Chapter 56: Chapter 48- Familiar Yet Unfamiliar

After closing the deal with Upper Administrator Sariel, I decided to have some rest and go sightseeing in the open waters.

My current plans include wandering around while tasting the bounties of the ocean, figuring out what the heck that MA percentage in my Appraisal results is, and finding land.

I’ll also be fighting any strong enemies I find along the way with the hopes of attaining my next evolution as soon as possible.

All of this while constructing a secure channel inside my soul in preparation for Sariel’s request.

To think that she actually came up with such a method to ease the system’s load on herself… It truly amazes me to no end.

It also drives home the fact that this world had an ancient sci-fi civilization that was even more advanced than Earth!

I never imagined that there would be a day when a freaking GODDESS would seek to use my soul’s excess resources. 

Are all gods so cool nowaday…? This is basically magical cloud technology, right?

Fantasy gods should stick to fantasy settings! Why would she even think about outsourcing resources?!

The more I think about it, the more unreal it seems!

You should just leave modern stuff to us modern folks, y’know…?

Anyways, there is basically nothing left for me to do down here in this ravine.

It’s already been a few days since that conversation with Sariel.

Sariel went ahead and requested a soul contact from D after we negotiated the final terms.

D happily obliged, but I feel that the quality of the contract she gave us is a bit trash.

Like, I might be able to easily brute force my way out of it if I strengthen my soul for a couple of years.

After signing that, I went ahead and had a hearty meal of wyrm sashimi.

Let’s not talk about the fact that I almost starved to death because of how much time D delayed before taking out the contract…

Lastly, I ventured to the ends of the boneyards with the goal of gleaning some information about what lies beyond.

However, I was greeted with nothing but a sheer cliff drop into the pitch-black depths at the end!

I was quite curious about what lay down there, but I restrained myself from exploring further, as my intuition told me that passing that cliff means certain death.

There’s not a smidgen of chance I can survive or flee as I am right now, the situation is even more dangerous than when I snuck under the jellyfish.

The fact that shallower waters directly above that cliff are also free from any creatures including water dragons says a lot about whatever dangers dwell down there.

So,I decided to go through with my little vacation trip while trying to gain a couple of levels.

I’m probably gonna be stuck fighting nothing but water dragons in the near future though.

Hopefully they taste good, hmmm!

 

Trying Magic for the first time, I attempt to activate a Long Distance Teleportation spell with my birthplace in mind.

Not even a second later, the magical construction just popped up in front of me from thin air, promptly teleporting me back to that nostalgic huge hole filled with thousands of crabs.

I already used Mischief and Concealment on myself before teleporting, so not a single creature was alerted.

D certainly didn’t forget to leave a pitfall in her last reward, the Champion title actually functions similar to Fearbringer.

Both inflict the heretic Fear attribute to all creatures around the user in a certain radius regardless of his will.

And what attribute am I best at? Heresy!

So, what effect did that have on the title? Freaking amplification!

Both the radius and intensity of the Fear increased by a couple of times!!

Imagine my confusion when I went to hunt a couple of wyrms, but all living creatures near me ran away as soon as I came close.

Not only was stealth rendered completely useless, but the fear effect was kinda broadcasting my position live to everyone.

Well, a bunch of water dragons apparently didn’t appreciate their naps being interrupted, so I soon found myself suddenly surrounded by more than a dozen of them!

Like, what the actual fuck, D?!

With no other options, I was forced to experiment with my recently acquired skills on the spot.

Using Phantom Runes, I created a couple of phantom clones and let them flee in different directions.

Then, I immediately followed by using Mischief on myself and turned tail!

The number advantage is real, man…

Luckily, Concealment can offset the fear effect, otherwise I’d have probably been forced to stay in the ravine until my strength reached the level where I can consider water dragons as small fries…

Shaking my head, I make my way out of this hole.

As soon as I reach open waters, I’m yet again greeted by a nostalgic sight.

Hello there, old friend!

A huge but slim body reminiscent of a prehistoric plesiosaur, navy blue metallic scales covering the entirety of that body, and a ferocious head filled with rows upon rows of sharp saw-like teeth.

Unlike last time, the huge monstrosity’s vertical eyes are wide open, cautiously staring into the vertical cave with a bunch of warfare skills activated.

Hmm? Why is this guy so alarmed?

It can’t be the demi-leviathan, right? I mean, this water dragon’s average stats are above 6000.

Not only are his stats three times that of the leviathan, but his intelligence is also leagues higher!

He’s a proper ancient dragon that’s probably older and more powerful than Earth Dragon Araba.

You are reading story So I’m a Fish, So What? at novel35.com

Even I wouldn't wanna fight this guy head-on… Who knows what fighting styles and abilities he’s developed over the years– oh.

That’s it, I can guess why he’s in a battle ready state.

With all those years filled with battle under his belt, this guy’s Danger Perception must’ve broken through the system’s limits ages ago.

He might not be able to detect me, but his natural senses are probably screaming that there’s a very dangerous enemy nearby.

To think that my presence gave such a monster a scare…

I’ve truly come a long way from that time when I was just a little fish who gained multiple levels in Fear Resistance just by seeing this monster’s sleeping head.

… As expected of me– the great Tomoko-sama! Wahahaha!

Anyways, you don’t have to stay on guard, big guy.

This future goddess is currently in a good mood, so she has no intentions of confronting you.

You’d have already been poisoned to death otherwise, hehe~!

What? You thought I’d go for a legendary dragon slaying fight? Hell no!

My strengths and weaknesses are very clear.

If the W system includes an extra class column, mine will 100% be something along the lines of Magic Assassin.

It sounds cool and all, but I still have the most basic weakness of an assassin.

No, it’s not HP, it’s actually defense.

My magical defense or as it is called in here, resistance can be made up for with the Magic Barrier skill I plundered from the Polhza turtles, but physical defense is a different story.

I might have the Iron Defense skill, but unfortunately, it doesn’t do shit.

Not only is its level very low, but its effect decreases the higher my defensive stats are!

Basically, I can only depend on my defense stat against physical damage dealers.

Unfortunately, defense is my second lowest stat!

Soo, yeah... no way am I gonna fight some ancient martial artist dragon underwater.

See ya later, big guy!

Swishing my silky long tail, I swim up and away from the cave.

First stop, the water surface!

I would like to enjoy the long lost feeling of sunlight falling on my body again, thank you.

Swoosh. Splash!

Ahh… you never really appreciate what you have until you lose it, huh?

Basking in the sun was one of my daily morning activities back on Earth.

At first, it was just one of the activities I did with the goal of strengthening my weak physical strength when I was younger.

Getting exposed to the sunlight is one of the easiest ways to increase the levels of that Vitamin D in your body after all.

However, it kinda became a habit after years of persistence and determination.

Sadly, the dangers in this new world don’t care about your habits… Surviving by itself is akin to a luxury around here.

Well, enough reminiscing, it’s time to start exploring.

I had no way to keep tabs on the day night cycle while in the depths, but I did let Sage keep track of the time by counting the seconds.

If we go by Earth’s logic, the current time should be right after sunrise.

Does the sun rise in the east in this world as well? Eh, let’s assume it does.

Then north is… that way!

Since humans normally gather in warmer areas, I’ll be moving north while checking the difference in temperature, then decide if I gotta switch to south after getting the results.

I'm unsure if I’m in the southern or the northern hemisphere, it’s probably gonna take me a while.

As soon as I reach an area with a cozy temperature, I’ll start heading east until I find land.

This is probably gonna be one of the hardest challenges I’ll ever face, but it’s not a dangerous one.

I mean, I’m trying to locate land in the middle of the ocean with literally nothing to go on but the sun’s relative position…

That’s why I’ve decided to make this into a long term quest of mine and delegate my rest time to it.

Hunt, eat, explore. This’ll be my routine from here on out!

Wait– no. I can actually merge the last two.

Spatial magic comes with an inventory after all!

Now, I can finally stop that god awful act of wasting food.

Everything, and I mean literally everything I ever hunt will be thrown inside.

Might as well find some glaciers and throw them in for refrigeration, I dunno if this inventory has time stopping magic applied to it after all.

Well, things are shaping up quite nicely if I do say so myself!

It’s time for another adventure, wahahaha!