Goblin Dependency

And then gradually began to have crooked thoughts.

Sidor was one of the many frustrated adventurers.

As a Level 1 Professional Warrior, he did not have a fixed team, but instead operated in a mercenary-like manner among various low-level adventurer groups.

Occasionally took on some gray area side jobs, his life was fairly comfortable.

With his negligible reputation in the Southern Islands, it was naturally impossible to receive an invitation to participate in the Moon Tide Banquet, but after all, it was a major festival held every three years, even if he couldn’t attend the banquet three days later, he had to come to the island to join in the fun, perhaps establishing some useful connections or securing some unexpected gains.

Currently, eighty percent of the adventurers on the field were like this.

Obviously, the lucky draw event planned by the organizers was one of the "unexpected gains" he had anticipated.

If he could really draw a Battle Skill or some Enchanted Equipment, his life’s journey might be rewritten.

Therefore, Sidor was extremely determined to win the five activities required for the draw.

Speaking of fishing, he may not be very skilled, but after so many years, he had mastered some basic fishing techniques, coupled with fairly lucky spot selection, initially he caught quite a lot of fish.

If this trend continued, he estimated that he only needed another half an hour to meet the project requirement of one gold coin’s worth of catch.

But annoyingly, the fishing spot he occupied soon attracted the covetous eyes of other adventurers.

Without a fixed team, Sidor did not dare to resist when faced with a crowd of adventurer teams and was directly pushed away.

Fortunately, the other party did not go to the extreme, at least leaving him the sea fish he had previously caught.

But even so, losing the precious spot left Sidor feeling disgruntled.

"Damn ’Furious Tide Battle Gang’, when I rise, I’ll kill you all!"

Previously, how cowardly and humble he was facing the "Furious Tide Battle Gang" professional adventurers, now his inner bitterness was equally fierce and malicious.

Of course, at least for now, Sidor could only think these thoughts to himself.

The captain of the "Furious Tide Battle Gang" adventurer team was a well-known veteran expert in the Southern Islands, reportedly with a Professional Level of Level 7, bearing the title of "Tide."

Due to being a half-breed of dwarves and barbarians, his appearance was very distinctive.

Adventuring alone, well-informed and keen-eyed Sidor almost immediately recognized his identity, then chose to show weakness and retreated with his full body intact.

With his weak strength, revenge was not possible at the moment.

He only hoped that adventurer teams on par with them, like "Sword of Vengeance" and "Wind Forger," would have conflicts with them to curb the arrogant spirit of these detestable guys.

Sidor carried a fish bucket in one hand and a fishing rod in the other, cursing the Furious Tide Battle Gang team that had robbed his fishing spot, while still not giving up hope, as he walked along the shore in search of suitable points.

As he ventured deeper into the fishing grounds, the number of adventurers around decreased, the water iron stakes became sparse, and Sidor gradually felt despondent.

At that moment, the unusual phenomenon on the sea surface not far ahead caught his attention.

He noticed that the seawater in that area was unusually turbid, with waves rising and falling as if something invisible was stirring within, causing silt to surge up.

Sea fish from nearby areas were gathering, turning a typically below-average water region into an excellent fishing spot.

"Ambri Goddess, thank you for your blessing!"

Sidor was overjoyed in his heart.

Although he didn’t know the reason, apparently the originally gloomy prospect found a turning point due to this encounter.

Not daring to waste any more time, he quickly approached with his fish bucket.

But just after taking a few steps forward, he saw two figures occupying the best fishing spot in this area by the shore.

The middle-aged man holding a bone white fishing rod left no impression on him;

But the other black-haired, sharp-faced youth made Sidor suddenly halt.

"Haiya!?"

He felt a sudden chill in his heart.

Having roamed the Southern Islands for years as a solo operative, Sidor’s eyesight was without question, frequently mingling in various taverns to gather and update maritime intel.

And it was owing to this that when he caught sight of Xia Nan’s characteristic features—"black hair," "sharp facial features," "dual swords," and "peculiar armor"—he quickly recalled and recognized him as "Haiya."

Such a ruthless character capable of exterminating the "Corner Shark Gang" and "Ebbtide Gang" was clearly not a match for a small fry like himself.

The evil thoughts triggered by the gathering sea fish at this fishing spot dissipated instantly upon seeing Xia Nan.

Noticing Sidor’s gaze, Xia Nan, who was focused on a distant buoy on the sea surface, turned his head to look in his direction.

Causing Sidor’s body to stiffen.

His face instinctively squeezed into a forced smile filled with flattery.

Meanwhile, his feet subtly shifted ninety degrees in a natural motion that others wouldn’t notice, as if he was merely a passing adventurer.

It was fortunate that Sidor reacted timely without provoking the person.

He walked briskly for almost five minutes without looking back, finally relaxing with relief when he saw no one following behind.

Before he could feel the fear, he suddenly realized that unbeknownst to him, the secluded area he had reached had decent resources, and not a single adventurer was around.

Once more thanking the Sea Goddess’s blessing, he gleefully found a spot to sit down and prepare to bait and cast his rod.

However, what Sidor hadn’t noticed was a few strange bubbles emerging from the water surface not far from him.

...

Xia Nan finally understood why his current fishing efficiency was low.

The bottom line was that the sea fish attracted by the [Tide Rod] were already fed full.

Due to the water iron stakes in this fishing area, there was abundant food resources, so the fish were not lacking for food.

Along with the [Tide Rod] churning the water, the nearby shallow water turned into a rich soup, with fish merely needing to swim with their mouths open to feast.

The reason Ellison had such a harvest was that he chose lure types aimed at medium- and large-sized fish at the top of the food chain, predators.

This environment was an excellent feeding ground for these hunters.

As for Xia Nan, although his chosen lure could also catch big fish, it mainly targeted medium- and small-sized fish.

But now these fish were all full, naturally not biting the bait, and combined with slightly poor fish luck, the resulting situation was as it was.

"Can’t continue like this!"

Xia Nan decisively reeled in his rod.

After a brief contemplation, for the experience of fishing, he decided not to activate Plan B.

The distance to the fishing shop at the entrance was substantial, a round-trip would waste a lot of time; changing locations reluctantly meant abandoning the big fish attracted by the [Tide Rod].

There was, however, a way.

Ellison beside him didn’t have any extra lure, but earlier he saw an adventurer passing by with a heavy fish bucket seemingly successful, with two lures suitable for predator-type large fish attached to the fishline.

He wondered if he could borrow one from him, willing to offer reasonable compensation.

However, when he followed the Perception towards the direction the person had left, arriving at another shore, what he saw was merely a broken fishing rod on the ground, a tumbled fish bucket, and the sea fish fallen out of the bucket struggling on the ground.

As for the adventurer, they had vanished.