Author's Note: Hey there! Golurker here with an all new story! As a big fan of MH, I thought it was about time that I wrote something based off the series! With regards to this tale, a couple of things: One, even though many reading this may be intimately familiar with the world of Monster Hunter, I'll do my best to make this accessible to those who aren't, so don't shy away! Whether you're a MH veteran or a MH virgin, I hope to make this an engaging tale that anyone can enjoy! And two, writing action scenes is a skill I constantly seek to improve. Unlike Pokemon, I don't have the luxury of utilizing game text to augment them, which means I got a bit more work to do. So, please, tell me what you think! Is it compelling? Does it flow well? In what areas could it be improved? Same thing for the writing in general. Don't be afraid to give your honest opinion! Oh! And speaking of Pokemon, I'll be writing this concurrently with my other ongoing fic, All Fired Up! If you haven't read it yet, I recommend you go check it out! …In any event, sit back, relax, and enjoy the Legend of the Black Fang!

EDIT: I've revised this chapter a bit! Nothing major, just a few minor writing tweaks. Hope you enjoy!

Hey there. Nice to meet you. It's not everyday I find someone interested in my life, so allow me to introduce myself. The name's Fang, and I hunt monsters for a living. Gender, Male; Height, 5' 3"; Age, 18 (though I don't look that old); Hair Color, Blond; Weapon of Choice, Dual Blades; and I like wearing Bone Armor for the flexibility it gives me. Hmm… Anything else?… Oh, yeah, that's right. I'm also about to get my guts chomped out by a Deviljho.

Hunt 1: The Deviljho is in the Details

Now, what's a Deviljho, you ask? Lemme put it this way. Imagine a T-Rex had a baby with Godzilla and stuck a pickle on its hind end. Now, beat it with the ugly stick within an inch of its of life, give it corrosive drool, and that's pretty much the gist of it. Seriously, I forget my cache of Dung Bombs one time and that's when I run into this abomination. Hmm… humongous, 2-ton dinosaur versus all 110 pounds of me. Wonder who'll come out on top. …Actually, hold your Kirins, I think I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here. How about we start from the beginning?

…

Everything started out fine. The air was warm, the skies were clear, and the seas were calm, meaning I was able to get some sleep without feeling nauseous. Great swimmer, horrible with seasickness; there's a certain irony in that. …Hmm? What's with the looks? Yeah, I sleep on a boat, what of it? It's pretty nice, actually; there's a bed and everything. No need to get all judgmental. …Anyway… Exhausted, yet refreshed after a long night of hunting and stargazing, I thought I'd start the day off easy with a Qurupeco quest. After all, what better warm-up could there be other than an overgrown green parrot with a penchant for impressions and starting fires? Not to mention, the hunting grounds were the Sandy Plains, the go-to spot for a side of tanning with your monster slaying. It was perfect. So with trusty dual blades in hand and a meaty breakfast in my tank, I was all set to go.

About an hour later, Hunter Base Camp began to come into view. And quite a view it was. The camp itself was a humble sight, but the sun-scorched landscape surrounding it was far from it. Breathtaking rock formations, towering desert anthills, even the occasional jumping Jaggi; I tell you, it doesn't matter how often you do it, but traveling by airship never gets old. …Well, provided of course that the crew doesn't push you out the starboard side partway through.

THUD!

"This is as far as your fee will take you, kid! Felvine prices are on the rise! Nya-ta!"

And soon, the hovercraft becomes nothing more than a miniscule speck in the distance. Stupid money-conscious Melynx. I pay my hard-earned Zenny for this trip and what do I get? A face full of blazingly hot desert sand.

KRRRREEEEEEEEH!

Hot sand smack dab in the middle of a squwaking 'Peco's territory, no less. Just my luck. …No wonder black cats get a bad rap.

The verdant-feathered bird claps its wings together, the flint-like growths at the end igniting a few small embers in mid-air. No doubt about it, this thing's in fighting mood. Fine by me! I'm not just some newbie hunter, you titanic toucan!

As fast as I can, I rush it head-on…

"HYAH!"

And lunge forward with both blades, aimed straight at its throat. Small streaks of black lightning surge out of my swords. when I make contact, but the 'Peco seems hardly fazed. Letting out a yellow-beaked screech, it spreads its wings and

FWOOM!

Sparks a cloud of flames straight at my face, knocking me back. But it'll take more than that to keep me down. (Thank you, fire-resistant helm.) I ready my blades and take a deep breath.

"Demon Mode!"

With a surge of newfound energy, I charge at the beast and unleash a flurry of slashes.

A left slice to the legs!

Two more to the thigh!

"Hrrrr-RAAAH!"

And another four to the torso!

Unlike my last assault, it actually shows a marked effect this time round: sending the bird into a slap-happy rage. With its paddle-shaped tail, it spins around in an attempt to give me a good slapping. But thanks to a quick evasive roll, I manage to avoid it, but the attacks just keep on coming. As soon as I get up, a ball of a sickly green liquid strikes me square in the face. ...Ugh, I think I got some of it in my mouth! Delicious.

Then adding injury to disgusting insult, it starts pecks at me ferociously from above. Stepping side to side, I get out of the way, and land a couple of good gashes to the gullet. ...And now it's mad. It spreads its wings once again and...

One clap.

Ow.

Two claps.

OW.

And a third, because two painful clouds of fire just isn't enough.

YEOWCH! OH SWEET BLUE MUSHROOMS, THAT BURNS!

Note to self: fire-resistant armor doesn't do a thing if it doesn't cover where you get hit. …Ow, my achin' midriff… This was not the kind of warm-up I was looking for! But as for the 'Peco, none the worse for wear, puffing up its chest like a giant red balloon. ...Great. Once sufficiently swollen, the bird then lets loose an ear-splitting and gutteral roar; the sound of which will be ingrained in my mind for the rest of my life (or rather, what little of it I've got left).

GRRRRRRAAAAAWWWWRRR….

I had no idea what manner of monster the avian abomination was impersonating, but I knew it wasn't good. I muster all my strength and sprint ahead again, swords poised to stab the bird right in sac. (…And no, not that sack.) Closer and closer, I run through the scorching desert heat, sights set on my target when...

"Now I gotch-AAAAAH!"

A Rhenoplos headbutts me right into a rock wall. ...OK, that's it!

"Whirling Cleaver!"

An advancing barrage of spinning slashes to its head handily subdue the beast. Now, I know what you're thinking, isn't that a bit extreme for a 2 foot tall herbivore following its instincts? No, it isn't. Not if you're trying to take out a monster that'd happily feast on it without a second thought. ...OK, technically the Qurupeco's a piscivore, but still. With righteous retaliation dished out, I resume my advance, but the damage was already done. The ground below me rumbles. Once… Twice… And then-

GRRRRRRAAAAAWWWWRRR….

Say hello to the Deviljho in all it's pickle-tailed glory. ...Which the 'Peco takes as the perfect opportunity to fly away. …I'd call it a coward, but really, could you blame it? Remember what I said before? 2 tons of ugly, raging Godzilla-saurus Rex with black lightning seeping out of its face. To be completely honest, I kinda wanted to run away myself… But not today!

I reach into my pouch, chug down a Max Potion, and face down the threat. Running past its drooling maw, I go straight for the legs, which are so disproportionately small that it's a wonder the thing can even stand.

"Demonic Bladestorm!"

Like a tornado of blade and bone, I land at least a dozen slices on its shins. However, it shows no sign of being fazed in the slightest. It raises its other leg and stomps the ground with its mighty weight, A large tremor erupts from the epicenter of the impact, throwing me off-balance. Not wasting any time, the beast does a complete 180 And sends me flying through the air, courtesy of its giant pickle of a tail. I'd say it's like being hit by a truck, but personally, I think I'd prefer the truck. Pretty soon, I find myself struggling to get up, my vision slightly blurred and body shaking all over.

The 'Jho then turns my way, crimson energy building up in it's maw, and promptly unleashes a menacing stream of pure draconic power. Too disoriented to evade properly, I hold up my blades in an attempt to soften the blow. But to little avail. While some of the power was deflected or even absorbed, I still get sent skidding back several feet and a rather unpleasant shock. For a brief moment, the monster glares at me with piercing eyes, laced with murderous intent. I manage to get up onto one knee in that span of time, but-

GRRRRRRAAAAAWWWWRRR!

That booming roar has me covering my ears to block it out. The beast draws closer, ground shaking in its wake, until its atrocity of a face is directly overhead. I swiftly grab my blades and swing with all I've got. Looking up, I see the monster staggering back, crying out in pain at the X-shaped wound on its face. But despite my little comeback, it's far from incapacitated. An ominous shadow quickly looms, before-

WHOOOMP!

One of its legs lands right on top me, pinning me to the ground and knocking out the swords out of my hands. A loud CRACK! also rings out through the desert, accompanying an intense surge of pain. At this point, it's hard to tell if that was my armor breaking or my ribs. Or both. ...Not that it matters much anyway. As I feel the dripping saliva starting to sear into every exposed part of my body, the 'Jho's jaw draws ever closer, ready to have me in time for brunch. And now, we've come full circle. Here I am, defenseless, barely-of-age hunter, about to get eaten by a ferocious toothy reptile. If only I were a princess, some hero would come swooping in at the last second to save me. Sigh… What I wouldn't give to be a princess right about now. Except, you know, male. …But alas, I'm in no fairy tale and I know it. There's not gonna be a glorious Ceadeus Ex Machina to get my butt out of this one. …Yeah, you may want to avert your eyes now. This'll probably get messy…

"Wyvern Fire!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

…Huh. Well whaddya know, a knight in shining armor.

A humongous fiery explosion erupts out of nowhere, blowing the beast flat onto its back. Turning my head, I see a girl in gleaming golden armor, wielding a shield in one hand and a smoking, brilliant bluish-white spear in the other. But before I can say a word, she squats down and lifts me onto her metal-clad shoulder.

"That explosion won't hold it down for long. We need to get out of here!"

"W-wait… Wh-what about… Wh-what about the-"

"Forget about the quest! You're in no condition to fight anything, let alone that monstrosity! We have to go! NOW."

And with her dragging me along, I manage to escape from the blood-stained battleground and off to safety.

…

Another half-hour or so later, we disembark and walk back onto the dock near Port Tanzia's open-air tavern. While aboard the Guild Airship, the crew got the chance to assess and treat my injuries. Miraculously, though my armor was severely damaged and barely holding together, not a single one of my bones got fractured from the incident. I mean sure, we hunters are made of stronger stuff than most regular people, but it's still quite a feat for someone like me. But, that's not to say that wasn't in a heck of a lot of pain. Cuts, bruises, the whole multiple acid burn thing, there was plenty of that to go around. That said, I did get patched up pretty good; apparently Melynx also make great medics, despite their tendencies to chuck Barrel Bombs and, you know, shove people off the sides of airship. …Regardless, I managed to regain enough strength to walk on my own again, at least until taking a seat beside my savior in front of Tanzia Grill, enjoying a post-hunt meal. She takes a small swig of milk before turning my way.

"You're one lucky son of a Barroth, you know that? I was on my way back to Base Camp to complete a quest of my own, when I saw you on the ground, about to become Hunter a la Mode."

"No denying that. I'd've been finished if you didn't step in. Thanks again, by the way."

"Don't mention it. We've got to look out for our fellow hunter, right?" She partakes of the milk once more. "In any case, my name is Lorica, Gunlance specialist. What's yours?"

"Fang. The name's Fang. Dual Blades are my specialty."

The violet-haired girl, upon hearing my answer, raises an inquisitive eyebrow. "…Seriously? Fang? That's your name?"

"What, too weird?"

"A bit, yes. …But then again, I guess it wouldn't be the strangest one I've ever heard." The girl proceeds to down the rest of her drink. "Still, there's something I want to ask you."

"And what's that?"

"What in the world were you thinking believing you could take down a Deviljho?! No offense, but something like that is way out of your league." She takes a glance at my abdominals, or rather, lack of them. "I mean, look at you; at the very least, you could get some armor that covers a bit more."

I didn't have mirror on hand, but I just knew my face turned as red as a Congalala's butt. "H-hey now! I-it just allows for a free range of movement, th-that's all! A-and besides, I'm not as weak as you think I am!"

"This coming from the scrawny kid who almost got killed? Somehow, I doubt-" Cutting her off, I pull out and hand over my Guild Card (don't ask me where I keep that thing), inducing a look of surprise in her face. "…Well, well, what do we have here? A fellow G-Rank Hunter, huh? …Perhaps I spoke too soon." Dang straight, you did. "But still, G-Rank or not, taking on that thing alone is nothing short of foolishness!"

"…Yeah… I know."

"So then why? Why did you charge in all by yourself?"

…Now that was a good question. "I guess I'm just… not the kind of person to run away from a crisis. …Well, that and hunting alone is kinda my thing."

"So you fancy yourself a lone Zinogre, is that it?"

"More like I don't really have anyone to hunt with. Nothing against working with others, but I just don't get the chance all that often." I stand back up and start walking southward toward the Port's Marina. "Anyway, I can't thank you enough for saving my life, Lorica. …But if you'd excuse me, I think I need to go lie down for a minute… or sixty."

"…Wait." She grabs me by the shoulder with a heavy metal gauntlet, a gleam of concern in her green eyes. It throws me off-balance in more ways than one. "If you're looking someone to hunt with, I can certainly oblige."

"…Really? You'd do that?"

"Of course. I don't see a reason why I can't. Plus, there's been a few quests I've been meaning to tackle, and I could use all the help I can get." She leans forward my way ever so slightly. "So, what do you say? Care to join forces?"

I didn't need to think about my answer for a second.

"Definitely."

And that was the day I first met Lorica. I wouldn't say my past was uneventful- believe me, a bunch of stuff has happened in my 18 years- but for some reason, it just felt like my life truly began that day. Now, what do I mean by that? …I'll get to that eventually.