Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 331 Brutal Shield and Axe
If forbidden monsters really do affect a hunter's mind, does that mean that the solar eclipse that one sees is proof that one's mind has already been affected?
But this raises another question: when?
When was he affected by that taboo? And why was he the one affected?
Lin Lin crossed his hands and placed them on the table, staring at his interlaced fingers as he fell into deep thought.

He looked back on his past experiences, trying to find any clues related to the taboo. However, looking at the places he had been since arriving in the Monster Hunter world, they were nothing more than a city, two villages, and various hunting grounds in the wild. None of these places seemed to have anything to do with the taboo.

Wait, after arriving in the Monster Hunter world?

Lin Lin's gaze sharpened. If there was one major turning point in his life, it would undoubtedly be the fact that he had transmigrated to this world.

When Lin Lin first discovered he had transmigrated, he felt like he had been given the script of countless wish-fulfillment novel protagonists he had read. They all transmigrated by accident, embarked on a wonderful path of marrying a rich and beautiful woman, and reaching the pinnacle of life. But instead, he had to endure several days of savage life after landing. If he hadn't been lucky enough to be saved by Xiong Er, he probably would have become monster excrement or a stench bomb long ago...

If I was really affected, it should only have happened back then, right? Now it seems that my time travel was probably not an accident at all, but rather I was simply summoned by some forbidden entity that possessed the power of space.

Moreover, the other party most likely left something on him. Although they never showed themselves, they were always watching him in secret. If Lanlong had continued to be stubborn, the solar eclipse might have turned into a total solar eclipse, and then a white-haired, red-eyed Arch-Tempered Eel would have flown out from the black sun.

I wonder if that guy really shows up, will he just pound Lanlong's head and beat him, or will he throw a tantrum and turn the entire Lingfeng Peak and even Jieyun upside down?

Lin Lin subconsciously looked up towards the sun, but all he saw were the antique wooden rooftops. Only then did he come to his senses and notice the worried looks on the faces of the three people around him.

He then realized that he had been lost in thought for quite a while.

"Oh, I'm fine. Where were we?"

"Red bean paste?"

Ye Zi cast a suspicious glance at him. She had a feeling that Lin Lin had been thinking about something unpleasant while he was deep in thought, as his expression was both solemn and worried.

"It's nothing, I just spaced out."

Lin Lin forced a smile, trying to appear more relaxed, but to little avail.

There was nothing he could do; he had inexplicably become involved with a taboo subject, and he didn't even know what the other party's purpose was. If anyone could laugh like nothing had happened in this situation, Lin Lin would have to give them a thumbs up.

"We were just talking about the solar eclipse. Are you sure you saw it?"

Cihua gently poked the paper covered in writing with the tip of her pen and asked earnestly.

"Perhaps I was hallucinating because my master was seriously injured while saving me. At least I think I saw it."

"That's it..."

Then, with a few quick strokes, Cihua wrote a few more lines, reciting them casually as she wrote:

"To be honest, I was shocked when I saw the information about the Storm Dragon, let alone you hunters who have faced its storms. It's normal to feel stressed. Fortunately, we have the best hot springs in Yuukoku. Soaking in them is a good way to relieve stress."

Lin Lin nodded. His thoughts about the Ancestral Dragon had been like a Damocles' sword hanging over his head, making it hard for him to breathe. He felt he really needed to relax.

This flower put away the notes she had just written, took out another blank sheet of paper, and looked at Yoko.

"The entire process from Lin Lin's perspective has been recorded. Now it's your turn, Sister Yezi."

"Oh, okay, here's the thing..."

……

After reporting the whole story to Cihua, Lin Lin and the other two waited for a while before they could retrieve their hunter's notebooks.

Brave looked at the task list with nine stars on his resume and grinned from ear to ear.

"Lin Lin, if I go back to Lokrak right now and slam the Hunter's Notebook on the guerrilla captain's desk, do you think he'll cry and beg me to stay?"

Lin Lin carefully put the notebook away, then looked at Brave and rolled his eyes.
"If I asked you to go back to the city's guerrilla forces, where all you'd do all day is fight Pteranodons and Velocidrome, and maintain order, would you be willing?"

Upon hearing this, Brave thought about it carefully and couldn't help but chuckle.
"That's still not possible. My dream is to become a great hunter. I really can't waste my life on something so trivial."

"It seems that the Lanlong incident didn't scare you much. Great hunters have to face all sorts of natural disasters like Lanlong."

"Ha, of course, who am I? Do you think Brave lacks that kind of courage?"

Ye Zi muttered under her breath, "But it was Lin Lin and me who faced the natural disaster head-on. You didn't even get to see Lan Long's face..."

Brave's face turned bright red, much like the head of a freshly cooked shrimp.
"What nonsense! What kind of talk is this! I simply didn't draw my sword to fight it head-on, and I was the one who lured Jin Leigong here! The hunting incident can't be settled like this!"

Seeing Bref's red face, Lin Lin couldn't help but smile, feeling a little more relaxed.

Bref glanced at Lin Lin furtively and noticed that his expression was no longer as serious as before. He then exchanged a glance with Ye Zi and dropped his exaggerated expression.

"Ahem, speaking of which, what are your plans for the future?"

Lin Lin recalled what Konoha had said earlier, stretched, and said, "It's nothing. Eat well, sleep well, and take a hot spring bath... Oh, by the way, I brought back a lot of Deviljho materials. I'll take them to the weapon shop later and see if I can forge a new weapon or something."

"No, I mean, a longer-term plan."

Brave paused, looking around. The village, now filled with various shades of red, was peaceful and harmonious; simply gazing at the surrounding scenery was enough to soothe the soul.

"The reason Yoko and I chose to come to Yuukun was to help you resolve the turmoil there, wasn't it? Now that Yuukun Village has returned to peace, what should we do next?"

"Next?"

Lin Lin crossed his arms, tilted his head back and rested it on his hands, squinted at the dazzling sun in the sky, as if he was thinking, or as if he was daydreaming.

A few seconds later, Lin Lin blinked and continued:
"Hmm... I guess I'll be going to Dongdoruma with Master and the others, right? Master has mentioned it to me several times before, but Master is seriously injured right now, so we'll have to wait until he's fully recovered before we leave. Until then, I'll stay in Yukumo Village and rest for now..."

"Dongdoruma?"

Yoko gently tapped her chin with her fingertips. "I heard it's the largest city on the entire continent! The Hunter's Guild headquarters should be there too. It wouldn't be bad to go and take a look."

Bref nodded in agreement. “Indeed, the guild headquarters is in East Doruma. Theoretically, you can receive commissions from all over the continent there, and there will definitely be many commissions that suit your abilities. It is indeed a good place to improve your strength.”

Lin Lin seemed to snap out of his daze and turned to look at the two of them: "Hey? Are you coming to Dongdoruma with me?"

Bref raised an eyebrow and punched Lin Lin on the shoulder. "Of course, aren't we teammates?"

Ye Zi didn't speak, but simply gazed at Lin Lin with her moist eyes.

Lin Lin met Ye Zi's gaze, his heart skipped a beat for no reason, and he quickly coughed and looked away.

"Ahem, that's not what I meant. I just didn't know how long I would be staying in Dongdoruma this time, so I was asking about your plans so that we would know where to meet up if we split up."

“Let’s go to East Doruma, we don’t need to separate.” “Yes, yes, let’s go to East Doruma.”

Yoko finally spoke, and Bref echoed her words from the side.

Lin Lin smiled gently, "Alright, let's go to Dongdoruma then."

……

Blacksmith shop.

Lin Lin flipped off Tiao Tiao's back and jumped down. Brave helped him take materials out of the prop bag that Tiao Tiao was carrying.

As for Ye Zi, she originally wanted to come along, but Shan Qihuang sent someone to deliver a letter from Yanhuo Village to her, so only Lin Lin and Bref were present at the moment.

"Hey! Isn't this Lin Lin? What do you mean, did you bring me some super rare Elder Dragon materials this time?"

The blacksmith shop owner saw Jump's tall figure from afar, so he knew that one of the hunters who had come to quell the natural disaster had arrived without Lin Lin even getting close. He immediately rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Hehe, the materials from the Azure Dragon... I never thought I'd be able to process materials from such a powerful being myself one day. With this experience, maybe I can even try to reach the level of a Dragon Craftsman..."

"Ahem, it's not material from a Storm Dragon, but it's still extremely rare!"

Lin Lin smiled ingratiatingly and handed over a large fang from a Deviljho, then turned and pointed, "Take a look, is this enough to forge a weapon?"

"Huh? What's that? It smells awful!"

Old Dragon Man frowned, took the tooth fragment, and examined it in his hand.

"How about it? Is it okay?"

Lin Lin's eyes were filled with anticipation.

The blacksmith shop owner's expression shifted dramatically, like a Sichuan opera face-changing act, from elation to disgust in less than a second, leaving everyone in awe.

The old dragon man took a deep breath and muttered a few words under his breath.

The other person's voice was low, and Lin Lin only caught a few words, such as "bad luck" and "Deviljho"...

Lin Lin blinked, and only then did he vaguely remember something.

I don't know where I read this before, but it seems to say that despite being a relatively rare monster, the Deviljho is not popular with craftsmen. The Deviljho's body is stained with bloodstains that are almost impossible to remove due to its years of fighting, and its scarred skin is referred to by craftsmen as "cursed material."

Oh no, could it be that this new equipment can't be made?
"Sigh... It's only because you're a good kid. If some clueless newbie had brought this thing over, I would have told him to get lost already. Really..."

The blacksmith, carrying a large hammer on his shoulder, walked around the pile of materials on the ground and looked at them twice, his face almost scrunched up in a frown.

Lin Lin cautiously took two steps closer and asked in a low voice:
"Is there something wrong with the materials from this Deviljho? Is it really a cursed material that can't be used?"

The blacksmith picked up another black scale from the Deviljho, examined it from side to side, and sighed:
"It can be used, but this stuff is indeed a cursed material."

Lin Lin almost instantly recalled the description of the Black Dragon equipment, which said that its wearer would be trapped in endless nightmares.

No way, one creature that's suspected to be the Ancestral Dragon isn't enough, now they're doing this with the Deviljho too?
"So... if this thing is made into equipment, will there be any negative consequences?"

The old dragonman rubbed his arms and legs. "There will definitely be some impact. The residual mental effects from materials from monsters of the Deviljho level are much stronger than those from the Zinogre. But it's not a big problem. As long as you get used to it, it's fine if you don't use it for a long time."

Upon hearing this, Lin Lin knew there was more to come:
"The real big problem is..."

Could it be that the equipment and weapons produced have some fatal flaws?

"The real problem is that I won't have a moment's peace for the next few days. Processing materials from Deviljho requires several times more effort than other monsters. Once you make this weapon, I'll have to work non-stop for a month!"

Lin Lin blinked, finally realizing what was happening.

So the cursed materials are real, but for the craftsmen, it's a curse that forces them to work overtime...

"Hehehe, you've worked hard. I'll treat you to a big meal later!"

"No thanks!"

The blacksmith waved his hand, his face somewhat sour, "Just give me a little more processing fee, so this old man can earn a bit more!"

"As for the Charge Blade you want to forge, I do have the blueprints here. Take a look. The Deviljho Charge Blade looks a bit different from the normal Charge Blade, so you'll need to get used to the feel of it after you switch."

As he spoke, the other person went back inside, and after a short while came out again with a scroll, which he showed to Lin Lin.

Looking at the design of the Deviljho Charge Blade on the blueprint, Lin Lin fell into a brief silence. The other party's description of it as "not quite the same as a normal Charge Blade" was the mildest way to put it.

This thing isn't a shield and axe anymore! Look at the chain on this "charged sword," it's a real chainsaw! There's even an iron chain! And this shield, its design is ridiculously exaggerated. If you only knew it was a shield, you'd probably think it was a meat grinder's wheel!
The thought of this thing being assembled into a giant axe and swung down, then spinning wildly to rip through flesh and blood, causing a bloody scene to splatter everywhere, made Lin Lin shudder involuntarily.

That's incredibly brutal, almost as brutal as a Deviljho...

(End of this chapter)