“The Wizard’s Tower?” Charlie shook his head as he listened to Abigail.
“No…
I’ve never been there.”
“But I was planning to go that way to gather a few things.”
“Want to come along?”
It was only 1:00 p.m.
There was still plenty of time.
Abigail brightened at once.
“Of course!”
“But I have a checkup at the Clinic today, so you’ll have to wait for me,” she said, pointing at him.
Charlie: “…”
…
Outside the Clinic, he was speechless.
He had been waiting for almost an hour.
To pass the time, he checked his friendship levels.
The people with hearts right now were:
Penny: 2 hearts
Shane: 2 hearts
Vincent: 1 heart
Willy: 1 heart
Only those four had hearts.
2:00 p.m.
A few more minutes passed before Abigail finally came out.
Her face looked a little red.
“What’s wrong, Abigail?”
She jumped when she heard him.
“I…
I’m not…”
But she held back whatever she had been about to say.
“It’s nothing.
I think I just caught a little cold.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?
You can go home and rest if you need to.”
“Your health comes first.”
Charlie asked out of concern, but Abigail shook her head.
“I’m fine.
Really.”
“No problem, then?
Let’s go!” he said.
Abigail patted her cheeks, and a cheerful smile appeared on her face.
“Okay, let’s go!”
Because of her delay, they didn’t reach Marnie’s Ranch until 3:00 p.m.
When they got there and looked west, they saw an old, lonely tower standing in the distance.
“Look, that’s it.”
Abigail was excited.
Then she grabbed his hand.
“Come on!”
He was still studying the tower when her small hand suddenly caught his, dragging him along.
When they reached the Wizard’s Tower, Abigail went up and knocked on the door.
No one came.
She called out a few times, but there was no answer.
Charlie stepped forward to take a look.
[It’s locked, but you can hear someone inside.]
“Someone’s in there, but they don’t want to deal with us,” he said.
Abigail looked disappointed.
“Oh…
We didn’t mean any harm.
What should we do now?”
Seeing her like that, Charlie came up with an idea that worked for both of them.
I’m looking for some valuable plants anyway.”
As soon as she heard there was still more adventuring to do, she agreed right away.
“Okay!
Go, go, go!
I’ll lead the way!”
With that, she rushed off.
Charlie watched her run ahead and felt a little helpless.
“Wait for me!
I can’t run that fast!”
Soon, the two of them arrived in front of what looked like an abandoned house, but there wasn’t anything nearby that he wanted.
They crossed two narrow plank bridges in a row.
Finally, they found it.
At the southernmost edge of this world, Charlie found the thing the TV had mentioned, though there wasn’t much of it.
He quickly gathered it all.
[Spring Onion (Normal): Grows wild during the spring.]
Together, he and Abigail picked four in total: three Normal and one Silver.
“Alright, looks like that’s all of it,” he said after making sure there was nothing else nearby.
Abigail looked disappointed.
“Ah, that’s it?”
“I haven’t had enough fun yet!”
Seeing her pitiful look, Charlie thought of another win-win idea.
“Abigail, have you ever tried fishing?”
“Fishing?
No.”
“Mom said it takes patience, and I’m not suited for it,” she explained.
Charlie thought Caroline was right.
But in order to make good use of this free labor, he felt he had to make a decision that went against everything his ancestors stood for.
So he pulled the fishing rod out of his backpack.
“There’s a lake right here.
Want to try?”
Naturally, Abigail, who loved adventure, nodded.
“But I don’t know how.” Then she suddenly realized the problem.
Charlie said that was fine.
“No problem.
I’ll teach you.”
As he spoke, he took her slender hand and led her to the lakeside.
Abigail was focused entirely on learning and didn’t notice that a boy was holding her hand.
He held her hand, drew back, and cast the line in one smooth motion.
“That’s the first step done.
Now we just wait for a fish to bite,” he explained.
A few minutes later, a fish took the bait.
Charlie tightened his grip on Abigail’s hand.
“We pull against it back and forth, then when it gets tired, we sneak in one good tug.
Most of the time, that’s enough to bring the fish up.”
He explained while demonstrating, and Abigail understood at once.
“I’ve got it!”
“I want to try by myself!” she shouted excitedly.
Charlie knew the plan had worked.
He let go of her hand and removed the fish from the hook.
[Sunfish (Normal): A common river fish.]
After reading the information, he looked at Abigail.
“I’m going to see if there are any other fun places nearby.
You stay here and fish properly.”
“I’ll come back later and see how you did, alright?”
Abigail was full of fighting spirit.
“I’ll definitely complete the quest!”
Charlie left in complete satisfaction.
Abigail got to have fun, and Charlie got money.
It was the perfect win-win.
6:00 p.m.
He had searched almost every accessible spot in the southwest.
In the end, his foraged goods were:
Daffodils (Normal): 8
Wild Horseradishes (Normal): 6
Leeks (Normal): 7
Together with the Spring Onions from earlier, this was already a decent bit of income.
“I wonder how Abigail’s doing,” Charlie thought, feeling a little excited.
Honestly, even if she came up empty-handed, he could understand.
He went back to find her.
When he saw the ground covered in fish, his eyes shone.
Abigail was still struggling with another one.
A second later, she pulled hard, and another fish came flying up, landing on the pile by the shore.
Charlie hurried over.
“Wow, Abigail, you’re a natural at fishing!”
She turned around when she heard his voice.
“Teacher Charlie, I just realized fishing is so much fun!”
“Especially when you’re matching wits with the fish.”
“It really gets me fired up.”
Charlie listened and gave her a firm thumbs-up.
“You’ve graduated.
I hereby declare it.”
Then he looked at the fish.
“My apprentice, about these fish…”
Abigail looked proud.
“They’re for you, Teacher.
Consider them tuition!”
Charlie was so moved he nearly cried.
He reached out and touched one.
[Chub (Normal): A common freshwater fish known for its voracious appetite.]
After counting everything, there were:
Sunfish (Normal): 4
Chub (Normal): 3
Sunfish (Gold): 5
Chub (Gold): 1
“That’s really amazing,” he said.
Just as he was about to pack them all into his backpack, a treasure chest icon appeared on the Gold Chub.
“It’s a Chub with a treasure chest.”
Charlie stared at the icon in amazement.
Then he touched it, and golden light appeared at once.
A treasure chest floated into the air.
He opened it the same way as before.
Abigail leaned closer.
“Teacher, where did this treasure chest come from?”
Charlie was confused when he heard her.
Can’t she see it came out of the fish’s icon?
But before he could figure it out, golden light suddenly burst out.
“What is this?
Why is it glowing gold?”
He quickly took out the item inside.
It was a ring.
A purple ring shining with many different colors, unlike anything Charlie had ever seen.
Then his interface appeared.
[Iridium Band (Ring): Glows, attracts items, and increases attack damage by 10%.]