"Hello, is this Yin Tie's place?" Li Fan asked as he approached.
The orange-yellow Felyne opened one eye, its pale gold vertical pupil scrutinizing Li Fan for a moment before responding, "No money."
It turned over, shifted its position, and continued to sleep.
Li Fan noticed that this Felyne was not only unusually large but also lacked the typical "meow" tic. Beneath its orange-yellow fur, numerous scars were faintly visible, making it quite different from other Felynes.
"We're not here for money. We're looking for Yin Tie to be a hunting mentor."
Upon hearing this, the orange-yellow Felyne's ears twitched. It lifted its head and went inside.
"Please wait."
Clang! Clatter!
After a period of rummaging, the orange-yellow Felyne presented a mentor contract.
"Sign this mentor contract. If you are fortunate enough to pass the hunter assessment, Yin Tie will receive 3000z. The mentor and student split it evenly, 1500 each. Plus the 200 promised earlier, you'll get 1700. Good luck with your exam, young man."
Li Fan was surprised by the Felyne's frankness in exploiting the Hunter's Guild. However, considering he himself was aiming for a free ride, this arrangement didn't seem too bad. After all, finding a formal mentor would be costly, and the reward for passing the assessment wouldn't go to him anyway.
"Signing the contract is fine, but could you ask Mentor Yin Tie to teach me the basic usage of the Great Sword? That way, my chances of passing the assessment will increase, and it'll be easier to earn money."
"Hmm... how are your Great Sword basics?" The orange-yellow Felyne raised an eyebrow.
"Zero."
"Zero... That makes things easier. My name is Da Ju. When Yin Tie returns, I'll introduce you."
Da Ju stretched with its paws on the ground and then lay down again.
"I feel like something's not quite right, meow," Dilu said worriedly.
"It's okay. After buying the Great Sword, I only have 211z left on me," Li Fan whispered. He firmly believed that without money, any scam would be futile.
Clank! Clank!....
A metallic scraping sound came from behind. Li Fan turned to see a slightly overweight middle-aged man with dark brown skin and a claw-marked scar over his left eye approaching them. With every two steps, his somewhat uncoordinated metal prosthetic leg dragged along the ground.
Upon reaching the entrance, the man stroked his stubble and scrutinized Li Fan and Dilu for a moment.
"No money."
Li Fan was speechless. He wondered how much money this man and cat owed to assume everyone who stood at their door was a debt collector. Before he could speak, Da Ju stood up and whispered into the man's ear, "Wants to learn Great Sword, zero foundation."
The man's expression cleared as if he understood.
"My name is Yin Tie. I am the Hunter's Guild's only seven-star hunting mentor, known as the lone demon who has grasped the ultimate essence of the Great Sword."
"Hello, my name is Li Fan."
After shaking hands, Li Fan was invited inside. A display board with the words "Ancient Hunting Research Base" was mounted on the wall opposite the door. However, the room had poor lighting, making it appear somewhat eerie. The board featured a red-horned emblem that reminded Li Fan of the true red horn on a Monoblos's head.
"To improve your assessment pass rate, guiding you through the basic usage of the Great Sword is no problem. But as a student aspiring to be a hunter, do you have no greater aspirations for your future hunting career?" Yin Tie asked, enthusiastically pouring a cup of water.
"Uh... I don't understand."
"The basic usage of the Great Sword is just the foundation. As a seven-star hunter proficient in all Great Sword techniques, I possess far more hunting skills than that." Yin Tie said, then slapped his chest forcefully with a *bang!*
Li Fan vaguely sensed a scheme. The basic usage of the Great Sword was a core subject that mentors were obligated to teach. Even if Yin Tie didn't charge money, he had to fulfill his duties as a mentor once the contract was signed. However, additional teaching modules could be charged for, as indicated in the mentor directory.
"Mentor Yin Tie, what else do you know..."
Before Li Fan could finish speaking, Yin Tie vanished in a flash within the dim room.
"Yin Tie... mentor?" Li Fan asked tentatively, glancing around.
The display board on the wall, bearing the words "Ancient Hunting Research Base," suddenly lit up.
"Ancient Hunting originated in Kokoto Village, a place of heroes. It emphasizes direct combat with monsters, a perfect fusion of skill and strength. Ten days of training cost 2000z." Yin Tie's deep voice emerged from the edge of light and shadow.
"I just wanted..."
Before Li Fan could finish, Yin Tie disappeared again.
"Dragon Style Hunting, originating in Berna Village, features six switchable hunting styles that can adapt to all hunting scenarios. Fifteen days of training cost 4000z."
Li Fan was startled by the voice behind him and said helplessly, "I just want to learn the Great Sword..." As expected, Yin Tie vanished again.
Just as Li Fan wondered where he would reappear from this time, a green apple flew towards him.
"Wirebug! The cutting-edge hunting technique from the New World's Elder Dragon research team. Combined with specialized gear, it allows for unstoppable progress even in unknown and perilous territories. Due to its high lethality, this apple is used as a substitute. Twenty days of training cost 9000z."
Li Fan took a large bite of the green apple, feeling nothing but exasperation.
"So, Li Fan, do you feel even a slight urge?" Yin Tie asked with expectant eyes.
"No, I still just want to learn the basic usage of the Great Sword." It wasn't that Li Fan was uninterested in those hunting techniques; he simply believed that Yin Tie, with his current demeanor, was incapable of teaching them and was merely trying to scam him.
"New trainees these days are getting harder to fool," Da Ju sighed and opened the room door, which had been closed at some point. Sunlight streamed in, revealing a dejected Yin Tie stepping down from a flatbed cart.
"Admitted, meow..." Dilu was shocked by the Felyne's honesty.
"Li Fan, the training grounds are outside. Meet me there when you're ready." Yin Tie said, picking up a wooden Great Sword hanging on the wall and limping out of the house. Li Fan and Dilu followed.
The so-called training grounds were actually an open space outside the village, under a large tree, with three wooden dummies.
"Alright, training begins. First, tell me why you're so fixated on learning the basic usage of the Great Sword?" Yin Tie asked with great curiosity. Ordinary zero-foundation trainees would have been swayed by the earlier pitch and eagerly paid up.
"Because this set of basic movements has been used for a long time, and through continuous iteration by countless hunters, it has been optimized to near perfection."
Yin Tie's expression showed surprise. After a moment of thought, he said, "An interesting perspective." Li Fan's approach was actually derived from his understanding of athletic training. In professional athlete training, the points of force, posture, and even breathing frequency are all formed through the continuous accumulation and summation of predecessors, eventually resulting in a reliable standard. If applied to the Monster Hunter world, it would mean that the standard attack animations for all weapons were accumulated and honed by hunters through practical combat. Hunters with significant individual differences might make some modifications to better suit themselves, but the overall concept would remain the same. This was why Li Fan placed such importance on the basic movements of the Great Sword.
Yin Tie drew his wooden Great Sword and performed ten vertical slashes and ten thrusts. After demonstrating, he tossed the sword to Li Fan.
"Start practicing with the wooden Great Sword. Although it's light, it won't injure anyone nearby if you drop it. That little Felyne, stay back." Dilu heard this and trotted away, hiding behind a haystack, peeking out with half its head.
Step slash, thrust, cross slash, Spirit Gauge Roundslash. After two hours of continuous practice swings of these four moves, Li Fan felt he had grasped some initial insights. However, his hands were so stiff they were almost unresponsive, and he found it difficult to even hold the hilt steady.
"Good resilience, but unfortunately, too weak," Da Ju commented, arms crossed, observing.
"Li Fan is a hunter who has hunted Tigrex, meow!" Dilu retorted bravely, despite Da Ju being more than twice its size.
"Hunted Tigrex at this age?... Hmm, it's not impossible. Perhaps he participated in setting traps," Da Ju speculated.
"No, meow! He participated in direct combat!" Dilu emphasized.
"Direct combat usually has details, doesn't it?"
"Of course, meow! Li Fan said that Tigrex could repel hunters with just its roar, and its enraged crawling charge could flip an entire hunting party."
Da Ju blinked in surprise and replied, "Perhaps you heard it from an old hunter." Dilu's gaze darkened. No matter what it said, Da Ju didn't believe it, and it no longer wished to argue.
"That's enough." As soon as Yin Tie spoke, Li Fan stopped and collapsed onto the ground. Dilu produced a pre-prepared water bottle and towel, wiping sweat with one paw and offering water with the other, then fanned Li Fan rapidly with a small paper fan to cool him down.
"Yin Tie, with Li Fan's strength, he should switch to Dual Blades. After all, basic usage doesn't involve the Demon Dance, and with more practice, he can easily meet the requirements." Da Ju offered advice. Although the Ancient Hunting Research Base had yielded no research breakthroughs over the years, it had accumulated considerable experience in handling hunter assessments and obtaining mentor rewards.
"His strength is indeed weak, but he possesses extraordinary talent in using the Great Sword." Yin Tie evaluated seriously.
"Exactly, Dual Blades are the... extraordinary talent? Don't joke, we've been exposed." Da Ju said helplessly.
"I'm not joking. Li Fan is like... he clearly has a deep understanding and comprehension of Great Sword usage, but his body cannot adapt." Yin Tie attempted to describe.
"Hmph! I knew it, meow!" Dilu puffed out its chest.
"Hmm... I won't argue with you about the Great Sword," Da Ju said, though displeased, it did not refute.
"There's only one possibility for this situation: Li Fan has lived with hunting parties since childhood, frequently witnessing top-tier Great Sword hunters in action, and has gradually accumulated his understanding." Yin Tie offered a guess.
"The 'top-tier' you speak of is indeed extraordinary," Da Ju said seriously.
Li Fan, exhausted and unwilling to speak, grew increasingly bewildered. If it was a scam, Yin Tie and Da Ju hadn't mentioned any fees. If they were serious, it was even more absurd. Aside from a few years in a mental institution, his experiences were quite unusual. How could he have followed hunting parties to watch hunters wield Great Swords? He rarely even went to the zoo.
Wait, Great Sword hunting... Li Fan suddenly realized something. Ever since he first encountered Monster Hunter on his PSP, he had always used the Great Sword as his primary weapon. Could it be that playing the game too much had given him insights? Li Fan felt this was the only plausible explanation.
Yin Tie stated that training would continue the next afternoon and hoped Li Fan would do more strength-enhancing exercises during his rest. This was because for the Great Sword's edge to absorb Spirit Gauge energy, it needed to reach a certain force when striking a target. This would allow enough Spirit Gauge to fill the gauge within the blade, enabling the release of the Level 3 Spirit Gauge Slash and the Spirit Gauge Roundslash. These were all assessment items for basic Great Sword usage. Li Fan generally understood, but he hadn't expected there to be a prerequisite for charging the Great Sword with Spirit Gauge energy.
As they neared the street corner, Da Ju caught up and handed Li Fan a red fruit. The fruit was the size of a tennis ball, its skin hardened, resembling a long-preserved orange.
"This is a Power Seed. Eat one before strength training, and the training effects will be significantly enhanced."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me, Yin Tie gave it to you. He thinks highly of you," Da Ju informed him.
"Thinks highly of me?" Li Fan was somewhat puzzled. Although this Power Seed wasn't very fresh, its market price was at least around 300z. If he failed the assessment, wouldn't the other party lose out significantly?
"Yes, perhaps it's his hope for a new generation of hunters," Da Ju said, looking at the clouds in the sky.
After bidding farewell to Da Ju, Li Fan and Dilu returned to their small wooden house. Although Taimai was stubborn, with multiple saddlebags attached, carrying only a Jawblade I Great Sword made running noticeably more strenuous. Another issue was that Li Fan was genuinely afraid of hunting in high-risk areas. After parting with Taimai for a short while, he returned to find only a skeleton. Therefore, Taimai's best fate should be the ranch.
"Taimai, the ranch fences are all built. You need to hurry and find a mate," Li Fan muttered as he poured water into the trough while carrying a wooden bucket.
"Goo! Goo!..." Taimai raised its paws and kicked the water trough angrily to express its displeasure.
"Your 'goo goo' is useless. The outside world is very dangerous."
"Goo! Goo!" Taimai squawked even louder.
Li Fan unclipped a healing Poké Ball from his shoulder strap and casually tossed it aside. Kuku, with its wing membranes largely healed, appeared.
"Wooo?"
"Goo... Goo?" Kuku tilted its head and exchanged a glance with Taimai. Taimai immediately turned its head away and began to drink water attentively. It seemed that the hierarchy of ecological niches was deeply ingrained in monsters' minds, Li Fan mused.
After resting until evening, Li Fan began a new round of strength training. The increase in limb strength, coupled with improved chopping techniques, meant that in the forest, Li Fan could cut down any tree that wasn't too thick with a single axe swing. This kind of training, where he couldn't fully exert his strength, clearly couldn't meet the conditions for super-overload strength release. Expanding the upper limit of his physical strength was out of the question. Li Fan, holding his axe, pondered for a moment and then called Xiong Da to his side.