The ocean was silent.
Not peaceful.
Not calm.
Silent.
The kind of silence that appeared after something completely unreasonable happened.
The kind of silence that followed disasters.
Explosions.
Natural calamities.
Or.
Kel Rosenfeld explaining things.
Currently.
All three ship crews stood frozen upon the decks.
Merchant sailors.
Pirates.
Adventurers.
Passengers.
Scholars.
Mercenaries.
Every single person stared toward the distant horizon.
The place where Captain Blacktooth's spear had vanished.
Or more accurately.
The place where reality had apparently given up.
Even now.
The ocean surface still trembled slightly.
Waves rolled unnaturally.
The sky itself seemed disturbed.
The explosion from fifty kilometers away remained etched into everyone's minds.
A spear.
A single spear.
Had traveled farther than anyone could see.
Then exploded like a heavenly punishment.
Nobody understood it.
Nobody could understand it.
Unfortunately.
Kel seemed determined to make things worse.
Because while everyone was busy processing the impossible.
Kel was processing something else entirely.
Confusion.
Genuine confusion.
He couldn't understand why everyone looked so shocked.
Captain Blacktooth finally found his voice.
The pirate captain pointed accusingly toward the horizon.
"THAT!"
Another.
"THAT!"
Another.
"EXPLAIN THAT!"
The giant pirate practically roared.
Kel blinked.
Then looked toward the horizon.
Then back toward the pirate.
Then toward the horizon again.
As if trying to identify exactly which impossible thing required explanation.
Finally.
"Oh."
The crowd collectively twitched.
"Oh?"
Captain Darius repeated.
The merchant captain's eye was visibly twitching now.
Kel nodded.
Then casually answered.
"I only imbued a very low amount of energy into the spear."
Silence.
Everyone froze.
Then stared.
Then stared harder.
Then stared even harder.
Because that answer somehow raised more questions than it answered.
Captain Alric slowly stepped forward.
"Low?"
Kel nodded.
"Very low."
The luxury captain looked ready to jump into the ocean.
The Explanation Begins
Kel rested both arms upon the railing.
The morning wind moved his silver hair.
His calm expression remained unchanged.
As though discussing weather.
As though discussing breakfast.
As though he hadn't just launched a weapon halfway across the world.
"It wasn't the energy."
Another.
"It was the spear."
Silence.
Nobody understood.
Kel continued.
"The spear was long."
Another.
"Balanced."
Another.
"Heavy enough."
Another.
"The rotational speed continuously increased."
Another.
"The longer it traveled."
Another.
"The more destructive it became."
The scholars immediately pulled out notebooks.
The sailors immediately became confused.
The pirates immediately became more confused.
Raven immediately regretted listening.
The Scholars Attack
One elderly scholar immediately stepped forward.
"Rotational speed?"
Kel nodded.
"Yes."
The old man adjusted his glasses.
"Explain."
Kel pointed toward the ocean.
"When you throw."
Another.
"You create forward momentum."
Another.
"If the object rotates."
Another.
"The rotation stores stability."
Another.
"If energy continuously reinforces that rotation."
Another.
"The rotational speed increases."
Another.
"The faster it rotates."
Another.
"The greater its destructive potential."
The scholars immediately started writing.
Pages filled.
Pens moved.
Ink flowed.
One scholar looked ready to faint from excitement.
Meanwhile.
The sailors looked ready to faint from confusion.
Raven Tries To Help
Raven rubbed her forehead.
Then looked toward Kel.
"Can you explain it."
Another.
"Normally?"
Kel frowned.
"What do you mean?"
The explorer woman nearly screamed.
"What do you mean what do I mean?!"
Another.
"Use words normal people understand!"
Kel considered.
Then nodded.
"Very well."
Everyone leaned forward.
Hope returned.
Finally.
A normal explanation.
Kel pointed toward a nearby rope.
"If I spin this rope."
Another.
"It spins."
The crowd nodded.
Good.
Simple.
Understandable.
Then Kel continued.
"If I continuously increase the spinning speed."
Another.
"Eventually it becomes dangerous."
More nodding.
Still understandable.
Then.
"If the spinning speed exceeds light."
The crowd instantly stopped nodding.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Kel continued anyway.
"The object destabilizes."
Another.
"And explodes."
The crowd collectively suffered emotional damage.
Captain Blacktooth sat down.
Without permission.
His legs no longer wished to participate.
Telepathic Conversation
Far away.
Deep beneath Scarder Lake.
Seiren was listening.
The Guardian remained silent for several seconds.
Then finally spoke.
"Kel."
"Yes?"
"You lost them."
"What do you mean?"
"The moment you mentioned exceeding light."
Kel considered.
"That seems reasonable."
Seiren almost screamed.
"NO IT DOESN'T!"
The Guardian buried her face in both hands.
"Normal people don't casually discuss objects exceeding light speed!"
Kel remained silent.
Then quietly replied.
"Fair."
The Crowd Gets Curious Again
Unfortunately.
Instead of discouraging everyone.
Kel's explanation somehow achieved the opposite effect.
People became more interested.
Much more interested.
Captain Darius stepped forward.
"So."
Another.
"If I throw a spear."
Another.
"It can do that?"
Kel shook his head.
"No."
Captain Darius looked relieved.
Then Kel continued.
"You'll probably die first."
The relief vanished immediately.
The merchant captain stared.
"What?"
Kel nodded.
"Most people cannot properly contain the energy."
Another.
"The energy destabilizes."
Another.
"The weapon explodes."
Another.
"Usually in the user's hand."
Half the sailors immediately dropped their practice weapons.
The Demonstration Continues
One adventurer stepped forward.
A young man.
Confident.
Far too confident.
The kind of confidence that generally preceded disasters.
"I can do it."
Kel looked at him.
Then shrugged.
"If you wish."
The adventurer grabbed a spear.
Energy flowed.
Poorly.
Very poorly.
The spear vibrated.
The crowd immediately backed away.
Raven backed away.
Captain Blacktooth backed away.
Even Kel stepped aside.
The spear exploded.
BOOM.
A tiny explosion.
Nothing dangerous.
Mostly embarrassing.
The adventurer landed inside a barrel.
The crowd applauded.
The barrel lost again.
The New Obsession
Within an hour.
The entire fleet became obsessed.
Absolutely obsessed.
Everywhere.
People practiced.
Spoons flew.
Forks flew.
Knives flew.
Stones flew.
One pirate launched a boot.
Nobody knew why.
Not even the pirate.
The boot traveled surprisingly far.
Captain Blacktooth promoted him immediately.
The Naming Problem Returns
Eventually.
The same question returned.
Again.
Because apparently humanity could not survive without naming things.
A scholar approached Kel.
Notebook in hand.
Expression serious.
"Sir Nameless."
Kel nodded.
"We require the official name."
Kel sighed.
Not this again.
"Why?"
The scholar looked offended.
"Because techniques need names."
Kel immediately shook his head.
"No."
The scholar's eye twitched.
"Yes."
Kel shook his head again.
"No."
The scholar pointed dramatically toward the horizon.
"THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT A NAME!"
Kel considered.
Then answered.
"It happened before you asked."
The scholar froze.
Critical damage.
The Debate Escalates
Soon.
The sailors joined.
Then the pirates.
Then the adventurers.
Then the passengers.
Everyone suggested names.
"Sky Piercing Spear!"
"No!"
"Horizon Breaking Throw!"
"No!"
"Divine Rotation Art!"
"No!"
"Ocean Destroyer Technique!"
"No!"
"The Great Spear Of Doom!"
"No!"
"The Heavenly Flying Death Stick!"
Kel almost approved that one.
Almost.
Raven Finally Understands
Later.
As the arguments continued.
Raven stood beside Kel.
Watching the ocean.
Watching the chaos.
Watching the sailors.
Watching the pirates.
Watching dozens of grown adults argue over a technique name.
Then she suddenly laughed.
Kel glanced toward her.
"What?"
Raven smiled.
"I understand now."
Kel raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
The explorer woman looked toward the horizon.
The distant location where the spear had exploded.
Then back toward Kel.
"You genuinely don't understand."
Kel blinked.
"Understand what?"
Raven laughed softly.
"To you."
Another.
"That throw wasn't impressive."
Kel thought.
Then answered honestly.
"It wasn't."
Raven shook her head.
Then laughed harder.
Because that answer alone explained everything.
To Kel.
The throw was ordinary.
To everyone else.
It was legendary.
To Kel.
It was a basic application.
To everyone else.
It looked like divine power.
To Kel.
It was a lazy throw.
To everyone else.
It was a miracle.
The Final Statement
Eventually.
The crowd demanded one final answer.
Captain Blacktooth stepped forward.
Arms crossed.
"Fine."
Another.
"We accept your explanation."
Another.
"We accept the impossible spear."
Another.
"We accept the explosion."
Another.
"We accept the shockwave."
Another.
"But answer one thing."
The pirate captain pointed dramatically.
"What exactly was that throw?"
Everyone looked toward Kel.
Waiting.
Expecting.
Praying.
Surely.
This time.
He would give a proper answer.
Kel thought for several moments.
Then calmly replied.
"I lazily threw a spear."
Silence.
The ocean froze.
The sailors froze.
The pirates froze.
The adventurers froze.
The scholars froze.
Even Raven froze.
Then.
Far away beneath Scarder Lake.
Seiren laughed so hard that half the lake's fish fled in terror.
Because once again.
Kel Rosenfeld had managed to say the single most irritating sentence possible.
And somehow.
He was completely serious.