The hunters arrived without a sound, and the hunters left without a sound.
Xingyan hadn't noticed these crafty fellows, who were good at hiding themselves by all sorts of means before a hunt began. In fact, he was worrying about a problem right now—what if he suddenly grew fish scales?
He had gained a fairly clear understanding of his stomach by now. Xingyan was certain he could digest and absorb everything he ate, without expelling any indigestible scraps. At the same time, he could extract as much of the food's essence as possible and use it to improve himself.
For example, the mineral secretions covering his shell. At first, they had appeared sporadically across it, like scattered plum blossoms. But despite Xingyan's steadfast efforts to find mineral deposits and eat them day after day, these mineral secretions... uh, still hadn't joined together to completely cover his shell.
There was nothing he could do. Xingyan hadn't found enough mineral deposits. That was what happened when resources were scarce.
Still, if he kept searching and eating, he believed that sooner or later he would don a suit of steel armor with incredible defensive power.
In another experiment, Xingyan had deliberately eaten at least several dozen Kelbi. These little creatures couldn't put up much of a fight, but they had the speed and jumping ability you'd expect from deer.
Xingyan felt that after eating so many Kelbi, his legs had become more agile and his jumps more powerful—well, only a little. He couldn't even be sure whether the feeling came from his body growing stronger.
He did have some guesses about this strange ability. Either he had to win through quality or through quantity. Only then could he make sure his body absorbed enough substances or energy to evolve.
But that raised a problem. He'd just eaten a Mudfish Dragon small enough to be considered a little gold crown, yet it contained the Life Energy of a large monster of superior quality. What if he grew fish scales or fins, started secreting mucus all over his body, and began playing in the mud?
The Mudfish Dragon's appearance didn't suit Xingyan's tastes, and neither did its strength. You could say it failed on both counts.
After Xingyan had eaten his fill standing on the Mudfish Dragon's corpse... well, he'd eaten nearly all the nutritious fat and muscle. Once his rational mind regained the upper hand, he began worrying about the problem.
The more he thought about it, the itchier he felt. More than fear, he felt a sense of resistance.
Xingyan resisted the excellent traits displayed by the Mudfish Dragon, which had evolved over countless millennia. They were skills the Mudfish Dragon relied on to survive, but Xingyan didn't need them.
Thinking of how the mineral secretions between the cooling plates on his back had spread according to his wishes without blocking the cooling vents, Xingyan managed to calm himself somewhat.
I'll observe for now.
After rinsing his mouth and washing the blood from around it, Xingyan wandered back toward his nest. After defeating the Mudfish Dragon, he had, in a sense, become the little overlord of this area. If Rathalos didn't often come here to drink and forage, he might even have wanted to move here with the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers.
It would make egg-stealing more convenient, too.
Oh, right. He'd almost forgotten about the Earth Sand Dragon, that hotheaded fool who often came to the Flower Field Marshland Area to fight the Mudfish Dragon for territory. It was another unstable factor.
Xingyan shook his head and gave up on the idea of moving. Instead, he charged into an Aptonoth nest, forcibly carried off an egg, and strode away.
Glavenus, egg-stealer.
He'd eaten well himself, so he had to bring something back for the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers, too.
If the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers hadn't loved eggs and never eaten meat, Xingyan might even have wanted to bring them a piece of Mudfish Dragon swim bladder.
"Guk?"
The Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers took the Dragon Egg Xingyan had brought back, looking a little dazed for a moment. Wasn't it supposed to be them who stole eggs and fed him?
Their adopted hatchling could steal eggs now, too?
Yes, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers knew that Xingyan was just a hatchling. Over the course of their long partnership, they had also realized that they were stealing eggs to raise a hatchling.
They didn't know where the hatchling's mother had gone. But in their minds, they were like this hatchling's bird-mother. That was why they worked overtime every day, risking danger and exhaustion to steal a few extra eggs.
But now, the hatchling they'd raised could steal eggs, too?
This was the passing on of the Kulu-Ya-Ku spirit!
"Guk!!!"
Well, they couldn't understand something as profound as the passing down of a spiritual culture. But Xingyan's return with an egg had clearly touched the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers. They hopped around beside him, patting his belly with the feathers on the edges of their hands.
"Roar!"
Impatiently, Xingyan used the side of his Sword Tail to push the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers away. He thought they were being a little too noisy. Couldn't they just eat in peace?
The answer was no.
The Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers carried on for a while longer before finally quieting down and eating the egg Xingyan had brought back.
Before long, Xingyan, who had been resting curled up on the ground, heard a noise and opened his eyes. He saw the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers holding the leftover egg in front of him—as usual, they'd eaten the yolk and left the white.
"Roar." (Sigh.)
He sighed and said nothing, then ate the remaining Dragon Egg in a few bites, shell and all.
They're giving it to me for calcium!
From that day on, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers left the nest far less often. The number of eggs they stole went back to three or four, but Xingyan didn't mind. From time to time, he even brought an egg back for them on his way home from a hunt.
For a while, life was unexpectedly wonderful.
Whether we wanted to or not, life was always urging us to move forward. The dragons made ready, set out, journeyed, hunted, and settled down. Wherever they stopped, a flame would spring to life... From the migrations of individual creatures to the capture and cutting of ingredients, from changes in cooking methods to the shifting fates of dragons, the hurried steps of dragons and food had never ceased.
For the Chinese, food was often tied to homesickness, nostalgia, and longing for the flavors of childhood. For a young Glavenus, even more so.
Crouching in his cave, Xingyan curled his long Sword Tail around and laid it flat. His tail, which usually reflected blue-green and vivid red iridescence beneath the sun, had now been heated to a dark red hue, like a glowing piece of iron.
Sizzle, hiss, crackle.
The temperature wasn't very high. Xingyan was deliberately controlling the heat of his Sword Tail, as if he were holding a scorching-hot iron pan.
In the pan, a large cut of meat, diced into cubes, was sizzling and rendering fat. The meat was marbled, and its bright-red color showed how fresh it was. Its muscle fibers twitched now and then, as if it were still attached to its owner.
That was what he wanted: the lively vitality of fresh meat. Just looking at it made Xingyan's mouth water.
But he couldn't rush. Good food took patience and care.
"Roar!" (Hurry up, hurry up!)
"Gah!"
At Xingyan's urging, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers cautiously approached his Sword Tail, which was glowing faintly red-hot. They were holding several large red mushrooms: the best seasoning Xingyan could find in the Great Sand Sea, Nitre Shrooms.
These mushrooms contained a rich supply of Fire Attribute Energy and had unique medicinal value, but what Xingyan loved most was the explosive sensation they gave him when he ate them—as if they were about to burst in his mouth. No, they really did burst in his mouth!
They were a rare delicacy even by dragon standards, and they were good for the body, too.
The Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers rubbed their two forepaws together. It didn't take long for them to crumble the Nitre Shrooms in their hands and sprinkle them evenly over one side of the meat.
But the Glavenus chef's pursuit of good food didn't end there. The Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers soon turned around and fetched two more brown mushrooms. In the game, these were called Mandragora.
They might taste a little bitter to humans, but for a Glavenus, they added a unique flavor and contained plenty of vitality.
As before, they crushed them and sprinkled them evenly over the meat.
"Roar!" (Flip it!)
He wasn't a mammoth, but Xingyan could still flip a pan... or rather, flip with his tail.
With a low growl, the Glavenus chef made a quick, knife-like flick. Thanks to the carefully controlled angle of his Sword Tail, the sizzling, oil-rendering piece of meat flipped in midair and landed back on his tail.
This time, Xingyan didn't need to remind them. The Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers quickly brought over a few more mushrooms, crushed them, and sprinkled them evenly over the other side of the meat.
Under the high heat, the moisture evaporated quickly, but that didn't mean the meat would burn to a crisp. On the contrary, the fat was rendering rapidly. Meat full of vitality was harder to cook through than ordinary meat, and for Xingyan, the wait was like torture.
It didn't take long for the fat around the edges to turn an enticing golden color. The lean meat slowly tightened in the heat, becoming firmer and springier, its grain more distinct.
The aroma rising from the meat was so tempting that even the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers, who normally ate only eggs, couldn't help swallowing.
Once the surface of the meat had turned completely golden and crisp, the Glavenus chef stopped heating his Sword Tail.
"Roar, roar!!" (Golden Glavenus Roast! Complete!!)
The Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers naturally didn't know that this was the moment to applaud and cheer. No matter. Xingyan was already eager to stuff the meat into his mouth.
He placed it on a clean stone and neatly cut it into two pieces, one large and one small. The smaller piece was for the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers. Whether they ate it or not, Xingyan always saved them a portion.
Then he wolfed down his own piece.
He couldn't bear to swallow it. He just kept chewing. Raw and cooked meat had completely different aromas, as if a door had opened onto a world of delicious food. The crisp, fragrant crust tore apart at once, followed by tender, juicy lean meat and melt-in-your-mouth fat mingling on his tongue—rich and sweet.
As the mineral secretions on his Sword Tail seeped into the meat while it cooked, along with the explosive flavors of Nitre Shrooms and Mandragora... it was simply wonderful.
The long-awaited cooked food nearly brought Xingyan to tears—not just because of its sweet, delicious flavor.
Yes, Xingyan knew he wasn't a good cook. Even so, the cooked food he'd made was still so delicious.
For a moment, Xingyan even felt an urge to cross the ocean and hire a hunter to grill meat for him.
But then his reason reminded him that if he didn't want to end up as material for a hunter's equipment, he'd better not do that recklessly.
Besides, why go to the Old World? Hunters would come to the New World sooner or later. But how to communicate with them safely was another problem...
If only I could eat seasoning-covered grilled meat every day.
His jaws kept chewing the meat, but Xingyan's thoughts had already wandered far away.
Above all, it came down to strength, didn't it? If he had the strength of an Elder Dragon, he wouldn't have to fear being caught by hunters—even being captured for study and then released was something Xingyan couldn't accept.
He might be a sly Glavenus, the sort other Glavenus looked down on, but Xingyan had his own pride!
"Guk!!"
A sudden shriek jolted Xingyan out of his daydream. He turned his head and saw the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers stretching their necks and screeching, as if something were stuck in their throats.
Turning around, Xingyan saw that the small piece of meat he'd placed on the stone was gone.
Well, the situation was clear.
Xingyan hurried to pat the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers on the back—or rather, the neck—with his Sword Tail. But when he saw it was still sizzling and smoking, he stopped at the last second. In the end, he could only rush over, grab the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers by the neck with his little claws, and shake them hard.
"Gah-gah! Gah-gah-gah! Gah—cough-gah!!"
It was a bit of a struggle, but with Xingyan's vigorous help and the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers' own efforts, they finally spat out the piece of meat.
"Roar, roar-roar." (Sorry, I think I cut it a little too big.)
Xingyan awkwardly shook his head. He'd thought the little piece he'd cut off was small enough for the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers, but it seemed he'd been wrong.
Without another word, he swung his Sword Tail and cut the piece of meat into smaller pieces. Only then did he signal that the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers could keep eating.
"Guk? Guk!"
The experience of nearly choking to death had left the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers somewhat shaken. They eyed the little piece of meat by their feet warily. After hesitating for a while, they lowered their heads, took a bite with their blunt beaks, and swallowed.
"Gugu! Gah-gah-gah!!"
"Roar-roar? Roar-roar-roar!" (Right? Tasty, huh?! I told you I couldn't possibly make something that wasn't delicious!)
Seeing the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers flap their forelimbs excitedly after eating the meat, Xingyan sighed with relief and couldn't help laughing out loud.
Sharing delicious food always made a dragon happy. It was even better when your brother liked what you liked.
The Glavenus chef's first challenge was a success!
Before you continue