Bazheli patiently explained, even though he knew the other party couldn't afford the investment in the arena.
"Establishing an arena can enrich the villagers' entertainment life. At the same time, since no other villages in the surrounding area have one, Kalara Village can immediately become the focus of the southern region, a unique existence. This will not only attract a large number of tourists but also allow hunters watching monster battles on-site to learn many combat techniques."
"The only drawback is the cost," Li Fan added.
"It's actually not that bad. The cost of building the structures isn't high. The main expense is capturing monsters for the fights, which most villages really can't afford."
This was easy to understand. The monsters participating in the fights were all captured from the wild through hunting.
Hunting a Great Jaggi would cost 4400z in rewards, and specific capture quests would pay even more.
There was also the cost of maintaining the monsters, their daily feeding, and measures to prevent them from escaping, all of which were significant expenses.
Regarding ticket revenue, to achieve higher attendance, it was impossible to always feature low-star monsters like Great Maccao, Great Bird Wyvern, or Great Poached Wyvern.
There needed to be powerful monsters to draw the crowds!
Li Fan felt that the operational concept of the arena was similar to a zoo.
People came to see rare species, but here, there was an added element of a limited battle between hunters and monsters.
Leaving the village chief's house, with his mind full of the arena, Li Fan arrived at the village's trade guild outpost.
Herbivores, Popo, Bird Wyvern...
Various docile herbivorous monsters, pulling two-wheeled carts, waited on either side of the trade guild's entrance.
At the entrance was a stall, where the village specialized in selling pack animal equipment.
Pack harnesses, small carts and hooks, riding saddles, decorative pendants for carts – everything was available.
After some haggling, Li Fan finally secured a leather pack harness and a simple riding saddle for 350z and a Bird Wyvern egg.
Although it was the lowest configuration, it was still better than a hand-knitted vine harness.
Taimai, curious about everything in Kalara Village, quickly ran over, drawn by the atmosphere.
After fastening the harness and tying the saddle, Li Fan, with his last 10z, bought two bundles of bundled grass for Taimai to eat.
Seeing that the agreed-upon time was approaching, he mounted Taimai and headed for the Felyne barbecue shop.
Lifting the curtain, a familiar and enthusiastic welcome greeted him.
Li Fan looked up and saw Dielu, who had changed into a waitress uniform.
"I'm working part-time, meow! Yudola is at the serving station! I'm off to work!"
Dielu, carrying a tray, gave him directions and quickly ran off to serve dishes.
Behind the serving station, the head chef, Deer Meat, was rapidly stir-frying ingredients on the hot plate, releasing waves of aroma.
Yudola's stack of plates beside her arm had already reached five, and she showed no signs of stopping.
Hunters generally ate very quickly, likely a result of the harsh wilderness environment.
But this appetite was clearly abnormal.
Li Fan sat down at a nearby table, filled with confusion.
"Wuwu... Li Fan, you're here... Don't be shy," Yudola mumbled, chewing a large piece of monster meat.
Glancing up at the price list, Li Fan chose a set meal of stir-fried monster meat and rice for 180z.
He tried to eat it quickly, hunter-style, and as he wiped the oil from the corner of his mouth, he suddenly noticed something strange.
The stir-fried monster meat was about the size of a large ham hock, and there was rice too. Why did he only feel slightly full?
He touched his stomach; there was no noticeable bulge.
At this point, Yudola, having just finished her seventh plate, saw Li Fan eating so little and asked curiously, "Are you in a bad mood? Hunters can't eat this little, Deer Meat! Three more servings of stir-fried monster meat!"
"Uh... thank you."
Li Fan, still puzzled, replied.
Soon, seeing the stir-fried monster meat served again, Li Fan ate it with his usual swift hunter's pace.
He still didn't feel particularly full.
Looking at the sauce at the bottom of the plate, a conjecture surfaced in his mind.
Could the reason hunters possessed such immense strength simply be their ability to eat a lot...?
This idea seemed absurd, but food was the primary source of energy for humans.
The appetites of some athletes were enough to shock ordinary people.
If, like the strange gravitational characteristics of the Monster Hunter world, there was also a property that allowed for rapid digestion and conversion of ingested food into energy for strength, then the source of hunters' terrifying power might lie here.
After finishing his fourth serving of stir-fried monster meat, Li Fan finally felt genuinely full.
Yudola, having eaten eight servings, ordered another bowl of soup, drank it down, and then patted her stomach contentedly.
"That'll be 2673z, meow!" Deer Meat held up a cat's paw and announced the price.
Li Fan's heart skipped a beat...
With a rustle, Yudola poured the coins from her small pouch onto the counter.
"Hmm... this is 2700z, no need for change."
"Welcome back! Meow!" Deer Meat cheerfully bid them farewell.
"Li Fan, you seem to have something on your mind?" Yudola suddenly asked as they walked side-by-side through the village.
"Yes, I have many ideas in my head, but I'm not sure what to do first," Li Fan confessed his true feelings.
"Then why don't you join me in developing the village's forest area? I'm planning to build an institution to observe and investigate monster ecology."
"Don't we already have the Guild and the Elder Dragon Research Department?"
"That's true, but your words have given me inspiration. Even historically authoritative institutions can have omissions when investigating and organizing information. If we establish our own institution and approach the investigation from a different angle, we might make many new discoveries."
Li Fan understood. Yudola had clearly taken to heart the signs of Kushala Daora's appearance last time, which led to her idea of building her own ecological investigation institution.
This way, if any anomaly occurred in a certain area, they could immediately go and conduct an independent investigation, rather than waiting for other institutions to release public research reports.
"Okay, I'll join," Li Fan said. His reasoning was simple.
Since it was an investigation institution, no matter how poor the conditions, there would at least be a house.
With a house, he would have a place to live.
Dielu's tent was quite warm, but it was built for an Felyne's size, and he couldn't even stretch his legs.
"Do... do you have any other conditions?" Yudola hadn't expected him to agree so readily.
"We're friends, why mention conditions?" Li Fan said magnanimously.
"Thank you so much!" Yudola exclaimed, excitedly gripping Li Fan's right hand.
"Oof!"
A sharp pain surged through him, causing Li Fan's mouth to contort.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm just so happy." Li Fan didn't want to admit he was being squeezed.
The two left the village and walked for about a kilometer, arriving at a lush, tree-covered hill.
This wasn't just a forest area... it was a forest farm! Li Fan marveled inwardly.
"I truly have to thank the villagers. Even though the trees around the village have been cut down, they haven't touched this place," Yudola said gratefully.
Li Fan wasn't surprised by this. Through his interactions during this time, he had noticed a rustic aura emanating from the people and Felynes he had encountered.
They were not only simple and kind but also very helpful.