The klaxons went off. Valietta was still in the room. She’d been chatting for a few minutes about various subjects from the weather to flowers that grow on the moon, for some reason. Does this world have a moon?

  “Aether glazer!” Val cursed. “Sky pirates! What weapons do you use Daniel? Do you know how to look at your stats? Look for ‘Proficiencies’.”

  I nodded and looked again at my stat block. “There’s nothing about weapons…”

  The intercom crackled. “Captain here. Looks like we’re fighting Grovers today.”

  Val groaned. “Grovers suck. They aren’t sky pirates. They’re worse. Prepare for some bull aether today.”

  “What are they?” I asked, feeling dumb.

  “I think they’re druids. I’ve never encountered them directly, though. Just heard stories. Captain might know. You should ask him. After this. But no weapons at all!? Oh, no. What level are you?”

  I began to realize that Valietta talked an awful lot. “One.”

  “One. Really?? You looked so--well, everyone’s gotta start there. All right, just--if anything happens, if anyone comes around here…Stay. Behind. Me.”

  I nodded and gulped.

  I heard a spinning slipping sound coming from outside.

  “What’s--”

  The ship’s wall near my window exploded. Wood and glass went flying everywhere. A huge hooked harpoon lodged into the hull--neatly through the dresser drawer where Val had stowed the dustpan. Wind whipped around the bedroom. A rope spiraled behind it into the sky.

  “Oh no you don’t!”

  Val took out a little handle from her belt which began to whir noticeably, and emit light. It manufactured itself like a transforming robot into a hammer. Tech Appraiser said this was a pulse hammer. The pulse hammer began to glow.

  “Get up!!” she yelled without looking at me.

  I had already begun. She raised the hammer and smashed the harpoon, then reeled back from the concussive blast that the hammer blasted out. The hull shook again. Also, I was cold. I took the blanket and tied it around my neck like a cape.

  The intercom crackled. “Portside, hull, maybe second deck? We’ve got hitchhikers…”

  “Oh it!” Val shouted, though I was not sure the captain could hear her.

  She rushed off. I followed. As we ran down the hall toward the back of the vessel several large birds smashed through windows ahead. Val cursed some more.

  “Buzzards! Watch them, Daniel!”

  These buzzards were, really, several birds species. Just as a regular guy I knew chickens and vultures and crows. They were here. But there were also other, more predatory types among them. We ran through them, and Val smacked a couplet. A hawk’s beak tore into my arm.

  “Agh!”

  I whirled around and tried to kick it out the window. A glancing hit, but still enough to send the bird spiraling off.

  One of them had grappled Val’s arm and was flapping around while she tried to buck it off. I balled up my fist. I had never been in a fight with anyone. I punched the hawk. Solid connection, left behind a puff of feathers.

  [Experience Gained: +5 XP (Combat)]

  “Come on,” I said to Val.

  “Nice punch. Where’d you learn to fight like that?”

  “It’s my first time!”

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  “You’re a natural Daniel!”

  We reached the back stairs and raced up to another hall. Then stopped. A huge horned owl had been walking quietly down the hall. Its head turned around all the way to regard us. Then the body followed, and it raised its terrible wings and hooted.

  “Get behind me now,” Val murmured.

  She squared off against it.

  “Val, this thing’s kinda huge, maybe we should run…”

  She gave the pulse hammer a little flip. Then she ran toward the owl, screeching.

  The owl said, “Hoot.”

  It pecked suddenly. Val leapt away. [Dodge] floated where she was. As its wings were already raised it flapped them and became airborne in the hall, and its talons lashed out. She dodged one, another [Dodge]. She must have an ability. The other slashed her on the side and she cried out. But the pulse hammer was already in motion. It hit the bird’s stomach and boomed, forcing both of them back.

  Val wiped her mouth with her hand. The owl stepped forth, squaring up as it approached, its feet thumping. It wasn’t great at walking, but there was not a lot of room here for flight. It was bigger than her, gray and mottled, with bony horns protruding from its head. Its eyes were red and baleful.

  She two-handed the hammer and then spun suddenly, almost taking me out. It whisked past my face. It had begun to fill with blazing radiance. She flung it forth, spinning. The hammer picked up momentum as it went. When it hit the owl there was a sizzling boom and a pop of rainbow light that took out my vision for a second.

  [Experience Gained: +50 XP (Combat)]

  [LEVEL UP: Valietta auz Varlanes]

  [Jewel Reaver: Level 25]

  I found Val grabbing her pulse hammer from where the owl lay motionless.

  “I leveled up,” she said, grinning.

  “Congrats!”

  Val nodded, then grew somber. “Aw, I almost forgot, let’s go take care of that harpoon!”

  We rushed onward, down the hall. This ship was pretty big, it was taking us some time to navigate down these corridors. There were a few other birds flapping around in here, but none attacked us.

  “By the way, you know how I killed that owl? That hammer throw?”

  “That was amazing!” I said. “Was that some kind of special move?”

  “If you could not tell anyone about that, I would appreciate it. I…don’t like to show it off. That move.”

  “Sure. No problem, Val. Our secret.”

  The next corner we turned was the one. The wind quickened here. I could also tell because there were three weird, white-bearded men in yellow robes in the corridor. They rode on vines, or the vines held them up, it was hard to fully tell.

  They turned toward Val and I, their heads inquisitive as to our intentions.

  “Get the HELL OFF MY SHIP!”

  She leapt off an end table, other foot took a sconce, and before the vines had really begun to retreat spiked the first Grover into the floor.

  The second one came around, vines wrapping, riding above them like a skateboard, and Val twisted as she fell to avoid it. The third one got her, roots overtaking over and pinning her where the floor met the wall.

  I couldn’t exactly hide behind her now. I jumped up onto the roots of the one that had her pinned and punched it. Him. His eyes were clouded, and within them I saw enfolded clover leafs like an endless staircase. Vines wrapped under his sallow skin.

  I did not have time to lament.

  “Here,” Val grunted. “Don’t cut yourself.”

  She activated the laser drill and threw it to me. At me. I did catch it, but I was terrified it would bisect me. The second Grover, the one that had missed her, was coming back around. I tried to turn it on him, but before I could the vines beneath me shook and I lost my balance and then I was overtaken by vines.

  I could hear Val cursing. Then a large pulse shook and some of the vines sloughed back. More fighting. I used the drill to cut myself out, saw Val struggling with both of them. I walked behind one and cut into its vital areas. When it died it deflated and almost wilted.

  [Experience Gained: +100 XP (Combat)]

  Val pushed the other back, then tripped it with a sweep kick.

  “You want to do it? I’m maxed out now that I’ve leveled up until my Trial.”

  “Trial?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Trial. That’s how you get a Capstone Ability. Level 25. I’ll explain it more later. Are you going to kill this thing or not?”

  I killed it.

  [Experience Gained: +100 XP (Combat)]

  Did we split the experience or did it go to whoever landed the killing blow? I would have to ask her that. As I was thinking that I followed Val into the room here, an abandoned-looking and unused place with a counter and tables.

  She booted up her hammer again. It charged with a shrill hum then she used it to blast the harpoon from the wall here. The room shook.

  “Go tell the captain--” Val began, then shook her head. “Aether glazer I forgot I haven’t showed you around. This is the old boba shop. It was really good, once, really cool.”

  “We’ve got boba in my world too.”

  “Anyway. Come on.”

  As she turned to leave, Tamiro flew past the door. Yes, flew. He was airborne. His blonde hair crackled with electricity and had a little mint hue.

  The intercom came on. “Good work crew, but we’re still being pursued. Prepare a boarding party. Let’s take the fight to them and get them off our tail before they can ready another harpoon!”