The Azure Star That Guides the Way!

"Whew... I'm exhausted..."

After completing a set of Long Sword training movements from his memories, Xie Wen, who had barely broken a sweat, immediately planted the Salted Fish Long Sword in the ground and hurriedly sat down.

Although his physical abilities had inexplicably improved after crossing over, the laziness built up over years without exercise wasn't so easy to shake. His body wasn't actually all that tired, but he simply didn't want to move.

Of course, Xie Wen didn't stay in that lazy state for long. Compared with his life, a mere "fatigue" status was something he could overcome. After a brief spell of slacking off, he picked up the Salted Fish Long Sword planted beside him and got back to training.

As he grew more familiar with his body and weapon, Xie Wen gradually managed to link his moves as smoothly as in his inherited memories. But he knew that wasn't enough. Practice and actual combat were two different things, and even with its enhancements, his current child's body couldn't compare with those of professional hunters.

Based on the memories in his head, Xie Wen roughly estimated that even an Arzuros would give him trouble right now-and that assumed he wouldn't fumble around in his first real fight. If he got even slightly nervous, some minor monster like a Bullfango might be enough to finish him off.

Given his current circumstances, there probably wouldn't be a Felyne Cart to haul him back to camp before he kicked the bucket.

With that thought, Xie Wen trained even harder. Only when he was utterly exhausted and truly lacked the strength to swing his blade did he collapse onto the beach, panting heavily.

"Huff... huff... crap... I overdid it..."

Xie Wen had barely enjoyed a moment of pride in his hard work before he realized that he shouldn't have completely exhausted himself without first confirming the area was safe. If a Shogun Ceanataur or Hermitaur crawled out from somewhere now, he wouldn't have any strength left to resist.

The thought that he might die in such a ridiculous way sent a violent shudder through him. Forcing his weak limbs to cooperate, he dragged himself up from the sand and hobbled toward the jungle, leaning on the Salted Fish Long Sword...

He would rather be gored to death by a Bullfango charging out of nowhere.

Wait, I still have Well-done Steak!

Halfway there, Xie Wen suddenly remembered the items in his Pocket Dimension Pouch. In the game, steak could increase maximum stamina. He didn't expect it to work exactly like that here, but surely it could restore at least some of his strength?

Xie Wen took a Well-done Steak out of the pouch and examined it.

The Well-done Steak wasn't very large, about the size of most of his palm. It felt little different from ordinary cooked meat that had gone cold. Xie Wen held it beneath his nose and sniffed... it smelled pretty good.

Only after confirming there was no moldy or rotten smell did Xie Wen stuff the Well-done Steak into his mouth.

He didn't know whether it was because the meat counted as an item or because his enhanced hunter physique came with a bonus to eating speed. Either way, despite being quite chewy, the steak disappeared in just a few bites. And it actually tasted pretty good.

"Holy shit... it works this well?"

With a single Well-done Steak in his stomach, Xie Wen immediately perked up, the weakness leaving his limbs. He hadn't fully recovered, but at least he could move normally again.

It seemed these items might be far more useful than he had imagined. And besides...

"I'm getting more and more curious about what's going on with me..."

Xie Wen patted his stomach, which didn't feel particularly full, and muttered to himself.

Having recovered some of his strength, Xie Wen didn't resume training. It would be better to leave that sort of limit-pushing workout until he found a safe place to camp.

Instead, Xie Wen dragged Fresh Knife: White Calm to the edge of the jungle and found a rock to sit on. He set his weapon within easy reach, just in case, then took the Carving Knife used for harvesting materials out of his pouch.

"Doesn't seem... particularly special."

He casually swung the primitive-looking Carving Knife a couple of times. Finding nothing unusual about it, Xie Wen stuffed it back into his pouch and took out the Fishing Rod.

Aside from being exceptionally sturdy, the Fishing Rod didn't seem to have anything special about it either.

That was still pretty good. At least he wouldn't have to worry about the rod snapping when he went fishing. Whether the line could break remained to be seen.

Next, Xie Wen took out the Infinite Whetstone and gave his weapon some maintenance. Since Fresh Knife: White Calm hadn't suffered any wear in the first place, however, he couldn't see any difference before and after sharpening.

After putting away the whetstone, Xie Wen hesitated briefly between the BBQ Spit and the Hunter's Notes. In the end, he decided to see what was written in the Hunter's Notes first.

After all, he still had some Well-done Steak left in his pouch. And considering his cooking skills amounted to "too much flour, add water; too much water, add flour," grilling meat was better left to his chef cat.

The Hunter's Notes wasn't very large, only a little bigger than Xie Wen's current child-sized palm and about the same size as the small-format comic books he used to read. As for whether it was a standard sixty-fourth-sheet format, he couldn't be sure.

The cover bore a monster design in a distinctly Monster Hunter style. Judging by the colors and shapes, it was probably Rathian and Rathalos, the franchise's tireless workhorses.

Xie Wen opened the book. On the title page, the distinctive script used in Monster Hunter read, "May the Sapphire Star that lights the way shine for you"...

Yes, despite the strange lettering being completely unfamiliar, Xie Wen could understand what it meant.

"The Sapphire Star, huh..." Xie Wen curled his lip.

Players in the game were called the "White Wind of the New World" and the "Sapphire Star that lights the way," but in reality, they were just laborers saddled with all the dirty, exhausting work.

And in his current situation, there was no Sapphire Star to be seen. The Star of Doom above his head, on the other hand, was twinkling merrily.

Turning past the title page, he found a map on the first page. Its style matched the maps in the game perfectly-and just like those maps, it was dynamic.

Since he had already considered the possibility that he had entered a game or acquired a game character's template, Xie Wen wasn't especially surprised. Instead, he began studying the dynamic map closely.

Xie Wen didn't even need to touch it. He could zoom in and out simply by willing it.

Most of the map was covered in pitch-black fog, however. Only a small patch in the lower-left corner was visible, clearly showing the ocean, the beach, and the edge of the jungle. At the boundary between beach and jungle sat an arrow representing Xie Wen himself.

There was also a pale yellow cat-head icon moving through the black fog over the map. When Xie Wen focused on it, the surrounding area zoomed in, and Sanji's name appeared beneath the icon.

"Oh... that's pretty user-friendly."

Xie Wen then tested how far he could zoom out, only to find that he soon hit the limit. At the very bottom of the map, a progress bar appeared, showing just 0.7% explored.

So does this mean I have to run around the entire island before I can unlock a new map? Or is it like the game, where I need to deal with the boss monster occupying this area?

Xie Wen scratched his head reflexively.

Either way, even without the map's prompt, he would have to explore the whole island. After all, he still wanted to find a human settlement as soon as possible.

Finding nothing else new, Xie Wen turned to the next page. The back of the map was blank, while the new page was covered in gray with a faint padlock icon in the middle. Clearly, he hadn't met the conditions to unlock it yet.

Still, Xie Wen could vaguely make out a horizontal branching chart behind the gray layer. He was very familiar with that layout-it was Monster Hunter's classic weapon list interface.

That's not right. I already have a fully upgraded Fresh Knife: White Calm, so why is the weapon interface locked?

Xie Wen scratched his head in confusion...

Maybe I have to find a village and talk to a Weapon Smith before it unlocks?

Without any clues, Xie Wen could only keep speculating according to game logic.

He flipped through several more pages. They were much like the weapon interface, only with even less information. Not only were they all locked, but he couldn't see anything through the gray layer, leaving him with no idea what the pages represented or where to start unlocking them.

So all Fresh Knife: White Calm does is let me preview the weapon interface?

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Xie Wen flipped back and found that the gray layer over the weapon interface really was a tiny bit lighter...

So I really do need to find a village first?

Xie Wen closed the Hunter's Notes without looking particularly disappointed. The dynamic map alone was already a huge win. There was no need to rush the rest.

Thanks to the unexpected surprise the Hunter's Notes had given him, Xie Wen decided to try out his portable BBQ Spit despite his poor cooking skills.

He reached into his pouch and pulled out a BBQ Spit roughly half his own height, extracting it from the tiny pouch in complete defiance of science. Then he took out a piece of raw meat and placed it on the spit.

The instant the raw meat was mounted, flames sprang up automatically beneath the BBQ Spit. Xie Wen even faintly heard a familiar tune playing.

"Well, damn!"

Just as a delighted Xie Wen was about to turn the BBQ Spit and enjoy some quick, self-service grilling like in the game, a shrill cry from Sanji Meow rang out from the nearby woods-

"Stop right there! Meat cooked that way has no soul, meow!!!"