Chapter 19.1: Fishing for Experience

Chapter 19.1: Fishing for Experience

“Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”

Henry David Thoreau

I knew what I was after, and it was not just fish; it was more experience and another skill. The ants had stopped providing experience to level up and had never offered much in the first place, so I was after something else to catch and shamefully kill. It sounded a little psychopathic if I did not at least acknowledge to myself the primary motivation for my actions. I was doing it for the experience.

The ants had been an acceptable case of pest control in the house. I could also sweep my victims under the rug without my family noticing or at least commenting on their little one’s alarming habit of squishing them. It was not hard to imagine what their response might be if I started killing larger prey for no reason, and I doubted it would be favourable. It would have been harder to hide the corpses, as I was still mostly restricted to the house.

I needed larger prey but also acceptable prey to catch and kill for the experience it would give me. My mother ran a tight ship, the ants a temporary and only exception to the rule. There were hardly any mice or rats to kill, and I had neither the speed to catch them nor the skill to craft such traps.

I would have to look outside the house for a worthy opponent. One that would not run away but was also small enough for me to tackle. One that would be acceptable to kill and that I would have a reason to do so. Possibly for eating? The solution I thought would be a bucket, string and food scraps. It was time to go fishing! The problem, as always, was escaping the house. My prison guard, Aleera, was still on duty to keep me corralled, but hopefully, she could be persuaded or ultimately told to take me outside if I played my cards right.

It was time to deploy my natural baby charm and that persuasive reincarnated spirit.

. . .

Mother’s POV

As an infant, Kai was above and beyond any she had seen before, not that she had much practical experience. She knew that everyone believed their child to be unique, but compared to his cousins, Kai truly was. He displayed an innate and constant curiosity and fascination with the world around him. Of course, all newborns did, but the speed at which he seemed to pick things up was almost alarming. Still, it filled her with pride.

She knew it was unhealthy to compare the two siblings, but it was difficult not to some days. She just had to ensure she was enthusiastic in her praise for how much Aleera helped out. Certainly, Aleera was quick and talented at picking things up, but it sometimes felt like Kai was not learning but simply remembering how to do things. He picked them up that quickly. Only his size and developing body limited his actions as he toddled around.

Of course, it made some aspects of raising him a lot easier. Every mother has a special bond with their child, but he could make both her and Kaius understand through gestures and expressions whether he was hungry, thirsty, tired or needed to make a bowel movement. It was not difficult to understand him, even without words. So he was rarely upset through circumstance or the inability to communicate his desires.

In fact, the only time he truly became unruly was when his desires were denied, but that was the case for all children, surely. He just seemed so expressively and loudly cross.

Kai was particularly enamoured with the enticing waters of the lagoon. Whether it was watching his father leave every morning, standing there by the door, or the water itself now that he had managed to get his feet beneath him, he was drawn to it, much to his father’s delight and my despair. Despite his tender age and my reluctance, his natural charm offensive of waving to his father every morning slowly drew us closer and closer to the lagoon’s edge. It started simply enough with a wave of goodbye in the morning that tugged on my heartstrings and made my stoic husband act the fool in returning it.

It always made my morning, but somehow unknowingly, Kai managed to drag Aleera and me further and further from the doorway, following his father, until we found ourselves eventually standing on the water’s edge, watching him sail off each morning.

Even at such a young age, his enthusiasm for exploring the world was evident in every halting step he took. Tugged by our heartstrings, it was almost impossible to deny him.

Finally, by the end of the week, we stood at the water’s edge, and I watched with wonder as his eyes twinkled with excitement. Kai cooed and gurgled as he reached out toward the water. Words were coming closer and closer every day. His tiny hands splashed playfully as if beckoning his parents to grant his wish.

His father didn’t help.

“Kai is drawn to the water like iron to the Lodestone, a little fisherman.” Kaius smiled at his son’s enthusiasm as he threw his bag on board the boat.

“Following in his father’s footsteps,” he added proudly.

“Indeed, he seems worryingly captivated, much like his father.” She smiled sardonically. Her star wouldn’t have to deal with temper tantrums once he had sailed away, and she attempted to take Kai back inside.

“I find you no less captivating, my love.” He leaned in for a farewell kiss attempting to defuse the situation. “There’s no harm in it. The lagoon is safe enough.” He quipped as he stepped aboard.

“But he’s so young, Kaius. He can barely walk, let alone swim properly?” she pointed out to Kaius, fleeing his familial duties even if he was sailing out to catch their supper and earn a living.

“Let him explore the shore, I’ll teach him how to swim sooner or later, and he has his sister to look out for him.” He shrugged, untying his fishing boat. He felt they had already had this conversation and that the decision had been made.

“I can’t help but think that later would be better.” She fretted, knowing the decision would be left up to her. She would also have to deal with the consequences of the decision.

“Steady,” she chided, but she didn’t stop me. Instead, she was watching as I attempted to do it for myself.

I struck, pulling the net up with the crab inside it. I even managed to catch a little minnow with my strike, and she helped me deposit the two of them in the wooden pail we had brought.

Ding! Fishing (LV 1)

Success! A new skill. Surely that meant that I had to have achieved some combat experience too. I rushed into my mind to check my progress. Bingo, I’d gained 10 points for the minnow. The crab was still kicking around in the bucket, attempting to crawl out of it, but after flopping around for a while, the minnow had breathed its last.

Level: 9

Name: Kai

Experience: 39,010/ 102,400

Age: 6 months 2 weeks 4 days 12 hr 10 min

Health: 1020/1020 Stamina: 433/433 Mana: 340/340 Trait: Long-lived

Vitality: 102

Endurance: 17

Strength: 17

Dexterity: 17

Senses: 42

Mind: 97

Clarity: 29

Magic: 34

Free Points: 10

Skills: Time sense (LV 15) Listening (LV 14) Meditation (LV 14) Sense Mana (LV 14) Swimming (LV 14) Eavesdrop (LV 14) Memorisation (LV 14) Echolocation (LV 14) Recall (Lv14) Composition (Lv 14) Mind fortress (Lv 14) Expel Mana (Lv 14) Absorb Mana (Lv 14) Mana Drain (Lv 6) Pain tolerance (Lv 5) Humming (Lv 14) Sneak (Lv 10) Whistling (Lv 14) Singing (Lv 14) and Drumming (Lv 14) Piano (Lv 14), Violin (Lv 14), Trombone (Lv 14), Saxophone (Lv 14) Running (Lv 1) Fishing (LV1)

Skill experience: 14,300

Origin experience: 10,000

Combat experience: 0 + 10

Crafting experience: 90

. . .

Together, we stood in the shallows, my baby noises mixing with Aleera’s guidance. We laughed, our voices a symphony of sibling joy. I was delighted by the success of my experiment. Aleera, happy to hear me laughing, just joined in with my infectious sound.

. . .