'Fuck! Pirates'
The communication crystal, which has been flashing red since I arrived on the bridge, outputs the gruff voice of one of my assailants.
My innate knowledge tells me that flashing red means the ship has been tagged as a pirate ship by either a naval vessel or a victim. They have most likely destroyed a ship at least once in the past, so I cannot hesitate.
I need to bring the ship to battle-ready status, so I require a few more moments. I grab the helm of the ship, and reply to the pirate scum. 'Is there a way we can talk this out? I can't just abandon ship. Maybe I can just throw some coin your way to leave me be?'
The Skyrunner is already battle-ready, and connecting my mana takes less than a second. The mana shield is charged, and I have fully synchronized my mana with the helm. Before the bastard can even count down to 1, the ship takes off at top speed, cutting a line straight to the pirate ship.
My heart pounding in my ears, I bring the ship about and face the front towards the my attacker. We are nose to nose with only a short distance between us.
I can't really make out the type of ship it is, or more like I don't recognise it from my game knowledge.
I can tell it is a small-class ship with small sails and probably a low level of firepower, but the manufacturer and model elude me.
The ship's hull is covered with patchwork repairs and battle scars, a testament to the type of activity these scumbags have been engaging in.
I can see 2 figures on the deck of the ship, pushing a physical shell cannon to position it facing me.
Physical shell cannons are different from mana cannons. They are slower to load and fire, but far more powerful, as they shoot a real physical projectile packed with black powder, not a bullet made of mana.
Another advantage is that they are independent of a ship's aethercore, so they can fire even if the ship is running low on energy.
This particular model they have is like an early model of a stationary cannon. It is an iron tube on a wooden base, and there are 2 wooden wheels on it.
Even though my ship has an upgraded medium shield, a direct hit from a physical shell cannon will do a lot of damage.
The problem for them is, my Skyrunner is faster than the crew on the deck, so maneuvering their cannon to catch me is going to be tough for them.
I lower the barrel of my mana cannon, aiming it at the two men pushing their artillery, and fire.
*Boom*
The area around the cannon explodes, sending pieces of broken wood and limbs flying into the air. My mana cannon hit right on target, and in its wake, charred wood, two disfigured corpses, and a lump of melted metal remain.
The ship they are sailing obviously has no mana shield, and my guess would be that they saw me from afar and assumed I had a simple passenger ship. Well, I actually do have a simple passenger ship, but it has been upgraded to increase its speed, firepower, and defense. They had no chance.
'Disengage your cannons and step away from the helm! If you can tell me where the nearest port is, I will allow you to jump in a lifeboat!'
*Boom* *Boom* *Boom*
I have no intention of allowing this scum to live to commit piracy another day, so I unleash a barrage of mana shots at them.
I can hear their screaming over the communication system, but I really don't care. They threatened me, and if I let them leave here, they will do it all again as soon as they can steal another ship.
The pirate ship, smoking from the barrage I unleashed upon it, sinks deeper and deeper into the sky. My communication crystal, no longer connected to the enemy vessel, ceases its flashing.
It takes me a good 10 minutes to calm down after the adrenaline-spiking experience. I sink into my captain's chair, my breath heavy, my sweat cold.
The killing of the pirates doesn't even register, but the thought that they may have fired on me did have me a little worried.
Now that the whole ordeal is finished, I have only one thought. I hope that this isn't a dream!
My life is so mundane. Eat, shit, sleep, repeat! Totally boring! I finish my day at my shit job and go to my crappy apartment where I drink cheap beer and play video games.
But this? This is exhilarating! I have been in this world for less than an hour, and I have already had a life-or-death air battle with pirates! Hell yes!
I hope this isn't a dream, because I could live a more exciting life here than I ever could on earth. Will I miss my friends and family? Of course, but my mundane life there can't even compare to this.
In my 25 years of life, I have never had such a life-affirming experience as I have had today!
My mind made up, I turn my ship to north by northwest, and set out at cruising speed. The view as I fly through the air is breathtaking.
The first thing that catches my eye is the sky fish. A hybrid of fish and bird, they travel along in schools of hundreds, riding the air currents like they were underwater tides.
In the distance, I can see floating rocks rotating around other larger floating rocks. They are reminiscent of some kind of representation of Earth's solar system, although I know they are literally worlds apart.
Within 20 minutes of setting out, I start to see what appears to be a floating island. It is similar to the islands I remember seeing in Sky Bucaneers, but as with the ships, I do not recognize what I am looking at as part of the game.
As the island gets larger, I can make out the outline of a city near the edge. So I steer my ship, and head in that direction.