Otherworld Delinquent - Chapter 34 (Patreon)

Colossal Fishing: Focuses on the catching of large species of fish. Evolved form of the Common Profession Pathstone - Fishing.
| Large fish are 10% easier to catch.
| Added stats per level: Str 1, Will 1.

You have gained a World First achievement!
| You're the first in the tutorial to obtain a Profession!
| You have gained a World First title - Professional Start: You are the first to obtain a Profession.
| +5% efficiency rating relating to your Profession.

Efficiency rating. It was the damage alternative for a Profession. It increased the grade of fish he would be able to catch. It essentially made him 5% better than others with the same Class.

You have gained a World First achievement!
| You're the first in the tutorial to obtain the Profession - Fishing!

| You have gained a World First title - Fishing Enthusiast: You are the first to obtain the Fishing Profession.
| +10% efficiency rating to Fishing.
| Reeling in a catch is 10% faster.

Noah nodded in satisfaction. It was the benefit of having the World First Titles. It not only made him stronger than the rest, but Levelling would be faster with having extra proficiency. In turn, it was an extra layer of power.

He knew he couldn’t sit here for hours on end right now and cast his line, but it was important to make use of the extra Levels while he could. He still had a race to win, after all.

And now that he finally had the Fishing Pathstone, it was time to Level.

Noah casted the line back into the ocean. He hadn’t caught a single living organism for over two hours before, but with the extra efficiency, he only had to wait for a couple minutes before something chomped on his hook.

His shoulders sank at the weight. His brows raised. The beast was strong–whatever it was. Noah planted his feet to the ground and heaved on the rod. The entire shaft arced into a wide bend, but the tough alien wood held strong. It was akin to bamboo. Strong, but flexible. Perfect for a beginners fishing rod.

Noah understood the basics to Fishing–although he had never tried it before. Miles made sure of that with his incessant droning of the rules and video tutorials.

With big fish, fishing was a battle of strength and endurance. It was a tug of war. Noah pulled once more as the beating sun was pelting his shoulders, but he persisted.

This is a big one for my first… Noah groaned, his muscles bulged from the almost fifty points of strength that filled his body. Despite that, they seemed to be evenly matched. He had no way of knowing what Level the beast was, but that was the whole excitement of fishing. What would he catch?

Fifteen entire minutes later, the monster’s pull was weakening. Noah was winning–barely. He could feel the fatigue running through his arms. Blisters had even formed on his palms from tugging the fishing-rod to the point of failure.

“I’ve got you!” Noah yelled in excitement. There was something thrilling about winning a tug of war. It was the thrill of beating another individual with nothing but strength. Strength that he had worked hard to achieve with the risk of death chasing behind his back.

With a final yank, Noah pulled the fish up. It breached the water and was thrown up into the air. The sun casted the black silhouette of the fish, then it started to fall–right at Noah’s feet.

“Shit.” Noah spat as he leapt back a few steps, but he knew he had to be quick. The beast was exhausted. It was the opportune time to attack before it regained its strength to flop back into its home.

The fish had a short and stubby square jaw filled with sharpened teeth. Its grey thick body was filled with black spots and it had a long, wide tail. Scars were gouged into its thick scales, evidence of its tough survival. Strength was obviously its most noticeable feature.

It flopped on the rocky outcrop, its powerful tail struck the rock with a resounding smack. It was inching closer to the ocean. Noah wouldn’t let that happen.

Noah bolted to one side, while Krall made sure it couldn’t enter the salty waters on the other side.

He had no thoughts of holding back his strength now, he needed the Levels, he couldn't risk the monster escaping through his grasp. Nor did he want his crazy energy expenditure to be wasted. Noah also knew that catching such a big fish was a rarity. Especially one at the limits of his current Strength.

He had to kill it.

Noah made use of the strength of being in Krall’s vicinity with [Monstrous Aura], and immediately used [Overpower]. It wasn’t his strongest attack as he wasn’t on Krall’s back, and didn’t use it in combination with [Thrust] and [Charge], but the raw power filled his arms.

Concentrating on the activation of his Skills with his fatigued body, the spear in his hands shot forward–and pierced straight through the monster with a striking slice. Then, it struck the rock underneath as an uncomfortable vibration followed through the shaft of the spear and up his arm. Sparks scattered into the air from the hit.

The weakened monster was killed with one hit. Ignoring the System messages for a moment, Noah couldn’t help but shake his head at his profession. A question popped up into his mind. How the hell were non-combat fishers meant to defeat the strong beasts of the water? Well it was simple. They had to be guarded.

It was why fishing wasn’t a popular profession. It relied on someone protecting you. And even more than that, it required the strength to pull a System strengthened beast from its home. The non-aggressive fish were fine, but as soon as a combative one wanted to have your head, their life would be over.

However, it wasn’t all doom, and gloom. The fisher and the protector could both reap the benefits if they were capable. One would gain Fishing levels to fish in higher grade areas, while the protector would gain Levels by killing the fish. It was a two man operation.

Moving on to his System messages, he was happy about the progress he was making.

Congratulations, you caught a Rare Grade Fish!

| Extra experience is rewarded for catching a fish above your current Fishing Level.

You defeated a - Level 16 Bulwark Fish
| Extra experience is rewarded for fighting an enemy above your level!

You have Levelled up!
| Noah ( Mounted Tamer ) level 13 -> Noah ( Mounted Tamer ) level 14
| Your Fishing Profession has Levelled up!
| Fishing Level 1 -> Fishing Level 5

Krall, the Scourge of the Jungle has levelled up.
| Krall level 13 -> Krall level 14

You are being watched.

| Nathan Kayne, the Master Fisher has sponsored you.

| Grace Coins added.
| Uncommon Speed Bait x5 rewarded.
| Ekralo, the beast tamer has sponsored you
| Grace Coins added.

Ekralo, again? Noah tilted his head. Was he happy about his choice in Profession? It was the only reason he could think of, well, he was pleased. It was always better to please the strange being for a chance at some extra Monster Tamer equipment.

Plop. A group of peculiar shrimp looking worms fell to the floor. They were still squirming as Noah inspected them closer.

Uncommon Speed Bait x5: Bait of an Uncommon quality. Offers slight bonuses towards efficiency rating and speed of reeling.
| +10% efficiency rating to Fishing.
| Reeling in a catch is 5% faster.

Noah nodded at the increased strength within his body. Four whole Fishing Levels was a nice addition, but it wasn’t a surprise. If he didn’t have the Strength necessary to wrestle with the Bulwark Fish, he wouldn’t have been able to succeed in catching it.

Thanks to his Level, he was able to beat a strong fish, so he gained extra experience based on the difficulty of the task.

Now that he had the upgraded Uncommon Speed Bait, he didn’t plan on saving them. He needed the Strength, and hopefully with them–he could gain another couple Levels.

Noah casted his line again. Twice, a strong fish had stolen the bait without him having the opportunity of pulling it. Once, he got a bite, only for it to be cut off the next moment.

However, the next two attempts netted him two other fish. Although they couldn’t compare to the Bulwark Fish in Level, or rarity, it still granted him another Fishing Level.

Of course, that wasn’t all. Noah had also received a common Skill Essence. It was time to look at his current Fishing Level, Stat gain, and the Fishing Skill he had acquired.

Profession: [ Colossal Fishing, Level 6 ]
Skill: Powered Reel
Skill:
Skill:
Skill:
Skill:

Strength: 44 [ 51 ]
Dexterity: 28 [ 29 ]
Constitution: 38 [ 44 ]
Willpower: 43 [ 51 ]
Magic: 6
Mana: 5
Perception: 10

Powered Reel was a Skill that made it easier to reel in Fish. It was only one of a few Skills that he wanted, along with the Fishing Scout Skill. It would allow him to see the more lustrous fishing spots just with a glance of his vision. But he was confident he would gain it just by Fishing for a few more hours. Hopefully.

The stats within the bracket were the extra he was receiving from the equipment he was currently wearing. The Monster Tamer ring, Common Spear, and the Plate of Ekralo.

He had received a couple of common fish from the Uncommon bait, it wasn’t anything great, but it would fill them up at least. Krall was also needing food at an alarming rate. He tossed both the common fish at Krall as he gobbled them in an instant.

What would he do if he had a bunch of tamed monsters, he would be stuck fishing for a lifetime trying to keep them all happy. Noah shook the thoughts away from his mind before he got a headache.

It was time to finally take part in the race. He had a strong piece of protective equipment, multiple decent weapons that were reliable in battle, and the Stats, and Skills to confidently deal with any other Otherworlder that dared face him.

But it wasn’t only his own strength that had increased. Krall was also reaping the benefits of his heightened stats. Pact of Two made sure of that.

[Kill Command] also scaled with his Willpower, granting Krall a powerful move–just like his own [Overpower], although on a weaker scale, it was still incredibly strong when used at the right moment.

Slinging his backpack on, Noah mounted Krall and headed into the jungle. He was unaware of the battles the other Otherworlders were currently facing.

Yet, he was content. He was filled with a copious amount of serotonin that coursed throughout his bloodstream. It was the wonder of progression.

***

Noah and Krall [Charged] out from the shadows of [Shrouded Presence], through a group of six jungle goblins. They offered little resistance as Noah was like a rampaging stampede.

The leader was flung to the ground from the strong impact of Krall’s armoured shoulder.

Krall swung his club in a wide arc as a little goblin was struck away like a fumbling sack of flour. Only for it to crash to the ground with a wet thud.

Then, Noah [Thrusted] his spear in quick succession. Bloody holes were pierced into their bodies as they fell to the ground.

However, now that they were closer to the enormous beam of light, not all of them were weak. The lead kobold yelled after he had recovered from the brutal, sudden charge.

It held a makeshift, two-handed hammer tight within its grasp. Drool dripped from its savage maw, short, stubby horns emerged from the middle of its skull. A ring had seemed to fuse with the horn on the left, it was like the bone had grown around it.

It was the first time seeing goblins, but they were obviously a different variant than he was used to. They seemed to have an affinity for the jungle. Their skin was darker in colour, almost blending in entirely with the foliage in the background.

They also had long limbs and sharpened claws. Noah guessed they were for climbing the tall trees, only to drop down on their unsuspecting prey.

With an aggravated roar, the beastly humanoid charged forward. Each footstep thudded against the thick jungle floor. Soil splattered. leaves gave way to the might of the monster. Twigs snapped as if they were rotted down to the core.

Swoosh. The enlarged goblin swung its hammer. The air tumbled from the strike, but Krall wanted to take it head on.

His arms crossed and waited for the hit. Smash. The impact snapped his shoulders back and his feet were pushed through the soil. Noah could tell that it had hurt his bone-headed pet, but he was already countering the monster.

Noah focused all his strength on [Overpower], his spear pierced forward like a supernatural viper and bore a hole into the monster's shoulder. It struggled through the skin–and bone–and exited on the other side.

The hit caused the monster to stumble back, only for Krall to swing his weapon. It raised its arms to block the hit, but Noah used [Kill Command] at the last second.

A monstrous strength snapped through the makeshift hammer, and continued. Krall’s club clashed against the skull of the monster. Blood seeped, then the flow suddenly increased into a gush. It spilled like water, as the club continued past the skull and impacted its nose.

Noah used the opportunity to use [Thrust]. The spear pierced through the cracked skull of the monster as it was killed in an instant. It fell to the ground with a wet thud.

Noah kept his guard up and listened out for any sounds in the distance. Now that he was a little closer to the hub, he was wary of anything ambushing him. However, it seemed to be clear–until he heard a faint sound of battle in the distance.

Humans were shouting, and there was a clanging of metal. Noah grinned. He had encountered some survivors.

Would it be Declan and the others, or a new group entirely?