Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 332 The Invitation from the Dragon Academy

After handing over the materials for the Deviljho and a large processing fee to the blacksmith, Lin Lin received a notice to pick up his new weapon a month later, only to be kicked out by the grumpy old dragonman.

Lin Lin touched his deflated money pouch, a look of pain on his face.

This old man, he's a big customer who paid 60,000 z, can't he even give me a kind look...?

Despite the pain in his wallet, Lin Lin had absolutely no regrets about the order. If he had another chance, he would still eagerly pull out his purse.

After all, that was the Deviljho Charge Blade. According to the blacksmith, in terms of attack power alone, the [Brutal Charge Blade] would far surpass any other Charge Blade he currently possessed. If it weren't for the fact that it was a Dragon-elemental Charge Blade with a strong elemental phial instead of a phial, which would make it very difficult to deal with certain monsters with high Dragon resistance, Lin Lin would feel that he would no longer need to upgrade the Earth-Sand Armor Charge Blade into a Diablos Charge Blade.

"Seize the young master?"

When Lin Lin finished recounting the large sum of gold coins he had just spent, Bref instinctively opened his mouth wide.

Dude, my Rathian Long Sword costs less than 10,000 Z, isn't your Charge Blade a bit over the top?

"Oh, it's not just about building the weapon; it also includes the cost of subsequent upgrades."

Lin Lin glanced back at the blacksmith shop and continued:
"Just crafting it would cost around 25,000 Z, but the boss said that with the materials I have, plus a few pieces of Elder Dragon Blood, I can enhance it into a Charge Blade called [Destinietta], which will have even higher dragon attribute strength and attack power, so I'll just pay for the enhancement as well."

"Ancient Dragon Blood? Do you have any? I cleaned up the battlefield after defeating the Storm Dragon, and I basically couldn't find any materials to extract Ancient Dragon Blood..."

Lin Lin gave Bref a strange look. "Don't you have one?"

Bref: ? ? ?

"Didn't you get your share of the rewards for fighting the Mine Dragon in Lokrak?"

Brave: ...

"Oh, I forgot, it's probably because your contribution wasn't big enough, so it's normal that you didn't get a share."

Lin Lin patted Brave on the shoulder with sympathy, his face serious.

Brave: ...

It’s hard, the fist is hard!
Lin Lin laughed twice, then patted Brave heavily on the shoulder, "Let's go, have a meal, then go to the hot springs!"

……

Frankly speaking, in Lin Lin's view, Jieyun Village, as a village whose main revenue comes from tourism and forestry, is not very qualified in terms of tourism development.

Although the hot springs here are unique and the scenery is beautiful, making it a perfect place for tourists to relax and rejuvenate, its performance in the catering industry, which is closely related to tourism, is rather unsatisfactory. Apart from the drinks being somewhat unique, the only decent food is the hot spring eggs... Lin Lin felt this was very bad.

Soaking in the hot spring, Lin Lin chewed on a tender and delicious hot spring egg, then took a sip of the newly released Lightning Apple Cider, and couldn't help but let out a sigh.

However, upon closer reflection, this kind of catering does go quite well with hot springs. If it were replaced with smoky barbecue, the smell of oil and smoke would make it hard to say whether guests would still be in the mood to soak in the hot springs.

"What's wrong? Why did you suddenly sigh?"

Bref removed the towel from his forehead and lazily glanced at Lin Lin.

"I feel sorry for the catering industry in Jieyun."

Lin Lin picked up a piece of soft-boiled egg, tossed it into the air, and then opened his mouth to catch it precisely.

"It's too monotonous. Although this creates a better atmosphere, I just want to eat a lot of meat and fish."

Lin Lin picked up another hot spring egg and waved it at Bref, saying, "This thing won't fill you up at all."

"So tell me, if you were to revitalize the catering industry in Jieyun, how would you plan to do it?"

Bref became interested and pressed for more details.

Lin Lin gritted his teeth, pondered for a moment, and then said:
"Cold wild boar head meat salad, braised pork offal, stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots, braised sashimi fish, braised queen prawns, steamed venison, grilled venison skewers, deep-fried fish fillets, freshly sliced ​​swordfish sashimi, pork bone and matsutake mushroom soup..."

As Lin Lin uttered one name after another, Bref couldn't help but fantasize along with his words. Only after Lin Lin finished speaking did he belatedly wipe the drool that was almost spilling from the corner of his mouth and look at Lin Lin with a strange look in his eyes.

Why are you looking at me like that?

Brave hissed, "How about we make a deal?"

Lin Lin tilted his head. "Hmm?"

"Stop being a hunter, go learn to cook cat food! I'll hire you to cook cat food for me from now on!"

Lin Lin rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "Get lost!"

Brave coughed twice, realizing his suggestion was unreliable:

"Ahem, just kidding. We're a team. If you become a cat lover, who's going to face the monster head-on?"

"But seriously, aren't you really going to try learning how to cook cat food? I feel like you have a real talent for it..."

Lin Lin shook his head. "Cat food, cat food, that's only cat food made by Palicoes. If I try to make it, it'll become human food, what's the point? No way!"

There's something else he didn't say: the reason he can come up with so many ways to eat is because of the cultural heritage accumulated over thousands of years. He can just pick a few dishes from his memory, find similar ingredients and replace them, and that's about it. But at most, he can be called a good eater; he's still a long way from being a good cook. He doesn't have that much energy to spare for learning culinary skills.

What delicious food are you talking about?

A young voice came from behind him. Lin Lin looked in the direction of the voice and saw a fit young man wearing shorts. Of course, this fitness was relative to the average villager. Compared to Lin Lin, the young man would appear rather petite.

"Kukushin?"

Lin Lin recognized the other person and greeted them with some surprise. "What are you doing here?"

The other person was the younger of the two Dragon Academy researchers that Lin Lin had rescued from right under Lan Long's nose. Lin Lin had originally thought that they would return to the Dragon Academy soon after returning to Jieyun, but he did not expect that more than a week had passed and he would still see them here.

"I am deeply grateful for your life-saving act. If I were to leave without a word and not formally express my thanks, it would be too ungrateful of me."

Kukoshin stopped a short distance in front of Lin Lin and then bowed deeply to him solemnly—well, if the other party hadn't been wearing only a pair of shorts, the scene might have looked more formal.

However, Lin Lin didn't care about that. After all, this was a bathing area, and they wouldn't let you in without changing your clothes. Besides, he didn't save people for any reward; he just wanted to save them.

Lin Lin was just thinking about whether he should abandon his lazy bathing state and stand up to be serious, but Kukoshin had already sat down on his other side, so he gave up the idea.

Looking at Kukosin sitting upright next to him, who seemed quite nervous, Lin Lin knew that the other man probably rarely went to hot springs, so he couldn't help but make a casual joke:

"I thought that with such a formal event, I'd receive some amazing surprise gift, like a Challenger's Critical Strike charm or some kind of bead..."

Kukoshin instinctively tried to stand up again, but before he could move, Lin Lin grabbed him and pressed him back down.

"Just kidding. Don't be so nervous. I saved people simply because I wanted to. Since you're here, enjoy the soak and have some fun."

Kuksim still looked a little awkward, but he was definitely much more relaxed than before, and he placed his hands on his knees:
"By the way, I think I just heard you guys talking about what delicious food you were eating?"

“Yeah, I was saying that Lin Lin should have a talent for becoming a cat chef.”

Bref nodded, not suspecting that they were being eavesdropped on. After all, although they hadn't deliberately shouted, as hunters, they were used to loud voices, so it wasn't surprising that they had been overheard.

Kukoshin breathed a sigh of relief:

"In that case, if you have some free time, why not take a trip to Bernard Village? Their specialty cheese fondue is really amazing. The cheese, made with fresh Yun sheep and deer milk, is incredibly sweet and delicious. I highly recommend it!"

Seeing that Lin Lin and Breve were both looking at him, Kukoshin took a deep breath:
"Actually, my teacher and I discussed for a long time how to thank you, but we felt it wasn't quite right. After thinking it over, we decided to invite you to visit the Dragon Academy. The Dragon Academy is a newly established institution focused on scientific research, and its members are full of energy and enthusiasm. Perhaps one of our research projects can be of help to you there?"

Lin Lin listened silently, only correcting one point at the end:
"No need for so many honorifics. As I said before, if you consider me a friend, just call me by my name."

Kukoshin repeatedly agreed, but it's unclear whether he actually listened or not.

But Brave discovered a blind spot:

"But didn't you just say you were going to Berna Village? How did it turn into Dragon Academy?"

Kukoshin blinked, then realized he hadn't given a detailed introduction to the Dragon Academy, so he quickly added:

"That's right. The Dragon History Institute is a newly established research institution in recent years. Its full name is the Dragon History Research Institute. It mainly studies the ecological data of various monsters, as well as some cutting-edge hunting technologies. The research site of the Dragon History Institute is located in the village of Berna on the plateau."

"plateau?"

Bref seemed intrigued, and Lin Lin could more or less guess why.

This guy was born in Tangia Port, and then went to Lokrak, Jieyun Village and Yanhuo Village. He has seen the sea and the desert, stepped into the tropical rainforest and the polar islands. He has seen almost all kinds of natural scenery. But the plateau is not among these places, so it is not surprising that he became interested.

"I've heard of Berna Village. It's said to be a beautiful village nestled in a high plateau surrounded by mountains, protected by the mountains, grasslands, and blue sky. Oh, and I've heard that they have a specialty rice called 'takagenmi' (high-brow rice), which is said to have a soft and fragrant texture..."

Seeing Bref's eager expression, Kukoshin couldn't help but smile. He glanced at Lin Lin and noticed that although Lin Lin wasn't as obvious as Bref, he hadn't shown any sign of rejection. In other words, his invitation had been accepted.

Kuksim clenched his fist silently, and then he heard Brave sigh immediately afterward:

"Unfortunately, our itinerary is already set, and we will be heading to East Doruma soon, so I'm afraid we won't be able to visit Dragon Academy anytime soon."

"what?"

Kukoshin was stunned for a moment, then stammered, "Oh, I see..."

"It's true that I can't go in a short time, but this invitation shouldn't be valid only for a short period of time, right?"

Lin Lin suddenly spoke up.

Kukoshin suddenly realized what was happening and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, that's for sure!"

"Once we've established ourselves in East Doruma, we might be able to visit the Dragon Academy. To be honest, I'm really interested in the Dragon Academy's research. I heard that you've even developed 'Hunting Arts' and 'Hunting Styles' there? I wonder if that's true?"

Kukoshin's mood improved after he realized that the other party genuinely couldn't come in the short term, rather than simply declining. Now that he discovered the other party was actually interested in their research, his passion as a researcher was completely ignited.

"I didn't expect you to have heard of these things. That's right, the Dragon Academy is indeed conducting research in these two areas. However, the guild believes that our current research results are too radical, so we have decided not to promote them for the time being."

"Hunting Arts? Hunting Styles? What are those? Is there a difference between Hunting Styles and Combat Styles? Can you even research that?"

So Kuksum patiently explained to Brave:
"Hunting style is achieved by studying the moves used by hunters in combat, hoping to adjust various moves so that hunters with different combat habits can better play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. The style that is commonly used among hunters without any adjustments is called 'guild style'."

Lin Lin's breathing became rapid, and he asked impatiently:
"So, do you have the courage to express your style?"

"Courageous style?"

Kukoshin frowned in confusion. "I don't think I've heard of any similar terms before. Currently, the main styles studied by the Dragon Academy are Bushido and aerial combat. Other styles are either still in the conceptual stage or not mature enough and need improvement."

That's it...

Lin Lin sighed; the invincible Y-shaped attack was gone...

However, this is not surprising. According to Kukoshin, Ryukiin only has three main styles, and the Strike style is still nowhere in sight. It seems that it is still a long way from the X timeline, and the Courage style of XX is even more nowhere in sight.

Style doesn't matter, let's hear about the current state of Hunting Arts. He's been craving the Charge Blade Hunting Arts for a long time, whether it's the incredibly cool Greatsword or the Limit Break that unleashes ten phials at once, they're all incredibly tempting...

(End of this chapter)