The transfer between ships took most of the afternoon.
Jax moved through the process with the efficiency of a merchant overseeing warehouse inventory.
Dimensional anchor.
Portal alignment.
Mana synchronization.
Stability testing.
Repeat.
The pirates watched the process with growing disbelief.
Especially Emberlyn.
The concept itself already sounded impossible.
But seeing it happen in real time felt surreal.
The captain's quarters aboard The Stormtide remained exactly as Emberlyn remembered them when she entered alone.
Same desk.
Same maps.
Same bottles hidden beneath the bed.
Same pistol mounted above the wall.
But when Jax or the Vixens stepped through the doorway—
The room transformed completely.
The small captain's cabin became an enormous luxury suite.
A full master bedroom.
Living room.
Bath area.
Large dining space.
Bookshelves.
A massive shared bed that looked capable of housing a small army.
Emberlyn had walked in behind Jax during one test and nearly cursed herself unconscious.
"What in the abyss-drunk, tide-rotted barnacle pits is this?!"
Jax casually adjusted one of the mana anchors.
"Dimensional layering."
"That doesn't explain anything!"
"It's basically two spaces existing simultaneously."
"That explanation somehow made it worse."
Even Pixelle had become territorial over the dimensional room within minutes.
"This side is ours now."
"You literally don't even sleep in your own room," Emberlyn replied.
"That's not the point."
The cargo transfer impressed the pirates even more.
The amount of goods Jax carried bordered on insanity.
Spices.
Weapons.
Alcohol.
Textiles.
Medical supplies.
Magical materials.
Books.
Luxury furniture.
Trade samples.
The storage dimensional unit turned the pirate crew from skeptical to horrified.
"How much is in there?" the squid captain asked carefully.
Jax thought about it.
"…Honestly? I'm not fully sure anymore."
That answer deeply unsettled everyone.
Especially when they realized the dimensional storage itself only weighed around thirty pounds.
"This changes shipping forever," Emberlyn muttered.
Jax simply smiled.
"That's the idea."
By sunset, the transfer was complete.
The Horizon began its return trip toward Oceanside with part of its original crew.
The pirate ships adjusted formation.
And The Stormtide officially became the Vixens' new temporary home.
That was when reality struck.
Hard.
The first hour at sea was manageable.
The second became questionable.
By hour three—
The Vixens began dropping.
"This ocean is cursed…" Bunny groaned dramatically while gripping the railing for dear life.
Nyxian looked equally awful.
"I'm going to kill the sea…"
Pixelle had somehow turned pale.
Which should not have been scientifically impossible for a fairy.
Lexi staggered across the deck like a wounded soldier.
"Why is the floor moving…"
"Because we're on a ship," Emberlyn answered.
"That seems unnecessary."
By nighttime—
The suffering became legendary.
The Stormtide's crew had sailed through hurricanes.
Sea monster attacks.
Naval battles.
Maelstroms.
But nothing prepared them for six violently seasick women.
"I didn't know a person could throw up that much," one sailor whispered in horror.
"I've seen men gutted by reef sharks with more dignity," another muttered.
Bunny collapsed onto the deck dramatically.
"I can see sounds…"
Zee looked equally miserable.
"My barriers aren't stopping it…"
"That's because your stomach hates you," Nyxian groaned before immediately vomiting over the side again.
Pixelle hovered weakly near a bucket.
"I miss Solmere…"
Lexi stumbled by holding two different buckets.
"One of these is for me…"
"Which one?"
"…I forgot…"
Even Llandra eventually lost the battle.
She had maintained composure longer than the others.
Mostly through sheer pride.
But after one particularly violent wave—
She calmly stood up from dinner.
Walked to the railing.
Vomited with elegant dignity.
Then sat back down.
"…I hate oceans."
Emberlyn's crew became fascinated.
The mighty Vixens.
Heroes of the United Kingdoms.
Women who fought armies and monsters.
Reduced to tragic puddles of suffering by basic waves.
Ruktooth watched Bunny collapse face-first into a chair.
"…Land people weak."
"We killed dragons…" Bunny mumbled weakly.
"The sea does not care."
"That's rude…"
Nyxian pointed accusingly at Emberlyn.
"You did this on purpose."
"I did not."
"You made the ocean move extra."
"That's not how oceans work."
"Lies."
After three full days of nonstop misery, the Vixens collectively surrendered.
"We're staying inside," Zee announced weakly.
Nobody argued.
The dimensional suite became their sanctuary.
Inside, the dimensional stabilization prevented most of the rocking sensation.
The room remained nearly motionless.
To the Vixens—
It was paradise.
To Emberlyn—
It was hilarious.
"You conquered an Empire," she said while leaning against the doorway, "but waves defeated you."
Nyxian glared from beneath three blankets through the crack in the dimensional door.
"Come closer and say that."
"No."
"Smart."
Oddly enough—
Jax remained completely unaffected.
Not even slightly nauseous.
If anything—
He seemed happier than ever.
He spent almost no time inside the dimensional suite.
Instead, he treated the voyage like a working vacation.
He climbed rigging.
Learned knot systems.
Adjusted sails.
Studied navigation maps.
Helped secure cargo.
Ran lookout shifts.
Worked ropes alongside sailors.
And somehow—
He was good at all of it.
Very good.
Emberlyn found him atop the mast one morning after sunrise.
Balanced casually on a narrow beam while watching the horizon.
"You know," she called upward, "normal rich people pay sailors to do that."
Jax shrugged.
"How else am I supposed to learn?"
That answer annoyed her because it made sense.
The crew slowly warmed to him.
Especially after the Devil's Pools.
The whirlpool region required precise navigation.
One wrong current could pull ships into spinning death spirals.
The pirate crews moved carefully through the waters.
Meanwhile—
Jax looked thrilled.
"This is amazing."
"You think death whirlpools are amazing?" Emberlyn asked.
"They're very efficient."
"That's the most merchant answer possible."
By the end of the first week, even the pirate crews admitted something strange.
Jax wasn't pretending to help.
He genuinely worked.
No complaints.
No ego.
No "leader" attitude.
He hauled ropes beside everyone else.
Ate with the crew.
Took night watches voluntarily.
And somehow—
That made him even more intimidating.
Because powerful people were not supposed to act like that.
One evening Emberlyn found herself watching him help secure a damaged sail line during rough weather.
Rain poured.
Wind screamed.
Most nobles would hide below deck.
Jax laughed while tightening ropes.
Like he genuinely enjoyed it.
"…He's insane," Emberlyn muttered quietly.
Ruktooth nodded beside her.
"But good insane."
That night, while the Vixens recovered inside their dimensional sanctuary, Jax stood alone near the bow of the ship.
The cold sea wind hit his face.
The moon reflected across endless dark water.
And then—
The system appeared.
[Side Quest Updated]
[Learn About the Dark Dimension and the Demon Lord]
[Progress Path Confirmed]
Jax stared at the glowing message thoughtfully.
Again.
Just like before.
The system wasn't forcing him toward something new.
It was rewarding a path he already intended to follow.
Almost like it wanted confirmation he was moving correctly.
That bothered him.
A little too convenient.
A little too aligned.
And somehow—
Working with the pirates now felt the same way.
Like fate had quietly nudged events into place.
Jax looked out across the endless ocean.
Somewhere beyond the horizon—
The Dark Continent waited.
And for the first time in years—
He genuinely felt excited again.