Leaving the oven-like Lava Cave, the two men and one Felyne arrived on the surface.
The temperature here was clearly close to, or even over, forty degrees Celsius, but Gordon and Anxi'er still felt a sense of "It's so cool."
Or rather, it was an illusion.
The iron-gray ground had wave-like patterns, which were traces of flowing magma. The bare hillsides were devoid of any vegetation, and the small puddles occasionally seen did not contain fresh water, but strong acid.
"The environment is ridiculously harsh. I wonder how these Volcanic Region creatures survive. Do they drink sulfuric acid and eat magma?" Gordon mused.
"Occasionally, animals will migrate through. Also, in places we don't know about, there might be water sources and heat-resistant plants," Anxi'er adjusted his top-hat-style helmet. "Volcanic Region creatures indeed have a very high utilization rate of organic matter.
Insects are scavengers, at the bottom of the food chain, but also food for many small animals. Above them are layers of predators, but even the most powerful predators will die, becoming carrion and food for insects again."
"Yo, young master knows a lot!" Gordon teased with a grin.
Anxi'er glanced at him. "Don't just focus on building muscles every day; read more books. Knowledge is power."
"Hahaha, an old man also told me the same thing, 'Knowledge is power'!" Gordon recalled what Miles had said when he gave him books for his birthday last year. "He was once a high-ranking Heavy Bowgun User."
"Once? A retired Old Hunter?"
"Haha, no, the old man is still active. It's just that he's old, and operating a Heavy Bowgun is more strenuous, so he switched to a Light Bowgun."
"I see. If there's a chance, I'd really like to pay him a visit."
The two chatted all the way, eventually following the hillside to a steep rock face.
Gordon took out the map for comparison and said with satisfaction, "This is it! Let's get to work!"
Seeing Gordon pick up his pickaxe, Anxi'er and Zhu Pa consciously entered a state of alert.
The continuous encounters with Red Velocidrome and Scarlet Armor Beast proved that this seemingly desolate and quiet place was also full of danger and vitality.
Gordon clanged and clattered, digging at the rock face, cheering excitedly from time to time when he collected high-quality ore. Anxi'er, while on alert, also diverted some of his attention to observe his surroundings.
Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to a series of marks on the rock face. He couldn't help but walk over.
Putting another kiryulong stone into his satchel, Gordon, who was about to take a breather, noticed Anxi'er's abnormality and also approached the marks.
It was a series of roughly diamond-shaped small pits, regularly arranged on the almost vertical rock face.
The pits were very deep, about twenty centimeters, with sharp edges, like sword marks left after a sharp sword had been deeply inserted into the rock face and pulled out.
"This is… the footprint of a Carapaceon?" Gordon muttered to himself in surprise.
The Carapaceons he remembered preferred to live in humid places, such as by the sea, by rivers, or in dense forests. The Shield Crab was the most typical example among them.
How could there be Carapaceons inhabiting such a hot and dry place as the Volcanic Region?
"You know?" Anxi'er seemed slightly surprised to hear Gordon's muttering.
"Know what?"
"These footprints."
"Oh, I used to hunt Daimyo Hermitaur. Its footprints are pretty much like this, two dense and regular rows of small pits. Well, they have many legs, don't they?"
"Daimyo Hermitaur? No wonder, it does have some resemblance." Anxi'er caressed the sharp edges of the small pits and said, "These are the footprints of a Scythe Crab. To be precise, a General Hermitaur."
After saying that, he hesitated for a few seconds, then finally continued, "It is my true objective for coming to the Volcanic Region."
"General Hermitaur? Your objective?" Gordon couldn't help but turn to Anxi'er. "You want to take it down and collect materials to make equipment?"
"Hmm, something like that," Anxi'er's tone was a bit low.
"You want to sneak ahead, kid," Gordon said with a wry smile. "General Hermitaur is a Four-Star Hunter monster, isn't it? Are you confident?"
What Gordon meant by "sneak ahead" was to hunt monsters above one's Hunter Rank and craft equipment by participating in exploration quests or exploiting loopholes in some quests where other large monsters would intrude.
The benefits of doing so were obvious.
For example, Anxi'er was currently a Three-Star Hunter. If he obtained weapons crafted from Four-Star Hunter monster materials in advance and then used them against Three-Star Hunter monsters, it would naturally be much easier.
However, the price of high reward was extremely high risk.
The Hunter's Guild's classification of monster danger levels was very rigorous and meticulous. A Four-Star Hunter General Hermitaur was a whole level stronger than a Three-Star Hunter Daimyo Hermitaur!
Gordon admitted that Anxi'er was very strong, but he should not have reached the level of a Four-Star Hunter yet.
What did a Four-Star Hunter represent?
It meant they had the strength to hunt Flying Wyvern like Rathalos, Female Fire Dragon, Horned Dragon, and Tigrex on their own!
In other words, the danger level of a General Hermitaur was on the same level as the Rathalos that almost killed Gordon back then.
"To be honest, I'm not very confident." After another brief silence, Anxi'er spoke.
Gordon was a bit speechless. "You're not confident and you still dare to sneak ahead? Are you tired of living? Besides, what's the rush? Can't you just steadily improve your strength?"
Anxi'er pulled down his hat brim, preventing Gordon from seeing his expression.
"I've been a Three-Star Hunter for over a year now," Anxi'er explained, a hint of helplessness in his words. "In this past year, I've made virtually no progress, from equipment to technique, it's all the same.
Over a year ago, Julius and I both became Three-Star Hunter at less than twenty years old, and everyone in East Doruma jokingly called us 'Twin Stars'.
And now, Julius has successfully hunted a General Hermitaur and been promoted to a Four-Star Hunter, while I'm still hovering at Three-Star, seeing no direction for improvement whatsoever."
Gordon let out a long sigh upon hearing this. "Ha—, Julius is that Dual Blades User you 'thought highly of', right? You really have a strong desire to win..."
Anxi'er shook his head, his tone serious. "No, I'm not trying to compete with anyone, nor do I want to prove anything. I just hope to break through this bottleneck I'm facing.
I want to push myself, using the General Hermitaur that Julius once faced, to push myself."
"So, the General Hermitaur's materials aren't the main point. You're not sneaking ahead for equipment, but rather to extract your potential in a desperate situation through fighting it, to force yourself to improve?" Gordon asked, crossing his arms and smiling.
"Exactly." Anxi'er gave Gordon a somewhat displeased look. "Is that funny?"
Knowing Anxi'er had misunderstood, Gordon waved his hand and said, "Of course not, hahaha, I'm just surprised that someone has a similar idea to me."
"Similar idea?"
"During the Trainee Hunter promotion quest, I encountered a Great Wild Boar King. After fighting desperately to defeat it, I found that my strength had improved significantly.
From then on, I knew that improving in desperate situations, though dangerous, was not an empty phrase."
Anxi'er looked up upon hearing this, his eyes filled with surprise.
Killing a Two-Star Great Wild Boar King during the Trainee Hunter period was not something just anyone could do.
"Sometimes, people just need to push themselves. Before learning to walk, why not try running first?"