Isis was eager to find a target and properly test the power of her overheated Gunlance.
Before she could find a suitable one, however, Manti Town's town guard came looking for them...
With the State of Emergency Declaration in effect, the town had entered a state of partial martial law.
Thanks to the mayor's reassurances, the townspeople were not exactly panicking, but tensions were running high.
When thunderous shelling erupted from Battle Street outside the town, many people assumed the Monster had already arrived. Yet no evacuation order came, sparking some minor unrest.
When the guards arrived to investigate and learned that it was merely a few Hunters testing their techniques, they were left speechless.
Trying out a few bladed weapons would have been one thing. Even firing a shell or two would not have caused much trouble. But unleashing barrage after barrage? Was that not going a little too far?
Still, the guards knew that these Hunters had come specifically to help defend the town and were testing their techniques in preparation for the coming battle. They imposed no real punishment and let the group off with a scolding and a few warnings.
Realizing they had caused trouble, the Hunters had no choice but to put the lesson on hold and slink back to the mayor's residence.
Ted had taken Malika with him to help themselves to the food and drink. With so much fine wine and good food available for free, it would have been a shame not to enjoy a few meals.
Honestly, Altaïr did not think that counted as mooching. One was an 8★ Hunter and the other a 7★ Hunter. They were both elite experts!
Even though they had retired years ago and carried no weapons or equipment that would allow them to join the battle directly, their experience and advice remained incredibly valuable.
The notes Altaïr had already added to his memo about dealing with Shen Gaoren were reason enough for that fat mayor to treat the two of them like royalty!
Isis could not sit still long enough to keep eating and drinking.
Her thoughts were entirely consumed by the "little trick" Ted had taught her for rapid-firing Wyvern's Fire and by the new techniques made possible by an overheated Gunlance.
Testing techniques on Battle Street at the town entrance was clearly inappropriate, and there was no proper Training Area nearby.
However, Manti Town was not far from the Tirio volcanic mountain range. Isis was considering borrowing Nymera's Palamute and racing out to the hunting grounds on the volcano's outskirts to try the technique there.
Just then, something tugged at her sleeve. Isis looked down and saw Sajji.
Sajji hopped onto a chair, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "I can help modify your Gunlance, meow."
Isis stared at him in surprise. She knew Sajji was skilled with machinery, and Mr. Hibasa had said it was perfectly fine to let him handle maintenance and repairs.
But surely even most professional smiths could not modify a Gunlance's internal mechanisms, could they?
Otherwise, Mr. Hibasa and Ted would not have specifically recommended taking it to villages known for their technical expertise, such as Harth or Bherna Village, to have it modified.
Sajji realized that she had misunderstood and shook his little head. "I really can't manage the kind of modification Mr. Ted described yet, meow.
"That would require installing a temperature-monitoring system that automatically enters a protective mode when the weapon overheats, locks the firing pin, and ejects the heat canister for rapid cooling, meow.
"What I'm suggesting is a much simpler modification, similar to what Mr. Ted just did, meow.
"Mr. Ted simply jammed the heat canister in place so it couldn't eject at all, meow.
"With the Gunlance overheated, you'd have to stop shelling on your own and cool it by slashing the Monster. Otherwise, the waste heat would keep building until the barrel eventually burst, meow.
"My idea is not to be quite so crude, meow. We could add a small mechanism that lets you control when the heat canister ejects, meow.
"If you don't need rapid cooling, leave it in place. When too much waste heat builds up and you want to cool the Gunlance faster, eject the canister. You'll be able to resume shelling soon afterward, meow."
Worried that he might have confused Isis, Sajji summarized his proposal. "In short, Mr. Ted's modification completely locks the cooling system. A master smith's professional modification adds overheat protection and automatic cooling. Mine gives you manual control over cooling, meow."
The idea immediately appealed to Isis, but to be safe, she went over to Ted and asked for his opinion.
After hearing her out, Ted gave Sajji a thumbs-up. "Good idea. It solves the biggest problem with the simplest method."
Then he looked back at Isis. "That would also make it much easier to manage the temperature and prevent the barrel from bursting due to overheating.
"If you can adapt to manual cooling, there's no need to go all the way to Bherna Village. The simpler the mechanism, the less likely it is to fail."
"Then could that Hunter Art you mentioned, 'Dragon Breath,' be reproduced with a similarly simple modification?" Isis asked excitedly as she scooped Sajji into her arms.
"Dragon Breath... No, that wouldn't work. It requires extensive changes to the Wyvern's Fire mechanism, and it's extremely complicated. No matter how skilled one person might be, they couldn't manage it alone. You'd need to go to a top-tier smithy with the proper equipment.
"But I wouldn't recommend it. Attacking with an overheated Gunlance already provides most of Dragon Breath's benefits, so the improvement wouldn't be especially significant.
"If you're going all the way to a top smithy to have the Wyvern's Fire mechanism extensively rebuilt, you might as well have it modified for Dragon Blast instead."
"What's Dragon Blast?!" Isis felt as though she had just heard another amazing new term.
"Buuurp." Ted poured himself a drink, patted his belly, and belched. "Didn't I mention it before?"
"You didn't..."
"Hmm. Think of it as an enhanced Wyvern's Fire that's been pushed to an absurd level. The flames and heat erupting from the muzzle as it fires are intense enough to injure the user, so you have to plant your shield and guard against the blast.
"Oh, and the technique for instantly firing Wyvern's Fire that I just taught you doesn't work with Dragon Blast, so don't try anything reckless.
"I also heard from Altaïr that you like jamming the muzzle into a Monster's mouth before firing Wyvern's Fire, is that right?" Ted set down his cup and fixed Isis with a stare.
Isis glared furiously at Altaïr beside her.
What is wrong with you?! Why do you always tell on me whenever we meet one of our elders?
"Hahaha! Truth be told, I like doing that too!" Ted suddenly burst out laughing, catching Isis completely off guard.
Malika immediately shot him a murderous glare.
"Ahem. That's not what I wanted to say." Ted wiped his mouth. "An ordinary Wyvern's Fire is one thing, but don't ever try that with Dragon Blast. Otherwise..."
"Will it send me flying?" Isis asked tentatively.
"It's worse than that," Malika interjected coldly. "You'll end up like he did. Your shield will shatter on the spot, half the bones in your body will break, and more than thirty percent of your skin will suffer severe burns. The injuries will never fully heal, forcing you to retire in your prime."
Isis shrank back and did not dare say another word.
Looking sheepish, Ted twisted open a new bottle of liquor. "Anyway, when using Dragon Blast, keep the Gunlance level, brace behind your shield, and assume the standard stance for absorbing recoil. Its power is no joke."
Malika said nothing more. The couple fell silent.
Isis carefully slipped away from them, went over to Altaïr, and told him that she wanted to test a few techniques on the volcano's outskirts.
Altaïr considered it and did not stop her. He merely said, "There's a strategy meeting tonight. You can't miss it.
"If you want to go, wait until tomorrow. That will also give Sajji time to rework your Gunlance's cooling system. Even a small modification will take a while."
Then he looked at Sajji. "Make it sturdy."
"No problem, Boss, meow!" Sajji puffed out his chest and gave a rather sloppy military salute.
He then dragged Isis off with him. Sajji could handle the mechanical work, but he could not fabricate metal parts by hand. They would have to get them forged at the local smithy.
Across the table, the retired Hunter couple had stopped talking and were simply drinking in silence. Altaïr sighed inwardly.
After what he had heard, he was almost afraid to let Isis have her Gunlance modified for Dragon Blast.
But he knew she would not listen to him about something like this.
(Translated by yourtl.app)