chapter 76

The sound of the rolling waves tickled my ears. The ship was now sailing across the Atlan Sea, the most central location in Ark Land. Captain Gold was steering the ship while I enjoyed fishing leisurely on the deck.

“Hoicha!” I made a sound as the fishing line flew and landed far away. I sat in a chair on the deck, waiting for the fish to take a bite.

Kim Sujeong’s voice was heard from behind me, “Eh? You haven’t caught a single one yet?”

“Yes, all the fish have escaped.”

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is laughing at your poor fishing skills.]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ says he can catch it quicker.]

These rotten guys…

“Hey, you bastards. Then you catch it!”

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ says he would if he could.]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ says the same.]

Kim Sujeong laughed. “Are the constellations making trouble again?”

“…Yes, those damn bastards are making fun of my inability to fish.”

“I’m envious. If I had a Star Fruit power then I could talk and play with the constellations. I wouldn’t be bored.”

“What envy? They are just beggars lacking food.”

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ says he isn’t a beggar!]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ is nodding in agreement.]

Sigh, stop speaking. Prometheus had a lot to say since meeting Raitra. Maybe it was nice to have a friend after being alone for 500 years. Of course, it was even more troublesome for me.

“Uhh! The float is sinking!”

“Um?”

I quickly wound up the fishing rod but all I saw was an empty fishing needle. It seemed that the fish had run away with the bait. I muttered, “It happened again.”

“It’s okay, there is still a lot of time until evening.”

“However, I have to make spicy fish stew today. It is delicious to eat on the sea.”

I said that and casted the fishing line again. Kim Sujeong disappeared somewhere before returning and sitting next to me with a fishing rod. She explained, “Won’t we catch fish faster this way?”

“Can you fish?”

“Nope, please tell me what to do.”

“Yes, I will.”

I taught her how to fish. It ranged from how to hook the bait, casting the fishing line, and when to reel in to catch the fish. I taught her everything that I knew. Once Kim Sujeong’s fishing skills were raised, she sat next to me and casted the fishing line.

“The sound of the waves is so good.”

“This is the feeling.”

“Somehow, I seem to know.”

“I’d love to idly pass my years catching fish.”

I chuckled.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is telling you to say that once you actually catch a fish.]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ is nodding.]

This pair was really…

I tried to ignore their words.

Kim Sujeong opened her mouth, “Then I should also spend years fishing.”

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ wants to discourage her.]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ says not to do this.]

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ says he is hungry.]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ is satiating his hunger with ssanghwa tea.]

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’…]

“You guys, shut up! Just…!” I looked up at the sky, annoyed once again.

Kim Sujeong burst out laughing. “What did they say this time?”

“They are trying to dissuade you from spending time fishing. These stars are all beggars.”

“Puhahaha!” Kim Sujeong laughed as she grabbed her belly. She wiped away her tears. “They are really funny kids. I wish they were my constellations.”

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ says he wishes so as well.]

This jerk…

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is whistling while pretending not to know anything.]

I stared up at the sky and Prometheus became silent. I looked at the wide horizon and asked Sujeong, “Drain still isn’t feeling well?”

“Yes, he keeps lying down.”

“Even though he said it was his first time…”

Drain said he had never been on a ship in his entire life. He almost drowned as a child so he stayed away from ships and the sea. He thought it would be okay because this was a game but this wasn’t the case. Well, Union’s technology embodied smells from memories so there was no reason why it couldn’t reproduce seasickness.

I asked again, “Where is Dragon?”

“He’s in front of you.”

I followed her fingers and saw Gyeonso Dragon swinging his fists hard. Despite the fact that he was at the front of the ship that shook violently, he maintained his center and took his stance steadily. I thought it was true that he was a great action star in China. In fact, I didn’t know him well but Sujeong knew him and said he was a famous martial artist of Wing Chun in China. I heard he took part in a few movies.

“His fists are so fast.”

“Yes, it is the first time I’ve seen this and it is amazing.”

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ is shrugging with a proud expression.]

That reminded me, this was a guy who used his fists to become a constellation…

Raitra was originally from a water beast tribe. Among the water beast tribes, the Varana Tribe were famous for their good use of limbs. They were monkeys who revered combat. During the time when I was invited to the Star Coffee House the other day, Prometheus wasn’t speaking nonsense when he called Raitra ‘Naked Lightning Monkey.’ It was because lightning was another word that symbolized Raitra.

This person was truly lucky. It was a coincidence that Raitra was able to use lightning. Raitra was electrocuted when he accidentally picked up the lightning that Jupiter had dropped. Once he learned of it, Jupiter pitied him and gave him a lightning resistant body. Due to that, Raitra was reborn with a body that was a lightning rod. Since then, he took advantage of it to rise in the Varana Tribe and survived the war to become a second-grade constellation.

Just then, a familiar voice was heard, “Buroder, are you fishing…?”

“Yes, are you okay?”

“No, I’m not oka… ugh.” Drain seemed like he would vomit again. Based on the dark circles under his eyes and his drawn mouth, his seasickness seemed severe. Drain covered his mouth with one hand and moved to vomit into the sea. He had barely eaten since yesterday, only to vomit it all out in vain.

I approached him and patted him on the back. “Tsk tsk. You should’ve told me that you couldn’t get on the ship.”

“I thought it would be okay in the game… Uweek.”

…He was really throwing up a lot. He must’ve eaten something because he was hungry. Foods I didn’t know about were being thrown up.

“Weak guy. Tsk. Being suddenly frightened is the best solution.”

“Sigh. Buroder, isn’t that the method for hiccups? Additionally, you know I don’t like scary things.”

“So hold it in. I’m afraid you’re going to faint.”

“Jesus, I have to thank you…”

It was at this moment…

“Father! The float has sunk! Something has bit it!”

“Really?”

I quickly reeled in the fishing rod next to me but there was resistance and it wasn’t as easy as I thought. I could feel a tremendous strength from the fishing handle.

“Kuock. It looks like a pretty big guy…?”

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is looking forward to the fish.]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ is applauding that he can finally eat.]

The fishing rod was bent to a breaking point. It was more powerful than I expected and I was shocked. Kim Sujeong moved next to me and lent her strength.

“Do it when I count from one, two, and three. Now, one, two, three!”

“Huup!”

She joined in but we were still lacking in strength. We were even being dragged toward the sea. Drain, who was vomiting, fell on his ass and shouted, “Shit! What is this?”

At the same time, there was a splash from the sea side. A huge shadow in the water shone due to the light. His ugly eyes looked really fierce.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ has an ominous feeling.]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ says it is better to be careful.]

Damn, they didn’t have to tell me this! The fishing line was cut and we stared blankly at the huge shadow. Finally, the shadow was revealed.

[Lv.180 Muscle Crab]

“Eh? Is it a crab?”

“I-It is a pretty big crab…?”

I was a bit flustered by the unexpected identity. In the movies, there were huge sea serpents or huge octopuses. I didn’t think there would be a crab out here. I thought crabs couldn’t swim in the sea. How did this…? It seemed my thoughts were wrong. This was where preconceived notions were frightening.

The monster called Muscle Crab was covered with huge muscles. Even its legs were muscular, like it had a typical swimmer’s thighs. The muscle crab moved both its pincers and called out, “Gerek gererek. Ge—e—”

Kim Sujeong exclaimed, “It is really strange.”

“…I agree.”

The muscle crab approached with its pincers. There was a loud sound of part of the ship shattering when the pincers hit the ship. The ship tilted and there were shouts from the captain and sailors.

“A muscle crab! Attack!”

“Focus the attacks on the pincers!”

“Ready the shells!”

I quickly used Rising Sun and kicked the muscle crab’s pincers.

[The muscle crab is a water attribute monster.]

[The fire attribute damage has been halved.]

“Bullshit.”

Although I expected it, I didn’t think it would do so little damage. It was fortunate that the physical attack worked. The crew pulled out their swords and started to strike at the muscle crab’s pincers.

“Gerererek!” Bubbles emerged from the muscle crab’s mouth before it started swinging its pincers at the crew.

The crew had just collapsed when I felt a familiar energy passing overhead.

“Lightning Dragon Power!”

The blue lightning struck the muscle crab’s pincers. In an instant, the fried pincers started smoking and a hole appeared where the fists touched. It was truly the best choice to bring him. I was currently heading to the north which was an extremely cold place. There were many monsters with the ice attribute and I would be vulnerable with my fire attribute.

Meanwhile, Raitra had lightning properties and was their nemesis. It was the same for the water attribute monsters.

There were blue sparks as Dragon once again penetrated the muscle crab’s pincers. Gyeonso Dragon prepared the lightning dragon’s power as he drew his hands behind him. He leapt toward the escaping muscle crab. “Stand there!”

Numerous bolts of blue lightning struck at the same time. They penetrated and paralyzed the entire body of the muscle crab. It was Gyeonso Dragon’s final strike. “Die!”

In fact, it was very rare to be able to see lightning at such a close range. The same was true for a crab being fried with lightning. Blue lightning surrounded his body as Gyeonso Dragon sank into the sea. At this moment, an enormous electric current passed through the sea.

After a while, Gyeonso Dragon jumped up again. His entire body was wet. Far away, the muscle crab’s body floated and the crew cheered with shining eyes.

I spoke to him, “I thought you were electrocuted but you managed to live.”

“I’m resistant to lightning so I won’t die.”

I knew this and was just joking around. I asked him again, “Aren’t you more powerful than me? I don’t know why you want to fight me at the Colosseum…”

“Isn’t this just because of my attribute? I want to compete purely with Brother.”

“Groan, don’t say that.”

In any case, he seemed to want to fight me properly and I felt compelled to prepare for that day. At this moment, someone shouted, “Wahhhh!”

It was one of the sailors on the ship. He was looking right below the ship. Our gaze followed his and I was forced to laugh at the sight.

“Hah, really…”

“Wow, is this all fish?”

We turned toward Gyeonso Dragon who was scratching his cheek with his fingers out of embarrassment. I raised a hand to his shoulder and smiled. “Little brother.”

“Yes, Brother.”

“Fishing is now your responsibility.”

An uncommon fisherman [1]—No, it was the moment when ‘Gyeon Taegong’ [2] was born.

[1] The word used here is Kang Taegong, the Korean name for Jiang Tai Gong/Jiang Ziya. Considered the most famous fisherman in Chinese history because in order to get the attention of a noble, he often went fishing but would fish in an unusual way. Now in modern times, Kang Taegong is used to refer to fishing or fishing enthusiasts

[2] Pun by combining Gyeon from Gyeonso Dragon with Kang Taegong