“Heh heh…”
It’s been 10 minutes since then.
I sold all the scales, bones, and fish meat I had and bought another fishing rod before returning to my spot.
I also bought some bait this time.
As a result, I have only 65 serin left in my pockets.
In any case, I am definitely going to eat that fish. I’m the type of guy to hold a grudge.
Like how I always play fighting games with Tsumugi, who’s really into them. Unfortunately, though, she beats me more than I do her. She’s nothing short of a prodigy at fighting games, even though her best genre is first-person shooter.
I know it must look real weird to see a girl laughing to herself. I’m self-aware.
But I don’t care. I am absolutely going to catch you.
I think I’ve found my calling in this world.
It might be a little lame, but I guess I’ll continue to silently fish alone here.
“Alright, let’s try out the bait.”
I bait the previously bare hook.
I don’t have any worms, but instead boilies.
I gotta put up with the cheapest stuff they have. I would’ve bought something better if only I had the money to.
They had fishing lures for sale too, so I’m guessing there are lakes nearby.
I cast my rod and concentrate on its tip.
I’d love to gaze at the clouds, but I don’t have the time for that!
“Gotcha!”
—Horse Mackerel obtained.
It feels like they’re biting more because of the bait.
There can’t really be fish that stupid to go for a hook with nothing on it.
I have 30 boilies in my inventory. I’ll have to get more at the general store once I’m out.
But the moment when the fish bit, I felt something that I’ve never felt before.
Maybe it’s something part of the game that I haven’t noticed before. Or maybe even it was just my imagination. In any case, I’ll keep that feeling in my mind. If it has anything to do with what gets caught or the quality of the fish, it’d be a big catch.
Oh, and there’s definitely a quality aspect.
When I was selling my items at the shop, they were all priced differently.
They were all small fry so they didn’t sell for a whole lot, but smaller ones varied about 1–3 serin while the bigger ones varied 10–30.
Once I get Energy Production III, I’ll get Fishing Mastery as well.
“Another one…”
I wait a little longer this time.
It really isn’t just my imagination.
There’s an indescribable aura or ebb and flow radiating from my rod.
Maybe it’s something to do with when I should strike.
The tug gets harder and softer, but it’s a short amount of time when it tugs hard.
“And now!”
—Sardine obtained.
It may be a sardine, but it’s the biggest and freshest one I’ve caught yet.
It’s likely that it’s determined when the fish is being caught.
This kind of system really fires me up.
“Oh?”
I’ve got a bite, but I can tell by the bend in my rod, it’s not as strong as The Big One.
… or maybe my rod is just too shoddy and just doesn’t perform well enough.
It’d be a waste if it gets away. As I did before, I wait for a strong tug before I strike.
—Killerfish obtained.
… huh. All of a sudden, I get the feeling that it’s a monster.
I’ve only caught herrings and sardines up ‘til now. They’re all fish that exist in the real world, so they feel different than this guy. Furthermore, upon placing Mr. Killerfish in my inventory, it starts mashing its pointy teeth. That’s definitely a monster, alright.
I guess even monsters sp.a.w.n in places like this.
At least I have a better grasp on things now.
I keep on fishing.
In the end, I managed to catch 26 out of the 30 bites I had.
Four of them got away when I was trying to get a feel for their pull.
I think each fish is different in the amount of time I have before they flee.
What I caught totaled to 14 herrings, six sardines, three horse mackerels, one killerfish, and two bonefish. There’s no way those last two aren’t monsters.
As its name suggests, the bonefish is just like a skeleton.
I was pretty shocked when I first saw it.
It’s kinda eerie how nothing but bones can live under the sea.
“Now then, let’s gut and trim them all, save for a single herring.”
There’s something I want to test out.
I want to see whether selling the fish whole or trimmed earns more.
Still, the money doesn’t matter all too much since I need to get that gutting skill anyway.
With that, I carefully point my Novice Gutting Knife towards my spoils.
“I sure am hungry…”
I got stuck for hours in an endless loop of fishing → tr.i.m.m.i.n.g → selling → buying bait → fishing.
I found out that selling trimmed fish nets more cash too and I bought better bait with the extra money.
What I should do now is focus on catching 100 or more fish to upgrade Fishing Mastery to rank II. But first thing’s first—I have to upgrade my Energy Production.
I was so absorbed in fishing that I forgot to eat.
They call it the Second Life Project, so there’s gotta be a hunger element in the game.
I’m so hungry that it feels like I haven’t eaten the whole day.
“… what to eat?”
Luckily, I have a bit more money than before. I’m not sure how expensive restaurants, but since this is the starting town, it shouldn’t be too expensive.
I put away my fishing rod, leave my fishing spot on the bridge, and head down to the middle of Lurolona.
The fish is still in my inventory, but they can wait. I want to eat, and I want to eat now.
“Ooh.”
I followed the road to the plaza where we sp.a.w.ned.
There’s not as many people here now as before, but there’s still 10 or 20 people hanging out.
Among the people are a Human and a Crystal trading items.
Not even a day has pa.s.sed and the guy has already established a business? I casually walk closer to them and listen in.
“Five pieces of copper will be 375 serin.”
“Thanks. The shops are selling it for so much more.”
They’re both in novice gear so it’s hard to tell, but it seems like one of them is a merchant and the other a blacksmith.
“Little lady over there!”
The moment they finish trading, the merchant walks over to me.
What’s up with him? I look behind me.
What girl?
“Yes, you.”
“You talkin’ to me or somethin’?”
“Yeah. Not much of a lady though, eh?”
Oh, yeah. I’m playing as a girl right now.
It was super weird at first, but I quickly got used to my voice and I totally forgot about it.
“No, uhh, stuff happened and now my character’s a girl.”
“I see.”
The merchant is quite the pretty boy type.
He’s taller than me. Well, at my height right now, I can’t tell exactly how tall people are anymore. In any case, I look up to see his bright blond hair.
“So? Something you needed?”
“You smelled like the sea, so I was just wondering if you had any fish or seafood on you.”
“Oh. Do I smell?”
I take a whiff of myself, but I can’t really tell.
I did fall into the sea once, so it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I did.
“It seems like it. I went over to the plains once and it smelled like gra.s.s over there.”
“Huh…”
I thought it was just the sea spray that smelled.
How complex. It really is a big budget game.
“Anyway, do you have any fish or sh.e.l.lfish? I have an acquaintance who’s trying to level up her cooking skill, so I’ll buy it off you at a higher price than what the stores can give you.”
“Hrm…”
I placed my right hand by my chin as I pondered.
I haven’t processed any of the fish yet, so I have about 50 of them stored in my inventory.
Well, it’s mostly herrings, sardines, and horse mackerels though.
But since I still haven’t got the skill yet, I’d like to gut them all before I sell them.
“Sorry, but I need them too. Maybe next time though.”
“Is that right? My name is Alto, though you’d find me as Altorese in chat. Though it didn’t work out this time, I’ll buy anything and everything.”
“Gotcha. I’ll keep it in mind. But you’re already trading so early?”
“Yeah, pretty much. I buy low from people in the frontlines and sell for cheaper than store prices for people who want things. Then, I’ll go and sell potions high to the people fighting. I’ve made 8,000 serin already like this.”
“Impressive. You really are a merchant.”
Speaking of which, I have 2,700 serin. If I were to sell all the fish I have on me right now and buy some bait, I should have about 4,500 left. But still, it’s incredible how the merchant made 8,000 serin just by trading.
“Hahaha. Visit Altorese’s Emporium for all your needs! Just kidding.”
“In that case, sell me a good fishing rod, if you have one on hand.”
“A fishing rod? That’s a tool. If you have the materials, then it can be made. Shall I introduce you to an acquaintance of mine?”
“Oh, could you?”
“Of course! Only if you promise that you’ll buy any materials you need from me.”
What a silver tongue on him.
It’s funny how he’s exactly like how a merchant would be. Some people really do role-play in an RPG.
“Alright then, please.”
“Thank you for your patronage.”
Even his words are merchant-like. How refreshing.
He might just be working in customer service in real life.
“Okay, I’ll contact you when I get news.”
“Ah, hold on. I’ve something I’d like to ask.”
Alto looks at me with a quizzical look.
Being so caught up in chatting, I had almost forgotten about it until the end.
“Where can I find a restaurant?”
: // // // /ch003/ /next/