The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith - Chapter 75

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈

Chapter 75: Hand-Feel Amplifier

──────

"We're here!"

The boat slowed and came to a gentle stop.

We were in a quiet stretch of sea a few kilometers from the trench.

When I checked earlier with the Steel Whale's detection Spell Formula, this seemed like the best spot.

Obviously, a place swarming with them would be dangerous.

If we hooked one and the others joined in to attack, or started spraying ink from the side, we'd be done for.

The Jolt Jolt Lure's suppression effect only worked on the one that bit it, after all.

So we needed a spot where they were spread out.

A secluded area with relatively calm currents, where we could lure them in one at a time.

Apparently, Taegong and Man-seon used this spot often too.

"Here you go."

I handed Taegong the completed Jolt Jolt Lure 2.0.

Honestly, I wanted to cast it right away too!

But I'd never even gone regular fishing, let alone occult fishing.

I figured I should watch an expert first and see how it was done.

So Taegong volunteered to demonstrate.

"..."

He stared intently at the lure in his hand for a moment.

I couldn't really tell what expression he was making behind those sunglasses.

Before long, he expertly tied the lure to the end of the fishing line.

Plop.

Then he dropped it straight into the sea.

'Oh. This is different from when he used the worm.'

Well, it would be hard to cast that thing far by just swinging the rod.

The Jolt Jolt Lure 2.0 was about the size of a forearm, similar to a Silver Scale Fish.

"..."

Taegong took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.

He loosened the Suppression Talisman around his neck.

Whoooosh!

Spiritual Power poured from his body in rolling waves, like a fierce sea wind.

'Oh. He released it.'

Here we go.

He looked toward Man-seon in the wheelhouse and nodded to signal him.

Swoooosh!

The boat began moving again, slowly cutting through the water.

Apparently, when catching large fish like this, especially when using a big fish as bait, the boat had to maintain a steady speed.

They called it trolling.

That way, it would look to them like a real, living Silver Scale Fish was fleeing.

"Is this speed okay, boss?"

Man-seon stuck his head out the window and shouted.

Taegong grinned at him and gave him an okay sign.

"Wow..."

At some point, Su-a had moved right up beside me.

"...Mister Taegong looks so cool."

"Yeah."

The back of a man standing against the sea wind with a fishing rod in hand.

So that was what a fisherman looked like.

Taegong reeled in and let out the line over and over for a while.

Snap!

The fishing rod bent like a bow.

Screeeeech!

Whirrrrrr!

The reel shrieked with friction as line streamed out without pause.

It bit.

Man-seon immediately steered the boat after the fleeing creature.

Then.

Splash!

The fleeing creature burst through the surface and launched itself into the air.

In that brief moment it hung above the water, its two blood-red eyes set in its pitch-black body slowly swept across the deck.

A huge, vicious-looking water monster said to devour people.

It was a Giant Ink Squid.

* * *

'What is this? What the hell is this?'

Taegong was in a trance.

The most important thing in occult fishing was reading the creature's pulse.

You checked its condition through the line.

You gauged its remaining stamina and the timing of its struggles, adjusting the amount of Spiritual Power you fed into the line as you pulled and released it.

That was the heart of occult fishing, something Taegong had realized over many long years.

Normally, he had to focus every bit of his attention on the feeling in his fingertips, using the faint vibrations to assess the creature's condition and remaining Spiritual Power.

Bzzz.

Bzzzzzzz.

Damn it. What was this feeling?

He didn't need to do that.

He could feel everything just by holding the grip.

Its struggles.

The movements of its swimming tentacles.

Even its breathing as it drew in and expelled seawater!

Every single movement of the creature was transmitted directly into his palm.

That's right!

The Amplification Circuit Do-hyeon had inscribed so anyone could easily read the creature's pulse had, at this very moment, become the perfect Bite-Feel Amplifier for a fisherman!

He could feel it! He could feel it!

Flop, flop. Flop.

Every minute movement as it twisted its muscles, stretched out its tentacles, and fought desperately.

All its struggles became thrilling vibrations that traveled through the fishing rod and sent shivers through his whole body.

This... this!

That tingling pleasure ringing through his fingertips. This overwhelming thrill!

Ah, was that it?

Had the craftsman intended all of this too?

He had never felt anything like this before.

How many fish had he caught and felt the bite of over the course of his life?

But this... this really...! Truly.

This was the best feeling ever!

Huff... huff...!

Taegong hooked the exhausted creature's body, hauled it onto the deck, and tied it down securely.

It had taken less than an hour.

A creature that size should have required at least half a day of struggle.

Even the Spiritual Power he felt through the fishing rod seemed less than a quarter of what it normally was.

It was probably because of the electric circuit the craftsman had inscribed and the Suppression Talisman.

'I don't know much about that, but still.'

At that moment, Taegong had only one thought in his head.

He didn't want to stop.

He wanted to keep going.

The afterglow of that insanely thrilling bite-feel hadn't faded, and his hands were trembling.

The craftsman beside him held out a hand.

"Now let me try."

"..."

Fishermen were ultimately the kind of people who got addicted to the feel of a bite and could never leave the water for the rest of their lives.

Taegong had already devoted his life to fishing alone.

But with this amplifier...

He felt that he could spend every day doing nothing but eating and fishing, right up until he died, without a single regret.

"..."

In the end, Taegong reluctantly handed over the fishing rod.

* * *

I took the fishing rod he held out.

He didn't say anything, but I could tell.

His face, briefly visible through his crooked sunglasses, looked strangely dazed.

The smile still lingering at the corner of his mouth.

Anyone could see he was struggling to hide his excitement.

My hands were itching so badly I couldn't stand it anymore.

'All right. My turn.'

Plop.

I dropped in the lure.

Swoooosh!

The boat started moving again.

Tighten, release. Tighten, release.

Just as Taegong had done earlier, I gently made it mimic a Silver Scale Fish.

How much time had passed?

Snap!!

'I've got one!!!'

The fishing rod bent like a bow.

Bzzzzzzzzz!

The grip began vibrating like crazy.

Oooh, this is it!!!

Ha, it works! It works!

It was exactly as I'd designed it.

Yeah. Just like it was in the game!

Bzzzzz.

The force of it biting. The force of it twisting its body. Every single tentacle struggling.

I could feel it all in my palm!

Whirrrrr.

When the vibrations were strong, I let out the line.

That meant it still had plenty of fight left in it.

And it was already this good when I was only letting out line.

I... I!!!

I'd really wanted to try this!

Even in the game, the feel of fishing was incredible.

A tug-of-war with a giant fish.

The romance of finally hauling it in after a long battle!

Ha. This was it!

This was exactly it!!

Good, good.

Bzzz... bzzz...

'Here it comes.'

The vibrations had weakened by now.

This was where the real thing began.

All I had to do was pull now, and the bite-feel would begin.

'Let's go...!!!'

Let's do this!!!

I reached for the Suppression Talisman around my neck and loosened it further, releasing even more Spiritual Power.

Then I poured Spiritual Power into the fishing rod.

Crackle.

Cracklecraaaackle!!!

"...?"

Whoosh.

"..."

...The vibrations stopped.

Huh?

Squid?

Squid??

What was this... limp feeling traveling through the fishing line?

Soon, the boat came to a stop.

Bob.

The pitch-black creature floated to the surface, its color drained pale white, its tentacles hanging limply.

!!!!

What the hell!

Where'd my bite-feel go!

Give me back my fishing romance!!!!

'Aaah, no!!!'

"..."

* * *

'...What in the world?'

Taegong was one of Cheonghae's finest occult fishermen.

There might not even have been five people in all these waters who had caught a Giant Ink Squid with their own hands.

He was one of them.

That was why he had stayed.

He couldn't bear watching boats get tied up in the harbor one by one, while people who had spent their entire lives diving left one by one.

He hunted them every day, but at most, he could catch one a day.

Even that took all day, and there had been more than a few dangerous moments.

When he heard there were hundreds of them, he had thought it was practically impossible.

...But they had already caught two.

Flop, flop.

The black creature tied to the deck struggled. There was no more room, so two was the limit.

"Oh, it's still moving. It's moving."

Su-a was crouched beside the squid, poking it over and over with a finger.

'A Ritual Implement for catching water monsters.'

The request this man had received was supposed to be repairing a Sea Heart Stone mining machine...

He had expected the mining-machine repair alone to take over a week.

Taegong was on drinking terms with the elder at the workshop.

That elder had said it was a Ritual Implement that had taken half a lifetime to make.

Making something and fixing it were different, sure, but he had repaired it in thirty minutes right there on the spot.

And now he had immediately made a Ritual Implement that could catch water monsters?

"..."

Just as the man had said.

A creature that only ate live prey had bitten fake bait.

It didn't use ink, either.

Its strength had also felt like no more than a quarter of normal.

More than anything, there was no need at all to read the creature's pulse by touch.

He could feel everything through the vibrations.

'At this rate...'

Not just him.

Every fisherman in the area would be able to catch those things.

No, they didn't even need to be fishermen, as long as they could steer a boat and handle a little Spiritual Power.

Still, he had only heard that the man was a craftsman.

The Spiritual Power that poured out when he loosened his Suppression Talisman, and the power that had taken down a water monster in one blow, what exactly were they...?

"Hey, quit poking it. It'll bite you."

Taegong shifted his gaze toward the other side of the deck.

The man joking around with Su-a looked like nothing more than an easygoing young man you could find anywhere.

'...Could it be he came here intending to solve this problem from the beginning?'

* * *

Munch, munch.

Giant Ink Squid.

What was this? It was ridiculously good.

The tentacle meat of the thoroughly boiled Giant Ink Squid was chewy, and the more I chewed, the richer its savory flavor became.

No wonder it was considered a premium catch.

Ha. I dipped it in vinegar chili sauce, then red pepper paste too.

I suddenly wanted a beer for the first time in a while.