Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Monster Hunter, only how the story goes. The characters and world of Monster Hunter belongs to Capcom. The only thing that I do own are the OC's of the story. I do apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.
A/N: I'm adding a special track to the chapter because I had planned to do some pretty crazy stuff with Jacob's training.
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Chapter Fifteen: From a Lost Boy to a Fierce Hunter
(Cue Son of Man from Tarzan)
And so the training began for Jacob after that day. Every day he would rise early to get started on his routine. He would start with some stretching and the usual workout routine; pushups, sit ups and other forms of exercise to keep himself in shape.
Phil Collins: Oh the power to be strong
On some of the days he stayed on one side of the tunnel, he ran through the Ancient Forest with Boltia right behind him. They would start off over in the shaded part of the forest and Jacob would try to get to the nest first, but would end up getting tackled into by the Tobi-Kadachi before he could even touch the wall of vines. Others he worked up at the top with Mama and Papa to work on being able to dodge and counter attacks. The young trio watched from a safe spot on the sidelines as sometimes he would get knocked off his feet by one of the parents. When he went over to the desert, he worked with Nana Diabla and Valiantops to heighten his senses. Nana Diabla dug underneath the sand and Jacob would get a feel for where the Diablos was coming from and when she popped out. Sometimes he managed to jump out of when the older Diablos exploded out of the ground, others he was knocked off his feet. He worked with Valiantops in battle training like the Rath parents.
Phil Collins: And the wisdom to be wise
When he wasn't working with any of them, he looked over the new journal he had received at the final camp in the desert. Jacob practiced his forms out at the outcrop where the boat was. He studied the different weapons, and discovered that each weapon had something unique about them. Remembering what happened out in the desert, Jacob started with the Dual Blades. He first practiced the swinging of the blades and finishing with a jab from one of the blades. He was a little nervous as he brought them together in the "x" formation. The blades vibrated within his hands before a red aura enveloped the blades. He swung the blades a few times before crossing them again and with a swift motion he canceled out the aura.
He would practice with the Iron Katana, which was dubbed as a Long Sword by the journal. He practiced each move he memorized from the journal. The teen practiced the swings, the lunges and the guarding with the blade. Jacob knew that the protection with the blade was limited, but only hoped that it could be enough.
Phil Collins: All these things will come to you in time
His practice with the shield was much different. He read in the journal that it was supposed to be a two for one kind of deal. But Jacob figured that since the sword had been broken, he would make due with just the shield. But the human planned to do much more than just guard with it. When he was sure he was alone in the shaded part of the forest or amongst some spires in the desert, he would fling the shield and watch as it bounced off the trees or rocks. He had to get used to when the projectile came back at him and ducked or jumped out of the way to avoid getting hit.
Phil Collins: On this journey that you're making
There'll be answers that you'll seek
Jacob tried to get more in tune with his surroundings by climbing up into the trees and jumping from branch to branch. When there was a bit of a gap, he fired his slinger to swing across. There was the odd occasion when the grappling hook didn't catch onto anything and he fell. Jacob landed amongst a small group of Jagras and startled them. Sitting up, he nervously looked around to see the large lizards coming towards him. Quickly getting up, he comically hightailed it out of there with the pack right on his tail.
Phil Collins: And it's you who'll climb the mountain
It's you who'll reach the peak
As he continued to train himself, days turned into weeks and weeks turned into a few months. But each day he could feel himself becoming more and more used to his weapons and surroundings. When he happened to look down at his shoes, he noticed how ragged and worn out they were looking. It wasn't an easy choice, but removing his shoes and socks seemed to be the right call when he could feel the ground beneath his toes. It just felt right to him.
Phil Collins: Son of man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free
Some day you'll walk tall with pride
As he rushed through the marshes of the Wildspire Wastes, he tried to use the grappling hook of his slinger to pull him over a deeper part to get away from a charging Barroth. But before he could launch himself from the swing, the Brute Wyvern crashed through the trunk of the tree and sent the boy falling. He flailed about as he landed in a deeper part of the marshes and became worried when a group of Jyuratodus slipped into the waters around him. Jacob dived under the water when one came at him with its jaws wide open. When he came up, he swam to a small island before jumping onto the head of another and moved out of the way when another lunged. The third Jyuratodus ended up biting into the second's side while Jacob jumped and fired his slinger to zip out of the way when the first one came back around.
Phil Collins: Son of man, a man in time you'll be
One day, Jacob practiced using his slinger by seeing what he could launch from it. He took a stick, a little long and sharp and applied it to the slinger. He was sitting amongst the tall grass and aimed it for a tree near the opening past the rock. When he fired, he was counting on the Anjanath to be squeezing through. Thankfully, the stick missed the purple theropod by a few inches and it embedded into the trunk of the tree, but it still gave a startled yelp from the sudden projectile. It looked over with narrowed eyes to the human teen who had a sheepish grin before quickly running off.
Phil Collins: Though there's no one there to guide you
No one to take your hand
Thanks to Jacob's training, he became more nimble, much stronger and more skilled as time passed on. When he came up to watch after the trio, Jacob was able to not only keep up with them, but managed to make it a little more fun for them as well. Given how small they were, they could sit on his slinger arm for a few minutes before he would throw his arm and cause them to glide back to the ground. And after a few days of the little game, Jacob smiled when Samson managed to stay in the air for a minute or two before coming back down.
Phil Collins: But with faith and understanding
You will journey from boy to man
Jacob couldn't practice the forms of some weapons since he didn't have anything like the large Charge Blade, Switch Axe, the large guns, the lance, the hammer and the bow, but he did find some interest in the one called the Kinsect Glaive. While he had no idea what a Kinsect was, Jacob could at least practice with a stick almost as if it were the spear portion of the weapon. He spun the stick around and jabbed it a few times. He tried to vault himself into the air with it, but ended up falling a little short when he crashed to the ground.
Phil Collins: Son of man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free
Some day you'll walk tall with pride
One day while training with Valiantops in the desert, he and Jacob were sparring on the bridge before the cactus grove. The Diablos came at the human with his horns and it made Jacob stumble towards the edge. He dropped over the side and Valiantops to see if he hit the ground. The Flying Wyvern became really confused when he didn't see the teen. Jacob had used his slinger to swing around the underside of the bridge and grabbed the other edge with his blade before pulling himself up. Valiantops looked to the human as Jacob stood on the rocky ground and readied his blade again.
Phil Collins: Son of man, a man in time you'll be
Over in the Ancient Forest, Jacob raced against Boltia again with the Tobi-Kadachi right behind him. They both rushed along the path with the human doing his best to stay ahead of her. She leapt over his head to move in front of his path, but Jacob quickly acted by firing the grappling hook of his slinger and swung himself over the Tobi-Kadachi. Boltia was greatly surprised by the maneuver but got back into the chase when Jacob kept running.
Phil Collins: In learning you will teach
And in teaching you will learn
During some of the nights, Jacob would sit up on the deck of the boat and study more and more of the journal. He became really interested in the different potions that could be made with the herbs found and the effects of different mushrooms. When he collected each of what he could find, he managed to cook the more edible ones while devising ways to use the nonedible ones.
Phil Collins: You'll find your place beside the
Ones you love
He found some of the mushrooms, he had to be careful with the toadstool and Parashroom, still pretty sturdy even after cutting them and formed them into arrowheads for the slinger. With the ivy vines that he managed to find he created fishing nets since the food he was using was starting to run low. And as for the Healing and Antidote herbs he found, Jacob read that in the journal that they work well as either as a paste or to boil them like you're making tea. He tried both before filling some of the empty vials for later use.
Phil Collins: Oh, and all the things you dreamed of
The visions that you saw
With a fluid motion of his arms, Jacob sliced through many a blade of grass with the Iron Katana, the Dual Blades and a horizontal throw of the shield. On the final weapon, it bounced off the wall before coming back to him. Jacob stood his ground as he caught the flying disk. He grinned at how much better he was getting.
Phil Collins: Well, the time is drawing near now
It's yours to claim it all
In the desert, Jacob managed to outmaneuver each time that Nana Diabla came out of the sand while staying on his toes against Valiantops. The younger Diablos would come at him with a swing of his tail and Jacob would either duck down or sidestep it before moving out of the way when the white-horned Diablos came to the surface. Jacob turned back to the two to prepare for another run.
Phil Collins: Son of man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free
Some day you'll walk tall with pride
On a particular day of training with Mama and Papa Rath, Jacob used the shield to block a fireball from the female Rath before spinning and flinging it at the male. Papa managed to raise his head to avoid the projectile while Jacob was already on the move. He rushed forward with the Iron Katana and Mama Rath came at him with her maw opened wide. He dropped down and slid under her head before rolling back onto his feet and jumping over Papa's talons when they came down. Jacob returned the sword to its scabbard and grabbed the shield again. He held it at the ready when he turned to the two Flying Wyverns.
Phil Collins: Son of man, a man in time you'll be
Jacob ran against Boltia and managed to stay a few yards ahead of her. They had come up the wall of vines after passing the herd of Kestodon under the hanging rocks and headed up to where the nest was. When he looked back to see that she had vanished. Jacob rushed for the wall of vines that would let him see her coming. When he made it up to the arena, the human made a rush for the edge that looked down at the nest below. He wasn't counting on Boltia jumping up from underneath the platform and standing in his way. But Jacob had a determined look on his face as he raised his left his arm as if to fire his grappling hook. Boltia jumped into the air, but this costed her the game as Jacob dropped down and slid underneath the leaping Tobi-Kadachi and went over the side. Boltia ran to the edge to see the human crouched in the middle of the nest. Jacob looked to her with a happy grin and she jumped down to join him.
Phil Collins: Yeah-oh, yeah-oh, yeah-oh
Building up his confidence one day, Jacob allowed himself to fall from the great height up at the Rath's nest and plummeted towards the ground. But with a quick turn of his body, he fired his slinger and it caught into the branch of a tree near the bottom and he swung over terrain, foliage and beast alike. Causing the slinger to let go of the tree, Jacob managed to land on a tree branch before jumping to the next one.
Phil Collins: Son of man
He had a smile as he dropped down from the trees and landed amongst the tall grass. Feeling the ground tremble beneath his feet, Jacob started running when herds of Aptonoth and Kestodon came running through. His grin didn't fall as he could feel the rush of running with the herds. He managed to get ahead of them before turning to a familiar opening.
Phil Collins: Son of man's a man for all to see
Jacob came sliding to a stop before the ledge that looked out to the ocean. He had a confident grin as he looked to the setting sun and felt like he was truly belonging to this world.
(End of track)
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Author's Note: I do hope that the training montage was pretty good. And if I can be honest, no one does a montage about a person coming of age like Phil Collins. I really do believe that this song was a good fit to the chapter. The next chapter is one that I've been wanting to write for a while. I don't know exactly when I'll get it posted, but it deals with the Anjanath. I hope that I don't scare you guys too much with the upcoming chapter, but I do feel that it'll be really necessary for the story. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.