POV Morgan
I couldn't help but swallow hard as I looked at the new species and cursed the lack of information in the report about its appearance. They told us it was a humanoid-shaped female monster about two meters tall.
"The damn report was wrong," Cesar said through gritted teeth. I couldn't see his face, but I could imagine his expression.
That damn thing is about three meters tall and looks like a mountain! A body as black as coal, with bioluminescent red parts, and muscles that seem harder than the steel of our weapons.
"T-that's not a Wyvern… it's a monster," Mark added with a trembling voice.
That sentence sent chills down my spine… They told us it was a new wyvern, but if it's not a wyvern, then there's only one option for what it can be.
I tightened my grip around my lance and said,
"Our mission is not to hunt this monster, just to make sure it doesn't escape."
"Understood."
"Yes!"
And as if it were a signal for everyone, the Anjanath roared.
POV Narrator
The Anjanath was the first to move. Even with severe wounds on its face, it didn't hesitate to use its jaws to attack the hunters who had interrupted it.
But its attack was blocked by the hunter with the lance, and in retaliation, it received a slash to the face courtesy of the sword-and-shield hunter.
The third hunter fired a round of bullets at Chryssia, who was watching the confrontation with her remaining functional eyes.
The shot came from an angle her burned eyes couldn't see, so she barely managed to avoid most of the bullets.
To her surprise, the bullets that did hit pierced through her skin and a significant portion of her muscle, making her hiss in pain.
"Piercing rounds," Chryssia thought, and she couldn't have been more right. Seeing that her skin was covered by a shell, Cesar didn't hesitate to use armor-piercing ammunition.
Chryssia ran around the hunter, dodging his shots. She tried to counterattack with [Potent Toxic Acid], but the hunter, with quick footwork, avoided the acid.
Frustrated, Chryssia ran erratically toward the hunter, taking a few bullets to her arms since she used them to shield herself.
When she was just a few meters away, she crouched down and began using [Ram] to charge at her opponent.
What she didn't expect was to be rammed herself—by the Anjanath, which attacked from her blind spot.
POV Chryssia
Regenerating my eyes takes longer than I thought, I think to myself as I roll across the ground from the Anjanath's charge.
I stop several meters away from the hunters and the monster, rolling so far because I used the momentum to put distance between me and my opponents.
I look at the three hunters and the Anjanath… I think I should retreat here. I can barely kill the Anjanath, but with the hunters too…
"If you run, it's because that's the most useful thing you can do!"
I freeze at the memory. I clench my teeth, feeling my claws dig into my palms. I already had [Charged Blood] activated, but it seems the ability has been empowered.
I don't know what happened, but the three hunters and the monster stopped fighting and stared at me. I open my mouth, about to roar… but another idea comes to mind.
Instead of roaring, I use [Distracting Buzz]. The hunters cover their ears while the monster shakes its head in pain.
I jump and, using [Meteoric Fall], slam into the ground between the hunters, sending them flying.
To make sure they stay down, I use [Paralyzing Cloud], enhanced by [Cloud].
If I waited a bit, the Anjanath would also be paralyzed, but I don't feel like waiting.
I use [Ram] along with [Charged Attack] to slam into it with my shoulder. I don't knock it over, but I make it stagger back, then punch it with a right hook covered in electricity while sprouting spikes from the knuckles of my left fist before hitting it with that too.
I also cover my right knuckles in spikes and punch.
Punch.
Punch.
Punch.
I don't know how many times I hit the monster's stomach. All I saw was blood and blue lightning.
But it seems it got tired of just being beaten, because it spun around and hit me with its tail, forcing me back.
Once at a distance, the Anjanath spewed its fire breath at me, which I dodged. Seeing that I managed to avoid the flames, it started launching multiple fireballs at me.
I responded with [Poison Ball] and [Potent Toxic Acid]. The spheres were a pale yellow color, but I could swear they glowed slightly. I don't know if my mind was playing tricks on me or if it was a light effect.
Several spheres missed, but two hit its left leg and one landed near the area I had been punching earlier.
"Good."
I wanted to finish off the Anjanath right then and there, but at that moment, I dodged a bullet coming from behind me. At least I was almost done recovering my vision.
It also looked like the hunters had recovered from the paralysis. The one with the crossbow was shooting at me while his two companions tried to flank me.
I dodged one bullet only to take a slash from a sword. I tried to punch the sword-and-shield hunter, but he was defended by the one with the lance.
I released another paralyzing cloud, but the hunters backed away before being affected.
And I had to leave the cloud to dodge more crossbow shots.
I was angry, and these idiots weren't helping. I charged at the crossbow hunter, completely forgetting about defense. I took several shots, but I didn't care.
The sword-and-shield hunter tried to block me, but I simply jumped over him. The one who stopped me was the lance user, who stabbed me in the side and also bashed me with his shield.
I growled at the stab wound but swatted him away with one hand, sending him flying. I turned to the crossbow user, who had stopped shooting to reload.
Behind me, I saw the sword-and-shield hunter running while doing something strange with his weapon. I paid no attention to it as I prepared to strike.
He jumped, gripping his sword's hilt with both hands. I pulled my right arm back to punch him—and then I realized something.
His shield wasn't on his left arm.
For a second, I wondered if he had dropped it, but the moment I saw his weapon rising from behind his back, I realized I had made a mistake...
The hunter is not a sword-and-shield user—he's a Charge Axe user, and he's about to unleash his strongest attack!
Hello! I suppose some of you might be annoyed that the chapter ends here, but I thought it was a great moment to stop. If you haven't played Monster Hunter, you might be confused about why I mistook one weapon for another and why the Charge Axe's final attack seems so impactful.
If you're confused, I recommend watching a video comparing both weapons—you'll understand.
I also want to apologize for not uploading a chapter for half a month. Between university (and let's be honest, Wild just came out, so who am I kidding), I've been busy.
Lastly, a lot of people have asked me this, so I wanted to clarify: in this story, the protagonist will only experience the events of Monster Hunter: World. Later, she'll travel to other worlds but will return for the events of Iceborne. So, sorry, but this fic won't cover Rise, Wild, or their DLCs.