With the lightning horn snapped, the lightning in the air lost its guidance and gradually dispersed.
Bai Chen immediately copied Kirin's abilities.
[Acquired Rarity-8 Skill "Lord of Lightning"; transferable target available.]
[Acquired Rarity-7 Skill "Lightning Mantle"; transferable target available.]
[Acquired Rarity-6 Skill "Elder Illusion Blood"; transferable target available.]
[Acquired Rarity-6 Skill "Pale Horn"; transferable target available.]
[Acquired Rarity-7 Skill "Phantom Horn Charge"; transferable target available.]
The Pale Horn was Kirin's electricity storage ability.
Out of the five skills, four could be learned by Zinogre.
│ "That guy really lucked out."
After copying the skills, Bai Chen looked down at the unconscious Kirin in his arms and felt conflicted.
The system quest required either capture or slaying to grant rewards.
Bai Chen had little interest in killing Kirin, and with Zinogre already present, investing resources into raising another Electric-type Elder Dragon felt unnecessary.
Moreover, aside from its Fairy attribute and some unique traits, Kirin did not greatly appeal to him.
Yet killing it outright or releasing it felt like a waste.
After some thought, Bai Chen took out blank monster balls and finally captured Kirin after using four of them.
Even if he did not plan to raise it seriously, a Phantom Beast was still worth keeping.
The system notification finally arrived.
[Congratulations: Skill Proficiency ×120,000; Rarity-7 Skill Enhancement Stone ×2]
Bai Chen released Kirin.
He used recovery potions and max potions to treat its injuries.
The Bond Stone emitted strands of azure light that wrapped around Kirin.
After establishing the connection, Bai Chen recalled Kirin into the ball again.
│ "Whether you obey or not can wait until I get back."
Bai Chen lowered his head to examine his own injuries.
He had never been this battered before.
His body was covered in wounds, large and small.
The deepest two had been inflicted by Kirin's Phantom Horn Charge, cutting down to the bone as golden blood continued to flow.
│ "Now that I think about it, Kirin's Phantom Beast Blood is also gold."
Kirin's blood could essentially be confirmed as a variant of Elder Dragon Blood, just thinner than that of typical Elder Dragons.
│ "I'll wait for the bleeding to stop before meeting the Field Master and the others."
Bai Chen did not want to expose the fact that his blood was gold.
He drank a large number of recovery potions.
After two to three minutes, Super Regeneration completely stopped the bleeding.
Full recovery would still take several more hours.
Grr—
The rapid depletion of stamina urged Bai Chen to replenish his energy.
From afar, he sensed the Field Master and Koen approaching.
As soon as they arrived, they were stunned by the devastation covering the ground.
│ "Is this really the level of destruction caused by hunting a monster?"
The Field Master scanned the area and only saw the pale lightning horn in Bai Chen's hand.
│ "Are you alright, and where is Kirin?"
│ "I'm fine, and Kirin escaped after being defeated."
As the Commander had said, Elder Dragons were sensitive matters, and raising one was even more so, so the fewer who knew, the better.
│ "What a shame."
The Field Master did not consider the possibility of capture at all, as such a thing was far too unbelievable.
After a brief rest, Bai Chen accompanied them to investigate the cave where Kirin had sheltered from the rain.
After an entire day of investigation, both finally obtained satisfactory data.
Bai Chen had Cosmog temporarily teleport them back to the research base.
He then directly teleported to Coral Village, to Zanza's home.
The elderly Ancient Wyverian stared at Bai Chen in disbelief as he returned.
And at the lightning horn in Bai Chen's hand.
He took a deep breath and asked in disbelief,
│ "Elder Bai Chen, did you really succeed in a solo challenge?"
Bai Chen lifted the monster ball at his waist.
│ "If you think it wasn't a solo victory, I can release Kirin and let you ask it yourself."
Zanza inhaled sharply as he stared at the monster ball.
Captured—he had really captured it.
With Nergigante already precedent, capturing Kirin was no longer completely unimaginable.
│ "T-truly worthy of Elder Bai Chen, gaining yet another powerful partner."
Bai Chen raised the lightning horn in his hand.
│ "Save the praise, I completed the challenge as requested, so where are my Iceblight Dragon materials?"
Capturing Kirin did not excite Bai Chen, but activating a monster egg and hatching Velkhana certainly did.
│ "Since Elder Bai Chen fulfilled the challenge, I will not go back on my word. Please follow me."
Zanza stood up and led the way.
Leaving the wooden house, Coral Village was built atop a massive Coral Highland, with towering cliffs providing natural defenses.
Most large monsters could not enter this place.
Even flying monsters avoided it due to the turbulent air currents.
The village was truly a natural sanctuary.
Zanza led Bai Chen to a cave sealed by a heavy iron gate.
Bai Chen carefully examined the gate and found it covered in a thick layer of solid frost.
Zanza took out a key and unlocked the chains.
He pulled the mechanism beside the door, but nothing happened.
After pulling it twice more with no response, Bai Chen stepped forward.
│ "The mechanism is frozen."
Placing both hands on the gate, Bai Chen pushed open the several-ton door by force.
The moment it opened, a chilling air that seemed capable of freezing the soul rushed outward.
Bai Chen was surprised to find frost already forming on his hair.
│ "So this is the power of Velkhana."
Zanza lit a gem lamp and guided him forward.
The tunnel walls were completely covered in ice crystals.
It felt like entering a world of ice and snow.
The deeper they went, the colder it became.
The chill pierced through flesh and straight into the bones.
Based on Bai Chen's knowledge, Velkhana was a true calamity of ice.
The Hoarfrost Reach had once been a volcano before becoming tundra.
In his previous life's game, the Research Commission had nearly abandoned the New World due to the cold brought by Velkhana.
Entering the largest chamber of the cave, Bai Chen saw a giant dragon sword nearly sixteen meters long.
The blade was slender like a rapier, and even after nearly a century, faint blue light still shimmered along it.
Bai Chen approached, looking at the sword resembling Velkhana's tail.
He raised his hand and activated telekinesis.
The massive sword was forcibly pulled from the ground.
Without ceremony, Bai Chen stripped two thick scales from the blade.
Watching a family heirloom have materials torn off so bluntly made Zanza's heart ache.
As Bai Chen took the scales into his grasp, a bone-chilling cold immediately seeped into him.
│ "This is the critical moment; let's see if centuries-old material can activate the gene egg."
Bai Chen opened the system and selected fusion with the egg.
[Ancient Dragon "Velkhana" gene fragment detected; fusion commencing.]
Bai Chen held his breath as he stared at the interface.
After four to five seconds, notifications rang out.
[Fusion complete; Common-grade Elder Dragon Egg activated.]
[Obtained "Velkhana Egg"][
│ "Success."
Bai Chen let out a long breath.
His efforts had not been in vain.
He did not immediately take out the egg.
He returned the great dragon sword to its original place.
He thanked Zanza sincerely.
│ "Thanks, Zanza, you really are my best friend."
After patting Zanza's shoulder, Bai Chen had Cosmog use teleportation, reappearing in the arena at Astera.
This arena had been assigned to him by the Commander, and no one could approach without permission.
Bai Chen glanced at the Basarios in the center of the arena, whose body had grown even larger and would likely awaken within days.
Turning away, Bai Chen instructed,
│ "Cosmog, could you bring me a cushion, please?"
│ "Mogu~"
Cosmog teleported away.
At that moment, the monster ball at Bai Chen's waist opened, and Nergigante emerged.
│ "Roar~"
She glanced at the monster ball containing Kirin.
│ "Yes, we gained another companion, but Kirin isn't the focus."
Bai Chen took out an Elder Dragon egg from system storage.
The egg was about the size of a basketball, similar to Nergigante's egg, but marked with sky-blue patterns.
│ "A phantom Elder Dragon, ruler of freezing cold, Velkhana."
Bai Chen murmured as he looked at the egg.
│ "Aside from having four legs and two wings, it doesn't look like a traditional dragon, more like a griffin, and I wonder if it can have Fairy attributes."
He drifted into thought.
If Velkhana was dual-typed, would it be Ice and Dragon, or Ice and Fairy?
Bai Chen was now confident that once Elder Dragon Blood reached higher stages, the holder could awaken Dragon-type traits.
Fairy-type, however, was extraordinarily rare in the Monster Hunter world.
Cosmog returned with a cushion.
│ "Mogu."
│ "Thanks."
Bai Chen gently placed the egg onto the cushion.
│ "Now all that's left is the Valstrax Dragon's egg."
Before returning, Bai Chen fully intended to obtain it as well.
│ "But before that, it's time to let Zinogre evolve."
Kirin's skills were secured, and it was time to create a Thunder God manually.
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