Being a Hunter, whether an Abyssal Hunter of Aegir or a Beast Hunter and Church Hunter of Yharnam, is an extremely dangerous profession.
Without the protection of the Moon Presence's power, death means the end.
Therefore, Hunters developed a habit of leaving notes and aphorisms everywhere, passing on their experiences and observations to future Hunters—who knew when they might suddenly die a violent death?
Although in the game, there were often malicious players writing "Step forward" in front of elevator doors to trick people into jumping, or filling the area in front of levers with notes so people couldn't interact with them—these ill-intentioned notes were truly infuriating.
But in Yharnam, the vast majority of Hunters still maintained their professional integrity; every word they wrote was wisdom forged in blood and fire.
Of course, Goki himself had also gotten used to making Hunter's notes.
After all, even with the Moon Presence's blessing allowing for infinite Rebirth, he didn't know if he would lose his humanity, turn to ash, and descend into madness.
Before his final challenge against the Moon Presence, he also left many Dao items and notes throughout Yharnam to warn those who came after—fortunately, he was the last one.
Who keeps a diary if they're a normal person?—But a Hunter isn't a normal person.
— — — —
terra calendar 10 (scratch), Day One of Departure.
Weather: Sunny.
Itching to write a note after a day, the Nona Doll is truly convenient (though she doesn't like me describing her that way); she can replicate anything in the Hunter's Dream using blood echoes—too bad there's no food in the dream.
The fountain pen is a bit difficult to use, but I'll make do.
I suddenly realized that I have no idea what year or month it is, or how far away the game's main storyline is.
Skadi only knows the Aegir calendar, so there's no way to compare them—heaven knows how much time has passed from when she came ashore to when she arrived at Rhodes Island.
Perhaps, the Little Orca Amiya hasn't even been born yet.
Although Skadi wanted to rush along the coast all night, Aegirians are still people and need to eat and sleep; under my persuasion, she still stopped.
Ah, she went into the woods, she squatted down; it seems even a beautiful young woman needs to use the restroom.
— — — — — —
Day Three of Departure.
Weather: Overcast.
Two days of travel, two days of overcast skies.
According to Skadi, this is typical weather for the Aegir region; the day I met her was pure luck.
I really wish for more sun; I never saw the sun in Yharnam, so my vitamin D levels must be at rock bottom.
Skadi's portable military rations are finished; what a shame, I might never get to eat nutritious and delicious Aegir food again.
No fish can be caught near the shallow seas; Skadi says this is normal.
Many years ago, there was a violent energy reaction throughout the entire nearshore area, and then it became quiet.
The coast became a gathering place for Terrorfish; no ordinary marine life exists there anymore, and the large ships that used to patrol from the land have never been seen again. Most of the coastal areas are now uninhabited.
I remember this, Iberia's "The Great Silence" event, which completely destroyed the southern coast of Iberia during its golden age; it sounds terrifying.
However, the name is quite cool—fifty years of life, like a dream, like an illusion.
Iberia seems to be an idealist Empire; perhaps they believed in the Round God.
Skadi wanted to swim a few more kilometers to catch fish to eat, but I stopped her; who knows what's in the sea.
Fortunately, this is a tropical region; although not abundant, we can always find some coconuts and bananas.
Tomorrow, I'll show her the Old Hunter's hunting skills.
— — — — — —
Day Four of Departure.
Weather: Partially cloudy.
Skadi was startled by a wild boar; it was the first time I saw panic on her face.
Although it was just a tiny bit, it was really cute.
When she went into the woods to pick flowers, she was hit head-on by a wild boar; she seemed to have never seen such an animal before.
By the time she frantically dragged me to see, I found the wild boar had been slapped to death—its brain matter was splattered out, a truly tragic death.
Only now did I suddenly realize that Skadi… she's a bit… naive?
Of course, not in terms of combat; her combat experience is very rich.
Skadi has a regular routine; she falls asleep by the campfire and is full of vigilance. I specifically changed into a thick coat to use as a blanket for her and almost got my head slapped off.
However, Skadi knows almost nothing about anything on land; all her knowledge is limited to popular science books, and how many books can a group of warriors read?
So, the current situation is like this.
Skadi is full of curiosity about the things on Terra, completely lacking the composure and skill of the bounty hunter Skadi from a few years later; one can only say she still needs to grow.
As for me… thanks to knowing some of the plot, I at least know this country is called Iberia, and I have some understanding of the continental map, so I'm not completely clueless.
A half-baked leader guiding a little newbie on an outing in the perilous Terra—it looks dangerous no matter how you slice it. Fortunately, I'm very good at fighting—and Skadi is even better.
At least, we don't have to worry about food anymore; the Old Hunter's hunting skills have no room to be displayed, what a shame.
— — — — — —
Day Six of Departure.
Weather: Overcast.
Titi is so cute; these past few days she's been asking me all sorts of questions. Some creatures I don't even know what they are, so I can only vaguely brush her off.
Thanks to her not being able to read Chinese characters, I dare to write this in my diary.
This child, Skadi, has no concept of gender; she doesn't avoid me, a big man, at all.
According to her, all the Abyssal Hunters around her are female, and they never cared about such things.
A white-haired, red-eyed girl group is great, but unfortunately, only three are left.
— — — — — —
One week since departure.
Weather: Feels like it's about to rain.
The coastline of Iberia is very long, but we are not far from our destination.
I suddenly realized that in this world, themed by natural disasters and oripathy, the two of us haven't encountered any related incidents at all, not even seen an Ore bug—is it because this is Seaborn territory?
Spending time with Titi is indeed enjoyable, and with the Nona Doll present, I didn't even notice how fast time flew by.
However, I suddenly realized that I actually have no goal.
In Yharnam, I at least always thought about how to blow up the Moon Presence, but now… damn it, it's raining, I'll stop writing here.
— — — — — —
Whoosh—
Raindrops as big as beans fell from the sky, hitting the edge of the beach and the forest.
Goki made an emergency salvage effort for a while, finally moving the campfire and a leftover pork leg into the makeshift shelter.
This lean-to was a cover built between two coastal palm trees using palm and banana leaves.
Although it still leaked, it was at least a crystallization of the wisdom of Bear Grylls and Ray Mears, combined with Goki's experience in green Hell and forest outings!
"Goki, I'm back—the rain is so heavy, I'm all soaked."
With a calm expression on her face, Skadi walked back, leaning on her greatsword and carrying a few green coconuts, which she tossed next to the campfire.
Over these past few days, Skadi had been quite happy with this Hunter named Goki by her side.
In the dead of night, or when acting alone, Skadi would still think about the fact that she was the only Abyssal Hunter left, and of her fallen comrades, especially the voice and smile of Archerfish.
But when she was with Goki, she would temporarily forget these terrible things.
Skadi had to admit that Goki was not only an excellent land Hunter but also a good travel companion.
Thanks to his rich knowledge of the land, Skadi wasn't completely clueless about Terra.
No matter how she thought about it, the first time she saw the green, moist skin of a coconut, trying to bite into it in front of Goki was a bit too embarrassing!
Thinking of these things, Skadi felt a little ashamed.
"Let's eat, I'll air my clothes."
Then, Skadi naturally removed her black gloves, the black shawl and cloak from her shoulders, and unbuttoned her grey outer jacket, tossing them all by the campfire.
Wearing only a deep black military-style undergarment, consisting of straps wrapped around her neck and tight black fabric over her chest, Skadi sat cross-legged next to Goki with an uninhibited air, and even visibly bounced a little.
Goki couldn't help but widen his eyes—although he was a Hunter, he was also a man.
There were many pretty girls in Yharnam, but none dressed so openly.
[Kind Hunter, this is disrespectful to women.]
[Alright, alright, I get it, I'll watch you next time, Nona Doll?]
Remembering the Nona Doll's gentle reminder in his mind, Goki had no choice but to shift his gaze elsewhere, and casually changed the subject—otherwise, she wouldn't mind looking a few more times.
"It's best not to be so uninhibited in front of men, Skadi—after we reach Saltwind City, where do you plan to go next?"
Drilling a hole in a green coconut with his Saw Cleaver, Goki took a few big gulps of coconut water and handed it to Skadi.
"Next… I don't know, I'll go wherever I end up. I'll try to go to places where few people go. Didn't you say there's a country called Sargon to the west? Maybe I can go there."
Shaking her head, Skadi took the coconut, looked at the spot where Goki had just drunk from, put her lips to it, and drank it down in big gulps.
Friendship between Hunters should be like this; it was the same when she was in the Abyssal Hunter team.
Sweet coconut juice flowed from Skadi's lips, down her neck, and into the open collar of her Abyssal Hunter uniform, slowly moistening the Aegir Materials fabric of her clothing.
Goki ignored the Nona Doll's contemptuous gaze in his mind and continued to turn his head towards Skadi.
He was a pervert, so what!
"Then I'll still travel with you. I don't know where would be good to go either; Terra… no place is a good place."
Cutting a piece of meat from the smoked wild boar leg, Goki chewed heartily—who would refuse to travel with a cute Little Orca?
Or, to put it more nobly… Goki knew how indifferent and lonely the wandering Skadi would become in the future.
Leaving aside everything else, her base skill was completely useless; she only had a "Tragic Song" skill to recover her mood by isolating herself in the dorm, which was too bad.
Come on, the Doctor wouldn't even let your mood drop, alright?
And now, Goki had met Skadi, who had just come ashore; he didn't want her to endure prolonged loneliness.
Skadi paused for a moment, then nodded.
"…Mm, let's find a city first—we'll arrive tomorrow."
She found that she had grown a little accustomed to traveling with Goki.
The two of them looked up, through the deep curtain of rain, along the coastline, towards the not-so-distant northwest.
There, a dead behemoth stood silently on the coast.
That was… a mobile city.