As Archer settled onto the balcony, a sense of peace enveloped him. The gentle sway of the ship beneath him added a soothing rhythm to the stillness of the night. Leaning back on the comfortable chair, he gazed at the constellations above that dotted the cosmic expanse.

The star’s brilliance was unmatched by any earthly light he had ever seen, casting a soft glow over the deck. As he watched, a shooting star streaked across the sky, its trail a fleeting arc of luminescence.

His breath caught in his throat as he followed its path, a silent witness to the heavenly dance unfolding before him. One shooting star became two, then three, painting the night with a symphony of light and motion.

As Archer teetered on the verge of slumber, he noticed the ship gradually dimming as the sailors settled down. He soon fell asleep while curling up on the comfortable sofa. The following morning, he was awakened by a loud explosion, which caused him to jump up.

When glancing around, Archer spotted Kassandra sleeping in the same chair, but she slowly woke up while yawning. He looked over the balcony to see the Titan Wrath Cannons firing a volley of shells.

That’s when he saw a massive whale creature charging for the ship as the cannons continued to fire. When the shells hit the monster, the attacks slowed it down but couldn’t stop it.

Archer scrutinized the monster to scan it and see how powerful it was.

Leviathan Whale

Rank: SS

”It’s strong, SS Rank Kass,” he said before looking at the shocked Kraken girl.

But as the creature approached the ship, a navy blue shark quickly tore through its body. Archer was shocked to see this until he recognized the newcomer and mumbled, ”Demetra.”

”The Demon Shark?” Kassandra asked as the giant shark ate the Leviathan Whale before approaching the ship.

When Archer saw this, he shouted for the cannons not to fire as the shark swam towards them until a glow shone, and a girl came flying toward him. He caught her with a chuckle as a voice was heard.

”I knew I smelled you,” Demetra said while hugging Archer. ”Lucky I was in the area hunting.”

”Arch, I could have dealt with the creature in my normal form,” Kassandra said. ”It was lucky you came along.”

Demetra turned toward the Kraken Girl with a glint in her yellow shark eyes before her hand shot out, ”I know our races don’t get on, but I don’t see why we can’t?”

Archer’s eyes widened in shock, but Kassandra looked like a wet fish hit her before taking it, ”Okay, sounds good,” she said. ”It’s good to have a powerful ally.”

When she said that, Demetra sniffed the air, snapped her head toward Archer, and asked, ”Are you tangling yourself with a Deep One? They are dangerous.”

He smiled and was about to reply when Kassandra beat him. ”Lucrezia is a sweetheart and adores Archer,” she revealed. ”She is helping him as we speak by guarding a capital city from the Swarm.”

Demetra nodded, ”Yes, every realm is fighting them, even my own.”

”The Swarm have sea monsters?” Archer questioned.

”Yes. They are swamping our defenses, and thanks to Father being on the frontlines, we held them back,” she answered.

After conversing for some time, the peaceful moment was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the Tressyms, who playfully pounced on them. The two girls couldn’t help but laugh as they affectionately petted the fluffy creatures.

Archer joined in with a chuckle as he issued fresh orders, “Go and explore the world. If you find anything valuable, bring it back to me.”

The Tressym leader affectionately nudged his head in agreement before Archer continued, “And if you encounter any flying monsters that you can communicate with, try to recruit them to our cause.”

They agreed to it before zooming off in the distance, which shocked the two girls. Demetra turned to him and asked, ” How can those creatures fly so quickly?”

”They are soaked in my mana, causing them to be stronger,” he explained.

After that, the trio was hungry and went down to the galley to get something to eat, as breakfast would be served soon. As Archer, Kassandra, and Demetra strolled through the bustling corridors of the flagship, the air was filled with the hum of activity.

Sailors rushed past, their footsteps echoing against the metal floors as they attended to their duties. The trio moved with purpose, weaving through the crowd easily, drawing occasional curious glances from the crew who bowed toward Archer as he passed by.

The corridor walls were painted white and blue, allowing the mana lights to illuminate it. Windows dotted the walls, showing the sea outside turning rough as the cloud darkened. It took another ten minutes of walking until they reached the entrance to the Mess Deck, and the atmosphere shifted.

The sounds of clanging metal and shouting sailors gave way to the inviting aroma of freshly cooked meals. Archer pushed open the heavy door, revealing a spacious room filled with long tables and benches, where sailors sat enjoying their meals.

The trio entered the Mess Deck, greeted by the crew’s welcoming smiles. Archer nodded as his eyes swept over the large room before settling on the serving line where food was being prepared.

He wouldn’t use his status to push to the front of the line, so he and the girls went to the back and waited. While waiting, he spoke with the sailor serving the food, asking about the day’s menu and the crew’s morale.

Kassandra and Demetra listened intently, their expressions thoughtful as they took in the sailor’s words. Once their plates were full, the trio found an empty table near the back of the room and settled in.

When they sat down, Archer looked at the meal the ship’s cooks were serving, and it was some monster meat coated in mana with some mashed potato and vegetables, which would fill them up.

Archer was about to eat until Demetra said, ”I’m not hungry. That whale satisfied me, and its meat was tasty.”

With that, she pushed her plate toward Archer, who happily took it and started eating as the ship began to rock, which caught him off guard. He looked around but noticed Kassandra and Demetra weren’t bothered, but the sailors were.

After that, he started eating while Demetra asked him what he had been up to since they saw each other last, which he delved into and caught the Demon Shark’s attention as she asked him if she could travel with him for the foreseeable future.

When Archer heard this, he noticed that her yellow eyes had hope. He nodded, which made the girl happy. She leaned over the table and wrapped her arms around his shoulders before placing a peck on his cheek.

Once Demetra did that, Archer looked at her, but all she did was give him a gorgeous look as they returned to eating. When he took a bite of the meat, he loved it; it was soft and juicy, causing him to devour it.

Following that, Archer jumped up and walked over to the serving line, where he qued up as the sailors around him gave him strange looks, but he chose to ignore it before the line moved, and the cooks smiled when seeing he was back.

Archer chuckled at their reaction before complimenting them on the cooking. This pleased the workers, and he asked for more meat. Once the cooks gave him more food, he returned to the girls.

He sat down and started eating, earning giggles from the Kraken and Demon Shark. Archer smiled at the two before digging in. Afterward, they started chatting as time flew by while traveling south and passed by Verdentia, the continent where the Novgorod Empire lay.

The 1st Fleet had all its ships and personnel, which amounted to one Flagship, sixteen Battleships, forty Cruisers, Destroyers, and Frigates alongside the Ship Vessels. On board were 332,500 sailors and marines, which amazed him at the number of people needed to crew the vessels.

After breakfast, Demetra and Kassandra decided to explore the sea while following the fleet, which Archer agreed to. He kissed the Kraken before both jumped off the deck and transformed once they dived in.

The sailors were shocked when a massive navy blue shark trailed behind them while a Kraken leisurely swam around, grabbing the odd sea monster and throwing it onto the ship’s deck for extra food.

While they were doing that, Archer returned to his room, pulled out some Dragon rum Sera gave him, and started drinking while developing new plans for his kingdom, including palace designs.

Archer wanted to capture and fortify the three other islands, so Draconia had an island chain protecting it. He came up with city designs that he remembered from documentaries from Earth.

He wanted to go with the Rare Monster Trade, which would bring in even more income. After that, he devised a punishment system for petty crime: forced service to the kingdom by cleaning the streets, sewers, and many other things, including construction projects.

‘I’ll add another tax of 20 silver coins per week from every citizen along with a business tax of 60 gold coins that is due on the last day of every month from the stores and businesses throughout the kingdom,’ he thought to himself as he wrote everything down.

Archer created a monthly 200 gold coin tax on villages, towns, and cities for kingdom-wide maintenance. This tax would benefit everyone, as Archer would invest it in infrastructure and projects.

Happy with everything he came up with, he started drinking the Dragon Rum, and after finishing the bottle, Archer was drunk. A knock was heard while he was mellowed out, causing him to call whoever was inside.