Altaïr abruptly sat up.
His head throbbed painfully, his thoughts were muddled, and the suffocating discomfort in his chest and abdomen made him want to punch himself a few times, all symptoms of having suffered severe impact.
Tapping his head with the back of his fist, Altaïr realized he seemed to be in a medical clinic, bandages wrapped around his body. Had he been injured and lost consciousness? No, before that...
His mind gradually cleared.
The Desert Feast, the Mounting Operation, Jhen Mohran's unexpected counterattack, the capsized Dragonship, the prematurely detonated Blast Bomb, and Serl shielding him with his shield...
Remembering all this, Altaïr urgently tried to climb out of bed but accidentally knocked over the small bedside table in the process. Hearing the noise, someone rushed in from the next room.
"Ah, you're finally awake? You slept so long, you missed the feast!"
The person who entered was Asa, who looked rather comical with thick bandages wrapped around his head, one arm immobilized in a cast, and a noticeable limp.
But Altaïr wasn't in the mood for laughter. He asked anxiously, "What about Senior Serl? Is he alright? And everyone in the fleet? Was the operation successful?"
Asa had initially wanted to tease Altaïr, but he managed to think better of it before any ill-timed jokes could escape his lips. He rubbed his mouth and changed his tone:
"Ahem, Brother Serl was pretty badly injured too, but his Rathian Armor really held up well. He woke up a day earlier than you and is basically fine now."
"As for the fleet... the losses were significant. The Hozan-maru needs major repairs." At this point, Asa's expression turned somewhat somber.
"But thanks to your efforts, we managed to heavily wound Jhen Mohran and drive it back at the last moment. Otherwise, the casualties could have easily doubled."
"The Admiral said he wants to properly thank you all."
Just then, a physician who had heard the commotion hurried over. He shooed away Asa, who had wanted to continue chatting, and carefully examined Altaïr's condition.
Fractures, burns, concussion, internal bleeding...
Hearing this, Altaïr understood he would need a good, long period of recovery.
—--
During his convalescence at the medical clinic, many people came to visit.
Madam Marydan patted his shoulder repeatedly, saying "Well done," and brought him plenty of meat dishes. Mr. Lamarck left behind several thick books.
Marydan ended up scolding her husband for this and took the books away with her when she left.
Joda also came with his Loc Lac Rangers teammates to visit. Since the Rangers team's daily duties were busy and they couldn't visit often, Joda left Sajji behind, entrusting him with caring for Altaïr and Asa during their recovery.
The Admiral personally visited as well. While expressing his gratitude to Altaïr and the others, he brought a large quantity of gifts and stated that the Sandship fleet would always welcome them to join.
There was also an unexpected visitor. The mustachioed guildmaster of the Loc Lac Guild came along with the Admiral.
He brought the rewards for this mission, which included not only the standard monetary payment but also a piece of ore obtained from Jhen Mohran's back, along with a polished scale. After having its rock-like outer layer removed, the scale revealed a magnificent azure-blue hue.
These materials were far from sufficient for crafting equipment and were meant more as recognition for his courageous combat efforts. If sold to a merchant, it would likely fetch a good sum of money, but currently Altaïr wasn't short on funds, so he planned to keep it as a souvenir.
—--
It wasn't until he was allowed to get out of bed and move freely that Altaïr finally saw Serl, who had also been forced to lie in bed for several days.
The latter seemed in high spirits and immediately teased him upon meeting, "I heard this was your first time getting carted? How did it feel?"
The so-called "getting carted" was a humorous term among hunters, used to refer to losing combat capability during a hunt.
Under normal circumstances, that was practically no different from being dead, but sometimes with good luck, things could take a turn.
The Guild had signed agreements with wild Felyne tribes - if Felynes could rescue severely injured hunters from the jaws of Monsters, one-third of the hunter's mission rewards would go to them.
Over time, hunters began using "getting carted" to refer to being severely injured and unconscious, or losing combat capability.
Facing Serl's teasing, Altaïr simply nodded.
Meanwhile, Sajji tilted his head while examining the young hunter before him, curiously asking in return, "What about you meow? Have you ever ridden the Felyne cart meow?"
When he used to live with his tribe in the wild, he had also helped push Felyne carts, transporting half-dead hunters.
"Ahem, I've had my share of rides too. Let's just say I was lucky not to have met my end in the hunting grounds," Serl said with a dry laugh.
Then his expression turned more serious, "My injuries have mostly healed, and I'll be leaving Loc Lac in the next couple of days. Before that, there's something I need to tell you."
Hearing this, Altaïr straightened up, "Please go ahead."
"More than one person must have told you that you're not suited for Sword and Shield, right?"
"...That's correct."
"I know you possess special talents, and I've heard about your teacher. Combined with what I've observed during this time, I can only say your teacher's approach was absolutely correct.
Of course, that's not all I want to tell you. The main reason I came today is to warn you about a rather obvious weakness you have."
Serl didn't beat around the bush. Looking directly into Altaïr's eyes, he said almost word by word: "You severely lack self-preservation awareness."
"Lack self-preservation awareness..." Altaïr repeated the phrase.
"Yes, unrelated to your special talents, this is a problem with your personal character. Your mind seems to only think about offense."
"Uh..." Altaïr choked up, finding this somewhat difficult to refute.
"It's normal for people to have preferences, but your offensive mindset is too pure. For you, whether it's defense or evasion, they only exist as 'transitions' to your next attack.
At your current skill level, this might not seem problematic - you can easily suppress Monsters like Gendrome through pure offense alone.
But as you progress further, when you reach 3★ and 4★ levels and need to face stronger, more cunning Monsters, this fatal weakness will be exposed. By then, you might not even get a chance to correct it before meeting your end in the hunting grounds.
Let me give you the most direct example - at the end of the previous Mounting Operation, you discarded your shield and drew your knife to use as Dual Blades, right?"
"That was to..."
"I know." Altaïr's instinctive rebuttal was cut off by Serl. "Using Dual Blades to perform Blade Dance and widen the wound wasn't wrong - if anything, you should be praised for your quick thinking. Your problem is that you never considered picking up your shield after that?"
Altaïr was speechless. Serl continued, "While I was preparing to ignite the Blast Bomb, that shield was right by your feet. Yet you didn't even glance at it, nor did you consider retreating earlier.
You don't seem to value your own life very much."
"I think so too, meow." Sajji chimed in from the side. "You're quite cautious when planning tactics, meow, but suddenly become reckless during combat, meow."
Altaïr found himself cornered by the two of them - one human and one Palico - unable to respond.
After a moment of silence, he finally mumbled, "I'll practice more defensive techniques."
"No, you misunderstand my meaning."
Serl's tone softened slightly. "I'm telling you this not to divert your focus from 'offense.' Your extreme aggressiveness is your advantage and shouldn't be suppressed.
Just like a sharp, slender blade isn't suitable for use as a shield - the same principle applies.
I'm reminding you because I want you to pay more attention to survival, and there are many ways to achieve this.
For example, using Sword and Shield weapons like you're doing now, crafting sturdier heavy armor, preparing more survival items, teaming up with defenders who specialize in defense, or getting a Palico to watch your back, and so on."
When he reached the last point, he glanced curiously at Sajji. "Speaking of which, is this little fellow your hunting partner? I haven't seen him before."
Sajji paused for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm just here under the boss's request to look after Altaïr, meow."
Altaïr also explained for him, "Sajji is a member of the Loc Lac Rangers, not my Palico partner."
"Is that so? You two seem quite close, I thought you were already partners." Serl smiled and didn't pursue the matter further, returning to the original topic.
"You told me before that after your teacher allowed you to change weapons, you actually became unsure about when to switch weapons and what to switch to.
So as your senior, let me give you some advice: only seriously consider this matter when you can confidently put down the shield in your hand."