Ball of Nothing

Nearly a month into the training, Ottley discovered that Zero and Truen were picking up their learning speed after the initial struggle, making up for the lost time.

"Man overboard!" an otter shouted from the small ship that Zero and Truen were acting captains of.

Ottley said nothing and watched from the sidelines. It was time for their test. After a month, Zero and Truen worked hard to learn everything about a ship. Now, they could easily tell their port from their starboard.

"Close the sails! Turn the rudder!" Zero instructed, and the little otters got to work.

Truen prepared to swim and tied a rope to his waist as taught. Ottley scrutinised the type of knot Truen used and noted with pride that it was correct. Zero didn't remain idle either and prepared the floatation device to throw it down to the 'drowning' otter overboard.

When the boat was in the vicinity, Truen jumped, and Zero held onto the rope. At the same time, the doctor threw the floatation device to the member overboard as Truen got closer. Ottley gave the otter victim a hand signal to pretend to not see the floatation device, so the otter continued to struggle.

Well prepared for situations like this, Truen didn't let the struggling victim hit him. Ottley shared that when a person is drowning in times of panic, they might ignore any rescuers and struggle harder. It was important not to alarm the person drowning and approach so that they could not hit the rescuer. In the worst-case scenario, the rescuer might need to knock the drowning victim out so that the rescue can become successful. Also, it would be dangerous to rescue anyone in a storm or with violent waves. In such cases, it would be the captain's decision to abort the rescue mission for the sake of the entire crew or risk it to save the member. Since Zero had given his orders as acting captain of the vessel and the waves weren't towering tall, Truen knew it was a relatively easy mission.

Truen wasn't a strong swimmer, but he was strong. It didn't take much effort for him to drag the sea otter beastman back to the ship with the help of the floatation device. The sea otter was resting on his head, grabbing onto his neck loosely for support as they paddled back. Nobody commented on how Zero was pulling the rope up faster than Truen was able to swim. It made the wood elf look as if he was hurtling through the water.

As Truen neared the ship, Zero decided to fish them out of the water literally. There was no need to be dragged by the rope when they could use the shortcut, right?

Ottley felt his eyes popping out of their sockets in surprise when Zero tugged at the rope, sending the elf and the 'drowning' victim flying. The screams of his poor sea otter beastman ripped through the air, and Zero tossed the rope aside, leaping into the air handsomely.

The sea otter beastman thought he would die after getting launched about twenty meters into the air. Heaven was right before his eyes, and an angel with the same face as Zero was beside him.

The angel with Zero's face looked so realistic that the sea otter wondered if he was really going to heaven.

"Hold on tightly," the angel with Zero's face told him, and the sea otter didn't hesitate to grab onto him. The feeling was so real that the sea otter doubted it for a moment. Perhaps he wasn't going to heaven. He might be going to hell!

Zero didn't waste time once the sea otter grabbed on. He activated his flight transformation and swooped down onto the deck, landing with a huge gust of wind and a terrified seaman. The sea otters coughed and held onto the nearest fixture while Truen used magic to dry off, unfazed by the flashy ending. He would be more surprised if Zero followed the book entirely without any surprises. His friend must be extremely eager to graduate from the practical part of the training to learn what they truly wanted to know.

Ottley took a few minutes to compose himself and check on the 'drowning' victim. Before he turned to his students with a glare, stomping over.

Zero, who was pre-celebrating his success with Truen, gulped when their teacher approached with a reproachful glare. In the mindscape, Bob and Mii laughed at Zero's plight. Even after so long, Zero still never learned.

"You!" Ottley pointed at Truen. "passed."

The wood elf bowed gracefully and thanked Ottley. Zero rejoiced for his friend, but that happiness was short-lived when Ottley walked up to him and stared at him in the eye.

"You," Ottley growled and pointed a finger at Zero.

Ottley spoke no further, and Zero swallowed nervously. Did he pass? Did he fail? Nobody died, he had some fun, and if anything happened, he was a doctor. Surely Ottley wouldn't fail him just for that little prank, right? Zero was just very bored of following the standard procedures. The sea otters were also very strict in lessons. They didn't like the use of magic, so Zero didn't do that. Transformation magic and qi reinforced strength didn't count as magic, right?

Right?

Unable to find a good reason to fail Zero and reluctant to do so after they've come this far, Ottley had to admit that Zero did very well. Both his students have come a long way, and as a teacher, he felt proud despite how difficult Zero could be at times.

"Despite your reluctance to follow normalcy," Ottley sighed. "you passed."

For a moment, nobody moved. There was no reaction, and Zero didn't know if he was hallucinating.

It started slowly and softly. The sea otter drowning victim clapped, and soon, the rest followed. Zero teared up. He'd been so nervous earlier because of how angry Ottley looked. He would understand if he didn't pass this final practical test of commanding a ship after the stunt he pulled. However, the sea otters were more forgiving than he thought.

"I passed!" Zero grinned. "I passed!"

Truen gave him a pat on the head when Zero turned to his best friend for confirmation. "Yes, you passed."

That was all it took for Zero to jump in joy and excitement. One month into the training, they were finally able to study the important things about navigating the ocean.