"This is no less boring than before," I say, moving my head while walking through the desert, glancing around.
"Dunes, dunes, and more dunes… Oh look!" I point at something in front of me, and it is... "…A rock," I say in the flattest tone possible.
The reason I'm wandering the desert is simple: I have nothing to do in the Wastes... at least not right now.
After killing the Diablos, I had no reason to stay, so I decided to return to the Ancient Forest to face Rathalos. After that, I'll wait for Zorah Magdaros to open the path to the Coral Highlands and the Rotten Vale.
Overall, whether I want to or not, the best thing I can do is follow the events of the game. Besides, I won't be able to use [World Travel] for a few more months, so there's no point in rushing.
So I'll take this time to think about which worlds to visit and in what order. I've already decided on the next world, but I'm still unsure about the third.
"At least I have time to think."
…
"Finally! Forest!" I exclaim upon seeing the first trees marking the start of a forest.
After half a week of walking, I've finally returned to the Ancient Forest.
"I'd say I missed this place, but I spent so little time here that it'd be a lie… and I wasn't gone that long anyway."
With no real urgency, I strolled into the forest.
"No matter how many times I see it, this forest always looks just as beautiful."
I walked in silence for several minutes, simply enjoying the scenery, but my peace was interrupted by the sound of rustling leaves and breaking branches.
From the sound, I knew something was running toward me. I lowered my body into a stance, arms extended forward and legs apart.
I looked toward the noise, preparing for an attack—but what came out still caught me off guard.
From the bushes emerged a wounded Kulu-Ya-Ku, which stopped dead in its tracks upon seeing me, nearly stumbling in the process.
I looked at it. It looked at me. And before I could react, it turned to the right and ran off like nothing had happened.
I watched silently in the direction it fled, until I heard a sound from where it had come.
I looked closely to find the source of the noise, but saw nothing—so I didn't think much of it. I turned my gaze back toward the direction the monster ran and wondered whether it was worth chasing it.
"Honestly, I don't need anything from the Kulu-Ya-Ku, so I guess today's his lucky day."
…
Narrator's POV
"How long ago did you see her?" asked the Commander to the two hunters in front of him.
"Considering how long it took us to return to base—about an hour, sir."
The Commander began stroking his beard while staring off into the distance.
The two hunters had come running back from their mission to report that they had seen the Phageris.
Apparently, they were on a mission to hunt a Kulu-Ya-Ku that had been causing trouble on a supply route.
Everything went as expected until the monster fled—and while chasing it, they encountered the Phageris.
The Commander took a moment to consider the best course of action.
He looked over at the Guild Master sitting in the corner, who gave a silent nod.
With an authoritative voice, he said:
"Bring every available hunter!"
…
Chryssia was sitting on a tree branch—not a particularly tall tree by Ancient Forest standards.
She was simply watching a bird feeding its chicks on another branch. She was on her way to the largest tree in the forest to find a Rathalos.
But seeing that it would still take several hours to reach it, she decided to take a short break.
With nothing better to do, she watched the birds nearby.
But if there's one thing about peace—it never lasts forever. That peace was broken by the whistle of an incoming arrow.
Without even looking toward the attack, Chryssia leapt from the tree. She looked up to see the arrow fly past and followed it with her eyes until it struck another tree—and exploded on impact.
Even though she had sensed them from behind, she turned to face the Guild Master, charging at her with his greatsword unsheathed and five other hunters behind him, weapons drawn.
Before she could do anything, she had to dodge another volley of arrows from the left—then again from the right.
The Guild Master got close enough to strike—and did so with a horizontal slash, which Chryssia blocked with her arm.
The clash between steel and scales sparked on impact.
The Guild Master's eyes widened behind his helmet at the result, a single thought echoing in his mind:
"She's gotten stronger."He had expected some growth after seeing her physical changes, but not to this extent.
With a swipe of her right hand, Chryssia forced the Guild Master to roll backward to avoid it, rejoining the five hunters behind him.
They stopped just ten meters away. Chryssia hadn't moved, but she could sense everything around her perfectly—she was surrounded.
Six hunters in front, ten behind, and fifteen on each side. Forty-six hunters had come for her today.
In her mind, Chryssia cursed herself for being so careless and ending up in this situation. But there was no use regretting it now.
Knowing that fighting was the only option, she rose to her full height—now over four meters tall. The openings on either side of her crest opened.
Using [Helm of Domination], a sound burst from the six openings in her crest—it was like a war horn being blown.
The sound made several hunters cover their ears. Even more took a step back under the effects of the 'Intimidation Song.'
Though surprised by the sound and shaken by its effects, the hunters still understood the message clearly.
The fight had begun.
{You know, at first the chapter wasn't going to go in this direction, but I didn't want the protagonist to fight the Rathalos just yet, so I changed the order of events so she would fight the hunters first.}