The four of them, including Altaïr, were also staying in one of the fishing village's unused houses. Although Az said his place could fit them if they squeezed in, they politely declined, since it would have been too much of an intrusion on the couple. Ursula had told them to come early in the morning, so slacking off was naturally out of the question. Before dawn the next day, the fully armed group, including Sajji and Clawdia, gathered at Az's doorstep. They had intended to wait quietly, but as soon as they settled in, the door was pushed open from inside. Ursula, armed as well and looking imposing and formidable, stepped out.
Altaïr couldn't recognize her Armor at all. It looked like a mixed set. Only the greaves vaguely resembled an improved model of Yian Garuga greaves; the other pieces were completely unidentifiable. In her hand, Ursula carried a large leather bag. She nodded to the young Hunters and pulled out several steaming taros. "Freshly steamed. Fill your stomachs for breakfast."
They were tempted to say they had already eaten rations, but it wouldn't do to refuse an elder's kindness. Fortunately, none of them had eaten too much. After thanking her, they peeled the taros and stuffed them into their mouths. Ursula took the opportunity to explain, "A Hunter's Armor is very heavy. Except for a few specializations made for underwater combat, most Armor needs to be adjusted and modified before going underwater. Don't worry, it's not a complicated modification. Simply put, it means attaching lightweight driftwood, air sacs, and counterweights to various parts of the Armor. You adjust the Armor's buoyancy and center of gravity so it can float stably in the water even without effort from the Hunter. This is very important; otherwise, just fighting the Armor's weight will drain a huge amount of stamina, which is extremely bad in battle."
As she spoke, Ursula glanced at the four humans and two Felynes, her gaze finally settling on Isis. "The other three shouldn't have any major issues. It's you, Isis. That Basarios Armor Set of yours cannot be used for underwater combat. The buoyancy that air sacs and driftwood can provide is limited. Your Armor is far too heavy. If you add enough air sacs to actually make it float, you can forget about moving. Underwater, agility is far more important than defense."
"Then what do I do?" Isis's eyes widened.
"Strip it down. When you absolutely have to enter the water, remove your head, torso, and waist Armor pieces, leaving only the vambraces and greaves. Your set already has very thick under-armor, so even without those pieces, your defense will still be decent."
"Oh, okay!" Isis obediently began removing her armor.
"The rest of you too. You don't need to remove your armor, but you all need to take off your helmets. Unless it's fully sealed, self-contained Armor like the Zamtrios style, helmets are a major hindrance underwater.
"And besides, we aren't Sea People, so we can't hold our breath for long. We'll need to use breathing apparatuses underwater, and wearing a helmet would just get in the way."
As she spoke, she pulled several objects out of that enormous leather sack and handed them out.
It was a strangely shaped mask. When worn on the face, it looked as if two long fangs were sprouting from it.
"Inside those two fang-like protrusions, they're stuffed with a special type of algae. This algae can store a large amount of oxygen, extending the time you can remain active underwater.
"Mm... An experienced user, by lowering their breathing rate, should have no problem moving normally underwater for five minutes with this. For all of you, managing three minutes would be a passing grade.
"Remember, if the air inside the mask starts to feel stuffy and stale, it means the oxygen is about to run out. Surface to get fresh air in time; that point is absolutely critical."
Altaïr carefully took notes, and the others also nodded in agreement.
"That's all for the preliminary briefing. Now, one by one, come down into the water with me. I'll adjust the ballast on your Armor.
"Who's first?"
"Me!" Perhaps due to her long stint as a frontliner, Isis loved being at the front and was the first to leap into the sea.
And then she began to sink. In the blink of an eye, only a string of bubbles was left on the surface... Even with the outer plates removed from three parts of her body, her Basarios Armor Set was still far from light.
A look of resignation crossed Ursula's face. Couldn't you at least have waited for me to get things roughly set up before jumping into the water?
Fortunately, the water here was only a few meters deep, so it wasn't a big problem. "The rest of you, take the breathing masks and give them a try.
"Breathing will be a bit labored; it might feel a little uncomfortable at first, but you'll get used to it."
After saying this, she hoisted that large leather sack and jumped into the sea as well.
Very quickly, Isis resurfaced with Ursula's help. She coughed and choked up a few mouthfuls of water, cutting a rather sorry figure.
Ursula began attaching air sacs and driftwood to her, piece by piece.
On the shore, Altaïr was trying out the breathing mask while curiously observing.
He had originally assumed those air sacs and pieces of driftwood were just tied onto the armor with rope, but in reality, it was more complex. These buoyant objects were tightly fixed into the gaps of the armor, or on areas that wouldn't hinder movement, such as the back and rear shoulders.
As more and more air sacs and pieces of driftwood were added, Isis was soon able to float on the water's surface by paddling with her own limbs.
"Swim around a bit here, then dive down and swim a few circles. Try surfacing and diving," Ursula said.
Isis obediently did so. Ursula observed her swimming posture, then manually adjusted things for a while, finally completing the calibration.
"Swimming like this feels so easy now!" Isis exclaimed with excitement.
"Alright, go get used to it. Next person, don't just jump in! Do you want to sink to the bottom too?!" Ursula shouted in exasperation, stopping Altaïr just as he was about to leap down.
Following the wooden framework beneath the pier, she nimbly climbed back onto the shore.
Ursula first sized up Altaïr's build, estimated the distribution of his center of gravity, and roughly attached some buoyancy fittings before allowing him to enter the water.
After jumping into the water, Altaïr took a moment to get a feel for it and couldn't help but marvel inwardly. Ms. Ursula truly was a seasoned veteran.
Even as it was, he could move underwater quite freely, far more effortlessly than swimming without any gear at all.
After some meticulous adjustments, his agility improved even further, and he began tentatively trying out some tactical maneuvers.
"Alright, don't worry about the movements just yet. I'll teach you all later," Ursula said with a smile. "Next person."
Once everyone's Armor had been fitted with buoyancy parts and weights, Ursula had them all return to the shore.
"Memorize the locations and number of the buoyant air sacs on your bodies. I won't be able to adjust them for you personally every time. Before the Hunt, you'll need to prepare them yourselves."
Hearing this, Altaïr quickly took notes on the details of these buoyancy parts, specifying down to a few centimeters above the elbow, so no one would misremember later and cause trouble.
Seeing Altaïr writing things down, the others couldn't be bothered to commit it all to memory. One teased the cat, another snacked on treats, and yet another gazed at the seascape composing poetry.
The sight made Ursula's eye twitch.
There was a saying among Hunters: a team only needs one brain. Seeing it now, she realized it was absolutely true.
Once Altaïr had finished recording everything and verified there were no omissions or errors, Ursula clapped her hands and called the distracted group back.
"Next, we'll split into two groups. Isis, Nymera, you two have it easier, but you still need to learn how to accelerate explosively underwater, how to evade attacks, how to use potions and items, and so on. Altaïr and Jara, since you're preparing for underwater combat, your tasks are heavier. You need to master various tactical maneuvers, as well as weapon handling and the like. Division of labor is crucial in underwater combat, even more so than on land. Who's responsible for luring, who's responsible for attacking, how to coordinate... there are rules for all of it. After all, aside from true veterans, few can move underwater and use a weapon to attack at the same time. That's very different from fighting on land."
The group nodded in agreement.
"And here's a little test," she added. "If you really had to fight a Lagiacrus underwater, how would you divide your roles?"
Altaïr thought for a moment, then said, "Isis and Nymera would stay on shore and perform ranged attacks if the Lagiacrus surfaced. Jara and I would be underwater, trying to drive it toward the shore as much as possible. As for the division between Jara and me... he should be responsible for drawing the Monster's attention, while I'm in charge of flanking attacks?"
"Mm, mostly fine, but one point is very, very wrong."
Ursula grinned, pointing at Altaïr and Jara. "You two have the same task: both of you are responsible for drawing the Monster's attention. There is only one person truly qualified to act as the attacker underwater."
So saying, Ursula turned to look at Isis.
Isis pointed at herself with a puzzled expression. "Me?"
"Not you. Clawdia."
As if she had long guessed the answer, Clawdia leaped from Isis's arms, landed on the ground, and struck a "victory" pose.
"Leave it to me, meow!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)