The high slope was still trembling, the dust yet to settle.
When Leon returned to the battlefield, the Barroth was slowly dragging its tail across the sand, occasionally stopping to irritably claw at the mud shell on its body with its foreclaws.
He didn't rush to strike. Instead, he pulled out the three essential hunting potions from his bag and gulped them all down.
The next instant.
The flaming war-axes crossed in Leon's hands as a searing current of air escaped from the blades—
Demon Mode, activated!
Leon closed the distance even faster with a sliding step, his twin blades crossing like a wheel of fire as he slashed at the Barroth's underbelly!
Squelch!!
The glowing edges finally tore a charred wound between the mud shell and the thick hide. The Barroth roared, suddenly spinning around to sweep its massive tail!
But Leon had already predicted such a mundane attack.
Demon Flurry Rush—Left Spin!
He lowered his stance, executing a precise crouched dodge. His body performed a 360-degree rotation, sliding along the ground beneath the tail. Immediately after, the flaming axes struck like a breaking rainbow, delivering a diagonal twin-slash—hitting the Barroth's tail dead center!
"Boom!"
The blow forced the Barroth to its knees, thick smoke rising from the wound.
Leon's spirit surged. Taking advantage of the Barroth's flinch, he unleashed a flurry of attacks, his blades bursting with flame.
Every strike avoided the hardened head, effectively preventing his sharpness from dulling.
Blade Dance!
A series of slashes rained down on the weak point. The continuous hits built up extreme elemental damage, driving the Barroth into a total frenzy!
"Roar—!!" The Barroth shook its body, spraying countless balls of grayish-black mud in all directions.
Seeing this, Leon used consecutive slides to quickly pull back.
He saw that the sandy ground around the Barroth was now littered with the grayish-black mud.
Leon knew he couldn't touch those mud balls, as they would severely hinder his movement.
He quickly threw a stone he had scavenged from the ground, attempting to lure the Barroth out of the muddy zone.
The stone flew through the air, hitting the mud shell on the side of the Barroth's head with a crisp clack.
The Barroth snapped its head toward the sound, its narrow pupils locking onto Leon's position.
"It worked." Leon took two quick steps back and made a provocative gesture, baiting the Barroth into attacking him.
"Roar!" The Barroth pushed off with its massive hind legs, leaping out from the mud-covered area.
It immediately charged straight at Leon!
Rumble, rumble, rumble—!
The charge kicked up waves of sand, making it look like a heavy tank.
"Come on..." Leon took a deep breath, planted his feet, and leapt high into the air.
His timing was impeccable.
Heavenly Blade Dance!
While in mid-air, Leon's first blade struck the Barroth's hardened head, and he proceeded to spin like a wheel all the way down to its tail.
Thud!
The Barroth lost its balance and slammed into the rocky cliff behind it.
Leon landed smoothly, rolling to dissipate the impact. He then immediately set a Shock Trap on the spot.
The Barroth struggled to its feet, intending to charge again, but stepped right into the trap.
Click—!!
Electricity surged, and the trap activated instantly.
Thick bolts of lightning coiled around the massive beast. The Barroth's muscles convulsed violently, rendering it completely unable to move.
Leon raised his hands and took a deep breath. His flaming axes glowed with a crimson light as he poured all his strength into them—
Blade Dance! Blade Dance! Blade Dance! Blade Dance! Blade Dance!
In that instant.
Leon was like a wild animal, his twin blades relentlessly crossing and slashing at the Barroth's tail.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish—
Every hit was accompanied by the roar of flames, burning through the mud shell and shattering the rocky armor into pieces.
"Go down—!!"
The final strike.
Leon gripped the crossed flaming axes with both hands and leapt. The blades traced an X-shaped arc, severing the tail!
With a crisp crack, the hardened tail was cleanly cut off.
Boom!!
Smoke billowed from the Barroth's mouth. After staggering a couple of steps, its massive body collapsed!
—Rumble!
A system prompt appeared before Leon's eyes.
[SYSTEM: TARGET KILLED: BARROTH]
[SYSTEM: DING! TRAIT TRIGGERED — LONE WOLF]
[SYSTEM: EXPERIENCE POINTS GAINED: 800]
[SYSTEM: LEVEL: LV.6 (10600/12000)]
[SYSTEM: ADDITIONAL MATERIALS OBTAINED: MONSTER BONE M X2, BARROTH SHELL X2, BARROTH TAIL X2, BARROTH RIDGE X4, BARROTH SHELL X6, BARROTH CLAW X6, FERTILE MUD X6]
Leon let out a long breath and sat down tiredly against a rock. He looked down at his battered armor and blood-stained flaming axes, murmuring softly, "Good thing I crafted these fire-element dual blades first..."
After a brief rest, he took out his knife and began carving materials from the Barroth, tucking them all into his bag.
The cleanup was finished.
Leon sheathed the flaming axes on his back and patted the dust off his body. After confirming multiple times that he hadn't missed any materials, he walked toward the signal flare not far away.
Dumpling ran toward him, waving a small paw and shouting excitedly, "Meow, meow, meow—! That was so cool, Rookie! I thought you were going to get swatted away by that tail, meow!"
"Almost," Leon smiled, rubbing Dumpling's head. He then glanced at the scholars following behind with looks of awe and asked, "Are you all alright?"
The elderly scholar nodded hurriedly. "It's all thanks to you... If you hadn't killed that Barroth, we all would have died here."
"As long as you're okay. Let's head back." Leon helped push the cart as the group made their way toward the temporary camp.
...
Astera.
At dusk.
The fiery glow of the sky reflected off the towering ship-houses. The fading light of the setting sun filtered through the high mast windows, painting the wooden hall in a golden hue.
Hunters came and went, their conversations and the clanging of iron tools blending into a lively background.
Having just finished a trade with a merchant, Leon heard a steady voice from behind him: "Leon, come with me."
Looking back, he saw the Commander standing at the top of the stairs.
His gaze was solemn.
Leon nodded and followed the Commander through the hall into a room filled with hunting maps and intelligence documents.
The Commander sat at his desk, looking at Leon with a serious expression before praising him: "Your performance this time was outstanding. Not only did you escort the scholars back safely, but you also took down a Barroth... You are now qualified to be promoted to a Three-Star Hunter."
Leon replied flatly, "Thank you."
He knew he had to reach five stars as quickly as possible so that he could start taking on High Rank quests.
Seemingly seeing through Leon's thoughts, the Commander's tone shifted. "But I suspect you're more concerned about how to become a Four-Star Hunter."
Leon answered bluntly, "Exactly."
Normally, it would take five to ten years of experience to reach five stars. Flora had reached three stars in three years, which was already considered very fast.
If they were in the Old World, it might have taken even longer.
But the Commander was well aware of Leon's strength and was personally inclined to help him.
The Commander pulled an intelligence scroll from the desk and spread it out. The scroll depicted a dense forest, with a red flame icon marked prominently in the center.
There were two sets of coordinates around the map.
He spoke slowly, "According to our reports, a Rathian in the Ancient Forest has been confirmed to be pregnant. Based on past experience, a Rathalos's aggression will skyrocket several times over during this period—it will become far more brutal and alert."
Leon frowned and asked point-blank, "Do you want me to hunt it?"
"Yes." The Commander nodded. "Defeating this Rathalos means you have the ability to independently face high-level predators. It will also qualify you for promotion to Four-Star."
He paused, adding, "Of course, this isn't a mandatory assignment, but it is the fastest opportunity for promotion."
Leon lowered his head in thought for a few seconds before looking up, a flicker of fire in his eyes as he affirmed, "I'll take it!"
Hearing this, the Commander smiled. "Very well. Now, take out your Hunter's Notes."
Leon placed his Hunter's Notes on the desk.
*Clack!*
With a soft sound, a red-hot iron was pressed firmly onto the cover of the Hunter's Notes.
Instantly, a flash of fire erupted.
*Sizzle—*
The dry hide gave off the sound of searing flesh, followed by a scent of char mixed with tobacco.
A third star appeared upon the Hunter's Notes.