Stacking My Abilities

The blaring horn honked two more times. 

At this signal, this fishing boat gradually glided away from the dock. 

Seeing this, Jeff blinked a few times. That cloaked girl should be here by now. But she’s nowhere to be seen. 

‘Who am I to worry about her.’ Jeff chuckled in his mind. ‘We’ve only met once anyways. Maybe she didn’t want to come anymore.’

Gradually picking up speed, the boat sailed past the end of the dock. 

Yet, sensing something, Jeff took a look at the dock. A cloaked figure ran down the dock like a speeding car. In seven or eight seconds, she had already covered the 150 meters! 

Reaching the end of the dock, the cloaked girl jumped into the air, heading towards this boat. 

She won’t make it! 

Not even close. Her jump only covered half of the distance. 

Jeff’s cheek twitched a little. Standing up, Jeff was planning to talk to the fisherman. Then Jeff stopped. 

The cloaked girl withdrew her wand. With a flick up, a stream of water was drawn into the air. As the water rose up, it quickly froze into a blooming flower made of ice. Glinting under the sunlight, that ice sculpture looked rather pretty.

The girl lightly tapped a foot onto this stepping block. 

Using this ice flower as a stepping block, the girl jumped up again. It’s as if this girl was weightless like a feather. She easily glided onto the raised platform of the boat. 

Upon arrival, the girl held up a wooden plate. This ticket bursted into pixels. 

“Hey. You made it.” Jeff nodded at the girl. 

The girl coldly nodded in reply. 

“Wanna join us? We got nice food.” Jeff invited. 

“I’m not interested in bringing along newbies.” The girl rejected. Her gaze was still distant and alerted. 

Brushing past Jeff’s table, the girl walked to the middle table. 

‘Isn’t this girl a newbie as well?’ Jeff ranted in his mind. ‘I mean, why else would she go to that registration counter?’

Jeff shrugged and sat down. A friendly invite was enough. No more. Not gonna be a simp. 

“You can make ice!” The bard took over. His eyes beamed in anticipation. 

“Can you make a small block for me? I can even pay you!” The bard took a subtle glance at Jeff’s whiskey canteen. 

Jeff widened his eyes at the bard. ‘This guy knows that whiskey goes better with ice?! How?!’

“Why do you need ice?” The girl knitted her brows. 

“Leave me alone.” The girl sat down. 

“Al-alright then.” The bard ticked his tongue. 

“I heard someone needs ice?” The fisherman walked up the platform with a bucket of ice. 

The bard’s eyes brightened up. 

Jeff: … 

Looking to the side, in this brief moment, their fishing boat was already distant from the shore now. The people on the riverside street looked tiny now. The rows of seafood stores looked like toys. 

Looking around him… They were a part of a fleet now. Ships big and small, fast or slow, they were all heading in the same direction. 

Looking ahead, it’s almost like being inside a swarm of white sails. 

Friendly horns beeped from time to time. Adventurers on different ships raised their cups at each other. 

Feeling a gaze, Jeff looked in that direction. 

It’s One-Bolt, the marksman recruiter. The dude was on a larger 3-sails ship. His long blond hair and his green cloak flapped around in the wind. There were 3 newbie adventurers behind this dude. 

Jeff couldn’t tell if these guys were genuine or not. But all three newbies looked excited for this adventurer. 

Wearing a malicious smile, One-Bolt said something. Reading his lips, it looked like ‘Just you wait.’

Jeff smiled and nodded at the dude. 

“I’ll be waiting.” Jeff said silently, only moving his lips. 

If One-Bolt was from a big guild, his guildmaster would have warned One-Bolt about Jeff. But unfortunately, no, that was not the case. 

If this guy paid Jeff a visit, Jeff wouldn’t mind showing this guy the power of a newbie. It’s not that much work anyways. An entertainment break at best. 

“You guys got beef?” The bard raised a brow. 

“A small dispute.” Jeff smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Say, where were we in the story.”

…

…

Over time, the ships in this fleet gradually thinned out. Some destinations were closer to Bourland city. As a result, those guys had already moored their ships. They had already started their fruit collection adventurers. 

Jeff’s destination was one of the further ones. About three hours had passed. And they were still sailing. 

As the ships thinned out, Jeff’s whiskey was quickly thinning out as well. Oh. Also. 

A fisherman had joined the party! 

The fisherman had also brought a table full of pub food to the party. Plates of fish and chips. Beers. Grilled wings. It’s a feast here. 

Enjoying this free food, learning a lot from the bard, Jeff felt like spending his whiskey was worth it! After all, the material cost was one Bling at most. With one Bling, which info broker would patiently answer all of his questions? 

Also. There’s ice in his whiskey now. This was important. The whiskey was a whole new drink with ice. 

In some sense, Jeff felt like he’s ripping the fisherman and the bard off. 

Enjoying the free food, enjoying Jeff’s noble tier whiskey, the bard ecstatically smiled. This guy looked like he’s enjoying the time of his life! After all, a drink at this level couldn’t be bought with money anymore. Also, the free ice totally elevated this drink to a new level. The cost? Just answer some entry level questions. 

The bard had given up in holding down his smile now. Clearly, this guy thought that he was ripping Jeff and the fisherman off. 

The fisherman just calmly listened and enjoyed his meal. Sitting with crossed legs, shaking his foot in joy, this guy was clearly having a great time as well. 

He only got one shot of whiskey. But still, he clearly believed that he’d ripped Jeff and the bard off. 

The cost: just provide some food and some ice? 

The reward: a noble-tier drink and information he could sell later to other newbie adventurers? 

Tsk tsk tsk. What a steal! 

If everyone here had won, who had lost? 

The answer: the merchant brat.