Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Fishing for Treasure Chests Isn’t This Awesome
The merfolk had a pleasant name: Bella Dillon. Thankfully, she also possessed skills recognized by the system.
The Merfolk’s Talent Skill was just like Eamon’s.
After they got in the water, Faye Yardley asked in confusion, "Bella, your intuition is so accurate. Why don’t you look for it yourself?"
Bella Dillon looked at Faye Yardley, who was enveloped in a bubble of light that kept all the seawater at bay. She replied, "My intuition told me that if I came here, I’d meet the one who could lead me to the nest. Besides you, there’s no one else around."
So, Bella Dillon was simply following Faye Yardley. Wherever Faye went, she followed, not saying a word so as not to disturb her.
Since she had free rein, Faye Yardley decided to venture deeper into the ocean before the Water-Repelling Pearl’s two-hour limit was up.
Any sea creatures that tried to attack them along the way were swiftly dealt with by the merfolk, Bella Dillon.
Faye Yardley wandered without any real direction, trusting her sixth sense just as Bella Dillon trusted her intuition.
She passed through a coral reef, plunged right into a large swarm of jellyfish, and continued to descend into a forest of long, dense seagrass.
Faye Yardley casually picked up a few large conchs and tossed them into her backpack. Then she spotted a locked, seaweed-covered treasure chest. Finders keepers. She took it.
"There seems to be a Silver Treasure Box over there. Don’t you want it?"
"You’re the one who found it, so it’s yours. Go ahead and get it yourself."
Bella Dillon fell silent. ’She doesn’t even care about a Silver Treasure Box?’
But she didn’t move, either. ’I don’t want to get sidetracked and lose the forest for the trees.’
Faye Yardley glanced at the silver-gleaming chest. She didn’t want to waste time, either. ’I’ll just memorize the location,’ she thought, marking it on her system map. ’If it’s on the way back, I can just grab it and go. Besides, I’ve got a free fighter right here with me.’
’It’d be a shame not to use her. Letting her expire would be a waste.’
The seagrass beds concealed a great number of sea creatures, and visibility became extremely poor.
As they ventured on, the green of the seagrass deepened to a dark emerald, then to an inky blackness that filled their vision.
"Is this the place?" Faye Yardley turned and asked.
Bella Dillon’s large, innocent eyes widened as she shook her head. "I don’t know either."
The two of them looked at each other for a moment before deciding to go in and take a look.
Among the black seagrass, the marine life became exceptionally aggressive, charging at them on sight.
Just as Faye Yardley finished off a palm-sized, pitch-black fish, the ground beneath her feet suddenly gave way. The world started spinning, and when Bella Dillon tried to grab her, she was blocked by the barrier from the Water-Repelling Pearl.
Bella Dillon could only watch helplessly as Faye Yardley vanished right before her eyes, like a bubble that popped the moment she tried to grasp it.
"AHHH! She got in! But what about me? How can you just leave a whole merfolk like me out here?!"
Bella Dillon flew into a rage, and the surrounding sea creatures paid the price.
Faye Yardley curiously surveyed her surroundings. She was in a cave, completely devoid of seawater, as if it were on dry land.
The cave held a shimmering light, though she had no idea where it was coming from.
"So this is the nest you were looking for? It looks pretty ordinary." When she got no response, Faye Yardley looked around. "Huh? Where’s Bella Dillon?"
’I can’t see her anywhere. Where did she go? Can’t she even follow me in?’
"She’s so unreliable," Faye muttered. Thinking that since she was already here, she might as well explore, she took a step forward. Just then, the air beside her rippled.
"Oof!"
A large merfolk came tumbling down, landing at her feet.
Faye Yardley asked dubiously, "Bella Dillon?"
"It’s me," she grumbled. "Give me a hand."
The two of them walked deeper for a while until they heard the sound of dripping water. DRIP. DRIP. DRIP.
As they drew closer, the dripping became a near-constant stream. They stopped. Before them, black drops of water were falling into a pitch-black lake that had formed below.
Every so often, a flying fish would leap from the black lake’s surface before splashing back down.
"Could what you’re looking for really be in here?" Faye Yardley asked, skeptical.
Bella Dillon wasn’t sure either, but she finally said, "It has to be here. I... I’m going in."
With that, she charged through the curtain of droplets and, with a SPLASH, jumped into The Murkwood Loch.
Faye Yardley thought for a moment. ’Well, I’m here. I can’t just leave empty-handed.’ She pulled a special fishing rod from her backpack, found a dry spot safe from the black drips, and sat down to fish.
Her luck with fishing had always been good.
So it wasn’t long before she got something.
[Obtained Energy Stone x1]
"Holy crap! I actually fished an Energy Stone out of The Murkwood Loch. This is just as unbelievable as catching that Talent Stone on the island."
After that exclamation, Faye Yardley decided to get serious about fishing here.
’This haul is way better than fishing for treasure chests on the surface.’
’Plus, it doesn’t use up any of the Water-Repelling Pearl’s duration.’
’I’ve got food and drinks in my backpack. I can do this all day.’
[Obtained Crystal Fish Bone x1]
[Obtained Energy Fish x1]
[Obtained Giant’s Smelly Socks x1]
Faye Yardley: ...
’What is all this weird junk? Are they trying to gross me out on purpose?’
[Obtained Energy Stone x2]
Hahaha...
’My Talent always comes through eventually.’
[Obtained ivory x1]
[Obtained raft core x1]
"Huh? What’s this?"
Whatever it was, she put it in her backpack first. Her intuition told her it was something extremely important, something she couldn’t let anyone else know about.
’Especially not Bella Dillon.’
’For all I know, this is the very thing she came here for. She’s risking her life hunting for treasure in the lake, but I just fished it out from the shore. How could I possibly tell her?’
Faye Yardley happily cast her line again. She also pulled out a canned cocktail and took a big gulp to celebrate her haul.
SPLASH!
A familiar, large fish head emerged from the water. But this time, as Bella Dillon stepped out of The Murkwood Loch, she was covered head to toe in wounds and exuded an ominous aura.
"Hey, Bella Dillon! Over here! Come on over!" Faye Yardley called out, waving enthusiastically.
When Bella Dillon drew near, Faye Yardley tossed her a Hemostatic Pill and a Bandage. "It’s a Hemostatic Pill. At least it’ll stop the bleeding."
"Thank you."
"Didn’t find what you were looking for?"
Bella Dillon nodded, then added, "It wasn’t a complete loss, but I didn’t find the main thing I was looking for. There was no Sea Monster guarding it, so maybe this place has already been abandoned."
"Hey, as long as you got something. Oh, hold on, I need to reel this in."
Faye Yardley said, yanking her fishing rod upward.
[Obtained Fishman Scale x3]
Looking at the freshly bloodied scales in her hand, Faye Yardley glanced at Bella Dillon’s rigid expression and felt a pang of awkwardness.
She held them out to her. "Are these yours? Here."
Bella Dillon: ...
Faye Yardley offered her the can of cocktail. "Want a sip? It’s not very strong. Can you drink alcohol?"
Bella Dillon took the cocktail, opened it, and took a sip. Her entire fish-like head visibly flushed pink.
Who knew if she was actually drunk from a single sip, but in any case, the newly-bandaged Bella Dillon promptly leaped back into The Murkwood Loch.
"Whoa, she’s really determined. I’m not going to fish up more of her body parts, am I?"
