The preparations before departure left Altaïr and Isis with more time than expected, so they first went to see Morgan.
This was effectively a Guild assignment for the two of them as High Rank Hunters, and it would be a long one, lasting an estimated one to two months. Before committing to a mission of that length, they naturally needed to ask their companion what he thought.
After hearing the full story, Morgan agreed to accompany them with little hesitation.
For one thing, he was also good friends with Nymera. She had done a great deal to help when Manti Town was in crisis. Now that Kamura Village was in trouble, he could hardly stand by and do nothing.
For another, he wanted to hone his skills. The Frenzy Virus outbreak in the Kamura region was bound to produce large numbers of infected Monsters that had to be dealt with. That was far more efficient than staying in the Old World, taking one quest every ten days, and wasting more than a week of that time traveling back and forth.
His only real concern was his new equipment.
They were due to leave within a week. If he had ordered ordinary Yian Garuga equipment, the past few days and the coming week should have been enough time to finish it.
However, the materials came from a Deviant and were far harder to process. The smith had estimated a twenty-day wait, so the equipment certainly would not be ready in time.
Altaïr suggested they find a way around the problem.
For instance... since Morgan had placed the order with the Guild's internal smithy, perhaps the Guild Manager could have it expedited as a rush job?
Alternatively, they could compromise by having either the Armor or the weapon completed first, then take the materials for the other piece to Kamura Village for processing. The smiths there were highly skilled as well and would make proper use of the materials.
Morgan decided to try both approaches.
They first went to the Guild Manager, then took the resulting letter of introduction to the smithy.
They learned that work on Morgan's weapon and Armor had not officially begun and that the materials were still undergoing preliminary processing. Morgan therefore canceled the Heavy Bowgun order and asked the smiths to focus entirely on rushing the Armor. The weapon materials were packed up to be taken to Kamura Village.
—--
Five days later, word finally came that Morgan's new Armor was complete.
Morgan was thoroughly satisfied when he tried it on.
The set had more than its appearance in its favor. Its performance was what truly mattered.
Designed as heavy armor, the Deadeye Set offered substantially better protection than the cloth-based Barioth set. Its elemental resistances were almost the exact opposite, with excellent Fire and Thunder resistance but extremely poor Ice and Water resistance. The two sets complemented each other perfectly.
From then on, Morgan could choose the right Armor for each opponent. That was what a proper Hunter did, unlike Altaïr, who cared only about an Armor's offensive advantages and relied entirely on dodging to compensate for poor elemental resistances.
According to the Guild smith, the Armor used a highly unusual layered construction. When an attack exceeded a certain power threshold, the layers at the point of impact would spread apart and propel the wearer clear, thereby saving the wearer's life (Guts).
Morgan liked that effect very much. During the previous Hunt, the Deadeye had nearly pecked him to death with a diving strike. At the time, he had thought he needed a trump card that could keep him alive. Now he had one.
Beyond that life-saving feature, the Armor's greatest strength was its stability. Even during sustained fire, it helped a Gunner maintain a steady trajectory and strike weak points accurately (Repeat Offender); that was crucial for a Heavy Bowgun user who often needed to remain planted in one position while firing.
There was also one rather strange detail. The smith said the Armor seemed to house the "lingering soul" of the Deadeye Yian Garuga.
The idea sounded mystical, but similar phenomena did occur in certain high-level Armor sets.
Because of the rushed crafting schedule, the smiths had yet to determine how this so-called "lingering soul" would manifest. Morgan would have to discover that gradually in actual combat. (Deadeye Soul. Its effects were fairly modest: Challenger and Stun Negation.)
—--
During the days spent waiting to depart, Sajji and Clawdia returned once.
Surprisingly, Sajji, already an accomplished High Rank Felyne, came back looking far worse than Ning-Ning, the rookie.
His face was bruised and swollen, large patches of his long golden-brown fur had been singed away, and he walked with a slight limp.
This was, of course, the result of Clawdia's hellish special training.
Clawdia's reasoning was simple. As a rule, a hunting Felyne's combat strength was one or two stars below that of a Hunter at the same rank.
In other words, a 6★ hunting Felyne like Sajji, who had grown alongside Altaïr, ought to be able to handle Monsters with 4★ or 5★ Threat Levels on his own.
This was no absolute rule. Not every hunting Felyne specialized in combat. There were healers, dancers, and even "pacifists" who focused on gathering during battle.
Sajji was a support Felyne, but he was also adept at fighting. Most of his combat strength simply came from his assortment of bizarre machines.
With enough time to prepare, he truly could grind down a Monster rated at a 5★ Threat Level. Without those machines, however, his combat ability plummeted.
Clawdia accepted that point. Fine, forget the 5★ Threat Level Monsters, but surely a Monster with a 4★ Threat Level should be no problem, meow?
Take this Felyne Sword and skewer that Rathian, meow.
Ning-Ning received the same treatment. Lambert was currently a 3★ Hunter, and Ning-Ning was not a complete novice, so Clawdia generously rated her as a 3★ hunting Felyne, meow.
Three minus two equals one. Go handle that Velociprey, meow. Too easy? Fine, make it two, meow.
Under Clawdia's guidance over the past few days, Ning-Ning's skill with the Felyne Sword had improved by leaps and bounds. She dispatched the two Velociprey without much effort.
Sajji, on the other hand, was chased all over the place by the Rathian. In the end, Clawdia had to step in out of sheer exasperation and finish the quest target herself.
After that battle, Ning-Ning's enthusiasm for learning melee techniques soared. "Teacher Clawdia" rolled off her tongue more naturally every time she said it.
She had once wondered what a Felyne gained by honing Weapon Arts. Could she really bring down a Large Monster with that tiny Felyne Sword in her paws, meow?
Clawdia showed her that a Felyne really could, meow...
Seeing Ning-Ning circling Clawdia now, Sajji felt his competitive spirit flare. He accepted another quest, and this time he went fully armed and held nothing back.
Traps, Barrel Bombs, mines, rocket launchers, One-shot Binders, and portable Dragonators rained down in a frenzied bombardment. The quest target met a thoroughly satisfying end.
The sudden rivalry between Sajji and Clawdia had shown Ning-Ning the true power of a High Rank Felyne. She made up her mind.
I want to learn it all, meow!
However, just as she was about to pester the two senior Felynes for more techniques, the day of the Hunters' expedition to Kamura Village arrived.
Ning-Ning's desire to grow stronger had never burned so fiercely, but she could only watch through tear-filled eyes as her seniors boarded the Airship and took off.
Across several separate stretches, the lessons and special training had added up to more than half a month. They had helped her grow tremendously, to the point of a complete transformation.
From then on, she would have to walk the road to greater strength alone.
—--
Aboard the Airship, Altaïr looked down at Ning-Ning, who was waving her little paws and seemed more reluctant to part than anyone else on the ground. He turned his head and asked with a smile, "So what do you think of your shared little apprentice?"
"She'll never become a top-tier support Felyne, meow." Sajji shook his head.
"The same goes for Weapon Arts. She'll never reach the pinnacle there, meow." Clawdia folded her arms and huffed.
A moment later, however, she added softly, "But she'll still become a pretty strong hunting Felyne, meow."