Chapter 609 One a Day, But Only One

The sun blazed fiercely. Beneath the deep rumble of waves crashing against the hull, a salty sea breeze swept across the deck, rustling a head of short black hair.

The tall, black-haired figure leaned casually against the deck railing, gripping a high-grade fishing rod from the Barracuda Bay Boutique Tackle Shop. He was fully armed, most of his body encased in armor that gleamed with a faint red metallic luster. He didn't look nearly as impressively muscular as a Barbarian or a half-orc.

Yet just standing there, he inexplicably exuded an aura of absolute stability and calm.

Only occasionally, when he lifted the rod and exerted force, accompanied by the faint clinking of a bracelet at his wrist, did the gaps in his armor reveal the rough, dark red inner lining and the explosive muscular contours beneath.

Though they had been at sea together for over ten days, the crewmen bustling about the deck still couldn't help casting frequent glances at that formidable figure, a man currently enjoying immense fame across the Southern Archipelagos.

"Sea Fang" Xia Nan.

How could the sailors not know the name of the man who had chartered their ship?

To some extent, there was only one reason the vast majority of them had been willing to accept this commission and leave the familiar Barracuda Bay for a long voyage to Salt Rock Port on the eastern coast of the continent—a place with few job opportunities.

Aside from the hefty payout that far exceeded the market average, they came for Xia Nan's reputation.

He had stopped the Transcendent Tier advancement ritual of the great pirate, "Algae Scale" Dodd, and thwarted the long-premeditated summoning sacrifice of the sahuagin.

In the days before their departure, the word echoed most frequently through every tavern in Barracuda Bay was undoubtedly "Sea Fang." Yet bafflingly, right at the crest of this wave of popularity, this prominent figure—who, compared to the high-profile stars of recent years, practically lived a life of seclusion, only frequenting major restaurants and the woods around town—chose to retire at the height of his success and leave the Southern Archipelagos entirely.

He was heading for a borderland that was incredibly unfamiliar even to the crew.

Naturally, they had their doubts.

But as the black-haired figure gradually became a fixture of their voyage—appearing on deck every day on time to train and fish, treating the surging undercurrents of the outside world as if they didn't exist...

...the crewmen came to an unspoken understanding regarding "Sea Fang's" character and the reasons behind his decision.

"Zzziiiiiiing!"

The fishing line suddenly snapped taut, and the rod, which had been dipping slightly under gravity, violently bent into an exaggerated arc.

The sound was ear-piercing. It felt like the rod would snap in the next second, but its highly resilient material managed to hold up.

"Here it comes!"

A greenhorn sailor with a faint ring of stubble on his chin—looking incredibly young yet already possessing nearly a decade of sailing experience—couldn't stop his eyes from darting toward the edge of the deck. He even stopped swinging his mop.

Though he had seen it many times during their days at sea, when the moment to reel in a catch arrived once again, he still couldn't help but stop and watch, even if it meant getting scolded by the boatswain later.

Just like always.

As if long accustomed to such encounters, the young adventurer in the red-tinted metallic armor appeared exceptionally calm and composed.

Facing the rod that bent as though it were about to snap, his legs didn't seem to exert much force, yet his entire body seemed nailed to the deck. The muscles in his arms bulged, stretching the dark red inner lining high and taut.

He twisted his wrists, reeling in and letting out the line, effortlessly dispersing the tremendous force transmitting through the rod into his arms.

He didn't even need to engage in a protracted struggle with his prey like those veteran anglers. In less than ten minutes, the massive shadow beneath the surface seemed to have all its stamina drained by that slender, nearly transparent fishing line.

No longer struggling, it slowly floated to the surface.

With a lift of the rod and a final burst of strength, he hoisted it up.

"Splash!"

Crystal-clear water splashed everywhere, drawing gasps of amazement from the spectating sailors.

A white-scaled sailfish over three meters long with a thick, broad back was yanked by the line, crashing heavily onto the deck.

Torn from its ocean habitat, the enormous sailfish sensed intense danger. It thrashed and struggled, its sword-like upper jaw violently slicing through the air.

With such size and power, if anyone were actually skewered by that sharp bill—even an ordinary adventurer active at sea—they would likely be pierced clean through if they lacked sufficient defensive gear.

It wasn't until a slightly damp, heavy leather boot—surrounded by faintly distorting air—thrust out from the side and delivered a precise, lightning-fast kick to its head that the sailfish violently twitched twice and fell into eternal slumber.

"Send it to the kitchen. We'll have it as extra food for dinner tonight."

Pulling the hook from his prey's mouth, Xia Nan called out to the crewmen watching the spectacle.

A cheer immediately erupted from the crowd. Several sailors who prided themselves on their strength stepped forward, working together to haul the sailfish into the cabin.

The greenhorn sailor stood at the back of the crowd. The mop in his hands had jerked twice while Xia Nan was reeling in the rod, as if he had been helping to pull. It wasn't until he saw the sailfish lying motionless on the deck with his own eyes that he visibly sighed in relief, clicking his tongue in wonder.

Also watching the excitement nearby, a visibly older and far more experienced sailor noticed the greenhorn's reaction and struck up a conversation.

"Heh, it's a good thing Mr. Xia Nan is the one holding the rod. With a sailfish this big, if it were anyone else on our ship and they didn't cut the line, they'd probably be dragged right into the sea, rod and all."

The greenhorn naturally agreed with the veteran's assessment.

Although this kind of white-scaled sailfish only grew to a maximum of four meters, its strength was far greater than that of ordinary fish.

The massive thrust provided by its thick, powerful tail made it dart through the water like a flying arrow. A slightly lower-quality ship could be punctured straight through by it.

Unless one was an adventurer who had already acquired a Class Level and possessed a robust physical constitution, or they relied on numbers and the advantage of tools, it was simply impossible to reel in a fish like this.

The greenhorn sailor nodded repeatedly, chiming in with a few words of agreement.

Suddenly, as if thinking of something, he scratched his scalp and asked in confusion, "Wait, that doesn't make sense."

"We've been at sea for over ten days now, right? Mr. Xia Nan's fishing skills are incredible. He catches a big one every day and gives us extra meals. But I was thinking—with so many huge catches in the sea, and with his skills, spending an hour or two to catch seven or eight of them should be a breeze. Yet apart from this one guaranteed big fish every day, he never touches his rod again."

"Do you think... there's some secret behind this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the veteran sailor next to him revealed a rather appreciative expression.

"You've got a keen eye, kid, but your perspective is still a bit lacking."

"Since you asked, and we've got some free time anyway, I'll explain it to you."

Stroking the stubble on his chin to build suspense, the veteran smugly shared his interpretation.

"An adventurer like 'Sea Fang,' who can go toe-to-toe with 'Algae Scale' Dodd—do you think someone like him still needs to rely on a few silver coins to make a living like us?"

"With his abilities and skills, forget about seven or eight fish. If he put in just a little effort, the massive catches he'd haul in over a single morning could cover the entire deck!"

"But... what meaning would that hold for him?"

"Do you take him for one of those fishmongers down at the docks, desperate for a few coppers from selling fish?"

Seeing the greenhorn sailor grow even more confused, the veteran narrowed his eyes and feigned profundity.

"Figures of his caliber have long stopped worrying about the simple things we think about."

"Him catching only one fish a day is about knowing his limits; it's a sign of respect for the Goddess of the Ocean. If you respect the Goddess, she will naturally bless you. Conversely, greedy fools will sooner or later have their gifts revoked."

"And at the same time, even though he only catches one fish a day, it's always a massive haul that an ordinary fisherman wouldn't encounter in half a year. What does that prove? It proves that his fishing skills have already reached the 'Master' level!"

"He knows exactly what's going on beneath the water. Ordinary small fish can't even manage to bite his hook."

"I've been in this line of work for almost thirty years, and I can count the number of people with those kinds of skills on one hand!"

Hearing the veteran finish, the confusion on the greenhorn's face instantly vanished, replaced by a look of sudden realization.

He subconsciously looked again toward the black-haired youth reeling in his line by the ship's rail, his eyes now filled with a newfound reverence. Although the two sailors had lowered their voices during their conversation, they were right nearby; with Xia Nan's current hearing, he easily caught the gist of the entire discussion. Truthfully, hearing people talk about him like that behind his back didn't bother him in the slightest.

But to be honest, he really wasn't as refined as that veteran made him out to be.

If possible, Xia Nan genuinely wanted to experience the wonderful feeling of catching enough fish to cover the entire deck.

Unfortunately, he truly couldn't.

[Tymora's Glimmer of Fate] possessed two active abilities. The latter had a cooldown period of an entire month. Xia Nan planned to use it to trigger [Bronze Sinews and Iron Bones] at a critical moment, so he naturally wasn't going to waste it here.

The former ability, however, could be used once a day. Taking advantage of their long journey, he decided to test it out.

The specific effect of the ability was to designate a target within his line of sight, applying a luck bonus or penalty to their next action or saving throw.

Xia Nan explored it a bit and found that the definition of a "target" was actually quite lenient; locking the target onto himself worked just as well. Naturally, he decided to try it out while fishing.

The good news.

The luck bonus effect from [Tymora's Glimmer of Fate] truly worked wonders for fishing. It allowed Xia Nan, who had always suffered from poor fishing luck, to consistently reel in a massive catch at a rate of one per day.

The bad news.

Although he could indeed catch big fish, no matter what he did, there was only ever one a day.

The rest of the time, no matter how much effort he put in, unless he personally dove into the water to catch them by hand, he would come up completely empty.

To put it bluntly, if not for the special effects of the [Glimmer] die, his fishing haul would actually be no different than it was back on the Blade of Vengeance Ship. As for the three points of luck provided by the equipment itself...

At least in terms of fishing, it wasn't reflecting at all.

However, during his free time lately, he had also played a few rounds of cards with the sailors—strictly for entertainment, no money involved. Looking at the final results, even though he was far less familiar with the rules than the sailors, he still secured the most victories at the table.

This proved that those three points of luck had clearly been applied; they just didn't work for fishing.

Regarding this, although Xia Nan was indeed somewhat disappointed—feeling that the luck effect fell short of his expectations and hadn't actually changed his fishing fortune—he was quite satisfied with the special ability of the [Glimmer] die.

After all, looking at it from another angle, the fact that it could guarantee a massive catch for an angler with fishing luck as abysmal as his proved just how potent its effects were. He imagined that in future battles, it would be able to display its true prowess as an artifact blessed by a goddess.

His experiences over the past few days had already told Xia Nan that his fishing haul for today ended here.

Just like turning on cheats in a game, his use of the [Glimmer] die these past few days had somewhat dulled his enthusiasm for fishing. He decided to stop trying, figuring he would rely on his own experience and skill to fish once his interest returned in the future.

Xia Nan put away his fishing rod and gazed out at the sea beyond the deck.

The vast, boundless ocean stretching before his eyes remained the same as always, seeming no different from when they were sailing through the Southern Archipelagos.

In reality, however, the noticeably cooler temperatures and the increasingly thick morning sea fog already indicated that he was no longer in the kingdom's warm Southern Archipelagos.

It had been nearly seventeen days since he left Barracuda Bay.

They were only three days away from their destination, Salt Rock Port.

Whether it was due to the three points of luck from the [Glimmer] die or not, Xia Nan's journey had been incredibly smooth.

Forget about dangerous monsters that could wipe out the entire crew, or vicious storms that would drastically extend their travel time; he hadn't even encountered the pirates he had expected to run into frequently.

The only trouble arose while resupplying at a coastal town halfway through the journey, where they ran into a few blind thugs looking for a fight. Xia Nan didn't even need to lift a finger; the ship's combat-hardened sailors took care of the thugs themselves, not even delaying them by half a day.

Calculating based on the timeframe provided in the letter, he estimated that by the time he arrived in Salt Rock Port three days from now, the Barbarian, Forgan, would just be resting and waiting for him.

He would make it right on time!

Thinking of this, Xia Nan—who had been rushing the entire way, speeding along the coastline against the clock—couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

'It's been over a year since we last met. I wonder if he's caught that druid yet,' he thought.

As he pondered, his nostrils flared slightly, catching the scent of food wafting from the ship's kitchen.

Having finished packing away his fishing gear, Xia Nan was just preparing to leave.

Suddenly, his incredibly sharp Perception made him faintly detect something.

He paused and abruptly turned around.

In the distance, at the very edge of the horizon, a tiny black dot faintly flickered where the sea met the sky.

In the very next second, the lookout's warning cry from the top of the mast rang across the deck.

"Five o'clock direction, southeast..."

"Pirates!"