Some pushed forward, others retreated, and no one was blamed. After all, many hunters only stayed in Cara Village for short hunting missions. Although the Guild's conditions for star promotion were tempting, the danger of dealing with two five-star monsters, a Zinogre and a Mizutsune, was enough to deter most.
As Li Fan watched Yudora sign the agreement and prepare to leave, a familiar voice of doubt rang out. "Why can't I participate?" Li Fan turned to see Instructor Yin Tie standing by the table. "You... you don't have a Hunter's Badge," Shireen explained helplessly. "So what if I don't?" Yin Tie retorted righteously.
"Sir, I understand your desire to contribute to Cara Village..." Harun was about to dissuade him, but Yin Tie reacted even more strongly to being called "Sir." "Who's a sir? I'm not much older than you. You must be the new Guild Master. Haven't you heard of the Lone Oni?" "Uh... no." Harun replied truthfully.
"Alright, Yin Tie, you'll go out under the name of the Village Defense Force," Bazeli said, stopping Yin Tie. "Village Chief Bazeli, if the Village Defense Force also participates in the mission, the Guild cannot guarantee safety," Harun said with difficulty. "Safety is not the Guild's responsibility," Bazeli sighed and informed him.
The next morning, Li Fan and many other hunters waited at the Guild entrance. The doors opened, and they all streamed in, looking at the contract details on the wide scroll in the hall. After about five minutes of careful reading, Li Fan summarized the rewards that most appealed to the hunters.
Upon signing the contract, they would receive 17,500z upfront. If the repel mission, named "Moonlit Duet," was successful, participating hunters would be promoted from three-star to four-star. Four-star hunters would have their Guild evaluations counted, playing a significant role in future five-star hunter evaluations. An additional 22,500z reward would be given. If monsters were slain, they would have the right to distribute monster materials. Hunter names would be written into the Cara Village Chronicle. They would also receive a Spirit Jade-level Chosen One Badge and a daily free meal of venison at the Meow Meow Grill. (Provided by Cara Village Chief Bazeli).
Monster kills? This meant that if they killed the Zinogre or Mizutsune, they could craft equipment. Li Fan was immediately tempted, but then he remembered the scene of confronting the Mizutsune and shivered.
Subsequently, several more hunters went to the Guild counter to sign the contract. Yesterday's signing on the wide scroll was more of a formality, to show the Guild and village's determination to drive away the Zinogre and Mizutsune. Formal contracts would be signed with each hunter later. Shireen and Jena were extremely busy, so Li Fan didn't bother them. His main purpose in coming was to see the arrangements for the joint hunting mission and the rewards it offered.
After sitting by the closed Meow Meow Grill, which was shut due to a lack of ingredients, Yudora walked over with a money pouch. "The bounty for the Mizutsune sighting is 4,500z. Let's split it." Yudora handed over the money pouch. "Let me see... The bounty for hunting a Great Jaggi is 10,050z. The sighting bounty is 4,500z. After deducting the Felyne Transport fee of 3,000z, that leaves 11,550z. After deducting various preparation expenses of 2,750z, that leaves 8,800z, so 4,400z per person." "It's a shame the Meow Meow Grill is closed, otherwise we could have had a feast," Yudora said somewhat dejectedly, looking at the closed door.
Seeing her carefree demeanor, Li Fan tentatively asked, "Don't you ever think about the danger of this mission?" "My goal is to be the strongest hunter. If the Zinogre and Mizutsune can stop me, then my pursuit of the Steel Dragon will be in vain," Yudora said with fighting spirit. "That's true, but do you know where the Zinogre's blind spot is?" Li Fan probed. "Uh... the tip of its horns?" "That's a weak point, not a blind spot. Of course, it's not an absolute blind spot, but it's safer to attack from there." "Does such a place really exist?" Yudora found it incredible. "Here, the heel, but you have to attack from behind." Li Fan pointed to his own ankle. "The heel... have you fought the Zinogre before?" Yudora asked curiously. Without relevant hunting experience, such knowledge couldn't be gained.
"Not only have I fought it, but I've also remained calm even in my pajamas, meow!" Chiru, who had appeared from nowhere, helped answer. "I see!" Yudora exclaimed, then looked a bit disappointed. "If only your equipment hadn't been lost with the camp." Li Fan froze. A question surfaced in his mind. If he could inherit the top-tier equipment from his game save, would he dare to face five-star monsters like the Zinogre or Mizutsune?
"Actually, besides my equipment, I seem to have lost something else." "What?" "My courage as a hunter." Li Fan finished, and Yudora and Chiru were stunned. "I can't feel it at all, meow. In my heart, Li Fan has always been a brave hunter..." "That's just an appearance, but don't worry, I'll get back into shape soon." After reassuring them, Li Fan returned to his cabin to continue his strength training and Great Sword practice.
Two days later, the Guild announced that the participant list for "Moonlit Duet" had been finalized. Among them were 31 three-star hunters, 11 four-star hunters, and 2 five-star hunters. There were also 2 members of the Village Defense Force and 1 Felyne. The first step of the plan was to lure the two five-star monsters into encountering each other, intensifying their territorial disputes. They would try to make both monsters tired and accumulate injuries. Then, based on the actual situation, they would make further plans. When conditions permitted, they would be ready to go all out to hunt and kill one of them.
Five nights later, sweat soaked Li Fan's clothes. The Great Bear lying on the ground in front of him had an expression of disbelief on its face. Li Fan hadn't simply relied on brute force to knock it down. But at least he had touched the threshold of his designed strength standard, the most basic Great Bear level. He had intended to continue training like this, but the Hunter Exam was only three days away, and the Guild had no intention of postponing it. So, he decided to temporarily halt strength training, only maintaining sword practice, to free up more energy for the Hunter Exam.
Three days later, in the early morning, Li Fan and Chiru arrived at the Hunter Guild entrance early. "Moonlit Duet" was underway, and besides material purchase requests, there were no hunting missions posted on the Guild notice board. The main street, usually bustling with people, was now desolate. However, there were still over a dozen young men and women who, like Li Fan, had come to participate in today's Hunter Exam.
"Yippee! Good morning, Li Fan!" Shireen greeted him. Li Fan almost didn't recognize the girl wearing hunter's leather armor and carrying a Light Bowgun II. "You changed clothes." "Yeah, why aren't you wearing that white armor?" Shireen asked in a low voice. "That was a misunderstanding..." Li Fan was a bit speechless. "That's right, it's too much attention during the Hunter Exam that would make you too nervous," Shireen said with understanding.
"How's the progress of 'Moonlit Duet'?" Li Fan, not wanting to explain, asked about the joint hunting mission. Shireen's gaze immediately lowered, and she sighed, "It's not going smoothly. These past few days, just luring the Zinogre to encounter the Mizutsune has resulted in five three-star hunters being injured and forced to withdraw from the mission." "That dangerous?" "Yes, because there's a monster that threatens its own life within its territory, the Zinogre has become increasingly agitated. Under that kind of pursuit, it's very difficult for ordinary three-star hunters to escape unharmed." "Did they fight each other?" "The current surveillance reports haven't mentioned it. It's said that when they were closest, they faced each other for about two minutes before retreating." Shireen informed him.
After a brief chat, Branch Master Harun arrived at the Guild with Village Chief Bazeli. After a few brief welcoming remarks, the Hunter Exam began in the Guild's backyard training ground. The first assessment was to identify the placement pile containing dye fruits from eight piles while blindfolded. Li Fan, having practical tracking experience, passed easily.
Exam Item Two: Vigorously stir a recovery potion in a bottle, add an appropriate amount of honey, and successfully mix a G-grade recovery potion that meets the effect standards. Li Fan had specifically trained for this, but perhaps too much honey was added, and the entire bottle of recovery potion turned into an unknown yellow paste after rapid stirring. However, since he got points for completion, it wasn't a big problem.
Exam Item Three: Assemble a trap mechanism and net within two minutes to form a pitfall trap. Li Fan had assembled many Gundam models before, so the assembly part was not a problem. The difficulty lay in embedding the spring, which required significant force, something he now possessed. Upon final assembly, he achieved a commendable third-place finish overall.
Two hours later, the first ten assessment items were completed. The remaining five written tests would be conducted in the Guild hall. There wasn't much to memorize for the written test, and there were two mandatory questions, so Li Fan was quite confident. As soon as the exam papers were distributed, Li Fan quickly wrote down the answers to the mandatory questions, Hunter's Code, and Team Division of Labor. He carefully looked at question thirteen and couldn't help but smile, feeling that this question was a gift.
13. When you encounter a monster of three stars or higher alone in the wild, you should ().
α. Have a heart-to-heart talk with it, use love to enlighten it, and ask it not to be an enemy of humans.
β. It's just a monster, nothing to be afraid of, let's go!
γ. Set up a barbecue grill and calm down.
Ω. Try to collect trace samples, record the monster's individual characteristics in detail, and submit the sighting report to the nearest Guild branch to earn a reward.
Anyone who got this question wrong was probably an idiot.
14. When you are being chased by a monster of three stars or higher alone in the wild and feel that escape is hopeless, you should ().
α. I won't stand for this humiliation, I'll turn around and fight!
β. Use the terrain to maneuver and find an opportunity to fire a red signal flare for help.
γ. Fall down and play dead.
Ω. Display your Hunter's Badge to prove to the monster that you are a member of the Hunter's Guild, using the monster's fear of retaliation to deter it.
This is too easy... After Li Fan made his choices, he looked at question fifteen.
15. Do you have the courage to face monsters? Will you lend a hand when teammates and other hunters are in danger? Are you ready to become a hunter?
Li Fan pondered these three soul-piercing questions for a long time and wrote down "Yes." Not long after submitting his paper, Shireen also came out of the Guild hall. "Li Fan, how was the written test?" "It was quite simple." "I think so too, especially the correct answer to question 13, 'It's just a monster, nothing to be afraid of, let's go!' It's really so passionate!" Shireen said excitedly. "Ah?" Li Fan was surprised that Shireen, as a Guild receptionist, had gotten this question wrong! "Why are you making such a surprised face?" Shireen asked, puzzled. "It's nothing... it is indeed very passionate." Li Fan knew it was irreversible, but to avoid affecting Shireen's mood for the upcoming weapon basic application section, he didn't explain further.
After eating the bento box brought by Chiru and a short half-hour rest, the final item of the Hunter Exam, weapon application, officially began. Since the participating hunters were mostly young, their strength levels were still relatively low. Most of the weapons were light weapons like the Long Sword, Dual Blades, and Insect Glaive. Li Fan was the only one using the Great Sword, which required a certain level of strength and skill to master.
The basic weapon application was a live demonstration, so there was no possibility of cheating. The training ground was immediately opened. Family members or friends who accompanied them could stand by the fence to cheer for the examinees. "Go, Li Fan, meow!" Chiru stood on the railing, waving her paws to cheer Li Fan on. Yudora, who was observing with her arms crossed, also waved to encourage Li Fan.
Li Fan was the fifth to appear. After observing the weapon application of the first four, he realized that those who came to participate in the Hunter Exam had a certain foundation in weapon use. However, the standard of their weapon application movements was still far off. This was understandable. When their instructors received weapon use training, their movements might have already undergone one transformation. When the students they taught comprehended it, another transformation would occur. Due to differences in individual physique, slight transformations were acceptable for practical combat. However, beginners learning already transformed movements meant they were taking a detour.
As Li Fan was thinking, he suddenly noticed that the basic Great Sword movements demonstrated by Yin Tie had almost imperceptible transformations. Most people might explain this with diligent training, but he had lost a leg. Taking the wooden Great Sword for training, Li Fan walked to the center of the training ground. After announcing his name, he began the demonstration of basic Great Sword application. Straight slash, thrust, diagonal slash. After these three moves, Bazeli and Harun on the judging panel exchanged glances, both shocked.
"Will, you use the Great Sword, what's the level of this basic movement?" Harun asked the Guild investigator next to him. The middle-aged man named Will, after a moment of thought, shook his head slightly and said, "I can't evaluate it." "I thought Yin Tie was joking with me..." Bazeli muttered softly.
After the basic movement demonstration, since the training Great Sword did not have a Spirit Gauge slot, Li Fan returned it and began demonstrating the advanced use of the Great Sword, the Spirit Slash, with his own equipped Blade of the Jaw Type 1.