Dan sighed as he closed the system for his level 7 skill choices. He felt a huge headache and his respect grew again for the people who were able to choose only 10 skills for their whole 100 levels.

  He knew that it was going to be hard, and his first 3 skill choices only made that clearer, but only after he found himself not choosing even one single skill in 4 skill selections did he know the true pain of the process.

  His fourth level's skills were the easiest to skip. He went into it already expecting that he would skip some, and the skills not being that good only helped make that choice easier for him. The skills he got during that level were: Rage of the Ocean, Crew Positioning and Night Watch.

  The first one was a berserk-like skill that turned him into an angry beast of battle when he activated it. The second gave him a mental map of where every single person among his crew was at all times. And the last was, as its name clearly showed, a night vision-like skill.

  The easiest skill to ignore of those was the last one. He already could use the Voyager's night vision cameras. It was a bit taxing on him, but he could handle it, not to mention that he was getting stronger with each level and he had Advantage now.

  Berserk was another one he discarded straight away. He didn't want to turn into an angry battle maniac. Honestly, he didn't want to get forced into a fight where his physical powers mattered that much.

  Finally, the only thing that would make him choose Crew Positioning was the fear of situations like man overboard. Dan trusted the Voyager to warn him in case that happened, though. Another occasion when it might be useful was maybe catching intruders or stowaways. But again, Dan also trusted the Voyager to catch them if it came to it.

  And that was how the easiest skill selection to skip passed. In contrast, the skill choices for level 5 were the hardest. It had two skills that were quite interesting to Dan and he almost went with them.

  The skills he got for level 5 were, World Map, Whispers of the Ocean and Sturdy Anchor. The first one he got interested in was World Map, it was a skill that gave him an empty blank map that would fill whenever he passed by a location or had an accurate enough map to add to it.

  He almost went with it right then and there. Having it would make their lives so much easier. In this world where they knew nothing about the stars and had no GPS to get back to, such a skill would be heaven-sent.

  Fortunately, he was of sound mind to remember asking his crew if any of them had something like that, and just as fate would have it, Freddie did have such a skill.

  Him having it made sense after he had thought about it, without such a skill, orienting themselves and knowing where they were and where they were heading would have been impossible.

  It was a great skill that would help them a lot during their journeys, but the fact that at least one person in his crew had it made him hesitate about letting it take one of his limited skill slots.

  World Map skipped, Dan turned his focus to the 2nd skill that caught his attention, Whispers of the Ocean. It was a skill that gave him early warnings about some dangers.

  Even though this one did catch his attention, it wasn't something he was into as much as he was into World Map. The main reason was how many limitations it had at first and how Keith's skill was already something close to it, if not in mechanics then in results. The skill only worked once a day and the warning wasn't that early. It had room to grow, but again, was it worth it for a skill slot?

  The last skill from this skill selection was one he didn't even consider. It was too limited. It only made it so that once the Voyager dropped her anchor, it wouldn't be easy to move her. Dan guessed that that skill might be of use to other ships, but for a sentient ship like the Voyager, it wasn't that important.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Dan smiled as he realised how much easier the Voyager being alive made some things for him. Quite a number of the skills he skipped were because she was already capable of doing them in one way or another.

  The 6th level's skill choices were closer to the 4th in difficulty of skipping. The skills were quite easy to ignore once he thought about it for a while.

  The skills he got were, Iron Stomach, Fleet Commander and Unbroken Oaths. The first one was as written. A skill that made it harder for him to get sick from spoiled foods or some weak poisons. He could see it growing to a skill that would make him be able to eat anything without fear, be it poison or spoiled food. He just couldn't see himself giving up a whole skill slot just for that, though.

  The 2nd was quite interesting. It made it so he always had contact with the captain of another ship that was also under him. Might be quite useful for a fleet master to have, but he only had the Voyager and wasn't planning on getting another ship under his wing anytime soon.

  That left the third skill, and that one made him feel sick to the core. It made him reevaluate this new world they found themselves in again. Unbroken Oaths was a skill that made it so his crewmen would swear an oath marking him as their eternal captain, till they died or he decided otherwise. Once under that Oath they wouldn't be able to ignore his orders and would essentially become tools under him.

  He skipped the skill selection with a bad taste in his mouth once he saw that skill. He didn't want to think about what it would feel like to be forced to swear such an oath. And didn't want even more to think of his friends and him under such a skill.

  Moving fast to his 7th level skill choices, Dan was faced with his 2nd hardest skill choice, the skills he was offered were just that good. The skills he was given were, Stormfarer, Inspiring Presence and Silent Commands.

  Going by the easiest one to ignore, it was Silent Commands. It was a skill that made it so he could speak to any of his crew members telepathically while they were on the ship. Again, it was a good skill, but he couldn't bring himself to let it take a precious skill slot.

  The next one he discarded was Inspiring Presence. It was a skill that raised the morale and fighting spirit of his crewmen. Honestly, if not for the fight they had just been a part of the night before, he might have gone with it. That fight did happen though, and he saw how many of his crew had supportive skills and how good they were. He didn't want to add a skill that would only fill his skill slot while many of his friends already had way better skills than that.

  Dan wanted to think of the people on the Voyager as one unit, a group of people that complement each other and cover each other's weak points.

  With the other two skills already ignored, Dan turned his attention to the final skill in this skill selection. Stormfarer.

  If Dan was honest, this was the skill he had the hardest time skipping, if not for the fact that he already had 2 skills chosen, he would have gone with it. But for a skill to make him fill close to a third of the possible skill slots he had in the first tier, it would have to be truly exceptional.

  Stormfarer was a skill that had quite a simple effect honestly, it made moving through stormy weather easier. It would make the Voyager less likely to be targeted by lightning or be much harder to sink by waves. The future potential of such a skill was truly fascinating. But unfortunately, it still wasn't good enough for him to choose his third skill in the first tier, so he had to let it go.

  "This is going to be much harder than I thought..." Dan murmured as he massaged his head. He didn't know how hard some of the coming skill selections were going to be. The worst-case scenario he dreaded facing was seeing a skill he would love to choose after all his 10 skill slots were filled, he doubted he would have enough resolve not to take it if it came to that.

  Calling up the last notification Dan set up a bit straighter. He wondered what skill Voyager might have chosen, who knows, it might even be that new fuel source they were dreaming of.

  Bonded Ship's skill choice:

  Specialised Rooms.

  Dan found himself raising his eyebrows in confusion at the name. It wasn't anything he had in mind really. Not wanting to waste any more time guessing what it might do, he had enough brainstorming with his own skills, Dan brought its description up,

  Having seen how some of her people needed it, the Voyager chose this skill hoping it could be of help. Specialised Rooms: By providing the needed materials and putting them in a room of your choice, Specialised Rooms can be made. Alchemy Labs, Magical workshops and Forges! Whatever room you need can be made.