NSLICE-00P analyzed the boat as she climbed aboard. Curiously, the boat was much lower and deeper than she would have expected, with the majority of the vessel’s hull underwater. But the reason for that became clear as they set off.

Rather than sails or oars, the ship moved via magic. The vessel seemed to have magic circles engraved into its very hull. NSLICE-00P detected Water attribute mana seeping out of the ship, forming the water around it into a bubble encompassing all but the top deck of the ship. The enchantment then propelled the bubble forward, carrying the ship with it.

The performance was inferior to some modern vessels, but this was a civilian passenger ship, so it may not have been optimized for speed, and so its performance was still comparable overall. Likewise, there were some benefits to this design. Since the vessel was controlling the water around it, the trip was very smooth, and the craft seemed to ignore waves and other ocean conditions.

NSLICE-00P spent some time gathering data on the ship. It was a novel, mana-based design that represented a significant technological improvement over what she had anticipated. The Dobhar had basically just tied pieces of wood and bone into basic rafts, and so set inaccurate expectations as to local shipbuilding techniques.

Her evaluation of the Empire’s technological level just went up.

“Wow, this is amazing!”

Ateia was standing near the edge of the boat, staring out at the sea with wide eyes.

“Ateia! Don’t get so close to the edge!”

Meanwhile Taog was huddled in the center of the ship.

Estrith was glaring at the Selkies surrounding them, who were eyeing her as well.

And so NSLICE-00P left the province of Turannia.

The ship may not have been reliant on favorable winds and sea conditions, but it would still take a few hours to arrive at their destination. Eventually, Ateia got bored of looking at the water; she and Taog were now receiving instruction from Miallói on various topics. Estrith was still having a staring contest with the other Selkie guardians, but no altercations had occurred. 01R and some of the other monsters were training with 00B as best they could in the monster hangar’s common area, while Rattingtale and Lilussees were alone in their respective rooms. So NSLICE-00P was left alone with her thoughts.

And so...

NSLICE-00P formed two magic circles, one over each of her hands. She formed them slowly this time, her robotic eye flickering as her sensors recorded as much detail as possible.

Finally, the magic circles finished and flashed as they activated. Two swords of pure mana formed in her hands, one with the blue glow of unattributed mana, the other a bright sword of light.

The spell Mana Blade is now level 2!

The spell Light Blade is now level 2!