Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 340 Failed Attempt to Show Off

The hunt for the Purple Water Beast ended quite quickly, so quickly that Lin Lin even felt it was a bit rushed. From accepting the mission and leaving the village to the slaying of the Purple Water Beast, it took less than fifty minutes in total.

What does this mean? In a game, if you spend fifty minutes fighting a dragon, you'll be overtime. But in reality, normally, it might not even take fifty minutes to walk from the village to the hunting grounds, let alone spend a considerable amount of time searching for monsters. If you're unlucky, you might not find your target for a day or two.

Now, looking at the corpse of the Purple Water Beast lying quietly on the ground, Lin Lin was momentarily lost in thought.

With the help of the Sky, the time spent traveling and searching for targets was greatly reduced, and even combat became much easier.

If it weren't for Da Kong's fireball evaporating most of the moisture from the Purple Water Beast's body, Lin Lin's final axe strike would likely have turned the Purple Water Beast into a self-destructing infantryman, blasting venom everywhere. He might have ended up riding back to the village in the cat cart too—oh, I almost forgot, he didn't hire a cat rescue team before setting off, so if he fell down, no cats would come out to rescue him.

By the way, when Ookora first appeared and ambushed the Purple Water Beast, it seemed he kicked and destroyed a venom ball...

Lin Lin came to his senses and examined Da Kong's body again carefully. He found that it was still full of energy and showed no signs of poisoning.

"Hiss... As expected of a fire dragon, its poison resistance is really high..."

Well, of course, this may also be largely due to the fact that Oozora had no external injuries and the venom did not come into direct contact with his flesh.

"Boss Meow, the trap is set..."

Suddenly a shout came from not far behind him. Lin Lin turned around and saw the date standing there frozen.

Date shook off the dirt clinging to her clothes, glanced suspiciously at Lin Lin and Ye Zi, and couldn't help but ask:

"Huh? Where did the Purple Water Beast go, meow? Weren't we supposed to lure it into a trap, meow?"

Lin Lin touched his nose guiltily and turned slightly to the side so that Yezao could see the corpse lying quietly on the riverbank.

Actually, he originally wanted to follow the pre-arranged battle plan, cooperating with Yoko little by little to lure the Purple Water Beast into position, and finally use a trap to trap it and unleash a burst of power to kill it. However, plans are not always as fast as they are. With the cooperation of Sky, such a good opportunity for Super Amped Elemental Discharge was presented to them. No qualified Shield Axe Man could resist releasing it.

As for the result... this Purple Water Beast was completely fragile; one Super Amped Elemental Discharge and it was gone. It didn't have the physical strength that a five-star monster should have...

"We've already successfully defeated them, meow!"

Date subconsciously looked down at the digging cat paw sheath she was wearing. Did this mean that the trap she had just painstakingly dug out... was useless?
Date shook her head vigorously, trying to shake off the inexplicable emotions that were welling up in her mind. No, no, the hunt went so smoothly, this is a good thing, meow!

It glanced left and right at Lin Lin and Ye Zi, who were still standing there, and felt slightly strange. It subconsciously took a few steps forward:
"Now that the hunt is over, why not gather the materials and take them back to the village, meow?"

Yoko tried to stop Date from getting closer, but by the time she reached out her hand, it was too late.

After taking a few steps, Yezao felt something was off about the texture under her feet and instinctively looked down.

The riverbank was originally covered with pebbles, but now the pebbles under its feet were no longer the usual rocky texture, but were covered with a large area of ​​viscous purple liquid. When the date took a few steps, it stepped on the purple liquid that had not yet dried.

"I see……"

Before Yezao could even utter the last "meow," she felt dizzy, her limbs went limp, and she suddenly lost all strength. It looked like she was about to trip over her own feet and fall headfirst into the pool of viscous purple liquid in front of her.

"call out--"

Yoko's Insect Stick touched the ground again, and with a leap, she flung out a Floater. While in mid-air, she reached out and grabbed Date by the back of its neck, landing it in a safe area that was not contaminated by the venom.

He pulled out a bottle of antidote and poured it down Yezao's throat. The dizziness and weakness subsided considerably. After shaking off the residual venom that was causing the burning pain on her feet, Yezao finally saw clearly what the battleground on the riverbank was really like.

The venom residue it had stepped on earlier was almost everywhere on the riverbank, with varying shades of purple. In some places, the venom had almost dried up, while in others, the venom had pooled together, forming a pool of venom.

Date Palm's current Thunder Wolf Dragon Cat Armor primarily protects its upper body and head, with no protective gear on its feet. This means that the only safe place for it to land on this riverbank is an area completely unstained by the purple dye.

"Now you understand why the stripping hasn't started yet, right?"

Lin Lin shrugged at the dates.

This purple water beast is covered in poison. You might not get poisoned during the battle, but instead get poisoned while skinning it and collapse from the venom.

If it weren't for needing materials from the Purple Water Beast as proof of mission completion, Lin Lin wouldn't have wanted to take a single material from this guy...

Lin Lin glanced at the large pool of viscous venom in front of him and couldn't help but sigh. He could only wait until the venom had dried up completely before he could peel it off.

This is why Osora has a strong body and high poison resistance, allowing him to run around energetically in an environment full of venom.

……

Two hours later.

The upper reaches of the stream.

After glancing at the fish swimming in the water and confirming that the water quality was acceptable and the effects of the venom were not too severe, Lin Lin stepped into the water and used the water flow to wash away the venom on his feet.

Yezi and Yezao struck the same pose as Lin Lin, standing in the stream. Yezao couldn't help but sigh:
"This must be the only monster that's still so troublesome even after it's dead, right?"

Yoko swung her toes and echoed:
"Based on my current hunting experience, yes. Although monsters like fire dragons, poison monsters, and poison phoenixes all have the ability to secrete venom, they only use it during combat or hunting. Monsters like the Purple Water Beast, which constantly produce venom, are probably unique..."

Lin Lin opened his mouth, but he didn't quite agree with Yezao's point of view.

Putting everything else aside, just take the matter of the Lava Mountain Dragon and the Ancient Dragon crossing to the New World. If that guy were to die in the ley lines, the entire New World would be blown to smithereens. That would be much more troublesome than the Purple Water Beast that just died.

However, considering that this matter probably hasn't happened yet in this world, Lin Lin just pursed his lips and didn't say anything more.

"Alright, we've almost finished cleaning up. We should head back now. If we stay any longer, I'm afraid we'll miss dinner."

……

Meeting hall.

Cihua looked at Lin Lin and Ye Zi, who had returned to this place, and tilted her head in confusion.

"Huh? Do you two want to cancel the mission?"

How strange. He rushed over and snatched the quest in such a hurry, why does he want to cancel it so soon? Lin Lin slammed his hunter's notebook on the quest counter, put a small bag on it, and said nothing.

This flower tilted its head again. Could it be that it wanted to subcontract the task, and that the small bag contained extra compensation sponsored by it personally?
But when Cihua picked up the small bag and shook it, she didn't hear the crisp sound of gold coins clinking together. It didn't seem like there was any money in there.
Lin Lin observed the flower's reaction with great interest, waiting to see when she would realize what was happening.

Yoko rolled her eyes and muttered a few words under her breath, but she didn't remind Konohana. Instead, she quietly watched from the side.

Brother Lin Lin has such a perverse sense of humor...

Ci Hua gave Lin Lin another strange look, sensing something odd about his silent, smiling expression.

Did you dig a pit somewhere for me to fall into?
Did I do something wrong again? No, that's not right. They took me away as soon as the emergency mission started, and I haven't even had a chance to post it on the notice board yet. I couldn't have forgotten to take it down...

After hesitating for a long time, Cihua, who was getting impatient, almost blurted out, opened the small bag with a suspicious look and then exclaimed in surprise.

"This is!"

Cihua took out a rolled-up piece of purple leather, unfolded it, and reached out to touch it. It had a soft, sponge-like feel to it.

"The spongy purple skin is a material produced by the Purple Water Beast!"

Lin Lin stood proudly with his hands on his hips and a smile on his face, waiting for the amazement and praise that followed.

He'd already come up with all sorts of praise for Konohana, like "the fastest mission completion record in history" and "the genius boy of Yukumo Village"...

Suddenly, Cihua stared intently into Lin Lin's eyes, lowering her voice:
"Hey! You should know that buying and selling materials is against the rules, right? Especially using purchased materials to impersonate proof of quest completion, that will be severely punished by the guild!"

"If you really don't want to face that Purple Water Beast, I can cancel the mission for you. Just don't go astray!"

Lin Lin: ...

Man! What can I say?

Yoko: Trying not to laugh.jpg
Seeing Lin Lin's speechless expression, Ye Zi, unable to hold back her laughter any longer, gently poked the purple scroll in Ci Hua's hand:
"If you don't want to be criticized by Ms. Sasayuki again, why don't you take a closer look at it?"

This flower: ?
She examined the purple leather bag in her hand over and over again, then cast a college student-like gaze at Yoko, clear yet foolish.

"What's wrong with this purple skin?"

Lin Lin had completely lost his temper. He stopped putting his hands on his hips and slammed his head against the counter with a loud thud.

Yoko's lips curled up in an even more exaggerated smile:
“We’ve already finished hunting and are back. This purple hide was just skinned from the Purple Water Beast not long ago, it’s still very fresh! It’s just that this thing has been soaking in poisonous water all day, so it’s not easy to clean. There’s probably still a little bit of venom left inside, so be careful.”

This flower:

"Oh—ah?!"

"You mean you've already finished hunting and returned?! How is that possible? It hasn't been that long!"

Lin Lin, slumped listlessly on the counter, stared blankly with dead fish eyes.

Although I finally got the reaction I wanted, why don't I feel any satisfaction at all? This pretentious act was so pointless...

Ye Zi glanced at Lin Lin's expression, struggling to suppress the urge to burst out laughing, and said to Konoha in a serious tone:

"If you squeeze it hard, you might be able to squeeze out some of the remaining venom."

The flower was about to do as she was told, but after Ye Zi reminded her, she put on gloves. As she squeezed the purple leather like she was wringing out a towel, a few drops of light purple liquid were squeezed out and landed on the counter, leaving a few incongruous marks.

This flower stared blankly at the few drops of pale purple venom on the counter, already believing in her heart that it was indeed freshly peeled material, but she still couldn't understand the current situation.

"That can't be... This is impossible... It takes about two hours to go from the village to the hunting grounds and back. Could it be that you found the target and successfully hunted it in just one hour?"

Lin Lin sighed and propped his head up with his arm:

"I told you last time that we have a rather special hunting partner, have you forgotten?"

"It takes two hours to go round trip, that's if you walk, but if you fly, it only takes a few minutes."

As he spoke, he sighed again.

Sigh, can't people trust each other a little more? The task is completed and the paperwork is ready, but they just don't believe we've finished and called it a day. Why do we have to explain it so clearly?

There was absolutely no pleasure involved...

Upon hearing this, Cihua suddenly remembered how much her worldview had been shaken when she last recorded the entire battle against Lanlong.

After reporting the information, Cihua had subconsciously blocked out these outrageous details from her mind. But now, Lin Lin's words had reminded her that the hunter in front of her was a man who could command the king of the sky and face natural disasters head-on.

Even among five-star monsters, there are differences between them. If the Sky King were to fight the Purple Water Beast, which has no other strengths besides its poison, the Rathalos would undoubtedly win.

After all, the danger level is relative to the hunter's combat and does not fully represent the monster's ecological niche.

However, this seems to have created another problem:
"If the Purple Water Beast was killed by that Fire Dragon Sky, can it still be considered a quest completed by the hunter?"

This flower has a surprising meaning.

Lin Lin had initially lost interest in Ci Hua's reaction, but after hearing this, he subconsciously thought about it for a moment, and then suddenly paused.

Hmm? That seems to be the case...

Can victories achieved through Sky's participation in battles truly be considered a testament to my hunter's own strength? Is it really appropriate to advance to five stars based on such achievements?

If I were to face a map-level monster all by myself, without the help of characters like Daiko, would I really have the strength to defeat them?

If one truly wants to understand their own strength, shouldn't they, like other hunters, accept a quest alone and face the monster by themselves? Like Crimson Horn, who is considered a "hero's proof"? Would it be better to hunt a Monoblos alone?

(End of this chapter)