Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 486 Little Brother, You Still Need to Practice

"Tea bar?"

Chacha turned her head to look at Ziyuan. Although she was wearing a mask, her confused emotions clearly penetrated the mask and reached Ziyuan.

What does this have to do with you, Cha? It just escaped the water dragon's pursuit not long ago, Cha!
The fact that these survivors were able to gather together is all thanks to that hunter with the shield!

"Ah?"

Ziyuan paused for a moment, then turned to look at the female hunter whose gaze kept shifting between her and Chacha, and couldn't help but give an awkward but polite smile.

"Ahem, hello, I'm Ziyuan, a four-star heavy crossbowman, currently based in Moga Village. It seems you might need a little help?"

Celestina withdrew her strange gaze and nodded.

She truly never expected that a hunter would become a hunting partner with the notoriously ferocious Masked Tribe.

However, it is clear that now is not the time for her to care about this.

Celestina readily acknowledged that they needed help, but after Shion first sprinkled some life-saving powder, stabilizing the injured person's condition and preventing it from worsening for a short time, she stopped her from continuing the emergency treatment.

"It's not safe here. The guy who destroyed the airship was recently lured away by a water dragon and could return at any time. We need to get out of here!"

Upon hearing this, Ziyuan's eyes showed a hint of realization. She wondered why the situation Da Yi Mao described sounded so dangerous, but when she arrived, everything seemed calm and peaceful.

"What are you waiting for? Let's run!"

As Ziyuan spoke, she glanced at the piece of wood that served as a small boat, then looked around and quickly picked out two hemp ropes, intending to use them to connect herself to the boat and become a boatman.

This way, it's easier for her to exert force than to push the boat by hand.

As for Celestina, this hunter, who had hardly ever been in the water, was really helpless and could only continue to use his shield as a paddle to paddle, hoping to save her some energy.

With the combined efforts of Ziyuan, Celestina, and Chacha (who was just an extra), the makeshift lifeboat finally started moving slowly, gradually moving away from the dangerous sea area and heading towards the distant Submerged Forest.

During this time, Celestina's nerves were on edge the entire time. Only when she was completely away from the sea area where the skeleton dragon was found, and saw the Coat Cat sitting safely on a wooden plank, drifting on the vast sea, did she relax a little.

After seeing Shion surface for air again, she finally couldn't contain her curiosity and asked:

Are you a sea dweller?

It's no wonder she was curious. After all, under normal circumstances, an average human can only hold their breath underwater for two or three minutes. If it's during a battle or swimming with a load like this, being able to hold their breath for even a minute is already considered good. Even if a hunter's physique is stronger, they still wouldn't be able to hold their breath for more than ten minutes like Shion.

Celestina remembered clearly that when Ziyuan introduced herself, she mentioned that she was a hunter from Moga Village, and she had previously heard her older sister mention that a unique ethnic group lived in Moga Village—the Sea People.

They live off the sea, their bodies are like fish, and their fingers and toes are webbed. They are a race that is very good at underwater activities. Perhaps only the sea people can hold their breath underwater for so long like Shion.

However, according to her observation, the small portion of Shion's exposed skin looked very fair and delicate (of course, by the standards of a hunter who is exposed to the wind and sun all year round), and did not have the characteristic of having patterns of varying depths on her body that her sister had described.

"What? Of course not! My hometown is Lokrak, I've just been staying in Moga Village lately!"

"The main reason we can stay underwater for so long is because of this!"

After being roughly out of the danger zone, Ziyuan's tense nerves relaxed a lot, and her cheerful nature returned. She took out a dark green, sticky-looking object from her mouth and showed it to Celestina.

"This is a type of seaweed. After being soaked in a nutrient solution, its metabolism is greatly enhanced for a period of time. As long as you hold it in your mouth, it can convert the carbon dioxide produced by breathing back into oxygen. Under extreme conditions, it is enough to support a person to move underwater for thirty minutes."

[Note: I looked through the third generation of the game's artbook and couldn't find an explanation for why the underwater hunters could operate for such a long time, so this seaweed is the author's personal design, inspired by Hunter's Notes.]

After catching her breath, Ziyuan put the clump of seaweed back into her mouth, submerged back into the water, and continued to drag the makeshift lifeboat. Although this type of seaweed could sustain underwater activity for up to thirty minutes, the longer the time went on, the greater the risk of oxygen deprivation. Therefore, Ziyuan usually changed her breathing every ten minutes or so.

The water-covered forest is not far ahead. Once we reach our camp there, we can begin to truly begin treating the wounded.

……

While Ziyuan was busy with rescue efforts, Lin Lin, far away in Jieyun Village across the sea, was quite content.

During this time, he basically traveled all over Yukumo Village and met with many old friends, including Iwata and his parents.

Including but not limited to the two female signboard girls, the village chief, the beverage shop owner, the old dragon-man with the topknot at the blacksmith shop, the old man Chia who challenged the dog dragon when he first started out and lost an arm because of the water beast that appeared, and the little boy named Alban who kept asking him for the secret to becoming a hunter...

The lives of the two guild leaders remained largely unchanged. Since Lanlong was driven away, Yukumo Village had enjoyed a considerable period of peace and stability. Many hunters came and went, but most were simply there for a vacation. Perhaps the only noteworthy aspect was that, due to the guild leader's frequent hangovers, the guild's actual management was largely handled by the steady and reliable Sasayuki. The village chief was still the same as always, sitting on the vermilion bench at the top of the steps, quietly admiring the beautiful scenery of the falling maple leaves and watching every villager passing by. Everything seemed exactly the same as when Lin Lin was first brought back to the village by Kevin.

Back then, Lin Lin was only 1.8 meters tall. Now, nearly three years later, thanks to the nurturing environment of this world and his long-term training, he has grown to nearly 2 meters tall and is now incredibly muscular. However, the village chief has hardly changed at all. At this moment, Lin Lin finally realized the significant difference in lifespan between the dragon race and humans.

However, it was only in appearance that she did not change. When she saw Lin Lin appear in front of her, even the village chief of Yuukokumo, who had always maintained the demeanor of a Yamato Nadeshiko, could not help but show a surprised expression.

Who brought back the great hero who saved the village?
As for Ailu, the owner of the beverage shop, she no longer goes around trying out new beverage recipes like Lin Lin did when he first started out. Thanks to her persistent efforts, the variety of drinks in the beverage shop has more than doubled compared to before, and the dazzling array of choices is almost overwhelming.

Of course, for the shopkeeper Ailu, mixing new drinks has always been her hobby. However, she no longer needs to go to the village to recruit people to try the new drinks as she used to. The shop has accumulated a large number of stable customers, and many of them are willing to try the new products.

The old dragon-man at the forging shop seemed quite pleased to see Lin Lin, but his smile immediately fell when he learned that the boy hadn't brought him any rare, high-grade materials for forging.

Lin Lin could only chuckle awkwardly at this. There was really nothing he could do. Most of the materials he and Ye Zi had accumulated over the past six months had been used for alchemy to exchange for protective stones, and the rest had all been left with the blacksmith brother in the guild.

Although his lips drooped, the old dragonman didn't chase him away. Instead, he pulled up a small stool and invited Lin Lin to sit down and chat. He wanted to hear what monsters Lin Lin had hunted recently, what equipment he had crafted from the materials he obtained, and what his design concepts were...

After chatting for a long time with the old dragon man at the workshop, Lin Lin encountered a very strong-looking young man while wandering around the village. The young man paused for a few seconds after seeing Lin Lin, and then rushed over excitedly.

After chatting for a bit, Lin Lin realized that this child was the same boy he had met in the village before the hero's celebration after the battle of Lingfeng ended, and whom he had casually offered a few words of encouragement.

He was quite impressed with the boy's name: Alban, which translates to "inheritance".

Back then, this kid looked like a greenhorn who hadn't even grown up yet. A year later, when we met again, he looked like a strong and healthy young man. It was clear that he had kept the words of encouragement I gave him in mind and had been working hard to build a strong physical foundation.

Of course, to be able to make such a big change in just one year, this kid is also very talented. Maybe he really has the potential to become a very good hunter in the future.

At that time, Lin Lin only told him to focus on building a solid physical foundation, saying that he would teach him some hunter's experience and insights when the time came. After this meeting, Lin Lin was pestered by this kid, who followed behind him chattering away, looking very impatient.

Lin Lin had no choice. Although the kid was still too young, his physical foundation was indeed quite good, almost reaching the level Iwata had when he finished his hunter training and officially became a one-star hunter. He could indeed be taught a thing or two.

Of course, in Lin Lin's opinion, choosing weapons and training corresponding moves is still a bit too early, but some basic physical training and strength training can be arranged.

Upon hearing the training plan that Lin Lin had arranged for him, Olben was overjoyed and immediately bowed down, calling Lin Lin his master.

Lin Lin hesitated for a moment, then declined the bow, telling him to simply call him teacher. He said that if he came back next time and saw that the boy was indeed capable of wielding a shield and axe, he would formally accept him as a disciple.

Olben was not disappointed; on the contrary, he was quite pleasantly surprised, never expecting that he would actually see hope of becoming his idol's apprentice.

During a casual chat during a break from training, Lin Lin unexpectedly learned something: the boy Olben's grandfather was none other than Grandpa Chia.

The old man had been a one-star hunter his whole life. Before retiring, he wanted to try his best to advance to two-star and bring glory to his family. He accepted the quest to hunt the dog dragon that attacked Sophia and the sea buckthorn. However, a water beast suddenly interrupted the battle, and he unfortunately lost an arm. He felt guilty about this for a long time before he slowly recovered.

Upon hearing this, Lin Lin suddenly realized that with this old man's family background, it was no wonder that Alban was so determined to become a hunter.

After spending a few days in the village, meeting all the people he needed to meet, and helping Alban develop a series of training plans, Lin Lin finally completed half of his trip back to the village to visit relatives.

Human friends have finished watching, now it's time for animal friends.

Needless to say, Da Kong is the perfect flying mount, especially since they've only just met and Tiao Tiao is chasing the Black Devouring Dragon around. Lin Lin plans to keep Da Kong by his side for the foreseeable future, as there will be plenty of time to get to know each other, so there's no need to set aside a specific period to build a relationship.

Lin Lin's first target was Xiong Er.

As the first friend he made after transmigrating to this world, Xiong Er occupies a very special place in his heart. Xiong Er doesn't have a strong desire to explore and travel around, and it has already formed a harem group near the village. He heard that a baby Xiong Er has already been born. Otherwise, Lin Lin would really like to take Xiong Er and Da Kong Tiao Tiao on a trip together.

Overjoyed at their reunion, Xiong Er and his good brother Xiong Er immediately engaged in a friendly and enthusiastic contest... and exchange.

However, the outcome of this wrestling match was far beyond Xiong Er's expectations.

How come Lin Lin has become so much stronger after all this time? It even felt that it was at a slight disadvantage. If it weren't for its height and size advantage, it might have already been overturned by Lin Lin.

After a long stalemate, sensing the frustration rising in Xiong Er's heart, Lin Lin finally restrained his strength and created an opening, allowing Xiong Er to fall over.

With this sudden release of water, Xiong Er was in a great mood. He just couldn't speak, otherwise he would have been laughing heartily by now, patting Lin Lin on the shoulder and saying, "Little brother, you still have a lot of practice to do."

After this fierce and exciting contest, the man and the bear quieted down and sat by the river, quietly eating honey-baked fish and watching the river flow, until the stars filled the sky and the silver moon was just beginning to sway.

(End of this chapter)