Chapter 158 Caught
"Who is that person?" The wind mage asked.
In the beginning, he was uninterested in Alex.
Alex was just a freeloader he came across on his voyage, nothing more or nothing less. That was his opinion.
So, he didn't care about Alex at all.
"That?" The crew member who was holding him asked, amused. He was pointing at Alex while asking.
"Yes, that person. I have seen him before and know he is travelling with us. But who is he?"
"He is called Meru. The captain brought him."
"His name is similar to that of the people of the central continent. But the way he is using mana is different. He is similar to the mages of the West in that avenue. I never thought that he would be this strong…"
"How strong is he, Jhon?" Suddenly, Captain Will appeared near the wind mage and asked.
The mage, Jhon, took some time to think. He confirmed again before replying. "Much stronger than me. He is a master."
John was convinced Alex was a master.
'Only a master is capable of a feat like that.' He thought in his mind.
"A master!" Will exclaimed. He knew Alex was a strong individual. After all, Alex had previously shown his ability to wield mana when he displayed wind magic.
But Will could have never imagined that he was a master mage.
'Fuck! Was I disprespectful towards a master mage?' Will thought.
Master mages were people who commanded both immense power and profound respect within the magical community and beyond. Disrespecting them was something he would have never dared to do.
After all, Captain Will was a nobody in front of a master mage. A master mage could quickly sink his old ship and obliterate it.
'Fortunately, I agreed to his request.' Will thought.
"Then, I should apologise for my misconduct, right?" Will turned to Jhon and asked.
"Uh! You disrespected him? Wasn't he someone related to you? Was that not the reason why you brought him? Outsiders are banned from entering, you know that, right?"
"Don't worry about that. He is strong enough to warrant special attention if your statement is true. Meru promised to leave our ship before it docks. I think the words of a master mage are believable."
"Hm." The wind mage hummed and nodded.
"Anyway, what spell did he use right now. The ocean has turned murky white after he did something. Do you know what it is?" Will asked curiously.
"I don't know what spell it is. But it is something extraordinary. The entire ocean is covered in Meru's mana. It seems like he is determined to catch the magical beast."
"A spell that not even you can decipher. Maybe it is a spell that Meru personally created."
"He is a master, so it might be possible."
Both nodded their head in agreement.
–
Meanwhile, the giant tuna panicked. Its entire vision was covered by a murky cloud. Even mana was becoming more challenging for it to sense.
It began to thrash and turn. The fishing line, however, didn't break.
—
'The mana is spread over a kilometre diameter around the ship. I can easily sense the position of every living thing in this region. That includes the giant tuna.'
'Fortunately, there are not many strong magical beasts in the water. Or else, they might have been proked by my display of might.'
'Now that things have come to this. I should dive in head first.' Alex thought that both figuratively and literally.
He raised the fishing rod and lodged it on the railing of the hip. Before the mana runs out, the fishing rod wouldn't break. Alex was sure of that.
"Crack!" The railing began to make weird noises.
The ship jerked to and fro due to the sudden force directly applied to the vessel. The giant tuna didn't stop trying to pull down Alex. This force resulted in the motion of the ship.
Just after that, Alex teleported to where he had seen the giant tuna. It took Alex approximately 0.2 seconds to teleport and reappear near the tuna.
However, that was enough time for the giant tuna to break the line. 0.2 seconds was all it took for Alex to realise this.
After breaking away from the fishing line, the fish began to swim faster towards any direction it felt like. After all, it couldn't see where it was going.
The giant tuna tried desperately to escape and survive.
"I won't let you get away that easily," Alex spoke. And instead of words, his mouth released a curtain of bubbles. He was already underwater when he chased after the tuna.
"The reason I released the smoke screen is for this exact purpose. I will hunt you to the end of the earth.
Alex followed the tuna with his magical abilities. He focused on the figure and began the hunt.
Teleport was consecutively used to chase after the tuna.
Although Alex knew how to swim, swimming was not one of his strong suits. So, he was cautious when he chased after the turn.
It took a while for Alex to catch up. Before teleporting to the giant tuna, he had to predict where the tuna would go and act accordingly.
The tuna was not happy to see Alex intrude on its territory. It wanted to quickly chomp on Alex. It propelled itself towards Alex once it realised he was playing with its life.
Murderous rage was written on the tuna's face as it began its assault on Alex.
Alex welcomed the assault with open arms. He wanted to catch the fish, and it was delivering itself to him. Why should he not take the chance?
Using the opportunity, Alex dashed towards the tuna.
Both man and beast rapidly moved in the water as they closed in on each other. They were en route to a head-on collision.
Instead of panicking, Alex was thrilled to see it.
Among the tuna and Alex, one was about to die.
The open mouth of Tuna closed in on Alex. The sharp white teeth of the tuna were menacing to look at. And still, Alex swam towards it.
Just as they neared a couple meters away, Alex began to cast a spell. It was not anything special.
It was the generic ice spell that Alex knew. From his action, one might assume Alex was preparing a spell to attack the tuna. But that was not the case. He, in fact, had a sillier reason for that.
After preparing the ice spell, Alex took out a giant barbecue skewer.
"Fish, thanks for the meal," Alex said.
The tuna was just a couple of meters away. It had almost bit Alex.
The nonchalant Alex gripped the barbecue skewers tightly before launching himself towards the tuna's head. Doding the razor-sharp teeth of the tuna, he stepped on its head.
Gripping the metallic skewer, Alex plunged it directly into a portion of the head. It now pierced the brain.
The brain of the tuna turned into a mush after Alex's attack.
Instantly, the tuna died. It stopped all its motion.
However, Alex still needed to be done. He willed the ice spell he created and froze the entire tuna and water surrounding it. The tuna became encased in a thick ice layer.
Alex was trying to quickly turn the temperature of the tuna down. And he was successful in doing so. The tuna was preserved entirely without any damage.
"Easy." He smirked as he touched the frozen tuna that was as long as two people.
Alex placed his hand over the tuna and willed it to the inventory. The frozen body was quickly stored inside.
After that, Alex made his way towards the ship. With a teleport, he reached the boat. His clothes were wet, and his hair was dishevelled. He looked like a madman. But no one dared to disrespect him.
The crew, the captain and the wind mage knew how strong Alex was.
Alex took out a towel and began to dry himself. Meanwhile, he glanced around at the curious eyes around him.
"I caught it." He stated calmly.
"Take a look." He removed the tuna from the inventory and placed it over the ship's deck.
The sight of the giant fish mesmerised the people around.
"It is a giant blue tuna!" The crowd exclaimed simultaneously.
"It is a powerful magical beast and, simultaneously, a delicacy among the nobles. Only a few are caught every year, so the demand for its meat is very high. The tuna can probably sell for upwards of twenty thousand gold coins. What kind of luck did he have to catch it the first time he fished?" The wind mage, John said.
His words made the eyes of the crowd shine. The look they gave Alex was different from before.
Some were jealous, others felt admiration, while others imagined eating the fish and bathing in gold coins.
"Does anyone know how to cook it?" Alex asked while looking around.
"I know." The wind mage stood up. He wanted to be noticed by the master mage. So, he was willing to work.
"Then, let's use it for dinner," Alex said, handing over the giant tuna.