Chapter 202 147: Fire Witch 2

And on this island, someone had built a chapel.

She stopped praying. She had been trying to contact the Grey Mother of the Fire Element Divine Hall, hoping the Prayer would provide an answer to her confusion.

But all she received was a power that didn't belong to the Fire Element Divine Hall, and... a powerful pull from the Dagger...

...

"That's the gist of what happened." Having finished her story, Noxia clasped her hands before her and said softly, "You probably aren't interested in the other events of my journey, so I won't elaborate further."

"No, I'm very interested."

Luo Ge immediately shook his head.

"But I don't have time right now. Tell me the details later."

"...Of course, Mr. Luo Ge." Noxia was taken aback for a moment, then smiled in spite of herself and nodded.

Luo Ge had already used the power of the Spirit Candle to materialize a pen and paper, on which he jotted down the key points.

"I'll figure out a way to find the Fire Element Divine Hall." Luo Ge placed the paper into the Spirit Candle Space and said to Noxia, "As for this soul-burning Prayer, you are not to use it."

"For now, just compile the Prayers you've recalled and give them to me."

'As a qualified Fire Witch, Noxia has studied many Prayers. Aside from a few special ones, most of them should be transferable to players.'

Upon hearing this, Noxia pursed her lips slightly and gave a gentle nod.

...

"I'm telling you, Yu."

"It's not like you can't afford that new Spirit Fire Sail. Why not just buy it? Think of how many fish you could haul up in one go. Isn't that better than painstakingly fishing them one by one?"

In Sea Zone One, Old Yan sat on a Spirit Fire Ship with Brother Yu, speaking with a helpless tone.

"No way. If you use a net, can you even call that fishing?" Brother Yu stubbornly shook his head.

"Then why don't you buy the sail and let me have a go with the net?"

"Not buying it. Out of Wax Oil."

"What? Then what did you spend all that Wax Oil on?"

"Leveling up, upgrading my Talent, enhancing my Abilities."

"Oh?" Hearing Brother Yu say that, Old Yan's interest was suddenly piqued. "What'd you get? Let me see."

Without missing a beat, Brother Yu sent his information over in the chat box.

[Never Air Force Fisherman]

[Tier: Scorching Charcoal]

[Level: 32]

[Warfire: Law Knight]

[Ability Value: ...]

[Talent: Proof of the Law, Piercing Heavy Strike (A standard charged Heavy Strike will deal equivalent piercing damage)]

[Ability: Dodge (70%), Recovery Wax Block (5), Block, Lethal Strike, Candle Bone Whistle]

[Skill: Spinning Flying Axe, Power Spell, Gulard Heavy Strike, Crescent Moon Sword Qi, Law Oath, King's Battle Cry]

"Level 32, a Molten Slag Talent, and one without any Attribute bonuses... I've seen people on the forums saying these kinds of Talents are extremely rare. They don't add Attributes, but their effects are incredibly strong..."

"And your Dodge, Lethal Strike, and Block Abilities are all maxed out..."

"Tsk, tsk. How much Wax Oil did all that cost?"

"You sly dog. And you said you weren't taking this game seriously? Don't tell me you're gonna try and lie that you got all this from fishing? Bullshit," Old Yan couldn't help but tease.

"..."

Brother Yu didn't even look embarrassed. He just scratched his face and said, "Well, the fishing rates were bugged for a while... couldn't just go home empty-handed, so I went into the water and took care of a few things. Just a side gig, you know, a side gig..."

'Right, the fishing rates were "bugged"...'

'Still trying to play it tough.' Old Yan had to suppress a laugh.

"It was in the forum announcement! The rates were bugged! Go look for yourself if you don't believe me." Seeing Old Yan just smiling without a word, Brother Yu started to get agitated.

"Alright, alright, the rates were bugged. I get it, I get it," Old Yan said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Since you're not buying the Spirit Fire Sail, then at least take me monster hunting, right? My Level is way too low."

"All that nonsense can wait until I'm done fishing."

'Nonsense...'

"..." Old Yan was speechless. 'This guy's unbelievable.'

After playing for a while now, Old Yan had figured out that the main gameplay loop was combat and exploration, and it was pretty damn fun, too.

Fishing was just a small side activity, a way to support exploration.

But Brother Yu had it completely backward, treating combat and exploration as secondary and focusing all his research on fishing...

The absurd part was, you couldn't say Old Yu's "main profession" was thriving. In fact, you could say it was a complete disaster.

And yet, somehow, he could just mess around with his "side gig" and become this powerful...

Old Yan really couldn't wrap his head around it.

But what could he do? This was his old friend, after all.

At that thought, Old Yan could only roll his eyes and sit down to fish obediently.

However, just as he was fiddling with his bait, his gaze flickered over to something unusual.

At that exact moment, Brother Yu's eyes lit up too.

"...Yu! Hey, Yu!" Old Yan squinted into the distance, patting Brother Yu's shoulder. "Is that a ship heading our way?" he asked, his voice uncertain.

"Knock it off! I've got a bite! A bite!"

Brother Yu slapped his hand away and stared intently at the surface of the water, his face alight with excitement as he began to fight the line and reel it in.

But just then,

Shards of flying pottery shot toward them like blades.

SNAP!

With a soft snap, Brother Yu watched, wide-eyed, as his fishing line was severed. The massive, dark fish that had been so close thrashed on the surface for a moment before quickly fleeing into the depths.

"..."

Brother Yu's hands, still holding the rod, froze. The excited look on his face instantly turned rigid, replaced by the sight of veins throbbing on his temples...

"Old Yu, stop fucking fishing!" Old Yan cried out anxiously. "It's that Firewood Thief from the forums...!"

Before he could finish, several shards of flying pottery pierced through his body, and Old Yan instantly turned into a pile of Wax Ash.

"Ah, crap!" As a Wandering Soul, Old Yan could see much more clearly from above the ship. The enemy was indeed the Pottery Man from the forums.

Some players had gathered a huge party to fight it before and still lost. Getting killed by it came with a heavy death penalty and a ridiculously long respawn timer.

"Old Yu, run! Get out of there!"

Old Yu's gear wasn't cheap. If the Firewood Thief killed him, he'd lose everything, right down to his underwear!

At this thought, Old Yan quickly looked down, wanting to warn Brother Yu.

But when he looked down at the sea, he was stunned to see that Brother Yu had abandoned the Spirit Fire Ship and, with a SPLASH, jumped into the water.

He seemed to be looking for something.

"Old Yu, are you fucking crazy? Run!" Old Yan's eyes were wide with disbelief, having no idea what Brother Yu was thinking.

But Brother Yu remained in the water, stubbornly diving and searching for something.

In the distance, the Firewood Thief was getting closer and closer.

"..." Perhaps because Brother Yu was in the water, the Pottery Man didn't go for a head smash or a Heart-digging attack. Instead, it directly summoned several Touches in the Jar, which shot straight toward Brother Yu in the sea.

'It's over!'

Seeing this, Old Yan sighed.

'I don't know what's gotten into Old Yu, not even running when the Firewood Thief shows up...'

He shook his head at the thought, preparing to wait for Brother Yu's Wandering Soul to rise so they could return together.

However...

After more than a minute passed, Old Yan still hadn't seen Brother Yu's Wandering Soul ascend.

And there seemed to be some strange commotion in the dark water.

"What's that kid up to?" Old Yan couldn't help but mutter.

He wanted to get a clearer look, but the pull of the Spirit Candle was growing stronger.

He had no choice but to keep his eyes fixed on the sea as he was pulled back.

Just a moment before his vision was completely obscured by the Dark Boundary,

SPLASH! A huge Touch in the Jar suddenly burst from the water without warning. The pottery shattered, its body torn to pieces, and strange blood floated on the surface...

It was followed by a second, and then a third!

"Old Yu..."

Old Yan's eyes widened, but his vision was quickly swallowed by the dark boundary.

"Agh, don't block my view! Goddammit, how unlucky!"

Old Yan slapped his thigh in frustration.

He then began to sprint toward the Milestone Spirit Candle, determined to return as quickly as possible.

Killed by the Firewood Thief?

What was there to be afraid of? His Level was low and he had nothing on him. If he died, he died.

But whatever that guy Yu was up to, he had to see it with his own eyes!