Celebrations.
Celebration is not something most people think of when they're facing an apocalyptic threat. Local extinction and the fact that many people died.
That's not a case where a celebration is warranted.
Reika sat in front of the fire as people brought beer and meat, partying like no tomorrow.
Reika wondered, how?
It is not like these people didn't lose friends and family, either. It's just horrifying how they could get over things so quickly.
Was it just a coping mechanism on their part?
"You look anxious." Nino sat beside Reika and gave her a bottle of medicine. "It's called an immunizer. The locals used them to boost their immunity and natural recovery after they fell sick or injured."
Reika didn't complain and took it. It wasn't bad, certainly better than the cough syrup she took as a kid. It's sweet, like honey drinks.
"I wonder if it's just me who's depressed," Reika said. "These people had so much fun even though people died, and the environment is literally dying."
"I think it's just a difference of culture and mentality." Nino smiled. "You might think they're just coping, but that's not the case. They're legitimately having the time of their life."
"Eh?"
"I studied a bit of psychology before. And I read some old papers that I found interesting." Nino said. "When WWI was announced, people celebrated, and when WWII was announced, people grief."
Nino sighed. "Part of what made us Japanese different in WWII was the leadership desperately kept up morale by glorifying sacrifice and making warfare close and personal. Hence things like new bushido, banzai charge, and systematic use of kamikaze. Not to mention mass suicide instead of surrender."
"The allies looked at us and thought we were insane. And looking back, if you dig at the records and portrayal of Japanese back then, you'd think they're insane too."
"We don't talk about the war a lot in school, so I wouldn't know," Reika said. "I think it is a general rite of passage for a Japanese to enter English-speaking internet and get bashed to death for the sin of our great grandfathers."
"History is rewritten by the winners and erased by the losers." Nino chuckled. "But enough of that tangent. There was a literal turning point in human history where the society collectively decided that death and conflict aren't awesome."
"These people had yet to reach that point?" Reika guessed. "Because they fight monsters up close and personal?"
"It's not just that." Nino continued. "The intensity of the modern war made it impossible for anyone to have a cool down and respite period. Constantly dealing with stress resulted in atrociously more people suffering trauma after the war."
Radio, artillery, and airplane, all these advancements made people more and more distant from each other. Martial prowess ceased to be relevant. And when you no longer see the white of your enemy's eyes, you might start fighting imaginary demons.
You're stuck in a trench from weeks to months and have to deal with shitty weather and deadly diseases. You can die from anything at any time. And that's terrifying.
"Dying sucks, and losing people dear to you is sad, but at the same time, this is their way of living," Nino said. "These people are desensitized to violence, but also had a life outside of fighting."
These monster hunters not only survive but also thrive. They're having the time of their life. They partied because they could and because they wanted to.
"I want to go back home." Nino folded her knees and hid her face behind them. "I don't want Mana to grow up in a place like this."
In a sense, Reika understood how upset and terrified Nino was. Seeing your children grow differently from themselves is a feeling that Reika couldn't really relate to. But it is something that almost any parents experience at some point.
But the shock of being thrown into a completely different culture like this would scare them to death.
Monster Hunter - Rise of the Dragoon
Original works by CAPCOM
By ZeroXSEED
CHAPTER 03 - ELDER DRAGON AND APEX MONSTERS, PART 2
The next day, the party was split into two. Reika joined the group searching for Izuru and Apex Queen in the mountain. While Karin and Mahiro were sent to check the situation regarding Chameleos and the wetlands as a whole.
They managed to find a clue.
"Izuru, you bastard."
They found paint sprayed on a rock forming a kanji. The natives could not read it, even though they could speak Japanese. 紋 (Zuru) in Izuru means "crest."
100% possibility that the boy was alive somewhere. Reika immediately launched a signal flare.
"Izuru is alive?!" Mahiro asked. "Thank God!"
"At the very least, he survived the burned hive," Rondine remarked. "This is very far from the hive location, and he was unlikely to be there."
Karin couldn't help but shed tears of relief.
"What do you think happened, Karin?" Reika asked.
"Izuru probably freed himself, fell to the woods, and then ran away as fast as possible from the direction of the hive mountain." Karin sobbed. "Trying to reunite with us at the time would be risky. He'd notice the number of queens gathering in the area."
"Then he's most likely running to the second mountain there." Rondine pointed. "Soldiers return back to the camp. I'll go with them for a possible search and rescue mission. Make sure to write your report on everything."
They also found Izuru's handkerchief, which would make tracking somewhat plausible. For this reason, they used Palamutes for scent and footprint tracking.
They found Izuru's broken shovel near the base of the mountain.
"Ah crap, his only weapon is broken." Karin grimaced. "I hope he's safe."
"There were signs of fighting around here indeed," Rondine remarked as he found a tooth. "This is a monster tooth. Since the blood had dried and almost disappeared, the fight most likely happened yesterday."
"Hunters really have a lot of monster support," Karin remarked. "You have Palamutes that also serve as a short-range mount, Lynians for logistics and combat support, and cahoots for aerial tracking."
Palamutes are enormous dogs, at least two and a half meters long. But more than just size, they're also strong. They could carry a fully geared hunter while running highway fast in poor terrain.
Cahoots are a species of large owls. They're shockingly ordinary. Other than being domesticated like hunting hawks in the old earth, there's nothing fantastical about them. Despite this, their role in supporting hunters couldn't be overstated.
Lynians are three-foot-tall bipedal cats with full sapience.
Other than being small, therefore less physically strong, a Lynian could do anything a human hunter could, and more due to their enhanced agility and senses.
While Palamutes were considered pets, Lynians were considered employees. Lynians could have jobs outside hunting as well. Those cats who work for a Hunter are called Palicoes.
"A Hunter's job is to use whatever tools and allies they can get from nature." The Palico said. "That said, Palamutes are quite a recent discovery. Maybe 10 or 20 years, Nya?"
"Is that so?" Reika asked. "I'd thought it would be much longer."
"Hunters and Palicoes worked together for hundreds of years because Lynians are incredibly intelligent and able to learn human languages. Nya!" The Palico pointed proudly. "But humans weren't that eager to domesticate other carnivores because most carnivores treat them like a bony meal or something."
"Palamutes evolved from hunting hound breeds that grew huge and more intelligent. Palamutes are sentient and can use weapons and technology to an extent." Rondine explained as they continued climbing. "Hunting hounds have been with humans for centuries too, but they're not as sophisticated."
"Ah." Mahiro nodded. "So you can't ride them."
"Monster Riders exist elsewhere in this world. However, they were distrusted or feared for harmoniously coexisting with powerful carnivore monsters, sometimes outright worshiping them. And they exiled themselves to maintain order and peace." Rondine smiled.
It is not that these people don't domesticate monsters. They domesticate several herbivore monsters as beasts of burden. Or renewable livestock.
"Well, if you're riding a Chameleos, you'd still scare a nyaton of people." The Palico chuckled. "It scared me to death yesterday."
The three of them could sympathize somewhat. It WAS weird to work with such powerful creatures like Chameleos that could flatten an entire village and turn an ecosystem into a toxic swamp when angered.
And Chameleos was one of the most peaceful Elder Dragons. That's why Elder Dragons are considered walking disasters because the vast majority of them are violent.
"Even in our previous world, we don't domesticate predator species except in a few special cases," Mahiro explained casually. "Most notably alligators and crocodiles."
"Crocodiles? We have crocodiles too." Rondine said. "They're prey species to monsters known as Plesioth. What do you domesticate them for, and how?"
Mahiro told Rondine how some countries on earth have two ways of gathering crocs and gators. Farms breed crocodilians in situ, while ranches take eggs from the wild, hatch them, and release some juveniles back to nature.
These farms and ranches balance the ecosystem and preserve wildlife populations. And the abundance of legal produce from harvesting means poaching is severely reduced.
"...Hmmm," Rondine muttered. "That sounds like what Monster Riders do. They also take eggs in the wild to hatch and raise monsters from them."
"Egg poaching?" Reika quipped. "Those poor babies."
"To a degree, that's true. Most Riders usually search for abandoned nests for humane reasons, however." Rondine nodded. "From rumors I've heard, there are many reasons they don't get along with the Hunter's Guild. Both sides have their own arguments, laws, and customs. Even though both sides tried to preserve nature."
Ah, not even remotely surprising. No matter which universe, humans never change.
"It's a long process, but maybe there will be times when Riders and Hunters become indistinguishable." Rondine optimistically remarked. "And Palamute breedings might be the stepping stone toward it. That's why my country had a great interest in the Kamura village, aside from the fact that they produce excellent weapons."
Kamura Village was located in this region, beyond the mountainous area filled with bamboo forests. According to the stories shared by Rondine's people, Kamura village is almost indistinguishable from ancient Japan.
Rondine also thought they came from Kamura village because of their Japanese names. The fact that Reika even has katanas for weapons reinforced this assumption.
...
The Palamutes lightly barked when they found something.
"What's that?"
"Izuru's cotton shirt." Mashiro noticed. "Parts of it, at least. Looking at the blood, he's likely making a bandage out of it."
"He probably bandaged his stabbed shoulder." Reika nodded. "Vespoid venom might not cause hemolysis, but it is still a huge wound for a human to suffer from."
A Vespoid stinger is over 12mm (0.47") long, the soldier is twice as long, and the Vespoid Queen had more than 48mm (1.88"). And the latter can pierce through a 20mm aluminum truck box like it was made of cardboard.
Were their body not strengthened by some mysterious power, they'll die from one sting, discounting the venom.
"Do people die from Vespoid sting all the time?" Karin asked.
"The workers and soldiers, no. Their paralyzing venoms aren't strong enough to kill adult humans." The Palico said. "However, the queens developed more lethal toxins they could spray on victims. If injected directly, this toxin can easily kill untrained humans. Nya!"
"Ah." Karin clapped, remembering the strange purple squirt some of the queens used during that battle. "I wonder why."
"Back home, our greatest enemy was thumb-sized giant Hornet." Mahiro laughed in pain. "They could kill humans in a quarter hour."
In Japan, these giant hornets killed more people than brown bears.
"We're not entirely sure, but small Vespoids are vulnerable against toxins themselves." Rondine pointed. "The best way to kill Vespoids without breaking their bodies is using a poison bomb or venomous weapon. Intact corpses are ideal for harvesting!"
That's not an uncommon trait in earth animals too. But nevertheless, they took the information in stride.
"Be careful, nya!" The Palico warned. "There's a lot of sharp scales here, nya!"
"These are Seregios scales." Rondine kneeled and checked it. "Seregios are invasive flying wyverns that weaponized their knife-sharp scales. Before the appearance of the Apex Queen, Seregios is one of the most problematic monsters in this continent."
"How strong are they?" Reika asked.
"Seregios aren't the strongest flying wyverns, but they're ferocious enough that stronger flying wyverns might give up fighting them. Anytime a Seregios settled in, they became the top predators in the sky." Rondine said with a grim expression. "Even compared to two or three Vespoid Queens, a Seregios probably is a bigger threat to your life."
"I could fight Seregios on my own, but worst case scenario, please run away and find your friend."
The three nodded in agreement. If Vespoid Queens kicked their asses, they couldn't fight against Seregios and survive.
"It's not just that, nya!" The Palico shouted. "Look at these rusty plates, nya!"
Karin picked up a thin metal piece covered in rust and wondered why it was there. She handed it to Rondine, who inspected it and recognized it instantly.
"This is... Rusted Kushala Daora." The weight of the Knight's voice sank like a stone in water, her expression horrified. "This is beyond the worst-case scenario. This is disastrous."
"Umm, is that rusted piece of a Monster?" Mahiro inquired.
"Kushala Daora is an Elder Dragon, the Steel Dragon of Tempest." Rondine began to sweat. "Whenever it appears, a hurricane will follow, and its strength is enough to annihilate a village."
"As far as Elder Dragon considered, it is not especially strong. However, it IS still an Elder Dragon." The Palico remarked. "Nya had seen the destruction caused by Chameleos and Apex Vespoid Queen yesterday, correct? Kushala Daora is also capable of causing such wide-scale destruction."
Karin shuddered in fear. The fight between Chameleos and the Apex Vespoid Queen turned an entire mountain peak into a barren, poisonous swamp.
"Furthermore, it's a rusty one." Rodine continued. "Think of it as an insect planning to molt. Kushala Daora shed rusted skin like this as they get older and older. Because of their brief vulnerabilities doing the deed, they'll try to attack everything within their perceived safe zone."
"Normally, Kushala Daora is peaceful and unintrusive. But a molting Kushala Daora is the polar opposite of that."
"Ah, so it's fighting a Seregios for area dominance," Mahiro said. "But as strong as Seregios is, it couldn't beat an Elder Dragon... right?"
"If it's a normal Seregios, it would be annihilated in short order." Rondine gritted her teeth uncharacteristically. "But it might be a different story if it's an Apex Seregios."
The three of them lost their marbles and immediately ran toward the peak. If an Apex Vespoid Queen could fight Chameleos and survive, an Apex Seregios isn't something they're willing to imagine.
It's hard for them to believe Izuru could survive on such a harsh battlefield. Alone, injured, and unarmed. Even so, they're still clinging to that hope that he's alive.
"Two Apexes in the same region is beyond my abilities to deal with, not to mention enraged Elder Dragons," Rondine said. "I sincerely hope a reinforcement will come soon."
The situation is beyond natural. It was all fucked up.
Rondine had to send her Cahoot as a messenger to warn the camp of the situation. Rondine could take on an Apex confidently, but an Apex and an Elder Dragon? No. Not even remotely plausible. Besides, that's also outside the parameter of this hunting expedition.
Unlike Chameleos, Kushala Daora is aggressive and vengeful.
"What's that?"
A hog corpse laid down, bottom first. It was enormous, probably 200-300 kg (500 pounds). What made it different than the boars they knew was the sizable tusks that would make an elephant cry in envy.
"Bullfango." Rondine's Palico said. "It's a juvenile. Half the size of an adult."
Mahiro wanted to say he was surprised, but he wasn't. Even on earth, there were countless variations of boars and hogs. For example, wild boars in Asia were pretty puny. However, American feral hogs were known to reach hundreds of kilograms (1000 pounds) in just a few short years.
In a world where monsters aren't just reality but also commonplace, it would be weirder if no pig species existed and thrived here.
"What is this strange weapon? An arrow?" Rondine inspected the pole stabbing through the side of the Bullfango. "No, it resembles a ballista ammo, actually."
When Rondine pulled it out, she noticed that it had Seregios scale as a tip. Then she realized how such a small weapon could strike deeply into a Bullfango's body, even that of a juvenile.
She handed it to her Palico.
"A fatal strike to the heart, this weapon is made by gluing Seregios scale to a wood stick using wood resin-infused cloth." Her Palico told her. "It is improvised but effective. I could legitimately use this!"
"It's a javelin," Karin said. "It was Izuru."
"Why is that?" Mahiro asked.
"Izuru was in track and field club in middle school, and he specialized in the javelin." Karin smiled. "But he retired in high school because of an injury."
"Ah." Mahiro finally realized this when he noticed the writing on the javelin shafts. "He used his ripped shirts to soak in resin and glued the scale into the stick!"
Even now, he's still fighting. This made the three friends more spirited as they traveled around the mountains.
"I never knew that dweeb could be so crafty and stubborn," Reika said. "Everyone seemed to think lowly of him sometimes."
Karin said nothing, but Mahiro knew there was more to Izuru than he knew, despite being friends with him for the last two years.
But when Mahiro thought about it again, they only became friends because Mahiro was dating Karin. They weren't all that close otherwise.
"However, Bullfangos are not solitary creatures. Be careful, just in case we encounter a whole passel." Rondine warned. "Though not as dangerous as an Apex, pack-based monsters like Bullfango had a dominant leader called Bulldrome."
The three immediately thought of a van-sized hog, and that seemed scary. In some way, it sounded even more frightening than a seven-meter-tall hornet queen. Because, unlike giant bugs, destructive megafauna existed on modern earth in the form of rampaging elephants.
And something about this world allowed people and animals to achieve physically impossible feats. Combined with the difference in weight between the two animals, it spooked them.
The fact that Izuru could survive in the wild alone made him one of the strongest kids Mahiro knew, if not THE toughest. And Mahiro was raised in a family that loves off-roading, camping, and adventures.
"Boken javelins."
Izuru was clearly fighting for his life here. Dried blood patches and several broken shafts could be seen, along with at least one Bullfango corpse with three javelins sticking from its body.
"Just how many javelins he made?"
"In fairness, Seregios scales came in batches," Rondine remarked, which made Reika snort while her friends looked uncomfortable.
Because Rondine sounds unintentionally sarcastic about it, which she immediately realizes. "My apologies. I do mean it for real."
"No. We understood."
The bigger question is how Izuru has so much time to craft the poles. Even if they're not perfect and rounded smooth, they weren't too rough either.
Rondine's Palico decided to gather all these javelins for itself since they would make convenient weapons to use.
"These corpses are relatively fresh. They couldn't be older than a few hours." Rondine remarked. "Also, these bite marks are weird."
"Weird?" Mahiro asked.
"It came from a small monster," Rondine said. "But that's not a Canine tooth mark. It looks vaguely like a wyvern's."
"Could it be that Izuru also worked alongside monsters?" Karin postulated.
"Possible, but I'm not aware if there are any small wyverns species here that humans could work alongside. Especially someone unfamiliar with the ecosystem." Rondine continued her way. "The closest candidate would be Remobra. But they're hostile against humans."
Checking the time, they spent most of the morning traveling and tracking. It was well past noon when the group found the sign of battles, corpses, and broken weapons.
"Damn it, where are you, Izuru?"
A strange explosion alerted them, and they hurriedly followed the source.
They found Izuru holding a spear, one foot on a dead Bullfango. Beside him, a tiny metallic dragon roared and sent air bullets to knock other Bullfangoes off course.
"Is that... a baby Kushala Daora?!" The Palico gasped. "Oh wait, Lady Rondine!"
"ATTACK!"
Izuru was actually on his last leg when he heard her voice, and when he saw a bunch of people running toward him, he knew he was saved.
Rondine didn't expect that the first one to do the opening strike wasn't her Palamute but Reika. Reika's speed was legitimately phenomenal for a human.
She had never seen ANYONE that fast outside a specific Master Hunter in Kamura.
As she focused her energy, Reika unleashed two vertical slashes, up and down. But the damage inflicted was comparable to a dozen strikes! This is the Hunter Art - Sakura Slash!
Admittedly, the execution was different than that of the Kamura village style because of the absence of wirebugs. Nevertheless, the movement carried the same essence.
One of the Bullfango fell when a huge shaft pierced through its heart. However, it wasn't Izuru who threw it, but Mahiro launched it using his bow.
The throwing spear was substantially heavier than the arrows he carried, allowing for greater stopping power at the cost of accuracy. Not that it matters at this range!
Karin used the new tool she obtained, the slinger. It was nowhere as versatile as the wirebugs from Kamura, but it was far simpler and straightforward.
Karin used the grappling hook function and yanked it to pull a Bullfango toward her instead of the vulnerable Izuru. Karin used all her body weight to slam the hog with her buckler, toppling it to the side, before stabbing it a few times with her bone sickle.
Even though the hog was much heavier, good footwork and leverage could multiply the strength of a human movement. That is the key to martial arts mastery.
There wasn't a shred of doubt or fear in her eyes. All she wanted was to save her childhood friend.
Rondine left wondering if she was even needed there. Nevertheless, she was glad these young people could lift their weight against relatively weak monsters.
...
"A lot of lacerations with minor infection, some deep enough to be troubling but not fatal. A broken left arm and a few broken ribs. Obviously, there are bruises." Izuru heard a voice. "It is amazing how he could fight and stay alive in that situation."
"Can he recovers?"
"Easily. It'd take time, rest, and medication. But Izuru's survival chance is as high as it could be."
"Thank God!"
Izuru didn't regain full consciousness until the night came.
And the first thing he said was: "AAAAAAAAAH!"
Understandably, people rushed inside in worry. Only to find the bandaged Izuru sitting on the bed, crying in pain and fear.
"You shouldn't force yourself. Take a rest." Nino warned as she gently pushed him back. "It's alright. You're safe now."
"Izuru!" Karin hurriedly approached him. "You're with us again! It's fine!"
"Dragon..." Izuru said with a hoarse voice. "Where's the metal dragon?!"
The people there looked at each other awkwardly before Rondine said. "Release the dragon."
Sounds of metal creaked and clanked outside before a heavy thud could be heard. A small dragon walked into the tent and nuzzled Izuru.
It was about one and a half meters long from head to tail. Its scales were made of a metallic compound, flexible enough to show natural wrinkles. It moved gracefully as any lizard would, but the sound made it clear how heavy it was for an animal of its size.
"Good boy."
Most people there knew it was an Elder Dragon, Kushala Daora. Judging from its size, however, it was most likely newly hatched.
"Can you recall what happened?" Rondine asked. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you more time to rest. But I feel the situation as of now is quite dire."
"Yeah." Izuru nodded.
Izuru recalled the time they gathered close to the mountains with the other queen, and a dragon swiped one of the queens out of the sky. The queen fell with just enough power to avoid falling at terminal velocity.
And Izuru recovered his neural function to make a survivable hard landing. Of course, thanks to his newfound superpower, he suffered nothing more than a mild inconvenience.
"I'm sure I jumped from around twenty meters," Izuru said. "Not even a scratch."
An average unfit human will get a sprain if they jump from more than two and a half meters (eight feet). A significantly more fit person can jump safely from the height of second stories and be unharmed.
But a twenty-meter fall without a single injury? It takes a miracle. It is possible, just very improbable.
"After that, I ran my ass off as far as possible from the direction of the swarm, leaving just enough clues just in case people were searching for me. However, the more I ran away from the damned wasps, the more I had to fight my way out against a few small monsters."
"First time I was saved by scale bombardment from a dragon, it fought another dragon which was metallic in nature." Izuru began to shake as he recalled everything. "Every single monster escaped that area underneath the battlefield."
"That makes sense."
"I used that chance to rest, and because I had no weapons other than a survival hatchet, I decided to build spears and javelins." Izuru took a deep breath to calm himself, to no avail. "Fucking good was that ended up."
They could feel the sheer amount of anger and terror in his voice. He barely escaped with his life.
"I thought I should come back in your direction, but the swarm almost found me again, and I had to run deeper and deeper into this mountain. Occasionally I had to fight some hogs."
"Desperate for protection, I ran toward a cave near the peak and found myself stumbling on the metallic dragon's nest."
Everyone looked awkwardly at the baby Kushala Daora.
"Did you just fucking poach an egg there?" Reika asked.
"I haven't done yet," Izuru said. "I figured it was a safe place to sit on because it would deter monsters from coming. I was wrong. The second dragon crashed in, and the two dragons fought in the cave."
"This little dragon was about to hatch, and I'm not entirely sure what I thought at the time, but my body just moved on its own." Izuru sighed. "Somehow, I saved it before the entire cave collapsed."
"Seregios are nest raiders. They're bold enough to raid equal or stronger wyvern's nest." Rondine agreed. "This is very consistent behavior, I'm afraid. More so if we're talking about an Apex specimen."
"The two dragons were buried alive. I actually climbed the peak to check the top entrance." Izuru said. "I don't know if either is still alive or not."
"I'll send people to check on that," Rondine said. "To be sure. The metallic dragon had rusty skin, correct?"
"Yes. Yes, it was." Izuru nodded.
"One question, please." Nino finally spoke. "Where did you get that broken arm? Considering what you went through, that would take quite a lot of force."
Izuru began to sweat hard, his trauma and fear clearly showing.
"One of the hogs was larger than the others." Izuru whimpered. "It broke my first lance and struck me dead on the arm, throwing me straight through two small trees and trampling over me. I'll be honest, considering its size and speed, having a small truck slamming on me at sixty kilometers an hour probably would hurt less."
Because the truck would at least crumple on impact. But a giant hog that weighs more than a ton?
"Must be a Bulldrome." Rondine guessed. "How do you escape?"
"There was a landslide, and it fell down tumbling," Izuru told the Lady Knight. "I thought the mountain I went to was geographically unstable, even though it was filled with greeneries."
"I noticed." Rondine smiled. "That's enough. You should rest."
"Uh, what would happen with this boy?" Izuru patted the baby Kushala. "It's not like I desperate to keep him, but it would be nice if I could."
"I'll have to leave that decision with the guild. For this reason, we should return back to Kamura village first." Rondine decided. "And I suggest you don't say no, knowing how dangerous this area is."
"We leave the soonest we can, please." Izuru whimpered.