"Time's up, pass!"
Chuyan said as he quickly picked up the monster egg.
Instructor Ma Wei helped dismantle the Pukei-Pukei helmet.
"Phew~ It really tests willpower. By the way, if I wore the Pukei-Pukei set, would I be unable to move when I see a monster egg?"
Shilin exhaled, musing.
Chuyan explained, "Probably not. Wearing multiple pieces of equipment of the same material can indeed enhance the assimilation effect, but generally, if you can resist the assimilation of one piece, you can also withstand the others. Of course, it also depends on the assimilation strength of the armor. Do you not have any ancestral high-rarity equipment at home?"
"No, I wish I did."
"Generally, higher rarity equipment requires a period of adaptation. If you really can't adapt in the future, you can apply for equipment exchange at the guild."
After Chuyan finished explaining, it was Li Fan's turn.
Since it was part of the assessment, he had no objection to wearing the female Pukei-Pukei helmet.
However, he was a bit uncertain about the assimilation test, as he wasn't from this world at all.
A moment later, the Pukei-Pukei helmet was placed on his head.
At first, he didn't feel anything, but as he sat down and looked directly at the monster egg, an impulse took over his mind.
Ah! What brilliant blue stripes! It's so cute.
Seeing Li Fan staring blankly, Chuyan and Instructor Ma Wei's expressions turned serious.
"Begin!"
Chuyan's shout brought Li Fan back to his senses a little.
He then imitated Shilin, putting his hands behind his back, leaning back, and sandwiching his hands between his back and the chair.
But after less than five seconds, his right leg slowly extended again.
This assimilation effect is too ridiculously strong on me.
No, I need to find a way.
In a moment of thought, his left leg also extended.
"Such a strong reaction..."
Instructor Ma Wei, though reluctant to admit it, had already made up his mind.
Now is the time to test willpower, hold on!
With Li Fan's utmost restraint, he pulled his legs back. Just as everyone felt relieved, Li Fan suddenly got up from the chair.
"Hold on, meow!"
"Li Fan, hang in there!"
From offstage, Dilu and Shilin cheered.
No, I can't hold on much longer...
Li Fan gritted his teeth, moving his feet slowly with an uncoordinated gait.
It doesn't make sense. Even if Kankan stole a monster egg, it wouldn't act mindlessly if the situation was inappropriate or dangerous.
Why would a Pukei-Pukei helmet give me such a strong assimilation effect...
No, now is not the time to think about these things. I need to find a solution quickly, otherwise, if I touch the monster egg, it won't just be a failed assessment.
Instead, I'll be directly classified as a highly assimilable physique and remain a one-star hunter forever.
Since the desire to touch the monster egg is a Pukei-Pukei's instinctive urge...
Then I'll use instinct against instinct!
Li Fan's thoughts raced, and he quickly came up with a plan.
Although he was still moving towards the monster egg, Li Fan managed to slightly shift his body with his will.
Chuyan knew this behavior was unusual and his gaze alternated between the stopwatch and the monster egg with a solemn expression.
Just as he looked up from the stopwatch, a pair of hands covered in bruises reached out before his eyes.
"Ah?"
"Oh?"
"Uh!"
"Meow!"
...
"Li Fan... why are you hugging my head?"
Chuyan's cheeks were pressed so tightly by his hands that his speech was a bit unclear.
"Instructor Chuyan, I'm still looking at the monster egg."
Li Fan replied.
Monster eggs are indeed very tempting to Pukei-Pukei.
But after observing, Li Fan noticed that Kankan's emotions were significantly more balanced when its front paws were holding something.
Since both are monster instincts, let's let the two instincts counteract each other.
"Uh... you..."
Chuyan was speechless. To ensure the assessment proceeded normally, he could only continue to supervise.
After all, according to the assessment rules, as long as the monster egg was not touched, it could not be considered a failure.
"After Li Fan hugged Instructor Chuyan's head, the attraction of the monster egg significantly decreased!"
Shilin exclaimed with joy.
"That's great, meow! Li Fan, hang in there! The time limit is almost up!"
Dilu reminded loudly.
Time ticked by.
"Time's up... pass!"
After Chuyan's ruling, Instructor Ma Wei quickly stepped forward to remove the Pukei-Pukei helmet, and Li Fan slowly released his grip.
"Sorry, Instructor Chuyan, I was too excited just now."
Chuyan rubbed his slightly red cheeks and said helplessly, "I don't really mind, but with your condition, even if you pass the two-star assessment, there will be significant hidden dangers when wearing equipment in the future."
"You mean the assimilation effect is too strong?"
Li Fan asked tentatively.
"That's right. Based on your performance, it's far beyond the normal level. However..."
Chuyan paused mid-sentence.
"In any case, congratulations on becoming a two-star hunter. I hope you will contribute more to regional stability."
"Okay."
Li Fan had already guessed what Chuyan wanted to say, so he didn't press further.
The essence of activating armor abilities is the combination and application of monster instincts and human will.
If the assimilation effect is too strong, it's easy to lose control, but the intensity of the activated instincts will also increase accordingly.
In other words, as long as the negative effects are controlled, hunters with special physiques will have a great advantage in the application of monster instincts.
Shilin, holding the assessment certificates for both of them, first went to the third floor of the guild for confirmation.
Then, she went to the front desk and busied herself for a while, producing two small boxes.
"Alas, the Guild Master isn't at this branch, so we'll have to present the medals to each other."
Shilin said, then ran onto the small stage in the guild hall.
"White Star, play a song of Hero's Proof!"
Shilin shouted.
From inside the stage, the pure white Felyne, White Star, nodded in confirmation, hugged a spiral-shaped bone horn, and blew it with all her might.
Doo-doo-doo-doo! Doo-doo-doo-doo! Doo-doo-doo! Doo! Doo-doo-doo! Doo! Doo! Doo! Doo! ...
The deep flute melody of Hero's Proof began. The hunters in the hall turned their heads towards the stage, cheering and applauding.
"After overcoming many obstacles, Li Fan and I have passed the two-star hunter assessment today. In the days to come, we will surely contribute to regional stability..."
Shilin rambled on endlessly.
Li Fan, sitting below, was speechless.
He was naturally happy to become a two-star hunter, but he never expected such a grand ceremony.
After receiving the two-star hunter badge, Li Fan left the guild and sat on a stone bench by the roadside to plan for the future.
First, he definitely needed to buy a set of armor to alternate with his hunter's leather armor during combat.
Chuyan had mentioned during his teaching that the negative effects of armor made from different materials would cancel each other out.
The principle was that the instincts of different monsters would conflict when used.
Therefore, a mixed set was the best choice.
Next, he needed to upgrade his weapon and then select suitable monsters for capture.
After listing his plans in his mind, Li Fan first went to the blacksmith's shop.
Unlike in the game, where materials are entirely provided by the hunter.
Here, as long as you're willing to spend money, basic weapons and armor can be crafted.
However, this depends on whether the materials in stock are sufficient for crafting.
Glancing at the order Li Fan provided, the Felyne clerk realized a big business was coming and quickly found the owner to attend to them.
The middle-aged male owner, holding a hammer, scanned the order and confirmed, "Guest, you want the armor and leg guards of a Great Jagras, and the remaining three pieces are all from a Great Izuchi. You're not providing any materials at all, right?"
"That's right."
"This set of armor will cost around 60,000z."
"And upgrading the Jawblade I to the Jawblade Brax?"
"The price isn't very expensive. Even without providing materials, it should be around 6,000z. However, we don't have the ability to backtrack weapons. If you upgrade from Jawblade II to Brax, you'll miss out on Bone Blade Infinite and the Great Jaggi Great Sword, with only Bone Blade Canine Fang as a subsequent advancement possibility."
The owner reminded him.
"It's fine, my goal is Bone Blade Canine Fang."
Bone Blade Infinite has paralysis attribute, and Great Jaggi Great Sword has poison attribute.
Generally, the upgrade path for Bone Great Swords involves choosing between these two.
Li Fan's firm choice of the pure physical Great Sword, Bone Blade Canine Fang, indeed seemed a bit unconventional.
"Alright, guest. Leave 70,000z and the Jawblade I here, and we'll sign a contract. The shop will deliver everything in three days."
"Can it be cheaper?"
"It's not that I don't want to lower the price. The materials for crafting equipment in the shop are also purchased from hunter groups. If market prices fluctuate, we might even lose money. Of course, if you're not in a hurry, I can post a contract and ask a hunting team to hunt a Great Jagras and a Great Izuchi King. This will significantly reduce the cost, but it's uncertain when it will be completed."
The owner explained.
Li Fan had some understanding of the blacksmith's shop's operating model.
This owner was indeed telling the truth.
"Alright, Dilu, pay up."
Dilu jingled her coin purse and slammed it onto the counter.
After counting the money and signing the contract.
With the equipment sorted, Li Fan returned to his wooden house and began researching his next capture monster.
Kuku, Kankan, Puff, Shasha.
He already had four monsters of three-star or higher. Capturing one more would unlock a new, higher-tier Poké Ball.
However, after flipping through various ancient texts for a long time, Li Fan still had no clear idea.
There were many four-star monsters he wanted to capture, but their hunting grounds were too far away, the Poké Ball quality was insufficient, and his own strength was lacking, making capture very difficult.
There were many choices for three-star monsters, but with Puff around, combat power was no longer the primary consideration.
His preference naturally leaned towards monsters with special support abilities such as sensory reconnaissance, ecological construction, and stealth.
The contradiction was that three-star monsters didn't have any particularly outstanding abilities in these areas.
Fortunately, the armor wouldn't be delivered for three days, giving Li Fan plenty of time to consider.
Stepping out of the cabin, three construction workers were hammering and knocking on the walls, preparing for expansion.
Li Fan stretched, filled the water trough, and then picked up a bundle of fodder, heading towards the fenced ranch.
Tai Mei and her two boyfriends rushed over, clucking and calling out.
He threw the fodder into the ranch, and Li Fan leaned on the fence with his hands, sighing, "Living a leisurely life like this doesn't seem too bad."
In the woods, a cloud of dust rose.
Li Fan turned his head and saw a small wild boar, with Dilu on its back, galloping at full speed.
Behind it, Yodora, dressed in light cloth, was chasing furiously.
"This scene is truly..."
*Clang!* Just as Li Fan was about to praise, he saw the small wild boar knock a fence post of the ranch into the air.
The boar and the cat tumbled into the mud.
"Qing Tian! We won, meow!"
Dilu, covered in mud, hugged the small wild boar Qing Tian and shouted happily.
Yodora ran up, patted the ranch fence, confirmed she had reached the finish line, and sat on the ground, panting heavily.
"This... little wild boar... is so fast."
Yodora was a bit unconvinced, but in terms of speed, she was indeed slightly inferior, so she could only acknowledge it.
"Is your leg injury healed?"
Li Fan asked in surprise.
"Almost. I'm undergoing rehabilitation training. Dilu, dare to do it again?"
Yodora said as she stood up.
"No problem, meow. With me and Qing Tian as a team, you can't win!"
Dilu said with great confidence.
"Dilu, is Qing Tian's speed really related to you?"
Li Fan asked, confused.
"I can guide Qing Tian to turn, meow."
Dilu said, patting her chest with her cat's paw.
"Uh... that role is indeed quite important."
The person and the cat were about to race again.
Li Fan suddenly remembered a strange thing he encountered while reading ancient texts and asked, "Yodora, I have something I'd like to ask you."
"Go ahead."
Yodora, who was stretching to warm up, stopped.
"Why is it that in all the ancient texts in the library, whenever Shreder City is mentioned, there's a name that's blacked out? Based on the preceding and succeeding descriptions, I suspect it says..."
"You can't say it!"
Yodora stopped him vehemently, looking at Li Fan as if he were a stranger.
Dilu stood there stunned, only Qing Tian was still grunting and rolling on the ground.
"Okay."
Li Fan hadn't expected that just saying the name was forbidden here.
"I'm sorry, I got too excited, but that name is an absolute taboo, and it cannot be mentioned."
Yodora explained.
The person and the cat walked away, and the rehabilitation training continued.
The scene just now seemed to have never happened.
But Li Fan's understanding of the Monster Hunter world had changed once again.
Beneath this colorful ecosystem, there might be some existences that even hunters are unwilling to face.
If I were to shout the words "Black Dragon" all over the world in the future, would that prevent any hunting teams from approaching?
Li Fan's thoughts wandered wildly, and a sudden idea flashed through his mind.
Encountering other hunting teams in the wild is indeed troublesome for me now.
Because even if I bring Yodora to hunt, the team's strength looks too thin.
If any enthusiastic hunting team passes by, they will definitely help free of charge.
It would be good if they scared away the monster I wanted to capture, but if they killed it, all my efforts and preparations for half a month might go down the drain.
If there was a monster whose armor's negative effects were so outrageous that no hunter would wear it, then there would be no market for it.
The blacksmith's shop would naturally not post a contract to purchase materials for it.
There would be no demand for the materials, and hunting teams would not only not hunt it but would also choose to detour around it due to its overly bizarre attack methods.
This would effectively drive away hunting teams.
"Such a perfect monster, why didn't I think of it sooner? You're next, Uragaan!"