Valen slowly opens his eyes, the sharp light making him groan in pain.

"Valy!!!" Lin yells, immediately running to him; her little fingers grabbing his hand. Opening one eye, he looks to the side of the bed, a teary Lin peers back at him.

“I….” Lin starts, hiccuping hard”thought I lost you,” she says, tears pouring from her eyes. “You are the only one I have left!” she yells, jumping on the bed with him. Her small arms hugging his head.

Valen lifts up a sore arm and puts it around her back, attempting to calm the scared kitten, only for Lin to cry harder, her grip tightening painfully over his bandaged head.

“Lin, my head hurts really bad, can you please let go?” Valen asks.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,” Lin screams, tightening her hold on him.

Before Valen can release a cry of pain, David enters his room."Oy, Lin you're causing more pain to Valen," Lin immediately let's go, her teary eyes turning towards the door.

“Took you awhile to wake up Valen. With the hit you took to the head, we couldn’t risk giving you a health potion, not if we want to risk permanent damage,” David answers, as he takes a potion from his pocket and opens it up.

“Here little lady,” David gestures to Lin,”This will heal up your Valen back to full health,” he smiles.

Lin quickly jumps off the bed and grabs the vial, running back towards Valen."Drink, drink," she says as she shoves the vial into Valen's mouth. The liquid flows quickly, some of which flows out of his mouth considering Lin's handling.

David just smiles, looking at the coughing Valen as he glares at Lin.”The potion should get you back to perfect shape within the hour.” he exclaims. In the meantime, I can answer what questions you have,” David remarks, taking a seat on a chair.

Taking a deep breath, and making sure his lungs are clear, Valen turn his head towards David.”So what the hell happened. I was pretty sure that no orcs got anywhere near me.” Valen answers, the battle blurry in his mind.

"Well, you took a cannon shot to the face," he answers," and somehow that armor saved your life," David points towards the desk, his clothing and armor neatly placed atop.

The helmet has a massive gash on its side. The projectile was not a direct hit, merely skimming through the side of his face, ripping metal and carbon fiber with ease.

"Fucking cannon's," Valen answers, annoyed that he was taken out so easily."What about the battle? Any casualties? I am guessing we won."

David nods, a smile forming on his face."You single handedly broke the morale of the orcs," David starts "Apparently those silver weapon of yours caused a lot of fear, especially when when you painted the ship in their guts. When we saw that you had been hit, we fired our entire load and jumped in to support you. Some of my sailors had a few bruises, but nobody lost their life. Those orcs were much too disorganized and confused to put up much of a fight."

Valen moves his body, Lin's weight slightly uncomfortable."So I at least broke their will to fight," he nods.

"Not just you," David quickly interrupts, "you scared the living daylights out of them. Your bodyguard, on the other hand, brutalized the orc captain's body and then sliced his head off. Now that is when the orcs found themselves completely fucked." he answers, reminiscing of the fight.

A ambivalent smile crosses Valen's face. The realization that he really isn't the big shot he thought he was is greatly upsetting. This would be the second time he felt so weak. The first time being when he watched Garren fight,” And what of the Radonian's?"

A sad smile crosses David's face."Most of them were killed. Only nine of them survived. The captain and first mate were apparently killed before the boarding. The captain by a lucky cannon hit, while the first mate was crushed by the mast."

"We recovered 29 former slaves in the hold of the orc ship. So we have 38 more people aboard the ship, helping out until we get to a city port."

Before David can explain more, a Radonian man enters the room. His large flowing robes swishing with each step. Valen looks to the new arrival, primarily focusing on his face. Blue eyes, gills on the side of his face, and long red hair that is braided and tied around his neck.

"I see our hero has awoken," the man starts, his clear, slightly blue-tinted skin standing out just as much as his pearly white teeth.

“This one is known as Gang Shui,” he exclaims, bowing his body slightly forward. “I sincerely thank you for rescuing us from the orc slavers.”

“Um…..you're welcome,” Valen answers awkwardly from his bed.

"Gang here was a bodyguard to the Radonian captain. Unfortunately, that captain was the first to die in the exchange. He has been very helpful in organizing the Radonian's and integrating them with our ship." David explain.

"Your ship is extremely impressive by the way," Gang interrupts looking to Valen."No enchants or runes can be found anywhere. Where did you get such glorious construction?" he asks, hands moving slowly on the wooden doorway.

“People have their secrets, but I may share them when I feel better,” Valen answers.

"Yes, let's let them sleep," David says, his arm extending to Valen and Lin.

Valen looks down towards his chest, a cute dry teared Lin sleeps peacefully. Her tail flicks back and forth while her chest slowly expands.

"She hasn't slept all night," David answers as he heads towards the door."You have something special there. Don't let the poor girl live her life alone." David slowly shuts the door behind him.

Valen takes one last look at the sleeping Lin and then closes his eyes. Sleep coming quickly to him, his arm holding Lin securely to his chest.

_________________________________________________________________________

Valen slowly tucks Lin in, her relaxed breathing putting a smile on his face. Looking towards the porthole, he finds the sun slowly setting, but his relaxed muscles and energized form do not allow him any further rest. Looking towards the desk, Valen makes his armor disappear, regretting that he only prepared one extra set.

Opening the door, Valen exits his room and takes one last look at Lin before heading towards the mess hall.

"And he stood there, black armor shining in the sunlight. Holding silver cannons in his hands, blasting orcs left and right," Jessica mimics, as she retells Valen's story to the new crew members."Each strike dismembering with explosive force. Eventually, they stop coming, fear evident on their ugly faces."

"Jessica, your quite good at telling a story," Valen interrupts, looking hale and healthy.

"And the hero arrives," Jessica points towards Valen, her storytelling voice still on display."Not even a cannon round to the face can keep this fucker down," she exclaims, the crowd cheering with delight.

Valen just blushes at the crowd's revelry. Looking at the mess hall, he finds a great assortment of different species. Elf's of various looks, Wolf-kin's, Radonian's, and others that he hasn't even seen before.

Looking towards the back, Valen observe's Jeeves; hunched over Valen's two revolvers. Nodding and waving at the crowd, he heads towards the carpenter.

“I see you were able to recover my revolvers,” Valen exclaims, as he takes the seat opposite the dwarf.

Looking up, Jeeves find's Valen looking towards him."Sorry lad, but when I heard of that display you did, I couldn't help but look into these weapons," he gestures to the two revolvers.

"The craftsmanship is impeccable," Jeeves adds, astonishment in his voice. "The metal is so smooth and strong, and I can't even figure out where to even put a magic crystal." Jeeves answers, opening up the gun from the side, two bullets resting inside the cylinder."

"That's because it doesn't use any mana to operate," Valen answers, smiling at the confused dwarf.

“Clearly the ammo,” he picks up a bullet from the cylinder,” needs mana to blast the projectile out.”

Valen just laughs at the dwarf's ignorance."Tell me, do you know about alchemists and potion makers?"

"Of course, they are able to make poisons and ailments, though the best are mana infused," Jeeves explains.

“When they make these potion’s, do they ever explode?” Valen asks, a knowing smile on his face.

"Of course, some things react quite violently," the dwarf nods, remembering his mother as she works with volatile materials.

"So what if you use the explosion of those materials in your cannons instead of a mana explosion," Valen hints, his arms folding over his chest.

"Well, that…..that….is brilliant!" Jeeves yells, his mind working viciously over the possibilities."Valen, please let me keep one of these. I must show my mother," he says quickly, eyes still wide.

"I can't give you those since they are my only pair, but I have a smaller revolver that you can keep," Valen smiles, the dwarf's expression giddy with anticipation.

Before the conversation can continue, Kang interrupts the two, his regal robes and majestic movements complementing one another.”It seems you have fully recovered hero,” Kang interrupts, a respectful smile on his face.

“Valen Vorstof,” Valen answers as he puts out his hand.

Nodding, Kang takes Valen’s hand. Strong soft hands shake Valens, enthusiasm felt with every movement.

"The way you jumped off that ship and started wiping out the orcs with such ease was absolutely amazing," Kang exclaims, his blue eyes looking at Valen with reverence.

“Um….thanks..,” Valen forces, hero worship quite uncomfortable to him.

"So you were a bodyguard?" changing the subject.

"Ah yes, I was to protect the captain and the crew. Normally, this would involve when the ship is docked, but everyone fights when being boarded," he answers, a slight frown on his lips as he remembers the deaths of the ship's crew.

"I do not know much about the Radonian's. can you explain your people to me?" Valen asks, trying to cheer up the man.

A patriotic smile crosses his lips as he remembers his home country."Few have never heard of us, but we are well known for our usage of water manipulation magic and shipbuilding. We, as you can see from my gills, are able to breathe underwater. This allows us to live both on land and off it. My home, the Radonian kingdom, is a beautiful nest of islands. Some would consider us as having our own continent."

“How can islands be considered continents,” Valen asks, confused that his common may be wrong.

"The water between all of our islands is actually quite shallow. The deepest they can get is only a couple hundred meters. Most of our ships are built from the underwater trees that sprout from the bottom, sometimes reaching above water in height."

Valen nods, the idea of trees extending for hundreds of meters from the water would be an astounding sight.

Remembering that the war with the orcs is causing a blockade, Valen looks towards Gang.”Can you tell me about this war between your people and the orc’s?” Valen asks.

Gang's face takes on a solemn look, as he looks away from Valen."My country has had many problems with those slaver's, mostly because of their reproductive practices. Orcs are naturally warlike, but their ability to reproduce is very slow. Their females are very infertile, sometimes taking many years to become pregnant. But if an orc impregnates another species, then an orc child will be born. They…..," Gang gulps, his face turning red with anger,"use women as birthing cattle to keep up their numbers," he forces out, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"What was the turning point that finally started the war," Jeeves answers across the table, completely ignorant of Gang's current dilemma.

Gang immediately bites his lips, looking towards the dwarf with anger."Princess Lihwa Ning was captured by orc slaver's while she was aboard a Radonian trading ship," he seethes, glaring at the dwarf.

Giving Gang no mind, Jeeves continues to prod the revolvers.”What was she doing on a trading vessel?” he asks.

Gang’s anger is quickly subdued as he sits down at the table, eyes unfocused. “Linwa….did not want to be forced by her father into a political marriage. So she ran away from home.”

Jeeves finally looks up, a sad smile crosses his face.”I am sorry,” he says, looking towards the Radonian.

“You and your country have nothing to do with this,” Gang answers.

“The dwarf’s should have joined your kind in this war against the orc’s.” Jeeves shakes his head, a sad look forming on his face.”Those shit’s at the stronghold would rather sit on their dishonorable asses instead of helping the one trading partner that has actually treated them with respect,” he seethes.”I hope that your country will be able to fend off the orcs fleet.”

Gang looks up, a respectable smile on his face."Do not worry. King Wang Ning is captaining the StormMaker. Numbers alone will not be enough for the orcs to win the war.

Jeeves immediately beefs up, the idea of an elite class ship taking ahold of his concentration." Is that the Mithril armored ship using a water dragon core as its mana engine?" Jeeves asks.

Gang nods, talking about the positives of his country brightening his mood.”The same one. It is a pride of the Radonian navy.”

"We dwarves have five ships of the class, but none of them with nearly as good as a dragon engine," he answers, a pout lining his face

"Well, it's a good thing that pirates don't have such powerful ships, right?" Valen adds, wanting to add to the conversation.

The dwarf and Radonian’s just look at Valen, confused expression on their face.”Lad,” Jeeves starts,”I am always surprised by how ignorant you are of the world.”

"So I am guessing that there are actually pirates that have such ships," Valen adds, a blushing smile on his face.

Sighing politely, Gang turns to Valen" A few pirates do have such ships, but only three are actually noteworthy." he answers, holding up a finger;"Valentine, dwarf captain of the Corsair," a second finger goes up," Pirate Queen Celina, Radonian captain of the Lykourgos," a third finger rises," and probably the most hated, Ashcheul, dark elf captain of the Galassana."

Valen merely stares at the two, confusion emanating from his mind.

Before he can make a bigger ignorant fool of himself, Alfred shows up, placing his hand on Valen's shoulder."I heard ye was finally up. It be amazing, what yi ded against dem orc scum," he hiccups, the smell of alcohol coming from his mouth.

"Alright, you shits," Jessica screams across the room."Storytime is fucking over, so I am going to go make some fucking noise," she yells, grabbing a Radonian woman's butt, eliciting a cute squeal in response. Immediately Jessica starts walking towards her room, a blushing Radonian women following behind.

"Dis world be fucking unfair," Alfred slurs, watching the two leave the hall,"Why is it that the only female dwarf sailor on this ship is getting more pussy than the guys," he whines, barely able to stand upright.

“Well then,” Valen quickly says,”I will be returning to my room as well.”

Valen stands up, waving quickly at the others, he heads back towards his room.

___________________________________________________________________________

As Valen is about to enter his room, he finds Diva, her arms folded, back against the wall.

"Valen, come to my room," she says, her trademark neutral expression on her face once more.

Valen nods, sweat starting to form across his face. Immediately she starts to walk toward her room, Valen following, his eyes locked on her supple behind. The tight clothing she wears gives little to the imagination.

As they enter her room, Diva closes the door behind him, and then walks to her bed. She sits down, her toned legs folded over one another.

“First, I would like to apologize for allowing you to sustain such damage,” she starts, her face holding a neutral expression.”It was my job to protect you, and I have failed.”

"Errr…..nonsense" Valen says, eyes trying to look at her face" I was being cocky and did not think that anything could harm me," he explains.

"I have only recently begun my pilgrimage," she starts, her face reddening with shame,"So you are the first person that I have ever needed to guard. I went after the orc captain in that last fight, figuring that he would be the only one that can harm you. My ignorance almost cost you your life. To better do my job, I will need you to explain to me what all of your capabilities are," she says, looking at Valen expectantly.

Sighing from the change in mood, Valen takes a seat on a chair.”I need you to keep my capabilities secret.” Putting out his hand, Valen calls upon his mana and quickly summons and unsummons items.”I have the ability to store and summon various items. The size is not important, but it does take much longer the further it is from me.” he explains, his mana dissipating as he lets it go.

“You summoned this ship,” Diva’s answers, her eyes wide with realization.

Valen nods slowly."Diva, I understand that your weapon was damaged beyond repair yesterday," he starts, getting her attention."I have many weapons available that I can give you."

She glares at him, the thought of charity angering her.

"It is only right, as your employer, to make sure his guard is properly armed," he quickly adds, lightening Diva's mood."

Diva merely nods, understanding the situation.

Smiling, Valen summons the rune crafted orc sword from his inventory and hands it to her.

Slowly she feels the metal and does a test swing. She turns to Valen, a frown on her succulent lips."This sword is a pathetic excuse of a blade," she denounces, her anger increasing as she tests the blade." The weight is off. It is needlessly heavy and these runes are pathetic," she quickly answers..

“Well then…..what kind of weapon would you prefer?” he asks the Amazon, who quickly brightens from the question.

“We amazon’s are trained to fight with every available weapon possible. I personally prefer something with good range. It would need to be very sharp, as well as sturdy,” She exclaims, a smile on her lips.

Smiling back, Valen slowly starts to unravel Diva’s personality, just as well as her quirks.”Well then, let me show you something that may very well fit that description.”

Valen stands up and walks towards the desk, summoning a long box on top of it. He then slowly removes the lid and takes out a sheathed katana.

Carefully carrying the sword to Diva, Valen admires the exquisite craftsmanship on the wooden sheath and blade handle. Handing it to her, she takes the sword in her hands. Slowly, she unsheathes the sword, its blade glinting fiercely in the firelight.

"That is known as a katana, one of the hardest swords ever known." Valen answers, watching as she slowly moves her fingers across the blade."That specific sword is unique in the sense that it was tempered into Bainite. So it is very unlikely that even a scratch will mar its surface."

Diva runs her finger over the blade, holding it gently as though a child."What do these markings say," she asks, moving over the swords engravings. Taking a look inside the box, Valen finds a paper in English."Eviscerate The Heaven's, For Nothing Dares Oppose You," Valen translates in common.

Noticing that Diva is going to stroke the sword all night, Valen leaves her room, slightly disappointed, but still somewhat satisfied." You can be pretty cute," he whispers, heading towards his own room.