Monster Jousting Book 3 - Chapter 20 (Patreon)

“What will it be?” Noah rubbed his hands together. “You’ve not shown me anything other than the fishing rod. Oh, I’ll take a guess. It’s a Pathstone focusing on combat?”

Noah trembled, his eyes shining. He could taste it. The power.

“Young ones are always so impatient,” said the Master Fisher as he finally got off the wooden barrel he was sitting on. He turned to Noah, his eyes literally radiating an blue as clear as the most pure of ice.

What the? Noah was about to raise his guard, but he didn’t feel any danger coming off of the Master Fisher. From the amount of battles Noah had experienced, detecting bloodlust was becoming easy. From the other monsters, he could practically cut the battle intent with a knife it was so thick. Maybe it was just his more beastly attributes coming out to play, but whatever the reason was, he could feel it.

It was obvious the Master Fisher didn’t intend him any harm, and so his shoulders relaxed. Although his worries proved to be unfounded, a bad feeling still tugged at his mind. It was made obvious why in the next few moments.

“My reward comes with unfathomable pain. Do you think you’ll be able to resist?” he said, rubbing his hands together. As if he couldn’t wait to begin inflicting torture upon him.

Pain? How bad could it be? I’ve been dealing with pain ever since I got here, thought Noah.

Noah scoffed. “How bad can it be?”

It turned out to be dreadful.

The Master Fisher chuckled to himself as his hand rushed forward. It was so fast, Noah couldn’t even see it. Far faster than the Hallowed King was. Open palm slamming against his chest, Noah felt a wave of mana enter his body. It raged straight for his Pathstones.

An image of a large, sturdy fish appeared within its domain, thrashing in an attempt to warn the incoming mana. But it was all over in a flash. Like a godly spear, it rampaged through the fish, destroying it in an instant. What took its place was a towering horned crab wearing a bone crown. Unlike the infernal crab, it was grand, noble, and domineering. It reminded him of the Hallowed, but more vast. More powerful.

Noah sucked in a deep breath as a horrible amount of pain washed over him like an inferno. It wasn’t as seamless as the Hallowed. It threatened to tear him apart. But strangely, he felt no ill will against it. It hurt, sure, but he didn’t have a feeling of fear that should accompany it. As if no-matter how much pain it inflicted, it would never take his life.

Because of that, it allowed him to relax, to take in the pain, and put it to one side. After 10 minutes had passed, the regal monster had truly taken the fish’s place. It was now its true resting place.

(Uncommon) Colossal Fishing -> (Legendary) Ethereal Grabbing

Ethereal Grabbing: The pincers of the mythical Grabbing Crab plucks the stars from the heavens. With its power guiding you, you can fish even the greatest of prey – even the stars themselves.
Stats added per Level: Will +3, Str +3

Unique Legendary Effects:

| When fighting fish higher level than you, increase strength by 25%

| Catching fish higher than your level is 75% easier.

Awesome, Noah thought as he gazed at the text in front of him. With Krall, Gluttony, and now the infernal crab alongside him, fishing high-levelled monsters would be the best way to level up right now. Not only could he catch them much easier now, but he’d also be a huge 25% stronger when fighting them.

It seemed like he’d have to do some power fishing soon. However, there was so much to do. He had to improve his house, buy the upgraded tunnel system. After that, he’d have to travel to the mainland and try to find the others. Sure, he didn’t really care about Declan or Maira as they were just in it for their own gain. But they had the kids with them. They didn’t deserve to be brought here.

Shitty System, Noah thought as he quickly stopped his happy mood from souring. Perhaps he didn’t have any choice, however, as the Master Fisher was looking at him with a strange look.

“What?” Noah asked, confused.

Master Fisher sighed. “Nothing. That Bloodline of yours is something special. Just like Ekralo had said.”

“Ekralo?” Noah stood at attention. “You know who he is?”

“Know him?” Master Fisher laughed, as if Noah’s words were ridiculous. “One you leave this small hovel of a planet, you’ll realise that everyone knows who he is. He is an Elder God.”

“An Elder God?” Noah asked. “Like a god, but older?”

“Don’t let him hear you say that. He doesn’t take kindly to being reminded of his age. But to your question – no. And Elder God is a being that has reached the apex. One step away from reaching Supreme.”

“Supreme–”

Noah wanted to ask, but he was interrupted with a wave of Master Fisher’s hand. His previous bright eyes had dimmed to a light that was concerning. It was like a fire that was about to extinguish. His body swayed “You’ll find out about that in your own time. Just, tell Ekralo he owes me one when you see him.”

“Master–”

The ghostly image of the elder turned almost translucent until he turned into a wisp of smoke. It rose up into the sky until it merged into the only cloud above in the tropical sky.

Noah stood rooted to the spot for a minute, unable to compute what had just happened. After a moment, Noah’s thoughts returned.

He must have used all of his energy to give me his Pathstone. Now was it just a spectral image of him, or is he dead? A ghost?

Unable to come to a conclusion, Noah sighed. Negative emotions tugged at his shoulder as he looked up at the sky above. “Thanks, old man. I’ll make good use of it. I’ll fish to my heart's content.”

Message received.

Sender: Ekralo.

Hm?

Ekralo: He’s not dead, idiot. It was a false body. Don’t be getting upset over a clone.

“Well he could have bloody said something then, couldn’t he?” Noah spat at the sky. “And when are you going to give me some good stuff already? Remember that asshole Victor? Yeah, well he seemed to get some pretty shiny equipment everywhere he stepped, didn’t he? He was like a damned dung beetle being showered in golden faeces.”

Goddess Purity is disappointed with your language.

Noah gulped in a deep breath. It took him everything not to shout incessant profanities at the so-called Goddess of Purity. She must have known him by now, why the hell was she getting so bothered by his language.

Be calm, Noah. You may receive a sponsor from her soon.

Message received.

Sender: Ekralo.

Ekralo: Don’t–

Nah, screw that.

Pointing to the sky, Noah shouted. “I thought being watched at all times wouldn’t piss me off. But here I am, Purity. I’m losing my temper. You’re watching people slaughter each other all day, every day, and my language bothers you? Screw you. Stop watching me if it bothers you. Shit, balls, fuck.”

Goddess Purity is appalled. She has blocked all followers of Purity from sponsoring.

You have lost a sponsor x8.

All pending gifts have been rescinded.

“Wait, what?” Noah panicked. He checked his pockets. More than half of all of his potions had vanished. More than 40% of all of his Grace Coins had disappeared. It appeared that all of his big spenders were, in fact, the members of Purity. What the hell? Why were they watching him? He didn’t exactly claim to be holier than thou. Nor did he hide his language before.

Did he swear before this? Honestly, he couldn’t remember. Who the hell would keep track of such things?

What’s worse, is he could feel some sort of smugness coming from the sky above. It only made him angrier.

Message received.

Sender: Ekralo.

Ekralo: Stop making me waste money! Do you know what you’ve just done? The Goddess of Purity is one of the top 10 Elder Gods. Her followers consist of billions, including gods, and even 2 Elder Gods. Good luck on ever receiving a sponsor from them again. Jackass. P.S, good job. I agree. She’s a right bitch. Her followers are even worse. Avoid them like the plague.

Is that meant to make me feel any better? Noah kicked a loose nail laying on the wooden pier. It flew forwards and plopped into the crystal clear waters below. Fish swam to it, nibbling it, only to realise that it wasn’t food, and swam away.

Loose lips sink ships, Noah thought as he walked to the end of the pier, took his shoes off, and plopped them in the water. The same fish swam back upon realising the water had been disturbed. Noah checked their levels. They were all within the 10-25 range. They weren’t a threat.

One of the more curious fish nipped the sole of his feet. Of course, with his current constitution, a level 15 fish had no way of penetrating his flesh. It tickled. As it continued, honestly, it felt kind of relaxing.

Swishing his feet in the cool water, looking upon the inviting waters, and out toward the jungle mainland beyond. It all looked so peaceful. If not for him remembering that strange, aberrant octopus hiding somewhere down in the deeper parts.

It almost made him want to sit back and relax. But images of the children’s terrified  expressions forced him to get up from this sanctuary.

It was time to upgrade his house.