#dimension wave

Two girls—actually, my older and younger sister—showed up out of nowhere with grins on their faces. They stuck this video game magazine in my face and hounded me over the article. Honestly, I have no clue as to what they’re trying to do. Well, I’d be lying if I said I had no interest in games. But the write-up seems to be about an MMORPG. I’m more of a fan of games like Harvest M○○n and Animal Cr○ssing. I like that comfy, casual pace.

“Ugh, you’re suuuch a bummer!” “I know, right?!” “…”

What’s with them? They’re so hyper. Even if it’s me saying, I think we get along well. We game together since both of my sisters are very into it. Well, it’s probably because of my influence on them, considering that I’m the only guy of us three.

“So? So? Whaddya think?” my younger sister asks me in a cutesy voice.

Her excitement is almost annoying, but since she’s my sister, I hold my tongue and continue reading the magazine pushed up against my face.

Dimension Wave

Looks like it’s an online multiplayer. Skimming through the pages, it looks like players get to work together with allies to fight off enemies. All their weapons, magic, and monsters are pretty typical too. Oh, you can also go fishing. I like stuff like that. It’s nice and relaxing. There are various races to choose from too. Oh? The description seems kinda odd. What’s this?

—Continuing with the well-acclaimed playstyle of the first phase, Phase II of the game will also not allow players to log out until the session has been completed. This further encourages players to fully experience a second life in the game. However, in-game time differs from real-life time. Though each session will require years of in-game time to be completed, it will translate to 24 hours of real-life time. This means that even players who are in full-time employment will be able to enjoy all of the content. We are now accepting new applicants, so don’t hesitate to sign up! Please visit the address below for details.

So it says. Oh, that’s right. I remember now. It was about a year ago when they caused a big stir. It was the guy who planned to create a whole “second life” thing in a VRMMO world.

And as it says in the magazine, months and years in the game will only be just a few hours in the real world. The game targets young professional. For the sake of giving them the chance to live a second life, players also can’t simply logout until the game is done. Content is released monthly to pretty high praise, save for a vocal minority. Or so I’ve read on a gaming news website. Even my buddies were raving about it after trying it out. Is it really that good though?

The problem is that people’s demeanors change after playing. I mean, if you spend seemingly years in the game, it’s bound to affect your personality. There’s even this disgraceful bastard who not only got a girlfriend in the game but is still going out with her IRL.

Fuckin’ normies!

… I should mention that cost of entry is rather high. Not only do you need special equipment, but the game itself costs a lot. After all, the developers and retailers need to make money. In short, it’s not spare change for a student at the very least.

“So? How are you going to pay for it?”

Honestly, even if you begged Mom and Dad for it, they’ll tell you off…

“Heh heh!”

My older sister remains reasonably excited and brings out an envelope. The Second Life Project is written as the sender’s address.

“No, you didn’t…” “I sure did! Here’s the acceptance letter.” “How did you get this? Who did you have to—” “Remember that tournament I won a while ago? This was the prize!”

She spoiled the answer but also my joke. The license was a prize for winning a tournament for this fighting game, which was made by another company of the same conglomerate. I’ve read that they’re making a lot of money lately. My sister definitely signed up the tournament just so she could get her hands on the license. It’s almost weird being related with these girls.

“Three people can sign up with one of these licenses, ya know!”

Here is my older sister who’s grinning from ear to ear and my younger sister who’s almost physically buzzing with excitement.

“Three people? That’s an odd number, eh?”

Isn’t it normally two or four? I’ve heard stories of couples who played together and came out with a stronger bond than ever. But I’ve heard that the game made things worse for some people too. In any case, it looks like I’m invited too. … wait, hold on.

“Hey, why don’t we put these up on an aucti—boof!”

Before I could finish my sentence, my right cheek encountered my younger sister’s fist.

“No way, you dummy!” “No, hear me out. Selling just one of these would give us enough money for a family vaca—boof!”

This time, it was left cheek, older sister.

“I believe I can leave the whole taking care of Mom and Dad thing until after I become a productive member of society.”

They sure are loyal to their desires. Well, it’s not the license is mine anyway, so I don’t really have the right to tell her what do with it.

“So, who’s player three?” “Huh?” they simultaneously interjected. “Hmm?”

The two girls stare at me as if I were speaking alien.

“Don’t you want to play too?” “Uhh, not really?”

It does sound interesting, but I’m iffy about VR games.

“And plus, I get kinda woozy from VR setups.”

VR machines and these fully-immersive online games have been sweeping through the gaming industry. Just before, the sci-fi subgenre of cyberpunk was very popular. Fully-immersive online games made a big splash when they first came out as it was almost as if cyberpunk has become reality. A large portion of gamers were very positive about it too.

Firstly—and I think a lot of Japanese gamers can sympathize—is that a lot of these physically-stimulating virtual reality games rub people the wrong way. For example, like how retro-styled games with pixel art are still really popular, people are used to gaming through a big TV screen. It’s hard to transition away from that concept. Even though I was born into a world where beautiful 3D games were the norm, I’m sure there were people who rejected the transition from pixel art to low-poly graphics.

Well, if that’s the case, I shouldn’t be opposed to these fully-immersive games.

Secondly, the games are very affected by the player’s brainwaves. It’s been recently proven that mental output and processing power vary greatly from person to person. In other words, a person’s ability to judge and reason have been proven, which is why fully-immersive VR games—games that depend on those functions—are heavily dependent on the player’s abilities.

To sum it up, there were gamers who were dissatisfied with the apparent unequal starting lines started cropping up. And excluding the small portion of people who physically and mentally fared well, the sales number weren’t so hot. Well, I guess it’s kinda like when touchscreens first hit the market. Those resistive ones weren’t so good and people didn’t love them. But as technology gets better, so will the performance of VR machines, and I’m sure it’ll then be a big hit.

Hmm, I swear I’ve heard someone tell me this before.

“Y’know, big bro, vat-type VR games have built-in brainwave normalizers so that anybody would be fine, right?” “Oh, is that right? I guess that’s why they’re so expensive then.”

Vat-types could be described as high-performance VR machines. They’re different than regular head-mounted display units hooked up to a computer. Vat-types connect the player by immersing them in a vat full of liquid in which humans can breathe. It’s really something straight out of a mad scientist’s lab. And to speak frankly, the reason why vat-types are invitation-only being because this is tech from the near future—it must cost a whole lot of money to operate.

“Well, I get that even I can play, but don’t you two have anyone else you could invite?” “It’s a ticket for three people! It’d be a lot more fun to go as siblings, don’t you think?” “Yup, she’s right!”

It seems like the three of us are closer than I thought. That makes me rather happy, to be honest. And so, that’s why I’ll be participating in Dimension Wave too.

The day has finally arrived. The three of us go to the venue by train.

Even though my sisters rushed me out of the door, a lot of people had arrived already at the event site. We brought a few things with us, including the license and a USB flash drive that was distributed to all the players. Stored in the flash drive was the data of our created characters. It takes quite a bit of time to customize a character, so they got us to do that ahead of time.

I made my macho mountain of muscles about three days ago. Swole characters aren’t ordinarily popular, but I think they’re cool.

Humans, Lycanthropes, Elves, Jewels, and Spirits were available choices for your character’s race and I chose to make a Spirit. Spirits don’t have levels, HP, or MP, so it makes them pretty special among MMOs. They had a bit of information on their official site, but I had to figure most of that out by myself. Jewels seem interesting too, but I ultimately decided on a Spirit.

I like the unique races.

As for my sisters, the older one picked Human and the younger Lycanthrope. I didn’t ask them, but they told me anyway.

“Oh, looks like they’re starting to let people in.”

Even before I had said that, those two were already restless and had begun heading inside. And why am I at the end of the line anyway? Eventually, I handed one of the three passes to a staff member and got in return a key with a blue plastic number tag attached to it. Then, we were split into two lanes—one for men, one for women.

“See you later.” “See ya!”

I waved them a simple goodbye before heading into the men’s changing room. It’s pretty big in here. I opened the locker with my number on it and found a set of clothes inside. Before the event, we were told to send in our measurements along with our authorization codes so that they can get it tailored to us.

I put my valuables inside, though that consists of only my phone and wallet, and put on the special clothes. It looks like a plugsuit straight out of an anime or something. It’s really elastic. The guys beside me are being awkwardly silent changing into their suits. But even without saying, I can tell they’re thinking of the same thing. I think they used to submerge you in the nude, but after some criticism, they came out with these tailored plugsuits. They even contain emergency life-saving measures. That’s probably one of the reasons why it’s so expensive as well. After changing, I double-checked to make sure my locker was locked and then hurried out the door.

“Whoa…”

The vats lined up row by row was really a spectacle seemingly taken out of a mad scientist’s lab. They’re actually pretty big, even though it’s just for one person. It’s as big as my bed at home.

“Let’s see, let’s see.”

There’s a large sticker placed instructing which way to stick the USB flash drive in and how to shut the door. It’s so simple, anyone can get it right with a quick glance. I plug in my flash drive into the port, hopped in the vat, made sure the door was closed, then slowly lied down. There’s still 10 minutes left until it starts. I take the time to think through what I’ll do in the game.

The two of them mentioned that they were picking a combat class, but I had other plans. I’d think I’d like to try the fishing activity that was in the magazine the other day. I know it might be a bit weird to just fish in an MMORPG, but the whole point of this game is to live a second life, right? I’ll live it leisurely. I haven’t thought much about what’s after though. I’m sure I’ll find a goal while I play. Just as I was thinking about that, I suddenly remember that they had an event called Dimension Wave going on, just like the title. I totally forgot about it up until now. I still have to decide on whether or not to participate, but I’m sure my sisters will. I’d like to at least play support for them.

“Oh?”

Time snuck up on me while I was lost in thought. An announcement played as they started to pump the liquid in. It’s green, I thought… but it was just the reflection of a light inside the vat. On second inspection, it’s actually colorless. The vat filled up in a flash. I’ve subconsciously held my breath, but I can naturally breathe in the liquid. What a shock. I really can breathe. Honestly, I wasn’t actually sure until now.

—Reading data 0%・・・100%. —Data import complete. Beginning brainwave normalizer load test.

I can see it. Rather, it’s being projected straight into my brain. A scene prettier than reality appears before my eyes. Lots of people are walking in the streets of this fantasy town. The sound is coming through too. I hear everything from the male voice of the shopkeeper to the noise of shuffling feet and footsteps. In normal VR systems, you get the tiniest hint of lag, even if it’s not much. But in here, not only is it running without so much a hitch, the fidelity is extremely high. That’s specialized equipment for ya.

—Test complete. Game will begin after all processes complete.

It’s a weird feeling. The voice goes directly into your head without me needing to use my ears. I was thinking that I’ve totally entered a sci-fi world, but tech in the real world is more advanced than I thought. I guess you could call it being excited, but oddly, I couldn’t calm down and stop looking around everywhere. But right as I do so, everything disappeared.

“That can’t be good.”

I’m not just talking about vat-type machines, but when any piece of electronic suddenly goes black like if you yanked the plug out, it kinda makes me feel weird. It’s like as if the world that I’ve been living it just suddenly disappeared.

And then—

—Best wishes to your new life!

previously: /ch000/ /next/

Low-Level Champion Scale, Low-Level Champion Barbel, Low-Level Champion Heart, Low-Level Champion Eye, Low-Level Champion Large Bone, Top-Grade Trimmed Herring, Top-Grade Herring Roe

Looks like it’s a female herring. Thanks to the buff from Gutting Mastery II, I was able to get every bit of her. Oh, and afterwards, I’m planning to meet Tsugumi’s smithy friend to make me some equipment. I’ll see if I can’t get some good weapons made from The Big One’s parts.

  “I could make you a Cetus Longsword,” said the blacksmith. They say she made half the weapons currently wielded on the frontlines and that she’s got the skills and popularity to match. Being a Jewel, a red gemstone glitters on her chest. So cool. I mean, guys are naturally drawn to that part anyway.

“Where did you get these materials anyway? I’ve seen all sorts of different mats because of my line of work, but I’ve never seen this before.” “Umm, I fished at sea for these.” “Ah, so you’re the one who made that big kerfuffle yesterday!”

How big of a kerfuffle was it anyway? In any case, it looks like I can get a pretty strong gutting weapon made from parts of The Big One. She tightly grips her hammer, seemingly embarrassed by me watching so closely.

“Weapon creation!”

Her hammer divinely sparkles as she shouts out loud. Almost as if the hammer is infecting the objects around her, the impressive-looking portable forge sparkles as well. She sticks the materials inside and it melts into a gooey liquid. Once it solidifies, she takes it to the anvil and starts hammering with great force. I honestly don’t have much of a clue how blacksmithing works, but it’s interesting to watch. The blacksmith is pretty interesting too. But my focus right now is on fishing and gutting. Some time passes, and my Cetus Longsword is completed.

“… that’s a big sword.”

I mean, it’s called a longsword, but it really is long. It looks like it came straight out of a certain monster hunting game. That’s how big it is. And it’s a gutting weapon too. Crazy.

“Oh? It’s got a +. Looks like you’re lucky. They only crop up about once in every ten I make.”

She hands over my Cetus Longsword +1. It’s lighter than I thought. It’s probably due to my Gutting Mastery buff.

“Oh, that reminds me. I’m pretty sure ‘Cetus’ means ‘whale’.” “Huh…”

Is it a weapon for whales? A weapon to slay whales? I’ll keep it as my secret weapon for now. I also had a Steel Chef’s Knife, Iron Boning Knife, and an Iron Petty Knife made for me too. One for mammals, one for fowls, and one for plants.

“Thank you very much!” “Naw, it was fun using rare mats. If it’s alright with you too, won’t you swing by when you get your hands on interesting mats?” “Are you sure? I don’t really fight or anything.” “Hahaha, a customer is a customer. Of course, I don’t smith for any warm body.” “I see.”

How should I put it? It seems like Alto is really different about his role-playing. I should give it a shot too. Maybe like a retired angler or the like?

“My name’s Romina. That’s R-O-M-I-N-A.” “I’m Kizuna. You’ll find me as “Kizuna†Exceed”, the same format as my sister. Feel free to contact me anytime. I haven’t got much right now, but you’ll be the first to know if I find any rare materials.” “I’d appreciate that. Not many people got that gutting skill.” “Is it that rare?” “Definitely. It’s rare, alright. It’d be nice if it’s a 100% drop rate for the special drops, but that’s not the case. It takes quite a long time to upgrade too, I heard. And it’s not flattering, but it doesn’t do that much damage either.” “I see…” “That’s why I’ll buy any drops you get from your gutting skill. And I’m not exactly broke either. I’ll be waiting for your call.” “That sounds great.” “Alrighty, see you next time.”

After our farewells, she teleports away. One of those teleports costs a whole 1,000 serin. I guess it pays well to smith for the front lines. Well then, time for me to go too. With all this excitement, I think I might just head towards the fields to slay a few monsters. But as soon as that thought passes my mind, I notice a stall on the street. It seems like traders and crafters had begun moving to the second city already, but quite a few are still here in Lurolona. A particular stall caught my attention and piqued my interest.

Boats.

It’s just a small row boat that seats two, but a boat is a boat. The craftsman is a young Jewel girl with a glimmering blue gemstone on her chest. She’s spacing out, staring into the sky. My first impressions of her is that she lacks Alto’s vigor. She’s equipped with cheap clothing that’s locally made here. Maybe that’s her style, but her overalls aren’t very popular. People tend to think of country bumpkins and the like. I don’t really have strong feelings one way or another though. Rather than her clothes, I was fixated on her boats. If I had one of those, maybe I can paddle out and fish. I want one. I need one.

“… what?” the daydreaming girl weakly mutters out.

She’s, uhh, not really good at this whole customer service thing.

“How much is that?” “… 40,000.” “40,000?! Oh, good. I was afraid you’d say something like 100,000.”

I haven’t seen anyone else selling boats. I can’t really compare how good hers are. 40,000 serin isn’t exactly pocket change, but it’s something I can afford.

“Alright, then fork over 40,000 serin.”

I place the amount in the trade window and a Wooden Boat +3 appears.

“Wow, +3? That’s pretty impressive.” “… I did pick out the mats.” “Oh, do you fuss over the quality of the materials?” “All craftsmen do.”

She’s got a point. Even I—someone who simply fish whatever I can catch—noticed the quality. It’s that obvious though, eh?

“But to be able to so easily throw down 40k like that, you rich or somethin’?” “Not exactly. I’ve only got a bit.”

It’s all thanks to my Empty Can Strategy. I’ve earned enough, so I don’t mind spending it.

“… that’s what all rich people say. Poor people just complain. Here, as promised.” “Did something happen?” “Not in particular… it’s just that I keep hearing how expensive my boats are.” “Are they expensive?” “They’re only enough to cover my costs.” “Then they’ve got no right to complain. Don’t worry about it.” “Hmpf.”

Is boatbuilding part of woodworking? I’m not sure what exactly the skill is, but it’s probably something like that.

“An oar’s included, so use it.” “Oh, thanks. If I need a new one, I’ll be back.” “Hmpf.”

What a mysterious girl. Anyhow, I got my boat. I was thinking of heading out of town to slay a few monsters, but nope—back to the sea I go.

contents: /prologue/ /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /ch005/ /ch006/ /ch007/ /next/

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Name/ Kizuna†Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 6,340 Mana/ 150 Serin/ 148,540

Skills/ Energy Production VI, Mana Production IV, Fishing Mastery III, Gutting Mastery II, Transmutation I

Energy Production VI Generates 2,000 Energy per hour Costs 2,600 Mana to upgrade.

Mana Production IV Generates 50 Mana per hour Consumes 1,400 Energy per hour Costs 3,200 Mana to upgrade

Fishing Mastery III All actions with a fishing rod receives a 30% buff. Consumes 400 Energy per hour. Costs 400 Mana to upgrade.

Gutting Mastery II All actions with a gutting weapon receives a 20% buff. Consumes 200 Energy per hour. Costs 200 Mana to upgrade.

Transmutation I Converts items to Energy.

Right now, I consume as much Energy as I produce, so I’m only barely scraping by with Transmutation I. Mastery skills are usually unlocked by gaining a certain item count. For Fishing Mastery, it’s based on how many fish you’ve caught. I unlocked Gutting Mastery by obtaining 1,000 items through gutting. Rank I was fairly easy to unlock, but II is a huge leap up. With Fishing Mastery, it jumped from catching 100, to 500, then to 1,000 fish. Gutting Mastery increases similarly.

I heard from Alto that combat Masteries are unlocked by getting a certain number of kills with the appropriate weapon. I’m not sure whether it’s a little-known fact or that no one fully understands it yet, but it’s rumored that using a gutting weapon that’s effective on your opponent will make them drop special items. Though the low damage of gutting weapons is somewhat of a controversial topic. Well, in any case, it seems like people have figured it out. Even for such a controversy, you still gotta use it to get the drops you need.

Right now, I have equipped a set of cerulean, indigo clothes called the “Caterpillar”. There’s a superstition among us fishers that one can catch a lot more by wearing dark colors when fishing at night. It seems like fishers in real life have a similar belief. I’m not sure whether it’s true or not, but since I had been fishing a lot at night for Empty Cans, I’m praying to the gods that my dark clothes will make a difference.

Anyway, time to get fishing today. By the way, it’s early morning right now. It was at noon when The Big One got away that time. It might just mean that I have a chance at noon again. And later today, the three of us… sisters are planning to get together.

I’m definitely catching The Big One. My one week of effort will not go to waste.

I fervently fished for 10 hours. I’ve been catching nothing but herring since six this morning. There wasn’t even so much a sign of The Big One. It might have just really been a coincidence that The Big One bit that time. Even if it takes me days or weeks, I will catch you. Mark my words.

—Herring obtained.

“Another herring? Odd how there are so many of them today.”

Upgrading Fishing Mastery is supposed to increase the catch rate of all fish, but for some reason, I’ve caught nothing but herrings today. I stick it in the creel jam-packed with all the other herring.

“… the God of Herring must be here with me.”

Well, I don’t think any god would show up in a video game. Or no, actually. Maybe there indeed are gods in this game’s world. Who knows?

“… hmm?”

A great shadow appears on the surface of the water. I tightly grasp my fishing rod with ever-growing anticipation. Don’t get impatient. Don’t you dare rush this. Be absolute. I’m no longer the same person I was a week ago. No way I’m letting you get away this time.

“C’mere, c’mere, c’mere…”

I may be wrought with anxiety, but I focus on the tip of my rod and not the shadow in the water. It’s just as I’ve practiced up ‘til now.

“That’s a bite!”

It’s the same snatch I felt on that day before I fell into the sea. I plant myself to the ground and brace myself. Then I felt a strong tug directly from the rod.

That sensation is a little fuzzier than usual. It gets stronger on every tug with the blips like hit detection or something. But I’m not about to lose at this test of might.

“Have at my Fishing Mastery III!”

Carefully and rapidly does this shift in offense and defense change. It’s the strongest opponent I’ve faced thus far. It truly is The Big One.

The battle drew out for another 30 minutes. The Big One was getting tired. Taking the chance, I press on with my attack. My fishing rod creaks and my focus is starting to wane, but since I’m in a game, I think I’ll be alright.

“This is the ultimate showdown!”

The blips continue to pulse through the rod.

And then, The Big One flies out of the water—

“Ahahahaha! What the heck is that?! It’s huge! A huge herring!”

With a dissatisfied look on my face, I met up with my two sisters. Strapped to my back is a giant fish. Correction: it’s The Big One—a giant herring. The Big One was just a herring all along! People point and stare at it on my back. It’s rough.

I was just about to put it into my inventory when Kanata and Tsugumi showed up. And right now, Tsugumi is taking screenshot after screenshot of me… I guess not so much screenshots, but photographs. All screenshots are saved in the USB flash drive we were given for our character creation. But similarly, I’ve taken a few pictures of the fish I caught. And of course, that includes The Big One. For some reason though, people have been striking weird poses when they see me and the fish…

“Don’t laugh at your brother, Tsugumi… pfft!” “Speak for yourself!”

But seriously. Who’da thunk that The Big One would be a herring? And why herring? They don’t seem that tasty either… In any case, the three of us managed to meet up together. It’s the first time I’ve seen them in game… and it really boggles my mind.

“Why am I the littlest one?” “I’ve always wanted another little sister!”

Kanate is a Human. It’s no surprise she’s pretty since we’re in a game, but her character is actually beautiful. She’s got two very visible protrusions too. Her chest is big in real life, but these are bigger. But it’s not that simple either. There’s jiggle physics. They have a bit of a sag to them.

“Me too!”

Tsugumi is a Lycanthrope. It’s called Lycanthrope, but instead fox ears flop from her heard and accent her character. Her face, though, looks somewhat like her older sister’s. Her breasts are neither large nor small. To be precise, they’re exactly the size of a dating sim heroine. She’s quite a bit taller than me though… about as tall as a middle schooler?

“That’s your reason for making me a loli?  Oh, but of course.”

And that leaves me, a Spirit. My body is quite transparent, my chest flat, and all in all petite. I look vaguely similar to those two. Mm. We definitely seem like sisters. I can’t help but to sigh.

“… I’d be lying if I claimed I don’t have more I’d like to say, but whatever.” “That’s a satisfied sigh at how cute of a little girl you are, right?!” “So? How has the past week been for you two?” “Totally flew by!”

I ignored her quip and changed topics. Honestly, we wouldn’t be finished until sundown.

“It was super interesting!” “Perhaps it’d be right to say that I’ve just settled in.”

They both begin talking about their past week. Tsugumi, as expected, played the game like a total shut-in. She’s the highest level amongst us. I don’t have levels so I’m not exactly sure but seeing how she’s been hard at work every day, she’s got to be stronger than me, someone who hasn’t even left the beginning area. At least she got together with her pals to beat the first boss to unlock the second city.

Kanate plays a bit a bit more reservedly. Unlike Tsugumi who excels at FPS’s and action games, our eldest sister is more of an RPG-type person. Kanate isn’t someone who would be easily defeated though. If my sisters are fighting each other, the younger one would likely fall first. Of course, against a prodigy like her, it wouldn’t be quick or easy. That’s not to say Kanate isn’t playing seriously. Though she hasn’t been at the frontline as much as Tsugumi has, she spent three days finding her perfect weapon, testing each type out. You can even call her a model gamer.

“How about you, Big Bro Kizuna?” “Ah, yeah, it’s been interesting, fishing.” “Huh? Kizuna, you’ve been doing nothing but fishing?” “Y-Yeah? So what? And I’ll have you know I haven’t even been out of this town yet!”

I was met with ice cold stares. Thank goodness that didn’t awaken any masochistic side in me.

“Uhmmm, Big Bro? Do you wanna go check out the next town over? There’s a river there. And what kind of weapon are you using?” “A gutting knife.” “Is it a little on the weak side? Don’t gutting knives get you extra item drops when you kill monsters with them?” “Yep, that’s right.”

I don’t think they truly understand what they’re for. It’s probably just some kind of joke weapon for them.

“There are some items you can’t get without one of those gutting weapons. Pass them along to me if you get any, okie dokie?” “Is that so?” “I think there are quite a few of those items too. They trade for quite a lot between players. But since it deals rather low damage, it’s not very popular. Plus, it’s not often you get special drops either.”

How interesting. Maybe I can gut monsters too. I’ll try fighting monsters tomorrow. I should probably be looking for a new weapon too. I didn’t feel like I really needed one, so I hadn’t been looking for it, even when I was implementing the Empty Can Strategy. And plus, I have to get the appropriate weapon for each monster type. It’s not likely that I can use my Novice Gutting Knife.

“Do you want me to getcha some good equips, Big Bro?” “There’s the matter of pride when an older brother gets gifted things by their little sisters…” “Whatcha talkin’ about?! I always lend you items when we game together.”

She’s right. Sometimes, this game is too realistic, and it gets me confused.

“Well, it’s not like I’m hurting for money. If you let me know what to get, I’ll pay for it myself.” “Even though you’ve only been fishing?” “Did you see those Iron Ingots that were for sale until not long ago?” “Huh? Yeah. I used some yesterday.” “Actually, I was the one who got the materials for them.” “Really? What were they? Some guy named Altorese said it was a trade secret or somethin’, so I have no clue about it.” “As soon as people found ores, we told everyone about our secret. And that’s why I’m not hurting for money.” “So? What’s ya secret?”

I flashed a smug grin at the floppy fox-eared Tsugumi.

“Those ingots were made from Empty Cans, y’know?”

Seeing the shocked look on their faces is enough satisfaction to last me another week.

contents: /prologue/ /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /ch005/ /ch006/ /next/

(please support me on Patreon or Paypal)

“Let’s go get that Fishing Mastery then.”

Name/ Kizuna†Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 2,820 Mana/ 70 Serin/ 1,850

Skills/ Energy Production III, Mana Production II

Energy Production II → Energy Production III Generates 200 Energy per hour → Generates 400 Energy per hour Costs 50 Mana to upgrade.

Fishing Mastery I All actions with a fishing rod receives a 10% buff. Consumes 100 Energy per hour. Costs 30 Mana to acquire. Unlock requirement: Obtain 10 items or more with a fishing rod. Upgrade requirement: Obtain 100 or more items with a fishing rod.

I acquire Fishing Mastery I. Doing so consumes 100 Energy, leaving me with 2,720. Upgrading it to rank II will cost me 60 Mana. With only 40 left, I don’t have enough for it. In any case, I’ve got Fishing Master I now. I’ve been waiting to see what it can do. Well, still, I don’t think I can catch The Big One so easily though.

“… sure am hungry.”

I feel like I just ate before I went to bed. Thinking about it, that was already six hours ago, so maybe it’s time for another meal. I’ll eat the leftover fish I had grilled for me. I take out the Grilled Herring from my inventory.

“It’s turned cold. This game even has temperature, eh?”

When I had it earlier, it was fresh off the grill and piping hot. In that case, if someone were to make stuff like ice cream, it’d probably melt too. Well, who knows? Maybe there’s dry ice or something like that as well. It’s a bit miserable but if I don’t eat this, it’d be going to waste. I can make do.

“Now that my belly’s full, let’s go catch a fish or two. Where did I leave my clothes again?”

Here they are. I just tossed them over by my shoes. Right after I get dressed, I take out my Wooden Rod +2 and I’m ready to go. I leave the inn. Passing by the front desk cued a “Take care!” from the NPC. I step out to a town of darkness. A soulless scene. Maybe everybody’s hit the sack already or they’re still working hard at leveling up.

“It really is dark. I can barely see where I’m going.”

Of course, there are no streetlights, but there aren’t even torches around. It’s nigh pitch black. I open up the map from the menu and head towards that same bridge I was on yesterday. I even dropped by the general store since I had forgotten to buy more bait. I can’t believe that they’re still open though. If this were a real person running the store, they’d probably wouldn’t be too chipper at this time of hour. Imagine a clerk working in a convenience store or something…

Anyway, I get to the bridge. Unfortunately though, the moon is covered by clouds. I wouldn’t know I’m facing the sea if not for the briny breeze and the gentle crashing of the waves. Perhaps I need a carbide lamp or something of the sort. For now, I’m happy with my big pile of bait as I stick it onto my copper fishhook. I poked my finger three times, causing 10 damage. Then after casting my line into the sea, I feel a weird tug that I’ve never felt before. It’s… rather strong. But this dull bite is just odd. Whatever, though. I power through it and fish it out of the water.

—××× obtained.

Hmm? It’s too dark to read the text. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I put it into my inventory. I’ll know when the sun rises. I bait my hook and cast my rod again.

—××× obtained.

Whoa! I caught something the moment the hook touched the water. They’re really biting. I bought 300 pieces of bait, but now it looks like it might not be enough. Alright! It’s an all-you-can-catch!

—

———

—————

… finally, morning. I keel over with my hands and knees on the ground, exactly like the orz emoticon. As for results though, I caught nearly 200. But if felt more like they were looking for me, rather than me actively trying to catch them.

I take a look at my spoils. 137 Empty Cans 2 Rubber Boots Crystallization (Unidentified) 40 Herrings 25 Sardines 12 Seabasses 4 Common Darkfish 3 Zombiefish

“What?!”

What the hell? I got more Empty Cans than anything. Oh, the disappointment! Gimme back the happiness I had! Why are there even cans in this world in the first place? … but I guess it’s not too surprising after all.

What I intended to do was to find out whether I can catch different fish at night, so I can chalk it up as a success. “How much trash are you guys throwing into the ocean anyway?” is what I want to say, but I don’t wanna be rude. And not to mention that last thing on the list is totally undead. I bet I can get some good materials from trimming it. It better be good. I begin to gut and trim the fish while clinging on to that glimmer of hope. Probably not the cans though.

It took me two hours to finish up. I’m still not getting a gutting skill though. I wonder what the requirement is. Maybe I have to fight with it as a weapon? I plan to keep on fishing though, so I don’t think I’ll go and try that out. But, naturally, the amount of fish I had was proportional to the amount of time needed to trim them. I’m glad I have this convenient gutting knife. It’s just a hunch, but I think I can use it to gut monsters as well. I’ll try it if I ever get the chance to fight monsters.

“Alright, now let’s sell it all.”

I check the clock again to see it read 9:27 AM. I bet someone as diligent as Alto is would be up already. I’ll try and send a chat. What’s his actual name? Altorese, was it? I remember him saying something about Altorese’s Emporium or something. And just like before, a dialing sound effect plays as I wait for Alto to pick up.

“Hi, this is Alto.”

He sounds like he’s full of energy. He’ll be trading all day too, I’d say.

“Yo, it’s me.” “You sound like you’re the girl from yesterday. No, wait, the guy who’s playing as a girl, right?” “Right. Kizuna.” “Is that your name? I don’t think I caught it yesterday.”

Oh, now that he mentions it. I asked him for his name, but I was too embarrassed to let him know “Kizuna†Exceed” is my name. Rather, I think I deliberately didn’t tell him.

“So? What’s up today?” “Ah, I wanted to sell you some items. They’re all fish though, if that’s okay.” “Of course. Where are you now?” “On the map, I’m to the right of the bridge—”

After exchanging our locations, we ended up deciding to rendezvous at the same place as yesterday. I was gonna hurry on over, but Alto was there already.” He has different equipment on compared to yesterday. Looks like he’s doing well for himself.

“Yo, Kizuna. You said you had fish, but how much do you have?” “Oh, this much.”

I hit accept on his trade request. According to Alto, we can just trade it over by hand, but since we’re trading in such large amounts, it’s better to do it this way. I place the scales, bones, meat, heads, teeth, fin, and everything else in the trade window.

“It seems like you’ve prepped all of them for cooking already, but you still have so much. What a shock.” “Prepped for cooking?”

“I didn’t do that though?” was what I was about to say, but Alto continues.

“Yeah, after parting ways yesterday, I found out that if you use a kitchen knife to prep your fish, you get a lot more items that way.” “Huh.” “And so you have the cooking skill, right, Kizuna? If you need any ingredients, I can sell you some.”

No, I don’t have a single cooking skill pop up. But I’ll keep that to myself. Since he has so many connections, he’s gotta know somebody that uses a gutting-type weapon, right?

“Hey, Alto, this is completely unrelated, but what do gutting weapons do?” “Hmm? I’m pretty sure they do extra damage to certain races. But since their base damage is low, not many people use them.” “I see…” “And sometimes, when you kill the right monsters, they drop different items too.”

… don’t tell me I’ve misunderstood my gutting knife this whole time. As far as I know, if I’m being really careful, I can gut and trim fish to get their scales and meat. But it seems like I can use the cooking skill instead. Maybe it’s even more effective that way. In that case, I can probably even earn more money. Naturally, it’ll become common knowledge sooner or later. But before everyone knows about it, maybe I can make tons of money like this. It’s not exactly uncommon for a new game.

“What about gutting weapons anyway?” “Ah, I’m using one right now. So that’s it? A peculiar weapon used against certain races…” “I see. You really like unusual things, don’t you, Kizuna?” “Guess so.” “Anyway, how does a total of 6,000 serin sound?” “That much?”

Alto says it as if it were obvious. If all he had yesterday was 8,000 serin, that means he’s been making lots while I’ve been chilling.

“It takes time to raise your cooking skill, so factor in how much an hour is worth. It’s also quite a lot and then I put it a little below market value.”

Buy low, sell low. That’s how he resells stuff, he mentioned yesterday. That’s fine then. It’s a lot more than what the NPCs will give me anyway. I accept the trade, hit OK, and received 6,000 serin.

“Thank you for your patronage. Let me know if you have anything else to sell.” “Alright, I’ll holler next time.”

I take a look at my inventory to see only empty cans left. Having 137 of them is actually kind of a bother. NPCs will give me either 1 or 5 serin for each. The difference being aluminum and steel. Wait, hold on. Aluminum and steel, huh?

“Hey, Alto? I have another question. How much do Empty Cans sell for?” “Empty Cans? Unfortunately, dirt cheap. You’re better off selling it to a store.” “Is that right? It’s caught my attention that these cans are aluminum and steel though.”

I lower my voice as if I’m letting him onto a secret and his face lights up.

“… I see. With a blast furnace, they might be able to turn into ingots!” “There are blast furnaces, huh?” “Yeah. There are people working on their craft skills who are smelting ores into ingots.” “Then can I get you to take a look whether they can do the same with these cans? Of course, I’ve got a lot more, so if it works.”

We open up our trade windows again and I give him five each of aluminum and steel. It’ll be easy money if I can turn trash into something useful. Even if it doesn’t work out, I can still sell it for some change.

“Thank you, Kizuna! Maybe we’ll make a lot with this!” “Yeah, if it pans out, get me a slice of the action.” “Of course! I’ll hurry and find out then!”

This being right in his element, Alto rushes off while waving goodbye. It probably won’t even take him an hour.

“I’ve got quite a good stack of money now. Maybe I should get some equipment.”

If I can turn cans into steel, then maybe I can get someone to make me a weapon. But since I don’t even have a single combat skill, I think it’d be better to stick to my light clothing. And for shoes… can I wear these rubber boots? I take them out of my inventory, take off my default shoes, and stick my feet into the boots.

“Looks like I really can equip them…”

If I had a raincoat and a yellow umbrella, it’ll complete my little girl getup. Leaving the jokes aside, I should look for an armor shop or a player selling clothes. I take my first steps in my rubber boots.

Let me tell you what happened after. My hunch was dead on. Those Empty Cans really can be turned into aluminum and steel ingots. While keeping it a secret from Alto and the smith, I keep on quietly fishing up empty cans and repeatedly hand them over. The three of us made a killing for about five days until players found a source of iron ore. Of course, the ingots made from cans aren’t all that high quality, so we started losing business. After discussing our strategy with Alto, we decided to put it to an end. In any case, we came in hot with out Empty Can method and made a good chunk of cash. With fate bringing us together, I added Alto to my friends list.

“I’ll be counting on you for another brilliant idea to make money.”

I hope he feels the same way. Furthermore, for some odd reason, I can only catch Empty Cans at night. Afterwards, with iron prices going down, Alto made the information public. In the end, pairing the unprofitable fishing skill with smelting and smithing made for a popular money-making strategy.

previously: /prologue/ /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /ch005/ /next/

(please support me on Patreon or Paypal)

“You seem to be well-connected, Alto. Were you a beta tester?”

I recall that they were recruiting for the beta test.

“Nah, I haven’t played the beta at all. In fact, I think they intentionally accepting only a few people for it.”

According to Alto, it seems like they did indeed have a beta version of the game, but there were zero changes for the gold release. Not only that, but the company didn’t want beta characters to be mixed in new players, so everyone was reset to level 1.

“I see.” “I heard there was leaked content.” “Oh, I’ve heard about that too, though I don’t know the details.”

They say a beta tester leaked details about the game on an anonymous textboard, including content protected by the non-disclosure agreement. That’s what I read about at least, though I wasn’t there to witness it in real time.

“What kind of information was leaked?” “Pretty much everyone in the game knows about it, y’know? It’s basically about how Spirits are way underpowered. As far as I remember, though they can get unlimited skills, their stats are the lowest of all races.” “… you don’t know?” “Speaking of which, what race are you playing as? I haven’t seen any like your kind before.”

I take an awkward look at myself. From time to time, I’m half transparent. That’s one of the traits of Spirits.

“The exact Spirit we’re talking about. They seem pretty unusual, but I just learned that they’re not really strong.” “Oh, that’s it. So? What’s it like?” “Ehh. I’ve only been fishing up ‘til now, so I haven’t run into any difficulties so far.”

Since my status and Energy are one and the same, any slight mistake might put my life into jeopardy. If you think about it that way, you could say it’s pretty weak. It seems pretty well-suited for me if I’m just fishing or crafting in town, seeing how I don’t have to do anything to get more Energy or Mana. Well, I guess Dimension Wave focuses more on the combat aspects though.

“I see. Let me know if Spirits are easy to use. I don’t think many people are playing as one because of the leaks.” “Yeah, if I feel like it.” “Alrighty then, I’m gonna head off. Contact me if you have anything you want to trade with me, okay?” “Aye, aye.”

I respond to his wave with my own. After taking a bow, Alto sets off to find his next customer.

“Whew…”

I heave a sigh before opening my inventory to look at the fishing rod that I had Alto’s acquaintance make for me. Wooden Rod +2. It’s made from a flexible stick, silk line, and a copper fishhook. All of these things are from different places, so Alto must have run around quite a bit.

Though Alto says the +2 was merely incidental, I don’t think that’s the case. It’s probably more to do with the crafter’s skill and the quality of materials. When he showed me the stick, line, and hook, it already seemed like they were of nice quality, so I think I’m right.

It also costed me 700 serin, but it seems like it’d perform a lot better than the 600 serin Shoddy Rod. And since it was specially made for me, I’ll be extra careful not to let it get stolen away this time. Oh, isn’t it about time my Energy ticked up?

Name/ Kizuna†Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 1,320 Mana/ 60 Serin/ 2,000

Skills/ Energy Production II, Mana Production II

Energy Production II → Energy Production III Generates 200 Energy per hour → Generates 400 Energy per hour Costs 50 Mana to upgrade

I’ve got enough Mana now, so I’ll upgrade my Energy Production to rank III. Give it another two hours, and I’ll take Fishing Mastery too.

“I’ve got an upgraded skill and rod plus a full stomach. Time for round two, I think… oh!”

A light bulb came on above my head. I know it’s an old cliché, but in any case, it’s a bright idea.

—The fish at night will probably be different than the ones at noon, right?

If I get pangs of hunger, then surely, I’ll get sleepy too. I can’t risk falling asleep while fishing. At the very least, I’ll take a cat nap at an inn. After deciding on that, I decided to report to my sisters.

I select “Chat” from my menu. Now that I think about it, I haven’t added them as friends yet. I type in “ Tsugumi†Exceed” and send them a chat. The game plays a dial tone like a telephone would. I have a feeling this is why Tsugumi mistook the chat to be a phone call before.

“Big Bro Kizuna? What’s up?” “Oh, I was just about to hit the sack. Figured I’d give you a call first.” “What, already? Isn’t it a little early?” “Nah, I was hoping to see if there’s a different between the fish during day and at night.” “Is that right? Okie dokie. I’ll let Big Sis know for you too then.” “’preciate it. How are things over at your end?” “ Mm, just fighting like normal.” “Hey… you alright?” “Ahaha. I’m being surrounded by five of them.” “Concentrate!”

Jeez!

I figuratively slam the receiver down. She’d do that too when we game together. We’d play an FPS together and she’d be chatting with Kanata. I’m in the game too, you know? I kept it to myself, but it ticked me off. What’s worse is that she’d top the scoreboard with the highest kill/death ratio. Thinking about it again, it was Tsugumi who got our passes for Dimension Wave. Being surrounded by five of anything would likely be nothing to her.

… I’m still not happy about it, but whatever. Time to look for an inn. I open up the map from the menu. There’s a few places marked with “ZZZ” here in town. I take a look at which of the five seem good. Well, this is a game after all, so there’s probably not a huge difference, but the prices differ. In the end, I chose the one in the middle of the pack that’s neither cheap nor expensive.

“—That will be 150 serin for one night’s stay,” says the lady who is seemingly the innkeeper.

I feel like I’ve heard her voice actress before somewhere. Handing over 150 serin rewarded me with a key. I head towards my room. It seems like you get to use the room for a full 24 hours too. That means I can catch some sleep and go shopping afterwards. I feel like I’m here on vacation.

In any case, I look around the inn. Looks like I’m the only one here. Well, today being the first day, it’d be rare for anyone to head to bed to early. Out of the five, this one seemed the most average. The walls in the cheapest inn were chipped and cracked. Why would anyone choose that, I wonder.

“This is it.”

I arrive at room 101—the same number marked on the key—and unlock the door. It’s a normal room. It’s quite a bit smaller than hotels in real life. I take a seat on the bed. It’s as soft as the bed in my room. To put it mildly, it’s not nearly plush enough to be a hotel bed. Well, it was only 150 serin to stay here.

“… let’s get some shut eye for now.”

I don’t feel right sleeping in my clothes and shoes. I put my shoes aside and take my clothes off. What was left was a little girl in her underwear.

—

———

—————

‘Well, nothing wrong with taking more off,’ the demon on my shoulder suggests.

Just to sate my curiosity, I tried to take my underwear off but to no avail. Well, the game’s not rated R after all, so there’s no way I can do anything lewd.

”Tsk.”

I half-jokingly click my tongue because it’s not like I actually wanted to do anything. It doesn’t really matter anyway and so I lie down as I had originally intended to. I pull up the blanket—again, just as warm as the one in my room—and closed my eyes.

I fall asleep right away as if I had taken sleeping pills. Perhaps they designed the game so that it’d be easy to fall asleep. I’d be quite happy if it were this easy in real life. My thoughts start drifting, and before I realized, my consciousness had drifted away too.

previously: /prologue/ /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /next/

(please support me on Patreon or Paypal)

I know it must look real weird to see a girl laughing to herself. I’m self-aware. But I don’t care. I am absolutely going to catch you. I think I’ve found my calling in this world. It might be a little lame, but I guess I’ll continue to silently fish alone here.

“Alright, let’s try out the bait.”

I bait the previously bare hook. I don’t have any worms, but instead boilies. I gotta put up with the cheapest stuff they have. I would’ve bought something better if only I had the money to. They had fishing lures for sale too, so I’m guessing there are lakes nearby. I cast my rod and concentrate on its tip. I’d love to gaze at the clouds, but I don’t have the time for that!

“Gotcha!”

—Horse Mackerel obtained.

It feels like they’re biting more because of the bait. There can’t really be fish that stupid to go for a hook with nothing on it. I have 30 boilies in my inventory. I’ll have to get more at the general store once I’m out. But the moment when the fish bit, I felt something that I’ve never felt before. Maybe it’s something part of the game that I haven’t noticed before. Or maybe even it was just my imagination. In any case, I’ll keep that feeling in my mind. If it has anything to do with what gets caught or the quality of the fish, it’d be a big catch.

Oh, and there’s definitely a quality aspect. When I was selling my items at the shop, they were all priced differently. They were all small fry so they didn’t sell for a whole lot, but smaller ones varied about 1–3 serin while the bigger ones varied 10–30. Once I get Energy Production III, I’ll get Fishing Mastery as well.

“Another one…”

I wait a little longer this time. It really isn’t just my imagination. There’s an indescribable aura or ebb and flow radiating from my rod. Maybe it’s something to do with when I should strike. The tug gets harder and softer, but it’s a short amount of time when it tugs hard.

“And now!”

—Sardine obtained.

It may be a sardine, but it’s the biggest and freshest one I’ve caught yet. It’s likely that it’s determined when the fish is being caught. This kind of system really fires me up.

“Oh?”

I’ve got a bite, but I can tell by the bend in my rod, it’s not as strong as The Big One. … or maybe my rod is just too shoddy and just doesn’t perform well enough. It’d be a waste if it gets away. As I did before, I wait for a strong tug before I strike.

—Killerfish obtained.

… huh. All of a sudden, I get the feeling that it’s a monster. I’ve only caught herrings and sardines up ‘til now. They’re all fish that exist in the real world, so they feel different than this guy. Furthermore, upon placing Mr. Killerfish in my inventory, it starts mashing its pointy teeth. That’s definitely a monster, alright.

I guess even monsters spawn in places like this. At least I have a better grasp on things now. I keep on fishing.

In the end, I managed to catch 26 out of the 30 bites I had. Four of them got away when I was trying to get a feel for their pull. I think each fish is different in the amount of time I have before they flee. What I caught totaled to 14 herrings, six sardines, three horse mackerels, one killerfish, and two bonefish. There’s no way those last two aren’t monsters.

As its name suggests, the bonefish is just like a skeleton. I was pretty shocked when I first saw it. It’s kinda eerie how nothing but bones can live under the sea.

“Now then, let’s gut and trim them all, save for a single herring.”

There’s something I want to test out. I want to see whether selling the fish whole or trimmed earns more. Still, the money doesn’t matter all too much since I need to get that gutting skill anyway. With that, I carefully point my Novice Gutting Knife towards my spoils.

“I sure am hungry…”

I got stuck for hours in an endless loop of fishing → trimming → selling → buying bait → fishing. I found out that selling trimmed fish nets more cash too and I bought better bait with the extra money. What I should do now is focus on catching 100 or more fish to upgrade Fishing Mastery to rank II. But first thing’s first—I have to upgrade my Energy Production.

I was so absorbed in fishing that I forgot to eat. They call it the Second Life Project, so there’s gotta be a hunger element in the game. I’m so hungry that it feels like I haven’t eaten the whole day.

“… what to eat?”

Luckily, I have a bit more money than before. I’m not sure how expensive restaurants, but since this is the starting town, it shouldn’t be too expensive. I put away my fishing rod, leave my fishing spot on the bridge, and head down to the middle of Lurolona. The fish is still in my inventory, but they can wait. I want to eat, and I want to eat now.

“Ooh.”

I followed the road to the plaza where we spawned. There’s not as many people here now as before, but there’s still 10 or 20 people hanging out. Among the people are a Human and a Jewel trading items. Not even a day has passed and the guy has already established a business? I casually walk closer to them and listen in.

“Five pieces of copper will be 375 serin.” “Thanks. The shops are selling it for so much more.”

They’re both in novice gear so it’s hard to tell, but it seems like one of them is a merchant and the other a blacksmith.

“Little lady over there!”

The moment they finish trading, the merchant walks over to me. What’s up with him? I look behind me. What girl?

“Yes, you.” “You talkin’ to me or somethin’?” “Yeah. Not much of a lady though, eh?”

Oh, yeah. I’m playing as a girl right now. It was super weird at first, but I quickly got used to my voice and I totally forgot about it.

“No, uhh, stuff happened and now my character’s a girl.” “I see.”

The merchant is quite the pretty boy type. He’s taller than me. Well, at my height right now, I can’t tell exactly how tall people are anymore. In any case, I look up to see his bright blond hair.

“So? Something you needed?” “You smelled like the sea, so I was just wondering if you had any fish or seafood on you.” “Oh. Do I smell?”

I take a whiff of myself, but I can’t really tell. I did fall into the sea once, so it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I did.

“It seems like it. I went over to the plains once and it smelled like grass over there.” “Huh…”

I thought it was just the sea spray that smelled. How complex. It really is a big budget game.

“Anyway, do you have any fish or shellfish? I have an acquaintance who’s trying to level up her cooking skill, so I’ll buy it off you at a higher price than what the stores can give you.” “Hrm…”

I placed my right hand by my chin as I pondered. I haven’t processed any of the fish yet, so I have about 50 of them stored in my inventory. Well, it’s mostly herrings, sardines, and horse mackerels though. But since I still haven’t got the skill yet, I’d like to gut them all before I sell them.

“Sorry, but I need them too. Maybe next time though.” “Is that right? My name is Alto, though you’d find me as Altorese in chat. Though it didn’t work out this time, I’ll buy anything and everything.” “Gotcha. I’ll keep it in mind. But you’re already trading so early?” “Yeah, pretty much. I buy low from people in the frontlines and sell for cheaper than store prices for people who want things. Then, I’ll go and sell potions high to the people fighting. I’ve made 8,000 serin already like this.” “Impressive. You really are a merchant.”

Speaking of which, I have 2,700 serin. If I were to sell all the fish I have on me right now and buy some bait, I should have about 4,500 left. But still, it’s incredible how the merchant made 8,000 serin just by trading.

“Hahaha. Visit Altorese’s Emporium for all your needs! Just kidding.” “In that case, sell me a good fishing rod, if you have one on hand.” “A fishing rod? That’s a tool. If you have the materials, then it can be made. Shall I introduce you to an acquaintance of mine?” “Oh, could you?” “Of course! Only if you promise that you’ll buy any materials you need from me.”

What a silver tongue on him. It’s funny how he’s exactly like how a merchant would be. Some people really do role-play in an RPG.

“Alright then, please.” “Thank you for your patronage.”

Even his words are merchant-like. How refreshing. He might just be working in customer service in real life.

“Okay, I’ll contact you when I get news.” “Ah, hold on. I’ve something I’d like to ask.”

Alto looks at me with a quizzical look. Being so caught up in chatting, I had almost forgotten about it until the end.

“Where can I find a restaurant?”

previously: /prologue/ /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /next/

(please support me on Patreon or Paypal)

“Hello, there. You have a bite.” “Oh? No kidding.”

My fishing rods gently tugs and shakes. I pull it straight up. It didn’t even take much strength to simply lift it out of the water.

—Herring obtained.

The herring went into my inventory. This Shoddy Rod really can get bites without any bait. That’s a game for ya.

“Thanks for lett—oh, you’re gone. Must’ve been in a hurry or something.”

I wanted to say thanks for letting me know, but unfortunately, I was too late. Maybe they were just passing by. In any case, I cast my line into the water again.

“A herring, eh? I think there’s a bit of herring in the cuisine of Kyoto, if I recall correctly.”

The general store had pots and pans in stock. Maybe I can cook up the fish with a cooking skill. If there’s herring, there might be sardines and mackerel too. And if I get better at this, I may even be able to catch me a tuna or seabream. I wonder what kind of tuna they have. Albacore? Bluefin? Or perhaps there’s even a whole bunch of different varieties. You know how picky we Japanese are on tuna. While I was deep in thought, the rod began to tug again.

—Herring obtained.

Another herring? I don’t really mind, but all this herring makes me hungry for one. Maybe I’ll ask Mom to cook some tonight.

… well, I’m staying over at the event hall today, but maybe tomorrow in the real time.

I wonder how much time I have left in the game. I’m sure I have at least another day or two of in-game time. But herring… there’s herring roe, dried herring, herring soba, salted herring, smoked herring. Oh, there’s even surströmming.

Surströmming. I’ve seen it on TV before, but I haven’t tasted the real deal. I heard it smells a lot, so I don’t think I’d try it on my own volition. It’d be nice to learn the cooking skill. But what’s wrong with me? All I can think about in this game is herring. I had a lot of time to think, but in the end, I still didn’t have an answer.

“I got more bites than I expected.”

Two more hours have past. I put the whole herring thing aside and ended up catching quite a bit of fish. Seven herrings, three sardines, and a horse mackerel. I don’t mean to mix game with reality, but it wouldn’t be a bad haul if this were real life. And they’re all edible, too.

“They even vary in size too, huh?”

I only caught the one mackerel, so I don’t have anything to compare it with, but the seven herrings are all different size and shapes. Some are long, some are plump. There’s gotta be rarity, quality, or some sort of standard even for herring, right? It’s gotta be the same as stuff like, say, copper. I think they were selling some at the general store. The stuff out of a mine would likely be graded on how pure it is. The purer the ore is, the better it is for arms and armor, I think. Maybe. Anyway, I’ve got me a gutting knife. Maybe I can try gutting the fish. I reach for the sheathe that’s hanging on my hip, draw the knife, and point it at the herring.

“How do I do this again?”

Honestly, I’ve never prepped a fish before, so I’ll just take a stab at it. I think I’ve gotta get the scales off first. I use the tip of my Novice Gutting Knife to scrape the herring. A few scales fling off the skin of the fish.

—Small Fish Scale ×10 obtained.

Oh, that’s a handy knife. I like it already. I think I can even do the meat and bones at this rate. Alright!

“Agh!”

I got too excited and put a bit too much power into it. I sunk the Novice Gutting Knife into the belly of the herring with all my strength. As I did that, the flesh, the bones—everything vanished without a trace. I’m inside a video game after all. It was so similar to real life up to now, this is actually a little exciting now. Anyway, I gut all of the fish caught today.

In the end, my spoils were 27 Small Fish Scales, 8 Small Fish Bones, 4 Trimmed Herrings, 1 Herring Head, 1 Trimmed Horse Mackerel, 1 Trimmed Sardine. For some reason, the amount I caught doesn’t exactly match up with the meat I got, but oh well. The number of items is nearly four times of the fish. And I’ll have you know that it takes a lot of concentration to cut and trim fish. You mess up a little and the whole thing disappears. It took me nearly 30 minutes to carefully trim the 11 fish. Well, if I acquire the skill, I’ll probably get a buff to it. Speaking of skills, it doesn’t seem like I’ve gained much. I open up my status screen.

Name/ Kizuna†Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 1,300 Mana/ 65 Serin/ 0

Oh, what’s this? My Energy has increased without me doing anything. I wonder why. Ah, it’s probably due to that Energy Production skill. This one, right?

Skills/ Energy Production I, Mana Production I

Energy Production I → Energy Production II Generates 100 Energy per hour → Generates 200 Energy per hour Costs 10 Mana to upgrade

Mana Production I → Mana Production II Generates 5 Mana per hour → Generates 10 Mana per hour Consumes 0 Energy per hour → Consumes 150 Energy per hour Costs 25 Mana to upgrade

Then, I suddenly remember…

“Agh, I’ve wasted three hours already!”

I upgrade both skills to rank II. My Energy drops to 1,150 and my Mana to 30. It seems like it consumed my Energy as soon as I level the skill up. But the more I think about it, the better the fact that my Energy and Mana increases by the hour seems. Perhaps it’d be quicker to level for normal races by hunting? Hmm.

Whatever. I’m a Spirit; no other choice for me. I take a look at my skills section again and noticed that there’s Fishing Mastery I written in greyed out characters. I guess it wasn’t a waste of my time after all. Oh, and it doesn’t seem like I get a Mastery for gutting and trimming the fish. I examine Fishing Mastery I and read its description.

Fishing Mastery I All actions with a fishing rod receives a 10% buff. Consumes 100 Energy per hour Costs 30 Mana to acquire Unlock requirement: Obtain 10 items or more with a fishing rod. Upgrade requirement: Obtain 100 or more items with a fishing rod.

I barely just unlocked that skill. But if I acquire it, my Energy per hour drops down to -50. That won’t do. If I screw up just a little bit, it’s possible that I’ll drop dead. I’ll acquire the skill after I upgrade my Energy Production again. And with that, I cast my line in the water again.

“Hmm?”

The moment I casted the line, an incredible force pulled on it.

“Oh, no! Eep!”

Since it came out of nowhere and I was holding on tight to the rod, my body—this body of a girl—was pulled along. Perhaps it was a simple matter of a lack of STR, or Energy in the case of Spirits, but when I tried planting myself down, I ended up falling off the bridge.

There was a big splash and then the blub blub of bubbles as I fell into the sea. In that instant, I saw a large fish, but it disappeared almost immediately. Damn! If only I had taken Fishing Mastery! That fish that got away was big… well, big enough that I couldn’t fight it. Maybe it’s because I’m in a game, but I’m able to hold my breath underwater for longer than I normally can. I take a good look at my small Kizuna†Exceed body and get back up on the bridge.

“Whew…”

My clothes are wet. I guess that’s a given. Anyway, I looked at my items screen and then my status screen and found out that I lost 30 Energy because of fall damage, I think.

“But more important, it took away my rod…”

I think it’s normal for me to be taken aback. I never would’ve thought that I’d lose my starting money, five potions, and my Shoddy Rod in that little time.

“Hahaha… you sure have got a lot of nerve…”

That’s it.

I’mma catch you and eat you.

previously: /prologue/ /ch001/ /ch002/ /next/

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