The ship was reminiscent of a pirate ship. It was made out of dark brown wood that was better than anything on Earth. The amount of energy each piece could and had gone through it was beyond impressive. Unfortunately, the spatial array consumed the entire ship. Which meant I wouldn't be able to add anything. There were also areas that looked a bit like cannon holes though I didn't see any energy sources in them.

  "I am glad you are pleased. The vessel is at the peak of what could be considered the early 2nd Realm. It should be able to handle any aquatic life on this planet."

  I let out a low whistle as I explored every inch with the Eye of Heaven. "Can I go aboard? How do we control it?"

  Azariah gestured for me to approach and then she settled into position behind me. "You would need a crew of around ten or so to run it. Though your talent in Arrays and energy control might let you do it with eight. Though it could be risky." We approached the bubble of energy and at first, it didn't let us through. It felt like a literal soap bubble that resisted my approach. When the bubble finally broke I turned prepared to try and seal it but there was no need. The bubble had already sealed itself.

  "Is that how the ship will deal with the water? Is it strong enough?"

  She laughed and shook her head. "Forgive me Young Master I forget how new you are to this. That bubble will have no problem in the ocean here. It would be stable in an early third realm ocean though it wouldn't survive against the beasts."

  I decided to ignore the laughter and turned my attention back to the boat. It was legitimately a wooden ship. I briefly considered asking why they would make something like this but decided not to. Either this was the only thing I could afford it was amongst the best available. Lastly, I also didn't care that much. We meandered through the ship for a few minutes before we entered the command center. This room was a weird fusion of Sci-fi and fantasy. There were two tables each with four spots. In front of each seat was a circle that I guess was where a screen would appear. Behind and in between both tables was a chair.

  The chair was made out of wood, cloth, and some other comfortable-looking material. The whole setup reminded me of something from Star Trek or Star Wars. I made a beeline for the chair and sat down. "You should be able to manage a large portion of the arrays from here. Just send a small amount of mental energy into the console and it should guide you from there."

  I nodded and did as instructed. The chair worked a bit like an information stone. Only the information it transmitted was ten or twenty times more than anything I encountered before. A splitting headache began and I had to cut off the flow of information. The majority of it was a kind of user guide. I could give people designations that would let them access the ship. Everything from radar to weapons and steering. I could control the steering from the chair as well as delegate it. The ship also had a minimum intelligence to attempt it. I was just barely above the threshold which meant fine controls were likely out the window.

  I wasn't sure I could find a decent crew so that was something else to worry about. "Let me guess I would need to train people to be shipwrights and captains?"

  "That is usually a devoted effort. Your people won't be traveling the multiverse anytime soon but for what you want it for this vessel should be enough."

  "On that, we agree. I am going to take some time to get used to it. It feels a bit like downloading a massive file. On top of that controlling the streams of mental energy is a pain."

  Azariah shook her head and turned to leave. "I am sure you will master it with time, Young Master. Should you need anything more please feel free to come and find me."

  I watched the draconic woman until she was gone and I was alone in the cockpit. "Is it a cockpit or bridge when you're on a shipping vessel?" I murmured out loud. I took thirty minutes to go through the rest of the ship's information and was shocked. The ship could be shrunken down. It came with its own storage box that would be the size of a suitcase. I couldn't put that item into a storage ring though which was annoying. The ship was also pretty modular as well. If I wanted to I could replace nearly everything. It would require a skilled crafter though. I could possibly learn the array portions but when it came to the actual ship I had no idea what it was talking about.

  When my headache faded I finished absorbing the rest of the information. After that, I bound the ship to myself with a mental imprint and a drop of blood. With that done I left the warehouse and made my way to Amara proper. The ship's presence did change things a bit. There was a part of me that wanted to explore the oceans now which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. It would let me test out the weapons and how energy worked. Would I get credit for a kill with the ship's arrays? Further, the vessel had private quarters for the captain and their second in command.

  It could house a total of twenty other people in what were basically barracks. Based on the information downloaded the beds were relatively comfortable but there wouldn't be a lot of space for cultivation. Energy would be dense enough but divided between a whole group the process would be difficult. Probably still better than some of the worst places on Earth. I might be able to improve the gathering arrays to help it. Either way, all of that would be a future problem. Today I needed to decide who would make the trip.

  Xerxes would likely alternate with me in my room. Trey could take the second-in-command spot though it might not be the best to give him the power associated with it. After that, I wasn't sure. I activated Ethereal Convocation to connect to Christopher and Keshaun.

  "I need you both to make a list of around twenty people. I am going to explore the ocean soon and I need people. I want some of them to be able to defend themselves and some people who be able to navigate. If we can get people with seafaring experience I would appreciate it."

  "Do you have any other requirements? Must they be cultivators?" Keshaun responded.

  "Hmm no not necessarily. If they are willing to come they are welcome. They should be made aware that things won't be safe. The situation is dangerous. For now, make the list and include anyone who could fit the criteria. I will decide who to invite after."

  "I will see what I can do." Keshaun said before I felt the connection to him fade.

  "I will do what I can but we don't exactly have a navy." Christopher began. "I might be able to find people who were in navies. Do you want me to check in with just our soldiers or should I look into people from other settlements?"

  I briefly considered restricting the opportunity to just "our" people but I decided against it. Ultimately everyone on earth was "our" people. The last thing I needed was to divide my people. "Yes, anyone no matter their previous allegiance. Further, make it clear that everyone is welcome to participate in the contribution system. I want to integrate settlements as we get them."

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Christopher asked a few more questions before I ended the connection. I was about to enter the tower to focus on cultivation when a group jogged up to me. The group included five people three of which were women. One of the men somehow looked like he had just stepped out of the Fashion Week catalog. He even wore a proper grey business suit. Despite the attempt to look calm, he was nervous. His eyes fidgeted between me and the Tower as if he wasn't sure which way he should be looking. His step faltered as he approached as if he was giving himself just a little bit more time before he needed to speak.

  The man had consumed so much of my attention that I hadn't noticed the trio was carrying a flag between them. The flag was simple but beautiful. It was sky blue and there was a design on the front though I couldn't see it from this angle. "Hi, um I mean hello Mr. Jackson." The first woman began. She looked like she couldn't have been older than 17 or 18. "We took a quest in the merit exchange to design a flag. We were wondering if you could confirm it as complete?"

  I blinked several times out of confusion but the group must've thought it was displeasure because they stammered out a few words. After that, they started to walk away but I stopped them. I was pretty sure I hadn't requested a flag but now that I had one. I definitely wanted it. "You are going to have to show it to me." I smiled and stepped closer. Two of the women unfurled the flag and stood at either end. While the man and woman who spoke up stepped in front of it.

  "We decided to use a pattern inspired by fantasy and real life." The woman began before gesturing to the man.

  "We decided to use the central tower as inspiration. In addition, we chose a color combination that would invoke both awe and hope. We weren't sure if you had any preferred colors so that could be changed if need be.

  The pair kept talking but I had stopped listening. The flag was for lack of a better word beautiful. It made it look like the central tower was just in front of the shining sun and both were framed against the sky. There were small geometric designs that spread through it that I didn't get at first. "Are those supposed to be sigils?"

  "Ah yes, we had heard that you worked with them so we thought they would be a good touch." The fifth member of their group added. A skinny androgynous person with dirty blonde hair added.

  "Am I to assume that was your contribution." I grinned at them and at the rest. "I think that flag will do fine. You can count the quest complete. Can you leave the flag with me? I want to have it mass-produced. I can also pay you all for it in addition to the points."

  The group shook their hands so fast that I was worried they would knock them off. "The contribution points are fine. The things inside are more than what we need. We can also exchange them for System Credits if we really want though the exchange rate isn't great."

  "Fair enough. Feel free to let them know that everything is accepted. If they need anything more have someone let me or the council know." They handed me the flag and I sent it into my ring. I exchanged a few more details with the group and found that they were fashion students. Though they were from different parts of the world. When we were done the group left and I continued into the building.

  I left the flag and instructions with Saanite before I headed into my home. Xerxes was leaving his cultivation chamber as I was headed up. "I am going to help the cub with his hunt. I want to test my strength further."

  I raised an eyebrow at the Qilin and then chuckled. "I hadn't asked. Feel free to have fun with the 'cub'."

  Xerxes snorted and I opened a portal for him. Once he was gone I sent a warning to Trey. After that, I shut the door and entered my cultivation chamber. I devoted the first few hours to meditation. I was on the path to improving each of my Tao strands but that was a long-term goal. I briefly considered looking for treasures to help but I wasn't sure. Apparently, it wasn't the greatest idea to just consume everything. You needed to properly understand your Tao and if you borrowed that understanding from drugs. You risked hurting yourself. As Desbera explained it was a bit like building your house on sand. It wouldn't be able to hold up the grand weight I wanted to place on it.

  In this case, a collapse could lead me to disaster. I wasn't sure you could recover from that. On top of that, I wasn't in any rush. My power was fine, my Tao was fine now was where I needed patience. When my meditation ended I pulled a few more spirit stones and placed them within the array. Next, I grabbed two more crystals and crushed them to improve the atmosphere.

  With everything ready I sat down and began to cultivate. After the battle with the Herald, my channels were parched. Like a desert in desperate need of rain. Further, the damage hadn't fully healed. The remaining damage couldn't be healed with any pills I had. Which meant time was my best bet. I threaded the energy through my channels and into my dantian. I watched my energy slowly refill. The lack of kill energy only added to the complex feelings in my stomach. I pushed the emotions down and took a deep breath. I slowly let my power build as I entered another meditative trance. This one is just to stay calm and to speed up the recovery of psychic energy.

  A soft alarm shattered the calm and quiet in my chamber. Four hours had passed by in a blink of an eye. I slowly opened my eyes and cracked my neck. I still wasn't sure why I still did that. My muscles felt fine, stronger than ever before. I got to my feet and thought about what to do now. It would be faster to stay here in cultivate than to go and fight but I was antsy. Or rather the battle made me crave more. I had half a mind to go sparring with Xerxes.

  I sent a message to the rest of the council two at a time to get up to speed on what I missed. The short of it was nothing. Saanite had explained the flag and people were working on making more. It turned out that someone had managed to reawaken more technology with arrays. The arrays were super basic but they allowed things like printing presses, TVs, and other things to function. Something that left me feeling a bit odd. The old and new were clashing strangely. From there I traveled through Amara by rooftops. The dying light of the sun framed the city in a beautiful light.

  I watched the shadows to my right move as spiritual energy surged into them. A moment later a person appeared. I flashed her a pleasant smile and sat on the edge of the roof we stood on. "Everything going well?" I watched her lean against a wall through my soul sense. She didn't immediately answer so I decided to give her the time.

  "Yeah, things are changing. It's difficult to keep up with sometimes."

  I chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, you would think the world had ended."

  "What are you going to do next? I don't mean exploring oceans and anything like that I mean for the planet? We've all been waiting to see are going to turn into Julius Caesar or will you leave everyone alone?"

  I shrugged. For the most part, things will continue like they are. I won't be here forever. Hell, I probably won't be here in five years. That's not to say that I am going to never come back of course. My plan is to have the System recognize me as the leader. After that, I will let settlements govern themselves. The council will act as my will and I will make important choices when needed.

  "So democracy is dead then?" Her voice was solemn as if she already knew the answer to the question before she asked it. I paused the smile on my face faltering for the first time.

  "Yeah, though I imagine it won't be too different for most people. They will continue with their lives. Doing what they can and what they want when they want. I don't plan on turning the Earth into a dystopia or anything though holidays devoted to me sound fun."

  "What about the people who disagree? There are whispers about restoring democracy now that things have calmed down."

  I shook my head. "I don't care. People have forgotten that the world has changed. Amara hasn't dealt with a beast horde in forever. That's mostly because of me. My gut tells me the System isn't done with me either. So when the next trial comes they will have to figure out what they want to do. If they can't wait they are welcome to deal with me before then."

  "You aren't winning the whole 'not dictator' thing," Aaliyah grumbled.

  "Should I? Honestly I am not sure that I am not a dictator. I am technically leading through power. Though I think I am closer to a monarch than a dictator."

  "I don't think the difference matters to most."

  "I suppose you are right. The only thing that matters is my success. If I win history will remember me kindly if not then I guess you are talking to a monster."