I disconnected the three mana cannons from the front-mounted turret and inspected them. There were signs of damage from use. I frowned, pulling out a notebook and scribbling down my findings. I didn’t really need the notebook with my almost perfect memory but it was faster to look at a log than it was to dig through my random memories.

I would need to overhaul my mana cannon design if they were degrading this quickly. I had hoped that the titanium would have held up better but it was only a mundane metal as compared to the mithril inlay for the runes. A full refit would be in order shortly and I made a note to purchase more mithril and find a better substitute metal for the majority of the weapon.

The new null beam wouldn’t have any of those issues, being made from mostly mithril. If the cost wouldn’t have bankrupted me I would have done the same for all my weapons.

Sliding in the new weapon was a bit of a challenge. It fit it was just heavy and ungainly. I wished some of the others had remained behind to help but they needed a break and I needed a break from them.

Eventually, with enough jockeying, the weapon clicked into place. I pulled out my tablet and rotated the turret, making sure it worked properly. I did note one issue and had to limit the travel up and down on the weapon to prevent the cone from slamming into the deck plating. I also set it so the null beam or the cannon could not fire if it crossed over the ship. That would end in a really bad day for the Retribution if it did. In hindsight, I should probably do that for the rest of my weapons as well.

I switched the turret to its storage mode and it returned to a small cradle that popped out of the deck to hold it steady. The cradle didn’t exactly fit properly anymore but it was good enough for now.

I spent the next hour inspecting the top deck turrets and grimacing as I saw the deterioration. My large surplus of cash wasn’t looking so large anymore. I glanced at the sky, it was starting to get dark but maybe if I got lucky some of the merchants, that sold materials, would still be open.

I jumped off the deck and onto the dock only for a very confused man to appear at the end of the dock. If it wasn’t for his naked blade I may have mistaken this for an honest error. But he didn’t know I had the defenses of the Retribution online. That included the much-improved teleportation scrambler field I developed.

The man was quick to realize the issue as he tried to rush me, but without surprise on his side, I had time to prepare myself. My armor covered me a moment later. I would have held off on taking my staff out but a moment later another dozen or so attackers appeared at the end of the dock. So either the first attacker had jumped the gun or was inexperienced in combat. I didn’t recognize his species but it was clearly something reptilian as I saw scales.

I decided to remain where I was, using the ship's defenses to my advantage. I only wished I had engaged the full offensive option when I set the defenses. Oh well, hindsight and all that.

I dodged a wad of high-speed spit, no doubt it was probably acidic knowing my luck. Three more spitballs were launched at me before the lizard man crossed the remaining distance. He roared in a challenge and I felt a skill try to compel me into battle. Using a play from Barcos’s book, I acted like I was enraged and made to attack the man with my fist.

I saw the gleam of victory in the man's eye as his curved sword sliced through the air toward my neck. I imposed my hand in the blade's path and the evil grin on the creature’s face only grew wider as it thought it was going to slice straight through my hand.

When my hand latched onto the blade, preventing it from moving or cutting, I saw the look of confusion dawning on his face. It was a bit too late though as I rapid cast a series of spells.

Multicast and Time Shudder made it seem like it was instant. First, my staff appeared in my offhand, and with a blur, I shoved the lion's head of the weapon into my attacker's chest but before it impacted I cast an Overcharged Shockwave.

The combined attacks had an interesting effect. Almost half of the man’s torso simply exploded into ribbons of pink mist. It was enough of a display of power to make the rest of the attackers pause for a moment, but only a moment.

They were warier now but they still charged toward me, having me significantly outnumbered made up for any hesitancy on their part. I threw the remains of the corpse at the incoming attackers and followed quickly behind it. If they wanted to dance, I would be a poor host if I refused them.

I started laughing, activating Maddening Laugh as I engaged Aura of Rage for the first time in a long time. The extra stat points settled on me and I felt the weight but it wasn’t as crushing as it had been before. I smiled maniacally inside my helmet as I realized my armor was working as intended to reinforce my skeleton and body.

I twisted out of the way of a harpoon and fired an Annihilator Sphere right down the middle of the clustered enemy. The first man dove out of the path of my spell, getting knocked over by another attacker as they ran into each other but the man behind him wasn’t able to avoid the spell in time.

I purposefully aimed low and as expected the spell impacted the man's pelvis and simply made it vanish into dust. He didn’t even get a chance to scream as his body fell over dead, oh but the two idiots close to him did as the spell rendered their hips to gaping bloody holes.

With my initial attack disrupting their charge, the enemy decided to drop any pretense of stealth, and spells and skills began to fly through the air toward me.

I activated Point Defense and injected a mana potion before I activated Charge and Blink Step. That was one thing I learned during my limited hunting. Most airship pirates did not use speed burst skills like mine, because space was limited on ships and most skills like that would cause you to simply run off the edge of the ship or run into someone. Instead, most had a flight skill of some sort.

Three of the attackers took to the air, trying to pepper my defenses with ranged attacks as I crashed into an ax-wielding man. I felt the blade impact my shoulder with a crunch but I ignored the pain as I whipped my hand across his throat like a knife. The metal of my fake hand tore his throat out and wrenched his head to the side hard enough to snap his neck thanks to my empowered strength.

I activated another Time Shudder, rewinding time to avoid a beam of white light aimed at my skull. I returned the attack with an Energy Lance of my own, clipping the flying mage on the shoulder and throwing him from the air. I didn’t get a kill notice for it though.

By this time other people had noticed the commotion and I could distinctly hear bells going off in the background but I tuned them out as I snapped a devastating kick into the face of the man that avoided my Annihilator Sphere attack.

There was a crunch as his skull caved under the force of my kick but I was already turning as a blade skittered across my armor, leaving a deep groove. I snapped my staff down on that attacker's arm, while simultaneously activating Imbue on my staff. The fire exploded across the man’s clothing as he screamed and fell back but I tuned that out as well, grabbing yet another attacker's arm as his dagger stabbed into my side.

I felt the poison coursing through my body but I ignored it as I crushed the man's forearm in my grip while activating my three spell combo. Calcifying Strike, Festering Wound, and Corrupting Touch. And for good measure, I kicked him in the balls.

When I stepped back, avoiding a glaive to the neck, I cast Rejuvenate and Cleanse on myself. The minor wounds I had taken all healed up and the poison was nothing special, being purged without issue from my system.

There were only a few remaining attackers but seeing as how they were getting stomped hard, they chose that moment to flee. I could have chased after them but what was the point. I could already see the town guard going after the few survivors. I didn’t even bother finishing off the surviving injured, storing my staff as four armed guards ran down the pier towards the carnage.

And it was carnage. I looked around at all the blood, the burn marks, and the holes in the deck that I had somehow not even been aware of as I fought on and I sighed, knowing that it was going to be a hassle to explain myself out of this predicament.

Turns out it wasn’t all that hard. The two surviving pirates agreed to talk if I stopped the skills that were killing them. I shrugged and agreed, healing the deadly attacks but leaving them still injured.

The guards questioned me on what happened, and if the Retribution was my ship. I told them it was and they seemed to be aware of it and my reputation since it wasn’t every day that someone dragged a pirate ship in to sell.

I also learned that there was a bounty on my head and any of my crew from another pirate by the name of Tu’Cath. I remembered the name but I hadn’t actually encountered this pirate and was confused as to why he would have placed a bounty on me or my crew. The unaffiliated pirate survivors didn’t know either, they just wanted to collect a quick payday by taking me down, seeing as I was alone.

It's possible other nefarious people had gone after Barcos and the others but I wasn’t too worried about them. Out of all of them, Em’ah was the weakest fighter but I thought she had the best ability to extricate herself from danger if it occurred.

Eventually, the guards hauled off the two surviving captured pirates and gave me a fine for disturbing the peace. I was a bit shocked at that but there wasn’t much I could do. They also told me the dockmaster would charge me for all damages to the dock or any cleanup that needed to be done. The pricks didn’t even let me loot the bodies of the pirates I killed, claiming it as evidence. Evidence my ass, pricks would probably split it amongst themselves as a job well done.

I decided I had enough excitement for the night. After hosing the blood off the dock with Regenerating Rain, I jumped back aboard Retribution and went to bed. I would have a long day tomorrow of collecting resources and making repairs. Although, I was tempted to say fuck it and go get shit-faced with the others. But the responsibilities of being a captain made me decide that wasn’t a good idea.

When I woke up the next morning I could hear someone snoring in one of the adjacent cabins. I sighed, that was one downside of having such a small ship, there wasn’t a whole lot of privacy.

I got a quick shower in and set about cleaning the grime from my armor. The damages may have repaired themselves but it wasn’t self-cleaning. Perhaps I would add that in a future iteration but I didn’t see this armor being replaced anytime soon.

My body was sore from the exertion of the previous evening and I moved with deliberate slowness, letting my aching muscles relax. Even my bones felt tired. I knew it was a side effect of my Aura of Rage. While my body was better off than in the past, it was still a strain and I would have to use it sparingly as I slowly improved my body. I doubted it would ever fully go away but so long as it didn’t leave me crippled I was fine with that.

Khikall was the first to rise, and he looked like shit. His eyes were bloodshot and his fur was limp, I didn’t even know that was possible until I saw it. He made his way to the fridge and grabbed a juice that helped him perk up a bit.

“I see you had an interesting night,” I stated as I continued cleaning my armor.

“Ugh, I sometimes forget I am no longer as young as I once was. Speaking of exciting nights,” he said, gesturing to my bloody armor.

“Oh, yeah, apparently a pirate named Tu’Cath put a bounty on all of us.”

Khikall grunted, “Yeah, that guy’s a real prick. He used to run with some of those pirates at that hideout we destroyed, probably still does. I’m sure he heard we turned in that flag, not hard to put two and two together after that.”

“Anything we need to worry about?”

Khikall rubbed his chin in thought before shrugging. “Not any more than usual for being a pirate hunter, it was bound to happen sooner or later, part of doing business. It might even work in our favor, slip a few contacts our location and then bait a trap for the idiots that come to collect.”

I didn’t have to think too long about that. “Alright, get Em’ah to do it though, she will be more subtle about it. I need to purchase some materials from the market, the weapons need an overhaul.”

Khikall just nodded, seeming to not be too surprised by my statement. And he probably wasn’t The cannons used by pirates were pretty wasteful energy-wise, I couldn’t imagine they would hold up forever to the massive bursts of mana that they were forced to contain. So they would need to be repaired periodically as well.