Monster Hunter: Wild Pointer

Today is a special day for Orlan.

He will enter the arena of the fighting competition for the first time, challenging a monster he has never dealt with before, and proving his progress in swordsmanship training over the past month.

At the same time, there was another thing that he didn't take much to heart - today was his eighteenth birthday.

Desert nomads do not have the habit of celebrating birthdays. It was only after being adopted by Teacher Huali that they learned about the existence of "birthdays".

Every year on my birthday, Teacher Huali would take me to a delicious restaurant for a big meal, and Haifa would often come to eat with me.

When I was in my early teens, I really looked forward to this day. However, as I grew older, my attitude towards birthdays gradually became indifferent. But even so, Teacher Huali and the others would still prepare a celebration for me every year.

But not this year.

After walking out of his room with a little emotion and washing up, Orlan came to the living room and dining room. He was surprised to find that everyone else was already seated at the dining table.

It's true that Senior Francesca often comes to eat, but she never comes so early. Muti gets up early, but at this time she is usually out of the house to receive torturous training from the old instructor.

But now, the two of them, plus Teacher Amos, were sitting neatly at the dining table, as if they were waiting for him.

Aolan stopped subconsciously, "What's going on?"

"Happy birthday!" Fu Fu was the first to raise her hands high, shout loudly, and then applaud vigorously.

"Quack, quack!" Muti quickly followed suit.

The scene of the two of them clapping was a little awkward, and Fu Fu quickly stopped, leaving only Muti still clapping honestly.

Amos, who is usually quite serious, also had a smile on his face: "Don't prepare anything too greasy in the morning. You have a fighting competition to participate in later, and it's not good to eat too much.

In the evening, we will arrange a birthday dinner and a celebration dinner together and have a good feast."

Looking at this familiar scene, Ao Lang smiled and said, "Thank you, everyone."

After a few simple words of blessing, Muti quickly poured the food in the plate and bowl in front of him into his mouth and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I'm full! I'll leave first. I've prepared a surprise, so look forward to it!" With that, Muti ran out the door, probably rushing to the old instructor's house.

Orlan, who had just sat down at the table, was still a little confused. Fufu, who was dipping bread into the soup, said with a smile, "Little Muti actually knows how to prepare surprises for people!"

"What surprise?" Orlan couldn't help asking.

"I do not know either."

Seeing Aolan staring at her, Fufu spread her hands and said, "Don't look at me like that. I've practiced this. You can't tell anything from my expression. Besides, I really don't know."

It seems that there is no answer from her.

Orlan felt helpless as he was about to participate in the fighting competition, and Muti's sudden "surprise" distracted him a little.

"Focus on the task at hand," Amos, who was slowly sipping his tea, reminded, "Everything else can be considered after the battle."

"Okay, Teacher Amos." Orlan breathed a sigh of relief, put aside all the distracting thoughts in his mind, quickly finished the breakfast in front of him, and stood up from the dining table.

"It's almost time. I'll go to the arena and make preparations."

Amos nodded and was about to say something when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll go open the door." Orlan walked quickly towards the entrance.

The door was opened, and when he saw who was outside, Orlanton was there. He opened his mouth, and his tone was a little hoarse.

"Teacher Huali, Senior Haifa."

"Call me Teacher Haifa too!" The female greatsword master, who was originally smiling, froze in expression and shouted in dissatisfaction.

Beside her, the double swordsman in dark green light armor also smiled, "Happy birthday, Aolan."

"Huh?!" Fufu, who loves to watch the fun, ran over from the living room. "It's Senior Huali and Senior Haifa! Long time no see!"

"Ah! I remember you are Lord Baifeng's disciple, your name is Fu Fu, right? You are still as cute as you were a few years ago!" Haifa, who is also an extrovert, waved his hand and greeted Fu Fu.

Huali also smiled and nodded at her.

Fu Fu enthusiastically pulled the two of them into the house, and when they saw the old senior Amos, they exchanged greetings again.

At this time, everyone had their own guesses. This should be the "surprise" that Muti mentioned before he left.

Fu Fu shook her head. "I never thought that silly little Muti would come up with such a surprise, calling his mother all the way here."

Ao Lang smiled from the bottom of his heart. In the past year since he left home, he gradually understood Teacher Huali's painstaking efforts and no longer had those rebellious emotions in his heart.

This is truly the best birthday present for him.

There was also relief in Amos' eyes, not only for Orlan, but also for Muti.

The child has really grown up to be able to arrange such a birthday surprise.

But at this moment, Haifa's words made the expressions of several people become strange.

"Eh? Who's Muti?"

".ah?"

Fu Fu was stunned for a moment, gesturing back and forth a few times, "Well, uh, wasn't she the one who contacted you guys?"

"No." Haifa shook his head and said, "Hua Li had planned to come back to celebrate Oran's birthday a long time ago. After all, it is an important day for adulthood.

We returned to Loklak two weeks ago, and only after reading the letter left by Oran did we learn that he had gone to Barubare.

We rushed to Balubare and heard from the guild leader there that you had arrived in Dondoruma. We then took an airship here and found out your address from the director of the gathering place."

At this point, Haifa stretched out his muscular arms, hooked them around Orlan's neck and exerted force, "You really can run!

Hey, you haven't answered my question yet. Who is Muti? It sounds like a girl's name. Could it be..."

Haifa nudged Orlan's ribs with his elbow, winked and grinned, "You're quite good, kid. You've only been away from home for a short time, and you've already hooked up with a girl!

How is it? Is it cute? Bring it out to us and we’ll check it out for you!

"That's my granddaughter." Amos said expressionlessly, "They are just ordinary teammates."

".Ahem, sorry, it was just a joke." The mischief on Haifa's face turned into embarrassment.

Aolan rolled his eyes and moved the unscrupulous older woman's arm away. "I have to go now. The fighting tournament is about to start. If you go any later, it will be too late to prepare."

"Fighting competition?" Huali, who was smiling at the side, showed a surprised expression.

Of course she knew what the fighting competition was, after all, the Locklark Arena was so famous.

She just didn't expect that her adopted son and disciple, who had just been promoted to an official hunter, was already qualified to participate in the fighting competition.

"Hunting what? The Velociraptor?"

"Strange dragon."

"Strange dragon?!" Huali's voice suddenly rose several degrees.

Realizing that he would be nagged if he didn't leave, Orlan said, "I've been a three-star for a long time!" and rushed out the door.

He trotted out for a while, and when he looked back, he breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see Teacher Huali chasing him.

With senior Francesca and teacher Amos helping to explain, there shouldn't be any problem. However, in this case, teacher Karin and the others will probably also watch the fighting tournament.

Thinking of this, Aolan felt more motivated.

I want to let Teacher Huali and the others see my growth!

Olang walked briskly all the way to the arena. After the staff checked his ID and belongings, he entered the contestant preparation room.

The equipment provided by the conference is the Yellow Speed ​​Dragon Set and the Bone Knife [Wolf Fang].

He was still using the Huang Speed ​​Dragon suit until recently, so he was very familiar with it. The bone knife [Wolf Fang] was also a classic-looking weapon with standard weight, size, and center of gravity, so he didn't need to adapt much.

Overall, it’s not a great piece of equipment, but it’s almost sufficient.

After putting the hunting props into the prop bag one by one and carefully checking the equipment several times, Orlan began to warm up.

At this moment, the door of the preparation room was suddenly pushed open with force.

Orlan frowned.

In order to allow the contestants to prepare with peace of mind, before the competition begins, no one except the staff who notifies the start is allowed to enter the contestant preparation room.

There should still be some time before the fighting competition starts, so who is coming?

He looked back and his eyes widened.

"Muti?! Why are you here?"

Muti, who was also fully armed, put his hands on his hips and laughed, "I specifically asked the guild leader to help arrange a double strange dragon duel!

The old man was very strict. Although he finally agreed, he required that the left and right sides of the site be separated by iron fences. In other words, each person would hunt a strange dragon on each side.

At this point, Muti gave a thumbs up and said, "An all-out competition, this is the birthday surprise I prepared for you!"

".?"

Chapter 157: Sheath the Sword! Charge! Big Spin!

Ao Lang was in a complicated mood. He couldn't tell whether this feeling was touching, helpless, boiling blood, or something else.

Under Muti's expectant gaze, he tried hard to control his expression and managed to say, "Thank you, I'm surprised."

"Hehehe," Muti rubbed his head with a silly grin, "As long as you like it."

Orlan rubbed his face vigorously. Regardless of whether this surprise was suitable as a birthday gift, he was really interested in the idea of ​​letting go and competing with Muti.

There are many factors to consider during normal hunting.

The environment, terrain, possible monsters, teammates' status, monster movements, tactical arrangements, etc., it is impossible to do whatever you want just to win or lose.

And how is victory determined? Whoever inflicts the most wounds wins? Whoever lands the final blow wins?

Or should we take on separate quests and hunt the same monster in the shortest time? Neither approach makes sense.

The natural hunting grounds are very vast. During normal hunting, the time spent searching for monsters and chasing them far exceeds the time spent in direct confrontation. Add to that factors such as environmental differences, and a fair comparison is impossible.

Only a special venue like the arena, where fighting can begin as soon as one meets, can minimize these external factors.

The challenge of hunting two strange dragons is a four-star difficulty task, regardless of whether there are one or two participants, and they are not qualified to challenge it.

It is inevitable that someone will be besieged by two strange dragons and need to cooperate with each other to cover each other.

In comparison, the plan decided by the guild leader is more appropriate.

The iron fence of the arena was put together, and two people entered at the same time, each fighting a strange dragon. It could be seen as two single-player hunts going on at the same time.

There will be no mutual impact and the final result is clear at a glance. There is no better opportunity than this.

Thinking of this, Ao Lang couldn't help but get excited. He took out the whetstone and carefully polished the bone knife [Wolf Fang] in his hand.

Muti also smiled and took out a piece of food he had brought with him, and ate half of it in one bite.

Birthday gifts, surprises, etc. are not the key. She knows that Aolan will not miss such an opportunity.

The two of them didn't communicate any more and started to prepare.

After a while, there was a knock on the door and the staff of the arena pushed the door open and walked in.

"It's almost time, are you two ready?"

Orlan turned his wrist, put the sword into the scabbard behind him, nodded to the staff, and Muti also brushed off the food crumbs from the corners of his mouth and stood up.

The staff member smiled, made a "come on" gesture, and left to report the situation.

Soon, the horn sounded, signaling the start of the fight, and cheers from the audience penetrated the walls and came like a tide.

But the two people in the preparation room could no longer hear the "noise". They looked at each other, put on their helmets and pulled down their visors at the same time.

Passing through the dark corridor, we entered the huge arena covering an area of ​​nearly 10,000 square meters.

"I've already had two successful hunts here. We have the advantage of location, challenger." Muti suddenly said.

Aolan smiled and glanced at her. "Pre-match trash talk, you also use these little tricks? Did Senior Francesca teach you?"

"Whee!"

“Rumble, rumble—!”

Amidst the loud noise of machinery running, an iron fence welded from steel bars as thick as thighs and more than ten meters high rose from the ground between the two people.

While separating the two people, it also divided the entire venue into two halves.

“Uoooooohhhhhhh!!!”

The audience was instantly ignited. With the host's passionate commentary, they understood that this was a competition between young hunters.