Monster Hunter: The Telepathic Hunter; Ch14: A Swarm of Bugs
February 1st, 2089. Pokke Village. 8:57 AM.
Alex and Corra collapsed through the gate of Pokke, dead tired from climbing the hill in one long burst. "Alex! You're finally back!" exclaimed the Chief.
"You gave us quite a scare," said September.
"I was on pins and needles!" added Patricia. "But I knew you would save us!"
Behind these three was the remainder of the village, clamoring their thanks. "Everyone's here!?" said Alex as he forced to his feet. The crowd split in two and a short wyverian wearing a yellow miner's hat came through. "Oh, you're a face I have not seen yet."
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Alex. I am Treshi, and I just came back from a long trip. I heard about your quest, and I sincerely thank you for protecting Pokke."
"It's an honor to meet you too, Treshi Sir! Thank you for your kind words."
"I believe we have cause for celebration! Everyone, follow me! I made a killing on my latest journey!"
5:00 PM. Maxwell's hut.
Alex dropped ungracefully into a chair, too tired to do it properly. "Man, what a party… I'm pooped…"
"Oink!" Emperor came up to Alex's feet. "Oink, oink!"
Alex smiled as he picked up the pig. "I missed you too, buddy. Sorry for worrying you." Alex rubbed the pig's head softly, who in turn tried to snuggle. "There's a good boy. Let's go see..."
He was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Alex, are you home?" said Anna's voice.
It's Anna! I didn't see her at the party. She must have just gotten out of resting. Alex put Emperor down from his lap and got up to answer the door. "Hey Anna. Is it okay for you to be out? Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah. Granny gave me the okay. I'm much better now."
"That's great. Hey, don't stay in the cold. Wanna come in?"
"Sure. Tell me about the battle."
"Over some refreshing Mountain Herb tea, my treat."
"I'll definitely take you up on this offer!"
Sometime later…
"And that's when I reasoned her down, albeit with more fire than was necessary."
Anna shook her head. "I just can't believe she attacked you… just after you saved the village. I should give her a piece of my mind."
"There's no need for that. We've already made up."
"Wow, Alex… You're just too pure."
"I try… But it will take some time until I truly forgive her. In the meantime, she's going to be on active duty again. Isn't that great? We won't have as much workload anymore."
"Yes, that's wonderful." Anna took her last slurp of tea. "Well, thanks for the tea. I think it's time I went home." She got up and Alex followed suit.
"Let me walk you to the door."
"Aren't you a gentleman?" Anna giggled. "Oh, and congratulations on becoming Hunter Rank 2. You certainly earned it."
"Awww… Thanks, Anna. But I could not have done it without you."
"Don't be modest!"
February 2nd.
The next day, Alex visited the Guild outpost.
"Good morning, Miss September, Miss Patricia!" he greeted.
"Good morning, Alex!" replied Patricia. "You sound like you're in a good mood this morning!"
"I don't know. I just feel as if things are looking up compared to when I first arrived. Truth be told, I was not expecting to gain so much recognition from the Guild this early. I've been an official hunter for what, a mere month?"
"I suppose you are right. Most hunters take between six months to a year before they get their first rank up. You should consider yourself lucky, even for a Kasai."
"Say, September, you know a lot about the clan, right?"
"Not really. I've heard of a few of their exploits, mostly of those of the founder, the Fire of Kokoto. No one seems to remember his name though, oddly enough. As a matter of fact, it pains me to tell you this but you, Corra, and Master Koto are among the few that remain. The Kasai Clan has dwindled to a handful over the last sixty years."
"Wait, are you serious!?" Alex was racked by this revelation. September nodded. "Man, if I thought I had it rough before, I was wrong. Now, I guess I've got a legacy to live up to. So, let's move away from this gloomy outlook that has settled into this nice morning." Alex turned to the counter. "Okay, Patricia, what have you got for me? Preferably something easy. I don't feel like taking on a Kut-ku or Cephadrome anytime soon."
"Well, I've got just the thing! How would you like to be a pest control officer?"
"Pest… control… officer?" Alex repeated slowly, as if trying to break down and properly process what he was told. "What do you mean?"
"Here, this is a letter to you from the Chief of Jumbo Village."
"From Sir Ryuu!?" Alex took the letter.
"Dear Alex,
Congratulations on your rank up. We're all very proud of you.
I hope you are doing fine, because we are not. If it's not one thing, it's another down here. This time, we've got a terrible outbreak of Vespoids. Please, won't you lend us a hand?
Our regards,
Ryuu and Patty."
"Hmm, this sounds urgent. There's no way I would turn an eye to friends. I'll take it, Patricia. I'd best get Anna and Corra to help me."
"You got it, hero!" Patricia happily stamped the corresponding quest sheet. "Oh, believe it or not, Vespoid materials can be used to make armor. But they are easily completely destroyed by attacks. The trick is to slowly drain them down. I'll let you figure that out on your own."
"Uh, thanks… Well, I'll go get prepared. Later!"
"Have fun, Alex!" called September as Alex made his leave.
Half an hour later saw him returning with Anna and Corra in tow. "We're off. Wish us goodwill."
"You're worried over some bugs?" laughed Corra.
"No, giant bugs that can leave you paralyzed with their armor piercing stingers. I'm not worried, just cautious."
"I was just joking, Nephew."
Hunter Stats
1. Alex Kasai (HR2)
Weapon: Iron Katana Grace Long Sword + Fire Gem decoration
Armor: Kut-Ku Blade Master
Skills: Telepathy, Strength Up, Vitality Up, Fire Resist, Water Damage Increase
2. Anna Frost (HR1)
Weapon: Giaprey Claws Plus Dual Blades (Ice Element)
Armor: Battle Blade Master
Skills: Strength Up, Detect, Sword Sharpener
3. Corra Kasai (HR3)
Weapon: War Drum Hunting Horn
Armor: Genprey Blade Master
Skills: Telepathy, Thunder Resist, Paralysis Time Halved, Sword Sharpener
Terosu Jungle Base camp.
Alex retched into the river for the last time as the boat arrived. Corra steered it to shore. "Man… I hate unstable floors..."
"Cheer up, Mr. Water. We're here," encouraged Anna.
As soon as the boat hit the sand, Alex felt his energy return. "Yes!" He cleared off the boat in one good bound. Corra just laughed.
"You really weren't kidding about your motion sickness, huh? Some Water Element type you are!"
Anna gasped. "Alex, your hair!"
Alex turned to her in confusion. "Yeah, it's blue, isn't it…?"
"Well yes, but you now have some yellow mixed in!"
"Yellow!? That can't be right…" Alex went to the water's edge and stared at his reflection. It was then his turn to gasp. "What!? What happened to my hair?"
"Don't panic, Alex! I've heard of this. You may have developed a new elemental affinity! It's a rare but definitely possible occurrence. Our Clan's founder actually had four! All except for ice, which was not known to be used yet."
"Mind, blown!"
"Anyway, let's get to work. I'm actually not a fan of this jungle. Maxwell once saved me from a Rathian here. I was almost bar-be-qued. I was so scared that I could not even sleep that night. Brrr!" Corra shook her head expressively, before suddenly remembering herself. "Uh, right! Let's go!"
Alex and Anna shrugged to each other before walking towards the blue supply box.
Terosu Jungle Area 1.
The trio entered the cliff area to be immediately swarmed by six Vespoids. The giant mosquito-like bugs buzzed busily in excitement at the prospect of new victims to feed the hive.
"They're coming right for us!" exclaimed Anna, taking out her blades from her back.
Alex drew Grace, his katana. "Let's spread out so that we don't end up hitting each other. Be careful not to get stung! Their paralyzing neurotoxin is on par with the Genprey!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" exclaimed Corra. "That's why I came prepared with my Genprey Armor!"
As per Alex's instructions, the trio split up. He and Anna were able to deftly dodge the overgrown bugs' attacks and counter, destroying their assailants in seconds. But Corra had a rotten time due to how slow her heavy weapon made her. Before she could take a swing, her attackers would score free hits and easily hover out of her range.
"Darn it! Hold still, you pests!" Corra shouted.
"Let me help you!" exclaimed Alex. "One more sting, and you might be down for the count!"
"Not to flunkies like this I won't! Just watch this." Alex and Anna observed as she changed the way she held her Hunting Horn weapon. Her form glowed as she began to play it like an instrument! Even her attackers just kept watch in case of any funny business. "White, White, make me swift!" She sang. Her glow then became white. She smirked as she returned to a battle worthy position again. "The real show starts now!"
At this cue, the two Vespoids she was facing swooped in for a kamikaze attack. But quicker than their feeble intelligence could predict, they were swatted away like the insects they were by a mighty swing from Corra. Nothing but their disembodied pieces floated to the ground.
"Whoa! Awesome!" exclaimed Alex. "How did you turn the tables like that?"
"By the power of my weapon, the Recital Mode ability! I played a special song that used my Chikara to grant me a temporary movement speed boost!" Her white glow faded right then and there. "Now it's gone."
"This is amazing nonetheless. So this is why you brought this, huh? I thought it was pretty silly considering what we were charged to face off against."
"Laugh if you want, you simpleton!" Corra shot with a heated look. "I haven't even told you the best part about this bad boy! The role of a Hunting Horn Weapon is to improve upon the great attacking power of the Hammer line of weapons, and provide support for a squad of Hunters! By playing a song, I can boost all of us, not just me! Are you jealous now!?"
"Whoa! This is so broken!" said Anna.
"There are many songs, but each weapon comes with only three notes, named by color rather than by letter. This means that each weapon can only play certain songs and grant only certain buffs. You heard me say "White" during the song I just played... The notes of my weapon are White, Yellow and Red."
"I see… Well then, let's change our battle strategy. I respect your weapon now, Corra. Why don't you play your songs to boost me and Anna, and we will quickly vanquish the swarm of bugs. We'll wrap up this quest in no time at all like this!"
"I guess I can do that, but then it will be less fun for me. And I still have to defend myself, so at least one of you should keep most of the bugs away from me to keep them from disturbing me. You won't get anything if I get interrupted in the middle of a song."
"Got it!" replied Alex and Anna in unison.
With this new battle plan in play, the trio proceeded to the next area, Area 2. There, they found ten! Anna went on the offensive, while Alex guarded Corra. Corra repeatedly played the songs White-White, White-White-White, and Red-Red. The buffs were Movement-Speed-Up, Attacks-Harder-to-Break, and Attack-Power-Up respectively. With this, Anna just mowed through her foes like the swing of an electric mosquito racket. Any Vespoids foolish enough to even attempt to get at Corra met their swift and near-painless retribution at the blade of Alex.
In the beachside of Area 3, there was a troop of unruly Congas in the mix, so Alex and Anna had their hands full. Corra therefore could not afford the time to recite songs as much, instead occasionally having to bash a Conga's head in to teach it some manners!
Despite this, the trio secured their quota of 50 Vespoids slain before too long. On their return to the boat to make their leave, Corra was revealed to have expended far too much Chikara. The Recital ability was actually not meant to be abused as it was incredibly draining, but Corra's pride kept her from disclosing this beforehand. So Alex helped her walk, along with giving her a thorough scolding as he would have revised the strategy had he known this. He would have had her use it more strategically and conservatively. She thus learned firsthand how much more mature and responsible he was than he often let on.
All in all, the quest was a success, and our trio returned home with both Jumbo's gratitude and the promised reward.