As Marcus and Mrazivý were taking in the sights that were prominent on the ship's deck, a man in the attire of the ship's servants approached them.
He was relatively short at around five foot three, had dark black hair that was slicked back, and he had sharp blue eyes.
From the way he walked it was clear he was a well-trained servant that was used to attending to high class clientele.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Marcus and Mrazivý. My name is Dustin, and I will be your personal guide for the day to show you around. If you would like I can take to you to your room, or if there were perhaps somewhere else you wanted to see first, I can guide you there as well so long as it is not a restricted area." Dustin said with a bow.
"The room first would be good. We will think about where we want to go next on the way." Mrazivý responded.
With a smile on his face Dustin told them to follow him and he began leading them toward the room that would be theirs for the next couple of weeks.
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"This is the elevator for commoner guests to use. It uses mana to move up and down and can allow you access to any of the floors you see numbers for." Dustin explained as he showed them a panel with numbers on it.
Seeing this Marcus became even more certain that this ship was originally designed by someone from Earth and decided to inquire about it at a later time.
Soon they arrived on the seventh level of the ship which was where their cabin was located.
It was the lowest deck in which guest accommodations were, with the only lower floor being where the majority of the crew slept.
"This is your cabin, number seven hundred thirteen." Dustin said as he opened the door.
Peering inside Marcus and Mrazivý saw a large king-sized bed with high quality bedding neatly placed atop it.
There was also a large couch and a set of chairs around a small, round ornate table sitting in what could be considered a lounge area.
A large wardrobe was placed in front of the bed and to the sides of it were a pair of nightstands.
There was also a single door in the room which led to a bathroom that came equipped with a sink that had running water and a tub and shower with warm water.
Overall, the room was only a bit more than four hundred and fifty square feet, which was an infinitesimally small room compared to what Marcus and Mrazivý were used to. Yet it was quite large for a room on a ship.
This just went to show how luxurious this vessel truly was that these were the accommodations for the cheapest type of room abord it.
Along with all this there was also a pleasant slightly sweet scent wafting through the air in the room that was unexpected considering they were out on the ocean.
'Oh, there is even a porthole!' Marcus thought excitedly.
Rushing over to it he looked out it and could see the gently rolling waves of the ocean that slightly rocked the ship that was still docked.
Except Marcus suddenly realized that there was something missing. While they may have been docked the ship itself seemed to not be moving at all on the inside.
And when Marcus asked Dustin about this he said, "You are most astute sir. The ship has a magical enchantment on it that lessens the shaking of the vessel. However, do be aware that it does not negate it so you may still feel it if we encounter rougher water."
After Marcus and Mrazivý were satisfied looking over their cabin they turned back to Dustin and asked him to show them the ship's attractions.
They had already read a guide on what the ship offered, but they were not exactly sure where everything was and having a guide would beat wandering around aimlessly.
"As you wish." Dustin said with a bow.
He then thought things over for a second, before saying, "This is not our most popular activity, but it is the closest being on this same level. Please follow me to the back of the vessel."
Following Dustin once again they made their way down the corridor of the ship and to a large open room at the back of the deck.
The moment they entered Mrazivý with her enhanced dragon senses picked up the lingering scent of blood.
She could tell with one whiff that this area was constantly being exposed to decent amounts of blood even if the crew had done their best to clean the place.
For a moment she wondered if there was some diabolic nature to this ship.
"What might all the drains be for?" Marcus asked, noticing a different oddity of the room.
"Oh, they are for draining the blood of any of the beasts or monsters that get fished up. Some of them can be quite big so this is the room in which they are prepared since we catch them just of the stern through those doors." Dustin explained and pointed to the massive door that was akin to a warehouse's.
Hearing this the wild thoughts running through Mrazivý's head disappeared, and she took a moment to better identify the smell of the blood and could certainly tell it was not from any humanoid.
"You have fishing! I did not read about that anywhere." Marcus said with clear exhilaration.
He enjoyed fishing to a certain degree but rarely had an opportunity to indulge in it.
"Yes, it is not our most popular activity as most of our clientele are nobles or rich merchants, and normally it is done mostly by the adventures we have hired to pass the time while on watch. However, as you both are high level adventures yourself, I figured you might enjoy it and would have the necessary strength to test yourself against the creatures that live in the ocean."
A smile on his face Marcus nodded along, saying that he would enjoy getting to go fishing off the back of the ship. And while Mrazivý was not as enthused, she figured it would be fun and agreed to give it a try.
"Now as we are still docked the large bay door is closed, but we can check out the area where the fishing is held by going through here." Dustin said as she opened up a smaller door off to the side.
As he opened it the salty breeze of the ocean blew in and hit Marcus and Mrazivý.
"Wow!" Was all they could say as they walked out onto the open area.
It was a large platform about a fifth of the ship's length that had a coated wooden floor similar to the top deck. Except that the wood was a dark red.
'I see the seventh and sixth deck are shorter to accommodate this space.'
It looked as if someone had taken a part of the ship out and left it hollow.
Still, Marcus understood that there was more to the place than just a convent area to fish from the moment he looked around.
There were already eight high level adventurers who had been hired as guards standing at the edge of the deck and keeping watch off the side.
Even in port it was not guaranteed that things would remain safe, and they were always ready.
'Looks like the lowest level one is fifty and the highest is fifty-nine. These guys really are strong, as expected. I do believe I read that they only hire mithril and adamantine rank adventurers though, so this makes sense.' Marcus thought as he examined the guards.
Of course, the ship had its own security force among its crew, but they were mainly for dealing with onboard disturbances. They were perfectly fine with allowing the professional adventurers to deal with monsters and magical beasts for the most part.
For a few moments the adventurers cast their gazes towards the group of people that had just entered, wondering who it was. But they went wide eyed when they locked eyes with Marcus and Mrazivý.
Naturally, as high-ranking adventures they could gage a person's general strength by the way they walked, the sharpness in their eyes, and the aura they exuded. And to them, it was clear that Marcus and Mrazivý were monsters.
"I thought that we were only getting one more guard here in Loursend. But it seems that you have brought us two very powerful assets" The highest level and obvious lead adventurer said to Dustin as he approached.
Giving him a quick once over Marcus was certainly intrigued. it was the first time he had ever seen a person of his particular race.
The man before him was easily over two meters tall, had a light green tinge to his skin, slightly pointed ears, and tusks protruding out of his mouth. The classic appearance of an orc. Which while sometimes considered monsters in the fantasy stories and games on Earth, were actually a normal humanoid race on Mirrion
"Huh, uh no mister Zaragar. These two may be adventurers like yourself, but they are guests aboard the Ascension, not the new guard we hired. I believe they will be here shortly." Dustin said to clear up the confusion.
"My apologies. I seemed to have jumped to conclusions there. But to think I would end up guarding guests that a far stronger than I am." Zaragar said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"It is no problem. We can understand the confusion." Mrazivý said with an easygoing smile.
Seeing this, Zaragar visibly relaxed, as did the other adventurers, who were paying close attention.
"Wait! Mister Zaragar, are you to tell me that they are stronger than you?!" Dustin said, forgetting his polite way of speaking in his shock.
"Yes, I am not sure exactly how powerful they are, but there is no doubt they outclass me. I doubt that even if all of us here fought them at the same time that we could beat either of them."
Hearing this Dustin's mouth slowly gaped opened in disbelief, and he turned his head slowly towards Marcus and Mrazivý like a rusty tinman.
He knew Zaragar and the others well since they were a regular adventurers they hired, and he could hardly fathom that Marcus and Mrazivý were stronger than all of them combined.
Luckily, what could only be considered fairly rude behavior by their guide was soon overshadowed by the door opening again.
Another crew member was leading the actual newly hired guard, and when Marcus saw who it was, he had to hide the surprise from showing on his face.
Standing there was a familiar figure he had not seen for several years. But they were someone he would never forget as they he had fought a life and death battle together in the Cordelia Depths against the magma elemental boss.