Chapter 335: Aboard the Cruiser, Part II
After touring the warship's key compartments and meeting the important personnel, Kian was led by Nova back to his quarters.
She pointed at a large compartment. "This is your room. Per Inquisitor Trasolh's orders, this space is your sovereign territory effective immediately.
No one enters without your permission.
The internal door motors have been disconnected from the central system. Physically disconnected — as in, there's no reconnecting them. Only you can open and close that door.
Your retainers' quarters are in the adjoining compartments. Twenty square metres each."
Then she jabbed a finger down the left corridor.
"Two hundred and fifty metres that way is the captain's quarters — which also happens to be my love nest with Inquisitor Trasolh.
In an emergency, you and your retainers are to move immediately to protect the Inquisitor.
Outside of emergencies, you are not to come down there. If you walk in on me and Inquisitor Trasolh in a private moment, I will claw your face off. Hssst!"
She hissed at Kian, spun on her heel, and strutted away. Quest NPC dialogue complete.
Kian watched her go, his expression grave. "This cat already has a master. Observe carefully — she is no ordinary feline.
Watch yourselves around her. If she hisses three times and gets the empowered auto-attack buff, none of us survive."
He dismissed his retainers to pick their own quarters, then stepped into his compartment and got to work building his second Sanctum.
First, he fixed the Level 3 Emperor's Shrine in the most prominent position. He set up three bottles of Holy Amasec and a single bolt round, then queued them for a week-long sanctification cycle.
Next, the Wraithbone Power Glaive went onto the sanctification altar — four months to complete.
With production scheduled, Kian turned to outfitting the rest of the second Sanctum using materials he'd prepared in advance.
The fabrication station and medical bay were straightforward — assemble, slot in, start the queue.
His main use for the fabrication station these days was rolling for weapon traits. He'd brought several hundred junk firearms, and he planned to feed them through the repair cycle one after another, hoping to hit another modifier as good as the Wrathful Machine Spirit.
Beyond that, he built something that had been useless on the agri-world but would be absolutely invaluable going forward: a cultivation bay.
The cultivation bay had unlocked when the Sanctum's lighting system reached Level 4. Nothing fancy — just ten planting slots. Feed in water, power, seeds, and fertiliser, and it produced crops.
Seeds went in, harvest came out roughly every three days. Kian had stockpiled tens of thousands of seed units across multiple varieties.
Out in the deep void, he would never go without fresh greens.
The gym could also be upgraded to Level 3 — a 120% increase in training effectiveness — by installing a gravity module.
A warship this size had multiple gravity chambers specifically for troop conditioning. Kian requested a set of gravity equipment, and Inquisitor Trasolh approved it without hesitation.
By the time Kian boarded, the gravity hardware was already installed and waiting. The moment he arranged the rest of his training gear, the gym ticked over to Level 3.
The Level 3 gym's base effect was a straight 120% boost to training speed. That alone was extraordinary — one day's work for two days' gains. But it didn't stop there.
The gravity equipment could increase the room's gravitational pull across every axis, putting constant compressive load on every fibre of Kian's musculature.
A normal human was comfortable at one G. The equipment could push it to thirty.
Kian had a remote control. Each additional G added another 10% training efficiency.
After some experimentation, he found his sweet spot: six G while maintaining optimal training form and duration. That worked out to 180% efficiency.
He could crank it higher, but he'd discovered that beyond six G, the time he spent gasping for air between squat reps ate into the returns. Six G allowed sustained exercise and meditation with maximum yield.
He locked himself in the second Sanctum, set gravity to six G, and trained for a solid day. The stats that had been frozen for ages finally ticked upward.
Previously: Strength 53, Endurance 53, Focus 60.
Now: Strength 54, Endurance 54, Focus 61.
The feeling was incredible. With gravity equipment supplementing his regimen, he could see a clear path to breaking through the 70 barrier across all three attributes.
Kian trained like a man possessed. Day after day after day, oblivious to anything happening outside his compartment — until Nova's voice cut through the door.
"How long are you going to sleep in there?! We've already entered the Warp! Why haven't you come out to patrol?!"
Kian was flat on the bench press, teeth clenched, eyes bulging.
He was pushing a massive barbell loaded with plates on both sides. A quick count put the total weight at — good grief — one full tonne.
The bar was resting on his chest. Both hands gripped the steel, straining upward with everything he had.
Every vein in his body stood out crimson, as if they might burst. His pores had become open faucets, pumping sweat in sheets.
"Get... UP...!!"
A guttural roar tore from his throat. His arms, trembling like hydraulic jacks under maximum load, drove the one-tonne barbell skyward.
He threw absolutely everything into it — so much force that the blood vessels in his eyes ruptured from the strain.
But it was worth it. Every last ounce.
With savage, surging power, he conquered the one-tonne milestone.
The barbell cleared his chest and crashed onto the rack.
"YEAAAAAH!!"
Kian let out a primal howl of triumph, threw open the Sanctum door, and roared at Nova and the assembled armed personnel standing outside.
"YOUR BOY JUST HIT THE BIG ONE!!"
What followed was a full competitive bodybuilding posing routine: front double biceps, front lat spread, side chest, rear double biceps, rear lat spread, side triceps, and the crab pose for the finish.
Nova nearly jumped out of her skin, scrambling backward several steps.
"What is happening, mrow?! What is happening, mrow?!"
Kian's retainers, long accustomed to this sort of display, had already settled in to appreciate the show.
"Boss's muscles got bigger again."
That was Shiv.
"I'm having vivid flashbacks to the time the Commander executed a regimental colonel with his glutes."
That was Little Joel.
"Mrow?! Glute execution?!"
That was Nova, horrified.
"Alright, alright. Commander, we've entered the Warp. Shouldn't we start the patrol?"
Lieutenant Rudolphson, as always, was the one who brought things back to business.
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you