ã€ŠSky Piercer (A Monster Hunter Fanfiction)ã€‹


 Prologue

    ¡°Myla! Tail!¡± Valen shouted as a gigantic limb crashed down beside him, shaking the ground beneath his feet. A quick glance at his teammate confirmed that she had managed to dodge the strike intended for her and he quickly exhaled in relief. Then he turned back to his opponents.

    A giant tail with a metal-like blade was ripped from the ground, ready to strike again. A giant oversized knife, two armored legs to support it, and a strong jaw, able to un-rust it at a moment¡¯s notice: The Glavenus, one of the most infamous monsters simply due to its deadly appendage, was trying its best to rid its territory of invaders. It had almost succeeded several times but Valen was glad they were able to keep up with it¡­ Until the problem arrived.

    Golden scales rattling like a bunch of swords being ferried on a cart, two wings powerful enough to blow them away, and a sharp horn that would cut through their armor should it hit them. However, the scales were still the most dangerous part of this second enemy, able to be thrown at a moment¡¯s notice and would tear their armor asunder should they hit their mark. It was the signature of the Seregios, a Wyvern that proved troublesome for even the most experienced of hunting teams.

    The newcomer was by far the more troublesome of the two, as for some reason it spent more time attacking the group of hunters than the brute wyvern. The flying menace dodged the tail swipes expertly and only made a token effort to attack the Glavenus. Valen shook his hair, the few visible brown locks of his hair swinging, then put himself in a defensive stance, weapon held out on the side.

    Suddenly the Seregios swept its tail at him, and Valen leapt over it. In the same motion, he pulled the trigger on his weapon while adjusting his grip, triggering the transformative mechanism inside it. The axe head slid down, while the blade pivoted at the tip to settle on the opposite side, then locked. When he scored a hit on the wyvern¡¯s head, an otherwise small cut had come to fruition as a large gash as a result of the Switch Axe¡¯s larger Sword form.

    He backflipped to dodge the retaliatory swipe from the Seregios¡¯ horn, his opponent screeching in fury. Then he released the trigger, causing his weapon to slide back to its previous, more wieldy axe form.

    ¡®That was way too close,¡¯ Valen thought. ¡®I got an opportunity here but I doubt I¡¯ll get another like that soon. Also, the strike did even less damage than I expected. If we get out of this, I¡¯ll need to upgrade my equipment¡­ Maybe even from one of these two if we¡¯re lucky.¡¯

    He took a deep breath, his opponent distracted momentarily by the other monster. The weight of his Switch Axe in his hands was reassuring, as was his armor, which looked more like a long yellow trenchcoat than typical plate. However, the residual energy of the monster it came from protected him nonetheless. The large spongy mane he harvested from this peculiar leviathan was a sturdy material, but he could clearly feel its limits now.

    A loud clanging distracted him as he glanced to the side where it came from.

    The Glavenus had attempted to bite Edwin, but the shield his teammate was wearing on his right arm prevented the beast from doing much damage. He retaliated with a sudden thrust with his opposite arm, the green lance it held biting and piercing the armor of his opponent. Purple ooze dripped from the new wound, staggering the blade-tailed monster. Valen hoped that the monster would be slowed by the poison that entered its blood, but he felt like more of the weakening substance would be needed to make a difference.

    Edwin was holding his ground, his armor protecting him from the few fireballs the wyvern attempted to spit at him. The Rathian scales it was made from absorbed the heat well, being crafted from the remains of another fire-inclined wyvern for this exact purpose. Their wearer was doing a good job of holding the attention of the Glavenus, despite their new predicament. He was undeterred and held his ground, in spite of the occasional splatter of blood that fell from his few wounds.

    ¡°Thanks for the save Valen, that tail slam would have definitely crushed me into paste!¡± Turning around, the mentioned hunter looked at his female colleague.

    ¡°No prob, Myla!¡± He nodded at her, noticing that she had her hammer ready to strike, the chunky weapon in her hands seeming like it weighed nothing at all. He knew how heavy it really was, as she¡¯d let him try lifting it, only to taunt him when he¡¯d gone red in the face after he¡¯d only raised it a meager foot. He got his revenge when she proved her clumsiness with his own weapon, the swipes more liable to hit herself than any opponent. In the end, they shared a good laugh at how they clearly were trained only in their own weapons.

    Her brown armor was paradoxically not the best at absorbing the heat from their original target, but the bulkiness compensated by helping absorb glancing blows of the giant tail. The sturdy carapace of the Barroth it was made from was tough enough that few things could slice or stab through it.

    ¡°Stickies! Go for it!¡± The shout spurred Valen to action before two barks of a bowgun sounded behind him, and two sizzling tubes struck the Seregios in the face. The monster desperately tried to unlodge them by shaking their head, but the projectiles were stuck fast, clinging on like demented, sparking geckoes.

    Valen was already moving when the explosive ammo detonated, capitalizing on the monster¡¯s flinch with an overhead cut at its head. That knocked a score of sharp scales free, allowing Myla to follow up with what would have been a brutal uppercut if it had connected. Unfortunately, the Seregios barely managed to avoid it, dodging backward, but the Hammer wielder was undeterred. She used the momentum of her weapon to roll away, putting distance between her and the wyvern before it could dash back in to strike.Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°Good shots Flynn, too bad he recovered in time.¡± Valen said.

    Flynn nodded, more to himself than Valen, the hood of his armor partially covering his face from the glare of the midday sun as he reloaded. He was wearing the lightest armor of the group, but the white hide of the Khezu it was made of was sturdy enough that it didn¡¯t need to be bulky. That suited its wearer fine, as it gave Flynn the crucial mobility he needed to position himself on the battlefield.

    Valen¡¯s squad was a well-oiled machine at this point, having done half a dozen hunts together, the Glavenus being the hardest to date. Taking it down was within their ability¡­ until the Seregios had decided to crash the party. At least it wasn¡¯t one of the most feared ¡®invaders¡¯, like big old Deviljho, or Rajang. Those two were truly among the leading causes of death in the hunting world, ambushing a party that totally wasn¡¯t ready for them. Seregios alone was bad enough, but fighting two apex predators at once shouldn¡¯t ever be recommended.

    Flynn threw dung pods to the sharp-scaled menace long ago, but no matter how many were thrown at its face, it simply didn¡¯t want to quit. Even the hunters were starting to pick up the horrible smell by now. Valen was the one tasked to distract it as much as he could, being the most mobile after Flynn, but it was becoming increasingly hard, what with the monster trying to go for anyone unlucky enough to come into its reach. At least he¡¯d managed to warn the others early enough for them to dodge out of range again.

    However, the winged wyvern was winding up to throw a volley of razor-sharp scales directly at Edwin. With Valen¡¯s shield already blocking a burst of flame from the Glavenus, he simply couldn¡¯t take this one for his teammate.

    ¡°WATCH OUT EDWIN!¡± he shouted, hoping his fellow hunter would be able to deal with it.

    The Sergios swung his tail, detaching a handful of scales that flew through the air like arrows let loose by the strongest of bowmen. Most of the projectiles harmlessly impacted the ground with small thwacks, but two found their mark. One hit Edwin¡¯s side, piercing his armor with the sound of shrieking metal, but jammed in the metal before managing to bite into the hunter. The other went right through a gap in his armor; a little open spot at his neck.

    With a low gurgle, Edwin toppled to the ground, lifeless.

    Everybody stopped for a second, realizing what happened. Then they all clapped their hands to their ears as the Seregios roared in victory.

    Once the ringing in her head died down, Myla quickly stowed her weapon and retrieved an extra strong dung bomb from her utility pouch, throwing it at the Glavenus, hard. Unlike the Seregios, the Glavenus clearly was bothered by the smell. It had been battered and bruised by the hunters and its opponent, and with the horrible smell coated all over its nose, it had clearly had enough.

    Valen managed to grab the Seregios¡¯ attention and distract it long enough for the Glavenus to leave. With a bit of luck, only having one monster to deal with would allow the rest of their team to deal enough damage to force it to retreat. Then they could¡­ retrieve Edwin, and head for home.

    A few more minutes of fighting ensued until the Thousand Blades Wyvern emitted a loud roar that made the hunters cover their ears followed by swinging his tail, detaching more of its sharp scales. Valen and Flynn rolled sideways to dodge them, but Myla was still recovering from her last attack. A scale lodged itself in her arm, the sharp point making her start to bleed profusely. However, while she was distracted by her new wound, she didn¡¯t hear her teammates shouting at her until it was too late. Her attention snapped back to the Seregios¡­ right before she got impaled on its horn with the horrible screams of tearing metal and agonizing pain. Blood dripped down its horn as it glared at its remaining quarry. Then it swung its head, bisecting Myla¡¯s body and throwing the two halves into the undergrowth.

    Images of another time and place flashed through Valen¡¯s head. A horrible yellow hide, heavy roars loud enough to make his head feel like it was exploding. The crash of heavy footfalls clawing into the earth for purchase and rippling flexes of corded muscle. A monster just as furious as this one, and another hunt ripped to pieces.

    It was too much for him. He dropped his weapon, turned tail, and ran, prioritizing survival over all else. Flynn shouted at him to wait¡­ but in doing so, missed the tail swipe of the Seregios. A loud crack resounded as he was flung into the air some ways away, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

    The Wyvern emitted a loud screech of victory,  having defeated all of its opponents bar one, then immediately launched into the air towards the last hunter. Valen heard it taking to the sky, felt the displaced air from its beating wings, but didn¡¯t look back. He couldn¡¯t. He couldn¡¯t look at that thing again, not with his mind screaming in panicked terror.

    The wyvern flung its head, detaching some of its scales in the process. Its aim was true, piercing the armored leg of the hunter and making him tumble to the ground. Valen quickly rolled onto his back and began to backpedal as fast as his battered body would allow. Adrenaline coursed through his system. His eyes were wide and terrified, almost popping out of his head as the Wyvern landed before him with an impact that shook the ground. It advanced slowly, perhaps relishing its victory, or perhaps simply believing that exerting more effort wasn¡¯t needed.

    It screeched again, the sound piercing his eardrums and making him cringe and want to curl up like a terrified child, scared of the Jaggi under the bed. He couldn¡¯t afford to stop and block out the sound, not with the monster so close. He had to get away. He had to! He¡­ he¡­

    The Seregios reared up and spread its wings, almost as if it was showing off its prowess to its prey. Here it was, the king of its domain, destroyer of all who might try to challenge it. What was Valen to it, an artist of razor-sharp blades that flew like graceful leaves on an autumn breeze? He was a dead man walking- well, crawling. He was done for, just like the others. Whole parties going down didn¡¯t happen often, but stories of it happening weren¡¯t uncommon. Overconfidence, a lack of information, or sheer bad luck could end a hunt in seconds, what with the power of the beasts that made the world their domain. Even the most skilled hunters could be killed by the sting of the hated Vespoid or the sometimes-useful Paratoad.

    But Valen wasn¡¯t one of the elite. He wasn¡¯t even an A-lister. He was just trying to do the best he could, and his best hadn¡¯t been enough. He¡¯d panicked. He had run. He¡¯d abandoned the last of his teammates to the fate that he was surely going to meet in seconds.

    The Sergios seemed to agree. It prepared to lunge, to end it, and Valen raised an arm in front of his face in a futile attempt to shield himself. Then all he knew was an explosion in the sky, a flash of red, a burst of heat, and a piercing screech. Then darkness came for him.¡®I¡¯m sorry,¡¯ he dazedly thought before he lapsed into unconsciousness.

 Chapter 1: Awakening

    He was back where it all began. Facing a monster. The monster, which killed his parents and a dozen other villagers in its rampage. He was alone, trembling in the middle of the street while his enemy prowled towards him; its bloodshot eyes demonstrating its sheer rage and lost reason. The drooling maw stated its intention toward the young kid. Then suddenly, as if waiting for an unseen signal, it lunged, the vibrations on the ground reverberating in his young bones. The monster was getting nearer and nearer, the giant maw making him realize how utterly powerless he was at this moment, and getting bigger and bigger and about to close on him, the teeth ever closi¡ª

    Valen woke up with a gasp, breathing quickly. His panic-induced state caused by the nightmare still clouded his mind, but he didn¡¯t dare move yet, as he was lying on his back and his whole body ached. It took several minutes for the panic to reduce, and it allowed him to close his eyes and take slow, deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. It went on for a while, even after he knew he was no longer panicking but he wanted to truly be in a calm mind, no matter how much taking deep breaths hurt.

    When he felt that he was calm enough, he finally allowed himself to open his eyes. The first thing that he noticed was that he was in a cave, and not on the grass like he thought he would be. That was only the first thing. The second was that, now that he could focus on his body, it mainly hurt in two places: First was on his right leg, where he remembered the scale sliced the muscle. Second and more importantly was on the left side of his head. ¡®This is new. Oh right, I felt that sharp pain here before falling unconscious, maybe the Seregios threw a last volley.¡¯ It felt like something was missing but he wasn¡¯t sure what, so, ever so slowly, he raised his left hand towards it, the motion not hurting like he expected, so that just meant his whole body was just sore¡­ But then raised the question of how long he spent unconscious.

    When he finally reached his left head, the first thing that he noticed was that the skin was rough, bumpy. He suspected he had a nasty scar here, it was still a bit raw so he supposed it was still healing. However, when he reached his ear¡­ There was nothing there, not even a hole where it was supposed to be. He then realized what it was that he was missing: He was hearing nothing from his left side. Sure he could hear the wind that sang outside of the cave¡­ But the sound only came from his right ear. ¡®Ugh, that will take some time to get used to.¡¯

    He sighed, at least it was something he could deal with, contrary to a missing limb or eye. But it was still going to take him some time to adjust. However, inspecting the ear a bit more made him note something was caked over¡­ But it wasn¡¯t blood, it was something that had dried over, some remnant of a mega potion? That was why the scar directly around his ear had healed more than further away. Then he noticed that the pattern the flesh healed on was irregular. First, the burn didn¡¯t make sense until he realized somebody must have tried to cauterize the flesh if that was another scale that sliced his ear off.

    The fact it was cauterized on such a wide area instead of being localized to his left ear must have meant somebody either had only a big flame to work with or was trembling so much during the procedure it bled over everything. He wasn¡¯t sure which one was the real reason. ¡®I¡¯m getting worried about the significance of this, a Felyne would normally be pretty careful and they have steady paws usually.¡¯

    Taking his mind off the ear for a moment, he examined the rest of his body. His torso had nothing to report, just his back being sore because of being on the ground, same for his arms. His back creaked a bit once he raised himself, but it was just what he expected from it being stiff. He took some long breaths to wait for the bones to settle up, then he looked at his legs, and what he saw surprised him.

    His left leg was fine, but the right leg of his pants had been completely torn off, like somebody had to remove it in a hurry and just decided to tear it off¡­ There was also a bandage where his leg had been sliced by the scale but what was more curious was that it was only wrapped around his leg once, and held firm by a couple of big stones on the sides, a couple of holes were in it as well. That was as if somebody didn¡¯t know how to wrap it around the leg and rigged a way to maintain pressure on the wound. A hint of a green stain among the dried blood also meant that somebody applied another mega potion there.

    There were a couple of smaller scars that he didn¡¯t remember were here as well, one pair that went towards the side of his leg where his armor had been torn off, and another pair above his knee that went along his leg. They were the more curious ones, as they weren¡¯t inflicted during the hunt, and were not old scars, so they more than surely came from his rescuer¡­ Maybe it was a Lynian that was so overwhelmed that they couldn¡¯t control his claws. ¡®Definitely getting weirder, was that Lynian so worried for me that his nerves got the better of him? Also, where are they, then? Haven¡¯t seen anything that denotes this as one of their nests either.¡¯

    He decided that his inspection was enough and that his first order of business was examining his leg wound, and redoing his bandage if possible, so he took a deep breath, then slowly tried to peel off his bandage, and as he expected, the dried blood stuck to it, which meant that removing the bandage directly would reopen the wound. Deciding he needed something sharp to deal with it, he looked around to see if his utility pouch was around, and indeed it was right next to him. Digging into it, he immediately noticed that a handful of the potions he carried were missing, however, the bottles were also missing, but a couple were still full, so he immediately grabbed them and applied a bit of it to his raw scar on his left ear, and drank the rest of this bottle. Immediately he felt better as his ache faded away.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    ¡®Now, to look for my carving knife¡­¡¯  He dug further into the bag until he found it. He checked the blade¡¯s sharpness, then once he was satisfied it was good enough for what he was about to do, he took a deep breath and started cutting off the bandage from the crusted blood. It was a task that he had to focus on, else he would reopen the wound further. He almost had a couple of slip-ups but he managed to firm his grip enough and steel his nerves to not cut into the wound.

    After a tense moment, he breathed a sigh of relief, as he accepted the result as good enough. He then pulled out another bandage from his survival kit that was in his pouch, then applied the last bottle of mega potion he had on the wound and the bandage. Then he wrapped the bandage around the wound, making sure to not apply too much pressure but still make it firm enough.

    Once he was satisfied with the tending of his injuries, he finally took the time to examine his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that his bed was simply made of leaves, and some sponge that he recognized as cut off from a Ludroth¡¯s neck. ¡®Why would a Felyne make a bed from sponge? That is getting odder, and I¡¯m starting to think it wasn¡¯t one that rescued me¡­¡¯

    He took note of that fact but didn¡¯t dare stand up, even after the potion he took, as he didn¡¯t have anything to not put pressure on his injured leg anyways. So he just looked around and noticed a few more oddities. The first thing he noticed was the scratch marks that were at the entrance of the cave, being trios of irregular gouges. ¡®As if a monster took off from the entrance, so either this cave had a flying monster living in it before it abandoned it¡­ Or it¡¯s still living in, which would be more confusing as to why I¡¯m still alive then.¡¯

    The next oddity was reddish scorch marks on the walls near the entrance as if something exploded on it. ¡®Fireballs? No, it¡¯s not the usual scorch mark¡­ I¡¯ve only seen this red tint from¡­¡¯ He widened his eyes in realization. ¡®From drawings shown of the effect of a Deviljho¡¯s breath. This is getting even weirder, and worrying. I doubt it was a Jho that lived here but the number of known dragon element monsters is very small.¡¯

    There were more jagged lines in the rock, but this time they were singular lines instead of in trios or pairs. Valen didn¡¯t know what to think of these so he moved on, and that¡¯s when he noticed something glinting on the ground, a bit further away from him. He thought about a moment then decided to drag himself to it. He had to be careful with his leg, but he managed.

    While reaching the object of interest, he noticed while getting closer that it was a scale. And as he picked it up, first he noticed it was a bit sharp, which, while not that rare among monsters, wasn¡¯t a common trait. He turned it around, it was on the bigger size for a unique scale, but that also depends on the place it came off from. ¡®Hmmm, the silver coloration seems familiar¡­ I swear I heard about this specific tone but by the Sapphire Star, I can¡¯t recall where¡­¡¯ He examined it under all its angles, but after a while he gave up, shaking his head.

    Before crawling back to his bed, he figured he would at least see what the outside of the cave looked like. So after a bit more crawling, he managed to reach the mouth of the cave¡­ And what he saw legitimately surprised him. The cave wasn¡¯t on ground level. it was high up on a cliff, and he could see they were high up, the ground was barely visible from where he was. There wasn¡¯t a visible path to climb up, at least not that he could find.

    Once he examined the cliffside, he crawled back to his bed and went deep into thought. Because his situation might be much more complex than he thought. As good climbers as Felynes are, they more than surely would not bother having such a high lair. Sighing and shaking his head, Valen thought about the situation from another angle. But first thing, he wanted to try to find out which monster had occupied this lair.

    What clues did the hunter have? First, the lair was high up, so that eliminated any kind of ground-based monster. Second, the scorch marks meant that the monster was at least capable of using dragon energy¡­ The most common culprit, Deviljho, was however excluded because of the first point. And it would have been excluded by the third clue, which was the silver scale, meaning that it was most likely that the monster was of this color. But while it might also be only one of the colors of it, or the remains of one of his meals, Valen had a very strong suspicion it was in reality truly one of its shed scales.

    He sighed, he felt like he really should know which monster it was. He had it on the tip of his tongue, but it was like he was missing one crucial, obvious piece of information about it. He laid back down on his bed with a sigh, the answer would come to him soon enough at least. Besides, he felt tired after having to drag himself around and fix his wounds, so he decided to take a quick nap.

    A constant noise woke him up soon enough. It wasn¡¯t that loud, but¡­ It was a peculiar noise, like a waterfall, but higher pitched and it was getting louder. But then, this noise jogged something in his memory, and he turned and looked at the long lines he had at first dismissed, and suddenly realized just what monster lived in this cave¡­ And he was immediately afraid. ¡®It can¡¯t be, Elders are on a ¡°Do not approach¡± basis if there isn¡¯t a team ready to take them on.¡¯

    It all came into a crescendo when the noise suddenly got louder and a silver-scaled Dragon landed in the opening of the case, carrying something in its claws. The monster had trident-like wings, remnants of dragon energy dissipating from their ends, and two rows of fins on its back and tail. This was a monster well known to the guild, and Hunters were warned about it.

    This species of Elder was known as the Silver Winged Scarlet Star, the Red Comet, the Star of Disaster, and many other names. But the true name of this elder¡­ was Valstrax.

 Chapter 2: Misconceptions

    Valen was completely and utterly frozen as the Elder finished its landing, depositing his quarry on the ground. It was something yellow but he couldn¡¯t pay attention to it at the moment; so lost in his terror that he was fixating on the Elder to the exclusion of everything else. A small burst of dragon element emanated from its wings then it took deep inhalation from the chest, a loud whirring noise piercing the air as it did so.

    Only after completing this action and shaking itself a bit did it seem that the Eder noticed his presence. And he stiffened even further, expecting it to attack him on the spot for intruding into its cave, coming back to it after a long absence. The moment when the Valstrax stared at him stretched for an eternity, where he was sure he was staring death in the face. He wasn¡¯t even sure if he was shaking or not, as anything that wasn¡¯t what was in front of him just faded away. The hunter knew there was absolutely nothing he could do; he was injured and unable to move, his only weapon was a carving knife that wasn¡¯t of a good enough quality to pierce these scales, and he was in a confined space, with nowhere to run or hide.

    The tension rose when the Valstrax finally walked closer, pivoting its head on the side so it could examine him with his eye. It seemed to fixate on his biggest injuries, the one on his head and his leg. Then it did something that utterly baffled him. The Elder rumbled then turned around to pick up what it dropped and walked past him, without doing anything, even making sure it circled around the wounded man, to not jostle him.

    This turn of events was so unexpected for Valen that he immediately passed out in disbelief.

    <hr>

    The hunter woke up later, his mind feeling a bit slow. At first he couldn¡¯t remember why he felt like that, but that¡¯s when everything came back to him. Waking up in pain and panic from his nightmare, tending to his wounds, investigating the cave, the Elder landing in the cave, and it basically leaving him alone.

    The realization that the Elder left him alone made him spring up from his bed, only to groan as the sudden motion was too much for his stiff back. The pain was quickly forgotten when a noise made him look around, quickly noticing the silver-scaled dragon lying on its belly. And it was looking at him after making a small whirring rumble. He also noticed the carcass of a fresh meal next to it that was¡­ Strangely not finished.

    Something still nagged at him, but he wasn¡¯t sure why, it was like he was missing a crucial detail, but he couldn¡¯t put his finger on it. Then his eyes wandered to his leg, his injured leg. It was at that moment that he had a wild thought. ¡®It¡­ Couldn¡¯t have been the Valstrax who carried me here and treated my injuries? That¡­ Doesn¡¯t make any sense, what would it gain wasting time on me?¡¯ He raised his hand to the scorched side of his head. ¡®Wait¡­ The burn injuries would make sense¡­ Especially if it only had its wings to work with¡­ But then, why? Why would it do this? Never has an Elder shown mercy before, so why would this Valstrax do so?¡¯

    Valen was so lost in his internal thoughts that he failed to notice the dragon push the half-finished carcass towards him. The hunter was instantly snapped out of his internal monologue when it entered his field of vision. He flinched away by reflex, still very much on edge, but after a couple of seconds of expecting a claw swipe, he tentatively looked at what the Valstrax did this time. And he stared at the carcass, looking back and forth between it and the Elder like he wasn¡¯t believing it just so casually shared its food. Valen was about to try to push it away, not wanting to engage with the shenanigans when his belly disproved him of this action by making itself known. Loudly.

    Nosing the carcass towards him, the Valstrax then made a rumbling noise, slightly higher pitched due to the whirring part of it. It was a strange noise that he didn¡¯t expect from the Elder. After staring at it for a bit, he finally sighed and relented, pulling out his carving knife so he could cut the parts away. He idly noted that the carcass was from a Ludroth, judging by the hide he could see. It was not something he hadn''t eaten before but he supposed he would take what he could get.

    Once he finished cutting off the meat from the carcass, he dug into his bag to pull out a piece of the cooking roast. He only needed the pot that generated the flame. It contained the flame sac of a fire-breathing monster. For some reason, he had been the one tasked to carry it for the team, but he figured that for once he wouldn¡¯t complain, as it saved him the trouble of having to start a fire on his own. He then pulled out a stick, as somebody else was supposed to carry the spitting roast assembly. Valen could remember who if he thought a bit more but shook his head before the thoughts carried him into something he did not want to think about right now.

    Lighting up the flame, he stabbed the meat with the stick he had and started roasting it with the fire, using the menial task to distract him from all the thoughts bouncing around his head, either about the dilemma that was the Elder, or some stray thoughts about the last minutes he remembered of the hunts that he squashed whenever possible¡­ And older, rarer thoughts that he knew would send him into a spiral of despair if he got caught in them. Thankfully, as intended, the action of cooking managed to keep him from getting trapped in all of the what-ifs.

    He idly noticed that the dragon seemed very interested in what he was doing, and a sudden thought jumped to him, one he couldn¡¯t stop this time.

    ¡®This thing is smart. What if it brought you here only to study your weaknesses, and then once it¡¯s done learning, disposes of you and uses these weaknesses against other hunters?¡¯ As wild as the thought was, it made sense to him. It would explain why the dragon was trying to keep him alive for now. He then steeled his nerves, digging deeper into the explanation. ¡®That means that I have to try to keep the things I reveal to the minimum. I¡¯ll have to maintain a routine and only a small list of things I can do while it can observe me. I doubt I¡¯ll be able to escape this situation, but I¡¯d be damned if I don¡¯t at least try.¡¯

    He continued this train of thought while turning over the roast periodically, making sure the meat was evenly cooked. Once he was satisfied with the cooking, he turned off the fire and started eating the meat out of the spit roast. It felt strange to eat in silence while the Elder was watching him, but he kept quiet nonetheless. It wasn¡¯t like it¡¯d be able to understand what he could say anyways.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Once he finished his meal, he put the fire pot and his knife back in the bag and cleaned up the stick. He wasn¡¯t sure how long he would stay here so he had to make sure it¡¯d last him as long as possible. After this was done, he exhaled a loud sigh of relief and laid back down in his bed. Noticing that the Valstrax was still watching him intensely but was tilting his head a bit now, Valen had to admit that he did look a bit innocent while being like that, albeit if you ignore all the sharp bits that it possessed.

    Some small part of the hunter was nagging him that it was a death sentence to go to sleep with an Elder nearby, but he squashed that thought away. ¡®If it didn¡¯t kill me until now, it surely won¡¯t do it until it squeezed out everything it can from me.¡¯

    He took a long time to quiet the doubts in his mind, but eventually, he managed to find sleep, ignoring the dragon sitting next to him as much as he could.

    <hr>

    Valen woke up later, feeling his mouth completely dry. He hadn¡¯t noticed his dehydration before now, what with all that was happening, but now his throat was extremely parched. He immediately dug into his bag, looking for his canteen, and immediately took a long drink from it. However, being half empty already, there was only just enough to satisfy his thirst. He grimaced. ¡®Well, if the Valstrax doesn¡¯t kill me, the dehydration will. What a shitty way to go¡­ Days of agony hoping for blessed water that¡¯ll never come. I know meat has a bit of water, right? But it can¡¯t be anywhere near enough for what I need.¡¯ He sighed, steeling himself for a painful day.

    He was broken out of his reverie once again by his jailer walking over to himValen froze once again, nowhere near used to having it be that close to him. It looked intensely at his canteen, and then the ground on which a couple of droplets had spilled upon, then it backed away. Valen remained frozen. The dragon then walked to a wall and started scratching it, producing a scritch-scritch noise that grated at Valen¡¯s remaining ear. However, he didn¡¯t want to attract attention to himself, so he just bore with it.

    The look the Valstrax had in its eyes puzzled him though, it was like it wasn¡¯t focusing on anything, and doing the scratching just out of habit. If the hunter dared suggest something, it was almost as though the Elder was thinking. But he didn¡¯t dare voice anything, lest he attract its murderous intent.

    He tried to think of anything else to block out the sound, but the noise was distracting him, and his thoughts constantly went back to his impending doom, which wasn¡¯t better¡­ But just as he was about to resign himself to bear the noise, it stopped. Valen looked back at the dragon to see what happened. And sure enough, it stopped scratching, but what surprised him is that it looked like it had stopped mid-motion¡­ And its eyes were no longer as vacant as they were before. And suddenly, as he was about to wonder what was up, it got back on all four and walked towards the entrance of the cave. It whirred up its wings and took off with a whoosh of air, so quickly that only a little breeze from its departure reached back to where Valen was sitting in the cave.

    The hunter was quite confused by the turn of events, but quickly exhaled in relief. He hadn¡¯t noticed that he was holding his breath for a while. Also deciding that it was a good opportunity to do something he wouldn¡¯t do in the Elder¡¯s presence, he grabbed his notebook from his bag and leafed through it, hoping to find some clues about the unusual behavior of this Elder¡­ He wasn¡¯t hoping for much though, he was pretty sure this was a first¡­ ¡®Unless some missing hunter cases could also be kidnappings by dragons¡­¡¯ He squashed the thought before it could progress further. It was not time to pursue insane or worrying trains of thought.

    He was fairly deep into older entries when he heard the telltale sound of his jailer coming back and scrambled to close the notebook and hide it in his bag. He had barely managed to retrieve his hands when the Valstrax landed, but he quickly noticed it was carrying something in its beak this time. Valen couldn¡¯t see what it was from the distance, but he quickly noticed it was dripping. It was dripping a clear liquid.

    ¡®Jumping Jaggis, is that what I think it is?¡¯ And once the Elder came closer, his thought was confirmed. ¡®Water? But¡­ How, and why?¡¯ Then he noticed what was containing the water¡­ And to his surprise, it was a full Royal Ludroth mane. He was completely sure of the monster it came from, having owned armor made of the same. The battle against the monster was tough at the time, what with Valen only possessing equipment made of small monsters, and afterwards the blacksmith had complained enough about how tedious the process they had to use for the mane so that it didn¡¯t absorb too much water when it rained or was submerged, so the armor was not made useless. And here was the Valstrax, just walking in with one completely filled with water. Once it was near him, it deposited the mane against the wall of the cave with a smooth motion.

    It then made that whirring rumble noise again, but it sounded more¡­ Satisfied? Valen wasn¡¯t sure why he thought that, but it was the impression that came to his mind. Still, he didn¡¯t dare move towards it, even though he knew he needed the water from it. He still knew the mane was the Elder¡¯s property, and touching it would mean retaliation.

    However, when it rumbled again and nosed the mane towards him, he tentatively reached a hand towards it, and just before he would reach the mane, he held his breath.

    A second passed two. But when the dragon still made no reaction, he let out the breath he was holding. And then, the implication of all of it hit him.

    It figured out that he was worried about the lack of water, it had then puzzled out that he was already completely out of it after drinking it. Then it literally went to think about a solution to this problem, as the Elder wouldn¡¯t be able to carry water itself, and its claws or beak weren¡¯t suited to carrying containers¡­ This also meant that it realized this fact and thought around it. Then once it figured out a solution, it carried out his plan and brought him back water¡­ In the form of a gift.

    However, the most worrying thought of all of this ¡­ That it must imply that the Valstrax was intelligent. Even more so than what Elders were commonly thought to be. There was already proof that Elder Dragons were much more intelligent than common Wyverns, but this? This was proof that not only they could figure out there was a problem, but not only that, they also could understand how to solve it. And only by thinking. Not by trial and error.

    What worried Valen the most was that he didn¡¯t know if that was something unique to this Valstrax or was something all Elders were able to do as a whole. Because¡­ That meant that if any of them had any intention to wipe out humanity, they may one day devise an intelligent plan, instead of trying to overpower them with sheer force. And the possibility chilled the hunter to the core. The thought of this being the Valstrax¡¯s motive terrified him even more.

 Chapter 3: Doubts

    The next few days were painful for Valen. He could not, would not dismiss the realization that came to him. However, that meant every waking day was spent wracking his nerves, full of what-ifs and grim thoughts that wouldn¡¯t leave his mind alone. A small mercy was that the Elder left him more alone than he thought it would, which lessened the pressure on his mind somewhat.

    The water the Valstrax brought him needed to be boiled before he could drink it, but it was a lifesaver for him nonetheless. He hasn¡¯t used all the water in it for himself but emptied it anyway before it soiled the whole mane and made it unusable for every future refilling.

    He also started to take notes of what he learned about the Elder in his notebook, in the extremely unlikely case of managing to escape from this jail. The Guild would more than surely be very thankful for the findings. So every time the Valstrax left the cave to do its own¡­ whatever it did, Valen pulled out his notebook and hurriedly wrote everything he could think of, then hid the book again when he was satisfied with the writings.

    What worried him was that he wasn¡¯t sure how long he could keep the fa?ade for. He was truly fearing the day his jailer would grow tired of not learning anything and would decide to dispose of the weight draining his resources. Small mercies were the fact that it seemed that it was still interested in keeping him alive, as the lengths it went to provide him water proved.

    However, on the fifth day, he barely saw the Elder at all. Tt only brought him his meat then¡­ Was nowhere to be found.

    ¡®If it wanted to observe me, wouldn¡¯t it want to stay here as much as it could? Leaving me alone for a whole day sounds counterproductive¡­ Then again, I¡¯m doing the same thing so it probably grew tired of not having anything new.¡¯ He reasoned. ¡®It''s trying to put me at ease so that I slip up tomorrow.¡¯

    Satisfied with this reasoning, he resolved to not change anything for the next day.

    Then the next day the same thing happened. And this time he couldn¡¯t justify it as much. ¡®It¡¯s making me confident, that¡¯s all there is to this. There must not be any other explanation.¡¯ However, this justification rang a bit more hollow than it did the day before. Even so, it still felt that it was the most logical explanation. It had to be. ¡®Ugh, all this brooding is making me cranky, I¡¯ll try to see if I can walk tomorrow. Not going to put any pressure on my healing leg though.¡¯

    He took a deep breath and then stretched himself. All of his days in the cave had been spent being bedridden, but he felt like he needed to exercise soon, or else he¡¯d be in for a painful time once he was completely healed.

    Looking outside, he noted that the sun was setting and decided to go to sleep. He didn¡¯t even realize that he didn¡¯t wait for the Elder to be asleep or even present before doing so.

    <hr>

    Valen yawned as he woke up and stretched. He had gotten a good night¡¯s sleep for once but was still worried about when his next nightmare would hit. They normally happened at a regular frequency or when he was in a period of stress. But he would take any small mercies that he got.

    He looked to his side, and sure enough, the Valstrax was there, but for once, it was asleep. Valen mentally debated making an attempt to stab his head, but shook his head. If he did, he would more than surely die of dehydration and would have to attempt to  scale down the cliff, a death sentence in and of itself in his condition.

    He then thought about how he would go about trying to get some exercise and decided that his best bet was to do some steps while using his hand to stabilize himself on the walls of the cave. With his plan set in mind, he shuffled, using his hands to support himself so as to not put pressure on his healing leg. A small mercy was that he made sure to unwrap his bandage every day and boil it to keep it clean. He knew he was lucky to not have gotten an infection with the shoddy work the Elder did while he was still unconscious, but he wouldn¡¯t push his luck any further.

    Once he reached the wall, he took a deep breath and stood up on his good leg, using the wall as a support. He took some breaths to stabilize himself and then hopped alongside the wall, making sure to exercise his leg. He preferred to overdo it than to not do enough. And the slight ache this caused helped to quiet his mind, the repetitive motion enough of a distraction against his constant stress. When he was about to reach the entrance of the cave, he turned around and hopped back, noting that the Elder had now woken up and was looking at him curiously but elected to ignore it for now.

    He did his self-imposed exercise for a dozen minutes before the pain became too great and relented, then went back to his bed and rested.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    The dragon observed for a couple more minutes before it seemed to realize he wouldn¡¯t do anything more unusual for now and flew out of the cave. Valen took this opportunity to massage his healing leg gently and do some lifting with his arms, deciding that his cooking pot filled to the brim would be good enough. He missed dearly being able to train with his Switch Axe, but he knew that wasn¡¯t something he would be able to do until he got back to the guild¡­ If he got back to the guild.

    He was idly wondering when the Elder would come back after a long time exercising that left a pleasant burn in his arms but still supportable, when he heard the usual sound. Looking towards the cave, he noted it was the daily delivery of meat. And for once it didn¡¯t bring back a Ludroth but a Bullfango this time. He was internally pleased, he much more liked the tusked beast¡¯s meat compared to the juvenile leviathan.

    Once the Valstrax ate its part and left him the remains, he tended to the meat, cutting it into chunks like usual, then started roasting it.

    But it seemed like fate decided that she had enough of the past monotony, and it was at this precise time that the stick he managed to carefully maintain until now had enough and broke midway while the meat was still cooking, making the tip fall directly into the flame pot. Valen swore and scrambled to turn off the fire, then looked at the damage, and indeed there was a gap between the meat strips that allowed the stick to char and break. He could continue with the halves he still had but it would make things harder for sure.

    He sighed, this was bad news for sure but he¡¯d just have to bear with it for now. At least the meat was done when it happened so he could get his fill.

    However, the Elder had watched the happenings and after a while, walked outside and flew away. Valen was surprised, it usually stayed with him when he ate, so he wasn¡¯t sure what prompted this unusual behavior¡­ Unless it had something to do with the fact that his stick broke? A few days ago, he¡¯d have dismissed the hypothesis, but now? He had an inkling of what was about to happen.

    He finished his meal alone and watched the entrance, waiting to see what shenanigans his jailer would get up to this time. And to his surprise, it came back far earlier than he expected. But he also immediately noticed that¡­ The Elder was carrying a few sticks in its beak, and it immediately walked up to him and dropped them next to him, letting out the now-familiar rumble after doing so.

    Valen shook his head, the actions of the dragon still confusing him. ¡®Still trying to make me comfortable¡­ But¡­ This doesn¡¯t make any sense. Or¡­ Maybe it wants to see how we craft tools? I¡¯ll have to be careful to not give too many clues then. But I still need a stick to roast my food.¡¯

    His course of action set, the hunter first checked the quality of the sticks that were brought to him. Surprisingly they were all rigid enough to use, but he guessed that the Elder picked only the ones sturdy enough to be carried in its beak. He picked one of a decent length then grabbed his knife and started whittling it down, making a point at the tip.

    The task took him a couple of hours but once he was done he was satisfied and stowed away the stick.

    He then looked at the extra few sticks that he had, and one extra-thick one gave him an idea. He would make a crutch so that he wasn¡¯t tilting awkwardly when trying to walk, but he¡¯d have to try to make it out of the sight of his minder. So he sighed and resolved himself to wait for it to go for its daily long flight.

    Surprisingly enough, it left fairly quickly, now that it noticed Valen finished his task. So, he quickly shuffled to the wall and used it as a support for his back, then he went on trying to dig a hole big enough in the stick without breaking it¡­ It was going to be tedious and delicate work, but he had nothing else to do right at the moment so he just went at it.

    It took a fair bit longer than his roasting stick had, but it was done, and he had also managed to sharpen the other stick which would form the handle of his crutch. Then once his crutch was complete, he wasted no time in testing it out. And to his satisfaction, it managed to handle his weight well enough, with no creaks either. It should last him long enough for his leg to finish healing.

    He dared even say that this gave him more hope, but his mood immediately turned sour when the realization that his situation still had no escape in sight came back. He sighed. He had explored all avenues possible this morning, but he truly did not see any way he could get out of this situation¡­ He just prayed to the Sapphire Star that some salvation would come to him, as it was the only hope he had before his jailer got tired of him.

    Speaking of which, he heard the telltale sound of it arriving, quickly debating hiding his crutch, he eventually decided to just leave it out in the open. There wasn¡¯t a place big enough where he could hide it, anyways. He wondered how long it¡¯d take it to notice the stick.

    Surprisingly enough, it did so almost immediately, tilting its head and then walking to it to nose it from the tip of its beak. The inspection lasted shorter than he expected it to, but then the Elder looked at him with a curious eye, which made Valen feel uncomfortable, but just as he was about to wonder if Valen¡¯s daring to do something while it was gone was going to finally be enough to make it snap, it relented and went back to its usual spot.

    ¡®That was close. I don¡¯t know if it was mad at me for doing something while it was away or something else, but my time is running out¡­ And quickly.¡¯

    The hunter debated trying to do something else to placate the Elder, before a yawn escaped his jaw. ¡®I guess this answers my question, it may still be day and not even sunset, but the stress these past days must be getting to me. Sleep sounds nice.¡¯ Thus he decided to just try to sleep off the night.

 Chapter 4: Upheaval

    Destroyed rubble surrounded him, the remains of a once thriving community that sheltered him his whole life. The walls that kept away predators now had a gigantic hole torn in them. Several corpses were spread around, some in a state that he tried not to think about. He was sitting just in front of his home, which was now nothing more than a pile of broken masonry. He didn¡¯t know what happened to his parents, but deep down he knew it was already too late for them, and that nothing would save him from the nightmare he could see in front of him.

    Baleful eyes that had no trace of reason in them, yellow scales tainted by countless splotches of blood, still dripping. A gigantic maw that would take no effort to swallow him whole. He was paralyzed on the spot, but he also knew there was no escape from this, as he saw the nightmare take a deep breath and roar.

    The roar was so powerful that even from the distance that separated him, the concussive force was enough to knock him on his butt. It was then that the beast decided it had enough and tensed his muscles¡­ Then it exploded in movement, its footsteps thundering the ground and he wanted to close his eyes, to not see the impending doom, but he just couldn¡¯t, he couldn¡¯t tear his gaze away from pure malice.

    The loud whistle that he hadn¡¯t noticed until now increased in pitch, but he dismissed it, staring at death incarnate, but, for once, the impossible happened.

    A blur of silver and the nightmare was stopped, knocked away from its path of annihilation. He looked towards his unexpected savior, but he couldn¡¯t see anything except an indistinct form of silver, but he knew, for once in here, that he was safe.

    Valen woke up with a gasp, breathing rapidly. His mind was racing but it took him but a moment to realize it was his usual nightmare. So he closed his eyes and did his usual breathing exercise. Deep breath in, deep breath out. He did this for a couple of minutes and then opened his eyes, though one thing bothered him. ¡®I usually wake up in a scream and with a much more pronounced panic attack¡­ And that feeling at the end, I always feel hopeless when the nightmare ends, and never have I felt safe. So¡­ Why?¡¯

    It was then that he finally looked around him and instantly froze, because around his bed, and curled up, sleeping soundly¡­ Was the Valstrax. Valen was nestled between its paws and its head, the powerful breaths the elder let out causing a deep hum in the air. The hunter dared not to move, lest he wake up the beast and be instantly torn into shreds for daring to enter its personal space. But then suddenly he realized something.

    ¡®Wait a minute¡­ I didn¡¯t move myself, since my bed is still below me and I doubt I¡¯d manage to move it while sleeping. Which means¡­¡¯ His eyes widened in realization. ¡®That it¡¯s the Valstrax who moved and not me! But¡­ Why would it do that? I can understand bringing me food and water, as I¡¯d need these to stay alive. Bringing me the stick allowed it to understand how I made tools, but trying to comfort me while I¡¯m sleeping?¡¯

    Valen was completely lost for words. He wanted to reason that it did it to comfort him yet again, but his reasoning fell flat and sounded false. Every time he thought he found a reason to pursue his previous train of thought, he found a hole in it that completely demolished it. Make itself appear vulnerable and so less hostile? It already did that, he couldn¡¯t remember one instance of the monster appearing hostile. Making sure he couldn¡¯t escape without waking it? Then why did it start only now?

    After a while, Valen stopped trying. He didn¡¯t want to descend into a spiral of despair where he made absurd jumps in logic to find something that would fit his current theory. ¡®Okay, stopping there, it¡¯ll only drive me crazy. That means I have to rethink my entire reasoning until now, but¡­ I want to see what its reaction is first. Because if it¡¯s the Valstrax that moved¡­ It shouldn¡¯t react negatively when it wakes up, right?¡¯ He was nervous about his plan, because if he was wrong¡­ Well, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be able to think about the consequences anymore anyway.

    The decision was taken out of his mind when he felt the dragon shift, and he held his breath, as he was sure that the wrong movement could be interpreted negatively by his jailer, so his best course of action was to¡­ Not move.

    The elder shifted a bit more, and then his breathing shifted, going back to a normal pace. It was awake. It blinked, adjusting to the ambient darkness, then looked directly at Valen with a single eye, staring at him. The hunter gulped, he knew everything rested on this single moment, on what the silver-scaled dragon would do next. The moment felt like an eternity to him, but just as he was about to abandon his hopes and resign himself to being struck down, he felt a powerful vibration as the Valstrax rumbled.

    Valene was speechless, he couldn¡¯t believe that the elder hadn¡¯t just disposed of him Then and there. Which meant¡­ It was it that curled up around him trying to ward off his nightmare. Exhaling in relief, Valen realized that death wouldn¡¯t come to him just yet. He looked at the dragon that was curled around him and then sighed. ¡®I don¡¯t know what to think anymore¡­ I¡¯ll try to observe it for the day without associating its actions with the justifications I thought previously¡­ Then probably rethink my whole stance. Yeah, I want to get it right this time, because if what I thought was true wasn¡¯t, it suggests something¡¯s wrong with what I¡¯ve been taught.¡¯

    Deciding on being open-minded, he set out to start his day by exercising, in front of the Valstrax this time. ¡®Screw this,¡¯ he thought. ¡®Even if this elder has malicious intentions and has been acting, I don¡¯t care anymore, it won¡¯t be my problem either way.¡¯ Using his crutch, he walked towards the entrance of the cave and then back, testing his injured leg cautiously a couple of times. It hurt, but not as much as he expected, which meant the injury was healing nicely. ¡®I¡¯d heal faster if I still had potions, but I used everything I had on me when I first woke up, and I¡¯m all out of herbs. Nothing I could do about that¡­ Unless?¡¯ A wild thought suddenly came up to him, and he stopped mid-step.

    ¡®This is a crazy bad idea, because if I was right about it being malicious¡­ That¡¯s the worst thing I could do. But if I¡¯m not? It could help my situation.¡¯ He paused for a minute, deliberating. ¡®I¡¯m going to wait for tomorrow just to have some relative safety though.¡¯Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    He looked at the elder, and sure enough, it was interested in what he was doing, but Valen just acknowledged it and continued walking. He continued for a while until he felt he was doing too much, then, with one last push, he walked back to his bed, sat down, and exhaled in relief. That was easier to do than when he used the wall, but he might have pushed himself a tad too far. But that just meant he knew his current limits now.

    He decided he¡¯d do the exercises for his arms after he ate and digested his meal so that he got the time to rest. It was still early in the day so he supposed it¡¯d be a while before the Valstrax would go hunting, as it usually did so around midday, which meant he had some time to kill. Valen watched as the elder stretched itself not unlike a Felyne, though he also noticed that it also did some weird motions with his wing, pulling the membrane between the trident spears taut. It also yawned, revealing small teeth¡ªrelatively speaking, compared to other monsters¡ªin its beak, which, the hunter reflected, he had never seen on any kind of bird. But he supposed that at its size it needed something to help tear apart its large meals.

    After a while, Valen got bored enough and fished his notebook from his bag, deciding that reviewing some of the entries in it would be a good enough way to occupy his day. He pulled out his pen, preparing to amend some of the entries, because most of what he wrote was from classes they did at the training school or from emergency reports when discoveries about a monster were publicized. Then he got to work.

    To his surprise, there were many more entries that he expected that had ¡°facts¡± that seemed pure speculation, most of them regarding Elders¡ªbut that was logical, barely anything was known about them. But some of the more ordinary monsters were also surrounded by mysticism. One of the most famous examples was about a superstition around Mizutsune, the water fox leviathan. As the story went, it was supposedly able to curse people who invaded its domain.

    This was false, but several monsters had such beliefs about them. Another example was about Rathalos. It rather famously had the moniker ¡°King of the Sky,¡± but the title had been given at a time when they were found everywhere, and they seemed to rule the wilds as a whole. Hunting culture also wasn¡¯t as developed then as it now is in modern times, which meant an encounter with them was often considered a death threat, as they do not take kindly to invaders to their territory.

    Thinking about it more, Valen chuckled to himself. If any monster deserved the ¡°King of the Sky¡± moniker, he would give it to Valstrax, as he didn¡¯t see any way they could be beaten in the air. Even ambushing them was close to impossible. If Rathalos had to keep their title, elevating Valstrax to ¡°Emperors of the Sky¡± would only be fair.

    Then Valen suddenly felt a small breeze in his neck, he turned around and suddenly jumped as he found the elder¡¯s head almost right next to his. Quickly calming his speeding heart, he noticed the dragon¡¯s head now tilted as if to question his surprise. The hunter shook his head, he should have expected that, but even still, the fact that a creature so large had managed to sneak up on him was surprising. But then again, he also supposed that he was so engrossed in his book that he had kind of shut out the rest of the world around him.

    After he regained his wits, he closed his book and walked up to the entrance of the cave to check out what time it was¡­ And to his surprise, midday had passed already. He hadn¡¯t the time fly by while groaning at the obvious errors in the notebook.

    He took a deep breath, to bask in the air that was at the entrance of the cave, then walked back to his bed, noticing that the elder was up and seemingly waiting for him. It walked past him, but the gaze of its stare was different this time. It was¡­ Curious and, for some strange reason, approving? Valen had no idea where those feelings came from, but it was what came to his mind for sure. He would have to figure it out at some point.

    While his host was flying for the daily meal, the hunter decided now was a good time to get a small nap, to recuperate from his exercise of the morning. He got into his bed and closed his eyes, resting himself, but still staying half-awake, his mind wandering.

    He was thinking about his days at the academy when he heard his host coming back. Valen then stretched and yawned, feeling a bit better, opening his eyes just as the dragon passed by him a side-along glance with an expression Valen couldn¡¯t decipher. Surprisingly, it was once again carrying a Bullfango, but Valen supposed he switched to another hunting ground because the Ludroth might be wary for now.

    The hunter then waited for the elder to eat its fill, noting that it started by the innards before going for the meat. Seemingly knowing how to efficiently strip the bones bare by experience. It then split the rest of the carcass in twain, getting the marrow from the remaining bones. Valen was sure it would be a gruesome sight for any civilian who had never known anything of the hunting life, but he had seen worse throughout his career, his job made sure of that.

    Once the elder ate its fill, it pushed the rest of his meal towards his guest, giving Valen his share. It was only a fraction of the original meal, but given the difference in size, it made sense, and Valen didn¡¯t complain. He was glad to be able to eat at all.

    He went along with his normal routine, scraping the pieces of meat off of the bones and spearing them on his stick. He turned on the flame and tended to it.

    The captive hunter thought at this moment that he would love being able to make a stew instead of only roasting his meat. The problem was that he was out of herbs and vegetables, he thought for an instant about trying to get the dragon to collect some for them, before shaking his head, the main problem being how would it harvest most of them. He would have to bear with simple meat until he could get down the mountain.

    The meal was quickly cooked and eaten. Then, once he stowed back his utensils, Valen just rested, digesting his meal in silence. Surprisingly enough the Valstrax did the same, laying on its side and just resting. It looked to be a somewhat awkward position but who was he to judge what a dragon found itself comfortable in?

    After resting, the wounded hunter went to exercise his arms, wanting to keep in shape, so he picked up his improvised weights and trained his arms. He spent a bit longer than the previous day, but eventually, his muscles protested enough for him to stop.

    He then spent the rest of the day thinking. He had observed the dragon¡¯s actions all day long, instead of only throwing glances when he thought it wasn¡¯t looking, and what he observed truly was something.

    It hadn¡¯t made a hostile move, at all. It had always been delicate and careful with its movement, especially when close to him. The elder made sure that Valen was left alone as much as he could, the closest it had come was this morning when he had his nightmare. It then hovered around him all day, breaking its usual pattern of being outside flying¡­ Valen realized that it was simply curious about him and his actions and when it realized he¡¯d do the same thing, went back to its usual routine. But now that he broke it again, he guessed it had stayed all day, only going outside for food, however, Valen noticed that the dragon felt¡­ Odd today, it was barely perceptible to him, but he noticed that its tail was way more agitated than usual. Was it worried for him after his nightmare?

    The man didn¡¯t think that monsters were such bloodthirsty beasts that they didn¡¯t even feel emotions, but it was truly the first time that he saw one convey any other than the most common ones being anger, fear, and impassivity. Thinking about it, the Valstrax displayed several other such emotions while he was here, the main one being curiosity, but also concern, and¡­ Once, it was fleeting, but he remembered that this morning it had seemed to feel¡­ Relieved?

    It was all very odd and new for him but, as the night started falling, he told himself. ¡®Tomorrow, I¡¯ll do a last test, a huge jump into the unknown¡­ If it goes the same way everything went today? It¡¯ll be the start of something new for me. But will I have the resolve to go through this step? I¡­ Am not sure. I hope I will.¡¯

    He had been getting sleepier and sleepier the whole while, and as soon as the thoughts had finished going through his mind, he fell asleep, a new resolve filling him.

 Chapter 5: Trust

    Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, Valen yawned and stretched, noticing his leg felt better than before. He figured that it wouldn¡¯t be much longer before it was fully healed and he was able to exercise the leg back up to his usual strength. He finished stretching then glanced to the side, checking on the status of the dragon, confirming that it was still asleep. He debated mentally with himself for a moment before deciding not to bother it. ¡®I¡¯ll wait for it to be awake; it feels too risky to intrude on it while it¡¯s still asleep.¡¯

    His course of action was decided, he closed his eyes and meditated, the steady and repetitive breathing calming his nerves. The cool morning air caressed his exposed skin, the red burn scar still aching but not as violently as it had on the first day. Valen knew it would eventually heal, but it still felt strange for such a huge part of his skin to be as damaged as it was.

    The rustling of scales against stone eventually brought his attention back to the cave. He opened an eye and confirmed that the Valstrax was now awake and in the process of standing up. Finishing his exhalation, he prepared himself for the jump into the unknown he was about to take.

    Hearing the Valstrax stretching, Valen took a long breath and fully opened his eyes. He looked intensely at the elder, at that minute in the process of finishing its own stretch and yawning. He tentatively raised his hand but stopped mid-motion, his nerves failing him. A glance at his hand showed that it was indeed shaking slightly. ¡®I didn¡¯t make this decision only to turn back at the last moment!¡¯. Steeling himself, and deciding it was now or never, he clenched his fist and exhaled deeply. Then he finally, finally raised his arm in front of himself and presented the open palm towards the Valstrax.

    The Valstrax was now staring intently at him, tilting its head after a moment. This was a critical moment in his life, and it could go either way, either cast him into oblivion or be the start of a legend that would endure through history. And Valen had no idea how long it lasted, the stare-down feeling like an eternity. Like an instant and a lifetime simultaneously. He lost count of how many beats of his heart he felt, not even sure if it was beating, or if it, like him, was simply waiting for this moment to end.

    He was about to lose his nerves again when suddenly, the elder took a step. And another. When its motion started, Valen felt his muscles go completely stiff, not daring to make any sudden motion lest the Valstrax be spooked and lunge at him to punish him for the affront. He could see and feel his hand shaking, but even clenching it would feel like a fatal mistake. So he waited with bated breath as the elder approached, too tense to breathe. It was like all his senses were taking in every bit of information, from the exact patterns of its scales to the way it walked and  all the scratches and faults in the rock behind it. The click of claws every time it took a step. The underlying odor of the cave was dominated by the odd smell of metal that the Valstrax emanated. There was a slight breeze caressing every hair on his body, all of which were standing on end. All of this information processed in an instant as he waited with bated breath through that  long moment, suspended in time.

    Finally, the dragon was just in front of him. It stared at him, not at his hand, but directly into his eyes. It almost felt like it was staring into his soul itself, analyzing him, even judging him. Valen involuntarily gulped. The tension in the air was so thick that any mistake, the smallest wrong move would snap it and everything would be over.

    Suddenly, Valen blinked. Something had just happened. He wasn¡¯t sure what, but he just knew that in that moment, everything was right. And when he regained his train of thought, it took him a couple of moments to realize the Valstrax had put its beak into the palm of his hand.

    Valen¡¯s breath hitched. He could feel the hard shell of its beak, neither warm nor cool. The detail was the one that stuck out to him. Not the smooth texture, nor the fact that he was touching it, but the fact that it was the same heat as his own hand.

    His mind still felt like he was pushing his thoughts through a thick mud, slowly and ponderously, but the next thing that he knew he was looking into the dragon¡¯s eyes and feeling an overwhelming sensation of acceptance. Like it had judged him and he had passed with flying colors. In that instant where both had made contact, there was but one thing that was exchanged between them: an overwhelming sense of understanding. As if they had finally unlocked the key the pair were missing in order to comprehend the world.

    ¡°Th-thank you. For saving me.¡± It took a moment for Valen¡¯s mind to catch up to the fact that he had said the words out loud, and that then reminded him of the fact that it had been so long since he talked that his voice was rough from disuse, but at least he wasn¡¯t coughing.

    The Valstrax rumbled in response, the whirring noise sending powerful vibrations through his hand. Valen smiled, careful to not show teeth, not wanting for the Valstrax to  it as a sign of aggressiveness. He didn¡¯t want to take any chances.

    The hunter wasn¡¯t sure what to do next, not wanting to be the one to break their contact. But suddenly, a sense of overwhelming boldness overtook him and he started rubbing the spot, feeling the curves of the beak. The elder shifted, and for an instant Valen was terrified he¡¯d finally taken it too far, but instead, it leaned into the touch, moving his hand more towards the back of its head, where the scales began. The texture of the scales was radically different from the beak ¡ª sleek, a bit rough on the edges, but he could sense the grooves that he suspected aided in the aerodynamics of the fastest known monster. Feeling the scales just showed more than anything else that Valstrax were built for speed, it was present in every aspect of themselves.

    He continued petting his host for a bit longer before it pulled its head back, fixing the human with its intense gaze. Valen managed not to flinch, returning it in kind instead. He was now certain that the dragon had no intent to harm him or the guild as a whole, and he felt safer than he had in weeks.

    The stare-down lasted a while until an unspoken agreement was made between the two parties, and they broke it.

    It took a while longer for the spell to break and the realization to finally solidify in Valen¡¯s mind. He had not only been saved by an Elder, as ridiculous as the premise may seemed, but he, who all his life had thought that they were all bloodthirsty monsters, hell-bent on venting their aggressiveness on humanity with only the intelligence to know how to wield their powers effectively, had touched it. He had petted it. And it wasn¡¯t at the Elder¡¯s initiative, it was at his own. That one fact above all was what stuck with him. Because now he had the suspicion that the Valstrax would have long ago initiated the contact¡­ If not for it somehow realizing that Valen would have shied away and not interpreted it the same way. Thus it waited for him to make the first move.

    ¡°I was so wrong about you¡­ Blinded by my prejudices.¡±

    It was only after he finished the sentence that Valen realized he said it out loud. His head swiveled towards his host, but it had only tilted its head in confusion. ¡®Eh, I shouldn¡¯t be afraid of everything anymore, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s intelligent to the point of understanding my language. I wonder though...¡¯ Valen scratched his chin in thought as he let his mind wander. A realization hit him a moment later.

    ¡®Have I¡­ Only used ¡®it¡¯ to designate it this whole time? Scratch that, I¡¯ve been using ¡®it¡¯ for any monster, even those with an established sex. It doesn¡¯t feel right for the Valstrax anymore, gonna peg him as a he unless proven otherwise.¡¯ Now feeling better with his decision, Valen now looked towards the elder, ¡ª he was still looking at the hunter, but no longer with a confused look in his eyes. He was now looking at Valen curiously, as if observing his guest in a new light.

    Struck by another sudden idea, Valen pulled out his hunting notes and started flipping through the pages, skipping through the more common monsters until he arrived at the apex section. Then, glancing at the Rathalos¡¯ drawing that he had glued to the page, he picked up the journal and turned it around,showing it to the elder. He could immediately see the dragon¡¯s eye widening ever so slightly, almost certainly recognizing the depiction. The Valstrax huffed and looked at him as if Valen was crazy to dare imply a Rathalos was his match. Valen smiled and showed the next entry, a Rathian, which caused the same reaction, a flat look daring Valen to imply that an elder dragon such as his host could even be bothered by such a creature.

    The next monster in the book was a Brachydios. It was drawn mid-roar, detailing every bit of the slime dripping from its forehead and arms. It was a very menacing monster for sure, and dangerous. It didn¡¯t stop the Elder from immediately turning to face Valen, the incredulity on his face clear. Valen chuckled. Any flightless monster really couldn¡¯t ever be considered a threat to a Valstrax.

    The demonstration went on for a while, all wyverns, beasts, or otherwise apex monsters being only dismissed by his host, land-bound ones causing bigger reactions. But then, Valen ran out of wyverns and turned the page to expose Teostra¡¯s drawing. The sharp intake of breath was unmistakable, and he could immediately see that the Valstrax was more wary. But after a moment, the Valstrax just tilted his head and huffed. It seemed that not even a Teostra was enough to dull his confidence much.

    Turning the page, Valen flinched hard as the Valstrax growled. He had never heard his host growl, and the sound was setting off all sorts of warnings deep in the most primal part of his mind.  Each and every single one of his instincts were screaming about the exceedingly deadly apex predator so close to him. But soon enough, Valen had recovered his wits, and refocused on the notebook, glancing down at the page to see what monster could have elicited  such a reaction.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    It was a Kushala Daora, the Steel Dragon, depicted on the page preparing to expel a violent ball of concentrated air at its opponents. Valen was mildly surprised by the intensity of the reaction. But then again, after thinking about it a bit more, he realized that the Valstrax taking care of him was not full-grown He was close to it, but Valen figured he was still young for his species. So, the elder probably encountered one when he was younger, and had been bested. Or at least, that was the explanation that made the most sense to him from what little information he had. Assuming Valen¡¯s guess was accurate, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising to see that the Valstrax still felt some animosity towards the species even when he should be able to best one easily nowadays.

    He continued browsing through the book, and throughout the entire remaining pages there was no other elder that the Valstrax expressed outright animosity towards¡­ With the sole exception of the Magalas. The Elder outright snarled at the dual picture, and it took a couple of minutes for Valen to calm his racing heart. The Valstrax seemed abashed by his actions and offered his head in apology. Yet another piece of evidence that his host did not have any ill intentions towards him, and that he cared.

    Thinking about it though, Valen couldn¡¯t fault the Elder for his reaction. The tales of the frenzy virus crisis were spread far and wide. If you were to believe them, a single Magala, either the purple, blind, and juvenile form, Gore, or its adult, golden-scaled form, Shagaru, were implied to be able to cripple entire ecosystems by themselves if left unchecked. The official reports were inaccessible to any hunters not cleared for Elder hunts, though. A category that Valen wasn¡¯t in, so he could only rely on hearsay and the very few public records.. But the drawing of both Magalas, with their secondary claws on their wings, despite having four legs, gave chills on Valen¡¯s neck.

    He remembered the emergency lesson about them, a couple of months ago, once the threat had been deemed resolved by the guild. That lesson was mandatory for any hunter, no matter the rank. The lecturers insisted that any sighting had to be reported immediately to the guild¡­ Even if the Magala had been spotted in the middle of an urgent quest that meant the life or death of entire villages. Magalas were that serious of a threat. Sacrificing a village was an infinitely small price to pay when compared to the result of allowing a Magala to spread unchecked.

    Valen shook his head to clear his mind and continued browsing through the notes, of which no other monster caused a vivid reaction¡­ Besides the very last one. That one reaction surprised Valen the most because it wasn¡¯t one he expected to see.

    The Valstrax was fearful. It wasn¡¯t outright cowering, but Valen could clearly see that he was scared of this monster. Looking again at the page confirmed his suspicions. It was Amatsu depicted on the page. However, thinking about it more, Valen had a suspicion that Amatsu was one of the few monsters, if not the only one, that could challenge a Valstrax in its own domain: The skies themselves.

    As much as a Valstrax might have been able to ignore nasty weather, even they had limits¡­ Limits that Amatsu, the storm serpent, floating in the skies by their lonesome without any effort, white membranes gracefully catching the wind, did not have. Amatsu were the inherent nemesis of the Valstrax, their fierce winds proving too much even for the mighty Sky Comet Dragon.

    Having reached the last entry, Valen closed the notebook and offered his hand to the elder, who was still staring at where the drawing had been. He immediately shook himself slightly and looked at the human, seeming to hesitate for a moment, before rubbing the side of his head into Valen¡¯s offered hand. The small displays of trust still continued to amaze Valen, who not even a couple of days before had believed with all his soul that the Valstrax was using him to glean information on his peers. But not even the most stubborn of hunters could deny that the Valstrax truly cared, after seeing what Valen had seen. Scratching the elder under his chin, he was rewarded with a rumble that displayed his pleasure. Valen smiled, he did not regret throwing all caution to the wind in the slightest. He would never have seen this sight otherwise ¡ª an Elder simply enjoying the companionship of a human, and a hunter, at that.

    After scratching him for a bit more, Valen sighed. Then a rumble, not from his host but from his own stomach reminded him that he had yet to eat and that a great deal of time had elapsed while he showed his notebook to his host. He was about to remove his hand to allow the Valstrax to go hunting when he had another realization. ¡®He demonstrated quite a bit of intelligence before, and proved to be concerned about my welfare, what if¡­¡¯

    Unable to dismiss the crazy thought, he opened his notebook yet again, flipping to the part concerning medicinal plants. When he found the page he was looking for, he turned the journal  around to show it to the Elder. A drawing of a rare medicinal plant was clear on the page. Most hunters didn¡¯t bother with the real name of the plant (a fact that researchers always complained about) and just generally referred to it as ¡°Herb¡±, but any sightings of it were important, as it was the main ingredient to craft the potions that saved countless hunters from tough spots, allowing them to recover from fresh injuries in a fraction of the time it would have taken to heal naturally.

    Hunters had to be careful about their consumption, as repeated uses could generate growths that most often spelled the end of a hunting career. Too many famous hunters suffered from that fate for anyone to be able to ignore the danger.

    Valen knew he had to be careful for a while, having consumed a significant amount in order to speed the healing of his leg wound, but the danger was ameliorated somewhat if a hunter simply used the herb to accelerate the natural recovery of a wound that would otherwise take weeks if not months.

    The Valstrax studied the drawing for a moment before seeming to understand. Then, after he walked to the entrance of the cave, he took off in a blast of wind and energy. This left Valen alone on his bed, quickly making him decide to use that time to get some exercise done, using his crutch.

    The Elder returned a short time later, and Valen could clearly see it was carrying something in his beak and a Bullfango in his claws. It only took Valen a split second to confirm that indeed, the Valstrax had brought back herbs. He dropped them on the foot of Valen¡¯s bed and then went on to tear into his own meal.

    The hunter completed the walk back to his bed, and after sitting down on it, examined the plants the Valstrax dropped. There was no doubt that the plant was what he asked for¡­ Looking at how much his host still had left to eat, Valen knew that he had a bit of time before he would be able to cook his own part. Taking advantage of the time, he grabbed a couple of flat rocks, one bigger than the other. Placing a portion of the herbs on the rock, he folded them in a small ball on the flat top of the bigger rock, then, adjusting his grip, started mashing the herbs, dull thuds resounding in the cavern.

    He went at it until he had reduced the herbs to a paste, absently noticing that the Valstrax was watching  his actions between bites. Valen ignored him for the moment and stretched out his leg, checking on the bandage. Noticing it was due for a cleaning, he retrieved his cooking pot and squeezed the remaining water out of the sponge, filling the pot nicely, then he turned on the fire pot and placed the water-filled container above it.

    While the water was heating up, he unraveled the bandages on his leg and threw them into the water, aiming to sanitize them in the boiling liquid. He then waited, his host was finishing his meal and was dragging the carcass to him.

    Valen could cut his meal off of the carcass as he waited for the water to boil, glancing at the pot every so often to check on the temperature of the water. Once his meal was ready to be cooked, he turned his attention to his leg.

    The wound was well on its way to being healed, but Valen could clearly see that he would have a big scar on it, though nothing else looked terribly wrong. His hope was that the only lasting damage would be  a slight limp, and that he would be able to put pressure on his leg in times of need.

    Valen sighed. He had been extremely lucky, all things considered, having only lost an ear and gained a big scar on his calf from the fight with the Seregios. Most other hunters would have lost whole limbs and thus, their hunting career.

    Focusing back on the water, he confirmed that it was boiling. He waited a minute more just to be thorough, then turned off the fire and fished out the bandages with his stick. He spread them on a rag and waited a bit for them to cool down, then picked up the rock smeared with  the pulped herb and pressed the rock against his leg injury, gritting his teeth in pain. Pushing through the discomfort, he made sure that he was thorough in his application, spreading the paste over the entire wound until only a negligible amount was left on the flat rock.

    He then quickly redressed his wound, binding the pulp to his leg with the bandages, ensuring that it would stay where it would be effective rather than washing off and wasting all of his efforts. With his leg taken care of for the moment, he laid his back on his bed, sighing in relief. The herb would cut his remaining recovery time by a few days. Then, once he was satisfied he could walk normally, he would be able to leave the cave¡­

    The realization made him freeze. It hadn¡¯t sunk in until that moment, but he was reluctant to leave the Valstrax behind. Valen had grown fond of the elder dragon¡­ And it only took a few days. But he had never felt such a close companionship with any other being. He somehow knew that his bond with the Valstrax went deeper than the bond he had with his now-late hunting companions, ashamed as he was to admit it. He was ashamed that he felt closer to an Elder, a creature never spoken of without a hush of fear by civilians, than to any other human being. He felt like he had rescinded his oath as a hunter somehow¡­ But did he want to change anything? Did he want to never meet the Valstrax again once he was free to move by himself? No, he didn¡¯t.

    ¡®If anybody knew¡­ I would be shunned at best. In that case¡­ I will have to make sure nobody knows. I¡¯ll keep this a secret between myself and the Valstrax.¡¯

    Valen nodded to himself. ¡®I better prepare a story to tell the guild to explain my absence, then¡­¡¯

    Creating that story would occupy his entire afternoon. After he had fed himself, he set about crafting a tale he could give to the guild. He dismissed explanations that were too full of holes or too close to reality, but he still made it as close as he could, his opinion being that if his story was close enough, he could narrate it more convincingly.

    Late in the evening, when he could see the stars starting to shine on the horizon, Valen still had trouble believing what happened that day. The morning, and the connection with the Valstrax,  felt like they had happened an eternity ago. But he still wished he could convey his desires better to his host. As it was now, it felt¡­ Not enough.

    ¡®I wish I could just show him what I want¡­ But I can¡¯t just rely on pictures. I¡¯d need a huge book that I¡¯d need to carry everywhere, and besides, I¡¯m not fond of the idea of us having a pointing match at everything around us¡­¡¯ Valen sighed, then frowned. ¡®Wait, what if I just¡­ It¡¯s crazy enough but it just might work. I hope I¡¯m not overestimating his intelligence¡­ He¡¯s amazed me so far, but is it good enough for this? Well, I¡¯ve nothing to lose anyways, and I want to be able to convey suggestions to him.¡¯

    He mulled over his idea for a while more the day¡¯s emotions finally caught up to him. They crashed into him like a tidal wave, and he fell asleep immediately.

 Chapter 6: Communication

    Valen yawned as he woke up, stretching his arms until they met unexpected resistance. Now properly woken up, he opened his eyes¡­ And chuckled at the sight. The Valstrax had curled up around him once again.

    Probably woken up by his accidental touch, the Elder soon yawned as well, revealing the two rows of teeth that lined his beak. It then blinked a couple of times, and then turned to look at Valen, emitting a rumble of appreciation. Valen petted him for a bit before retrieving his hand. If he wanted to carry on his outlandish idea of the previous evening, he had to act quickly.

    Waiting for the Valstrax to uncurl and walk a bit, he then picked up a rock and started smacking the ground, emitting a loud thud, making the Elder¡¯s attention snap to him. Then he repeated the action two more times. Thud thud. Then, with his free hand, he drew an X in the air and smacked the ground two more times. Thud thud. Finally, he drew two parallel lines in the air, one above the other, and smacked the ground once more. Thud thud thud thud thud thud.

    The Valstrax was now tilting his head to him, clearly confused by the turn of events. Valen smiled and smacked the ground once more, five thuds resounding in the chamber. He repeated the X in the air and smacked four more times. And drew the parallel lines once again¡­ But then placed the rock on the ground, being careful not to cause any noises, and gestured to the Valstrax with a hand, inviting him to complete the sequence.

    The elder was clearly tilting his head, his gaze unfocused, and Valen was sure that he was deep in thought, either trying to understand his action or, Valen hoped, trying to complete the sequence. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was a mistake trying to start with multiplication instead of basic addition¡­ However he couldn¡¯t explain why, but he was confident his host would be able to complete the challenge.

    Then suddenly the Valstrax raised a claw and clacked it on the ground, creating a loud Tick. Then he did it again. Tick. Valen held his breath. Tick, tick, tick. He mentally counted in his head. ¡®Six, seven, eight¡¯ tick, tick, tick ¡®Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen¡¯ tick, tick, tick. ¡®Nineteen...¡¯ and with a final Tick, the Valstrax went still, just as Valen counted. ¡®Twenty.¡¯ He raised his head and looked at the Elder, who seemed to be expecting something. And then Valen nodded, smiling while clapping his hands. He couldn¡¯t believe it, that the Elder was able to understand what he was expecting him to do, and answer correctly at the same time! He truly surpassed his expectations. The Elder rumbled in pleasure in the praise.

    ¡®Maybe¡­ Maybe this has a chance of working after all¡­ I better get on with it now, else I won¡¯t have the time to finish before I have to leave.¡¯ Then a thought occurred to him. ¡®Do I even want to leave? Do I want to carry on hunting as I have before, knowing that everything hunters hold as true may be wrong?¡¯ Then a flash of a memory appeared in his head. Yellow scales. Valen immediately shook his head to dismiss the memory before he descended into a panic attack. ¡®Yes, because it is also our last resort to save civilians. As much as I hate to admit it, we don¡¯t really have an alternative¡­ But  I won¡¯t kill only to get better equipment and will only accept missions where the monster proves that it will wipe out everything in its path if not dealt with. That is my resolve.¡¯ Satisfied with his resolution, he looked at the Valstrax and took a deep breath. ¡®Time to start an idea that¡¯s as crazy as a Jho.¡¯

    Then, looking at the elder, he pointed to himself and said ¡°Valen,¡± then pointed to his host, saying ¡°Valstrax.¡± He waited for a bit, but the Valstrax only tilted his head to the side. The non-reaction didn¡¯t discourage Valen at all. He just continued. He picked up the dried-up sponge and then mimed drinking something. He then pointed to the rest of yesterday¡¯s meal and made the action of picking it up and eating it. Valen then repeated the action for several other things in the vicinity, turning on the fire and doing a wave towards the top with his hand, picking up a rock with his left hand, and then making a fist with the other.

    After Valen pointed to his notebook and mimed opening the book, he was forced to stop for a moment as he searched for a new item to match a sign to when the Valstrax emitted a rumble that made Valen snap to attention. The Elder poked the book with his beak, seemed to think for a bit, then it backed off and shifted the position of his wings so that they faced forwards, then pressed the membrane of them together, and opened them¡­ Almost exactly as Valen did just a moment ago.

    Valen gaped at the Elder for a long time, until the reality of what the Valstrax did sank in and he broke into a huge grin before mentally smacking himself for slipping up. What if the Elder took it as a sign of aggression? His worries proved to be unfounded a second later, as the elder made a weird noise in response. Several quick rumbles in succession. It took a moment for Valen to realize that the Valstrax was laughing. He was laughing at Valen for thinking that he would be offended by the human¡¯s teeth. Valen couldn¡¯t stop himself from joining the Valstrax in laughter, the act releasing tension that had been steadily built up over the last few days. It was so freeing for Valen that it took several minutes before the giggles stopped and he could breathe normally. Once he had calmed himself down with a big breath, he looked back at his host. The dragon was approaching. He then nosed Valen¡¯s cheek delicately, who took the opportunity to rub the Valstrax¡¯s in response. They continued the contact for a bit before the elder disengaged, a strange look in his eyes, that Valen would describe as ¡®determined¡¯ if he had to put an emotion in it.

    Then the elder nosed the rock, curled the claws on his right foreleg, and lightly tapped the limb against the ground. Valen immediately understood it was his own sign for ¡°rock¡±, and engraved the gesture into his memory. He figured he would have to note them down in a book eventually, but he would do his best with memory alone for these first few until he could grab his journal. The Valstrax continued by nosing the pot and gave his best attempt at reproducing Valen¡¯s gesture for fire. Then he made the act of tearing out a strip of meat from a carcass with his beak, an action Valen had become intimately familiar with over the days he¡¯d stayed in the cave. And finally, the Valstrax put his head close to the ground and then made a strange motion, like a single wave that left his head pointing upwards, but Valen quickly guessed what it was for, a mirror of his own gesture for drinking.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Quickly taking a moment to scribble the gestures in his notebook, Valen then paused to think about what the most important things to define right now between them were. The answer was immediately obvious: The concepts of ¡®yes¡¯ and ¡®no¡¯ should absolutely be the first thing he tried to explain to his host. The issue that arose, however, was that defining those two concepts next to no available context was very, very tricky.

    Valen tried to think for a while, long enough that the Valstrax eventually tilted his head in question at him. At that point, he decided to just go with the flow.

    Picking up the sponge, seemingly replenished by the Valstrax after Valen had gone to sleep, he poured some water in his mouth, then looked at the Elder, and nodded his head. Then he squeezed out some on the ground and shook it. Then he picked up one of the sticks still lying around. He feigned sharpening the tip and nodded, then suddenly, without any prompting, broke it, the SNAP of it breaking feeling way louder than it should. And repeated the ¡®no¡¯ gesture.

    He was thinking about what to demonstrate next when suddenly the Elder moved with purpose clear in his eyes and picked up a rock with his beak, then he put it back down and did a sharp nod, the sudden motion looking very bird-like. Then he raised his right forelimb and smashed it on the rock, splintering it, accompanied by the sharp shake motion of his head.

    Valen beamed. Having a way to communicate agreement or disagreement between them would definitely help him in the future, or even aid in learning new words. The Valstrax crooned in agreement in response, he seemed happy to have gotten a new way of communicating too.

    The joy that Valen felt was so much he felt the rest of the day passed as a blur. He mostly remembered it when looking at the countless notes he took in his manual, detailing which motion the Elder did for each word, and it became quickly apparent that he preferred to use his wings whenever possible, the dexterity of them being far superior to his front paws. Several words used them exclusively, from ¡®stick¡¯ being him wiggling the outside spear of his right-wing, to ¡®flying¡¯ which involved the Valstrax pointing down with them and doing a quick burst of dragon energy (the equivalent being Valen doing a ridiculous flap motion with his arms, which caused another episode of laughter from the Elder).

    The next few days passed quite similarly, with the Valstrax going to hunt, harvesting some herbs if Valen ran out, and returning  to eat, the hunter also tending to his leg. Once both were sated, they spent the rest of the day deciding on new words, each was taking more and more time as they had already run out of easy descriptions and actions, and Valen was trying to use their limited vocabulary to explain concepts. The one he was the most proud of that he managed to explain to him was the idea of currency, basically using an agreed-upon object to exchange. He wasn¡¯t sure the Valstrax got all of the intricacies, but he was satisfied with what he managed to do nonetheless. (Valen''s motion was mimicking dropping coins in his hand, while the Valstrax choice in response had been¡­ to tap his right paw with the tip of his left wing.)

    However, nothing beat the shame Valen felt when he finally summoned the courage to finally attempt to assign gestures for genders. Even though he knew that monsters had no concept of shame, especially considering their lack of clothing, the act left him flustered and embarrassed. Still, by the end of it, the two of them had finally agreed on a gesture for ¡®male,¡¯ and building off of that, agreed on another for ¡®female¡¯¡­ And the Valstrax immediately shattered the assumption Valen had  made a few days earlier by referencing as female. It took a while for Valen to finally make the mental shift of designating him as her instead, but still, it didn¡¯t stop the embarrassment Valen felt when he managed to explain his pickle to the Elder, which immediately started another episode of hilarity from her.

    The days passed so quickly that it was only when he was chatting with the Elder that Valen realized he had barely used his crutch in the past few days, and that the only pain left in his leg was a dull ache from his leg. He still had a slight limp, but he expected that he would always keep it. At least he could push himself through when he wanted to. And that it was minor enough that it wouldn¡¯t hamper his hunting. In his condition, Valen guessed he could even go back that day without trouble if he wanted to.

    The realization hit him hard. Valen could get back if he desired so¡­ But did he? Did he want to go back to hunting, with the new friendship that he nurtured with an Elder? He was sure he would immediately lose his hunting license, at least, should his relationship come to light¡­

    However, the thoughts of his home also made Valen remember that not every monster was capable of such coherent thought or compassion as she was. Most of them were simple wyverns, more intelligent than a common bird, but still animals who defended their territory. Then¡­ There was the fact that some of them got mad, either from an illness, or territorial dispute, or something else, and they became uncontrollable, expressing their fury and pain on anything living around, no longer killing for food or protecting territory, but killing for the act itself¡­

    And should an elder reach that state, as intelligent as he now knew they were¡­ They could wipe out entire communities. So Valen raised his chin and spoke to the air, a firm resolve filling his spirit. ¡°I probably won¡¯t hunt for the sake of hunting anymore¡­ But that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll not hunt to protect. And this I swear: I¡¯ll make sure any quarry I seek will not be unjustified. Because¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be worthy of her anymore¡­¡±

    Clenching his fist in resolve, he looked to the Valstrax, who was tilting her head in confusion and smiled. Then he signed to her, ¡®Tomorrow I leave.¡¯

    He almost expected her to protest, however, she just nodded and replied. ¡®Me carry you near village.¡¯

    Looking at her now, graceful, with her scales reflecting the sunset¡¯s sun, Valen finally had a revelation. He now knew how to make sure he never forgot his savior, his companion, his friend.

    ¡®Thank you, everything¡­¡¯ ¡°Nikki.¡± The last word he said out loud while making a motion that was like scratching a wall with two fingers¡­ It was the greatest gift he could currently give to the Valstrax, a gift that would cement their friendship, making sure neither would disrespect the other. A name.

 Chapter 7: Return

    The following morning, Valen was ready to leave the cave.

    He had spent the remainder of the daylight packing up everything he could carry, leaving the rest for Nikki, which were either replaceable items or tools he crafted during his stay. He kept the crutch with him though, as he wasn¡¯t sure how far she would drop him from the nearest village, and he hadn¡¯t done any strenuous exercise for a few days, so busy had he been making their language. He wasn¡¯t going to risk straining himself in a foolish mistake that he could have easily prevented by using his crutch.

    Thus, under the instructions of Nikki, Valen was waiting near the edge of the cave, looking at the spectacular landscape spread out before his eyes. He couldn¡¯t see any villages or towns from this viewpoint though, but he trusted that she knew where the nearest ones were. Turning away from the view with no small amount of difficulty, he finally looked at Nikki, who had walked over to stand next to him in the meantime. They had discussed the plan already: she would carry him in her claws while flying at low speed because he was clearly not physically able to withstand the high speed or sudden accelerations her species was able to.

    They looked at each other for a moment, before Nikki motioned to him to get ready. Valen took a deep breath and tried to relax as much as he could. Then, he heard Nikki shuffle behind him and looked back at her. He nodded to indicate he was ready, and she nodded in response, the motion now smoother but still a bit bird-like.

    Suddenly, without any warning, Nikki carefully grabbed him with her claws and rested her wight on her wings, which had their tips planted in the ground. Valen relaxed himself as much as he could, even though the claws that were holding him were gentle, they still pressed on him, and years of being a hunter had left him with an ingrained instinct telling him to get away from the sharp claws that he had to forcibly suppress. She awkwardly shuffled towards the ledge, clearly not used to standing up like this, then stood for a couple of moments at the edge of the huge drop that would certainly result in his death should he fall.

    A loud whirring noise built up in the air around him, and hearing it every day had made it a familiar one. Valen knew what it meant. Nikki was gathering air to start up the strange phenomena that allowed her to fly. And this time he felt the air being swallowed through her chest, an unnatural breeze caressing his face. Then, without any warning, he felt her bunch her rear leg muscles¡­ And she jumped.

    Weightlessness gripped him for an instant, then he started to fall. A fall that wasn¡¯t controlled by him, but by the owner of the claws that were holding him tight against the scales he could feel through the back of his shirt. The wind rushing by his face rapidly became a roar, whistling past  his one good ear. Then, before he could start to get worried, he felt something shift and the pressure from the claws intensified a bit but not enough to be uncomfortable. Craning his neck to look behind himself, he saw that Nikki¡¯s wings were now spewing out dragon energy, the flame-like tongues of red energy quickly dissipating in the air. They were no longer accelerating toward the ground but had started to pick up momentum forward.

    Looking towards the ground again, Valen could see that it was definitely much closer than before. He could now glimpse individual trees, and could see the rivers coursing through the land. He could clearly feel their rate of descent was slowing down though, the realization melting away the last of his apprehension, and he didn¡¯t stop the huge grin from breaking out on his face. Being able to see the world like this was freeing like nothing had ever been before for him, it was something that exhilarated him. He restrained himself from whooping though, given that they were picking up speed. If nothing else he was afraid of taking in too much air.

    They were now very close to the ground and had leveled out, and he could even see that Nikki was slowing down, her wings pointing almost fully down, expelling just enough force to keep them going and counteract gravity, but no more. They were still powerful enough to burn the leaves that were caught by the jets. They flew in this fashion above the forest until they reached a clearing, where Nikki finally touched down, though not before hovering just above the ground for a moment to gently release Valen from her claws. He fell the few remaining feetdown, rolling to absorb the impact, then immediately rushed out of the open area, clearing Nikki¡¯s landing spot.She cut off her wings and impacted the ground with a dull thump that sent vibrations through the ground, strong enough that Valen felt the shocks reverberating on the soles of his feet.

    The two of them looked at each other in silence for a while, neither daring to make the first move to break the spell. Until finally Nikki nodded and she pointed in a direction before signing, ¡®Town there. Not far.¡¯ The last word was made by putting her wings level with the ground and spreading them out as they got further and further from each other.

    Valen nodded and signed ¡®thank you¡¯ in response. He wanted to add something like ¡®stay safe¡¯ but he wasn¡¯t sure how she would take it, and besides, he was pretty sure that she was the safest of the both of them. Adjusting his backpack, he checked the direction she had indicated using both the sun¡¯s progress and his compass (A tool he had been happy to find hidden in the depths of his bag), and set out, waving to Nikki. It wasn¡¯t a definite goodbye, because if Valen had his way, he would definitely see her again. And she was sure of it too.

    The first miles were the strangest for Valen, the lush greenery jarring and unfamiliar to him after being stuck for so long in a cave. Thus he took a deep breath to enjoy the myriad of odors the forest brought to him; the scent of dirt, of the first fallen leaves, the smell of the river he heard gurgling nearby¡­ He had missed this. All of it was part of the experience of hunting, and it was only now that he realized how much he truly appreciated it.

    He soon settled into a rhythm,and he was able to make good progress, though he often caught himself looking behind, hoping¡­ Hoping to catch a glimpse of silver. Every time he acknowledged what he did, he shook his head, but it was hard for him to not brood in the absence of Nikki after having spent so much time in her presence. And still, he pressed on, as he wanted to reach the town before the night fell. The wilderness was much more dangerous at night¡­ Especially if you were alone or without a weapon to defend yourself. And Valen met both of those criteria at the moment.

    Periodically checking on the sun¡¯s progress, and verifying his bearing using the compass, he grew more and more restless as the day progressed. Doubts and fears started jumping into his mind. What if he had deviated from his heading? What if Nikki was wrong and it wasn¡¯t a town she spotted? He shook his head and banished the negative thoughts from his head. He had noted down the heading on a piece of paper, and he trusted Nikki¡¯s sight much more than his own. So he marched on.

    <hr>

    Finally, as the sun was starting to get low in the sky, Valen spotted smoke on the horizon. He had left the forest behind a couple of hours ago and was now navigating wild plains. The sight of the town reinvigorated him and lifted his spirits. He had long since started using his crutch as a walking stick to relieve the strain on his aching leg, but it felt much more inconsequential when faced with the sight before him. He was returning to civilization, and he just needed to press on for a little further. So he continued, walking at a brisk pace towards the road he could now see.

    It still took him a couple more hours to finally arrive in the town, and the sun was painting the sky in bright yellows and reds instead of blue, the clouds appearing pink rather than their usual white. Valen walked towards the gate, closed in preparation for the night, but he could see the slit the sentry would be using to keep watch, and he definitely saw movement. Walking up to the opening, ke knocked on it. .

    He heard shuffling for a bit until a voice asked out loud. ¡°Who¡¯s here? It is way too late for any visitors!¡±

    Valen took a deep breath and uttered the response he was supposed to do in this situation. ¡°Hunter Valen, returning from a hunt.¡±

    There was silence for a couple of seconds ¡ª likely due to the sentry definitely not expecting the answer Valen had given. Still, he answered. ¡°Hunter? I haven¡¯t heard of any recent hunts in this area.¡±

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have,¡± Valen replied. ¡°The hunt was¡­ Not here. Due to some circumstances that elude even me, I found myself displaced, and my team missing. I have been recovering from my injuries for a while, and only now managed to find a town on my route.¡±

    The sentry was silent for a moment.

    ¡°Tell you what. I¡¯m willing to overlook the holes in that for now, but you need to prove you¡¯re not some poacher. Show me your license and I¡¯ll let you in.¡±

    Valen pulled out his license, and he had to admit that he was very lucky that it had survived his mishap. Getting a new one was a lengthy process he did not wish to go through, beyond the trouble he would have faced here without it. He flipped it around and showed it to the slit in the door, and after a moment¡¯s pause, the sentry answered. ¡°That looks like in order, you can come through. I¡¯m assuming the, ah¡­ new ear piercing¡¯s something you picked up in your most recent hunt?¡± He said after having opened the small door instead of the whole gate.

    Valen hurried through, and, not wanting to leave the question unanswered, said. ¡°Yes¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure you can guess what happened from that.¡± The guard simply nodded in response and did not comment on anything else.

    The town he had just entered was not one he was familiar with. Even so, he could instantly see that it was at least equipped with the basic necessities of a hunting outpost. There was a smithy and a guild hall. He also saw the markings of an airship dock, though it seemed to have fallen slightly into disrepair due to a lack of use. The rest of the houses were just ordinary shops, taverns, and living homes. Valen headed straight towards the guild hall. He knew what trials awaited him, and he was not looking forward to them, but he knew he had no choice but to square his shoulders and press onwards..You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    So he walked into the building through the open archway, no door barring his path. His entrance attracted the attention of the guild receptionist, who was clearly surprised by his presence, having not expected a hunter at this hour. Valen nodded to her and went to the counter. There he presented his license once again and she took it and looked it over before doing a double-take. ¡°I had no messages about you being anywhere near this area, Hunter Valen¡­ ¡±

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°The hunt I return from was not successful¡­ Worse, it was a wipe.¡± She gasped. ¡°As far as I know, I was the only survivor.¡±

    A wipe was the result of one or several deaths during a failed hunt, it was rare, but not that uncommon. More often it was a death during a successful hunt (a casualty then), or simply a failed hunt. And there were procedures when a hunter came back from one.

    ¡°How long has it been?¡± She had now pulled out a paper and was writing on it.

    ¡°I¡¯m not certain, I lost track of the days while recovering from my injury¡­ But I believe it was two weeks at least.¡± He scratched his head. ¡°Could you add that I lost my weapon and that my armor is not repairable?¡±

    ¡°Already noted.¡± She sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll have to send a message to the nearest main city for this, which would be Harth. Then I¡¯ll have to ask you for a full report detailing what happened in the hunt. You know the procedure.¡±

    Valen nodded. ¡°I expected nothing less¡­ Do you have a spare room? The road back has not been kind to me and I haven¡¯t slept on a real bed since before I left with the hunt.¡±

    She smiled. ¡°There¡¯s one open, yes. I¡¯ll wait for you for the full report, come when you are ready, but it must be done by tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t shirk my duty.¡± Then he gratefully accepted the keys she presented him and lumbered up the stairs to the rooms situated on the second floor, nodding a goodnight at the receptionist as he walked to the stairs. He looked quickly at the room number on the key¡¯s tag and went into the corresponding door.

    The room was a simple one, with a drawer, a bedroom with its accompanying table, and a window. The exhaustion of the day finally catching up to him, he quickly put down his backpack and disrobed, and immediately went to sleep, entering the realm of dreams instantly.

    <hr>

    When Valen woke up the following day, the sun was already high in the sky and it took him a long moment to blink at his surroundings until he remembered the day¡¯s events, and why they felt so unfamiliar. And when his mind finally caught up with those, he let out a huge yawn while stretching, then shook himself and got out of bed.

    Before anything else, he went to the bathroom, deciding that a good cleaning was the most important thing he needed. His plan was put on hold the moment he entered it, though, something immediately catching his gaze¡­ Hanging on the wall was a mirror. And it was reflecting the face of a stranger.

    The last time he had seen himself, his head was unblemished. And while he had known, intellectually, that he was missing an ear, seeing it himself finally made the reality of his injuries crash over him all over again. The entire left side of his head was now a gigantic burn, still a bit red from healing. No hair grew from it, and the space where there should have been an ear was just a simple patch of skin. The burn stopped at his cheekbone, but it was unmissable. He stared at his reflection for a while longer, but eventually slumped and let out a sigh. He would just have to live with it.

    However, something else seemed different to him. He didn¡¯t have the same look in his eyes, he felt¡­ Wilder. Experienced. Like the world could throw anything it wanted at him and he would find a way out somehow. Which was, he thought, an accurate representation of what happened to him. He should have died. He had no business being alive, but because of sheer luck and moxie, he had gotten out.

    He then examined his leg, a thick scar drawing a line through the muscle. Touching it, the flesh felt hard and didn¡¯t give much. Again, the outcome lined up with what he had expected. He could manage, and that was all that mattered to him.

    Valen shook his head. He had lingered enough on his new scars, and he still needed a quick scrub. He would certainly ask for a full bath in the afternoon, but for now, cleaning the grime on himself would be enough of a start, along with a shave.

    A while later, he emerged from the bathroom feeling cleaner than he had in weeks. Back in his bedroom, he was happy to discover that a pile of fresh clothes was waiting for him on his bed, alongside a note which said: ¡®These aren¡¯t free of charge, but I¡¯m sure you would appreciate receiving them early.¡¯

    He chuckled. He didn¡¯t intend to abuse the generosity of the receptionist, but he was grateful for the forethought. He quickly put on the clothes, left the room, locking his door behind him. He walked down the stairs, nodding to the guild receptionist when she noticed him.

    She motioned to the backroom behind the counter, beckoning him over. Valen went into it, the receptionist following right behind him, locking the door behind her. He looked around the room. Definitely a piece used for meetings ¡ª- it had a couple of candle lamps, a table, and some chairs. There were other doors leading out of the room, however, which he guessed led to the archives and the personal quarters of the receptionist.

    The receptionist sat down on a chair, spread a piece of parchment out in front of her, then pulled out a quill and a bottle of ink. She unstoppered it and inked the quill with the ease borne of years of practice, readying herself to write. He sat down on the chair directly in front of her. She looked up at him and said, ¡°Recording the after-hunt report of Hunter Valen, who has returned declaring a wipe and being the sole survivor. Hunt target was?¡±

    ¡°A Glavenus, we were supposed to capture it for relocation.¡± He sighed. ¡°It was going alright until we got invaded by a Seregios, then we lost control of the hunt and everything degenerated from here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask you to start from the beginning Hunter Valen. When did you leave for the hunt?¡±

    And thus he recited how the hunt had happened. They had left the city at an early hour, dawn yet a hint of rose in the sky. He recounted how they spent a while tracking their target, taking several hours to find its tracks. How they located the monster prowling a plain. The ambush they prepared. The way it was foiled due to nothing but bad luck, a shift of the wind allowing the Glavenus to sniff them out. The struggle at the beginning but the way they managed to wear it down. How everybody, even their target, looked at the sky when the Seregios screeched and dived at them. He told her how the hunt had immediately descended into chaos once the invader joined the fray. How they had managed to hold on for a while, throwing dung bombs that ultimately proved to be ineffective. The stalemate that ensued, because nobody wanted to give in. The hunters not wanting to let all of their progress go to waste, the Glavenus which, while tired, was still dangerous enough to be a threat, and the Seregios which, even coated with dung, didn¡¯t want to retreat.

    How everything suddenly went from bad to worse once their first team member died. The fact that they finally gave in and dung bombed the Glavenus instead, which left promptly. Then suddenly, their second team member died.

    Valen took a deep breath. ¡°I am ashamed to say once our second member died¡­ I had a panic attack. It all reminded me of¡­ a dark part of my past. And so I ran off, which led to our remaining team member, Flynn, trying to call me, distracting him at the worst moment and causing him to get thrown off the cliff¡­ My running amounted to nothing anyway since the Seregios caught up to me instantly, wounded my leg, and was about to finish me off¡­ Then all I remember was an explosion, a screech, and falling unconscious.¡±

    He waited a while longer in silence as the receptionist finished noting down his story, until she looked up and asked a question. ¡°So you don¡¯t know what caused the explosion and the screech? You¡¯re implying a third party ambushed the Seregios and ignored you?¡±

    ¡°I truly don¡¯t know¡­ I just remember waking up in a cave, my armor ruined and my weapon missing, my bag missing half of its contents, and a pile of salted meat and some rations next to me. Throughout my entire recovery, I found no trace of anyone. I can only guess it was wild Felynes that found me unconscious in the aftermath of the battle. It¡¯s probably also them who cauterized the wound on my ear, and what a shoddy job they did¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°At least it more than surely saved my life so I can¡¯t be too mad.¡±

    She nodded and wrote on her parchment, which was the second one, the first having been written to the brim on both sides. ¡°So you waited for your leg to recover, and then traveled around for a few days, hoping to find a town until you found a road leading to ours?¡±

    Valen just nodded.

    She scribbled a bit more before putting away her quill. ¡°That should do it¡­ I¡¯ll need your signature here, take the time to read through it so you can confirm the details,¡± she said while pointing to the bottom of the parchment.

    Valen nodded and quickly scanned the parchment. It was a re-transcription of the account he just told, and nothing was out of place. He dipped his quill in the inkwell and applied his signature. The receptionist added hers and waited for a bit for the ink to dry, then rolled the parchment back up and motioned him to go out. Once back in the main room, she went back to the counter and started capping the roll of parchment into a cylindrical container.

    ¡°I will send this to the guild. I¡¯ll have to use a delivery bird, it¡¯s an important one¡­ But before I do that, may I officially welcome you back into civilization, Hunter Valen? You¡¯ve had a harrowing trial, but you survived.¡±

    ¡°Thank you¡­ It¡¯s nice to finally be back. Do you know when I can expect replacement gear?¡±

    ¡°I believe you¡¯ll be asked to train yourself to get back into shape first using a steel weapon and chain-mail armor. And then we¡¯ll assign a hunter to accompany you in a hunt so that you can get new gear.¡±

    ¡°Do you have an estimate on that second part?¡±

    ¡°Not within a month, I can tell you that much. You¡¯ll have to wait for the guild knights to arrive for a more accurate estimate.¡±

    Valen nodded, the timeframe was about what he had expected as well. ¡°I will wait for their arrival then.¡±

    She smiled. ¡°I¡¯m happy that this wipe hasn¡¯t diminished your dedication to hunting, Valen.¡±

    ¡°I would only be ashamed of myself if I did.¡± ¡®Though was a possibility I considered¡­ But in the end, I dismissed it.¡¯

    ¡°Then¡­ Enjoy your impromptu holidays!¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± he replied, finally returning her smile.

 Chapter 8: Reequiping

    The guild knights arrived two days later, in an airship. Valen couldn¡¯t have missed their arrival ¡ª the airship was the talk of the town, and from what he heard, it had been years since an airship came to dock. This news made Valen worry a bit, because airships weren¡¯t cheap to rent. If they were going that far as to use one just to get to him, the guild itself was worried about Valen.

    He was right to be apprehensive, because the moment the knights found him, they ¡°requested¡± that he follow them to take care of some ¡°guild matters¡±. Knowing how foolish it would be to refuse orders from a guild knight, he obeyed them and was led back to the guild hall. This time, though, instead of going into the room behind the counter, they went into a room sealed behind a heavy door that took them almost a full minute to unlock. Valen now definitely had reasons to be worried. This kind of room was used only for the most serious matters, and he had only seen it used a total of two times in his entire career. And in both of those cases, the hunters brought in were demoted in rank a few days later.

    Taking a deep breath, he took the seat offered by the guild knights. One stayed in front of the door while the other sat in front of him, lit up a lamp and pulled out a notebook.

    Valen didn¡¯t remember much of the actual interrogation, all the questions blurring together in his mind. But ultimately, the interrogation ended up being just a formality, and clarification on why he fled the hunt, abandoning his last teammate. When Valen described, albeit not without difficulty, what had happened in his youth, and how the deaths made him recall that part of the past, they had been understanding.

    That didn¡¯t stop them from asking a lot of questions with the goal of determining if it would happen again. To which Valen assured them that it couldn¡¯t¡­ Because he would no longer hunt with a team. The proclamation and certainty in his voice visibly surprised both of the knights for a moment, but they understood, and it wasn¡¯t the first time that disaster had made a hunter go solo. Solo hunters were rare, but they nonetheless still happened, and a few of them were legendary hunters who saved whole regions from a calamity.

    Then Valen further assured them that unless he was faced with the same species again, he was certain he would not panic. He owed it to his fallen companions at least.

    They asked him several more questions, this time more related to his period of recovery. They were satisfied at the end. One asked to see his hunting notebook. To which Valen had replied that he hadn¡¯t found it among his items when he woke up so it was either lost or stolen by his rescuers, as with a lot of the other contents of his bag. They didn¡¯t press the point.

    Once the interrogation was over, the Guild Knights gave him a permit to receive a new weapon from the local blacksmith and informed him that he would be cleared to take on a hunt for new gear in two dark moon¡¯s time. As the full moon was just the day before, Valen had more than a month to train. He intended to make full use of his time.

    ¡°Am I allowed to train in the wilderness? No hunting of anything but game, but I usually prefer the wild environment to diversify my training,¡± Valen eventually asked as the knights prepared to go back to the city.

    ¡°You are, just be careful, since anything larger than a Yian Kut-Ku will be a match for you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Valen reassured them. ¡°I found a good spot on my way back. It has plenty of nooks and crannies I can take shelter in if I need to.¡±

    The Knight just nodded in response, then he embarked on the airship. But before the ship took off, he turned back to Valen. ¡°Come to the city once you are geared up, there are matters that need to be completed there¡­¡± He seemed to hesitate. ¡°And your new assignment.¡±

    Valen raised an eyebrow at that last part, it wasn¡¯t something that boded well. He still nodded. ¡°I will come as soon as I finish.¡±

    The knight didn¡¯t say anything more as the airship undocked and started to rise into the air. Then it floated away from the town. Valen observed it for a few minutes before heading to the blacksmith to get the temporary gear he¡¯d be training with.

    His workshop was the only building in the town made entirely of stone and bone, the gigantic ribs being the support for the roof¡¯s tiles. Valen could already hear the clang of hammer against an anvil ringing from the inside. He waited for a lapse in the strikes, then entered the open-air workshop.

    The heat that should have been filling the whole room was only noticeable near the gigantic stone furnace kept hot by a pair of Felynes working its bellows. The smith had a mane of the reddest hair Valen had ever seen, accompanied by a thick mustache of the same color. As Valen entered, the man raised his eyes from the Longsword he was working on to appraise Valen. He nodded and spoke in a deep voice.

    ¡°I was warned by the knights that I would need to provide you with a new weapon and set of armor. You¡¯re in luck, I¡¯ve almost finished with a new set of all the weapons, unless you wield a Longsword, in which case you would need to wait a couple of days.¡±

    ¡°I favor the Switch Axe,¡± Valen replied.

    ¡°Oh? Then it¡¯s your lucky day, I just finished it yesterday, so it will be as new as you could get! Give me a minute, I¡¯ll go get it, then give you your armor.¡±

    The smith left the workshop to go to the backroom, and returned carrying a weapon as tall as he was, seemingly effortlessly, and placed it down on a table, making room for it by brushing aside several tools with the scraping of steel against stone. ¡°Here it is! What do you think of it?¡±

    Valen approached the table and made to pick up the weapon but stopped before grabbing it, wordlessly asking for permission. Only when the blacksmith nodded his consent did Valen pick up the bulky weapon.

    He looked at the edges, testing them and finding them sharp enough for his liking. Then he looked at the inside machinery along the central line, finding no obvious faults in it. Nodding in satisfaction, he then removed the safety and squeezed the morphing lever halfway through, engaging the Axe mode. The weapon seamlessly shifted its parts, the axe head moving to the top.

    He looked again at the machinery and confirmed that there were no stuck or otherwise out-of-place parts. Then, backing away a bit from anything valuable, he did a couple of practice swings in the air and was satisfied with the balance. It was where he was used to, about halfway through, just above the shaft. He nodded to himself, then squeezed the lever fully through, and with a grinding of gears, the weapon shifted into Sword mode, the axe head lowering towards the handle while the sword head pivoted at the top to rest above it. After a third check of the machinery, he looked at the place where the phial was usually slotted, and finding it empty, just decided on a couple of swings. Using the Sword mode usually required both hands, but allowed for deeper cuts on the monster. Releasing explosions while it was cutting allowed the hunter to damage the internal parts.

    Once again the balance was met with Valen¡¯s approval, and he was satisfied with the weapon overall. He would be able to train using it with no issue. Pushing the lever all the way back to the top, the weapon shifted back into carrying mode and he turned the safety back on. Then he turned to the smith and spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯mm satisfied. This will be a good base to upgrade to a better weapon once I¡¯m done with the target the guild will assign me.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Oh hoh?¡± The man replied, now interested. ¡°I would be happy to be the one that reforges this magnificent weapon!¡±

    ¡°You probably will, I don¡¯t really have a personal smith, and this is quality work.¡± Valen paused and then spoke up again. ¡°Could I have the armor as well, so I have time to prepare my gear before I leave for training tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°All right lad! I would usually give you the whole talk about taking care of your weapon, sharpening it regularly, and making sure you know how to disassemble and reassemble it so you can clean the internals, but I know I don¡¯t need to, given the way you examined it!¡± Then he went back to the back room, and this time he returned with a whole set of armor, grunting not because of the weight, but because he was trying to not let anything fall from his arms. Then he placed the pieces of armor on the table. ¡°I trust you know how to put each piece on as well?¡±

    Valen nodded. ¡°I do.¡± He eyed the pile of armor. ¡°Could you help me carry them to my room? If it¡¯s not asking for too much?¡±

    A booming laugh answered him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry lad, that Longsword can wait for a bit more, I¡¯m not at a critical phase of its smithing. Here, you take the legs and arms, I¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡±

    ¡°Oh wait, do you have a harness for the Axe first? I almost forgot.¡±

    The smith paused. ¡°You¡¯re right, good idea you reminded me, lad, I forgot to pick it up when grabbing the weapon.¡± He once again went to the backroom, returning with a harness made of leather which was made to carry a heavy weapon on the back. Not all weapons required one ¡ª most Longswords were paired with a sheath to carry it which was also used while fighting, and others like the Sword and Shield or the Dual Blades also carried ones for convenience.

    But for weapons too big or heavy for a sheath, they used a harness that allowed the user to carry it on their back while traveling. Then the Greatsword was a special case, using a giant electromagnet on the back to affix it, created using cheap parts of a thunder element monster, allowing the user to turn it on and off at will.

    Thus Valen put on the harness made for a Switch Axe and slid the weapon into it. He did a few small jumps and jostled it after it was on to make sure it was secured, then he picked up the armor the smith designated for him to carry and they both headed to his room.

    Once everything had been transported, and with a final goodbye, the smith departed and Valen was left alone in his room. He removed the harness still carrying the weapon and put it on the corner of the room. Then he exited the room, locking the door behind him, and headed to the storeroom of the guild, intending to buy a couple of items he needed.

    He left the store with several whetstones, a flask of oil, and spare leather bands to repair his armor if needed. He also bought a tool kit that allowed him to dismantle and repair his Switch Axe more easily, along with a couple of new notebooks. Then once he was satisfied that he had everything he needed, he finally went to prepare his bag for the journey tomorrow, double and even triple-checking everything, packing it all nicely into his bag. He would also usually at this point take care of his weapon, sharpening and oiling it, but given it was brand new, he didn¡¯t see the need.

    Then once everything was ready for him to leave the following morning, he ate dinner, spent the evening reading a book on the local plants, and went to bed.

    <hr>

    Valen left early the following morning, so early that the guard told him he had just started his shift and was allowed to leave people out. Dawn hadn¡¯t even started yet, but the guard just shook his head and opened the door for him. Once out, he walked at a steady pace, not as worried about being caught in the night as before, and also less concerned about keeping the correct heading too, since he had a way to signal his presence to Nikki once she went looking for him.

    He planned to take two days of travel this time, for several reasons, the first being that he wasn¡¯t under the deadline of trying to arrive before night, the second being that he also was carrying a much heavier load, so he needed to save his strength. Carrying the heavy load was comforting for Valen though, as it was as it should be: trekking through the wilderness to reach his goal, by foot.

    Looking around, he paid attention to the plants that were growing around him, collecting the ones that held a use for him, such as a couple of parashrooms, some ivy, and even a godbug that he saw crawling through a thick trunk. Hunting was more than just tracking a monster and exhausting it until it made a mistake. You also had to collect the means to make sure you covered your own mistakes as well.

    Most plants were rare, and hunters were always encouraged to never fully collect a plant, so as to allow it to regrow. Uprooting plants was almost completely forbidden unless it was one of the plants that could be cultivated in specialized farms. Mushrooms were another exception to the rule, as most of their mass was underground anyway. And even then, it was considered a good habit to disperse their spores when able to.

    Once the sun started dipping below the horizon, Valen decided it was a good point to stop. He was still in the forest, so he looked for a tree with a thick trunk and started climbing it. He had been drilled so much about how to find a safe spot for the night while traveling solo, as well as the means of keeping monsters away. Thus he unrolled his bag, deployed the alarm system that would wake him up if a large monster wandered too close, and, after a quick meal out of his rations, managed to find sleep, alone in the wilderness.

    <hr>

    Valen woke up early the next morning, cracking open an eye and listening while keeping his breathing as even as possible. Once he was certain no creature was stalking near, he had a good look around, paying attention to footprints in the mossy ground. After he was satisfied no monster had passed nearby in the night, he packed everything up and carefully clambered down the tree. Then, he went back on the road, confident in the fact that he would arrive at his destination later in the day.

    It took until the middle of the afternoon, but finally, Valen was certain he had found the clearing Nikki had dropped him in. Taking a deep breath, he dropped his bag on the ground and put his weapon against a tree. Once he rested from his journey, he walked for a while in the forest, looking for deadwood, an easy enough task. Once he had collected enough, he built a campfire, serving both as warmth and a signal to Nikki that he was there, something they¡¯d agreed on before he left. With the fire lit, he sat down and waited.

    A while later, while he was snoozing in front of the fire, he was broken out of his light slumber by a rumbling noise. Properly woken up, he searched the skies, and it didn¡¯t take long for him to break into a grin.

    Nikki was coming in towards the clearing, definitely slower than the speed a Valstrax usually traveled at, but he had expected something like that. She didn¡¯t want to risk injuring him with a heavy landing or a shockwave.

    Valen waited for her to cut off her wings and drop the last few feet separating her from the ground before walking towards her. Once he reached her head, he stopped and opened his arms wide, like he expected a hug. Nikki responded in kind, butting her head in his chest. Valen embraced her, scratching the underside of her beak, drawing out a rumble of pleasure from the happy dragon. Both of them stood there for a while, enjoying the reunion after being separated for several days for the first time.

    Our hunter might have found it strange how close their bond became in a scant few days, but he just embraced it. He had a suspicion that Nikki had never known this kind of comfort and thus she embraced it wholly.

    It took several long minutes before the two of them finally broke the hug, looking at each other, and then nodding.

    Finally, Valen walked towards the tree upon which he put his Switch Axe and recovered it, keeping the safety locked. Then he walked towards Nikki and signed. ¡®Tomorrow, me fight you¡­ No blood.¡¯ He hadn¡¯t got a sign for training yet, but it would be his objective soon, she seemed to get the meaning still, nodding once, then walked towards him, inspecting the weapon.

    Suddenly, she raised a paw, and before Valen could react, ran it along the edge of the blade, testing its edge. The move was so fast he couldn¡¯t react¡­ But to his surprise, she showed him that she was completely unharmed, without a scratch on her scales. She then mimed.

    ¡®No¡­ Element. Weapon weak.¡¯

    Element was a weird term they had agreed on, prompted by Nikki, which was rare enough. However, he wasn¡¯t sure he got the meaning right, as Nikki brought him a large number of items to describe this word, which were plants with elemental power infused¡­ But also scales of monsters, and several other things that he wasn¡¯t sure of. The only thing in common he could think of was the elemental powers monsters could wield, which were concentrated in these plants¡­ Yet he still felt that he was missing something in his own explanation.

    Clearing his errant thoughts, Valen returned to the matter at hand. So Nikki thought this weapon, a basic iron weapon, wasn¡¯t sharp and sturdy enough to hurt her? That¡­ Worried Valen, because if he had to do a hunt to upgrade it¡­ He probably wouldn¡¯t even be able to hurt the monster. Then he remembered that even monsters like Rathalos had tales of being felled by simple iron weapons.

    This meant that the Elders were definitely out of his league though. Still, he knew he had nowhere near the skill required to face one anyway. So he looked at Nikki and, staring at her eye, nodded. Starting tomorrow¡­ He would do what he was pretty sure no Hunter had done before. Train with an Elder itself, and not in a dance to the death. A dance both of them agreed on.

 Chapter 9: Training

    Valen rolled to the left, making sure his weapon was parallel to the ground during the motion, the whistling of the air to his right telling him he had dodged correctly. Then he immediately rolled to the right, avoiding the follow-up. Once his feet were back on the ground, he pushed with all of his might, converting his momentum into a forward motion, and started running, his weapon held behind him.

    In front of him was Nikki, who was in the middle of retracting her right wing, however, he immediately noticed she was starting to crouch, which meant she was about to rear up for a bite. Judging the distance between them, and the time she would need to pounce, he continued his run for a couple more steps and then immediately pushed his right foot to the side, adjusting his momentum to the left.

    Even though Nikki was holding herself back on her attacks, she completed the motions when she was sure he would not get hit, which still meant that Valen could feel all the energy that was put into the bite she did when her beak snapped closed with an audible clack.

    The instant he started sidestepping, his arm was in motion, swiping the axe head low to the grass and then upwards, and he was rewarded with a meaty thwack when it collided with Nikki¡¯s forearm. He didn¡¯t stop there, instead pulling the axe towards him and squeezing the outside trigger of the weapon as he rotated it, the weapon smoothly shifting as he completed his strike with a unified blade that simply slid over the scales without damaging them.

    Using the momentum of the strike, Valen backstepped, avoiding the retaliatory swipe from Nikki. He paused a split second, and, noticing that she overcommitted and was off-balance, pushed up the trigger he was holding, and struck again with his axe, using the extra reach that shifting the weapon had given him.

    It was only when his weapon connected with her forearm again that he saw Nikki was ready to swipe with her wing. She didn¡¯t commit to the motion but he dropped his weapon immediately.

    They both stared at each other for a while, neither moving, gauging each other, and then Valen nodded. He knew he had lost this bout. ¡®I yield¡¯ he signed.

    Nikki nodded and backed away, Valen then picked up his weapon and switched it back into carrying mode.

    They had started doing this sort of training the day after he met her back at the clearing. They first had to agree on how they would make it safe though. That went by using two words that were used a lot while they were adapting: ¡®Faster¡¯ and ¡®Slower¡¯ the first being a horizontal swipe of the hand/claw that started slowly then sharply picked up speed. Slower was the opposite.

    The training started slowly, with Nikki showing him some attack patterns she could do, just aiming at the air. The most common one was a simple stab with her wings, which was the true proof of how versatile the membrane between them was. She had initially started at full speed, but Valen had quickly realized he couldn¡¯t yet keep up, and asked her to do it more slowly until they found a speed he was comfortable with. A speed where he could dodge them, but still fast enough that he had to keep his guard up if he didn¡¯t want to get hit. It also allowed Nikki to abort the attack if he couldn¡¯t dodge them in time, thus reducing the risk of accidentally injuring him.

    They didn¡¯t stop with just wing stabs though, and quickly added more and more complex attack patterns. Claw swipes, bites, and sweeps with the wing. The range of attacks Nikki was able to demonstrate was staggering. They did agree on something though, that Nikki would never go through with charges that necessitated her propelling herself with her wings. Instead, Nikki would go through the charging motions but aborted every time, and if Valen couldn¡¯t get from the expected path in time, he was considered as being ¡®hit¡¯.

    What they could practice safely, however, was the wide array of projectile attacks the Valstrax was capable of. She could tone down the power of it while still keeping the speed. So if Valen got hit by one, it was considered a loss for him.

    The end result was that it looked like Nikki was trying to hit Valen but with exaggeratedly slowed attacks while Valen sidestepped, rolled, or moved away from the attacks.

    Valen, on the other hand, had no such limitations. No matter the force he put into his strikes, he couldn¡¯t even dent Nikki¡¯s scales, so he was free to put as much power into his attacks as he could. It did dull his weapon though, and he had to spend time sharpening it at the end of every session. Even so, he avoided slashes at Nikki¡¯s head, because while her body was tougher than a human¡¯s there was still a weak point, and he didn¡¯t want to accidentally blind her, given how reliant a Valstrax was on their vision.

    Their training was also an occasion to considerably expand their vocabulary, assigning words to items, plants, or animals they found in the forest around them.

    Valen remembered though when Nikki came back one day with not a dead catch¡­ But very much an alive one. He didn¡¯t understand the reason until when she was sure he was watching, she slashed out the throat of the struggling Jaggi with her claws, killing it on the spot. Then she mimed slashing her throat with her claw.

    Valen looked at the bleeding monster, the long tail laying completely flat on the ground, still, the frills that were adorning his face partially covering its muzzle and its pink scales that were starting to get stained by the rapidly spreading blood. He nodded and looked at Nikki, then repeated her motion with his thumb. There was no mistaking what word she just demonstrated. It was ¡®Kill¡¯.

    <hr>

    Nikki and Valen were both lying on the grass, the human on his back while the Valstrax was sitting on her haunches. The pair were looking at the stars, night having fallen several hours ago. Their immediate surroundings were illuminated by the flickering light of a campfire, Valen tending to it every so often to keep it alive. Neither were moving and they were simply enjoying each other¡¯s presence.

    The wind was rustling the leaves of the trees surrounding them, and had their training not trampled down or shortened considerably, the grass would be swaying around the campfire. Only the sound of Nikki''s powerful, regular breathing could be heard over the ambient noises of the forest.

    The stars in the sky were all burning bright, only the full moon shining pure enough to dim the stars around it. They were all of various intensity, some were barely visible next to their sisters. Others were simply indiscernible from their neighbors.

    One, however, stood out from all of them. One whose light was not diminished when the moon passed near. This one shined a pure blue, a blue so intense none of any other stars could hope to be as grand as her. She shined so brightly she had no neighbors, sitting alone in her corner of the sky.

    The star was called the Sapphire Star, a symbol of hope in the darkest times. A silent vigil that guided sailors and hunters in the wilderness. Hunters sent their prayers to her when they needed comfort and when they needed to be brave. Legends were told about her, about her birth, and what she meant, now part of the folklore of the world.

    Both Valen and Nikki were fixated on the light in the sky, simply sharing the moment together. Valen was motionless, while only the tip of Nikki¡¯s tail occasionally twitched.

    It had been almost a month since Valen came back to the clearing, training daily with his companion. When he compared his result to the first day¡­ The difference was staggering.

    He may have had a slight limp while he was walking long distances, but it vanished the moment he entered a fight. All of his muscles responded as they should, moving exactly as his thoughts directed them. He was faster than he was before for sure, but the limits of the human body meant that while the difference was noticable, it wasn¡¯t that big of a difference. His awareness, on the other hand, had improved drastically.

    He now knew how to pay attention to every part of a monster, or at least Nikki¡¯s body, but he expected to be able to adapt to other monsters without much trouble. He had quickly realized that what mattered in hunting wasn¡¯t how hard he could strike, nor how fast he could be. Striking hard didn¡¯t matter if you never landed a hit on your quarry. Moving fast didn¡¯t matter if you jumped into the next attack of your opponent. One rule was simply needed above anything else, at least for his weapon.

    Do not get hit.

    Not getting hit¡­ Meant that his opponent expended much more energy to try to hit him than he did. The stamina he spent moving out of the area of an attack was more than the stamina a monster spent trying to hit him. A tired monster couldn¡¯t attack as often, had slower attacks¡­ Couldn¡¯t react as fast. A tired monster would die quickly.

    This was a golden rule of hunting. The reason why hunts were often done in teams was so that they could all split the attention of a target monster and tire it faster. With the sole exception of great-shield users, who were protected by a wall of steel, all hunters avoided being hit as much as they could.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    But Valen had quickly realized something crucial about Nikki during his training.

    Elders didn¡¯t tire.

    No matter how much he trained in a day, and how hard the training was¡­ Nikki never showed any signs of tiring, even long past the point where he knew regular wyverns would be panting. This, more than anything, showed why Elders were so dangerous. They could fight for hours and not suffer exhaustion. Even if a hunter could dodge their attacks for hours on end, everyone would eventually make a mistake, and then it¡¯d all be over.

    Valen knew he was still missing one major part of the equation, and that it was the only way some hunters were able to successfully hunt Elders themselves. The equipment made out of monsters, somehow, allowed its wearer to take more hits.

    He knew that his now-destroyed Royal Ludroth gear was leagues above the simple steel gear he currently wore. Even such a lower-rank monster gear allowed him to tank a couple of claw swipes from wyverns that he knew would have pierced through his current armor and torn him apart. He also knew that his old weapon would have bit through Nikki¡¯s scales at least a bit¡­ Though he had no idea why. He only knew there was a reason that hunters were encouraged to upgrade their equipment with materials carved from monsters instead of all wielding the sharpest weapons made of the purest steel.

    Why? Because doing so simply allowed hunters to survive longer and kill faster. But how? That was what eluded Valen. He knew something was missing in all of this. But he simply didn¡¯t know why.

    He sighed. He had started the subject with Nikki a couple of times but every time it fell flat because they missed words to convey the meaning¡­ She often tried to use the word ¡®Element¡¯, but he had his suspicions that the sense she meant when they decided on it, and the sense he could understand was not the same¡­ They tried to discuss the word itself more but he was still as confused as before, so they abandoned the subject.

    Nikki looked at him, breaking out of the trance that she was under while watching the stars, and rumbled inquisitively. Valen looked at her and just shrugged, and he tapped his index finger on his head, which meant ¡®Thinking¡¯. She just hummed for an instant and rubbed him on his cheek. Valen chuckled then rubbed the side of her head in response. Then he sighed again.

    Pushing Nikki away, he waved to get her attention. Then said: ¡®Tomorrow, me back. Needs¡­ Hunt.¡¯ He didn¡¯t want to leave Nikki at all, having never felt so at peace since¡­ Ever. His time training with her was simply amazing, full of companionship and kinship. Even though he knew he had no way he could ever hurt her, and several ways she could kill him accidentally, they managed to find a way to safely train. He trusted her to be careful, more than anybody else he ever was with, the scant memories he had of his parents (and he didn¡¯t want to think about it, lest he thought of the reason he lost them), his training instructor, or even his late hunting group.

    So he just stayed with Nikki, enjoying this last night with her. But then she let out a low growl, grabbing Valen¡¯s attention. And what she said made him smile.

    ¡®You¡­ Get stronger. Need hunt. Come back.¡¯

    And he answered her, pointing at himself, then clasped his hands together, like in a handshake. ¡®I promise.¡¯

    They agreed to go to sleep after, and Valen fell asleep with a smile on his face.

    <hr>

    Two days later, Valen arrived back at the village, and went directly to the guild once the guard allowed him past the gate. The receptionist looked up from a book she was writing in, and smiled once she recognized him. ¡°Hunter Valen! How has your training been?¡±

    ¡°It went very well, I¡¯m back to top form and even beyond!¡±

    ¡°Very good, I received several quests you were cleared to do to get new gear. Pick one and I¡¯ll be able to send it back.¡± She then started to spread them out, a half-dozen pages in total. She read out the first one. ¡°Rathian, she has been noted to have lost her mate and is brooding, hasn¡¯t shown signs of aggressiveness but the guild is worried about the possibility of her lashing out.¡±

    Valen didn¡¯t even need to think. ¡°Pass, I want to hunt only monsters that are genuine threats.¡±

    The receptionist nodded. Valen¡¯s request wasn¡¯t a sentiment held by the majority of hunters, but a moral code was a common enough thing on the whole. She removed three other leaves, only leaving two options for him. ¡°A Yian Kut-Ku has been attacking convoys and seems to be in a frenzy, the guild is sure there is no way to calm this one down.¡±

    ¡°What about the other? I¡¯d prefer something bigger profile if I could.¡±

    She seemed to hesitate for a moment before sighing. ¡°If you pick this one, you will NOT be alone. Another hunter has already signed up for it, he¡¯s just waiting for a partner to start. Don¡¯t worry, he isn¡¯t interested in the materials and you¡¯ll have the full share regardless.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t bother me, what¡¯s the target?¡±

    ¡°A Plesioth.¡±

    Valen groaned. The Piscine Wyvern had an infamous reputation, and for good reason. The receptionist chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s sunk a fishing ship already, eating all of the sailors in it. The guild has even listed it as an urgent quest and the monetary reward has been increased. But if you take this one you¡¯ll need to be careful. You only have basic gear, and this one¡¯s a particularly strong specimen.¡±

    Valen took a bit of time to think it over. There would be no shame in him choosing to hunt the Yian Kut-Ku, especially as a solo hunt. But Plesioth had a reputation for a reason, even if he wouldn¡¯t be alone. He was confident after the training with Nikki though, so he nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll take it. Who am I going to be partnered with?¡±

    She pointed towards one corner of the room where Valen could see a rough-looking man sitting alone at a table, sipping at a tankard with a scowl on his face. ¡°Over there, his name is Austin. I¡¯d suggest you get introductions out of the way. I will send the confirmation of the hunt you took to the guild in the meantime.¡±

    Valen nodded and walked towards the hunter. As he approached he could quickly see that the distance hadn¡¯t played any tricks on his eyes. The man was the most burly hunter he had ever met, with thick muscles covering his arms and broad shoulders. Valen had more of a slender build, and he favored a more agile style. If nothing else, the appearance of the man before him told him that the other hunter favored a style centered around brute force.

    The hunter was wearing Tetsucabra armor, the distinctive bulky shoulders and the orange-blue plates covering them making identifying the set easy.  As though that wasn¡¯t enough, the golden coil with a purple rope was also another feature unique to the armor. He didn¡¯t see a weapon holstered at the hunter¡¯s back, but he supposed that the man had just left it back in his room.

    Valen sat opposite him at the table, at which the burly hunter raised an eyebrow and studied Valen for a moment before snorting. ¡°What do you want, pipsqueak? If it¡¯s help for your Velociprey hunt then scamper, I¡¯m already booked for a real hunt.¡±

    Valen frowned. He didn¡¯t like the casual dismissal, nor the attitude of the hunter, but he only needed to work with him for one hunt. Shoving his irritation down, he replied. ¡°I¡¯m not a newbie despite what this chain-mail armor might imply. My previous set got trashed on my last hunt, and I signed up for the Plesioth bounty to replace it.¡±

    ¡°Sure¡­¡± the hunter drawled. ¡°You¡¯ll just let me do all the work and use the opportunity to get the gear you totally don¡¯t deserve. And all of that only to die to an Arzuros once you go on a real solo hunt. Or you¡¯ll just keep hijacking hunts of other, real hunters.¡±

    Valen tried. He really did. But he wasn¡¯t going to sit there and let some random, arrogant asshole throw abuse at him based on assumptions. In one smooth move, he knocked the tankard out of Austin¡¯s hand, pinned it to the table using a textbook armlock, and speared his carving knife into the table less than an inch from his wrist. Valen¡¯s message was clear. I could have removed your hand and ended your career as a hunter in less than a second. The clattering of the tankard attracted eyes, and silence swiftly fell when everyone in the room noticed the scene.

    ¡°Shut,¡± Valen hissed, glaring into Austin¡¯s eyes, ¡°The. Fuck. UP!¡± Valen punctuated every word, and shouted the last one. Austin still hadn¡¯t reacted, stunned by the turn of events. ¡°I did not survive several weeks, alone in the deep wilderness after losing my entire party to an invader just to be berated by some two-bit hunter that thinks he¡¯s the stars¡¯ gift to humanity! I watched my entire party die, and have done nothing but train for a month straight now just to make sure it won¡¯t happen again, and I will not let that effort be dismissed. Apologize. Now.¡±

    Valen released the lock and shoved the hand back, glaring at the hunter. Austin stared back at him unflinchingly, rolling his wrist but otherwise remaining motionless. Murmurs broke out all around them, but neither of the two hunters reacted. It lasted long enough that the receptionist was starting to head towards them to break the argument when the burly hunter finally spoke, his lip curling as he tried to reclaim his bravado.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got guts I will admit. Meet me tomorrow, we leave at first light and don¡¯t be late. The airship waits for no one.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be there,¡± Valen replied, with steel in his voice.

    Austin nodded, picked up his bag, and started heading towards the stairs, but paused at the bottom of them and turned to Valen. ¡°Just to be clear, I¡¯ll not foul you out of the hunt, but don¡¯t get in my way once it properly starts.¡± Then he walked up the stairs, ending the discussion.

    Valen waited for a while longer to allow him to go in his room, then he stalked up the stairs and hurriedly entered his own room, locking the bolt behind him. One he was sure it was secure, he released the breath that he had been holding in a long, drawn-out sigh.

    ¡°I never had my temper rise up like that,¡± he idly murmured. ¡°I¡¯m not usually that bothered by personal insults. What changed?¡± Taking deep breaths for a couple of minutes, he then went to get his belongings in order. He needed to prepare for tomorrow¡¯s hunt¡­ Where he would face off against a Plesioth.

 Chapter 10: Hipcheck

    Valen completed a last check of his equipment. His backpack was full of everything he might need during the hunt ¡ª several potions, a couple of them mega even, courtesy of a hive Nikki found for him. He had nullberries, rations, a few whetstones, and a lot of items to cure specific ailments should anything unplanned happen during the hunt.

    His backpack was given a once-over, and he focused on his armor, flexing every limb, and rolling his shoulders to make sure he had a good range of motion. He did a couple of jumps in place to test the stability, and decided that it was to his satisfaction. Finally, he checked his Switch Axe one last time to ensure that there were no faults in the mechanism that he might have missed earlier. He had already dismantled it to clean every internal part the past evening. Switching modes a couple of times and finding no faults, he hung it on his harness and nodded. Everything was ready.

    Descending the stairs, Valen looked at the empty hall. Not even the receptionist was up and about, which wasn¡¯t much of a surprise, the sun hadn¡¯t even risen yet. Thus he exited the building and wandered through the empty roads of the town. Only a few rays of sunshine of dawn gave him enough visibility to navigate through, and he kept as a marker the airship currently docked at the station.

    Even the blacksmith was silent, only embers powering the forge. Anybody else who wasn¡¯t a hunter would be troubled by the eerie air, but for Valen, it was how he knew what a hunt¡¯s day was like. You had to depart early so that you could have as much of the first day available to track your target. Because the more time between the posting of the hunt and its start, the harder it wass to find your target. The only exceptions were for urgent quests, which had dedicated trackers that provided regular updates on the status and position of the rampaging monster.

    Valen climbed the tower, which dominated the town¡¯s skyline and allowed a safe docking place for airships as long as its buoyancy was maintained. It didn¡¯t stop disasters from occurring, notably when a rampaging wyvern took it as a target when attacking a town or during violent storms, but it was why most towers had a clear space around them with no buildings that gave a buffer in case a rupture occurred.

    Once at the top, he was greeted by the captain of the airship, a man who had pepper hair and a well-trimmed beard, which was proof of his years of experience. He had kind eyes and was smiling at him. Behind the captain, there was a green colored balloon, instead of the usual white. He took note that it was due to the skin being dyed instead of being an unusual monster skin.

    ¡°Hunter Valen I presume? Welcome to my ship, the Green Wing! Your companion is yet to be here but after all, you are early. I have been given an update on the area where your target was driven into right before I left, so you should not have too much difficulty tracking it down.¡±

    Valen nodded, it was good luck, he had to work with days-old information before, and it always increased the duration of the hunt, but having a fresh update was good. ¡°I remember that a few dragonships were tasked to drive it off the sea and keep it off the shore?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, three dragonships were assigned to the task. They couldn¡¯t finish the hunt themselves, the bugger was faster than them, but at least they were keeping it off the shore. They pelt it with ballistae and cannons when they catch sight of it, which has been enough to dissuade it for now.¡± He retrieved a scroll from his pocket, checking something then continued. ¡°They are worried it may try to either cross further east and escape the blockade or go further inland and disturb the ecosystem.¡±

    Valen scratched his chin in thought, pondering, then nodded. ¡°I guess that¡¯s the best we can hope for. We shouldn¡¯t have much difficulty tracking it at least, a Piscine Wyvern that is landlocked leaves a lot of tracks, given they usually stay in the water. Thank you for informing me.¡±

    The captain nodded and was about to reply before both of them heard the footsteps coming from the stairs, the sound of somebody climbing up. They waited until Austin came into sight, fully geared out, his Greatsword immediately noticeable, given that it looked like an oversized kitchen knife. He nodded towards the captain and only looked at Valen for a split second, grudgingly grunting in approval at him being already here.

    The captain repeated the information he had already given to Valen, and Austin nodded, evidently not having any comments on the situation. Then the captain said that they would be leaving in a couple dozen minutes, with only the final preparations to complete.

    Valen volunteered his help and they were able to leave a bit sooner. Once the last tasks were done, the captain undid the knot anchoring the ship to the tower, and he started the propellers.

    The technology used to make the propeller function in the airship was something that was not widespread, but from what Valen could glean, it used the supernatural properties of monster sacs ¡ª the source of their power, able to function long after their death. It was the same kind of technology that powered a spit-roast burner, for example, just scaled up to make an airship propeller function.

    Regardless, they quickly picked up speed and altitude, the town first occupying a large part of their sight at the bottom, then rapidly shrinking until it was only a dot on the ground. It was also at this moment that dawn properly started, the sun peeking beyond the horizon and spreading golden rays of sunshine over the land. The sight mesmerized Valen, the only other time he ever took an airship having been already in the middle of the day.

    ¡°Amazing sight eh? I never get tired of it, and it¡¯s why I prefer taking passengers only at the first light when possible. The sheer marvel on their faces is what allows me to wake up so early in the day.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ can understand. I won¡¯t say it''s the most beautiful sight I¡¯ve seen, but it comes close.¡±

    ¡°Ohoh? Not often somebody admits they have seen something better before. I won¡¯t pry but can¡¯t deny I¡¯m curious.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s something I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll share only with a few¡­ If ever.¡± Valen said while the memory of the light of dawn illuminating Nikki¡¯s sleeping form flashed through his mind. She had looked at peace and yet it put in focus just how much she was different from the surrounding nature¡­ It truly showed what she represented to him. A reminder that while they had a precious friendship, she was something completely outside the normal ecosystem, something that could be destructive if she wished so, but she took great lengths to keep the disturbances to the minimum.

    Shaking his head to clear the memory, he noticed the captain smiling at him, while Austin just grunted, looking away. Then the captain looked ahead.

    ¡°We have reached cruise speed, at this rate we should be where you need to be at midday.¡±

    Valen nodded, that would give them enough time to try to track their target and maybe even engage it before nightfall. Then he tilted his head, a question coming to his lips. ¡°I¡¯m curious though, I didn¡¯t know there were airships that only needed a single person to operate, the other ones I¡¯ve seen I¡¯ve always seen a crew of a few people on it, same when I used one with¡­ My old team.¡±

    The captain nodded. ¡°It¡¯s something you can apply for once you have been captaining for a few years. However, the tests to make sure you have got what you need to handle it are really tough¡­ Maybe even harder than the Guild Knights tests.¡± Valen was surprised by this fact, to which the captain chuckled. ¡°Airships are vulnerable to anything in the air above the size of a Remobra, most of my test was to make sure I could use routes that would let me stay safe and that I could fend off the smaller flying pests. I don¡¯t regret it, it allowed me to get one of the fastest airships available and the guild pays me well since I mostly handle transport for urgent quests.¡±

    Valen nodded. The captain¡¯s arguments made sense, even if he hadn¡¯t given it much thought before. He looked down at the ground, slowly passing by down below. It also made him realize that an airship would never match a Valstrax no matter what. They were flying at a snail¡¯s pace compared to the short flight he did when Nikki got him down the mountain. But at least he was somewhere he could walk on instead of being carried in her claws.

    ¡°Go do something, I don¡¯t care what so long as you don¡¯t run around my ship. I¡¯ll warn you once we are getting close to your destination. You¡¯ll have to be prepared to go down by rope then because taking off after landing on the ground is a pain.¡±

    Valen nodded, about to go sit down and meditate before he frowned his eyes and asked one last question. ¡°Why the green balloon?¡±

    ¡°Because I like it!¡±

    <hr>

    The sun was at its zenith when Valen was sliding down the rope the captain threw overboard, hovering on the top of a cliff that faced the sea. A dragonship could be seen patrolling a bit away from the shore, its sails filled with wind. Valen could faintly see the white bones reinforcing its hull. Then it disappeared, out of sight now that he was on the ground.

    Looking up, he shouted. ¡°I¡¯m safely down! You can remove the rope!¡±

    ¡°Thanks, lad! And happy hunting!¡± The captain shouted back in response, beginning to drag the rope back up. It only took a short minute, and then the airship started pulling away, helped by the winds and its propellers.

    Once the airship was safely away, Austin grunted to attract Valen¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Some ground rules before we start the hunt. First of all, do you know the callouts?¡±

    ¡°Contrary to what you may think Austin, I¡¯m not a novice. This is just a hunt I picked to get new gear after my previous set was destroyed.¡±

    The antagonistic hunter gave him a stink eye for this rebuttal, then said, ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes, but I¡¯ll not be responsible if you don¡¯t listen to my warnings. The second rule is that you let me do the damage and just do your job and act as a distraction.¡± He raised a hand to stall Valen¡¯s protests. ¡°That is a fact, your crude weapon can¡¯t do fuck-all damage to our target. You can try to take some potshots, but the reality of the matter is that I¡¯ll be the one that will split the scales apart and dig through the soft parts.¡±

    Valen grumbled he didn¡¯t like it, but his companion was right. With his current gear, he would be hard-pressed to deal damage to a monster of the Plesioth¡¯s caliber.

    ¡°Also, is that limp going to be an issue in combat? I need to know before you overextend yourself.¡±

    ¡°Never was in my training after I recovered, and I did several sessions that lasted a whole day.¡±

    Ausrin seemed a bit dubious but accepted this statement. ¡°Let''s start tracking then, we¡¯re burning daylight.¡±

    Valen nodded, then pulled out a piece of parchment. ¡°Here¡¯s the report of the last sighting that the captain was given. We should be able to get a track from here.¡± He handed the parchment to his companion, which Austin snatched away immediately.

    After studying the report for a moment, and comparing the notes with his map, they both checked their positions with their compass, then they set out in the direction of the last known position of the monster.

    <hr>

    A couple of hours later, they found footprints that matched their target. The hunt was on. They followed the tracks, the soft ground making the task easier for them, and the fact they could confirm it was fresh meant that the Piscine Wyvern was not that far ahead of them.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Both had already eaten the large takeout meal they were handed out for the hunt, giving them enough energy for the strenuous activity that would soon take place. And soon enough, Valen noticed something.

    ¡°Austin, look at my Right Wing. That looks like a deceased Ludroth." His companion turned to look and nodded, that was a Ludroth cadaver indeed. Valen approached it and inspected it. ¡°Shattered spine. Looks like a tail swipe from our target. It hit that tree back-first, the tracks seem to confirm the motion. Its mane is also still damp¡­ We¡¯re close.This isn¡¯t even one hour old.¡±

    The Greatsword wielder grunted, he acknowledged the inspection Valen did and they both went on guard, the presence of the Ludroth meant that they might be ambushed as well.

    Their suspicions were confirmed when they arrived at the top of a cove a while later. It was a large one, and there was also a deep pool of water at the bottom, however, the cliff was steep and didn¡¯t look scalable. The tracks seemed to go around it. Valen inspected them, then immediately put a hand on his weapon, ready to draw it at a moment¡¯s notice. ¡°Very fresh, it¡¯s nearby. I suspect it wants to go to the bottom to reach the water, but doesn''t want to be trapped.¡±

    He then turned around and immediately shouted. ¡°AUSTIN, LEFT REAR!¡±

    Even as he called out Valen had already rolled to the side, drawing his Switch Axe in the same motion. Instinct seemed to take over Austin, who rolled perpendicular to the direction Valen indicated and narrowly avoided a blast of water expelled by the Plesioth in his direction. The Plesioth looked like a giant fish with legs. Blue scales swept towards its tail, each as big as one of Valen¡¯s fists, and they looked sharp enough to cut his hand should he even brush up against them the wrong way. The tail finished with a fan of webbed spikes, powerful enough to propel the monster underwater. Its head was hideous, the eyes larger than Velen felt they should have been. It swiftly cut the pressure jet of water that it was expelling, and immediately drew itself up and roared, challenging them both.

    Austin looked back, and immediately, Valen could see his whole stance shift. He went into a crouch, Austin¡¯s hand gripped tightly his weapon¡¯s handle¡­ And what he said next gave Valen chills.

    ¡°Finally¡­ The hunt begins! I will claim your heart!¡± The bestial, wild tone of the hunter immediately told Valen that something was not right with his companion. He shook his head to clear the distraction away.He could worry about that once the hunt was done.

    Austin exploded into motion, running up towards the Plesioth, who had started to lunge to try to bite through the Greatsword wielder in one swift move, but he deftly sidestepped and drew his weapon with one smooth motion. The attack wasn¡¯t very swift, but possessed a great deal of momentum. It crashed into the Plesioth¡¯s scales, cracking a couple of them on impact. Reeling from the blow, it recovered swiftly and tried to bash Austin with his head, who was recovering his weapon from the ground and barely had the time to interpose it between himself and the giant fish.

    A loud CLANG resounded through the air, and Austin was sent skidding back a few meters, bracing himself so that he wasn¡¯t sent flat on his back.

    While all of this happened, Valen had crossed the distance between him and the Plesioth, and once he reached his opponent, he struck at the fin on its flank, deciding to leave the head for his companion. Valen¡¯s overhead axe attack connected with the Plesioth, but almost no effect was visible. The Plesioth flinched a bit before dismissing him as a threat and decided to focus back on the one that struck its head.

    Valen sighed. He probably was in over his head when he decided to pick this hunt, it¡¯d take a lot of strikes to tear through the scales¡­ But he wouldn¡¯t let it discourage him. He would carry his own weight on this hunt, and wouldn¡¯t leave all the work to his rude companion.

    Continuing his assault, Valen struck again at the fins, aiming for the point where they were connected to his body this time, hoping that he would distract it at a crucial moment by severing the softer tendons.

    While doing a rising slash, he noticed that the monster had paused his assault and was rearing back his tail. Knowing what it meant, he immediately shouted: ¡°TAIL SWEEP!¡± Before preparing to duck through it should the monster do a complete circle.

    The Greatsword wielder paused and refrained from committing through an overhead slash aimed at the cracked scales. He held his Greatsword with both hands, one hand on the handle, the other on the blunt side of the blade, and dove forwards, the tail passing above him while he was close to the ground, rolled forwards using his heavy weapon as a pivot, then once he was back to his feet, he planted his feet steady on the ground and used what remained of his momentum to transfer it to the gigantic blade, holding both hands on the handle this time and did a powerful rising slash with a grunt of effort.

    The slash connected with the bottom of the tail, finding a gap between two tails and digging an inch inside the soft flesh.

    A high-pitched roar of pain was what the monster emitted in response, causing Valen to clasp both his hands on his ears, while Austin just withstood the pain.

    Once the ringing in his ears stopped, Valen turned to look and blanched. Bubbles started leaking from his mouth, and he could feel the anger in its eyes, he knew what it meant. ¡°ENRAGED!¡± Valen shouted as loud as he could.

    A monster being enraged was both good and very bad news. Good because it meant it tired out faster. Very bad¡­ Because it meant that now it wanted you dead and would no longer fight for territory or just to make you go away. It would chase you until your body was completely broken. Not all monsters went into a rage state, and rare were those that did it so early in a hunt. Most of the time they were already very tired from the prolonged fighting and only could sustain it for a couple minutes since it was a last resort for them.

    This early though? It meant that it had been irritated enough by being driven from its natural habitat and no longer cared about its future health as long as they ended up a bloody puddle.

    Valen was worried about his companion though, because of the way he started the hunt. If his hunch was right, and he hoped it was wrong, Austin would probably try to power through the rage because he thought he could take it.

    And as he saw him stare defiantly at the Plesioth, his Greatsword held in a guard stance, he knew what Austin was trying.

    ¡°COME AT ME FISH! SHOW ME HOW PUNY YOU ARE!¡±

    Then the Plesioth threw his head forward and sent a big jet of pressurized water at him.

    Austin tilted his Greatsword upwards, deflecting the water above him, though it still was drenching the top of his helmet. He used the tilt to redirect the force downwards, allowing him to dig his heels on the ground¡­ Which was rapidly turning into mud due to the great amount of water that was pouring into it.

    Recovering his spirits, Valen ran towards the side of the head where Austin had scored his first blow, and, smoothly shifting into sword mode, put all of his force on the cracked scales, managing to damage them just a bit further. The damage was better than what he tried before, but it was enough, making the giant monster flinch and diverting the pressure jet from the other hunter. Not deterred, Valen followed with an upswing in the same place, actually drawing blood this time.

    It was then that the Plesioth decided to close his mouth with a loud CLACK, stopping his breath attack. Valen didn¡¯t need to wait for it to start looking at him to know it now was about to only focus on him. And by the time its gaze was turned on him, Valen had sheathed his weapon on his back and was bolting, running as fast as he could, glancing behind after making sure he was not running towards a rock.

    His initiative was the right one, as the Plesioth immediately started running towards him, shooting a quick blast of water occasionally, trying to trip him. But it had to build up momentum before it could catch up to him.

    Valen ran for a few seconds then immediately turned left, having heard his opponent getting closer. He felt the SNAP of the jaws trying to bite him, but only closing on empty air, and a glance behind him made him note that the Plesioth was skidding, losing traction when trying to turn the corner. It immediately picked his speed back up, now screeching in fury. Valen knew it would be a long while and a test of his endurance¡­ To outlast the wyvern.

    The next minutes were a blur for the hunter, dodging trees, and water blasts, changing direction occasionally once it was catching up. But Valen could see it was getting closer with each attempt, managing to turn the corners better, to not bleed all of its speed at once. He had to rely on using natural obstacles like trees or rocks to slow it down more and more. And he didn¡¯t know how much energy it still had in it.

    It was when he looked behind him he saw the first sign, suddenly the Plesioth tripped a bit but managed to catch himself back up, but a tad slower than before. Slowing down a bit to catch his breath, he noticed that ahead of him was the cove. If he could make it fall down, it would make their task easier he thought.

    It was when he was thinking about a plan that he turned around and his eyes widened in horror.

    The Plesioth finally had enough and with open space around him¡­ It was finally able to perform the move that his species was most famous for. It was pivoted sideways to Valen, his gigantic legs reared back, and thrust his whole hips forward.

    The Plesioth hipcheck was among the hunters the move that had the most speculation about it¡­ Not because of how powerful it is or the awkward way it looked while doing it¡­ But as to how such a move could create a shockwave able to send hunter tumbling or break bones at close range.

    Some hunters were outright killed just because of standing in front of it, taking the full brunt of it. And standing behind the Plesioth while it was performing didn¡¯t make you safe either, as for some reason there was still enough overpressure to knock somebody on their ass if they were not bracing.

    The only saving grace was that it seemed to be a move that was exhausting for the monster as well, only doing it a couple of times per hunt at most, but it was the move all hunters watched for while hunting this monster.

    Thankfully for Valen, he was far enough away that all of it did was send him rolling in the dirt. It still knocked the air out of him though and he had to take a couple deep breaths before being able to look back to his opponent.

    Which was now panting heavily, but walking towards him slowly, its whitish eyes glaring at him with sheer anger. And it managed to start trotting towards him only a moment later¡­ Before lunging at him.

    Due to not being back on his feet properly and not braced correctly to dodge sideways, but with his legs still under him, Valen jumped in the only direction he could.

    Up.

    Suddenly the jaw snapped at loose dirt, and he was astride the gigantic fish¡­ It only took a split second before he reacted and unsheathed his weapon, unfolding it into axe mode and slamming it on the wounded side of its face, behind his leg, which had only dried blood now.

    That had more effect than before this time and the Plesioth reared back, jostling Valen around, and throwing him on his back. But he managed to hold on, and with desperation, unholstered his carving knife and stabbed it between two scales, stopping him from sliding away further. It didn¡¯t make him safe now, as the Plesioth was now bucking around, trying to throw him off, but Valen held on, left hand with his knife, right hand with his Switch Axe that was using one fin to stabilize.

    The wyvern flailed around for several seconds before it stopped, trying to catch its breath. And Valen would not let the opening go to waste. He ran up its spine while pressing both triggers on his weapon, transitioning it into sword mode and making a glow build up in the axe part¡­ And when he slammed it into the wound, he slid his hand down a bit, making the inside trigger pop back up, and release the built-up pressure, making an explosion detonate inside its flesh. Some bits of muscle were thrown around, however, the effect that he looked for the most happened. The Plesioth ran away instinctively from where it got wounded¡­

    Directly into the cliff and the drop below.

    Knowing what was about to happen, Valen pulled back the other trigger, morphing his weapon back into Axe mode, wincing about what he was about to do.

    He slammed the axe head into the cliff, digging deep into it but his weight and momentum were still dragging him down, and the result was that he was carving a deep scar into the cliff, which thankfully wasn¡¯t a compact rock, so he was going down at a reasonable speed.

    The side effect was that it produced a high-pitched sound that hurt Valen¡¯s ear but he just grit his teeth and pursued his descent.

    Several seconds later, he wrenched violently his weapon out of the cliff dropped the last feet down, and got himself back into stance, noting immediately that the axe edge of his weapon was ruined, so he idly morphed it back into Sword mode.

    The Plesioth was thrashing around, having definitely been impacted by the fall it just suffered. However, Valen knew it would only last a moment, and that he had to finish it off before it could get back on its feet.

    It was just as when Valen was about to trot as fast as he could that he realized that he was hearing a loud shout of rage, and just because he could puzzle it out, a blur impacted the flailing head of the Plesioth, and a loud CRUNCH and CRACK of bones splintering resounded loudly into the cove. An explosion of gore was projected on the opposite side of it¡­ And the monster immediately went still.

    It only took a moment for Valen to realize what just happened, as he saw the form of Austin next to the decapitated neck of the monster, holding his Greatsword with two hands¡­ The Greatsword that he could see was now missing a chunk in the middle.

    Only the sound of panting could be heard for a while, before Austin turned towards Valen and said: ¡°I retract what I said, you ain¡¯t bad.¡±

    Valen was stunned for a moment before a chuckle escaped him, then full-out laughed, joined by his partner. The tension that had mounted on him over the beginning of the hunt finally faded away. Their task was complete.

 Chapter 11: Revelations

    It took a couple more minutes before the adrenaline that was coursing through Valen''s veins finally ran out. And he noticed that Austin was already cleaning up his weapon¡­ But also inspecting it, as it didn''t escape the high-pressure jet from the monster unscathed. An impressive gash now marred the blade''s flat, not that deep but still something that would be expensive to repair.

    "Ugh, it did a murder on my blade, explosive burst attacks I can deal with it fine by blocking the brunt of it, but a prolonged focused attack like that? It''ll even damage a Lance shield." He sighed and stowed away the weapon on his back. "I''ll have to go to the smithy once I''m back at Hart, thankfully I have some spare materials that''ll be able to help fix."

    Valen nodded, he had inspected the axe part of his weapon more thoroughly and he had to admit he was lucky, a bit more damage and the internal mechanisms would have been impacted as well. "My weapon is wrecked as well, but since I was here for an upgrade anyway, it''s not a big deal since it would have been reforged." He motioned towards the Plesioth carcass with his head. "I''m gonna start carving it up, can you flare the Felyne carriers in the meantime?"

    "I''ll take care of it, take your cuts." He paused for a second. "I''m gonna accompany you back, then it''s back to our ways. Nothing against you and I thank you for the save but¡­ I just work better solo. Less distractions that way." He grunted. "Monsters ain''t gonna die out themselves, and the more that can hunt solo, the more hunts can be done."

    Valen frowned, he didn''t quite like the direction this conversation was going. Taking a moment carving up one of the Plesioth''s fins to think about his reply, he answered. "Yeah, the more hunters that can hunt solo, the more settlements we can protect."

    Austin grunted, but stayed silent, probably having said everything he wanted to.

    It took a while for Valen to carve everything he needed, mostly the skin with the Plesioth''s scales, but also the organs that were elementally infused, like the flood sac that was how it was able to store so much water relative to his body size. Cutting the claws out also took a while, and he had to take a few ribs and bones that would be the base of his new weapons. But in the end, what was left was a carcass that contained mostly muscle. They wouldn''t be able to carry everything back to the town, so Valen took only what they could carry with a cart. The rest would be left to the scavengers to be reclaimed by the ecosystem.

    The Felynes arrived a while later at the top of the cliff and swiftly installed a pulley system so they could haul the materials and the hunters back up. Then they piled everything on the cart, and after a quick exchange, they set off back towards the town they left. The journey would take a few days but they would have to be careful while camping and journeying, the materials they were carrying would surely attract scavengers. For this reason, they had to take watches when they camped to sleep as well.

    Several days later, at midday, they found themselves at the gates of the town. After a quick chat with the guards manning it, the gates opened and they pulled the cart out, the Felynes helping them having scampered once they came in view of the town.

    Some people were walking in the street and offered congratulations to the pair of hunters bringing back their spoils. Valen responded with thanks, nodding his head, while Austin simply stayed silent and stoic.

    There weren''t that many villagers about, but the few that they crossed were enough to improve Valen''s mood and make him realize that Hunters were respected in general for the dangerous but crucial work of protecting the village. They arrived at the guild hall though and Valen stayed with the cart while Austin went to make the necessary steps to confirm the success of the hunt, as well as the report of the hunt. The guildmarm checked the cart, to confirm that it was indeed real Plesioth materials and not fakes or a mix of lower-ranked monsters. Then Valen filled out his part of the documents, and she thus gave both of them their prize, a lump sum of money to Austin, and the right to craft new gear along with the needed cash for it to Valen.

    Valen thanked the guildmarm for the money and the document she gave to him, and headed towards the local smith so he could deliver the required materials so he could get to work.

    It took a few minutes for the hunter to reach the blacksmith''s workshop, but once he stopped in front of him, the man immediately stopped his hammering and looked at what disturbed his work, then he grinned.

    "Lad! So your hunt was a success eh?"

    Valen nodded. "Wasn''t a solo hunt but I''m happy with how much I contributed to it. Kinda totaled my brand new weapon, but it was an emergency."

    The blacksmith frowned, especially when he saw the state of Valen''s weapon once he handed it to him. "What kind of emergency caused this? Did you scrape it on a rock for a mile, that axe head is completely dull and scraped."

    "That¡­ Is kinda what happened, I kinda used it to slow my fall after riding the Plesioth down the cliff." He embarrassingly said while rubbing his neck.

    "You youngsters and you crazy schemes¡­ At least you knew you''d give it to me for reforge after this." He appraised it critically. "Sword part is fine though, so will reduce the work. And once it''s upgraded, the same kind of maneuver would only barely dull it." Nodding to himself, he looked at Valen. "It''s the full set right, both armor and weapon?"

    He nodded. "It is, give me some time to take it off. Oh, here is the document for the use of the materials."

    The blacksmith studied the document. "Hmm, looks like I have to push back my other work, yours is deemed a priority. Not sure why, but I ain''t gonna be the one to complain to the guild. Gonna still take a couple of days, but I''ll give it all into it!"

    "Don''t you need my help for some parts of it though?"

    The blacksmith waved him away. "Bah, only talk for apprentice smiths, true professionals can do all the work themselves, and I am a professional damn it! Been doing that for twenty years!"

    Something nagged at him, but he dismissed it, he only remembered a few words from this part of his training, and his other weapons and armor were made the same way. So he nodded and left the smith to his work, going to look for something to do while waiting, a couple of days of patience not enough to allow him to visit Nikki. He couldn''t wait for him to show her his new gear though, she seemed impatient for him to receive it for some reason.

    He however found a pair of hunters that were staying while waiting for their partners and offered to celebrate his hunt in the wait. Valen accepted, deciding that a bit of relaxation after his ordeal was welcome.

    <hr>

    A couple of days later, Valen went to the blacksmith, who had sent a runner to him that the work was complete. Said blacksmith immediately greeted him once he was inside. "Lad! Or should I say, Hunter Valen! It is complete, and I''m proud of it, it is definitely one of my better works!"

    Valen raised an eyebrow at this proclamation but followed the smith inside at his beckoning. They entered the workshop properly, and Valen immediately gasped.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    Propped on an armor stand, was the full suite of equipment made from the Plesioth materials he brought back. He examined the armor first, which was the same sea blue as the monster, some more specific parts of the monster could be seen, such as the fins or a couple of its teeth. Testing the strength, Valen was satisfied, it was definitely sturdier than the Royal Ludroth armor he was wearing before.

    Pulling out the helmet from the whole assemblage, he put it on his head and was satisfied that it didn''t restrict his field of vision too much, the slits in it large enough. He placed back the helmet on the stand, he would do a full mobility test later.

    Turning his attention towards the Switch Axe this time, he gingerly took it in his hands, gone were the scars created by him slowing himself down, now the weapon looked brand new once again, and even more dangerous for his foes. Valen picked it up and immediately went into his stance, the triggers and levers in the correct place. He could also definitely see that the Axe head had been fully reforged from up close, now having more in common with the Plesioth than steel.

    A couple of swings and he was satisfied. He would test the phial functions later, when in a less cramped environment. Placing the weapon back in place he turned towards the smithy and said. "Thank you, it is masterful work indeed."

    He waved Valen away. "Just doing my job. Now, assure that you don''t have to come back after ruining it, it is much less fun to repair weapons than it is to forge them!"

    Valen chuckled and looked towards his new equipment. Then he picked up both of them, removing the armor from its stand and placing the weapon on the harness. But before he could leave the workshop, the smithy hailed him.

    "Oh right, I had some extra material in the end, but I still treated them so it won''t rot, you should probably pick it up and store it in the hall. You may never know, you might need it later!"

    The hunter nodded, it made sense. Then he walked away, shuffling awkwardly with his hands full and heavy. Still, he managed, and not long later he was inside the guild hall, which immediately became quieter once they noticed him, knowing that a hunter equipping a new gear was a solemn moment. The receptionist smiled and motioned him towards the back room so that he could be allowed to change.

    Once he was inside the room, he put down his load and placed his new weapon against the wall. Then he started to fully gear up, which took him a few minutes to work out the new buckles, but he managed, he did study plans of Plesioth armor while he was waiting for it to be forged.

    When he had finally everything equipped, and his weapon hanging on his back, he examined himself in the mirror, and nodded, he definitely looked fearsome in that armor. Rotating his limbs, and his waist, he was satisfied, the armor did not impede his movement more than the basic one did, which was good enough.

    Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and exited the room, to a hush. Then finally applause resounded throughout the hall, the few hunters present congratulating him on his new gear. One, who even had a Rathalos armor shouted to him: "Now you''re in the big boy court! YES, Plesioth qualifies as far as I am concerned." He said when one of his friends protested next to him. "Have you ever been the target of a hipcheck? He fucking have! That is enough for me."

    The cheers continued for a while, everybody seeming to want to offer him congratulations or wishes of good luck in future hunts. But eventually, it died down, hunters finally had to leave for their tasks while others were just here in passing and returned on the road. Valen decided to have a quiet afternoon before he would get into bed, but that was before Austin finally exited the shadowy corner he was in and motioned Valen to follow him.

    Surprised, he followed him still, and once inside Austin''s room, the latter locked the door up and said. "I have been informed by the guild that you have to go to Harth as soon as you are able. They only told me it was to give you your new assignment. The tone of the message I received didn''t leave anything up for discussion. How soon are you able to leave?"

    Taken aback, Valen took a moment to think before answering: "Tomorrow morning, should that be enough?"

    "Good enough, I don''t need to accompany you, and I know you can take care of yourself anyway. Don''t disappoint me and get yourself killed. Now get out."

    Kind of surprised by the abrupt end, he took a couple of moments before exiting the room, but then headed towards his own room, he started packing everything up, everything that he didn''t really need in a hunt, he had left in the room, but now he made sure he left the room as clean as he found it when he arrived. And several minutes later, he had his backpack full to the brim, that he equipped over his weapon. It made him carry a heavy load on his back, but he also had way worse during training.

    Then he did a quick final trip to the blacksmith, to grab the spare materials in a bag the smith prepared for him, and after consulting his map, headed towards Harth, which was a journey of several days¡­ But not before a quick visit to see Nikki.

    <hr>

    Nikki was indeed happy to see him, however he managed to convey to her that he couldn''t stay. "Me, required, guild." He told her. She huffed at that, then studied the armor he was now donned in. She turned around him, studying him in every detail, then nosed at the weapon stowed on his back but mostly hidden by the backpack, so Valen put down the bulky bag and unsheathed the weapon, touching it with her nose, she seemed to close her eyes and enter a small trance, before she pulled away sharply. Then she looked at him, a calculating look in her eyes, and huffed. Then she signed:

    "Good, strong." She said while tapping the weapon with a claw. "You, worthy."

    Then she pulled away and after a last look at Valen, took off. The hunter was puzzled by the end of the interaction, he didn''t know what Nikki did, and the fact she left immediately meant at least that she didn''t want to delay him further¡­ He shrugged though, he was sure he''d never completely understand her mindset, she wasn''t human after all. So he put back the Switch Axe on the harness, picked up the backpack, and set off towards Hart, for real this time.

    <hr>

    Harth was for sure a mining village, populated mostly by Troverians, being that Valen would qualify as "Workaholics", that always tried to find ways to do more mining than they should. But the important part was that a guild headquarters was located in the city, the defensible place and access to mining making it a trade center.

    Most of the trade caravans that existed on the continent passed by Harth at one point of their route, as the quality of mined ore sold in Harth was without equal, the active volcano nearby expelling quality minerals constantly. It was also heavily suggested to drink a cold drink while in the city, due to the proximity of lava flow. Troverians withstood the heat without issues but passing or living Wyverians, Humans, or Felyne need to drink a special version of cold drinks sold at the city''s entrance. Or to wear appropriate equipment that cooled the wearer down.

    Valen had of course purchased and drank the necessary cold drink, and upon presenting his ID, was immediately directed towards the headquarters, as the guards received special instructions about Valen.

    This worried a bit the hunter, as it showed something was odd with the whole situation, but he complied still and headed towards the headquarters.

    The headquarters were the biggest building in the town, towering above the rest of them and reinforced with monster bone. Valen could see several Felyne carrying missives in and out of the building, and also what seemed to be an airship platform at the top. It was a symbol of how powerful the guild''s influence was in the big towns. Thus he took a deep breath and entered the building.

    When entering the building, he was immediately hailed by the guildmarm, who asked to see his ID. Upon producing him, she nodded and said. "I had been asked to look out for you, give me a moment before I inform the relevant parties." Then she wrote a quick note and passed it to a Felyne, who excitedly took it and dashed upstairs.

    Not long after, a Guild Knight commander descended the stairs with the note, and upon seeing Valen, nodded to the guildmarm and motioned Valen to follow him. Knowing not to disobey a commander''s order, he obliged.

    They walked several floors up until they reached the office of the commander, which was comfortable but not in excess. Taking the seat that was offered to him, he also removed his helmet to be polite, and then the Commander explained to him:

    "Before you had even returned¡­ We have received a report of the possible desertion of your post. However, given the circumstances, we were willing not to take harsh action should you return and your reasons were valid. Once you gave your full report, we classified the matter as a panic decision made in a moment of great pressure."

    "I do assure you, that should you know the full reason I panicked, you''d be hard pressed to not do the same. It is still the biggest regret of mine¡­ Letting Flynn die like he did by causing him to focus on me instead of the real threat¡­"

    "Then¡­ You should tell him that. Yourself." The Commander said while nodding at the door.

    Valen immediately looked behind himself, and there, at the doorstep, in a wheelchair, was Flynn.

 Chapter 12: Punishment

    Valen immediately froze when he recognized Flynn. He stared at Flynn like he saw a ghost, which was technically the case. He tried to talk several times, to ask how he survived, why he was here until he simply only could say: ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°I had forgiven you long ago, Valen. However¡­ Know that several times I almost would have reported you as unfit for hunting. It¡­ Was my right. But every time I would, I reminded myself of what I know of you, and that you would never willingly do such a thing. Willingly. That¡¯s the key word isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ Flynn, I never should have fled without helping you. I should have helped you try to distract it.¡±

    Flynn raised a hand, stopping Valen from further developing what he was saying. ¡°Would¡¯ve, should¡¯ve, could¡¯ve will not help us here, what matters now is what happened. Let me make it clear what happened once this damned Seregios threw me out of the cliff. Trees managed to slow my fall down, but in the end, I broke my lower back on the fall, and as you can guess, I lost the use of my legs. I am stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of my life Valen. That is the price I must pay for our overconfidence. For our errors.¡±

    Valen protested, but he was at the edge of tears: ¡°But¡­ It¡¯s all MY fault, you cannot simply pin it all on yourself, I have my part of the blame too¡­¡±

    ¡°You do. But it¡¯s not your full fault too. The biggest mistake was made when we did not call the fight once the Seregios arrived and vacated the terrain to let the two of them duke it out until the Glavenus was isolated once more. I should have made the call. But I didn¡¯t. I let the situation worsen until fatalities happened.¡±

    Valen was now tearing up. ¡°I¡­ Flynn, why are you so forgiving still, it¡¯s because of me that your hunting career is over.¡±

    Flynn nodded. ¡°Valen. Know that I almost hated you for what you¡¯ve done, for abandoning me. I almost did. But reason triumphed in the end when I remembered what you told me about your past, about your reason for hunting, and how the situation would have looked like for you. I do not blame you, Valen. But know this: I have one request of you now.¡±

    Valen looked Flynn in the eyes, wiping the tears from his eyes. ¡°What it is?¡±

    ¡°Be the best you can be. Never give up, And protect all of those who cannot defend themselves. Maybe you¡¯ll become a legend one day. I¡¯ve read the report of your latest hunt you know, and the sheer guts and determination you showed is seen in all the legendary hunters we talk in admiration of. Maybe you¡¯ll become one. But do not let what happened stop you, and simply become better. You¡¯ll also surely conquer the demons of your past this way.¡±

    The Switch Axe wielder looked at Flynn for a while, then he nodded, a resolute look now in him. ¡°I will be. I¡¯ll be the best I can be. For Myla, for Edwin. For you.¡±

    ¡°Then go and may the world soon know your name¡­¡±

    ¡°When did you become so wise, Flynn? I only remember as the stoic Bowgun user.¡±

    Flynn laughed and patted Valen¡¯s shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s what staying in this chair all day and reading books transform you into. Maybe you¡¯ll become wise too, once your career is over and you grow old.¡±

    Valen chuckled in response. ¡°Maybe.¡±

    Then Flynn''s face immediately turned serious. ¡°You may not have been stripped of your rights to hunt, but the guild still requires a punishment for what you have done. I agreed with it, it seemed a fair one given the circumstances, I know you already learned your lesson, and given you are now a solo hunter, may not repeat the same mistakes, but rules are rules.¡±

    The Commander finally reminded Valen he was still in his office, making him jump. ¡°Indeed, what we decided is that you¡¯ll be posted in an isolated village in the Jurassic Frontier, with no city in miles around. The village is quite secure and has a hundred souls but has no dedicated hunter for now. We¡¯ll post you there and you¡¯ll stay in it until we decide we can recall you. You are to take care of the threats to the village, only dissuade if you can, and use lethal force only if the village is directly threatened. Do you agree to these terms?¡±

    Valen took a moment to think about what he said. These terms meant that he was effectively put in the corner as a hunter, not allowed to take quests, or take patrols around but not allowed to truly hunt unless the direct safety of the village was at risk¡­ Or it would have if Valen were a normal hunter. His relationship with Nikki meant that he could still train with her, if she agreed to, which isn¡¯t sure as the new post was quite far from what they currently were. Would she move her nest for him? Did she care for him that much? He hoped so. However, he had no choice still, he just had to hope she would help him.

    With his mindset, he gave his answer. ¡°I agree. When does this start?¡±

    ¡°You have an airship that departs in three weeks, what you do in the meantime is your business, as long as it is not hunting.¡±

    That suited Valen fine, three weeks gave him enough time to inform Nikki of the new development. ¡°Understood Commander.¡±

    ¡°You are dismissed.¡±

    Valen nodded and exited the room, putting his helmet back on, Flynn maneuvering his chair to allow him to pass. Then once he closed the door, Flynn talked to him. ¡°Myla and Edwin are buried in the local cemetery. If you wish to pay your respects before you leave, you can go visit them.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Valen paused for a moment. ¡°I think I will, I haven¡¯t said goodbye properly to them yet. Their death may not be my fault, but I still regret it happened. Yours was the one I blamed myself the most Flynn. In time maybe I will forgive myself, but not just yet.¡±

    ¡°Just make sure you do one day, and grow past it, and that is all I ask of you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for still believing in me. I¡¯ll go now¡­¡±

    However before he could leave, Flynn snatched his hand and pulled him back, then he leaned forward and said, with barely a whisper. ¡°Valen, I did not fall unconscious immediately once I broke my back, I stayed conscious long enough to see a Valstrax leave, carrying something, do you know anything about it?¡±

    Valen managed to suppress the flinch that threatened to appear once he learned that information, and he was glad he had already put his helmet back on. Thinking quickly he said: ¡°I don¡¯t remember, I do remember falling unconscious after a flash of red and an explosion¡­ So maybe it killed the Seregios and tried to carry me, but dropped me, I remember being a bit wet when I recovered my spirits but assigned it to the dampness of the cave.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s strange but at least that means you weren¡¯t eaten by it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ Probably lucky in that regard.¡± He said with a faraway look, before snapping himself back to attention. ¡°I¡¯ll go now, I want to see Myla and Edwin. Thank you again.¡±

    ¡°You are welcome. May the Sapphire Star guide you.¡±

    ¡°And you.¡±

    Valen then descended the stairs with a final wave and exited the whole, building, weaving through the passersby, some dragging carts of ore, others being Felynes scurrying around holding papers between their fangs. He followed the directions Flynn gave him toward the cemetery, and after several minutes, he reached it.

    For such an important city, the cemetery seemed smaller than it should be, but that was before he realized that hunters were usually buried in their hometown when possible, and then Edwin and Myla just asked that they be buried in the town where their bodies were recovered. Valen had done the same, since being buried in the village he was born is was¡­ A complicated affair anyway.

    He walked between the tombstones, the inscriptions on them having only the names of the people buried underneath, as well as the weapon they wielded and the year of death. Some, more richly decorated also contained the name of the biggest threat they managed to participate to slay. He halted when he saw one figuring a Kushalah Daora until he realized he was in a party of four.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    The cemetery humbled Valen and reminded him that no matter what happened, they were all mortal. That only one accident, bad decision, or just plain bad luck was enough to snuff one¡¯s life out, and that at the end, unless you were among the great that had songs sung about them, you just faded from memory. That was a fact that may have disturbed many, but Valen just knew that was the cycle of life. He had accepted it and preferred just to enjoy the moments he had together with Nikki.

    It was a few more rows later than he stopped, having spotted the names he looked for.

    ¡®Myla, Hammer, slain by Seregios, Vanquisher of Barroth.¡¯

    ¡®Edwin, Lance, slain by Seregios, Conqueror of Rathian.¡¯

    The years were the current one, and Valen crouched to be able to see the tombs at eye level. Then he spoke. ¡°I hope you are doing great, no matter where you are. I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t do anything about your deaths, but I swear to you both that I won¡¯t waste the rest of my life away, and make sure that I use my skills to continue our work. May the Sapphire Star guide you forevermore.¡±

    Then he stood up and after a final nod to the tombs, he walked away.

    <hr>

    Valen spent the night in a room in the headquarters and the following morning, left the city. More than anything this time, he needed to see Nikki. She needed to be informed of where he would reside now, and he barely had enough time to reach their usual meeting point and back before the airship left.

    So he spent ten days traveling back to where they met with the Valstrax. Musing over Flynn¡¯s survival. Internally he was overjoyed, he thought he was the sole survivor of his hunting party. But¡­ He also was ashamed of the life-changing injury he caused to him, even if he had been forgiven.

    It was no wonder then that he was still ruminating on this when Nikki made herself known by landing at the center of the clearing. Valen finally looked up and smiled, she was becoming, no, a constant in his life that he wouldn¡¯t trade for anything. Her special mindset on things, being something powerful and that knew it meant that she had less to worry about being not powerful enough for some things. Though sometimes he wondered if she had been ever helpless¡­ She seemed a bit less arrogant than she should be as an elder.

    Mentally shifting gears to focus on what he wanted to say to her. He signed: ¡°Me, moving.¡±

    That caught her attention immediately, and she immediately turned her head to her side, puzzling about what she would say, then she simply asked: ¡°Where.¡±

    Valen unrolled the large map he was carrying, he pointed where they were situated, then shifted his finger towards the opposite side of the continent they were on, in the middle of a large forest called the Jurassic Frontier, on which the closest Headquarters were located at Berna village. It wasn¡¯t this village Valen was going to however, but another, smaller and more isolated one deep in the forest, but defensible thanks to the small hill it was located on, making ground-bound monsters have to fight threats from above and the tall trees protecting it mostly from aerial attacks.

    Nikki examined the map, and the new location he pointed at, studying it intensely, then she nodded and simply signed: ¡°You go. I follow.¡±

    Valen couldn¡¯t stop the grin that spread on his face when she said that, he had hoped he wouldn¡¯t be alone, but he was relieved to have the confirmation from her. It truly meant that she cared for him deeply too, that she was willing to move her lair to stay close to him.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    A slow blink was his answer, and Valen hugged her head before separating. He decided to stay the night, but he would have to leave as soon as he could the next morning. In the meantime, he simply decided to enjoy his time together with Nikki.

    <hr>

    Three weeks after his meeting at Harth, Valen returned to the city, waiting next to the main dock for the airships. Harth being a center of trade for everything that was ore, several airships made their stop there to stock up before going to deliver their cargo to a faraway place on the continent.

    He had seen a couple of them already dock and load up on cargo before departing. But none of them was the one he was waiting for, having been told only its name: The Reliant. The quartermaster simply told him that it was scheduled to arrive in the afternoon but that trying to keep an hourly schedule was wistful thinking, since airships depended on a lot of wind conditions, exact schedules were simply impossible to keep up. It was why Valen was waiting though, half of the afternoon having passed by already, and the sun starting to engage its final approach to the horizon and then sunset.

    However just as Valen resigned that it would arrive only at sunset, he noticed a little speck in the horizon, that seemed to descend towards them. He pointed this out to the quartermaster, who, after pulling out his binoculars, confirmed it was the ship he was waiting for. He guessed its arrival in not more than half an hour and told him to make sure he was ready by the time it docked.

    Valen nodded, checked one last time his backpack just to be sure, and climbed the stairs towards the proper docks, the exercise making his leg ache but not overly so.

    Once the Reliant arrived proper, the captain of the ship ordered his crew to start pulling in the cargo, then he looked at Valen and said. ¡°I was told to drop you off at Hurora on my way to Bherna, am I right?¡±

    He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m supposed to be posted there for several years.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, not a lot of activity in that area, you¡¯d think so with the dense forest, but it simply means that large monsters don¡¯t have the space to maneuver and simply go to grounds where they can. And flying monster can¡¯t do anything with the tall cover.¡±

    ¡°That is what I have been told, but I know not to complain, I could have received worse punishments.¡±

    The Captain studied him intensely and then nodded. ¡°Worse that can be dished out indeed. At least it¡¯ll teach you restraint boy!¡±

    Valen smiled, then looked at the horizon. ¡°How long can we expect before we are there?¡±

    ¡°Given it¡¯s on the far side of the continent? Two days. I¡¯d suggest you cover yourself thickly too, we¡¯re going to fly high to avoid the majority of the flying beasties, only the serpents and Valstrax dare fly that high.¡±

    ¡°I understand, do you need my help for preparing for departure?¡±

    ¡°Nah, better you don¡¯t, you ain¡¯t as experienced knowing how to balance the thing as we are. Just pick a spot and try not to move around too much. We should be away before the sun has started setting.¡±

    Valen nodded and simply placed himself at the edge of the railing, simply observing the giant green balloon that floated above him.

    <hr>

    The captain of the airship had been right in his prediction, two days later, they were descending towards the huge forest spanning miles around them, and the captain pointed him towards a small rise in the trees. ¡°This is where the village is located, I¡¯d suggest you start climbing down the ladder, we¡¯re going to slow down to allow you to drop down to a tree, but we¡¯re not going to stop, I trust you have been taught how to climb down trees I hope?¡±

    Valen chuckled. ¡°Do not worry, I still know how to, you have to sleep in them while traveling in the wilderness.¡±

    The captain nodded. ¡°Then don¡¯t miss your jump, and if you do, try catching yourself with that axe of yours. You won¡¯t have a second try and it would be bad luck to break a leg on your first day here!¡±

    Nodding firmly, Valen gauged the distance they needed to cover still, then climbed down the ladder. The airship slowed down, but still moved, at a walking pace above the trees top, and suddenly Valen was able to glimpse a village through the cover. He then waited before he was above a tree and its thick trunk, then jumped, his body plunging through the leaves and frail branches until he managed to catch one of the thickest ones and stopped his fall.

    Looking down below and seeing the height he was at, he pulled out some ropes from his backpack and started installing a crude pulley system. Once he tested it to be sure it would hold, he rappelled down the trees, doing small jumps each time, and finally having a clear view of the village, which was built mostly of wood and a thick outer wall. He could see the sharp incline that surrounded it and knew that it was the perfect location to defend it. Only a single path allowed easy entry into it, and he knew for sure it was the location that had the most ballistae that covered the arc.

    Valen finally reached the floor and after unhooking himself from the cord, pulled on it until the other end reached the top and the whole thing fell. He then took a deep breath. He was where he would stay for the foreseeable future, so he should introduce himself and know what he would deal with.

    It only took him a bit to ask for directions towards the village¡¯s chief house, but once he was there, he was welcomed, and they had a quick discussion of what he would do as duties, which was to simply patrol around and ward off dangerous monsters. There was an accommodation waiting for him, though it had been unused for a while since the last hunter was stationed. Valen thanked him and headed towards it, intending to drop his backpack and have a long rest after the exhausting journey in the clouds.

    <hr>

    Valen grumbled while kicking a stone away, these villagers constantly asked him to go deeper than they could in the forest to try to find the rarest mushrooms that grew around. ¡®Just patrolling around my ass.¡¯ No matter that they could find them themselves, now that they had a hunter in the village, they would give the most dangerous tasks to him, no matter if they could do it without issues beforehand. He sighed, it would help if he found a place where he could meet Nikki, but he had yet to find a break in the cover¡­

    He stopped, looking ahead of him, and grinned, because right in front of him was exactly what he looked for, a huge clearing in the forest, and an entrance wide enough that would surely allow Nikki to get through. He checked the ground and while it was covered in tree leaves, it wasn¡¯t muddy at all, and probably had good drainage, so it would dry quickly after rain.

    Satisfied, he pulled out the flare gun he was required to keep on him for emergencies, but, swapping the red flare for a blue one, he aimed it towards the canopy, on the only place that had a hole in it, and fired, his aim was true and the flare hovered just below the hole.

    He had seen Nikki flying around between clouds the few times he climbed on top of a tree, and he hoped that she was around, if not he would come at another time the following day.

    Not even a minute later, he could hear a rumble, that put a large smile on his face, currently hidden by his helmet, and right after, Nikki emerged from the tree cover, roaring in joy.

    Valen only signed: ¡°Welcome back!¡± And she roared louder.

 Chapter 13: Discovery

    However much he complained at the beginning of his station, Valen soon found himself in a rhythm. Once he was reunited with Nikki, he was able to meet her frequently, so he was able to spend a couple of hours training against her. And that was also when he realized the huge difference with his new armor. The armor seemed to make him faster and tougher.

    The second time he went to meet her, their reunion being mostly about discussing how they would proceed forward, Valen was worried about the sentries looking out at the village¡¯s treetop spotting her but she assured him that she had ways to make herself less inconspicuous, and she could use the same tree cover to hide herself.

    He wasn¡¯t completely reassured but decided to trust her judgment on that.

    However, their first training session since Valen got his new gear was a surprise for both. Whereas Valen was able to be tagged sometimes by her attacks, now he seemed to dodge them easily, and even when Nikki did a glancing blow to a reflex hit, the claws only barely pierced the armor while they would have been able to tear through with ease. Nikki stopped their spar right there and they spent the rest of their meeting testing Valen¡¯s new limits, and he could confirm he was a bit faster, but only just. Nikki going full out would still catch him if she wanted to.

    Valen wasn¡¯t at the end of his surprises, however, at the very next training session, she did something that startled him, touching his chest with her nose for several long seconds. Nikki didn¡¯t shy away from contact, as did Valen, but he could feel that what she just did was different. Something changed with his armor, he could feel it, but he didn¡¯t know what. Then immediately after, and being too fast for him to react, she snagged his weapon out of his back with surprising speed and dexterity, then closed her eyes in concentration once again.

    Caught off-guard, Valen took a bit to recover but then she seemed to have finished what she was looking to do and allowed him to pick it back up.

    Upon reaching his handle, he frowned. His Switch Axe felt different, off. Did she do the same kind of thing that she did on his armor he wondered. Valen didn¡¯t know what to think, it was novel ground for him.

    He was broken out of his wondering when Nikki caught his attention and immediately asked for him to spar. Valen was about to protest but she had already placed herself at the other side of the field and was only waiting for his signal. The hunter finally relented and decided he would reserve his questions after this training bout.

    They stared at each other for several long seconds before some unknown signal passed between them and Valen sprang into action, intending to close the distance between the two of them quickly.

    He was looking at Nikki intently, looking for any twitch that would betray with what limb she would strike at him. Then he noticed she crouched slightly and focused, she was about to leap backward. And when he had crossed half of the distance between them, Nikki did indeed leap back, however, she also reared back her left wing in the same motion and Valen¡¯s eyes widened, she meant to thrust her wing at him, but the motion was too fast, too smooth, he immediately pushed sideways with his next step, trying to dodge the spearing thrust, but he was too slow.

    The tip of Nikki¡¯s wing smashed at him with the force of a crashing Rathian, and Valen tumbled around and rolled for a while. He managed to spring back up on his legs and shook his head to clear the dizziness that started to come to him, and then the realization of what just happened crashed into him. Nikki struck him at full power. And he immediately felt around him, fearing the worst, a puncture wound or something¡­ But nothing. The only sign of him having been struck was the dirt that had accumulated on his armor and a slight dent on his breastplate.

    A slight motion startled him and he looked up to face Nikki who had approached, her posture a bit worried, slightly guilty but yet¡­ Happy? His hand twitched because of the monumental hit he had just taken¡­ But they couldn¡¯t deny the truth. He should have died. And yet¡­ Nikki did something that caused the armor to absorb the entire hit and keep him alive. Battered, bruised, but alive.

    Adrenaline still running high, he was wary to let the elder approach¡­ But¡­ he had to get answers. As risky as what Nikki did, he couldn¡¯t deny that what she did was life-saving¡­ And could change so many things for him. So he just signed. ¡°How?¡±

    To which she answered with a single word, that same word that troubled him: ¡°Element.¡±

    Later, Valen would realize that it was when things truly started to change for him when things started to become obvious. But that wasn¡¯t something he realized at the moment. At the moment he simply had the revelation that he had stumbled on what seemed to be a secret of the world. Something that Elders knew about¡­ Something that may just be the source of their powers.

    It was only when Valen left the clearing that he noticed they hadn¡¯t done any training besides him getting walloped by her wing. The rest of the time was spent asking questions to Nikki and receiving answers that confused him even more. Nikki said that what she did was imbue his armor with a bit of her element, which baffled him because he didn¡¯t think that was something she was able to do. She hadn¡¯t done it before because his previous gear couldn¡¯t hold it. She also apologized for being overeager and being more forceful than she intended to.

    Still, he realized that Element wasn¡¯t the correct word for what she intended to convey¡­ He tentatively reassigned it to ¡®energy¡¯, but he also suspected that there wasn¡¯t any word in his language that perfectly described what Nikki tried to explain. Valen wasn¡¯t sure if that was a property unique to Elders, though she implied they at least were able to manipulate it.

    It explained some things to Valen, as it was probably what truly separated Elders from regular monsters¡­

    Her explanations became even more confusing after this, though he noted the conversation in his notebook hoping to make sense of it later¡­

    Thus it was with a distracted mind that he came back to the Village, still trying to make sense of what he discovered today. He had barely noticed he had no idea what he did the whole evening before he realized he was in his bed, but sleep was hard to come, his mind whirling with ideas.

    <hr>

    Outside of this monumental world shift, upon which he skipped visiting Nikki for a few days, trying to make sense of the whole thing, and because his wariness of her came back strong for a time, he eventually gave up on it, and at their next meeting, they came back to training¡­ Only this time Nikki was more forceful¡­ but Valen was still shocked by what it meant.

    What Nikki was doing to his armor allowed him to survive at least one hit of Nikki at full power. It didn¡¯t seem much but it was a world of difference. No more they had to be extremely careful with their training sessions¡­ Now Nikki was able to use more of her true speed and strength, which also meant that while Valen was occasionally winning bouts before, he was now on a huge losing streak.

    It would have demoralized others, but not him, as he also knew there was a huge difference and huge progress compared to his previous armor¡­ He was able to take riskier maneuvers. The first few times he was punished by an instant defeat as they still worked on the rules that the first hit on him was a loss.

    Valen also came to deduct that while she improved her armor, she seemed to have made his weapon worse than it should have been, the strikes having the same effect on her as the basic steel gear. It also meant that he could put his full strength while striking her without risking wounding the dragon. He had to spend every evening sharpening and cleaning his weapon though.

    Nikki was relentless in their sessions, but Valen knew she was also fair, no other monster would hold their might back so as not to kill him. It was also the greatest benefit he gained from her: the ability to constantly train like real hunts without the constant risk of death.Stolen story; please report.

    It was only a few months later that Nikki granted the first victory to Valen, him having landed a few strikes on vital areas. And it was then that Valen truly knew he was improving. He went right back into a losing streak but the sole win renewed his determination.

    <hr>

    Not all this time was spent sparring however, there were also times when the two of them forewent the training and simply enjoyed each other¡¯s time, usually napping or chatting¡­

    It was also during one of these times that what Valen feared the most, happened: Somebody discovered them.

    Valen had currently his weapon disassembled and in the process of cleaning it and maintaining it. He had once spent a hunt with it being jammed before he met Nikki and knew how dangerous it was, so he made sure it was something that wouldn¡¯t happen once again.

    However, the tinkering noises he caused thus prevented the both of them from hearing the faint rustling of leaves around¡­ They could not detect the intruder until they heard a soft gasp coming out from the entrance of the clearing, which now had a woman paused mid-stride, a large basket in her arm.

    There was a very long and tense moment, where Valen was in the middle of a sharpening pass on the edge, Nikki had very clearly tensed up and was obviously about to pounce on the intruder if needed to, and the stranger was staring at them both of them, very clearly have realized that she was in a very tricky situation.

    The one to break the tension was surprisingly the woman, as she visibly forced herself to react and simply said. ¡°It seems I¡¯ve intruded on a private moment, I¡¯ll leave the both of you to it then.¡± And she started walking away.

    It took a split second for Valen to digest what she just said, but immediately seeing Nikki being thrown off by her reaction, he signed to her. ¡°I manage that.¡± And left his disassembled weapon on the ground while he ran to catch up to her.

    Strangely the woman wasn¡¯t running away and seemed unconcerned by what just happened. Once Valen caught up to her, she just looked at him and smiled. ¡°Do not worry, I do not intend to speak about what happened to anybody else.¡±

    This threw Valen out for a loop and he paused for a slight moment in confusion before asking. ¡°I¡­ I thought you would warn the guild of that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simple, it¡¯s not the most scandalous or outlandish thing I¡¯ve witnessed. Heck, it doesn¡¯t even enter the top five. Besides I take the confidentiality of my clients seriously, and I already knew not all Elders were bloodthirsty beasts, so it just is a logical possibility for me.¡±

    ¡°Clients? Who are you?¡±

    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Didn¡¯t the villagers tell you about an itinerant smith and merchant? That¡¯s me, I¡¯m Aki. I usually come here to restock in mushrooms and herbs, but I also did repairs for the occasional hunter who got punished there. I arrived yesterday, and I didn¡¯t expect to be greeted by such a surprise! A peaceful Elder, that is a first for me still!¡±

    ¡°Yeah we have gotten close recently though I was worried about her reaction, it IS the first time somebody discovered us¡­¡± He frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare betray the little trust I gave you, you won¡¯t like Nikki¡¯s reaction if you do.¡±

    She nodded seriously. ¡°I won¡¯t, as I said, I¡¯ve seen worse, and even then never revealed it. You have noooo idea what hunters born from well-off families can do!¡± She giggled. ¡°Eh. Please bring back your weapon with you, I¡¯d like to do a check so I can confirm you¡¯re taking care of it. Switch Axe right?¡±

    Valen nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, hunted a Plesioth for the full set.¡±

    ¡°Not bad, it would be strong enough to pierce the scales of an Elder if need to be.¡± She looked above. ¡°I¡¯ll go back to the village, be here the next few weeks, then I need to continue my rotation. Don¡¯t you dare get mauled by that Valstrax!¡±

    And with a last wave, so quickly Valen barely realized it, she vanished through the overgrowth. He looked around but there was no rustling betraying her presence, he shrugged and returned to Nikki, confirming to her that Aki wouldn¡¯t be an issue, at least he thought. He hastened to maintain his weapon, put back his armor, and returned towards the village as soon as he could though, cutting short the time he had with the Valstrax for once.

    However, he was relieved to see that when he came back, no horde of villagers nor the village chief were waiting for him, ready for blood. He dropped his supplies pack at his abode and then headed towards the forge, hearing the sound of the hammer against metal, which told him that Aki was at work.

    The forge being open to the air, she immediately noticed his approach, and she did a couple more swings before putting the blade she was forging back in the fire, pulling the bellows a couple of times. Without the long sleeves that she had in the forest, Valen could see that Aki had toned muscles on her arms, developed after years in the forge he supposed.

    Though it was only in there that he immediately noticed something off about her: two of her fingers on her right arm weren¡¯t made of flesh, but of metal, a sort of gauntlet covering the back of her hand with an embedded gem that seemed familiar to Valen, but he couldn¡¯t recall where from.

    Aki noticed his stare and she smiled. ¡°Lost these fingers to an accident a while ago, but I managed to craft this prosthesis to recover their function. Almost feels like the original even!¡±

    ¡°That is impressive indeed, it¡¯s all your work you said?¡±

    ¡°Yep! It took me a while to figure out how I would do it but I¡¯m satisfied with the result! Though I¡¯m not sure I could recreate what I¡¯ve done for others since it¡¯s so finely tuned to myself.¡±

    Valen nodded. ¡°I understand.¡± He then unsheathed his weapon from his back. ¡°I understood you wanted to check out my gear right?¡±

    He barely finished his question before she snatched his weapon out of his grasp with surprising strength and dexterity, there she simply turned the weapon in all angles, testing the morphing functionality and the phials. She then placed it on her work table and dismantled it partially, to check on the internals, then suddenly asked. ¡°Did you help forge it?¡±

    That question took aback Valen, and he took a split second to answer. ¡°No? Was I supposed to?¡±

    The facepalm that followed than answer along with the accompanying groan told the answer to Valen. ¡°Ugh, those guild rules I swear¡­ Yeah, past a point in the food chain, you should assist the Smith on some critical parts of the forging or upgrading process, it¡¯s to tune the weapon and armor with yourself more. I had my suspicions because despite your armor being good quality, something felt off, I guess I have my answer.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ I remember asking that question to the smith since I remember something like that in my training and he simply said it was only for lower-skilled smiths.¡±

    ¡°HE SAID WHAT?¡± The unexpected outburst from Aki startled Valen. ¡°THIS ARROGANT, PUMPED UP FOOL! I SWEAR ON GOG, I¡¯LL HAVE HIS HIDE! ¡®LOWER SKILLED SMITHS¡¯, THAT¡¯S JUST HIMSELF!¡±

    Then she visibly calmed down and sighed. ¡°Sorry for the outburst. But as an itinerant smith, I pride myself on making sure my clients have the best quality of gear they can get, and doing something like he did is simply negligent, what if one of my clients died in a hunt because they didn¡¯t get that small edge they needed? I make sure that I do everything I am able, and that means making sure the armor and weapons simply are the best they can be with their clients.¡±

    Valen took a moment to digest what she just said, then a detail puzzled him. ¡°But how does that work then? Why is it so important armors can bond with their owners?¡±

    Aki frowned then shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Valen but I can¡¯t tell, it¡¯s a guild secret, I would tell you if I could but I was honor bound to not divulge it unless the hunter is G-Rank.¡±

    This made Valen immediately suspicious, as G-Rank is the highest attainable rank a hunter may achieve. It¡¯s most notably automatically discerned if a hunter can slay a rampaging Elder Dragon solo, a feat that has been rarely achieved.

    ¡°¡­ I guess it has some link with the energy Nikki can manipulate.¡±

    Aki, who was in the process of reassembling Valen¡¯s weapon, snapped her head back up. ¡°Nikki? Oh, I see. And she can manipulate it? That explains so much about Elders¡­¡± Then she grinned. ¡°It¡¯s a shame I can¡¯t report that to the guild due to it coming from an unverified source.¡±

    Valen sighed in relief, he realized after he shouldn¡¯t have talked about it. ¡°I guess I should be more careful about what I say in the future.¡±

    The smith finished reassembling the weapon and handed it back to Valen, then she walked several circles around him then nodded. ¡°Alright craftsmanship for this armor, though it¡¯s shoddy to me just for what he did, not making you participate. I¡¯ve nothing to say about the state of it though, you¡¯re maintaining it well already.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for that¡­ How long will you stay here, since you are an itinerary smith.¡±

    ¡°Normally? Not more than one week. But you¡¯re too interesting to me, so I¡¯ll stay the full month.¡± She grinned. ¡°You¡¯re not going to get rid of me that easily!¡±

    Valen shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll head myself out then. See you tomorrow!¡±

    ¡°Bye Valen, don¡¯t trip on a tail while you¡¯re gone!¡±

    Surprised by the wording of this sentence, he looked back to see if she would explain, but she simply grinned and went to remove the kitchen knife she was working on from the fire.

    Shaking his head, he came to realize that Aki had an¡­ Unusual but cheerful personality and she was bound to have her quirks. But still, he went to spend the evening in his accommodations, and hopefully, nothing would happen during his stay here.

 Chapter 14: Troubles

    The next time he met Nikki, Valen explained to her that she wasn¡¯t an enemy, and he tentatively called her an ally, but he thought that it was a complicated situation to explain to her. She still got the gist of it though and soon Aki came to meet them on a couple of occasions. The first time Nikki stared her down until Aki chuckled and she joked that a staring contest was a better alternative to a fight to the death or to escape, which were what usually happened when you met an Elder.

    Once she witnessed the sign language the two of them developed to communicate she seemed intrigued and wanted to learn it. However, because she did not have a lot of free time, she could only learn the most important words.

    Still, her greatest surprise was when she witnessed the first sparring match the two of them got into, and she was visibly impressed by the skills and agility Valen displayed against Nikki, knowing how to position himself, and simply dodging the majority of Nikki¡¯s attacks.

    She did gasp when he took a big hit from a claw swipe he misjudged but was amazed when he simply got back up without any issues. And she seemed to be genuinely amazed by the fact that it is a regular occurrence for him. She was curious about how this happened and when he revealed it was thanks to Nikki, Aki got a pensive look on her face, then simply said that it was new stuff for her.

    Apart from this revelation, nothing more happened with Aki before she had to leave to continue her tour. She did say that she would come back more often than she did here. Because Valen was ¡°Interesting enough to be worth it.¡± It was then with good spirits that Aki picked up her backpack and went back on the road. It was also there that he discovered that she was trained to use a weapon and had an Insect Glaive that she carried while on the road, along with the obligatory Kinsect. He had never seen it before because in Aki¡¯s words. It was a ¡°lazy ass¡± and slept all day in her room. But she wouldn¡¯t raise another one as it rose to the occasion when needed.

    <hr>

    The next year, nothing much happened¡­ until one day Nikki broke one of her front claws while the two of them were training by accidentally striking a rock. Valen got worried for a bit before Nikki reassured him it would regrow. She did encourage him to take it and use it for whatever he wanted to.

    Which happened once Aki came back and was overjoyed when he showed her the broken claw. She immediately lit her forge and told him they would have to pull an all-nighter, and she didn¡¯t care if he had things to do the following day, though luck.

    Thus they spent all night in the forge, the smith retrieving chunks of rare ore that she kept on herself for occasions like that, which surprised Valen that she would use something as rare and tough as Carbalite ore.

    Valen was tasked to help sharpen the claw so that it had a uniform edge, while Aki did the task of melting down the ore and shaping the handle of what she told him was a new carving knife. ¡°You¡¯ll need it if you manage to take on Elders.¡±

    Once she had the handle done, she inspected Valen¡¯s work, said it was perfect for what she needed to do, and proceeded to finish trimming it down, using a huge grate for the work, then polished it, before fitting it all with the handle she forged, until she added a few bits for practicality or aesthetics like a red leather handle or a trinket.

    Dawn was starting to come over the horizon when she proudly declared their work as finished, and presented it to Valen, which truly surprised him, the craftsmanship of the knife was leagues above his armor. It truly showed the skill Aki possessed that she was able to craft something as complicated in a single night. He thanked her and, noticing they still had a bit of night left before the morning started, both went to grab some sleep.

    When Valen showed the knife to Nikki the following day, she seemed happy with the result, though for Valen it also felt like he was carrying a piece of her with him wherever he went. She didn¡¯t ask him to train with it though, continuing to use the Axe as usual. Valen redoubled intensity this day, making Nikki work to tag him.

    <hr>

    Half a dozen years passed in the blink of an eye for Valen, having received no further orders from the guild to change assignments or emergencies. He spotted only a few large monsters that ventured deep into the forest before giving up on cutting a way through. The only worry he got was when a persistent Nargacuga came alarmingly close to the village, he was sure it was a young one, by the colors of its scales that didn¡¯t quite look black, and its bladed wings looked too sharp. But after a short fight with Valen, it decided it wasn¡¯t worth it and turned tail. Valen did not pursue, his standing orders simply to repel possible threats if possible.

    Valen and Nikki continued their secret meetings, joined by Aki when she was in the village. Valen also was winning a sizable amount of their spars now, even though Nikki was pushing herself to be quite fast. But he knew all her tells now, and his smaller size meant that it for harder for her to predict him. She didn¡¯t seem upset, but he was still blindsided occasionally when she pulled out attacks that she never demonstrated before.

    But every time, he adapted. He learned and fighting her was now second nature. Though he was kind of worried about when he would have to fight another monster, he was worried that he was too used to fighting Nikki and would struggle to adapt. The small fight he had with the Nargacuga helped alleviate those doubts though.

    However, all of this was in the past, and in the present, Valen was worried. Nikki hadn¡¯t shown herself for a couple of weeks now, and her absence was starting to greatly worry him. He feared the worst but internally knew that if she was to face hunters, she would simply fly away, knowing that some of their members were dangerous enough, even for her.

    Today was supposed to be one of the days they were meeting, but even though Valen was waiting for an hour, she was still not showing up. He would wait until their usual time they separated though, as he did since she started not showing up.

    Another half an hour and Valen started to think it would be yet another day of no show, and was starting to pack up his belongings¡­ When a faint noise made him perk up. After a bit it grew louder and he knew that it was her coming here, at last.

    However, when he looked up, something felt off. Instead of Nikki skimming the treetops to avoid detection, she was coming down directly from the skies. Valen was instantly on edge, Nikki taking such a big risk meant something was wrong.

    When she finally landed and cut off her flying, he could see she was¡­ Off. Her scales were not shiny as they usually were, she was heavily breathing while normally she was fine after flying and some of her scales on her back were flat out and heavily scratched.

    It took her a bit for her breathing to calm down, but once she recovered a bit, she looked at Valen, and after staring at him for a bit. She started signing.

    She pointed at him, the simple sign that meant. ¡°You.¡±

    But the second sign¡­ She approached her claw from her throat, then mimicked slashing it. This sent chills down his spine. Nikki had demonstrated the meaning of this sign years ago, brutally. But they never used it until now. Because it meant ¡°Kill¡±. They usually used ¡°slay¡± when talking about hunts. Her using it meant something must be dire.

    Valen was still stunned by her use of the kill sign that he almost missed the last one, which was ¡°him¡±.

    ¡°You kill him¡±. She wanted him to hunt a monster, maybe even another elder. But¡­ He was scared to ask why. But he did still.

    ¡°You need. Prove yourself. Become stronger.¡±

    This was cryptic from her, but he guessed that she thought he was ready to face that monster¡­ Or an emergency happened or something else prevented her from taking care of it. But she also trusted him to emerge victorious.

    So Valen simply nodded and signed. ¡°I will.¡±

    However, Nikki surprised him by immediately leaning and touching his breastplate with the tip of her nose, in what he recognized as her way of powering up his armor. Then she looked at his weapon, and without prompting, Valen unsheathed it and held it out for her. She delicately took it in her beak then did the same thing¡­ Literally the same as he was surprised once he took it back. He could feel that instead of making it weaker, Nikki made his weapon stronger. He looked back up in surprise, waiting for an explanation.

    Then Nikki made him jump backward by immediately turning around and taking off, which reinforced the idea that something was wrong. He expected her to explain her state and actions but the fact she just came to him to ask for this task and then immediately left again, meant that she was busy doing something important.

    Knowing for sure that she would not come back, he simply finished packing up his belongings and returned to the town.

    The chief noted his worried state when doing his report, however, what he just said did not alleviate his worries.

    ¡°You as well? We have several members in the village, mostly the Wyverians that are on edge. Like they are expecting something. Knowing how in tune with nature they are, and with you being a hunter, this something big is coming¡­ I would expect a guild report any day now.¡±

    Valen frowned, the fact that others were on edge meant something was wrong, and maybe Nikki was dealing with it. He shook his head, he was tired due to being stressed out by Nikki¡¯s absence, but he also knew that sleep would be hard to come tonight, as it had been for several days.

    ¡°I¡¯ll start packing up my belongings, in case the guild recalls me.¡±

    ¡°Do so, I would have asked you that as well.¡±

    After being dismissed, Valen returned to his accommodations and started packing up everything that he possessed and that he had brought. He checked and double-checked his bag, armor, and weapons so that they were ready to be used in an emergency.

    A few hours later he was satisfied and knew he was ready to leave in a hurry. So he just went to bed, sleeping hard to come with thoughts and worries whirling around in his head.

    <hr>

    The following morning, the chief requested his presence, so Valen obliged, going to his house. There he was invited to take a seat. So Valen made himself comfortable. But a long pause passed between the two before the chief sighed and said:Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°I have received a message during the night, sent by a Hawk. It says that you are immediately recalled.¡±

    Valen nodded, it was what he expected as well. ¡°Where do I need to go.¡±

    ¡°To the treetops.¡± Valen recoiled in surprise. ¡°A Guild airship is coming, one of the big ones. They¡¯re collecting hunters and it will be the base of operations for the coming mission. And that is all of the details I have. I only know that the airship will be there by midday so you should be already up there by then.¡± Valen glanced outside, the sun was barely visible through the tree covers, but he still had a couple of hours before its zenith so he nodded.

    ¡°I will be there. My pack is ready, so I just need to leave.¡±

    The chief scratched his chin and closed his eyes in thought before standing up and firming his stance. ¡°Hunter Valen.¡± Valen automatically stood up in attention as well. ¡°This might be the goodbye for us, but as far as my authority reaches, you have paid the debt you have towards the guild. I will write a letter saying that I have no opposition against you being cleared for hunting again. And I hope the coming crisis will not be your undoing, as it might be a big one.¡±

    ¡°I hope as well. Thank you for your hospitality.¡±

    ¡°Now go, and may the Sapphire Star guide you.¡±

    ¡°May it guide you as well.¡±

    Valen then went to grab his bag and decided he would just wait at the top of the canopy. He only took the time to send a letter to Aki informing her of the change of posting, and that he would update her once he knew where he would go.

    It was then a fully geared-up Valen that was waiting at the top of a tree, on a concealed platform that the village¡¯s sentries used to look out for sky threats. It was also occasionally used as a fortune docking point for airships, but that was rarely used. Valen was glad that his helmet blocked out the sun from blinding his eyes. And it was indeed soon that he was able to spot in the horizon a large airship coming towards the village, descending from high altitudes.

    This airship was massive indeed, the guild using them as mobile bases of operations, and armed out with ballistae and even a Dragonator, a massive steam-powered Drill that was enough to ward off even elders. It didn¡¯t mean this airship was the biggest threat to the skies, far from that, the guild occasionally lost them to elder dragons or even some apex wyverns. However two threats stood out the most, the first being Valstrax, due to their ridiculous speed that nothing could match. One was taking out airship regularly and the elite team stationed on the famous Soaratorium was the one to take it down, managing to exhaust it during the few landings it made, and finishing it at the top of the Ruined Pinnacle, a massive lone peak that was brimming with dragon energy.

    The second threat was Amatsu, their great control of storms able to simply tear an airship apart with tornadoes. Thankfully most of them were passive and only defended their territories. One had been hunted in the recent decades though, being slain at the top of the Misty Peak, due to it maintaining a storm that was destabilizing the ecosystem.

    Over the next hour, the airship descended progressively towards the forest, and when he was certain they could spot him with binoculars, he pulled out his flare gun and fired the red flare loaded in it to signal his position.

    Another red flare was sent in response and the airship corrected its course to head directly towards him.

    It deployed a rope when approaching him, that was skimming the treetops, and the airship slowed down until it stopped right above him. Valen grabbed the rope dangling above him and firmed his grip around the knots. Soon enough they started pulling him up through the pulley used to lower the rope.

    Once he was level with the deck, somebody offered him a hand and Valen clasped it and jumped the small gap separating him from it. He landed smoothly and somebody said. ¡°Good. You are the last one we need to collect. The big shots that called the operations are waiting for you to start the meeting below.¡±

    Valen nodded and followed the guild officer towards the lower deck, until he opened a door that led to a big room where a dozen hunters were waiting, though he noted that most of them had armor from rather weak monsters, the biggest he got was a guy wearing a Rathian armor. He then removed his helmet, seeing as everybody in the room did, which got him some stares and double-takes as they saw the burned half of his face.

    Then he looked at the scene, which had a full team of hunters wearing high-quality armor, he recognized one wearing Lagiacrus armor, and another with a Rathalos full set, but couldn¡¯t recognize what the last two were wearing.

    This team of hunters was standing to the side, while a guild commander was in the middle of the scene. He nodded at Valen¡¯s arrival, who had found a spot to watch and listen to. ¡°Good, we now have everybody there. You may be wondering why so many hunters have been gathered, and the answer is simple: we have a rampaging elder on the loose.¡±

    Valen frowned, rampaging elders were rare, as they mostly stayed by themselves, and the guild mostly lived by the rule that if they weren¡¯t causing problems they left them alone. But he also knew that the team standing near the commander would be enough to deal with it.

    Somebody else had the same thought. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t this team be enough to deal with it then? Why so many of us are needed?¡±

    ¡°That is because of the nature of the Elder. It is a Valstrax.¡±

    This sent chills down Valen¡¯s spine. He immediately thought about it being Nikki who was the one rampaging. His mind jumped to the worst conclusions immediately, of the thought of Nikki having used him in the end and only waiting so long to enact her plan, before realizing that something did not make sense. If that was her end goal, why did she train him? Or at least dispose of him before starting rampaging. She could probably do it, though he believed he still had a chance of winning, if she didn¡¯t nullify his weapon and he targeted the weak spots, along with a bit of luck. He shook his head, something else was at play.

    ¡°This Valstrax has razed one village, with only a few survivors. It didn¡¯t have to spend a lot of effort even, most of the town died in the initial strike. So that¡¯s why the guild has called for all of you. You aren¡¯t the ones supposed to finish it, but at least to ground it or keep it on the ground long enough for our team next to me.¡± He nodded to the full team. ¡°To come and finish the job.¡±

    ¡°Are you serious? Forget regular elders, none of us are equipped enough to deal with, let alone survive a Valstrax!¡±

    Valen would have thought the same¡­ Before all of his training with Nikki. And he knew that she learned just as much as he did. If he put his chances against another? He wouldn¡¯t say he was guaranteed the victor, but he knew he had his chances if he pulled out all the stops.

    ¡°The guild will give a huge monetary reward for the hunter that will be able to restrain the Valstrax long enough for the team to take it down, as well as full rights of the body among all members that manage to get in a fight against it.¡±

    Valen¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. Usually, it was the one that dealt the killing blow, or the team decided a member needed it more. But it also meant nobody would have enough for a full set, one of the light weapons probably. Unless the elite team was the one that took it down and one member of theirs took it all¡­

    ¡°Jumping Jaggis, that¡¯s unprecedented!¡± One hunter exclaimed.

    ¡°That is not all¡­ Along with the body rights¡­ There would be also an automatic promotion to G-Rank. Know that this is a crisis, and a big one, we need this Valstrax dealt with as soon as possible, and you¡¯re all we could gather. We consider you managing to distract it long enough being above and beyond your current skill level, and thus it should be an appropriate reward.¡±

    Valen¡¯s eyes narrowed a bit at this, the body rights were already exceptional, but the automatic promotion? That sounded like the guild was desperate for something. He decided to watch his back for the next few days.

    ¡°That sounds great and all, and don¡¯t get me wrong, I do not mind, but how do you think we stand even a chance to catch the Valstrax landing?¡±

    ¡°Because it is having an opponent.¡± He pulled out a picture showing two red trails in the sky that looked like they would go on a collision course. ¡°Another Valstrax, this one¡¯s origin unknown but it is confirmed it hasn¡¯t attacked any settlements, has been fighting with our target in the skies. The fights happen frequently, and often one of them has to land to safety to recover. We hope our target has to land near one of you so that you can do your duty. The airship will be ready to take off once a flare is sent, but we expect you need to keep it ground-bound bound at least half an hour for the team to arrive.¡±

    Valen heart¡¯s soared at this. Did that mean the other Valstrax was¡­ Nikki? It seemed logical, it would explain her absence if she was the one trying to down the rogue Valstrax and had been for several days.

    Another thought jumped to his mind¡­ If she¡¯s keeping it in the relatively same area, that also probably meant she knew the guild intended to try finishing it. Did she intend for him to finish the job? It¡­ Would make sense, as she probably knew that he alone, stood the most chance to emerge the victor among all of them.

    He was now certain the rogue Valstrax was who she asked him to kill. He wasn¡¯t sure why but¡­ It probably meant she knew something wrong with it, and that they had no other choice lest a disaster occur. He firmed his stance, he would do his best to fulfill Nikki¡¯s request.

    ¡°We are currently climbing as fast as we can so we can be high enough to start the operation. We¡¯ll drop you from high up, and all of you have received the required training with hand gliders right?¡± Valen nodded, it was a required skill in case of aerial insertion like this. ¡°Then we¡¯ll drop you from above and you¡¯ll reach your designated area and be ready to fight if you¡¯re the lucky one.¡±

    ¡°How will we know that we will fight the right one? Because it looks like if we kill our benefactor we have no way to catch our target?¡±

    ¡°Our target has been reported to display unusual properties such as dragon element permanently leaking from its wings and chest, contrary to a regular Valstrax, so confirm that property before engaging.¡±

    This specific detail told Valen more than anything that this Valstrax had something wrong, as he had never seen Nikki leaking dragon energy in that manner.

    ¡°Any more questions?¡± None ensued. ¡°Then drop your packs in the rooms and join us back up. It is going to be a rough day. Dismissed.¡±

    Valen nodded and he was led out of the room by the same officer that brought him in, followed by some of the hunters, but also, to his surprise, the elite team.

    He dropped his bag on one of the beds in the corner, making sure his carving knife was stashed in it, but then he was interrupted by a grunt.

    ¡°So you are the only one High Rank among this rabble? Hmmm, Plesioth, at least you ain¡¯t a wimp that hunted something like a Barroth. Plesioth is a menace.¡±

    Valen looked behind him, and it was the Lagiacrus-clad hunter that just said that. Valen narrowed his eyes and retorted. ¡°Yeah, was a tricky hunt, almost didn¡¯t make it out, but that¡¯s what doing such a hunt with Iron gear gets you.¡±

    ¡°Eh, I¡¯ll believe it once Poogies flies! Still, we have something important to discuss with you.¡±

    It was there that Valen noticed that one of the hunters had closed the door and was standing in front of him. He narrowed his eyes and said. ¡°So, what do you want? You are not doing this idle chatting just for the sake of it.¡±

    Another voice sprang up, one of those that was wearing armor that Valen wasn¡¯t sure what it was. It was mostly covered in blue plates, with some green here and there, but he was sure that it was a Gunlance strapped to his back. ¡°In the event, you are the one to fight the Valstrax. We need¡­ No, we require that you give up your share of the body.¡±

    Alarm bells rang in Valen¡¯s mind. ¡°And why would you do that, what reason is there for it?¡±

    ¡°Because I have been waiting for so long for an armor made from an elder! And can you imagine what a Gunlance made of a Valstrax would be? Nothing could top it!¡± The hunter said with a slightly manic voice.

    ¡°So simply due to you feeling like you deserve it.¡±

    ¡°That is because I do!¡± He retorted, his tone now more menacing. ¡°So, do we have a deal?¡±

    Valen knew it was a bad idea to argue with them or to deny their request, they probably couldn¡¯t harm him here but they could sabotage his gear. So he decided to go with the flow. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I need to once the time comes.¡± He said while nodding.

    ¡°Good! I guess we have an agreement! And once we got that threat taken down, maybe we¡¯ll hunt that second one too! Two of us wearing Valstrax armor¡­ Now that¡¯s a dream!¡±

    This almost made Valen lose his control and explode at the hunter. But he simply took a deep breath and thought about the situation. Something about the way the mission worked struck him. If he was able to slay that Valstrax solo¡­ That also meant he would have the sole rights to the body. He looked at the hunters who were now laughing and making crass jokes, and resolved he would do his best to do so.

    Because he knew that they would just make a mockery of it all.

 Chapter 15: Resolve

    Once Valen had secured his pack, and discreetly retrieved his carving knife, he headed up for the upper deck, where all of the Low Rank hunters were already ready.

    A pile of hand gliders sat in the middle, and the commander nodded at Valen once he saw him. So he joined the group of hunters and waited for the instruction.

    It was getting a bit hard to breathe, due to the airship being so far up the air was thinner. But Valen didn¡¯t complain, he would just have to bear with it.

    A large map was then spread out on the ground, with weights on the corners pinning it down. It was a scaled up map of the surroundings they were in, and several X dotted it around, with numbers accompanying them. There was also a pile of flare guns next to it, with cartridges of ammunition among it, and they handed them up while the Commander started talking.

    ¡°Here is how you will all be spread out. Those that have a better score with the gliders are further away. You all will reach your designated position, we are distributing your assigned number on the map right now, so once you receive it, locate your position and prepare yourself to jump, we are on a tight schedule, and the airship needs to land back down before our target starts flying around.¡±

    Valen was handed a flare gun, which had red and green flares, along with his number, which he noted was one of the higher ones, and he frowned, as the position seemed to be the farthest out of the map. He glanced at the commander who walked next to him and said. ¡°You, Hunter Valen, are a special case, you are the only High Rank hunter we got for this mission besides our elite team. And your score in the test is also the highest, so we assigned you the furthest spot we could assign. That also means that you would have to fight longer before the reinforcements arrive. Do you think you are up to the task?¡±

    Valen didn¡¯t even need to think about it. ¡°I am.¡± He then grinned behind his helmet. ¡°Though the team should not tarry if I¡¯m the unlucky chosen, who knows, maybe I¡¯ll take it down by myself.¡±

    The commander frowned. ¡°Careful with arrogance, only a few hunters were known to take down an Elder solo, and only two who did so while High Rank.¡±

    ¡°Do not worry, that was just in jest, I¡¯ll do my best to fulfill my task.¡±

    ¡°Good, you¡¯re the first one to leave. Good luck and may the Sapphire Star guide you.¡±

    Nodding in response, Valen, checked his destination and their headings on a compass then picked up one of the hand gliders and braced himself around it. They were quite large, being designed to carry armored hunters. The assemblage was made out of metal, and thick wyvern leather was what made out the cloth. Inspecting it for holes, he found none, and after taking a deep breath, he jumped off the airship, from the side that would lead him towards his destination.

    Hand glider training was difficult, and had the highest occurrence of injuries out of all the segments hunters go through. But Valen had aced it, finding himself to be in his natural element. He first picked up speed and once he was sure that was enough, leveled himself out and headed towards the direction he knew he was supposed to go.

    It took him several dozen minutes for him to reach the spot he was designated to, identifying the couple hills he noted on the map as landmarks, one of them being his target destination. So he angled for a landing approach, it being the most tricky part of the flying, but he knew that the most important was killing all of his speed at the last moment. He flew close to the ground and aimed for the uphill, then once he deemed he was close enough, he flared up as much as he could and touched down, running a bit to not faceplant.

    Taking several deep breaths of air that wasn¡¯t rushing his face, he examined his surroundings and carried the glider on his back, making sure it couldn¡¯t catch the wind and climbed to the top of the flat hill. He had to keep his hand glider nearby in case the Valstrax landed in an area down below so he could reach it as soon as he could.

    Now that he had reached his destination, he took the time to pondering on the small exchange he had with the elite team not long ago, he knew he shouldn¡¯t base his opinion of people on a first impression, but they felt so¡­ Wrong and self-centered he didn¡¯t know how they were hunters.

    He had already decided that he would attempt to complete the hunt by his lonesome. He just hoped that his experience with Nikki was strong enough.

    Scanning the skies, he noted that it was barely the start of the afternoon, but his experience in Nikki¡¯s cave told him that it was also the perfect time for a Valstrax to start hunting or flying around. For some reason Nikki flew less often on the morning than at the early afternoon. He sighed and made himself comfortable on the grass, he knew that the time would soon come, but would Nikki know where he is? And how would she make sure that the rampaging Valstrax landed near him? She would find a way, he was sure, he trusted her.

    However, not long after he landed, he spotted a red dot flying in the clear skies, he narrowed his eye, he didn¡¯t know which one it was, but in a hunch, he stood up and waved at it, if it was their target, drawing it towards him would do the job regardless, and if it was Nikki? It would confirm his location to her.

    For a few second he pursued the motion, until he noticed the dot turning around soon after. Valen let a smile appear on his face, it looked like his gut feeling was right, and it was indeed Nikki. Now, all he had to do was to trust her and be ready for action. So he started scanning the skies periodically, daring not to sit down, and walked around, so that his muscles didn¡¯t cool down.

    <hr>

    Valen didn¡¯t know for how long he had been waiting but judging by the progress of the sun, it couldn¡¯t be more than a couple hours, and he was tempted to sit down but he resisted the temptation. He looked around in the skies then immediately, movement caught his attention. And he focused more, then when he realized that it was not one but two red dots he was seeing, he tensed.

    One red dot was ahead of the other, and he noted that the direction they came from was the one he saw Nikki leave for once she noticed him. They were still both far away, but he knew how fast Valstrax were, so he did not let his guard down and prepared himself to jump into action at any moment.

    And indeed, they were closing fast, and not even a couple minutes later, they were both almost directly above him. Then, suddenly, the front dot changed directions, seemingly to the surprise of the other, which took a split second later to follow suit.

    They started circling, like a pair of Great Jaggis judging each other for the dominance of a pack. But Valen kept his eyes trained on the both of them, keeping track of which he thought was Nikki and the other.

    Suddenly Nikki jerked and headed directly towards the other, and Valen winced because the collision between the two could be seen, they merged for a bit until they separated again, but he could see that one of them was flying more erratically, and more strained. He hoped it was the one that had been collided upon.

    The other dot seemed to realized that aswell, and immediately headed towards the other again, however¡­ This time they didn¡¯t separate. And they were heading directly towards Valen.

    Realizing the danger, he ran directly perpendicular to the direction they were headed towards, keeping his eyes on the both of them. It only took a dozen seconds, but when both of them were about to impact the ground, he saw one of them separate from the other and was starting to pull up, and the other didn¡¯t pull up.

    Valen immediately dove for the ground, then a shockwave passed through him right after, and his ears rang, but he could feel that he was completely fine, which meant his armor protected him. He did not delay though and immediately got back up on his feet, one hand on the handle of his weapon.

    The scene that greeted him was of great devastation. A deep trench now marred the grass that covered the hilltop, which continued for several dozen meters, but he couldn¡¯t see clearly what was at the end of it, a cloud of dust having been kicked up by the crash landing. He drew his weapon, engaging the first level of the lever to disengage the safety mode.

    However the dust fell quickly, being mostly composed of dirt and grass and it soon revealed a dragon of silver scales, trident shaped wings, that were however even now leaking dragon energy, but also a lot of scars present on his back, which also had a bleeding wound that almost seemed to have been dented. It was shaking its head, its eyes closed but when they opened, Valen saw that they were completely bloodshot, with no trace of the usual blue iris that he saw present on Nikki. And his chest, now visible was leaking a huge quantity of dragon element. For such a violent crash, it seemed to have barely any wounds, but he noticed that a bleeding gash was present right below the chest vent, which probably meant a sharp rock pierced through there.

    Focusing on the claw, he counted the ones on his right legs, and seeing that all three of them were intact other than being scratched, he sighed in relief, he now was sure that it wasn¡¯t Nikki, her broken claw was still regrowing.

    He immediately started running towards the Elder, holding his weapon to the side, he knew he had to take the opportunity that was presented to him before it could recover its spirits. And he knew his priority: prevent it from being able to fly away, as he wasn¡¯t sure Nikki could repeat her feat. So he winded up and slashed the axe head towards the weakpoint that he knew it possessed: his chest vents.

    The weapon dug deeply, and before he could push further in, the Valstrax recoiled back and shrieked in pain, a shriek so intense Valen had to try to block the sound with his hands, even though he had taken care of plugging his ears with earbuds before leaving. Shaking his head, he rolled towards the right then looked at his opponent.

    It was now looking murderous and stared at him with sheer rage, knowing that it had been dealt a wound that stopped it from flying away. And Valen also immediately noticed his left wing was already reared back, so he reacted automatically, rolling to the left, avoiding the thrust that was aimed his way. It was fast, but he had dodged faster ones from Nikki.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    On a gut feeling, he immediately rolled to the right instantly after, avoiding the second thrust that had been aimed his way, which seemed to catch the elder by surprise. Valen did not let the opportunity go to waste, doing a rising slash with his axe on the leathery tissue connecting the tube-like wings, and was rewarded with a spray of blood and a tear starting to form.

    Valen knew that it now couldn¡¯t use that wing for thrusts again, lest it completely rip it apart. It didn¡¯t stop it from using it to shoot projectiles at him though.

    Once the Valstrax recovered from the pain, that is exactly what it seemed to realize, shifting orientation on his wing so that the open ends were aimed towards him. It took a moment to gather energy, blood bubbling on his chest while it inhaled air through it, then shot at him.

    The hunter was already running when the projectiles headed toward him. But they were simply carpet bombing him, the Valstrax too incoherent to aim properly at him. So he ducked one, and sidestepped another, and the rest simply missed widely. However before Valen could swing his weapon, the Valstrax seemed to realize the danger it was in and hopped sideways, raising his left wing, intending to squash the hunter with it, like a giant fly swatter.

    Nikki however had used this tactic before, and he already knew the way to deal with it, and so he jumped left, as the Valstrax instinctively did not let the wing go past their face, so it mostly would slam its left side, but left the right side clear. Nikki corrected this error after a while, but she rarely did this attack, as the goal of their training was still to let Valen improve, not beat him senseless.

    The Valstrax seemed to have realized its mistake immediately and attempted to swat him with a paw while it raised its wing. But Valen would not let it. He jumped on the wing and slashed on it again, on the membrane connecting the first digit to the second, and a large tear appeared on it once again, then he jumped off it, and using the moment the monster was recoiling from the pain to smoothly morph into Sword mode and scoring on its right leg. However he immediately saw its power through this pain and was about to try biting him, so he sidestepped the motion and got clear of his whole body.

    The Valstrax finally seemed to have realized it was a bad idea to let Valen get in close quarters, so it backstepped several times and slowly walked sideways. Valen followed, walking in the same direction, the two of them circling each other. The hunter knew he had partially disabled the most dangerous weapon the Valstrax had, and negated its mobility advantage, but he knew the battle was far from over, though time was in his favor, the elder bleeding profusely from several deep wounds and it would only be a matter of time before it would be weakened enough by it.

    This seemed to also be the conclusion the Valstrax reached. As it stopped circling, and examined his wounds. Then he stared at Valen, who stared back, holding his stance with his weapon on the side. A long moment passed through them, however for a split second he thought he saw clarity come back into the Valstrax¡¯s eyes, its eyes gaining a tinge of blue, however, Valen blinked and they returned to bloodshot red immediately after. It then screeched, the distance allowing Valen to power through it this time, but he heard a distinct rumbling through it, and immediately noticed his wings powering up, but since they faced behind him¡­ He knew it meant to charge him, but he wasn¡¯t sure if he could dodge it in time.

    Then he realized he also could use the opportunity. So he braced himself, and squeezed fully both the lever and the trigger, his weapon morphing into Sword mode¡­ And energy starting to gather up in it.

    The Valstrax charged for an instant longer, then immediately released the energy it has converted and blasted towards Valen. It was arriving at him at high speed, but not as fast as it dived from the air.

    However right when it was about to reach him, Valen faced his weapon downwards toward the Valstrax, and released the trigger, releasing a modest-sized explosion¡­ That he did not brace against, so he was blasted backward a bit into the air¡­ And its wing-arm where it was connected to its back, caught him on his chest. Since he had reduced the speed difference, it didn¡¯t impact him with the full force of the charge, but it still knocked the wind out of him.

    The Valstrax did not expect this and had flown through the shockwave front face-first, disorienting him and almost losing control of its dash, but it also immediately realized its opponent was on its back. And immediately dug its claws in the ground to stop its charge.

    However, Valen would not let it attempt to buckle him off. He reacted immediately by grabbing firmly on the wing with his right elbow which was also holding his weapon, and, pulling out his carving knife with his left hand, stabbed through its back to have a grip. He was surprised at how easily the knife plunged through the scales but did not let this fact distract him. Releasing his grip on the wing-arm, he raised his weapon and baring his teeth, he screamed a shout of rage and plunged the sword downwards. Towards the back of its head, where its nostrils were.

    The Switch Axe dug deeply, and the Valstrax immediately reared up and screeched, flailing wildly, dislodging Valen from its back, and his breathing still labored, releasing his grip from his knife and weapon. He rolled when he reached the ground and prepared himself to dodge the follow-up attack that he thought would come¡­ But was surprised when he laid his eyes on his opponent.

    The Valstrax was still flailing around wildly, and Valen could see that the sword had pushed deeper than he though¡­ He realized he must have hit the brain. He was witnessing the death throes of an Elder.

    The flailing continued for a couple more seconds before it stopped, collapsing on the ground, its eyes were trained on Valen, but instead of being bloodshot like before, its eyes were back to being blue. And it seemed to study him for a moment¡­ before Valen thought he saw a spark of respect and gratitude in its eyes, and it collapsed, going limp.

    It later that Valen realized that when it had collapsed, its wings and chest had stopped leaking energy. But on the moment he was still tense, ready for it to be a trick and coming back to life to strike him.

    One minute passed. Two, and it was only half a dozen minutes later that Valen realized that yes, the Valstrax was dead, and he was the one that dealt the killing blow. It only just now sunk in for Valen, and he immediately fell to his knees, his legs growing weak. He panted long and hard taking deep breaths to calm his raging heart. It was the shortest hunt he had ever made¡­ But also the most intense, having to keep his full focus throughout, since he knew no mistakes were allowed.

    But it paid off¡­ He did it. He managed to slay the Valstrax solo. He pulled himself back up on his feet and walked towards the body, crouching near it. Placing a hand on its snout, he closed his eyes and did a silent prayer towards his opponent, which he knew was not fully itself. It was off but had sparks of clarity, sparks that knew it was doing something that shouldn¡¯t be done. But that part of it had retreated deep inside itself and only came back to light at the end.

    Once he had done that, he pulled back up on his feet and pulled out his weapon from where it was extricated. The blood was already coagulating when he pulled out his weapon, so it didn¡¯t flow out that much. But for now he simply stabbed it on the ground, he would have plenty of time to clean it up later. He also pulled out his carving knife while he was at it.

    A rustle immediately made him go on alert and he instinctively grabbed his weapon and turned around to try to locate the sound, his one good ear made him unable to pinpoint the location, but he almost dropped it when he saw Nikki emerging from the bushes. She was definitely battered, a lot of scales singed or scratched, but she seemed to have nothing broken, apart from a couple of gashes, but he supposed that she would heal them in time.

    He didn¡¯t know what to think as she approached¡­ He had killed a member of her species, but it was also her who told him to do so¡­ So he simply signed. ¡°Why?¡± The same question he had asked her last time.

    And to his surprise, she answered this time. ¡°Sick. Madness. Danger.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know how to respond to that, it confirmed that something was wrong with it, but still didn¡¯t explain why, but he wasn¡¯t certain Nikki would answer if he asked for clarifications.

    Then she surprised him by approaching the body and touched it with the tip of her beak, taking a deep inhale. And then she raised her wing vertically¡­ And stupefied him by starting humming through them.

    The melody was primal, full of sadness and sorrow. Regret and resignation. It touched Valen with the deep emotion it contained. The sounds he could hear were deep and made his bones vibrate. It was as if an organ touched the deepest part of yourself, and could make even your instinct understand. It was a melody that could not be misunderstood for its purpose. And it was Nikki who was emitting it, as if she was transcribing her emotions to the wide world to hear.

    Valen was starting to tear up when the tone abruptly shifted. From sadness to joy. From sorrow to hope. From regret to determination. And from sorrow to happiness. Instead of being about the past, of mistakes, of things that had been. This one was full of promises, full of wishes. It spoke about a beautiful future, of a time where peace would come. Where a great blight was vanquished, and of cooperation, it took a while for Valen to understand that Nikki was singing about them. About their future.

    And with a final note, the melody died, and the plains became silent when the last echo of the sound faded. Nikki looked at Valen and rubbed her beak to him. He hugged her and simply said. ¡°Thanks you.¡± He didn¡¯t need to sign. She understood his meaning regardless.

    However, she turned her beak into a direction and immediately became more urgent. And Valen understood immediately, they needed not to be seen, and she wished for something to be done still.

    She nosed his carving knife and made a motion with her head for him to follow. So he unsheathed it and followed it. And then she tapped a spot on the back of the head with the tip of a beak. She seemed to want him to carve a part of the body, but he didn¡¯t know why. He didn¡¯t question her motives though.

    The knife cut through the scales with surprising ease. It was even easier than for the Plesioth with his old knife. And it took him only a couple cuts before he felt resistance, so frowning, he cut around, and when he managed to extract the item, he gasped.

    A deep red stone was in his hand, looking fragile but yet strong. It was just big enough to fit in the palm of his hand but he could feel the power pulsing out of it. And some kind of¡­ Awareness.

    He faced Nikki as to question her, but she simply said. ¡°He, respect you, thanks you. Help you.¡±

    Valen was about to ask her to clarify, but she immediately turned around and ran down hill. He supposed that she would take off from a different part of the surroundings, so that it was like they never met. She even made sure to take a path where she would not let footprints on.

    So he focused back on the stone. He knew that it was important, but he suspected Aki could help him understand what it was. So he retrieved a drawstring bag from his pouch and delicately placed it inside. Then he put it back in his pouch. He noticed her taking off from a long place away and heading away, probably to go back to her nest by a roundabout way.

    He also just realized that he still hasn¡¯t sent a flare up, and that he would have to ask questions about that later¡­ But for now. He pulled out the flare gun clasped to his coil, swapped out the red flare for a green one, that meant a completed hunt instead of request for assistance¡­ And fired it up. He followed with a second one so it couldn¡¯t be thought of as a mistake. The guns were packed with extra punch and it sent the flare way higher than he expected, along with extra recoil. But he knew they would be seen.

    He took a deep breath, and sat on the ground¡­ He expected to have to shout once they arrived. But he did not regret his actions.