The next day, outdoor adaptation training immediately commenced.
Since the assimilation ability was only for inverted floating, there was no real danger.
It was just that the control of airflow was not yet proficient, and it was easy to get stuck when encountering terrain obstacles.
So the team decided to take the Flame Fire to the wilderness to train in the air.
At noon, Li Fan tied a cable to the mast and then looked up at the sky, shouting, "Eudora! Is this height okay?"
"It's fine, the cable can be let out a bit longer."
Eudora, wearing four Wind-Rage gear pieces and suspended upside down in mid-air, gave an affirmative response.
"Got it!"
Li Fan let out the cable another three meters and then summoned the Naughty Little Dumbbells.
"Most monsters don't dare to approach the Flame Fire, but you still need to be vigilant. This time, the main focus is on the cable. If it breaks unexpectedly, stop Eudora immediately, otherwise no one will know where she'll drift off to."
Li Fan gave his instructions.
"Roar!"
The Naughty Little Dumbbells responded in unison.
"Dilo, you have the Wind Pouch Clouds, so you'll be in charge of delivering food. If a crisis occurs, you can also help to stop her."
"Okay, meow! ...But who will take care of your adaptation training?"
Dilo asked curiously.
"The Thunder Set can't float, so I just need to practice inverted standing on the deck."
Li Fan said, then placed a double layer of pillows on the deck and put on the Narukami Helm.
*Clang!*
With the violent impact of the helm, the planks laid on the deck surface were lifted.
"Uh... you got the direction wrong, meow. Doesn't it hurt?"
Dilo asked with concern.
"It's fine... the pillows are for supporting books. Please bring me the Complete Guide to Abandoned Shrine Plants, thank you."
Li Fan forced a smile.
Leisure time passed quickly. After four days of adaptation training.
Eudora gradually mastered the technique of hovering and maneuvering in the air using the Wind-Rage gear.
When practicing in a ground environment, she could now turn and escape when her back was against a mountain wall, suspended upside down.
As for Li Fan, with each additional piece of Narukami gear he wore, the force of his inverted headbutt increased.
In the early morning, the sky was covered with dark clouds.
Li Fan, carrying the Narukami gear, opened the cabin door and came onto the deck.
At the end of the cable connected to the sky, Eudora, who was tied to it, was sleeping suspended in the air, looking quite peaceful.
Glancing at the various cross-shaped plank patches on the deck, Li Fan decided to go to the ground for practice, and then descended into the jungle with Dilo along the cable.
During this period, various monsters had been emerging from the sea.
Perhaps for ecological balance, or perhaps because the monsters had given their all in the fight against the Thunder Serpent.
Flame Village and the Guild had jointly issued a temporary hunting moratorium, and even built a floating bridge on the coast to help the monsters return quickly.
"It hurts."
After landing, Li Fan rubbed his sore neck.
If the Great Sword focused on arm strength training, and the Lance on the lower body and legs, then the Narukami Set undoubtedly focused on the shoulders and neck.
However, the application of the shoulder and neck area was extremely rare in the Monster Hunter world.
After all, even if the headbutt was trained to its peak, it would be difficult to contend with the monsters' limbs.
But since it was part of the adaptation training, and a sudden headbutt against a monster might have a miraculous effect.
"One piece of adaptation per day, today is the fifth chest piece."
Li Fan said, looking at his logbook.
"Today you can wear the whole set, meow!"
Dilo cheered.
After putting on the helmet, Li Fan didn't immediately go inverted. He only tilted his head slightly.
Then, after putting on the other three pieces of Narukami gear, he only increased the angle of his neck tilt.
"How does it feel, meow?"
"Good, I can still take it. Come on."
Li Fan felt that the negative effect of this twisted neck was much milder compared to the urge to slash people from the Zinogre.
The worst-case scenario was that he couldn't control it and his body would invert.
"Then... I'm coming, meow!"
Dilo picked up the Narukami chest piece and fastened it onto Li Fan.
She quickly moved to his back, tightened the straps, and then connected the locking clasps.
*Click! Rumble!*
As the last clasp clicked shut, a muffled thunderclap sounded in the clouds.
After staring at the dark clouds for a moment, Dilo immediately ran back in front of Li Fan.
At this point, his tilted head was already resting on his shoulder.
"Are you okay, meow?"
"Pretty good... do I look strange like this?"
"No, meow... you look very imposing."
Dilo said, scratching her cheek with her paw and glancing sideways at the sky.
"I look stupid, don't I?"
"Uh... a little bit, meow."
Dilo said cautiously.
Li Fan felt that although the negative effect was relatively mild and his twisted neck didn't feel uncomfortable, his appearance was indeed too bizarre.
"We have plenty of time now anyway. I'll leave when I've fully adapted."
Li Fan decided, then took out a jade coin worth ten thousand z from his bag.
"Dilo, guess. Human or dragon facing up?"
"Dragon, meow!"
*Ding! Hum... Snap!*
Li Fan flicked the jade coin with his thumb and caught it on the back of his hand.
"I guessed human."
Li Fan said, then moved his hand.
"I guessed wrong, meow. It's the side with the human carving."
Dilo's cat ears drooped, and she said in disappointment.
"Let's go again."
After flipping the jade coin ten more times, Dilo only guessed correctly once.
"What's going on, meow? My luck has always been good."
Dilo sighed, looking down.
"This is the potential ability achieved by wearing the complete Narukami gear and maximizing the alignment of the thunder patterns. In simple terms, the wearer's luck will be very good."
"Does such an ability really exist, meow?"
Dilo said in disbelief.
"Honestly, I can't understand it either, but it's really happening."
Li Fan affirmed.
Although the Monster Hunter world often had various crossovers.
Gravity, sound waves, and energy properties were also vastly different from what was perceived.
But after deeply understanding and learning about it, Li Fan felt that it was still self-contained.
Therefore, the disturbance of luck on reality seemed particularly abrupt.
"If we use this ability to participate in the Guild's lottery, we'll definitely get something great, meow."
Dilo said with anticipation.
"What's the grand prize?"
"A bottle of G-rank Dash Juice, meow!"
Dilo exclaimed.
"Then it's better to just hunt and buy it with the reward money. Besides, if we win the grand prize, what about the others..."
Li Fan stopped speaking, realizing something was amiss.
The concept of luck, if used for lotteries, might not target oneself, but rather others who are also participating in the lottery.
Could it be that the way "Strong Luck" is realized is by plundering or erasing the luck of others?
Although Li Fan's speculation had no basis, it was very much in line with the characteristics of the Wind Serpent and the Thunder Serpent.
Thanks to the Cloud Dew Equal Distribution ability of the Narukami Set being activated, Li Fan successfully wore a complete set of monster equipment for the first time, and it was an Elder Dragon level set.
"I need a few more Expert Jewels. Speed Sharpening Jewels are out of the question, this set is meant to be worn with the Narukami Divine Blade, and it doesn't even have a scabbard."
Li Fan, with his twisted neck, noted down the decorations he needed.
After planning his equipment, he checked the status of the monsters on his handheld device.
The Great Jaggi's injuries had mostly healed, and Li Fan decided it was time for them to meet and communicate.
The reason they hadn't interacted until now was mainly due to the strong intelligence-reducing effect of "Hunger's Unruliness," so they had to wait for its intelligence to slowly recover to its maximum.
"Dilo, Great Jaggi is a monster that is extremely difficult to subdue, so we need to act tough and project an extremely fierce image later."
Li Fan instructed, then inserted the Narukami Divine Blade into the ground, placed his hand on the hilt, and struck a pose he thought was imposing.
"I'll do my best, meow!"
Dilo pondered for a moment, climbed onto the Wind Pouch Clouds, raised her paws high, bared her fangs, and let out a roar.
"Roar, meow!"
"Good, that's the spirit."
Li Fan felt ready and threw a Poké Ball, and the Great Jaggi immediately appeared.
One of its helmet horns was broken, a gaping wound ran across its left face, and its entire carapace was uneven.
Although its physical injuries had healed, the Great Jaggi's current appearance was particularly pathetic, as if it were still severely injured.
"Roar, meow!"
Dilo roared, attracting the Great Jaggi's attention.
A person with a twisted neck, and an Felyne floating in the air.
The Great Jaggi had no interest in this person and cat.
However, its right eye shifted its gaze for a moment, then suddenly turned back to stare at Li Fan.
The Great Jaggi vaguely felt that it had seen this person with the twisted neck somewhere before.
The aura emanating from his armor was even more familiar.
Because every time he sensed this aura approaching, it meant the Frenzy was coming.
"Roar..."
The Great Jaggi walked slowly a few steps away, and upon seeing Li Fan clearly, it bent its two forearms and collapsed onto the ground.
Seeing the Great Jaggi's head lowered to the ground as if bowing, Li Fan and Dilo exchanged glances, deeply surprised.
Does this mean it recognizes me? That easy?
This scene was not within Li Fan's expectations.
"You have completed the trial. From now on, stay by my side."
Li Fan said coldly.
"Roar! Roar..."
The Great Jaggi responded, lowering its head even further.
"Do you have brothers who also want to join? Heh heh..."
I can't make this up. Is there any outside help?
"Those are the emissaries I dispatched, precisely to help you pass the trial."
The Great Jaggi suddenly looked up, appearing very shocked.
"Brother Lei, Xi Xi, Naughty, Ye Ye, those are your brothers' names, right?"
"Roar!" The Great Jaggi excitedly stood up.
"What kind of title is 'Twisted Neck Immortal'..."
Li Fan was speechless.
He hadn't even called the Great Jaggi "Fat Tiger" yet, and the other party had already given him a nickname.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
"Twisted Neck Ancestor, Side Pillow Demon God... What is all this nonsense? My name is Li Fan, not an immortal ancestor or a demon god."
Li Fan explained.
"Roar..."
The Great Jaggi lowered its head hesitantly to ponder, but soon let out a roar of realization.
"It's not about being low-key... Forget it, think whatever you want. In any case, you'll be acting with the team from now on, and I'll guide you to become stronger."
"Roar!" The Great Jaggi lowered its head again.
"As for your name, let's continue to call you Great Jaggi."
The other party was petty, and Li Fan didn't want to be backstabbed over a name issue in the future.
The communication went exceptionally smoothly, far exceeding expectations. After putting the Great Jaggi into a Poké Ball, Li Fan returned to the Flame Fire and began planning for the future.
First, the Steel Serpent must be dealt with. The primary reason is naturally for Eudora, and secondly, the threat of mutated Elder Dragons is too great.
However, due to the lack of tracking information, he would have to contact the Guild.
In addition, he needed to find a place to craft decorations suitable for the Narukami gear.
Li Fan examined the map closely for a moment and soon focused his gaze on a city-state in the center called Dondruma.
"The center of the world, Guild headquarters, that's where I'll go... but before that, I need to straighten my neck."
Li Fan said with anticipation.
Twelve days later, at noon.
The Flame Fire hovered above a giant city wall, slowly advancing among the airship fleet.
From a high-altitude perspective, the mottled surface of the giant city wall was covered with various damage marks such as burn marks, claw marks, cracks, and missing sections.
However, once they crossed the city wall, they could see many towering towers neatly arranged along the wide streets that traversed the city-state, giving it a very prosperous appearance.
And this straight road, which could not be ignored, connected the two city gates at the front and back of the city-state.
Its height was not level with the city-state's road surface; it descended in a stepped manner.
In the uppermost area, several railway tracks carrying rail cars could be seen.
"Eudora, is this the Battle Street?"
Li Fan asked, holding a telescope.
"That's right! This is Dondruma's Battle Street. If the interception outside the city fails, the entire city-state will enter a state of battle to resist."
Eudora introduced with great pride.
Li Fan looked at the tallest tower-like building in the city and saw the red flag with white patterns hanging on it, and he knew it was the Guild headquarters.
The sky filled with airships, rail cars transporting goods, and dense crowds on the streets.
The current state of Dondruma, accustomed to villages and fortified settlements, was somewhat shocking to Li Fan.
The people in the monster world were not incapable of building large city-states.
It was just that the larger the city-state was built, the more easily it would be attacked by monsters.
The harsh living environment ultimately led to villages becoming mainstream.
It was incredible for a city-state to stand for a long time and develop to such a scale.
"This is too prosperous."
Li Fan couldn't help but exclaim.
"Haha, it's okay... Oh! My home is over there!"
Eudora laughed heartily and pointed in a direction.
"It's a bit far from the city center."
"That's the designated residential area. The city center is generally for shops and combat facilities. Living there is not only noisy but also not safe enough."
Eudora explained.
"That's true, the Battle Street is in the city, and if a fight breaks out, it will definitely be affected."
Li Fan observed for a moment and agreed.
The core commercial district here not only served to develop commerce but also to fight monsters in times of crisis.
After waiting in line for an hour suspended in the air, the Flame Fire finally docked in the hangar. The familiar Hunter and Eternal were waiting in the hangar.
Li Fan observed and saw a familiar blue flag with white patterns hanging on top of a medium-sized airship.
Eudora, who had disembarked from the airship, followed Li Fan's gaze and said with some surprise, "It's a ship from the Dragon Calendar Institute."
"That person is Devlin!"
Li Fan quickened his pace and waved at him.
"Devlin!"
"Hmm?... Li Fan!"
Devlin adjusted his glasses and was pleasantly surprised to see Li Fan.
The two reunited at the hangar platform, rushing towards each other.