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''Hunter! Hunter, wake up! We have an emergency!''
Erik's voice pierced the quiet of dawn, ripping the hunter violently from her sleep. She bolted upright in her cot, blinking away sleep as her handler shoved half his body into the tent through its flimsy opening, his hands gesturing urgently.
''Where? For what?'' She asked, her voice raspy but sharp.
''Wounded Hollow,'' Erik said breathlessly, already turning to leave. '' A Mizutsune and a Balahara are clashing. I'll wait at the gates.''
The hunter didn't waste a second. She sprang from her hammock and geared up with practiced speed. She pulled on her fitted leather vest, slipped into her shorts, and laced up her polished boots before hastily coating a layer of anti-slip gel on their soles. She then buckled her heavy leather belts, each one lined with pouches and rows of glinting bullets. Snatching her rifle from its rack, she checked the chamber, slung it over her shoulder, and rushed out into the crisp morning air.
At the main gates, Erik was waiting alongside a single companion. The sword and shield user was eagerly practicing a few fluid combos in the air, his blade ringing softly as he hopped light on his feet, practically vibrating with excitement to get out into the field.
The gunner quickly vaulted onto her Seikret's saddle, tightened the reins, ready to dash into action. ''Alright, let's move.''
''Hold on, wait up,'' Erik said, raising a hand to stop her. ''Alma mentioned there's one more hunter coming along, but he's still preparing.''
A few minutes ticked by. The sword and shield user slowly shifted his weight towards his Seikret impatiently, then in an attempt to break the awkward silence, he brought up his hunt from the day before.
''Oh, man, you should have seen me yesterday!'' he burst out, his voice brimming with energy. ''I was doing this bounty for Mondy to hunt a Nu Udra, right? It was flailing its limbs, as it does, but I managed to slide under its sweeps to do a really nice perfect rush, and I just about cut off every tentacle in under twenty minutes! It was absolutely insane, the blood was—''
He froze, his story cutting off mid-sentence.
Both hunters, Erik, and even the Seikrets—who instantly stopped ripping up the grass from the earth, their jaws freezing mid-chew with blades of green handing out of their beaks—turned their heads in unison. They stared down the path in dead silence.
The tent flaps had finally parted, and this hunter with a giant gunlance on his back strolled out with a leisurely stride. As he sauntered toward the gates, he popped off the stopper of a glowing vial and took a slow gulp of a Demondrug, sighing in satisfaction. Next, he pulled out an Armorskin, draining it completely. Without missing a beat, he fished an Immunizer out of his pouch, drank that down, and then topped it all of by chugging a hot drink followed immediately by a cold drink, seemingly just to cover all his bases.
The gunlancer just offered a casual nod, climbing onto his Seikret sluggishly. The gunner and the swordsman exchanged a long bewildered look, shrugged, and finally set off.
Their Seikrets tore through the sweeping, vibrant grasslands of Suja, the mounts leaning low and sprinting swift. The wind whipped through the hunter's hair as Erik pulled his mount alongside hers to explain the situation.
''A Wudwud was spotted out there,'' Erik called out over the rushing wind. ''It was surrounded and running from both monsters. Reports state it got trapped right in the center of the Wounded Hollow.''
They reached the edge of the massive, sunken pit. Below, the earth was a churning vortex of dust, mud, and shimmering bubbles. Without hesitation, the three hunters leapt straight downward into the pit.
They ground to a halt. Ahead of them, a ball of fluff was sprinting for its life, panting heavily, its eyes wide with sheer panic. Right behind it, a twisting, drill-headed Balahara burst from the sand, while a sleek, glistening Mizutsune skittered along the rocky walls, spraying a torrent of pressurized water towards the Wudwud.
As the defenceless creature narrowly ducked under the beam, completely out of breath, it hit a patch of wet floor slick from the bubbles. Its tiny feet completely lost traction, and it let out a panicked grunt as it slipped, flailing wildly and sliding face-first through the moist dirt. The Balahara lunged, its split jaw snapping open.
The marksman vaulted from her Seikret on pure instinct, sliding across the sand and scooping the small creature up with her left arm just as the monster's jaws slammed shut on empty air. The Wudwud huffed in relief, instantly clinging to her forearm like a burr before scrambling up her leather sleeve and nesting its muddy paws deep into her hair.
The hunter stumbled; this creature carried a shockingly hefty weight despite its visual size, completely catching her off guard.
''Ah! Why are you so heavy?'' she gasped, straining under the sudden load. ''And hey—stop tugging on my hair!'' she complained, wincing as the Wudwud anchored itself firmly by her roots.
''Are you calling me fat?'' says the Wudwud, in an alarmingly gravelly tone.
''No, it's not like that!'' the hunter stammered, unlatching her light bowgun from her back, loading a magazine of ammo into the chamber as the Balahara roared in agitation. ''Why are you even here anyway?'' She yelled over the resonating howl.
From high up on the ledge of the hollow, Erik cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted down in pure fascination. ''Look at that! Notice the gills on its neck! They're actively venting out all the compressed sand to keep its body moving!"
''Bruv, I was searching for likey-likes in the plains,'' the Wudwud rumbled from atop the hunter's head, completely ignoring Erik's remark. ''Then this knobhead emerged from the sand, swallowing my trophy in one big gulp!''
Before he could finish, the Mizutsune launched itself from the wall, sliding forth on the slicked ground. The Wudwud let out an annoyed groan, tugging at the hunter's hair again. ''Watch out for the dodgy fox, mate. Better move to the.. right!''
The hunter dived to left instead, relying on her own instincts, barely evading a crushing slam of the tail from the Mizutsune.
''Sir, your directions aren't quite right.'' The hunter muttered as she rolled to her feet, clicking the rapid fire segment into place on her rifle, and opened fire.
''I meant the other right!'' the Wudwud retorted over the sputter of shots crackling along the Mizutsune's spine.
Nearby, the swordsman rushed the Balahara, unleashing a lethal, spinning slash across its underbelly, carving a deep line straight through its scales. Without losing momentum, he seamlessly transitioned the rotation into a charged, brutal overhead cleave that cracked open the monster's muddy plating.
As the Balahara writhed in agony from the devastating blow, the gunlancer stepped into the fray to press the advantage, driving his lance straight into the monster's exposed, twisting flank. He immediately jammed the barrel into the wound the swordsman had created, planted his feet, and unleashed a booming explosion that shook the cavern walls.
After a sharp flinch, the Balahara regained its composure. It hissed, coiled its serpentine body, and tunnelled deep beneath the earth.
The floor of the hollow went deathly still. The gunner panicked, her heart racing and ears perked as she desperately searched for a sign of shifting dirt or rumbling ground. ''Where did it go?'' She shouted, keeping her weapon raised, her gaze darting across the quiet sand while keeping a close eye on the encroaching Mizutsune.
''I tracked the muppet all the way here, straight up stalking it,'' the Wudwud ranted right in the hunter's ear, oblivious to the danger as its voice vibrated heavily through her skull. ''Got it proper cornered, thought I had it sorted. But then this oversized soapbar started beefing with the worm. They spotted me, almost mugged me off til—''
''Stop it! I'm trying to listen to the—''
The hunter's voice cut off as the ground directly beneath her boots exploded. The distraction almost cost her everything; the Balahara violently burst upward from underneath the sand, its razor-sharp teeth snapping shut like a steel trap right where she had been standing a millisecond prior. Moving on raw instinct, she threw her weight back and executed a desperate, sliding retreat across the loose dirt. As she slid backwards, she lined up her sight and fired a punishing chain of shots directly into the monster's exposed, open jaw.
The Mizutsune seized the distraction, sweeping its head across the arena to discharge a devastating jet of water.
Just before the stream reached the recoiling marksman, the swordsman raised their shield , absorbing the brunt of the blast with a loud hiss of steam, while the gunlancer lunged forward, driving the end of his weapon into the Mizutsune's flank and pulling the trigger to a Wyrmstake Blast. The explosion tore through the creature's luminescent scales, sending it collapsing to the ground with a pitiful whine.
Dragging its bloodied and battered frame out of the mud, the Balahara coiled limply up one of the splintered wooden pillars. Perched high above the arena, it unhinged its fractured maw, coughing up desperate, ragged volleys of drenched sand at the hunters below.
The gunner didn't hesitate. Clicking a fresh magazine into place, she locked her sights on the stressed timber and opened fire. A barrage of heavy piercing rounds crackled through the air, chewing straight through the beam and ripping a gaping crack through the pillar.
Moving with unspoken coordination, the swordsman launched his hook slinger at the pillar. The metal barb cut through the dust, biting securely into the fractured beam. With a wild, proud grin, he threw his entire body weight into the line, bringing the support down with a powerful heave.
With a deafening crack, the weakened pillar buckled, sending the screeching Balahara plummeting to the arena floor. The massive timber collapsed directly over the leviathan, burying its writhing form beneath a mountain of splintered wreckage. Slowly, the dust settled. Both threats had finally grown still.
The cavern fell quiet, save for the heavy panting of the hunters, until the silence was broken by slow, rhythmic claps echoing through the hollow—originating straight from the gunner's head.
''Solid work, fam. Them two jokers got completely smoked.'' The Wudwud rasped, nodding in approval.
''Thanks for your... guidance,'' the hunter sighed, slinging her bowgun over her shoulder. She approached the fallen Balahara and drew her carving knife. ''It swallowed your 'likey-like', you said? As she sliced through the tough outer scales into the thick oesophagus, her blade struck something solid. She reached into the gore and pulled it out, wiping away the dark fluid to reveal a glistening, jet-black pearl.
''Gas! That's my likey-like!'' The Wudwud rumbled, its husky voice catching in his throat as it stared at the gem with wide, obsessive eyes. ''No way, bruv. That's the exact shiny that absolute melt of a worm swallowed! Safe for that, mate, big respect!''
Before the hunter could even hand it over, the swordsman called out from the other end of the hollow. ''Hey, look at this!'' He carved out a glowing, iridescent water orb, holding it up to the light.
The Wudwud's jaw dropped, a coarse rasp escaping its throat. ''Another likey-like. This is an actual jackpot, profits are through the roof, innit?''
He scrambled off the hunter's head, snatched the black pearl cleanly from her palm, and scurried across the dirt toward the swordsman. With a nimble leap, it plucked the shining orb right out of his fingers.
The Wudwud settled on a nearby rock, cradling both massive, glowing gems tightly against its chest, its eyes sparkling with pure adoration. ''Likey-like... What an absolute beauty...''
Erik walked down into the pit, rubbing the back of his neck as the hunters stared in disbelief. ''So... it just likes rare monster gems?''
''Hey, little guy,'' Erik said, walking over and kneeling in front of the creature. ''You do know these shiny things grow inside of monsters, right?''
''First of all, who you calling small, wally?'' the Wudwud snarled, giving an offended cough, ''Secondly, you're telling me my precious loot come from these clapped beasts??''
Erik stared down at the tiny, furry creature, his eyebrows shooting up as a look of pure amazement washed over his face. "Did... did it just call me a wally?" he muttered, blinking rapidly. "And what does 'clapped' even mean? Its language patterns are absolutely incredible!"
The Wudwud cleared his throat with a gravelly grunt, puffing out his furry chest. "William is the name, chad. Get it right."
The gunner couldn't hold it in any longer. She let out a warm chuckle, shaking her head at Erik’s utter bewilderment before looking back down at the Wudwud. "Erik here isn't lying to you," she gestured towards her handler, giving a firm nod of agreement toward the crushed wreckage of the Balahara. "Those treasures you hold dear grow right inside them, deep in their guts."
William's body went rigid. His large eyes darted from the massive, broken carcasses to the glittering gems clutched tightly in his paws. A deep, horrified cough rattled through his tiny chest as the harsh biological reality finally set in. He looked at the giant monsters, then at the glowing rocks, and clearly decided he was far too low on the food chain to be harvesting these himself.
The Wudwud stood up on his hind legs atop the rock, holding both gems securely under one arm and looked straight into the hunter's eyes.
"Right, listen to the vision," William rumbled. "You lads are proper elite. Pure muscle, no cap. Let’s start a partnership, yeah? We form an alliance, you protect the asset—which is me—and we go on treks to secure more likey-likes. Whaddya say?"
The tiny creature extended a single, muddied paw toward her.
Amused by his sheer audacity, the hunter knelt down and met him halfway. She wrapped her index finger and thumb around his little hand, and the two of them locked into firm, solid handshake that sealed the deal.
"Alright, we're business partners," the hunter smiled, releasing his paw. She stood back up, gesturing toward her own shoulder. "You're allowed to ride on my head to keep out of trouble, but we need to establish some ground rules. You have to stop pulling on my hair like you're steering a mount. Clear?"
William expertly scrambled back up her gear, scaling her leather vest with ease before nesting his paws comfortably right back into her hair, carefully keeping his claws retracted before his declaration.
"Say less, mate. It’s a deal."