Training

That afternoon, two sharpened wooden stakes arrived.

Human and cats worked together to plant them upright beside the research institute.

"Not bad, Director. Just these two stakes could hold a lot of insect cages."

Li Le looked up and offered his praise.

"They aren't for hanging insect cages. They're for training your Insect Glaive skills."

As Sara spoke, he began knotting the rope in his hands.

"How are we going to train...?"

"You'll find out soon."

A moment later, with rope wrapped around his chest and abdomen, Li Le was hoisted to the tops of the two stakes by the cats pulling below.

"Catch."

Sara tossed up a long wooden staff.

Li Le leaned forward, turning upside down, and reached out to catch it.

"Swing up and turn all the way around in midair. As you come down, try to hit this Kinsect with a thrust of your staff."

After speaking, Sara raised his arm and aimed. The large, single-horned beetle on his arm flew out and hovered beneath Li Le.

Swing up, flip in midair, thrust on the way down.

Unsurprisingly, his first attempt missed.

Yet Sara watched with surprise on his face.

Li Le's movements weren't up to standard, but he was quite familiar with the sequence.

Corrections and instruction began immediately. Once his movements were sufficiently proper, hard practice to reinforce them would come next.

That evening, beside the little shack.

Amid scattered scraps of wood, two golden forelimbs held a miniature sandship high, its wooden stakes bound together with insect silk.

Ahtal-Ka admired it for a while, then wanted to share it with Li Le.

But after searching for ages, Ahtal-Ka could only hear Li Le shouting and couldn't see him anywhere.

Only after setting the sandship down did Ahtal-Ka spot Li Le hanging in midair, repeatedly leaping and thrusting.

Bzz, bzz~

Now, each time the wing-beating Kinsect was struck, it would swiftly change position.

Whenever a Kinsect grew tired, another immediately took its place.

Ahtal-Ka looked up and studied the scene for a while, then approached one of the wooden stakes.

"Don't cut it! I haven't been kidnapped! I'm just training!"

After shouting, Li Le stopped leaping and lowered himself steadily.

Seeing that he was fine, Ahtal-Ka took two steps back and lowered both sickle claws.

"Hmm... did you put this together?"

Purple compound eyes flashed in confirmation.

"You weren't on the sandship for very long, were you? And you actually recreated it."

Li Le sounded surprised.

Clang, clang!

A sickle claw tapped the sandship's deck.

"Yeah, I'd quite like to take a look."

Pssht~

Insect silk wrapped around the sandship's hull. A sickle claw tugged the silk, and the sandship began circling along the ground.

"Hey! No need to send it up. I'll come down and look."

Hearing him, Ahtal-Ka stopped hoisting the miniature sandship into the air.

The hired cats ran over and untied his suspension rope, but didn't leave afterward.

They formed a circle around the miniature sandship, each pair of eyes wider than the last.

Clearly, a sandship this size held an irresistible appeal for the cats.

"Can I ride it, meow?"

A yellow-and-white Felyne asked.

Ahtal-Ka had already had plenty of contact with the Palico Sanye.

Having no aversion to Felynes, Ahtal-Ka generously backed some distance away.

"Hooray, meow!"

The Felyne jumped onto the deck.

Aside from the places bound with insect silk, which easily caught fur, the Felyne thought this sandship model absolutely deserved full marks.

"Why does it feel like I've forgotten how to walk...?"

After hanging up there for half the day, Li Le made his way over too, his steps uneven.

"Not bad. It'd be even better with a sail on the mast."

Li Le walked to the little shack and tore a piece from the tarp hanging over its edge.

After punching holes and trimming it, he held the tarp beside the upright mast with both hands.

"A little glue here. Aim carefully."

Splat~

A sticky lump of insect silk landed on his palm.

Li Le pulled out a strand and began threading it through to hang the sail.

The watching cats were unusually silent, even keeping their breathing as quiet as possible.

It was as though Li Le wasn't improving a model, but breathing a soul into this miniature sandship.

Whoosh~

A breeze swept through the night air, and the little sail rustled as it billowed.

Watching, Ahtal-Ka felt as though it had returned to that desert where sand and dust whirled all day long.

"It's finished, meow!"

"It's amazing, meow!"

"Cleaning up your vomited food was worth it, meow!"

The cats burst into celebration.

"It's time to feed the insect bait. What are you all doing? It's so lively."

Holo came over, pushing a cart.

"Oh! Li Le, you know how to make cat sandships too?"

"It wasn't me. Ahtal-Ka made it."

"I see. Ahtal-Ka really is clever with its claws... Ahtal-Ka made it?"

Holo couldn't believe it.

"Yep."

"That's impossible, isn't it? This is a human creation. Did the cats help?"

"If we could make one, we would've done it ages ago, meow."

The yellow-and-white Felyne who had boarded first raised a paw in denial.

"Fair point. And I bought the wooden stakes used for the materials this afternoon... This construction ability is far too unusual. Looks like I'll have to update the report when I have time."

"Right, feeding insect bait helps you bond with your Kinsect. You do it, Li Le."

Holo pushed the cart over beside him.

"This much at once?"

"Since Ahtal-Ka can absorb and withstand however much insect bait we feed it, according to Director Sara's cultivation plan, naturally we should feed it as much as the institute can afford."

"I see... Over the long term, are cultivated Kinsects stronger than wild ones?"

"Of course! Otherwise, how could they work with hunters to face large monsters? Though preserving their wild nature is important too."

At this point, Holo looked at Ahtal-Ka with concern in her eyes.

"Ahtal-Ka still feels a little too gentle to me. If it's highly intelligent as well, spending a long time with humans could cause its wild nature to deteriorate further. That could cost it dearly when facing large monsters."

"You mean that, as a Kinsect, Ahtal-Ka still isn't fierce enough?"

Li Le asked tentatively.

"Exactly. Unfortunately, it's a new species. We can't even determine anything through insect bait feeding tests, let alone conduct targeted training to bring out its wild nature."

"I'll keep an eye on it."

Li Le pretended to take it seriously.

"It's almost dinnertime. Remember to come eat. Don't get too absorbed in training."

Holo gave him a reminder.

Eating, training, feeding Ahtal-Ka, and helping it improve its various miniature models.

A month quickly passed.

Li Le's Insect Glaive training gradually moved from midair to the ground.

Early one morning, Sara picked up the latest observation report Holo had submitted from his desk.

"A medium-sized insect monster whose diet consists primarily of insects. First sighted in ancient desert ruins. Its body is covered in brilliant golden carapace, and its temperament is highly gentle..."

"Additional observation one: adept at binding objects and constructing structures with exceptionally tough insect silk. Suspected to possess extremely high intelligence."

"Additional observation two: possesses terrifying physical strength, but limitations in testing conditions currently prevent measurement."

After quietly reading the report, Sara looked out the window at Li Le training earnestly and Ahtal-Ka surrounded by cats, then lowered his head and sighed.

Opening a drawer, Sara took out an emerald scale fragment with rippling patterns on its surface.

He had obtained it while hunting a Green Plesioth with a hunter near the coast of Moga Village.

"If only you were still here. You'd surely know what the right choice was..."

Drip~

Just as Sara was feeling lost, a droplet slid off the scale.

Before long, Sara called Li Le over and told him the next stage of training was about to begin.

"What will the training involve, Director?"

Li Le asked expectantly.

Sara squeezed Li Le's muscular arm and explained, "Your physique has improved considerably, and you're more or less familiar with the overall sequences of the ground and aerial moves. Ahtal-Ka has been cultivated according to the targeted plan for a month, and our insect bait stock is completely empty. Next comes physical enhancement practice through gathering extracts with hunter and insect working together."

"Oh, so we're starting to practice lighting up?"

"Yes, lighting... try to use the proper terminology before the assessment. Afterward, call it whatever you like."

Sara corrected him.

"Okay."

"With Ahtal-Ka's mouthparts, extracting from monsters and injecting it into you will be a problem."

"What about the way butterfly Kinsects gather extracts on their wings?"

Li Le asked tentatively.

"I see you've done some research too. But Ahtal-Ka doesn't have butterfly wings. What could it use to collect extracts and bring them back?"

"Ahtal-Ka's silk is naturally sticky. Lately, a lot of the movable joints on its homemade models have been glued together with insect silk."

"That sounds worth trying. How would you get the extract into your body?"

"Ahtal-Ka! Inject!"

Li Le patted his arm and shouted.

Splat~

A lump of sticky insect silk smacked onto Sara's face.

"Uh... sorry, Director. The aim's still a little off."

Li Le reached out to help pull the silk off.

"Ahem... if it can hit accurately every time, that's a fairly good method. Lighting up can only be done on monsters, so this time you'll have to head into the wild. You must be extra careful."

Sara didn't forget to remind him.

"This is the latest map of the surrounding area. Avoid any areas with confirmed large monster activity, even if you have to take a detour. Don't try to show off. Remember, you don't even have a hunting weapon."

"Understood, Director Sara."

"One last reminder: make sure you practice on endemic life and small monsters."

With Sara, Holo, and the cats seeing them off, the insect-silk cargo pedal cart set out, fully loaded with supplies.

"Li Le trained so hard, and his physique has improved a lot. It shouldn't be so dangerous this time, right?"

Watching them leave, Holo spoke with some concern.

"There shouldn't be much danger this time. Right, help me organize the materials later. I need to visit guild headquarters in a bit."

"Are you going to fight for more funding again?"

Holo asked excitedly.

"Not funding. I'm submitting a completely new type of Kinsect."

"Huh? We haven't found any new insects to add to our cultivation research lately... oh, I get it!"

Holo understood.

Creak~ creak~...

As Li Le pedaled rapidly, the insect-silk cargo pedal cart sped along and soon disappeared beyond the city.

"This Yukumo Wood really is strong."

Li Le had tested many kinds of wood. Only a pedal cart assembled from Yukumo Wood could withstand prolonged pedaling over bumpy wilderness roads.

"It sure is, meow."

"Too bad Yukumo Wood is so expensive. Otherwise, I'd have Ahtal-Ka build a bigger cart... wait, who's talking?"

Li Le turned around. A cat's head poked out from under the cart's rain tarp.

"A yellow-and-white Felyne... You're Kaluo?"

"I'm honored that you remember my name, meow."

As Kaluo spoke, he climbed out from under the tarp.

"Weren't you breeding insects at the research institute? Did you want a ride out of the city?"

"Uh... When I thought about not seeing Ahtal-Ka for a while, I couldn't help following along, meow!"

As Kaluo spoke, he glanced back at Ahtal-Ka following behind the cart.

"Huh?"

Li Le hadn't expected Kaluo to be such an Ahtal-Ka fanatic.

But on second thought, it was understandable.

Back at the research institute, Ahtal-Ka had practically been a figurine-making machine.

The cats had voluntarily supplied much of the construction material used afterward.

Once word spread through the city's cat circles, the research institute suddenly gained a flood of feline job applicants.

"Please don't chase me away, meow. I've lived in the wild for a while. I won't hold you back."

"I don't mind. I'm just afraid that once you see how Ahtal-Ka acts in the wild... that perfect image in your heart will shatter."

Li Le sighed as he spoke.

"Why, meow?"

"The contrast."

After two days of hard pedaling through the wild, the lush grasslands gave way to barren terrain.

Even so, they still hadn't encountered any wild monsters suitable for practicing lighting the lamp.

Li Le felt that Lan Rui's decision to gather materials in the desert had indeed been necessary.

Because around Dondorma, at the center of the Monster Hunter world, there simply weren't any decent monsters, aside from the insects they could attract.

Ahtal-Ka's little feline fan Kaluo, on the other hand, was having the time of his life.

But he hadn't been lying, either. His extensive wilderness survival experience, coupled with his diligent gathering, really did provide considerable help on their journey through the wild.

At noon.

Scritch, scritch~

The sound of hooves scraping came from afar.

The pedal cart immediately turned and sped toward it.

The wild boar scraping its hooves sensed something approaching and looked around warily.

But before it could make out what it was, a clump of pale silk stuck to its back.

Despite its stubborn temperament, the attack, unlike anything it had ever experienced, still alerted it to danger.

It pounded all four hooves against the ground and began to flee.

Yet the farther it ran, the more something felt wrong. The rhythm of its hooves striking the ground grew erratic, its footing became unsteady, and the scenery around it kept receding.

Oink, oink~

After letting out two desperate cries for help, the wild boar stamped hard again, lost its balance, and toppled onto its side.

Creak~

The pedal cart stopped, and Li Le got off.

After struggling and flailing to no avail, the wild boar raised its head.

It saw the terrifying sight of a human, an insect, and a cat gathered around, watching it.

"Finally found you, little pig."

Li Le pulled over some silk and bound its four hooves tightly.

Drawing a small knife, he forcefully cut a horizontal slit across its back, which was covered in steel-needle-like bristles.

A trickle of blood flowed out.

"I still can't see any essence. Could this wild boar be too small to meet the conditions for producing it inside its body?"

Li Le crouched down and began examining it.

Beside him, Ahtal-Ka's compound eyes flickered. It seemed to see something faint and elusive drifting out of the wound.

Splat~

A clump of sticky silk slapped onto the wound on the wild boar's back.

The wild boar froze. Finding that its wound had been sealed, it actually felt less pain, and its terror instantly eased as well.

A hazy, misty mass rose and drifted within the amber-like clump of silk.

"Ah! Is this essence? Great job, Ahtal-Ka."

As Li Le spoke, he held out his arm to it.