Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 463 Ancient Alchemy

While the brigade leader watched the senior monk with a worried expression, the hunters on the other side were also busy chatting with the villagers, hoping to glean some information.

Meanwhile, Lin Lin and Ye Zi didn't find any information about the Heavenly Returning Dragon, but they did discover an unexpected surprise.

Considering that Ye Zi was always very patient with children, Lin Lin entrusted her with the task of dealing with the dragon children. Ye Zi lived up to his expectations, using her rabbit dumpling making skills, which were not much inferior to Ai Cao's, and easily became friends with the dragon children. The environment of Sky Mountain was isolated, and the children here rarely had the opportunity to come into contact with new things from the outside world. This sweet, sticky, and choking dessert unexpectedly won the children's hearts.

Among the group of little kids, Yoko immediately noticed a chubby child with freckles on his face—it was impossible not to notice him, after all, this dragon-human child named "Maka" looked too unique.

Wearing a straw hat with a big frog on it, and carrying a basket full of strange materials on his back, what ordinary child would dress up like this?

"I want to emphasize again, it's not Maca, it's Maca, the fourteenth generation alchemist master of the Maca Alchemy House!"

The chubby boy had a rabbit dumpling stuffed in his mouth, and his voice sounded a little muffled.

Yoko subconsciously twitched the corner of her mouth. So, if you remove that long string of prefixes, isn't it still maca?
Fortunately, another dragon-human child answered Yoko's question:
"Because his name was inherited from his ancestors, from the first generation to the current fourteenth generation, they were all called Maca! To make it easier to distinguish, we usually call him the fourteenth generation."

Yoko: ...

What an amazing custom... If the husband and son both have the same name, wouldn't his mother find it strange?

Lin Lin asked around without success, then returned, intending to see what Yoko had gained, but he was also drawn to the Fourteenth Generation Chief's attention:
"Is it just my imagination? Why does it seem like all of you dragon-human alchemists like to have a toad on your head?"

Back in Lokrak, the old dragon-man who helped him forge that [Heat Resistance] talisman seemed to have a toad perched on his head.

Well, it's just that Lin Lin doesn't know what the Forbidden Land is like yet. Otherwise, if he met that alchemy granny in the Convergence Peak, he could have dropped the first part of his question.

"This isn't a toad! It's a frog! A frog!"

The chubby boy seemed to be provoked by Lin Lin's words. After swallowing the rabbit dumpling with difficulty, he immediately spoke up to emphasize.

"Cuck!"

The large frog seemed quite intelligent, as it also croaked at Lin Lin, as if expressing its dissatisfaction.

"Okay, frog, I misspoke."

Lin Lin crouched down, his gaze level with the chubby boy's:

“I once met a dragon-human alchemist in Lokrak who also had a frog on his head, so I’m a little curious. I hope you don’t mind.”

The chubby boy reached out and touched the frog perched on his straw hat, his expression softening considerably.

"That's normal. Although alchemy has the power to turn the rotten into the magical, luck is also a very important factor. Even with the same raw materials and the same conditions, the effects of the protective stones that can be produced can vary greatly."

"In mysticism, frogs represent good fortune. The more spiritual a frog is, the better the luck it brings. A qualified alchemist will own a frog of his own."

Hard to say.

Lin Lin thought to himself that he had used up almost all the materials he had collected at the alchemist in Lokrak, and all he got was a bunch of junk.

Of the three talismans he possessed, only the Heat Resistance talisman was somewhat useful. He had kept the other two, Hunger Resistance and Satisfaction, hidden away. After acquiring the Queen-class talisman with High-Speed ​​Transformation and Concentration, he was already considering whether to put away... no, I mean, sell it on the secondhand talisman market for some pocket money.

Yoko blinked. She remembered that Uncle Yangyan was also good at alchemy, so why had she never seen a frog around him? Could it be that Grandpa Suifengren's baby ghost frog also counted?

Curiosity took hold of her, and she took out her talisman, which had both the "Heat Resistance" and "Cold Resistance" bonuses, to see if this chubby boy was really as unparalleled an alchemy master as she had boasted.

"Master Maca, please take a look at my talisman and tell me what you think?"

Yoko's outwardly respectful attitude clearly pleased the chubby boy, whose expression immediately became smug. He took the talisman, grinning with his missing front tooth, and said:
"no problem!"

However, after examining the stone carefully for a long time, his smug expression gradually turned serious. He then took out various small tools from his basket and began fiddling with the stone.

"hiss……"

Finally, the chubby boy gasped:

"How did you get this talisman?"

"What's wrong, Master? Is there something wrong with this talisman?"

“This is a huge problem! This talisman cannot be classified according to the current standards of King-level, Queen-level, Hero-level, and City Tournament-level, and moreover…”

The chubby boy examined the protective stone from all angles for a while, completely baffled:
How are two completely different blessings, [Cold Resistance] and [Heat Resistance], fused together on a single talisman? And how is the fusion so perfect that it doesn't even interfere with the energy flow of other talismans?

He suddenly looked up at Yezi, blinking his eyes and acting cute:

"Big sister, I'm an alchemist, can I have this protective stone?"

Yoko: ?
Lin Lin: "Even if you were born, it wouldn't work."

The chubby boy sighed. So, it seems there's still no way to get something for free?

But he really wanted this special talisman. Even if he couldn't figure out how it was formed, he would still want to keep it as a collectible!

"I can trade my collection of charms for them!"

The chubby boy gritted his teeth, thinking about all the excellent talismans he had collected. He really couldn't bear to give any of them away, but unfortunately, there was nothing he could do. Ye Zi's talisman was just too tempting.
Lin Lin then turned his gaze to Ye Zi, seemingly curious about her answer.

After all, while this talisman was special, it wasn't irreplaceable; it merely eliminated the need for hot or cold drinks. If it could be exchanged for a talisman with superior effects, such as [Critical Strike] or [Challenger], it wouldn't be unacceptable. However, Yoko resolutely and firmly shook her head in refusal:

"I'm sorry, this talisman has special meaning to me, and I really don't want to exchange it."

When hunting Barioth in the Frozen Isles, Yoko had told Lin Lin and the others about the origin of this talisman. However, at that time, she only briefly mentioned that she had accidentally dug it up when she was a child, but in reality, the background at that time was very special.

At that time, although Yanhuo Village had survived the largest night raid by a hundred dragons, small-scale attacks never stopped. Yezi's parents were seriously injured while defending Feiye Fortress.

The two elderly people were severely injured, but they were only thinking about their daughter and held on until they were sent back to the village. Ye Zi, who was left in the village at the time, could not accept it for a while and ran out to dig up herbs to treat her parents' injuries. As soon as she dug up this protective stone, she was found by the village chief Pu Xian and taken back to see her parents for the last time.

Yoko can still clearly remember what her mother said when she was on her deathbed and saw her hands covered in dirt and the protective stone she was clutching.

"Yoko, your father and mother haven't left. They've just changed their way of being with you. Don't be sad, take care of yourself..."

After the funeral of the two elders, the village chief Puxian examined the protective stone that belonged to Yezi and was amazed by its unique effect. In order to comfort the young Yezi, he followed the last words of Yezi's mother and explained the effect of the protective stone by saying that the spirits of the two elders in heaven accompanied her in this way and protected their daughter.

At that time, Yoko firmly believed in this statement and naturally attached great importance to this protective stone. Although as she grew up and understood more and more, she gradually realized that the village chief was just comforting her, this protective stone still held great significance in her heart.

With a soft sigh, Yoko, under the chubby boy's expectant gaze, put the protective stone back on her wrist and covered it with her wrist guard.

Lin Lin was unaware of the details, but he could tell that Ye Zi's expression was unusual, most likely because she was thinking of something painful. After hesitating for a moment, he walked to Ye Zi's side, gently reached out, and embraced the girl.
"You can lean on my shoulder for a while. If you feel uncomfortable, you can cry for a bit."

Ye Zi wasn't in a good mood at the moment, nor did she feel shy. She simply rested her head on Lin Lin's shoulder and shook her head slightly.
"So much time has passed, I've already cried all my tears back then, I can't cry anymore."

Lin Lin didn't say much, but gently patted her twice with the hand that was around her, like coaxing a child.

After all, a considerable amount of time had passed, and the low mood didn't last long. Ye Zi quickly realized the intimacy between the two of them and, somewhat embarrassed, gave Lin Lin a light push.
"I'm not a child anymore, I'm not that fragile."

Lin Lin took a step back and said, "Alright, alright, our Ye Zi is a grown woman now, no need to coax her."

This completely turned Yoko's mood around, and she burst out laughing.
"Ugh, I've already told you I'm not a child anymore, why are you still using this tone of coaxing a kid!"

The maca alchemist standing to the side: ...

The adult world is so complicated, I don't understand it...

Lin Lin then changed the subject at the opportune moment:
"By the way, Ye Zi, we've just run into a master alchemist. Why don't we ask him to help us refine some protective stones?"

Since Yoko's special protective stone does not conflict with other protective stones, as long as a good protective stone can be crafted, Yoko's combat power can be significantly improved.

Lin Lin's address of "Alchemy Master" immediately stopped the boy from trying to understand the adult world, and he proudly put his hands on his hips:
"Want me to craft a protective stone? Of course, no problem! Come with me. My skills are based on ancient alchemical secrets, far superior to those dragon-man alchemists out there!"

"Oh, by the way, although my secret technique can re-refine already identified talismans, it is still alchemy after all, and luck plays a big part. It might strengthen the talisman, or it might refine some random things. Of course, I am also very proficient in the craft of refining materials into talismans, like those dragon alchemists outside. It's up to you which one you want to choose."

Since Ye Zi didn't have any talismans that needed to be reforged, she naturally suggested using the monster materials she had accumulated to forge them. Lin Lin, on the other hand, thought that he happened to have two useless talismans on hand, so he chose to let her reforge them.

……

All alchemy takes time. Lin Lin has reached a deal, and he needs to patiently wait for the little fat man's results.

Meanwhile, the elite team completed their visit, and the group reunited in the center of the village to confirm the information they already knew.

"None of the villagers indicated that they noticed anything unusual."

Julius summed it up in one sentence:

"Perhaps we guessed wrong; Tianhuilong did not come to Sky Mountain."

Nadia pondered for a moment, then said helplessly.

"No, according to the Grand Abbot's description, a thousand years ago, a Heavenly Dragon did indeed descend upon Sky Mountain and cause a turmoil. I think it is very likely that it did come here, but for some reason, it did not take any action?"

Fabius frowned. As a former hunter of the guild, he had just gone to catch up with the guild leader and learned of this news.

"Perhaps it's recuperating from its injuries? After all, it fought with the Qilin after fighting us, so it's quite possible that it's hiding away to recover."

Aiden offered a guess.

"If that's the case, we need to act even faster. If we let an ancient dragon recover from its injuries, it will be much more difficult for us to deal with it again."

Julius frowned:

"In any case, it seems we won't be able to find any more clues in the village. I think the focus should be on investigating the ecology of Sky Mountain next."

"If the Heavenly Returning Dragon really comes here, then there will inevitably be monsters that have turned into berserk dragons."

“I have a more direct idea.”

Lin Lin suddenly interrupted Julius:
"Let's start the investigation from the restricted areas."

"The High Priest mentioned that a thousand years ago, the Heavenly Returning Dragon that descended upon Sky Mountain once destroyed the ecology of Sky Mountain. In the end, it was sealed by the first High Priest. The place where it was sealed, which was also the place where the Heavenly Returning Dragon first descended, is the forbidden area that later became."

"If the Heavenly Returning Dragon were to descend again, it would most likely still target the Forbidden Zone!"

(End of this chapter)