Heretical Fishing

Book 2: Chapter 3: Quantification

Time seemed to freeze as I watched Leroy lift the rod and set the hook.

The muscles in his arms bulged. He leaned back, bracing against the fish's mighty run. The wind blew his short hair back, revealing his expression. And, above all else, he had a smile on his face of sheer, childlike joy.

The fish redoubled its efforts, swimming out to sea and dragging Leroy stumbling across the slick rocks.

"Let some of the line out," I instructed

He did so, easing the tension.

"What in Poseidon's salt-washed back hair is this thing?"

"A big bloody fish. Move with it if you need."

He stepped to the side, but with his eyes moving between the reel and ocean, he slipped. I caught him before he could fall over and held him upright.

"The rocks are slippery, mate—cultivator's body or not."

Despite the open waters surrounding the river mouth, the fish never changed direction; it swam in a straight line out to sea, attempting to take Leroy with it.

The cultivator started the fight off clumsily, but as the battle dragged on, his footing grew more sure as his stance adjusted to the shore's slick rocks.

Whilst Leroy's technique improved, the fish grew sluggish.

Without me instructing him, Leroy started taking some line back, pumping the rod up, then winding the reel in as he lowered it. Each time the fish caught sight of the shore, it would tear off again, dipping deep into its energy reserves to escape.

The grin never left Leroy's face, and despite his enhanced body, sweat peppered his brow, glistening under the sun's light.

I'd still not caught sight of the fish yet, so as Leroy wound it close to land once more, I jogged along the shore, trying to spy it. Its muscular body kicked again, taking off toward the depths, but not before the sun reflected from its silver body.

It was huge.

Actually, huge was doing the fish a disservice—it was gigantic, long as a man and half as tall.

My eyes went wide as I turned to Lorey; his were even wider, his mouth hanging ajar.

"What in hades' hounds is that?" he demanded. "They get that big?"

"It's the biggest I've ever seen, Leroy! Keep winding!"

He clenched his jaw and focused on the fight, his grin disappearing for the first time since he'd hooked the monstrous thing.

One turn of the reel at a time, he pulled it back toward us. The fish was clearly exhausted as it swam languidly across the shoreline, and we got our first good look at it.

It had a rounded head, angular fins, and triangular spines running down to its tail.

It looked too big to pull up without hurting, so without a second thought, I got down to my jocks and jumped into the river mouth..

The freezing water made a wave of adrenaline wash over me as I swam toward and put my hands under the fish, taking care to avoid the spines and fins. I kicked my legs toward the rocks, lifting it up above the waterline.

Leroy grabbed it and hauled it up, and I pulled myself up onto the headland. Water cascaded down my body, and I shook my head, clearing it of salty water as I wiped my eyes.

Leroy hugged the fish tight to his body, his mouth still wide, his eyes staring down at the fish vacantly.

It drew my attention, and my gaze went distant as a screen popped up before me.

Mature Giant Trevally

Rare

Found in the oceans of the Kallis Realm, this fish is a prized sport fish for anglers everywhere. Its flesh is undesirable, and it's considered bad luck to harm them.

When my eyes cleared, Leroy was waddling down to the water with the fish still in his arms. I dashed past him and jumped into the water, then we eased it down together.

"Help me move it back and forth in the water," I said, showing him how. "Forcing water through its gills helps it release better."

I treaded water as we moved the fish. Neither of us spoke, and all I could assume was that Leroy was as awed as I was. The trevally's body was thick as my head, and feeling the lean muscles hidden beneath its scales, I completely understood how it had put up such a fight.

It would be like a dart beneath the waves, and I didn't envy the fish this thing must hunt to sustain itself.

Abruptly, the trevally tried to swim, so I let go and swam back.

It kicked its tail only three times, but that was enough to lose sight as it melded into the deep-blue water of the river mouth.

My mind went blank as I continued treading water, uncomprehending of what we'd just witnessed.

I looked up at Leroy, who was beaming down at me, one hand extended. I grasped it, and he hauled me up to the rocks.

We blinked at each other, then both yelled at the same time.

"What the hell, Leroy!"

"What was that, Fischer!"

We both laughed and jumped up and down on the spot, slowly spinning in a circle as we giggled wordlessly.

"Uhhh..." came a feminine voice, and we both stopped, peering at the intruder.

Maria's eyebrows shot up to her hairline as she stared at us.

"... am I interrupting something?" Her eyes narrowed on me. "And where are your clothes...?"

Despite wearing only a set of thin jocks, being drenched in salt water, and having been caught dancing like a child with my new pal, I grinned at her.

"Feeling jealous?"

I ran over and wrapped her in a hug.

"Fisher! You're soaking!" She batted at me ineffectually and laughed as I pressed my soaking body into her. "Put me down!"

I set her back on the sand.

"You missed it! Leroy just caught the biggest fish I've ever seen! It was as long as the Lady of the Lake, but even taller!"

Her annoyance was immediately washed away.

"What was it? How big was it? Where did it go?"

***

Maria pouted as I finished drying myself, and I shot her a wink.

She rolled her eyes, but the hint of a smile tugged at her lips.

"I help my dad in the fields for one morning, and you go and catch a new fish without me!"

I held my hands up.

"Hey, it was Leroy's fault, not mine. The man is a natural."

Leroy rubbed the back of his head.

"Hi—it's Maria, right?"

"Oh! You two haven't met? Where are my manners?"

I pointed to Leroy.

"This is Leroy. He's Helen's brother, Barry's brother-in-law, a fellow cultivator and fisherman extraordinaire."

I gestured at Maria haphazardly.

"This is the neighbor girl. I forget her name, and she's kind of annoying, but she's okay at fishing too, I guess. I usually just tune her voice—oof."

She cut me off with an elbow to the ribs, and it actually kind of hurt given her enhanced body.

"Ow, you little terror! Watch your strength."

"That's what you get for disrespecting a young lady."

She lifted her nose in a facade of disdain, but rubbed where she'd elbowed in apology.

"Well, it's nice to meet you finally, Maria," Leroy said. "I've heard a lot from Sharon."

"All good things, no doubt."

"Of course." He gave us both a smile. "I'll leave you guys to it, then. Thanks for this morning, Fischer."

I held up a hand.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going, my man?"

"I don't want to impose—I was just going to see if Barry needed any help in the..."

He trailed off as I shook my head emphatically.

"You've not yet caught a fish for dinner! As your fishing trainer, I couldn't stand for such an incomplete lesson."

He raised an eyebrow with a hint of a smile, and Maria piled on.

"I couldn't agree more. Fischer is a bit useless as a trainer, so the more experience you get, the better."

I nodded along.

"It's true. It's your first time fishing, and you've already caught a fish bigger than my personal best."

"You're sure?" he asked. "I don't want to eat into your alone time..."

"Oh, if anything, you'll be doing me a favor!" I grinned. "Being alone with this one is like being stuck in an elevator with a honey badger, but she's even more—joking! I'm joking!"

I dashed away from her raised backhand, hiding behind Leroy to avoid her wrath.

***

I smiled as the afternoon sun beamed down on us.

I'd set up another chair for Maria, and all three of us sat in a comfortable silence; the waves, wind, and birds high above created a pleasant symphony.

Maria's hand rested atop my arm, and she moved one finger back and forth. Her touch was both welcome and comforting, and my breaths came slowly as my body's sensations lulled me further into a state of mindfulness.

Leroy shot to his feet, and I shot a half-lidded glance toward him.

"Fish!" he said, his voice filled with elation.

I stayed sitting, content to watch the fight from afar.

The rod dipped as the fish fought to escape; it was big, but nowhere near as large as the giant trevally.

Leroy easily wrestled it to the shore, and as I caught sight of it, I smiled.

"It has no teeth—you can pick it up by the mouth."

He bent and grabbed it with one hand, resting his other under the belly as he hauled it up.

My eyes were drawn into it.

Mature Shore Fish

Uncommon

Found along the ocean shores of the Kallis Realm, this fish is a staple source of both food and bait.

"What...?" Maria said, turning toward me.

"What's wrong?"

"I can inspect it..."

"Huh... Leroy could too. Neat."

She gave me a flat stare.

"Neat? What do you mean, neat?"

"It's kind of cool, right? More people can inspect fish now. Maybe you two earned enough fishing skills or some other nonsense—who really knows with the System being more broken than Xin Zhao on release."

She scowled at me for a long moment before turning to Leroy, not taking the bait.

"Please tell me I'm not crazy and you're just as shocked."

He shrugged.

"I've only been back just over a week, and I'm already desensitized to the happenings around Fischer."

She let out a long-suffering sigh.

"I guess you have a point."

"Wait..." Leroy said. "It said staple source of food—does that mean we can eat it?"

"It certainly does, mate."

He grinned, Maria put her head in her hands, and I strode over to Leroy.

"Do you want to try dispatching it?"

He nodded, so I passed him the spike.

"Poke it right here, swift and decisive."

He did so, and the fish immediately went limp.

"Alright," I said. "I'll show you how to prepare it."

***

As Leroy watched Maria and Fischer bicker good-naturedly across the campfire, he couldn't help but smirk.

Fischer was singing some song about complimenting a chef, and acting like Maria was the weird one for not having heard it, despite it having the weirdest cadence and lyrics Leroy had ever heard.

Definitely a song from his previous world, Leroy decided, shaking his head.

He looked down at the shallow-frying fish, and his mouth watered at the aroma rising from the pan.

After showing Leroy how to gut and scale the catch, Fischer had crumbed and thrown the fish into a tallow-filled pan, and was keeping an eye on it as he continued stirring up Maria.

The System nudged Leroy for the fourth time today, and he rolled his eyes. Despite willing his notifications to be silent, the System's attempts at communication were still an annoying occurrence. He checked them with a mild flex of will, expecting to see the usual ‘insufficient power’ message.

"Alright," Fischer said, jostling the pan's handle as he turned to Maria. "I reckon it's finished—what do you think?"

Leroy barely heard the words.

Maria leaned over, peering down at the fish's golden crumbs.

"Looks good to me!"

Fischer nodded and removed the fish with a pair of tongs. He set the fish down on a board, and after a minute of letting the fat drain from the steaming fish, he smiled up at Leroy.

"After you, mate. It was your catch."

Leroy's eyes were still distant, looking at a screen occupying his field of view.

"Er... Leroy? You right, mate?"

Again, Leroy barely heard the words; he stared at his System notifications, unbelieving.

A series of lines had printed out, and he read them again.

You have learned fishing!

You have advanced to fishing 2!

You have advanced to fishing 3!

You have advanced to fishing 4!