"I... didn't expect it to come to this..."
The words echoed in my mind, and though they were my own, they sounded alien, unnatural. I literally LIVED for this. hunting monsters wasn't a hobby, it wasn't even an occupation... It was my entire life. for the past year and a half, I had done nothing but hunt, and gather resources to assist my hunting. And now, as I carved my latest kill, the Glittering Darkness, Alatreon, I was filled only with longing and regret. This creature had plagued my dreams for the better part of a year, by all logic I should be overjoyed to have finally silenced it, and I was anything but happy.
I had only ever given up on a single hunt before this one, and hadn't since. Sure, I had failed many times, every hunter has. I had even abandoned a few, mostly due to forgetting to properly equip myself with the various items I would need, but every time I had done so, I had immediately departed again on the first ship that would take me. In fact, the only reason I gave up on Alatreon and left Moga for Port Tanzia was because of my single-minded determination to become stronger and finally put an end to it's abominable existence. I had even broken a promise to my friend, Rohrin, whom I had met on my introductory visit to Tanzia. I had agreed to only take quests from Tanzia while with him, and to use weaker equipment, as he was just starting when we met, and I had nearly been given access to high-rank quests in the village.
But my hatred for my nemesis was too great, and I began to work my way through the quests in the port alone. There was little challenge in the early quests, as I had already forged myself a set of Agnaktor U armor and built myself the best gunlances that could be made with what was available. I had even tried my hand at some of the other weapons, quickly falling in love with the dual blades, and even entering a rocky relationship with hammers. I remember feeling uneasy about having to quickly dive away from a Duramboros' charge rather than simply blocking it, but I grew accustomed quickly. I had even began to use my old set of Wroggi S armor specifically for my new weapons.
However, I had not began life thinking I would one day rid the wilds of dangerous beasts. I honestly had no idea what I wanted to do, and due to that uncertainty, I found myself finishing school and entering the real world, where I quickly became unemployed, broke, and an alcoholic.
When I first fell off the ferry in a little village called Moga, I had been suffering from depression, and had spent the previous month consoling myself at the bottom of a flagon. The only reason I had left for Moga was because all the taverns in town had banned me for not paying my tabs. When I awoke from my stupor in this unfamiliar village, I was in a room filled with people. There was an elderly man with a pipe, a younger guy who looked like he could be his son, and a young girl who looked far too young to be wearing the uniform of a Hunter's Guild employee.
"He looks tough, perhaps a little on the skinny side, but that will change soon enough." spoke the man with the pipe.
"I still don't think he'll last two seconds against the Lagiacrus" retorted the younger guy.
"Dammit, Junior! We don't have any other choice!" The elderly man was becoming agitated.
"Why won't you just let me do it?"
"Because you are no hunter. You are my son, and you will take my place as chief when I die. I don't want you going and getting yourself killed because you wanted to prove a point." The Chief had a sad, worried look in his eyes.
The man called Junior hung his head, looking hurt, but still understanding that his father was right. The girl from the Guild attempted to console him.
"Don't worry, I'm sure this guy can do it. He may not look like a hunter, but I can tell he has the hunter's spirit. He'll do just fine."
I cleared my throat, letting them know I was awake. The Chief turned towards me and smiled.
"Well hello there, Hunter! I almost thought you weren't going to wake up! Hah!"
"How long was I asleep?" I queried.
"Four days, by my count. But that's not important. What is important, is that you've just been accepted for your new job!"
"New job?" I replied. "I don't remember applying for-"
"Hah! Don't worry about that!" The old man interrupted, "This young sweetheart here has sorted everything out for you!"
The girl smiled at me and said "Welcome to the Hunter's Guild, Newbie!"
I was baffled, to say the least, but I was happy to have a job, even though I don't remember asking for one. Hunting sounded fun, and how hard could it possibly be?
I smiled, remembering those times with a fond nostalgia. I was as green as they come, equipped with a sword & shield, as I hadn't stumbled upon gunlances yet. over the next two weeks I had completed every quest they had given me, until I had met the first quest that would test my resolve. It was a hunt request for a Qurupeco in the sandy plains, and I had nearly quit hunting entirely after I had failed the seventh time. I had decided to give up my sword and shield in favor of a new weapon that had caught my eye: the gunlance. the thought of having a nearly impenetrable shield enthralled me, as well as the power of it, which even at a starting level dwarfed that of my well-crafted sword. I quickly forged myself a bone gunlance and upgraded it as far as I could at the time, which was to a Wyvern Bone Gunlance. I was amazed by the sheer power of it's attacks, and reduced the creature that had nearly driven me to madness to a broken and battered mess within a few minutes.
From then on it had all been so easy. The Lagiacrus that had been blamed for the recent earthquakes lie dead at my feet within a few weeks, and even the Ceadeus, the massive elder dragon which had been the true source of the quakes, fell to my onslaught of lead and steel. However, I had began to notice a change in my behavior. I had become more aggressive and easily enraged after fighting the Ceadeus and being cleared for high rank quests. The only thing that could slake my blood lust was to fight larger and stronger monsters, and I had once become so angered that I nearly struck the poor guild receptionist when she told me that I couldn't take on anymore quests until I finished all of my current ones, including the multi-monster quests.
The ones that involved fighting monsters one by one were okay, but I hated nothing more than fighting two monsters at once. It was not that they were too challenging, in fact it was the opposite. Oftentimes the monsters had already clashed and nearly killed each other by the time I had found them, and even during the times where I managed to find them before they began to fight themselves, or even the occasional case of two monsters working together to kill me, while the reinforced bracers of my Agnaktor armor absorbed all but the strongest elemental attacks. However, one would still end up killing the other while trying to get at me, and I would be left to deal with the limping survivor.
However, when I had finally ascended to the legendary "G" Rank, I had found only quests to fight monsters that I hadn't seen as a threat since I first started hunting. Predictably, I was confused and enraged, but for some odd reason that had been the one moment where I decided to withhold my anger rather than release it, and I undertook a quest to fight a Great Jaggi. Within thirty seconds of encountering the beast, I found myself on the rescue cart back to the camp. This excited me. I quickly became infatuated with G Rank, but after fighting for a few more months, and growing even more irritable around people
Accepting a quest had been reduced to me walking up to the counter, glaring at the receptionist, and her handing me the quest list without meeting my gaze. The cooks at the grill handed me my requested food and took the money i gave them without speaking, the blacksmith and armory clerk had worried expressions every time I came to upgrade a weapon or forge new armor, and even my Shakalaka companions, Cha-Cha and Kayamba, had abandoned me due to my abusive nature during and between quests.
But I continued onward, killing larger and larger monsters until one day, for some inexplicable reason, I returned to my home in Moga Village. I said nothing, I simply nodded to the quest receptionist as I entered my home, filled my supplies of the various potions and other supplies I regularly used. I didn't know why (to be honest, I hadn't even noticed) my rage was gone, and my mind was filled with one objective. I patted the head of the Felyne who kept my home tidy, and thanked him for his good work, and handed him some Felvine as I left. I didn't look, but I knew his face carried an expression of cartoon-like bewilderment.
I strode up to the quest counter, and the receptionist handed me the quest list before backing away from the counter. I don't know why she handed me the book, as she and I both knew there was only one quest left incomplete, and that it was the only one I could have possibly considered undertaking. I thanked her anyways, prompting an inquisitive glare from her, as she had most likely been thinking I was being sarcastic. But when she saw the apprehensive expression beneath the brim of my hat (I was wearing Wroggi armor at the time), her own expression softened somewhat. As I looked up to tell her which quest I wanted to accept, she quickly shifted her gaze towards the ground. I left the required quest fee on top of the book, which I had placed on the counter before thanking her again and bidding her farewell. I hadn't noticed anything different in my voice, however, but she must have, since, for the first time in almost a year, she looked me directly in the eyes. I did not realize at the time, but there had been a change in my tone when I spoke that goodbye, a sort of "I might not come back from this" that was uncharacteristic of me. Of course, I always knew I was putting my life on the line every time I accepted a quest, but I had always known that I would make it home safely.
This time however, I had subconsciously promised myself that I would not be leaving the sacred land without sending this beast back to the hell from whence it came. There would be no three-knockout failure, no simply "repelling" the monster. Either it dies, or I die. Before I made my way to the dock to set sail, I went around the village, for reasons unknown to me at the time, and said my farewells to all of the villagers. The Argosy was away, so I had left a message for the captain with Neko in case I didn't return. As I made my way towards the docks, rather than simply taking the boat to the hunting ground myself, as had been my custom since the hunting fleet crew had refused to continue ferrying me, I gestured towards Junior, who was talking to the blacksmith, most likely about a request for more ores or something similar, and he began to cautiously walk towards me after finishing his conversation with the blacksmith.
"What do you want?" He asked, in a tone that was both angry and fearful.
I simply smiled and said, "I probably won't be coming back from this, so I figured if there's someone else in the boat, you'll at least be able to get that back if I kick the bucket."
He forced an uneasy smile, and he looked as though he was about to refuse, but he must have been afraid of how I might respond should he decline, and he reluctantly agreed to ferry me on my journey.
"Don't wait for me. It'll be safer if you leave right away." I stated, a bit more matter-of-factly than I was known to be.
The Chief's son looked confused for a moment, then replied with, "But what if you succeed in killing it?"
I looked him in the eye, a foolish grin spreading across my face, "Don't worry about me, I'm sure that, if I can slay this thing, then I can handle a bit of walking afterwards."
That made him chuckle. "If you say so, Hunter."
When we arrived, a waved goodbye to him as he set sail for Moga, and once the boat was too small to see, I sighed and turned towards the molten hell that is the '"Sacred Land". Whoever named this place must have thought he was really funny, I thought as I began to hike towards the inland. I was jolted back to reality when I heard the far-off roar of a familiar foe, and I saw a black dot soaring across the sky before landing atop a volcano a few miles away from me. I reached into my pouch, and pulled out a dash juice. as I gulped down the sweet and savory liquid, I felt my body fill to the brim with energy, and began hiking towards the landing site of the blazing black drake.
As I approached my destination, I recognized where I was. It was a large, open space, with an irregularly shaped lava pool in the center. Lava cascaded down one wall, and there were two ballistae set up in opposite corners from each other. the far one, he knew, was loaded with a ballista binder, an ingenious device which fired a harpoon attached to a semi-retracting high-strength cable. So long as a you got a good, clean hit, it would force the beast onto the ground, should it be flying, and it would also render it helpless for a few seconds, allowing me to get a few good hits in before being forced back onto the defensive. I knew it was a cheap tactic, but flying into the air and raining down a hellstorm of massive ice daggers isn't exactly neighborly either.
Once again, I was ripped from my thoughts as a piercing howl blasted against my eardrums, forcing me to cover my ears and curse my absent-mindedness. When the sonic assault subsided, I looked up to see a black shape streaking towards me. I drew my weapon and braced myself behind my shield just in time to avoid getting crushed. The assailant sprung backwards, and as I lowered my shield, I locked eyes with the beast who had nearly ended the battle before I even knew it had begun. Alatreon, the Glittering Darkness, stood before me with what I guessed was a smirk on its face, most likely due to realizing just who had intruded upon its holy land.
Upon seeing it again after so long, I had rediscovered just how truly magnificent the creature truly was. It was not actually black, as all the guides said, but actually more of a deep, metallic purple. From a distance, however, it did look black, and distance was probably the only reason anyone ever lived long enough to tell what it looked like. Unlike the other elder dragons I had fought, Alatreon was a "true" dragon. Four legs, a pair of wings separate from the forelegs, as well as walking not so much like a bird or reptile, but with a regal grace, similar to a lion or tiger. I flicked the release on my gunlance and the layer of permafrost that coated it cracked as it split in half width-wise and five shells slid into their chambers.
It was a Roscavalance, and I had nearly froze to death in the tundra trying to get the required parts for it, but it was worth it. I had done my research, and learned that while he could wield it in his attacks, Alatreon wasn't particularly fond of ice. While airborne, however, it wouldn't matter what element I used, as my weapon would be unable to reach him. Which is why I aimed to keep him grounded. However, Alatreon had noticed my frozen death dealer and decided the best course of action would be to hurriedly leap into the air.
I punished this with a quick stab to the face as it tensed its legs, preparing to leap. This caused it to stumble, another mistake which I took advantage of by letting off a Wyvern's Fire shot right into his left eye. As I slid back from the recoil of the shot, I looked up and saw Alatreon on the ground, clawing at the flames that still lingered on the side of its face. It's left horn had shattered, leaving a jagged stump, which made me grin. I looked more closely as it came to its feet and hissed at me, and I saw that the blast had melted the skin around its eye shut, and probably done some major damage to the eye itself.
It still amazes me how this weapon can generate a heat strong enough to melt the large lead slugs in the split second they spent traveling down the barrel of the lance before erupting from the end in a molten jet of liquid death, and yet still remaining completely frozen on the outside.
Alatreon had finished trying to fitfully express its displeasure with me, and had decided it would try to prevent any further ice attacks by swiping at me using a claw that crackled with the red-black lightning of the so-called "dragon" element. I ducked behind my shield, and the attack bounced off, but it had still managed to wrench my shoulder. I was really starting to miss the shock-absorbing gauntlets of the Agnaktor. But, I shook my self back to reality in time to sidestep a flaming bite and return the favor with a stab to the right horn. Alatreon jerked backwards before taking a step back and letting loose a terrible screech, signifying that the last attack had really pissed him off. Even though I had avoided the brunt of the sonic blast by ducking behind my shield, my ears still rang for a few seconds.
Alatreon decided to follow up on his roar by charging at me while cloaked in black thunder, which I blocked with some difficulty. I sheathed my weapon and rolled out of the way of the wicked fireball the dragon had sent my way, and while it recovered I quickly gulped down a potion and a Mega Dash Juice before looking up to see Alatreon dancing around while lightning sparked around it, meaning it was about to leap into the air. It was no longer raging, so I ran over to the ballista that was loaded with the binder. As I ran, I heard a familiar scraping of metal behind me, and knew that the cooling vents on my weapon had slid shut, meaning I could let loose with another Wyvern's Fire.
When I had grabbed hold of the controls for the balista, I saw the thunderbolt that was Alatreon streaking towards me as I let loose before I could line up the shot. Luckily, the shot had pierced it's wing and drove it to the ground with a violent crash. I rushed over, unsheathing my lance and following up with a charging stab to its remaining horn, which I broke with a Full Burst attack combo. As I recovered from the recoil, Alatreon rose, and the binder cable snapped. It reached over to its wing using its mouth and pulled out the barbed ballista shot, causing it to drop it as it screamed in pain. I used this opening to let go with another Wyvern's Fire into his chest, and then reloading my gunlance as it recovered from the blast. Its one remaining eye glaring at me viciously as it charged at me and performed a rising headbutt, which I blocked. I was about to take a stab at it's lowered head when I realized, too late, that I had forgotten about the second headbutt in that attack.
I cursed my stupidity while I flew through the air, and while I crashed and rolled across the ground I wondered why that had left me so wounded, when I came to the revelation that I had forgotten what is quite possibly the most important preparation a hunter can make before heading out on a quest. I hadn't eaten anything. But, by an equally surprising stroke of luck, I had remembered for once to pack an ancient potion and a couple of max potions. Since the dash juice was still in effect, I decided to use a max potion.
As I felt my wounds heal within the span of a few seconds, I saw that Alatreon had taken to the sky and was preparing to pound me into oblivion with a thunder-charged head smash. I raised my shield in time to block it, as well as the three that followed, and the fight continued to rage on for a few hours,with both of us fiercely and brutally attacking each other with our maximum power. I kept myself going on dash juices and mega potions, and just when I was about to give in, I noticed that the beast was breathing as though it were an intense effort, I saw the cause of it's problem.
Due to a combination of my determination to strike it's head whenever possible, and my hastiness when performing these attacks because of the small windows of opportunity, a great deal of my attacks had struck its neck, and it was starting to suffer from it. There were several large gashes on either side where I had sliced it with an upwards slash, as well as numerous bullet holes, stab wounds, and even a few spots that had been stabbed, and then had a shell explode inside them. The result was Alatreon's head being nearly halfway severed, apart from the spinal cord and most of the upper neck muscle. It's throat had been so torn apart, that most of the air it inhaled didn't even go through it's mouth. It was simply drawn in from the gap where the rest of its trachea used to be, causing the tattered flesh around it to flutter slightly.
I took advantage of this opportunity and, while it stood panting, I let loose with a Full Burst into its chest, knocking it over and rendering it helpless while I lined up a Wyvern's Fire on the decimated remains of its neck, pulverizing the vertebra and severing its head, putting it out of its misery once and for all.
"I... didn't expect it to come to this..."
As I stood over the remains of my latest kill, the nemesis that had haunted my dreams for almost a year, I was filled not with happiness, but with regret. Regret for killing so many truly beautiful creatures, such as this one, regret for becoming so obsessed with destroying this creature that I nearly destroyed myself, and most of all, regret for the sudden realization that came to me when I looked back on how I got to this point, of how every step of the way I had done nothing but stomp on the people who wanted to do nothing but help me, how I had pushed them out of the way when I no longer needed them, and of how I had hurt the ones who pulled me from the drunken abyss into which I had fallen... And I suddenly remembered an old poem that I had read a long time ago... It was a warning, the guild clerk told him, a warning of a great monster that dwells in the deepest depths of the sea. I didn't know why I was remembering it at that time, or what caused me to remember it, but I almost laughed out loud when I discovered how fittingly it described me.
From the Abyss' darkest cave,
Comes the Master of the wave
Consumer of the world entire,
Devil of the sea most dire
Fear it as you fear the Grave.
After the realizations were over, I remembered that I'd need to get back to the village soon, and I figured the walk would give me some time to think of how I might apologize for what I've done to everyone. One thing was certain, though, and that's that I'm done with monster hunting. At least for now, that is. In the meantime, I think I might take up writing...
Hi, if you've made it here, then that probably means that you've read this all the way to the end. If so, I want to thank you, as well as mention that I am more than happy to accept any constructive criticism, and I will be sure to implement it in any future stories. Since this is my first story, I don't expect it to be perfect, in fact I believe it to be far from perfect, but that might just be self-doubt. Anyways, I'd just like to mention a few things about myself. First off, I am in love with Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, and even though I have only had it for little over a month, I have already spent close to 250 hours playing it, which is what prompted me to write this. I was just trying to think of ideas for a monster hunter story, and I decided I might as well make it about how addicted I am to this game. (Note: While this is close to 90% based on my monster hunter experience, I do not become violent when I am not playing the game. That was simply me trying to put more emphasis on just how much the character had changed, and how negative his attitude had become.) So anyways, I'd really appreciate any reviews, future story requests, etc.