Chương 51: Chapter 49

Adam, Mei, and Granessa took a rowboat out to Titan's Grave. Mei had never rowed a boat before, so she eagerly volunteered for the task. Unfortunately, her confidence did not quite match her skill. After spinning them around in dizzying circles for half a day, Adam finally took over before they accidentally ended up back at the harbor. Thankfully, Adam had been on the rowing team as a substitute during college.

It wasn't exactly the most impressive achievement on his resume, but it was enough to handle a small boat and guide them safely out of the harbor and into deeper waters. As they approached Titan's Grave, the true scale of the vessel began to reveal itself. From a distance, it had looked massive. A floating fortress that dwarfed every ship around it. But seeing it up close was something else entirely. It was absurd. The ship wasn't simply large. It was a city built upon the ocean.

The wooden walls rose so high that Adam had to crane his neck just to see the upper decks. Towers, cannons, and strange magical devices covered its surface, making it look less like a ship and more like a moving kingdom. An orc wearing a sailor uniform leaned over the starboard rail and waved a flag larger than himself, signaling for them to row toward the stern. He was too far above for his voice to reach them.

Even a shout would have been swallowed by the ocean wind and crashing waves, which was why he relied on flags and hand signals instead. Along the starboard stern was a series of thick ropes and pulleys designed to secure smaller vessels. Once their rowboat was attached, two especially muscular orcs began pulling them aboard. They were almost as large as Granessa, though they fell just short of matching her imposing size. The two sailors inclined their heads respectfully.

"War Chieftainess," one of them began.

"Gre—" The other immediately smacked him on the shoulder and shook his head. The first orc froze before quickly correcting himself.

"Ah... I mean, War Goddess. Greetings." Ever since Granessa's class had changed from War Chieftainess to War Goddess (Lesser), the orcs had begun addressing her by her new title. However, Granessa found no pride in it. To her, it was only another reminder of the curse placed upon her body. She grunted without responding and began walking away. After taking a few steps, however, she seemed to reconsider something and turned back toward the sailors.

"Just call me Granessa. No titles." The two orcs nodded. Orcs were already a fairly casual people, so they didn't argue or question her request. If anything, they seemed relieved to avoid the awkwardness of constantly using such a grand title. Adam and Mei followed behind Granessa as she led them across the city-sized deck toward the stairs that climbed up to the ship's wheelhouse. It took several minutes just to cross the deck.

The distance alone was ridiculous, with enough space for entire buildings and streets between the ship's various sections. Then came the stairs. The staircase leading to the wheelhouse stretched upward for what seemed like forever, spanning over a hundred flights and thousands of steps. After reaching the top, Adam felt like he had climbed a mountain rather than boarded a ship. When they finally entered the wheelhouse, Adam and Mei saw orc mages for the first time.

Much like their warrior counterparts, they possessed physiques that would put even the greatest human bodybuilders to shame. Their muscles bulged beneath their robes, which struggled to contain their massive frames and stretched tightly across their bodies. The sight was almost comical. Adam had expected mages to be frail old men with staffs and robes. Instead, the orc mages looked like warriors who had decided to learn magic as a hobby.

The mages sat around large crystal spheres, channeling mana into them to maintain and control the various magical systems of Titan's Grave. Weapons. Barriers. Navigation instruments. Every major function of the ship seemed to require their constant attention. At the center of the wheelhouse stood the ship's captain on a raised platform, barking orders to the crew below. He was an orc even larger than Granessa, standing nearly ten feet tall.

His deep midnight-blue skin was covered in scars, and an eyepatch covered his left eye. One arm was missing entirely, though his remaining presence was more than enough to fill the room. His appearance was a strange combination of viking warrior and pirate captain. An axe rested at his hip, a shield was strapped across his back, and a pirate's hat sat proudly atop his head. A fur-lined jacket hung over his shoulders, completing the intimidating image. His white beard shook as he barked orders to the orc mages.

"Check the weapon system for mana overload."

"Mana thresholds stable, Cap'n!"

"Barrier station, report. Any holes in our defenses?"

"Nay, Cap'n!"

"Unfurl sails!"

"Aye, Cap'n! Sails unfurling!"

"Bring up the anchors!"

"Anchors up!"

"Activate mana engines!"

"Propulsion systems spooling up! All ready, Cap'n!" The captain gave one final glance across the wheelhouse before turning toward Granessa.

"Niece, shall we set sail?" he asked from his command perch. Granessa glanced toward Adam and Mei. Mei's eyes were practically glowing with excitement, and she immediately nodded. Seeing her reaction, Granessa gave a small sigh before turning back toward her uncle.

"Set sail." The captain slowly looked around the wheelhouse. The crew waited in silence. Then a grin spread across his face.

"Well? You heard her. Set sail!" The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. His voice thundered through the room.

"Aye, Cap'n!" The crew answered as one. Across the massive vessel, Titan's Grave came alive. The sails unfurled. The anchors rose. The mana engines roared. And the legendary ship began its journey across the sea. — — — Granessa, along with Adam and Mei, joined the captain at his command post.

"So you're the two humans Dad's been teaching," the captain said, looking them over with curiosity.

"Name's Gracie. Captain of this little beauty, Titan's Grave." He extended his sole remaining hand toward them. Adam grabbed it and immediately felt like a child shaking hands with a particularly large adult. Gracie's hand was easily three times the size of his own, and his grip was strong enough that Adam was briefly worried he might accidentally crush his fingers. Thankfully, the orc seemed aware of his own strength and quickly released him.

"You call Ymir dad, but aren't all orcs his children?" Mei suddenly asked. Gracie turned toward her and blinked his bright yellow eyes.

"Is that old man still telling people that?"

"Hm?" Mei tilted her head. Granessa sighed.

"Gramps likes to joke about being the progenitor of all orcs, but he's only had two children, and I'm his only grandchild," she explained.

"The story about his melted ice turning into orc children is completely made up." Gracie nodded.

"I never understood why that old man found that joke so funny…"

"Wait... so where did all the orcs come from, then?" Mei looked genuinely confused. It was like someone had suddenly pulled the foundation out from under something she thought she understood. She had actually believed Ymir's story.

"Some came from outside our world, and others were created here," Gracie answered vaguely. He shrugged.

"Eh, that's not important. Come, let me show you around my ship." He led them out of the wheelhouse and onto the main deck. Adam glanced across the enormous deck surrounding them. The sheer size of Titan's Grave made him question how long a proper tour would even take.

"Just how long is this tour supposed to last?"

"If we walk? Probably two days." Gracie said it casually, as if giving a tour of a ship taking multiple days was completely normal.

"But we don't need to walk everywhere when we have teleportation nodes!" He pointed toward the center of the deck where a faint circular pattern had been painted onto the wooden floor in white. Adam and Mei followed him over as Gracie began explaining.

"This here is a magic circle. Specifically, one designed with the teleport spell."

"Magic circle...?" Adam repeated the unfamiliar term.

"Yeah. Never heard of them before?" Both Adam and Mei shook their heads.

"That's not surprising. They're a very rare magical application. The materials required to create one are incredibly specialized, and the knowledge needed to properly draw them isn't something most mages possess."

"Which mages can create them?" Adam asked.

"Only those who receive specialized training, or those lucky enough to obtain a magic circle blueprint."

"How do they work?" Gracie reached into his coat and pulled out three small pieces of paper. Each one had a miniature replica of the larger magic circle drawn on it with black ink.

"Simple. Stand inside the circle, then inject your mana into this here ticket." He handed one to each of them. Adam and Mei did as instructed, focusing their mana into the paper. The moment their mana connected with the ink, the small circles began to glow. A notification appeared in front of them. Magic Circle Ticket (Captain-level Ticket) Activated Where would you like to go? 1. Main Deck (Current Location) 1. A. Bow 1. B. Stern 2. Wheelhouse 3. Mess Deck 4. Wardroom (Requires Officer-level Ticket or above) 5.

Galley 6. Engine Room 7. Berthing Rooms 8. Head 9. Cargo Hold 10. Gun Deck 11. Orlop Deck 12. Sick Bay 13. Magazine 14. Brig 15. Officer Cabins (Requires Officer-level Ticket or above) 16. Captain's Cabin (Requires Captain-level Ticket) Adam stared at the list. There were so many options that his brain almost refused to process them. He understood some of the locations, but others were completely unfamiliar. He wasn't even sure what half the terms meant.

"Where would you like to start?" Gracie asked. Mei didn't even hesitate.

"Number 10! Gun deck!" she answered immediately.