Chapter 2064 Fishing
In the evening, we all went to the stern of the ship. Fuldamantha said there were fun activities at the stern at night, so we brought our families along. Besides us, quite a few other guests had also arrived.
The stern of the cruise ship led directly to the ship’s warehouse. The hoisting platform could be pulled up to seal the cabin, and lowered to allow cargo to be unloaded ashore. Our carriage had also been driven in from here before.
Now, the hoisting platform was lowered, but it was level with the sea. Many people were sitting on the edge of the platform, holding fishing rods, while their subordinates behind them changed bait and hooks. They were night fishing.
The ship had stopped. Sailing at night was very dangerous, as there was a risk of hitting unseen icebergs or hidden reefs. Even more dangerous was that night was usually the active period for monsters, so ships generally anchored to let the sailors rest before continuing their journey the next day.
This was the perfect time for sea fishing. Three large lights on the second floor of the stern illuminated the sea. These were fish-attracting lights. They required super large luminous stones to maintain their brightness and were also enchanted with illusions to make it easier for fish to bite. It was only these merchants who could afford such night fishing.
According to Fuldamantha, many merchants enjoyed night fishing after setting out to sea. Sometimes, they weren’t satisfied with fishing on the hoisting platform and would even stop the ship, take small boats to fish elsewhere to their heart’s content before returning. In fact, I had seen people fishing by the side of the ship during the day.
“Boss, have you ever been sea fishing before?” Fuldamantha asked as he prepared his fishing line. He was quite an enthusiast of sea fishing.
“Never. I’ve never even fished before. Have you guys fished?” Jayad turned to look at the other girls. Most of them shook their heads.
For Lorna, who had been a Vengeful Spirit for decades, Sandstone, who only liked to stay in mines, and Weis, who had been confined underground since childhood, fishing was impossible. The Twin Nuns and Bailing Ding also did not raise their hands.
Only three people finally raised their hands: Mari, Leoman, and myself. I had only half-raised my hand before putting it down.
“Hmm? Parul, have you fished before?” Older Brother Jayad looked at me curiously. I had been with him since childhood, almost inseparable. How could he not know if I had fished?
“No, no. I was just spacing out. Haha.” I tried to bluff my way through. In my previous life, I had fished, although I was still a beginner and just playing around. I wasn’t completely clueless, so I had raised my hand subconsciously just now.
“Is that so?” Older Brother Jayad could see that I was hiding something. After all, we were so in sync that we understood each other too well. But he didn’t ask further. Fishing wasn’t that important anyway.
Jayad turned to the other girls, “How do you guys fish?”
“When I was undergoing Asceticism, there was no food, so I fished by the river. The harvest was alright, but I have no experience with fishing in the sea,” Leoman said.
Mari’s experience was similar. When she was hungry during her training, she would find a bamboo pole, tie a string, and attach a small hook to catch fish. She would then roast and eat them on the spot. It was very simple.
Their commonality was that their fishing rods were temporary, their equipment was very simple, and it was for sustenance, not for entertainment, which was incomparable to the professional fishing gear of the merchants nearby.
“Um, does catching fish count?” Flame Feather asked. She was an expert at catching fish. For the past two days, I had seen her fly out to catch fish, circling in the air for a few moments before diving down accurately. She would even return with them roasted.
It wasn’t just Flame Feather. In fact, all Harpies were skilled at catching fish in the sea. I had seen those Harpies flying in the air on watch and warning duty sometimes dive down and catch fish from the sea.
“Catching fish probably doesn’t count, right?” Jayad said with a wry smile. Looking at the nobles elegantly fishing nearby, it felt completely different from catching fish.
“What a shame,” Margaret sighed. She was also good at catching fish. When she was wandering in the wilderness, she often went to the river to catch fish. The wolf’s keen senses and speed made her invincible at fishing.
However, everyone was not dejected. After all, it was everyone’s first time sea fishing with professional gear. They were all newbies, and it did look fun.
Fuldamantha began to explain how to use the fishing gear. This gear was provided by the cruise ship and seemed very professional and complete to me. However, many of the merchants were still using their own fishing gear.
First, of course, was the fishing rod with a reel. Its design was no different from the fishing rods in my previous life. The rod body was made from materials produced by the Alchemical Association, and the fishing line was made from Monster Materials. According to Fuldamantha, it could withstand a pulling force of tens of thousands of newtons without any problem.
This level of toughness was already quite exaggerated. It could probably be used as a weapon.
Next were the fishing hooks. They used multi-hook rigs, also called blast hooks or bomb hooks. These were specialized sea fishing hooks where multiple sets of hooks were tied together. Of course, they could be used for fishing anywhere.
Fuldamantha attached a large piece of bait to the hook, completely covering it. I took a sniff, and as the Gluttony Witch, my sense of smell immediately recognized that there was Monster Meat in the bait, and in a significant proportion.
Good heavens, as expected of a rich merchant, even the bait is so luxurious. Although these were all scraps of monsters that couldn’t be eaten, they were incredibly tempting to fish when made into bait. After eating Monster Meat, even small fish and shrimp had a chance to evolve into monsters.
All the merchants around were using bait of at least this standard. Their own custom blends would be even better. Combined with the fish-attracting lights, a large school of fish had gathered at the stern of the ship, including many rare and large fish.
“I’ll demonstrate for everyone. Ha!” Fuldamantha swung the fishing rod and cast forward. The bait drew a beautiful arc, flying into the distance with a rather elegant posture.
Propelled by the lead sinker, the hook landed in the water about fifty meters away. The bait sank into the water, and a luminous float bobbed on the surface. As soon as the float sank underwater, it would indicate a bite.
To ensure the fishing person wouldn’t miss it, there was also a bell on the fishing rod. The moment a fish bit, it would immediately tug on the rod, making the bell ring. Then, one just had to wait quietly…
Wait, no, it hadn’t even started waiting. The hook had been in the water for only a few seconds, and the luminous float had already begun to bob unevenly, but the bell hadn’t rung.
Fuldamantha looked hesitant, unsure whether to reel in. It seemed like something had been hooked, but also not.
I took a look and said with a slight smile, “Reel it in. It’s hooked. It’s good that it got hooked so quickly.”
“Hmm?” Fuldamantha hesitantly lifted the hook. As expected, something was caught. It was a slippery, soft creature with wriggling tentacles and wide eyes. It looked exactly like… a squid.
That’s right, it should be a squid. It’s a marine creature most easily attracted by light. A large number had gathered behind the ship. Even without bait, one could probably accidentally hook one or two by just casting the hook.
