Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter...though I wish I did

Chapter 1 - All That Glitters Isn't Gold


The cart suddenly jumped as it hit a stone in the road. The slumbering young hunter that had been pleasantly unconscious among the goods in the back suddenly rose with a groan. It was a wonder he had even managed to sleep in such an uncomfortable setting.

"You alright there Koryn boy?" the driver asked with a side glance at the back.

"Yeah...I'm fine," the young hunter confirmed as he begrudgingly sat up, shaking the sleep from his tired limbs.

It had been two years since Ferrum had come around and agreed to teach the younger male to become a hunter. He knew of the old man's reserves, but he felt that his methods of training had also been unusually unconventional.

"Gah!" came a sharp yelp as the cart once more struck a bump, causing a ripple of pain to shudder through the young man's body.

His mentor, a renowned blacksmith, had been very insistent on teaching him how to not only hunt but additionally make and forge weapons. Koryn had been very skeptical at this, thinking it was his master's final attempt in dissuading him from becoming a hunter. The old man seemed more focused on him knowing his weapon then how to tackle beasts.

His misgivings had come around though upon seeing the results. He had noticed how the extra labor had actively toned his body further, his once lithe build now more defined and muscular. He was still rather slim to most hunters, but he had thought that with some time that would rectify itself. If not, well Ferrum had seemed content with his progress and had even given him one of his rare approving grins from beneath his big bushy mustache.

"How much farther?" he asked simply to break the silence, though he hoped he did not sound rude or impatient.

"About a stone's throw away to Minegarde, Koryn boy," the driver said. He was a nice fellow from the village who happened to have business in the aforementioned destination.

"I guess it would depend on who was throwing it then," Koryn mused silently to himself. He began to feel the prickling of excitement once more as he slowly woke up, knowing that he would soon be able to test his mettle among real hunters from other villages.

Minegarde was fair ways away from the village. The two had been out for nearly two full days. This was also another strange request by his mentor. Rather than staying in his home village, the old blacksmith had been very persistent in making the boy travel and see the world.

Ya won't grow any if ya stay in one place like a stone, there are things to see that even I can't be teachin' Ya.

Ferrums logic in that regards had gone unchallenged, though deep down the hunter was already beginning to miss the smell of burning charcoal he had grown so accustomed to.

So many people! had been the thought that immediately ran through his mind as he had waved goodbye to the driver once they arrived at Minegarde that afternoon.

The city was vastly different than his home. The lush greens and the connected feeling with nature were all gone. Instead stone and bone seemed to be the primary construction of everything here.

He was even more so unprepared for just how many people resided here. As he walked towards the center of town, he had seen more people in only a few moments than he had in a life time back home. Many of them were clearly here for the same reason he was, to register with the guild in order to become official hunters. Koryn did, however, glimpse many others who seemed far more heavily decorated with the trophies of success than others.

Armors made of exotic skins and materials. Weapons made of far more extravagant things like metals and monster parts, not just of simple bone like the blade he carried upon his back. It was then he realized, he felt very much out of place. Even among the novice hunters, his attire seemed very dated and plain.

He wore a simple hunting garb made of hardened leather and straps. The gear had originally proven hard to move in, but over time it had broken in and now felt like a second skin. He had been so proud of it, having made it by his own hand after gathering the necessary materials to construct it. Now it seemed to show just how untried he truly was.

Even his blade, a long curved piece of hardened treated bone, was nowhere near as refined as the other hunters. All other hunters seemed to have steel weapons at the very least.

It took great efforts to peel his eyes away from a large armored figure standing amongst other hunters, a massive steel hammer rested by their side. He had to find the guild hall and then do something about his blade.

"A hunter is only as good as his weapon," he said to himself, reciting one of the nuggets of advice his mentor had shared with him. He now found himself wishing Ferrum had also been forthcoming with a new steel blade, but the blacksmith had seemed uncompliant to bestow him with such a gift. He had merely brushed it off as stubbornness, but now he thought he would have some words with the old man if he ever returned home in one piece.

Koryn had a few moments of bliss at the guild hall. When the guild marm had called his name to come forth, she had gapped momentarily upon looking at him. At first, he thought it was due to his meager armor and weapon, but when her cheeks flushed he realized she was flustered by him. It had caused him to feel a small bit of pride knowing he must have made his amateur garbs look good.

He would once again feel himself puff up with pride moments later.

"Do you have clarification of your chieftain or from the hunter you trained under?" she asked, he noticed she had once again peered over her spectacles to look him over.

"Yes, uh...here," he said as he withdrew a token from his things. Ferrum had explained the trinket was a proof of being a hunter, it was the old smith's identification as a hunter.

The young woman once more went a bit slack-jawed at the sight of the hunter's badge.

"Hammer blade?" she asked as if to be certain she had read the inscriptions right.

With a nod, Koryn confirmed back "Yes, Ferrum 'Hammer blade' is my master," he had noticed a few hunters in the hall had suddenly inclined themselves to look over towards his direction. He wondered why many seemed so interested in his master's old nickname. Yet another question he would have to ask if ever he made it back.

The rest of the process had gone rather swiftly, he was given a card from the receptionist. It had his name and other bland things upon it. Koryn supposed that when he had proved himself enough he would be given his own badge, the prospect stirred the smoldering excitement in his gut.

Once free of the guild hall, he made it his mission to find a more suitable replacement for his weapon and armor. "If that old coot is such a big shot, I'd better look the part as his apprentice," he told himself.

His fire was rapidly dulled though as he realized the merchants asked for a substantial amount of coin for their wares.

"You won't get far with a simple bone, nye heh," a squat merchant said with a short cackle. Koryn felt his face flush with mild annoyance at the mans prodding. He didn't lose his composure though, he did not want to give the merchant the satisfaction, he simply turned to regard him with a curt response.

"Well do you have anything better?" he retorted.

The man seemed unfazed and simply claimed he did indeed have something more impressive. "As you can see though, weapons ain't cheap, but if perhaps you had five hundred zenny I could let you have a choice of a few nice pieces," the price was still too high for the young hunter, who begrudgingly declined the offer.

"Hold on kid," the man stammered. "Let me take a look of that bone you call a weapon," he suggested. Koryn stood for a moment wondering why the man would even care to see a weapon he had just called "simple". He took the blade from behind him and handed it to the squat merchant.

"Mmmm hmmm...not bad," the man said under his breath, Koryn wondered if perhaps his hard work had some value. "Well it's a piece of junk," the comment quickly stung at the hunter's pride. "How about you give me this and two hundred zenny, and I'll let you have a weapon of your choice hmm?"

He could not believe his luck, though he disliked this man more each passing second, he could actually afford a new blade. Though as he almost eagerly handed his entire savings to the man's outstretched hand, he paused for a moment. He had made the bone blade himself, though it was a simple weapon, it had been the one he had used when he trained back home, and he had hoped it would have been the one he bagged his first monster with.

"What's the holdup?" the man asked impatiently. "If you want to go and make a fool of yourself then, by all means, take your toy and be off!" he felt the pressure of the moment falling upon him and he sighed, hanging over the few zenny he had.

"Good choice...now then seems you favor a long sword...I've got just the thing," the man walked to the back of his shop, taking both the money and relinquished weapon. Moments later he returned with a long lacquered scabbard, from one end stuck out a beautifully crafted hilt of iron. Koryn could not believe just how beautiful the weapon he received was. He withdrew the gleaming blade from its sheath and held it aloft, the early suns rays glinted over the perfectly curved edge.

"Now that's a weapon worth hunting with," the man cackled, clearly seeing the pleased expression on the young mans face. "Now get going, plenty of beast waiting to taste that blade!"

With a quick nod, and many signs of gratitude, he departed from the merchant's shop and once more felt that things were looking up for him now that he had a more suited sword on his back. Koryn would learn very quickly that flying Wyvern and violent beasts were not the only obstacles a fledgling hunter would face. For now, he looked for a place to stay and a bite to eat, he was hungry and was not all to keen on hunting just yet.


The very next morning, he had taken a simple quest down from the guild board in the town square. It was a simple gathering request, to find mundane materials for a paying client. He had to recover some of the money he had given away the day before after all.

"Collect unique mushrooms," he mumbled to himself thinking it would be a simple but taxing job. He was headed to what was called the "Verdant Hills" location, it was a few days travel by cart, but he had learned that a simple Aptonoth driven cart was not the only means of transportation.

"Tickets, please...Mroew Tickets!" he heard the felyne gatekeeper call out over the crowd. The sight of the feline assistant standing up on two hind legs and wearing a rather fitting suite was rather new to Koryn. In his town, few felyne existed, and the few that did keep to themselves in their respective posts, so seeing one out in the open was a bit of a treat to the bright eyed hunter.

He boarded what was called an airship, the large contraption looking like a standard sea faring vessel, though it was outfitted with a large thin skinned balloon and a burner. He was amazed at how the hot air from the burning device filled the skin up and caused the wooden base to rise. Though the price had been luxuriously high, he had a desire to take the vessel at least once to his destination.

It was mere hours later, and well into the late morning, that he stepped foot on the location site. The driver handed him a small cylinder of what felt like bamboo or similar material. "You pull this when you finish...or in need of help," the gentleman had instructed, showing him a string protruding from the bottom of the capped cylinder.

"Make sure ya point it straight up and stay by the sight!" the man added hastily before waving him goodbye.

The area felt oddly relaxing to Koryn, the hills were lush with grass and trees sparsely scattered about. The fresh air reminded him a bit of home, despite the feeling of being high up.

"More like mountains than hills," he thought to himself, but he shook off the notion, he had after all just been hundreds of feet in the sky. The experience had been nauseating at first, but otherwise enjoyable and quick.

Koryn made a mental map of the area and set off to look for the telltale signs of mushrooms. Decaying logs and foliage would be his best bet as he remembered seeing fungi growing around such areas in the forest back home.

The search did not take very long, he saw gleaming in the morning sun a few caps of mushrooms by the shade of a small hillock, early morning dew still speckled the bright colors tops of the mushrooms. The pile of aged wood and vegetation had a pungent smell, but not altogether displeasing to the young hunter.

"Alright, I think a few more would do it," he said as he had to carefully pick out the ripest ones from the growing group. He found it hard to identify the different types of fungi from one another, so he had taken a few assorted types, thinking it best he grab them all and figure them out later.

His small pack feeling a bit fuller he went to search for more. Once more he was successful finding another cluster of the fungal growth by a large rock face. The foliage here seemed out of place, almost as if it had been gathered there purposely, but he would not question his good fortunes.

As he gathered the desired amount of mushrooms he hadn't noticed the pile of dead plant matter shifting. A sudden clicking noise was the warning he received before a pair of large mandibles thrust from the pile. Koryn withdrew his hand just moments before the large sickle-like pincers closed, snapping angrily at the air where his wrist had just been.

"Click...click!" a massive insect scurried angrily from the pile of forest rubble. He watched in amazement as a large angry invertebrate charged out of the pile.

It looked much like the Hornetaurs in the forest back home, but these sported a pair of grasping jaws, rather than the horned protrusion he was accustomed to. In mere moments another pair of the large yellow insects joined the first, angrily chattering at him. One reared back and released a pungent fluid from its mouth. The inexperienced hunter once more stepped away from his prize in order to avoid the substance.

He now realized why the large store of mushrooms had been growing in such an odd location, these bugs had gathered the needed material and had established a makeshift crop of the food source just outside their dwelling, thus providing abundant food as well as concealment from enemies.

"Well I guess this won't be so boring," he grinned as he withdrew his newly acquired blade from his back. He took a moment to admire the glint of the steel before swinging at the nearest insect. The weight of the blade felt off, but as it connected with the bug it sliced cleanly with a satisfying feel. He shrugged at the added weight then and continued.

More and more of the insects came out to defend their property. The young hunter felt a small rush as he cleaved through the new arrivals. Each swing would cleanly cut down one or two at a time. When it appeared their efforts were in vain the bugs began to retreat, climbing up the rock face to escape to another hidden location.

In his excitement, Koryn swung vertically at one of the retreating creatures. His blade singing as it struck through the body and collided with the rock beneath it. It was then he felt how poor a choice he had made. The blade clanging loudly against the rock, for a split moment the vibration of the strike had caused the long piece of gleaming metal to wobble and then suddenly split. In a small shower of sparks and shrapnel, the blade snapped at its center becoming two mostly whole pieces.

With wide eyes, he watched as his savings vanished in an instant, and all for some mushrooms.

"There is no way I swung hard enough!" he shouted, not even checking to see if his attackers had fully retreated. His luck held somewhat as he was indeed alone to look over the broken remains of his once gleaming blade.

The edge along where the blade impacted was blunt and bent, lower down he saw where the break had occurred and noticed just how brittle the metal was as pieces of it even snapped when he pressed his thumb and index finger against it. How it had stayed together for as long as it did was a mystery.

"Damnit!" he stuck the bent blade into the ground, the realization the sneaky merchant had cheated him out of his hard earned wages made him want to breathe fire. If only he could.

After several minutes Koryn would get up, feeling his anger slowly subsiding for the time being. He still had a quest to fulfill in the mean time. The thought of recovering some of his lost fortune balming his pain.


Some hours later Koryn stepped off the airship from the return back to Minegarde. His spirits felt very low, and not even the rush of once more being in the air had soothed his broken pride. Though he had completed his first quest and delivered the desired mushrooms, receiving a nice reward for his efforts. The fact he had been made a fool burned furiously in his chest.

He kept the two shards of metal wrapped in a thick cloth he had taken to use as a blanket, the eyes that followed him as he walked through town seemed to be piercing and judgmental. He gave a sharp look at the stall where he had purchased the weapon, seeing more bright eyed hunters clambering around the merchant, hearing the same cackle above the crowd made his blood boil, his leather gloves straining as he clenched his fist. Koryn decided not to act though, feeling that confronting the conniving peddler would only openly admit his mistake. Though foolish, the sting in his pride told him to preserve what he had left.

"I see ya bought one of those duds that sneak so eagerly parts with," came a voice from his right. He looked to see a tiny old man sitting on a cushion, inhaling deeply from a long thin pipe. The mans drooping ears told the hunter he was a wyverian, he had rarely seen any such people before.

Koryn must have been glaring at the old man because he chuckled softly "My my…such a look, I'm not the one who deserves your scorn though boy!" the man jabbed his pipe towards him, it felt like he was struck by a blow.

"M…my apologies sir, I meant no ill will to you," he managed to realize his face had been tightened into a scowl. He gave a polite bow to the old wyverian.

"Pppfff…thats better," the man croaked as he exhaled a large plume of smoke. "Now boy….you do have some manners it seems….rare for such a young whelp," he scratched his thinly haired chin before taking another deep breath from his pipe, the embers in the cupped tip glowing brightly, indicating that the remaining light of day had begun to wane as dusk approached. "Who taught you to speak so well boy?"

"My master," he replied quickly but still slightly inclined.

"Well then…let me see your broken trinket, perhaps I can help," the man spoke.

"How?" the word had come from his mouth before he could help it.

"Do you make a habit of questioning help?!" the elder snapped.

"No sir, sorry sir."

There was a long silence before a gleeful cackle split through the air "Gya ha ha ha…chuh cuff!" the man coughed gingerly, "I'm only yanking yer tail boy, but come show me that broken blade if you must know I am a blacksmith and a damned good at that!" the small elderly man stated with pride.

Koran did not bother to ask anymore, for he realized that indeed the man had been sitting outside of a small forge, in his grief he had not taken notice nor even smelt the familiar lingering smell of a quenched furnace. He withdrew the two pieces of metal, one still attached to the elegant hilt of the former long sword, from the wrappings. He set them before the blacksmith and spoke.

"It was to quickly tempered, and quenched," he stated, knowing full well the issues with the metal.

"My my…a young hunter versed in the ways of metallurgy, you're just full of surprises, pfff... most don't know the difference between a good blade and a bad, but how do you?"

"My master sir," Koryn replied, hiding the smile he felt curling his lips.

"Well now tell me the name of this marvelous master of yours!"

"Ferrum sir…"

For the second time, it was silent for what felt like a long stretch of time. The wyverian smith took a few more deep drags from his tobacco, making a small gathering of clouds around him before speaking again.

"So, that old fool is still at it eh?" his voice seemed sharp, almost menacing. Koryn blinked in surprise at the testy tone the man had.

"And he got himself a nice little apprentice too," the man now stared at Koryn, he feared the old man would change his mind in helping him. "I won't be OUTDONE!" came a sudden eruption from the small craftsman. "Boy bring me ore and give me that sad excuse of a sword and I will make you a weapon worthy of my skill!"

Koryn eagerly looked through his things, finding a pickaxe that Ferrum had gifted him before he left to start his adventures. He quickly withdrew the tool and with some effort snapped the wooden handle from its head, presenting it along with the pieces of what remained of the faulty sword. With a very studied gaze, the smith looked it over.

"The metal is very good..." he replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice as if even gingerly complimenting Koryn's mentor brought him great discomfort "there isn't enough for a long sword boy, but still a weapon I can make that will serve you just as well I think...I hope your former master taught you well."

That evening the familiar sensation of a living furnace greeted Koryn, the burning embers washing over him with renewed waves of warmth as he once more pumped the billows after weeks away from the recognizable task. His leather chest piece lay discarded a few feet away.

"Which hand to you favor boy!"

"Neither...I am...adept with...both," he managed to breathe heavily as beads of sweat began to form his brow and trickle along his face. Ferrum had insisted he work with both hands, making sure that each arm was equally skilled if the need arose. Koryn had been surprised to find that when he had begun to use his left hand, he quickly grew accustomed to it and soon was able to do everything that he could with his right. He, however, chose to use his right hand out of habit, because his mentor was also right handed and it made mimicking him that much easier. His unnecessary answer was a quick attempt to throw the elder blacksmith off.

He was slightly shocked when the old man cackled "Well well...seems you're full of surprises boy," he spat, not unkindly.

"My...name...huff...is Koryn!"

"Well Kory you better do better than this if you wish to be a hunter," the old wyverian mocked. "Else the only comfort you'll be getting tonight is this furnace," the innuendo was lost upon the inexperienced hunter.

He ignored the deliberate botching of his name and took a firmer grip on the handle of the leather billows he pumped faster. The fire blazed with light as causing the metal to only slightly glow brighter in the melting crucible, flecks of useless carbon had begun to crust the top of the burning slag.

"Come come!" the codger jeered "My dead gran can stoke a flame better!"

The obvious jab at his pride had the desired effect on the young hunter. With a deep breath and a steady posture, he pumped harder, feeling his muscles tense from the strain. A burden such as this would have been no issue to him, but he struggled with the elder's tools, as they were built for a much smaller individual, and he guessed that the previous assistant was perhaps about the same height as the crotchety coot.

Koryn charged forward though, his breathing labored as he redoubled his efforts. The flames began to grow immensely as tongues of fire spewing from the mouth of the furnace like an angry beast. The wyverian, however, seemed nothing but pleased by the violent lapping of the flames. He simply laughed gleefully as the tendrils of fire nearly touched his flesh.

"That's better boy..." he said satisfied as the metal now glowed intensely. After a few moments, he withdrew the melting crucible from the flames, tipping it gingerly over two ingot molds and allowing the metal to cool for a short time.

"Don't think you're done just yet," added the blacksmith.

Koryn watched, still vaguely pumping the lung as the old blacksmith skillfully took the cooling ingots and with his hammer began to beat away, the metal shaping quickly into an elongated point. The wyverian worked with deft motions, taking the shaped metal and allowing it to heat before withdrawing the smoldering metal and continuing his work.

It was late in the morning when their work was finished. Koryn felt spent but deeply satisfied at their accomplishment. Before them on the smithies lay two masterfully crafted blades. Not nearly as ornate nor glimmering, save for the keen edges, as the previous sword, they still looked impressive

The younger man admired their rough beauty. Both were similar in length, one only slightly longer than the other. There hilts also greatly mirrored one another, both sharing a simple design with a curved guard over the handle. It was in the blades that the two drastically changed. The longest having a much broader shape, the edge slightly curved and the sharpened side extended nearly over both sides. The smaller, and more deadly looking, had a drastically defined curve and a thinner blade, only sharpened on one side but sported three spike-like protrusions along its blunt edge that seemed they could do damage if utilized.

"Well, have a feel kid..." the codger remarked, taking a deep drag from his newly lit pipe.

He took slight notice in the more affectionate tone of the old smithy. He went and picked up the two blades, the immediate sensation was the weight of the dual swords. A bit heavy, but as he fully took them aloft he felt just how seamlessly they fit in his palms. These swords had been made for him, and in a few moments, the added weight seemed to not really matter.

His emotions must have shown upon his face because a moment later the wyverian shouted: "Don't mind the added weight boy...but if your so worried give them a try!"

He looked to see the man pointing his thin pipe towards a worn sharpening stone at the other end of his workplace. He looked warily to the wyverian.

"Give it a nice hard whack...I promise these blades won't shatter," the man grinned as he placed the tip of his pipe back between his lips.

Koryn took the weapons and walked over to the stone, his arms slightly straining from the intense labor before, as his strength returned gradually he could feel the blades burdened him even less. He gave another glance back at the old man, who only nodded a confirmation, and he stared at the worn out stone. Despite its obvious overuse it still seemed like a feat to even damage it. He lifted the broader blade in his right hand and with a grunt and a swift swing he struck it.

Cling!

The blade struck the broad side of the stone and sank a good inch into it. Amber eyes wide once more at the sheer craftsmanship of the weapon. He had secretly been afraid of damaging the newly made equipment and had held back swinging at full force, but even this result was amazing.

The blacksmith once again displayed his ability to seemingly read the younger mans thoughts as he exclaimed "You call that a hit! That was a love tap if you pull your punches like that you'll just be an easy meal for any beast!" the insult stung.

He readied his other hand, now positioning the smaller blade to strike, with a feral shout he swung forward as hard as he could.

Shing!

This time the smaller blade struck into the stone and sliced several inches into it. A moment later a crack split through the stone before it fell apart into two pieces. Koryn was amazed by this turn of events, even the smaller blade seemed so well honed he had barely even felt the impact until the very end of his swing.

"You'll find the edges are still just as sharp...though over time you may still need to sharpen them...they're not perfect, and for all it's worth I've yet to see a blade that never lost its edge, though some may last for quite some time," the blacksmith spoke thoughtfully, he then leaped up from his seat and made his way to the exit of his shop.

"Feel free to bunker down over there," he gestured once again with his pipe towards a pile of tarps, "I'm old...and in much need of a good rest...if you know what's good for ya...you'd let this tired man sleep," the man left without another word.

Koryn had gingerly acknowledged what had been said. He was still to aghast by the sheer prowess of the twin blades he held in his hand. "Yes...thank you," he said as he heard the man leave, he would say so again in the morning, but once he had examined the still sharp edges of the blades to confirm the old man's words, he felt his eyes grow heavy as his energy began to wane.

He gingerly placed the two blades down upon the bench before making his way to the pile of tarp. As he slumped down upon it he felt his strength began to leave him. Despite the lack of comfort his bedding provided, he found that the familiar atmosphere was soothing. The last thought he had before sleep took him, was how his first few days as a hunter, didn't seem all that bad.

-End Chapter-


A/N

That is another chapter down woo! I hope everyone enjoyed it! I know I haven't written much in terms of monster hunting as of yes, but I promise the next chapter will. I just wanted to emphasis on how, in a more realistic world, people can be straight up cruel and try and take advantage of poor Koryn.

I was alternatively going to title this one "Don't Trust a Sleazy Salesman" but i liked the more profound title I picked instead.

Leave a comment on what you liked, or maybe didn't like so much. I greatly appreciate constructive criticism. Feed me a few favorites as well, it really helps motivate me to continue. As promised I will be posting the third...er...second chapter shortly. See you guys then.

Happy Hunting!

Update: Whoops I forgot the title! (24/10/2017)