Warship Enters the Sea

With a "whoosh," Wawa slipped into the water, retracting its bottom tentacles. A small Galleon appeared before Ian.

This was a single-deck, three-masted galleon, 23.2 meters long, 6.1 meters wide, with a draft of 2.9 meters and weighing 150 tons. Apart from the bare masts lacking sails, it looked like a slightly modified Galleon.

Of course, this was merely Wawa's temporary form, meant to avoid suspicion. Once Ian's strength grew, he would surely develop towards a steel battleship.

The Galleon was the most common ship type in the current Sea of Miracles. It lowered the Forecastle and Quarterdeck, integrating them into the hull to reduce wind resistance and improve balance.

The Galleon had several decks, divided into multiple areas: the lower decks for storage, and the upper decks for living quarters. Cannons were placed on both sides of each deck, with heavier cannons on the lower levels and lighter ones on the upper. Typically, the forecastle and quarterdeck would also mount a few rapid-fire cannons for bombardment during pursuits or escapes.

Ian leaped up, landing on the deck, and excitedly began inspecting his warship.

From its hull, Wawa was currently a small Galleon, but it still had two decks, with the forecastle and quarterdeck each rising one level above the main deck.

The main deck, excluding the forecastle section, was open-air. Cannons could be mounted along the ship's sides, and it served as the crew's primary activity area.

Between the two decks, and between the lower deck and the Keel, two levels of space were partitioned. The upper space was divided into crew quarters, a dining hall, and so on. The lower space, due to the Keel, had an uneven height and served as the cargo hold.

The elevated level of the Quarterdeck housed the captain's cabin, with an open platform encircling the entire stern at the top, serving as a lookout post.

And these were merely Wawa's external spaces.

Ian walked into the empty captain's cabin and gently pushed a wall. A hidden door materialized and opened. As Ian stepped through, the door quickly closed and vanished.

This was a spacious and bright area, twenty meters square with a three-meter ceiling. It appeared very empty due to the lack of furniture or partitions.

The light emanated from the ceiling, bathing the entire space in a soft, non-glaring glow, making it as bright as day.

This was a magical space inherent to Wawa, anchored within its body. It would grow with Wawa until it reached maturity, at which point it would stabilize.

The owner could freely control this space, dividing it into multiple rooms and rearranging the layout, but its total size remained constant.

With a wave of Ian's hand, the light and the surrounding walls "disappeared." Ian felt as if he were suspended in the air above the sea. Under the night sky, all the maritime scenery was visible, and he could even hear the roar of the sea wind. Apart from not feeling the wind or smelling the sea brine, it was exactly like being on the ocean's surface.

This was a capability of the magical cabin, projecting the external scenery into the space to prevent the owner from being blind upon entering.

Ian couldn't have been more satisfied. He still needed to carefully plan how to utilize this space.

First, he had Wawa create a lounge, a bathroom, an alchemy room, and a storage room, with adjustments to be made later as needed.

Ian exited the cabin and observed the ship's wheel, propeller, and spray boards generated by Wawa. They looked quite convincing.

However, Ian had only seen these things before and was not an expert. Wawa would need to gradually modify and optimize them based on his sailing experience later on.

Notably, Wawa lacked a steering wheel and did not need one. Wawa's body was the warship itself. Wawa could obey Ian's commands and also navigate freely. With Wawa's learning ability, it would be more proficient than the best helmsman.

Under Ian's spiritual command, the propeller spun rapidly, kicking up a large amount of spray and propelling the warship swiftly towards the deep ocean.

Ian stood on the top platform of the Quarterdeck, the sea breeze whipping around him. With the vast sky and sea, he felt a sense of freedom and exhilaration.

The warship was fast. Since there was no log line and Wawa lacked experience with its speed on its first voyage, Ian didn't know the exact speed, but it felt like it exceeded ten knots. This was under no sails and against the wind!

When a Galleon raised its sails, it was fastest against the wind, but rarely exceeded ten knots. In weak winds, three to four knots was normal.

In terms of speed alone, Wawa had already surpassed most sailing ships without supernatural assistance, and this was far from its limit!

Besides its speed, Wawa's body was also tough and heavy, with defenses far exceeding ordinary wooden warships. The smooth, silvery-gray hull had a tilt of about 20 degrees, effectively deflecting cannonballs.

Wawa's tentacles would gradually degenerate, forming a sturdier hull, anchors, propellers, and rudder blades. These parts could regenerate if damaged.

In Ian's view, Wawa had few flaws, except for being a bit heavy and having limited cargo capacity.

The warship had no lights, and after circling like a ghost ship, it quietly sailed back to the base of the tower cliff.

Ian, beaming with excitement, returned to shore. His plan to sail the seas could finally begin.

He had Wawa continue to dock by the sea in its warship form. Its current size prevented free movement. One reason was to avoid attracting attention from those with ulterior motives, and the other was that as Wawa grew, its tentacles would further degenerate and eventually disappear. The warship would be its permanent form.

The next morning, after finishing his meditation, Ian saw an overly excited Milta pacing by the sea cliff, sporting prominent dark circles under his eyes.

Milta had returned to his room the previous night, and as his initial fear subsided, his excitement grew: so Mr. Trist's ship was a magical creature!

Thinking about traveling with a powerful magical creature long-term, Milta, while having some concerns, was mostly thrilled.

A powerful captain and warship were the true keys to navigating the Sea of Miracles.

Ian led the nervous Milta along the cliff path to Wawa, instructing them to get along well, before leaving for the Alchemist Fellowship.

Now that he had a warship, he needed cannons!

He needed to be able to fight as well as flee; hiding and being cowardly wasn't Ian's style.

Furthermore, Ian had a bold idea: could he mount alchemical cannons on the ship? Even just one or two would be great.

Wawa's hull was tough and heavy; he wondered if it could withstand the impact of alchemical cannons.

As for gunners, he didn't have any people, but he did have a sentient rope!

With long range and high speed, kiting tactics were tailor-made for it.