Seated at his desk,
Bai Chen stared at the nine names before him and began using the method of elimination.
"Chameleos can be set aside for now. I'm still not sure whether the New World even has confirmed traces of it. As for the other Elder Dragons—purely from an elemental standpoint—the Thunder-type Kirin and the Fire-types Teostra and Lunastra can also be excluded."
Kirin overlapped with Zinogre's Thunder attribute, while Teostra and Lunastra overlapped with Basarios's Fire alignment.
If he was choosing a new companion, it had to complement the team—not duplicate it.
That immediately removed four options.
"Kushala Daora should be Steel and Flying. If Ancient Dragon Blood adds Dragon typing at high proficiency, then it becomes Steel, Flying, Dragon. In that case, it's only weak to Ice—but it also possesses Ice-based attacks. It's unclear whether its weakness would be offset by skills or traits."
From a durability standpoint alone, Kushala Daora was exceptional.
And it had the lowest acquisition difficulty—he had already encountered it within the Ancient Forest.
All he needed was to gather some trace fragments to activate the dragon egg.
"Kushala can be my fallback option. Among the remaining four, Frost Kirin overlaps with Velkhana in attributes and is even rarer—so that one's out as well."
That left only three:
Vaal Hazak.
Namielle.
Velkhana.
"Vaal Hazak should be Ghost and Poison. Add Dragon typing from Ancient Dragon Blood, and that makes three attributes. Its habitat is fixed, and the difficulty is low."
After a brief pause, Bai Chen crossed Vaal Hazak's name off the list.
The reason was simple.
No matter how good the attributes were, he had no desire to turn his team into a walking biohazard.
Vaal Hazak constantly emitted toxic effluvia. Unless Bai Chen planned to isolate it completely, raising one would be nothing but trouble.
"That leaves Namielle and Velkhana."
These two were the ones he truly wanted.
Namielle—the master of surging waters.
Velkhana—the sovereign of absolute frost.
From a team-composition perspective, both were perfect fits.
"These two are really hard to choose…"
In terms of accessibility, Velkhana was far more difficult.
Namielle could be found around the Coral Highlands. With a few inquiries to the Elder Dragon researchers, Bai Chen could likely track it down.
Velkhana, however, resided in the Hoarfrost Reach.
A frozen landmass bordering the New World, eternally buried under snow and ice.
Bai Chen reflected silently:
"I remember Velkhana temporarily leaving the Hoarfrost Reach and entering the Elder's Recess when a certain monster awakened."
The Elder's Recess lay at the northernmost edge of the continent—beyond even the Coral Highlands.
A true sanctuary for Elder Dragons.
"But judging from the timeline, the story hasn't progressed that far yet. If I want Velkhana's genetic fragments now, I'll have to go to the Hoarfrost Reach."
Searching for Velkhana in an endless frozen wasteland—
The difficulty was self-evident.
Compared to that, Namielle was far more approachable.
After agonizing over it for a long time, Bai Chen decided to consult the Ancient Wyverians before making his final choice.
After all, Kushala Daora was still available as insurance.
Between Namielle and Velkhana, he would follow fate.
He murmured softly,
"Now that Zorah Magdaros is dealt with, it's time to check on the Valstrax Lead."
He had already received a map from Elder Yoomlana. Before returning to the Pokémon world, obtaining that Valstrax egg was non-negotiable.
Bai Chen unfolded the map Yoomlana had given him.
It was incredibly detailed.
Comparing it with the continental map, he saw that the location lay northwest of the Coral Highlands.
According to the markings, the area housed numerous high-rank monsters.
Average levels exceeded 60.
"Clearing it head-on is impossible. I'll have to sneak through. Since the Ancient Wyverians can track Vaslstrax, they must have methods to avoid monsters. I should learn from them."
With his itinerary set,
Bai Chen went to rest early that night.
The next morning, he made a special trip to the Astra.
To see Ira.
│ "Lord Bai! You really did it—you truly led the entire Commission to capture Zorah Magdaros!"
Her eyes were filled with admiration.
Before Bai Chen could deflect the praise, Ira continued,
│ "Please don't be modest. I've already heard about the battle. Without exaggeration, at least seventy percent of the success was thanks to you."
Telekinetically firing artillery.
Gigantifying Basarios to block Zorah Magdaros.
And even repelling Nergigante single-handedly.
Each was a decisive turning point.
│ "Haha, I just did what I could," Bai Chen replied.
For the Blank Ancient Dragon Egg, he truly had gone all out.
│ "By the way, are there new quests today?"
After yesterday's battle, the Commission had practically burned through all supplies.
There should have been plenty of new postings.
Ira handed him the registry.
│ "Yes, but most are still under review. It'll take a day or two before they're officially released."
Bai Chen skimmed through it.
As expected, the Command had issued numerous quests—mostly gathering missions—to replenish supplies.
│ "Lord Bai, are you planning to take a quest?" Ira asked.
│ "Not for myself. I'm picking tasks for Zinogre and the others."
He planned to head to the Coral Highlands next.
This time was for exploration, not combat.
There was no need to bring everyone along.
Rather than leaving them idle in monster balls, it was better to let them hunt and earn skill proficiency.
This time, Bai Chen would only bring Nebby and Nergigante.
Nergigante was the strongest combatant.
Cosmog possessed Teleport—the ultimate survival tool.
One important note:
Teleport was a Psychic-type move that Bai Chen and Indeedee could also learn.
However, unlike Cosmog's cross-regional teleportation, theirs was limited to three or four kilometers.
Fine for emergencies—but useless for long-distance travel.
│ "I see. In that case, I recommend these quests…" Ira said.
She carefully selected missions suitable for Zinogre and Basarios.
After accepting them all, Bai Chen divided the four who stayed behind into two teams.
Basarios and Tinkatuff formed one group.
With Tinkatuff's intelligence, Basarios's shortcomings were perfectly covered—they could even complete gathering quests.
Originally, Bai Chen had promised Basarios a full month of vacation after the Zorah Magdaros capture.
Basarios had fought like his life depended on it for that promise.
But the Monster Hunter world was special.
It was one of the few places where massive amounts of skill proficiency could be earned.
After much persuasion, Bai Chen postponed Basarios's vacation until they returned to the Pokémon world.
The second group was Indeedee and Zinogre.
Indeedee handled ranged support.
Zinogre handled melee combat.
As long as they didn't encounter high-rank monsters or Elder Dragons, failure was nearly impossible.
Inside the fourth-floor Gathering Hub, Bai Chen instructed Indeedee,
│ "Everyone's safety is in your hands. Don't push yourselves—quality over quantity."
│ "Fuu~" Indeedee nodded.
│ "Also, the Chef told me the Research Base trained a new cook. His mentor will return to Astera soon. Don't forget to learn feline cuisine—let Zinogre handle the quests alone if needed."
│ "Fuu!" Indeedee nodded again.
With everything settled at Astera,
Bai Chen departed for the Forest Village with Cosmog and Nergigante.
He needed information on Namielle and Velkhana.
Inside the Forest Village council hall.
Bai Chen first asked about knight training and Wyvernseed cultivation.
│ "The knight training is proceeding steadily," Yoomlana replied.
│ "The thirteen candidates you selected show remarkable resilience."
Bai Chen had already subdued a Rathalos, a Rathian, and a Nargacuga for them.
Hypnosis and taming were complete—only riders remained.
Yoomlana was now more convinced than ever that Bai Chen was their destined hero.
│ "Good. Once they pass their trials, I'll awaken their potential."
│ "As for seeds," Yoomlana continued,
│ "We've completed the first cultivation attempt. These trees struggle in New World soil, but we're adjusting conditions. Progress should come soon."
Due to Elder Dragon energies, plants grew rapidly in the New World.
What took months elsewhere matured here in weeks.
│ "No rush. Do your best. If it doesn't work, I'll find another way."
Finally, Bai Chen asked what mattered most.
│ "Namielle and Velkhana?"
│ "You mean the Tide Sovereign and the Frost Dominion Dragon?" Yoomlana asked.
│ "Yes—one controls water, the other cold."
│ "Our people have legends and sightings of both."
│ "When? Where?"
│ "Namielle was last seen seventeen Wyverian years ago. One tribe even relocated because of it. Velkhana's sighting was far older—about one hundred Wyverian years ago."
One Wyverian year equaled roughly three human years.
Bai Chen sighed softly.
He asked hopefully,
│ "Do you possess any Elder Dragon scales or sheds?"
Yoomlana shook her head regretfully.
│ "Elder Dragons are too dangerous. We avoid them—we don't collect their remains."
Bai Chen thought bitterly,
If I saw a legendary creature, I'd definitely keep a scale…
│ "Do you need them badly?" Yoomlana asked gently.
│ "Yes. Even a tiny fragment—preferably Velkhana or Namielle."
│ "We don't have scales," Yulan Yoomlana,
│ "But we do have weapons forged from their materials."
│ "Weapons?"
│ "One hundred Wyverian years ago, our former Elder repelled a Velkhana and forged a greatsword from its materials."
Bai Chen's eyes lit up.
Even if reforged materials couldn't activate the egg—
It was worth trying.
│ "May I extract a small fragment from it?"
Yoomlana hesitated.
│ "If it were my decision, I'd give you the sword outright. But it isn't."
Bai Chen sensed trouble.
│ "It belongs to your old friend—Zazna(Zaddi)."
│ "Zanza?" Bai Chen exclaimed.
His first Wyverian contact.
The one who guided him to Lagiacrus and led him to the Forest Village.
│ "Yes. He's the descendant of that Giant Wyverian. The sword is his family relic."
Bai Chen was stunned.
How does a Giant Wyverian even have descendants…?
Yoomlana quickly explained,
│ "Zanza is a collateral descendant. The Giant Wyverian raised him as a son."
│ "I see. Where is Zanza now?"
│ "He returned to the Coral Village recently."
Coral Village – Zanza's Home
│ "Impossible."
Zanza rejected Bai Chen outright.
│ "Even your request is unacceptable! That sword is a sacred relic."
Bai Chen smiled helplessly.
│ "I only need a tiny fragment."
│ "It represents my family's highest honor."
Bai Chen sighed.
Then smiled.
│ "You're standing before the greatest knight in history. My achievements will eclipse all Elder Dragons. Future Wyverians will revere me as legend itself."
Zanza froze.
│ "By helping me now, you become the benefactor of that legend."
Zanza faltered.
│ "I only need a little."
After a long silence, Zanza finally said,
│ "Prove yourself. Show me you deserve it."
│ "How?"
│ "Defeat the Phantom Beast—Kirin. Alone."
│ "Kirin!?"
│ "If you are truly a legend," Zanza said gravely,
│ "Then slaying the Thunder Phantom without your companions should be trivial."
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