Chapter Summaries

Li Le, stranded in the Monster Hunter desert, gathered food and fled a sandstorm into ancient ruins, where strange insects gathered around a mysterious fragrance. He found a golden Ahtal-Ka beneath a fallen stone pillar.

• Li Le searched the desert for food and narrowly avoided an elderly Cephalos that had been tracking him for three days.
• A massive sandstorm approached, so Li Le ran toward the ancient ruins for shelter.
• Inside the dark entrance, Li Le found Vespoids and Bnahabra behaving strangely around a sweet fragrance and cautiously headed deeper into the ruins.
• Li Le discovered rusted weapons, insect remains, and a mural in a large hall before spotting a golden Ahtal-Ka beneath a fallen pillar.

Li Le encountered a juvenile Ahtal-Ka trapped beneath a stone pillar in the ruins and survived by keeping his distance while sharing its insect prey. After the Ahtal-Ka destroyed his basket and showed interest in his weaving, Li Le taught it to weave insect silk, then secretly continued working as its attention shifted.

• Li Le recognized that the Ahtal-Ka was a juvenile and watched it cut up and eat Vespoids while he roasted insect remains to stave off hunger.
• The Ahtal-Ka shared a half-eaten Vespoid with Li Le, and he realized a stone pillar had pinned its body beneath it.
• Li Le made camp in the hall and fell asleep; the Ahtal-Ka explored his basket, ate red jelly from it, and then deliberately pinned itself beneath the pillar again.
• After waking rested, Li Le used insect silk to make a replacement basket while the Ahtal-Ka watched and imitated his weaving.
• The Ahtal-Ka managed to weave a section of mesh, and Li Le pretended to rest before secretly resuming his work.

Li Le persuaded Ahtal-Ka to leave the ruins with him, and the two defeated the pursuing Cephalos before setting out toward a mountain fortress. Two days later, Li Le met the Palico Sanhua Miao and learned it was traveling with a hunter.

• Li Le invited Ahtal-Ka to leave the ruins, and Ahtal-Ka crossed into the sunlight after hearing his cries for help.
• Cephalos ambushed Li Le in the dunes, but Ahtal-Ka cut its leg and helped drive it away.
• Ahtal-Ka joined Li Le, brought along its collection of rusted metal parts, and gave him a bolt.
• Li Le treated his wounds, turned his ruined pajamas into a shawl, and used his map to set a course toward the mountain fortress.
• Two days later, Li Le met Sanhua Miao, who was gathering firewood and said it was traveling with its partner to gather Tropical Strawberries.

Li Le joined Lan Rui and Sanhua at their desert camp, learned about their failed Tropical Berry gathering quest, and reported his encounters with the hostile Cephalos. He shared berries and agreed to travel with them back to Dondorma, where he hoped to find Kinsect-rearing facilities.

• Li Le helped Sanhua bring firewood to camp, where Lan Rui welcomed him and the group discovered that the red jelly Ahtal-Ka liked was Power Nectar for Kinsects.
• Lan Rui explained that he and Sanhua had found only fifteen of the twenty Tropical Berries required for their contract and needed to hunt nearby Apceros for food.
• Li Le described his clashes with Old Geezer, and Lan Rui and Sanhua recorded the hostile Cephalos in a sighting report.
• Li Le offered five Tropical Berries in exchange for traveling back with Lan Rui and Sanhua, and they promised to escort him while Sanhua gave him Kinsect feed.
• Lan Rui told Li Le that they were returning to Dondorma, where there should be facilities for raising Kinsects.

Li Le, Lan Rui, and Sanhua reached an oasis where six Apceros guarded a nest, and they devised a plan to hunt them and take an egg. Their coordinated attack succeeded, with Ahtal-Ka killing an Apceros while Lan Rui disabled another and Li Le prepared to haul it away.

• Lan Rui warned Li Le that eating uncertified insects might be dangerous and advised him to visit a clinic when they returned to Dondorma.
• Li Le summoned Ahtal-Ka, and the group set out across the desert before finding six Apceros gathered around a nest at an oasis.
• Li Le proposed splitting up the Apceros with Ahtal-Ka’s help, and Lan Rui agreed to lead the hunt.
• Lan Rui and Li Le provoked two male Apceros into fighting while Ahtal-Ka attacked others, and Sanhua drew one away by burrowing through the sand.
• Lan Rui struck an Apceros and protected Li Le as he approached the nest to secure an egg with insect silk.
• Ahtal-Ka killed the Apceros pursuing Sanhua, while Lan Rui disabled another and Li Le began tying its legs with silk.

Li Le and Lan Rui traveled to Dondorma, where Li Le reached the Kinsect Research Institute to learn about Ahtal-Ka. Holo could not identify the unusual creature as a Kinsect, but she told Li Le that reporting it as a new species could earn him a generous reward and let him name it.

• Li Le and Lan Rui shared a campfire dinner, and Lan Rui told him about the legendary hunters who had disappeared and the hunter who inspired him.
• The group caught a sandship, traveled onward by railcar, and arrived in Dondorma, where Lan Rui gave Li Le 2,372z and the address of the Kinsect Research Institute.
• Li Le sold gathered materials at a general store, bought a beginner's combination book, and received only 11z after the purchase.
• At the Kinsect Research Institute, Holo examined Ahtal-Ka and judged that she was too large, wingless, and lacking in aggression to serve as a Kinsect.
• Holo told Li Le that Ahtal-Ka might be an undiscovered Neopteron and that reporting the discovery could bring a generous reward and naming rights; Li Le proposed the name Ahtal-Ka.

Li Le and Ahtal-Ka met with Holo and Director Sara at the Kinsect Research Institute, where they documented the new species and began testing Ahtal-Ka as a Kinsect. Li Le left to gather insects for the institute, but three days later he and Ahtal-Ka had not returned when an emergency messenger arrived.

• Holo wrote a provisional new species report for Ahtal-Ka, and Director Sara approved it for submission to the Guild.
• Sara agreed to devise a rearing plan for Ahtal-Ka in exchange for Li Le gathering insects the institute needed.
• During feeding tests, Li Le told Sara that Ahtal-Ka preferred red power feed, and Sara asked Li Le to keep observation records.
• Li Le and Ahtal-Ka left to gather insects, taking a field guide and map from Sara.
• Three days later, Holo found Sara waiting for Li Le and Ahtal-Ka, and a messenger Felyne arrived announcing an emergency.

Li Le returned to Dondorma with a huge shipment of insects and was promoted to chief gathering officer after the Kinsect Research Institute struggled to manage and pay for them. He asked Sara to train him as a hunter, and began a demanding physical regimen while Sara planned specialized Insect Glaive training.

• Li Le brought an enormous shipment of insects through Dondorma’s east gate after Sara accepted responsibility for transporting them.
• Sara and Holo organized the insects, hired Felynes to help, and discovered the institute lacked enough money, staff, feed, and cages.
• Sara promoted Li Le to chief gathering officer, and Li Le agreed to share the institute’s financial hardship while asking Sara to train him as a hunter.
• Sara revealed that he was a five-star hunter and prescribed increased meals, Might Seed powder, and exercise to prepare Li Le for the hunter examination.
• Li Le ate three times his usual amount with Might Seed powder and started running, while Sara ordered materials to build Insect Glaive training equipment and wooden stakes for Ahtal-Ka.

Li Le trained his Insect Glaive skills while Ahtal-Ka built a miniature sandship, and the research institute prepared them to test a new way of gathering monster extracts. After two days in the wild, they captured a wild boar, and Ahtal-Ka collected a hazy extract from its wound.

• Sara trained Li Le on the wooden stakes, while Ahtal-Ka built a miniature sandship that Li Le and the cats admired.
• After a month of training and insect-bait cultivation, Sara told Li Le to practice gathering extracts with Ahtal-Ka in the wild.
• Li Le suggested that Ahtal-Ka use sticky insect silk to collect extracts and attach them to his arm, and Sara sent them out with safety instructions.
• Li Le set off in a cargo pedal cart with Ahtal-Ka, and Kaluo secretly joined them to stay near Ahtal-Ka.
• After two days of travel, Li Le and Ahtal-Ka subdued a wild boar, and Ahtal-Ka sealed its wound with silk containing a hazy extract.

Li Le and Ahtal-Ka trained to extract monster essence, returned to Dondorma with Vespoids, and spent two months preparing for the hunter admission assessment. The chapter ended as Li Le met Aiden among the candidates and wished him luck.

• Li Le practiced extracting white essence from a boar and yellow and red essence from Apceros, learning how the extracts affected his body and how quickly monsters' supplies ran low.
• Ahtal-Ka played by imitating monsters with parts of Li Le's cargo cart, and Li Le later returned to Dondorma with Kaluo and Vespoids for the Kinsect Research Institute.
• Li Le explained his findings to Sara, warned him about red extract's urge to attack, and donated the Vespoids to support the institute.
• Li Le spent two months gathering, practicing, and helping Ahtal-Ka grow before arriving with Holo, Sara, and the cats for the hunter admission assessment.
• Li Le met Aiden, who planned to take the assessment with multiple weapons, and wished him luck as the candidates gathered outside the Guild headquarters.

Li Le completed the hunter knowledge examination and most of the comprehensive field assessment, while practicing with Ahtal-Ka for the weapon proficiency test. The examiners questioned Ahtal-Ka’s approval as a Kinsect, then discovered that Sara’s qualification standards were unexpectedly difficult and wondered whether Sara actually wanted Ahtal-Ka to qualify.

• Kedon explained the three parts of the hunter admission assessment, and Li Le answered the knowledge examination, including an honest response to its final question about sacrificing his life.
• Li Le practiced field tasks at the Dondorma arena training grounds, where he successfully made a Potion and roasted meat but failed the paintball task because it was too large.
• Li Le completed the field assessment, while Aiden impressed the other candidates with his performance across the tests.
• During the weapons assessment preparations, Li Le demonstrated Ahtal-Ka’s Kinsect abilities, prompting Kedon to challenge whether the large, flightless insect could qualify.
• A female instructor confirmed that Sara had registered Ahtal-Ka with the Guild, then showed Kedon the Kinsect assessment criteria, which left him questioning Sara’s intentions.

Li Le took the hunter examination’s physical fitness tests, using strength-boosting supplies and training with Ahtal-Ka, while Aiden impressed the examiners with his strength and impact resistance. The candidates began the weapon-proficiency assessment, leaving Li Le’s final test and Ahtal-Ka’s qualification unresolved.

• Kedon and the female instructor realized Li Le was determined to make Ahtal-Ka a Kinsect, so Kedon postponed its qualification test until the end.
• Li Le and Aiden used Might Seeds, Demondrug, Demon Powder, and a Firebeetle’s powder before the physical fitness test.
• Aiden lifted the stone locks thirty-two times, moved the stone block, and passed the impact-resistance test with a Sword and Shield guarding stance.
• Li Le lifted the stone locks twenty times, moved the stone block a short distance, and stopped the rail cart’s impact around the middle of the marked area.
• Sara prepared to judge the Insect Glaive candidates while Li Le watched the weapon-proficiency assessment begin and noted the other candidates’ conventional techniques.

Li Le and Ahtal-Ka completed the Insect Glaive assessment, impressing the crowd with their weapon handling and extract harvesting. Sara then set unusually difficult Kinsect-specific tests to judge whether Sisi was ready for the wild, and Li Le began the first test by having Sisi drag the mechanical wyvern.

• Aiden completed assessments with three weapons, and Li Le took the field with Ahtal-Ka for the Insect Glaive assessment.
• Li Le demonstrated polished Insect Glaive techniques, while Sisi marked the mechanical wyvern and harvested all four colors of extracts.
• Kedon revealed that Ahtal-Ka also had to pass two Kinsect-specific tests, including dragging the mechanical wyvern and combining materials into a scent-tracking item.
• Sara explained that the demanding standards were meant to judge whether the apparently juvenile Sisi could handle the dangers of the wild, and Li Le accepted the challenge.
• Li Le marked the mechanical wyvern's joints and directed Sisi to bind them with silk; Sisi pulled the platform forward as the first test began.

Li Le and Sisi passed the remaining hunter tests, and Li Le qualified as a hunter. After learning Lan Rui and Sanhua would soon leave Dondorma, he agreed to join them on an urgent hunt for the Cephalos called Old Geezer, then began preparing for the trip.

• Sisi repaired the mechanical dragon well enough to pass the dragging test, then made a sticky, fragrant scent-tracking item that passed the final test.
• Kedon announced that Ahtal-Ka had passed every test, and Li Le reviewed his estimated examination scores with Sara and Holo.
• Aiden, Leidemeng, and Li Le ranked first, second, and third in the hunter examination, and Li Le collected his hunter badge, handbook, armor, and Insect Glaive.
• Lan Rui told Li Le that she and Sanhua would soon leave Dondorma for the Wycademy in Bherna Village, and Li Le asked her to report any Wycademy hunter stationed in Yukumo Village.
• Lan Rui invited Li Le on a final hunt for Old Geezer, a Cephalos listed in an urgent contract, and Li Le agreed to set out the next day.
• Li Le began preparing for the hunt with Kaluo and Sisi, surprising Sara when he mentioned that he was going hunting.

Ye Shaoxuan pleaded with Buddhist Master Xinyu to help save his brother and absorbed a black sphere with his power. Other scenes followed unrelated characters through negotiations, battles, medical care, and discoveries, ending with Xu Xiao locating a wooden chest and a nearly deserted laboratory building appearing.

• Ye Shaoxuan begged Buddhist Master Xinyu to take him along to save his brother.
• Shenxing Wuji and Ouya grew more cooperative as they sought to resolve bloodline fusion.
• Ye Shaoxuan's black power absorbed a black sphere and became purer.
• Shen Jun offered the fire spirit to an old fellow in exchange for killing Bing Letian.
• Lin Yue and the others arrived after Wu Yu had been killed by a blow through his back and chest.
• Xu Xiao ran to Cheng Zhen's car and recognized the wooden chest Matsumoto Koichi had taken out earlier.

Li Le’s party hired Arthur’s Melynx rescue team, traveled into the desert, and Li Le tested the senses awakened by his Hunter’s Armor. At dusk, Old Geezer returned to the mountain where Li Le had left a marker, and a familiar voice called down to him.

• Sisi repaired Arthur’s broken rescue cart with insect silk, and Arthur’s Melynx celebrated before stamping the rescue contract.
• Li Le’s party rode through the desert with the Melynx team and camped near Old Geezer’s last known tracks.
• Li Le trained Sisi to recognize dangerous monsters, then activated Hunter’s Life and learned how to work with the armor’s heightened perceptions.
• Li Le and Lan Rui bickered about their failed attempts to combine Sonic Bombs as the party resumed its search for Old Geezer.
• Old Geezer hunted Apceros with the Cephalos pack, then left the group and returned to the mountain where a pajama leg hung from a branch.
• A familiar voice called out to Old Geezer from above.

Li Le and Lan Rui defeated Old Geezer the Cephalos on Li Le’s first hunt, then returned to the Hunter's Guild headquarters with the livers and completed their contract. Back at the Kinsect Research Institute, Sara announced that he was going to Val Habar and intended to promote Li Le to acting director, but warned that the new region was dangerous.

• Li Le and Sisi marked Old Geezer with a secret-recipe paintball, while Lan Rui used a sonic bomb to force the Cephalos out of the sand.
• Li Le and Lan Rui attacked together, and Li Le’s Tornado Slash helped bring Old Geezer down as Arthur halted the Melynx rescue team.
• Lan Rui carved out the Cephalos liver, and the team let the Melynxs collect the remaining valuable materials from the corpse.
• Li Le and Lan Rui delivered the livers to the Hunter's Guild headquarters three days later and completed their contract.
• Li Le returned to the Kinsect Research Institute, where Sara welcomed him and heard about his first hunt.
• Sara told Li Le that Val Habar’s workshop would accept Insect Glaives and kinsects, and said he planned to leave Li Le as acting director while he went there himself.

Li Le learned that Sisi’s pheromones affected the Kinsects and decided to travel with her to Val Habar, where the spreading Frenzy Virus could put her at risk. After Sisi’s wooden Cephalos collapsed during a test, Li Le taught her and the Felynes how material strength and wild-gathered bones could improve her creations.

• Li Le connected the Kinsects’ changing activity to Sisi’s pheromones, and Sara explained that excessive exposure could harm them.
• Li Le asked Sara about viral infections and elder dragons, then decided to go to Val Habar with Sisi for training as the Guild expanded into dangerous territory.
• After lunch, Sisi assembled a wooden Cephalos and successfully made it move, but the weak lumber failed when she tried to control it more forcefully.
• Li Le explained that Sisi needed stronger materials than ordinary lumber and taught her and the Felynes about using bones gathered in the wild.
• Sisi and the Felynes brought out bone fragments to practice with, while Holo observed Li Le’s lesson approvingly.

Li Le and the Felynes left Dondorma for Val Habar, traveling across the desert with Sisi and Old Bones while gathering bones and rebuilding their sandship. After reaching an outpost, Li Le reinforced the shabby Sandworm, joined a convoy, and spotted a man he suspected was the Caravan Leader.

• Sara and Holo bade farewell to Li Le, Kaluo, Sisi, Old Bones, and the Felynes as they departed Dondorma on a three-compartment pedal cart.
• Li Le and Kaluo met Lan Rui and Sanhua at the crowded rail station, exchanged farewells with Lan Rui, and boarded a cargo railcar bound for the end of the tracks.
• As the group traveled across the wilderness, the Felynes gathered bones and Sisi replaced Old Bones' spine with a better one.
• After eight days, Li Le reached an outpost and received the small, battered Sandworm instead of the dazzling golden sandship carrying Aiden and a top-tier hunter team.
• Li Le reinforced the Sandworm with gathered bones, then led the Felynes into a sandship convoy bound for Val Habar and spotted a man in an orange cowboy hat whom he thought might be the Caravan Leader.

Li Le and the Sandworm crew survived Dah'ren Mohran’s attack by taking cover, rescuing survivors, and relying on coordinated efforts from the armed sandships. As allied reinforcements approached, Li Le told Sisi that the crisis would soon be over.

• Kaluo spotted Remobra and a huge sandstorm, recognized Dah'ren Mohran’s approach, and sounded the alarm across the convoy.
• Dah'ren Mohran smashed through a mountain, and Sisi used insect silk to divert a boulder away from the Sandworm, damaging its bulwark in the process.
• Li Le explained that Sisi needed to choose when to yield and when to fight, then pointed out how the large sandships worked together to attack Dah'ren Mohran.
• After Dah'ren Mohran destroyed several sandships, Li Le, Sisi, and the Felynes rescued crew and Felynes from the sand while the monster’s blast sent them flying.
• Li Le spotted the Caravaneer’s crew member retrieving the Caravaneer’s hat with a fishing line, then returned to directing rescue efforts.
• The convoy fired signal flares to warn Val Habar and request support, and distant horns and gongs signaled that reinforcements were approaching.