When people gaze into the vast void, they can't help but feel a sense of insignificance and awe. Seaman sometimes caught a glimpse of that profound blackness through the bridge's portholes—deep, dark, and endless.
"Is this for real? Just a game?" he wondered.
At that moment, a deep, powerful voice interrupted Seaman's thoughts, yanking him back to reality. "A battleship has a soul. You must learn to communicate with the machine spirit, appease it, and let it accept you. Only then can you truly fight alongside it."
Colonel Semper sat in the captain's chair, commanding the battleship while instructing the players. He was tasked with training them on warship operations so they could pull their weight in future battles.
Seaman collected himself, listening intently and taking notes like crazy. Void warfare hinged on large, long-endurance combat platforms. This style of combat felt more like a naval engagement than an air battle, simply moving from a two-dimensional naval plane to a three-dimensional space battle, which demanded higher computational power.
This was why the Emperor's Cattle Corps specifically recruited players with naval experience; they could get up to speed on Void Battleships faster.
Semper explained in detail what would happen during a naval battle and the operating procedures for various systems, then asked the "Saints" (players) to undergo a simulation test. The Cogitator System was connected directly to the player's nervous system to simulate a realistic void battlefield. Semper would grade the players based on their performance. After they passed the test, he would issue a rookie captain's medal and log the results into the player system, which was directly supervised by Arale to eliminate any possibility of shenanigans or cheating.
The first student quickly connected to the Cogitator system and entered the virtual battlefield. The scenario was projected for everyone to observe the testing process.
Seaman's eyes were wide. "Talk about meta! This game has a game inside the game. That's seriously next level!"
It wasn't just Seaman who was amazed. The players next to him were also gobsmacked. They thought the Warhammer OL game couldn't surprise them anymore, but they realized they had been thinking too small.
Students took the test one after another, covering everything from supervisory positions like weapons, navigation, and divination, all the way up to captaincy.
Seaman was the last one up.
"Don't sweat it. Your score doesn't matter. Your learning speed is already amazing. Don't put too much pressure on yourself." Colonel Semper repeated the comforting words he gave every player.
Seaman nodded and put on the virtual helmet. After a slight, sharp pain, neural cables connected to his spine and the back of his brain, and his consciousness was pulled into virtual reality. The scene was incredibly realistic—indistinguishable from the real thing.
Seaman performed exceptionally well. He had risen through the ranks as a grassroots military officer and had an astonishing talent for commanding warships. That was, after all, why he was able to command a battleship at his age.
As the captain of the void ship, Seaman almost secured the victory. Unfortunately, he wasn't familiar enough with the specific performance of the void battleship, lacking full comprehension of its ammunition capacity, maneuvering speed, and other crucial data points. In the end, he was outmaneuvered by a single move, resulting in a shot that hit his void ship's ammunition depot, blowing it up instantly.
Still, his achievement was eye-popping. Several players before him couldn't even navigate out of the dock or were instantly destroyed by the enemy as soon as they deployed. Seaman, however, had gone toe-to-toe with the opponent and nearly won. Compared to the others, he was miles ahead.
Seaman hadn't wanted to show off too much, but his boss had instructed him not to hold anything back. In this game, the more capability you demonstrated, the more resources you'd receive. His assignment was to show off his talent and strength to get noticed.
"Outstanding results. You'll be ready to captain a ship after you finish the Warp navigation training," Colonel Semper said, looking surprised. "Given time, I believe you'll be a legend in the Calixis Sector."
Semper thought highly of Seaman, making the other players envious and curious. As soon as the Colonel left, they swarmed Seaman, indirectly asking what he did and if he could share some tips. Seaman simply claimed to be a cargo ship driver who liked to kill time playing battleship strategy games.
After finally seeing off the surrounding players, Seaman looked out the window and unexpectedly spotted a strange, streamlined vessel flying by. Its design was completely unlike human ships, and it had a huge sail-like structure at the back.
"What in the world is that? Why does it have a sail?" Seaman pointed out the porthole and asked the player next to him.
"That's an Eldar ship. The thing at the back is a solar sail that draws energy from the stars and the Warp to propel the ship," explained the player whose ID was 'Admiral's Decision.' "Aren't you a Warhammer fan? Eldar ships are a dead giveaway; you can't even recognize that?"
Seaman nodded. "I'm not a fan; I just pre-ordered the game on a whim because I was curious."
"I'm green with envy. You're not a Warhammer fan, but you're the best at this. Once you finish your Warp training, you're a shoo-in for captain," the Admiral said, slightly envious. "Unlike me, I'm still half-baked after studying for days."
"It just takes practice, man," Seaman comforted him.
"You're right. I should make the most of the Contribution Points I have left and practice more," the Admiral nodded. "Hey, you wanna run a mission later? There are a ton of missions in Scintilla right now clearing out gangs and heretical organizations. We'll have NPCs helping us, and we can rack up Contribution Points just by tagging along. If you're game, I'll show you the ropes."
Seaman stroked his chin. "I've been cooped up here for a few days, learning ship operation. I really should go see what the surface is like. Count me in for the mission later."
The moment the Eldar ship entered the port, it caused a frenzy. Many of the locals had been raised in a world where they were taught to hate aliens. Now, alien warships were sailing openly into the port, which instantly set people off.
"Get the heck out of our port, alien garbage!"
"How dare they allow these things into our harbor? This is a betrayal of the Omnissiah!"
"God-Emperor, such a blasphemous thing has invaded your sacred territory!"
Hatred toward xenos quickly erupted and snowballed into a wave of outrage. Crowds flocked to the port, intending to vandalize and destroy the alien ships.
Armed guards held them back, claiming that this was the will of the Great Saint, and that the Eldar had been invited to discuss an alliance against Chaos. The Ministry of Justice acted swiftly, arresting several people who had bad intentions and were inciting the public, thus preventing large-scale riots.
But the people still gathered outside the cordon set up by the Judicial Guards, gazing at the alien ships with raw hatred.
Daniel brought a group of senior officials to welcome the Eldar.
"How can a Saint team up with an alien?"
"This is straight-up appalling."
"Wait, what's the truth? The priests told me to hate aliens, and now the Saint is welcoming them?"
The crowd was buzzing with confusion and bewilderment. If Daniel's reputation hadn't been so high, and if he hadn't performed so many miracles, he would probably have been labeled a heretic, tied to a stake, and roasted over a slow fire for three days and three nights.
Some players who had never seen the Eldar mixed into the crowd, curious to see the plot unfold and check out what the new race in the game looked like.
Faced with the public's doubts, Daniel didn't rush to explain but waited patiently on the port platform.
After a while, the hatch of the Eldar vessel opened. The Eldar envoys stepped out and set foot on the human port, immediately causing a commotion in the crowd. People stared at the Eldar with hatred or anger.
Seaman was also in the crowd. He had planned to go on a mission with the Admiral, but when they saw the Guide appear, they stopped to watch the scene and see what the new race in the game looked like.
The Eldar looked superficially similar to humans: two legs, two arms, one head, and similar body proportions, but they were more slender.
The Eldar's movements were graceful and silent. Even though they wore dozens of sharp-edged rune gems and spirit bone decorations, they made no sound. Even court nobles trained from childhood looked like clumsy farmers next to the elegant elves.
Seaman thought the Eldar's gear was strange. They all wore tall helmets with curved tops and huge, dark green eyepieces that made them look like insects or deep-sea fish. In the middle of the leader's helmet was a dull gemstone larger than a man's fist. In his hand, he held a slender spirit bone staff.
At the end of the scepter hung a geometric symbol with an embedded gem that sparkled with a strange light and seemed to have a special, mind-absorbing magical power. A strange-looking gun hung on his waist—its barrel bulbous and grooved—and he also carried a power sword.
"Alien!" Inquisitor Kaidin looked at the approaching Eldar with a very unfriendly tone.
He wasn't the only one; the crowd was whispering. People looked at the elves with hatred and suspicion.
"Quiet!" Daniel commanded. "They are our guests. Mind your manners." As a living saint, Daniel's word immediately silenced the crowd.
The Eldar envoys approached Daniel. The leading Eldar performed a complicated ceremony, then removed his helmet, revealing translucent ears and long, smooth, jet-black hair.
The Eldar's faces were strikingly handsome, combining male and female features into a neutral beauty that transcended gender. Aside from the completely black eyes, his facial features weren't much different from humans.
"I am Casarius, from the Craftworld of Ulthwé, honorable Saint," the Eldar introduced himself.
"Welcome, Farseer," Daniel smiled, looking at the others. "The Eldar once helped us save the Emperor's Children. They are now our allies in the fight against Chaos. Show them some respect."
Daniel then addressed the people with a sincere tone. "The Great Despoiler has destroyed the Cadian Gate. Humanity and the Eldar are up against the wall. We have no choice."
"The Eldar need humanity as their ally, or they will be destroyed, and we need all the help we can get to save the God-Emperor's realm and for our suffering brethren."
After Daniel calmed the angry people, he led the Eldar to the reception room that had been prepared long ago. The Guide and the elves left, and the people also dispersed, their emotions no longer as volatile.
"What the Saint said must be true. We need allies right now," one man said to the person next to him. "We just need to believe in the Saint."
"Yeah, the Saint said cooperate with the aliens, so we cooperate. If we fall out with them later, we can go back to hating them again," the man's neighbor agreed.
Inside the strategic conference room, many high-ranking officials and the Eldar envoys took their seats. Daniel brought up Ahriman's invasion of Scintilla.
"Ahriman?" Casarius' face registered fear. It was clear that Ahriman had indeed made a name for himself recently, and even the Eldar were well aware of his deeds.
"They have been lurking near me, so I'd like you to teach humans the corresponding psychic skills to enhance our counter-infiltration against Chaos."
"To be frank, you are the first human ruler who has ever said they want to learn from the Eldar," Casarius said with surprise.
Daniel replied, "Stagnation is death. Learning from those who have gone before us is the best way to progress."
"In that case, what's in it for us?" Casarius asked.