Ball of Nothing

Chapter 605: Weatherman

When Docky heard from Ottley that Truen and Zero managed to overcome the practical aspect of their training, he smiled. The Marissa was also coming together very well. Pocky's prototype worked, and they were remodelling the initial design.

"Very good," Docky praised his disciple. "Did they use magic?"

Ottley shook his head. It certainly wasn't magic. However, these people were still very powerful without it. He told his teacher how Zero pulled Truen with superhuman strength and sent them flying when he fished them out of the water.

Docky listened without asking questions. Ottley also told Docky how Zero grew wings when he launched himself into the air to save the member overboard after he was fished out of the water, twenty meters into the air.

"Did he really do that?"

Ottley nodded. "Are we sure that he is the Chosen One and not some demon? Everything he does is out of this world."

Docky only laughed and arranged something on his highly complex map. Ottley didn't know what that pin represented, but it certainly was important. His teacher wouldn't change the arrangements in the star chart without a good reason. Something big was going to happen again.

"Who is to say that the Chosen One isn't a demon? You should not judge a person so simply. Whatever the Chosen One is, he is still the Chosen One."

At that, Ottley remained silent. He didn't know what Docky saw in Zero and Truen, but he was in no position to go against the Sea Hand brothers. Even Pocky was on Zero and Truen's side. Everybody loved them, but the more Ottley knew about what they could do, the more frightened he became. Compared to the sea monster that left him a scar all those years ago, this duo was on a level of their own. Without magic, they were this powerful. With magic, the sky was really their limit.

"Are you going to teach them navigation now?" Docky asked.

Ottley nodded. "We will be learning how to identify sea patterns and weather signs starting tomorrow. After which, I will briefly introduce them to the logistics department to learn how to plan for their voyage before we start on charting and star reading."

Docky hummed thoughtfully. The Marrissa was coming together quickly, thanks to Zero and Truen's assistance after their lessons. Magic was a really powerful ability. Two months was the quickest the sea otters could treat the undead wood needed to build the Marissa. The actual progress would take longer, but Docky and Pocky didn't tell them that it would take them two years to build the sinking ship without help. The Sea Hand brothers simply assumed that Zero and Truen would help, and they were right. They didn't expect their combined magic abilities to speed up production up so much that even the shipwrights couldn't cope.

"Don't tell them about the Marissa yet," he told Ottley. "Pocky and I are still fine-tuning details. We also have a surprise coming up because we have more than enough undead wood to use even after building the prototype. Drag the lesson out for a week but don't teach them navigation. I know they are eager to learn how to navigate the seas, so leave that out. Teach them everything else. I will be handling their navigation lessons personally."

Surprised that his teacher was going to teach them navigation personally, Ottley bowed and left. In all his years, Docky never imparted his skills to anyone else. Even to Ottley, Docky didn't teach him everything. He only taught him the basics that he needed to know to captain a ship. Ottley learned a lot from Docky, enough to steer clear of the hidden dangers during his voyage about a decade ago when they sent a search party to look for Pocky. However, even with his skills, they still suffered a terrible defeat. Docky forbade anyone to venture to sea after that incident.

Now that Pocky was back was Docky finally opening up again?

After Ottley left, Docky looked at his star chart. Master Malik left him a message that when the stars aligned, the Gods will descend. For many years, his master had been waiting for the time to come, but till his dying day, it never came true. In the end, he left this vision to Docky and made him swear to pass it to the next generation if the stars did not align in his lifetime. The mission to guide the Chosen One to their next destination lies with them. It was something Queen Leah said before Indra Seagloo cut their ties with the outside world. The information was lost in Lycantopia, and only the sea otters remembered the promise.

Apart from the title of Sea Hand, master Malik had another title bestowed by the Gods. Posiedon granted him the title of Weatherman to become the guide for the Chosen One's journey. However, Poseidon's star disappeared for a long time and only returned recently. Malik lost his ability to read the sea after Poseidon's star disappeared. Docky was only able to learn how to read the weather and sea manually from Malik's experience while developing his personal technique to predict the sea movements from the stars and moon.

Now that the Poseidon star reappeared, the stars were very close to aligning themselves. As per the prophecy, the Chosen One should collect all four keys from the four strongest faes in this world to open the portal to a new world. Fae King Vivian's reappearance at Magnus Hilda travelled to Docky's ears, and he was debating if he should send his most promising disciple as a guide for Zero's voyage or go in person.

"Poseidon, if you're listening to my prayers, please show us a sign."

Everything was silent, and Docky sighed. Perhaps there were too many people praying to the God of the Sea, and his prayers were buried in that huge queue of prayers. He was about to give up when Docky heard a voice that shook his soul.

"On behalf of Poseidon, I, Minerva, daughter of Poseidon and Medusa, received your request. To assist the Chosen One on his pilgrimage, one sea otter beastfolk will be blessed with the Weatherman ability in every generation. May the winds be with you."

Shocked that he could hear the voice of a Goddess, Docky stared at his star chart. At the same time, he felt power welling up inside of him. His senses were attuned to nature as if they were part of his instinct. The knowledge that he amassed over the years started to make sense on a deeper level of understanding with this new ability. Docky couldn't move for a long time as his mind struggled to adjust to the information overload.

"This... Is the power of the Weatherman?" he blinked and looked out of his window.

A new star was born, and the stars were finally aligned.