"The power is so weak..."
Li Fan said, feeling the pull on his hand.
In combat, Wirebugs are used to harness their brief, astonishing burst of energy, combined with the Wirebug Silk released from their tails, to achieve actions like leaping into the air, rapid advances, hovering, and parrying.
Capture had not yet been achieved, so this Wirebug's action should be one of escape.
Logically, there should be no holding back at such a moment.
*Whoosh!* An advanced Poké Ball was thrown.
*Click!* *Click!* *Click!*
As expected, capture was successful.
[Wirebug] Genderless (Not yet named)
HP: 38/41
Status: Bewildered
Level: 4
Strength: 11
Agility: 29
Intelligence: 10
Skills: [Wirebug Silk - Short] The Wirebug's tail can extend extremely resilient Wirebug Silk.
The thickness of the Wirebug Silk changes according to the Wirebug's size.
[Bait Growth] Wirebugs have immense potential for growth.
Feeding them the correct bait can greatly enhance their stats.
Eating indiscriminately will cause them to grow uncontrollably in size, sacrificing agility for higher strength and Wirebug Silk length.
Description: A magical insect found in the regions around Kamura Village.
When it reaches a certain stage of growth, it possesses terrifying explosive power.
Used as a tool for traversing mountains and forests, it has been deployed around Kamura Village.
From the description, it seems that scientific feeding is necessary to increase the Wirebug's strength without making it excessively fat and affecting its agility.
Li Fan analyzed from the encyclopedia's introduction that the Wirebugs capable of participating in hunting battles should have been cultivated and bred.
And the Great Wirebugs are simply a result of overfeeding.
If his deduction is correct, then the Wirebugs used by the protagonist are undoubtedly high-quality individuals that have completed their cultivation.
They can not only carry a hunter fully equipped with heavy armor and a Switch Axe, allowing for brief aerial suspension, but also form a barrier capable of triggering parries, similar to the Water Stance.
As for controlling them, that's out of the question. The binding techniques for Wirebug Silk vary for each monster.
Restraining all four limbs in an extremely short period and achieving control is, at present, a bit fantastical.
Furthermore, in terms of sheer strength, even after successfully binding the Wirebug Silk, it doesn't seem possible to control the monster to ram into a wall.
Now that the specific principles are clear, what should the Wirebugs eat...
Let's try and find out!
Having made up his mind, Li Fan took out a field guide specifically detailing the ecology around Kamura Village.
Kamacuras, Metapod, Crimson Butterfly, Azure Butterfly, Recovering Beetle, Poison Gas Frog...
Li Fan introduced all the creatures that might have a beneficial effect when fed to Wirebugs.
"To improve efficiency, let's split up and capture. Any other questions?"
Before starting the capture, Li Fan tentatively asked.
"I'd like to ask if creatures like the Yeast Rabbit, Coil Serpent, Spiked Beetle, and Silk Moth Spider are clearly not things Wirebugs can eat?"
Yudora inquired.
"That's right. Even smaller environmental creatures are indeed not something Wirebugs can prey on. However, perhaps precisely because they cannot prey on them, it has led to the natural absence of high-quality individuals capable of combat."
Li Fan stated his insight.
The widespread deployment of Great Wirebugs necessitates extensive research.
Therefore, the team is certainly not the first to research Wirebugs.
If naturally occurring excellent individuals existed, they should have been noticed long ago.
"Are you saying that Wirebugs theoretically possess the potential to achieve a powerful level, but due to their own extreme weakness and predatory habits, this possibility has been cut off?"
Yudora inferred.
"That's exactly it. So, we need to capture enough moderately sized Wirebugs, as well as various potential creatures that can cultivate Wirebugs, and through feeding experiments, find the best way to cultivate high-quality individuals."
"I knew it..."
"Huh?"
"Let's go! Let's set off!"
Yudora said, grabbing two bug nets and setting off at a brisk pace.
"I'm off too, meow."
Dilu, carrying a smaller bug net, galloped away on her Sunny.
"Meet back here before dark! Don't forget!"
Li Fan shouted, mounted his Can Can, and plunged into the forest.
As the sun set, Li Fan, steadily ascending the hillside, had a good harvest today. Besides 10 Wirebugs, he also captured over 20 various insects and small creatures.
The only annoyance was hearing the incessant barking of the Great Izuchi.
*Whoosh!* With a swing of the bug net, a Silk Moth Spider was caught.
Li Fan placed it in the net box on his back and continued for a short while before a dilapidated temple appeared ahead.
At the temple entrance, two door panels lay horizontally in the dirt, and the surrounding walls were covered in green moss and wild vines.
"This place looks unlucky. It's getting late, Can Can, let's go."
Li Fan said, making a note on the map.
Can Can, gazing at the abandoned temple, slowly retreated and, after reaching a certain distance, turned and began to gallop away.
In the evening, the team reunited by the river to tally today's achievements.
Yudora alone caught 15 Wirebugs.
Dilu caught 8, and Li Fan caught 10, totaling 33.
As for the other creatures from the field guide, the team captured a total of 64.
After sorting, Yudora and Dilu, exhausted from the day's work, fell asleep in the tents by the river without even taking off their armor.
Li Fan was also very tired but forced himself to complete the task of storing them in balls and naming them.
"Yeye, this is the outer area of the abandoned shrine. There shouldn't be any danger. If any Great Izuchi approach, deal with them as silently as possible. I'm going to rest."
Li Fan stretched and walked into the tent.
*Coo coo!* Yeye responded with a chirp and found a small tree to perch on.
The branch predictably bent to the ground, but Yeye didn't seem to mind.
The team woke up at seven the next morning.
After breakfast, Yudora and Dilu continued deeper into the forest to capture.
Li Fan, meanwhile, began the cultivation tests.
The method was to feed them different creatures and observe the changes in stats and traits displayed on the handheld device to determine the effects.
"Eat, why aren't you eating?"
There were even some who went on strike in the net boxes, much to Li Fan's frustration.
However, considering that these creatures were not previously food for Wirebugs, and some might even be their natural enemies, Li Fan had no choice but to kill them with his hunter's knife.
He ground them into powder before feeding them.
In the afternoon, the results of the first batch of feeding were out.
Five Wirebugs went on strike, and six visibly gained weight after eating meat.
Eleven showed no change in stats, and four experienced a regression in stats.
Eight showed a state of rapid stat increase.
Li Fan summarized the results for these eight with improvements.
The three Wirebugs fed with Crimson Butterflies all gained strength.
And the increase was significant, with one reaching a maximum of 5 points.
Of the three fed with Metapods, only one gained 1 point in agility.
Li Fan speculated that the increase in the other two might have been too small to be reflected numerically.
The two fed with Silk Moth Spiders both developed the trait [Silk Toughness Lv.1], which increased the strength of their silk.
In the evening, Li Fan reported the research findings, stating that tomorrow they would only capture Crimson Butterflies and Silk Moth Spiders, two types of insects.
As for the remaining creatures, except for the two Wirebugs that gained weight the fastest, Li Fan planned to cultivate them into Great Wirebugs, and the rest were released.
For the next ten days, the team continuously captured Crimson Butterflies and Silk Moth Spiders in the wild and fed them to the eight Wirebugs.
Wirebug No. 6's strength reached 89 points before the rapid stat increase prompt disappeared.
The next day, Wirebug No. 27's strength reached 91 points, and it also showed the same situation.
On the third day, the strength enhancement of the remaining six stopped.
Li Fan speculated that this was the limit of strength for their current size.
As for [Silk Toughness], it had reached level 15 a week ago and no longer increased.
Silk Moth Spiders, besides causing them to gain weight, had no further utility, so feeding was stopped.
In terms of actual effectiveness, a Wirebug with 50 strength could comfortably carry Yudora, fully equipped, for about 8 seconds of aerial suspension.
At 75 strength, it could enable Yudora to perform a leap in place.
While their range and height were incomparable to Great Wirebugs, high-quality individuals excelled in maneuverability, controllability, and, most importantly, portability.
Late at night, Li Fan lay in bed, looking at the cluster of blue Wirebugs coiled on the tent ceiling, feeling it was time to return to Kamura Village to craft a Wirebug Crate.
This was used by hunters wielding the Insect Glaive to store their Kinsects.
Dedicated parts for Wirebugs had not yet been developed, so this would have to suffice for now.
"Li Fan?"
"Yes."
"Was there once a large town here?"
Yudora asked.
"Yes, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just that while capturing insects these past few days, we've discovered many large ruins."
Yudora explained.
"The Wind Serpent and the Thunder Serpent did it."
"Ah! You really do know the inside story."
Yudora suddenly sat up.
"I don't know much. The shrine on the mountain originally seemed to be dedicated to some kind of monster. Later, the Thunder Serpent arrived, and all the monsters were driven away, and humans were forced to relocate. Then the Wind Serpent also arrived. These two Elder Dragons chased each other, leading to the Rampage, and all the nearby towns were consequently abandoned."
"Uh... that's hard to understand."
"In short, encountering Elder Dragons is never good."
The next afternoon, the team returned to Kamura Village.
"A Wirebug Crate with three independent storage spaces, feeding troughs, and wrist straps?"
Upon hearing Li Fan's request, the blacksmith, Daitsumon, frowned slightly.
"Yes, each compartment can hold one Wirebug. They don't need to be as large as Kinsects."
"Alright, I'll try my best. If possible, it can be designed as an embedded type, which would make securing it to the gauntlet more stable and prevent it from being too bulky in appearance."
Daitsumon accepted Li Fan's modifications.
At dusk, a large roller vehicle pulled by three Bullfangos arrived at the village entrance.
Puxian, who had just finished feeding his Palamute, looked back and was particularly surprised to see the Mizutsune carcass on the vehicle.
The arrival of a rare Mizutsune carcass was surprising enough, let alone its silent delivery.
Normally, if a hunter team had truly hunted a Mizutsune, even if it took a long time for the carcass to arrive, they would have returned to the village to report it first.
The most outrageous thing was that there were no reported sightings of Mizutsune within Kamura Village's jurisdiction!
"Come out and see the Mizutsune!!!"
A child with an extremely loud voice shouted and ran to the village entrance, drawing many hunters and villagers.
The leader of the Palicoes, with drooping eyelids and covered in dust, stumbled into the village holding a contract.
Just as he was about to faint, a pair of hands caught him.
"It's you... that's great, meow... uh."
The Palico leader tilted his head and fainted in Li Fan's arms.
In the evening, at the inn.
The Palico leader was eating ravenously at the table. Dilu, seeing the empty plates, pushed her own portion over.
*Ding!* *Ding!* *Ding!*...
Hearing a knock on the door, Li Fan saw it was Chief Puxian and invited him into the room.
"There's no need to worry. We at Kamura Village have always adhered to the rule of not questioning the origin of equipment or materials. The processor for that Mizutsune has already begun working on it. The large roller vehicle covered in ice crystals is stored at the merchant guild and can be picked up at any time."
Puxian informed him.
"Thank you, Chief."
"Your team hunted a Mizutsune within Kamura Village's jurisdiction, which is a significant contribution to regional safety. I should be thanking you. Would you consider getting certified at the Guild sometime?"
"Okay."
"Phew~ This way, Kamura Village has one more five-star monster hunted."
Puxian was very happy.
"Chief, I have a question?"
"Feel free to ask."
"Does Kamura Village have a Great Sword technique where one slash can unleash three spirit gauges?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
Li Fan was pleasantly surprised.
"But it's in legend."
"Ah?"
"Please wait a moment."
Puxian said, then quickly left and returned shortly with a scroll.
He moved the plates aside and unfurled the scroll on the table.
Li Fan saw a hunter depicted in ink wash, holding a weapon resembling a Great Sword, swinging it horizontally while lunging forward.
The spirit gauges, drawn with ink wash, circled the body and were divided into three streams: upper, left, and right.
"Who is depicted here is no longer verifiable. I only know that this sword technique is called 'Three Moons,' and it has been lost for a very long time, becoming one of Kamura Village's ten great legends."
Puxian explained.
This is impossible for me to learn.
Li Fan was speechless.
In Rise, after successfully triggering a parry with a special sheath, the spirit gauges are divided into three streams and concentrated on a single point for impact.
This move's characteristic is unique. Li Fan believed that if he could find someone who could perform it, learning the special sheath would be easy.
Who would have thought it was lost in its place of origin? If he truly couldn't learn it, then his only option would be the "Iai Slash" on the New World.
Li Fan reluctantly continued to search for clues on the scroll.
After looking for a moment, he covered the figure holding the sword and found that the background silhouette looked somewhat familiar.
This is... that abandoned shrine?
Since the equipment crafting would take about half a month, the team set out into the wilderness again the next day.
As the custom Wirebug Crate for the gauntlet was not yet ready, the team began practicing coordination with Wirebugs using a side-slung Wirebug Crate.
The first three days were basic deployment and retrieval practice. Once they were sufficiently proficient with Wirebugs, they moved on to attempting Wirebug Silk Spirit Gauge Slashes, Wirebug Kicks, and Water Stance.
Yudora was unfamiliar with Wirebug Silk skills, but since she already had the idea of leaping into the air to attack, she practiced with great enthusiasm.
Dilu began practicing high-altitude throws of various items using Wirebugs.
On the eighth day, Li Fan announced his intention to explore the abandoned shrine.
"Didn't you say there was a high probability of a Magnamalo being inside?"
Yudora asked, confused.
When they had entered the abandoned shrine area before, Li Fan had emphasized that if they encountered a Magnamalo, they should flee immediately.
"I want to go in and find some clues. It'll be fine."
"Zhan Zhan is still forging his tail in the Ancient Forest, meow. I have a feeling that going rashly will be dangerous."
Dilu said worriedly.
"Don't worry, you two. Hunt more food, and I'll be back to eat."
Li Fan said and set off.
Xiao Bendan soared into the sky, reaching the sky above the abandoned shrine in less than half an hour.
After familiarizing himself with the surrounding terrain with binoculars and confirming the absence of Magnamalo, Li Fan made an extremely bold attempt.
He stood up on the dragon's back and leaped off.
About a hundred meters from the ground, he raised his hand and released Wirebug No. 1, Liu Neng.
*Screech!*
Grabbing the Wirebug Silk that glowed with a blue light, Li Fan hung suspended in mid-air.
"Phew~ It seems a bit high... Zhao Si, your turn."
Li Fan said, swinging his hand downwards and releasing Wirebug No. 2, Zhao Si.
*Whoosh!* The Wirebug hovered steadily, its wings beating.
Li Fan released one hand, and his body descended, completing the exchange. At this point, Wirebug No. 1, Liu Neng, returned to the Wirebug Crate.
Good, this is the rhythm. By cycling through three Wirebugs, it's basically guaranteed that no Wirebug will be exhausted.
Li Fan raised his hand downwards again, and Wirebug No. 3, Xie Guankun, flew out.
After two cycles of exchange, Li Fan released the Wirebug Silk and landed gently in the shrine's courtyard.
After walking slowly through the overgrown courtyard, crossing a small log bridge, two abandoned halls appeared before him.
Li Fan hid behind a stone lantern, opened his Poké Ball, and deployed a Great Wirebug.
"Don't worry, Magnamalo doesn't eat insects. If we encounter danger later, I'll escape first and come back to retrieve you when I have a chance."
Li Fan said, then stuffed a meatball into the Great Wirebug's mouth.
He then peeked out from behind the stone lantern, released his lightbulb, and slowly approached the dark hall.
Cobweb-covered wooden chests and several shattered, fallen statues were all that occupied the square hall.
So clean, it's likely been explored countless times.
Li Fan quietly withdrew and then quietly moved to the adjacent hall. This area appeared to be small, but there was a row of multi-layered cabinets on the inner wall.
*Whoosh~* *Whoosh~*
Li Fan blew away the dust and began to rummage.