Anthony, after checking on Irene again, fetch a chair and sat himself near the water's edge, the wagon only meters away from him.
He bought the attire set and equipped them all, triggering an endurance buff which he would later find out was perfect for the job. It composed of the stereotypical look of a fishmonger, a hat, a waterproof overalls, a white shirt underneath and then the common leather boots. The fishing pole was not anything special, except that it was incredibly sturdy.
With everything set and ready, it was time to give a newly bought occupation a try.
Naturally, he started with the first skill.
[Used 'Instant Fishing']
[You have caught a Small Carp]
[You have caught a Small Carp]
[You have caught a Medium Carp]
[You have caught a Small Carp]
Consistent with the description, as soon as the hook was cast, a fish instantly bites. And as soon as the hook was raised above the water, the fish immediately goes to his inventory. The number of the catch he was getting, led him to believe that the system created an artificial supply because otherwise, the river would have run out of fish. But it never did, and he never moved once.
After ten minutes, he had caught 250 Carps, 254 Catfish, 6 Trouts and 5 Salmon. Most of which were small ones, a few medium ones and even fewer big ones. The small carps sold for a token, the medium ones sold for two tokens and the big ones, for three tokens. This was the same with catfish. While for Trouts, the small ones were three tokens, the medium ones were six tokens and the big ones nine tokens. Small salmon sells for four tokens, medium salmon for eight and big salmon for twelves. Overall, he got 556 Tokens.
Next he tried out the second skill and for about the same duration. He caught 56 Trouts, 40 Salmon, 2 Bass and a Wall eye. The bass sold from 8-24 tokens depending on the size, while the wall-eye sold for 10-30. The second skill got him 394 tokens.
Then the third skill, through which he caught 24 Salmon, 16 Bass and 10 Wall eyes, which converted to 308 tokens.
At first glance, the progression was odd. With all his other skills, the third skill was either the most powerful or the most useful. Like the Piercing Shot or the Rapid Firing. The naming also added to the confusion. Why was there a bigger income with the 'instant', and lesser with the 'patient' and the 'masterful'?
But after experiencing all three of them, the results made sense to Anthony. The first skill was the most tiring and the most effortful, as the rod needed attention every second. Thus, it was only fitting that it produce the biggest number of tokens out of the three. The second skill and third skill, though close, had lesser hauls because they were not as exhausting.
Nonetheless, the latter skills, were not useless, as Anthony found out.
Using only the first skill rapidly exhausted his energy, and thus it was wiser to alternate between the three. Start with the third, then the second to ease into it and peak with the first, and when it gets tiring, reverse to the second, then end with the third. The three skills complemented each other, as was the case with the other occupations.
After a whole day of working, about six hours of work time minus the breaks, Anthony got thirty thousand tokens, all in all. A humble price when compared to the Bowhunter and the Huntsman, but a stabler and less risky form of income.
The new occupation proved effective in distracting him, and before he knew it, it was late in the afternoon.
When he arrived at the wagon, his dreaded silence, greeted him from the door. Only the pups welcomed his return. Irene was still asleep, a rarity as she usually does all the sleeping during the night. A closer look, relieved him, fortunately she looked better than when she was in the morning and during lunch.
Even so, just to make sure, he took the opportunity, to buy a potion of Recovery and mixed it into the chicken soup that they would have for dinner. The soup was chosen for a dual purpose: it was the best meal for someone sick, and because a liquid concoction would be perfectly mixed and camouflaged into it.
He would wait for her to wake up two hours later. Anthony observed her eating the soup, and was glad that every bite caused some slight improvement in her appearance, with her cheeks and lips returning to their usual colors.
He had wanted to talk to her that evening, wanting to end their falling-out, that sucked out the life and the vibrance, the wagon had before. What once felt like home, now felt like a suffocating wooden cell.
However, she finished the meal within five minutes, and left the table without a word, and made her way towards the crib. All her attention would be confined within the four corners of the baby's bed, for the rest of the night.
He knew, he somewhat deserved the treatment. He was colder than she could ever be. Inconsiderate than she could ever be. His own behavior was what made her that way. He could only think of unfortunate it was, that he ignored her when she tried to make peace.
But a part of him also wanted to defend himself. Who could have been the same after shedding that much blood?
Unwilling to force things, Anthony decided to left her alone. Despite how he wanted her back so badly, he contented himself with the fact that her health at least was no longer in danger. Or that was what he thought.
A similar scene played out the next morning. He woke up with her not inside the wagon and would find her on the same spot as the day before, throwing up.