A Fish In Melancholy
'What is a trout nest anyway?'
Regulus asked Alteria.
[A trout nest is where a female trout lays eggs.]
Alteria replied to Regulus.
'Oh, I see!'
Regulus understood what she meant.
'Where is it?'
Regulus asked her.
[Host, I'm not a tutorial system. Please grow up.]
Alteria's cold and monotone voice responded.
'Geh. Okay.'
Regulus was dissatisfied with her. He has never seen a trout nest in his life. How was he gonna find it?
Regulus swam around the body of water. He couldn't help but realize that he was actually living in a fresh body of water. After all, grass doesn't grow on sea, and the bottom was made of dirt.
"Are trouts a freshwater fish?"
Regulus thought out loud as he swam aimlessly.
"Maybe they are. Never heard of them living in the sea."
Regulus replied to himself.
[Host, are you talking to me? Because you're talking to yourself.]
Alteria asked in a confused voice.
'Shut up!'
Regulus shot back at her, irritated.
Regulus continued swimming, but he couldn't find any signs of a trout nest.
He saw a lot of crayfish and algae though.
"Maybe I should just eat algae."
Regulus said to himself. He then swam and found rocks growing with algae.
Though, he was still full, so in the end. He just hid inside a bundle of grass and fell asleep.
The next morning, Regulus woke up. He heard shlicking sounds not far from him.
"Hm?"
Regulus exited the bundle of grass. He looked towards the source of the sound. To his shock, there was a green humanoid creature planking in front of the water and drinking it.
As this was a shallow part of the body of water, the creature was on land.
"W-What the hell is that creature?"
Regulus looked at the green creature in shock.
"Is that a goblin?"
That was the only thing Regulus could think of when he saw that creature. Even though it was humanoid, it was lapping the water like it was a dog.
"I should get out of here."
Regulus swam away in fear. He felt disturbed seeing a creature he had never seen before.
"Relax, Regulus. You've already seen a talking fish and a talking pearl. Nothing can phase you now."
Regulus calmed himself down.
He then found another surplus of algae and ate it till he was full.
[+1 EXP]
"This is so slow. Why is a fish's metabolism so slow?"
Regulus complained as he swam around. It would take him many days just to level up.
[Confirmed x2: The host is stupid.]
Alteria's mocking voice interrupted Regulus.
"H-Huh!?"
Regulus flinched in shock when he heard her words.
'Why am I an idiot this time?'
Regulus asked her.
[The host should have noticed by now that your stomach empties after 15 mins. You are not a human anymore, Host.]
Alteria reminded him.
'Ah. You're right.'
If Regulus had hands, he would have facepalmed himself. He was so caught up into thinking that he was still a human that he thought his metabolism now is slow.
"Then, I'll live my dream of being the Legendary Algae Scrubber!"
Regulus said in high spirits. He swam around the shallow waters and ate all of the algae he could find.
...
[+1 EXP]
...
[+1 EXP]
...
[+1 EXP]
[Ding! The host has leveled up!]
[Level: 2 (4/5 + 1 |NEW!|) → Level: 3 (0/13)]
"Yes! This is the peak of a fish's life! Mwahahahaha!"
Regulus laughed maniacally.
[Stats has been updated. Would you like to view it now?]
'Yes!'
Regulus responded almost instantaneously.
——————————
#Stats# |UPDATED!|
ATK: 5(3) |NEW!|
DEF: 4(3) |NEW!|
HP: 9(4) |NEW!|
MP: 1
——————————
"My HP is rising so fast!"
Regulus looked at his HP in shock.
'But my MP is still stuck at 1. When is it gonna increase..?'
Regulus sighed as he looked at his MP stat.
[Your species is not a magic species. Please evolve into one to see a significant increase in your MP stat.]
Alteria's voice sounded inside Regulus' head.
'O-Ohhhh! Magic species you say. Is it like that goblin from before?'
Regulus was immediately enlightened by her explanation.
[Yes.]
Alteria replied promptly.
'I wonder if I can evolve into one. Fuhahaha!'
Regulus laughed to himself. He became more and more satisfied with this Evolution skill the more he learned its uses.
'But what is the use of the MP anyway? Can I cast magic with it?'
Regulus asked her.
[Correct. Through the use of skills, the host may cast magic or active skills.]
Alteria replied to Regulus.
'Magic… I wonder if I can go back to my previous world using it.'
Regulus thought as he looked at the surface of the water with melancholy.
Regulus noticed the growth of his body when he leveled up. He could move faster than before, and his size grew. It was such an amazing thing that he was still disbelieving of his current situation.
"Maybe I'm just dreaming…"
Regulus had family, friends, relatives, and a wife back home. He left his previous world without informing them. He could guess that they are probably searching for him right now.
[Is the host lonely?]
Alteria asked.
'Yeah.'
Regulus didn't argue with her this time. He couldn't even communicate with the other animals in this body of water. It was like he was an alien.
[Cheer up host. You still have a lot of algae to scrub.]
Alteria consoled Regulus with the same cold and monotone voice.
'Alright. I'll evolve and one day… I'll return to Earth.'
Regulus firmed up his determination.
...
Days passed, and all he did was eat algae.
"*Munch* *Munch* That was delicious. I think I'm getting addicted to eating algae."
Regulus talked as he chewed the algae like a grazing sheep.
[+1 EXP]
The last notification that Regulus was waiting for had finally arrived.
[Ding! The host has leveled up!]
[Level: 3 (12/13 + 1 |NEW!|) → Level: 4 (0/26)]
"Another level up! Grinding levels by eating is so easy!"
Regulus grinned. He felt his body grow significantly bigger than before. Just one more level up, and he can eat a crayfish directly!