Spiked Devil Fish

After that perilous experience, Evan looked forward even more eagerly to the Savage Body Transformation he would gain upon advancing to the Formal Knight rank.

"Alas! If only I had potion assistance to go with White Sail Swordsmanship." Even Evan had to scratch his head over the original owner's lack of resources. You couldn't make bricks without straw.

After sorting out the goods in the potion shop, Evan locked up and stepped outside. It was already evening. The oil lamps along the streets near the Central City District had been lit, and the clock tower in the city center sounded six melodious clock chimes, reminding the citizens of the little town that it was now six o'clock in the evening.

Evan walked through street after street.

Every now and then, he saw well-dressed gentlemen elegantly pull finely crafted gold or silver pocket watches from their coats, leisurely setting the time beneath the envious gazes of passersby.

Small clocks had not been invented for very long, and delicate, portable pocket watches remained a luxury for the vast majority of ordinary citizens.

Taking out a pocket watch at any social gathering added considerable prestige to its owner, so ever since their invention, pocket watches had been highly sought after by the middle- and upper-income classes who cared about appearances.

The sight amused Evan slightly. It felt much like showing off the latest fruit-branded phone to his friends in his previous life. Still, a proper amount of competitiveness and vanity was one of the driving forces behind human progress, wasn't it?

Ten minutes later, Evan was sitting in Old Man York's little restaurant, enjoying a large serving of cheese steak and mushroom cream soup. Warm-toned light shone on the display windows, stretching the shadows of pedestrians outside into long streaks.

Fathers returning home after a day's labor, housewives rushing to the market before it closed to pick out cheap vegetables, children hurrying home after playing too long... The scene brimmed with the scent of ordinary life, something Evan had always longed for.

Unfortunately, he was alone again.

"My handsome little boy, what are you looking at?" A gentle voice sounded beside Evan's ear as a young waitress set a huge mug of Butter Beer in front of him.

"Lina, Sister!!" The girl was standing rather close, her ample chest pressing lightly against Evan's shoulder. Her cascading fiery red hair brushed against him, tickling his skin and making the boy's face flush as he awkwardly resisted her teasing.

"Hehehe..."

Seeing the effect she wanted, the red-haired girl named Lina covered her mouth and walked away with her head held high, like a victorious little hen.

There were plenty of similar memories in the original owner's mind. The culprits were not only Lina, the tavern owner's daughter, but also every marriageable girl from the nearby streets who considered herself somewhat attractive.

Evan's body in this life had an excellent foundation. He was tall, handsome, and fair-skinned. His swordsmanship training and aristocratic education from childhood gave him a unique bearing unlike that of most people his age in this era.

Moreover, as memories from his previous life beyond this era awakened, that quality became even more pronounced. On top of that, he owned a potion shop, making him a typical man of means.

All these qualities naturally held considerable appeal for the young girls nearby who were just beginning to fall in love. Most of them did not actually want anything to happen with Evan; they simply wanted to use him to show off their own charm.

Evan's current behavior merely continued the original owner's usual style to avoid exposing himself. A seasoned veteran in theory, he wasn't panicking at all! Probably...

"Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling..."

"Welcome! What would you like to eat today?" After efficiently taking the new customer's order, Lina returned to the kitchen. As she passed Evan, she even winked at him.

Evan, however, did not notice the girl's little gesture. His attention had been drawn to the two new customers, who carried a faint fishy smell.

"Are there really fish that big nearshore?"

"Of course there are! Everyone on my boat saw them. A whole lot of giant monster fish were chasing schools of migrating Red-Bellied Sturgeon everywhere. It was terrifying. They looked just like devils.

"They even had a long red spike on their tails. Forget their bodies—the spike alone was longer than a constable's sword."

The middle-aged sailor missing one front tooth spoke animatedly, endlessly recounting his adventure. To make himself more convincing, he even clearly described the time, place, and every other witness to his companion.

Whether his companion believed him or not, Evan, who had been listening closely, heard every word.

Were they talking about Spiked Devil Fish? Could a deep-sea school have swum into the waters near Leopold?

Hm... It had to be right. If he hadn't seen them himself, he couldn't have described the Spiked Devil Fish's characteristics in such detail.

If I can get a devil fish's spike to make potions, the growth of my Physical fitness during the Apprentice Knight stage will speed up considerably. Then I'll have more time to prepare for my knight advancement. Talk about a gift from heaven!

The devil fish's spike was an important Raw Material for an Apprentice Knight Assistance Potion. However, because of the fish's peculiar habits, it was difficult to obtain through trade. Ever since fleeing to Leopold, Evan had never seen the real thing, not even when Grandpa Leo was still alive.

Unless someone deliberately hunted them, even if Spiked Devil Fish were caught far out at sea, no one would specifically preserve a certain body part from such a particular fish. They were like dried lizard tails, useful only to certain people who operated in the shadows.

Having unexpectedly heard such good news, Evan felt invigorated. He picked up the Butter Beer on the table and took a huge gulp. Today was truly his lucky day. The frustration of being stuck in the potion shop for several days had long since vanished without a trace!

Early the next morning.

After making thorough preparations, Evan did not even go to the potion shop. He left Leopold and raced straight toward the place where that sailor had encountered the Spiked Devil Fish yesterday. In Evan's eyes, a single day's revenue was insignificant compared with his Knight's Path.

As he traveled, information related to the Spiked Devil Fish kept surfacing in Evan's mind.

This peculiar fish usually lived in the open sea. It was enormous and strange-looking, but not vicious by nature; it could even be called timid. Its diet consisted only of small fish and shrimp. Humans, large land animals in its eyes, were not on the menu at all.

The spike on its tail was not meant for attacking. When it fled, the spike turned red on its own, drawing an enemy's attention before detaching like a lizard's tail to create an opportunity for escape.

This time, Evan intended to use that "shed the spike to survive" trait to obtain one. Although these giant fish were gentle by nature, their size was no joke. Evan would have to have water in his brain to strip down and wrestle one underwater.

By the time he reached the coast where the devil fish had appeared, the sky had only just begun to brighten.

News of the giant strange fish in these waters had spread widely among the fishermen yesterday. There was basically no one lingering here today, which made Evan's hunt more convenient.

Still, worried that the school of devil fish might leave early, Evan had not had the chance to borrow even a small skiff from an acquaintance, one capable of working only near the shore. Looking around, he saw no kindly soul's forgotten fishing boat that he could borrow, either.

But that did not stump Evan. He used the axe he carried with him to chop down two trees of suitable thickness on the shore, then tied them together with rope. That made an exceedingly crude one-man "raft."

"Haha, perfect!"

Naturally, only someone as skilled and bold as Evan would dare take such a "raft" out to sea, even if it was only in the very nearshore waters where the beach remained visible.

Bringing rope and several stones of appropriate size, Evan set out, paddling with an oar carved from wood using his sword.

Splash, splash, splash—

By comparing the sailor's description with the distance from the shore and the positions of various landmarks, Evan quickly reached the place where that fisherman had encountered the devil fish yesterday.

He removed his clothes, tied a long rope around his waist with one end fastened to the raft, strapped a dagger to his calf, and plunged into the water.

The sea was not especially deep here, and enough sunlight filtered down to barely see. Evan immediately activated Data Vision, using it to search for the Spiked Devil Fish that liked to lie on the seabed and wait for prey.

If there were none in one spot, he returned to the surface, moved elsewhere, and dived again.

Evan was patient. He repeated the cycle of diving—searching—returning—changing locations—diving again. On the fourth attempt, Data Vision finally caught something unusual on the seabed.