The special training for underwater combat came to an end. The exhausted Altaïr and Jara returned to the village and slept soundly through the night. Soon, the Hunt against the Lagiacrus would begin.
The four Hunters, along with two Felynes and a Palamute, gathered to review their preparations.
There was little left to prepare in terms of weapons and armor, since they had already decided on their equipment before departing from Val Habar.
The only one who made any gear adjustments was Jara. Under the original plan, he had intended to use the Snake-Axe Spear [Crimson Armor Venom Fang] (Ioprey Glaive), a Poison Element weapon.
This was his most commonly used Insect Glaive, capable of releasing an extremely potent poison. By continuously stacking poison during a drawn-out fight with a Monster, he could steadily wear the Monster down. This was his preferred combat style.
However, on Az's advice, he ultimately chose his backup weapon: the Névé Frost (Zamtrios Glaive).
The Ice Element was one of the Lagiacrus's weaknesses, but that wasn't the main point. The key issue was that the Snake-Axe Spear's shape resembled a long-handled axe, suited for wide swings but not for thrusting attacks.
The Névé Frost was the exact opposite. This Insect Glaive took the form of a double-ended cross spear, making it highly suitable for piercing strikes and far better suited to underwater combat than the Snake-Axe Spear.
For armor, he chose the Gypceros X Armor Set, meticulously crafted from Gypceros materials. Jara truly loved this armor's broad, highly elastic design. With the purplish-blue rubbery leather, the pointed helmet, and his own round physique, the whole effect made him look even more like a plump seal.
His armor set didn't look as imposing as Altaïr's or the others'; it was even a bit comical. Yet it received unanimous praise from Az and Ursula.
The reason was simple. For one thing, the armor's streamlined lines were suitable for underwater combat. More importantly, its resistance to the Thunder Element was crucial.
The rubbery leather's excellent insulation (Thunder Res +20) meant that even if the wearer was struck by the Lagiacrus's electric shocks, they wouldn't suffer severe injuries.
In contrast, Altaïr and Nymera were practically textbook examples of what not to do.
Seregios and Rathian were both Monsters inherently weak to Thunder. Armor crafted from their materials had predictable Thunder resistance (-15 and -10, respectively).
Ursula specifically reminded the two of them to be extremely wary of the Lagiacrus's electric discharge attacks. If they took a direct hit, they would likely need Sajji and the others to drag them back to camp.
Sajji hadn't been seen much lately. After simply learning the basics of underwater activity, he vanished, shutting himself in his room and tinkering with something alone.
It wasn't until now, when he presented the finished products, that everyone understood.
The reason Sajji had been so "antisocial" recently was that he had discovered something excellent in Moga Village.
Fishing line!
Sajji's Rakna-Kadaki-series gear had never had any decent rope. Previously, he had painstakingly scraped some Ironsilk from the mouths of Nymera's two Wirebugs, hoarding it to eventually make a proper Ironsilk rope.
But during the battle against Arbiter Estrellian, Clawdia had casually used it to latch onto Arbiter Estrellian, and then it was blasted to ash by cannon fire.
After that, he had never found a suitable replacement and had to make do with a decent-quality steel cable filched from Teacher Naziya.
That type of steel cable was mostly used for the One-shot Binder rounds fired by Heavy Ballistas. It was certainly sturdy enough, but it was too heavy, severely affecting the range of the Rakna-Kadaki series, which prized portability.
Sajji had been agonizing over this until he saw a Sea People child use a fishing line so thin it was almost invisible to reel in a Gastronome Tuna that likely weighed over a hundred kilograms.
Excited, he sought out the fishermen and asked around, learning that the fishermen of Moga Village used Monster sinew to make fishing lines and nets. Through multiple steps of steaming, pounding, drying, and weaving, they could create these lightweight yet extremely tough thin lines.
Sajji then twisted and braided these thin lines together, producing a high-quality rope whose tensile strength rivaled steel cable while weighing less than half as much.
Then, with the fixed base Teacher Naziya had helped modify, Sajji magnificently completed Rakna-Kadaki Model-4!
To ensure it could play a decisive role in the Hunt, he used materials found in the village and on the nearby Deserted Island to cobble together a second Rakna-Kadaki Model-4 in just a few days.
Although its appearance wasn't as refined as the one made on a workbench with specialized tools, its performance was not inferior in the slightest.
Whether they could prevent, or at least delay, the Lagiacrus from entering the water during this Hunt all depended on those two devices now.
Isis and Nymera hadn't been idle these past few days either.
"This is the map we got from the Village Chief." Isis spread the two maps on the table. The drawing style wasn't standard, but it was certainly meticulous.
"There are two possible hunting grounds. Twenty-five kilometers to the west, there's a large island, even bigger than the Deserted Island here by Moga Village, covering an area of forty to fifty square kilometers."
"Because its shape looks like a drumstick, I'm calling it 'Drumstick Island'!"
Jara nodded heavily. "That name, I approve."
"..."
Altaïr and Nymera looked at the two of them, speechless.
"Alright, alright, we'll go with Moga Village's custom and call it 'Big Island' then." Isis pouted. "According to a Sea People Hunter from the village, there are definitely Lagiacrus on this island."
"Based on Lagiacrus habits, we should find nests in places like sea-cliff caves."
"But that Hunter also warned us that it's currently Lagiacrus breeding season, and the Lagiacrus that go to Big Island to build nests are basically all individuals that have found mates."
"Don't go charging into a Lagiacrus nest to Hunt; the target might turn from one Lagiacrus into two."
Altaïr crossed his arms and nodded. This intelligence was crucial. If carelessly overlooked, the Hunt's difficulty would more than double.
"Also, southeast of Moga Village, about thirty kilometers away as the crow flies, there's an atoll." Isis pointed to the other map.
"According to the village elders, the waters near that atoll are where Lagiacrus fight each other and seek mates."
"You could think of it as a Lagiacrus arena?"
"At this time of year, the probability of finding a Lagiacrus in those waters is practically one hundred percent. With a bit of luck, we might even stumble upon one that lost a fight and is gravely injured, and pick up an easy win."
"And if we're unlucky, we could get surrounded by a bunch of Lagiacrus, right?" Altaïr guessed what Isis was about to say next.
"Exactly." Isis nodded. "That Hunter's advice is to prioritize the big island. If we really can't find a suitable target there, then we go try our luck near the atoll. But we have to be extremely careful. If we stumble into a battlefield with two Lagiacrus, we might end up facing a joint attack."
Altaïr felt a headache coming on.
Lagiacrus were typically solitary creatures. Generally, you didn't have to consider facing multiple individuals at once. But for the Lagiacrus soft roe, they had no choice but to come during the breeding season, which increased the risk by more than a little. "My thinking is to take his advice and prioritize the big island. After all, it has wide stretches of solid ground. If we can lure a Lagiacrus far from the coastline, the fight will be much easier.
"Let's try to avoid the atoll if we can. There are too many uncertainties. A sea area where Lagiacrus gather sounds dangerous on its face."
"I concur," Nymera said, nodding from the side. "However, the Lagiacrus on the big island often appear in pairs. That remains extremely dangerous. Can we find a way to avoid that?"
After a moment of silence, Jara rubbed his chubby chin and spoke. "Actually, I have a somewhat half-baked idea..."
Altaïr, Isis, and Sajji all shuddered in unison.
They simultaneously recalled an incident from a few years ago, when Jara, then a 4-star Hunter, had led them, a bunch of 2-star and 3-star Hunters, to... trick and trap a Tigrex to its death.
"Please, by all means, tell us." Altaïr found himself speaking with involuntary politeness.
"First, we need to obtain Lagiacrus soft roe, so the target has to be a male Lagiacrus, correct?" Jara first brought up a point the others had almost overlooked.
Isis looked completely innocent. "Wait, female Lagiacrus don't have soft roe?"
No one took her bait. Jara continued, "What method could enrage a male Lagiacrus and lure it away, but not particularly interest a female Lagiacrus?"
Altaïr and Nymera exchanged glances, having no idea where he was going with this.
Jara rubbed his chubby hands together. "Lagiacrus aren't like Rathalos, the type devoted to a single mate. The right to mate with females is earned through competition.
"To find the strongest mate, a female Lagiacrus should be happy to witness competition between males.
"If we take something with the intense scent of another male Lagiacrus and stealthily approach the nest of a Lagiacrus pair..."
(Translated by yourtl.app)