Looking at the huffing young girl, Altaïr felt a bit speechless.
The fact that she was willing to return to the family shop to help during her time off proved she had a good relationship with her family.
If he had to guess, the reason her elders and her older brother refused to let her become a blacksmith was likely because they felt the work was too grueling and didn't want the girl to suffer.
In the end, this girl had instead chosen the path of a hunter, an even more exhausting and dangerous career, shouldering a Hammer far heavier than any Forging Hammer.
He could only imagine how her family felt when they first heard she was going off to train as a hunter.
It would have been better to just let her stay home and strike iron...
"Are you here to craft gear?" The petite Balina stood on her tiptoes, peeking at the large bundles full of materials behind the two of them.
"Yeah, Isis wants to forge a new set of armor, and I'm planning to make two weapons," Altaïr said with a smile. "Miss Noya mentioned this was a long-established shop, so she recommended we come here."
"No problem at all!" Balina gave them a thumbs-up. "The craftsmanship of our family is the best in all of Metapetatto!"
With that, Balina called over an apprentice to take her place at the counter. She then pulled Isis and Altaïr along toward the back of the workshop.
Entering the inner workshop, the rhythmic clanging of hammers and the heat waves from the furnace rushed to meet them.
Before a forge stood a burly young man, bare-chested save for a protective leather apron hanging over his front. He looked over as they approached.
"Yah! Why are you shirtless again? Put something on, we have guests!" Balina shouted at the young man in dissatisfaction.
That tone of disgust perfectly matched Altaïr's stereotype of a "rebellious younger sister who finds her older brother annoying no matter what he does."
The young man scratched his buzz-cut head, momentarily set down the metal component he was halfway through polishing, removed his leather apron, and pulled on a vest riddled with burn holes before greeting the two.
"Hello. I'm Arman, Balina's older brother and the artisan of this workshop. Is there something you need crafted?"
He had also noticed the Monster materials Altaïr and the others were carrying on their backs.
Just as Altaïr was about to state their needs, he was interrupted by Balina. "Oh, don't bother with my brother. His skill is only good enough for making beginner gear right now. I'll take you to see my dad!"
The short-haired young man looked at his sister helplessly. While his skills certainly didn't match their father's, saying he could only craft beginner gear was a bit much.
Nowadays, as long as it wasn't an exceptionally difficult order, he was usually the one who handled it in the workshop.
Giving the young man an apologetic look, Altaïr and the others were pulled further inside by Balina, who kept shouting as they went.
"Dad! Come out, Dad!"
A well-muscled man in his fifties or sixties walked out. He sported a thick beard, but the top of his head was shiny and smooth, without a single hair.
Clawdia, following beside Isis, whispered, "Why does it feel like artisans everywhere look exactly the same, meow?"
"You're little Balina's friends, right? Welcome, welcome." The workshop owner had a warm smile on his face. "Her mother just went out to buy ingredients. Stay for dinner later; I'll tell her to prepare a few extra dishes!"
They couldn't talk their youngest daughter out of her resolve to be a hunter. Now that her becoming one was an established fact, they could only accept it and hope she would make some reliable senior connections who could look after her when things got tough.
The two young people before him looked very reliable indeed!
Skalda S, Barroth, both were excellent sets of armor. Some of the materials in that tall female hunter's pack were peeking out... Basarios, eh? He had truly never seen such a young 4★ hunter before!
"We'll talk about dinner later! My seniors are here to commission equipment, so you better stay focused, Dad!"
The workshop owner nodded solemnly. "Don't you worry. Our family's reputation has been iron-clad for years. What are you looking to have made?"
"A Basarios Armor Set!" Isis said impatiently. "Are these materials enough?"
Isis took off the large pack from her back and set it on the ground.
The workshop owner inspected them meticulously alongside his eldest son, Arman. They picked up the carapaces piece by piece to examine them, even tapping them lightly with a small hammer to check for internal fractures.
Several minutes later, he nodded and said, "There are enough Basarios materials here, and the quality is good. However, if you want the finished product to be of the highest quality, we'll need some supplementary materials.
We need a few Poison Sacs; we'll use the toxin to treat the materials and increase their strength. I'll also need several units each of Carbalite Ore, Firestone, and Dragonite Ore. Finally, we need some high-quality Prey Hide to make the lining."
"Okay, okay! I'll go back and get them right now!" Isis nodded rapidly.
"No rush. Pre-processing the Basarios materials will take a few days anyway. Just bring them by when you have time over the next couple of days," the workshop owner said with a smile.
Having finished that, the owner turned to inspect the Nerscylla materials Altaïr had brought.
"You're forging a Nerscylla Armor Set?" the owner asked while inspecting.
Altaïr shook his head. "No, I want to forge weapons."
"A wise choice. While the Nerscylla Armor Set is decent, it's relatively better suited for a Dual Blades user or a Bow user. That Skalda S set you're wearing is no worse than Nerscylla; there's no need to swap it out.
I see you're carrying a Long Sword, so do you plan to commission a 'Bloodcry'?"
Altaïr nodded. He knew that 'Bloodcry' was the name of the Nerscylla Long Sword.
"And a Nerscylla Sword and Shield. Also, I wanted to ask, are Nerscylla materials really not suitable for forging Dual Blades?" Altaïr asked, still somewhat unwilling to give up on the idea.
"It's truly not suitable. Artisans have tried in the past, but the reliability was poor." The workshop owner teased, "You certainly have a lot of weapons you're proficient with, young man."
Altaïr smiled but didn't elaborate. "Do I need to provide any other supplementary materials for these?"
"No need. Aside from the Nerscylla materials, the only extra material these two weapons need is Spider Web. We have plenty of that common adhesive stored in the workshop. You can provide your own if you like, but using ours is the same.
However, I do have a suggestion. Seltas Queen materials have a high affinity with Nerscylla materials. If you get the chance to hunt a Seltas Queen, try to get a few Seltas Queen Sharpclaws.
Just that one material, the Seltas Queen Sharpclaw, can significantly upgrade these two Nerscylla weapons."
"Seltas Queen, I see. Thank you very much." Altaïr noted the shop owner's suggestion in the memo he kept on him.
The Seltas Queen was a 5★ Threat Level monster. With his current hunter rank, he couldn't accept the quest directly. However, if another 5★ hunter took the mission, he could negotiate to join the team; he'd have to keep an eye out for an opportunity.
Once the materials were thoroughly verified, the workshop owner and his children began taking Altaïr and the others' body measurements.
While being measured for height, Isis looked quite apprehensive.
She didn't want to grow any taller...
Little Balina stood on a stool and finished measuring Isis. "Wow! One hundred ninety-three point five centimeters!"
Isis: "..."
The heart she had held in suspense finally died.
Altaïr had also grown a bit over the past year or so, reaching about one hundred eighty-five centimeters, narrowing the height difference between him and Isis to within ten centimeters.
He comforted the miserable-looking Isis. "Look at it this way: over the last year, you've only grown a little over a centimeter. That means you've passed your growth spurt. You'll likely end up staying right around one hundred ninety-five centimeters."
And I still have a chance to shoot up toward one hundred ninety! Altaïr added mentally.
Clawdia also nodded nearby. "Looking at it this way, the height difference between her and Francesca probably won't actually exceed forty centimeters, meow. She doesn't have to kill herself, meow."
"..."
(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.
MONSTERS
Seltas Queen — A large insectoid monster classified as a Neopteron. The Seltas Queen is a commanding predator that exerts a form of biological control over the smaller male Seltas, compelling them to aid her in battle. She is considerably more dangerous than her male counterpart, capable of chemical attacks and powerful physical strikes. Rated at 5★ threat level, she is considered a significant step up in difficulty from the creatures Altaïr has faced so far. Her Sharpclaws are prized crafting components used to enhance weapons with compatible materials.
EQUIPMENT
Basarios Armor Set — A sturdy set of armor crafted from the rock-like carapace of a Basarios. Its extreme density provides excellent physical defense and notable resistance to fire. Because Basarios shells must be chemically treated during forging — typically with Poison Sac toxins to harden the material further — production is time-consuming and requires skilled smithing. The resulting set is favored by hunters who expect prolonged, attrition-style fights.
Bloodcry — The name of the Long Sword forged from Nerscylla materials. It carries a Sleep attribute, allowing it to gradually induce drowsiness in a wounded monster, setting up a window for trap deployment or heavy follow-up attacks. Its high natural Sharpness makes it a versatile weapon beyond the niche of its status effect.