Sora reeled his line in, catching a fish that liked to ride the waves that the ocean created, its name simply being ‘Wave Fish’. Grandpa Blossom had been catching fish faster than him, most likely due to the fact that Grandpa Blossom had a higher fishing skill. Sora hadn’t been fishing since Crater Lake, except for the little bit of time at the fishing spot in his chasm, creating a large gap between the two.

Sora continued to fish while getting reports on guild affairs from various people. Most of the guild members were trying to get the wolf mount since they wanted to be out of the way before other players start to figure out what they are doing. Once the general population figures out how to get a mount the fight for the limited resources will begin. The main group of Blossom, LeeLee, Nobunaga, and Athenes were leading the rest of the guild. Each person took a group of players from the guild and spaced out when they started to go for the mount, this helped stop guild members from fighting with each other. Blossom would start first and once that group was done with cleaning the village LeeLee and her group would start. LeeLee was the person who arranged this plan, creating a smooth experience that the entire guild can bond together with.

[Fishing Skill has Hooked an item]

Sora’s reel started to make a loud zipping noise as the line flew from one end of the boat to the other. Grandpa Blossom ducked down so Sora could maneuver his rod better, he ended up losing a fish for doing that but it was the respect a fellow fisherman should show.

[x1 Rare Chest Lvl 40 obtained]

The wooden fish jumped into the boat before turning into a chest that was placed between Sora and Grandpa Blossom. Sora opened the chest leisurely, not caring too much about the loot. He was out here to relax a little so loot was just a bonus to him.

[x1 Coral Ring of Expanded Bait obtained]

Rarity - Unique Rare

Durability - 45/45

Requires - Level 40

“A ring made from red coral that shimmers as if made from glass.”

+10 Constitution

+5% Chance to not consume bait when fishing

Although Sora wasn’t fishing for loot, this ring was a very good catch. He didn’t care too much about normal bait, but if the effect kicks in when fishing with legendary bait then it’s a huge bonus. Sora equipped the ring, officially filling all equipment slots he had open. Grandpa Blossom had been watching Sora when the stats of the ring were shared, greed could be seen in his eyes as he looked at the information on it. Grandpa Blossom was a simple fisherman, so he didn’t want much, but when he saw the ring he had the desire to fish one up himself.

“That’s a pretty good catch, my boy, I don’t suppose you’re selling it are you?”

“For now, no.”

“Ah, it’s understandable but still regrettable, haha.”

“How about this, as thanks for keeping me company I’ll try to give you a gift, the only catch is that it’s up to fate whether you get it or not.”

“I’m interested. So what’s the gift and how will fate decide if I get it?”

“I happen to have a couple pieces of legendary bait, they can be used to catch fish that are the equivalent of a boss for fishermen. If I use the first one and my ring effect kicks in, I’ll give you my second piece.”

“Haha, fate does play quite the roll in this. A five percent chance huh… Well, there’s no point in not giving it a shot, throw your line out there boy.”

Sora pulled out one of his Solar Worms, that released a blinding light once it was hooked onto the fishing rod. Sora made sure his repair hammers were in an easy place to access before tossing the bait into the ocean. The worm still releases a blinding light as it started going further into the water, eventually disappearing.

It had been five minutes since the bait had entered the water, creating a tense atmosphere. Grandpa Blossom didn’t dare to start fishing since he wanted to watch every moment of catching the fish. The silence once again surrounded the boat, this time with less tranquility and more tension. At the seventh minute, the line finally started to hop up and down, as if something were bumping up against it or playing with it. A final tug hit the line as Sora swiftly jerked the rod back, hooking the fish. His fishing line started to glow with the same blinding light that the worm had generated, creating a path of light from his fishing rod all the way to a point too deep in the water to see anymore.

Fierce waves started to generate as the fish fought back, pulling the line around at breakneck speeds. Sora had a hard time keeping up with the speed at which he had to turn, trying his best not to let the line snap. The fish eventually let up for just a moment, which Sora used to reel it closer to the surface. That moment didn’t last long as the fish started to circle around the boat, eventually creating a small whirlpool that seemed like would swallow the small vessel. Sora had to control his rod as the boat started to spin around, the fish was smart as it suddenly started moving in the opposite direction that the boat was spinning, making Sora nearly fall out of the boat.

Grandpa Blossom sat with a look of stupor on his face, when had he ever seen such a savage fight with a fish? Even his most riveting tales of fishing would look like child's play in comparison to this. Emotions that the old man thought he had abandoned a long time ago appeared on his face; a sense of nervousness filled his mind, a lack of confidence assaulted his pride, a cold sweat fell into his eyes. He had been a fisherman for so long, yet if he were put in Sora’s shoes he wasn't sure if he could even manage to get this far without losing the fish. A roar of laughter filled the air as the old man seemed to have renewed vigor, he finally saw just how challenging fishing in this game was. The thoughts of someday being in the situation that Sora was in gave him a goal that he was looking forward to achieving.

Sora was too focused and didn’t see the transformation that Grandpa Blossom had just undergone. The fish was extremely tricky, it had locked up the fishing line and was dragging the boat toward a rocky area near the coast. It was bad if the fish was able to snag the line on the rocks but it was also good since it forced the fish towards the top of the water. The bright light from the fishing line could now be seen going all the way into the water and stopping at the mouth of a fish. The light only showed a small portion of the fish, which wasn’t enough to identify it; Red scales was the only thing visible from the boat.

The boat had been dragged into the area with the rocks and the fish had already started to wrap around a rather large rock that had a flat top. Sora didn’t hesitate to jump to the rock, running around the edge of it to keep up with the fish. Sora was able to make a lot of progress in bringing the fish to the surface. The fish noticed his plan wasn’t working and started to go towards a smaller rock. Sora had to jump from one rock to the next, nearly being pulled into the water during the process. Sora was running out of rocks to jump to, so he pulled out a repair hammer and brought the durability from his fishing rod all the way up, using a final jump to forcefully yank the fish out of the water.

The durability of the fishing rod plummeted as the fish flew out from the water, landing on the top of a rock that had a somewhat flat surface. Sora’s fishing rod had been taken down to 3 durability, seconds away from breaking.

[x1 Blazing Mirror Fish obtained]

[Bait Not Consumed]

[Novice Fishing Skill has leveled up]

The fish had red and yellow scales that radiated heat, along with being shiny to the point of being reflective. The fish size was about half the size of the boat, which was little when thinking of the effects it had on the water when swimming around. The fish spat out a few items before Sora put it away in his inventory. He was also able to save his bait due to the effect of his new ring.

[x1 Inventory Expansion Stone obtained]

Sora picked up the stone as soon as he saw it since it was probably the rarest thing the fish could drop. The stone would expand his inventory from 75 slots to 150 slots, giving him plenty of room to store trash loot that could still fetch a decent price. He used the stone before looking at anything else.

[Inventory Expanded]

Sora organized his inventory after the change occurred, keeping it clean and easy to manage. He went back to looting afterward.

[x1 Novice Fishing Tips obtained]

A small leatherbound book was currently in Sora’s hands, it didn’t have a glow to it and seemed like an ordinary book. Sora opened it, creating a flash of light as the book disappeared.

[Novice Fishing Skill has leveled up]

Job manuals could be found for any profession, they were extremely rare since they gave a massive amount of progress towards a job skill and only became more and more rare as you became a higher level.

[x1 Molten Dagger obtained]

Rarity - Rare

Durability - 55/55

Damage - 65-73

Requires - Level 40 - Dagger Class

“A Dagger that has been scorched to the point of melting. The dagger miraculously keeps it’s shape even when hitting a metal wall.”

+15 Agility

+10 Constitution

+10% Fire Damage

The last item didn't have any use for Sora, he would just sell it to LeeLee at a discount or put it in the auction house if she didn’t want it. Sora pulled out a Solar Worm once again, this time handing it to Grandpa Blossom who was still lost in the magnificence of the fight with the fish. He had watched the entire thing from start to finish, making sure not to miss a single detail. When he was awoken from his stupor by Sora he was reminded of the deal they had made.

“Does this mean…?”

“That’s right, it seems fate wants you to fight a fish… Are you sure you’re ready?”

“Haha, I can’t say I’ll surely catch it but I’m definitely ready to give it a shot.”

“Hehe, it’s my turn to watch.”

Sora and Grandpa Blossom rowed the boat back into the ocean, away from the rocks and coast. Grandpa Blossom carefully hooked the worm onto his rod before throwing his line in the water. The wait had begun once again, this time with Sora sitting on the sidelines.

The line suddenly jerked down as the fish was hooked, starting the same madness that Sora dealt with earlier. The fight was just as intense as when Sora has done it, the movements were the same so it was safe to say it was the same type of fish. Grandpa Blossom fought the thing for a half an hour before he was able to pull the monster of a fish into the boat, letting out a roar of laughter as if he had just won the lottery. Grandpa Blossom was grinning from ear to ear as he thought of how he would tell a fishing story that would blow everyone out of the water. He was more excited about the story than the actual loot, which he just tucked into his inventory so he could enjoy this moment a little longer.