He imdiately dismissed the prankish thought. Jenkins had no intention of using his precious cat to test what lurked in the river. Chocolate could swim, of course, but a cat was not bait for fishing.
"Co to think of it, you don't seem to like fish very much."
Jenkins held the rod in his right hand, his left gently stroking Chocolate's back.
"ow~"
It was a clear affirmation.
"Not liking fish is fine by . It's easy to get a bone stuck in your throat. You're so small, a fishbone could easily scratch up your esophagus."
"ow~"
Chocolate shifted obligingly, making it easier for Jenkins to scratch her head in a clear display of affection.
"Speaking of fish, when Papa Oliver and I were heading to the church yesterday morning, we were saved by that girl with the fish-shaped hairpin. I wonder what happened to her. I haven't seen her since."
Chocolate flinched under his hand. She pressed her little head against the deck, tilting it to peek at Jenkins. She suspected he was testing her... No, this was beyond testing. The cat suspected Jenkins was teasing her.
She finally got a look at his face, but there was no strange expression. He was focused intently on his fishing rod, making it seem as though his words had been entirely unintentional.
"ow~"
Of course, Chocolate knew it was anything but unintentional. Jenkins was absolutely teasing her.
She stood up from under his hand, intending to climb onto his lap and gauge his current attitude.
But before Chocolate could reach her destination, the fishing rod in Jenkins's hand began to tremble violently.
He shot to his feet, grabbing the rod with both hands and trying to pull up. But whatever was on the hook possessed considerable strength. The tal rod had no grip, and Jenkins wasn't wearing non-slip gloves; it nearly slipped from his grasp and plunged into the water.
"Whatever I've hooked, it can't be a fish."
He thought to himself, praying to Oviya that the line wouldn't snap.
He backed away, trying to drag the thing under the water's surface out into the open. The only useful mory from the original Jenkins's fishing experience was the technique of alternately tightening and slackening the line to exhaust the fish's stamina.
Surprisingly, the trick worked on whatever he had caught. After a stalemate of less than ten minutes, Jenkins felt his opponent's strength waning.
But just as he breathed a small sigh of relief, planning to reel in the line in one go, a strange crackle erupted from beneath the boat. Black arcs of electricity shot up the tal line toward his hands.
He instinctively wanted to drop the rod, but imdiately tightened his grip, watching as the black electricity struck his arms.
The back of his hand was instantly scorched black, and his steady hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
"This isn't lightning! What is this thing?"
He was stunned, but compared to everything else he had encountered today, this was hardly the worst of it. Even as the black arcs continued to surge up the rod, he held on tight and retreated quickly.
Finally, before his arms went completely numb, Jenkins yanked the rod upward with all his might. With the sound of sothing heavy being dragged from the water, a dark, lumpy mass at the end of the line was pulled from the depths and crashed onto the deck.
Without a second thought, Jenkins bent down, snatched up the Star-Forged Magic Sword, and hurled it, pinning the thing that looked like a clump of black seaweed to the deck.
It was definitely alive. Even impaled by the magic sword, it continued to struggle.
"Don't tell that's a human head?"
The black seaweed did indeed resemble long human hair, but thankfully, upon closer inspection, he saw it was a fish.
Jenkins struggled to find the words to describe a fish covered in black, hair-like tendrils. The tendrils sprouted densely from between its scales, writhing like parasites, and the sight sent a wave of nausea through him. This wasn't a powerful ntal attack; it was simply Jenkins's pure revulsion at such a creature.
He stopped Chocolate, who was approaching out of curiosity, and made a gripping motion with his right hand. Flas erupted from his palm and spread outward, igniting the spiraling greatsword that appeared in his hand.
After the man in hunting gear at the forge had converted this sword into a Bestowal, its form hadn't changed much. Jenkins hefted the blade and brought it down hard on the rotting, hair-covered fish.
"I don't think I'll be eating fish again for a long ti."
He thought as he smashed it again and again with heavy thuds. He had forgotten, however, that the spiraling greatsword carried intense heat, and that heat would cook the fish's rotten flesh. When the damp, polluted air was suddenly filled with the sll of scorched at, followed by the stench of burning hair, Jenkins nearly threw up.
The spiraling greatsword had no edge, but after so many powerful blows from Jenkins, the fish finally stopped moving.
Jenkins found a pair of gloves in his backpack, pulled the magic sword free, and crouched down to pick up the fish, which was flattened but surprisingly not in pieces. He never expected that at that mont, the fish would suddenly flip its tail and leap into the air, twisting its body as if to strike Jenkins's head.
The fish's strength was negligible, but the black lightning crackling around its tail was sothing to be wary of.
Fortunately, Jenkins was prepared. The mont it "jumped," he thrust his sword forward, piercing it straight through the head. At last, it fell completely still.
"ow~"
Chocolate hid behind Jenkins's right leg, only her little head peeking out, her large amber eyes wide with curiosity as she watched the scene.
Jenkins bent down, picked her up, and placed her back on his shoulder.
"It feels strange without you on my shoulder."
He didn't imdiately give the bizarre fish to the person who had asked for it. Instead, he decided to perform a simple dissection. If he wanted to understand the background of this world, then in addition to questioning these refugees, he should be able to find clues on the items and creatures here.
The fish's scales and skin were incredibly tough. The magic sword couldn't even easily slice through the flesh; he had to use the sa force as when he'd pinned it. Not wanting to waste any more energy, Jenkins finally took out the broken White Bone Holy Sword and managed to cut the fish open. But just as he was about to see the fish's organs, a bolt of black lightning shot out from the wound made by the broken sword.
"Huh? Why isn't it bleeding? It's pouring out black..."
The fish exploded. Vicious black arcs of electricity shot out in all directions, with Jenkins taking the brunt of the blast. This was no ordinary lightning; it couldn't be controlled by natural forces. Amid the blinding flash, Jenkins gritted his teeth and kicked the exploding mass through a gap in the railing, sending it plumting off the side of the boat.
First ca the splash, followed by a muffled boom. The ship itself groaned with the screech of straining tal and lurched violently, making Jenkins think for a mont that it would capsize.
The tal head on the chair watched this unfold with a smile, while the refugees at the edge of the deck all scread in unison, confirming that they were all indeed alive.
"How stupid of . I should've known a fish would explode."
Lying prone on the deck, Jenkins confird it was safe before climbing to his feet. He checked that Chocolate was unhard, then made sure his luggage hadn't been lost, before looking with so regret toward the mist-shrouded water. Not only had he failed to obtain any information, he had also lost a fish. Although the rod was still there and he could continue fishing, the ti he had wasted was gone for good.
The ship swayed for a long while before finally stabilizing. Jenkins returned to his spot at the front of the deck and resud fishing.
Having learned from his first experience that the fish would bite quickly, he didn't sit down this ti, but stood instead.
Sure enough, in no more than five minutes, he felt sothing tugging on the line again, though this ti the pull was noticeably weaker.
"Not the sa kind of fish as before? Right, since this is a river, of course there wouldn't be only one type."
Regardless, Jenkins gripped the rod tightly and backed away. After "battling" with the second fish via the line for several minutes, he once again lifted the rod and pulled the exhausted creature up.
Even though he was ntally prepared, the sight of the thing—fish on top, octopus tentacles on the bottom—still made Jenkins avert his eyes.
After pinning the fish to the deck, he once again considered dissecting it, but when he discovered its "skin" was as tough as the previous one, he abandoned the idea.
"Although this one hasn't shown any ability to shoot black lightning, there's still a high chance it could explode. I can't waste any more ti."
He skewered the fish with his magic sword and walked toward the person who had asked for it. Hearing Jenkins's footsteps, the gaunt man finally lifted his head, revealing a face that was all skin and bones.
"Fish, I want fish!"
He reached out to touch Jenkins's sword, indifferent to the magic sword's curse that imdiately spread over him. He pulled the fish from the blade and, with an expression of insane fervor, tilted his head back and opened his mouth.
The corners of his lips split, stretching his mouth until it was wider than his own head, distorting his entire skull. The man then tossed the fish into the giant maw, and his face and mouth slowly returned to their original shape.
"That was good. Anymore?"
His now-normal face looked expectantly at Jenkins, who was staring at the fish-shaped lump stuck in the man's throat.
"Do a favor and don't die before you give so information."
He murmured, not waiting for a reply before turning to catch the next fish.
He had only taken a few steps, not even having ti to pick up his fishing rod, when he stopped with a frown.
Turning to scan the area around the boat's deck, he noticed the moisture in the air was thicker. Jenkins realized his field of vision seed to have shrunk.
When he had first boarded the boat, he could still see a large expanse of buildings on both sides of the river through the thick fog. But now, as he picked up his fishing rod for the third ti, the number of visible buildings had significantly decreased.
The fog was closing in.
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