May 28th, 2098. Pokke Village.

Alex stood before the front counter of Vance's smithy. "May I present to you one of the greatest pieces of work I've ever had the pleasure of doing," announced Vance as he came out and placed a box on the counter. "Your fabulous Kirin Armor is ready."

"Thank you very much, Vance," said Alex as he took the box into his arms. "I'll be sure to make good use of this!"

"A word of advice, Alex," said Vance with a sudden face of seriousness. Even Alex was shocked. "This will not be your first Elder Dragon gear, so you have probably experienced this already. Weapons and Armor made from Elder Dragon materials are very special, a cut above others. They tend to go to the head of Hunters."

Alex looked down at the ground. "I know what you mean. I was acting so arrogantly when I used the Kushala Armor I borrowed from Chief Ryuu… I probably thought that nothing could stop me…"

"You don't have to feel down about that, because it partially wasn't your fault. Let me explain." Alex looked back up at Vance. "Elder Dragons have a very strong Chikara, which is to be expected. But, this means that their very will can be infused into the gear made from their materials." Alex gasped in shock at that. "Their will mingles with your Chikara. In many cases, it can influence a Hunter, just like you have experienced already. It is up to you to resist that life-transcending will with your own willpower in order to remain true to yourself."

Alex smiled. "I understand. Just another reason to be digilent and work harder. "Hunters train forever, not just for a day," Master Koto always used to say when I was younger."

Vance broke into a smile. "The Instructor says the same thing. Well, don't let me keep you. I would suggest trying it on and doing a little training with it before you use it on a quest."

"I understand. Thanks again, Vance! See you later!" Alex turned to return to the house.

On the way there, he met the Chief standing before the door. "Hello Alex. I see you're back from shopping," she greeted.

"If you can call it shopping," said Alex in a joking tone. "So, is there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes. But let us not stand out here."

Alex nodded, and the two went inside. Alex placed the box down on a table and turned to the Chief. "So, what's up?"

"First off, allow me to formally thank you for all the work you have done so far. You have really brought hope to little old Pokke."

"Huh? This is… so sudden… What has brought this on?" Alex's face was flustered.

The Chief smiled. "Remember the Screamer organ that you brought back from the Tigrex?" Alex nodded. "After weeks of research, Treshi and I have discovered a tremendous use for it. We can use it to finally destroy the barrier of ice in the cave at the farm!"

"Really!? This means that you will be one step closer to finding that hidden treasure you've been searching for!"

"Actually, Treshi and I have already set everything up. I came to ask you to come and be present at the destruction of that pesky wall with us."

"You bet I will be present for this!"

11:00 AM.

At the Pokke Farm, Alex, Anna, Treshi and the Chief were gathered before the entrance of the cave. It would be too dangerous to observe the ice wall's destruction directly, as the cave was narrow and the sonic vibrations to be released would likely cause them all to go deaf.

"Brace yourselves, everyone," said Treshi. He crouched and lit a trail of gunpowder. Everyone watched as the sparkle went along the trail and disappeared into the cave. "Wait for it."

A few seconds later, everyone heard a bang. The ground trembled, and the sound of loud cracking and crashing could be heard within. "It worked!" exclaimed Alex.

"Let's wait until everything settles before we go in," as the Chief.

After a couple of minutes, all the trembling and sounds stopped. The Quartet went in one by one. "Whoa! WHAT IS THAT!?" exclaimed Anna. They had come upon an open area inside the cave after crossing where the wall once was. There was a hole in the ceiling that allowed sunlight to beam down.

"It's… A giant sword…" said Alex slowly. He turned to the siblings, who were looking at each other with vivid smiles. "Granny, Treshi, do you know about this?"

They turned to him, and Treshi explained. "Allow me to reveal something to you. This giant sword before us is one of the lost artifacts of the Kasai Clan." Both Alex and Anna gasped. "I have spent most of my life searching for these artifacts, and thanks to your efforts, I've finally found this one. This is the famed Fatalis Buster Great Sword, and it belonged to Bladesworth Kasai, the wyverian founder of the clan. He was a great and powerful person, standing over 9 feet tall. He had this sword forged out of the materials from the first Black Fatalis ever slain in the history of our world, and he used it to protect man- and wyverian- kind from the First Wall, an absolutely terrible monster called Akantor."

"Wow. This is all so mind blowing," commented Alex.

"Black Fatalis… Akantor… The First Wall? Say, is there a second "Wall"?" asked Anna. "When I was a child, I once heard a vague saying, the Twin Walls of Black and White Destruction."

"Oh, aren't you slightly informed," said Treshi. "It's probably too early for you two to learn about this, as this is only really known to Hunters level HR6 and above, but I guess there is no harm."

"Let me tell you about the Second Wall," said the Chief. Alex and Anna focused on her. "It is a wyvern so powerful, even a Fatalis would not want to mess with it." Once again, the two hunters gasped. "It is known as Ukanlos, The Ruler of the Furahiya, The King of Absolute Zero, and the White God, for it is undefeated. It sleeps for 99 years, waking up every 100th year to wreak havoc. The last two times it appeared, in 1900 and 2000 respectively, it caused the Hunters Guild many, many casualties, not to mention the towns and villages it attacked as Hunters tried in vain to divert it."

"Oh, my goodness," said Anna with tears.

"What an unholy, horrifying monstrosity," remarked Alex. "Say, Treshi, did Bladesworth ever fight against it?"

"He died in 1901 when he alone went to its home domain while it was sleeping to face it. Not even he could slay it, and that is how this sword became lost." Treshi pointed at the Fatalis Buster.

Alex remained speechless for several moments. He balled his hands into fists. "It seems hopeless, huh? This year is 2098. It's going to appear again in another one and a half years or so…" Alex looked at the ground.

"Alex…?" Anna looked at him with slight worry.

"I… won't lose hope. I'm going to work harder than ever. I'll become strong, too." Alex glanced at the Chief and Treshi, before focusing on Anna. "Anna, let's all become strong. Our squad will be the one to protect our world!"

Anna gasped. And then she smiled. "I… I agree. There's no point in being dismayed. You and I both know what we must do. We won't be fodder when the time comes, but champions!'"

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" exclaimed Alex.

"You two, you are actually welcome to carve off materials from this sword," said Treshi suddenly. Alex and Anna turned to him. "You can give them to Vance to create low rank Fatalis weapons and armor for you. You can use these for wielding the rare and mystical Dragon Element against monsters and Elder Dragons weak to this element, as well as protection against Dragon Element attacks."

"Whoa, really!?" exclaimed Alex.

"There is a catch, though," Treshi cut in. "Your carving knives won't work. Neither will regular pick-axes. You're going to need to slay an Elder Dragon and obtain Elder Dragon Bones. You can use that to make special pick-axes that will do just the trick."

"Whoa… That's… that sounds difficult. Alex was just barely able to repel one, before…"

"I'm a lot stronger now, and Grace is an Eagle Cleaver," said Alex. "I can probably slay a Kushala now!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," said the Chief. "Alex, I would suggest taking this in a more serious and cautious light. No matter how strong one becomes, one must never underestimate potential enemies, especially any Elder Dragon. Don't forget, you almost died against that Kirin a while back."

Alex cringed. "I… understand, Granny."

"That being said, do what you must in order to improve. You know even better than I do that sitting still does not give birth to progress."

Alex chuckled. "Thank you for acknowledging that I am smarter than I look."

"Oh, Alex…" remarked Anna.

Everyone shared a laugh as they all left the cave. Alex was the last to leave, stealing one more glance at the giant sword.

Hunter Stats

Alex Kasai (HR4)

Weapon: Eagle Cleaver Long Sword (Thunder Element)

Armor: Kirin

Skills: Telepathy, Kasai Potential, Elemental Attack Up, All Resist, Item Usage Decline, Elder Dragon Influence

Ai Shiki (HR4)

Weapon: Paladin Lance

Armor: Daimyo Blade Master

Skills: Throwing Skill Up, Guard Increase, Water Resist, Thunder Damage Increase

Anna Frost (HR3)

Weapon: Snow Poison Dual Blades (Ice Element, Poison Attribute)

Armor: Cephalos Blade Master

Skills: Heat Negate, Cold Increase, Hunger Halved, Water Resist

Kotaru Shiki (HR3)

Weapon: Sandfall Light Bowgun

Armor: Velociprey Gunner

Skills: Precision Up, Normal Shot Up, Pierce Shot Down, Detect

June 1st. Rekusara Health Center, Rekusara City. 12:00 PM.

"Thank you for coming here on such short notice," said King Nathan as he regarded Alex's Squad. At his side was his daughter, Princess Viridia. Behind him was a bedridden Katie and Jake, Rekusara's second best hunters, HR4 and HR5 respectively. Jake was Jason's youngest brother, and the two were of the Brother's Four Hunter Squad. Their two other brothers, Jared and Jameson, along with Jason himself, were Rekusara's top three. Jason was also HR5, and the other two were HR6.

"It's no problem, your highness," said Ai.

"What happened to Katie and Jake?" asked Alex with a worried tone. "You didn't say so in your letter. You only said that you wanted us to hunt a Diablos."

"Ah, yes… I did not… How silly of me."

"They were thoroughly defeated by that same Diablos, which they were tasked to capture alive," said Viridia.

"Whoa!" said Kotaru.

"Apparently, it was an older and battle-hardened Diablos," said Nathan. "Well, not so old that one of its horns was broken from territory battles with other Diablos, at least. Those are often the most dangerous type."

"Interesting… Can you tell us more about it?" asked Anna.

"First, some background is in order. Generally, mostly Genprey, Hermitaur, Cephalos, and small numbers of Monoblos live in the Sekumeaya, and there is a strict border control between it and the Dede Desert, which is home to tougher monsters like Diablos, Tigrex, and believe it or not, a desert residing sub-species of Blangonga called Copper Blangonga." Alex gasped at that. "The border control seeks to maintain a certain level of stability. The Diablos I'm asking you to hunt, as I asked Katie and Jake, is one that caused some damage as it strayed into the Sekumeaya. This is really important to the ecosystem. We can't allow this Diablos to cause any more damage than it has already."

"We'll get right on it," said Kotaru.

"Say, where are Jason, Jared and Jameson?" asked Alex.

"They've been out on another quest for a few days now," answered Viridia, "We're not sure when they'll be returning."

"This was urgent, so I had Katie and Jake take this job, but you can see the result."

Alex went up to Katie's bedside. "Rest well, my friends. We'll take care of this in your stead."

"Let's head out right away," said Ai.

Alex turned to her. "Right. Let's go!"

"Be careful, everyone," said Viridia as the quartet began leaving the ward.

White Night Dunes, Sekumeaya Desert. 2:00 PM. Area 6.

"Remember, we're taking him alive," said Alex as he drew out Grace. Everyone else drew their weapons in response.

"I've got Tranq Shots ready," said Kotaru.

"I've got a Pitfall Trap," said Ai.

"Great, we're all set!." Alex began to focus. "Come on out, Diablos! We know you're here!"

"Graaahh! Not another bunch of hunters…! And there's a Kasai too!? How unfortunate." Everyone observed as a large wyvern busted forth out of the sand from its hiding place. They took note of its impressive twain horns and mighty battleax-like club-end tail. "Alright, let's get this over with. My name is Chi."

Alex felt a bit weird. "I'm sorry for bothering you, Chi, Sir, but I'm afraid that my friends and I are going to have to relocate you away from here. You could make things easier on yourself by allowing us to capture you without any fuss. We don't want to have to slay you, Sir, if that outcome may be avoided."

"Uhh… Alex, why are you talking like that?" asked Anna in a concerned tone.

"What!? Don't make me laugh! Why would I want to "relocate"? I like it here! Yeah, just try to capture me. I'll do you in just like I did those two other Hunters from before!" Chi the Diablos charged at the quartet, aiming primarily for Alex.

As Anna and Kotaru went off in opposite directions, Ai went in front of Alex and put up her shield. Alex placed a hand on her back to help her brace the incoming attack. They were only pushed back a few feet. "Thank you, Ai! Now let's attack together!" Alex went to the side and poked with the tip of Grace. Ai followed with a quick jab of her lance as the Diablos was reeling back from Alex's attack.

"Haa!" As Anna came in running from the left, Chi spun a 180, nailing her with his tail along with Alex and Ai! "Aaahh!"

"OWWW!" yelped Alex as he rolled across the sand. He quickly got up upon coming to a stop. "That wasn't very nice, Mr. Chi!" Alex activated the Khezu cloak and charged.

"What's your deal? I'm not trying to be!" exclaimed Chi in annoyance as he dug into the sand. Alex got to him and cut off the club-end of the wyvern's tail with a powerful horizontal slash. "GRAA! How dare you!?"

"WHOOAA!" exclaimed Alex as he was sent up into the air as Chi attacked by rising out of the ground.

"Take this!" Kotaru fired a Crag Shot. It exploded a few seconds after lodging into Chi's side upon his landing.

"Grrr!" Chi set his sights on Kotaru and started charging.

"Not on my watch! Ice Element: Dual Ice Slash!" exclaimed Anna as she came charging from the other side. She executed her attack on Chi's right leg, causing the wyvern to stagger and stop. "Whoa!" yelped Anna as she ducked under a retaliatory head bash. She rolled forward and broke into a run to get away.

"Don't you run from me!" Chi started after Anna.

"It's time to end this." Alex went over to Ai. "Give me the Pitfall trap. I've got a plan."

"Okay." Ai obeyed quickly.

"Thank you. Here I go." Alex turned to Kotaru, and focused on him. "Buddy, load up your tranq shots! I'm going to plant the Pitfall Trap!"

"Okay!" replied Kotaru.

"Anna, lead him to me 15 seconds from now!"

"Uh… okay!" answered Anna.

"Great." Alex flared his Khezu Cloak and ran to a spot within range and easy vantage of Kotaru. He quickly prepared the trap.

"Ten, nine, eight…" Anna was counting down to Alex. She dodged nimbly as the Diablos tried his best to pin her down. "Three, two, one… Coming to you, ready or not!"

"I'm ready!" Alex answered. Alex drew Grace and stood in front of the trap in order to hide it. He braced himself as Anna and Chi came towards him. "Mr. Chi, how about you leave her alone and focus on me?" Alex taunted.

"Grrr! Fine! I'll skewer you first!"

Anna freely took her cue to go off to the side as Chi continued towards Alex. "The conditions have been met. Have a nice sleep." Alex charged forward and dug Grace into the sand before him, allowing him to vault into the air. "Hi-yaa!" Alex let loose three slashes on Chi's back.

"What!? NO! Aaahh!" Chi fell head first into the Pitfall Trap.

"Go to sleep!" exclaimed Kotaru as he fired three Tranq Shots at the struggling Diablos.

"NNNOOOOoooo…" Chi quickly simmered down, finally sedated.

"Capture success!" exclaimed Ai as the quartet gathered together.

"Now we wait for the Guild's Felyne Transportation Service," said Kotaru.

Alex felt the previous weirdness leave him. "Whoa… What happened to me?"

"Alex, why were you so… polite towards the Diablos?" asked Anna.

Alex thought for a moment, and remembered Vance's warning. "The Kirin I fought was pretty polite, so that must be how his armor affects me," Alex came to a conclusion. "Otherwise, I got nothing else."

"Good enough for me," said Ai. "Actually, I kinda found it interesting."

The Quartet began walking back to Basecamp. "Thanks, I guess," said Alex. Kotaru suppressed a chuckle.