I'm in an American comic book, and all my teammates are main characters and bosses.

Chapter 323 Azure Star, Skull Island Shocks

Looking at the silent man in front of him, Ron narrowed his eyes with a serious expression.

The Azure Star—this title is certainly not unfamiliar to single-player gamers. It appears in the Monster Hunter series. "Monster Hunter," due to its Japanese transliteration, is also known as "The King of Monsters." However, due to the game's format, although Monster Hunter is a well-known and long-established IP, very few people are truly familiar with it because of the console platform.

Well, the main reason is the demonization of video games due to the national situation and the ban on home consoles.

What truly allowed domestic players to deeply understand Monster Hunter was Monster Hunter: World. As the first Monster Hunter game to be released on Steam, due to the limitations of console performance, both the graphics and the depiction of monster ecology were more refined, naturally becoming what many people called "the first Monster Hunter game for young people." And in this game, the protagonist's title is Azure Star.

To be precise, it is "the blue star that guides the way".

Among all the protagonists of the Monster Hunter series, aside from the legendary Ryukiin Hunter, Azure Star has the most impressive battle record... Ryukiin Hunter is truly unmatched; he drank the Mad Dragon Virus and even defeated the Ancestral Dragon. Other hunters can hardly compete with that.

To be honest, even if we had to pick a winner, Azure Star's second place isn't entirely secure. After all, there are still a bunch of top-tier players in Monster Hunter Online's Frontier. However, considering the eventual shutdown of the game, it's not really a very reliable indicator.

The way to judge the combat strength of Azure Star is also very simple: just look at the equipment on Azure Star's body.

Games and reality are different; adding one aspect doesn't preclude adding another. Take Wolf, for example, the "bucket" character from the Dragon's Homecoming ending. When reckless, he can wield the Mortal Blade and fly through vortex clouds. The crimson sword energy swirls around, the special effects are maxed out, completely ignoring any logic.

The same applies to the equipment worn by Azure Star.

In the game, because different equipment has different attributes and different sockets, players need to select the right style from a large number of equipment, which leads to a mixed style of equipment such as A-dragon head, B-dragon chest armor, and C-dragon bracers.

However, this is not the case in reality.

Simply put, in reality, due to the materials and forging techniques used in their production, set equipment can exhibit effects and performance far exceeding those of mixed-style equipment.

That is why, by observing what kind of outfit someone is wearing, Ron can determine which stage of the storyline Azure Star's strength is at.

Clad in jet-black chitinous armor, with a pair of jet-black dragon wings sprouting from its back. Sharp barbs grow on its wrists, leg guards, and other areas. Not just the helmet, but the entire suit of armor is completely covered. Not a single inch of flesh is exposed to the air. And on the forehead of the helmet and the chest plate, there is a single, blazing eye filled with demonic power. It truly exists, because this single eye is even scanning its surroundings left and right, seemingly possessing its own will.

It's the Black Dragon β set, and it seems to belong to Azure Star, who is at the peak of his strength.

With that thought in mind, Ron nodded in satisfaction.

As the game's title suggests, Monster Hunter naturally places the hunter's strength directly attributable to the strength of the monsters they hunt. Within the Monster Hunter universe, the Black Dragon's status is undisputed. Aside from the Ancestral Dragon, the Black Dragon can be considered one of the most powerful monsters in the Monster Hunter series.

The Black Dragon, Miraboreas, in the Monster Hunter universe, represents "coming with the war of destiny, and an inevitable demise."

In terms of lore, the black dragon has been recorded and passed down in many folk tales and legends since ancient times. In ancient poetry, the black dragon is the origin of all calamities and an ancient evil dragon that inherits destiny. It is precisely because of these legends and various anecdotes that the black dragon has many names besides "black dragon," such as "evil dragon" and "ancient dragon."

At the same time, one point must be mentioned. As an Elder Dragon, the Black Dragon, like other Elder Dragons, represents a part of nature and cannot be killed. Although the protagonist of Monster Hunter has completed the hunting of countless Elder Dragons, in reality, apart from the Black Dragon (also known as the Serpent Dragon), which is a necessary Elder Dragon to hunt as long as it exists, all other Elder Dragons are repelled rather than killed—well, there are also some that were initially hunted but were later changed by Capcom to be repelled.

Black dragons are among the few ancient dragon species that have survived from the distant Primordial Era. According to the continuous research of scholars from the Dragon Academy, black dragons are actually considered to be "one of the oldest races".

According to the classic "the older, the stronger" setting in most games, movies, comics, and novels, the Black Dragon, as one of the oldest Elder Dragon species, undoubtedly holds a significant place in the Monster Hunter series.

Even now, though Azure Star has forged the materials obtained from defeating the Black Dragon into armor and weapons, this armor is still alive and possesses a portion of its own consciousness, constantly peering into the world around it.

In fact, in Ron's perception, as long as there is enough vitality to support the armor to overcome the limitations of the materials and complete its evolution, then the armor can completely transform into a brand new subspecies of black dragon.

As for Azure Star, the legendary hunter who repelled the black dragon, Ron could also sense the thick life energy emanating from Azure Star.

Having reached his current level of mastery, Ron's vision naturally far surpasses that of ordinary people. Therefore, Ron is certain that the reason this armor exhibits such vitality, besides the fact that the armor's materials possess near-immortality, is also because it was worn by someone from Azure Star. It was stimulated by Azure Star's life energy, thus acquiring such powerful performance and vitality. An ordinary person, even an ordinary hunter, would likely experience a significant decline in life force the moment they donned this black dragon armor.

The Black Dragon Armor itself will no longer be able to exhibit such powerful performance as it does now.

Ron scrutinized Azure Star again. Azure Star, in turn, was observing Ron.

As a master hunter, Azure Star is far from being a reckless monster hunter who simply charges in to hack and slash, parrying Spirit Slashes and Rising Slashes. Let alone a legendary hunter like Azure Star, any hunter from the Hunter's Guild is a top-tier ecology expert. Only by understanding monster ecology can one conduct effective research. Those hunters who are obsessed with fighting and hunting for the sake of hunting are considered illegal hunters in this world, and will be targeted and wanted by the Hunter's Guild.

Powerful hunters are often like powerful monsters, possessing perception abilities far beyond that of ordinary people. Like wild beasts, they can quickly determine the strength and condition of their enemies, or rather, their prey.

In the perception of Azure Star...

Ron acted as if he didn't exist.

It's right there in front of me, yet I can't feel anything. There's almost no exchange of matter with the outside world. Although it appears to be breathing, its life cycle is completely disconnected from the outside world. It's as if what I'm seeing is just an illusion, like a reflection in water—you can see it, but it's definitely not real.

But here's the problem... because this being, while not real in perception, is undeniably present before me. Furthermore, it can directly influence the surrounding environment, unlike illusions or magic that can be seen but have no effect on the material world.

"Feeling confused? Don't worry, your perception is correct."

Smiling, Ron said to the Azure Star, "My true form is sleeping in another dimension. Look, that's it."

As he spoke, Ron opened the Gate of Helheim. On the other side of the gate was the center of Helheim, where Ron himself sat cross-legged in the void, one hand supporting his cheek, appearing to be half-asleep, like a man in a daze.

Although it was just a fleeting glimpse, Azure Star could clearly feel a sense of realism that was completely different from the "Ron" in front of her.

The feeling was peculiar and difficult to describe in words. It felt like one was real and the other was fake. But based on the truth and the fake, they were both the same person, without any difference.

This subtle sense of conflict left Azure Star unsure how to interpret it. So, after a moment of silence, Azure Star simply nodded silently, remaining silent and playing the expert.

Yes, like the protagonists of previous Souls series, this kind of silent, expert-like demeanor is a characteristic of the protagonists of all Monster Hunter series from Capcom, the action master, and is not to be missed.

Ron wasn't bothered by Azure Star's silence. He could sense that Azure Star wasn't incapable of speaking, but simply unwilling to engage in pointless expression.

"Very well, I don't like nonsense or fake politeness either." Ron gave a thumbs up to show his understanding of Azure Star's personality, and then said, "So let's get straight to the point."

"Open your system; the Newcomer's Guide will resolve 80% of your questions. Now, our task is to eliminate a contamination from the Negative Multiverse. This contamination is similar to the Mad Dragon Virus of the Heavenly Returning Dragon, but it is far more terrifying and troublesome on a larger scale. It is an enemy that must be completely eradicated and exterminated for any world. Because once they descend upon a world, even if they do nothing, they will continuously harm the world itself until it is completely withered and destroyed."

As he spoke, Ron pointed downwards.

"And now, if you pay close attention, you should be able to sense the existence of the World Virus. Don't doubt your senses, because the World Virus comes from the negative multiverse, and any being in the positive universe will feel the purest disgust and rejection from the deepest part of their soul. And in your senses, that disgust is extreme, that intolerable evil, which is the enemy we must defeat."

Upon hearing Ron's words, Azure Star looked down at Skull Island, then closed her eyes. After sensing for a moment, her body, clad in black dragon armor, trembled slightly, as if experiencing such extreme disgust for the first time.

As a master hunter and a master of ecology, Azure Star possesses a closer connection to nature than most people. And now, through this connection, Azure Star can clearly feel the disgust and even hatred emanating from the world itself. This intense hostility is not merely the antagonism of a particular region's natural ecology, but rather the collective hostility of the entire world's ecosystem.

After a moment of silence, Azure Star reopened her eyes. Although the helmet of the Black Dragon Armor concealed Azure Star's face, even with the helmet on, Ron could still clearly sense the anger and hostility on Azure Star's face.

"I understand... Now, what should I do?"

"Of course, we should kill him."

Ron made a throat-slitting gesture, then clapped his hands, and the dimensional energy beneath their feet instantly dissipated. Under the influence of gravity, they began freefall. Such a sudden freefall from such a great height would be enough to terrify any ordinary person.

But now, Azure Star was not affected in the slightest. After hearing Ron's words, it calmly nodded, then slightly spread the wings on the back of the black dragon armor, drew the enormous katana from its back that was astonishingly large, like the claws of a black dragon, and sped towards the extremely evil creature it sensed with astonishing speed, like a falcon.

Skull Island, ground level. In the Skull Island native settlement, former Monarch outpost commander Erin Andrews stared nervously at the remaining energy monitors of the Monarch Skull Island outpost. Watching the energy rise steadily, she turned to the people behind her and shouted, "Prepare for evacuation! The Cataclysmic Titan is closing in! We must leave immediately!"

Upon hearing Eileen's words, the already devastated Monarch organization's Skull Island base was thrown into chaos. Researchers of all kinds frantically gathered supplies and headed for the nearest vehicles to prepare for evacuation. Meanwhile, a dark-skinned native girl, upon hearing these words, showed immediate panic and looked towards the nearby ravine.

Several burly men swung sledgehammers and beat war drums. With a dull thud, a huge, imposing, but incredibly weary figure slowly and resolutely emerged from the mountain valley.

That was a chimpanzee, a huge, nearly 100-meter-tall giant chimpanzee—King Kong.

Also known as the handsome guy from Skull Island.

However, the handsome Skull Island guy in front of them was clearly no longer the spirited man he once was. He struggled to emerge from the ravine, and people could even clearly see that King Kong's body was no longer covered by the still-healing claw marks and bite marks from sharp teeth on his chest.

Looking at the trembling mountains ahead, King Kong was silent for a moment before letting out a fierce roar, as if declaring to his enemies that he was the only king of Skull Island.

(End of this chapter)