“I’ve got the skills, and I’ve got the rod. My stomach’s full, so why don’t we get to round two... Oh!”
I was struck by a flash of inspiration. Perhaps you can catch different fish at night?
Since a hunger system existed, a tiredness system undoubtedly existed as well. In that case, when fishing at night, I could see myself collapsing from tiredness. It’s a bit early, but I should take a quick nap at the inn.
I’d better send a message to my sisters... I navigated the menu and chose the chat option. To Tsumugi†Exceed...
For a while, the sound of a ringing phone chimed in my ears.
“Big bro? Did something happen?”
“Nah, I was planning on calling it a day. I thought I should get in touch, just in case.”
“Huh? Sleeping so soon?”
“Not for long. I want to see if the fish I catch will change between day and night.”
“I see. Got it. I’ll pass the message to Kanade.”
“Thanks. How are things on your end, by the way?”
“Hmm, I’m in combat right now. Same old.”
“Hey now... Are you okay?”
“Aha ha, I’m surrounded, but there’s only five of them.”
Come to think of it, I’ve caught her having casual conversations with our big sister while playing FPS games before. I was on that same battlefield, and it did irritate me a bit. But that was my secret. And her KDA was the highest among us, to my frustration.
“Hey, focus!”
Bzt! I forcefully closed the chat.
Come to think of it, Tsumugi was the one who got the right to take part in Dimension Wave in the first place. It was only five monsters. She’d probably be fine.
It doesn’t sit right with me, but... I guess I’ll go find an inn.
From the menu, I pulled up a map and searched for an inn. I picked out five decent-looking ones and personally checked them out one by one. It was a game, so there likely wasn’t too much of a difference between the rooms, but the price did change from inn to inn. I ultimately settled on an inn that was neither expensive nor cheap.
“One hundred fifty Serin per night.”
The voice of the NPC woman who seemed to be the owner belonged to a voice actress I’d heard somewhere before. I paid the one hundred fifty Serin, got the key, and headed to the room.
Apparently, as soon as the fee was paid, the inn room was yours to use as you please for the next twenty-four hours. I could spend the night, go shopping, and come back if I wanted to. It felt like I was on a vacation.
Putting that aside, I observed the room’s interior. There wasn’t a single guest to be found. Well, I guess there won’t be many people tucking in early on the very first day of the game.
Out of the inns I’d checked out, this one felt the most like a normal hotel. The cheapest one had cracks running through the walls.
“This is the place.”
I stood before a door that read 101, the same number on the key. Into the keyhole the key went, and the door opened up. It was a normal room, a little narrow compared to a real hotel room, but well within my expectations.
I sat on the bed. It was just about as soft as the bed in my own room. If I wanted to be negative about it, that meant it wasn’t as soft as a standard hotel bed.
“For now...let’s sleep.”
Owing to my living habits, I hesitated to sleep with my clothes and shoes on. So I tossed my shoes aside and stripped off the clothes. And suddenly there stood a young girl in her undergarments.
“Whoa there, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” the system cried out.
I succumbed to the devil’s temptation. But, to put it simply, I couldn’t go any further than that. Thinking about it logically, they weren’t going to put such an obscene system into a game made for all ages.
“Tsk.” It didn’t actually bother me that much, but I jokingly clicked my tongue and lay on the bed as I’d originally planned.
Once again, the blanket was as warm as the one in my room back home. I draped it over myself, closed my eyes, and was suddenly overtaken by drowsiness, almost like I’d taken sleeping pills. It seemed the system was at work, making it easier for me to sleep.
If only I could sleep this easily in real life, I absentmindedly thought. And before I knew it, my consciousness had completely cut off.
†
“Fwah...” I yawned.
It was quite a deep sleep. How many years had it been since I last slept that well? Even though it was only virtual, you could easily make a successful business out of selling sleep this good.
Umm, how long has it been?
The clock on the menu displayed 22:07. By my rough calculations, I’d been out for around six hours. When I looked out the window, the sun had set and darkness had descended on the world.
“All right, let’s get Fishing Mastery.”
Name: Kizuna†Exceed / Race: Spirit
Energy: 2820 / Mana: 70 / Serin: 1850
Skills: Energy Production III, Mana Production II
Fishing Mastery I
10% bonus to all actions using a fishing rod.
100 Energy consumed per hour.
Required Mana to Acquire: 30
Unlock condition: Obtain 10 or more items using a fishing rod.
Upgrade condition: Obtain 100 or more items using a fishing rod.
As soon as I acquired Fishing Mastery I, 100 Energy was consumed, putting my total energy at 2720. Furthermore, 60 Mana was needed for Fishing Mastery II. With only 40 Mana left, I was a little short.
Regardless, I’d gotten my hands on Fishing Mastery I. I had some hopes for this one. Though I doubted The Lord was going to be reeled in that easily.
“I’m hungry...”
Though I could have sworn I’d eaten just before sleeping, come to think of it, it had been six hours since then. It was only natural that I was hungry. For now, I’ll just eat the leftovers from the fish I had grilled up.
I extracted a Grilled Herring from my inventory and took a bite.
“Now that I’ve eaten, it’s time to fish. I think my clothes should be somewhere around here.”
There they were, exactly where I’d discarded them with my shoes.
I quickly changed into them and took my Wooden Fishing Rod +2 from my inventory. With my preparations in order, I left the inn.
“Have a nice day,” the NPC at the desk said as I stepped out.
Outside, the town was dark and silent. I couldn’t see anyone else walking around.
Were they all tired and asleep? Or perhaps they were still busy leveling up.
“More importantly, it’s dark. I can barely see anything.”
Obviously, I wasn’t expecting any electric street lamps, but there weren’t any torches either, so it was pitch black. I called up the map, constantly checking my current position as I headed to the same pier from before. I stopped by the tool shop along the way. I’d forgotten to buy bait, you see.
And to my surprise, the shop was open. Real-world private vendors would pale at the commendable business spirit of the NPCs here. Although that was essentially only possible because it was a game. It was like the feeling of going to a convenience store late at night... Anyways, I finally arrived at the pier.
Unfortunately, the clouds in the sky had hidden the moon away. Only the salty sea air and the sounds of small waves told me the sea was there, but the darkness was too deep for me to see it. Maybe you need a candle item or something like that.
For now, I squinted and got my bait onto the copper hook. I stabbed my fingers three times in the process, totaling a net 10 damage.
As soon as the line hit the water, I felt a different pull from before.
It’s strong... I think. But what’s with it? This monotonous pull?
I mustered my strength and pulled up.
XXX Acquired
Hmm? It’s so dark I can’t read the letters.
I didn’t really know what it was, but I stuffed it into my inventory anyway. I’d be able to see it once the sun was up. Once again, I attached some bait and dropped the line.
XXX Acquired
Oh?! I hooked a fish the instant I let it down. That’s amazing.
I’d bought close to three hundred bait, but perhaps this wasn’t even enough.