Chapter 137: Underground Lake
The great cavern in the Etha Kingdom—well, it’s more like a city—has varying concentrations of 〖Mana〗 depending on the location.
The area around the hill where the city is located has the lowest concentration, increasing as you go towards the forest, and reaching its peak at the underground lake beyond the forest.
“There aren’t any large Demon Beasts nearby.”
“Understood.”
And so, we were floating above that underground lake.
We were riding a metal ship about the size of a fishing boat, advancing through the lake where dangerous Demon Beasts lived.
If a heavy Demon Beast like me were on board, you might worry it would sink.
But there’s no need to worry. We created a downgraded version of the Machine God’s Crimson Wings—the scholars call it the Burning Wings, apparently—and by using it at a constant low output, we’re reducing our weight.
“Then, let’s proceed a little further in.”
As Thanasis, the helmsman, pulled the lever, the ship slowly began to move.
This ship’s official name is the Ninth-Type Magical Stone Ship for Lake and Marsh Research, and it is a proper Artifact.
Handling it requires specialized knowledge and skills, but Thanasis can operate it without any problems.
The scholars of this country are required to have all-around knowledge, so they have also acquired helmsmanship skills and knowledge.
“Oh, a fish jumped over there.”
“Let’s see, wow, it really did!”
“How did you spot it from so far away? Your eyesight is too good.”
Fiss, Paula, and Klyssa were all looking at the lake.
Among them, Fiss was the most enthusiastic. Having never seen a fish before in her life, she was staring intently at the surface of the water, occasionally spotting a fish and looking delighted.
“(Normally, Demon Beasts appear too… Even if the 〖Mana〗 is dense, it’s only about the level of a Long Beast Domain, so is it okay?)”
In this great cavern, the highest rank of Demon Beast is the 〖Dire Beast〗.
Those are like the masters of the deepest part of the underground lake, and they only seem to appear on land about once every ten years.
Even so, being on the water means we can’t let our guard down… but with this group, we can handle anything, so alright.
『Can I ask you something?』
“What is it, Kouya-kun?”
『How about we try fishing?』
I took out a fishing rod from my Space Expansion bag while making the suggestion.
Ever since it was decided we were going to the lake, I’d been wanting to go fishing for the first time in a while.
Paula’s growth allowed her to reapply Space Expansion, so there was plenty of space in the bag, and I had put the fishing rod in there.
“Fishing, huh? The river was far away, so I’ve never done it before.”
“Did you make this, Kouya?”
『Yeah, I whipped it up with my 〖Skill〗.』
It was a product that even had a reel attached, thanks to the use of an Artifact.
I consulted Xanthos about the fishing line yesterday, but the hooks were weapons, so I could make them myself.
『—Well, that’s how you use it, wanna give it a try?』
“Hmm, sounds interesting.”
“I want to try too!”
“I’ll pass, I have guard duty.”
Klyssa said.
She had been in a stance ready to draw her weapon at any time, so she would refuse fishing, which would tie up both her hands.
“…There’s no need to worry about guard duty.”
Then, Xanthos spoke up.
“Paula-dono’s perception ability is excellent, and we are also conducting searches with the 〖Mana〗 radar, albeit imperfectly. I alone am sufficient to prepare for emergencies. It’s not a problem for Klyssa to enjoy herself with the others.”
“I, I see, then, I’ll also…”
『Alright! Then let’s fish our hearts out!』
And so, my first fishing experience in another world began.
We used pieces of 〖Greater Beast〗 meat as bait, and Paula found a school of small fish, so we were catching them one after another.
There was an incident where a 〖Greater Beast〗 attacked us, but I repelled it with my 【Unique Skill】.
In fact, that was the main purpose of coming to the lake. That is, to grasp the performance of the 【Thunder Harvest Scythe】.
~Unique Skill Details~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
【Thunder Harvest Scythe】
・Maximizes harvest yield.
・Can manipulate thunder that strengthens the earth or harvests life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The latter half of this second effect, “thunder that harvests life,” is what is commonly known as an instant death attack.
When I tried it on the ground, I was able to instantly kill anything below a 〖Dire Beast〗 without any difficulty.
However, the first half of this effect says, “strengthens the earth.”
It would be grammatically strange, and I don’t think it’s likely, but if the “earth” part was referring to “life,” then it wouldn’t work on aquatic Demon Beasts.
So, I checked just in case… but my worries were unfounded, and I was instantly killing the 〖Greater Beasts〗 that approached the ship one after another.
Well, after all that, we returned to port and brought the fish ashore.
Since it was a big haul, we had the residents who made their living from fishing help us, and we had them sell some of it. The rest was for our meals.
The port, which was close to the Earth God Festival, seemed to be more bustling than usual, with people coming and going busily.
At that time, perhaps they were racing. A child who was running while looking away bumped into a fisherman carrying a wooden box.
There was no time to stop them.
“Whoa!”
“What was that!? …Oh. S-sorry.”
The burly fisherman turned around and found the child who had fallen.
He looked embarrassed to see the child who had scraped their knee, and then Klyssa appeared.
“Let me see, 〖Wounds Erase〗.”
She held out one hand and activated her magic. Then, the child’s wound disappeared in an instant.
This was the power of her 〖Wound Attribute〗. It seemed to be a unique 〖Attribute〗 that allowed for irregular healing and attacks.
“Thank you, big sis!”
“Yeah, but you have to look around when you run.”
“Ugh.”
“And you kids, if you’re going to play, play in the park.”
“W-we’re sorry…”
After scolding them with a few words, Klyssa returned to us.
Her expression was devoid of tension, and it was clear that she was used to this kind of interaction.
『You’re kind, aren’t you?』
“Is that so? I think anyone with healing magic would have done the same thing, wouldn’t they?”
『No, no, I think it’s great that you can take the initiative to help people in need when there are so many people around. And also, for scolding the children.』
I’m not good at scolding people firmly either, so I want to learn from her attitude.
“I guess… It’s right and wonderful to save people in need. I’m sure my old man would have…”
“Hey, Kouya-kun! Klyssa-chan! It looks like the purchase is over!”
『Well, we have to go.』
Together with Klyssa, who had been about to open her mouth, we headed towards Paula.
I didn’t notice the bitter expression she showed for a moment.