"Thank you, we still have some material to collect and might leave a bit later," Eudora informed them.
"Alright then, thank you for your team's efforts in ensuring regional safety. Farewell!" the middle-aged investigator said before boarding his ship with his companions to return.
With Yaya's guidance, the team found a new cave training ground the next day. After a week of training, Eudora had adapted to wearing the full set of Dragon-Slaying equipment, but the negative effects of the 'Letting Go' technique began to manifest. Even when Eudora wasn't wearing the Dragon-Slaying gear, the urge to slash remained within her.
Li Fan, wearing only the helmet, gauntlets, and boots, had reached his combat limit. As for the impact after removing the equipment...
*Sss! Sss! Sss!*...
*Clang!*
By the bonfire beneath the abandoned freighter, Li Fan casually tossed aside the slightly reddened whetstone. He raised the Dragon-Slaying Greatsword towards the full moon. Seeing the cold glint reflected by the moonlight on the blade, he let out a sinister chuckle.
"What should we do, meow? Li Fan has been sharpening his blade whenever he's idle lately. He's been at it for almost an hour today," Dilu said with some worry as she watched from the ship's deck.
"Adapting to the equipment with the 'Letting Go' technique, this reaction is quite mild... Seeing his sharpening skills become more proficient, it's not necessarily a bad thing," Eudora speculated.
"Is being a hunter this tough, meow?" Dilu's ears drooped slightly.
"For hunters to become stronger, they must constantly improve their physique and willpower. Adapting to equipment is just one of many trials... Speaking of which, it's about time, can you untie me now?" Eudora, who was tied to the base of the mast, asked tentatively.
"Alright meow, don't slash me."
The next day, the scheduled adaptation training period had ended, and the team was quite satisfied with the results. Before returning, whether to take Yaya with them became a dilemma. While the Frozen Archipelago was suitable for Yaya's habitat, the strength growth achievable through the environment seemed to have reached its limit. If they left, the natural environmental advantage would be gone. Thus, not only Li Fan but Yaya herself felt lost about the future.
"Yaya, you choose. Do you want to see a wider world, or continue staying in the Frozen Archipelago?" Li Fan asked as he packed his belongings early in the morning. He wanted to give Yaya more time to consider, but the team had to depart soon, and a decision had to be made quickly.
Yaya looked at the Poké Ball in Li Fan's hand for a moment, then slowly shook her head.
"I understand. If anyone offends you, don't act rashly. Remember their features, and I'll get revenge when I return." Yaya shook her head again.
"Huh?" Li Fan was now confused.
Yaya used her wing claws to scratch a heart shape on the ice.
"You want to... enter an Amity Ball and leave?" Li Fan asked tentatively.
Yaya nodded quickly.
"Zhan Zhan likes entering Battle Balls, and you like entering Amity Balls... Are the interiors decorated differently?" Li Fan said as he brought out an Amity Ball. Yaya tilted her head and stood still, looking expectant.
The little fool, having eaten its fill, soared at high speed in the cold wind. It was fast, but the old problem of bumpy rides remained unresolved. Three days later, the team landed in the outer areas of the village of Hinomura and began walking, their bodies weary.
On the wooden bridge leading into the village, Elder Puhien saw the team returning and hurried over to greet them. Li Fan was a bit bewildered; this four-star contract wasn't an urgent mission, so such a grand reception seemed unnecessary. After a brief exchange, he learned that the villagers had informed Puhien about the team using Wirebugs in the village training grounds. Puhien was extremely interested in the method of raising Wirebugs. Thus, Li Fan went to Puhien's home for a detailed discussion.
Li Fan greatly admired Puhien's foresight. Just from the description, he knew that Wirebugs could bring about a revolutionary change to existing hunting combat. After witnessing the display of Wirebug leaps and the Sakura-style Silk-String Sword Dance, Puhien said solemnly, "Li Fan, how about selling the raising method to Hinomura Village?"
"This..." Li Fan hesitated, not because he didn't want to sell, but because the recipe was essentially worthless. Puhien was clearly mistaken. He believed that the Wirebugs' qualitative change must have been due to some extremely advanced cultivation method. However, the essence was simply using locally sourced materials. Even without Poké Balls and handheld consoles, with Hinomura Village's research capabilities, they could quickly develop similar Wirebugs in a short period if they focused on the right research direction.
"Don't worry, Hinomura Village will do its best to meet any conditions," Puhien promised, patting his chest.
"Then... a airship?" Li Fan asked tentatively.
"No problem. The village's medium-sized airship, the Hinomura, is yours from now on. I have only one request: you cannot go back on your word," Puhien said, writing up a contract and signing it, then affixing Hinomura Village's seal.
A medium-sized airship? As a private airship, it seemed a bit too extravagant. Li Fan had expected a small airship, enough for the team's long journeys. The conditions offered by Puhien clearly far exceeded his expectations.
"Aren't you going to consider it further?" Li Fan confirmed one last time.
"No need," Puhien said, crossing his arms with an unwavering tone.
"Alright." The widespread application of Wirebugs in hunting would undoubtedly bring a certain degree of improvement to hunters willing to equip them. The stronger the hunters, the more stable the world would naturally become. As the primary habitat of Wirebugs, even if Puhien hadn't come to buy, Li Fan would have spread the raising method in Hinomura Village.
"Thank you, Village Chief Puhien, for the airship..." Li Fan sighed with emotion as he looked at the contract and the ownership certificate for the Hinomura.
Puhien handed him a thick stack of papers.
"You don't need to," Li Fan waved his hand.
"Is there existing cultivation data?" Puhien asked, confused.
"No, the cultivation method is very short and doesn't require writing it down," Li Fan explained.
"Ah?"
"For the first 5 days, feed them ground Hinomura Butterflies. For the next 3 days, feed them ground Silk Spiders. Then, for the next 7 days, you can try feeding them live Hinomura Butterflies and Silk Spiders to enhance their predatory abilities... Yes, that's it."
"A... and then?" Puhien asked, his voice trembling.
"That's all," Li Fan replied. Puhien slumped back into his chair, and the room fell silent.
*I can't let Village Chief Puhien feel too shortchanged. I'll say a bit more,* Li Fan thought to himself and began explaining again. "Individuals that are screened out due to excessive fasting or overeating, leading to excessively rapid growth, should be removed. After the initial training and cooperation with hunters, you can feed them a small amount of Magatama Grass as encouragement. For the specialized collection and release boxes, I usually keep them on my right forearm."
"Uh... I've got it," Puhien responded blankly.
"With Hinomura Village's research capabilities, I believe you can develop even faster cultivation methods. Perhaps you could try setting up insect boxes with automatic feeding functions in the wild, allowing the Wirebugs to raise themselves. This way, it might not be long before wild Wirebugs can also be transformed into cultivated individuals," Li Fan suggested. Hearing this, a flicker of spirit returned to Puhien's eyes.
"If the adaptability of the offspring of cultivated Wirebugs is strong enough, you could also try releasing them in all regions. Perhaps in the near future, Wirebugs will not be limited to the abandoned shrine area of Hinomura Village but will be found throughout the world."
"Well said!" Puhien suddenly stood up, startling Li Fan.
"Yes, keep up the good work." Not long after Li Fan left, he heard the sound of gongs. He thought Puhien was coming to reclaim the contract, but upon inquiry, he learned that the gongs were only rung when the Hundred-Beast Gathering was imminent or when there was a major matter requiring the assembly of all villagers.
*Creak!* Pushing open the door to the inn, Eudora, who had just returned from the branch to collect their reward, was calculating the cost of this hunt.
"Why are you sneaking around?" Eudora asked, puzzled.
Li Fan spread the contract out for her to see.
"Ah!!!!"
"Shhh!" Li Fan made a silencing gesture. The contract, which had been placed down, was then noticed by Dilu, who was sitting at the table. Dilu tilted her head and looked at it for a moment...
"Is it an airship, meow!!!!!"
"Can you two please calm down..." Li Fan was speechless.
"The Wirebug cultivation method can be exchanged for an airship, and a medium-sized one at that?" Eudora asked in disbelief.
"They insisted on exchanging it with me," Li Fan replied.
"Well... let's go try to pilot it first," Eudora said as she packed her things. The team soon headed to the Hinomura Village airship port. They arrived at a medium-sized airship that was unloading cargo. Judging by the flag and its appearance, it was the airship depicted on the ownership certificate of the Hinomura. A crew member, upon hearing their purpose, guided the team through the acceptance process.
"The Hinomura was built according to the standard design drawings of the Dragon Calendar Institute. It's a medium-sized airship designed to withstand the Wind Serpent Dragon, so its hull is reinforced with thick metal plating and has two deck cannons. Its weight is on the higher side for a medium-sized airship of its class," the crew member explained.
Li Fan observed the deck for a moment and asked curiously, "Why does it feel more like a cargo airship now?"
"Because shortly after the Hinomura was built, the Dragon Calendar Institute manufactured giant airships for tracking and investigating elder dragons and proposed aerial combat tactics using formations of giant airships. Other villages and towns lacked the capability to follow suit, so the development and manufacturing of medium-sized combat airships were shelved. Later, they were simply refitted into cargo airships," the crew member explained.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Village Chief Puhien said you are a team of highly potential hunters and hopes you will often come to Hinomura Village to accept contracts in the future." After the cargo was unloaded, the team took stock of the Hinomura's general configuration. The cabin was divided into two smaller sleeping quarters and a very large cargo hold. The oval-shaped gas bag at the top was pieced together from monster wing membranes. At the front of the ship, there was a downward-facing observation port and two cloud telescopes. On the high deck near the stern, there was a steering wheel and a lift lever.
"This seems a bit complicated," Li Fan said, gripping the steering wheel. He found the view from the pilot's seat to be excellent, but he had no idea how to pilot an airship, let alone fly back to Kala Village. Thinking of the airship management office he had seen earlier, Li Fan told Eudora and Dilu, who were cleaning, and went down to the airship to head there.
Upon hearing that a private airship was looking to recruit a pilot, a staff member handed him a thick booklet. Years of experience, age, desired salary... all sorts of pilot information were included. There were indeed many talented individuals. George, who had fifteen years of safe airship transport experience. Iske, who survived five hours of combat with a Rathalos piloting a medium-sized combat airship. Kante, the runner-up in the 17th Sky Mountain Airship Race... Li Fan was quite satisfied with these pilots, but their salaries were indeed a bit high, with the lowest being 20,000z per month. Furthermore, how to accept monster companions was still an issue to overcome.
As he flipped through the pages, the salary suddenly dropped drastically. Li Fan looked closely and realized that the last dozen or so pages of the booklet were for Felyne pilots, and the descriptions became surprisingly whimsical. Mikasa, who could pilot an airship while sleeping. Mimi, who had no piloting experience and wanted an airship to practice with. Aho, who could use a whirlwind charge and tornado while piloting an airship. Kuroshiro, who could make all passengers despair... These Felyne pilots were honest enough.
Li Fan flipped another page. "I am the sky pirate cat Felyne. I am a Felyne born on an airship. I can skillfully pilot all airships except giant ones. I absolutely love soaring through the clouds and am extremely passionate about investigating the ecology of high-altitude monsters. If you are also an adventurous airship owner, please contact me as soon as possible!" This seemed promising. Although the salary of 4400z per month was much higher than that of other Felynes. Finally seeing a relatively normal one, Li Fan went to inquire with the counter staff.
"Sorry, Felyne airship pilots are of the highest rank and can only pilot small airships. The one you registered at the port is a medium-sized airship," the female receptionist said, shaking her head.
"I have another small airship elsewhere."
"Alright then, count from the left pillar of the port cargo station, the eighth barrel," the female receptionist said helplessly. Li Fan followed the address.
"One, two, three... eight!" Reaching the eighth barrel, Li Fan knocked on the lid marked with a skull.
"Who is it, meow?"
"Are you the sky pirate Felyne?"
"What is it, meow?"
"I have an airship and want to hire you as a pilot."
*Bang!* Before Li Fan could finish speaking, the barrel lid flew into the air. Felyne, with fur as white as clouds, leaped onto the edge of the barrel and elegantly placed a red pirate hat on its head.
"Captain, shall we depart now, meow?" Li Fan asked, catching the barrel lid, "Aren't you going to ask where we're going, or the size and model of the airship?"
"It doesn't matter, I've had enough of land, meow," Felyne said, turning back to pick up a large bundle from inside the barrel and slinging it over its shoulder.
"Alright."
"Uh... Sky pirate Felyne has a request. Can I have half a month's salary in advance?"
"Certainly, 2200z, right?" Li Fan took out his money pouch, counted a pile of coins, and placed them on the cat's paw.
"Thank you, meow." Felyne walked to the barrel, recalling as it went, and used its claws to open the lids one by one, dropping coins of varying amounts into them. Soon, Felynes of various colors popped their heads out of the barrels, looking around. Felyne adjusted its red pirate hat, placed its paws on its hips, and declared loudly, "Debts cleared, this meow is setting off for the sky!" Musical instruments such as horns, drums, whistles, and organs magically appeared in the Felynes' hands. After listening to a farewell performance that lasted two minutes, Felyne followed Li Fan to the airship dock.
"Hinomura! Meow!" Felyne exclaimed.