Monster Hunter

Three Stars of the New World

Chapter One - Thunderseeker

Arri took a step back from the railing of the ship as the white spray of seawater washed over her, the waves beginning to grow more and more rapid against the side of the ship as the clouds above grew dark. The smell of rain was smothering the usual scent of the sea, and orders were being shouted amongst the ship's crew as they prepared for the coming storm, rousing the girl from her daydreaming.

She had been lost in her thoughts again, something that often happened when out at sea. The gentle sway of the boat and sounds of the waves easily calmed her mangled mind when she found herself stuck on something.

"You might wanna get down below deck, girl," came one of the sailors as he shuffled past, hauling some of the cargo along with him.

"Right…" Arri took a look out towards the growing storm clouds rapidly approaching, before turning and heading towards the ladder leading below deck.

Arri did her best to avoid the sailors who were hastily preparing for the coming storm, retreating to the small cabin she was using for the voyage. She removed her outer-coat and sat at the small, cramped desk, sighing as she gazed down at the parchment on it.

Will I be able to finish in time…?

The ship, named the Black Rathalone, was heading for the New World, the settlement where Hunters had set up incredible expeditions for nearly the past century now, at this point. Arri, age seventeen, was set to become a Blacksmith there, her age being waived due to her expert skills that had become well-renowned in the Old World by now.

This voyage was not meant to be a luxury, however— She had a task to complete before arriving, as a sort of test of her capabilities. It was proving to be difficult, however, and she felt as though it was made to be impossible to put her in her place.

Hunters used a variety of weapons in their efforts to slay or capture Monsters, and one of them, known as the Bowgun, came traditionally in two types: Light or Heavy. However, the Hunters Guild wanted her to create something new entirely, that could be even more compact than the Light Bowgun, while maintaining the power of the Heavy Bowgun.

Bowguns came in a variety of shapes and sizes, but none had ever been as small as the Guild wanted her to make. The design entailed two smaller guns, that would be held one in each hand. The loading of the ammunition was one problem, with both your hands full it made it impossible to be quick— But there was also the issue of materials being unable to handle the power of the ammunition when the gun was so small.

Luckily, Arri had figured out the way to go— By using scales from Monsters that had flexible hides, she could alleviate a lot of the kick that spawned from shooting the guns. Then, using heat-resistant pieces of Monsters that thrived in hot environments, the barrel and chamber of the gun could easily withstand the intense power of the ammunition traditionally used with Light or Heavy Bowguns.

She called them, "Dual-Guns," for lack of a better name at the moment, simply borrowing from the classic weapons some Hunters used known as Dual-Blades.

Only one of the Dual-Guns was completed, however. The other wasn't even closed to being done, and they were set to reach the New World by tomorrow's morn.

Would one be able to prove my worth? Arri thought, scowling. Or does it show my incompetence?

Arri sat back, running a hand through her short black hair, which was wet and a bit greased from the voyage at sea. There was a lot to contemplate, and Arri occasionally kicked herself mentally for getting into this sort of thing.

Blacksmiths were never considered anything when they were young, that's why so much interest was put into her skills despite her age. Arri had proven herself to have the skillful eye and steady hands of a Master, and her skills were deemed to be better used for the New World fleets that needed it more.

There was one problem though— Arri hated Hunters.

In recent decades, the world had changed. The new waves of Hunters were much more arrogant than proud, and paraded themselves around to their peers like they were Gods. The ways of the old members of the Hunters Guild were fading, leaving room for this new generation to make drastic changes.

Still, Arri wanted to help people, to have a part in the exploration and taming of their world, and without Hunters, she couldn't get the materials she needed for her creations, either.

Arri maintained a delicate balance between doing her best at her work, while also avoiding Hunters as much as she possibly could.

She knew that wouldn't last, though. Once in the New World, she would be forced to work closely with many Hunters, and she'd just have to keep her thoughts about them locked up tightly in her mind.

Rubbing her tired eyes, Arri noticed that it had gotten incredibly dark outside the small window to the cabin. Thunder boomed outside, and she could still hear sailors shouting.

One shout in particular, however, made Arri shoot up from her chair.

"Monster sighted! Sound the alarm!"

A bell began to chime loudly, rousing anyone who was below decks to rush up and help with the situation. Arri quickly out her outer-coat back on and put on her leather gloves and mantle, putting the hood over her head. As she approached the door to her cabin, she paused and looked at the table, where the completed gun lay, contemplating for a moment.

Hunters were the only ones allowed to battle Monsters. Anyone else was expected to flee or hide, but they could defend themselves until those other options became available. This was to stop the potential poaching of Monsters, and cease any foolish people who might want to brave a Hunt without the proper training.

I have to prove my worth… She thought, gently grabbing the gun in her hand. If I see a shot, I have to take it!

The weapon had a curved handle, and the barrel was about a foot long, with iron sights at the top and a cylindrical loading mechanism that could be popped out to load up to four shots at a time.

At the moment, the weapon had only been created to fire off a few certain types of ammunition— Normal Ammo, Dragon Ammo, and Paralysis Ammo. This was usually what a Blacksmith would do for a weapon that was still in the testing phase, giving them a good range of ammunition to test out. So Arri grabbed a few cartridges of each of those three ammo types, holstering the gun beneath her mantle to hide it, and headed out.

Once on deck, Arri saw that rain was falling quite heavily at this point. Some sailors were fighting to keep the sails in check, while others bucketed water from the deck as the waves grew more and more powerful and left pools of water on the ship.

"Starboard! About three ships away! Coming in fast!"

The call was from the Black Rathalone's Captain, who was manning the helm, battling the powerful waves to keep the ship on course.

Beside the Captain, Arri could see two figures near him approach the starboard railing, gazing out, seemingly unphased by everything that was happening. They both wore blue mantles, the hoods of which concealed their faces, but Arri could tell one was a woman, and the other a man.

Hunters…?

Arri hadn't seen any Hunters on the ship the entire voyage, but it was unmistakable as she saw the equipment they were wielding.

Both Hunters worse glinting silver armor below their mantles, something that seemed lightweight and maneuverable, but probably not the most sturdy of armors. Arri figured this was just in case they had to fight overboard, just as Hunters knew how to do, and the heavier armors might impede them too much.

The woman took a large Bow from her back, the design of which appeared green and feathery, and removed an arrow from her quiver, which appeared to Arri to have a Blast-based tip, which would create an explosion on anything it hit.

The man beside her was wielding an Insect Glaive in his left hand, which was made of a slick copper-colored metal that came to a two-prong point at the end. On his right arm was a Kinsect, nestled on its holder until its owner sent it out to fight, which appeared almost like a giant rounded ladybug

"It's here," a sailor yelled in fear. "By the stars!"

The Captain was using all of his energy at the helm, leaving it up to the two Hunters to deal with the oncoming threat. A creature could he seen rapidly flailing through the water towards the boat in a zigzag pattern, as if trying to throw them off of attacking it.

Arri moved to the starboard railing, trying not to be noticed, less a crew member make her go down below deck again. She knelt down and watched the Hunters, her breathing getting heavier with anxiousness.

"Now," the male Hunter spoke with ease.

The woman Hunter fired her arrow towards the water, missing the Monster as it darted to the side. However, the male Hunter then brought his right arm forward and spun his Insect Glaive in his left hand. The Kinsect began to glow with life, its wings bursting from its back as it shot forward quickly, flying right into the water where the arrow had been fired.

There was an explosion, shooting a small geyser of water into the air. The Monster was stunned by this, giving the woman an opportunity to knock another arrow, this one tipped in Poison, which she fired at it.

She hit it straight on, and the Monster receded back down into the water.

"You hit it," a sailor exclaimed happily.

"Was that was I think it was?" The woman Hunter looked to her cohort worriedly.

"I believe so…" The Hunter turned towards the rest of the ship. "Everyone must evacuate the deck!"

Everyone hesitated, until something suddenly leaped out from the dark waters, landing right on the center of the wide deck of the ship. Sailors scattered and ran off, and Arri stood shakily as the boat rocked from the Monster's intrusion, her eyes wide as she gazed at it.

The Monster had fish-like appendages along its gray, scaley body. It stood on two short legs, its big tail swaying like a fish would as it swam through the water. On its head was a sharp horn that curved upwards, something very distinct that Arri recognized instantly.

A Beotodus… But why?!

From what Arri knew of that Monster, it mainly inhabited the Hoarfrost Reach and the seas around that area. It never really left the frozen waters or landscape, because its hide made it very susceptible to heat.

Something was wrong— This one was different.

For starters, the horn on its head was very jagged, and appeared to have an almost metallic sheen to it, instead of being made of bone. It also had streaks that looked like scars along its body, in a shape like that of forking lightning. Its gills on its neck were releasing a small visible crackle of electricity as it breathed, and Arri was left wordlessly gawking at its uniqueness.

The Hunters sprung into action quickly. The woman jumped from the helm, firing off a quick burst of three arrows at once, which exploded right in the Beotodus' face. The Monster reeled back and roared, just as the other Hunter jumped through the smoke and hit it across the face with his Insect Glaive, creating sparks as the weapon's metal struck the Monster's metal-like horn.

The Beotodus slammed its head against the man, sending him tumbling across the deck. The woman ran to the side of the Monster, firing off a volley of poisonous arrows, aiming for under its left fin. They stuck in easily, finding their way past the Monster's tough scales. It screeched and slammed its body to the side, nearly hitting her and sending her overboard, but luckily the Hunter managed to dive away.

As the Hunter dived near to where she was, Arri quickly ran back further along the deck, hiding near some of the leftover strapped-down barrels, watching with increasing fear but also intrigue.

The Beotodus turned to the woman as she was getting up, lowering its head and attempting to skewer her with its horn. However, the other Hunter's Kinsect suddenly flew in, latching to the neck of the Beotodus, biting and sucking at it. It was then called back to its owner, whose body seemed to have a slight glow about it for a moment, before he shot up into the air and slammed his weapon against the side of Monster's head.

That thing's hide is tough, Arri noted to herself as she watched.

The woman Hunter ran in, sliding to a halt right below the Beotodus' head, firing off a power shot of arrows right under its chin. This sent the Monster sprawling back a bit, its tail nearly knocking the Captain from the helm as he gripped the wheel tightly.

"You gotta get this thing outta here," the Captain shouted over the heavy rain and crashing waves.

The male Hunter raided his right arm and clenched his fist, firing off a clutch claw from it, which snagged the Beotodus' horn. He then grabbed the line with both hands and pulled, managing to pull the Monster's head towards him.

That strength…! Arri was astounded, knowing Hunters' strength was unmatched, but to see it in action was something else entirely.

The Beotodus fought to pull away, but the man slammed his weapon into the ship's wood, using it as increased leverage to hold his ground and keep the Monster in place.

"Now!"

At his call, the woman Hunter jumped up onto the Monster, clambering up onto its head and steadying herself. She pulled a large, spiky arrow from her back, which Arri knew was a Dragon Piercer. If they succeeded, it should go right through and kill the Monster right then and there.

The woman drew it back, taking her time to steady herself as the Monster bucked and tried to get away, lifting its head slowly towards the sky—

Then, with a piercing roar, lightning shot down from the sky, and the world went white.

As Arri's vision returned slowly, there was a high-pitched ringing in her ears. The Beotodus was standing, very much still alive, its metallic horn glowing red with heat. She noticed that its hide had grown a new streak of a scar, realizing they must be caused when lightning was called.

Wait… It… called lightning?

Arri, still a bit dazed, saw that the woman was lying on the deck, unmoving. Nearby, the male Hunter was slowly scrambling back to his feet, obviously incredibly stunned by what had happened. Behind the Monster, the Captain, as well, had collapsed, one arm still entwined with the ship's wheel which held it steady, but he seemed down for the count. Some of the wood on the deck was splintered and cracked from the lightning strike.

The Beotodus let out a loud roar, smacking its head against the male Hunter as he stood, bowling him over. It then raised its head, steam rising from its red-hot horn as rain hit against it.

No…! He's going to—-

Arri stood, a bit uneasy at the rocking ship and the aching in her head, holding onto the nearby barrel.

Before the Beotodus could finish the male Hunter, the other had roused, and slammed an arrow up against its leg. The Monster angrily growled and turned to her, focusing its impending killing blow on her now.

Arri moved before she could think things through any further.

Dashing across the deck, she pulled out the gun she had created, loading four cartridges of Dragon Ammo into the chamber before pushing it back into place and pulling back the weapon's hammer.

Just like she had…!

Arri aimed for right behind the Monster's fin, where its hide seemed weakest. She fired off all four cartridges quickly into it, all the shots landing on their mark, which made the Beotodus lurch forward a bit, stumbling and knocking into the ship's helm, luckily avoiding accidentally skewering the KO'd Captain. There were searing marks dug into the spot she had shot the powerful ammo

As the loud booms of the weapon subsided, Arri smiled as she noted the weapon's kick was nearly non-existent. A small trail of smoke emitted from the barrel, and Arri looked down at it happily.

"It worked," she said to herself, for a moment forgetting the situation at hand. "A compact gun—"

Her lack of preparedness and experience with battling Monsters could've been her downfall. The Beotodus turned quickly to her in her moment of bliss, and suddenly threw its head forward, its horn erupting into electricity, sending it ripping through the deck towards her.

Arri couldn't dodge in time, but luckily the male Hunter pushed her out of the way, spinning his Insect Glaive to deflect the lightning, though it still pushed him back a ways.

"A-Are you alright?" Arri looked to the man, who was seemingly struggling to stand at this point, some burn marks visible on his skin from the first lightning strike the Monster had done.

"We need to get it off, the ship can't take much more," the Hunter spoke, ignoring her worries.

Arri turned to the Monster, who was eyeing them with heavy contempt, preparing to strike again at any moment.

"What do we do?"

"You do nothing," the Hunter said to her, sending his Kinsect out again, the orange bug beginning to slam against the Monster's face, distracting it.

The Hunter rushed in and used his Insect Glaive to push up off the deck and into the air, spinning it to make the Kinsect return to his arm. Once again, his body glowed for a moment, seemingly granting him newfound strength as he slammed his glaive against the Beotodus' face, then again, and again, before the Monster retaliated, its horn ripping a cut into his arm before he pushed back away from it again.

Arri watched, both dazzled by the fight and heavily worried. She had no training, and couldn't hope to match the skills of the two Hunters, but she still had to do something, or the ship would go down.

Rushing back to the ladder leading down below deck, she leaned in and called down, "The Hunters need help! Everyone! Get up here!"

No response. Arri looked back and turned to see the woman Hunter standing again, her feet wobbly, as she readied some more arrows while the Beotodus focused on fencing the other Hunter with its horn.

Of course, they aren't allowed to fight… Maybe they're afraid of getting in the Hunters' way? But still—-

"I'm serious! They're struggling—"

Arri heard an explosion and stopped, looking back to see that the woman Hunter had hit the Beotodus' leg with Blast arrows in her hand, making it stagger towards the ship's edge. This made the ship become unbalanced, starting to tilt to one side. Arri grabbed the nearest barrel to keep herself from sliding, but the two Hunters had nothing nearby to do so, having to slide down and use the starboard ledge to stop themselves.

The Beotodus opened its mouth, revealing several rows of sharp teeth, and barred them down upon the male Hunter before it.

Arri had loaded four Paralysis cartridges before she knew it. She raised her gun, holding it with both hands and using the barrel to stabilize herself, and fired. The first shot hit right inside the Monster's mouth, the second right below its neck. The third and fourth shot were deflected by its powerful metal horn, but the damage had been done. The Paralysis compound kicked in, making the Monster shutter and stop in-place.

"Send it over," the male Hunter called, readying himself. The woman drew arrows, and on the same mark, they attacked its legs, sending the paralyzed monster off the side of the ship.

The entire ship rocked, and slowly began to steady itself. The Captain, who had slowly come to, hastily gripped the ship's wheel now, looking around, a bit dazed and confused, just knowing he needed to try and keep the ship upright.

The two Hunters knelt down, breathing heavily as their eyes searched the rough waters.

Is it over? Arri wondered, taking a deep breath and trying to calm herself down… But something was wrong. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up in worry, making her swing her head around to look towards the port side of the ship.

There, in the waters, the Beotodus was gazing at the ship as it slowly approached—

No, it was looking right at Arri!

She only had a few moments to think. She could lead the Monster towards the Hunters, and hope they can handle it again, but she could tell they were already tired from the fight. She could also go below deck, but risk the ire of the Monster being drawn down there, where it would attack and sink the ship with ease.

Then Arri looked up, and knew her best course of action, even if it seemed insane.

This is what they wanted right, a creative youth, a problem solver! Just… Maybe not in this way…

Arri ran towards the mast of the ship. As she ran, the Beotodus made its move, jumping back up onto the ship, making it shake. The Hunters looked over in alarm, but also confusion as they watched Arri grab the spokes of the mast and start climbing.

"Get down you idiot!" The voice of the woman Hunter was mostly drowned out by the loud noises of the stormy sea, but Arri heard it and promptly ignored it.

"Come on you stupid fish," Arri called down towards the Monster, which looked up at her angrily.

Her plan backfired unfortunately, as the two Hunters moved forward to intercept the Monster, averting its gaze. Arri scowled, stopping halfway up the mast and loading four more Dragon ammo into her gun. She aimed and fired a shot, which deflected off its hide, but made it look her way again.

"That's right! Come on!" She clambered higher, and the Beotodus began to move side to side, making the boat rock back and forth, causing the Hunters to stumble to the deck. Arri struggled to hold on to the mast, and looked down towards the Monster.

You're a smart bastard…

The Beotodus, seeing its prey in range, suddenly pushed off the deck and jumped up towards her, its mouth open wide to chomp her.

Arri spun the cylindrical chamber of the gun that held its ammo, activating the Wyvern function of the weapon, which utilized the power of all the loaded bullets to charge up into one powerful Wyvern Shot. She aimed at the oncoming Monster, waiting til it grew dangerously close.

This is crazy, Arri thought. Why am I doing this?!

She knew the answer already, but didn't want to accept it. Pulling the trigger, she fired the shot, sending a pointed blast of powerful energy straight into the Beotodus's mouth.

The Monster gasped, smoke rising from its mouth as it fell backwards, landing hard on the deck and cracking it more, the ship dangerously close to being broken in half at this point.

The Beotodus writhed around in pain, and Arri was stunned that it could even survive such an attack— But luckily, the male Hunter jumped in quickly, slamming his Insect Glaive up under its chin where its armor was weaker, pushing in far and twisting it, ending the Monster's life.

Arri clung to the mast, letting out a small chuckle of relief.

The most stressful day of her life thus far… was over. Well, so she thought...

The carcass of the Beotodus remained on the ship's deck for the rest of the voyage, the crew believing it to be a necessary cargo so that the Hunter's Guild could study and harvest it.

Arri was now regarded highly by the crew of the Black Rathalone, but the two Hunters were much less impressed with her actions as they forced her to talk to them in the mess hall of the ship, which was empty due to nobody else wanting to dare get wrapped up in the drama.

"That was really stupid," the male Hunter told her simply.

Arri just sat with her arms crossed, looking down at the table before her like a pouting child, not even wanting to look at them. The woman Hunter slammed her hand down, making Arri look up at them in surprise.

"For real, girl, what were you thinkin?"

"I—-" Arri stopped, surprised to see the two Hunters now up close.

The two were probably barely older than she was. The woman had wavy shoulder-length blonde hair and a surprisingly soft-featured face, and the man was tall with messy black hair, his eyes slightly slanted and his expression very calm and stoic.

"You want to be a Hunter or something? Being stupid isn't really the way to go," the man pointed out.

Arri shook her head. "Definitely not! I'd never be a Hunter."

The woman raised an eyebrow at that. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean… er… I'm a blacksmith," Arri tried to fumble through an explanation. "I-I'm not built for the hunt—"

"Didn't seem that way," the woman interrupted, leaning in uncomfortably close to eye her. "Not even a Handler usually has the guts or skills to do what you did."

Arri leaned back a bit more, looking away, her face flushed with slight embarrassment from this interrogation. She had saved the two before her, yet all they could do was poke her and prod her for answer, without even saying a simple—

"Thank you," the man spoke suddenly, taking Arri off guard. "But it was foolish. You'll certainly get an earful from the Guild when we reach Astera."

"You're… welcome," Arri said softly, the man shaking his head and walking out of the room.

The woman sat across from Arri, her expression changing to a smirk.

"He's a hard-ass for sure, but he just worried about people," she told her.

Confused by the sudden friendliness of the woman, Arri eyed her suspiciously.

"R-Right…"

"Come on now, I won't bite," the woman assured her. "The name's Kaelyn, what's yours?"

Arri's eyes widened. "Y-You told me your real name..?"

Kaelyn laughed. "You did save our hinds, so I figured it'll be fine!"

Hunters these days usually went by titles, which helped them to become more renown in the world, just like those from the original fleets, where those like The Huntsman went down in legend. Speaking a Hunter's real name was usually an insult, or was only spoken between those with closer bonds.

"I'm… Arri."

"What's your family name?"

Arri hesitated. Kaelyn saw this and leaned in closer inquisitively. Arri let out a deep sigh, knowing there wasn't going to be any escape from this one, as dishonesty was a quick way to lose credibility quickly in her new home.

"Arri… of the Sapphire Star."

Kaelyn's eyes widened, and her face went a bit pale in surprise.

"Y-You're…"

Arri nodded slowly, looking away in a mix of embarrassment and disdain.

"I'm the daughter of the Sapphire Star."

The Sapphire Star. The legendary Hunter of the Fifth Fleet, who came to the New World and conquered incredible Monsters capable of destroying entire continents, was her Mother. This was Arri's most hated part of her past, something that was fairly well-known back home, but she preferred it not to be spread around everywhere she went. It brought insane expectations of her that she didn't appreciate.

And there was one reason above all else that she hated it:

As the only surviving member of her line, it was practically her destiny to become a great Hunter.

To Be Continued

Next Chapter: Red Flags