Going back to beside the bridge, I set afloat my boat.
I slowly get in the boat, being sure not to tip it over.
Whoa. I’ve been on a boat in real life before and this feels exactly the same.
I take out the oar and start paddling.
“… it doesn’t go too fast, does it?”
I’m thinking that there’s probably a skill for it, maybe something like Embarkation or Oar Mastery.
In any case, I keep paddlin’ out towards the deep blue sea.
One hour later.
Maybe because I’ve yet to unlock the skill, but I can still see land.
Well, actually, it’d be dangerous if I venture too far out. I should probably start fishing here.
“Hmm? What’s that over there?”
Between the land and me is a black shadow flying closer and closer.
Upon closer inspection, it’s a bird.
It looks it has a pointy beak, but it’s quite a bit bigger than a hawk.
… isn’t it a mosnter?
I take out my Cetus Longsword.
But…
The boat tips to one side and almost capsizes.
“s.h.i.t! Is it too heavy?!”
I’m quite sure it’s the weight.
I immediately store away the Cetus Longsword into my inventory and take out the gutting knife for fowls.
Alright! We’re still floating.
“Take this!”
I swing my Iron Boning Knife at the large bird—Killerwing—but missed.
I’ve never battled on a boat before, so it’s a little tricky.
The Killerwing takes the chance and comes at me with its prominent beak.
“Gah!”
50 damage taken.
I check my status screen and confirm that I lost 50 Energy.
It’s just as I’ve heard; every single stat of mine is managed by Energy.
As I’m learn the game, the Killerwing lines up to attack again.
d.a.m.n, that’s not very fair.
I swing my Iron Boning Knife once again.
schuk!
A sound effect plays as I make contact with the Killerwing. It lost about a third of its HP.
And this is even an expensive weapon like the other frontline adventurers use. Maybe the Killerwing is just strong… but whatever. If it bleeds, I can kill it.
“Argh!”
I swing the weapon in my hand for a third time.
The fight resulted in me taking 550 damage and earning 300 in return.
That’s a net loss.
My excuse is that it’s hard to get good footing on a boat.
If I were on land, it’d be a whole ‘nother story.
Anyway, I make sure that there aren’t any other birds around me before taking out my fishing rod.
I made sure to buy some bait beforehand too.
This time, I’m using itty bitty shrimp.
It’s a few steps above earthworms and the price to match.
Consider it a celebration for being the owner of a brand new boat.
With that smug sense of superiority, I cast my line into the sea.
And as always, I focus on the tip of the rod and wait.
—Sea Bream obtained.
Nice, I finally caught one!
It’s bit hard, like the time I caught that sea ba.s.s.
I guess it’s all thanks to my Fishing Mastery III.
I fix another piece of bait on the end of my hook and cast my line again.
Oof, this one pulls.
It’s nothing to the level of that giant herring, but maybe I’m fighting the rockiness of the boat as well. It’s hard to put much strength in.
But I’m not about to lose. I muster all my strength.
—Bluefin Tuna obtained.
“Alright! At long last, a tuna.”
Maybe it’s because I have a boat.
My heart races as I pull the tuna closer.
Whoa! The boat almost went under.
I forcibly stuff the tuna into my inventory.
Moved and filled with a sense of accomplishment, I casted my line again.
It’s been one week since.
I promptly forgot my goal and fell into a fishing frenzy.
Man… fishing out at sea is more fun than I thought.
A bunch of stuff happened. I went out so far, I couldn’t see the sh.o.r.e anymore. Monsters surrounded me, and I barely escaped alive. An orclike monster called an Aquawhale hunted me down. Another monster named Blue Shark destroyed my boat. A large bird monster called Brave Bird chased me while I continued to fish.
In the end, I realized the safest spot for me was where I caught that Bluefin Tuna. I even earned skills for helmsmanship and naval combat.
They’re both important skills to have when you’re on a boat.
The helmsmanship skill affects the handling of the boat as well as the oar.
Naval combat is as the name suggests. Any debuffs from being on a boat gets nullified. I can even get buffs by upgrading it.
“But still, I wanna head farther…”
I’ve heard rumors from Alto that other players almost found the boss to unlock the third city.
Compared to them, what am I even doing? As if to answer myself, though, I look out into the sea.
I want to explore the farthest ends of the seas.
There’s got to be something out there. If not, there wouldn’t be so many monsters here.
But it’s not something I can accomplish with my current abilities.
Not only will I lose Energy if I mess up, but there’s bound to be monsters stronger than orcas and sharks.
Getting my Energy up should be my first priority.
I’ve even used Trans.m.u.tation to get Energy from the tunas and sea breams. But the time-based production skills have a limit of 1,000 per hour.
I want to live my life as an angler, but I have a long way to go. I’ve got to first step up my game and so I’ve decided to train on land.
And not that I really need it, but tuna and sea bream sells for quite a bit of money.
: // // // // // // // // /ch008/ /next/