“Fishing them up one by one… seems tedious.”

At Mika’s words, everyone nodded in agreement.

“We could teach others how to fish and post a request at the Adventurer’s Guild,” someone suggested.

“But if you mistime pulling them up, you’ll get quite the electric shock. I felt a little tingle earlier.”

“What about Mika’s poison mist…?”

“I’ll use it if we have no other choice. But then we probably won’t be able to eat them. Well, it’s fine. Eating them isn’t our main goal anyway. But still, it’d be a waste!”

The others cast lukewarm glances at Mika as she desperately tried to justify herself.

“What else do we have left…?”

“For magical tools, we have the opposite of freezing—ones that heat things up. But these aren’t for boiling water; they’re meant for warming baths or heating rooms.”

“Then just throwing them in the bath won’t kill them. But let’s try it anyway.”

“Earlier, the freezing magic tool slowed them down a bit. What about Flower’s freezing magic?”

“If they slow down, the traps and fishing from earlier might get a little easier.”

On the other hand, there was the worry that they might not bite as eagerly.

Mika’s remaining tools were rubber boots and rubber gloves—clearly, she was planning to wade into the river. Very much like her.

Of course, she had also brought the sturdy fishing net that had been useful last time.

And a change of clothes.

(She’s fully prepared to go into the river.)

Going in as things were now would be dangerous, but if the eels were weakened, Mika might stand a chance.

Other usable options included Dada’s bow and arrows. Since retrieving them from the eels would be difficult, they were kept as a last resort.

Gatt was also skilled at throwing knives, so if they absolutely couldn’t get close, he could use those alongside Dada’s arrows.

Zurah, being a mage, could use a variety of spells. She had recently acquired a good staff thanks to their earnings, so her power had increased significantly.

They also had two more freezing magic tools and two heating ones left, so combining them might amplify their effectiveness.

After a 15-minute break and discussion, Round 2 began.

First, Flower and Zurah worked together to cast freezing magic on the water near the shore.

The surface didn’t freeze completely, but the eels’ movements slowed slightly. Mika then cast her fishing line toward them.

“I’d really love to just plunge the net in…”

“Please don’t, Mika. That’s way too dangerous!”

Just like before, she gradually lowered the line into the water. The moment the bait touched the surface, several eels reacted—though perhaps with slightly less vigor.

This time, two eels bit onto the same bait and refused to let go even as they were reeled in.

Once on land, the thrashing eels were finished off by Gatt and Zurah while Mika cast her line again.

After several rounds of this, a supermarket basket’s worth of eels had been caught in no time.

But even with the nonstop, repetitive work, there was no sign that the number of eels in the river had decreased at all.

“…Let’s try changing tactics a little.”

They moved to a slightly different spot and layered the heating magic tool with Zurah’s fire magic.

The heated water caused the eels to thrash wildly, scattering even more lightning than before. Were they being boiled alive? This looked promising!

…Or so they thought, until 30 minutes of peering into the water passed.

The eels in front of Mika and the others were still as lively as ever.

Apparently, these monsters weren’t the type to be worn down by a slight rise in water temperature.

When they experimentally tossed a rock in, the lightning crackled even more violently than before, filling the air with sharp snaps and flashes.

Suddenly, Mika tilted her head in thought.

“These eels are in the water, but they don’t electrocute themselves, right?”

“They must have resistance to lightning.”

“Hmm… Hey, what do you think would happen if we shot a lightning spell in there?”

“Would it even have an effect?”

“But even if humans are fine with static electricity, they can’t withstand a lightning strike, right?”

Even without that, the river was already coursing with electricity. If they added a lightning strike on top of that…

“Let’s back up a little. Flower, come here.”

Mika picked up Flower, and the whole group retreated to the base of the embankment. Only Zurah stepped forward, raising her staff adorned with a glittering magic stone.

Gyu-gyu…

With an incantation, a single bolt of lightning shot from the staff—striking dead center of the eel-filled river.

BOOOOOOM!

The deafening roar was like a thunderclap striking right in front of them during a storm. Along with the surging water, countless bolts of lightning discharged from the river’s center into the sky.

The blast and shockwave sent Mika and her companions crashing into the embankment behind them. Fortunately, no one seemed seriously injured, but as they rubbed their still-tingling limbs, they stared blankly at the scattered remains of eels littered across the area.