The next day, the sun was blazing, and it was close to noon.
After getting up and washing up, Rogel went downstairs for a meal and then sat at his computer desk.
After typing a few words on the keyboard, he couldn't help but pause.
"How about taking a day off today?"
What excuse to use?
A friend's wedding? Used that. Girlfriend's birthday? No, last time those Sherlock Holmes-level readers deduced I didn't have a girlfriend...
Hemmorhoid surgery? Seems like I used that last month too.
Rogel's brain raced, and he sadly realized that he seemed to have no good reason to take a day off.
In the end, Rogel could only sigh and reluctantly start typing on the keyboard again.
Actually, it's not like he doesn't like writing novels.
It's both his job and his hobby.
But every time he starts typing, laziness strikes.
"Finally finished writing!"
After finishing the chapter, Rogel felt revived, instantly energized.
He immediately grabbed his phone, bounced onto the bed, and opened Mysterious Sea.
[Today's weather is sunny and the Sea God seems especially lenient to newcomers.]
Rogel expertly controlled the avatar to the front of the boat and took out the fishing rod.
The bobber floated, and a new day began.
[You caught: Sea Fish ×1.]
[You caught: Coconut Shell ×1.]
[You caught: Red Coral ×1.]
[...]
[Fishing skill experience increased, current level lv4.]
Rogel patiently continued fishing.
Even though nothing very valuable was caught, catching fish one after another was already quite satisfying.
The Fishing Master's effect seems to have a very low trigger rate.
Rogel had successfully fished nearly fifty times without catching anything special.
"When will I ever encounter some Extraordinary Power?"
Rogel smacked his lips.
"Wait." Speaking of the Extraordinary Power, he suddenly remembered his character's Talent: "Didn't I have a Talent to control other creatures?"
Rogel slapped his forehead, realizing he had completely forgotten such an important thing.
He then searched for nearby creatures.
He found a lazy little orange cat sleeping.
"...I'll let you go." Rogel chuckled.
He certainly wasn't going to use his Talent to take control of the orange cat, as it was his only companion for now.
Thinking for a bit, Rogel pulled out an unfortunate sea fish from the Item Inventory.
This should count as a creature, right?
[Sea Fish]
[Type: Creature]
[Quality: Normal]
[Level: 1]
[Tier: None]
[Explanation: An ordinary and unremarkable sea fish.]
Use the Talent!
Rogel silently chanted this in his heart.
With the command given, the avatar's gaze latched onto the sea fish in hand, and soon Purple mist seeped into the sea fish's body.
At the same time, feedback also appeared in Rogel's mind, providing some information about the Talent.
After it ended, Rogel controlled the avatar to throw the sea fish back into the ocean.
With a thought, the game interface quickly changed.
The game interface now showed a vast expanse of blue ocean with a sea fish at the center of the screen.
This Talent is incredible!
Rogel couldn't help but get excited.
If he'd realized this sooner, he wouldn't have been endlessly fishing bored.
Rogel began controlling the sea fish to explore all around.
After all, he could disconnect from the sea fish at any time, so encountering predators wouldn't be a big deal.
He could just switch to a different fish.
Rogel first explored around the small boat but found nothing dangerous.
Then, the sea fish started swimming downward, passing by many marine creatures on the way.
After about two or three minutes, Rogel saw irregularly distributed reefs along the bottom and some sand.
It seems this sea area is not deep-sea.
The sea fish wagged its tail fin and continued exploring.
Shortly after, a striped big fish appeared on the screen, eyeing Rogel's little sea fish intently.
Rogel felt things might not turn out well but symbolically controlled the sea fish to flee for its life.
But obviously, its speed was no match for the big fish.
The sea fish got swallowed, and Rogel's screen returned to the small boat.
"Darn, try again!"
Rogel was a bit frustrated but not discouraged. He took out another sea fish.
Since there were plenty of fish on the boat, even the orange cat was a bit tired of them.
Not long after, Sea Fish No. 2 reached the depths of the shallow sea again.
This time, luck was on their side, and it wasn't eaten.
"Let's see if there are any shipwrecks or treasures around here."
Rogel thought to himself.
Sea Fish No. 2 wagged its tail and began searching all around.
It's unclear whether the sea is too shallow or the fish have good vision, but the scenery at the bottom is pretty clear.
Rogel searched for a long while.
But all he found along the way were reefs, corals, or marine life.
There were a few times they were almost attacked by a disguised octopus.
"Seems finding a shipwreck isn't going to be easy."
Rogel was a bit disappointed, as the exploration seemed fruitless.
After some thought, he decided to return and continue fishing.
But just as he was about to turn back, something buried in the sand caught his attention.
What's that?
Sea Fish No. 2 stopped and swam over to it.
As he got closer, Rogel got a good look at what it was.
Turns out, it was a human skeleton.
Is there a shipwreck nearby?
Rogel thought instinctively.
Realizing this, he excitedly directed Sea Fish No. 2 to explore around, digging as deep as possible.
In the end, nothing was found, and the fish couldn't dig up sand.
Rogel was a bit speechless.
Looks like this was an unfortunate soul tossed down here with no shipwreck nearby.
Realizing this, Rogel lost interest.
"...I wonder if the game character can come down and take a look."
Rogel thought for a moment and decided to let his game character give it a try.
Maybe some treasure is hidden in the sand?
After saving the game.
The perspective returned to the ship, and the avatar jumped into the sea with a splash, taking a deep breath before diving deeper.
As the character dove deeper, a bubble gauge appeared on one side, depleting rapidly.
Sea Fish No. 2 led the way.
Before long, the avatar reached the human skeleton.
This area of the sea was indeed shallow.
By this point, the bubble gauge was almost halfway depleted, leaving Rogel with little time.
The avatar began searching quickly.
Sure enough, some items were buried in the sand.
[You found: Rusted Knife.]
[You found: Damaged Firearm.]
[You found: Iron Badge.]
[You found: Silver Coins ×2, Copper Coins ×8.]
Quite a haul.
Rogel, happy with the finds, also noticed that the character's remaining bubble gauge was low, quickly controlling the avatar to surface.
"Phew!"
Water sprayed as the avatar panted heavily.
He looked around to find the small boat had drifted some distance away.
Rogel quickly swam over and climbed back onto the boat.
"Next time, I shouldn't stay too long, or I won't be able to find the boat."
Rogel felt a bit fearful, as the small boat had no anchor and could drift away on its own.
If he lost the small boat in this vast sea, the game character wouldn't last much longer.