The bustle of the crowd was again present in the town square at the same time that the agreed time arrived and the voice of the mayor was present once again.
"Haha, it looks like this year is going to be lively too, I hope everyone is prepared and have all their gear ready. For the questions that are still on their minds, the event will follow the same rules as last year, your goal will be to catch the most fish and deliver the bucket with them to decide the winner." The shouts that came from the crowd gave an understanding that everyone was prepared for what was coming, in addition to seeing everyone firmly gripping their fishing rod gave a feeling of pure competitiveness making the tension felt in the air. "We have given ourselves the task of delimiting the allowed zones for fishing, so anyone who goes beyond them will also be seen as disqualification, each fish will be worth one point, so no matter how rare or how big your catch, so I haven't nothing more to say, let the fishing contest begin!"
And with what seemed like a war cry3, the crowd that was in the square began to separate at full speed at the same time that more shouts of emotion were heard throughout the place.
Blake was caught up in this and was carried away by the rush of people until he realized that he was standing right in front of the huge lake near the village, there were a lot of people around and everyone was doing their best to find a good area. He did the same until he saw one that was not occupied, but when he arrived, he also noticed the people who were near him.
"This rod is heavy. (I'm tired.)" That lazy voice obviously belonged to Karina.
"I'm sure that the products in the shipping box weigh less than this huge rod." That refined voice accompanied by opposites implied that Sofia was in a good mood.
"It's true. (I wish I could throw it away...)"
"Your energy is enormous as always, don't you think so, Raven?" And following her gaze, Raven's figure appeared as she seemed incredibly focused.
"I'll make sure to catch a lot of fish..."
"Hehe, it seems that compared to Karina, you're not giving off much enthusiasm, should I try too?" Those kinds of conversations reached Blake's ears, there were several of his acquaintances in the area and he couldn't just ignore the scenes that were seen everywhere.
"Well, you can be sure I'll let you play with them after I catch them." Sakuya was firmly taking the fishing pole from her as she reminded Pia of that.
"But make sure you don't hurt them... Or you'll pay for it." Again, Pia was saying things that didn't fit her personality making Sakuya nervous.
"D-Don't worry, no one will get hurt."
"Good… The fishes are very cute!"
'Where did that murderous look go from earlier?' Those were Sakuya's thoughts, but she had to come back to reality since she was fulfilling the role of her babysitter at the time.
"Sigh... It's a shame to have to use a rod, I'm sure I'd be victorious if I just used my hands." Shino spoke with a bit of disappointment.
"Last time you got disqualified for that."
"It's true, Ufufu." Blake was still immersed in the surrounding conversations until he realized that he still hadn't caught anything, so he tried to concentrate again, but when he was about to, he realized something.
'Can I feel where the fish are?' That question came from him when he realized how he could see the familiar shadows on the surface of the water in the characteristic shape of a fish, but now they were clearer than before, so he didn't think much as he picked up his rod and cast it towards one of these.
He could see how that shadow was hit a few times with the bait until he felt a sudden pull and then remember everything that Carmen had taught him and pull with all her might.
The struggle only lasted a few seconds as the little fish shot out of the water, Blake bracing himself for it not to escape, retracting the line, then separating the trout from the rod and putting it in the bucket of water that was with him.
"The first one, I hope the rhythm continues like this." Time kept running and the number of fish in his bucket increased as well, the people in the surroundings had decreased compared to before, some had decided to change the area while others had surrendered to see that they could not catch something no matter how hard they tried and only decided to enjoy the festive atmosphere.
There were also situations worth mentioning, such as when a golden-haired boy was caught using a fishing net in the inn's pond or when an elf with a multicolored rod was locked up in a makeshift prison because she kept scaring away the fish with her scream.
Blake had just added a new fish to the bucket and was feeling very pleased with how many he had, he was about to cast his rod again but was interrupted when some screams seemed to try to get his attention.
"Hey! I'm trying to concentrate, so don't talk to me!" Carmen's strong voice caught Blake's attention as she was yelling at him.
'But if you're the one who talked to me...' That was exactly what had happened.
"Are you trying to distract me to win?! You must know that won't work!" Blake was about to say something, but his attention was taken by what Carmen was doing.
Putting aside the shouts that she had just given him, the technique she was using seemed to be something totally different from what a beginner would do, the precision and force with which she threw the rod seemed as if everything was strictly calculated.
The moment the bait had hit the water, the ripples in the water turned into erratic movements, implying that a fish had struck at that instant. Carmen's hands moved with total dexterity while she pulled giving a huge scream and then she saw how a huge red fish flew through the air until it fell into the bucket that belonged to her.
"Hahaha, a snapper of more than a meter! Quite normal! To the next area!" Unconsciously leaving Blake open-mouthed, Carmen had escaped from the lake lifting the huge bucket of water like it was nothing while Blake didn't understand how she could get that fish in there.
'That, is that normal?' But his expression of astonishment had to disappear when he again felt like something had stung, the expression of concentration returned to him and he prepared himself for battle once he felt the force with which they were pulling the line, but his thoughts quickly turned to panic.
'How can it have so much strength? I must attract it before that…!?' But he couldn't even finish that thought as he felt himself being dragged straight into the lake at the same time that everyone in the surroundings realized this. Everything had happened so fast that nobody could act in time and when they arrived to help, Blake had already been swallowed by the huge lake that was in front of them.
[Progress… Saved.]