Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 396 Ruins Not Plain

Lin Lin's expression immediately fell.

What's going on? What he needs most right now is to cancel out the fruits, but he simply doesn't have enough of them...

"That'll do for now. I'll check out the other stalls."

Lin Lin sighed and temporarily left the purchased items with the dragon-human merchant, planning to return and retrieve them after buying enough "Dispelling Fruits" elsewhere.

However, when Lin Lin started shopping around the Barbare assembly center, he realized that things were not as simple as they seemed.

There weren't many large-scale general stores along the way, and Lin Lin visited almost all of them, but he only managed to collect less than ten Elixir Fruits in total. This amount was not enough to support him in the hunting grounds for more than three days.

What is going on?
The breeding season is almost here, so the produce should be plentiful. The yield of the fruit shouldn't be this low, right?
After another grocery store said they were out of fruit, Lin Lin finally couldn't contain his confusion and asked:

"Boss, I've been asking around all the way here, and so many shops say they're out of stock. Isn't Barbare supposed to be a hub for caravans, where the trade of items should be particularly thriving?"

"Hey handsome, that's how it is! It's just a pity you're not so lucky. Just a couple of days ago, the Hunter's Guild was up to something again and suddenly made a huge purchase of Delight Fruits, almost emptying the inventory of all the merchants. Don't even mention me, even if you run all over Barbare, no one will be able to get you any."

Lin Lin: ...

Damn it, did I end up shooting myself in the foot?

Three days ago, I reported a lot of information about the Mad Dragon Virus to the guild. Two days ago, the guild bought up large quantities of Elimination Fruits. It's easy to understand that the guild is preparing for a possible large-scale outbreak of Mad Dragon Virus in the near future. Elimination Fruits should be a staple in the supplies for missions.

Logically, he should praise the guild for its decisive decision and preventative measures, but now that he has just been infected by the Mad Dragon Virus and is completely dependent on eliminating the fruit, the guild's acquisition has actually affected him.

While the guild probably won't use all the items it acquires as supplies, and will sell some to hunters, buying things from the guild doesn't use money, it uses guild points. Guild points are essentially a quantified record of the guild's contributions to hunters, similar to the sect contribution points in fantasy novels.

This stuff is much harder to earn than money. It can only be done by following the methods the guild leader mentioned when they first met. Although Lin Lin's guild points are quite abundant compared to other hunters who are also at the five-star level, he can't help but feel heartache at the thought of spending a large sum of money to buy the Elimination Fruit.

—Originally, when he chose to hunt the Rathalos, he had planned to craft a fire-elemental charge axe. However, the Rathalos was infected with the Mad Dragon Disease, and its carcass was given to scholars for research. If he wanted to craft the charge axe, he could only rely on guild points to exchange for materials and the Rathalos's Ruby...

But the fruit was a necessity for him now, and he couldn't refuse to buy it no matter how much it hurt. Lin Lin shook his head and sighed, then returned to the dragon-human merchant, intending to take the things he had bought earlier with him.

"Young man, is going around in one circle still not enough?"

The dragonman merchant was also an old and shrewd man. Although he hadn't shrunk to an extremely exaggerated degree, at most he was about the same as the lecherous guild leader of Lokrak, but he still made a judgment at a glance based on Lin Lin's expression.

Lin Lin nodded; there was no point in hiding it.

"Do you really need to extinguish the fruit?"

Lin Lin nodded again; there was nothing to hide.

"In that case, I actually have a way, but it will be a little more troublesome."

Lin Lin tilted his head in confusion.

"After the previous batch of Destroy Fruits was bought up, I sent over a new batch. According to the timeline, it should have just arrived near the Ruins Plains and should arrive in about two more days."

"Judging from your attire, you must be a pretty strong hunter, right? In that case, if you're in a hurry, I can take you to their usual route so you don't have to wait so long."

Lin Lin pondered for a moment and then nodded.

"it is good."

It's pretty good that it doesn't require spending guild points; hopefully, it won't take up too much of my time.

The dragon-human merchant leaned on his small cane, and his smile exuded a shrewd air.

"Of course, if the caravan encounters any trouble, I hope you can lend a helping hand. In return, I will give you a discount."

Goodness, this is a clever scheme! They're trying to get a free hunter escort, aren't they?
Lin Lin pursed his lips but didn't say anything to object. After all, strictly speaking, it was a win-win situation. He got the goods he wanted, and the safety of the other party's caravan was also guaranteed.

Lin Lin didn't want to waste any time, so he went back and informed Yezao and Nia Lu. After taking them with him, they set off on a trip to the Ruins Plains without hesitation.

……

The Ruins Plains is the first hunting ground many novice hunters enter when they first start out.

There are many places here where the remains of the last buildings of ancient civilizations still exist. The terrain is undulating, with numerous geological faults. The ground is mostly red sandstone-like rocks, which is known as red-bed landforms—of course, Lin Lin actually prefers to call it Danxia landforms.

So here's the question: everyone talks about the Ruins Plain, the Ruins Plain, the Ruins are there, but what about the plain?
This undulating terrain stretches a straight-line distance of 400 meters to a straight-line distance of 1,000 meters. How can any word like "plain" even remotely relate to it? It should definitely be called "not a plain," shouldn't it?

After observing it firsthand, Lin Lin came to his conclusion.

In the game, the "Ruins Plains" map is just a place for players to hunt in the ruins. As for the plains? That's just a background texture in the game. When you walk from area one to area three, that's the vast, golden plain you see.

Now, standing atop the crimson rocks of the Ruins Plain and gazing into the distance, one can see a multitude of herbivorous dragons and elven deer roaming the plain, a scene brimming with life and teeming with life. It's hard to imagine that at the very edge of this plain lies the vast Barbare Desert, where nothing but yellow sand stretches out before you.

"So, where is the convoy's only route?"

"There's a small path to the north. The terrain there is quite narrow, so it's not suitable for those large monsters. They always take that path. Occasionally, there are some small monsters like dog dragon shield bugs, but they're still within the guards' range of handling."

Heading west leads to the vast plains, while heading north leads to the endless cluster of ruins. Although Lin Lin was somewhat tempted to take a look at the plains, he quickly realized that there was no cover on the plains, and if they encountered a monster attack, they would have nowhere to run. He definitely wouldn't go that way.

So the dragon-human merchant led Lin Lin and the two Ailu northwards. As they ventured deeper, the architectural ruins emerging from the surrounding mud became increasingly dense. Perhaps because these ruins blocked the sunlight, various shade-loving vines took root extensively. The further they went, the denser these vines became, eventually intertwining to form a solid network hanging overhead, dividing the entire space into upper and lower levels.

"This is it. With this unique terrain, many large monsters will not set foot in this area. Even flying creatures like fire dragons are afraid of getting entangled by these vines."

Listening to the dragon-human merchant's explanation, Lin Lin looked up at the network formed by the intertwined vines and silently calculated the height.

It looks to be about eight or nine meters tall...

These vines... might not be able to support those large flying dragon monsters that are close to twenty meters tall, but perhaps a small toothed beast monster like Xiong Er could move freely on them?

The environment here seems somewhat familiar, somewhat like the area in the second district of the Ruins Plains. Creatures like Shadow Spiders and Strange Ape Foxes might actually thrive here...

As Lin Lin was pondering, Nia Lu, who was standing beside him, suddenly perked up her ears:
Something's approaching, meow!

Date palm followed closely behind and also noticed the commotion, but since Nia had already warned it, it didn't say anything more, and simply drew its Thunder Wolf Dragon Cat Sword.

Lin Lin gritted his teeth and reached out to protect the dragon-human merchant:

"Be careful, a monster is approaching."

"What? How could this be... This shouldn't be... This route has always been safe before..."

Lin Lin ignored the dragon-human merchant's incredulous mutterings, and simply turned to Nia Lu and said:
"Be careful. If a fight breaks out later, protect the old man and keep him away from the area."

"Leave it to me, meow!"

"Susu"

Soon, the tangled network of vines above swayed slightly, shaking off a few leaves, a sound that instantly caught Lin Lin's attention.

"call--"

But when Lin Lin turned his head to look, he saw nothing but a few leaves slowly falling and a faint sound of wind.

"Swish swish swish"

The sounds became clearer, and the location... was right above their heads!
Lin Lin turned around abruptly, and immediately met a pair of upside-down eyes.

This was a monster with an orange-red body, resembling a red fox. Its appearance was quite strange, with ears so large they covered its entire head, and a nose that resembled an elephant's trunk. Its claws were long and sharp, and Lin Lin couldn't help but suspect that the claws used by the New World Survey Team were inspired by this creature's claws.

Sure enough, when I saw the dragon-human merchant, I should have thought of that strange ape-fox!
At this moment, the strange ape-fox was hooking its long tail upside down onto the vines above, its entire body hanging upside down, its comical face directly facing Lin Lin's face.

This pose is a bit like that scene from a Spider-Man movie, and the one standing is Mary Jane. If it were raining a little, it would look even more like her…

Lin Lin started to have some wild thoughts.

Seeing that Lin Lin was not frightened by it, but instead calmly looked it up and down, the strange ape blinked its eyes, and its ears, which were larger than a palm-leaf fan, suddenly covered its head from left to right, and then opened again with a "whoosh".

Yes, it's just like how bored adults tease babies, playing the same trick of hiding their faces and then suddenly revealing them.

Seeing that Lin Lin remained unmoved, the strange ape fox was a little unconvinced and tried the same trick with its ears again.

Lin Lin twitched the corner of his mouth. Should I give you a response?
Wow, that's scary! (reads aloud)

Clearly, Lin Lin's reaction was not what the Strange Ape Fox had expected. It was a little exasperated, and with a snort, it immediately spat out a large ball of slime and threw it at Lin Lin.

Unfortunately, Lin Lin was prepared for this and casually threw a flying insect behind him, easily dodging the attack with a "Na Escape Technique".

"There really is a monster!"

The dragon-human merchant came into close contact with the strange ape-fox. Although he did not show much fear, he still had some of the strange fear that ordinary people feel when they see monsters.

However, being a seasoned and experienced dragon, and with a powerful hunter by his side, he simply took a deep breath and calmed himself down.
"Hunter, this is a vital passage on the trade route. It would be very dangerous to let this guy roam freely."

"Please, defeat it!"

Lin Lin: ...

Although once you get back and issue a quest to the guild, they'll most likely accept it and send a hunter to take him down, there are still procedures to follow. You're not a receptionist, old man, and you can't just issue quests anytime, anywhere. If I were to take him down right now, that would be against the rules…

Although this guy spraying water at me is suspected of committing the crime of unprovoked attack, and I could argue with him in self-defense, this guy... is really a noob!
If someone has the ability to simply chase someone away but instead resorts to killing them, they might still be invited for a chat by the guild. Even if nothing serious happens, Lin Lin estimates that they'll definitely get a lecture.

"Ugh……"

Lin Lin sighed, drew his shield and axe from his back, but only raised the shield; his sword remained hanging on his back.

With his current strength and the power of the horned dragon's armor, he doubted that if he swung the axe down, he might turn the Strange Ape Fox into the Strange Yuan Fox.

This guy has a slightly wicked sense of humor, like that Flood Dragon from the Water Forest back then. He's not very aggressive, so Lin Lin doesn't want to kill him. He'll just kick him a bunch of times when he attacks and chase him away.

Then, he saw the strange ape-fox, like a gorilla, with one paw hooked on the vine network above its head, staring at him with its big eyes in amazement, as if it was shocked by his amazing agility in pulling him up from the ground.

(End of this chapter)