The sea at night was too quiet. JP sat on deck with his tools spread out, quartz shards glimmering in the lantern glow. His boots hummed faintly with residual charge, his bracer pulsed steady blue—but tonight his focus was on the battered handgun lying in his lap.
"Alright, buddy," he muttered, tightening a plate. "Time to level you up. No more sputtering sparks—you're going full thunderstick."
Lyra leaned against a mast, daggers balanced across her knees. "Is it wise to test that here? On a wooden ship?"
"Wise? No. Necessary? Absolutely." JP squinted, inserting a new crystal core. The gun whined with power. He grinned. "See? Stable as—"
BZZZT! A surge of current zapped his fingers, making him yelp.
Lyra's smirk widened. "Stable as your cooking, maybe."
Before he could argue, the lookout's voice split the night.
"Ship on the horizon—closing fast!"
The Ambush
Out of the mist came a sleek, dark vessel, its oars cutting silent ripples. Grappling hooks shot out, clanging against the Stormrider's rails. Figures in black cloaks swarmed aboard.
"Assassins!" shouted a sailor.
JP snapped the new handgun shut, his pulse racing. "Guess you're getting your field test after all."
Lyra's daggers flashed as she met the first wave, graceful as lightning. JP aimed at a cloaked figure scaling the rail. He squeezed the trigger.
BOOOOM-CRACK!
A bolt of white-blue energy ripped across the deck, hurling the assassin back into the sea. Sailors froze mid-fight, wide-eyed.
JP blinked at the smoking barrel. "…Okay, that was a little too powerful."
"Little?" Lyra barked, ducking an attack. "You nearly cut the mast in half!"
Status Surge
The assassins pressed harder, their leader cutting through sailors like a blade through cloth. JP fired again, lightning bursts scattering attackers left and right. Each shot drained him, but exhilaration thrummed in his chest.
Suddenly—
PING!
A translucent panel flickered in his vision:
[Status Updated]
Level: 19 → 20
HP: 310 / 310
MP: 240 / 240
Strength: 42
Endurance: 48
Dexterity: 27
Intelligence: 59
Luck: 17
New Skill Acquired: Overcharge Shot (Handgun)
New Passive: Circuit Efficiency (Alchemy/Electrics)
JP almost forgot he was mid-battle. "Oh, neat—new skills!"
"FOCUS!" Lyra shouted, kicking an assassin into the sea.
"Right, right!" He lifted the handgun again, channeling the new skill instinctively. Energy pulsed down his arm, the barrel glowing white-hot. He fired—
ZZZZZZZT-THOOOM!
The Overcharge Shot blasted across the deck, vaporizing three cloaked attackers in one strike and lighting the waves like day.
Sailors cheered. Lyra's eyes widened despite herself. "That… was not subtle."
JP grinned, chest heaving. "Subtlety's overrated."
Retreat of the Assassins
The leader hissed, glaring at JP with hate. "The merchants will not stop. Your spark will be extinguished." He signaled, and the surviving assassins withdrew, retreating into the mist.
The crew cheered louder, clapping JP on the back. "The inventor's no dead weight!" someone roared.
JP staggered, still buzzing with energy. "Field test… successful. Mostly."
Lyra sheathed her daggers, approaching with a raised brow. "Mostly? You nearly fried half the deck."
"Yeah, but no one important!" JP quipped, then winced at her glare. "…Kidding. Totally kidding."
But in the corner of his eye, his Status panel still glowed. And for the first time since arriving in this world, JP felt something stir inside him—excitement not just to survive, but to fight back.
And this was only the beginning.