Linley never thought of himself as smarter than the average person. His life before his reincarnation was ordinary and uneventful. If he were really that smart, his life wouldn't have been so plain, right? His exam scores were never particularly outstanding; he was just happy to pass.
Even if the system claimed that Linley's intelligence was only ten points, the same as an average person, he could accept that. However, compared to Pandora's eighteen points of intelligence, Linley's twelve points seemed much inferior, making him feel like a babbling fool.
"Is my intelligence really that much lower than Pandora's?" Linley felt a strong sense of unwillingness.
"Then let's try it out," the system showed a math problem on the screen.
Linley had graduated from college many years ago, long past his high school days when he knew astronomy, geography, and was good at ion reactions and current calculations. Moreover, even during the college entrance examination, his math scores weren't good.
Seeing those functions F(X) again made him nervous. He said, "I can't do it! Can Pandora solve this?"
"Give her a math textbook, and she'd probably master it in a month," the system said. "You, on the other hand, wouldn't get it in a year."
"Impossible!" Linley retorted.
"Can you master it within a year?" the system asked.
"I mean, she couldn't possibly master it within a month. She wouldn't even know all the characters in a month," Linley explained.
"Of course, I'd give her a math book in mermaid script. What were you thinking?" the system replied.
Linley pretended not to hear that; he couldn't really give Pandora a math book. He continued staring at the screen, still feeling puzzled as to why Pandora would become a follower of the god of wine. She should have been a follower of Zeus or maybe a secret follower of Poseidon, right?
From how she talked about Zeus and Poseidon, she didn't really believe in them, not even a little; she was more like a fake believer. But she had no reason to follow the god of wine; she didn't drink and got drunk after just a couple of sips.
The potential of the other followers on the screen wasn't high. For example, Dave had a potential of D, and Odysseus had a potential of B. The system told Linley that since Odysseus was already a priest of the Dionysus, he didn't count as Linley's follower, so no hints were given.
Apart from these two, the potential of others was even lower, mostly E, F, or even lower. But one other follower had very high potential, an A, second only to Pandora.
Who was this? How did Linley not notice before? On closer look, this A-grade follower was named Nemo, a captain.
"Nemo?" Linley asked.
"This is your reward for completing a side quest," the system said.
Linley thought he heard a hint of resignation in the system's tone, but he wasn't sure if he imagined it. Earlier, Linley had completed a side quest, and the system had given him a hint, but he was too busy betting with Pandora to claim the reward immediately.
"Lord," said a two-meter-tall, muscular Black man as he emerged from the mist in front of the cabin. "You've been flirting with Princess Pandora, making me wait forever. I'm Nemo, and I'm eager to serve you."
"Sorry," Linley blushed. "Are you the captain?"
"That's right," Nemo replied. "I'm skilled in maritime navigation, shipbuilding, training sailors, and naval warfare."
"You can build ships too? That's awesome," Linley said.
Linley had been worried about how to use the planks from the Thunder to build a new ship. The fishermen were only good at building fishing boats, but he needed larger, sturdier vessels. Captain Nemo's arrival made him breathe a sigh of relief. With this experienced captain, there should be no problem.
"We need to get started right away," Linley said to Captain Nemo.
They both returned to the real world. Pandora was still drifting in the water, yet to wake up. Linley placed her among some Dionysian grapevines and covered her with branches as a makeshift blanket.
Captain Nemo couldn't breathe underwater. He held his breath and observed for a while before having to surface and gasp for air after leaving the cave. Linley climbed ashore too, and Nemo couldn't help but say, "Lord Dionysus, I think you should find a regular human."
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Linley definitely wouldn't admit to having any special feelings for Pandora.
"Mermaids are totally different from us humans. They can't fight on land. No matter how powerful they are at sea, if they can't come ashore, they're useless," Nemo explained.
In this era, a navy's ability to conduct land battles was crucial. All navies relied on coastal navigation, and battles were rarely purely naval; the key was capturing ports. If a navy couldn't fight on land, being invincible at sea was pointless, as the enemy could easily retreat into ports. After patrolling the coast for a while, the navy would eventually need to dock for supplies, leading to land battles.
Even if two fleets met at sea, the battle would turn into close combat between ships, with sailors putting on land battle gear and fighting on the ships. Therefore, the navy had to have land battle capabilities. Although mermaids were incredibly powerful at sea, if they couldn't fight on land, their naval capabilities would be significantly reduced.
"Stop talking nonsense and do your job," Linley said.
Naval warfare didn't have only one form. With technological advancements, many new combat methods would emerge. If Linley had a mermaid unit under his command, they could play a unique role in naval battles. For example, before the enemy fleet left port, mermaids could sneak into the harbor and drill large holes in the ships, rendering even the strongest navy powerless.
Alternatively, mermaids could lead the fleet across the sea, avoiding conventional routes, making it impossible for the enemy to accurately track Linley's fleet's position, forcing them to defend everywhere and waste their forces.
However, to achieve this, a whole mermaid unit was needed. Relying on Pandora alone was far from enough. Mermaids usually didn't get involved in land conflicts; they had their own affairs to handle.
Linley took Nemo to the dock and announced that Nemo would be responsible for dismantling and rebuilding the ships. Fortunately, this did not cause any opposition. The Greeks of this era were not racially prejudiced. They had seen many different races and understood that the wisdom and skills of other races were not inferior to their own.
The god they worshipped, Dionysus, was himself of a different race. So, what was the problem with having a Black captain by his side?
Ultimately, professional skill was the deciding factor. Captain Nemo looked like a formidable expert, and his knowledge of shipbuilding was impressive. The fishermen on the island listened to him and immediately understood that he was an expert, willingly working under his command.
After making the arrangements, Linley felt a wave of fatigue. Despite being filled with divine power, his eyelids were so heavy that he could barely keep them open. He had no choice but to return to the cave and prepare for a good rest.