Monster Hunter: Wild Pointer

Olang is also curious about Kagetsu's abilities.

"Hanazuki, those potion-like effects I felt in battle earlier, are they the effects of the Supporter Set's wide-area protection?

That's really impressive, the coverage radius must be almost thirty meters, right?"

He had heard of this special protection called "wide-area protection" before, but it seemed that few people actually used it, so this was the first time he experienced its effect firsthand.

In his opinion, the effect of this protection was a bit too strong.

The hunting flute user has to play the corresponding music to provide enhanced support to teammates, but Huayue can just pour various potions into her mouth. Apart from the high cost, there is no learning threshold at all.

"Well, the key is not the armor." The girl glanced at Olivia and saw the latter nod slightly. She also seemed to have made some decisions.

"We just met for the first time yesterday, and I didn't dare to tell anyone. Sister Olivia also helped me keep it a secret.

But since you are someone that Big Sister approves of, it’s okay to tell you the truth.

In fact, the reason why I can become a support hunter is mainly due to this."

Hua Yue said as she pulled down her collar, revealing a protective stone that shone with a pure blue cyan like the sky.

"This wide-area protective stone is a family heirloom. It was dug out from some ruins by my archaeologist grandmother.

The wide-area effect provided by the Supporter Set is actually very weak, less than one-third of the effect of this amulet. The combined effects of the two are what give us the current effect."

"I see." Orlan nodded suddenly.

If armor alone could provide that level of protection, then every team could have a supporter like that.

Moreover, it is not only for support hunters, but also for scholars or compilers who travel with hunters. It can also play a very obvious auxiliary role and is extremely versatile.

But as Huayue said, the effect of the armor is just the icing on the cake. The real key lies in the family heirloom stone. It is also because of this that similar combat styles cannot be replicated and promoted.

It seems that the supporter suit is both a reinforcement and a disguise. Otherwise, it would be dangerous to think about a young girl who has just reached adulthood running around wearing a top-level protective stone.

Olivia, who was standing by, patted the girl's head and said with a smile, "Don't think that this child has gotten to where she is today simply by relying on that family heirloom.

The Wide Area Protection Stone can make her very popular when looking for a team and fighting in a group, but it cannot help her pass the promotion test.

This guy's real strengths haven't been revealed yet."

Olang recalled that when Olivia introduced Huayue yesterday, she said that Huayue was very familiar with the habits of insects.

This sentence struck him as a bit strange at the time, but he didn't think too deeply about it. Now, he finally realized, "Sister Ao said you understand insect habits. Are you good at training and hunting insects? Are you a bug cannon-style bug stick user?"

"You can actually guess that?" Hua Yue glared at him, "Insect Hunters are generally quite familiar with the habits of insects, right?

Bug Cannon is such an unpopular style. Are you guessing it?"

"Not exactly a guess." Ao Lang said with a smile, "Didn't you say before that you were good at skipping classes? Coincidentally, I also know a rather... um, special bug-stick user.

He also uses similar methods to kill monsters and told me about it."

"A special bug stick user. How special is that?"

"Um, how much do you weigh?"

"How rude of you to ask a girl such a question." Hua Yue pouted, but still answered truthfully, "A little less than fifty kilograms!"

Unlike the big and beautiful girl Muti, Huayue is petite, about the same size as Senior Francesca, and weighs around 50 kilograms, which is pretty much what Oran guessed.

"He weighs about three and a half times as much as you."

"Are you kidding me?!" Hua Yue glared. "Brother Dorn isn't three times heavier than me, right? Is there a bug stick user who's even taller and stronger than Brother Dorn?"

Due to their combat methods, the average weight of Bug Stick users can be said to be the lightest among hunters. They will strictly control their muscle mass so as not to affect their flexibility.

Therefore, regardless of gender, insect stick users are generally petite or thin, and those with strong physiques are rarely seen.

Aolan laughed dryly. "He's not that tall. About the same height as me, maybe a little shorter? Mainly, he's a bit fat."

"That's a bit fat? He's already like a ball, okay?" Hua Yue couldn't help but swear, "Is he going to give me a pole vaulting bug stick?"

"It's not that exaggerated. He's quite agile, although he's certainly not good at flying around in combat.

He has his own unique way of fighting, calling himself the 'walking stick', and he can also use insect cannons."

"There's so much to see, it's really broadened my horizons." Hua Yue muttered, "Next time there's a chance, please introduce me to something. I'll go find that fat guy and exchange ideas on insect breeding."

Orlan agreed with a smile.

This guy has a bit of a loudmouthed personality, a bit like Nazia, and should be able to get along well with Brother Jara.

Chatting and laughing, the group returned to the camp.

The battle at noon proved the practicality of the new tactics. At a time when the "Iron Rule of Four" is deeply rooted in people's minds, it is indeed easy for eight hunters to fight together to make people feel uneasy.

But if you think about it from another angle, they are not actually one team, but four.

There are two archers in one team, one team uses katana, one-handed sword and spear, one team uses heavy weapons, hammer and broadsword, and one team uses wide-range insect-transforming stick alone.

Doesn’t this mean it doesn’t violate the “Iron Rule of Four”?

"With today's tactics, even a flock of five or six large monster birds can be included in the hunting range."

Olivia looked at her companions, who were still in good shape after just one hunt. "Expand the search area and try to eliminate another group before dark!"

Chapter 315 Scholars’ Discovery

While Orlan and others were fighting against the giant monster bird in the mountains to the west of the dense forest, scholars finally made important progress in their research on the star dragon.

Fabius, who received the news, came to the underground cave.

When he saw the star dragon cub, it was lying on the ground obediently. Muti was scratching its chin gently and talking to it non-stop.

Many scholars gathered around it, busy with their work.

There was a reckless guy who tried to take some blood samples from the Star Dragon's hind legs with a syringe as thick as his arm. As a result, he moved too much and hurt the Star Dragon, and was swept to the ground by its tail.

Fabius was startled and was about to rush over to provide assistance.

The young scholar got up with a dry laugh, said sorry twice to the star dragon that looked back at him with dissatisfaction, and continued with the sampling work. The star dragon cub had no intention of resisting further and let the latter draw blood from it.

"Don't you think he's unexpectedly docile?" The professor came to Fabius.

"Indeed." Fabius put his hands behind his back. "It seems that asking Muti to come and help tame the star dragon was indeed the right choice. Does that child have any special talent in this area?"

"Taming? No, no, I think you misunderstood." The professor shook his head slightly, "Muti did play a key role, but it was mainly about comforting, not domesticating.

If it is a wild animal, it is extremely difficult to completely eliminate its ferocious nature even if it is tamed. Take the hound as an example.

If something like what just happened happened to a hound, it would at least show its teeth, and it would be normal to suddenly turn around and bite.

But Xinglong didn't do that. Even when he used his tail to push the scholar down, it was just a light sweep, not even hurting anyone. What does this mean?"

"Does it mean they are naturally docile, like herbivores like Bobo?"

"That's about right." The professor curled his lips, as if dissatisfied with Fabius comparing Popo to Star Dragon.

"They possess exceptional intelligence, considerable strength, and a gentle disposition. Such creatures are truly rare, and it's no exaggeration to say they are one of a kind.

Even the famously gentle Qilin can unleash violent thunder when angered, and anyone who hurts it will bear a lifelong grudge against it.

And this star dragon doesn't even hold grudges."

"So you're saying that star dragons are more harmless than we thought?"

"You can say that, but this situation is only limited to star dragons in their current life state." The professor looked at the star dragon cub licking Muti's palm.

"We have extracted blood samples from the Star Dragon and Star Feather Butterfly many times and conducted in-depth research, and have made many discoveries.

The first thing that can be confirmed is that the Star-Feather Butterflies have completely become creatures attached to the Star Dragon. They don't even have digestive organs and rely solely on the nutrition and energy provided by the Star Dragon to survive.

There is nothing wrong with simply understanding them as part of the Star Dragon's body.

Their brains have degenerated, leaving only the cerebellum to control the body, which means that their behavior is completely controlled by the star dragon.

This is the first point.

Secondly, we discovered a huge pod composed of muscle tissue and shell in the shoulder blade area of ​​the star dragon, the space inside of which can accommodate multiple star-feather butterflies.

Inside the pod, we found several special star-feather butterflies. Their legs and abdomens had completely merged with the soft tissues of the star dragon. At the same time, their wings had grown larger and more powerful than those of other star-feather butterflies, and they showed a tendency to continue growing.

This integration phenomenon is relatively rare in nature, but it does exist, just like the male anglerfish integrating itself into the female anglerfish and becoming an organ of the latter.

We suspect that as development continues, these star feather butterflies will eventually develop into the wings of a star dragon."

"This is really true."

"The above two points are both important discoveries about the ecology of the Star Dragon, but I know that this is not what you are concerned about." The professor interrupted Fabius's sigh and said, "The truly important progress is the following matter.

We discovered a hormone-like substance in the body of the Star Feather Butterfly. This hormone-like substance has the function of promoting biological growth. In addition, the energy fluctuations emitted by the Star Dragon itself can activate the monster cells. This should be the reason for the sudden increase in the ferocity phenomenon near their activity area.

We tried injecting this hormone-like substance into mice, and the mice, which were originally in their juvenile stage, grew faster to a near-adult state, and their temperaments became more ferocious.

"Wait, are you saying that since this hormone appears in the Star Feather Butterfly's body, the Star Feather Butterfly is the culprit of all these problems?"

The professor glanced at Fabius with dissatisfaction. "I emphasized from the beginning that the Star Feather Butterfly can be understood as part of the Star Dragon's body. Didn't you hear me?"

Faced with the professor's tone that sounded like he was scolding a student, Fabius felt a little helpless.

He was already in his sixties, but the professor was several times his age. In the latter's eyes, there was really not much difference between him and those young people.

"You can simply understand it this way. Those star-feather butterflies are some kind of glands on the star dragon's body. These glands secrete hormones to promote the star dragon's growth. At the same time, the energy and nutrients fed back by the star dragon also promote their growth.

In this way, the young star dragon will sooner or later enter the next stage of life.

A life stage that is larger, stronger, more aggressive, and even capable of flight.

Remember? Ancient texts say, "Star Dragons are the forerunners of some giant dragons. Although the latter possess the same beauty, they are also symbols of destruction and devastation."

What does "pathfinder" mean? It can be understood as a relationship of guiding the way, but looking at it from another perspective, can it also refer to the relationship between juveniles and adults?

Fabius rubbed his brows. "Whether it will attract the Star Dragon or grow into a 'symbol of destruction and devastation', it doesn't seem to be good news."

"How about I tell you even worse news?"

"What."

"After comparison, it was found that the hormone-like substance content in the Star Feather Butterfly that had been 'melted and fixed' on the Star Dragon was very low, almost non-existent.

The content of hormone-like substances in the bodies of free-flying star-feather butterflies is obviously higher.

Therefore, we can suspect that this hormone-like substance is not formed in the star dragon's body, but comes from the outside world, such as a monster that is affected and becomes ferocious.

While the Star Dragon attracts monsters and becomes ferocious, it is also constantly absorbing the raw materials for synthesizing hormone substances to promote its own growth and prepare to enter the next stage of life.

Did the group of star dragons in the western part of the dense forest really gather such a large group of monster birds just to protect themselves?

Or, to go further, is it true that the reason the Star Dragons left Lake Esther was simply because the environment there had changed, so they had to look for a new habitat?"

Fabius's expression grew darker as he listened to the professor's words.

"Are you saying that the geological changes in Lake Esther are insignificant, and that the Star Dragons voluntarily left Lake Esther in search of evolution?"

"It's not necessarily insignificant. My opinion is that some reason, such as the actions of an ancient dragon, caused the geological changes in Lake Esther.

The group of star dragons that originally lived peacefully in Lake Esther were stimulated and felt threatened, so they left their original habitat to seek opportunities for evolution.

Or perhaps evolution has already occurred.

Gathering large groups of monster birds and making them ferocious is far beyond the capabilities of the cubs. Perhaps individuals that have evolved to the next stage have already appeared in the star dragon group.

That individual became the leader of the star dragons, leading them to the dense forest to seek further evolution."

Fabius took a deep breath, and his strong chest swelled up, then slowly fell as he exhaled.

"We can't delay any longer. Even if it means using more radical and risky methods, we must quickly approach the Star Dragon Group and find out the situation.

If a being similar to a 'leader' really appeared..."

"You can consider hunting." The professor took over Fabius's words, "You can say in your report to the higher-ups that this decision was made by you and me together.

A ferocious leader leading a group of gentle cubs may not be too dangerous, but once evolution continues, more and more star dragons will evolve to the next stage.

It will not be so easy to resolve the problem gently then."

Chapter 316 Mobilization

Western part of the dense forest, Metabe Bay Camp.

The hunters had just finished a hunt and were returning to the camp to unload their equipment and were about to rest when a peregrine falcon glided over the camp in the darkening sky, emitting a series of sharp cries.

Olivia raised her head and whistled, and the peregrine falcon immediately landed on her arm upon receiving the signal.