Chapter 373: Reel in the Giant Fish
The lodging we chose was the room housing the Dungeon Core located at the deepest part of the dungeon. However, the Dungeon Core, which had previously been in the center of the living room, had been relocated to a room constructed further back. It was a luxurious, modern Japanese-style residence, and I figured Ivan and the others, being accustomed to Japanese homes, would feel right at home here.
Of course, we had also brought in infrastructure from Japan, and several appliances were already set up. It was just as comfortable as the Camping House we often lived in.
“So, what are we doing tomorrow?” Ivan asked, cracking open a can of beer after his bath, his demeanor resembling that of a middle-aged man.
“Of course, we’re going fishing.”
“I get that, but are we going to have a boat?”
“I’m flying there myself.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
He took a thoughtful sip of his beer, letting out a burp that confirmed his transformation into a middle-aged man.
“Well then, I guess I’ll head to the Adventurer’s Guild to look for some quests.”
Only Rio, Nil, and I could fly on our own, so the other members wouldn’t be able to join us.
“Woof-woof!”
Upon hearing about fish, Nil drooped his ears and tail, looking quite sad.
“Haha, are you coming too, Nil? Let’s go hunt some monsters instead.”
“Woof!”
Nil’s eyes sparkled at Ivan’s words. It seemed he preferred meat after all.
“Aww, I wanted to see a big fish too,” Phonia pouted, clearly dissatisfied. However, carrying Phonia around would hinder our mobility. Since we planned to dive underwater, it would be best to take her along only after we knew what kind of monsters were lurking there.
“If we catch something, you can come to the harbor to watch us fillet it, Phonia.”
“Okay! I understand!”
Phonia was smart and cute, grasping the explanation perfectly.
“I’ll be reinforcing Hinomaru’s Isolage Branch. It’s the closest town to the base we’ll establish in the future.”
El seemed to have her own tasks to attend to. Thus, while preparing for fishing at the deepest part of the dungeon, we finalized our plans for the next day.
“Which way should we go?”
“Well, let’s see…”
The next morning, standing before the harbor, Rio and I discussed our approach. The local seafood was tempting, but…
“Should we start with the giant fish that piques our interest the most?”
“Definitely! I’m most curious about the big fish too.”
Since it was just past dawn, most of the boats docked at the harbor had already set out for fishing. The area was rather quiet, so we wouldn’t attract too much attention.
With a gentle lift, we both took to the air, flying straight towards the bay’s outer waters.
As we soared above the sea, we passed by fishing boats. In the distance to our left, we could see cliffs, which would serve as a landmark for exiting the bay. However, using Presence Detection directed towards the ocean would reveal our surroundings more clearly.
We spotted a large ship just on the edge of the bay, likely monitoring for any giant fish that might venture in.
“There it is.”
After advancing a bit further and scanning the waters, we found what we were looking for, just as expected.
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
Rio, who could also use Presence Detection to some extent, found it easy to spot. While they weren’t in shallow waters, we could sense the presence of fish larger than ten meters lurking a few kilometers below.
“Is this a good spot?”
“Yeah.”
I retrieved the prepared bait—meat—from the Dimensional Box and scattered it across the surface of the surrounding waters. I attached a large chunk of meat to the end of the fishing rod and lowered it into the sea, letting it sink deeper.
Countless small fish gathered, splashing noisily as they devoured the bait. Although they were small, each was over thirty centimeters long, which was a decent size, but hearing tales of fish over a hundred meters long made me eager to catch one of those.
“Whoa, it looks like the big ones are starting to gather.”
“Is it really that deep? It doesn’t seem much different to me.”
As Rio pointed out, it was indeed deeper than I had anticipated. While the fish were gathering, they weren’t rising to the surface, suggesting that they were beyond the range of Rio’s Presence Detection.
After a while of fishing and catching a few smaller ones, the big fish still hadn’t taken the bait.
“Hmm…”
“They’re not biting, are they?”
It had been about an hour since we cast our lines, and it seemed the larger fish were wary and reluctant to bite.
“Maybe the bait is too small?”
“Could it be that they only go for moving bait?”
“Hmm. Should we try using one of the fish we caught as bait?”
After some discussion, we decided to hook a five-meter-long fish onto the massive fishing hook and released it into the sea.
“Wow, it’s still lively!”
We had placed it in the time-stopped Dimensional Box, so it hadn’t died yet. Even in a space devoid of air, as long as time was halted, it seemed to be fine.
The fish swam towards the ocean floor, but it couldn’t escape beyond the stretched fishing line. It darted around for a while, but ultimately, it would meet its end at the jaws of the giant fish we were after.
“Yes! It’s here!”
The moment it bit down, I pulled with all my might. The Orichalcum rod bent just right, and the Metal Spider line held firm as I reeled in the giant fish.
Finally, it broke the surface, revealing itself to be a massive creature resembling a tuna.