"No."
Shilin refused very solemnly.
"Why?"
"Well... there's a fundamental difference between a three-star mission and a four-star mission. The danger level is far beyond your imagination. If the standards aren't met, the contract absolutely cannot be provided to a hunter team."
Shilin explained in a low voice.
"Then... Eudora, you go ahead."
Li Fan shifted to the side, and Eudora stepped forward, placing the four-star hunting badge on the counter.
Shilin looked troubled and explained, "Missions above four stars not only require a contract fee but are also much more dangerous than three-star missions. Miss Eudora, are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"
Due to their recent active performance, most of the villagers were aware of the composition of Li Fan's hunting team.
The setup of two people and one cat made Shilin inevitably worried.
"Thank you for the reminder, but there's no need to reconsider. If we only take on three-star missions, it won't help with the five-star hunter assessment," Eudora replied.
"Alright then."
Shilin said, retrieving a thick book with four stars on its cover from under the counter.
The book's cover was encircled by two crossed chains, with two small padlocks at the intersection.
Shilin used the key from her pendant to unlock one of the locks, then called over Jenna, who used her key to unlock the second one.
*So formal...*
Li Fan was a little surprised by the guild's seriousness regarding four-star missions.
"Please take a look. Also, I must solemnly remind you that for all the contracts listed below, the guild only recommends that all four members of the team be four-star or higher hunters."
Shilin turned the book towards Eudora, giving another solemn reminder.
Li Fan wasn't surprised by this reminder.
After the Moonlit Duet, many three-star hunters in Kalara Village had been promoted to four stars.
However, there hadn't been a large-scale acceptance of four-star missions in the guild.
The daily missions taken were still primarily two-star and three-star ones posted on the bulletin board.
The main reason for this was the drastic increase in hunting danger.
Of course, this situation was not limited to four-star hunters. Five-star hunters also focused on three-star missions in their daily activities.
Generally, only when villages in nearby areas were in distress and urgent missions were posted for joint hunts would enough hunters be attracted to participate in four-star and five-star missions.
Therefore, it was abnormal for the guild when a hunter, newly promoted to four stars, rushed to accept four-star missions.
Black Wolf Bird, Ghillie, Night Bird, Sharp-Claw Crab, Great Jagras, Anjanath, Barroth, Barioth...
Eudora flipped through the contract pages at an extremely fast pace, as if she had already decided which monster to hunt.
*Swish!* Eudora's hand suddenly stopped, and she pointed to a contract page, saying, "This one!"
Shilin leaned in and said in surprise, "This contract is for... the Queen of the Land!"
"That's right, we're hunting a Rathian. This is a 3000z contract fee."
Eudora said, taking out her money pouch.
"Wait a moment, Miss Eudora, are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"
Shilin said, quickly giving Li Fan a look.
She motioned for him to persuade Eudora, but Shilin had no idea that Li Fan was the one who had suggested hunting a Rathian.
"Yeah, you should be careful. Four-star missions are no joke," Li Fan said, starting to help count the coins.
Shilin's face turned dark.
"I'm sure."
With Eudora's insistence, Shilin could only retrieve the contract bound in the book.
"This is a general contract reviewed by headquarters. It will be simultaneously posted at multiple branches or outposts within a certain region. After accepting it, you need to report to the designated branch for the mission to get the latest information and confirm the current contract status before you can begin hunting."
Shilin explained.
"So, this contract can be seen at other branches as well?" Li Fan tentatively asked.
"Yes, but don't worry. Unless it's an urgent mission, it's rare for hunting teams to clash. Even if it happens, the local branch will mediate. The usual procedure is for the two teams to merge for the hunt, or the guild will reimburse travel expenses to mitigate the losses of voluntarily withdrawing teams."
Shilin provided a detailed explanation.
This indicated that the difficulty of four-star missions was indeed not ordinary.
Otherwise, like three-star missions, they would only be posted at a single branch.
Expanding the recruitment area for hunter teams was intended to ensure that four-star missions, unlike many three-star missions, did not become backlog contracts.
After all, if three-star missions were left unaddressed for a long time, besides making the client unhappy, it might not put too much pressure on the local ecosystem.
Four-star monsters already possessed the ability to disrupt the ecosystem. Even if they didn't threaten villages, they couldn't be left unchecked.
"You can collect supplies at the local guild outpost with your contract. Please take these four meal tickets."
After stamping and handing over the contract, Shilin produced four strip-shaped yellow meal tickets.
Eudora took them, and she and Li Fan left the guild hall together.
Sitting on a stone bench on the street, Eudora spread out the contract named "Queen of the Land," and she and Li Fan began to study it.
"The client is the guild headquarters. The hunting location is the Forest Hill, for the reason of maintaining local ecological balance. The reward is 54,000z. The contract certification point is the Hunter's Guild branch in Kokoto Village. The target... any Rathian within the Forest Hill region?"
Eudora looked at the description, surprised to find that this was a contract without a specific individual.
"It's probably because Rathians are rampant in the area," Li Fan speculated.
"Most likely. There are no specific time limits for the hunt, so it probably depends on the actual situation on the ground," Eudora agreed.
"There are still five days until the Shield Crab equipment is delivered. Adding an extra day to adapt to the equipment, we can probably set off in six days..."
Li Fan began planning for the hunt.
"When should we eat the Felyne meal? I heard Kokoto Village is the birthplace of hunters, so their Felyne meals must be very authentic. But if we don't make a reservation, it's hard to predict what ingredients we'll get... Why don't we bring our own ingredients when we leave?"
Eudora said, looking at the meal tickets in her hand with eagerness.
"Uh... what is this Felyne meal you're talking about?" Li Fan asked, confused.
Eudora and Felyne looked at him with surprised eyes.
"You've never eaten a Felyne meal?" Eudora looked incredulous.
"Of course I have..."
Li Fan was certainly aware of Felyne meals in the Monster Hunter games.
However, he had already eaten everything on the menu at the Felyne's Barbecue Shop.
Besides being delicious and filling, they didn't provide any ability buffs.
So, the word "Felyne meal" felt both familiar and strange to Li Fan.
"It seems you haven't eaten one in a long time, so you've forgotten. These tickets are issued by the guild to hunter teams after accepting four-star or higher missions. Each ticket allows one hunter and their Felyne to consume a super dish made with rare ingredients, which is a Felyne meal."
Eudora explained.
"So, you can't eat a Felyne meal without a ticket." Li Fan suddenly understood.
So, Felyne meals weren't nonexistent, just very exclusive, with the guild restricting their consumption.
This was to ensure that the already limited rare ingredients were used by those who needed them more.
The triggering principle should be that high-grade monster meat, through consumption and metabolism, would achieve an effect similar to that of equipped armor.
As for the drawbacks, it would likely be the duration of the effect.
Furthermore, based on Eudora's description of Felyne meals, the availability of corresponding ingredients at the consumption location was also a factor in the meal's effectiveness.
For example, to activate a fire-based effect, a corresponding recipe would be needed.
If there were no ingredients locally, even a divine Felyne chef couldn't prepare the dish.
"The last time I ate a Felyne meal was during the Moonlit Duet. The taste... oh, no, the ability it activated is still fresh in my memory," Eudora recalled.
"What ability did it activate?"
"I think it was increased thunder resistance?" Eudora replied uncertainly.
"Alright." Li Fan finally understood why Eudora was so fixated on Felyne meals.
"So, the menu I saw in the guild hall on the ship wasn't for ordinary dishes. No wonder the prices were so outrageous." Recalling his past experience, Li Fan finally understood why those dishes were so expensive.
"Um... you're not going to try to save money by skipping the Felyne meals, are you?" Eudora asked worriedly.
"How could I? An additional ability activation is very important for a hunter. My suggestion is to eat it in Kokoto Village. Otherwise, if something unexpected happens on the way, the Felyne meal will be wasted," Li Fan explained.
"We're a two-person team, and we have four meal tickets..." Eudora had an idea.
"That's not allowed, meow! Eating Felyne meal dishes requires careful timing. If two Felyne meals react negatively in the body, it's very dangerous," Felyne warned solemnly, jumping onto the stone bench.
"Felyne has been working part-time at the Felyne's Barbecue Shop for a long time, so I think what she says makes sense," Li Fan agreed.
Armor could be combined to stack abilities or neutralize negative effects. Logically, ingredients should be able to do the same.
But if it were ingredients, the process would occur internally.
Even with a hunter's extraordinary physique, they couldn't withstand such internal repulsion.
With a preliminary understanding of the Queen of the Land mission, the team officially began preparations for the hunt.
Li Fan drew various Rathian attack patterns and posted them on the bookshelf in the wooden house.
Felyne collected information on Rathian feeding habits and lifestyles to prepare for research.
While Eudora was confirming the progress of weapon crafting at the blacksmith's, she learned that the Shield Crab Great Sword would be heavier than her current Bone Great Sword. She then began an intensive training regimen for arm strength.
Her method was to have a tug-of-war competition with Bear.
Late at night, under the dim oil lamp, Li Fan yawned at the table, continuing to study the contents of the book.
Through the analysis of various information, hunting a Rathian was more difficult than he had anticipated.
Li Fan had originally thought that by severing the tail and removing the venomous spikes, he could prevent team members from being poisoned.
However, according to various literature, Rathian venom was secreted from its back spines.
Even after severing the tail, it could still spray venom, and the range would be even wider. The only thing lost was the ability to pierce and inject venom.
Of course, it was possible to destroy the back spines, but one had to be prepared to be sprayed with venom.
As for the consequences of poisoning, it was not limited to the HP loss in the game.
Fatigue, pain, blurred consciousness...
Various associated symptoms were present, and as the poisoning level increased or the body's metabolism accelerated, the poisoning effects would continue to intensify.
"Does it have to be this hardcore..." Li Fan rubbed his face with both hands, saying with some frustration.
Felyne placed a stack of books on the table and offered encouragement, "You can do it, Li Fan, meow!"
"Hmm... Right, Felyne, tomorrow, take the unused deodorizing balls to the merchant and see if you can exchange them for some antidote herbs, antidote medicine, or even flash bombs."
"Okay, meow! Uh... I have a question, meow." Felyne tentatively asked.
"Go ahead." Staring at these ecological books all afternoon had given Li Fan a headache, and he wanted to shift his focus.
"Why are we capturing a Rathian, meow?" Felyne asked, puzzled.
Li Fan had gone to the guild to accept the mission the day after the team returned, clearly having already decided on the monster to hunt.
Eudora wanted to hone her skills and accumulate experience for a five-star hunter promotion, so she would accept any four-star monster.
Felyne couldn't quite figure out Li Fan's criteria for selecting monsters.
"At the four-star mission level, I need a monster with excellent aerial capabilities to help the team gain an advantage. The Rathian family fits my requirements, and among them, the Rathian is the easiest to capture," Li Fan explained.
"What about Kulu-Ya-Ku, meow?" Felyne felt that Kulu-Ya-Ku's aerial ability seemed decent.
"Kulu-Ya-Ku is not bad at three stars. At least many hunter teams find it difficult to deal with the Great Maccao. But in terms of flight, altitude, speed, posture, carrying capacity, endurance, aerial niche, and ground attacks, the Rathian family has an absolute advantage."
"So complicated, meow..." Felyne said in surprise.
"Additionally, I want to use the capture of the Rathian to test the Rathian family's attitude towards monsters of the same species. If there's an opportunity... I might even be able to bring back a Rathalos." Li Fan stroked his chin, lost in thought.
"Is that really possible, meow?" Felyne asked in amazement.
"It's difficult, but even if it doesn't work, when flying at high altitudes and encountering other Rathians, they shouldn't attack each other, right? This would indirectly increase our aerial niche."
"I understand, meow! Rathians have a vast territory and are high-level predators. Other four-star monsters with similar flying abilities might easily get into conflicts with Rathians. If we capture a Rathian ourselves, this trouble won't exist!" Felyne understood Li Fan's intention.
Amidst various preparations, five days passed quickly, and it was soon time to pick up the weapons and armor.
In the early morning, Li Fan rode Tai Mei, pulling a small cart, to the entrance of the blacksmith's shop.
The shop assistant, a Felyne with heavy dark circles under its eyes, greeted Li Fan with a haggard look upon his arrival.
A moment later, the male owner, with the same heavy dark circles and a wavering gait, emerged from the shop.
"Please wait a moment."
The male owner said, then brought out a cart from the backyard of the blacksmith's shop.
What was loaded onto the cart was covered with a piece of dark red cloth, only revealing the general outline.