Chapter 872 – 872. God’S Atlantis
I cast the fishing line again, this time a bit further out.
*Splash.*
The sound of the float hitting the lake was pleasing.
Not even three minutes passed before I got a bite.
‘Huh? I didn’t even use the lure effect of the fishing hook?’
Since I had a bite, I pulled the rod. The surroundings were more boisterous than I was.
“Gasp!”
“It’s a black-haired octopus this time!”
“He caught another one?!”
A tentacled octopus with hair was caught on the hook. Why is there an octopus in the lake, you ask? You must remember that this isn’t Earth, but Atlantis. This place is home to all sorts of bizarre creatures.
“Even a black-haired octopus… You’re amazing. The black-haired octopus is worth 15 points. Currently, Seong Yujin is in the lead. You’re a natural fisherman.”
The tournament judge showered me with praise.
“Haha. I was just lucky.”
The judge didn’t leave my side. It seemed like he was going to keep an eye on me since I caught two big ones in less than 10 minutes. It was a bit bothersome, but it was no problem. There was no way the special fishing hook would be discovered.
After that, I kept catching fish one after another. I seemed to be catching at least one every three minutes. And most of them were either rare fish or big catches. In less than an hour, I had earned 100 points.
The judge treated me like the winner even though there were still more than 8 hours left until the end of the tournament.
“You’re amazing. I’m someone who enjoys fishing more than 10 times a month, but I’ve never seen anyone fish like you. Even among professional fishermen, no one would be able to keep up with you!”
The judge’s eyes sparkled. I could feel the respect he had for me. I gave a casual reply and cast the line again.
“Sir. Could you teach me the secret to fishing? I really want to know your secret.”
The secret was the special fishing hook. But the moment I said that out loud, it would be considered cheating.
“My secret is luck.”
“Luck… Ah! Are you talking about your luck stat?”
“That’s right. Every time I got a bonus stat, I only increased my luck stat.”
“Getting bonus stats is not easy either…!”
He was impressed.
The luck stat was known to be a useless stat.
Unlike strength, agility, stamina, and mana, it wasn’t easily felt. There was a strong perception that it was several times better to increase the mana stat rather than the luck stat. And that was true. A moderately high luck stat was meaningless.
‘My luck stat is 38. It’s among the highest among the Exiles, but the only place it’s useful is when doing things like fishing.’
But I knew the power of this luck stat through the original story. If I raised the luck stat even higher, it would exert great power in dramatic situations.
I got a bite. The pull was unusual. I jumped up from my seat and pulled the rod. I caught a giant freshwater shrimp that was over 1 meter long.
“Oooooooooh!”
The cheers from the surroundings were a bonus.
***
The winner of the fishing tournament was decided in less than two hours. It wasn’t that the winner was actually decided, but everyone around me thought so. And I thought so too. The reality was that the other participants couldn’t even catch up to 10% of my fishing score.
‘It was so incredible that I even had to be investigated by the judges, but nothing came of it.’
The effect of the fishing hook couldn’t be detected by the system. So, would a human be able to detect it? Rather, I had only received their certification.
“You. Your skills are amazing. May I sit next to you?”
An elderly man with black hair and a short, rough beard spoke to me.
I smiled and replied.
“Of course, sir. It’s not like I’ve reserved this spot, so please sit wherever you like.”
“Sir? I’m not old enough to be called that yet! My name is Paulo, so please call me Paulo.”
He said with a serious expression.
“I’m Seong Yujin. Call me whatever you like.”
Paulo.
He was the person I was monitoring. He wasn’t known to the public, but he was a member of the Barclay Legion. He was in charge of the external affairs of the Barclay Legion. And he was hoping for the destruction of the Barclay Legion and was waiting for the right time.
“I’ve been watching you since earlier. You’re very good at fishing.”
“I was just lucky.”
“It seems so. What’s your luck stat? Is it over 30?”
“Do you want to know the exact number? I don’t think it’s in my best interest to just tell you.”
Among the Exiles, it was common not to reveal one’s stats to others. Directly asking someone about their stats was very rude.
“I know it’s rude, but I’m just too curious. Can you tell me? If you do… that’s right. Just one thing. I’ll answer any question you want.”
I took my hand off the fishing rod for a moment and looked at Paulo. He was wearing a faint smile.
“…My luck stat is 38.”
“I knew it was over 30. I’ve seen a lot of Exiles, and the luck stat of Exiles who are as lucky as you is usually over 30. But it’s lower than I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“50. I thought it would be at least that much. You seemed too lucky for someone with a luck stat of 38. You might be born with luck, regardless of your luck stat.”
“What does that mean?”
“Luck and the luck stat are separate. That’s the conclusion I’ve come to from experience. Don’t rely too much on your luck stat.”
“…Yes. Well, I don’t understand, but I’ll take your advice.”
“Now, it’s your turn. What question do you have for me? I knew you were subtly watching me since earlier. This is a rare opportunity, so think carefully about your question.”
“…You knew?”
“Is that your question?”
“You know that’s not it.”
Paulo chuckled.
“I’m a bit sensitive to gazes. And you’re the sub-master of the A-Plan Legion and the inspector directly appointed by the Illusionist. I was also watching you. Is that your answer?”
“I think I underestimated you, Paulo. I apologize.”
“Haha. It’s okay. I’d rather you underestimate me more. That way, you won’t let your guard down, right?”
“……”
It seemed that the position of a member of the Barclay Legion, the best legion on the Atlantis continent, wasn’t just for show.
“Here’s my question. What do you think of the Angelus Legion?”
“Are you asking for my opinion? Or are you asking for the Barclay Legion’s intentions?”
“…Could you answer both?”
“You’re bold. I don’t dislike young people like you. I’ll answer you. The Barclay Legion considers the Angelus Legion a thorn in their side.”
“So you see the Angelus Legion as a threat?”
“They are a threat. They are… You know, don’t you?”
Of course, I know.
The legion that joined hands with the Crown Prince was the Angelus Legion. The members of the Angelus Legion were not Exiles, but angels.
Angels.
The divine beings who intervened in Atlantis by using illegal methods.
“So Barclay is hostile to Angelus.”
“We are hostile, but we have no intention of going to war with Angelus.”
“…Now, tell me Paulo’s personal opinion.”
Paulo was silent for a moment before speaking.
“…You. Have you ever met an angel?”
“Yes, I have.”
“What were they like?”
“They were naive angels. They were stupid.”
“Haha. You’re funny. It seems you met a clumsy angel. The angels I’ve seen… were no different from demons. They see humans as inferior to them. They see them as animals to be ruled. To put it bluntly, the humans that angels see are no different from dogs and pigs. I think angels are more dangerous than anything else.”
“That’s similar to me. Why don’t you join hands with me?”
“What would I gain by joining hands with you?”
“Hmm. The Illusionist would like it. The Illusionist is a fair person, and he rewards those who do good deeds.”
“I’m sorry. I have no desire to become a noble.”
“That’s a shame.”
“……”
“……”
After that, we were silent as if we had made a promise.
And when we spoke again, we only talked about fishing.
‘That’s a shame. I should have approached Paulo more carefully….’
And the goal was to find out why Paulo, a member of Barclay, participated in the fishing tournament.
‘Could it be that he just came to enjoy the fishing tournament?’
Paulo was just a character who appeared a few times in the original story, so I didn’t know if his hobby was fishing.
“Congratulations on winning the fishing tournament.”
“Why are you saying that all of a sudden? Are you going somewhere?”
“I have an appointment. I’ll be going now. You enjoy your fishing. If we have the chance, we’ll meet again later.”
“……Be careful.”
I was very curious about who he was meeting. The other person was probably a traitor of the Angelus Legion who wasn’t known in the original story.
I smacked my lips as I watched Paulo leave. Paulo’s abilities were beyond my imagination. Even if I used my unique skill, Deception (SS), to follow him, I would be found out quickly.
***
“Congratulations on winning the decennial fishing tournament! Seong Yujin! You won with an overwhelming lead over second place, would you like to say a few words?”
The host held the microphone out to me. Why do I have to give a winning speech for something like this? I grumbled inwardly and took the microphone and gave my speech.
“This is a truly moving moment for me… I dedicate this victory to my family, my colleagues, and my divine beings.”
「The Lord of the Sky sponsors 1,000 AP.
“I don’t need it.”」
「The King of the Demonic Sky sponsors 1,000 AP.
“I’ll gladly accept it. Kiki.”」
My divine beings showed contrasting reactions. The Lord of the Sky was cold, and the King of the Demonic Sky was full of mischief.
I finished my speech and received the trophy and the rewards. And as if they were waiting for it, the system notification window popped up.
「You have won the decennial fishing tournament with an overwhelming record score.」
「You have been given the title ‘Professional Fisherman’.」
「Your stamina stat has increased by 1.」
I received the winning rewards.
The eyeball of a rainbow squid, which was rumored to appear once every thousand years.
It looked more like a rainbow marble than an eyeball.
「Rainbow Squid Eyeball
Increases 3 random stats.
Rank: A」
There was no reason to hesitate. I immediately put it in my mouth. It tasted surprisingly like sweet candy.
「Your mana stat has increased by 2, and your strength stat has increased by 1.」
「Luck envelops you.」
「Your agility stat has increased by 1, and your luck stat has increased by 1.」
‘This is the power of luck! Keee~! It’s so sweet!’
***
Elena arrived at the island.
She arrived at the island faster than I had expected. She looked tired, which was the first time I had seen her in a while.
She briefly greeted the A-Plan Legion at the mansion and then called me to her office.
“It’s been a while, Elena. Thanks to you, I’m living comfortably in this mansion. You came to the decennial so quickly, why don’t we go out and play tomorrow? There’s a wine tasting event. If you pay a certain amount, you can taste wines from all over the world.”
“No thanks. I already know the taste of all the wines in the world.”
Elena was one of the Imperial Five. It would be strange if she didn’t know the taste of wine. I shrugged once and looked at her. And I got rid of my playfulness and opened my mouth somewhat seriously.
“……It seems like you’ve been overusing illusions.”
“There was no time. I had no choice but to use illusions to save time.”
I had learned recently that the more Elena used illusions, the weaker her body became. Of course, she could recover if she rested well.
But the problem was the illusions she used with all her heart. Illusions that were comparable to the power of a god. Those illusions were activated at the cost of her lifespan.
I sighed.
“Why did you call me?”
“I need the information you have about the future. What happens at the decennial?”
Elena had noticed it. The unease that flowed behind the splendor of the decennial.
‘The original story was a novel. And novels are written with the main character at the center of the events.’
In other words, an incident would occur at the decennial.
An incident that would make the main character, Kang Myungjin, a hero.
“You know about the monster hunting tournament, right? There will be a terrorist attack there to kill the Third Prince.”
