The fishing contest between Bass Pro Tour Fishing and Fenris was incredibly fierce, with each of them landing fish one after the other; awed by their pace, the surrounding fishers stopped to bear witness to the battle unfolding in front of them.
Although the excitement was palpable as the crowd’s cheers shook the air, a handful of audience members were intense in a different way—their eyes sizing up the competitors with scrutinizing gazes.
“Hoh…” A grizzled, sea captain stroked his beard with a glint in his eye. “It seems that there are a few promising young’uns here…”
Sensing a sports manga-esque development, Gen immediately started playing along, going fishing in a slightly different meaning of the word.
“I-impossible…!” she murmured, feigning disbelief to no one in particular. Ignoring the cold stare from Lily, Gen continued her ploy. “How are they catching so many fish?!”
“Allow me to explain,” a bespectacled spectator cut in, pushing up their glasses so that the light reflected off of them in a very dramatic way.
“Bass Pro Tour Fishing is a veteran in the competitive VR fishing scene, consistently finishing in the top 8 and earning his place as a [Ranker]; however, even compared to the more powerful [Numbers], Bass Pro Tour’s technical ability is considered to be among the absolute best; he never loses a fish once it's on his line, and it’s said that he’s never broken a fishing line in competition.”
“Impressive…” Louis said, deciding to join in on Gen’s shenanigans. “But if Bass Pro is really as good of a fisher as you say, then… who could his opponent possibly be?”
Being already acquainted with Fenris, the sarcasm in his ‘possibly’ was remarkably undisguised—but it apparently went unnoticed as the analytic observer swiped through several virtual windows, searching for any clues to the wolf boy’s identity.
“This can't be…” They eventually mumbled, their eyes widening in shock. “I-I can't find any records on them! They're a completely unknown fisher!”
“Hoh…” The captain seemed even more intrigued by Fenris than before. “If that'd be the case, then how is he competing with Bass?”
(… Apparently, everyone found saying Bass Pro Tour Fishing’s full name incredibly tiresome, having reduced it down to a single word over the course of their conversation.)
‘Hmph… I suppose I’ll have to use my special ability… My [Analysis Eyes]!’
Posing with their hand over their face, the analyst used their (fake) skill to absorb as much information they could about Fenris and his fishing style: where he was casting his line, what techniques he was using—every detail that could be conceivably be used to pierce through Fenris’s unreadable facade and glimpse into his thoughts.
“Yes… I see it now! The key to his strength!”
“What is it?”
They pushed up their glasses.
“——He has bullshit RNG! The fish bite as soon as he casts his line, and then he just yanks them straight out of the water with brute force!”
Gen and Louis fell over.
Fenris wasn't aiming anywhere in particular when he cast his line, and his technique was practically nonexistent; whatever thoughts lay within his head were wholly inscrutable—likely because there was simply nothing going on in there in the first place, given his unfocused, blank stare.
“... W-well, they do say that luck is just another skill…” The captain said, sheepishly scratching his beard.
Fortunately, the awkward air quickly dissipated as the sound of a timer rang out.
“That is TIME, contestants! Stop fishing, and let's get those final scores!”
———
(EXTRA: After the analyst did the glasses thing…)
“They stole my gag!” Louis shouted, rolling up his sleeves.
“They just pushed up their glasses, you dummy!” Lily held him back.
———
Spoilerwimbledon
I was hoping to write more, but I got sick and now i'm sleeby
[collapse]
The fishing contest between Bass Pro Tour Fishing and Fenris was incredibly fierce, with each of them landing fish one after the other; awed by their pace, the surrounding fishers stopped to bear witness to the battle unfolding in front of them.
Although the excitement was palpable as the crowd’s cheers shook the air, a handful of audience members were intense in a different way—their eyes sizing up the competitors with scrutinizing gazes.
“Hoh…” A grizzled, sea captain stroked his beard with a glint in his eye. “It seems that there are a few promising young’uns here…”
Sensing a sports manga-esque development, Gen immediately started playing along, going fishing in a slightly different meaning of the word.
“I-impossible…!” she murmured, feigning disbelief to no one in particular. Ignoring the cold stare from Lily, Gen continued her ploy. “How are they catching so many fish?!”
“Allow me to explain,” a bespectacled spectator cut in, pushing up their glasses so that the light reflected off of them in a very dramatic way.
“Bass Pro Tour Fishing is a veteran in the competitive VR fishing scene, consistently finishing in the top 8 and earning his place as a [Ranker]; however, even compared to the more powerful [Numbers], Bass Pro Tour’s technical ability is considered to be among the absolute best; he never loses a fish once it's on his line, and it’s said that he’s never broken a fishing line in competition.”
“Impressive…” Louis said, deciding to join in on Gen’s shenanigans. “But if Bass Pro is really as good of a fisher as you say, then… who could his opponent possibly be?”
Being already acquainted with Fenris, the sarcasm in his ‘possibly’ was remarkably undisguised—but it apparently went unnoticed as the analytic observer swiped through several virtual windows, searching for any clues to the wolf boy’s identity.
“This can't be…” They eventually mumbled, their eyes widening in shock. “I-I can't find any records on them! They're a completely unknown fisher!”
“Hoh…” The captain seemed even more intrigued by Fenris than before. “If that'd be the case, then how is he competing with Bass?”
(… Apparently, everyone found saying Bass Pro Tour Fishing’s full name incredibly tiresome, having reduced it down to a single word over the course of their conversation.)
‘Hmph… I suppose I’ll have to use my special ability… My [Analysis Eyes]!’
Posing with their hand over their face, the analyst used their (fake) skill to absorb as much information they could about Fenris and his fishing style: where he was casting his line, what techniques he was using—every detail that could be conceivably be used to pierce through Fenris’s unreadable facade and glimpse into his thoughts.
“Yes… I see it now! The key to his strength!”
“What is it?”
They pushed up their glasses.
“——He has bullshit RNG! The fish bite as soon as he casts his line, and then he just yanks them straight out of the water with brute force!”
Gen and Louis fell over.
Fenris wasn't aiming anywhere in particular when he cast his line, and his technique was practically nonexistent; whatever thoughts lay within his head were wholly inscrutable—likely because there was simply nothing going on in there in the first place, given his unfocused, blank stare.
“... W-well, they do say that luck is just another skill…” The captain said, sheepishly scratching his beard.
Fortunately, the awkward air quickly dissipated as the sound of a timer rang out.
“That is TIME, contestants! Stop fishing, and let's get those final scores!”
———
(EXTRA: After the analyst did the glasses thing…)
“They stole my gag!” Louis shouted, rolling up his sleeves.
“They just pushed up their glasses, you dummy!” Lily held him back.
———
Spoilerwimbledon
I was hoping to write more, but I got sick and now i'm sleeby
[collapse]