Missouri and the others were all level 110; their EXP bars had been capped for years. No matter how magical that horn was at granting experience, for them it was basically useless.
For the others, though? Very different story.
Not just the wine-sipping Prince of Wales—Moskva, Tenryuu, California, even Vampire: everyone's eyes were saying the same two words—I want.
With more power, they could do more for the base.
If you were min-maxing, the "best value" would be to boost the battleship California straight to level 100—saving nearly ten years of training in one shot.
But levels are one thing; battlefield seasoning is another. In game terms, "enhancement"; in reality, "temper." Without that, a level-100 California might still lose to a level-96 light cruiser like Yatsen. Brutal, but true.
If there were horns to spare, Hikaru wouldn't mind popping California to 100 too. But with the enemy at the gates, this wasn't the time to indulge. (And yes, California's whispered, dignity-shredding… "offers" were firmly rejected.)
Before anyone could ogle the strange horn any longer, Repulse came back hugging three smoke generators.
"Commander, your smoke cans." She set them by the wall, puzzled. "What do you want these for?"
"Evasion, of course," Hikaru said, like it was obvious.
Repulse patted her apron, blinking. "Evasion? Even if smoke helps you dodge, who actually uses it? And the downside—"
Shipgirls have limited gear slots—four at most, sometimes two. Every slot has to pull weight.
On carriers like Lexington or battleships like Bismarck, smoke generators are dead weight: you tank your damage for a handful of evasion they can't even leverage—big hulls have low base evasion, and smoke barely budges it.
Give them to small hulls? The penalty stings. Smoke is usually reserved for cruisers and below, because support ships need to survive.
Top-tier evasion gear is the prismatic Advanced Propulsion System ("rainbow motor"), +12 Evasion—rare even here. Next is the five-star Gold Motor, +10 Evasion—mass-produced; the base has piles of them taking up space.
But the single biggest evasion bump comes from a mere three-star blue: the Smoke Generator.
+15 Evasion, −5 Accuracy.
If it were only the first line, smoke would outclass even rainbow motors—a seven-star in disguise. But that −5 Accuracy hurts. Guns, torps, bombs—all live on hit rate. Roughly speaking, it's like lopping five levels off your aim.
So unless you're extremely focused on survival, you don't slot it. It's pain.
Hikaru not only wanted them—he wanted three.
Repulse wasn't the only one lost; even Bismarck and the others traded looks. What was he cooking up?
Missouri hugged Hikaru's arm and shook it. "Tell us alreadyyy—what's the plan?"
Hikaru glanced toward the corner where the Goddess of the Hearth was trying to make herself smaller. He smiled. "Hestia—it's your time to shine."
The supply ship blinked. "Eh? M-me?"
"That's right." Hikaru nodded. "You're going to be pivotal. I'm using the horn to take you straight to level 100."
Repulse gaped—not just her. Alaska, Missouri, even Bismarck looked up, eyes wide.
Why give such a treasure to a supply ship?
"W-why me?" Hestia fidgeted with her blue apron like a grade-schooler called to the front, nerves tying her tongue. "T-that's too wasteful…"
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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