Huff, huff, huff!
His breath came in rapid gasps, his heart pounding as if it would burst from his chest.
Roar! A furious roar erupted behind him, shattering his eardrums and filling him with terror.
Su Yi frantically ran through the dense forest, his modern clothes now tattered and torn by the branches that constantly lashed at him. Some branches struck his skin, leaving stinging marks, but Su Yi paid them no heed.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Heavy footsteps echoed like drumbeats, shaking Su Yi's very soul. Behind him, a massive Tyrant Dragon smashed through the trees blocking its path and charged menacingly towards him.
"I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!" Su Yi cried out in his mind in panic, while navigating the intricate forest canopy to slow the Tyrant Dragon's advance and try to shake it off.
Roar!
Behind him, the Tyrant Dragon with pale pink skin and black fur on its back grew increasingly agitated. It roared, its back arching sharply, near its tail, raising two sail-like wing membranes. Its nostrils opened, revealing a prominent nasal crown, and its enormous nostrils strained to detect scents, locking onto Su Yi.
"This is a Mangekyou Shard! Why did I wake up in the New World?!" Taking advantage of the Mangekyou Shard's heat-dissipating membranes, Su Yi glanced back and saw the monster he had encountered countless times in the game.
This confirmed once again that he hadn't arrived in the Jurassic World, but rather in the main setting of the game *Monster Hunter: World*—the New World.
This is a world teeming with monsters, where humanity uses its various advantages to fight against and coexist with them, attempting to maintain ecological balance.
However, Su Yi is not one of those hunters wielding exaggerated weapons and battling giant monsters; he is an ordinary person living in the peaceful world of the 21st century. Right now, he is the prey targeted by the Tyrant Dragon, only he is a bit faster than the herbivorous dinosaurs that the Tyrant Dragon prefers to hunt.
The Tyrant Dragon, displaying its full hunting posture, roared, took a step back to gather strength, and then, with a heavy stomp, leaped powerfully, flying towards Su Yi from afar.
Hearing the commotion, Su Yi, who had hunted the Tyrant Dragon countless times in the game, felt his hair stand on end.
Whoosh!
Thud!
The Tyrant Dragon, weighing over ten tons, landed violently, the ground trembling violently. The close-range stomp disrupted Su Yi's footing, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground, his heart filled with despair.
"Am I going to die like this, without knowing why?" Su Yi looked up, seeing a mouthful of sharp teeth and smelling the stench from the Tyrant Dragon's mouth, feeling as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
"Someone's in danger, meow!"
A nimble figure darted past the Tyrant Dragon , simultaneously throwing a foul-smelling object into the Tyrant Dragon's mouth, which was about to tear at Su Yi.
Roar! The foul stench and nauseating smell immediately caused the Tyrant Dragon to abandon its attack, shaking its head and vomiting in discomfort.
"Run, meow!" A large, cow-patterned cat running on all fours turned to Su Yi, gesturing for him to run with it.
"I'm saved!"
His limbs, stiff with fear, regained their strength, and amidst the Tyrant Dragon 's disgusted roars, Su Yi followed the agile figure into the dense forest.
"Huff, huff, huff, I can't hear the roars anymore, I should be safe now," Su Yi gasped, still shaken.
When he stopped, he felt aches all over his body, and his lungs burned.
"We're safe for now, meow." The cat-man, less than a meter tall, stood up and adjusted the leather goggles on his head.
"Thank you, kitty." Only then did Su Yi have a chance to thank the cow-colored cat.
This talking cat was a highly intelligent beastman race from the Monster Hunter world, known to hunters as Palicoes.
These cats have their own culture and society, and come in many colors and breeds. They can engage in activities like production, socializing, and hunting, just like humans. The Palicoes are most well-known among hunters as companion cats.
These Palicoes, in the hunt, provide hunters with assistance in entangled prey, setting traps, healing, and gathering, among other things. Brave, devoted, and innocently adorable, they are truly invaluable helpers and companions.
In the game, the inexperienced Su Yi was repeatedly saved by the Palicoes' hatred and honeybee healing abilities. Unexpectedly, upon entering this world, the first creature to save him was also this adorable Palico.
Su Yi couldn't help but marvel at how such adorable creatures as Palicoes existed; these were the true Aibo.
The fake Aibo (Host): A master at engaging monsters, a Deviljho baby.
The real Aibo (Palanquin): Tanky and powerful, with a multitude of skills, capable of withstanding various monster attacks head-on.
"No need to thank me, meow. My name is Lucario. By the way, you're not a hunter, are you? Why did you come to the dangerous Ancient Forest alone, meow?" Lucario, the Palico, asked curiously, blinking her watery cat eyes.
"My name is Su Yi. As for why I came here, I'm not really sure either," Su Yi said helplessly.
Before transmigrating, he was just an ordinary employee, leading a monotonous and arduous job every day. His only hobby was playing games, like Monster Hunter and Pokémon.
Thinking back to what happened before he fell asleep, he had just finished a hard day's work and was about to turn on his Nintendo Switch to play a game for a while, intending to take a nap while the game loaded. Who knew he would fall asleep like that?
It's often like this. Becoming an office worker, burdened by countless pressures, even when you finally relax, you don't have the energy to play games.
"That's strange, meow. Su Yi, are you from Astera? Which generation? Hmm... doesn't seem like it, meow. You're so young, were you born at Astera, meow?"Lucario tilted her head and said.
"You can think of me as someone who's fallen on hard times," Su Yi sighed softly, listening to Lucario's murmur.
"Could you be from the The Old World, meow?" The cat looked Su Yi up and down, then its attention was drawn to a book at Su Yi's waist.
"Huh? That book on your waist, meow! It has the Hunter's Guild's symbol, meow!"
"A book?" Su Yi snapped out of his daze and looked down at his waist. Sure enough, a two-finger-thick, antique-looking book was hanging from his waist with a clasp. The book seemed weightless; he hadn't even noticed its presence during their escape.
"This? Is this some merchandise I bought? I don't remember buying any." Su Yi unbuttoned his shirt and held the book in his hands. In the center of the book was a painting of azure star, a symbol of guidance, and below it was the Fifth Fleet's flag, adorned with white ribbons and the White Wind emblem.
"Huh? This emblem isn't the emblem of the First, Second, Third, or Fourth Fleets, meow? Could you be from the rumored Fifth Fleet?" Lucario said, pointing to the "White Wind" emblem.
Su Yi's brow furrowed, and he asked, "Are there only four fleets sent by the guild at Astera Outpost right now?"
"Of course, meow, but recently, there have been rumors circulating at the outpost that they're preparing to apply to the guild for the arrival of the Fifth Fleet members to thoroughly investigate the cause of the Elder Dragon Crossing phenomenon, meow," Lucario replied.
Su Yi thought to himself: Is my timeline before the arrival of the Fifth Fleet, which is part of the game's protagonist?
Lucario said that there are already rumors at Astera Outpost that they've applied for the Fifth Fleet to investigate, so the start of the main story shouldn't be too long.
At that time, with the arrival of the Fifth Fleet, the colossal Elder Dragon Zorah Magdaros will visit the New World, and a series of events will unfold as a result. The future The Sapphire Star will begin their investigation from the Ancient Dragon carrying volcanoes, all the way to the end of the Xeno'jiiva.
The guild's investigation into the New Continent and the mystery of the Ancient Dragon Crossing, which had taken over forty years, was about to yield results. However, this was not the end. People saw a wider world, more miracles, and the unknown of the world still attracted them. This was a story about people who, guided by the "Star's Guidance," bravely and curiously explored a new world.
"Can I also become the White Wind of the The New World?" Su Yi looked at the blue star that guided the way in the book. His heart, which had been worn down by modern society, gradually warmed up. I am not at the end of the story, but at the beginning. Perhaps, I can also participate in the legend?
Su Yi pulled his thoughts back to reality and gently opened the book. On the simple interface, the ancient pale yellow pages slowly changed.
The interface is labeled with several options: [Quests], [Map], [Companion Beasts], [Ecology Report], and [Items]. Currently, only Quests, Items, and Companion Beasts are lit up; the others are grayed out and unusable, with some blank space at the bottom, as if something will be added later.
"Could this be a cheat code? It's too simple, but simplicity is good, though there's no guidance or anything." Su Yi immediately became excited; if nothing unexpected happened, this would be his capital.
"Companion Beasts? Isn't this the Monster Hunter: Stories series?" Seeing this, Su Yi clicked on the option, then turned the page; naturally, the interface was blank.
"As expected, so what's the mission?"
Su Yi exited the companion's interface, flipped back through the pages, clicked on the mission, and the page turned again, revealing the only mission.
[The Beginning of the Journey: Obtain your first companion.
Remaining Time: 2 days 1 hour 30 minutes (After completion, you can choose to return immediately or continue exploring).
Mission Support: 5 Capture Balls.
Mission Reward: 5 Capture Balls, Hunter Basics.]
"What capture balls? Does the Monster Hunter series have these?" Su Yi opened the item interface, and immediately, the only item in the slot was a small red and white ball, with the number 5 indicating its quantity.
Su Yi's sense of déjà vu grew stronger. He tapped the capture ball, and instantly, a spherical ball the size of a ping-pong ball appeared in his palm, with a protruding button in the center.
"Ah, this..." Su Yi tapped the button in the center of the ball, and instantly, the ball popped and grew to the size of his palm.
"Isn't this a Poké Ball?" Su Yi looked at it from left to right. Wasn't this just a Poké Ball from Pokémon?
What did this mean? Use a Poké Ball to catch monsters and train them into companions? And then become a Pokémon Master?
Pokémon Legends: Arceus was jokingly called Monster Hunter, and the battles in the Monster Hunter Stories series were also like Pokémon battles.
Why does your next Pokémon have to be a Pokémon?
Why does your next monster hunter have to be a monster hunter?
Amazing!
"There's more information?" Su Yi noticed the item description in his inventory and immediately looked at the Hunting Ball.
[Catching Ball: A ball with a certain chance of catching monsters. Best used when the monster is in a bad state.]
"..." Su Yi was speechless. This was clearly the classic red and white Poké Ball. Could this thing really catch those wild and ferocious monsters?
"What are you staring at in a blank book, meow? Have you forgotten something, meow?" the cat beside him asked Confusedly.
Su Yi asked in surprise, "Can't you see what's on the page?"
The cat's eyes widened in surprise and asked back, "What should I be able to see, meow?"
"Uh, no, I was just thinking about something." Su Yi shook his head. It seemed that although outsiders could see this cheat ability, they couldn't see the contents of the inner workings.
"But where do I get my first companion now?" Su Yi was at a loss. Although exploring the Ancient Forest was like returning home in the game, now that it was real, it was not only difficult to find his way around, but the lack of game area restrictions made the situation even more complicated.
"I wonder if environmental creatures count?" Looking around, the sun was setting, and there was no sign of the herbivorous dragons and crested dragons that were classified as small creatures.
In the game, the creatures on the map were mainly divided into three types.
The first type is large creatures, namely the large monsters that hunters primarily hunt. These vary in strength and have different ecosystems. The second type is small creatures, which generally serve to decorate the hunting grounds and the map environment. The third type is environmental creatures, which are not the primary targets and can be captured relatively easily with some patience. They mainly serve to decorate the ecological environment.
Naturally, environmental creatures are the weakest, with the exception of the Equalizer Frog.
Su Yi's idea is to immediately capture an environmental creature to complete the initial task, gaining the foundation to become a hunter, and then plan to capture companion beasts to gradually become stronger, thus giving him the capital to stand firm in this dog-eat-dog world.
However, this wasn't a game. The creatures wouldn't foolishly wait for the hunters to approach and capture them. Their hasty retreat had already scared away all the smaller creatures around them, leaving the area eerily quiet.
"The forest is so quiet," Su Yi remarked, then realized that even with the initial quests, the forest was far too quiet.
"A little uncomfortable, meow." The Palico shook its fluffy body, becoming alert.
"That's..." Su Yi's eyes immediately caught sight of a pair of crimson lights flickering in the shadows of the trees behind the cat. His extensive gaming experience instantly made him realize something, and a chill ran down his spine.
Whoosh!
The monster in the darkness flicked its tail.
Several sharp whooshing sounds rang out as several thorns shot towards him.
"Danger!" Without thinking, Su Yi pounced on the cat.
Thud! One of the sharp objects grazed Su Yi's back, leaving a bloody gash.
"What happened, meow?! A monster?!" Lucario quickly scrambled up from Su Yi's arms, looking at the dark figure slowly approaching from the bushes.
(End of Chapter)