novelraw Chapter 89: Ancient Seeds
Chapter 89: Ancient Seeds
“I’ll give it a try. If I can avoid snapping the line, I’d rather not.”
Leon nodded and tried reeling in again. There was some resistance, but it wasn’t completely stuck—at least the line was still moving.
As the fishing line grew shorter, Leon started to think maybe it wasn’t snagged at all. Instead, it felt like he had hooked something lying on the seabed. The thought made him perk up.
He became more cautious, reeling steadily without yanking, careful not to tear the hook free from whatever ‘junk’ lay beneath the waves.
Willy had noticed something was off, too. If it were really snagged, Leon wouldn’t be able to pull the line at all. Since it was still coming in, that meant Leon might have hooked some kind of underwater debris.
It could be a piece of driftwood, an old fishing net, or even seaweed. But unless they pulled it up, Willy couldn’t be sure.
“It’s coming.”
When the line went completely taut, Leon knew he had dragged the object to the waters beneath the pier.
“Nice and slow. Let’s see what it is.” Willy leaned over the edge. As soon as Leon lifted it out of the water, he could grab it.
Leon took a deep breath and cranked the reel. As the hooked object neared the surface, gravity began to work against him and the lessening buoyancy made the weight more noticeable.“I see it.”
The moment it broke the water, Willy lunged forward, grabbing the line. Together, they hauled it up. When it was close enough, Willy didn’t hesitate—he seized the object and pulled it onto the pier.
“It’s a treasure chest. Now that’s a good find.” Once it was on land, both of them crowded around the thing dangling from the hook. Though the surface wood had rotted from seawater and was crusted with barnacles, starfish, and strands of seaweed, it was clearly a wooden chest.
“The Gem Sea is the largest ocean on this planet. It spans two countries and countless islands. Ships sail back and forth every day—ferries, merchant vessels from centuries past, even pirate ships. Ever since humans first took to the waves, countless ships have sunk to storms, reefs, and other hazards. This chest likely came from one of those wrecks.”
Willy smirked and said, “I’ve hooked up a few like this myself, pulled out some interesting things. You never know what’s inside—opening one is like cracking open a geode. Except in this case, I once found… underwear inside.”
“Men’s or women’s?” Leon couldn’t resist asking.
“Ahem. How about you just see what’s in yours? It’s badly corroded. If it’s food or fruit, it’s worthless. But if it’s sealed liquor that’s survived the seawater… well, you might make yourself a tidy sum.” Willy coughed lightly and urged him on.
Leon sighed in disappointment at the dodged question, but didn’t delay. He crouched and felt along the chest. The latch was there but rusted into a single mass—no chance of opening it normally. So, he resorted to prying it open by force.
When the lid finally gave way, both he and Willy froze. The pumpkin-sized chest contained only a palm-sized woven pouch. The pouch was sealed inside a waterproof plastic box, so no water had gotten in. Opening the box and removing the pouch, Leon found five walnut-sized spheres inside.
The system was kind enough to label them for him:
“Ancient Seeds (Artifact): The dried, withered seeds of some ancient plant. They appear to be long dead.”
“Never seen these before,” Willy said, peering inside the pouch. “Some kind of plant seed, maybe? But seeds this big—I’ve never come across them.” After a long look, he patted Leon’s shoulder.
“That’s how treasure chests from the sea are—completely unpredictable. This time it’s some unknown seeds, but next time, you might find something better.”
“Mm.” Leon didn’t explain. Willy was a master fisherman, not a farming expert. It was normal he wouldn’t recognize them, and even if Leon told him, he probably wouldn’t care.
But to Leon, these five Ancient Seeds were an incredible find—worth at least as much as pulling a Prismatic Shard from a geode.
After all, even if the system declared them dead, perhaps if he handed them to Gunther at the museum, Gunther might—just like in the game—give him the recipe for reviving them into Ancient Seeds.
He carefully put away the pouch. Willy didn’t think much of it—worthless-looking or not, it was Leon’s own catch, and it made sense he’d keep it as a memento.
“Let’s head to the Starfruit Saloon. Gus can cook up your first big fish for us. I’m starving.”
Leon, still in high spirits, readily agreed. They walked toward Pelican Town, arms slung over each other’s shoulders. Age difference aside, men who got along well rarely had any real barriers.
“I’ve tallied your catch,” Willy said as they went. “Want to take it home or sell it to me?”
“Sell it. No point in keeping it—if I took it home, I’d sell it anyway.” The sardine he needed for the offering was already in his System Backpack; the rest had no reason to be kept.
“I’ll give you 300G for the lot. It’s a bit low, but you get the cash right away.”
“Three hundred it is. I know you wouldn’t cheat me.” Leon didn’t mind. Sardines and anchovies were small, abundant fish. This price was only propped up by the one halibut in the mix.
“It’s only a difference of maybe a dozen G or so. But if you took them home, you’d need to keep them cold. Dead fish don’t fetch much, and I figured you don’t have the gear for it. Better to avoid any loss,” Willy explained.
“Hahaha, you don’t need to spell it out, Willy. Even if it was a few hundred G less, it’s fine. You gave me bait, taught me how to fish—knowledge like that isn’t something you can put a price on.”
Leon clapped him on the shoulder with a grin.
Willy just smiled back at him, warm and bright.
Though you all guessed it was a treasure chest… can’t you be a bit more imaginative? Neptune’s big sword? What junk is that.