The eight of them trekked through a vast field, now feeling slightly bored.
Isa stared up at the sky. "Hey, Luke."
"What?"
"You were talking this place up so much before this. You made it sound terrifying, like the most dangerous place on earth."
"Yeah."
"So what the hell is this?"
Okay, I'll admit that my worries might have slipped into my explanations of what it's like, but still. I wasn't wrong."
Isa waved her arms around, signalling to the open nothingness.
"It is dangerous. Further in. But not here."
"But we're in the FG, right?" Spence asked.
"Yes, we definitely are."
"So why's it so easygoing out here?"
Mary turned around. "I think it's time to explain how the zones work." She pulled out a map.
"Right now, we're here. Zone one. As you go further out, you go up to zone five. As you could expect, it gets more dangerous the further in you go in. Which also means that the number of people around drops off sharply."
"Huh, got it. But if it's so easy out here then why do we even need the hunter rank requirement?"
There was no good answer.
"I'm not the guild. I don't know."
The group continued its trek.
The sun eventually began to lower, but they still couldn't spot any signs of an outpost.
"Well, we might as well set up camp now, right?" Isa looked around "Wherever this place is, we're not gonna be finding it in the next hour or so."
The rest of the group, setting up tents and starting a fire. Spence began to cook some of the raw meat they'd brought with them while the others sat around resting.
"I really should've asked this one before any of my other questions, but where are we even headed? I know it's an outpost, but that's about it."
Mary continued to explain.
"It's called Omaten. The most populated place in the entire frontier grounds, it's like the centre of this first zone. We'll be getting quests from there for a little while."
"Food's done." Spence cut in, handing them some steaks. The exposition was interrupted while they began eating.
Luke paused, looking at his steak.
"How is this even so good? It's way better than how it turns out when I cook it. What did you do?"
Spencer shrugged. "I just didn't burn it."
"He's always been super good at cooking, somehow. It's instinct, I guess."
"No point in questioning good food." Mary replied. When they were done, she had a sudden realisation. "Ah, I suppose we forgot to mention."
"Mention what?" Spence asked.
"We're going there to visit someone we've known since we were kids. He's another monster taming hunter."
"Seriously?"
"It's not that surprising, is it?"
"Well until a little while ago, I assumed that it was something only me and Spence had thought of."
"Well, I just learned it from my dad."
"Both of my parents are monster tamers." Luke explained. "The guy we're going to meet is the son of someone they know who's also one."
"Wait," Isa cut in, realising something "Did that bastard do the same?"
Mary paused for a second, remembering who that bastard was. "Yeah. I can't remember exactly what, but he definitely did have one."
"...That pisses me off somehow."
The group woke up the next day and quickly set off. The surroundings seemed quiet compared to before.
"Something's around here, isn't it?" Spence quietly said.
"Don't say it aloud," Luke replied "That'll just make it worse."
Isa looked annoyed. "No, it'll be there regardless."
"That is true, as much as I'd rather it wasn't."
"Hey, how much further until we reach the place?"
"I'm not sure. Probably at least another hour. Why?"
"I was gonna suggest just running it, but nah, I'd get tired. Let's turn back. I dunno what's hidden in all these trees, but I don't wanna risk finding out. Sound good?"
"Yeah." Luke shakily replied.
"I think that's for the best." Mary looked over to Spence.
"Are you okay?"
He didn't answer, remaining still. A few seconds passed of the others not knowing what to do.
"Come on man," Isa grabbed his shoulder "this isn't the time for-"
A loud cry in the distance. It clearly signified nothing else than fear. Something was approaching. Being chased. The ground shook.
The group got ready to retreat, but before they could gain much distance an injured Great Jagras burst out from the trees. It took no notice of the party, trying to escape. A moment later, the trees behind it were torn apart as a set of jaws tore through them. The Jagras failed to escape, meeting a swift end.
Dragon energy surrounded the beast's body. After consuming the Jagras in just a few bites, it spotted the party and roared.
"Are you serious right now?" Spence asked "That's a Deviljho, isn't it!?"
Luke's breathing was panicked. "A savage one at that!"
"We don't have time for talking!" Mary yelled as the monster leapt towards them.
They split up to dodge out of its way. The Deviljho shook the ground as it landed, causing them to be staggered. Without missing a beat, it released dragon breath everywhere, covering the surroundings.
Luke and Panzer backed off, as did Mary and Kasa.
Spence and Storm were the only ones to charge forward, attempting to rush it down.
"What the hell are you doing!?" Luke yelled, to deaf ears.
"He might have the right idea." Isa muttered.
Luke just stared at her.
"Where the hell can we run to? You saw what it did to that thing. We can't escape on foot. You wanna split up and have it only chase just one or two of us? Fighting's the best option. As long as we don't lose."
She ran off, Irontusk behind her.
"...Fine." Luke slowly pulled out his gun and tried to steady his aim. Having no other choice, Mary joined the group. The hunters and monsters had no plan. All they could do was fight wildly with everything they had, hoping to repel their attacker.
The brute wyvern hungered. All it could feel, all it had ever felt, was the desire to devour. The eternal starvation drove it forwards, to the point of madness. Unable to think about a single thing other than consumption.
Its targets continued their struggle.
Kasa and Storm danced around the Deviljho as it wildly struck out. Isa and Irontusk tried to find an opening, but were kept away by the stomps shaking the earth. Panzer was the only one close to matching it, but was quickly overpowered by the fellow brute wyvern.
They all relentlessly slashed away for what seemed like an eternity, their attacks barely seeming to affect it. However, the same could not be said for the Deviljho's attacks. Every hit brought a risk of death.
"Why is it so strong? We've barely made it anywhere! Wasn't it enough of a struggle to make it this far? Wasn't this supposed to be the easy part? Why the hell are we so weak!?"
Spence yelled out his frustrations without even seeming to realise it, throwing out a final attack. The Deviljho turned to attack, barely missing a bite. A fang still tore into his armour, causing him to freeze up.
Isa attacked it from the side.
"Well, you're not alone in wanting to yell all that, I guess." She thought, trying to find a way to deal damage "He wasn't lying. This place is cruel. Here I thought we'd just have a smooth path there, but…"
A tail swipe hit her full force, knocking her back. She stared up from the ground, feeling as though death itself loomed over her.
"Even if we fight this thing with everything we have, will that even leave a dent in it?"
Panzer charged headfirst into the Deviljho, barely staggering it, before it quickly retaliated with a blast of dragon breath. A stomp caused those surrounding it to be stunned. It glanced around, settling on the one that seemed the weakest.
Luke was unable to move as it advanced towards him. The Deviljho readied itself to attack. Mary managed to rush between them, raising her shield in preparation for whatever would follow.
That attack never came. Another monster slammed into it, followed by a large man jumping in with a lance strike.
Spence tried to get up, but was stopped.
"Are you stupid? You're bleeding, so don't move. Leave it to that pair. They're strong, after all."
"Who the hell are you?"
He finally turned his head enough to see the one talking. A small girl.
"Someone weak."
The lancer user continued to keep the Deviljho's focus. Every strike was blocked and countered. As he attacked, the monster stayed out of its focus, occasionally slipping between them to land an explosive attack before backing away.
Even in the face of such a terrifying opponent, the armoured giant did not relent. After blocking countless attacks, the hunter and monster joined together to launch a devastating strike on the Deviljho. It was launched and landed a short distance away, retreating as soon as it got up.
The monster went into the cover of the trees. The man who had repelled the Deviljho caught his breath, watching it go.
A pause. Mary finally spoke.
"Fancy meeting you out here, Judah."
He turned back to her.
"It's been a while."
TO BE CONTINUED