Under the chilling gaze of Karin, the heckling Hunters pulled their heads in one by one and slunk back to their seats.
Altaïr, who had been tipsy but was not entirely drunk, met his teacher's eyes and felt the stench of alcohol surge out of his pores along with a cold sweat. With a sudden shudder, he felt himself snap mostly back to sobriety.
"T-Teacher Karin."
"Follow me." Karin didn't say anything more to Altaïr, simply spitting out those words coldly before heading up to the second floor of the Guild Hall.
Behind her, Haifa turned back to cast Altaïr a look that was a mix of "willing but unable to help" and pure schadenfreude.
Altaïr let out a dry laugh and, under the sympathetic gazes of the surrounding Hunters, followed in their footsteps to the second floor.
Having been active in Liber for over a year, Karin and Haifa had a long-term lease on a two-person Hunter Cabin on the second floor of the Guild Hall.
With their status as High Rank Hunters, they could have easily rented a much more luxurious room at a price they could perfectly afford, but neither of them was the type to seek out extravagance.
The two-bedroom suite spanned seventy square meters, containing a living room, two bedrooms, a private bathroom, and a dedicated storage room. However, it lacked excessive decoration, remaining simple and tidy.
There was only one chair in the living room; even the basic sofa was missing, likely moved out to make room for a carpet, a low tea table, and a cushion.
Their home in Loc Lac had been the same; sitting on the floor was a habit from his teacher's homeland, so Altaïr wasn't surprised.
"Sit." Karin pointed at the cushion.
Mostly sobered up now, Altaïr gave a dry laugh. "I'm fine standing–"
"Sit down," Karin repeated expressionlessly.
Altaïr had no choice but to kneel into a zen position on the cushion, hands braced on his thighs and his back rod-straight.
Sitting like this was certainly not comfortable; it was even more exhausting than standing.
When he had made mistakes as a child, Teacher Karin usually wouldn't resort to physical discipline. Instead, she would make him perform zen like this while she sat opposite him to reason with him.
Nearly an hour passed before Karin's lecture, covering the dangers of binge drinking, the hazards of alcohol to the body, and the lack of self-control, finally came to an end.
Haifa sat in the room's only chair with her arms crossed, listening with great relish.
Karin had lectured her with these same words countless times, but being lectured oneself and watching someone else get lectured were two entirely different experiences.
Altaïr's intoxication had completely vanished. He sighed inwardly; in all these years, this was the only time he had carelessly gotten drunk, and he just happened to get caught by Teacher Karin.
Saying that aloud would sound like a petty excuse no matter how he phrased it, and would likely invite even more scolding, so he decided the wisest move was to keep his mouth shut and listen.
Once the lecture concluded, the tension in Karin's face finally softened slightly. "What brings you here?"
Altaïr, thinking he had finally made it through, massaged his numb calves and shifted into a more comfortable cross-legged position. "I just finished a hunt. Isis went back to her hometown in Dundorma to visit relatives, so I came over to check in."
"In short, you missed your 'mom,' didn't you?" Haifa said with a grin, lounging sideways in her chair.
This earned her two cold glares, identical enough to have been cast from the same mold, from Karin and Altaïr. After glaring at her nonsense-spouting friend, Karin paused for a couple of seconds before speaking. "The natural environment in Liber is harsh; it's not exactly a place suited for sightseeing.
Haifa and I probably won't have time to take you around, either. You can wander about on your own for a few days, but if you find it boring, there's no harm in heading back early."
Altaïr gave an affirmative grunt. "I'm relieved just to see that you're doing well, Teacher. We aren't really used to the weather here anyway, so we probably won't stay long."
Haifa and Sajji looked at each other in disbelief.
This pair of teacher and disciple... mother and son? Their personalities were identical; neither wanted to be a burden to others.
Karin didn't need Altaïr to waste time here just to "show his devotion," and Altaïr had no intention of causing extra trouble for his busy teacher and adoptive mother.
The two of them acted with such detachment, as if a brief greeting was enough and he would leave tomorrow, that it gave Haifa and Sajji a collective headache.
"You have to at least have a meal together, meow!"
"Aren't you two going to have a proper talk about what you've both been through?"
"It would be good to learn a few more moves from your two teachers, meow!"
"Take him to the hunting grounds and check on the results of your disciple's training over the past two years!"
Haifa and Sajji chimed in one after another, leaving Karin and Altaïr looking a bit dazed.
"Is that necessary?"
"Is there a need for that?"
"Of course!"
"Obviously, meow!"
Facing the inexplicably aggressive woman and cat, Karin and Altaïr backed down.
After a moment of silence, Karin finally thought of a topic. "Whether it's the Long Sword or the Dual Blades, there is a relatively high demand for elemental weapons.
How is your collection of elemental weapons coming along?"
Feeling like his homework was being checked, Altaïr said bashfully, "I have a Thunder element Eager Cleaver, and a pair of Sleep Element Nerscylla Sword and Shield."
As if realizing himself that this sounded a bit unreliable, Altaïr quickly added, "I also have some Plesioth materials. I was planning to make them into Dual Blades, but I haven't gone to the smithy to place the order yet."
This line of communication put Karin back in her element. She frowned and asked, "Nerscylla? You've already promoted to 4★?"
"You didn't even write to tell your teacher about that, meow?!"
Ignoring Sajji's shouting from the side, Altaïr nodded in affirmation.
"Your progress is slow. You aren't a support-style Hunter; you can push status weapons like sleep or paralysis to the back burner. Prioritize crafting fire, ice, and water elements weapons first.
The Sharpness of the Thunder element Eager Cleaver is on the low side. The materials needed to upgrade it further are... never mind, that Monster is still far beyond your current strength. You'd be better off setting your sights on Zinogre.
For Fire Element, obtaining the Kut-Ku Pair shouldn't be difficult for you, but for the sake of the future, it's best to choose between Rathalos and Glavenus weapons. The materials from both are suitable for making Long Swords. As for Dual Blades, Agnaktor is the best choice.
Ice and water elements are easier to handle. Generally speaking, Monsters that fear extreme cold don't like water much either. The Cool Cleavers, which possess both ice and water elements, are your best bet. Zamtrios can be found in the nearby hunting grounds.
On that note, while your Iron Gospel is still usable at 4★, it's falling slightly behind. For raw weapons, a Nargacuga Long Sword is a solid choice." "What about the Dragon Element?" Altaïr asked tentatively.
Karin gave a very blunt reply. "You don't need to worry about Dragon Element weapons right now."
"Fair enough."
Teacher Karin had practically thought of everything for him; he now had a solid idea of which targets he should prioritize hunting from here on out.
"Wait a second?!" Haifa couldn't help but cry out. "Aside from Zamtrios being a 4★ Monster, aren't Zinogre, Rathalos, Glavenus, Agnaktor, and Nargacuga all 5★ Threat Level creatures?"
Hearing her shout, Altaïr and Karin both turned to look at her as if she were an idiot.
According to the new regulations implemented after the Guild's restructuring a few years ago, a Hunter is permitted to participate in hunts for Monsters one star rank higher than their own, provided they are led by a senior of a higher rank.
Take Nymera's Rathalos Cannon, for instance; she had slowly gathered the materials for it by tagging along with higher-ranked parties.
Under their shared gaze, Haifa quickly realized the situation. "You aren't planning on taking Altaïr along to hunt Zinogre and Rathalos and the rest, one by one, are you?"
That was exactly what Karin had been thinking.
With her level of skill, 5★ Threat Level Monsters posed little difficulty, and a 4★ Altaïr could no longer be considered a complete burden; he certainly possessed basic self-preservation skills.
Only after Haifa's reminder did she realize that Altaïr was no longer the young apprentice of years past, and that Zinogre and Rathalos were not small Monsters like Genprey or Vespoids that could be found anywhere.
Was doing this perhaps a bit inappropriate?
Though he had sobered up, Altaïr's spirit remained somewhat hyperactive. "There's no need for you to take down the Monsters, Teacher. You just need to be there to back me up.
I want to test my own strength and see how much of a gap still remains between me and those true 5★ Monsters!"
He hadn't expected this visit to his teacher to yield such an opportunity. This was it!
"No!"
This time, without Haifa needing to say a word, Karin refused sternly without a second thought. "You're going to behave yourself and go hunt 4★ Monsters like you're supposed to!"
(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.
MONSTERS
Agnaktor — A Piscine Wyvern adapted to volcanic environments, capable of boring through magma and rock using its drill-like beak. It possesses a powerful Fire element, making its materials highly sought after for crafting fire-attribute weapons, particularly Dual Blades. Its armored hide hardens when cooled, requiring hunters to exploit the brief moments when its body remains soft and vulnerable.