The Light Bowgun user glanced helplessly at her companion, then turned to Altaïr and the others. "Go on, eat. Many people think sashimi is the proper way to eat Piscine Liver, but that's actually wrong. Pan-frying or grilling is the best way.
It's just that whether it's chilled, smoked, or salt-cured, the texture of the Piscine Liver has already changed, making it unsuitable for grilling.
That guy is usually careless, but he's always precise when it comes to controlling the heat for grilling Piscine Liver."
After thanking them, Altaïr brought the piece of grilled Piscine Liver, trembling like tofu, to his lips.
The moment the Piscine Liver entered his mouth, his eyes couldn't help but widen. This was a texture he had never experienced before.
The so-called "melts in your mouth" is usually an exaggeration used to describe tender meat, but when applied to Piscine Liver, it was the literal definition.
Unlike muscle, it had no fibers, and unlike fat, it lacked even the slightest elasticity. The grilled Piscine Liver was almost a pure liquid that flowed down his throat before he could even press it with his tongue. The rich, fragrant flavor made him reluctant to even open his mouth to breathe.
"It's great, right?" The Dual Blades user handed over another plate of fresh Piscine Liver, sliced paper-thin. "Grilled Piscine Liver is delicious, but the sashimi is great too. Give it a try."
Altaïr tried a piece. It was his first time eating raw meat, and to be honest, he wasn't quite used to the slightly viscous, slippery texture. He swallowed it without really tasting it. Sajji, on the other hand, loved it.
"Seniors, this might be a bit rude, but I'm really curious."
After eating several skewers of grilled Piscine Liver, Asa wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth. "You're all clearly very strong. From what I can see, you're definitely above the 3★ level.
Why do you put up with all that gossip and just keep hunting Cephalos and Cephadrome?"
"Asa!" Nuri quickly scolded him.
"It's fine." The Dual Blades user waved his hand with a smile. "We've gotten used to it over the years. Besides, it's our responsibility as seniors to answer the questions of the younger generation."
Although Asa was the one who asked, Altaïr couldn't help but prick up his ears and scoot closer.
"Actually, we were pretty ambitious when we were young, too. Do you know what our goal was when we first started hunting Cephadrome?" the Dual Blades user asked with a smile.
"To protect your hometown? Revenge? To make money?" Asa offered a few of the most common reasons.
"None of the above," the Hammer user said with a laugh. "Although the Cephadrome is a Piscine Wyvern, its body structure is very similar to a Flying Wyvern's, and its size is about the same.
In the beginning, we hunted Cephadrome as special training to advance to 4★ and face Flying Wyverns.
How many Cephadrome did we hunt back then? Was it three? Or four?"
"Four," the Light Bowgun user answered quickly.
The Dual Blades user continued, "If the gap between 5★ and 6★ is the great threshold separating Low Rank from High Rank...
Then between 3★ and 4★, there's also a small but significant threshold. Below it, any hunter who works hard enough can basically reach it. But to go above it, you have to start facing all sorts of dangerous Flying Wyverns, and that's not something just anyone can do. To get promoted to 4★, the three of us spent nearly a year preparing. We went to challenge the Rathian full of confidence, but the result was a crushing defeat."
"Yeah, even though its size wasn't that much different, that oppressive presence, that fire breath that could snap a large tree in two, and its ability to dominate the skies...
Is that really a creature humans can fight?
After that crushing defeat, we were down in the dumps for quite a while," the Hammer user said with a laugh.
"How did you seniors regain your confidence?" Nuri asked, also curious.
Anyone could suffer defeat, but from the trio's relaxed expressions, it was clear they had long since moved past the shadow of that time.
This made him a little intrigued.
"Of course, we went back to hunting Cephadromes to get our confidence back!" The Hammer user took out his flask, poured a mouthful of strong liquor into his mouth, and said with a chuckle, "Actually, it wasn't just the Cephadrome. We also tried the Yian Kut-Ku and the Khezu. We could beat them, sure, but they just didn't feel as smooth as fighting a Cephadrome.
Just like that, we accumulated another year or two of experience and challenged the Rathian again."
"Did you succeed this time?" Asa asked, a little nervous.
"We succeeded, but it was incredibly difficult." The smile on the Dual Blades user's face faded slightly. "Two of us were seriously injured, and that one who's drinking almost didn't make it. It took a long time recuperating before he fully recovered."
The Hammer user, who was in the middle of pouring liquor into his mouth, patted his belly. "And then, for rehabilitation, we went to bother the Cephadrome again, hahahaha!"
"The Cephalos family really has it rough with you guys, meow," Sajji couldn't help but mutter.
"However, one day not long after that, we came to the Guild Hall in Port Tanzia and heard some bad news." As he spoke, the Dual Blades user's tone slowed. In the firelight, his expression was dim and unclear.
"A genius hunter from our generation was sacrificed. He was such a skilled guy...
When we had just been promoted to 3★, he had already successfully hunted a Flying Wyvern and been promoted to 4★. And when we were crushed by the Rathian, he had already been smoothly promoted to 5★.
Everyone thought that genius would definitely be promoted to High Rank within a few years and become the pride of his hometown.
But he died. Died during an ordinary hunting quest. And the target of that quest was a Cephadrome."
Silence fell around the campfire.
The Dual Blades user paused for a moment before continuing, "At that time, although we hadn't yet made a name for ourselves as the 'Desert Fins,' we had hunted nearly ten Cephadromes in total.
After that 5★ contemporary of ours was sacrificed, the Guild Master entrusted that quest to us.
Before setting out, we were very nervous. We made many, many preparations, and even wrote our last wills.
Because in our eyes, there was definitely something wrong with that Cephadrome. Otherwise, how could such a simple Monster possibly kill a 5★ hunter?
But in truth, that quest ended without any trouble at all.
We even found the 5★ hunter's body near the Cephalos nest. After it was recovered and analyzed by the Guild staff, it was confirmed.
That hunter was likely ambushed by other Cephalos while fighting the Cephadrome, leading to his unexpected defeat.
When the Guild Master learned of all this, he was dejected for a long time. One thing he said back then left a deep impression on us."
The Light Bowgun user, who rarely spoke, chimed in, "He said, 'Since there are experts like you who can easily take care of a Cephadrome, why would I entrust that quest to a hunter unfamiliar with Cephalos?'"
"Hooo..."
The Hammer user put down his wine flask and breathed out a puff of alcohol-scented air. "The occasion was hardly appropriate, but I still almost burst out laughing. That was the first time anyone had ever called us 'experts.'"
"The three of us had always been the most ordinary of hunters. We had no noteworthy achievements, we weren't outstanding, we weren't famous, and there was nothing remarkable about us at all.
But after that, we found our niche.
Hic... Kid, you asked why just now. This is why.
No one knows better than us which part of a Cephalos's skin is the softest, or which gap in its skeleton leads directly to its vital organs.
How to find the tracks a Cephalos has left behind, how to pinpoint the location of a Cephalos pack, how to drive them to move according to our plan, and how to weave through the siege of a Cephadrome and its pack with ease.
Due to the presence of the pack, combined with this Monster's unique ecological habits, even powerful elite hunters can fail against a Cephadrome.
But we won't. When a quest involving Cephalos is handed to us, there is no other possibility besides its perfect resolution.
Because we are the experts in dealing with Cephalos. We are the Desert Fins!"
"Whoa!" Asa applauded, his face full of admiration.
The Light Bowgun user glanced at the Hammer user, who was holding his flask high with an impassioned tone. "Did you prepare that speech beforehand?"
"Haha, you saw right through me." The Hammer user's face showed not a hint of embarrassment at being exposed. "We don't get many chances to brag in front of the younger generation, so of course I had to practice, right?"