A water-blue net lay before them, each strand as fine as a hair. Futis said it spread a hundred meters across, yet gathered in his hand into a ball no bigger than a fist. Deep blue and sparkling, it was beautiful. Once submerged, its color made it impossible to spot, but even so, the cunning Giant Octopus Whales rarely fell for it.
A transparent rubber cord as thick as a finger, tough and elastic, was used to hold the whaling net. Giant Octopus Whales had boundless strength; a rigid rope would snap all too easily under their struggles. This elastic cord left them with strength they could not bring to bear.
There was also a Sealing Art ring. The diamond on it flashed with colors reflected from the sea, held in place by eight silver metal prongs. It looked rather like the eight-pronged Tiffany diamond rings sold at tourist spots in the lower world. Neither the net nor the cord would hold for long, so the whale had to be sealed with the ring at once. Powerful as the ring's Sealing Art was, it might still fail against a Giant Octopus Whale. That depended on the fisherman's skill.
"These three tools cost me five years of savings." As Futis spoke, he carefully took a round metal box from his storage ring. "But what's inside is the most precious, most important part. Whether we succeed depends on it."
The box was only the diameter of a ping-pong ball and held very little. Futis unscrewed it, revealing a brown lump. A strange smell drifted out. "This is Giant Octopus Whale Bait. Don't be fooled by how small it is—it costs a terrifying amount!" Futis said. "And you can't just buy it whenever you want. Even the finest Alchemist needs countless hours to