A man and a cat set off on their journey.
Lone hunters were not uncommon; Li Fan had seen many when he first left Kala Village.
Of course, the tasks they undertook were generally for gathering or hunting small monsters, with difficulty ratings not exceeding two stars.
Li Fan walked, contemplating his path forward.
First, there were the Poké Balls, a unique ability he had to utilize well.
Once he captured enough powerful monsters, his chances of encountering danger would greatly diminish.
Secondly, he needed to train himself, to master the secrets of the human body's resilience in the Monster Hunter world, and to learn the hunting techniques that existed only in this world.
After three hours of travel, the road gradually became steeper, and the number of pedestrians decreased.
However, the wooden warning signs placed by the Hunter's Guild became more numerous.
Goo! Goo! Goo!....
Hearing a series of chirps, Li Fan followed the sound into the woods.
Pushing aside the bushes, he soon arrived at a pool of stream water.
Three blue-feathered creatures resembling ostriches were bending their necks to drink, their chirps the source of the sound.
"It's a Bird Wyvern! Meow!"
Felyne whispered a reminder.
"Bird Wyverns are very timid. If startled, they might lay a Bird Wyvern egg, and there's even a chance of a golden egg."
Li Fan, lurking on the ground, informed her.
"Really? Why isn't that in my notes, meow..."
Felyne quickly flipped through her notebook, finding the page detailing Bird Wyverns.
"Felyne, I'm going in. If any eggs are laid, help move them to a safe place."
Bird Wyverns were herbivorous beasts, theoretically harmless, but to obtain materials from them, they had to be killed.
Li Fan also had the option of capturing them with a Poké Ball.
However, according to the "Monster Encyclopedia," capture success rates were higher only when the monster was severely injured and near death, or when it was willing.
Some peculiar monster species also required higher-tier Poké Balls for capture.
"I'm going now... I'll protect the Bird Wyvern egg, meow!"
Felyne was still a bit slow to catch up, but her attitude became serious.
However, as Felyne waited to witness Li Fan's exquisite hunting skills, she suddenly remembered that Li Fan didn't even have a weapon.
"Die, for me!"
Li Fan, running at full speed out of the bushes, kicked the Bird Wyvern's hindquarters.
The kick didn't inflict much damage, but it certainly startled the three Bird Wyverns.
Goo! Goo! Goo!....
Two of the Bird Wyverns fled in different directions.
The one that was kicked stood still for a moment, and a watermelon-sized Bird Wyvern egg slid out from its rear.
Drawing his hunter's knife, Li Fan, without any particular moves, began to stab wildly.
He knew nothing of the sword and knife techniques used for hunting, nor did he have the appropriate weapons.
But without the constraints of fixed moves, he possessed an advantage of flexibility and speed, leaving the Bird Wyvern with no way to defend itself.
"You can do it like that... meow."
Felyne, holding the Bird Wyvern egg and hiding in the bushes, had never seen such a brutal hunting method before.
After being stabbed more than twenty times and bleeding profusely, the Bird Wyvern, after a few evasions, finally managed to escape Li Fan by running fast.
Li Fan, swinging his knife in pursuit, felt a pang of frustration.
He hadn't expected that even a Bird Wyvern, at the bottom of the Monster Hunter food chain, would have such tough skin and flesh.
Even though the hunter's knife was sharp, the maximum depth it could penetrate would never exceed one-third of the blade.
Fortunately, the Bird Wyvern's blood loss increased, and coupled with the burden of rapid running, it collapsed on the grass less than three hundred meters into the forest, limping.
Goo... Goo...
The chirps, once light and loud, turned into a dying lament.
Li Fan took out the Poké Ball he had received that morning and threw it at the creature.
The Bird Wyvern turned into a white flash and was sucked into the Poké Ball.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The Poké Ball wiggled restlessly three times, but the Bird Wyvern couldn't break free.
Li Fan wiped the blood from his hands with his pajamas and checked the handheld device.
[Bird Wyvern] Female (Unnamed)
HP: 14/120
Status: Severely Injured, Critically Endangered
Level: 1
Strength: 6
Agility: 11
Intelligence: 8
Skills: None
Description: A bird wyvern species of herbivorous creature that inhabits warm regions. It is very timid, its wings are severely atrophied and cannot be used for flight, but it has good carrying capacity.
When tamed and equipped with a riding saddle, it can be used as a mount.
According to the "Monster Encyclopedia," monsters placed in Poké Balls would experience a slight healing effect.
However, looking at the fluctuating HP, Li Fan felt that whether it could survive this ordeal depended entirely on the Bird Wyvern itself.
He had considered killing it on the spot, skinning it for materials, and then capturing another Bird Wyvern.
Bird Wyvern feathers, small dragon bones, and meat all had some value.
But without a field camp or an interdimensional backpack, Li Fan would have to carry these items himself.
The journey had just begun, and he didn't want to be overburdened.
After washing by the stream, Li Fan set off again.
His understanding of the Monster Hunter game was quite thorough, but reality was ultimately different from the game.
Therefore, as he traveled, he also sought to supplement his knowledge with Felyne.
Regarding these seemingly basic questions, Felyne only thought that Li Fan was conducting a knowledge test.
Having lived in Kala Village since childhood, Felyne was familiar with the locations of several safe mushroom patches nearby.
By evening, Li Fan had collected 12 mushrooms.
As for dinner, a hunting party had defeated a group of Jagras but had not skinned the meat.
Li Fan found a pile of stones and three branches nearby to make a simple barbecue rack.
"I heard Jagras meat isn't very tasty, meow."
Under the firelight, Li Fan turned the roasting meat, while Felyne sprinkled the spices she carried for seasoning.
"No wonder they didn't want this meat, it's not tasty..."
Li Fan had been curious.
The meat of Bird Wyverns, Spirit Deer, and Gravios had all been meticulously stripped clean.
Only the Jagras meat was left in the wilderness, unclaimed. It turned out to be because it was unpalatable.
Seeing the meat gradually turn a charred brown, Li Fan quickly raised the branch with the Jagras meat skewered on it.
"Great skill! A hunter with good cooking skills is welcome anywhere, meow."
Felyne praised him.
Beneath the serene starry sky, the man and the cat sat by the campfire, beginning to enjoy their dinner.
It was dry and tough, and even with vigorous chewing, not much meat flavor could be detected.
Li Fan had never eaten such unappetizing meat before.
However, the travel and gathering during the day had severely depleted his stamina, and he had no other choice.
After forcing down a large piece and drinking a little sweet stream water, he felt much better.
He took out his handheld device and noticed that the Bird Wyvern's HP had recovered to 69/120, so he released it using the Poké Ball.
The damaged feathers were still evident, but the Bird Wyvern, having been subdued, held no grudges.
It ate some grass and then came to Li Fan, bending its slender legs and lying down obediently at his feet.