(Hunter's POV)
"Oh man.....!!!" I said as I ran down the sand dune, making my way towards the rocky terrain, "This is just great!!!!"
As I ran, I could hear the sound of the Balahara pack right behind me. I know that the Balahara were burrowing leviathan and that they do this, but being this close to them and hearing them behind me scared me a bit. It reminded me of that move, Tremors, and I can relate to the panic and fear those characters had.
I kept running, my legs fighting against the sand and pushing me forwards, "Come on...." I said as I looked back, seeing the massive dust cloud behind me, "Dammit, I'm too slow..."
The dust cloud was already on me, the sight of the Balahara bodies was clearer. I had to do something to get out of this in one piece, but I don't know if I could make it to safety.
I heard the sound of the leviathans as they reached me, feeling how one of them hit me on the side, sending me flying to the side.
"Shit!" I shouted as I hit the sand and rolled down, "Damn...."
I immediately got back up to see that the Balahara began to surround me, forming a massive wall of sand and dust around me. I could see their bodies constantly entering and exiting the sand, a very intimidating sight now that I was personally seeing them.
I had no weapons, my abilities were Dormant and locked, I was in a very bad situation. I don't know what I could do here.
"It would've been nice if my Haki was unlocked by now....." I muttered, "Damn....."
One of the Balahara jumped up and launched itself towards me, its mouth opening widely, letting out a roar. Then, a projectile flew right at it, striking it and causing an explosion of brown.
A foul stench hit my nostrils and caused my entire body to jerk backwards in response, completely disorienting me. It didn't matter if I wasn't hit by it, I could still smell the stench emitted from the explosion.
Was it a Dung Pod?
The Balahara landed on the sand next to me, shaking its neck violently as it screeched in response; its entire upper body covered in the brown stench aura. The other Balahara were still surrounding me, the sounds of their rumbling was quite loud. A smaller projectile flew and detonated in the air, releasing a loud sound wave.
I saw around three of them surface completely and another projectile flew and hit them, the explosion spreading outwards and the Stench hitting all of them. Another dung pod flew at the other group of Balahara that were also surfacing, caused by another sound pod.
Within seconds, the Balahara immediately dug into the sand and I watched as the dust cloud formed by their burrowing trail away into the distance.
"What.....what was that luck of mine...?" I said as I saw something on the sand dune
"Are you alright????" I heard someone call out
I squinted, seeing that it was a woman on a seikret, wearing what looked like Odogaron armor. She had light brown hair, from what I can tell, and brown eyes. The seikret she rode had regular feathers, green and blue in color. I watched as she rode the mount my way, a Hope Greatsword on the sling of the Seikret.
"....a guild hunter?" I said, "But she has Odogaron armor, the red one....."
She reached me, "I'm glad I was in the vicinity of that Balahara pack." She said with a slight smile, "Who knows what could have happened....."
"Thanks...." I said as I shielded my face from the shining sun, "You're a hunter?"
"Yes." She said with a smile, "My name is Solar."
"Oh." I said, "Mine is Hunter."
"Hunter?" She raised an eyebrow, "What a strange name, haha....."
"Yea, I know." I said, "My Father was a big fan of hunting, so he named me that."
"I see, he was a hunter perhaps?" she said as the Seikret shifted
"Sort of....." I said
"Hm." She frowned, "A poacher?"
"No, he was a hunter. But not.....it's hard to explain." I said, "Is that Odogaron Armor? In the Forbidden Lands?"
"Ah Yes." She said with a smile, "I have just joined the expedition to the Forbidden Lands not too long ago. A week, actually."
"I see....." I said
Was she in the New World? It would take a really long time to get from the New World to the Old World. Not just that, I am sure the Forbidden Lands are further away.
"Hop on." She gestured at the seikret, "I'll take you to camp. We'll get you sorted out. I do wonder what you're doing all the way out here."
I climbed atop the seikret and behind her, "I would like to know that as well." I said as the seikret began to take off, running across the sand, "Whoa.....I just woke up in the sand, I am a bit confused as to how I got here."
"Oh, is that so?" She asked, "Well, that is quite strange."
As the seikret galloped across the sand, Solar's hair hit me in the face, a whiff of flowers hit my nostrils. It smelled nice, I won't lie, very good actually. That told me that this woman actually kept good hygiene.
Why was I focused on that like a creep?
I had to figure out how to progress my abilities. I had to complete a Major Task to unlock my Haki and a set amount of Guild Authorized Hunts to unlock my Devil Fruit. Not only that, I had to figure out if I still had the same weaknesses with the Devil Fruit. I mean, it would only be obvious, right? A powerful ability to transform into a massive Azure Dragon of Myths has to be balanced somehow.
If I had to do Guild Authorized Hunts, then I have to become a Guild Hunter, somehow. That means I would need my own Handler or something, I don't know.
Solar is a Hunter, which means she might be taking me to the Windward Plains base camp.
Maybe I can focus on the rest there.
"So, is your Father still around?" Solar asked as we got closer to the rocky terrain
"No." I said, "He passed away when I was young."
"I am sorry to hear that." She said softly, "What is your story, though? Are you a hunter as well?"
"Why do you ask?" I asked, chuckling, "Because of my name?"
"I just remembered something, that is all." she said, "We'll ask you questions when we get to camp, don't worry."
"You're not in trouble."