Chapter 5: Jaune's Resolve
The Excitable A-Lister heard the roar before he saw the flare, and almost immediately he bashed the Rathian unconscious and took off in a run. His rival was far too strong to use a flare for something as simple as a gathering quest, and the two handlers with them were safely back at camp.
Which reduced the likely suspect to just one, his student.
The roar was also unlike any he had heard in the New World, but it was still something that he was familiar with back home.
It was the Seregios, and it was fighting Jaune.
Aiden shook off the pit in his stomach. He and the rest of Astera had trained his student as much as they could, Jaune will be able to hold off an apex monster for a short while.
But time was running out, and so the Excitable A-Lister ran as fast as he could.
A flash of the talons was immediately followed by a tail swipe, before the Seregios flew up and launched a barrage of scales at him that he blocked with his shield. Giving him no time to react, it swooped down, hitting the ground with a mighty stomp, which he barely dodged. This was followed by a tail swipe, then more scales were launched.
Jaune could barely keep up. He was completely on the defensive, his shield was full of dents and holes from the number of scales that had impacted it. His armor was in tatters. All the vitality plants in the area have been used. It was all he could do to not get hit by the enraged flying wyvern and bleed to death again.
Another tail swipe sent him diving for the ground. Prone, Jaune rolled over, just in time to see the talon about to crush him. He yelped as he moved to the side, but as he tried to get up, the Seregios hit him with its wing and sent him flying.
He landed with a thud. Groaning, he lifted his head, to see the Seregios charging at him. Its eyes were still red, filled with blood from the immense rage that consumed it. Its mouth dripped purple saliva, a sign that it was still poisoned, but now simply added to the horrifying sight that was in front of him. In the back of his mind, Jaune wondered if this was how he would die, alone in a forest, killed by a monster like a common prey.
In the front of his mind, Jaune remembered his last resort. Weakly lifting up his arm, he activated his slinger just as the Seregios was right on top of him and closed his eyes.
A blinding flash of light illuminated the forest, turning even the daytime into an ocean of white.
The flash pod hit the monster straight in the eye, blinding it considerably. It screeched into a halt, stunned and disoriented at the sudden bright light.
Aching all over, Jaune stood up. The flash pod will only last for a few more seconds. He had to think of a plan, and fast. Drinking a potion, he looked around, seeing the pond just a short distance away. The vine trap was already down, and he was also out of vitality plants. He had dropped all his dung pods earlier. The only other thing in his pouch was a shock trap, and right now that wasn't very—
That's it!
He grabbed some of the Seregios' scales, scattered all around the field.
The Seregios trashed about, blindly attacking and blasting its scales every which way. Every movement Jaune made caused the monster to swiftly charge in his direction, searching for the one who made the sound, but its blind charges were clumsy and easy to dodge.
A moment later, the flash slowly dissipated from the monster's eyes. It blinked several times, the spots in its eyes disappearing.
That was when Jaune hit the side of its face with something sharp and hard. The Seregios' own scales.
"Get a taste of your own medicine, you overgrown acorn!" He shouted as he slotted another scale into the slinger and shot it.
The scale hit the monster on the side and this time, it actually pierced the monster's tough hide. Surprise was evident on the Seregios' face, and it flinched for the second time.
Jaune saw this, and quickly ran towards the pond, shooting scales along the way. The water of the pond was crystal clear, with fishes rushing to safety at the sight of him.
Jaune noted these hiding places as he popped a ration bar in his mouth. The food was tasteless, but it was packed full of protein and energy and restored his stamina slightly.
Not a millisecond later, a shadow swooped over him and he was forced to dodge the Seregios' outstretched talons. It was a testament to the intelligence of the monsters of this world, that the Seregios noticed its opponent was planning something to the water and took to the air in response, despite its injured wings.
It unleashed another flurry of scales at Jaune, which he dodged and retaliated by shooting his own scales. This incensed the monster further, and it dived at Jaune. A skirmish of talons and scales later, Jaune was forced to admit that the monster will not come down willingly.
He needed to find a way to bring the flying monster to the ground.
Oh right, flash pods.
He shot the remaining scales at the Seregios, whose body was now covered in numerous cuts, before hiding his slinger behind his back and slotting a flash pod where the monster could not see.
The Seregios made to fire more of its scales at him, but midway, it changed its mind and decided to swoop down in a mighty dive, intending to crush him once and for all.
A single second before it connected, Jaune used his slinger and closed his eyes. The flash pod activated, and the monster was blinded once more. It crashed into the ground, exhausted and struggling to get up.
Not letting an opportunity pass, Jaune gripped his sword with two hands and stabbed the monster's face several times. Even squirming on the ground and at his mercy, the Seregios was very tough and he was tired, and his sword strikes did not penetrate deeply.
Still, it added more poison into the monster's system and that was good enough for Jaune. He sheathed his weapon and ran for the pond as quickly as he could. Taking a running start, he jumped into the water and swam to one of the places where the fish hid, displacing some of them. He took out the shock trap from his pouch and activated it. Now all he could do is wait.
The Seregios had recovered, but Jaune was nowhere to be found. Hiding. Still, with its keen sense of smell, the apex predator slowly inched its way towards the pond, taking it the scent of its prey. It stepped into the water, its nose picking up on Jaune's scent above the surface.
When the monster was almost on top of him, Jaune pounced. Hand outstretched, he pressed the shock trap into the monster's face. The trap grabbed hold, and a burst of electricity exploded from it. The Seregios was immediately paralyzed, its body shaking and convulsing as the powerful electric current ran through it.
Jaune was silently grateful that he did not get shocked alongside his target. He got out of the water, but not before splashing the Seregios, paralyzing the flying wyvern even further. Despite the ration he ate, he was tired. As he watched the Seregios convulse, he wondered if he should make a run for it and decided he would not get very far before the monster recovered and gave chase. No, he had to finish this fight.
Taking a deep breath, he unsheathed his sword and prepared to fight once more.
The shock trap finally lost power. Jaune gripped his weapon tighter when the Seregios shook off the static and turned to face him. But instead of attacking, to Jaune's shock and relief, the monster turned and limped away.
A few moments later, it took off into the sky, its flight jittery and erratic from all the damage it had taken.
Jaune stood transfixed at the site where the Seregios fled. As if from far away, he heard the voice of his mentor, before all the adrenaline left his body and he slumped to the ground.
"How are you feeling?" asked the Handler as she handed Jaune his meal.
As soon as they arrived in Astera, the Excitable A-lister and Serious Handler immediately took Jaune to the medical bay. The medics took one look at him, and they quickly hauled him off to a spare bed, with orders not to move for twenty-four hours. Jaune neither agreed nor protested their decision as he slept, dead tired.
Now it was the Handler's turn to deliver Jaune food. A smaller but no less titanic feast was laid out before him. The Chef must have thought that his recovering body could not handle a full meal yet, but his idea of a small meal can feed an entire orphanage.
"Much better now, I guess," replied Jaune. He took a huge bite off the enormous roasted bird leg with a satisfied sigh. "I still can't believe, well, everything that happened."
The bubblier counterpart to Serious Handler gave him a wide smile. Jaune barely noticed the drool leaving her mouth, which she quickly wiped off. "Well, judging from your reaction to the bird leg just now, I'd say you're right."
She took a seat at the foot of his bed. "It happens to every hunter, you know, that one hunt or monster that is going to either break them or make them stronger than ever."
"It's only been my third quest."
"Doesn't matter," said the Handler. "Maybe you'll fight a stronger monster in the future, but I know that what you've experienced yesterday has already changed you, in more ways than one. Seregios was an apex monster, did you know? That means they're the top monsters of their biome. Few hunters have ever fought one, and even fewer have won."
Jaune felt that his achievement had not sunk in yet. "I think I'm going to be traumatized for life. I nearly died several times back there."
"Knowing that you're traumatized is the first step in the healing process," replied the Handler sagely. "That's what we're all here for, to help you become the best person you can be."
"Not hunter?"
"Person!" said the Handler cheerfully. "If you quit being a hunter and choose to stay in Astera, that's perfectly fine. Everyone here has commented on how helpful you were, and there's no shortage of tasks to be done. And now that the seas have calmed down, you can even choose to go to the Old World. What you decide is up to you and we'll fully support you all the way."
"I'll continue to be a hunter," said Jaune.
The Handler raised an eyebrow, motioning for him to continue.
"I-what happened yesterday was scary and I think I'm still trying to fully understand the scope of it all, but this world," started Jaune. "It's given much to me. Back home, I felt like living on autopilot. Sure, I had big dreams of being a Huntsman, and I was working on that dream, but there's still this feeling that I'm just living for the sake of it.
"My parents and sisters, I have seven, have I ever told you before?" asked Jaune.
"You haven't told anyone, I believe." Replied the Handler, chuckling.
"Right," he continued. "Well, there's eight of us siblings and I'm in the middle. My eldest sister Cherry was to become the successor of the Arc family line of huntsmen, while my younger sisters took up most of my mom's time. Evergreen's also planning to become a huntress, and she's close to Cherry. My dad's busy with work most of the time. The one I'm closest with is my older sister Saphron, since we're the closest in age."
"You feel like you're not getting enough attention," said the Handler, summarizing.
"No, well, yes. Mom and dad give me support in becoming a huntsman, but it's like, they don't really expect much from me. Cherry's about to graduate from Haven academy and the rest of my sisters are achievers too. Evergreen's going to take the exam to combat school at the same time as me, so I have to pass too as her older brother." Jaune continued on. "I- the point is, I've never had so much focus given to me before, and I want to pay you guys back, and I think being a monster hunter is the best way to do it."
The Handler smiled softly. "That's as good of a motivation as any. Just so you know, all of us here in Astera, but especially your mentors, we're proud of you."
A tear could not help but escape from Jaune's eye.
She smirked and ruffled Jaune's hair.
"Hey!"
"None of that sentimentality now, get well soon and we'll have a party when you return," she said as she stood up.
That reminded Jaune. "Wait, whatever happened to that monster, Seregios?"
"Coincidentally, my partner was exploring the top of the Ancient Forest when the Seregios dropped down on top of him and attacked without provocation. Needless to say, the monster didn't stand a chance. He's bringing home it, the Rathalos, and the Azure Rathalos he had just finished hunting too," the Handler replied.
If the Sapphire Star ever got his aura unlocked, thought Jaune, he'd be the most powerful hunter in history, in both worlds!
"Won't that disrupt the ecosystem?" asked Jaune, remembering his ecology lessons with the Chief Ecologist. "Who's going to be the apex monster of the forest now?"
"Not as much as you think." Answered the Handler. "In fact, the two Rathalos are preventing more ecological niches from opening, so with them out of the picture, we'll see more monsters start to enter the forest. It won't be long before the balance of power in the forest stabilizes again. It's going to be an exciting time for the scholars, I'm sure!"
"If you say so. Thanks for helping me, uh, Miss…"
"Melon, but just call me the Handler, everyone does." Said Melon.
With that, she winked at him and left, closing the door behind her.
Alone with his thoughts, Jaune sincerely hoped there wouldn't be another Seregios in the Ancient Forest. He can't imagine another monster taking its place.
Idly, he imagined a cousin of Seregios that was much bigger, much angrier, and instead of its scales being razor-sharp, they explode.
He dismissed his imaginary monster. Something like that couldn't possibly exist, right?
Author's Note:
Poor Jaune. If only you knew.
I hope I managed to write Jaune's battle with the Seregios well. I'm still learning how to write fight scenes. You can't actually use the monster's own scales against them in the game, by the way, but stories don't have to strictly follow game rules.
Thanks for reading!