Chapter 6

“Ugh….”

A groan escapes my lips.

It’s different.

The intensity of the pain from growth that comes every morning is different.

Chilling cold.

A damp, sharp stinging sensation accompanies it.

—

The method to obtain treasure chests.

The quality, determined by the color, depends on how well you fish.

Together with a spoonful of pain.

—

The art of choosing fishing spots and skillfully handling your rod.

All kinds of knowledge and pain mix together, scrambling my brain into chaos.

—

My consciousness flips over, waking up in a rather embarrassing state, drooling.

—

“Shit.”

—

Unconsciously biting down hard on my teeth, my mouth tingles faintly.

That strange pain at the tip of my teeth jolts my half-dead spirit back to life.

Do I have to endure this kind of pain every time I reach mid-level?

An indescribable fear stiffens my body.

Cold sweat trickles down as my tense body naturally reacts.

—

The pain was short but intense.

Perhaps the lack of severe aftereffects is somewhat comforting.

But, the shock was overwhelming. Enough to make me wish my skill level would forever remain at beginner level 9.

—

My shoulders ache.

I must’ve used too much force; my body was overly tensed.

Slowly rotating my head, I clumsily loosen up my stiffened muscles.

—

Sitting at the table, I drink cold water.

As the cool liquid slides down my throat, I feel somewhat revived.

The leftover water I pour over my head.

—

“Urgh…”

—

The feeling of the cold water running through my hair is nothing like the cold, damp sensation inside my brain.

Half-slouched in the chair, I blankly stare off for who knows how long.

When the discomfort of my wet clothes finally registers, I stand up.

—

Seriously.

—

This experience was absolutely miserable.

There’s no way filtering out such unbearable discomfort could ever be pleasant.

—

I shake my head violently to clear away the lingering traces.

Droplets scatter, my hair sways, its subtle weight gently vibrating my scalp.

—

With feeble movements, I push myself off the table and stagger outside.

The delightful anticipation of reaching mid-level. The dopamine rush of opening treasure chests. Brighter futures with higher-quality fish increasing profits.

—

Yeah. Filling my mind with bright, hopeful thoughts, I deeply inhale the cold morning air.

The crisp spring air filled with fresh grass scent fills the yard in front of my house. I forcibly stretch out my arms.

—

“Hooow.”

—

Taking a deep breath, I shake off the pain.

Truly, the pain was brief and intense, leaving little behind—just too shocking.

—

If I had to describe it, it’s like a clean, fiery spice.

So unbearably hot it burns itself into your memory forever.

Like the kind that makes you want to cut off your tongue if you ever taste it again.

—

Preparations are complete for heading to the lake.

Food, water, lantern, fishing rod.

—

Though there’s not much difference from yesterday, somehow…

It feels different. Just… different.

—

I wanted something sweet.

—

Forcing my reluctant feet to move, I head toward the lakeside.

Bad mood, poor condition—there’s still work to do.

Just mindlessly fishing for hours might help ease this.

They say focusing on one task can help forget when you’re overwhelmed with thoughts.

Of course, this pain won’t disappear so easily.

—

My heightened senses guide me into the world of fishing.

After leveling up to mid-level, what I see and feel has changed drastically.

Can I say I can now sense the flow of water?

Instinctively knowing where the fish will bite.

The paths the fish take seem vaguely visible.

—

The main routes most fish travel.

And the secret paths taken by rare ones.

—

Following this instinctive guidance, I cast my line.

After a few dozen seconds, a fish bites.

A yellow fish glowing faintly with a brown hue emerges.

—

“It’s a carp.”

—

Information about the fish spills out reflexively.

Another side effect of reaching mid-level?

Not just better fishing skills, but all sorts of trivia crammed into my head, making it hurt.

The merciless one-way data dump makes me shake my head.

—

The faint brown glow indicates a new quality available at mid-level.

Gold, silver, bronze—three qualities represented, each adding 100%, 65%, and 30% value respectively.

Seeing even the bronze quality means profit.

—

Regrettably, with no way to check prices, I toss it into my bag.

The fishing rod creates ripples on the sunlit surface, enticing the fish.

Definitely different from before.

The pace of fishing has accelerated dramatically. If stamina weren’t an issue, catching hundreds of fish in a day feels trivial.

—

Back when I was happy with 100 catches, it feels like just yesterday.

Growth speed is pretty fast.

Of course, spending half the day fishing helps.

By game standards, fishing 12 hours straight without growth would be strange.

—

Splash—

—

Reacting instantly to the movement of the rod.

Faster response times since reaching mid-level?

Proof the pain wasn’t wasted, though excessive.

Despite the pain, seeing results feels oddly satisfying.

—

Unfortunately, the fish was ordinary.

No special borders or anything.

—

However, a faint semi-transparent box hovers in the air.

A luxurious wooden chest bordered with gold.

—

It twirls twice in the air before opening.

Floating out is a sleek silver ingot.

—

“So this is a treasure chest?”

—

Relief washes over me upon learning about these treasure chests.

Even without extra effort, just fishing gives me access to them—it’s encouraging.

—

Unfortunately, no UI exists. No way to confirm details, whether it’s an iron or silver ingot.

Same goes for future equipment.

But this is something solvable tomorrow, so I don’t dwell on it much.

—

Items from the treasure chest easily transfer into my bag.

The image in the air dissipates like dust.

—

This situation is quite fun.

Catching ingots while fishing.

—

Me?

A man who fishes and gathers mining resources.

The appearance of a luck-based gacha element brings a smirk to my face.

—

Fishing becomes more enjoyable.

Though later stages may lose their necessity, I might still visit the lake with my rod occasionally.

—

Treasure chests and high-quality fish appear sporadically.

Occasionally, golden-shimmering fish dazzle the eyes.

Shorter intervals mean faster stamina depletion, but improved skills mitigate some of that.

—

The pain of reaching mid-level was harsh, but the accompanying rewards were substantial.

If only this pain didn’t exist, reaching mid-level would truly be enjoyable.

—

Various items emerged from subsequent treasure chests.

Boots, random trash, logs, wooden swords, shields.

Hooked by the odd gacha flavor, I continue fishing unaware of time passing.

Regrettably, nothing groundbreaking appeared.

Though I didn’t expect much on the first day, secretly hoping left me slightly disappointed.

Seems beginner’s luck doesn’t apply to me.

—

Fishing continued deep into the night, and with hundreds of fish and various items, Day 5 came to an end.

—

*

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[Current Gold: 523G]

—

The power of fishing is incredible. Earning over 300 gold in a single day.

Pain leads to growth, it seems. With such bountiful harvests, I’m slightly stunned.

—

Enough to achieve my initial small goal of unlocking the UI.

Fiddling with my fingers, I enter the mode screen.

Boldly selecting the [More UI – 500G] option, which glows brightly white.

—

“Wow…”

—

My bag slots become visible.

Including sold items, the bag displays ’22/100′.

Apparently, it holds up to 100 slots. Though smaller than expected, overlapping items stack in one slot.

Catching 30 carps stacks neatly in one slot.

Quite rational and efficient.

—

[List of Items]

[Milkweed]

[Wet Trash]

[Wooden Sword]

[Wet Boots]

[Iron Ingots] x3

[Iron Fragments] x11

[Silver Ingots]

…

—

22 items list sequentially.

Finally, the Valley of Starwind reveals its game-like nature.

—

To me, the Valley of Starwind once felt real, but now it feels somewhat gamified.

Feels good. Who’d imagine a game becoming reality? Not someone who originally played games anyway.

Throwing players into the wild isn’t exactly normal either.

—

Sadly, no good gear appears in my bag.

Mostly trash and refining materials. Since it’s the first day, selling trash is fine.

—

Upon closer inspection, one item stands out.

Presumably the fishing rod given by Maxim on Day 2.

—

[Silver Fishing Rod of Time]

Lv.56

“Fishing is Stamina!” – Reduces stamina consumption by 40%.

“Magnetic Float” – Increases the chance of fish biting by 30%.

—

“Oh.”

—

I squint my eyes.

Even after rechecking, it’s definitely a radiant, special named fishing rod.

—

No wonder fishing felt too easy.

Not only the unique effects, but also the inherent Lv.56 benefits cannot be ignored.

Easier catches, better quality appearances, reduced stamina consumption—all improvements.

Gratitude towards Maxim wells up anew.

I silently vow to cherish this rod even more.

—

With the ability to purchase seeds, I review the options.

Unlike before, sale prices, post-growth sale prices, and growth periods are clearly shown.

—

A liberating feeling.

UI, praise be!

Spending 500 gold on UI was far from a waste.

—

It was a risk for me.

Had I spent all 500 gold on seeds and farming, I might’ve established a quicker money-making foundation.

Seeing this success despite sacrificing that opportunity feels gratifying.

—

Using the remaining 23 gold, I spend 20 on seeds.

Musk melon, garlic, kale, cauliflower—seeds presumed to have good efficiency pile up.

Each seed exchanges at a decent rate of 3-10 per dream coin.

Roughly 100 seeds settle into my bag.

Thinking about starting farming sends a thrill through me.

—

With purchasing seeds as the final act, the exhausting day draws to a close.

Though less than a week has passed, it was the toughest day yet.

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