AN: Hello, this is the author, and this chapter you "may" read is an omake. This chapter will break the fourth wall, however the included characters will act in character, while they explain the power-scaling for The Grand Expedition to the Foreign World. I wanted to make sure that you, the reader, understood how Monster Hunter Wyverns, Beasts, and Elder Dragons compared to the Monster Girl Encyclopedia mamono / gods.
Most people (by people I mean writers and readers alike) do not take the mamono seriously as they are typically depicted as naïve lusty ladies with the inability to understand the basic concept of consent. This statement is not to shame any of these writers or readers that have portrayed or think of the mamono as such, or to tell those writers that they are writing them incorrectly.
While I don't like how certain stories depict the mamono (or the rest of the MGE cast) due to the way the author's portrayal. This omake chapter is not an inditement of those writers, or an attempt to call them out. To reiterate: This chapter will include the characters from the main story, and they will act in character, while discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the mamono and monsters respectively. This is just an exposition chapter with some funnies sprinkled in with the characters that would not talk about the topic of power-scaling naturally.
If you would rather not read what can be summed up as the "author explains things through Ace and Mia the chapter". Then you can ignore it in favor of reading the story chapters as they come out, as the information in this omake will be sprinkled throughout coming chapters.
Thank you and I hope you enjoy the omake.
Ace woke to the stark void, a pitch-black featureless world that held nothing but himself, and as he was capable of seeing himself clearly; there was a light source which he could not see, hidden somewhere in the seemingly endless void. The narration explaining the setting only added to his confusion, but as he started to put pieces together, he found himself dwelling on what exactly he could get the narration to say.
He scratched his butt in curiosity, and smirked once he heard the disembodied voice state this action. Annoyed, he got to his feet and began brushing himself off, taking notice that the dirt fell down into the darkness bellow him. As if he and he alone was being held still in the empty void.
He said, "So am I… stop repeating what I'm saying!", The disembodied narrator stopped repeating the felyne. Leaving Ace confused on whether or not the voice was talking to him or about him. Questioningly he asked, "Can I talk now…? Good…"
The felyne coughed uncomfortably with the fact that the voice was currently narrating his every move, "How the hell did I get here?"
He sat himself down, kicking his feet despite the fact there was clearly a force holding him in place. He scratched his chin and said, "Why am I here, 'Disembodied Voice'? Wait a second… who are you?"
Growing disturbed by the immediate silence, Ace began to ponder why he was here. Thinking to himself that the voice would tell him, but found himself disappointed by the continue narration instead of a potentially helpful answer. Sighing he began thinking about a sign, a sign that would tell them why he was here, and how he got taken to this black void in the first place.
And so, a paper slowly floated down into his lap, leaving the palico surprised by the sudden appearance of another object besides himself. Gulping down his fright he picked up the page and read it aloud, "Ace Palico will demonstrate the scale of power the monsters from… Monster Hunter, and how they compare to the mamono of the Monster Girl Encyclopedia. The narrator will state his actions to the reader, while… Ace himself explains the scale of power within the crossover fanfiction… The Grand Expedition to the… Foreign World."
Stunned, the palico dropped the paper, before quickly snatching it up in his paws before it could fall into the void below. He began reading again, "Ace was chosen to speak to the audience… slash reader because he hasn't received as much characterization in the last story arc as Dawn. The author, Perpetually Tired Hunter… stupid name… the author believed that Ace's… COMIC RELIEF NATURE! What the fuck! I am not comic relief, meowshole! Gog… fine whatever… the author believed his comic relief nature would help the audience better understand how the characters saw the two worlds… rather than a long-drawn-out explanation that would probably bore the reader with an author's note chapter that explained everything Ace is about to go over."
Ace sat there in the void, taking in the reality of the situation he found himself in, as an idea popped into his head. He began thinking; thinking of a someone who would at least distract him from the insane scenario he found himself in.
Mia popped into existence beside him, completely aware of the situation they were in, though she was just happy that the first thing Ace thought of was her. She smiled at him, while Ace glared out into space after the narrator gave him away.
"Hi.", Mia began, but was completely shut down as Ace stood up.
"Let's just get this over with." He said with a pout, and then with a scowl as the narrator continued to state his every action.
"Alright," Mia beamed regardless, "mister Narrator can you show us what we're supposed to talk about?"
Before the two werecats, appeared two short lists of numbers with an accompanying list of names appearing below them. The words glowed a bright white, though it wasn't enough to bother their eyes. Ace peered at each list, and realized that one was written in the Hunter's Guild's language and that the other was written in Common.
"I can read this one, and I guess you'll be reading the one written in Common, then.", Ace supposed.
"Okay!", Mia said as she sprang to her feet.
The top of the first list was labeled one, and stated it was the most powerful being that could possibly exist within The Grand Expedition to the Foreign World.
1 – The Highest Beings:
Monster Hunter
White Fatalis / Old Fatalis: The Ancestral Dragon
Monster Girl Encyclopedia
The Original Chief God: The Creator of all Things
On Ace's side read one name, a name he dreaded, a named he hoped he would never have to speak again. Calming his racing heart he read it aloud, "White Fatalis… Old Fatalis…"
"Are you okay? You don't look so good, Ace.", Mia comforted, though she wasn't aware of the beast, she wanted to comfort her beloved regardless.
"I'm fine," Ace grumbled and then sighed, "the White Fatalis is not something I want to talk about… it brings back a lot of bad memories I would rather not talk about."
"Okay, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Mia pulled him close, thinking it would comfort the palico, and to the surprise of Ace, it did.
"Shut it you.", Ace glared out into the dark, despite the fact that he knew that the narrator could not speak with him. Huffing he turned to the nuzzling cat-girl, "Just talk about the Chief God already."
"Oh," Mia hummed, "well I can't say much on him… her? There isn't much written on them, but they are the creator of all things, so I'm guessing there isn't anything higher than them."
"Alright," Ace nodded, "one down… eight to go."
The second from the top of the list was labeled two, and stated it was the most powerful being that currently exist within The Grand Expedition to the Foreign World.
2 – The Gods and God likes
Monster Hunter
Alatreon: Blazing Black Dragon / The Avatar of the Elements / The Brilliant Darkness
Black Fatalis: God of Monsters
Crimson Fatalis: Black Dragon of Everlasting Rage
Dire Miralis: Smelting Black Dragon / The Black Flame of Calamity
Monster Girl Encyclopedia
Lilith: The Demon Lord
The Current Chief God: Current Chief Deity
The Fallen God: Lord and Mistress of Pandemonium
The Sun God: Ruler of the Desert Kingdoms
Ares: God of War
Bacchus: God of Wine
Bastet: Cat Goddess
Eros: God of Love
Hel: Goddess of Life and Death
Poseidon: God of the Sea
Ace was left gaping at the list of gods, but found some comfort in the fact that there were more gods than Black Dragons. Sighing he began scanning his own list, and found his mouth running dry as the name, Fatalis, metaphorically burned itself into his eyes.
"I'll start with Alatreon," he shuddered, "they are known for their power over the elements, and their incredible power. Their presence alone is enough to burn the land, freeze the air, and blot out the sun. They're not as bad as… Fatalis, but they are a first-class monster for a reason."
"Did you and Dawn ever hunt one?", Mia asked.
"Oh, Gog no!", Ace cried, "No we didn't! Dawn and I have never seen one in person before, but we have seen the uh… aftermath of a hunt… Your turn; talk about some of your gods."
"Sure," Mia gave her a list an annoyed look, "well the Chief God is the main god of the Order, and the Fallen God is the deity of the Dark Church. They are pretty much the opposites of each other, and Lilith is the current Demon Lord. So… humans worship the big CG, some mamono worship the Fallen, but most of us just do whatever Lilith thinks we should do."
"Thinks you should do?", Ace gave her a quizzical look, "Are you her puppet or something?"
"NO!", Mia began to rapidly shake her head, "No, no, no, no, no, we mamono are just effected by the Demon Lord in general. If they love humanity… we love humanity, if they hate humanity, then…"
"Okay, then.", Ace changed the subject after seeing Mia squirm as the last of her words left her mouth, "My turn… the Dire Miralis is the Black Dragon responsible for the Tainted Sea… It boiled the water just by existing in it… It turned a once thriving ecosystem into still red waters."
"That can't be true.", Mia's face screwed into one of panic.
"Let's just move on.", Ace decided, as he did not want to go over the details of an entire sea ecosystem being boiled alive.
"Please stop… okay," She said weakly, "…well the rest of them are pretty much exactly as you would expect them to be. Ares does war, Eros does love, Poseidon's a fish, you get it."
"Alright let's go on to the next one, then.", Ace said hoping there weren't any more Fatalises on the list, "That's not the plural form of Fatalis, Narrator."
Despite correcting the narrator, the voice continued on to describe the list labeled three. Which consisted of the most powerful Elder Dragons and the mamono that were worshipped as gods or were powerful enough to be considered god like.
Ace swallowed a lump in his throat at the sheer number of giants he would have to cover. Sidling up to the list he began waving his paws through the list, causing them to disappear before their eyes. Though Ace knew it wouldn't change the fact that he still had so many to cover.
3 – Colossi, Great Destroyers, and Minor Gods
Monster Hunter
Akantor: Black God
Amatsumagatsuchi / Amatsu: Storm Dragon
Ceadeus: Ocean Dragon
Dah'ren Mohran: Huge Mountain Dragon
Dalamadur: Serpent King Dragon
Gogmazios: Giant Halberd Dragon
Jhen Mohran: Peak Mountain Dragon
Lao-Shan Lung: Old Mountain Dragon
Shen Gaoren: Giant Enemy Crab / Fortress Crab
Ukanlos: White God
Xeno'Jiva / Safi'Jiva: Alien Soul / Pure Soul
Yama Tsukami: Floating Mountain Dragon
Mia smiled at him, before looking to her own list to find it almost as long as his. Her smile fell as she began to read her own catalog of minor gods.
Monster Girl Encyclopedia
Apophis: Serpent of Darkness
Echidna: Mother of Monsters
Lich: Master Necromancers
Lilim: Daughters of The Demon Lord
Otohime: Sea God Dragons
Pharaoh: Divine Rulers of the Desert
Ryu: Water Gods
Tezcatlipoca: Monsters of Domination
Wight: Undead Queens
While Mia knew there was more to the list, she acted much quicker than Ace had, and began waving away the mamono she had little no knowledge of. Ace all the while smiling at his eventual life partner's antics. His brow's shot up in surprise, "Wait, what did you say, Narrator!"
"Oh," Mia edged up to him with a purr, "I'm sure it's nothing."
"Yeah!" Ace nudged her off of him, though there was a slight reluctance in the action, "No there wasn't!"
"How about I start first, Ace?", Mia circled around him, while making sure to run her tail along the back of his neck.
Mia waltzed up to her list, and as seductively as possible ran her claw down the list. However, when she made the motion to drag her claw down, she ended up losing her balance, and fell through the intangible wall of text. She landed face first against the nothing that was the void's floor.
Getting to her feet, she blushed, and turned to the list, and decided to generalize their overall power. She pointed to the top and then the bottom, "So, all of these girls have at least a couple things in common. The… Wight, the Pharaoh, and the Lilim are all really powerful, but are also leaders of other powerful mamono."
"Hmm," Ace stepped up to the list, "I'm guessing they're all powerful, but have something unique going on with them."
"Yeah," she pointed back to the list and pointed to each name as they were called out, "the lilim and the Wight control and create their own dimensions… But the lilim are the Demon Lord's daughters, so they're clearly the most powerful ones here."
"Okay," Ace shrugged, "what about that one?" he pointed to the longest name.
"Oh, that's a Tezcatlipoca," Mia nodded, "the ocelomeh worship them as gods, but I haven't really ever seen any pictures of them in my momma's office."
"Mayor Wicker, right?", Mia chose to ignore the comment to continue.
"The only one that stands out is the Lich.", She nodded to herself, "They are exceptional magic users, and can raise an army of undead to do her bidding within a day! Mom used to hunt them down to keep these girls from raising people from our cemeteries."
"Okay?", Ace turned to his own list, and decided to take a note from Mia's book as he too began to generalize the monsters. He pointed to the top and slid his claw to the bottom imitating her action, "So every monster here is gigantic, and most of them are really peaceful… with some catveats."
"Being?", Mia smugly asked.
"Heh," Ace started from the top, "Dalamadur don't cause any problems unless they're near villages… they tend to cause earthquakes."
"Earthquakes?!", Mia shouted.
"Yeah," Ace began focusing on a mental image, "I'll show you."
Before the two werecats appeared the colossus of a serpent the size of the tallest mountains, and only about half the width if they were to take a guess. Hook like spikes ran along the length of its body, which started in a cluster around its head and neck, and becoming more spread out along its titanic form, with a small cluster near the tip of its tail that was topped with a pair of red barbs that formed its rattle.
The giant Elder stared down at them with intelligent bright red eyes, it was unsure of the void it found itself in, but for whatever reason it knew Ace to be responsible. Its giant claw descended upon them causing the already stunned silent Mia to scream in horror before Ace forcibly willed it out of existence. The giant serpent simply disappeared from the void as if were never there to begin with.
"How in the… where in the… how does that…", Mia couldn't finish a question as the shock of such a tremendous beast formed a metaphorical pit in her stomach and a dryness on her tongue.
"LET'S MOVE ON THEN!", Ace quickly changed the subject, "Alright, let's see um… all of the monsters with mountain in their name don't typically attack villages pretty much ever. Yama is a big balloon… thing that survives off of vacuuming up vegetation, but in doing so it ends up, you know, destroying… entire… forests…"
Gaping, Mia decided she would take over and said, "Zipangu, an island nation, hold a couple of these um… minor gods like the Ryu and I think I saw a Kitsune somewhere before I waved it away."
Happy to move away from his list, Ace asked, "How strong are these mamono, actually? They all seem pretty tame in comparison to… you know."
Mia shrugged, "I'm guessing it's a comparison between physical might from the Elders, and the overall magical strength these mamono have… As the lilim can make their own dimensions, while the Elders could easily destroy everything if they wanted too."
"Yeah," Ace agreed, "the only one that stands out is the Jivas at the bottom. We just don't know much about them other than the fact they likely slurping up Bioenergy every chance they get."
"Bioenergy?", Mia asked.
"It's like Spirit Energy, I guess," Ace shrugged, "but our version of it? I don't know how any of this soul stuff works."
"Okay," Mia turned back to their list, "it's time to move to the next part, then."
The list reconstructed itself before moving to the next section, labeled four. Which consisted of normal Elder Dragons and prominent Fanged Beast, beside dragons, and other more powerful than usual mamono.
4 – Elder Dragons, High Apex Monsters, and High ranking Mamono
Monster Hunter
Ahtal-Ka: Pavilion Mantis
Bazelguese: The Invading Tyrant
Chameleos: Mist Dragon
Deviants: Unique Individuals of Exceptional Power
Deviljho: World Eater
Gold Rathian: Queen of the Earth
Kirin: Phantom Beast
Kushala Daora: Steel Dragon
Lunastra: Flame Queen Dragon
Molten Tigrex: Great Roaring Wyvern
Namielle: Abyssal Dragon
Nergigante: Extinction Dragon
Raging Brachydios: Crushing Wyvern
Rajang: Gold Lion / Destruction Incarnate / Angry Monkey
Silver Rathalos: King of the Skies
Shagaru Magala: Heavenly Revolving Dragon
Teostra: Flame King Dragon
Vaal Hazak: Corpse Coat Dragon
Valstrax: The Silver Winged Scarlet Star
Velkana: The Iceborne Wyvern
Ace nodded to himself as he had a strong familiarity with almost all of the monsters listed. He even smirked to himself when he released that he and Dawn technically defeated many of the listed monsters on their own.
Monster Girl Encyclopedia
Anubis: Pyramid's Second in Command
Baphomet: Generals of the Demon Lord's Armies
Beelzebub: Lord of Flies / Lord of Gluttony
Chimaera: Hybrid Beasts
Dragon / Zombie Dragon: Rulers of the Earth
Gazer: Wicked Eyes
Ice Queen: Snow Sovereigns
Inari / Youko: Up and Coming Kitsune
Jabberwock: Queen of Heart's Pet Dragons
Nightmare: Dream Walkers
Sphinx: Pyramid Protectors
Shoggoth: Abyssal Demons of Chaos
Titania: Queen of Faries
The list continued, but Mia wasn't as expert in these mamono species types as she could have been. She waved away the rest of the list, and settled on how she would explain the power of the listed monster girls. Looking to Ace's list she asked, "Can you go through all of them, Ace?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah.", Ace waved away her concerns, "Dawn and I hunt these guys for a living! If you want, I could go first this time?"
"Yes, please.", She said cutely, "I am pretty cute aren't I."
Ace rolled his eyes, before stepping up to the list. A smile on his face, he turned to Mia, and began to rattle off strengths, abilities, ecological niches, and how he felt about each monster.
"First is Ahtal-Ka," Ace nodded, "where do I start?! Well, this is the only Neopteron we know to be this powerful, and the female that was hunted out in the Forlorn Citadel was more than a match for a couple of master hunting teams. Their ability to spin web is second to none, and said web is practically stronger than any silk ever recorded. It can throw massive pieces of debris with ease, it can construct a working machine with silk and rusted metals alone, and it is more than intelligent enough to outsmart hunters!"
"Cool, but…", Mia was about to ask a question on feasibility of such a monster, but Ace was to engrossed in his admiration of the monster to answer her.
"Gog they're so cool!", Ace swooned, "Definitely my second favorite monster, but we're getting off track…"
Ace turned to the list again and grinned, "The second monster is Bazel who is known as the party crasher by hunters and researchers alike! His overall size is incredibly impressive for a wyvern known for flying, despite also being known for fighting like a Brute Wyvern rather than a Flying Wyvern… which he is. He has explosive scales that hang from his, thick as hell, neck and, think as hell, tail! He's awesome, and hunting him in the New World was the best part of our visit!"
Now enthused Mia, began to listen carefully to how Ace described the next monster. Ace, himself, simply continued on, regardless of the narrator, and uncaring for whether or not the reader even cared and just skipped to the rankings.
"Next, we got Chameleos!", Ace moved on, "He's a big boy, really weird looking, likes to move erratically, and he tends to steal stuff from me and Dawn when we're hunting him. He's got this really long tongue that he uses as a whip, he can turn invisible, and he can produce a potent poison gas that… and I'm being honest here, not a big deal. Wroggi are just as effective at poisoning hunters, so let's just move on to the Deviants."
"Deviants?", Mia said, before looking to Ace for answer.
"Ah, yes," Ace nodded, "Deviants are monsters with unique strengths that are usually one of a kind, they aren't subspecies, but they are typically a monster that has stronger body parts or... something happened to them, and now they stand far above their usual standing in the ecosystem. They're super dangerous, but only hunters with specific permit are allowed to hunt them, so it usually works out."
"How many are there?", Mia said after leaning forward with growing interest.
"There's," Ace paused as he began counting them in his head, "there's eighteen different Deviants, but I doubt we'll ever run into any of them in the story… hopefully."
"Okay," Mia gulped, "what about the next one?"
Ace looked to the name Deviljho and began, "Next is the very hungry pickle! This bad boy needs to eat constantly or else he'll begin to starve, and then he'll go savage."
"That quickly?", Mia gave her future husband a tilt of her head.
"Stop that!", Ace grumbled, "Stupid Narrator… but yeah they eat and eat and eat and if they're not eating, they're looking for more to eat! It sucks that its sheer strength and his appetite makes it an ecological crisis all on its own."
"Oh.", Mia deflated.
"Alrighty then!", Ace was quick to change the subject, "Let's take this a little quicker um… Silver and Gold are just really strong rare species of Rathalos and Rathian respectively... Kushala, Teo, Luna, Valstrax, Velkhana, and Namielle are all Elemental Elders! Kushala, as you've already seen, uses wind attacks, but some of the regional variants can breathe icy wind! While the others use their own respective Elements."
"Those being?", Mia asked.
"Oh yeah, you can't read their titles!", Ace chuckled in his embarrassment, "So… Teo and Luna use fire simple enough, but they also produce explosive power… then Valstrax as you've seen can produce Dragon Element… Velkhana uses Ice Element, and Nami uses both Water and Thunder."
"Hmm," Mia hummed, "I get ice, water, fire, and… thunder? Shouldn't it be electric?"
"Eh.", Ace shrugged.
"Never mind," Mia blanked, "but what does Dragon do?"
Another piece of paper floated down into Mia's lap. She blinked in confusion, and began reading it. She crumbled it up, and threw it away into the void. They both watched as the paper ball slowly disappeared into the darkness below.
"What did it say?", Ace asked.
"It said that we have to move on," Mia grumbled, "we can't answer that question, yet. Apparently, it's a spoiler for a long important conversation later on."
"Fine," Ace looked to the last names on his list and said, "next we got is Vaal, who is known for having the power over effluvium, and he was first discover in the New World during an expedition into the Rotten Vale. And… Kirin is a unique Elder Dragon because it is the only monster with an 'equine' appearance, and is also an Elemental Elder that uses Thunder or Ice depending on the subspecies."
"What about the last five?", Mia pointed to the remaining monsters on the list.
"The Rajang, you already know about them, but the reason, I think, they're up there is because they often contend with Elder Dragons. They actually hunt Kirin and typically kick other Elders out of their territory."
He looked to the next, "Nergigante is the one of those rare examples of an Elder without an Element. They purely make use of their physical strength, and due to this, they have taken to hunting other Elders instead of the usual herbivore the rest usually snack on."
"It's a cannibal?", Mia asked, "You don't need to tell them I asked every time a question comes up, Narrator."
"No, it is not.", Ace said while ignoring the silence that followed Mia's question, "Elders are not related to each other in the same way we are. They're a classification that was created due to their lack of commonality with other monsters."
"Cool," Mia nodded, "they're a family of monsters that are a family because they have no relation whatsoever. Sounds contradictory, but I like it."
"Okay," Ace pointed to the last three monsters, "Raging Brachydios is a variant, which is like a Deviant, but it's not a unique trait that makes them different, but an eventuality that separates them from the normal monster."
"I see," Mia smiled as she gained a new understanding that she wouldn't retain in the actual story, "oh come on… fine! So, what makes the Brachy-dios so different?"
"Well, to start off, Bracky have a symbiotic relationship with Glowing Slime, which explodes after being triggered by the monster's saliva.", Ace explained.
"Cool!", Mia added with a faint look of annoyance from the continued narration.
"Yeah, it is, but for the Brachy to become the variant; they need to find and become accustomed to the Flash Point Slime, which is much, and I mean much more potent than the normal slime. So potent that it often kills the monster before he ever gets the chance to bond with it."
"Oh no," Mia pouted, "so what happens if they do?"
"They become IMMORTAL!", Ace roared into the void, "Sorry about that, but yeah they develop the Immortal Reactor a specialized organ that makes the slime even more volatile when in danger… I don't really think the Brachy becomes immortal, but it's a fun idea."
Turning back to the list Ace picked the next monster, "Now we have Molten Tigrex, which is a rare species of the apex monster, Tigrex. It is much larger than the normal monster, and it produces explosive powder they also have a ridiculous amount of strength in comparison to the common, dino-cat."
"And the last one?", Mia asked.
The last monster of the list was one, Ace held with a sense of pride, "The Shagaru Magala, the revolving wheel…"
"Dawn's…", Mia gasped.
"Yes, that's right!", Ace grinned as a faint sense of nostalgia came over him, "Dawn received his title of Breaker of the Wheel, by hunting this monster. The Elder Dragon known for the Frenzy Virus, a highly contagious disease that nearly wiped out all of the surrounding life in Heaven's Mount."
"How contagious are we talking here?", Mia asked, "We don't really get sick easily... or pretty much at all."
"You say that, but the Frenzy Virus is not an actual virus, but a piece of the Magala's body; usually little hairs and scales that fell off due to its high metabolism.", Ace grew serious, "The Frenzy Virus causes the affected monster to become violent, to a self-destructive extent, and will often be the cause of an extreme amount of death in a region."
Mia gulped down the dryness in her throat and asked, "So, what would happen if the Shagaru came through one of the rifts?"
"I don't know.", Ace shrugged.
The two of them stood there in silence with only the voice of the narrator offering them any sense of change in their environment. Ace sighed and gave Mia a smile, thinking that it would comfort her despite the continued narration only adding onto the horror that was the Magala species.
"Gah," Ace flailed at the darkness, "just don't worry about it. Dawn and defeated the Shagaru Magala once before, we can do it again!"
"Wouldn't you and Dawn be at risk, then?", Mia asked as the image of Ace turning rabid flashed through her mind. Causing said Ace to appear in the void, foaming at the mouth, and tearing at his own flesh with long jagged claws. The real Ace quickly waved it away.
"No, it actually doesn't affect us felynes all too much, and hunters are actually put into a different state instead of the usual insanity.", Ace pointed out.
"Really?", Mia asked.
"Yeah," Ace comforted, "there's nothing to worry about. If anything happens, we'll take care of it, okay? Now how about you introduce those mamono. I've been talking for a while now."
"Let's see.", Mia turned to her list, visibly self-conscious of her lack of knowledge after Ace's presentation. By now she had grown just as annoyed with the narrator as Ace has, so she turned to face the void and shouted, "Shut up already!"
…Silence reigned for but a moment, until the voice of the narrator rang out once more. Both palico and werecat groaned, before Mia decided to simply continue in spite of the voice, "Okay, I don't much about these mamono, but I'll sum it up with who's good at a magic and who's just really strong."
She started from the top, and began to work her way down, "Anubai can raise mummies so they're like weaker basically weaker liches, baphomets are stupid powerful I don't know why they're at four instead of three, beelzebubs got a lot of magic and like licking up sweat…"
"Gross.", Ace commented.
Mia shrugged before continuing, "They're bugs; you'd like them."
"If you say so.", Ace motioned for her to continue.
"Chimaeras are super strong and super good with magic uh… dragons and the zombie are super strong and picky when it comes to their husbands, gazers scare my mom and that's says a lot, ice queens need hugs and to stop causing blizzards, inari and youko are foxes with a lot of magic like almost everything else up there, jabberwock are the same as dragons, nightmares can enter dreams with their magic, sphinxes are like the anubis but physical instead of magical, shoggoth are eldritch abominations but I think they're cool, and Titania are super strong just not enough to be in the third tier.", Mia took in a long breath of air as she recouped herself.
Ace patted her back, and yelled, "NEXT!"
The fifth list descended giving Ace pause as the list expanded to its entire length. The fifth list displayed: the apex monsters from the world of Monster Hunter, followed by the significantly longer list of the sub-dragon level mamono.
5 – Apex Wyverns and Low Dragon level Mamono
Monster Hunter
Agnaktor: Pike Wyvern
Almudron: Elderly Mud Wyvern
Astalos: Electric Wyvern
Barioth: Ice Tusk Wyvern
Brachydios: Crushing Wyvern
Diablos: Two Horned Tyrant of the Desert
Duramboros: Tail Hammer Wyvern
Glavenus: Cutting Wyvern
Gravios: Armor Wyvern
Lagiacrus: Lord of The Sea
Legiana: Wind Drifting Wyvern
Magnamalo: Wyvern of Malice
Monoblos: One Horned Tyrant of the Desert
Mizutsune: Bewitching Dancer
Nargacuga: Pouncing Shadow
Odogaron: Cruel Claw Wyvern
Plesioth: Water Wyvern / Hip Check Wyvern
Rakna-Kadaki: Empress Spider
Rathalos: King of the Skies
Seltas Queen: Heavy Beatle
Seregios: Thousand Blade Wyvern
Tigrex: Roaring Wyvern
Uragaan: Burst Hammer Wyvern / Chad Chin Wyvern
Yian Garuga: Black Wolf Bird
Zinogre: Lord of Lightning
Ace gaped at the list, uncertain if he had the time or breath to go over all of them. He turned to the void and said, "They're all really strong and cool, except for Plesioth, and that's all you need to know because I am not going over every gog damn wyvern today!"
Monster Girl Encyclopedia
Apsara: Eros' Dancers
Arch Imp: Little Devils
Basilisk: Evil Eye Serpent
Bicorn: Symbol of Depravity
Bunyip: Large Ferocious Lamia
Cyclops: One Eyed Demi-Giant
Dark Matter: The Sun of Darkness
Demon / Succubus: Radical Mamono
Devil: Actual Little Devils
Dhampir: Virtuous Half Vampire
Elementals: Beings of Magic
Genie: God in a Lamp
Griffon: Prideful Demons
Kraken: Ship Destroyer
Minotaur: Half Bull Hybrid
Mindflayer: Deep Sea Enchantress
Nurarihyon: Majin Tempress
Ogre: Swamp Keepers
Raiju: Electric Weasel
Red / Blue Oni: Super Demi-Human
Queen Slime: Royal Slime
Sandworm: Dune Reference / Sand Serpents
Sea Bishop: Servants of Poseidon
Thunderbird: Lightning Harpy
Unicorn: Symbol of Purity
Ushi-Oni: Great Spider Demons
Valkyrie / Dark Valkyrie: Servants of the Gods
Vampire: Noble Undead
Wurm: Simple Wingless Dragons
Wyvern: Lower Dragons
"I'm not going over those either!", Mia screamed, "They're description is in their titles!"
Another piece of paper fell from the sky of the void, and was snatched up by Ace. It told him to explain the dynamics of each apex predator and apex herbivore, and that Mia would be explaining the complexities of each mamono afterwards.
Ace looked to Mia and Mia looked to Ace. They nodded and then simply let the paper fall into the darkness below. Sighing they waited for the narrator to finish, and watched in annoyance as the sixth list descended. It's titles read: Mid-level Monsters of and Mid-Level Mamono.
The full catalog for both the Monster Hunter monsters and the Monster Girl Encyclopedia expanded to their full length. Ace was quick to realize that they were even longer than the fifth listings, began waving away the names as they came.
Ace shouted our into the darkness, "Are you trying to kill us! We would never get through all of that!"
Another paper began to fall, Ace refused to reach for it, but Mia grabbed it before it could fall into the void. It read that the list would be reconstructed for a more concise explanation. Ace and Mia simultaneously raised a brow, before nodding to give the narrator the okay.
The sixth list descended once more:
6 – Mid-level Monsters and Mid-level Mamono
Monster Hunter
Daimyo Hermitaur: Sheild Crab
Higher Bird Wyverns
Lesser Brute Wyverns
Mid-level Fanged Wyverns
Lesser Fanged Beasts / Non-Rajang
Lesser Flying Wyverns
Lesser Leviathans
Najarala: Twisting Snake Wyvern
Nerscylla: Shadow Spider
Other Piscine Wyverns
Seltas: Piercing Beetle
Shogun Ceanataur: Sickle Crab
Monster Girl Encyclopedia
Higher Beastman
Higher Birdman
Higher Undead
Lesser Succubus / Demons
Lizardman
Matango
Mermaid
Other Bugs
Other Demi-Humans
Other Lamia
Other Majin
Other Spirits
Shapeshifters
Slime
Scylla: Octopus Girls
Ace and Mia peered at their respective lists, and then nodded in satisfaction. Mia pointed to herself and said, "I'll go first.", Ace shrugged before taking a seat on the vacant floor, waiting for her to start.
"Okay," Mia began, "the mamono in list six consist of every girl, besides the lesser bugs, the lesser undead, the lesser birdman, and the lesser beastman. If I had to guess I would say that this list would not include the 'Were-mamono' as they are significantly weaker than the higher end of the family type, nor does it include basic zombies and the like. Scylla are the only mamono listed, but they're just another sea dwelling girl like the mermaids."
Ace contemplated the ranking, before adding, "These mamono might not be on par with the monsters, but they'll probably contend with the ones in the list… the ones listed aren't weak, that's for sure, but they're nothing a low rank hunter or two couldn't take care of without some elbow grease… NEXT!"
The next listed descended without the simplicity of the previous one. The monster side of the seventh list contained the pack monsters and the lesser Bird Wyverns, while the mamono side contained the lesser mamono types.
7 – Low-level Wyverns / Beasts and Low-level Mamono
Monster Hunter
Aknosom: Parasol Bird
Bulldrome: Great Boar
Gendrome / Giadrome / Iodrome / Velocidrome: Alpha Raptor
Great Izuchi: Kamaitachi Wyvern
Great Girros: Paralyzing Thief Wyvern
Great Jaggi / Great Baggi / Great Wroggi / Great Maccao: Dog Wyvern
Great Jagras: Thief Wyvern
Gypceros: Strange Poison Bird
Kulu-Ya-Ku: Scratching Bird / Bird Up
Tzitzi-Ya-Ku: Dizzy Bird
Yian Kut-Ku: Strange Bird
Monster Girl Encyclopedia
Alice: Little Girl / Succubus Child
Honey Bee / Hornet: Bee Girl
Large Mouse / Dormmouse: Mouse Girl
March Hare: Lustful Bunny Girl
Were-Families
"Alrighty," Ace lazily gestured to the lists, "the Greats and the Dromes, are all pack monsters, and typically act as a group. The only major difference between them is what kind of poison they're spitting or not. These guys are all starter monsters, and typically become a hunter's rite of passage. The others… they're the wall new hunters need to hunt to prove themselves further."
Mia smirked in satisfaction, "I was right, the were-families are right there, and the rest are either weak or just friendly… Ace keep away from the Alice!"
"What are you talking about?", Ace groaned.
"Oh nothing.", She beamed understanding that Ace didn't really care to sleep around.
"NEXT!", Ace yelled, "We only got two more and we should be done."
The eighth and nineth list expanded before them, they simply sat back in confusion as both lists displayed at once. With the latter of the two only displaying one section.
8 – Monster Hunter People, small monsters, and non-Humans
Monster Hunter
Small Monsters
Non-Hunter Humans
Non-Hunter Wyvernians
Troverians
Non-Palico Lynians
Monster Girl Encyclopedia
Corrupted Fairies
Kobold: Kind Dog Girls
Uncorrupted Dwarves
Uncorrupted Elves
Uncorrupted Fairies
Their gazes fell to the single sectioned, single entry ninth list.
9 – Monster Girl Encyclopedia Humans
Monster Girl Encyclopedia
Humanity
"That's weird…", Ace gave the single entry an uncomfortable look.
"Yeah," Mia agreed, "let's not talk about that."
The two were left in silence as the lists faded from sight. Leaving the both of them alone with the voice, they have come to call narrator. They sat there for a time, contemplating what the nineth list meant, and stewing on their own thoughts. Until another paper descended from above them, they both reach out to grab it, and began to read it to themselves.
Ace was the one to read it aloud as he didn't quite understand what he read, "Hello, Ace and Mia. Would you like to see where you stand?"
They both stared at the paper with unusual intensity, Ace looked to Mia and her him, so they both nodded to the void around them. And despite their past interactions, their acknowledgement was noted.
Another list, this one without a number, came into view before them. It stated that it was the standing of the characters within The Grand Expedition to the Foreign World. The metaknowledge bothered them, but they understood what it meant, and watch with interest as the list opened.
Standing of the Characters
Heroes and Hunters
Low Rank Hunter - 7 to 6
High Rank Hunter - 6 to 5
Master Hunter - 5 to 3.5
New Hero - 8 to 7
Veteran Hero - 6 to 5
Slayer of the Demon Lord / Chosen Hero - 3 to 2
Main Party
Dawn - 3.8
Ace Palico - 4
Tatsuo - 8
Shizuka Shai - 5.2
Estrid Daniels - 4.8
Mia Wicker - 6
Chloe Wild - 5.5
Wilmarina Noscrim – 4.9
Dragon Party
Kushala - 3.5
Pluck - 3.6
Lowen - 4
Ace and Mia took notice of the other characters section.
Current / Soon to be Characters
Queen Deonora - 2.1
Dragon Alto Eris - 3.5
Wyvern Litia – 4.7
Wyvern Lyra – 4.8
Dragon Leia – 4
Wurms Sana and Luna when together – 3.8
Primera Concerto – 5.3
Mersé Dascaros – 5.2
Sasha Fullmoon – 5
Druella – 3
? - 1.5
Dread…
Ace and Mia shared a moment as their scrutinizing gaze fell on the three question marks. A sense of dread came over them as they realized what that meant. Ace was the first to drop into a contemplative comatose state, thinking of the potential Black Dragon, and the destruction it could bring to the other world.
Mia, however, was quick to reorientate herself, and moved to help Ace out of his stupor, "Hey, Ace it's okay, we don't know that it's a Black Dragon… I-it could just be a new god or something! It doesn't have to be a world ending monster, does it?! DOES IT?!"
-0-
Ace woke with a start, sweat dripping from his face, and terror in his eyes. All he could do was take notice of the currently pack wagon as his heart pounded in his ears. Mia was sleeping on top of him, and was sweating about as hard as he was. While the greenworm snuggled against both of them in his hammock.
Elt, Wilmarina, and Francesca were all sleeping together against the wagon wall, and Sasha was rocking a silent Mimil back and forth. The wagon itself rumbling all the while. He could even see Estrid, happily pulling the vehicle from behind Dawn's back.
The mamono children and the human children played quietly, while Tatsuo smoked his pipe on the other end. The chef gave him a wave, but other than that, all was quiet. Until Mia woke with a start, just as he had.
"Ace!", Mia screamed, but soon released that the both of them were well awake and in the wagon rather than the empty void, "Oh, sorry… Ace! I had the weirdest dream; you'll never believe it!"
AN: Just to addon the explained power-scaling:
- If characters are working together in groups, then they as a group will be considered stronger as a whole. Say a group of level 5s come together they would equal out somewhere near 3.8.
- I wanted to add that the power levels are not a strict number for every species, and that there is variation based on the individual. Say you have two Dalamadurs, one is at 2.5 and the other is at 2.8, they are both comparable, but one is clearly stronger than the other.
- Next thing to add is that if a monster has a higher power level, that does not make it an instant win for the stronger monster. It just means that one of them in above the other in overall power output. Druella can still get stabbed and die, but that doesn't mean the random guy that did it is now above minor gods.
- Last thing: If you guys disagree with some of the placements; let me know, and we can talk about how / where they should be placed.
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, despite it being an omake, and continue to enjoy the story moving forward.