---
The sea was dead quiet at 0300.
Too quiet.
Admiral Reeve stood on the Brandenburg's deck, cup of bitter black coffee steaming in his hand, binoculars scanning the horizon. No clouds. No wind. Just flat, glassy water stretching in every direction. That alone set every alarm off in his head.
"Report," he said to the AI.
"All sensors operational. Acoustic readings: unstable. Subsurface activity increasing. Unidentified thermal bloom, bearing 182. Range: 11 kilometers."
He raised the cup to his lips, then paused.
"Thermal bloom?"
"Energy spike. Unknown classification. Size estimate: 180–220 meters in length. Surface breach imminent."
There was no thunder. No roar.
Just a sound like the ocean itself was inhaling.
Then the Leviathan broke the surface.
---
The wave hit the Brandenburg a full five seconds later, hammering the hull with brute force. The ship's stabilizers kept her upright, but barely. Water slammed against the armored glass of the bridge as Reeve held his footing.
Through the foam, he saw it.
A monster—not a whale, not a squid. Something in between. Scaled plates like warship armor. Spines that sparked blue electricity. A mouth like a cargo hold of knives.
And eyes—two of them, deep and intelligent. It looked at him.
Then it vanished beneath the surface.
"WARNING: KRAKEN-CLASS ENTITY DETECTED"
> Name: Unclassified
Type: Apex Predator
Threat Level: RED
Behavior: Territorial
Reward (Kill): 10,000 Gold | 3x Leviathan Cores | 2x Naval Blueprint Rolls
Reeve clenched his jaw.
"Get me the CIWS online. Missile bays armed. ASW torpedoes hot. Bring the drones up. This thing wants a fight? We'll give it one."
"Negative. Ammunition reserves insufficient for sustained engagement. Recommend retreat."
"Of course we're outgunned," he muttered. "All right. Plot retreat course to Fort Sentinel. Full speed. Let's regroup and rearm."
As the Brandenburg turned away, Reeve tapped open the system's Strategy Layer—his favorite part of this new world.
---
The interface came alive with hex-mapped ocean territory.
Each tile contained:
Water Depth (Shallow / Medium / Deep)
Resource Nodes (Iron, Oil, Wreckage, Rare Sea Crystals)
Threat Signatures (Pirates, Players, Monsters)
Fog of War (No Intel / Partial / Full Recon)
He'd claimed just one hex—his island. But it connected to a dense cluster of unexplored zones: "Sector Delta-3." That's where the Leviathan had emerged from.
He flagged it:
> "Hostile Zone – Kraken Activity"
Then he switched to Shipyard Menu.
> Shipyard (Tier I) – Capacity: 1/2 Ships Built
Current Ship: FGS Brandenburg (Frigate, F125)
Available Blueprints:
LCS-1 Freedom-Class (Light Combat Ship)
Type-212A Submarine (Locked – Requires Stealth Module)
Resources in Stock:
1,050 Gold
700 Steel
500 Timber
1 Blueprint Token (Unspent)
He selected the Freedom-class.
> Cost to Build:
500 Gold
350 Steel
150 Electronics
Build Time: 6 Hours
[Begin Construction] / [Cancel]
He selected [Begin Construction] and watched the shipyard animation begin—drones welding, parts assembling from prefab stores, hull plates lowered into drydock.
A new menu popped up:
> NAME NEW VESSEL:
[USS Mistral]
> Tactical Role: Multi-Mission Combat | Speed: High | Armament: 57mm Gun, RAM, Modular Payload Bays
Reeve smirked. "Lightweight, but she'll dance."
While the shipyard worked, he shifted to Base Strategy:
> Fort Sentinel – Management Interface:
Power Output: 60% (Geothermal, Low Grade)
Current Facilities:
Shipyard (T1)
HQ (T1)
Radar Station (Basic)
Auto-Turrets (4x)
Helipad (1x NH90, Recon Configuration)
Fuel Processor (Slow Output)
Available Construction Slots: 3
Recommendations:
Upgrade Power Plant (1,500 Gold, Rare Materials)
Build Ammo Factory
Install Research Lab (Unlock Weapon Mods)
He queued up:
Ammo Factory – to avoid the problem that nearly killed them.
Research Lab – to start pushing tech advantages faster than other players.
> Build Time: 2–4 Hours Each
[Accelerate?]
[No – Save Boosts]
He'd learned this lesson early in life: Don't spend aces on warm-up rounds.
Instead, he opened the Personnel & Officers Menu.
It was finally unlocked.
> Recruit Officer (Free Tier I Draft):
[RANDOM PULL]
Result:
> Name: Lt. Commander Keira Holt
Role: Combat Systems Officer
Trait: +15% CIWS Efficiency, Bonus vs. Airborne/Drone Targets
Loyalty: High
Background: Former U.S. Navy, System-Reconstructed Memory Template
His hand froze.
"She's from my world."
And she wasn't AI. The system had recreated her from somewhere—training data, memories, files? He didn't know. But she looked exactly like she did when they served together on the USS Bunker Hill.
"Deploy her to the Mistral when it's ready," he ordered.
> [ASSIGNED]
He sat back.
The strategy layer wasn't a gimmick. It was war by proxy. If he played smart, he could carve out territory fast—control trade zones, mine rare resources, field better ships and unlock tech that would take other players months to reach.
But first, he needed to kill that Leviathan.
And for that, he needed:
A three-ship squadron minimum
Anti-subsurface weapons
Drones for recon
High-grade sonar buoys
A real combat crew
He marked his next three strategic goals:
1. Secure two more resource-rich islands.
2. Build a sonar net across Sector Delta.
3. Hunt and kill the Kraken-class Leviathan.
The system pinged softly.
> MISTRAL LAUNCHED. READY FOR ACTION.
He walked out to the command balcony again.
Two warships now stood ready beneath the stars.
It wasn't much. But it was a start.
And for the first time in years, Admiral James Reeve smiled—not because he felt safe.
But because he didn't.
This was the kind of ocean that would devour the weak.
And he'd never been weak.
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[End of Chapter Three]
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