Master Of None

"This is the dwarven feather steel. It is made from the steel mined from the wind dragon mountain village. We were lucky enough to be able to speak with Lady Ventus and have her trade us some. It is just as tough as steel but it is even lighter than any other steel we have ever used. Take a try." The dwarf explaining this to them looked at Walker, Gil, and Alma first.

"Wow!" Gil seemed to have expected much more weight in the ingot of feather steel. He lifted it and nearly toppled over because he had put more force than necessary. He passed it to Alma, then Walker, and finally to Su. They were all surprised.

"This would be ideal for some cavalry armor. We should look in to developing cavalry troops for the fields. Especially when we must fight the horned rabbits again." Scylla had plenty of battle ideas for this. Leon just smiled seeing that others were already seeing the amazing values that this steel had.

"So this is why the ships will be able to float when they looked so heavy before?" Since Walker was very unfamiliar with ships, let alone steel ships, he felt that he had to keep asking questions. Only then would he be able to sit upon the ship safely.

"That is exactly right. Paired with the wind runes that our researchers keep sharing we have been able to do a great thing. We have made this ship weigh much less than normal. We have to add some earth runes along the bottom to keep the buoyancy proper. To be honest, this is the most developed ship we have ever crafted. And it is one of eight."

"Eight!?" This shocked Su. she was sure that they were only making one. But now she was completely awestruck by the skills the dwarves had. "That must be a massive work load for you. How are the workers holding up? Is everyone able to maintain their pace?" The worry that Su had in her voice made the dwarf thank the world that he had come to Genesis again.

"Yes, we are able to easily maintain this work load. The elves have been helping along with a few of the water dragonkin. The heavy lifting is much easier while the other skills our workers possess make the process much smoother. What I am more interested to show you is the inside of the most developed ship though. Please follow me."

Leon was giving Walker a proud smirk as the dwarven ship builder was leading them. He was sure that Walker was already impressed. "Should I tell you a few more secrets before we see them?" Leon was struggling to keep everything in.

"I think we will be able to see enough from here. As a merfolk, are you truly this excited about a ship? I thought you would be swimming in the waters around us?" Alma couldn't resist the questions. The small teasing that anyone would have wanted to give out a response.

"Of course that will be the case at some times. There may be battles, and other issues. But we will mostly need to rest on the boat. We will be unable to travel to the bottom of the ocean so that we may rest. That alone is enough for us to enjoy this ship. A safe haven for while we are deep in the oceans where no merfolk has ever been."

The oceans were a dangerous place that the merfolk had never been able to travel freely. The monsters were too dangerous and they lacked the overall strength to casually go there. Some brave merfolk had been deeper than others but not so far before in their history.

Once upon a time, Leon had heard of an ancient merfolk city that was deeper in the ocean. But that was more of a child's myth than anything. The city was well recorded as only being slightly deeper in the oceans and abandoned because of their weakening strength as a race. Now that they were members of Genesis, the merfolk may have a chance to become stronger and create a deeper city than before.

"This inside hull will have multiple cabins. Workers will be in this lower area. We have decided to use a magic steam engine. It is slightly different from how we make golems with cores. The cores needed for one of these shops would be estimated to be numbering over five thousand. To counter that cost of mana, we are using fire crystals and the sea water. We cut the cores down to five hundred and installed special rune furnaces." The dwarf began teaching in a very proud tone. This was the best dwarven technology.

"We have some golems that have used this method in the past but it was rarely used due to necessity. Now we will use them more often. The water that filters inside the furnace cools it down rapidly causing steam. Then the fire crystals and runes heat the furnace again. It will repeat over and over. From there, these gears turn causing the propellers to turn. It also allows us to steer with much more ease."

"There will be no issues with the left over salts?" Scylla knew that as the water dried threat the salt would be left behind. She knew that this was one danger of ocean battle or battle near an ocean. Salt was a dangerous build up that wore down armors and weapons. A massive ship like this was definitely going to have some wear and tear.

"That will be a minor issue. We have made a special courting for the steel made from the green rubber trees. We spoke with the water elves and they used those trees' sap to make sure their village was water proof for the most part. It was a very good collaboration that even brought a few alchemists to the projects."

The coating that the ship builder pointed out was a somewhat clear substance that had been thinned out with oils. It was easily spread and hardened on the steel runes keeping them sealed without causing any issues with the magic or with the metal.

Walker stopped in his tracks looking at another part of the ship. They had moved up a set of stairs, they were looking at another floor of what he thought would just be cabins to sleep in. "And those are?" The holes he pointed out seemed like they would cause problems for the ship in the waters. Especially when waves hit.

"Those will be where the magic cannons are set in place. The magic cannon is a tough weapon that we can charge with mana. It fires a projectile at an anime. They are rarely used due to their weight, slow ability to be reloaded, and overall high mana costs. But in the ocean, we needed power. A hard hitting attack to deter or defeat ocean monsters. Therefore, it was the winning weapon we decided to use. It is also similar to the normal cannons used by merchant ships."

"I have seen the normal cannons. They use spiked pieces of metal or harpoons to catch or scare off monsters. How will this be different?" Since Scylla was the expert in battle there, no one intruded on what she was asking about.

"They have the ability to fire when used by mages and dwarves working in tandem. They will be able to be aimed and focused. They will also have some elven inspiration. Specifically-"

"The arcane archers! That's why you asked if they were able to assist you a few weeks ago." Alma put everything together. A dwarf had come asking about the arcane archer and had taken a few to help with a project.

"Exactly, we were able to have the elven arcane archers to help with cannon ball creations. So far we have a water cannon ball that can create a frozen attack on the enemy. The development of a wind cannonball is the next step. It is slow because it is very different from an arrow, but similar enough to create."

"I am glad that there is a clear bond between the races here." Su felt her heart beat a little faster. She was very proud that Genesis was fostering growth between the races. So much so that she felt invigorated to prepare even more for this journey.

"This is a very good idea. I have seen the arcane archers battle. Adding their styles here will increase survivability. Take me to the top of the ship. Wish to see the measures that are being taken in case the furnaces fail." Scylla was in full evaluation mode. She was acting as general now instead of just a council member. They were preparing for battle on another continent after all.

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