One month later, 2 and a half months since awakening. Date: ???
An iron statue shaped like a 16th-century European soldier moved with speed that defied its weight, its fists shattering stone as it missed its target, who dodged it by somersaulting over it. The figure then punched the statue in the back, causing it to be cut in concentric circles. The figure then had to dodge another statue trying to smash his face in.
"Alright, stop." Said the figure, which caused the statue to stop chasing him and stand in salute.
Dud dismissed the remaining statues, which dissolved into partials. He looked like a surfer, his skin sun-kissed brown, his eyes nearly glowing yellow, and his violet hair the length of his shoulders with a bushy beard and mustache.
(Excited Beep)
"Yeah, I am excited too; the restriction is going to be gone soon." Dud said to the approaching car as he wiped the sweat he had accumulated from dodge training. He had spent the first week recovering his strength and the rest of the time mastering [Divine Hand-to-Hand Combat], which came to him very easily. He was easily able to create and master techniques that let him destroy one of the [Iron Golems], which nearly broke his hand the first time he tried it.
(Beep)
"Yeah, we need a new ship," said Dud, agreeing with the car.
(Bold reckless idea Beep)
Dud froze. "Are you sure?" Dud asked the car seriously.
(Conformation and explanation Beeps)
"Yeah, there are no cars, but it's not like there are any boat races either, and I will mostly be exploring, not picking races with strangers."
(Comforting and Determined Beeps).
"Yeah, you are right, and thank you." Dud had not used the request ticket because he did not know what he wanted exactly and did not want to screw up Divine (Eldritch, he doesn't need to know that) favor.
Dud took a deep breath; he still had a few hours until his abilities unlocked, so if there was a time to cash in the request, it was now. Dud summoned the ticket, and the world paused, and when time resumed again, Dud was standing on a dock that did not exist on the island before today, and a nearly 200 ft long, 50 ft wide beam, 60 ft tall yacht was anchored to it.
Dud stood there, his mouth agape. The boat, no, the ship, looked nothing like any ship he had ever seen; for one, it did not have any sails and looked like a wedge or a dagger if he was being dramatic.
For us on this side of the veil, it was an unholy combination of a race boat, research ship, luxury yacht (with accelerator cannons that shot 4-inch solid iron cannon balls), and an ember of eldritch whimsy in that order.
(Excited BEEP!)
Dud broke out of his stupor at the sound. "Herbie?" he asked, unsure.
(Confirmation Beep. Invitation Beep).
"Yeah, I am coming," said Dud as he entered the ship and found a mini Herbie (a bit bigger than a Hot Wheels) waiting for him on a racetrack?
"What?" asked Dud.
(Explanatory beep from the mini car).
"So that is a maintenance drone that you can control, and the racetrack is a guide rail for the drones, but sailors can take control of the drones from the brig and race about the ship?" asked Dud in disbelief.
(Excited confirmation beep).
"Is there a manual or something for me to use?" asked Dud, his disbelief giving way to bewilderment.
(Confirmation beep!)
Dud followed the Mini car as it guided him to the bridge. Where he found a book resting in the helmsman's seat.
"Guide to Herbie-2S 190." Dud read out loud as he took a seat. Dud opened the book and read the preface.
"The Herbie-2S 190 is the first of its model and currently the only Explorer Research Luxury Vessel with a focus on speed and safety. It can temporarily function as an airship or a submarine; HOWEVER, it should be noted that Herbie-2S 190 is primarily a seafaring vessel, and should it spend more than a week in either submarine mode or airship mode without external aid, disastrous consequences await both the ship and its occupants. " Dud stopped reading to look at the mini-beetle in astonishment, who looked smug about its new capacity.
"Herbie-2S 190 is a near-autonomous sentient ship with drones that maintain, repair, and upgrade its main body as long as the appropriate materials and blueprints are present in its hold.
The ship boasts 2 master suites, 6 2-person suites, a galley, a dining area with a giant terrarium for den-den snails (snails not provided), a medical room (medicine supplies not included), a brig (big enough to hold 5 people), a gym, a single-person deep-sea submarine, 2 dinghies, 4 accelerator cannons (ammo not provided), a library-study, and 4 other rooms that can be modified as needed.
The engine, maintenance track, autonomous self-modifier, drone master, and other operation-critical areas are barred to anyone without [Expert Mechanic]."Dud stopped here thinking about what it said about his journey.
His reverie was interrupted by a beep reminding him to continue reading.
"The bridge has a special future that lets crewmates share their esoteric traits or {Traits} with the ship." Dud had to stop for a moment and think about the absolute advantage this represented. "Please note that the borrowed trait only lasts for 13 hours without the presence of the trait holder on board, and any unnatural changes could lead to catastrophic consequences." The warning did nothing to dampen Duds' awe at Herbie's new capacity.
Dud spent the next few hours familiarizing himself with controls and memorizing the manual and was interrupted by a worried beep.
"What's wrong?"
(beep.)
"We have intruders?" asked Dud with a mixture of concern and curiosity.
(Beep!)
Dud looked up, and sure enough, a pirate ship was approaching them; it would be here in a few minutes, and Dud realized with a start that he had access to his {Abilities}. Dud grinned and equipped [Wheel of Mahoraga] and [New Order].
"The apex." He placed the rule on himself, and immediately the wheel appeared and spun, and in seconds he changed; he was now a few inches taller, his build returning to the brick-like bulk he had before this entire fiasco, his internal organs had changed, and he had no idea on what had changed. He felt powerful and something at the edge of his awareness, just not sure what, and extremely hungry.
Dud then foolishly swapped [New Order] with [Blood Manipulation] and [Portal Creation] and immediately felt the change; the hunger spiked to the point it became all-consuming. He quickly summoned what remained of his food and devoured it, returning some of his sanity, but he was still hungry and not thinking straight. He spotted the pirate ship that was much closer, and his hunger-addled mind barely made the connection of ship=people=kitchen=FOOD.
Dud portaled to the pirate ship, and pandemonium began.