The thread of mana extended along the length of the fishing line.
The slender line was crafted from an unfamiliar material to Alex. It resembled a braided cord woven from a variety of different materials.
The bait trailed behind, following the ship's course. Small fish that sensed the presence of mana steered clear, while slightly larger ones were enticed.
The crew used deceased fish as bait, a technique Alex adopted.
However, for most fish, the limp, lifeless body of the used bait fish was unappealing. This explained why the crew struggled to catch a substantial amount of fish.
As the mana infused into the bait, the flesh rekindled a semblance of vitality, drawing larger fish toward it. They circled around the bait at insane speed.
However, Alex didn't know it. He waited patiently for a fish to pull on the line. He was ready to pull back and hook the fish as soon as he felt it.
Seconds ticked by.
It has already been a minute since he last cast the line.
'I think my luck just ran out. Or was my luck excellent since I got a fish on my first try.'
'Maybe I should reel in the fishing line and try again. The bait might have slipped away from the hook. That might be why nothing is biting it.'
Different thoughts popped up in Alex's mind. At least fishing was not boring him.
Just as he was about to reel back the line, a force was transmitted to his hands. Something had bitten the bait. And it was pulling on the line with tremendous force.
'What is it? Did I catch a whale?'
The stiff rod that Alex wielded started to flex. The rod, as rigid as a plank, was bending in an unnatural position. This spooked Alex.
Nonetheless, without hesitation, Alex pulled up to hook the monster that was pulling on the line. He used body reinforcement to stabilise his form and pull back.
Fortunately, the rod and the line reinforced with his mana could sustain the strain easily. It was just that the mana he used to strengthen the line was quickly dissipating as he fought with the fish. Alex had to steadily supply and control the mana to strengthen the line and the rod.
'That's why you have to be a master mage. In this world, mages are dependent on runes to control mana. Only some can handle mana effortlessly with will. And most of them are master mages.' Alex thought as he pulled back on the rod even harder.
Then suddenly, he smiled at the realisation that he might actually be as good as master mage.
'The reeling mechanism on the rod is not good enough. There are no bearings or ways to control the pull force. I just have to do everything with mana.'
Even after struggling for a minute, Alex had only reeled in one-tenth of the line.
He had cast the line far away. It was too far for comfort.
"I would like to see the fish at the other end," Alex said as he continued his fight.
For the fish, it was a fight determining its life and death. So, it was unwilling to give up.
'I have to hold on until the fish is tired. I might be able to reel it in faster after that.'
Alex's mana around the body intensified as he braised for a long fight.
Time went by as half the line was reeled in. The fish dashed left and right, trying to unhook itself or to break the line. But neither worked.
The mana supplied was stable and consistent.
'A little bit more.'
The line finally neared the ship. Alex looked down to check the size of the fish.
But the turbulent water made it harder for him to see.
"Just a couple of meters more."
Alex saw the fish.
A tail flashed on the ocean's surface as it displayed its body before Alex.
"What the actual F?" It shocked Alex beyond words.
Reeling harder, Alex raised the rod up.
"What is this?" His mind couldn't grab hold of the reality.
Just as the fish was pulled out of the water, the weight Alex felt decreased. Alex slid back at the sudden change in force. His body lost balance for a second before stabilising shortly.
Alex quickly raised the struggling fish into the ship.
The fish he had pulled up was slightly bigger than the one he previously caught. At a glance, no one could find the difference in size between the two fishes.
But Alex quickly realised that there was something odd with this fish.
"The fish I caught previously was small and easy to reel in. It didn't feel like I hooked a whale when reeled in. Why was it the case?"
"Perhaps it is a magical beast!"
That was the only possible reason Alex could think of. How else can a fish weighing less than half a kilogram feel like it weighs hundreds of kilograms?
"There might be some magic to the existence of this fish?"
Alex unhooked the small fish and looked at it in detail.
It looked better and contained a higher concentration of mana inside the body. Its body's scales glowed silvery-blue and steadily released a stream of mana outwards. It was a pretty fish.
"Maybe the scales have something to do with its unnatural ability."
'There is only one way to know for sure.' Alex thought.
"Farm AI, please conduct a gene analysis on this specimen; try to use Chitra's help rather than spending FP for everything. Last time, you ripped off FP for just transferring the specimen into the research pod." Alex said as he threw the fish into the farm space.
[Executing command.]
The farm replied back in affirmation.
[Deducting 100 FP for waking up Chitra.]
"Sigh…"
[The specimen has been transferred to the research pod.]
The fish had died on its way to the research pod. Chitra threw it in and closed the lid. She complained about the smell of the fish before walking to wash her hands.
The research pod, which looked like a combination of a barrel and a rice cooker, began to decompose the tissues and cells of the fish Alex captured. It was slowly deciphering the genetic makeup of the fish.
"After analysis, give me a short report," Alex asked the farm.
Meanwhile, he continued to place a new bait on the hook and try fishing again. Even though the fish was smaller than the ones the crew caught, it was a thrilling experience to capture it.
Alex wanted to feel it again.
"The effectiveness of the bait is increasing as I increase the mana. Should I try something differently this time?" Alex decided to change his tactics.
He had already familiarised himself with using the fishing line and rod. He controls his mana well, allowing him to capture magical beasts. These factors led him to up the stakes.
Instead of a sliver of mana, this time, he would fill the bait with enough mana to make it seem like a beacon in the sea.
"A silver coin to buy another rod and line. I can try with it until the lines break or until I destroy it with mana. After all, there might be a limit to how much mana it can withstand."
Alex prepared himself to throw the bait into the sea.
Just as he was about to throw, some of the crew walked by. He saw the tiny fish he had caught and smirked.
"What a big fish!" Leaving a sarcastic comment, they sat nearby.
It was obvious that they were mocking Alex when they saw the fish he had caught.
Alex wanted to scream back, 'Size doesn't matter' to those guys. But he refrained from doing so.
Channelling a steady stream of mana, Alex reinforced the fishing rod and line before throwing the bail outwards.
The bait flew about fifty meters before falling into the water. The water swept away, down into the ocean.
'Now is the time to test my hypothesis.'
Alex began to channel mana into the fishing line.
One core of mana quickly occupied the fishing line and rod.
'There is no change to the material. I can add more.'
Alex quickly sent out ten cores of mana.
'More? How about a hundred.'
Without delay, Alex spent a hundred cores of mana.
Now, he could see a slight change in the material used to build the rod and line. They were beginning to fall apart. Alex toned down the mana output to less than 90 cores to prevent the line from breaking.
While Alex carefully controlled the mana on the fishing rod and line, a sea creature sensed the bait.
The dense mana on the bait felt like a delectable treat to it. The temptation was becoming harder to control. It wanted to dive in and bite the bait.
Suddenly, the mana in the bait began to increase. From feeling it was just a treat, the creature started to feel it would be its best meal. A hundred cores of mana were enticing it to bite in.
Finally, The creature, unable to without its urges, dashed to the bait. It dived like a bullet and bit it.
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