RCJoshua

Chapter 36: Scholars

They didn’t linger long after the food. With Kelda’s permission and a promise that someone would send word if the floating fortress reappeared, the group turned their attention back to the work they could still control.

When they went to the pile of wood, they saw Bunton had been working on it in their absence. He had already organized the logs into manageable stacks, separating heartwood from other heartwood and coding them with chalk marks in a way nobody on the team understo...

Chapter 35: Debt

“Okay.” Bunton smiled as he finished dragging the trees out. As much as the man enjoyed felling them, it was obvious he relished this second part of the job. “Good work. The trees will calm down in a few minutes, so don’t mind them. First, we don’t want any branches. Stand back, because this is the messy part.”

Bunton went to work, and the results were something to watch. He tore through the tree like a storm, taking off every single limb from five trees in just a few minute...

Chapter 34: Trees

After a brief misunderstanding about which bunkhouse was appropriate for Aethe to stay in at the moment, they determined that Elisa would have probably left some sort of sign for Aethe and that they could work out any complex changes to sleeping arrangements down the road. That led to a whole rabbit trail about what changes she could expect immediately, during which Marco checked to see if her people had any concept of handholding and kissing. They did, but she demanded a demonstration of bot...

Chapter 33: Interested

Marco sat up in his bathtub. “It remodeled itself? The whole island? Like upgrades?”

“I know. It’s weird stuff. We have a couple scholar types who are trying to figure out what all that means, but for now we are all rich. Every man, woman, and child living here is handpicked and gets a share. Even if everything shut off today, we’d all do just fine. It’d be perfect except for one thing.”

It wasn’t hard to guess what that one thing was.

“Pirates?” Marco sa...

Chapter 32: Island

Marco got the others up belowdeck, then took to the wheel and pursued the other ship with Aethe’s help. The pirates were heading in a single direction and, oblivious to their tail, didn’t even keep a watch as they sailed towards their home.

“There,” Aethe said as she pointed into the distance. “I see their base. It’s… big.”

Marco eased the ship to a stop without dropping the anchor. He took out his spyglass and looked in the direction that Aethe was pointing. The i...

30 and 31 Changed

Hey guys,

We just changed chapters 30 and 31 for TSS. The main change is that Marco and crew are going to explore a pirate base before they visit the island. Besides that, everything is more-or-less as is.

Thanks,

RC

Chapter 31: Quiet

Back aboard The Foolish Endeavor, Elisa sat on a barrel and rubbed at her temples. “We should start loading over the ammo.”

“I can start on that,” Riv said, “once I check the powder for water damage. If it’s damp, I’m not hauling it.”

Aethe walked up from belowdecks, holding a salvaged crate of salted meat. “Food’s still good. Some of it, anyway. Not ration-quality, but better than nothing.”

Marco nodded. “Keep an eye out for anything weird l...

Chapter 30: Pirate Captain

Marco stepped forward, sword raised. The captain spotted him and smiled, then lashed the whip again, this time toward Marco’s feet. Marco jumped back but just barely failed at getting enough distance to keep himself safe. The edge of the whip cut his shin open, streaking the razors red as Marco jerked back again and finally got out of range.

The pirate captain was fast. Not so fast Marco couldn’t see him, but certainly too fast for the others to deal with.

“Elisa! Riv! Take ...

Chapter 29: Choice and Risk

Elisa was no less taken aback by the question. Marco watched her open her mouth to explain just how it was known, and what kind of person knew it, then snap her talking parts shut again without saying a word. It was a few seconds before she really did talk.

“You know, it’s odd.” Elisa’s eyes had a far-away look. “I’ve read just about every book on the island. Histories. Storybooks. And I’ve never actually seen a mention of someone with an evil class doing truly evil.” 2025-07-15 13:00:18 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 28: Evil Class

Driving the boat out to sea meant slow going for a while. Marco was the most bothered by the speed, and the time that had seemed so short when getting to the capsized boat dungeon now seemed like an eternity when going away from it while fighting a deadline. The rest of the crew were visibly stressed as well. Elisa was scribbling furiously in her notebook, and then just as furiously scratching out the notes she had just made. Aethe was somehow furiously looking, scanning the horizon ...

Chapter 27: Chances

“It’s like being hunted by a very polite predator,” Aethe said. “One that wants to make sure we’re well-rested before they pounce.”

They drifted along, feeling the calm soaking into them. Marco had the new route from Elisa but stayed on his current course. At some point, the ship behind them had tried something new. It was useless, and it was probably out of sheer boredom on the crew’s part, but they had decided to disappear.

Aethe stood near the rail, eyes fixed on ...

Chapter 26: Explorer Ship

The next morning was the very first time Marco had ever felt relaxed on his ship. They took inventory of their food, which was now supplemented by a couple bags of monster crab. As they didn’t expect it to keep long, Riv was keeping a grill full of the stuff cooking as they worked through their morning.

“Nothing in sight yet.” Marco chewed on a piece of crab as he inspected the ship’s anchor chain. It was a bit rusty, but he didn’t have the supplies to do much about that at th...

Chapter 25: Crabshell Cladding

Aethe’s goodbyes, such as they were, were short. She made sure her responsibilities were distributed among the remaining elves, saluted her commander, and that was that. It was shockingly brief.

“You don’t need more time?” Marco asked for the third time.

“I don’t. And they need to get to work. The meat from the crabs won’t last them forever. They need to also build a ship,” Aethe answered.

“Still…”

“It was a job, Marco. It could have been more t...

Chapter 24: Misfits

As her people had been fighting off the crabs, Aethe’s senses had been feeding her information related to how the crabs approached, fought, and retreated. It was, she explained, exactly the kind of thing an Escort Scout was supposed to do. The idea was that she’d learn things by seeing, and feed them to a team that could use those insights.

The commander hadn’t wanted any part of it.

Marco did. He listened as she explained that the crabs were lazy. He paid attention while sh...

Chapter 23: Commander

Marco shuddered.

“Why didn’t you leave?” he asked.

“We couldn’t. Our ship was destroyed by the first wave. We have the ability to build another, but not quickly. The commander is the only one of us with combat skills to consistently survive, and there just isn’t enough time.” The woman’s voice broke. “And he won’t listen to me.”

“Is he supposed to?” Elisa squinted in thought. “A commander’s word is absolute. Or at least, that’s what I...

Chapter 22: Crabwalk Island

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Dungeon Action Joined!

You have joined an active dungeon raid midway. You are now assigned to the [Renissian Elves Scout Team 334] as an ally. Your possible rewards are linked to what they’ve already accomplished, scaled against your own efforts from this point. Penalties from failing to complete the quest will be shared as well.

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Crabwalk Island

As a land body, Crabwalk Island has very little to offer. W...

Chapter 21: Trees

Marco was quickly realizing that the biggest problem at sea wasn’t monsters or pirates like he had expected. It was something much more mundane. It was water and food. Most of the time since he had been sailing, he was running low on water, food, or both. The expedition on 19-H helped, but their stores were once again running low.

Which meant that it was a relief when they finally spotted something other than endless water.

“Is that a reef?” Riv leaned against the railing an...

Chapter 20: Charisma

Marco applied it to the ship with no further delay. If there was one thing that Marco had learned, it’s that upgrades to his ship were a good thing. Now that he was a captain, he had slowly but surely started to care more and more about his ship. He felt like no upgrade was too much for it. The system rewarded him for his common-sense decision, giving him exactly what he needed in return.

“Okay. I think we’ll be fine now,” Marco said when he read over the next notification.

Chapter 19: Zombified Captain

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Zombified Captain

The captain of this ship kept more of himself than his crew. He is a better thinker, fighter, and in all ways more competent. On top of that, he still has the muscles, sinews, and tendons that made him nearly invincible in his past life.

The zombified captain in control of this ship is an expert in all forms of fencing, boarding, and otherwise destroying whatever stands between him and the wealth of a ship. On his own ship, that power...

Chapter 18: Infested

The two ships collided with a splintering, groaning lurch that shot all of them off their feet. Marco twisted in the air to try and maximize for a safe landing. A few seconds before they hit, it had been clear to all of them that there was nobody to actually save in the water near the ship. There couldn’t have been. Between the waterlogged boards and the obvious rot and decay in the sails hanging from the mast beneath the water, it was clear the ship had been there quite a long time. Now th...

Chapter 17: The Hidden Sea

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Criminal Winds

The winds themselves assist with your chicanery. By expending your magic power, you can cajole your ship’s sailing speed faster in short bursts. Whether you are breaking blockades, outrunning the guards, or spiriting away a beautiful young lady, you will find yourself with an unpredictable increase in speed that will leave your pursuers scratching their heads.

Each activation of the skill comes with a short delay during which your magi...

Chapter 16: Geas

Over the next thirty minutes, the larger ship kept on them. It was likely due to a combination of having a better ship, a faster navigator, stronger rowers, or all three. Any plans of easily shaking them evaporated. Elisa offered what tips she could, but even almost infinite knowledge wasn’t magic. It couldn’t move the ship faster than it was capable of going, no matter how much they wished it could.

Marco put his hands on the wheel and leaned into it, as if that would make the ship...

Chapter 15: Shackles

The notifications turned out to be the ship upgrades finally settling in. As Elisa introduced Riv to all the academic understanding of proper ship operations she knew, Marco pointed the ship in roughly the right direction and got down to the long-awaited fun part.

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Your ship has been upgraded past the limits of [unknown non-standard ship class], an event roughly equivalent to the initial seaworthiness threshold of a new ship’s construction. Please designate a known ship arc...

Chapter 14: Justice

“Can I take these guys?” Marco whispered. “In a fight. If we had too.”

Riv took a second to answer. “Dello? Absolutely. He’s a Rower. He’s strong, but he can’t fight. Gamble? No way. His dad paid to have him leveled. He’s at fifteen, last I heard, with a spear class.”

“Damn. And the last guy?” Marco asked.

“Rice is somewhere in between. He has more levels than you, but he sucks. Fights with daggers, but it surprised everyone when he got a c...

The System Seas (synopsis)

Marco trained his whole life for one thing: to become a captain. He maxed every childhood achievement the System would let him, from diving to rigging to outrunning couriers up mountains. But when classing day finally comes, the System doesn’t make him a captain. It makes him a Gluttony Marauder — a unique class with combat perks, shipwright skills, and a reputation so bad he’s arrested on the spot.Now on the run in a barely seaworthy smuggler’s dinghy, Marco sets out...

Chapter 13: New Trouble

They arrived at the Palmar village quickly. The distorted island was bigger than the real-life deserted island they were temporary tenants of, but they still moved fast once they weren’t looking around every corner for contingents of small island warriors.

There were a solid eleven of the Palmers in the village, doing nothing much at all. Of those, about six of them looked to be the grunts.

“We still haven’t seen any of those snipers,” Marco commented.

“We probably...

Chapter 12: Upgrade

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Savage Shipwright

You will go further and further from specialists as you chase the horizon, far outside where help becomes undependable and one must rely on themselves. This skill is meant to make that experience survivable, allowing you to patch holes in your ship, maintain its overall integrity, and finally find your way home.

When you attempt to repair or upgrade a ship, the Savage Shipwright skill will guide your hands. Nails will...

Chapter 11: Riv

Hours later, it was dark. Elisa had confirmed there was a day-night cycle in this dungeon hours before it was obvious, and now there was no light except from the Palmar’s communal campfire and whatever dim light the sliver of moon in the sky provided.

Elisa had been instructed to stay put. Marco had threatened death first, which didn’t daunt her. After that, he had just threatened to take her back to her father, which seemed to have more of an effect. He was now stooped in the dark ...

Chapter 10: Unlikely Rescue

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Gluttony Marauder reaches Level 6!

Some skill levels have changed

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Marco Nameless

Level 6 Gluttony Marauder

Strength 26

Dexterity 27

Constitution 20

Intelligence 17

Wisdom 15

Charisma 15

Skills: Fencer (3), Gunner (2), Savage Shipwright (1), Tyrant Traveler (3), Conquest (1)

Traits: Hearty Constitution | Fast Learner | Well of Courage

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“I got a level from that, and another l...

Chapter 9: Palmar Brute

An hour later to the minute, the prow of the ship buried itself in a sandy beach, just as predicted.

“How?” Marco looked around in disturbed wonder. “I mean, how do you actually know this stuff?”

“The position of the sun relative to the horizon and the directions on a compass. And water temperature. And the direction of the wind. And a dozen other things.”

“Sure. I’d expect something like that. But how do you know? I’m a captain class and I don’t know tha...