With the rising sun of morning, the party's Airship slowly ascended above the cloud layer.
Here, the climate and air currents were relatively stable, suitable for small Airship navigation. As the propulsion propellers started up, the Airship steadily headed toward the southern hunting grounds where their target lay.
"So, does that mean you usually travel to hunting grounds by Airship?" Nymera pulled her gaze back from the clouds outside the window, asking with some disbelief.
Even the cheapest small Airship cost between one thousand and several thousand z per person for a single trip.
At their Hunter rank, it wasn't that they couldn't afford it at all, but taking an Airship every time would be far too extravagant.
After all, even if this quest was completed successfully along with the Subquest, the reward each person would receive was only a little over three thousand z.
"Not at all. This Airship was lent to us by Miss Noya. No charge." Altaïr shrugged. "We're sort of benefiting from you this time. To leave you with the best impression possible, that person really went all out."
Having learned a bit about the local Guild's situation from Isis and Sajji over the past couple of days, Nymera felt speechless. Honestly, the guild receptionist chairperson's approach was rather pressuring.
"Don't overthink it." Noticing her unease, Altaïr said with a smile. "You can think of Miss Noya as an angler, and we're the big fish she wants to catch.
She's already cast the bait. Whether you choose to take the hook or grab the bait and swim away is entirely up to you."
"I am the fish…"
"Well, we're already hooked, you know." Isis chimed in cheerfully. "This place is quite comfortable to stay in. The citizens are friendly and warm, the tavern food is delicious and cheap.
We've been traveling and wandering for over a year, and we're thinking of settling down somewhere for a while. Metapetatto feels pretty nice."
"I see." Nymera fell silent, seemingly not intending to make any decision just yet.
—--
Since the journey for this quest wasn't urgent, the Airship pilot cruised at a relatively economical speed.
It took roughly a day and a night to travel from the northeastern area of Old Jungle, one of the Old World's most vast Jungles, to the southernmost hunting grounds bordering the Ancestral Steppe.
The Airship didn't land directly at the camp. Instead, it arrived above a half-destroyed base.
The scale of this base was similar to, no, even smaller than, that small mountain village previously targeted by the Nerscylla.
The wooden stake barricades and wooden fence walls protecting the base had been trampled and destroyed. Several houses inside the fence had collapsed, leaving the entire village in disarray.
Isis grew somewhat angry seeing this. Having heard the situation wasn't urgent, she thought nothing serious had happened. But wasn't this super terrible!
With the Defense facilities ruined, clearly no one could live in this village anymore!
Altaïr raised a hand, gesturing "don't rush" to Isis, and stepped down the gangway first. Noticing the Airship's descent, people had already emerged from the houses that hadn't collapsed, coming out to the open ground to wait for them.
It was a young man with a lean, wiry build who looked quite clever. He nodded and bowed, saying, "Hello, esteemed Hunters! Thank you for your hard work coming all this way. The Elder sent me to wait here for you all."
Altaïr gave an "mm-hmm," then cut straight to the chase: "Excuse me, how are the other villagers? Is there a place to take shelter?"
"Shelter?" The young man was momentarily taken aback before catching on. He waved his hands in explanation, "Ah, you've misunderstood. This isn't our village. This is one of our outposts for gathering mountain goods."
"A gathering outpost?" Isis pressed, surprised.
Altaïr, however, nodded as if he'd anticipated this.
Isis clearly hadn't read the quest form carefully. The client on the form had stated that the location attacked was "an outpost." Using that phrasing, it shouldn't be the village itself that was attacked.
The young man scratched his head and said, "Our village is actually quite sizable, nearly two hundred people. A settlement of that scale isn't suitable to build within the Jungle. The village is still several dozen kilometers from here, tucked away in a mountain hollow over in the Ancestral Steppe area, it's safer there.
As for this outpost here... well, our village has quite a few people who gather mountain goods. Traveling back and forth to the village every day wastes too much time and doesn't allow for gathering much either.
So the Elder organized the building of this outpost here. We store the medicinal herbs and mountain goods we collect here, and then at regular intervals, a wagon convoy transports everything back to the village."
Altaïr and the others nodded in understanding.
In that case, it was just a matter of some economic loss. If the Duramboros had actually attacked the village itself, this quest would likely have escalated into an Urgent Quest.
Having confirmed this, the Hunters' hearts, which had been in their throats over the "village ruins," settled back down.
"Brief us on the situation," Altaïr said, taking out a topographic map of the vicinity and spreading it before the young man.
Judging by his clothing, the medicine basket at his waist, and the small sickle, this young villager was likely a professional herb gatherer. They traversed the Jungle daily, so naturally, they'd be very familiar with the surrounding terrain and environment.
No wonder their Elder had sent him to wait here to brief them.
"Alrighty, let me see... Hmm, we're right about here." The herb gatherer pointed to a spot on the map.
"As for that big guy's range of movement, it's roughly in this area." The herb gatherer drew a circle on the map.
The term "big guy" made Altaïr's mind wander for a split second, but he quickly refocused and pressed for details: "Tell us about that Duramboros's condition and the circumstances when the outpost was attacked.
Also, where is the nearest Hunter's Camp to this area?"
"That big guy... um, the Duramboros has actually been active in this area for several years now. I saw it at least three or four years ago.
It used to be quite docile. Those of us who gather mountain goods and herbs have never been attacked by it. A couple of times, transport convoys ran into it; the wagons stopped to give way, and it just walked past.
Heck, there were even a few times when our people were being chased by Jaggis and ran up near it, and it actually helped drive off those Jaggis.
Because of its presence, other Large Monsters active in this vicinity were driven away, making this stretch of forest pretty safe."
"Some of the older folks in the village even started calling it the 'Avatar of the Mountain God' and were planning to prepare offerings for it."
"So the relationship was pretty good," Isis muttered softly. "How did it turn sour?"
Altaïr glanced at her. "Similar situations aren't actually uncommon, especially with powerful Herbivore Monsters. They don't actively attack humans, which leads people to mistakenly think they're 'gentle' and approach them blindly.
In fact, Monsters can't be categorized by human concepts of good and evil. They don't see humans as friends either. In their eyes, humans are no different from insects on the roadside or birds in the trees.
Just like you, you wouldn't casually kill every bird you see. But when you need to start a fire in the wild, a nest mixed with down feathers makes the best kindling. You wouldn't mind dismantling a nest to get a campfire going, right?"
"I would never do that," Isis puffed out her cheeks.
"Fine, but I would," Altaïr shrugged. "That Duramboros simply did something similar."
Isis fell silent.
The herb gatherer nodded beside them. "Now that you mention it, after that Duramboros smashed through the fence, it didn't actually bite anyone or anything. It was just there eating the wood used for the fences and houses. Come to think of it, it even eats stone bricks."
"Aids in grinding for digestion and supplements minerals. Nothing particularly strange about that. Have there been any more similar attacks since?"
"Attacks? No. But it has come back here twice, also for the wood." The herb gatherer gestured around. "After all, there's still plenty of wood left, isn't there?
Oh, right. You asked about nearby Hunter's Camps earlier. The nearest one should be about ten kilometers to the South, in the sparse forest belt where the Ancestral Steppe meets the Jungle. Do you need me to show you the way?"
"Ten kilometers..." Nymera, who hadn't contributed much to the conversation, looked a bit green.
Against a tough-skinned opponent like a Duramboros, as a Gunner she would need to replenish her Ammo at least once or twice. A ten-kilometer trip one way, thirty kilometers round trip, and twice that would be sixty kilometers. Were they here for a stamina drill?!
Altaïr looked around the area again and asked the herb gatherer, "Is there a basement in this outpost?"
The herb gatherer easily guessed his intention. "Yes, there is. It was a warehouse for storing herbs and mountain goods before. But this place has been abandoned for a while, and no one's cleaned out the warehouse. It won't be very tidy."
Altaïr nodded and looked at his two companions. "How about we use this abandoned outpost as our temporary camp?
The Duramboros frequents this area. The underground warehouse can store Ammo and serve as a rest spot. It's probably no less safe than a Hunter's Camp.
Plus, there's wood everywhere here. We might not even need to go looking for it, the Duramboros might come to feed on its own."
"I agree!" Nymera immediately voiced her approval.
Isis also nodded. "I think it's fine too."
"Then it's settled." Altaïr walked over to the Airship that had landed nearby and said to the pilot, "This place isn't exactly safe. Please wait at the nearby Hunter's Camp.
We'll send you a signal once we've dealt with the target. Come pick us up then, transport the Duramboros, and we can head back."
"No problem!"
The pilot agreed readily. After helping the Hunters unload all the supplies from the Airship, he took the herb gatherer and left this dangerous area inhabited by Monsters.
Leaving only the three Hunters and two Palicos in the abandoned outpost.
Altaïr clapped his hands. "Check equipment and supplies, scout the terrain, confirm the target's location. There's plenty of preliminary work to do. Everyone, let's get busy."
(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 & SYSTEMS
Hunter's Camp — A Guild-established safe zone stationed within or near hunting areas. Stocked with supply crates, resting facilities, and basic equipment, Hunter's Camps serve as operational bases for hunters during extended assignments. They allow hunters to resupply, rest, and regroup without returning to the main settlement, making them essential for long-duration quests in remote territories.