Although he always gave them a proper wipe-down and maintenance, Altaïr still intended to ask the wyverian artisan to perform a comprehensive inspection and servicing of his weapons and armor to ensure everything was foolproof for the Rank-Up Quest.
This wasn't a job that could be finished in an hour or two; if cracks or hidden structural damage were found, they would even need to be re-forged. The Smithy told him and Isis to leave their equipment behind and return in two days to collect it.
When they left the forge, both were wearing only their base-layer shirts. To bystanders, it looked normal enough, but they felt the unease of walking down the street in their pajamas.
"I'm going to Teacher Naziya's workshop for a bit, meow. I'll borrow her tools to make some modifications to 'Rathalos Model-01 - Modified Custom' meow!" Sajji said suddenly.
Compared to the previous prototype, the Model-01 - Modified Custom had abandoned the design mode of using a barrel as a shell that deployed into a fixed turret. It had discovered that while the prototype was convenient to carry, once deployed, it had to be packed up again to move, which took too much time.
In battle, Monsters don't just stand still. This kind of relatively fixed turret wasn't practical in actual combat and had been instantly destroyed by the Tigrex back then.
To this end, when creating the Model-01 - Modified Custom, it had clarified the concept of a "mobile turret."
It naturally wanted to get it right in one go and turn the Model-01 - Modified Custom into something like a treaded tank.
But unfortunately, with its current technology, it was far from the level of hand-crafting an engine, and it couldn't even manufacture functional treads. So, it had to settle for the next best thing and made a small handcart.
Although it didn't look very imposing, it zipped along when pushed, allowing it to fire a shot and change positions, unexpectedly practical.
The reason it was going to Naziya's workshop this time was that it realized the handcart's center of gravity was too high, making it unstable when firing. Therefore, it planned to modify the cart to see how it could keep the center of gravity as low as possible while maintaining flexibility.
Altaïr didn't understand mechanical matters, and there was no need for him to worry about it. He gave Sajji some money, told it to go ahead, and then Altaïr headed to the training grounds.
During this period, the 2★ Monsters they hunted were no match for them, but the encounters had provided them with plenty of practical experience.
Many moves that were originally unrefined or unmastered had been polished through combat.
Altaïr was in no hurry to pick up a training Long Sword. Instead, he first took out his portable memo book and carefully organized his various insights and ideas from this period.
Due to insufficient technique and various factors like luck, he hadn't managed to refine and condense his Spirit to its peak even once during the previous hunts against the Barroth, Vespoid Queen, or the later confrontation with the Tigrex.
That state was known by Long Sword users as "Red Blade." Highly condensed Spirit not only effectively increased attack power but also stimulated the muscles, enhancing physical functions to a certain extent.
Therefore, there were many high-level sword moves that could only be executed once the Spirit had condensed to a certain level.
In the recent battles hunting 2★ Monsters, Altaïr had been consciously practicing his moves on those Monsters and had successfully entered the so-called "Red Blade" state several times.
He had tried to use the Spirit Blade Slash known as "Spirit Helm Breaker" while in the Red Blade state, but unfortunately, the move was too difficult, and he hadn't landed a single hit in actual combat.
Just as Isis had said, he still needed to practice hard.
Failure was failure, but after repeatedly activating the Red Blade, he discovered that the Red Blade state and Demon Mode shared some subtle similarities.
The core of the former was condensing Spirit; most of the Spirit swirled around the blade, while a small portion stimulated the body, indirectly improving physical functions.
The latter more directly stirred the blood-red battle aura within the body, activating the muscles of the entire body, though it provided no enhancement to the weapon itself.
"So, in terms of physical enhancement alone, the essence of the two is similar; both use a certain energy to stimulate muscles and improve physical capabilities," Altaïr muttered to himself as he closed the memo book.
Coming before the training dummy, he began various strange experiments.
Concentrating his mind, he imagined the training dummy as a Monster, accumulated Spirit, and after gradually entering the Red Blade state, he dropped the Long Sword and switched to Dual Blades, wanting to see if he could perform a Blade Dance.
The result was a failure without any surprises.
After all, the vast majority of the condensed Spirit swirled around the Long Sword's blade. Once the sword was dropped, what Spirit was left to speak of?
By the side of the training ground, Isis's blood pressure rose as she watched Altaïr activate Red Blade and then toss the Long Sword aside.
She decided that if Altaïr dared to do that one more time, she would rush into the training ground and give that guy a thrashing to make him understand what "respecting the Long Sword" meant!
Altaïr then began a reverse attempt.
This time he didn't drop the Long Sword. Instead, while in the Red Blade state, he tried to execute the sword move he had used after activating Demon Mode, the "quick Rising Slash followed by a descending slash."
This time, he succeeded!
Isis, who had been somewhat indignant, was also stunned.
Excluding exceptions like the Elder, her mother was the strongest Long Sword user of the current era, arguably with no equal. Thus, she could confidently say: what Long Sword technique have I not seen?
I really haven't seen this one...
Undoubtedly, this was a new move Altaïr had created himself. Although it was still crude, it already had the prototype of becoming a true "technique."
"What was that move just now called?" she couldn't help but ask.
"What?" Altaïr was dazed for a second before reacting to what Isis was asking.
He had only used this move unintentionally twice during the fight with the Tigrex; Isis probably hadn't seen it then.
After hearing Altaïr's brief explanation, Isis's face twitched. What kind of ghostly logic was a "Long Sword move predicated on Demon Mode"?!
"However, since you can also perform this move in the Red Blade state, it means other Long Sword users have a chance to master it too." Isis reached out her hand to Altaïr. "Let me try."
Altaïr held out the training Long Sword, and Isis took it, walked to the training dummy, and began accumulating Spirit.
She entered the Red Blade state much faster than Altaïr. Although her primary weapon now was the Gunlance, her time practicing the Long Sword was more than ten times Altaïr's; proficiency in many moves couldn't be overtaken in an instant.
After entering the Red Blade state, she stabilized her breathing, then suddenly swung the Long Sword upward in a Rising Slash, followed by a vertical downward cut.
The Long Sword, wreathed in red Spirit, left two sword marks on the training dummy. Isis tilted her head dissatisfied, feeling she hadn't mimicked the essence of Altaïr's move.
The core of this move lay in extreme speed. When Altaïr performed those two "swish-swish" slashes just now, the sword light almost overlapped; if one didn't look closely, it seemed like only one strike had been made.
But in her hands, it was just a normal Rising Slash followed by an Overhead Slash.
"Your movements are too standard, and you're using too much power. This way, the power of each strike will undoubtedly be stronger, but the speed will drop," Altaïr pointed out the key from the side.
Under Altaïr's guidance, Isis tried several times. After the Spirit dissipated, she refined it again and tried several more times.
She finally found a slight bit of the feeling, but giving up the movement habits formed from years of Long Sword practice was not that easy.
The reason Altaïr could execute this move unintentionally was largely because his basic Long Sword techniques had not yet formed solid muscle memory.
"This can hardly be called a technique, can it? To put it bluntly, it's just taking advantage of muscle activation in Demon Mode or the Red Blade state to perform a quick attack where two strikes merge into one; it's not comparable to high-level sword styles like Spirit Helm Breaker."
"No, no, you don't realize the true significance of this move." Isis shook her head. "The Red Blade state is the prerequisite for many powerful sword moves, and those moves known as 'Hidden Arts' often consume all the Spirit in one go.
Such moves are only brought out at critical moments. But until then, do you just not attack? Of course not.
In current mainstream tactics, besides those powerful 'Hidden Arts,' Long Sword users also use basic sword moves and Spirit Blade Slashes to chip away.
Your move currently only consists of one strike and is unrefined in many ways, but the core logic is there.
Once truly completed, it might even replace basic sword moves in the Red Blade state. Its significance is no less than creating a brand-new hidden art of swordsmanship!"
"Is it that exaggerated?" Altaïr was a bit stunned by what he heard.
"Mhm, mhm!" Isis nodded seriously. "So hurry up and give this move a name! Trust me, once this move is perfected, it will become a technique that many Long Sword users will scramble to learn!"
"Naming it isn't really necessary, is it? It's just a Rising Slash followed by a descending slash."
"It's different!" The usually easy-going Isis seemed exceptionally persistent now. "Hurry up and name it!"
"...Fine." Altaïr said with some hesitation: "Long Sword moves are all 'Something Slash' or whatever. How about calling it Demon Slash?"
Isis glared at him. "Are you trying to get beaten to death by a combined force of Long Sword users and Dual Blades users?!"
"Uh... this move needs Red Blade state or Demon Mode... well, this move can only be used in the Red Blade state, so how about calling it Red Blade Slash?"
"Absolutely not!" Isis's refusal was particularly firm.
"Why?" Altaïr was puzzled.
"Because 'Red Blade' is my mom's title!"
"...Fine." Altaïr had a headache. "Speaking of which, 'Red' is the same as 'Scarlet.' How about calling it Scarlet Blade Slash?"
"Hmm, that seems okay. Let's call it that." Isis finally nodded. "That strike just now, let's call it 'Scarlet Blade Slash I' then!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)
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TL NOTES: LORE SECTION
Some terms and creatures referenced in this story may be unfamiliar to readers new to the Monster Hunter universe. The following entries provide additional context.
CONCEPTS
Red Blade (Spirit Gauge — Red Level) — The highest level of the Long Sword's Spirit Gauge, represented by a red glow along the blade. Reaching it requires landing enough consecutive hits to fill and level up the gauge through white and yellow stages without losing it. At Red Level, attacks deal significantly more damage and certain advanced techniques become available. Maintaining the gauge in the heat of battle is one of the Long Sword's central challenges.
Spirit Helm Breaker — One of the Long Sword's signature techniques, executable only at Red Blade level. The hunter launches upward and drives the blade down onto the target in a powerful overhead strike, consuming the Spirit Gauge entirely. Extremely high damage potential but demanding to land due to the aerial commitment and the requirement of a full gauge.