Whalebone and Tool Upgrades
“Oh, something interesting’s for sale here.”
One day, while walking through the market, I stumbled upon a rare material.
I’d heard it existed and was used in this world, but I never expected to find it here in the inland city of Legol. Surprise hit me before excitement.
“Hey, old-timer, is that whale baleen?”
“Ah, you know your stuff? Yeah, it is. Pretty rare, right?”
I’d only come to restock spider silk for fishing, but there it was—displayed prominently in a shop selling monster materials.
The glossy, amber-brown material looked like a wooden boomerang split down the middle. It was nearly a meter long. I couldn’t even imagine the size of the whale it came from.
“This was taken down by the Harpelia Empire’s largest warship, the great snow galleon Snowcorn. I’m no expert, so I don’t know the species… but damn, imagine having these huge plates in your mouth. Weird creatures, whales.”
“A galleon took it down? Impressive… So monsters like this live in the Kiritatis Sea, huh?”
I’ve seen the ocean before. If you head south from Harpelia, you’ll reach a major port where the Allied Nations—and occasionally, even the Demon Continent—trade.
I’ve been there a few times on escort missions. The food aside, the place wasn’t exactly fun—security was terrible.
“It’s a ridiculously huge monster, but a single whale yields so much material that even these baleen plates aren’t worth much. Lately, they’ve been drifting inland, even to Legol.”
“Huh. Selling well?”
“Nah, not at all. Skulls or horns might look impressive, but these baleen plates don’t make for good trophies. Too bulky, too heavy. Honestly, I just wanna get rid of ’em. If you’re buying, I’ll cut you a deal.”
Yeah, fair. At a glance, you wouldn’t even know what it was. No wonder it’s not popular as a hunting trophy.
But I know exactly how to put this material to good use.
“Alright, I’ll take one. The story alone was worth it. Might as well.”
“…You’re a weird one. Not that I’m complaining.”
And so, I acquired a whale baleen plate.
“Oh, those fangs are unusual too. Think I could buy a few for crafting small items?”
“Much obliged! But kid, these are tough. Most craftsmen can’t work with ’em…”
“No worries, I’ll manage.”
Sure, an average craftsman might struggle, but I’ve got brute strength on my side.
Alright, time to head back to the inn and get to work. Not that this world has “weekends,” but still.
“Alrighty… Today, we’re gonna make something great with this baleen…”
Muttering to myself in a slimy voice, I laid the whalebone on the inn’s workbench.
My rented room was already cluttered, but since it was designed as a shared dormitory, it was pretty spacious.
It doubled as both my equipment storage and a workshop of equal size.
At first glance, you wouldn’t recognize it, but the workbench could be reassembled into a proper vise-equipped setup.
“…Heard whale baleen was like plastic, but it’s not quite what I expected. Feels more like ox horn or tortoiseshell…”
Obviously, plastic doesn’t exist here. The closest thing would be the transparent, flappy stuff inside squids—but that’s definitely not plastic. Just similar.
What matters is its plastic-like elasticity and flexibility.
“Oh, cuts nice. This is good stuff—cooperative material.”
Like wood, whale baleen has a grain. If you drive a blade along it, it splits cleanly. But a saw lets you cut smoothly without splitting, making it more versatile than I thought.
I cut along the grain to make a plank, then sliced that into thinner strips—creating whalebone rods. Now, just carve them into cylinders.
“…Yeah, this flex is perfect.”
I’d made the tip for a fishing rod. Pressing down with my finger, it bent almost 90 degrees with spring-like resistance.
For big catches, a flexible rod is crucial—otherwise, the line takes too much strain. Back in my past life, some rods even used whalebone just for the tip.
Exactly. This was the material I needed to level up my fishing gear.
“This could be useful for more than just rods… Might’ve been a solid purchase.”
Wood splinters and cracks, but whalebone is more forgiving. It’s almost like plastic—great for detailed work.
The crafting was done in no time. Not like it was that complicated to begin with.
Now, just slot it into my existing wooden rod with a firm Shadow Snake Hand grip, and… done.
“…Hmm.”
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Behold: the new and improved fishing rod.
A mast-worthy fishing tool for this world, with a whalebone tip.
“Time to test it out!”
When you get new gear, you gotta use it. That’s just how guys are.
“Hey, Mongrel! You’ve been making grinding noises forever—it’s loud!”
“Yeah, yeah, sorry! Heading out now!”
I took my pass from the exasperated gatekeeper and hurried outside.
No mission today—just blatantly “going fishing.” They get it.
But I had to try it out.
I headed to the usual spot by the Sylsaris River and cast my line near the bridge.
This time, I baited the hook with river bugs. Lures would need deeper water, anyway.
“…Hmm, how’s the flex…?”
As the line drifted downstream with the current, the resistance made it feel like a bite—something beginners might mistake for a catch.
“Oh, not bad…”
Letting it drift further, I felt the tension build in the whalebone tip.
A sharp tug, but the rod held firm, bending just at the tip… Nice, this is what I wanted.
“Now if only I had a better reel… Something with smoother retrieval…”
No way I could craft a spinning reel. Drag adjustment? Maybe if I rigged something like a bicycle brake to it… Wait, brakes on a fishing reel? Weird thought.
“Oh—oh?! This is…!”
While lost in reel ideas, I felt the rod tip twitch.
A subtle bite—might’ve missed it with wood. Steady… Wait for it…
“ No, it’s coming, it’s here, it’s here! ”
“This is real—got one! Got it! And it’s not a crustacean!”
“Whoa… Not much of a fight, though.”
At first, the sensitivity fooled me, but this was definitely a small fry.
I reeled it in effortlessly—less of a “fight,” more like hauling.
Soon, the water splashed, and I lifted my catch ashore.
“Oh… A rustfish.”
A 15-centimeter rustfish—a common freshwater species here.
With dark skin and reddish-brown scales, its resemblance to a crop-blighting disease makes it unfairly seen as bad luck.
But despite its ugly rep, it’s perfectly edible. The guild’s archives confirmed it.
“Might as well eat it. Haven’t had lunch yet.”
After dispatching it, I scraped off the scales with Sword Breaker’s blade, gutted it, and rinsed it in the river.
Then, just skewer it on a stick and roast it whole.
“Glad I brought salt.”
I rubbed salt into the skin and belly, extra on the fins, and slow-roasted it over a fire.
Driftwood along the bank made for easy fuel.
For one small fish, a few added sticks were enough.
“…Alright, now just relax and wait.”
A tiny stone stove, a single fish on a stick—
and me, lazily casting my line again, hoping for a second catch while it cooked.
A completely idle, wasteful way to spend time. But this is why I love fishing. The peace, the certainty that something’s in the water.
“Nothin’ biting…”
Then again, one catch doesn’t guarantee another!
“Huff… Ooh, the meat’s flaky. Damn, fresh grilled fish is unbeatable.”
In the end, I only caught one rustfish that day.
A meager haul, but just testing the rod and landing anything was a win. Next time, I’ll hit a better spot—somewhere deeper, where lures work.
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