Wednesday's Quest [3]

The Symphony River.

The most popular landmark on the island that bisects Acoustic City into two halves, before flowing into the ocean.

At one of its northern tributaries, Mickey stood at the shore, his arms crossed in contemplation.

Above him, X soared through the air, holding a net attached to a sturdy stick.

Mickey let out a mental sigh of relief.

"Phew, that stalker is finally gone."

He maintained a calm expression, his eyes fixed on the flowing water as he waited for the person who had been following him to disappear into the distance.

'He's probably heading to report my failure to catch any beetle-fish to Wednesday.'

He felt bothered by the fact that he was doing business for AGT, but if he needs grimoires in Acoustic City, that is the only place he can get them at a low price.

He sighed again, before his lips curled up lightly.

"Since we are here, we might as well fish. I was wondering when I was going to anyway."

Mickey's eyes gleamed with a hint of mischief as he took hold of the net that X had been carrying in his talons.

With a swift motion, Mickey plunged the net into the stream, and a school of fantastical fish darted out.

Some had two legs, others four, while a few possessed hands or wings, flapping them wildly as they hovered in mid-air.

The spectacle was so surreal that even Mickey's experienced eyes widened in amazement.

Such a phenomenon was rare, even in the most unrealistic tales.

Mickey knew that in the outside world, creatures like these didn't exist. But Acoustic City was no ordinary place - it was a fragment of a heaven, where the impossible became possible.

As suddenly as it had begun, the spectacle ceased, leaving behind only ripples on the water's surface, as if the fantastical scene had never occurred.

Mickey could feel that the fish that had gotten away were lurking nearby, waiting for him to leave so they could come back.

Mickey paid them no mind, aware that these fish, in their current state, posed no threat to him. The truly formidable ones, the ones he needed to be wary of, still lurked beneath the river's surface.

Most of them looked like fish from Earth if you removed the fangs and big eyes, along with the fact that Qi could be sensed from them.

A bead of cold sweat formed on Mickey's face.

'Going in there would be suicidal.'

"X, catch one of these fish for me, but don't let it die. I have big plans for it."

The little bird wanted to dissent, but Mickey was swift in catching and throwing him into the stream.

Chirp-! Chirp-! Chirp-!

X's noises came to a stop when he felt his feathers getting wet. At that moment, his survival instincts kicked in as he felt blood lust all around him.

Chirp-!

X quickly flew to a higher altitude as the fish in the stream all wanted to make a meal out of him. When he looked in the direction of his parent, he let out small tears as he found no one there.

He wanted to run for his life, but where was he going to stay after that?

Nearby, Mickey stood was something that looked like an anthill, it's muddy surface reaching his knees.

The dump scent it released, would make anyone think it had just rained, but Mickey knew it was because of the finger sized creatures that lived in it.

Their bodies were covered in fish scales, and a fin protruding from between their legs.

These were the beetle-fish!

'Although they don't have any grimoires on them, I shouldn't let myself be fooled by their cute appearance. Their bite power is the same as that of a bulldog. Touching them unprepared is suicidal.'

Mickey ignored them and looked for dead twigs and shrubs around him. He was in a forest, and finding such items was a piece of cake.

He gathered the items together and used a lighter to ignite flames at the opposite end, which was further from his end. He threw the burning twigs into the hole of the anthill.

He knew that the flames would extinguish the moment they touched the bottom of the hill because of the tiny stream of water there.

...however, he knew what he was doing.

'Beetle-fish are weak to smoke just like bees, but, unlike bees, any kind of small smoke can suffocate them.'

Just as he expected, smoke rose from within the beetle-fish hill. Yet, he didn't collect them and repeated the same thing five more times, just to play it safe.

Mickey used the net to fish the beetle-fish from within their hill, putting them in the bucket he brought with him. He wasn't worried about them waking up soon, unless he spent more than six hours in the forest.

"Mmm, there doesn't seem to be a queen among this group of beetle-fish," Mickey muttered to himself as he closed the bucket, preparing to leave.

Rustle…

Something moved around the surrounding bushes, accompanied by a faint rattling sound.

The young man's expression turned ashen.

"Here I thought my luck was good."

He didn't need to confirm what it was as he felt the aura of a wild grimoire. The difference between a profound beast with a grimoire and those that don't have is like heaven and earth - although that mainly depends on the type of grimoire.

Taking his bucket, Mickey swiftly sprinted in the direction he came from.

Hiss-!

Hearing that hissing sound, Mickey's expression turned even paler, and he increased his speed.

'I can't believe my luck is that bad! How can I meet a big memory rattlesnake now of all times?'

Big memory rattlesnakes are profound beasts known for memorizing anyone who takes their food away. They feed on any type of profound beast insects.

It was hiding in wait, planning to eat some of the beetle-fish walking outside the hill.

When Mickey arrived, it wanted to chase him away. But when it saw him take away the beetle-fish without any problem, it laid in wait, plotting to ambush him once he was done.

Mickey knew what it wanted, but he wasn't going to give away the beetle-fish.

Everyone knows that snakes use their bellies to move and can't move well on rough surfaces.

Mickey was trying to go back to the path he used to enter the forest. It was made out of tar; hence he would have a better fighting advantage.

X started getting reflected in Mickey's eyes. He seemed to be in a lot of pain as he stood at the edge of the stream.

"Get to work! Stop being lazy!"

X shot a deadly glare at his parent, but the moment he saw a one-meter-wide, white snake behind Mickey, he felt happy that Mickey was having a taste of his own medicine.

Chirp, chirp, chirp…

Mickey ignored him as he went past the green path he came from. Branches were blocking his path, and he had to make a lot of twists and turns.

The rattlesnake took advantage of his dilemma.

Hiss-!

Its hissing sound got louder, and its body size started to grow until it was equivalent to Mickey in height.

That being said, its speed reduced a bit, and Mickey finally had the courage to fight with this elementary realm profound beast.

Gu Mickey didn't turn back to face it head-on but took a turn to the side before turning again to face the direction he came from.

The rattlesnake thought it would gobble Mickey by growing larger, but it now faced problems in turning.

Blood Blade.

Ten units of Mickey's Qi were expended as he made a sharp blade matching him in size. The blade flew right above the rattlesnake's head and pierced through its skin.

Hiss-!

The rattlesnake hissed in pain as the attack made a deep cut near its head.

It quickly sensed a feeling of jeopardy. This human was more than what met the eye!

Its body glowed with a silver light as it tried to shrink in size, but why should Mickey let it go?

Blood Blade.

Mickey expended another 10 units of his Qi to make a double-edged sword inside the rattlesnake's mouth.

The more it shrank, the more powerful the attack became, piercing through both ends of its mouth.

It was dead!