I’ll be the first one to admit it. I was not looking forward to getting back on a boat. Our last journey ended with Ravyn frying up a herd of fishcats, and I was sure there were plenty of other Encroachers waiting out there to call us dinner.

At least this time, I felt ready. Higher Level, better gear, and a full Party. Still, it was tough to shake that nagging feeling that my encounters so far were only the beginning.

Keke, Cannoli, Ravyn, and I found Portia on the dock, caring for and crooning over her new sloop like a newborn baby. The Bells she’d won from her card games with Cailu had paid off.

“How’s sailing, Portia?” I called with a wave.

“Oh, Goddess above, never been better!” Portia laughed. She hopped from the deck to the dock and greeted us with a smile. The tattoos on her arm flexed and reshaped as she stretched her arms. “She steers like a dream. And she’s big enough to keep the damn roaches away. Most of ‘em, anyway.”

“Heh. I have a feeling that it isn’t just the boat that keeps them away,” Ravyn snickered, coiling her thick red tail around her leg.

“You probably have a point there. Got a few new weapons in the kit to boot.” Portia cracked her neck, and the silver hoops in her left ear caught the sunlight. “What can I do for my favorite customers?”

“We’re on a Quest!” Cannoli announced. Buttons, her blue blazard, scurried into her hair and took a seat on the top of her head, bobbing his head in time with hers. “We need to find the men on the other islands!”

Portia ran a hand through her cropped green hair. “Hmm. Well, ya know where Cailu is. Though his purse is a lot lighter.”

“Right. Not Cailu,” Keke agreed. The ocean breeze blew her dark brown hair back and the scent of her with it. She always smelled incredible.

“Cailu’s the one who sent us on this little adventure in the first place. Now we need to go to Ichi Island and Shi Island,” I explained. “But I’m not sure where to start.”

“Ichi’s dangerous as hell. There’s a lotta high-leveled Encroachers and more Defiled there than Nyarlothep, as I heard it.” Portia crossed her arms. “And the desert is a pain to cross without the right equipment.”

“I went there once. I’m not looking forward to going back,” Ravyn added.

Portia nodded. “Shi Island is, er, well…” She trailed, chewing in thought. “Shi Island is strange.”

“Strange how?” I asked. After our escapades on San Island, I wondered how much ‘stranger’ Nyarlea could get.

“It’s a pretty harmless island, I think. But the girls there, they’re a weird bunch,” Portia said.

“They can’t be much weirder than Ravyn, right?” Keke asked with a dry laugh.

“Hey. Eat shit,” Ravyn snapped. Ball Gag, her hellkite familiar, snickered from his perch on her shoulder.

I hate that bird.

Portia laughed. “If I had to choose between Ichi and Shi to visit first, I’d say Shi. It’ll be an overnight ride, but the sloop has plenty of room for all of ya. We can take turns on watch.”

“That sounds great. We should have enough Bells for the trip.” I dug through my [Cat Pack] and procured a section of the money left over from our equipment run. We’d made a solid amount off of the four lizard Encroachers we’d hunted the day before, so I knew we’d have enough money for inn stays and food. It was nice not scraping the bottom of the barrel for Bells.

“Oh, Matt, I can pay my own way. It’s okay!” Cannoli said, her fluffy white ears perking up as she rifled through her pack. “We made lots yesterday!”

“Let me have this one,” I insisted. “You girls have done enough for me.”

Cannoli beamed, then tied her [Cat Pack] shut. “Alright.”

I paid, and we swapped to [Combat Mode] before boarding. Portia swiftly had us out to sea, and I sat down with the iPaw. I’d thought about where I wanted my points to go before I’d Leveled, so it didn’t take much time to throw my Stat point into [Resistance] and the Class Point into [Adrenaline Rush]. After Cannoli’s explanation of [Resistance] on our return from San, and the Shulan Defiled’s Enchantment display, anything to resist that bullshit was welcome.

With that out of the way, I decided to take a look at our Party and see what we had to work with.

Matt

Base Level 5
Warrior Class Level 5
Base Experience: 710/1000
Class Experience: 710/1000
Health Points: 39/39
Myana Points: 5/5
Energy: 20/21
Strength: 3 +4
Vitality: 2 +2
Dexterity: 1
Agility: 1 +1
Magic: 1
Resistance: 2 +3

I grinned from ear to ear. For once in my life, I was making visible progress. Though, something about my Stats seemed off.

Where am I getting 11 more [Health Points]?

I distinctly remembered having 28 [Health Points] before I hit Base Level 5. In fact, my [Strength] and [Vitality] looked higher than I remembered as well. I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I needed to know what was going on. I thought about asking Keke, but I decided to go straight to the source for the information.

“Hey, Ai,” I said.

Seconds later, a window with Ai’s portrait appeared on the iPaw’s screen. The pixelated, blue-haired catgirl had returned to her Ni Island sailor’s outfit, and the sound of her monotone voice was somehow comforting. “Can you help me out?”

“How may I assist, [User Matthew]?”

I frowned. Start calling me Matt, for starters. “My Stats seem to be a bit higher than I remember. My [Strength] and [Vitality] as well. I didn’t put them up myself, so I was wondering if you knew about some feature I might’ve missed.”

She blinked. “Are you referring to the Class Bonus received at Class Level 5?”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “Would that explain it?”

“Possibly. First Classes receive a bonus to their Stats upon reaching Class Level 5.” Ai pointed up with one finger, and the list of notifications started to scroll. It stopped on an announcement detailing that I’d received a Class Bonus. “Perhaps you missed it.”

I scratched my head. “Not sure how I would have.”

“You were intoxicated that night,” Ai said with, dare I say, a hint of motherly judgment in her voice.

“You saw that?”

Ai nodded. “Yes. You dropped me three times.”

I swallowed. “S-so, will the notification explain it, or would you be more helpful?”

“Yes, that is the objective of the notification,” Ai said after a pause. “They are simple in nature. Upon reaching Class Level 5, you will receive a boost to your Stats. Congratulations.”

“Will I get bonuses every five Levels?”

“Not necessarily,” she replied.

Silence.

I see we’re not chatty today. As helpful as the iPaw was, Ai could be frustratingly vague. “Thanks, Ai. That’s all.”

The stern catgirl nodded, her portrait disappearing. I tapped the notification I’d received and skimmed over the Class Bonus. It’d given me a point of [Strength], [Vitality], and 5 additional [Health Points]. No wonder I felt so damn good.

39 [Health Points]. Hell yeah!

With that out of the way, I scrolled up to see if there was anything else I missed, and lo and behold, there was. A message stating that [Axe Mastery] had granted me a new bonus popped up, and I pressed my index finger against it. A large window took up the screen, detailing the new bonuses accompanied with [Axe Mastery], and I rattled them off to myself.

“Efficiency and damage increases to 10%. In addition, user is granted a toggle. When activated, attacks draw more [Enmity].” That was great on its own, but the best part came at the end. “[Enmity]-boosting effects from other toggles stack.”

I hissed through my teeth. I had to call upon Ai. Again. The girls were resting below deck, and I wasn’t about to disturb them. Besides, that’s what Ai was for… Right?

“Hey, Ai,” I started. “I got one last question for you.”

Her portrait appeared once more. “Yes, [User Matthew]?”

“How do I use a toggle Skill?”

The smallest hint of a smile tugged at her lips. “Toggles may be turned on or off at will. Think it, and it will occur.”

“So…like breathing?” I sighed as I realized how dumb that sounded. “What I mean is it’ll just come naturally to me? Like breathing?” I cringed. Still dumb.

Her smile faded. “Yes.”

“Thanks, Ai. I’ll leave you alone now.”

Her portrait disappeared, and I released a sigh as I dismissed the iPaw. I’d need to take a look at the girls’ Stats and Skills soon, but I could wait until we arrived at Shi Island.

I took a seat on the stern near Portia, eager for some company that didn’t resemble angry malware. “Did you have a good time on your own?”

“Saoirse’s tits, yes,” Portia groaned in satisfaction.

I laughed. “Saoirse? Who’s that?”

“The goddess of this world. You didn’t know that?” She wrinkled her eyebrows. “You are a curious one.”

I’d heard plenty of the girls talk about a goddess and a heaven, but it was the first time anyone had said her name. Was there a temple for her somewhere? Was she a ‘manager’ like Leiana? I made a mental note to ask more about her later. “Where’d you go?”

“Made it to San and back in record time. Sailed around Ni for a day. I wanted to warm this baby up and get to know her better.”

“Sounds like a great time.” I flinched at the word ‘baby.’ “Hey, Portia, you said your dad was around for a while, right?”

“That’s right.” She took a seat next to me and dug two bottles free from a nearby bucket filled with ice. After passing one to me, she popped the cap and took a swig.

I accepted the drink and did the same. It was ice cold and refreshing beneath the warm sun. “Does that happen a lot?” I had to know. It seemed contradictory to their survival, but Portia seemed pretty attached to her dad. “I mean, dads staying around with their daughters.”

Portia studied me for a time. “No, it doesn’t. I know I was really lucky to have Pops around for as long as I did.”

“How did he manage it?”

After another drink, Portia replied, “From what my mom told me, for most of his kittens, he didn’t. I was the last of his kids, and my mom was his last partner. We had eight great years together.”

“What happened to him?”

She shrugged. “I remember a royal guard coming to the door and calling him away, and he never came home. Mom never told me what happened. She died a few years later.” She clicked her tongue, then took another swig.

Have all of you been alone for so long? “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Portia gestured toward me with her bottle. “I don’t envy you, Matt. The men in this world have a hefty charge on their shoulders.”

“I’m worried about the girls I won’t be there for,” I admitted.

“Don’t be. We’re all more than capable of taking care of little ones. And if there’s trouble, there’s plenty of nyannies to help ‘em out.”

“Right. Still, though. That’s rough.”

Portia clapped me on the back and chuckled. “You’re not a bad guy. Talking with you makes me miss my pops. He would’ve liked ya.”

A brief image of my dad in his army uniform surfaced. Bald-headed, tall, stern, and judgmental as hell. He didn’t take no for an answer, and between him and my mother, it felt like I never had room to be myself. To hear that someone else’s dad would’ve approved of my actions felt… empowering. Like I didn’t mess everything up.

I grinned. “Thanks. That means a lot.”

“Ano sa!” Ravyn called from the steps. “How will the watch work later?”

“Guess we can figure that out now.” Portia shrugged.