Chapter 194: Homecoming
Coop felt pride swell in his chest as he watched the horizon from the bow of Windchaser. He balanced himself against the breeze with one hand holding a taut rope while his other shielded his eyes from the sea spray. His injuries wouldn’t prevent him from eagerly anticipating the sight of his home.
The old ship cut through the ocean at a steady pace, pushed forward by the phantom pirates that maintained the sails. In the distance, Ghost Reef’s stone walls slowly climbed into view, boldly depicting a safe harbor against the challenges of the assimilation. There was no subterfuge in its design. Instead, it introduced itself with a sense of fearless resilience and durability. Coop admired the core of their settlement as it drew nearer.
The fortress existed in what felt like the middle of nowhere. The rolling waves that defined the deep ocean seemed to be tamed by the presence of the massive structure as it sprouted up from the surface. The calmer waters in the area gave the impression that the fort itself was suppressing the whitecaps over a wide swathe of the sea with its very presence. The surrounding reefs may not have been visible, but their influence was impossible to miss as they subdued the wild ocean from beneath the surface. They were an integral part of the atmosphere around Ghost Reef, though they weren’t as in-your-face as the stone fortifications.
Anyone not expecting to find the island would certainly be surprised by its existence. However, the most observant seafarers would have had a few hints that something was nearby, even before they discerned the main feature that was the old stone fortress. The reef created an oasis of calm on the turbulent sea, and the lighthouse was a beacon that stood tall while giving off a slight cool-green aura. Anyone watching the horizon while traveling the seas would have noticed one of the two landmarks, the reef or the lighthouse, before the imposing fort could be spotted. Either feature would be apparent, given that the alternative was a long period of steady ocean swells that were almost entirely unchanging in their hypnotizing rhythm.
On the other hand, before even the most experienced sailors had the opportunity to approach the islands and piece together the clues of its proximity, they would be detected by the residents themselves. There were constant sentinels on the surrounding waves.
As Coop’s ride entered the settlement’s territory, a dozen sailing ships were going about their business, navigating the shallow reef to and fro, while another dozen patrolled the ocean beyond. The patrols had been the first to spot Windchaser, miles outside of the settlement’s territory, as it brought the Champion back to his settlement.
Flocks of seagulls trailed after the ships, and sailors shouted and rang bells as they communicated amongst themselves using their simple coded language. Individual phantoms were hanging from ropes beyond the edges of the decks and waving hats toward the new arrival, unconcerned with the danger of falling overboard. While they searched the settlement’s perimeter for the lost or the wicked, they almost exclusively found friends instead.
Ghost Reef didn’t seem much like the old and unused installation that it had been before the assimilation began. Back when a single elderly caretaker maintained the crumbling stone fortress and the only visitors were tourists and park rangers, it had felt more like an archaeological site surrounded by fascinating nature. With the introduction of mana, it had been revitalized into a bastion of resilience. The bustling port filled with ghost ships was the most significant transformation.
By the time Coop’s vessel approached the dock, Windchaser had gathered a convoy of new ships that were unfamiliar to him. They sailed in a loose formation, like an honor guard escorting their prize back to port. Windchaser was the only ship that needed to follow the channel through the reef, and the new ghost ships displayed their functionality by crossing the dangerous shallows without fear.
The pirates were absolutely pumping the ships out, so none of them were named ships that Coop had seen before. All the extra vessels required extra crews, and those crews needed experience. In an effort to bring the sailors up to speed, they were constantly on the move, traveling between outposts and settlements, patrolling the seas, and otherwise staying active while on duty. It was their method of grinding. The phantoms could even gain levels by simply doing their jobs, though human experience was a bit less defined. It wasn’t like they gained nothing from practicing their new jobs.
Coop felt like he needed to adjust his perspective and give the pirates more credit. They weren’t really pirates anymore. They were Ghost Reef’s Navy. Not to mention that the crews had evolved to include as many humans as phantoms. No matter how he looked at it, the Tempest Fleet was thriving in the post-mana world.
The expanding navy wasn’t the only immediately obvious aspect of growth around the settlement. Coop could tell, even before making landfall, that the residents had been busy. There were groups grinding Primal Constructs in different areas, gaining levels within the safety of settlement territory.