Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. "The Legacy of a Hunter" is copyright Keiichi Hikami.

A single gunshot rang out over the air, and the killing blow never came.

Kio heard a whimper in front of him. He slowly opened his eyes to see the Velodrome facing a different direction, as was the rest of the pack. There was a gaping wound where the Velodrome's crest used to be.

Kio turned toward the sound. There was no mistake. Only one other person could be here now.

Three more gunshots sounded one after the other and several Velociprey's fell, one right behind Kio with blood spurting from what was left of its head (the stump).

"Cultise!"

"Get out of here!"

Only four Velocipreys remained and the circle was broken.

Kio was surprised by the amount of energy left in his body as he jumped to his feet and ran.

The Velociprey let out an enraged cry and started to chase but to Kio's surprise the monster suddenly turned and fled, leaving its pack behind.

The turn of events were the last thing Kio expected and in spite of himself he stopped dead in his tracks. He's the leader and he's just running away!

"What are you doing? Let's go!" Ignoring the remaining Velociprey Cultise shouldered his gun and gave chase.

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

Kio gave up and started running. He saw the Velodrome exit the cave from where it entered, the northern entrance.

Being closer to the Velodrome, Kio exited the huge cavern first. The sunlight was bright, momentarily blinding him. It seemed like ages ago when he was last under the sun and the warmth felt good.

"Don't stop, idiot! Keep moving!"

Only Cultise's warning and Kio's instincts saved him from instant death as he threw himself forward.

Kio felt a swipe behind his head and once again he smelled that repulsive odor he would never forget. Kio got up and ran for his life, not caring how ridiculous he looked.

The Velodrome.

He thought the monster had run away, but it had been waiting beside the cave entrance for someone to appear and be blinded, making it the perfect chance to ambush. Kio was genuinely shocked if this was the intelligence of monsters. Without Cultise's warning I'd be dead.

The Velodrome hadn't given up and it started to chase after Kio.

"Kio! Keep running straight! No matter what happens don't turn or dodge!"

"What! Have you gone crazy!"

There was no way Kio could out run the Velodrome's long strides. One leap and he'd be caught. Kio ran, taking every step and expecting it to be his last.

But suddenly the Velodrome let out a loud painful screech, and Kio couldn't help turning to see what was going on. The Velodrome seemed to be frozen in place, twitching violently. He noticed the monster had stepped on a metal, oval shaped box

It took a while for Kio to understand what was happening until he remembered the things Cultise had brought. It must be some kind of trap.

Contrarily to Kio, Cultise didn't waste a moment and ran over to the Velodrome. In one fluid motion Cultise flipped his bowgun from his back and positioned it in front of him.

Pressing the muzzle of his weapon against the Velodrome's immobile head, he pulled the trigger in rapid succession. Heavy sounds like hammer blows rang out through the forest.

After firing all his rounds, Cultise pulled the cock-lever, releasing the empty rounds and reloading his weapon. His motions were so quick and effortless that Kio could barely see what he was doing.

Once again Cultise re-aimed his bowgun and fired with a cold blooded disinterest and machinelike precision.

In the end the Velodrome died before it could escape the clutches of the trap.

It was over in a flash.

"How did you… Why…"

What Kio really wanted to do was thank Cultise for saving his life, but unable to be frank, unintelligible words poured out of his mouth. Ignoring the dead Velodrome, Cultise walked over and pulled out bandages and healing potions. He handed a bottle to Kio and, using another, starting cleaning Kio's shoulder wound before he answered.

"Why? You are my apprentice after all. What's wrong with saving you? It's my duty to keep you alive until the end of your training period."

Kio was surprised by the kind words and he became embarrassed. He hadn't expected this from Cultise.

"But it was obvious." Continued Cultise. "From the very beginning. There was no way you'd be so enthusiastic when all you do normally is complain. I knew in an instant you'd go after the Velodrome. The only reason I let you go was to teach you a lesson."

Cultise was grinning mischievously as he explained. "The leader of a Velociprey pack moves around the forest in a rough circle, continually patrolling its territory. This is true for Iopreys and Genpreys so don't forget that. Now you, probably remembering what I said about the nest, decided to start a racket in there. At best I bet you killed three or four."

He had hit the nail on the head. What is he, a psychic or something?

"At your age I guess that's impressive in it self though. You're probably the youngest hunter I've ever seen."

"Really?"

"Don't get cocky. But anyway since the Velodrome is pretty cunning, I knew it wouldn't be able to take on two hunters at once. He would try to run away and then pick us off one at a time with ambush. So I circled around and set a shock trap ahead of time.

Talk about impeccable. Kio was going to show how 'good' he was and yet he was saved by the very person he had tried to outwit. Kio didn't know what to say, he was so embarrassed.

"On the past few missions I walked around the peninsula and observed the Velociprey pack while you picked mushrooms. Where their nest is, their behavior, hunting grounds, game paths, everything is in my head. That is why I can do things like this. That is true hunting.

"Watching you today I won't say you don't have potential. But your knowledge is nowhere near what's necessary to survive. You can't get through this world on strength alone."

"Well I'm gonna hunt however I please."

"Those are words for a master. Someone who has actually accomplished something."

Kio was unable to argue and he saw Cultise's eyes flash.

"Well, well Mr. Kio. I thought it was complete submission but you've disobeyed my orders. What kind of punishment do you think would be appropriate once your shoulder has healed? How's fifty laps around the village sound? Hmm? Or maybe peeling a hundred onions?"

"Ha, ha, ha…" Kio laughed nervously.

"Don't worry. There's lot's of time and I'll figure out something really, really nice for you."

Kio started to back away. He's serious. He had only known Cultise for a short time but he had no doubt it wouldn't be something to look forward to.