Recaps

Gordon and Porkchop waited for the Rathian to leave her nest, then stole a wyvern egg and fled toward camp. A Rathalos intercepted them at the riverbank, and Gordon’s egg shattered as he narrowly escaped its attack.

• The Rathian woke at dawn, warmed her eggs with ash, and flew away from the nest.
• Gordon drank Dash Juice, took the smallest egg, and ran through the forest with Porkchop.
• Gordon and Porkchop crossed several kilometers of mountain trails and reached the exposed riverbank near camp.
• Porkchop warned Gordon of an approaching threat, and Gordon threw the egg aside and dodged a diving attack.
• The egg broke on the riverbank, and Gordon recognized the enraged Flying Wyvern overhead as a Rathalos.

Gordon fought to escape the Rathalos and was badly wounded by its venom and fireballs. With Porkchop’s help, he reached the river and escaped into the current, leaving the furious Rathalos circling overhead.

• Gordon tried to reach the river, but the Rathalos blocked him and attacked with a fireball and a charge.
• The Rathalos struck Gordon’s back with its venomous talons, but Porkchop distracted the monster long enough for Gordon to take an antidote.
• Porkchop burrowed underground as Gordon used a Flash Bomb to stun the Rathalos and continued toward the river.
• The Rathalos fired a volley of fireballs, and one blast hurled Gordon to the riverbank and left him gravely weakened.
• Porkchop emerged from underground and dragged Gordon into the surging river while the Rathalos circled overhead.

After recovering from his near-fatal battle with a Rathalos, Gordon apologized for his recklessness and resolved to become stronger. The Instructor and the village chief summoned him to discuss his future, and the Instructor began explaining that Kokoto Village offered too few suitable quests.

• Gordon woke after several days with severe injuries and learned that Porkchop had saved him by calling nearby Felynes for help.
• Once he could walk, Gordon apologized to Porkchop and admitted his mistakes to the Instructor, while reaffirming that he would not give up hunting.
• After more than a month of recovery, Gordon finished rehabilitation and put on a new Alloy Armor Set made to replace his damaged Blue Velociprey Armor Set.
• Gordon went fully armored to the village chief’s home, where the Instructor and the chief told him they needed to discuss something important.
• The Instructor praised Gordon’s potential and explained that Kokoto Village’s lack of challenging quests had limited his opportunities.

After deciding to leave Kokoto Village to broaden his experience, Gordon chose Minegarde City as his first destination and prepared for the journey with Porkchop. The villagers gave them an emotional farewell, and Gordon promised to return once he was strong enough to defeat Rathalos.

• Ernest persuaded Gordon that Kokoto Village could not offer enough opportunities for him to keep growing, and Porkchop agreed to go wherever Gordon went.
• Gordon sold most of his collected furs and herbs, while Ernest warned him to manage his money carefully in the city.
• The Village Chief recommended Jumbo Village or Minegarde City, while the Instructor urged Gordon to go to Dondurma.
• Gordon and Porkchop ruled out Jumbo Village and chose Minegarde City as a familiar stepping stone before visiting Dondurma.
• The villagers gave Gordon and Porkchop gifts and said goodbye as they departed, and Gordon promised to return after becoming strong enough to kill Rathalos.

After surviving a monster attack, Hayata insisted on becoming a hunter despite her uncle Pine’s fears. Pine finally accepted her choice and took her to meet his old friend Amos, whom he hoped would train her.

• Hayata told Pine she still wanted to become a hunter, and he worried about the danger and her safety.
• Pine recalled how Hayata’s resolve had persisted for more than a month, even through being grounded, until he finally gave in.
• Pine rejected the Hunter’s Guild training camp and decided Hayata should learn through one-on-one mentorship.
• Pine chose his old friend Amos, a high-rank Long Sword hunter whose wiry build suited the kind of training Pine wanted for Hayata.
• Pine and Hayata set out early in the morning to visit Amos’s home.

Gordon and Porkchop arrived in Minegarde City after a ten-day journey, and Gordon reported to the Hunter Gathering Hall. There, he offended the hunter Oshura by calling her “ma’am” before another hunter teased her about their age difference.

• Pine brought Hayata to Amos's home so she could begin learning to hunt under him.
• Gordon and Porkchop traveled from Kokoto Village to Minegarde City with a merchant caravan.
• Gordon marveled at Minegarde's defenses, bustling streets, and the hunters' equipment as he made his way to the Hunter Gathering Hall.
• A female hunter pushed Gordon through the Gathering Hall doors and asked where he was from.
• Gordon introduced himself as a seventeen-year-old from Kokoto Village and called the hunter “ma’am,” offending her.
• A long-haired hunter laughed and teased Oshura that Gordon was nearly ten years younger than her.

Gordon arrived at Minegarde to stay for a while and joined its Hunter Gathering Hall with Oshura's help. After Oshura and receptionist Tiji began arguing, the hall's head, Vantikasya Mo Lagoma Tiratina, arrived and introduced herself to Gordon.

• Oshura learned that Gordon was a seventeen-year-old two-star hunter from Kokoto Village who planned to make Minegarde his base.
• Oshura led Gordon to the gathering hall counter and introduced him to the receptionist, Tiji.
• Tiji processed Gordon's Hunter's Notes and letter of introduction while Oshura warned him about her laziness and fondness for Felynes.
• Tiji called Oshura a gorilla woman, and Oshura lifted her over the counter as Gordon tried to shield Porkchop.
• Vantikasya Mo Lagoma Tiratina stopped the argument, apologized to Gordon, and introduced herself as the gathering hall's head.

Gordon met the Chairwoman in Minegarde and learned that the old village chief of Kokoto was the legendary Hero who founded the Hunter’s Guild. The story left Gordon hiding the fact that he had once pulled the Hero’s Sword from its pedestal as a child.

• The Chairwoman reviewed Gordon’s Hunter’s Notes and letter of introduction, then asked after the health of Kokoto’s village chief.
• When Gordon, Oshura, and Tiji failed to recognize the village chief’s importance, the Chairwoman explained that he was the legendary Hero.
• Amos joined them and recounted how the Hero slew a Monoblos and became the world’s first hunter.
• The Chairwoman described the Hero’s role in founding the Hunter’s Guild and the tragedy behind the four-hunter party limit.
• Amos recalled visiting Kokoto to see the Hero’s Sword, while Gordon concealed that he had pulled it from its pedestal as a child.

Gordon transferred his affiliation to the Minegarde Hunter Gathering Hall, received special permission to join certain three-star quests, and settled into a room there. The next morning, he decided to begin his new life in the city with a hunt.

• The Chairwoman welcomed Gordon to the Minegarde Hunter Gathering Hall and completed his transfer from Kokoto Village.
• Tiji marked Gordon’s Hunter’s Notes with a hollow star, allowing him to join three-star quests as part of a higher-ranked hunter’s party with the Chairwoman’s approval.
• Gordon rented a cheap room at the gathering hall and treated Tiji and Oshura to a meal.
• Gordon and Porkchop relaxed in the communal bathhouse before returning to their new room.
• After exercising and eating breakfast the next morning, Gordon decided to go hunting instead of sightseeing around Minegarde City.

Gordon visited the Minegarde Hunter Gathering Hall and accepted a two-star quest to slay twenty Shakalaka in Metabe Forest. There, he encountered Amos and his apprentice, who turned out to be Hayata, a girl Porkchop remembered from a caravan.

• Gordon met Tiji and Machi at the service counter and explained that he wanted an easy quest after spending over a month recovering from his Rathalos injuries.
• Gordon offered Tiji ten minutes with Porkchop in exchange for her choosing a suitable quest, and she selected a well-paid Shakalaka slaying quest.
• Gordon accepted the quest and let Tiji pet Porkchop, who protested as she held him.
• Amos arrived with his apprentice and asked Machi for a one- or two-star quest so the girl could experience combat.
• Porkchop recognized Amos's apprentice as Hayata, the girl from the caravan.

Hayata thanked Gordon for saving her caravan, and Amos offered to team up with him so Hayata could observe a hunt safely. Gordon agreed, and he and Hayata chatted while they waited to leave after lunch.

• Hayata recognized Gordon as the hunter who had saved her caravan and thanked him, while Amos introduced himself as her teacher and offered his gratitude.
• Amos invited Gordon to join a quest so Hayata could gain experience in the hunting grounds, promising Gordon the entire reward.
• Gordon accepted the team hunt, and Amos went to speak with the guildmaster before their planned departure after lunch.
• Gordon and Hayata chatted in the Tavern Area while Porkchop hid from Tiji, and Hayata learned Gordon was not yet an adult.
• Hayata tried lifting Gordon's Buster Sword, failed, and decided to follow Amos's advice to start with a Sword and Shield.

Amos delivered Xia Zuo’s report to the guildmaster and warned her about a dangerous omission in Gordon’s quest notice. After the guildmaster canceled the quest, Amos joined Gordon and Hayata for lunch and decided to offer Gordon further instruction.

• Amos told the guildmaster that Xia Zuo had returned badly injured after investigating Chameleos and explained that its poison mist could not be treated with an ordinary Antidote.
• The guildmaster explained that she had sent Xia Zuo to track the missing Chameleos for the Elder Dragon Observation Bureau, then agreed to let Amos focus on training his apprentice.
• Amos warned the guildmaster that Gordon’s two-star Shakalaka festival quest omitted the possibility of a nearly high-rank King Shakalaka appearing.
• The guildmaster canceled Gordon’s quest and promised to discipline the staff member who had rated it, while Amos said he had already joined it and would handle the King Shakalaka if necessary.
• Amos treated Gordon and Hayata to an extravagant lunch, admired their potential, and resolved to teach Gordon more.

Amos, Gordon, Hayata, and Porkchop traveled to Metabe Forest for a Shakalaka subjugation mission, with Gordon assigned as the main hunter. As the hunt began, Amos used Gordon’s fieldcraft to teach Hayata that hunting involved reading the environment as well as fighting monsters.

• On the journey, Amos explained elemental weapons and monster weaknesses to Hayata, including why elements benefited fast-attacking weapons more than Great Swords and Hammers.
• The group arrived at Metabe Forest and rested at camp, where Hayata endured her first hard, salty Rations and impressed Amos with her determination.
• Before setting out, Amos told Gordon he would lead the subjugation while Amos stayed back to protect Hayata, and he warned Gordon not to provoke too many Shakalakas at once.
• As they followed Gordon through the forest, Hayata asked about his inspection of the grass, and Amos explained that Gordon was judging the soil’s humidity and recent rainfall from the roots.

Gordon tracked freshly harvested mushrooms and Shakalaka footprints into the Metabe Forest, while Amos guided Hayata and Gordon toward Shakalaka territory. The chapter ended as two Shakalaka appeared and dodged Gordon’s opening Great Sword strike.

• Gordon found a patch of specialty mushrooms that had been cleanly harvested and identified fresh Shakalaka footprints nearby.
• Gordon followed a narrow trail deeper into the forest with Porkchop, while Amos and Hayata followed behind.
• Amos called a rest when Hayata grew exhausted, then warned the group that they had entered Shakalaka territory and might be watched.
• Amos sensed two Shakalaka approaching and retreated with Hayata as Gordon readied his Great Sword.
• Two Shakalaka leaped from the bushes and dodged Gordon’s downward slash, revealing themselves to Hayata.

Gordon defeated two Shakalakas, and Amos used the encounter to teach Hayata to face the sight of monster corpses. The group continued through the forest, where Amos prepared to demonstrate his technique against a second group of at least three Shakalakas.

• Gordon baited the Shakalakas into attacking, killed one with a rising slash, and defeated the other after a series of Great Sword strikes.
• Gordon searched the Shakalakas' travel bags but found only assorted rubbish.
• Amos brought the pale-faced Hayata to the corpses so she could get used to seeing them, then sent her aside to rest when she neared her limit.
• Amos told Gordon to look after Hayata and said he would demonstrate better technique against the next group of Shakalakas.
• The group set off with Amos leading, while Gordon and Porkchop protected Hayata and Gordon studied Amos's quiet footwork.
• Amos sensed at least three approaching figures, drew the White Ape Naginata [Extreme], and advanced toward five figures emerging from the forest.

Amos taught Gordon and Hayata how to evade with precise footwork, predict monsters, and control a Great Sword’s momentum. Gordon struggled against two Shakalaka but eventually used an Iron Mountain Lean and his opponent’s body to defeat them.

• Amos demonstrated precise sidesteps and a predictive slash, explaining how Great Sword users could anticipate a monster’s movements.
• Amos showed Gordon how to control a weapon’s momentum with his whole body, then quickly killed the remaining Shakalaka.
• Amos sent Gordon to fight two more Shakalaka while Hayata and Porkchop watched.
• Gordon missed several attacks and stumbled as he practiced small evasive movements and tried to control his Buster Sword.
• Gordon used an Iron Mountain Lean to smash one Shakalaka, then grabbed it and swung it into the second, ending the fight.

Gordon, Amos, and Hayata continued their Shakalaka hunt, but Amos refused to venture deeper after warning them that King Shakalaka might roam the region during festival preparations. The group stayed near the territory’s outskirts, prioritizing caution over finishing the quest quickly.

• Gordon asked Amos whether his understanding of controlling inertia was wrong, and Amos told him to develop a fighting style that suited him.
• After killing nine Shakalaka, Gordon suggested moving deeper into their territory, but Amos refused.
• Amos explained that King Shakalaka was powerful enough to warrant a five-star quest and usually stayed in the forest’s central regions.
• Amos warned Gordon and Hayata that Shakalaka tribes were preparing for their festival and that King Shakalaka might be roaming nearby.
• Amos insisted they hunt on the outskirts, telling Gordon that cautious hunters were more likely to survive and grow stronger.

Gordon, Amos, and Hayata searched the edge of Shakalaka territory while Amos taught Hayata survival skills. When Gordon spotted a Mushroom Pig, Amos encouraged Hayata to kill it so she could gain her first experience drawing blood, and she approached it despite her nerves.

• Gordon thanked Amos for joining the quest to protect him, and the group agreed to avoid going deeper into Shakalaka territory.
• After Gordon and the others left, the King Shakalaka arrived among the bodies of the fallen Shakalaka and rallied his followers with a howl.
• Amos continued teaching Hayata how to navigate the forest and find resources while they searched without encountering more Shakalaka.
• Gordon spotted a Mushroom Pig and suggested that Hayata kill it, since she had not yet drawn blood.
• Amos encouraged Hayata to try hunting the relatively harmless Mushroom Pig, and she approached it with her shield and knife before snapping at Gordon to shut up.

After Hayata killed a Mushroom Pig, Amos sensed that the unnaturally quiet forest concealed pursuing Shakalaka. The group was surrounded, and Gordon discovered that the King Shakalaka could overpower him before Amos intervened and the hunters began a desperate fight.

• Hayata struggled through her first kill, and Gordon carved meat from the Mushroom Pig before the group left Shakalaka territory.
• Amos noticed the forest had fallen silent and hurried the group forward, warning Gordon that Shakalaka and their King were pursuing them.
• Two Shakalaka ambushed the hunters, and Amos killed them with a Kesa Slash as more enemies surrounded the group.
• Gordon blocked a Shakalaka from reaching Hayata, but the King Shakalaka knocked his Buster Sword aside and nearly struck him.
• Amos saved Gordon with his ice-blue blade and ordered him to fall back, then faced the King Shakalaka while Gordon charged the others.

Hayata, Porkchop, and Gordon fought off a swarm of Shakalaka, and Gordon learned to control his Great Sword’s momentum. As Hayata collapsed from exhaustion, Amos wounded the King Shakalaka with a Foresight Slash, but the enraged monster fought on.

• Hayata used her sword and shield to block the Shakalaka while kicking them back, with Porkchop helping protect her.
• Gordon charged into the swarm and used sweeping Great Sword strikes to break the Shakalaka formation and kill many of them.
• Gordon learned to guide his Great Sword’s momentum with small adjustments, making the blade feel lighter and more nimble.
• The surviving Shakalaka fled, and Hayata collapsed from exhaustion as the battle continued between Amos and the King Shakalaka.
• Amos countered the King Shakalaka’s scepter attack with Foresight Slash, wounding its shoulder and freezing the injury.
• The King Shakalaka clawed away the frost to restore its movement and shrieked at Amos, bloodied and enraged.

Gordon watched Amos battle the King Shakalaka and began to understand the Long Sword’s Spirit Slash and honing. Amos wounded the King Shakalaka but let it retreat, then told the group to gather materials and check whether they had completed the quest objective.

• Gordon resisted the urge to join the fight and watched Amos’s skillful footwork and attacks.
• Amos used the Great Mist Stance to unleash a Spirit Slash, striking faster and driving the King Shakalaka into a defensive opening.
• Amos’s Spirit Roundslash wounded the King Shakalaka gravely and honed his sword momentum.
• Gordon moved to block the King Shakalaka’s escape, but Amos signaled him to stop, and the monster fled into the thicket.
• Amos reassured Gordon and Hayata that he was unharmed, then told the group to gather materials and check whether they had slain twenty Shakalaka.

Gordon, Hayata, and Amos completed their Shakalaka subjugation quest and returned toward Minegarde after Hayata shared a valuable coin with Gordon. On the journey, Amos explained that he spared the King Shakalaka to prompt the young hunters to consider a hunter’s duty and humanity’s relationship with nature.

• Gordon and Hayata searched the Shakalaka corpses, but while Gordon found mostly worthless items, Hayata discovered a valuable foreign gold coin and a brilliant crystal.
• Hayata gave Gordon the gold coin, and Amos told him to accept it as his share of the spoils for contributing most to the hunt.
• Gordon confirmed that the Shakalaka subjugation count exceeded the quest requirement, and Amos led the group back to camp and then toward Minegarde.
• Gordon asked Amos why he had spared the King Shakalaka, and Amos asked Gordon and Hayata what they believed a hunter’s duty and humanity’s relationship with nature should be.
• Gordon described the relationship as competition, while Hayata said it involved both competition and coexistence, pleasing Amos.

Amos explained to Gordon and Hayata why hunters should respect nature and the ecological chain while carrying out necessary hunts. Gordon understood why Amos had spared the King Shakalaka, and the chapter ended with Amos urging them to remember that hunters were not butchers.

• Amos told Gordon and Hayata that humans were part of nature and that the ecological chain was both resilient and fragile.
• Amos explained that a forest could recover from a wildfire, then showed how killing the King Shakalaka might disrupt the Shakalaka tribes and lead to widespread hunting and attacks on people.
• Gordon realized that hunting the King Shakalaka offered no benefit and might cause an ecological disaster.
• Amos explained that the Hunter's Guild reviewed quests with other organizations and discouraged hunters from killing targets outside their assignments.
• Amos urged Gordon and Hayata to carry reverence for life and nature into the hunting grounds.

Gordon settled the quest in Minegarde City, reunited with Amos and Hayata, and visited the city’s Blacksmith Workshop to repair his Buster Sword. The workshop boss inspected the damaged grab hook and found the sword’s workmanship good.

• Tiji and Machi apologized to Gordon for the flawed quest information, and Tiji promised to check quest documents more carefully.
• Gordon collected the 4,300z quest reward, then treated Amos, Hayata, and Porkchop to a celebratory meal before parting ways with the hunters.
• Gordon and Porkchop returned to their room, and Gordon planned a visit to the nearby Blacksmith Workshop the next morning.
• Gordon left Porkchop at the Hunter Gathering Hall and went to the Workshop, where he met its elderly Wyverian boss.
• Gordon showed the boss the Buster Sword’s deformed grab hook, and the boss tested its mechanism and praised the sword’s workmanship.

Gordon brought his damaged Buster Sword to the workshop, where the owner identified damage from a Rathalos and the King Shakalaka. After Gordon refused an offer to buy Hayata’s Ancient Coin, he paid to have his sword repaired and arranged to collect it the next day.

• The workshop owner examined Gordon’s Buster Sword and recognized signs that it had blocked a Rathalos’s breath and been struck by a powerful weapon.
• Gordon explained that the King Shakalaka had damaged the sword with a Bone Scepter, prompting the workshop owner to scold him for fighting dangerous foes.
• Gordon showed the Ancient Coin Hayata had given him, and Oshura teased him about the girl who had shared her luck with him.
• The workshop owner offered Gordon 6,000z for the coin, but Gordon declined because it was his friend’s gift and he hoped it would improve his luck.
• Gordon paid 800z for repairs and maintenance, and the workshop owner told him to return after noon the next day.