Heretical Fishing

Book 3: Chapter 18: Seasonal

With Maria at my side, a fish flopping around at the end of my hook, and the afternoon sun high above, a brilliant blast exploded from Deklan.

I closed my eyes as a pulse of chi trailed the luminescence flying from Deklan’s taking-shape core. It slammed into me, almost knocking me from my feet on the slick rocks. A large portion of the surrounding world’s power poured into Deklan, solidifying into a container before drawing more essence in to fill the newly created void. Distracted as he was, Deklan’s hands fell to his side.

The fish he’d caught didn’t waste the opportunity.

The creature’s razor-toothed jaw lashed out, slicing through his line. It flicked off a rock and sailed right back into the ocean, immediately disappearing from sight as it swam into the depths. My new pal couldn’t have cared less.

“Woah...” Deklan said, blinking at the world.

Before anything else, I swiftly dispatched the fish I’d caught with a single jab of a nail. Maria had the same idea, brain-spiking her fish and causing it to go limp on her line. When we turned back to Deklan, he was staring at his hands, having set his rod down on the rockwall.

“How do you feel?” I asked, grinning at the awe in his eyes.

“I’m a... cultivator?” He blinked rapidly, his gaze drifting up to me.

“Looks like it, mate.”

I belly laughed. “It does, doesn’t it?”

Maria’s jaw dropped open. “Pretty good? That’s all?”

“Yeah, why?” he asked, his relaxed demeanor well and truly shining through.

“Congratulations!” Keith called from further down the pathway, giving a thumbs up and a wide grin as he held his rod in another hand.

Trent was beside him, and he gave Deklan a single nod.

“Thanks...” Deklan replied. “Oh. I lost my fish…? Sorry.”

“Don’t mention it, mate. Maria and I kept ours.”

Maria held hers up towards him. “Here. Now that you’re a cultivator, try looking at this.”

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He did so, his eyes going distant as they were drawn in by the System. When they cleared once more, he frowned at the fish, then at Maria and me.

“Seasonal fish? What does that mean?”

I grinned, staring down at my fish again and letting the words flash in my vision.

Juvenile Blue Fish

Rare

The arrival of this seasonal fish has long been seen as a good omen for the coastal villages of the Kallis realm. They school in large numbers, meaning when you find one, you will most certainly find more. Their strong-flavored flesh contains a higher level of chi than most fish.

The implications of the description weren’t lost on me—Maria, either, based on her earlier reaction. More important, though, was Deklan’s awakening. The former guard was once more staring down at his hands, no doubt feeling the strength now flowing through them. It had been coming easier and easier for people to ascend, but never before had someone done so by catching a single fish.

As with every other revelation lately, Ellis was going to lose his mind.

Hopefully the fact it was from fishing, as well as my proximity, had something to do with it. Otherwise, we might be seeing more regular people ascend over the coming weeks. It was bound to happen eventually considering how Sturgill had become a cultivator, but I’d hoped it would take months at least. We barely had the infrastructure for the cultivators we saved, let alone if everyone started taking steps on the path of ascension.

Realizing I was worrying about things outside of my control, I shifted my thoughts. But just when I started considering the seasonal fish again and what their arrival meant for our little coastal village, Keith let out an excited noise.

“Fish on!” he yelled, arching his back and holding his rod high.

Deklan’s training rod had bent almost in half with the fish he hooked earlier; Keith’s was bent over all the way, looking like it might snap at any moment.

“Big fish on!” I replied. Seeing Deklan still staring down at his hands, I patted him on the back and led him over, knowing this was going to be a battle he wouldn’t want to miss.

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Maria came to my side, looping her arm through mine. At first, I assumed that the creature Keith had on the end of his line was a different species, but as I watched the way it swam, I started to doubt that assumption. It tried to escape with the same unerring ferocity, darting this way and that with never-ending kicks of its powerful tail.

I glanced at Trent, curious how the fight was affecting him. What I found there made a grin spread over my face. Gone was his pervasive anger and melancholy. His jaw clenched slightly, his nostrils flaring as he took deep breaths. His eyes were on the surface of the bay, tracking the line as it tore through the water. Seeing that stare of his, I was certain.

It was only a matter of time until Trent fell in love with fishing—assuming he wasn’t already.

All the while, Keith fought. His muscles bulged as he lifted the rod, slowly bringing the hooked creature closer. Abruptly, the fish made its first blunder. The line went slack as it darted toward us. Keith was ready. He wound the line in so rapidly that his hand would be a blur to the unascended. When his quarry reached the shore, it hustled left, heading further out to sea. As it changed direction, its silvery scales reflected the sun.

It. Was. Huge.

“Poseidon’s salted sack,” Trent swore. “They get that big?”

I chortled at the string of words, Maria making a similar choking noise from beside me.

“They do!” Keith replied, running along the walkway in the same direction as the fish, not wanting to give up any line. “You should see some of the things Fischer has caught! This is nothing!”

Despite playing down the fish, it was without a doubt the biggest Keith had ever hooked, and every movement he took broadcast just how pumped he was to have it on his line. He ran all the way to the end of the rockwall, only stopping when there was no more distance to cross. And there, he made his stand. With his feet planted on the stone, he arched his back and started retrieving line as he pumped the rod up and down.

The fish wasn’t happy about it.

It thrashed and kicked, doing its best to get away. We all slipped into silence as the fight dragged on, content with watching Keith’s battle. As much as my eyes were glued to the water, I couldn’t help but steal glances at Deklan and Trent, enjoying their reactions to a degree that I couldn’t put into words. Maria put her arm through mine again, squeezing me tight and subtly wiggling her eyebrows when she caught me grinning at Deklan.

Minutes passed as Keith and the fish warred against one another. Finally, the water-bound creature started to tire. Its headshakes grew more lethargic, no longer possessing the stamina to continue as it once had. Keith didn’t rush; he brought it to the rockwall meticulously, never putting too much tension on the line.

This, too, brought a smile to my face.

Keith and the rest of the fishing club had only been here for months, but they’d already grown so much. They’d lost plenty of fish since arriving here, and if such a large creature had challenged Keith even a few weeks ago, I was under no disillusion that the former royal would have won. As he was now, though, the outcome seemed a foregone conclusion.

When the fish was only meters away, it swam on the water’s surface, still expending energy in an attempt to get away. There was a blur of orange underneath it, and a second later, it was flying my way, its razor-toothed mouth leading the charge. I dashed aside and caught it in both arms, turning my head to raise an eyebrow at Snips. I was used to Claws messing with me, but to be pranked by my trusty guard crab was a new experience.

But it wasn’t Snips that I found when I peered down into the churning water.

Rocky raised his claw high above the ocean so I could see his decidedly rude gesture. I cocked my head to the side, which only made him raise the other claw and dual wield his animosity.

Suddenly, there was another blur beneath him.

A streak of orange and blue shot up from the ocean floor even faster than he had, and Rocky’s pissed-off bubbles trailed after him as he was launched out to sea at terrifying speed, his entire body flipping end over end in a chaotic jumble of limbs.

“Damn, Snips. Nice throw,” I said, giving her a smile as she swam back to shore while blowing a series of exasperated hisses. I turned to Keith and held out the fish so large that I had to hold it in both arms. “I believe this is yours, mate.”

His eyes sparkled as he approached, going dull as the fish pulled his vision in. I looked down, letting the System’s information stream across my field of view.

Mature Blue Fish

Rare

The arrival of this seasonal fish has long been seen as a good omen for the coastal villages of the Kallis realm. They school in large numbers, meaning when you find one, you will most certainly find more. Their strong-flavored flesh contains a higher level of chi than most fish.

“Wow...” Keith said, his expression awe-struck as he took the mature blue fish. “It’s so heavy.” His eyes darted up to meet mine. “Can we keep it?”

“That’s up to you, mate, but I don’t think keeping it will hurt their number. Seasonal fish are usually plentiful when they’re around, which is likely why the description says they’re seen as a good omen. Well, that and the fact that they have a high level of chi.”

Where the juvenile variant was around the length of my forearm, the monster Keith had caught was twice as large. Thick slabs of muscle and fat covered its body, explaining how it had fought so hard for so long. No matter which way you looked at it, this creature was an impressive specimen.

“Thank you for the sustenance, fishy,” Keith said, nodding toward it and repeating words I’d previously used. He lowered it down to Snips, who had joined us on the walkway. “Would you mind?”

Snips nodded sharply and darted forward, lashing out with a burst of energy from her claw and ending it in an instant.

“Well,” I said, my eyes pinned on the colossal thing. “We’ve certainly got enough for dinner...”

Deklan cleared his throat, and when I glanced his way, he was staring at the fish. “Should we try for more if they’re only around for a short time? I feel bad that I lost mine…”

There was a hunger in his eyes, but it wasn’t for food; it was the thrill of the hunt.

I shot Maria a wolfish grin before sweeping it away and turning to face Deklan. “They’ll still be here for quite some time, I believe. Before we catch any more, we have some important testing to do.”

“... testing?” Deklan asked, tilting his head slightly.

“Yup!” Maria replied, knowing exactly what I was getting at. “The most critical test of all—we need to make sure they taste good.”

I nodded, casting my gaze over everyone. “Before we hunt for more, we should check that they’re palatable. How do you all feel about an early dinner?”