The assessment quest was officially over. Lambert crouched beside the Velociprey corpses, spacing out.
Because these Velociprey had mostly been killed by the sonic waves, their bodies were preserved remarkably intact. With careful carving, she could obtain a large quantity of good-quality Velociprey materials.
A habit ingrained from years as an Instructor made Gael instinctively speak up to advise, "Those hides and scales and such, take them back, process them, and store them properly.
"Later, when you get the chance to hunt a Velocidrome, you can use these as supplementary materials to craft the Velocidrome Set. It's a pretty solid piece of rookie gear."
She had barely finished speaking when Lambert blurted out, "No, I plan to sell it all for money."
Thinking the kid's rebellious streak was acting up again, Gael's eye twitched and anger surged. She raised her hand to smack her on the rear, only to hear Lambert continue, "I plan to dig up a few more Bonepiles, stockpile bone materials, and then make a Bone Set."
Beside her, Ferdie nodded approvingly. "Smart. Very few Rookie Hunters ever choose to craft the Bone Set, but for a Hunting Horn user, the Bone Set is the most suitable rookie gear.
"The hollow structure of those bones resonates with a Hunting Horn's sound waves, enhancing their effects (Horn Maestro). Quite practical."
Gael laughed awkwardly and lowered her raised hand.
She did know about the Bone Set's effects, but it just hadn't crossed her mind that way. After all, there were so few trainees who decided to become Hunting Horn users from the training camp days onward. It had simply slipped her mind for a moment.
Seeing Lambert just respond with a noncommittal "Mm" and say nothing more, Altaïr felt exasperated.
Lambert had clearly done her homework before choosing the Bone Set. But given her status and experience, there was plenty of information she simply couldn't access.
Now she had the Bone Set as the best choice, but what about later? With this kid's talent, it wouldn't take her even a few years to advance to 2★, 3★, or higher, and gear swaps would be relatively frequent.
What would she use after the Bone Set? Had she thought that through? And after that?
If there were no opportunities, that would be one thing, but with a willing veteran right here in front of her, couldn't she just ask a couple more questions?
He waited a few seconds. Seeing Lambert staring at the Velociprey corpses, her mind wandering, showing no sign of asking anything, Altaïr had no choice but to speak up for her.
"Mr. Ferdie, aside from the Bone Set, are there any other equipment pieces with similar effects, or that are more suitable for a Hunting Horn user?"
Ferdie himself had been hesitating too, wondering whether he should volunteer more information. Seeing Altaïr ask, he took the chance to continue, "At the 2★ to 3★ stage, the Kulu-Ya-Ku Set and the Girros Armor Set are both very good choices.
"Girros only appears in the New World, so it's a bit hard to come by. Kulu-Ya-Ku has a wider distribution, so you can prioritize that.
"At the 4★ to 5★ stage, you could consider the Scholar Set produced by the Guild.
"Any knowledge beyond that isn't really suitable for you to delve into right now. Oh, right. If you ever get the chance to acquire a Talisman or decorations that amplify sound waves, your equipment choices will become much more flexible."
Snapping out of it, Lambert looked up with a dazed expression. Seizing her chance, Gael gave her a sharp slap on the rear. Smack!
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and say thank you!"
"...Thank you." Lambert wasn't one to be ungrateful; she was just still immersed in that lethal "performance" from before.
There had been no time to feel it during the fight, but now that everything had truly settled, she gradually realized this was what battle and killing actually felt like.
After the passion and excitement faded, a strange, faint emptiness remained.
"Um, Uncle Ferdie, what did you just say? Could you please repeat it?"
"No need. I took notes." Altaïr waved his memo. "Next time, remember to listen properly when someone's speaking."
—--
"I'm back."
Pushing open the door of Master Amos's home, Altaïr was somewhat surprised to find a guest in the living room.
On the sofa, a slender, silver-haired youth was quietly reading, holding a book. The tea on the table in front of him had long gone cold, untouched.
Amos was also holding a book, reclining in his favorite lounge chair.
This library-like atmosphere seemed to have been going on for quite a while.
"Erik? Did the Professor send you with something for me?" Seeing that Erik hadn't even noticed his arrival, Altaïr had no choice but to speak up.
"Ah, you're finally back." Erik swiftly finished the current page, carefully inserted a bookmark, and put the book away. "It's nothing major. The dissections of both Doom Estrellian and Arbiter Estrellian are fully complete.
"The materials allotted to you Hunters have been tallied. The Professor asked me to bring them over."
Erik pointed to a large bundle beside the sofa. "Your squad's materials are all there. The Professor said he couldn't be bothered to sort them out in detail, so you can divide them among yourselves."
Altaïr nodded and was about to thank him when Erik suddenly leaned closer and, pointing at a second, much smaller bundle, whispered:
"I heard that His Immenseness allocated you some Arbiter Estrellian materials. The Professor said that works out perfectly. He still owed you a few favors, so he picked through and added a bit more for you.
"He also said, find a skilled smith and forge the Doom Estrellian materials into a weapon. That alone will be more than enough for your needs right now.
"As for further strengthening it with Arbiter Estrellian materials, at your current Hunter rank you probably can't even get the secondary materials. You can put that off for a while. Either way, the materials are all treated; they won't spoil sitting in your item box."
"Mm."
From his lounge chair off to the side, Amos suddenly spoke. "For the Doom Estrellian Hunt, you were the main force, so that's certainly fine. But the Arbiter Estrellian was taken down by Fabius and the heavy firepower of a large Airship. Frankly, it had very little to do with you.
"Wielding a weapon forged from Monster materials far beyond your own ability is never a good thing.
"Once you possess Arbiter Estrellian materials, you'll be unable to resist trying to collect the remaining components. Who knows what foolishness you might get up to.
"Leave the Arbiter Estrellian materials with me for now. When your strength approaches High Rank Hunter level, you can come back to me for them."
"Yes."
Altaïr couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret. He'd never so much as touched a High Rank weapon before. Truth be told, he really wanted to get a feel for what a High Rank Long Sword was like.
Amos pushed his reading glasses down and peered over the edge of the lenses at Altaïr, who was making no effort to hide his reluctance.
Having been that age himself once, how could he not know what Altaïr was thinking?
After a moment's hesitation, Amos sighed and tossed Altaïr a set of keys. "The room at the very end of the second floor is our storage room.
"On the left-hand weapon rack are the weapons I used in the past. You can look at them, but don't take them out of the room.
"As for the other locked chests, don't even think about trying to open them. Those are from the private collection of Isis's parents, and you haven't yet earned the right to see them."
Eyes lighting up as he caught the keys, Altaïr bolted upstairs in a flash.
—--
Ten days had already passed since they'd arrived in Dundorma. According to the plan, today was the day they were to return to Metapetatto.
Early that morning, when Altaïr dragged the dark-circled Sajji out of the bedroom, Amos already had breakfast ready.
"I trust you've bought the Airship tickets," Amos asked offhandedly.
Altaïr nodded. "Bought them ages ago."
Not just his own. He'd also picked one up for Lambert. He couldn't very well just abandon her and head back to Metapetatto on his own.
Even if he did, Lambert would find her own way to follow. But since he'd agreed to be her "guide," he had to take at least some responsibility.
During those last few days in Dundorma, Altaïr went nowhere else. He spent as much time as he could with Master Amos, and along the way he helped him give all those weapons a thorough maintenance.
He recognized some of them: the Blango Destructor, a Blango Long Sword reinforced to its absolute limit, and the Wyvern Blade "Mercury," the apex of the Wyvern Blade line. But for most of the others, he couldn't even identify the materials.
In any case, every single one was a work of art!
The old man might grumble, "Go on, do your own thing," or "You're pacing around and it's annoying me," but it was plain to see he was quite happy.
Ever since Isis left home, he'd been living alone. Even though a lifetime of solitude had long accustomed him to the quiet, having a younger companion around to chat with still lifted his spirits.
"You go ahead and eat," Amos said to Altaïr. He then returned to his own room and soon came back carrying several bound volumes, which he placed on the dining table.
"Make sure you take these copies with you. Help me keep an eye on Isis. See that she reads a bit every day until she's finished them all.
"For the parts you think are especially important, quiz her on them afterwards, just in case she's been skimming." Amos patted the notebooks as he spoke.
Altaïr froze for a moment, then realized what these notebooks were. From the sound of Master Amos's words, was he meant to read them as well?
"These were left by Isis's parents. Wouldn't it be, well, inappropriate for me to read them too?"
"Not at all. Just treat them as travelogues and interesting anecdotes. I've already removed the parts that aren't suitable for you two to see." Amos lifted his teacup for a sip, his expression indifferent.
"...Alright." Altaïr carefully put away the notebooks. "I'll make sure Isis memorizes every word."
"Yes, that would be best."
(Translated by yourtl.app)