Based on the progress displayed, it could be estimated that summoning Lexington consumed 300 fuel, 30 ammo, 400 steel, and 300 aluminum, roughly the minimum threshold for building a standard aircraft carrier.
[Monthly Tasks Unlocked | Limited-Time Tasks Unlocked | Achievement System Unlocked | Medal System Unlocked]
So now both short-term and long-term reward systems had been activated? Hikaru had assumed these features would only unlock after completing certain stages of the main storyline.
**[Long-term Task: World's Greatest Admiral. Conditions:
Become renowned across all seven seas, earning the title of the strongest naval base.
Ensure all shipgirls in your base have a Happiness Index of "Happy" or above, with married shipgirls at "Dreamlike Happiness" or higher.
Have your naval base rated as "Brilliant Radiance" or higher.
Partial rewards will be distributed based on progress.
Final reward: Wishcraft (Grants one wish).]**
Hikaru was stunned. Wishcraft?
It might not be as godlike as snapping universes into existence, but if it could even grant one of his desires...
Suppressing his excitement, Hikaru carefully analyzed the task's conditions.
Condition 1 obviously required him to fully materialize his base. If he could bring his entire naval base into this world, he'd definitely qualify to compete for the title of strongest. The only reason this condition sounded vague was likely because Hikaru had already encountered Yamato. Who knew how powerful entities like her could be? Some theories even suggested that Abyssal fleets might possess their own naval bases. If true, the idea was terrifying enough to make one's blood run cold.
Condition 3 likely referred to the base's infrastructure. Surely the world's strongest admiral couldn't be running a rundown dump. Too bad Hikaru had no fully materialized base to even check the rating.
Condition 2... well.
"Commander," Lexington gently squeezed his hand. "You seem distracted."
Hikaru gave her a soft smile. "Just thinking about a few things."
He used his newly unlocked ability on her. Instantly, a status appeared on his retina, showing Lexington's emotional state—a warm golden-orange glow.
[Lexington | Current Mood: Happy]
[Emotional States: Ashen, Despairing, Sad, Fearful, Angry, Frustrated, Neutral (Green), Enthusiastic (Blue), Content (Purple), Happy (Gold-Orange), Dreamlike Happiness (Rainbow).]
Lexington rested her head on his shoulder. "Commander, please don't zone out when you're with me. It makes me question my charm."
Hikaru hesitated for a moment, then wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Are you truly happy right now?"
"Very happy," she murmured, eyes closed. "Being by your side is dreamlike happiness."
Hikaru nearly blurted, "You liar!" but wisely kept it to himself for the sake of his own safety.
Maybe dreamlike happiness really was something too good to imagine...
He briefly considered bringing Saratoga over to possibly increase Lexington's happiness further. But would that be enough to qualify as dreamlike?
Marriage ships are such a handful.
Unlike other shipgirls, who were satisfied with just being happy, married ones required something... more. And what if the only way for the others to reach "happy" was to become marriage ships themselves?
Shaking off these spiraling thoughts, Hikaru glanced at California trailing behind. Her mood glowed a dull gray.
[California | Currently Feeling: Frustrated]
[Purple Limited-Time Task Unlocked: Within 30 Days, Raise California's Mood to "Content." Reward: 100 Diamonds, 1 Random Mystery Reward]
So that's how limited-time tasks get triggered. I'll need to find a way to have a proper talk with her later.
But for now, he had other plans. It was already 8 PM, the perfect time to let the moonlight serve as their silver wedding veil—and to blind every single envious soul outside.
In fact, a large crowd had already gathered outside the construction warehouse.
The plaza was filled with the smell of grilled foods, and there were even pretty girls dancing awkwardly on stage. Yet none of that compared to the tension surrounding the warehouse where the last remaining rookie hadn't emerged.
The whole event was supposed to be about enjoying food and music while watching rookies fail their builds—preferably so the seniors could offer fake sympathy while parading their own superior shipgirls.
But if the rookie turned out to be an "Ultra Luck" winner? That was a nightmare for the seniors.
People were getting anxious.
"Last year's building session wrapped up by 4 PM. It was so satisfying. Now it's already 8 PM, and that rookie's been in there for ten hours. Even if he failed once, he could've built three heavy cruisers by now!"
"A guaranteed battleship... Damn that lucky bastard!"
"You think he's building something with over five hours on the timer? Remember that guy two years ago who built Dunkerque? That place was full of sobbing rookies."
"Maybe he failed."
"No way. If he had failed, he'd be out by now. Staying this long means he's definitely building something 5+ hours."
"Maybe he collapsed in there after a failed large build?"
"Impossible. A true admiral wouldn't faint unless he failed at least ten++ times."
Even the supervising staff were getting nervous. One of them, Langley, the light carrier teacher with a shiny forehead, held Hikaru's build record. Standing beside her was Elizabeth, looking more and more worried.
"Should we check inside? What if he really passed out?" Elizabeth whispered.
Langley shook her head. "We can't. What if we interrupt his build?"
Interrupting a build was one of the biggest taboos in the academy, punishable by severe penalties. Even shouting next to a focused admiral might not break their concentration—only physical harm could forcefully interrupt the process.
Elizabeth bit her lip nervously. The situation was attracting more and more attention, including that of Dean Yat Sen, who had shown up herself.
Somewhere in the crowd, Yuji and Masaki exchanged glances, sharing the same sinking feeling.
Yuji had failed all three of his builds today. Summoning shipgirls wasn't as easy as it sounded. Masaki, standing next to him, was practically a legend—for the wrong reasons. Twenty years as an admiral and he still hadn't built a second shipgirl. People even doubted he had real admiral qualifications.
Masaki frowned. "He's not really going to build a high-star capital ship, is he?"
Yuji clenched his jaw. The last time Hikaru had humiliated him had left him reeling for weeks.
"If he's that lucky again, I'm done. I'm cutting ties."
But the one who least wanted Hikaru to succeed wasn't Yuji. It was Sakakibara Tetsuya, today's so-called "Sea Lion Champion" of the Seal Flex-Off.
This northeastern admiral had already built a 4-star carrier—USS Hornet—on his third try, after cross-dressing for luck. He was surrounded by admirers, with people constantly rubbing his head and pinching his cheeks for "good luck." This had been going on since 4 PM.
One senior sneered, "Big deal. Hornet has thin armor, poor anti-air, low aircraft capacity, and even worse horsepower than light carriers."
Tetsuya fake-pouted, "Yeah, the Hornet had a displacement of just 15,000 tons, much lower than 20,000-ton Yorktown-class and barely half of the Lexington-class. Its engine only had 75,000 horsepower, compared to Yorktown's 120,000 and Essex's 150,000. Heck, even the Independence-class light carrier Langley (CVL-27) had 100,000 horsepower. What a pity. All I managed was the Hornet. Poor me."
Note: The Langley (CVL-27) was not the same as Langley (CV-1).
Despite his modesty, everyone knew that even a mediocre 4-star carrier like Hornet completely outclassed almost all destroyers or light cruisers.
One old-timer, clearly frustrated, growled, "Ugh, such a smug face... I'm about to lose control of my fists!"
Hornet, a slim, flat-chested, tea-haired girl in towering heels, hugged her arms in irritation. "Commander, how much longer are we waiting?"
Tetsuya patted her shoulder. "Just a little longer. We'll claim our prize once the last guy's done."
He had no idea that Hikaru hadn't even signed up for the Seal Flex-Off. To Hikaru, it had been nothing more than a scratch-off bonus ticket, not worth even remembering.