Sherwin was, after all, different from Sanji Meow, that little perverted cat. After a brief moment of disappointment, he quickly recovered.
At that moment, Link Meow descended slowly, landing on the deck before him in a heroic pose. The glider he had used was already folded away neatly on his back.
With Link Meow's landing, more of his details became clearer.
Just as Sherwin had guessed earlier, Link Meow was indeed an ocelot. His height wasn't great—about the same as Sanji Meow.
Aside from the new Champion's Tunic he wore, he also had a pair of blue earrings on his feline ears, matching in color.
As for the iconic sword, shield, and bow strapped on his back, they were unmistakable—the Master Sword, also known as the Demon-Slaying Blade the Hylian Shield, famed for its durability and defense and the Twilight Bow, glowing faintly with a divine light…
Sherwin couldn't tell if it was the Breath of the Wild version or the Tears of the Kingdom version of the Twilight Bow.
Since he didn't see any quiver on Link Meow, the likelihood was higher that it was the Breath of the Wild version—one that didn't require arrows and could directly fire Light Arrows.
What's more, bows in the Monster Hunter world didn't need to consume arrows in the first place!
The strongest sword, the strongest shield, and the strongest bow (at least in lore)… plus that Champion's Tunic from Tears of the Kingdom, with stats ranked among the very best… Even without the Sheikah Slate or the Ultrahand, the gear on this Link Meow was still overwhelmingly luxurious!
The Hunter, who had first descended into this world wearing nothing but the basic village armor and the longsword, couldn't help but feel a surge of envy!(=ΦωΦ=)
Though Link Meow found it strange why the Hunter was staring at him with such envious eyes, he still politely greeted him.
"Ah," Sherwin came back to his senses, "calling me Hunter sounds too distant. Just call me Sherwin."
"…"Right after saying that, Sherwin suddenly felt something was off.
"Wait a second! Why can I understand what you're trying to say?!"
He finally realized what was wrong—Link Meow had only lifted his paw in greeting. He hadn't spoken a word, not even a single "meow," yet Sherwin could understand him perfectly without issue…
So he really was mute Link, huh? Did they have to replicate it this faithfully?!
Sherwin couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time as he looked at him. After hesitating a moment, he carefully asked, "You… can you actually speak?"
(=`=)Link Meow smiled and nodded, then…
(=ω=)
"Oh, no, no, no," Sherwin waved his hands quickly. "If you don't like speaking, that's fine—just stay like this. We don't have any problem communicating anyway."
(=ΦωΦ=)
Link Meow suddenly leapt at him, hugging him tightly, the whole cat clinging onto him. Then he nuzzled his head affectionately against Sherwin's chest, clearly delighted by Sherwin's understanding nature.
Sherwin skillfully reached out with his "Kato Cat Hand," letting his fingers roam gently around Link Meow's head.
"Purr… purr… purr…"
(=ω=)For the first time, a sound came from Link Meow's throat.
After serving the little ocelot with a round of head scratches, Sherwin finally began introducing the other members on board.
"This little cutie is Klee, our bomb cat…"
(=ΦωΦ=)
Link Meow slid down from Sherwin's body and continued interacting with the other Felynes in his usual silent but effective way.
"Waaah! Big Brother Link, you're amazing, meow! Klee wants to learn how to express herself without speaking too, meow!"
Excited by something new, Klee Meow had already leapt down from Sherwin's shoulder and clung to Link Meow, pouting adorably.
╮(=ω=)╭
Link Meow spread his paws helplessly, showing that he didn't really know how to teach Klee Meow. It was simply an ability he was born with.
There was even some logic to it—after all, ordinary cats usually communicated through expressions and body language. Link Meow had merely taken that instinct and refined it into a skill.
Of course, that was just a minor detail. After a brief round of introductions, and after learning that Link Meow had been brought high into the skies by the Alatreon and accidentally summoned during his fall, Sherwin—as always after each summoning—explained this world and their current situation.
And since Link Meow had inherited the roguish spirit of Hyrule's infamous adventurer, his thirst for adventure naturally needed no proof.
After listening to Sherwin's account, the little ocelot immediately showed curiosity toward this new world, pestering Sherwin to let him witness this so-called "Haki."
(ω)
Sherwin: "…"
By the way, that old rascal of Hyrule also had an official title—"the strongest swordsman of Hyrule." In other series, he's also been honored with various titles of "Hero." So…
Damn it, this is another cat with insanely high combat talent!
And judging from the equipment on his back, he's most likely like Sherwin himself—one of those battle cats skilled in both close combat and ranged weapons.
In fact, if it follows the games, Link Meow not only dabbles in bombs and traps, he's also good at cooking, gathering, even recognizing herbs and mixing medicines…
Damn it, this is an all-rounder cat!
Sherwin showed Link Meow both Armament Haki and Observation Haki with mixed feelings, and sure enough, after about an hour of practice, the familiar scene played out once again…
(=`=)b
Link Meow raised one paw, holding up the now-blackened Master Sword, while his other paw gave Sherwin a thumbs-up.
Although his speed in mastering Armament Haki was much slower than Seijuro Meow's…
He actually learned Observation Haki as well!
But considering that "Link Time" in the games was practically like cheating, it didn't seem all that hard to believe he could pick up Observation Haki so quickly…
Link Meow really was an all-rounder cat!
Even though losing the title of "the only one in the Research Commission who mastered both types of Haki" left Sherwin a little depressed, he was actually more relieved than anything.
Because after consecutively summoning Haibara Meow and Hua Mei Meow—two cats who weren't very strong in battle—and then running into the Kuja Pirates, who could pose a real threat to them, Sherwin had been somewhat worried, especially since he didn't have any suitable Devil Fruits to give the two of them.
Now that there was another battle cat whose combat strength was not only up to standard but even off the charts, the safety of Hua Mei Meow and Haibara Meow was much better assured.
It's just that… Sherwin had to suffer another blow on the level of talent!Not that he wasn't already used to it…
QAQ
Still, summoning cats with overwhelming talent also had its benefits.
Just like how Sherwin once learned the Flying Cat Sword Style from Seijuro Meow, now with Link Meow, he could also pick up techniques from that old rascal of Hyrule—such as Link Time, the Charged Spin Attack, and the Perfect Shield Parry.
Don't be fooled by how ordinary those names sound. In reality, just like Seijuro Meow's Nine Lives Flash and Soaring Cat Flash, they were advanced moves that Link Meow had developed by improving on the foundation of hunter skills.
For example, the Perfect Shield Parry—though originally a sword-and-shield technique—was something Link Meow could use to reflect any attack, whether melee or ranged.
Once he'd mastered Armament Haki, he could even bounce back the massive fireballs shot by Klee Meow.
As for the Charged Spin Attack, there wasn't anything too special about it. It was simply a combination of the sword-and-shield's charged slash and spinning slash.
But after entering the world of pirates, Link Meow was able to release the Master Sword beam that could only be unleashed in the Zelda games.
While its power without charging was similar to an ordinary flying slash, its speed was noticeably faster. And once charged, both its power and speed increased dramatically.
As for the skill Sherwin cared about most—Link Time—it was even more incredible.
Its prototype was actually demon mode, but unlike the original, which focused on boosting strength and speed for as long as possible, Link Meow compressed the effect down to just a few seconds. He sacrificed most of the attack power boost in exchange for explosive speed.
And when Link Time was activated, not only did his speed soar for those few seconds, but his concentration also reached its peak, creating the illusion that everything around him was moving in slow motion—just like Link in the games.
The most crucial part was… if Sherwin mastered this move, his Scarlet Heaven's End might finally become instantaneous!
Thus, with Link Meow's arrival, the main combat members of the Felyne Research Commission entered yet another wave of mutual training and learning.