Stardew Valley’s Farming Master

Chapter 252: Special Abilities Mean I Can Be Reckless!

On the other side of town, Leon had already crossed Pelican Town and arrived at the Sewer Drain. Lifting the manhole cover, he slipped down inside.

“Krobus, I’m here!”

As soon as he reached the bottom, Leon called out.

“Looking to buy something?” Krobus stepped out from the shadows.

“Nope, I’m here to bring you a gift.” Leon pulled a bright, round pearl from his pocket.

“That intel you had me pass to the Mermaids last time turned out to be quite valuable. So, as thanks, they asked me to deliver this to you as a gift.”

In truth, Leon had taken out the pearl himself. He had no idea what was going on with the Mermaids, but he didn’t want Krobus to lose out. After all, the pearl did come from the Mermaids, so saying it was from them wasn’t exactly a lie.

“Oh, a pearl—the treasure of the sea, and a specialty of the Mermaids? It’s beautiful. Definitely a stunning gift.” Krobus grinned, his jagged smile looking a little fearsome as he accepted the pearl and examined it carefully.

“Alright, gift delivered. Time to get to work.” Leon pulled out his fishing rod and cast the line into the sewer’s reservoir.

“Are you fishing in the sewer?” Krobus asked curiously.“Mm-hmm. I heard there’s a special fish here. Thought I’d give it a try,” Leon nodded.

Aside from bringing Krobus a gift, Leon was here to use the special abilities granted by his Level 2 Fishing skill—greatly increased chance of bites for the first three catches of the day, and zero chance of losing those first three fish—to challenge the local fish king: the Mutant Carp.

“You can fish here, but don’t eat anything you catch. The fish live in wastewater and aren’t clean. Humans could get sick,” Krobus warned.

“I won’t eat them, and I won’t sell them either. I’ll take them back for composting,” Leon explained.

In the game, fish—regardless of where they’re caught or whether they’re toxic—could be sold for money. But in reality, Leon wouldn’t risk it. Selling contaminated fish could cause serious trouble. As a farm owner, it wasn’t worth ruining the farm’s reputation over a few questionable fish.

That didn’t mean these fish were useless. If Leon remembered right, the recipe for quality fertilizer called for one fish and four portions of tree sap. Sewer fish, though dirty, might work just fine for that.

The fishing line went taut, the reel spinning. Leon locked the drag and started reeling in. The resistance wasn’t strong—probably not the Mutant Carp—so he just hauled it in.

“Carp (Fish): A common pond fish (Mild contamination, not recommended for consumption).”

Seeing the system’s warning, Leon nodded silently. At least the system was being honest. The carp was over a meter long, though sluggish. Its gills weren’t the healthy red they should be, but a sickly green. Its eyes were dull, and it flopped weakly, even less lively than a smallmouth bass.

No surprise—it was a carp. Hardy, adaptable, able to survive even in these conditions. No wonder they could become invasive and wreak havoc on local ecosystems in the West.

But one look at this thing changed Leon’s mind. He had planned to use sewer carp for fertilizer, but now it seemed more likely to poison the soil than enrich it.

With a look of disgust, Leon tossed it aside, not even bothering to store it in his System Backpack.

“If you don’t want it, I can take it and sell it to the goblins,” Krobus offered.

“Huh?” Leon blinked, then quipped, “Do you have a grudge against goblins?”

“No, no, you misunderstand. Goblins love contaminated or cursed food—it’s part of their natural diet,” Krobus explained quickly.

“Oh. If you want it, take it. No charge.” Leon agreed readily. He had no interest in polluted carp, and if Krobus could make use of it, all the better.

Krobus didn’t argue about payment. Instead, after taking the carp, he handed Leon a small, pitch-black paste.

“What’s this?” Leon asked curiously.

“Void Mayonnaise. It’s made from cursed Void Eggs. I think you might need it,” Krobus said.

“How so?” Leon pressed.

“Sometimes, I dump old Void Mayonnaise into the wastewater. Every time, I see a strange fish come to eat it. It might be the one you’re looking for.”

“Oh? Let me try it.”

Leon’s interest spiked instantly. He took out a red worm, accepted the sticky, foul-smelling Void Mayonnaise that could overpower even the sewer stench, smeared it over the worm, and hooked it before casting into the water.

Ignoring the reek still on his hands, he clearly saw a twisted shadow in the glowing green water, rapidly swimming toward his hook.

“Whoa! That’s some power!”

The black shadow vanished beneath the surface, and the next instant, Leon felt a tremendous pull—far stronger than the carp earlier, even more than the giant catfish he’d caught before.

“It’s biting,” Krobus called, eyeing the fishing rod bent into a deep arc. “Can your rod handle that?”

“Should be fine,” Leon said, glancing at the rod. Despite the bend, it wasn’t showing signs of damage.

He planted his feet, braced the rod under his arm, and poured his strength into reeling in the brute.

Forget fancy fishing techniques. With his special skill, there was no risk of losing the fish from brute force alone. Just pull hard and reel—it was that simple.

If the rod and line could hold, and it was still within his first three catches of the day, Leon figured he could haul up a killer whale if he wanted.

Special abilities mean I can be reckless!

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