Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 163

Chapter 163: The Unusual Rain and Fishing Battle

 

On the morning of September 3rd, yesterday’s weather forecast had predicted sunny weather for the week, but it was raining everywhere.

 

Moreover, this phenomenon wasn’t limited to Japan. It seemed to be occurring on a global scale. The news suggested that perhaps this rain might be the cause of the next disaster.

 

While walking with an umbrella in hand, I asked my support system, Lucifel, which had been added into my smartphone, about the situation. She responded in a mechanical voice through my wireless earbuds.

 

?I can faintly detect components in this rain that do not exist in the real world. Based on my analysis, the probability of a disaster occurring due to ?Astral Online? is 99 percent.?

 

“I see, understood. But if this rain is the next world disaster, what kind of impact will it have?”

 

It was Shiori, my younger sister who’s been diligently leveling up in ?Astral Online? recently, who answered Sora’s question about the sky.

 

Walking beside me in her school uniform, she held an umbrella and appeared to ponder for a moment before mentioning something that could happen because of the rain based on her knowledge.

 

“Well, I’ve heard that when people stop getting sunlight, they tend to get sick more easily.”

 

“That sounds like a hassle in itself.”

 

“But given that we can use skills now, should we really think about things the same way as normal humans?”

 

“Now that you mention it, that’s true…”

 

As for me, I can use all the skills set for my profession, ?Enchanter?, in the game.

 

For instance, if I apply an elemental attribute, my body’s surface gets covered by that element. If I use an attack power enhancement, I could easily split a branch in half with a knife-hand strike.

 

Currently, I’m using a skill that grants resistance to status ailments, so maybe I won’t catch a cold for my entire life.

 

Shiori, who often suffers from headaches when it rains because of the barometric pressure, believes her good mood today is due to that.

 

“It’s a bit scary to be different from normal, but thanks to you, big brother, I feel good because I don’t have a headache.”

 

“That’s good to hear. Kurono is… as energetic as ever.”

 

“Rin, rin, rin?”

 

For some reason, the silver-haired, blue-eyed girl, Kurono, was walking with her arms linked with mine under the same umbrella, humming a tune. Seeing her cheerful demeanor made Sora smile slightly.

 

The reason she was in such a good mood was simple: she was happy just to be going to school with me.

 

Shiori chuckled and asked Kurono, “Are you having fun at school, Kurono-chan?”

 

“Yeah! Everyone is interesting and it’s fun!”

 

“Our classmates are all quirky in a good way!”

 

There are times when I wonder if it’s really fair to call them quirky, but miraculously, there isn’t a single bad person among them.

 

However, when it comes to Kurono, I have to be especially careful because the class monitor, Maeda, dotes on her and will try to take her home if I let my guard down.

 

I have to brace myself for whatever method Maeda might use today to try to whisk Kurono away.

 

With a firm resolve to face the class monitor, I tightened my grip on my left arm, which was linked with Kurono’s.

 

Seeing this, my younger sister Shiori gave me a somewhat exasperated look and murmured, “That sounds tough.”

 

………………………

 

After finishing the morning classes and returning home, Sora logged into ?Astral Online?, sitting in a formal position on the wooden floor of her room.

 

“…Sora-sama, are you okay?”

 

Laura, concerned, called out to her, and Sora responded with a forced smile.

 

“Ah, yeah… I’m fine. There’s no problem.”

 

“…You look very tired, though.”

 

“I had a lot going on up in the heavens,” Sora replied with a wry smile.

 

Why did I have a tired look on my face just after logging in?

 

That was because, at school today, I had been fiercely battling to protect Kurono from the class monitor.

 

After a grueling struggle, I barely emerged victorious, but as a result, I had consumed almost all of my physical and mental energy.

 

It’s not just because of that, though…

 

Just moments after logging in, Sora had made a blunder when trying to escape the situation of being sandwiched between the two girls. She lost her balance and ended up diving face-first into Laura’s chest.

 

Seeing this disrespectful display towards a princess, Kuro gave her a displeased look and pinched her left cheek quite hard.

 

Previously, I had accidentally ended up in a similar situation with her on the bed and received a slap that had perfectly sent me spinning through the air, so the fact that the punishment for burying my face in the princess’s chest was just a pinch was very lenient.

 

While reflecting on that, I sat down voluntarily in a formal position to express my remorse, and Inori, who had just logged in, gave me a puzzled look.

 

Dressed in a shirt that was overly casual and sporting a rather menacing pair of curves, she lightly stretched while questioning me.

 

“Sora-kun, what are you doing?”

 

“No, I’m just voluntarily taking my punishment.”

 

“I see… but I don’t understand.”

 

If she did understand, I’d actually be impressed.

 

With Inori’s arrival, we decided to leave the room and head up to the deck.

 

Everyone, including me, stopped sitting formally and changed from our current room attire to our main armor and protective gear.

 

Once we finished preparing by strapping on our main weapons, we left the room to meet Captain Lucas.

 

As we stepped onto the deck, the sun in ?Astral Online? had just risen, and a blinding light flooded our eyes.

 

“Wow, it’s bright…”

 

Looking around, I noticed that while the crew was busy working, Lucas was sitting on a chair at the edge of the ship, seemingly fishing.

 

As I approached to greet him, the dog-eared guy perked up his ears on top of his head and turned his gaze toward me.

 

“Hey, looks like you slept well!”

 

“Thanks to you. Um…”

 

Just as I was about to say something, a window screen suddenly appeared right in front of me.

 

It displayed several quests I could accept from him.

 

?Cleaning Quest?

?Description? Literally cleaning the ship. The experience points gained will vary based on the evaluation upon completion.

 

?Fishing Quest?

?Description? A quest that simply involves fishing. The experience points gained will vary based on what you catch.

 

Hmm, as expected on a ship at sea, there’s surprisingly little to do.

 

After accepting the fishing quest, I was given a fishing rod and a box to store the caught fish, along with Lucas cheerfully saying, “I’m counting on you!”

 

Next to the party list in the upper left corner, a number “0” was added for each of us.

 

When I checked with the support system, Lucifel, it seemed to indicate some sort of personal score.

 

Holding our fishing rods, we lined up at the railing and cast our baited hooks into the sea with an overhand throw.

 

Right at the start, Sora and Laura both had fish bite their bait and struggled a bit with the strong pulls, but they managed to reel them in successfully.

 

Both of them caught large fish that looked like tuna right away, prompting Kuro and Inori to clap in surprise.

 

“Whoa, that was quick!”

 

“You both are good at fishing!”

 

While I appreciated the compliments, I was simply casting into areas where the fish were abundant thanks to my ?Perception? skill.

 

Sora efficiently reeled in fish after fish, tossing them into the box.

 

It was quite impressive that Laura, who presumably didn’t have a ?Perception? skill, was also catching fish at a similar pace.

 

Curious about the same thing, Kuro asked while catching a fish that looked like a horse mackerel, and Laura paused for a moment before responding.

 

“….My mom and I would often sneak out of the castle, disguise ourselves, and go fishing at the harbor.”

 

That’s a pretty unusual sight. A queen and princess fishing together, which explains why she’s skilled at it.

 

Since simply fishing like this would be a bit boring, Sora made a suggestion.

 

“Alright, let’s have a competition to see who can catch the most fish before the time limit. The person who catches the most can decide the arrangement of the beds. Sounds fun, right?”

 

“‘!?’” x2

 

After I said something so provocative, I suddenly felt an intense fighting spirit radiating from Kuro and Inori on either side of me.

 

Kuro?

 

Inori?

 

…This is bad. They’re serious. If I don’t give it my all, I feel like I’ll lose.

 

In a panic, I hurriedly increased my fishing pace to secure the spot at the very end, where I wouldn’t be sandwiched between the girls.

 

However, right after that, both of them showed incredible determination, and with every fish they caught.

 

Another fish would bite the tail of the lead fish that had bitten the bait. It felt like some kind of miraculous luck.

 

They pulled ahead of Sora and Laura, taking the lead in the fishing battle.