Ch.31 Fish Oh Fish, Why do You Have Legs?

I release the telekinetic pressure I've been holding down and approach the fish. I try to identify it, but its HP is zero. It's definitely dead.

Its level is low for a monster in a hidden area near a town in the middle stage of the game.

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Name: Pacific Saury

Level: 15

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"I've never seen this fish monster before."

I don't know what the name is, but I wonder if it's an English translation of something. (TL : the name of the fish is indeed using the English name in the raw, as supposed to how it's always called "Sanma" in Japan)

Looking at it again, this fish just looks like a pacific saury with slender legs.

It would be troublesome if it grew bigger, but I've never heard of pacific saury growing as big as tuna, so at most it would probably only grow a little bigger than the one right here. It might just look similar to pacific saury, though.

But if it had been any bigger, it would have definitely been a horror movie, because it looked like the Sahagin I often see in comics.

It doesn't have hands or a spear, but it's in a similar category. Its teeth are jagged, so it's like a monster that eats things, bones and all.

After completing the appraisal and determining that it was completely defeated, I touched its legs, which had stopped moving completely.

Ah, what a smooth feeling it was. Its thin legs, without any scales or anything, were smooth and not designed for activity on land.

"You have beautiful legs for a monster."

I can't help but wonder how a normal fish in head and body can have such beautiful legs. Does it swim using its tail or its legs?

In any case, since it's a monster, let's skin it quickly. I don't know how many minutes I have left, but I'll skin it as much as I can.

That being said, I don't have a knife to skin it off. When it came to the slimes, I just tore them off with my hands.

It's too big to fit the whole thing inside my bag, even if it fits, I won't be able to get any dropped items, so that's not a good idea.

How should I take it this time? No matter how I skin it, it would be grotesque.

The legs will fit if I remove them from the body, and if I split them in two from head to tail and roll them up a bit, these will also fit.

But I still need the ingredients. Then let's do it this way.

Using telekinesis, I hold down the body and rips off the legs, storing them away.

Again, while holding down the body, I grabbed a branch and.... shattering them.

"I thought I'd gotten a little better at telekinesis..."

I used too much force and ended up shattering the branch.

Yesterday I was able to use it on plates and other things without any problems, but it seems like it's not stable yet. I need to use it more to get a better feel for it.

There was nothing I could do, so I took out a replacement branch from my bag and resumed work.

While holding down its torso, I thrust the branch into its stomach with all my might...

"Uee!... Uu... I'm covered in blood."

What a series of bad luck! I was in front of the stomach, so I got splashed with blood. It smelled like fish blood.

I shook my body from side to side to make the blood fly, then pulled out the branch. I shouldn't have stabbed it with too much force. I regret it.

This time, I pierce it with just the right amount of force and pull it out. The blood didn't splatter as much, probably because most of it had already splattered from the previous attempt. So I repeat the same process about five times, creating more holes.

The hole is necessary to split the abdomen in two. It's a cruel act, but since I don't have a knife to cut it up, this is the only option.

To connect the holes, a branch is inserted into one of the holes and moved back and forth like a saw.

"It's finally connected."

All that was left to do was cut off the head and tail, but as soon as I stuck the branch into the gills, the fish disappeared.

Immediately afterwards, fish fillets and eyeballs appeared as dropped items.

It seems like three minutes have passed.

What a shame. All I've done is hurting that fish. What a pity. Namu.

But what am I even talking about when I already killed it?

Well, it can't be helped if it's gone. I'll just take the dropped item.

I use telekinesis to catch the dropped item before it hits the ground and put it away.

They're beautiful fillets and watery eyes. It looked like it was staring right at me, but it wasn't a cursed item, right?

I put away the bloody branch that had fallen to the ground, and cast Mist Water, pointing my hands at my head. After that, I sprayed it on my neck, chest, stomach, arms, and legs in that order. It would probably wash off with the rain anyway, though.

After washing off the blood, I opened the message window again.

"I guess it should still be fine with this rain."

I haven't gotten any stronger so far. But I can go if I want to.

My magic bag... I'll bring it. I want to put the materials I get after hunting in it. If the worst comes to the worst and the rain gets heavier and I can't fly stably, I can just stay at an inn. If my main body is in danger, I can just hide my bag somewhere and come back.

Thinking that this was the first time I'd stayed at an inn in this condition, I wrote and sent a message to Sakidori Midori saying that I could go and asking where we should meet to go hunting.

I haven't decided yet whether I'll stay there, but I'm thinking it might be a good idea. I also have the money to do so.

I think it'll take some time before I get a reply, so I'll go plant some seeds.

About 2 meters away from my main body, I use telekinesis to dig a small hole large enough to bury the seed. Rather than digging, it would be more accurate to say that I move the soil away.

I dig another hole 1 meter away and put the seeds from yesterday's tangerines in. There's a small chip in it so I don't know if they'll grow, but I'll give it a try.

After putting the seeds in, I cover them with soil and the work is done. The rain should be enough for watering today. As an amateur, I can't tell if the soil has enough nutrients. But with so many flowers blooming, I think it should be okay.

Good luck, tangerine seeds.

"Oh, I got a reply."

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<Subject>: Meeting place is Marathos

<Sender>: Sakidori Midori

<Main Text>

Let's meet in front of the Explorer's Guild in Marathos, and I'll tell you about the hunt there. I'll go ahead and wait.

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When I heard the tinkling sound and opened the message, I saw that she didn't tell me the monster we have to hunt. I hope it's not a very strong enemy. Surely it couldn't be an area boss or something.

Well, even if that's the case, we could always resort to underhanded tactics anyway, so let's fight with safety as our priority.

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Here's what the main character created:

〘Weapon Item: Pear Tree Branch Fishing Rod〙

★☆☆☆☆

A fishing rod crafted using pear tree branches and vines.

It's tougher than it looks.

〘Material item: Pear〙

Pears from the Fairy Forest.

It has a slightly sour taste, probably because it grows in the wild.

〘Monster: Pacific Saury〙

A monster with the body of a fish and beautiful, slender legs.

If anything, it is more like a fish than a monster, so its level is low.

It has sharp fangs and bites into its prey, tearing the flesh and eating it, but its jaws are weak and it is a pitiful monster that cannot do same thing multiple times.

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