Chapter 1: Initiation
"In a world where survival is key, there is only one rule that every hunter must follow: hunt or be hunted."- Macha Training School's motto
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The cold wind blew on Jerox's face as he slowly waited for his target to show up. He was still shivering, despite having numerous hot drinks. Hiding behind the rock a few yards away was his best friend, Azroth. His jet-black hair was tied into a long ponytail that stretched all the way to his waist. His hand was on the grip of his weapon, the Bone, which was the longsword that the training school had given to him. Sensing that he was being watched, Azroth looked at his friend. Seeing that his friend was growing impatient, Jerox grinned.
Suddenly, Jerox heard the sound of footsteps coming their way. Looking back at the path, he could make out shapes heading their way. Soon after that, a pair of Giaprey appeared with their leader, the Giadrome, leading the way. It then halted and began to scan its surroundings, as though it had sensed danger.
Seeing this as an opportunity, Azroth leapt out of his hiding place and slashed at one of the Giapreys upon drawing his blade. Jerox then unsheathed his weapon, the Bone Axe, and stabbed at the other Giaprey. Noticing that its comrades were in danger, the Giadrome turned to face the closest threat, Azroth, and proceeded to pounce on him. Azroth barely managed to notice it and rolled away just at the nick of time, with the large creature landing on the spot he was on before.
Managing to finish off the Giaprey, Jerox proceeded to assist Azroth by distracting the Giadrome. Shifting his axe into its sword form, he swung his weapon upwards, striking the creature's left leg. The creature stumbled backwards and seeing that Jerox was the bigger threat, jumped backwards and spat out a white ball towards him. He was soon covered by snow and before he realized what was happening, the Giadrome pounced on him, removing all of the snow covering him and sending him face first on the snow-covered ground.
Realizing that his friend was in trouble, Azroth quickly finished off the remaining Giaprey with a slash on its throat and proceeded to slash at the Giadrome's head. The creature narrowly avoided the attack and fired a white ball at Azroth, who rolled away and sprinted towards the creature. The Giadrome then quickly stepped backwards while raising its head and arms and in the blink of an eye, it snapped at him and sent him flying backwards, landing on his back with a sickening crunch.
"Azroth!" yelled Jerox, after seeing the scene unfold. Turning around to face the creature, he gritted his teeth in anger and proceeded to sprint towards it. The Giadrome fired a white ball at him, which he simply dodged by sidestepping before he unsheathed his weapon and stabbed at the creature. He then slowly lifted his weapon and with a push of a button on the weapon's grip, the weapon produced a huge explosion, sending both of them stumbling backwards. Blood poured from the creature's gaping wound and before it could even react, Azroth appeared beside the creature and brought his weapon down on the creature's head, breaking its beloved crest and sending it sliding towards the wall of the mountain. With one last cry, the creature dropped its head and gave out its last breath.
Satisfied with their victory, Azroth dropped onto the cold ground and lay there. Jerox quickly rushed to his aid and taking out a Potion, he placed it on Azroth's lips and slowly let the liquid flow down to his throat. In a matter of a few seconds, Azroth's back pain vanished and he was on his feet.
"We should probably carve out the materials and get back to the village," said Azroth, who pulled out his carving knife and began to make his way to the Giadrome's corpse. Sighing, Jerox brought out his own carving knife and proceeded to carve out the creature's skull.
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"Congratulations! Both of you have successfully graduated from this prestigious training school!" said Blake, the pair's instructor. He then handed both of them each a piece of paper detailing their success. "You are both now free to wander around as official hunters! Feel free to stop by if you have the time!"
"Thank you, Master!" said the two boys in unison.
"No… From this day onwards, I'll just be Blake, okay?" said the instructor.
"Yes… Blake!" said Jerox, satisfied that his days of training were finally over.
The duo then exited the building and after a few steps, Jerox took one last look at the training school. It seemed to be in the process of having an expansion. There were wyverians and humans working around every corner. Occasionally, a few Felynes dropped by to deliver some materials. Smiling with contempt, Jerox departed the school's gates and took a wide glimpse at his hometown, Macha Village. There were various gates scattered around the huge gates surrounding the village. The village guild stood in the center of the village with a quest board next to it. Various huts were scattered around the village with a few having some gardens. The Elder's Dwelling stood by the north exit of the village, which led all the way to the Tundra and the Snowy Mountains. Suddenly, he felt a hand grip his shoulder and he turned around to find Azroth looking at him with his deadpan gaze.
"You okay?" asked Azroth.
"Yeah!" replied Jerox. "I just feel so… so new! Don't you feel it as well?"
"Kind of. But we are now officially hunters! So that means we finally get to partake in quests!"
"Maybe… But we still have to join the Guild if we want to actually have access to more quests!"
"Definitely!" replied Azroth, who tightened his hand into a fist. "Are you ready for this?"
Jerox looked at him and with a smile, he replied, "Let's do it!"
And so, the two made their way to the Guild and entered it. They then stood dumfounded upon seeing the inside of the Guild. On the left side sat three receptionists who were busy interacting with a long line of hunters dressed in their colorful armors. On the right side stood a lonely Guild guard, who was decked out in the Guild's trademark clothing. Two sabers were tucked on his belt which seemed to glow with the purest of lights. He glared at the line of hunters, as though they were all capable of committing a horrible crime.
After minutes of waiting in line, the two finally managed to reach the cheerful receptionist who greeted them both nicely.
"Can I help you?" asked the receptionist.
"As a matter of fact, you can. We would like to become part of the Hunter's Guild!" said Jerox happily.
"Ah! So you must be new to this, huh? Well, I'm sorry but we can't allow you both to be part of the Guild," said the receptionist. After hearing those words, Jerox's smile slowly faded.
"What do you mean we can't be part of the Guild?" asked Jerox.
"I'm not done yet. What I meant to say was that the both of you can't join the Guild without having the Initiation quest," said the receptionist.
Before Jerox could utter another word, Azroth asked her kindly, "What is this initiation quest that we must do?"
"Please hold on one moment!" said the receptionist, who then pulled out what appeared to be a folder of quests. As she flipped through the folder, Jerox looked around and began to notice that the Guild guard was now glaring at him. "Ah! Here we go!" said the receptionist, who then pulled out the paper and laid it down on the table. Azroth then took the paper and examined it. He then looked back at the receptionist.
"So all we need to do to prove ourselves is to slay a Great Baggi, right?" asked Azroth.
"Yes, of course," replied the receptionist.
"I have a question… What's a Great Baggi?" asked Jerox. The receptionist threw him a questioning look.
"Give us a minute," said Azroth, who then pulled Jerox to a corner. "What do you mean by your question?"
"What I mean is that I have never heard of the Great Baggi before," said Jerox, who rubbed his head in embarrassment.
Azroth stared at him for a second before he replied, "You must have been sleeping in Blake's class if you have never heard of it. A Great Baggi is a carnivorous bird wyvern that lives in the Tundra. It is known to spit a liquid that could cause you to sleep."
"I see. So all we need to do is slay the Great Baggi and we'll be in, right?" asked Jerox. Azroth shook his head, confusing Jerox.
"I believe that it's not that simple. For one, the Great Baggi is stronger than the Giadrome that we fought earlier today. Another thing, we need to return here with a Bird Wyvern Gem as proof," replied Azroth.
"So all we need to do is get a Bird Wyvern Gem. A piece of cake!" said Jerox.
"Naïve as always, eh? If there's one thing that I remember from that lesson, it's that the item is a rare drop from breaking its crest. And a crest isn't simple to break if you are facing one of the most experienced creatures that could easily turn your day upside down," replied Azroth. Jerox then began to frown as they made their way back to the receptionist.
"We'll do it!" said Jerox. The receptionist then took out a stamp and stamped the paper, signifying the beginning of the quest.
"Good luck on your quest!" said the receptionist.
"Thank you very much… um…" said Azroth.
"Oh! My name is Maricela. You may call me Mars," said Mars, who grinned at them.
"Thank you very much, Mars!" said Azroth, who smiled back, causing her to blush slightly. The two then departed the building, with the paper at hand and a look of determination stitched on their faces.
Before heading for the northern exit, Azroth decided to purchase some materials from a nearby store. After buying some hot drinks and potions, they finally made their way out of the village into the cold regions.
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A/N: And that marks the beginning of my new series, Monster Hunters: New Frontier! If you feel like writing suggestions, comments, complaints, etc…, then please feel free to review or just PM me! Until next time, see ya!