Immature. Lacking the combat experience befitting a dragon. Knowing only how to use its physical bulk to launch brute-force attacks with zero technique. Once it encountered an opponent that could overpower it or outpace it, it was left with nothing to do but take a beating.
Yet, even such an immature Anjanath had managed to chase his Kulu-Ya-Ku bro all over the place... What a damn bastard!
Could it really not smell my scent on the vest the Kulu-Ya-Ku is wearing?!
Thinking this indignantly, Asterion spun around and delivered another slash, mincing the Anjanath a little further.
He had to admit, this sensation was pure enjoyment. Asterion had fully come to understand the combat lust carved into a Glavenus's bones; the feeling of cutting down enemies with his sword-tail was truly exhilarating.
The instinct for battle, the thrill of the kill, the joy of defeating a powerful foe—especially just now, when the Anjanath had flown into a final, desperate rage. It had completely disregarded its own life to try and drag Asterion down with it, but no matter how furious it became, it hadn't been able to land a single hit on him.
The Glavenus's unique hip structure and powerful legs granted Asterion an agility that belied his massive size. His fighting style also differed from the average Glavenus; he didn't like to bite or slam his body into enemies. Instead, he preferred to use his sword-tail to attack—just like a human swordsman holding a blade.
If I have a sword, why use my mouth?
Utilizing this agility to dance around the Anjanath, the only thing the brute wyvern could touch was the sword-tail Asterion kept swinging at it. Even at the very end, when it endured the damage from the tail and tried to break through to bite him, Asterion simply performed a small hop backward and positioned his tail vertically in front of himself, like raising a shield.
The Anjanath died in sheer frustration.
Asterion had no interest in its territory, nor in the evolutionary information within its body. He had drawn his blade solely to avenge the Kulu-Ya-Ku.
Seeing the Anjanath fall, and then watching the Kulu-Ya-Ku scamper over, chirping happily, Asterion felt his mood improve significantly.
He watched with amusement as the Kulu-Ya-Ku, seemingly venting his anger, heaved a rock from the ground and smashed it onto the Anjanath's corpse, giggling foolishly to himself... What a big silly bird.
Shaking his head, Asterion didn't waste food. He began to dissect the Anjanath's carcass with his sword-tail, searching for the parts rich in life energy to consume.
As expected, he didn't find a Wyvern Gem. A Wyvern Gem was a treasure that condensed within the body of a large wyvern only after a long life of predation and the absorption of massive amounts of life energy.
The appearance of a Wyvern Gem would make a wyvern's body stronger and tougher, and could amplify the unique abilities inherent to different species. Some naturally gifted individuals could even use it to manipulate life energy to a certain extent. In short, it had many benefits.
Unfortunately, this Anjanath that Asterion had easily cut down was simply too weak. It was no surprise at all that he couldn't find a Wyvern Gem in its remains.
For Asterion, daily life was just a variation of the same game: search, destroy, eat and drink his fill, then retreat to the nest.
"Grr?" (Hmm?)
Asterion, who was busy burying his head in his meal, suddenly lifted his head from the Anjanath's flank. He jerked his gaze to the left. It wasn't an illusion; he had distinctly heard something unusual amidst the low shrubs nestled between the rock crevices of the wasteland.
Stare...
Stare...
Under Asterion's death stare, which lasted a full minute, a rustling finally came from the gap in the rocks again as the bushes were parted. A Hunter squeezed out from the foliage.
Asterion remembered this human. He was one of the two Hunters they had encountered earlier when he took the Kulu-Ya-Ku to find trouble with the Anjanath.
It was obvious that this Hunter was extremely nervous. He was currently maintaining a semi-crouched posture on the ground. He hadn't drawn a weapon; instead, he held his empty hands out where Asterion could see them, shrinking his silhouette as much as possible to appear harmless.
But honestly, given the Hunter's broad build... the effort was somewhat futile.
Hunters appearing all over the Wildspire Waste wasn't exactly news. So, after a cursory glance, Asterion turned back and continued eating.
Although he had shaken off the poison and his wounds had healed, his shattered air sacs and shell hadn't fully grown back yet. He needed to replenish his life energy. He'd go find some ore to eat later; a balanced diet was the key to health.
The Hunter appearing near Asterion was, naturally, the Commander of the First Fleet. To be honest, even with his courage, approaching a Glavenus—a monster known for its cold ruthlessness and high aggression—at such close range made him sweat.
Especially since the Glavenus was currently chewing on chunks of meat, fresh red blood flowing through its teeth and dripping down its jaw... it was enough to make a timid Hunter's legs go weak, like something out of a horror story.
After confirming that the Glavenus was ignoring him and remained buried in its meal, the Commander finally let out a sigh of relief—he had gambled and won.
"Yo... aren't you handsome..."
Moving his body slowly, avoiding any sudden actions to ensure the Glavenus recognized his lack of hostility, the Commander finally had a chance to observe the side of the monster's body. No mistake about it, he thought, this guy really has two layers of shell.
He didn't know what monster it had fought to leave such wounds, but the Commander could see the new layer of shell. The color was pale, forming a sharp contrast with the dark, hard shell around it. The second layer of shell covered the bottommost layer like a film; he could even vaguely see what was underneath through the semi-transparent second layer.
"It's truly... fascinating... I've never seen a Glavenus like this, nor shell like this..."
Hara's voice sounded beside the Commander. Asterion noticed the arrival of this second Hunter, but since neither of them showed any intention of starting a fight, he couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind.
Hunters were too skinny; they weren't fatty or nutritious. As long as they didn't initiate an attack on him, Asterion wouldn't attack them. Everyone could just mind their own business.
In the Wildspire Waste, everyone had their own things to do.
"You came over too? Hara."
"Don't underestimate my guts and determination, Commander."
"Hahaha, let's wait together then."
Patience was a virtue. Not rushing or panicking, the Commander actually sat down cross-legged right there. He was truly bold, planning to wait until Asterion was mostly done eating before attempting to communicate. Hara wasn't idle either; she took out a pen and notebook and began sketching Asterion, focusing specifically on his physical characteristics to discuss and analyze with the scholars later.
The two of them had calmed down, but Asterion, on the other hand, could no longer remain calm.
What did he just hear?
Commander? Hara?
The dragon, midway through his meal, snapped his head around. Blood dripping from his chin even splattered onto the ground in front of the Commander. Asterion's eyes went wide.
Commander?!
Why not "Grand Commander"?
After recalling the details carefully, Asterion remembered that the title "Grand Commander" came later. The First Fleet was the initial designation; in the original storyline, the Guild initially only planned to send one research commission to investigate the secret of the Elder Crossing.
Then, this fleet discovered the New World. Because the secret of the Elder Crossing remained unsolved, the Guild sent four more fleets over the subsequent forty years to continue the investigation, each with its own Commander.
Therefore, strictly speaking, it wouldn't be until the Second Fleet arrived in the New World—to better lead the subsequent arrivals and explore the New World methodically—that the Guild would promote the Commander of the First Fleet to "Grand Commander."
And Hara... she must be the "Tracker" (or Field Master) from the storyline. Honestly, these two looked a bit too young right now. Asterion's impression of them had always been their appearance from the game forty years later, which was why he hadn't recognized them at first glance.
The Grand Commander's hair was still black, though the style wasn't much different from forty years later—a spiky hedgehog look, full of wild energy even in his youth.
Perhaps because he was seeing familiar characters from his memories—or at least, people he was unilaterally familiar with—Asterion felt a surge of excitement. He leaned in closer, so close that his hot, bloody breath blew directly onto the Commander and Hara.
Whether he was the Commander or the Grand Commander right now didn't matter; in Asterion's heart, that's who he was.
However, he had forgotten what kind of psychological pressure his current appearance, looming over them so rashly, would bring to the two Hunters. Hara's hand had already dropped to the weapon on her back. The only reason she hadn't drawn it yet was that the Commander had placed his arm in front of her, stopping her from escalating the situation.
"Calm down! Hara!" he shouted in a low voice. The Commander then raised both hands forward, fingers spread open toward Asterion. "Yo—big guy? Hello there?"
It had to be said, this guy lived up to his future reputation as someone who would spend years investigating alone in the field, even venturing deep into the Elder's Recess. His guts were simply bigger than the average Hunter.
Having heard the Hunters at the base say that this strange Glavenus showed no desire to attack humans, he dared to take the risk. Now, not only did he suppress the urge to draw his weapon, but he also raised his voice to greet Asterion.
Staring at the Commander and Hara, from Asterion's perspective, their figures were incredibly small. They weren't even as big as the Kulu-Ya-Ku—and the Kulu only came up to about Asterion's thigh.
And seeing them so nervous... Asterion suddenly felt it was a bit boring.
"Gua?"
Noticing the commotion, the Kulu-Ya-Ku came over as well, looking curiously at the two Hunters. He was actually quite familiar with Hunters; sometimes they would run into each other while stealing eggs from Apceros nests.
"Roar..." (Let's go.)
The valuable parts of the Anjanath had mostly been eaten. Asterion gave a low growl and took the lead, heading toward home.
"Gua!!"
The Kulu-Ya-Ku had wanted to see what these two guys were up to, but noticing that Asterion had already jumped off the rock platform, he didn't hesitate. Squawking loudly, he followed after him.
"Looks like... your first interaction wasn't very successful, Commander," Hara said teasingly, standing at the edge of the rock.
Even though the Glavenus hadn't attacked, they both let out a secret sigh of relief when it turned to leave... being in close contact with such a large monster was truly oppressive.
"Not successful?" The Commander laughed loudly. "No, no, no, I think it was very successful—it didn't attack even when face-to-face with us, did it? I think this guy is different!"
"The reason?" Hara asked. "I think it was just full and couldn't be bothered to attack us."
"The eyes!" The Commander gave an incredibly confident answer. "The look in its eyes is different!"
"Perhaps," Hara shrugged. "Do you mean the way it left without looking back?"
"Ahaha, beginnings are always difficult," the Commander laughed heartily, not embarrassed in the slightest. "It truly is wonderful, this New World."
Although his feelings were a bit complicated, seeing characters from his memories made Asterion somewhat happy.
The complexity lay in Asterion's confusion about how to interact with Hunters, or to what extent he should interact with them. He didn't want to be like the Wingdrakes, gradually domesticated by Hunters in the future, nor did he want to become a thug for the Hunters, and he certainly didn't plan on living among them.
However, he wouldn't include humans in his diet either. After all, human bodies had little meat and too many bones, and the life energy contained within them was far inferior to that of large wyverns.
So, as long as they didn't provoke him, Asterion couldn't be bothered to police human activity. That was how he had handled things so far.
Compared to the lifespan of wyverns, human lives were often much shorter. This meant that even if Asterion built a good relationship with this generation of humans, once they passed away, how the new generation would treat him remained an unknown variable.
When human civilization and technology developed to a certain point, they would instinctively use various methods to eliminate threats or bring everything under their control.
Ambition, desire, dreams, all sorts of factors—it was undeniable that compared to wyverns, whose minds were mostly filled with predation, survival, or reproduction, humans were indeed far more complex.
And in the background lore of Monster Hunter, unlike the current situation where humans were weak and dragons were strong, humans in the ancient era once possessed a brilliant and glorious civilization sufficient to rival dragons. There had even been a Great Dragon War.
Humans had used technology to defeat dragons, even researching weapons like the "Equal Dragon Weapon." Making a single Equal Dragon Weapon required over thirty adult dragons as material. Once completed, whether in endurance, firepower, or physical strength, it was incredibly powerful in every aspect.
But this weapon, built upon the corpses of dragons, ultimately enraged those who had completely transcended the ecological niche—the Forbidden Species that stood above Elder Dragons. In the end, Fatalis destroyed the human kingdom, causing everything to vanish into legend.
For the humans living in this world today, these events were nothing more than bedtime stories, but Asterion knew they were all real.
This was the source of his complicated feelings. Asterion was a little lost regarding exactly what manner he should adopt toward the Hunters, and what boundaries he should set so they wouldn't hurt each other in the future.
I am already a dragon.
Since it's come to this, let's just eat first.