Author's Note: The Legend continues! It feels good to be back writing things that aren't speeches or essays! Especially when the only research I have to do is playing video games. For any Pokemon fans who happen to be reading this, an update of my story All Fired Up should be on its way shortly, so stay tuned for that! Anyway, many thanks to Wood Dog for your advice! Your arboreal canine insights are much appreciated!

I honestly can't tell you what the worst part is. The fact that I'm being suffocated, or the fact that it's at the hands, feet, and virtually every other body part of a bunch of heavily armored hunters trying to catch a glimpse of me. Or the fact that something just peed on my leg. For crying out loud, I just narrowly escaped becoming a Fang Flambé earlier. Can't I just take the rest of the day off?

"Outta my way! Coming through!"

All of a sudden, a familiar voice pierces through the crowd. …Or rather, plows through it like a hot Volvidon through hunters. I couldn't see a thing, but that's how it sounded with all the screams of people flying into the air. Line of sight clear, I can see the crowd-clearing cannonball is none other than a certain ruddy-haired blacksmith. With signature tool in hand and leather apron flapping dramatically in the wind, he utters the 3 immortal words:

Hunt 5: "Stop! Hammer Time!"

"Th-thanks for the save, Marcus!"

"Heh heh, no need to thank me, Fang. I've always wanted to say that! …Now where's the rest of your party?" Slinging his 6-foot hammer across his shoulder, he faces the crowd. "If you folks would kindly clear a path…" The remaining mass of people immediately and chaotically scatters. Understandable. With that kind of tool, no one would be even able to touch him. Left in their wake are my two teammates, rising to their feet once again. "Ah, there you are! What do ya say we go someplace a bit more private? I got a couple things you may wanna hear."

And so the four of us head walk off, receiving no shortage of stares as we make our exit. …Well, three of us, at least. Ira rushes on ahead, presumably to upgrade her firearm, if her excited cackling is anything to go by. Kind of abrupt if you ask me, but hey, I wasn't going to stop her. I've already met my head injury quota for the month. Regardless, one trip to the Marina later, our now-trio steps aboard the ship I've been sleeping on. After making sure no one outside our group is within earshot, Marcus starts things off… apologizing?

"Sorry about what happened back there. Loose-Lips Larry must've overheard our conversation about what happened yesterday and spread the word. Seriously, the guy keeps quiet about as well as he keeps his bladder under control. Must be all those Goldenfish Brews he keeps chuggin' down." …That explains a lot. Also, I'll be needing a shower ASAP. Again. "So, how'd your hunt with Gatling Girl go? Didn't cause too much trouble for you two, I hope."

"Don't worry, Marcus, we did just fine." Lorica responds, "She's quite the capable Gunner, I'll tell you that. She may be a hothead, but she's got good aim. Pretty light on her feet too."

"She's also good at fixing dislocated joints." Really, my back has never felt better.

"Well that's good to hear! I was worried that she'd've shot one of you by now!" Marcus lets out a hearty laugh.

"Uh, actually she did once, but she was just helping me out." But really, whoever first came up with the idea to deliver medicine through bullets should be shot. "Like Lorica said, she has good aim. …When she is isn't being afflicted by Dragonblight, of course."

"Well, Dragon energy is some dangerous stuff. Between the monsters and weapons that make use of it, you just never know it's gonna do next. …WHICH REMINDS ME! I was digging around some more ancient texts and found out something I thought you might be interested in!" The leather-clad blacksmith clears his throat extra loud before continuing. "This ancient civilization I mentioned before! The one where those blades of yours came from! Apparently, they had a BIIIIIIG war against monsters back in their heyday. They were super-advanced and built a whole arsenal of giant superweapons for the express purpose of wyvern slaying. Now, I don't have all the details on how they worked, but they could take anything monsters threw at 'em and toss it right back twice as hard! And get this! The Ancient set? It turns out they're fragments of those things! Pretty cool, huh?"

"Interesting…" The green-eyed Gunlancer turns my way. "That would explain how your blades were able to absorb and discharge all that lightning."

"Yeah, that's true. But still, that thing with the Rathian… I'm still not quite sure how that could happen. And not only that, but just who were these people? What sort of technology did they use to make these things?"

"Can't say I know, unfortunately." Marcus sighs. "But! Just thinking about it fires up my curiosity! I have a feeling we might've stumbled upon something big here! Trust me, I'll get back to you if I find anything else, but for now, the mystery continues, I guess. ...Oh! And before I forget! Fang! You've had a request come in for you!"

"A… request? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, after Triple L let it slip that you slew ol' Queen Pinky, the guys in charge of the Arena immediately took notice and wanted to sign you up for an exhibition match!"

Ah, yes, the Arena. A huge coliseum where hunters from all over the world gather to watch hunters test their mettle against captured monsters. I've heard of it before, but having never actually been there, that's about all I know. Besides,

"Wait a sec, what?! Honestly, after today's hunt, I think I'd rather just—"

"No, no, I didn't mean today. You can rest easy. They're giving you a couple days to decide whether you want in. If you do decide to go through with it, you won't have to go it alone. You'll be able to get some backup!"

"Backup?"

"Well, the Arena allows a max of 2 hunters per fight, and this one is no exception!"

"I see. So do I get to choose who goes with me or…"

"Normally you would, but in this case, they already chose the participants. Something about a "battle of legends" or something along that line. Don't worry, though!" Marcus smiles. "I'm pretty sure you'd get along with your teammate just fine! …But ultimately the decision's yours. They can't force you." The blacksmith then turns toward the forge. "Welp! Either way, I gotta get back to work! Weapons won't make themselves! See ya!" And the hammer-wielding redhead dashes off blazingly fast. …Unsurprisingly, he trips over himself.

"…Well. That just happened."

"That it did, Lorica. That it did."

Guess there's only one thing left to do now.

"Uh, Fang? Are you trying to jump off the boat?"

"Oh yeah, I was just going to go for a little swim. Gotta wash off all this, well, everything."

"If that's what you're doing, then why don't you come over to my place? Water there's a bit less… fishy. Plus, I have soap."

"Soap does sound nice. Count me in."

Between that and taking a break from stabbing wolves, this was the best thing I've heard all day. Grabbing my change of clothes from the storage hut, I was all set to go! …But of course, the boat trip to her place…

Bleugh!

"Fang, you… feeling OK over there?"

Didn't go so well. Seriously, we hunters have medicine to neutralize dragon venom and supercharge the healing process, but nothing to combat the effects of seasickness. Bit of an oversight, if you ask me, but not much I can do now. At least the ride was over quick. Disembarking, we step foot onto a small island paved with cobblestone lined with rows upon rows of small houses. Rectangular in construction, sporting sloped roofs and similar blue-and-white color schemes, they were simple, yet sturdy and definitely fancier than anything back at Moga Village.

"Come on. This way."

Lorica takes me by the hand and promptly leads me over to her residence on the western shore.

"Welcome to my humble abode!"

Inside, I can see that the place is indeed on the smaller side, but she definitely maximizes the space she has. On the left, there's a 3-tiered wooden shelf, filled to the brim with books sandwiched between bookends made of various monster parts. Over on the right, an oval shaped coffee table with comfortable-looking chairs at both ends. Next to it is a small bed with lavender-colored sheets. Straight ahead is a narrow hallway ending in a door. But by far the most striking feature of the house was a giant fang statue in the back left corner. …No, not a statue of me, but a titanic tooth that's at least a foot taller that I am. Pretty impressive.

"Make yourself at home! Bathroom's past that door in the back."

"OK then. Thanks." Nice warm shower, here I come! Shut goes the door, off goes my armor and,

"Oh, Fang! I almost forgot to mention—"

"GAAAAAAAAAAH! C-C-C-COLD!"

"—That the hot water's not working."

…At least I got clean.

After that… invigorating experience, Lorica graciously offers me a blanket and a cup of a tea.

"Th-th-thanks again."

"No need. It's the least I could do. I didn't get a chance to mine for a new Firestone back at the Volcano with everything else going on."

"D-d-don't worry, I understand." I take a small sip of the aromatic beverage, and immediately starts to warm me up like a Hot Drink, except without that insect-y aftertaste. "Anyway, I have to ask, what's with the big tooth in the back?"

"Oh, that? That's from a monster called the Jhen Mohran I helped hunt a few years ago."

"You mean the humongous sand fish that people hold a festival for every time one rolls around?"

"Yep. That's the one! It really is a sight to behold in person; it absolutely dwarfs just about every monster out there! Having it make an appearance was considered quite the good omen… until one came along and destroyed most of Loc Lac. Thankfully, everyone evacuated in time and no one was hurt, but the incident left most everyone out of house and home. That's when people like me and Marcus moved over here to Port Tanzia."

"Oh… I see." That escalated quickly. "So, what was life like before that? I remember you mentioned you hunted with a different team in the past. What were they like?"

She pauses for a moment, hesitating. "Well, we all grew up together, for starters. I was the lone girl out of our group of four, but I didn't really run into any problems about that. With our members ranging from reserved to rambunctious, our main issue was teamwork. I mean, on a personal level, we got along just fine, but when it came to putting a plan together, we stunk worse than a week-old Dung Bomb. Basically, everyone just went off and did their own thing. We failed more quests than we completed. Then one day, we had a pretty nasty encounter with a Zinogre. I won't go into the gory details, but we ended up in pretty bad shape. We were all able make it out alive, thankfully, but none of us were kicking after that. When it was all said and done, I was the only one left even willing to go hunting again, let alone able to."

"Wow, I had no idea…"

"Yeah, it was pretty rough. I definitely could've used someone like you back then, Fang."

"What do you mean by that exactly?"

"Oh, you know, a smart, intelligent person who knows how to strategize and what sort of things are edible. Seriously, first quest we ever took, one of our members had the bright idea to determine what kind of mushroom something was by tasting it. …You can probably imagine how well that one went."

"Not that well, I'm guessing. But thanks." And almost immediately, a question came to mind. "…Hey, come to think of it, why did you join up with me in the first place? It's something I've been wondering for a while now."

"Remember when you said you've been hunting solo for quite some time? Well, for years, that was me. All that time, I've been looking for a new team hunt with, but I hadn't had much luck. It was hard. No matter how skilled a hunter someone is, going it alone can only get you so far. And then I remembered all the things I mentioned about my previous team. About how their hunting careers got cut short in the most painful way possible. After what happened to you, I wasn't about to stand by and allow that to happen again. Not while I could do something about it."

"So that's why." I couldn't help but smile a little. "You're a protector."

"A… protector?"

"Yeah, someone willing to fight for the sake of others. At least that's what I call it. ...Well, me and… and…"

"You and… what, Fang?"

… "Oh, nothing. It's nothing. I'm just… glad I met you, Lorica. There really aren't that many people like you around anymore." And with those words, I finish off the last of my tea before setting the cup back down on the table.

Lorica stares at me for a moment, looking as if she's about to say something, but she ultimately doesn't. Not one to let awkward silences to linger for very long, she then quickly rises to feet. "Well then! I don't really have anything planned for the rest of the day, so… what do you want to do now?"

"That's… a really good question, actually."

"Do you have a hobby of some sort? Like, say, fishing?"

"I was never really all that good at fishing. I know Moga's a seaside village and all, but I just could never get the hang of it. I've even tried yelling 'BITE ME!' while shaking the rod around, but even that didn't work."

"O… K… Guess fishing's out of the question. Is there something else?"
"Well, I am pretty good at swimming. You want to race or something?"

"Bodies of water and heavy metal armor don't really mix well, so… I never actually learned how."

"I could teach you!"

"Oh no, it's fine, I wouldn't want to impose. Plus, I'm still feeling a little tired from earlier. Maybe another time." She finishes off her cup of tea and lets out a sigh, as if to emphasize that point before continuing. "So, besides swimming and hunting, what do you do with you free time? I've always liked digging into a good book myself."

"Um… Sleeping, I guess?"

"...No seriously. What do you like to do?"

"I am serious. I enjoy taking a nap every once in a while. And eating too, of course. There is that."

"…You're joking. There's got to be something else."

"Well, I also breathe, but I don't really think that counts..."

"Oh, I see." That's what her mouth said, but her expression just screamed 'You poor thing! What have you been doing with your life all this time?' "If that's the case then… what do you say to solving a few monster riddles?"

"That sounds like fun!"

"Great!" She clears her throat. "OK! Heads or tails, it can be hard to tell, / When it sucks your blood, it starts to swell. / Its abilities include making poison and eggs, / And powerful wings attached to its legs."

"That one's easy. It's the Gigginox!"

"…I know I've said this a bunch of times, but you really do know your stuff, Fang! You're right!"

Yep, I'm definitely in my element here. "What can I say, I know my monsters. But now, I believe I've got one for you, Lorica! Unlike the dragon that's hidden, I choose to crouch, / whether in sand or in snow, I am no slouch. / You'll fight me saber to saber, tooth and nail, / if I am the foe you wish to assail."

She blinks a couple times before responding. "That's a good one… Hmm… Is it… the Nargacuga? It mainly lives in the forest, but it does have those sharp blade-like wings."

"Good guess, but that's not it!"

"I had a feeling it wasn't…" Brow furrowed, she ponders the answer for a little while longer before saying, "Then is it… the Deviljho? That thing pops up in pretty much every hunting ground out there."

"Nope, wrong again, I'm afraid! Want one more guess?"

"I would, but I can't really think of anything else at the moment. Is it some newly-discovered monster?"

"Nope! It's the Barioth! It lives over in snowy places, but there is a desert dwelling subspecies! Plus, he's basically a sabertooth tiger with wings!"

"Oh, right, the Barioth! I can't believe I forgot about that!"

"Yeah, I nearly froze my butt off fighting one of those things before. No way I'm forgetting that." Seriously, I was starting to get frostbite down there. "But that was years ago. Anyway! Your turn!"

"OK then! Just give me a moment. I'll come up with one that'll stump you, Mr. Monster Expert!"

"Heh heh! I look forward to it!"

We continued playing that riddle game the rest of the afternoon. I must say, it was some of the most fun I've had in a long time. Once we ran out of riddles to tell and the sun had set, we stepped outside to enjoy the gentle Tanzian seabreeze and view of the night sky above. …Mostly because we weren't about to squeeze together into one tiny bed, but still. It was nice. Very calming. It was a nice end to a day that I didn't really want to end. And before I knew it, we fell sound asleep under the stars.

Author's Note: It might be a couple years late to be saying this, but RIP Monster Hunter Tri Wi-Fi servers. You will not soon be forgotten.

And now it's time for… Fang's Factoids!

Factoid 2: Miscellaneous Monsters

We covered a lot of monsters in my game with Lorica. And I mean a lot. I didn't want to drag out this chapter any longer than I had to, so I thought I'd just sum up all the ones we covered, albeit in a less riddle-y form. They also happen to be monsters I mentioned before, but didn't go into much detail about, so two bird wyverns with one Stone! Let's get started!

Jaggi: Carnivorous raptor-like creatures that are common in several hunting grounds. Regular males are small and mostly orange and pink in color, whereas the females are larger and sport a grayer complexion. The alpha male, or Great Jaggi, shares its color scheme with its non-alpha counterparts, but is much larger and possesses a rather prominent frill around its neck.

Rhenoplos: Stout gray ankylosaurs with a penchant for ramming into things with their hard heads. These creatures are extremely territorial and will ram into perceived intruders indiscriminately. However, even if giant monsters like a Qurupeco or a Deviljho are tearing up the place, people always seem to wind up being the primary targets of their wrath. Due to this behavior, they, along with the boar-like Bullfango, are considered to be the bane of many a hunter's existence.

Aptonoth: Ubiquitous saurian herbivores with a single forked horn for protection. About as near the bottom of the food chain as you can get with 4 legs, this gray gentle giant is the meat of choice for many monsters and hunters alike. However, some have also been domesticated for use as beasts of burden. Aptonoth can get to colossal sizes, growing even larger some large monsters, like the aforementioned Great Jaggi, though it still remains a non-threat to even novice hunters.

Gargwa: A plump, feathery herbivore which is best described as a cross between a duck and an ostrich. Much like the Aptonoth, it too is fit for consumption and labor, though not quite as commonly used due to is comparatively smaller size. When scared, they have a tendency to lay their eggs right on the spot, which make for some massive omelets.

Felyne: Talking cats with intelligence on par with humans. They prefer bipedal posture most of the time, but do run on all fours. Unlike most other monsters, Felynes are one of the few species considered sentient. Though there are plenty of wild Felynes, many coexist alongside people in society as near-equals, most often as hunting companions. Also, there are two varieties, the regular Felyne and the kleptomaniac Melynx. The former is usually cream in color, the latter usually black, though more unusual fur colors such as blue and green are not unheard of. Both species just go absolutely crazy for Felvine and appear to have an inherent need to talk in cat puns.

Barroth: A hulking brown dinosaur monster that bulldozes the opposition with its mace-like head. Despite its fearsome appearance, the Barroth is primarily an insectivore, busting open hives of giant bugs whenever it gets peckish. Likes wallowing in mud.

Congalala: A big pink baboon monster that often holds food in its prehensile tail. It also likes to fart. A lot. …Not much else to say about it, other than its butt turning a bright red whenever it gets enraged.

Yian Kut-Ku: A pink-hued avian dragon with a rounded yellow beak, reminiscent of a chicken. It sports prominent and perceptive ears which are highly sensitive to sound, and though it can spit fireballs at enemies, it doesn't have a very ferocious reputation. It may have something to do with its comical running stance or tendency to trip over itself often. It can still be quite the wake-up call for newbie hunters though. Tastes great fried.

Kirin: A white horse creature boasting a prominent sharp horn and power over lightning. Basically, it's a unicorn. These things are ridiculously fast, charging savagely at hunters incapacitated by its jolts of electricity. Their hard hide is nigh-impossible to cut; the head and horn are the only real vulnerable points, which can be really hard to hit as it prances circles around you. Due to its striking resemblance to the smaller deer-like Kelbi, many hunters have dubbed the monster the "Kelbidrome".

Brachydios: An indigo saurian with a rounded horn reminiscent of a pompadour. Its main claim to fame is the green slime it spreads with its horn and boxing-glove-like fists. Said slime is a form of mold which reacts with its saliva to explode. Painfully. As such, the Brachydios licks itself quite often before attacking. It also happens to be the monster from which Ira's armor is made from.

Diablos: A tan two-horned beast with a notoriously bad temper. When it isn't charging at things head on or clubbing things with its tail, this desert dweller just loves to burrow underground and play the world's most painful game of peekaboo. But the most well-known characteristic of this demonic beast is its ear-splitting shriek. It is the stuff of nightmares.

Plesioth: A scaly aquatic monster with large webbed wing-fins and a shark-like head. It really likes to hang out underwater and shoot out jets of high-pressure water from its mouth, though it can walk on land with its two legs if needed. This monster species is infamous in the hunting world for hitting hunters with its hip, even when it seems like it shouldn't reach. Theories range from strange scale-induced light refraction to outright dimension-breaking powers, though the phenomenon ultimately remains unexplained. Has a fondness for eating frogs.

…And I think that should about cover it! I know that was a lot of info to digest, but I hope it proved useful! Until next time, happy hunting!