Chapter 151: At Least One Annoyance

Sitting back, relaxing, and chilling as I wait for the eventual murder mission time.

(“ The weapon to destroy you, sheer wait ”)

It’s finnnnneeeee.

In actuality, it wasn't fine. I was going to do some stuff relating to my domain and other powers, but when I briefly tried it, it made some sensors go a little bit haywire, so for the time being, I have chosen to avoid that.

Of course, did I have to worry about human stuff now that I was, well, what I currently am? Probably not, but even I didn’t want to cause too much of a scene at the moment. Many people here also wanted to kill Dominous Hood, and I didn’t want to accidentally cause something that would, well, stop that from happening.

(“ Perhaps a nice flight would soothe your worries ”)

That would also annoy a lot of people.

Despite my complaining about life as I know it. I was mostly overacting the annoyance; there was certainly a part of me that wished this would go faster, but that was true for most people on this ship. I wasn’t special for that.

My act was just for my own fun. Complaining for the sake of complaining as I talked with Espr. A nothing conversation. Something simple to pass the time with.

(“ But do you have plans? You have been spying on everyone with [Star Mapping] for a while now ”)

Practice makes perfect.

(“ Like you need practice with it; it is part of your existence now ”)

I’m just having a little fun.

Though a flight might be something I had to do. There was something I was working on, but due to not wanting to cause a scene, I paused the physical aspects and focused on the mana and spiritual side for the little gift I was preparing for Lila.

It wouldn’t be on the same level as my gifts for Mella and Tyell, though; they wouldn’t exactly experience the whole scope of their gift abilities likely for a long time, so Lila’s might seem superior, but it still required some final touches and a proper physical form.

“Hmmm… Where am I supposed to find another item that can hold the power…?” I hummed as I spied on the various ships around, thinking there was something I might be able to steal.

The fleet was made up of numerous vessels, and communication was done mostly with coms, but I did watch as a few ships connected, and sometimes many in cases when the large central ship was used for in-person talks.

Nina was invited to a few of those, but vehemently denied all of them; she wanted to stay with her crew for most of this flight. Her refusal didn’t stop people from asking; she was one popular lady.

I’m glad I kept on the down low before, after, and for the future.

(“ Don’t jinx yourself ”)

…I’m a little worried now… I would rather not somehow force my appearance to change and create a new identity.

(“ That would be feasible ”)

Just said I didn’t want to do that.

Nina’s ship was just under the middle of the group in size. Big enough to carry everything she needed it to carry. On the smaller end were private vessels for individual teams for high-level individuals. There were a few of those ships flying around, but most were docked with the largest ships to save on energy.

On the bigger end of ships, there were some that were carrying basically armies and all the war machines they could ever want. Smaller fighter ships, mechs, and other mechanical monsters. Good fun.

“Let’s see, it needs to be practical and strong enough that she can quickly learn how to use it, and so it can handle all the power…” I wasn’t seeing anything that suited my taste. I may have been a little bit picky, but it was something that would save lives… well, life. It was only Lila, but technically speaking, by killing more Dominous Hood idiots, it would be saving lives.

My logic is flawless.

(“ You know, if you want an artifact to use as a base, you can ask Susan? ”)

Why? There was no mention of Craftalot being here.

(“ You know the man who was next to Susan? He happened to be using a disguise ”)

Why the fuck did you not tell me that earlier? I nearly swore aloud, and I stood up to go talk to Nina about a little quick trip.

“Hey, Nina.” I found her in the lounge. The rest of the crew had gone to play games on the VR machines. Well, some were playing games while others were training, and I wasn’t sure about the split, to be honest.

“Yes, Ceella?” She looked up from her pad, reading a book of some sort, a good way to pass the time. I decided I would give that a try later.

“I was wondering if you could help me connect with Susan. There is something I need to talk to her about.

“Sure…?” Nina raised her eyebrow, for some reason. “Do you want an in-person meeting or over call?”

“Are the calls tracked by other people on the ships?”

“Yes.”

“Then, it’s probably best I go in person; it is supposed to be private.” I added, “Nothing illegal, just, you know, personal.”

Nina closed her book and began sending messages. “I will see what I can do and will get back to you once I hear a response.”

“Thank you.” I waved and vanished from the room.

Let this hopefully be quick!

And quickish it was; after an hour, I got permission to visit Susan’s vessel.

My [Star Mapping] couldn’t reach the inner layers of their ship. Doors were completely closed off, and the only source of light would be sources in the rooms themselves. So there was a chance the man of the hour wasn’t on her ship, but I still had some respect for their privacy, so I didn’t want to have the whole security network hear about it from a record of the call.

Stepping onto the ship wearing my guard armour again.

Susan welcomed my arrival, “Hello again?”

“Hello.” I coughed and jumped straight to the main point. “Where is the dude you were talking to last time?”

“My… friend…?” She was trying really badly to lie to my face.

“Your grandpa, I want to ask a favour.” Before she interrupted, and with me thinking the old goat might be nearby, I said, “I just need a blank artefact, something harder than the normal stuff. I don’t need to have any magical abilities; I just figured it would be better to ask someone instead—yeah, better to just ask someone.”

Her expression kind of just blanked out for a moment.

“If you are wondering how or why I came to that conclusion… State secret…”

“I…”

“Tis alright, my confused, constipated compatriot.” The man showed up in his disguise and proceeded to get punched right in the gut for that comment from Susan.

“Sup, deserved punch.” I nodded. “Did you hear what I was asking about?”

“Yes.” Crafalot’s speech shifted when he talked to me. “Was there anything you were looking for?”

“Durable, can handle a lot of energy. Preferably small? Umm, by small, I mean anywhere from a brick to a large sword in size, but I am accepting items larger than that.” It was a broadish range of size, but the goal was that it wouldn’t get in the way of Lila’s ability to fight.

“Hmmm…” He mused and then said, “I believe I have something for you.” He pulled from a storage artefact what I could only describe as desirable as a big fan. It was about half the size of a person, and from the structure, it looked like it could fold into about twelve helicopter blades. “Old project that went nowhere, but made out of some of the hardest natural stuff in my closet.”

I grabbed it, and for a normal person of Lila’s level, it would be a little heavy for them, but that could be fixed.

“Yep, looks good.” I nodded and let it float with a small Light construct.

“Is that it?” Susan asked. Looking a little exhausted with how the conversation went.

“Yeah, figured this would be a much better option than the alternatives.” I turned around and began walking to the exit.

“Don’t you need a ship back?” Said Susan. The ship I had arrived on to reach theirs had already gone on its way.

“Nope.” I waved goodbye. “I can handle a little flight.”

Exiting the ship, I was welcomed by the nice embrace of space. Last time I was here, I was stuck floating for months with barely any control of my movement, but now, I could pretty much move in any direction with ease.

Feels good to have proper flight capabilities now.

Long were the days of a cost-inefficient [Burst], and now was ‘free’ omnidirectional movement. I could float in any direction without problems, even on planets with gravity.

I sent a message saying I would be back and flew far away. Wasn’t going to have some system malfunction and cause trouble while I made Lila her artefact.

I thought long and hard about what to give her. In my siblings' case, it was more about the importance of the gift itself, but both were fully able to protect those two. Lila, I needed to lean away from protection and needed to be more offensively focused.

Once I was far, far, far enough away-–my speed made sure the flight was quick both ways-–I was ready to begin.

“Hehe… Now Stellaruge Vice… Let’s make this something magical.”

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“What are you doing this time?” Susana asked her grandfather.

“Sneaky spying from a very long distance,” Craftalot replied. He had an invisible drone

Inside the Blazer’s ship in the more secure cabins, Craftalot was watching Ceella fly off into the distance with an empty artefact while he was in hot pursuit, at a very safe distance away.

The whole crew was together. Aluber, Susan, and Jordan. The boys had been minding their own business until Ceella came aboard, which brought everyone together in a collective interest as the expert crafter decided to begin his stalking operation to see what she would do with his artefact.

“She is fast and…” Craftalot frowned, “She destroyed my cameras…”

“Cameras?” Susan questioned. The display they were all watching was only showing one view.

“Had sixteen around; all got shot down.” Craftalot leaned back into his chair, surprised, but the result wasn’t unexpected.

Aluber asked, “What do we know of her?”

Jordan answered that he was reading the privately available file, “Guard working for Nina, station and name unknown, abilities range from anti-personnel suppression to wide destruction with fire magic.” It wasn’t much, but the descriptions weren't meant to be. Usually, these files kept even sections of abilities hidden; it was more about whether people wanted to work together, and these were things a person could bring to the table.

Nina was a good example, as her profile mentioned healing and barriers, but she had plenty of other abilities.

“Nothing else?”

“If Nina doesn't want us to know, then we won’t know. She managed to keep the fact that she had a higher-ranking Dominous Hood member captured alive and extracted information from them without letting anyone know.” As one of the most public figures onboard this assault mission, her recent action had led many to learn about her other capabilities outside her healing expertise.

“Powerful one, that is for sure.” Craftalot twirled his bread.

“Not as tough as you though.” Jordan chuckled.

“Hmm, correct,” Craftalot smirked, knowing the outcome was the opposite of what Jordan thought. “Our toughness is likely leagues apart. I would snap like a stick, while she would not even have a scratch.”

Jordan paused. “...In a literal or figurative sense?”

“Perhaps both.” Craftalot surmised. At his request, Susan didn’t tell the two boys about the encounter they had with the woman and the strange feeling he sensed at the time.

Aluber's mind went into overdrive, hearing that, and Jordan’s mind widened in shock.

“Wait… if that is the case… who is she supposed to be then?!” Jordan jumped forward, asking Craftalot directly, as he would know the other high-level individuals. Even the few people over level 400, despite the fact that they barely spoke to anyone, most did come to Craftalot eventually, as he was basically the only person who created artefacts powerful enough for them that weren’t dungeon-based.

“No idea; I don’t know every high-level individual personally.”

“But you’ve got to have a clue.”

“None whatsoever.” Craftalot laughed. While he was thinking about how to track the lady. He paused. “One of my skills activated…”

“Which means?” Susan didn’t know what Craftalot's Soul Page looked like; all the highest-levelled individuals kept theirs a closely guarded secret. The best one got when trying to investigate was the generic stuff, or maybe old posts from their early days working.

“A powerful artefact has been created…” He stood up and immediately began walking towards the window area of the ship.

Aluber asked, “Is she a crafter…?” Everyone was following Craftalot as he moved through the ship.

“I didn’t believe she was… If you told me her speciality was death and destruction, I would believe that.” His words sounded almost grim, but when he reached the window, his eyes widened.

The woman from earlier was flying back, and the artefact he had given her was visible but had undergone substantial changes.

“Marvellous.”

“...What did she make a better artefact than you?” Jordan joked.

“That might be hard to quantify,” Craftalot replied, which shook the group around him. Perhaps from a standpoint of item quality and abilities, his best far outstripped that artefact, but it contained a power and energy supply he had only seen in Dungeon Artefacts–that made it special.

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“Hello, Lila!” I jumped back into Nina’s ship with a Starlight splash in my step.

“Yes, Ceella?” Lila was waiting for me in the lounge. I had sent her a message ahead of time so she wouldn’t be in the VR space when I arrived with the gift.

“I got a gift for you!” I handed Lila the large metal fan that had transformed. Decorative purple lines that, for no particular reason, looked like wings covered all twelve blades that glowed with subtle purple light.

“What…” Lila was super very excited about my gift.