"What a terrifying monster," Senshi muttered with lingering dread as he stared at the now-motionless Glavenus.
With that massive blade-tail, the Glavenus's range and aggression were beyond anything Senshi had ever seen in the dungeon. If a monster like this ever appeared in the dungeon, it could easily devastate an entire region's ecosystem…
"We finally took it down." Kairo Retsu spoke as he bit down on a Potion bottle and got back to his feet. "Alright, let's rest up and move out again soon."
"There won't be more of these monsters, right?!" Chilchuck exclaimed. "You said this thing came from your world, but I've never heard of monsters like this existing!"
"There shouldn't be many Hellblade Glavenus out there—just regular Glavenus might show up," Kairo Retsu replied as he took the moment to examine the severed tail of the Hellblade Glavenus.
Just like in Kairo's memory, the innermost part of the tail was composed of flesh and bone, with a metallic outer layer adhered and grown onto the muscle—forming a blade-like structure akin to a divine weapon...
He tapped the tail's outer shell with his hand, and as he inspected it, he confirmed something.
"Laios, this really isn't a genuine Glavenus," Kairo Retsu said, turning to him. "The metal on this tail—it's just normal alloy."
"Yeah, I thought so too!" Laios came over, tapped the outer shell of the tail, and confirmed the break line.
Kairo had previously explained to Laios that a real Glavenus's armor and blade-tail are partly composed of a rare metal known as Fucium Ore—a distinctive blue mineral. That's also why Glavenus's carapace and blade tail always shimmer with a faint bluish tint.
Glavenus naturally consumes iron ore and coal, using them as materials to produce magma within its body. The molten explosive matter it spits out is formed that way. Some of those metals are absorbed or secreted onto its body, becoming its armor and blade.
"Hm…?"
Seeing Kairo and Laios crowded around the severed tail, Senshi also came over.
While Senshi, as a dwarf, wasn't especially attuned to metals, he could still tell. "This tail's forged from iron… Looks like it has a bit of mithril mixed in. No wonder it's so tough."
"Tough, huh?"
Kairo Retsu pulled out a small blue knife and pressed it against the tail with some force. When he pulled it back, a clear scratch was left behind.
"I knew it... there's no way we'd take down a real Second-Class Four Heavenly Kings-tier monster this easily…" Kairo grumbled. "Damn it—these are counterfeit species created by the demon!"
"Huh? You mean the real version of this monster is even stronger?!" Chilchuck was completely stunned. "Where the hell did you guys come from?! Don't tell me places like that really exist in the world! Is it buried somewhere deep in the Western Continent?!"
"Hmm… why don't we let the Felynes analyze it?" Laios suggested. "Marusil used a ton of magic just now—she should rest for a bit."
"Yeah, no matter what, after defeating a monster, we should collect materials with gratitude in our hearts!!" Kairo Retsu cheerfully pulled out his carving knife. "Now no one can stop me from seeing how many times I can carve this thing…"
"I'll help too," Senshi said, quite curious about what the meat of such an unknown creature might be like…
Roughly five minutes later, two Felynes arrived in response to Kairo Retsu's call and had already started processing the body of the so-called [Pseudo–Hellblade Glavenus].
"Meow! We've confirmed it, meow!" One of the Felynes beamed at Kairo and Laios, eyes sparkling. "Guildmaster and Hunter Laios were amazing, meow! This monster's strength is about the same as a real Glavenus, meow!"
"Glavenus is a really powerful monster, nya!" the other Felyne added joyfully. "Hunters are getting stronger so fast, meow! Looks like you'll soon be able to craft High Rank Gear with your own hunted materials, nya!"
"Eheheh, not bad! I mean, our coordination this time was—huh?"
Kairo Retsu was grinning until something dawned on him. "Wait a minute… what do you mean 'craft High Rank Gear with our own hunted materials'?"
"Because Hunters just started hunting, Felynes could only provide Low Rank Gear made from inferior materials, meow," the Felyne said innocently. "Guildmaster is amazing, meow! You defeated a Glavenus using Low Rank Gear, meow!"
"Once Hunters gather quality materials on their own, they can craft real High Rank Gear, nya!"
"..."
Kairo Retsu stared at the Felyne's cheerful expression and found himself speechless.
So... even though that wasn't a real Second-Class monster, the bad news was—they hadn't been using real gear either… No wonder it was so hard to win.
"So…" Kairo asked hesitantly, "Low Rank Gear isn't made from low-tier monster materials?"
"Nope, meow!"
The Felyne answered happily—but with a rather cruel truth. "There's no such thing as 'Low Rank monsters', meow! Gear made from regular monsters is High Rank Gear, nya!"
"The gear you're wearing right now is made from scraps and leftovers, nya!!"
"Oh right, meow! Now that I think of it, the only true Low Rank Gear crafted at the Gathering Hub was made from that Muzan material! Once you obtain other materials, you should be able to upgrade it to High Rank, nya!"
The adorable tone in which the Felyne delivered this harsh truth made Kairo realize: as Hunters, they were still total greenhorns…
"I need to train hard when we get back!!" Kairo shouted in frustration. "I'm gonna eat eight servings of Felyne food a day! I swear I'll return to being that human-shaped forbidden weapon who rampaged through Monster Hunter!"
"Well then, Guildmaster! Hunter Laios! We'll take this monster back to camp for now!" The two Felynes had already loaded the [Pseudo–Hellblade Glavenus] onto a cart without anyone noticing. "We'll prep all the materials for you! Good luck with the next hunt, nya!"
"Good luck hunting…"
Kairo Retsu slapped his own cheeks to refocus, then straightened up. "Alright! Next up—it's time to inherit the dungeon master title!!!"
"Let's see… who the next dungeon master will be!!"
Just as Kairo shouted this—
Elsewhere, the Winged Lion was now standing before Tanjiro.
"Are you sure you want me to devour your desires right now?" the Winged Lion asked, lowering its head to look at the boy before it. "I'd thought humans were supposed to enjoy their desires more than this."
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