"So Boss, what are we supposed to do with this guy, meow?" Sajji asked, looking back at Altaïr while gesturing toward the Duramboros lying in a deep, trap-induced stupor.
Altaïr was currently stomping his foot, trying to shake off the numbness.
Isis hadn't put her full strength into that kick just now, but that was only "not full strength" relative to her own standards. If she truly unleashed her full power, she could send a person flying.
Consequently, even through his armor, Altaïr's shin was still thumping with a painful numbness.
Fortunately, Isis's temper flared fast and faded faster. After the kick, she immediately bowed in apology, shouted a resonant "I'm sorry!" and then ran off with Sajji to gawk at the slumbering Duramboros.
It left Altaïr with no opening to even try and reason with her.
Glancing at the depressed Altaïr with an amused look, Nymera smiled and asked, "The primary objective has been achieved. What are the plans for the secondary objective?"
Altaïr understood her meaning.
Tranq Ammo puts a Monster into a deep sleep, but a deep sleep isn't death. If subjected to intense enough stimulation, there was always a chance it could wake from its coma.
And what counted as intense stimulation? Taking that massive Tail Hammer, nearly two meters thick, and cutting through it bit by bit, from the hide to the muscle, the blood vessels, and finally the bone and nerves, certainly qualified as "intense."
Setting aside whether the creature would wake up, the act of severing the tail alone would likely keep them busy until late at night.
"Can't we just take the whole Duramboros back?" Isis suggested. "The workshop owner uncle wants to observe a complete Tail Hammer. Instead of just the tail, wouldn't it be better if we brought him a whole Duramboros?"
Altaïr gave her a speechless look. "How would we get it back? If it were just the Tail Hammer, the payload capacity of the Airship we arrived in might just barely be enough.
At worst, we could have the Airship transport the tail back first while we found another way home.
But a whole Duramboros weighs over a hundred tons. Even a large-scale airship might not be able to carry that load. Do you honestly expect to carry it back on your back?"
Isis shook her head frantically.
She could carry a hundred kilograms, but a hundred tons... she'd pass on that.
"So, are we gonna off him first and then carve for materials, meow?" Clawdia asked, licking her paw.
In many cases, capturing isn't necessarily done to bring a Monster back alive, but rather to hunt more efficiently.
Between a Monster that is critically wounded and nearing death but capable of a desperate counterattack at any moment, and a Monster that is unconscious and immobile, the latter is obviously easier to deal with.
Facing Clawdia's question, Altaïr was inclined to nod.
After all, this Duramboros had been roasted over and over again; its hide was scorched and its meat was half-cooked. Never mind the immense effort and cost required to transport it; there was a high chance it would just die halfway there.
Even if they overcame all obstacles and somehow managed to get it back to Metapetatto alive, the Guild likely wouldn't purchase the entire specimen. Since the city of Metapetatto had only recently been rebuilt, it didn't even have an Arena yet, making a live Monster of this scale useless.
By the time they paid the transportation fees themselves, the costs would probably be several times higher than the total value of the materials they could extract. No matter how he looked at it, it wasn't worth it. It would be better to just kill it now, harvest whatever salvageable materials they could carry, and head back. It would be easier and far more cost-effective.
But as his gaze fell upon the Duramboros once more, the word "fine" died in his throat.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he spoke up. "Do you think we should write a letter to the Guild reporting this Duramboros's condition?"
"Reporting?" Isis tilted her head.
Nymera was quicker to catch on. "You mean, regarding the black mist?"
"Yeah. We haven't been Hunters for that long, but we've seen our fair share of Monsters, and I've never seen anything like this. Is it a rare individual case? Or is it being influenced by environmental factors?
The scholars might be very interested in this Duramboros, though a report doesn't really offer us any direct benefits."
"I agree!" Isis raised her hand. "Or why don't we just send an express letter to the Professor? That would skip all the bureaucratic steps of reporting it up the chain, wouldn't it?"
"Good point."
"The Professor?" Nymera asked curiously.
"A Wyverian scholar we met a while back. He holds positions in the Royal Paleontology Scriveners, the Royal Academy, and several other academic institutions. He seems to be quite high-ranking," Altaïr explained briefly.
"I see."
Seeing that his companions had no objections, Altaïr took out the SOS Flare used to notify the Airship and fired it into the sky. "The Airship should have carrier pigeons on board; we'll borrow one from the pilot.
Luckily, we aren't too far from the temporary camp. It looks like we'll be taking turns guarding this guy for a few days."
After waiting for less than an hour, the small Airship arrived above them.
The bad news was that the Airship wasn't carrying any carrier pigeons. The good news was that the pilot very proactively took on the burden of being a messenger, intending to fly the Airship to Dundorma himself to deliver the letter.
According to him, chances to visit Dundorma on the company dime were rare, and if this was reported, the Hunter's Guild headquarters might even credit the Metapetatto Guild with a significant achievement.
They watched the dutiful pilot depart, and by the time the Airship vanished over the horizon, the sky had turned completely dark.
Altaïr lit a campfire not far from the Duramboros. The moment the flames flared up, the Duramboros, which should have been in a deep coma, actually let out a low grunt.
The Hunters were startled into drawing their weapons.
After confirming several times that it was just a fluke, Altaïr, still a bit shaken, moved the fire further away from the Duramboros to prevent the dancing flames from agitating the poor brute.
Isis and Nymera returned to the temporary camp once to bring back camping gear.
Altaïr stayed behind to keep watch, ensuring that roaming small Monsters, like Jaggi, wouldn't try to scavenge the Duramboros's "corpse."
Even though the creature wasn't dead, it barely had a few breaths left in it. If it were swarmed by Velociprey or a Jaggi pack, it might end up being miserably eaten alive in its nightmares.
"Good work, here's some refreshment." Nymera smiled as she handed Altaïr a palm-sized leaf-wrapped bundle. "If you do not care for cold food, it tastes even better if lightly toasted."
Altaïr didn't have to guess what was inside; Isis was already standing nearby with a bamboo skewer in her mouth.
"Thanks..." Altaïr accepted the package with a practiced smile. To be honest, having just finished a hunt, he wasn't exactly craving these overly sweet Dango.
He would have preferred roast meat, grilled fish, or something else with a bit more savor; at the very least, a warmed-up ration would do, wouldn't it?
But could he really reject his teammate's kindness? Of course not. Fine, Dango it was. Even if he wasn't quite used to the flavor, at least they were filling and easier to swallow than a dry ration.
Just as Altaïr opened the leaf wrapper and picked up a skewer of Bunny Dango to take a bite, Isis, still clutching a bamboo skewer between her teeth, suddenly blurted out, "Wait!"
"?" Altaïr looked up at her instinctively, his mouth still half-open.
"I brought this!" Isis held up a hide knapsack.
Altaïr recognized it immediately. It was his bag, or more accurately, the bag he used to carry his cookware, seasonings, and recipes.
He usually took this bag to the hunting grounds and left it at the camp so he could prepare something a bit more delicious than basic roast meat before and after a hunt.
Isis treated this bag with even more reverence than Altaïr did himself.
She had even once made the ridiculous suggestion of carrying the cookware bag into the field during the hunt. According to her, that way they could cook gourmet food whenever and wherever they wanted.
She'd offered to carry it herself if Altaïr found it too cumbersome, a proposal Altaïr had sternly rejected.
*If you're going to carry that much extra weight, you might as well pack two more Wyrmstake Cannons.*
"Big sister Nymera has made Dango for several meals now. We can't keep troubling her to cook every single time. Why don't you handle dinner tonight?" Isis, who was usually blunt, had actually learned how to be indirect.
*This girl has probably grown tired of eating Dango just like I have, hasn't she?*
Altaïr took the cookware bag. "I don't mind making something, but I didn't prepare any ingredients for this trip. I'll have to start from scratch.
What do you want to eat? Should I go gather some mushrooms in the Jungle? Track down a Kelbi? Or maybe grab a few fish from the stream?"
Isis looked left and right, appearing to catch a scent. She gave a few hard sniffs before her gaze finally landed on the slumbering Duramboros.
"Say... is Duramboros edible? It's so big, it shouldn't matter if we eat just a little bit, right?"
Altaïr: "?"
What happened to all that pity and sympathy you had for it earlier?
(Translated by yourtl.app)
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TL NOTES — LORE SECTION
Some terms and creatures referenced in this story may be unfamiliar to readers new to the Monster Hunter universe. The following entries provide additional context.
ITEMS
SOS Flare — A signal device carried by hunters to request urgent assistance or notify nearby support. When fired into the sky, it produces a bright flare visible at long range, allowing an Airship crew, the Hunter's Guild, or allied hunters to locate and respond to the distress signal.