The two of them farmed the Silver Rathalos three more times. Although key items in the world of Monster Hunter—including equipment, rare materials, and rare consumables—are typically non-tradable, this "Enhanced VR Edition" allowed teammates in the same quest to trade materials carved from a boss they killed together.
However, materials Wayne had accumulated while soloing previously remained strictly untradable and could not be given to Rainier.
The set crafted from Silver Rathalos materials boosts in-game attack skills and swordsmanship. The former increases raw power, while the latter reduces the chance of "deflection" when a melee weapon strikes the hardened parts of a monster.
But the set has a drawback: it significantly lowers defense. For Rainier, who prioritized evasion and self-preservation, this negative impact was manageable.
Next, they began hunting the Kirin. Wayne was still missing two pieces for his Kirin set. Unlike the Silver Rathalos armor, the Kirin set doesn't boost physical attack but vastly increases the elemental effects of Ice, Water, Fire, Thunder, and Dragon. It also provides high resistance to those elements. However, it has its own flaw: the duration of items like "Dash Juice" (which prevents stamina depletion) or "Might Seeds" (which boost attack) is significantly shortened.
Soon, Rainier—facing this Elder Dragon for the first time—was nearly brought to critical health by the Kirin's sudden, linear lightning strikes.
Since the number of revives allowed in a quest is limited, failing too many times results in mission failure. Not wanting to hold Wayne back, Rainier simply retreated to a safe distance to observe the Kirin's attack patterns and carefully study how Wayne anticipated and dodged strikes with minimal movement.
This approach was cautious. Although the Kirin's high-frequency, random attack transitions occasionally clipped Wayne, his high-defense gear allowed him to tank the hits.
Rainier, the dual-blade berserker, played a "kiting" game. He only rushed in for a few slashes when it was absolutely safe before retreating far away again.
Fortunately, in this version of Monster Hunter, a boss's health doesn't increase in multiplayer. With Rainier's "chip-damage" support, Wayne managed to take down the Kirin almost single-handedly.
Rainier handed over the carved materials to Wayne. He had a "red hand"—lucky enough to carve a "Kirin Azure Horn," a material with an incredibly low drop rate. With this, Wayne finally gathered enough for his remaining two pieces, completing the full Kirin set.
Now, only one task remained to unlock the challenge for the Black Dragon: "Approaching! Lao-Shan Lung."
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, it was past 4:00 PM.
The daily rhythm in Goldshire—and most of Azeroth—was vastly different from the world Wayne had come from. It was more like the medieval agricultural societies he had read about in history books: working at sunrise and resting at sunset.
Summer had been over for some time. Though it was still warm, the sunset was creeping earlier. The sun usually dipped below the horizon just after 6:00 PM. Aside from the clinking glasses and music at the Lion's Pride Inn, the rest of Goldshire would sink quietly into the moonlit night.
Wayne didn't ask Little Tess to get takeout for him. Instead, after asking Rainier what he wanted to eat and telling Tess to watch the shop, he personally ran to the inn across the street to place an order.
The moment he entered, several people recognized him. Farley, the proprietor, exclaimed, "A rare guest indeed!" and hurried over to welcome him.
Wayne ordered three lamb chops and two strawberry juices. Rainier didn't want a juice, stating that iced cola was enough, so Wayne only bought drinks for himself and Tess.
While waiting, he sat at a window seat. The sun was beginning its descent, and the inn wasn't crowded yet.
At the table behind Wayne, Lyria sat leaning her head on her hand toward the window. In a volume only Wayne could hear, she whispered, "Any discoveries?"
Wayne also pretended to look out the window, replying softly, "None. What's your plan?"
Lyria: "People from the Warrior's Guild told me they saw Kerian in Stormwind. Just as you said, she really has a buzz cut. Heavens, it's unbelievable. I've known her for years; she always wore her hair in a long ponytail."
Wayne: "So you believe what I said now?"
Lyria: "I need to go there myself."
Wayne: "Aren't you afraid of the danger?"
Lyria: "I'm with the Warrior's Guild. Don't underestimate us. Strictly speaking, King Varian... No one would dare openly attack a trainer from the Warrior's Guild, even if I'm only a junior trainer."
Wayne: "I asked Rainier. He refused to give a direct answer, but that only deepened my suspicion."
Lyria: "For a traditional soldier whose head is filled only with achieving military glory to bring honor to his family, he won't make any mistake that might affect his future."
Wayne: "When are you leaving?"
Lyria: "Tomorrow morning."
Wayne: "Is there anything you need me to do?"
Lyria brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead, a slight smile playing on her lips. She was a direct, free-spirited warrior. Unlike her missing friend Kerian, she had always kept her sandy-brown hair in a short cut.
"No need. You've really... it's as if you've become a completely different person lately. Before, I thought you were just a wooden block Argos hammered out in the blacksmith shop."
Wayne knew the original Wayne he had transmigrated into was a very dull person. "I'll take that as a compliment, Sister Lyria."
Lyria, 38, couldn't help but smile again at being called "Sister" by the 20-year-old Wayne.
Wayne changed the subject: "If anything happens, I'll find a way to contact you. Maybe through Raymond, maybe something else. Either way, I'll use a method only you will understand."
Lyria: "Take care of yourself. Keep an eye on who that little girl interacts with."
Wayne: "Alright. You take care too."
At that moment, Farley handed over the packed lamb chops and strawberry juice. Unlike the disposable containers of his previous world, the inn used clean wooden lunch boxes. Since they were all neighbors, customers simply returned the boxes later. In a way, it was quite eco-friendly.
As Wayne carried the boxes out of the inn, he found Dughan at the net cafe entrance talking to Rainier.
Just as he had said earlier, Rainier was suggesting that Dughan strengthen security in the town center to prevent thieves from breaking into the net cafe again at night.
Dughan brushed him off with a few words. After all, while the young man before him was half a rank lower in position, his military rank was two levels higher. Seeing Wayne approach, Dughan feigned concern to pull him away from Rainier.
Dughan: "Come over here. Let's review what happened this morning." As he spoke, he winked at Wayne when no one was looking.
Wayne understood immediately. He handed the lunch boxes to Rainier and walked off with the Marshal.
From a distance, it looked as if Wayne was pointing high and low, then toward the woods, as if recounting the events of the previous night. But their actual conversation was as follows:
Wayne: "Did you find anything?"
Dughan: "I did. There was a shipwreck... but it happened last December."
Wayne: "Last December?! That was ten months ago."
Dughan: "Stormwind Harbor is a good port. The waves and weather are usually ideal. Ships rarely sink in those waters. I asked some people in the know; they said the higher-ups suspect the incident was intentional."
Wayne: "Intentional? Where was the ship from? Who was on it?"
Dughan cleared his throat. Although no one was nearby, he pretended to lead Wayne behind the net cafe to a more secluded spot before speaking:
"The ship was from Gilneas. It sailed from the port of Pyrewood Village. On board were Gilnean refugees..."
Wayne's eyes widened at those words. He struggled to connect this with what he remembered of World of Warcraft.
"However, the second half of the story can't be verified. I only heard from some sources that after the salvage ships rescued some people, they found that the luggage and items they carried were very limited. It didn't look like they were prepared for a long journey; it looked more like they were hastily packed and sent off."
As a World of Warcraft player, Wayne had always played Horde on the retail servers. He knew about the Kingdom of Gilneas, one of the seven human kingdoms, and had some knowledge of its history. Although he played Alliance on the Classic servers, the plot hadn't reached the stage where Gilneas would appear when the servers were shut down.
Furthermore, as a player who usually just followed quest markers without reading the text, his knowledge of the lore was vague at best, and he knew even less about the fine details.
He asked Dughan: "Among the people rescued... were there any particularly famous figures?"
Dughan cleared his throat again and looked around. "I heard... only heard... that the daughter of the King of Gilneas was on that ship! But after she was rescued, she didn't seem to appear in Stormwind. They say she was sent away. Of course, it's also possible that this news is just a rumor."