Now that I have control over the ship, I start testing my abilities as a pilot.
I pull the trigger on the right side of the helm, willing the ship to creep forward. The harder I pull, the faster the ship accelerates. My suspicion that the ship is mine from the game is reinforced when the ship's acceleration exceeds my expectations.
The high-velocity Aethercore propulsion system is doing its job, and the ship lurches forward quicker than anticipated. It takes me a small amount of time before I am able to confidently control the speed, but I soon get used to it.
Turning the helm left and right allows me to turn the ship in the same direction. If the ship is moving forward, then it turns quickly, but it can also turn on the spot, albeit slowly.
The ship also has the ability to reverse, but the speed at which it can is very limited. I can only imagine using it to reverse out of a port anyway, so no worries there.
Finally, I practice adjusting the elevation of the ship by pushing and pulling the helm forward or backward. There is a maximum elevation and a minimum elevation, which are determined by some kind of magical array within the systems.
If the ship could reach too high an elevation, the air would become too thin, and I would pass out and die. Too low and the maelstrom below would suck the ship into oblivion. Although this knowledge comes from my memories of playing 'Sky Bucaneers', I believe it to be true at least.
I test-fire the mana cannon a couple of times, and am happy with the results. Despite the name, the power to fire the mana cannon comes from the ship's Aethercore, which replenishes itself by absorbing the aether present in the lower atmosphere. Once again, knowledge from the game, but I believe it still applies.
Satisfied with my ability to control the ship, I stand from my surprisingly comfortable captain's chair and descend the stairs into the lower level.
The stairs are made of solid wood and barely creak as I walk down into a corridor lined with doors. More wooden planks arranged into walls greet me as I look to my left and right.
The corridor is lit up with glowing sconces that contain some manner of crystal, although I have never seen anything like it before.
The first area I enter is to the far left of the descending stairs, the ship's galley. It sits at the front end of the ship. I walk through an open doorway into a compact room divided into two sections.
The first section to my right is the preparation area. A wooden countertop adorned with cooking utensils, pots, pans, and a spice rack enters my vision. On one corner, under a window of sorts, sits what my innate knowledge gained alongside the headache tells me is a mana stove.
There is also a magical sink of sorts. The faucet uses power from the Aethercore to magically manifest hot and cold water, and waste is simply repelled out of the bottom of the ship.
Underneath it is a box imbued with ice magic, essentially a magical freezer. After examining the cupboards, the freezer, and other spaces, I realize that the ship comes fully stocked with enough to sustain me alone for at least a month.
The second section is the seating section. A restaurant booth style of arrangement sits against the wall. The benches and table are finely crafted out of sturdy wood. The quality of the works is recognizable even to me, a man who has no experience with woodworking. A testament to the quality of craftsmanship.
Further down the corridor, there are 2 crew cabins. The first, the captain's cabin, has a simple double bed, wardrobe, and shower room. The shower uses the same system as the sink to produce hot water and expel waste.
The second cabin mirrors the captain's cabin, but instead of a double bed, there is a bunk bed for 2 people to share the room.
Opposite the galley at the other end of the corridor is the cargo hold. I enter and see a small space about 4 metres wide and 5 metres deep. Either side of the hold has wide hatches, which can be opened and lowered to allow the loading and unloading of goods while docked.
Part of the space of the hold is taken up by a small lifeboat. It is big enough to fit 3 people inside in case of an emergency, and can be ejected from either side of the cargo hatches.
Along one of the walls of the cargo hold are 2 wooden crates. I lift the top on one and find that it contains a small amount of metal ingots. My memories from the game tell me that these metal ingots can be traded at ports for cash.
The second wooden crate contains clear bottles of some type of yellowish liquor. I am able to read the label without much trouble, and the name of the product is 'Dwarf Slayer'.
At the far end of the cargo hold, towards the very back of the ship, I find the engine room. Despite being the key piece in keeping the ship afloat, the aethercore is basically a large metal box.
The internal mechanisms are hidden behind plating and screws. The only thing that lets me know it is more than a metal cube is the soft hum and vibration that it produces.
I leave the engine room and re-enter the cargo hold when I hear a distant *boom*, and a *whoosh* approaching me. I recognise the sound immediately, it is identical to the sound of a shell cannon firing in the game.
Realising that I am likely under attack, I immediately sprint down the hallway and climb the stairs to enter the bridge.
When I arrive, the communication crystal is glowing, and I realize that it has connected to another communication device.
When I look out of the window, I can see the outline of a ship of a similar size to mine, flying a black flag.
'Fuck! Pirates!'