"Um, Jiǎngshī?"
"Yes, Venti?"
"I wish not to be rude, but," I frowned slightly as I stared at the fishing bobber floating atop the calm waters. "For what purpose are we here? Did you not say that we are to head out and hunt boars for tonight's celebration?"
My instructor sighed as he made himself comfortable on the rock he was using as a chair. "That'd been the plan, yes. But the whims of the gods are hard to predict." His expression was sour as he recalled something. "Evil gods now encroach the borders of our lands, and with the threat of battle between them and our lord, heading out to hunt is nearly impossible."
"Ah, so that was it." No wonder the guards had been reluctant to let me leave yesterday, even if I was now officially a hunter. This was an age of the divine. A war across the entire world, left to reel as Archons tore it asunder.
I blinked. I had no idea where 'Archons' came from, but they felt fitting.
Which then brought us here, sitting at the beach close to where Guizhong had initially found me. Both of us kept an eye on our own fishing poles, kept standing in the sands as their strings sank into the waters, waiting for any fish to perhaps fall for the baits we'd stuck on our bobbers. We almost looked like father and son like this. Or maybe even father and daughter.
We didn't converse much as we sat. My instructor seemed busy with his own thoughts, while I pondered what I could do if the wilderness became too dangerous for me to even take a stroll. How else would I discover more treasure chests for my wondrous Primogems? I'd already toured all around Guili Assembly and found none!
Then, my line bobbed.
I moved instantly, grabbing my pole and standing up at the ready. And just in time, as I suddenly felt an incredible force pulling at the other end. I grit my teeth as I dug my foot into the sand, doing my best to keep myself from being flung into the ocean. My instructor was quick to help as well, using his incredible strength to pull the rod together with me.
And even then, we found ourselves struggling. It was almost comical—two people struggling against a single catch. Slowly, we began being dragged across the sands, inching closer towards the shores. Had we perhaps caught the attention of a sea demon or something? There was no way a mere fish could exert such strength.
We struggled for minutes on end, and I dearly wished my Body was higher so that I could offer more aid to my instructor. But the most I could do was to keep my hands on the fishing pole in hopes that it'd do something.
Then, in an incredible show of strength, my instructor roared as he yanked the pole back, and out from the waters came a fish that glimmered like sapphires. The fish itself was large, its length nearly matching my own arm. But what caught my eye the most was the odd glitter that seemed to surround the fish.
My eyes went wide as a finger grazed its scales.
[Ancient Rusty Koi 4★
A fledgling dragon of the ocean, it holds incredible strength despite its young and small size. It is said that any who are fortunate enough to glance at it will be granted great strength during their moment of most need.
When consumed, increases Body by 1 up to a maximum of 10]
"Jiǎngshī." I gulped as I laid the fish on the sands. "What bait did you purchase for us?"
He frowned. "Mimics of common flies." He answered as he crouched next to our catch. "I too am confused as to this." He glanced at me. "Do you recognize this, Venti?" I nodded and told him its name, and his eyes blanked. "...We caught a fledgling dragon." He chuckled. "Your luck remains incredible!"
I laughed weakly, having nothing to say to that. For some reason, I couldn't help but feel like my Genshin System had a hand on this.
We carried the Rusty Koi into the bamboo basket I brought, and I recasted my fishing line. We returned to silence, though my instructor began getting his own catches. None of them were anything extraordinary however—common fishes and the like—giving more credence to my System's interference.
Then, nearly an hour after my first catch, my fishing line bobbed again. I was quick to grab the pole and brace for impact, only to find the pull on the other side strangely weak. My instructor saw my lack of struggle and hummed, returning to his rock. I gave the pole a few cursory yanks, just to make sure I wasn't wrong. When the weak pull remained, I decided to finally pull my catch to the surface, excited to see what I'd caught.
And out from the water came a large fish that glittered like the setting sun. With scales that burnt bright orange, eyes of unnatural pink, and whose length nearly matched that of the Ancient Rusty Koi. My jaw fell as the fish weakly flopped onto the sands, seeming entirely unbothered by the fact that it'd been caught.
With jittery hands, I reached out and touched it.
[Ancient Golden Koi 4★
A fledgling dragon of the ocean, yet holding none of the strength of its kind. It instead holds incredible intelligence and wit, allowing it to out-maneuver its predators. They are said to have been blessed by Morax himself, granting them their great intelligence.
When consumed, increases Mind by 1 up to a maximum of 10]
My eyes twitched. This-, what? I'd caught another fledgling dragon, and I couldn't help but gape. The description said that it held great intelligence, but where was that intelligence? The fact that I caught it was mind-boggling, to say the least.
"Another one?" My instructor asked as he came over, sounding entirely too amused by the situation. "Do you recognize this one as well?"
I nodded and told him its name. He froze when he heard, and I couldn't help but fidget. "Is something wrong, Jiǎngshī?"
He was quiet for a moment before he spoke. "If you were to sell your first catch, you could easily earn 300,000 Mora." He said casually as he rubbed his chin. "Perhaps more if you bargained."
My eyes bulged at his words. That-, what was incredible. My earnings had never reached above two zeros, so to hear that this single catch could earn me the same but a thousand times over made me salivate slightly. "A-And this one?" I asked as I pointed at the Ancient Golden Koi.
"Easily 2,000,000 Mora." He said casually, as if the number meant nothing. "Of course, that assumes we can find a Noble willing to purchase it."
But the rest of his words had gone unheard by me. Because the moment I heard I could earn 2 million Mora from just selling this, my brain ground to a halt. That was way more Mora than one would need in an entirely lifetime.
Gulp
My instructor laughed as he saw my expression. "As I told you, your luck is truly boundless!" I could only smiled wryly as I brought the Ancient Golden Koi into my bamboo basket.
We stayed for several more hours until sundown, and while my instructor caught enough to fill his basket, no other fish bit onto my bobber. I sighed, both in relief and regret, as I pulled the bobber back onto land. I was prepared to return the fishing pole to my instructor, but he instead gave it to me, telling me that with my incredible luck, I was bound to catch more in time.
We walked back to Guili, and once we were within its gates, we split off for the evening. The moment we did, a great paranoia struck me. After all, I was literally lugging around two fledgling dragons in my basket, with one potentially selling for millions of Mora. If someone else saw what I was holding, there was no doubt they'd head straight for my head!
At that moment, I remembered something. I could read their descriptions, which meant that my System recognized them as items. Realizing the significance, I discreetly walked into an alley, and hiding my basket from everyone, I pulled my spoils into my Inventory. The two fledgling dragons vanished in a shower of sparks, and I felt my chest loosen as I walked back out with an empty basket.
And then stopped as something else happened.
[Detected over 1,000,000 Mora worth of items inside the Inventory. Achievement -Fledgling Tycoon- has been received]
[The [Shop] is now available]
I stared for a moment, before I resisted the urge to check it out then and there. Instead I walked back home, and once I was back in my room, I gently placed the basket by the bedside as I laid on the bed.
As the name implied, the [Shop] allowed me to purchase a number of things. Most of them required me to pay using Primogems, but there were a few things I could purchase solely using Mora. And, to my surprise, one of those things were Primogems—effectively allowing me to convert my Mora into Primogems.
My joy soured as I saw the conversion rate. Because I needed to pay 10,000 Mora for a single Primogem. In other words, a million Mora could be turned into just 100 Primogems.
There was another function in the [Shop] called [Sell], and as it implied, it allowed me to sell any item in my Inventory for some Mora. The Mora I'd get would match the baseline price of the item however, which meant that bartering with merchants to get more from my items was still a thing.
But I remembered my instructor's words. Finding someone to actually purchase my Ancient Golden Koi would be a struggle, especially in this age fraught with conflicts between gods. As of now, it'd probably be better to sell my catch to my [Shop]. It'd also save me the suspicion regarding how I even got it in the first place.
I did so, and my throat turned heavy as 2,000,000 Mora immediately appeared in my Inventory.
For the first time, I felt truly afraid of this Genshin System that I had. My instructor wasn't wrong to say that my luck was out of this world; many would go through their lives without even glimpsing at my Kois, and fewer would even have the honor of catching them. And yet here I was, having caught both in a single day.
But my heart ached as I thought of what I would do next, and I could only suck a breath through grit teeth as I shut my eyes.
A single moment passed, and that 2,000,000 Mora I just got disappeared, instead replaced by 200 Primogems. My ballooned wallet immediately shrunk back down, and I hung my head slightly. For a few seconds I was one of the richest in Guili, and then that wealth went away.
Aah, how lamentable. How many bottles of Dandelion Wine could I purchase with that?
…Dandelion Wine? What's that?
I shook my head to clear the odd thoughts. I pounded my chest to lighten the agony in my heart and instead turned to the [Shop] because there was a reason I'd immediately converted all my Mora into Primogems.
[Mystical Imitation Fly 3★
A bait in the shape of an Electro Crystalfly. It was forged with celestial mysticism, granting it an incredible allure.
Cannot be lost. When used: Increases rarity of catches by 30%. Reduced strength of anything caught by 25%
Cost: 250 Primogems]
With the Primogems I'd gotten from the day before, I just barely had enough to purchase it. And though it'd practically suck me dry of Primogems, I couldn't help but be pulled by its potential. My catches today had been done using ordinary bait, and I came back with two fledgling dragons. What haul could I come back with if I used something more mystical?
I couldn't wait to find out.
…but that was for tomorrow. All the excitement of today had tuckered me out, and I sorely needed some rest.
So I sank into my pillow, and before long, I was out like a light.