Chương 52: Chapter 50

Gracie took the three of them on a tour of the gun deck. The first thing they saw after stepping out of the teleportation magic circle was a long deck lined with massive cannons that looked like they belonged aboard a spaceship from some sci-fi movie. Each cannon was forged from sleek silver metal with intricate blue magic circuits crisscrossing its surface. The glowing lines pulsed softly, flowing from the reinforced breech all the way to the muzzle like veins carrying mana through a living body.

"These are magic cannons made by dwarves," Gracie explained proudly.

"Unlike normal cannons, they don't fire cannonballs or use gunpowder. Instead, they unleash a concentrated beam of pure mana. They're incredibly mana-intensive, so we only fire them when necessary, but when they do..." He chuckled.

"Let's just say you don't want to be on the receiving end." Mei's eyes immediately lit up.

"Can I shoot one?" Gracie laughed awkwardly.

"Uh... no, sorry. Every shot drains the ship's mana reserves. They're not exactly toys."

"Aww..."

"Cap'n!" A sailor standing beside one of the bulkheads waved Gracie over to a strange contraption that resembled a metal cup attached to a thick wire. Gracie lifted the cup to his ear and listened for several seconds before lowering it to his mouth.

"Roger. Charge the cannons and prepare to fire." He returned the cup to the hook mounted beside the wall. The three of them stared at the device curiously.

"It's a communication device," Gracie explained.

"That's not what we wanna know," Mei said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Did you just say something about firing the cannons?" He nodded.

"The radar picked up an approaching sea creature. A big one." He led them farther down the deck and activated another magic circle engraved into the wall. The wooden hull shimmered before becoming completely transparent, revealing the rolling ocean beyond as though the wall had never existed. Then he activated a second magic circle. A transparent display instantly sprang to life across the window, filling the air with glowing numbers, letters, targeting reticles, and rotating radar screens.

It looked almost identical to the heads-up display of a modern video game. Gracie tapped several glowing symbols, causing the image to zoom toward a dark patch beneath the waves. The group watched in silence. Moments later, the water erupted into white foam as an enormous fish head burst through the surface. Big-Head Fish (BOSS) - Lv. 98 The creature was little more than a gigantic fish head with a pair of fins jutting from beneath its jaw.

Its enormous yellow eyes remained fixed on Titan's Grave, greed practically radiating from its gaze.

"Since Titan's Grave was built from the skeleton of a near-Mythic-class Sea Titan, creatures of the ocean are naturally drawn to it," Gracie explained.

"Consuming even tiny fragments of a Sea Titan can strengthen their bloodline and push them toward evolution." Adam frowned.

"Isn't that kind of... counterproductive? Wouldn't you want your ship to not attract giant monsters?" Gracie shrugged.

"Normally, yes. Fortunately, most sea creatures are smart enough to realize that if we can build a ship from a Sea Titan's skeleton, we're probably strong enough to kill them." He smiled.

"But greed isn't known for making intelligent decisions." As if proving his point, the Big-Head Fish slowly sank beneath the waves before turning away and swimming off into the distance.

"See?" Adam nodded.

"I guess that makes sen—""Aww..." Mei sighed dramatically.

"I was hoping it'd attack. I wanted to see the cannons fire." Gracie opened his mouth to reply. Before he could, a piercing alarm echoed throughout the entire ship. A voice immediately followed, magically amplified so that every soul aboard could hear it.

"Incoming Sea Titan! All hands to your stations! I repeat, incoming Sea Titan! All hands to your stations!" Gracie's relaxed expression vanished. He hurriedly manipulated the floating display, expanding the radar before locking onto a massive moving signature. The image zoomed outward. Everyone's eyes widened. A colossal sea serpent glided across the ocean several miles away, its body stretching across the waves like a living island. It was only slightly smaller than Titan's Grave itself.

Clamped between its jaws hung the limp body of the Big-Head Fish they had just seen. With a lazy tilt of its head, the serpent swallowed the corpse whole. Serpent Titanius (Elite BOSS) - Lv. 113"... Uh..." Adam swallowed.

"Is this bad?" For the first time since they'd met him, Gracie looked genuinely uneasy. His face had gone slightly pale, making his midnight-blue skin several shades lighter.

"Sea Titans are the greatest living threat in the ocean," he admitted. Then a confident grin slowly returned to his face.

"But Titan's Grave is the greatest weapon on the ocean." He turned toward Mei.

"Looks like you'll get to see the cannons fire after all, little lady." Grinning, he lifted the communication device from its hook and handed it to her.

"Would you like to give the order?" Mei's smile stretched from ear to ear as she eagerly grabbed the metal cup.

"Of course!" Gracie held up a hand.

"Not yet. Let it get a little closer." She nodded, clutching the communicator with barely restrained excitement. The sea serpent was still several miles away and hadn't shown any signs of aggression. There was no reason to provoke it before it entered the cannons' effective range. It stared at Titan's Grave with an almost human look of contemplation in its enormous eyes before slowly sinking beneath the waves.

"Aw..." Mei pouted.

"Did it leave?" Gracie shook his head and pointed toward one corner of the display. A radar showed a large red dot steadily moving toward the center, where Titan's Grave was marked.

"It's still coming," he said.

"Just from underneath."

"Eh?" Mei blinked.

"Then what do we do?" Gracie gave her a curious look before realization crossed his face.

"Ah, right. You wouldn't know." This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. He tapped the transparent display.

"You're standing on the upper gun deck." Mei tilted her head.

"We have three gun decks. Upper, middle, and lower. The lower deck is completely underwater." He activated several more magic circles engraved into the wall. The display shifted seamlessly from the ocean's surface to the depths below. Murky blue water filled the screen until the massive serpent came into view, gliding silently through the darkness toward the ship with terrifying speed.

"The crew will handle the aiming," Gracie explained.

"All you need to do is give the order once the targeting system tells you it's ready." Boss detected. Starting livestream in 3... As the serpent continued its approach, the system automatically began initializing a livestream. Three... Two... One... The display suddenly flashed crimson. Target in range! Mei didn't hesitate. She grabbed the communicator with both hands and shouted as loudly as she could.

"Fire the cannons!!" The entire ship trembled. A brilliant white beam erupted across the display, tearing through the ocean in an instant before striking the serpent squarely between the eyes. For a split second, the surrounding seawater flashed into superheated steam. Then everything went still. Boss defeated. Livestream canceled Where the serpent's head had been was now nothing more than a perfectly smooth sheet of molten, blood-red glass. The concentrated mana beam had vaporized everything above its neck.

The enormous body drifted lifelessly through the water. Battle Complete - Victory! Defeated Serpent Titanius Reward: A small amount of XP Mei blinked.

"Huh? Wasn't that an Elite Boss? Why'd I get so little experience?"

"Because you're aboard Titan's Grave," Gracie explained.

"Any enemy killed by the ship's weapons has its rewards divided among the entire crew."

"Oh." He smiled.

"So... should we continue the tour?"

"Of cour—" A loud gurgling interrupted Mei. Everyone slowly turned toward Granessa. She rested a hand on her stomach, her cheeks tinged with embarrassment.

"Ah... I suppose it's about that time." Gracie glanced toward the massive serpent floating outside.

"How does Sea Titan sushi sound?" He asked. Mei's eyes immediately lit up.

"Perfect! I haven't had sushi in forever!" Gracie chuckled, took the communicator back, and spoke into it.

"Haul in the catch, boys! Chefs, get the mess ready." A grin spread across his face.

"We're having Sea Titan sushi!" His voice echoed throughout the ship. Seconds later, thousands of cheers erupted from every deck. Gracie led them back to the teleportation circle and pointed toward one of the destinations engraved around its edge.

"Wardroom." The three activated their transportation tickets. Adam looked over curiously.

"What's a wardroom?"

"It's the officers' mess," Gracie answered.

"The food's a bit better than what the regular crew gets." The teleportation activated. Unlike the swirling portals from fantasy stories, there were no strange effects at all. One moment they were surrounded by gleaming silver cannons and glowing mana circuits. The next, they stood inside an elegant lounge furnished with plush couches, polished wooden tables, and comfortable dining chairs. They claimed a small table with four seats and waited while the cooks prepared the meal.

Every so often the teleportation circle flashed as more officers arrived. Most gave Gracie a respectful nod before finding tables of their own. The majority were orcs, but Adam and Mei quickly noticed they weren't the only race serving aboard Titan's Grave. There were a handful of humans scattered throughout the room. More surprising, however, were the dwarves. Mei found herself staring at one in particular. He had deep brown skin stained with grease, a short buzz cut, broad shoulders, and thick muscular arms.

A heavy leather tool belt wrapped around his waist, overflowing with wrenches, hammers, screwdrivers, and countless strange magi-tech instruments. Gracie noticed where they were looking.

"That's Darius, our shipwright." He smiled proudly.

"He designed the magic cannons, built the ship's engine, and serves as the head engineer responsible for maintaining all of Titan's Grave's magi-tech." He waved across the room.

"Yo! Darius! Come meet our guests!"

"Aye, Cap'n." Darius grabbed a tall stool from a nearby table, carried it over, and climbed onto it so he could sit at eye level with everyone else. Even then, he only stood around four feet tall, roughly the same height Naomi reached when she wasn't in her tiny fairy form. He extended a grease-stained hand.

"Name's Darius. Shipwright and head engineer of Titan's Grave. Pleasure to meet ya."

"Hello!" Mei beamed, shaking his hand enthusiastically.

"I'm Mei, a Gunslinger. And this is my sidekick, Adam." Adam rolled his eyes but didn't argue.

"I saw your magic cannons on the gun deck," Mei continued.

"Seriously awesome work." Darius blinked.

"Gunslinger?" His eyes widened.

"Wait... were you the one who gave the order to fire the cannons?"

"Yup!" Mei nodded proudly.

"That was me."

"Ah..." Darius rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"No wonder that blast hit so hard. Your firearm talent must be high-grade. And your class, Super Rare, maybe even Ultra Rare?" Mei shook her head.

"Nope." She smiled.

"Max-level. Legendary." Darius nearly toppled backward off his stool. Even Gracie looked down at her with renewed surprise. After a long moment, Gracie crossed his arms.

"From now on, whenever we engage an enemy..." He pointed directly at Mei.

"You're giving the firing orders." Mei tilted her head.

"Why?"

"Because cannons are classified as firearms," Darius explained.

"That means your Gunslinger talents enhance them whenever you use them. Even if all you're doing is giving the order to fire." He leaned forward excitedly.

"Normally my cannons would've needed at least five solid shots to bring down a Sea Titan that size." He pointed toward the ocean outside.

"This time it only took one." He scratched his beard.

"It might've been a critical hit, but regardless, they performed far beyond their normal output."

"Oh." Mei nodded enthusiastically.

"Okay! Hopefully more Sea Titans show up next time." She grinned.

"It's only fun when the cannons fire in a whole volley!" Darius and Gracie burst into laughter.

"You're going to fit right in with this crew," Gracie said, giving her shoulder a hearty pat.