"Gardevoir, if you would," Zhang said softly, releasing his psychic partner.
"Shaa." Gardevoir's eyes glowed pink, and with a flash of light, she teleported herself and Zhang away from the snowy mountain.
Zhang arrived back in Kamura Village on his Astalos. The villagers, now familiar with his identity as a Rider, were no longer afraid.
"Master Zhang is back. I wonder what monster he hunted this time."
"If only I were as powerful as him, I could definitely make Xiaohua like me," a young villager sighed.
"That Astalos... it's so awe-inspiring," a hunter said with envy.
Zhang returned home and, without resting, began his training regimen.
"Are you really working so hard?" Hinoa and Minoto asked, arriving in his courtyard as dusk began to fall.
"Hinoa, Minoto, you're here," he said, wiping sweat from his brow and stopping his training. His other Pokémon, however, paid them no mind and continued their own drills. It was the nature of monsters to seek strength; weakness meant death in their world.
"You can relax sometimes, you know," Hinoa said, her voice full of concern.
"When I am invincible, I will rest," Zhang replied, shaking his head. He was in a race against time. The future of Kamura Village was uncertain. Who knew when the Wind Serpent Ibushi would return?
"Alright, sister," Minoto said weakly. "Zhang is doing this for us." She stepped forward and handed him a lunch box. "Zhang, this is the braised pork I made for you. We learned the recipe you brought us."
"And this is the braised ribs I made," Hinoa added, handing him her own box.
"You two are amazing," Zhang's eyes lit up, and he happily accepted the food. He knew that to make these dishes with tough Nargacuga meat, Hinoa and Minoto must have worked incredibly hard.
"I just hunted a Gammoth," he said between bites. "You can take some of the meat back with you. By the way, could you help me prepare some of it?"
"Okay," Hinoa nodded with a squinting smile.
"Zhang, if there's anything we can help with, you must tell us," Minoto said.
"Don't worry, I will," he replied. "Actually, there is something. Is there a master of the greatsword in the village?"
"A greatsword? Why do you ask?" Hinoa looked at him, puzzled.
"I want to ask someone to teach my Seregios. I think if it could learn human sword techniques, it would become even stronger."
"Master Utsushi should be able to help," Minoto offered. "He knows every weapon and is very powerful."
Hinoa beckoned to her Cohoot, a small red owl, and asked it to fetch Master Utsushi.
I'm so stupid, I should have thought of Master Utsushi right away, Zhang thought, laughing at himself. He had, of course, thought of him, but he had wanted to know if there were any other, more specialized greatsword masters in the village. Evidently not.
A moment later, Master Utsushi arrived. "Hinoa, Minoto, Zhang. What do you need me for?" he asked, guessing he wasn't just being invited to be a third wheel on their date.
"Master Utsushi, I'd like to ask you to teach some greatsword techniques to my Seregios," Zhang said, pointing to the monster.
"Seregios?" Utsushi's eyes lit up. "So that's it. A brilliant idea." He knew of the "swordsman of monsters" and understood immediately. "Leave it to me. No problem."
"Then I'll be troubling you, Master," Zhang smiled. "If there's anything you need in the future, please ask. I'll do my best to help."
"I'll hold you to that," Utsushi laughed heartily. "Seregios, follow me. It's too small here. I'll take you to the training grounds." He beckoned, and the two left, Utsushi being savvy enough not to overstay his welcome.
"Hinoa, Minoto, wait until I finish eating and take a bath, then I'll go out with you," Zhang said.
"Don't worry, we'll wait for you," they replied in unison.
At around midnight, Zhang changed into his Nargacuga gear, ready to take on another hunting mission. This time, it was to evolve his Anjanath into a Fulgur Anjanath.
"Master Zhang, are we going on another adventure, meow?" Kuro asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement. The little cat was as keen on adventure as Zhang was.
"That's right," Zhang nodded, opening the system panel and selecting the mutation evolution for his Anjanath.
Mutation Evolution Activated!
Anjanath -> Fulgur Anjanath!
Difficulty: Quasi-Elite Four!
Randomizing Mission...
You have received the quest: "Hunt the Odogaron"!
Teleportation commencing!
"Odogaron? A monster from the New World again. My luck is good," Zhang smiled as the blue light of teleportation enveloped him and Kuro.
They reappeared in the Rotten Vale. "Cough, cough, it stinks," Zhang said, covering his mouth.
"Master Zhang, it seems we have arrived in a monster's lair," Kuro observed. The ground was littered with bones and rotting flesh. The cave was built into a cliff face, 300 meters above the valley floor.
Bang. Bang. Heavy footsteps echoed from outside. Zhang and Kuro quickly ducked down and peered out. A behemoth was making its way along the mountain path. It was over 40 meters long, with a dark green, cucumber-shaped body, and a skeleton like a Tyrannosaurus rex. This was the Elder Dragon-level creature, Deviljho, known to players as "the Pickle."
Deviljho
Level: 89 (Tier 3 God)
A Deviljho, Zhang thought, relieved. Fortunately, this cave is 300 meters up. As long as I don't make a sound, it will never find me. The Deviljho was a terrifying monster, constantly starving, hunting anything and everything it saw. It had no natural enemies; even other Elder Dragons avoided it. With every step it took, the earth cracked.
So powerful. One day, I will capture you, Zhang thought, the desire to conquer the beast rising in his heart. As for its insatiable hunger, he figured he could solve that with special energy blocks, just like the Snorlax from the anime.
After the Deviljho passed, Zhang sent out his drone to search for the Odogaron.
"Master Zhang! Is that it?" Kuro suddenly asked, pointing to the cliff face in the distance. A red, wolf-like monster was crawling along the rock wall like a gecko. It was 17 meters long, with dark red skin that looked like exposed muscle, giving it the appearance of a zombie dog. Its most eye-catching feature was its claws: two layers of them, ten in total, all razor-sharp. This was the Odogaron, one of the apex predators of the Rotten Vale, with an ecological niche on par with a Rathalos.
Odogaron
Level: 59 (Quasi-Elite Four)
"That's it," Zhang confirmed. "And it's heading for us. It seems this is its lair. Kuro, let's go back inside the cave and wait for it."
A minute later, the terrifying Odogaron leaped into the cave. It stopped, puzzled. It couldn't understand why the two little dots hadn't run away. Have they been scared witless? It shook its head. Dessert had been delivered to its door.
The moment it saw Zhang and Kuro, it attacked, leaping forward and stabbing at Zhang with its sharp right claw.
It doesn't see me as a threat, Zhang thought. Soon, it will remember this day.
He raised his Long Sword. "Water Moon Stance!" Two Wirebugs shot out, forming a glowing green net of energy.
BANG!
The Odogaron's claw hit the net and shattered. The beast was thrown back, slamming into the roof of the cave before crashing to the ground.
"Sakura Air Blade Slash!" Zhang used a Wirebug to launch himself forward like an arrow, his blade cutting a huge gash in the Odogaron's body.
At the same time, Kuro slashed at the Odogaron's left ankle, severing it. It was a practiced move; he had often crippled his targets' mobility to slowly grind them down.
BOOM! The wound on the Odogaron's body exploded, a delayed effect of Zhang's attack. The blade of his Long Sword now glowed white, indicating it had reached the first level of charge, granting him a 5% attack boost.
"Roar!" Though in agony, the Odogaron swung its other claw at Zhang.
"Just Cut!" Zhang countered, his blade meeting the claw. As they connected, the white light on his sword turned yellow, indicating the second level of charge.
"Meow, you dare ignore me!" Kuro leaped onto the Odogaron's head and stabbed his blade into its left eye. The monster howled in pain and swatted at him, but Kuro easily jumped away.
"Dragon Claw!" Zhang's blade, now wreathed in a draconic phantom, swung down and severed the Odogaron's remaining front claw. It collapsed to the ground.
"Helm Breaker!" Zhang leaped up and came down, slamming the flat of his blade onto the Odogaron's head. It was knocked unconscious.
"Done," Zhang exhaled, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. He threw a Poké Ball. After two shakes, the Odogaron was captured.
The full story so far is available on P atreon!: p atreon.com/Zefyrus