in a sunbathing chair while he wore nothing but a pair of swimming trunks and some sunglasses.

The glasses were not cheap mana-wise, but Lone thought of them as worth every single point of mana.

Soph was happily humming a pirate song Lone had taught her as she stood at the wheel, ready to adjust it if needed.

As it turned out, Soph was very good at sailing. She had even earned the skill he had, Sailing mastery.

Of course, unlike him who got it in a couple of hours, it had taken her a while longer. Still, after only four days she had been granted the skill.

In light of that, Lone absolutely refused to even attempt to control the ship so as to not steal the girl's thunder after he found out.

Suddenly, Soph shouted his name. "Lone!"

"What's up?" he yelled back lazily.

"I can sense a small boat just behind us. You can probably see it. There's only one person on it... A woman?" Soph claimed hesitantly.

Lone shot up onto his feet and quickly put his Hawaiian shirt on without bothering to button it up.

He walked up to the stern's rear-facing railing, and sure enough, there was a woman roughly 150 metres away from them casually rowing in their direction.

Her boat looked almost like a wooden plank. Were it not for the small lip on all four sides of this plank and the sheer exquisiteness of it and her oar, Lone might have thought that she was a shipwreck victim.

"Just like we planned, Soph. You play the mute master while I play the stand-in slave. Got it?" From what he had inferred from his limited interactions with the elves, this was the safest approach when it came to humans.

Of course, from this angle, Lone and Soph could only see the woman's back which was covered by her long purple hair so it wasn't certain if she was a human or not, but it was better to play it safe rather than to end up sorry later on.

Soph nodded and wore a stern expression on her face.

Two minutes passed before the woman was finally alongside their ship. Looking at her face, Lone realised that her skin was pure green and she had a somewhat... round face. "A frog person?"

"Hahaha, nice to meet you too," she said as she placed her oar on her lap and smiled sweetly at both Lone and Soph in turn. "No, I'm not a 'frog person'. My kind are long gone from this place, but we were once known as 'The Guiders'. You can call me Snapper though."

This is my master, Miss Vladimirovich," he said as he gestured to his short companion politely. I am called Lone. Its nice to meet you, Snapper."

"Isn't it just?" Her smiled deepened as she subconsciously snapped at the air with her fingers. "Oops. I should get going soon. Anyway, I came to tell you that you're heading straight for the Fallen Sea. A big ol' beasty lives there. Nasty fella. So if you're looking for Teresta - the main continent of Altros - sail north from here for two days. You should find a quaint little human kingdom called Milindo. A nice place for a short visit."

"I see?" Lone replied with confusion in his tone.

"I'm glad you do. It'd be a waste of those charming golden eyes of yours if you couldn't. Ah, no offence intended to the lovely little girl with the green eyes. They're very beautiful." With that said, the woman picked up her oar again and rowed away while humming a little tune.

Lone and Soph just stood there like lemons. "Hey, Soph."

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Your eyes are grey, right? Not green?" he asked.

"Yeah... They were green before I went blind though," Soph answered.

Lone frowned. "How the hell did she know they were green? A good guess? A power? Magic? I bet it was magic, wasn't it?

In the end, the two decided to change course and headed north. They had nothing to lose, after all, even if Lone did feel a bit uncomfortable trusting a stranger. Particularly one so... odd.

A few hours later, Lone scratched his head in frustration. "Ahh, dammit.. I was gonna wait until I had more mana to fuck around with this stuff but screw it. I'm getting all antsy about magic after that 'Snapper' womans appearance."

"System, show me my magic affinity sheet, please," he asked out loud instead of internally. Instantly, his vision was blocked by a large blue screen.

Lone Immortus' Magic Affinity Sheet Magic TypeAffinity Percentage Illusion Magic100% Fire Magic100% Water Magic100% Lightning Magic100% Air Magic100% Earth Magic100%

"Now that definitely isn't normal. If 100% was the norm, then why the fuck would there even be an affinity sheet? No. that does make some sense. Its to see if you can do that magic or not, right? Still, the percentage wouldn't make any sense," he muttered to himself.

Lone held his chin as he flopped down on to the deck and crossed his legs. "Now, which do I specialise in? I don't have the mana to play with all of them... Hmm..."