Even though Zorah had swam towards the sea, they stayed a few more days just in case it decided to change its mind. But when a vast explosion of Bioenergy happened a couple days later, they knew that Zorah had drawn its last breath, releasing the gigantic quantity of Bioenergy to the world. This showed that it was a close call in reality, as if Zorah was still in the Everstream…

  After they confirmed Zorah’s death, they finally started packing everything up and returned to Astera, which only had a skeleton crew to keep things running.

  A gigantic party was thrown when the operation was confirmed to be fully complete and over, which lasted a couple of days. Everybody needed that time to relax and Valen mingled with his companions, only drinking the beer sparingly, his experience on the ship still fresh in mind. The atmosphere was joyous and even the Commander joined in, though he avoided alcohol, as he was required to keep a clear mind throughout.

  Eventually the festivities abated and they returned to their task. The two biggest pieces of news were that the Captain had announced that he would start a Trade route with his new ship, the Argosy, and that they should expect other ships to start coming, as he was certain that the seas would calm down. The news was accompanied by cheers from everybody, as having a regular link with the Old World was a great milestone, much better than the sporadic exchanges and the decennial Fleet.

  However, anomalies started to appear around the New World, most notably that it became quickly apparent that the Bioenergy released by Zorah had strengthened some of the monsters, making them tougher to deal with. Not by much, but enough to make it risky to send an inexperienced hunter to deal with them. It was confirmed after a Pukei wiped the floor with a hunter that was clearly able to handle one.

  There were also tracks of an unusual Rathian wandering around that had been spotted, the distinctive pink scales instead of green showing that it was the subspecies roaming around. Rapha?lle was thus tasked to track it down and make sure it wouldn’t be a danger, it was also the perfect occasion for her to try her Odogaron armor and weapon, since she used Anjanath’s for Zorah. Aiden was tasked to deal with an Anjanath that had been empowered by Zorah’s Bioenergy and was much more aggressive as a result.

  Valen thought he’d be needed to protect the other hunters from these more dangerous ones, but in the end, most of them did not change their habits and only a few had increased aggression, which suited him just fine.

  In the end, Rapha?lle confirmed that the Pink Rathian decided to make her nest in the Coral Highlands, and found her own place in the ecosystem, so they decided to capture it to figure out what caused its appearance; she would be released back into the Highlands once they had done the necessary research. Aiden had also returned from his hunt, having managed to track the aggressive Anjanath in the Wildspire Wastes and capture it as well. The researchers were overjoyed to get a living specimen that absorbed part of Zorah’s Bioenergy.

  However, something was worrying Valen, he usually heard reports of Nikki’s roaming through the skies occasionally, but since the news about Zorah being a danger, none of them happened, and that disturbed him. He hoped nothing happened to his friend.

  A few weeks after Zorah’s death, and after Rapha?lle completed her task and had also managed to capture her target, something happened.

  The researchers were all over the captured Pink Rathian, attempting to figure out the conditions that led to the subspecies in the first place. The trio of Hunters, along with their Handlers, were observing the proceedings from the main entrance of Astera, Arcos and Lukas both had a pensive look on their faces.

  Everybody was staying in silence when a new voice, that Valen did not know called them… From the entrance.

  “Great! Looks like I’m coming at a perfect time!”

  Valen looked to the side and saw what could only be described as a hulking character. He was the tallest human he had ever seen, with bulging muscles that could almost put a Rajang to shame. He didn’t wear a Slinger but had a looped rope with a grappling hook over one of his forearms. Even his haircut could be compared to a Rajang, the golden hair the same color as the fur when it was enraged.

  He glanced to the side, noticing that the Commander and Lukas definitely recognized the newcomer, a wide smile on their face.

  “Admiral.” Arcos said. “You’re finally deigning to join us.”

  “You know me, can’t stay in one place. But I come with findings you must be interested in.” And at that he threw the bag he was carrying over his shoulder on the ground. Which caused a bunch of crystals to spill out, crystals that were completely unfamiliar to Valen.

  Sophie rushed forwards to pick a couple of them while Valen picked up the one that ended at his feet. He turned it around, frowning, something was definitely familiar with them, it almost felt like they were…

  “They’re radiating some kind of energy!” Sophie exclaimed.

  “Bioenergy.” Valen whispered. “I’ve never seen it in a non-living being…” And it raised many questions.

  “It is indeed.” The Admiral said. “There’s a bunch of these near where you drove off big ugly.”

  “Then we need to research it! This could greatly improve our understanding of Bioenergy!” One scientist exclaimed.

  “Hold.” The Admiral said. “We first need to make sure the area is secure. I’ve heard you’re having some troubles with souped up monsters due to Zorah. What do you think an area full of them will mean.”

  Valen nodded. Only a few hunters were able to overcome these for now… All assembled here, since he noticed Jake had come.

  “Good thing we have enough Hunters and Handlers that can hold themselves.” Arcos said with a smirk. “Rapha?lle, Aiden and Valen, as well as Sophie, Lea and Ikari, you’re up to the task.”

  Valen nodded, and Aiden immediately responded with a “Yes sir!”

  “I’ll do it.” Rapha?lle said.

  “Our skills are needed, and I’ll help however I can.” Lea replied.

  Sophie was a bit taken back to receive this task, and Ikari had a bit of hesitation on his face before he straightened himself and nodded.

  “We won’t disappoint you sir!” Sophie exclaimed. Finally the two Felynes Adem and Flighty simply purred in agreement.

  “Then prepare and depart once you are ready. Jake can hold the fort.” The Huntsman grunted at that. “The reminder of our hunters will train up and gear up so they can handle the powered monsters in the meantime. May the Sapphire Star light your way.”

  The chosen group nodded, and did not waste time to head to their rooms to start preparing their backpacks. They had a new task and they would make sure to succeed on it. They were, after all, the spearhead of the Fifth Fleet, their figureheads, and their key to their current successes. So he prepared accordingly, new location meant unknown dangers, and he only could bring a limited volume.

  However he took more items for a hot location than a cold one. The Everstream was volcanic and if they were going near, Valen supposed that it should be near, so he made sure that he had cold drinks at the ready, the beverages helping boost the temperature regulation of the body and allowed it to survive into harsh environments, as several hunting grounds were located in. He only brought general supplies besides that, but he was ready to depart for the unknown once more.

  The group of nine flew through Wingdrakes, following the coast of the Wildspire Waste and traveling further north. This way they also avoided having to cross the Great Ravine which would have been a damper on their travels.

  They stayed in a group, but once the Everstream was visible, the Admiral started flying in front, leading them all to the destination he wanted to reach. They flew through the massive cavern that radiated heat from further inside. The barrier erected to divert Zorah still stood, though it would probably be dismantled later.

  After a while, the Admiral deviated from the path to lead them towards an opening that Valen was certain was not present before. He believed it had been created by Zorah walking through the cavern, the localized earthquakes periodically happening around him shifting the environment.

  The Admiral dropped from his flying carrier and looped his grappling hook on his arm. The rest of the group thus dropped down from their Wingdrakes as well. He scanned around before starting his explanations.

  “I was watching the operation from afar when you diverted Zorah. I noticed too late to participate but came after you once you were done. Good thing I did because I doubt you would have noticed this anomaly once you were gone, I almost missed it.”

  Valen looked around, the opening was a tunnel that was only illuminated by the dull glow of the magma coursing in the Everstream. The tunnel must have already existed but was joined to the main Everstream channel only by the wall collapsing. Rubble was even visible where they flew in, which confirmed his suspicions.

  “We will take a while to travel however, the exit is far away, but you’ll see, it’s like nothing you have ever seen before.”

  Valen raised an eyebrow behind his helmet. He was about to contest that before Aiden beat The Admiral to the punch.

  “Even compared to the Coral Highlands?”

  “Even then.” The Admiral nodded. “You’ll understand when you see it. Let’s go, we’ll need torches further in, there is bio-luminescence from some of the native flora and fauna here but some sections are still plunged into darkness. None of the usual cave dwelling monsters though, so that won’t be an issue.”

  The Hunters looked at each other before following the Admiral, while the Handlers were all taking notes about their environment, excited about what they were discovering. Still, Valen remained vigilant. The Admiral affirmed there were no dangers to them inside but he still was wary about this uncharted territory.

  They traveled for the remainder of the day before resting for the night, the Hunters and Admiral taking watches, their only light being the campfire they had set up in the cave. The only way they could keep track of their time was by the mechanical watch Sophie was carrying. They packed up and resumed their journey once they were rested and had a few more hours of travel.

  Then eventually the tunnel led to what was more of a gigantic fissure that only had enough of an opening to let in light. They could already notice that everything was covered in crystal formations… The same crystals that the Admiral brought back.

  “I did not exaggerate when I said that the stuff is everywhere. I have no idea how it formed, that’ll be your job to figure it out. However this is only the beginning.”

  Valen looked around, being so attuned to his armor and the way Nikki manipulated its inherent Bioenergy, he could feel it surrounding everywhere. It permeated the very air around them and as he touched a rock, he could feel the warm feeling emanating from it.

  “You are right, I can feel the Bioenergy everywhere. But how is such a thing possible?”

  “This is what I am about to show you, we are almost there.” And then the Admiral led them through a series of openings barely big enough to let them through.

  They followed him through the twists and turns of the cavern until at last they emerged from the cave… Valen was the first through after the Admiral, and once he was out, he gasped.

  Gigantic crystal spires were visible everywhere, a huge one visible in the distance that even seemed to glow internally. There were Wingdrakes flying around, the ones that followed Zorah around called Barnos. He did not see monsters around but it was clear that there was a whole ecosystem present there.

  Valen quickly cleared the way for the others to emerge and started examining the ground. Some fur clumps attracted his attention, but when he approached it, he raised an eyebrow. These were red strands, but also seemed to glow internally, he attempted to pick one up but he accidentally rubbed them together as he did so, causing them to spark and create a small explosion as they were consumed. But it was enough to confirm his suspicions.

  These were bits of Teostra fur, which was known to have explosive properties for reasons poorly understood, but the fact that there was fur laying around clearly meant that they were in his territory.

  He studied them more, as the others came closer and made the same discovery as he did. Then the Admiral talked to them.

  “You may think this Teostra is the only Elder laying around… And you would be wrong. I’ve seen several living here. There were Kushalah, Teostra and Lunastra couples, I believe that I spotted a Chameleos and the Valstrax flying around probably also roosts there. There are regular wyverns of course, but the sheer amount of Elders present is unusual.”

  “It is like… They are tolerating each other. But…” Sophie mused.

  “Elders are notoriously territorial to other species.” Valen said. “Some exceptions happen for sure, but it was a consistent fact we noticed about them. For so many of them to be living close, there would be enough resources to sustain them all.”

  “Bioenergy!” Sophie exclaimed. “The amount of Bioenergy present must be so great that they do not have to compete for it, and so they do not need to fight.”

  “You may be right…” Ikari said. “Though they still need to feed regularly.”

  “Wouldn't a high amount of Bioenergy also help sustain a greater population of regular Wyverns?” Aiden suggested. “After all, even if they do not need it as much as the Elders, they still need a bit of it.”

  “That must be it! And thus it would also provide a greater food source for Elders, at least the carnivorous ones.” Sophie concluded.

  “I already thought about a name for this place.” The Admiral said, attracting the attention of everybody. “The Elder Recess.”

  “I like it!” Sophie said. “It gives the most important information for those that aren’t familiar with it.”

  Valen was about to comment before the Admiral said.

  “However… We have an issue. A large portion of the Elders have recently fled the place, because of one newcomer. I’m certain you already are familiar with it.”

  “Nergigante?” Rapha?lle questioned.

  “Nergigante. He has stirred a Vespoid’s nest and is trying to ambush Elders that are living here. For what reason I cannot tell, but he is undoubtedly disturbing the local ecosystem.”

  “Then we must track it down and deal with it.” Rapha?lle said. “Lest Elders that are fleeing may cause a major shift in other ecosystems.”

  Valen raised an eyebrow behind his helmet. He knew Elders were able to tone down the effects they had on the environment thanks to Nikki… But also they would be distressed after fleeing what might be a predator to them so they would attempt to make the environment more favorable to them.

  “That is the issue indeed.” The Admiral said. “So that is the task I ask of you all: study the regular monsters that live here and most importantly, track down Nergigante. It must be dealt with if we want the situation to come back to normal.”

  Everybody present nodded, and after a short discussion, they agreed that they would split up to bolster their chances. They would need to cover as much ground as they could, so each Hunter and Handler pair would travel independently. Valen would head towards the looming mountains as he was more adept at climbing, Aiden would go towards the more volcanic regions, as he had a supply of Cold Drinks while Rapha?lle would explore the many crystalline formations that were spread everywhere.

  So the group spread, with the Admiral also going his own way, and with their tasks decided, they now focused on their goal.

  The main reason Valen asked to explore the mountain besides that he was the one that fit it the best, was that he believed Nikki nested there, it followed her preferences in nests, being in high locations in the air which allowed them to be able to spot intruders more easily and were more defensive positions for her. He did not share these facts with Ikari yet, but he would warn him if he found signs of her presence. At least they all had several days to accomplish their tasks.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Valen thus started to climb up the mountain range, helping Ikari who wasn’t as fit as him, though he was physical enough to follow him, since it was necessary in the field. They climbed up for the whole day, occasionally spotting Wyverns roaming around, the main one being a flying one that seemed to grow literal bombs under its chin and bulbous tail. There weren’t records of this species yet so Ikari took all the notes he could. They noted it seemed to be aggressive and an opportunistic predator, engaging monsters when they were fighting against them in an attempt to feast on both.

  However on the second day, at midday, was when Valen started to worry, he hadn’t seen Nikki since a while, and since they were so close to her nest, he believed that they would at least see her when she was taking off or landing nearby, the fact he did not see her was worrying him, had something happened to her? He hoped that it wasn’t something irrecoverable.

  However they soon found the silver scales he knew were associated with her, so he was certain she was nearby. What worried him was that they also found the spikes associated with Nergigante… Which also meant it was probably nearby.

  This was confirmed when the next day they found definite proof there had been a fight between Nikki and the spiky Elder, due to the blood sprays that were present in the area. There were traces of dragon energy explosions that she could create, but from what he could tell, he believed the Nergigante managed to ambush her and wound her, but she managed to retaliate and escape. The signs were old too, which would also place them… Around the time they were repelling Zorah.

  Valen was now certain, Nikki was injured and recovering. He shared these findings with Adem and Ikari.

  “I… I’m worried for her, she means so much to me.” Valen whispered.

  “Then let's be quick!” Adem said. “Do you think she could nest nearby?” (Punmaster)

  “Maybe? The best location we should check is at the top of the mountain. But I’m worried because nothing would have stopped the Nergigante’s attempt to pursue her, especially if she is wounded…”

  “Unless he managed to find an easier target? I’m certain you know how hard Valstrax are to catch.” Ikari pointed out.

  “Then there is no time to waste, who knows if the Nergigante comes back to finish the job.”

  Now that they were all in agreement, they set out for the mountain, climbing it. Valen had his worries rising during the trek. He wanted Nikki to be fine, above all else, but there was nothing he could do until they found her.

  The mountain was steep but at least had a large amount of handholds for them to hold on, They used a rope and spikes that he hammered into the rock as safeties so that they had a safety should one fall, though it was more for the benefit of Ikari, as Valen still had his thrusters should it happen, and Adem being a Felyne was more adept to long falls.

  They stopped in a cave once the sun started setting, setting up camp. Valen struggled to sleep that night, too worried by Nikki, but he still managed to grab enough sleep to be functional.

  The following morning, as they continued their ascension, he kept looking at the sky, hoping to see her, as the morning was the usual time she flew around… But she didn’t appear. Midday came and went without any more signs.

  They were well in the middle of the afternoon and now scaling the mountain on the side as they were already far enough up. Every time they found a cave they inspected it but no signs of occupancy were present.

  He was too focused on hammering a spike to loop the rope into it when Adem gasped and shouted:

  “Meowster! Look!”

  So he did and gasped. There she was, flying above them… But at a much lower altitude than she usually did, which was worrying, she also seemed much slower than usual, which clearly meant something was wrong with her. He had his hand busy with securing their lifeline, but thankfully Adem seemed to know what to do and pulled out a mirror out of his bag. He then flashed the sun back towards the crimson ball up.

  Immediately it seemed to react and changed directions, heading towards their direction. Valen’s heart soared at that, it confirmed that it was indeed her. He looked around then looked towards the nearest ledge that had enough space to welcome all four of them. However, looking below them, and notably at Ikari, he noticed that he seemed to struggle to know how to react, being on the verge of a panic attack. Valen was about to speak at him to calm him down before Ikari closed his eyes and took deep breaths, visibly steadying himself.

  And then he looked back up at the sky, and now Nikki was there, slowing down her descent towards them… Though as she stopped to hover next to them, he noticed immediately some things that were wrong. The most noticeable was the large gash on her left shoulder that seemed to still be healing. She also seemed visibly tired and lost weight. This confirmed Valen’s fears and that she survived the Nergigante’s ambush, but didn’t get out of it uninjured.

  He was about to ask her to wait for them on the ledge above when suddenly she hovered closer, being careful to maneuver so that her wings didn't spray on them, and then, delicately, took hold of the rope with her beak, between Adem and Valen. The noise of her wings was loud but Valen immediately realized what she was about to do and shouted at Ikari:

  “Prepare to release the rock, she’s going to carry us!”

  His Handler still seemed to struggle with his panic attack, but he nodded still, and looked warily at Nikki. The Valstrax then flew directly away from the cliff, with deliberate slowness, Adem had already dropped from the rock and was dangling from the rope, and then with noises similar to tearing, the spikes that secured the rope on the rock were forced out by Nikki. Once the rope started tugging at him, Valen dropped from the rock, but since he was above them all, he started to fall, so his thrusters quickly activated to slow his fall so that it didn’t jerk Nikki too much.

  With a final burst to cancel his momentum, the rope stopped his fall suddenly, but it was bearable. Nikki had paused when he was falling, but now that he was secured, she finished tugging at the rope, unhooking the last spike, and that was the signal Ikari waited to release the rock himself, where he started on a pendulum motion in the air. He shouted a bit in fright, but quickly steadied himself.

  The Valstrax then did not waste time and slowly gained height, her package in tow. Then she flew up to the ledge and started descending with deliberate slowness, depositing first Ikari, then Valen on the ground, and once he was directly below her, she opened the beak to drop the rope, releasing Adem, who got caught by Valen. Then finally she landed a bit away from them, panting heavily.

  The Felyne climbed on Valen’s shoulder, who ran towards Nikki, and hugged her on the beak. She leaned into him back, as the both of them were happy to be together and fine, though not completely in the case of Nikki. He extended the contact for a bit before he released her and asked.

  ‘When you hurt?’

  To which she responded first by tapping on the ground a certain number of times, their way to communicate numbers:

  ‘Ten days. Spiky elder attacked. Escaped but careful. Hungry.’

  Valen expected that… It was what he supposed happened. He put down his bag and dug into it, looking for something then extracted a carefully closed pouch out of it. Opening it, it contained dark red berries that every hunter knew about. Dragonfell berries, they were precious for the guild and rare to find, though the Ancient Tree in Astera allowed them to cultivate them, which was a boon as their main use were into fueling Dragonators, which was what allowed them to function correctly on Elder Dragons.

  He grabbed a handful of them and presented them to Nikki, who carefully plucked them and swallowed them. Valen smiled, she loved them, to the complete opposite of other Elders, to which it was found out they disrupted their powers. They spent a moment together where he fed them to the Elder, then once the bag was empty, he started approaching her wound, and paused, waiting for her confirmation, that she gave to him by presenting her shoulder to him.

  He inspected the wound. It was a bit swollen, but the infection was only minor, as he guessed the sheer concentration of dragon energy made any infection almost ineffective on her. But there was one still. So he pulled out a Mega Potion out of his bag and poured the drug on the wound, cleaning it and allowing it to be absorbed by the flesh. He believed it would heal in time. Once his ministrations were done, he turned back to face her.

  ‘Any others?’

  To which she backed up a bit and presented her other wing, but as he saw, there was only a scratch on one of the wings, some scales were missing but it did not penetrate through. However when he inspected the wings, he noticed some dragon energy was leaking through the end, as if her organ was overproducing it… Though he believed it was only because of the amount of berries he fed her, so he dismissed the oddity. Nodding to her, he backed off. He looked behind at Ikari, which while he was still staying a distance away, had pulled out his notebook and was furiously scribbling into it. Adem was staying with him, as reassurance. Valen smiled, that was good progress for Ikari.

  Looking back towards Nikki, she started walking towards the edge and said.

  ‘Hunting, hungry, back.’

  ‘Careful, Elder around.’

  ‘I am.’

  Then she powered up her wings and took off, not as violently as she usually does, probably because of her injury and of their proximity, but she headed towards the ocean visible in the distance. He looked at her getting away before he turned and headed to Ikari.

  “Are you doing alright? I am sorry to have sprung that on you…”

  “I struggled a bit, but the fact you showed to me she means no harm, and the relationship you have… It helped. It wasn’t as bad as the last time.”

  Valen smiled.

  “She’s hunting, she should be back in a bit. And my suspicions were right, she had been ambushed by Nergigante. It seems she managed to hide from it and it gave up the chase and went for an easier target.”

  “I am not surprised, Valstrax are elusive and cautious. And I’m sure you know most of all how we have to hunt one if we ever need to.”

  He nodded, the only way to slay a Valstrax was to ambush it and ground it in the opening strike, else it would just fly away to heal. The only other way… Required another Valstrax.

  “We will probably camp here, I’m just waiting for her to return. But still, there is something odd with the Recess… I’m going to see if she’s more willing to give information or at least confirm suspicions, she rarely does, but I’m more confident this time.”

  “It is strange behavior indeed. Do you have any ideas why?”

  “Only some kind of honors among Elders. She still has some mysteries around her, but I don’t push too much, she trusts me, so I’ll respect that.”

  He was about to continue when he spotted her making the trip back, her fireball having plunged into the ocean and was coming back. This reminded Valen about something and he chuckled.

  “I’m pretty certain Valstrax have some talent for geometry. You know how water distorts light when you try to look at something inside the water unless you are directly above it? Well she is able to spot Ludroth swimming from a high enough height and dive at the real location that they are at. It is impressive to see and something I’m certain nobody else knows about. They are damn good fishers.”

  Ikari wrote into his notebook, the scratches of his pen the only sound audible for a moment before he commented.

  “I think I’ve heard tales of Rathalos fishing occasionally too, though it seems more often when they are desperate for food and are not successful often. I think Astalos would find better success due to their lightning, but no reports of one doing so have been made.”

  Valen nodded, but did not reply, Nikki now being visible to them and slowing down to land besides them. She was carrying a pair of speartuna in her claws that she dropped on the ground and started eating them ravenously. Ikari returned to his meek self, trying to make himself as small as possible in her presence. So Valen went to him and sat next to him.

  Ikari seemed to try to ignore Nikki eating next to them, so he looked at what he was writing. It was indeed notes about what Valen just said about Nikki but also some small details he seemed to have noticed himself, mostly about the workings of her wings, which did not surprise Valen. He decided to help him by telling other facts about her that he noticed over the years.

  Then Nikki finished her meal and put what remained of her meal aside. Valen looked at her and stood up, he wanted to see if she would give some information this time.

  ‘This place… Bioenergy?’

  Nikki looked at him for a bit before she nodded.

  ‘Full. Unusual. I attracted. Others attracted. Exact location unknown.’

  ‘Spikes Elder attracted?’ Valen asked.

  She growled a bit at the mention of the Nergigante before she answered.

  ‘Drawn to us. Predator, scavenger of Elder.’

  Valen recoiled. A predator of Elder Dragons? He was certain that it was the first time something was confirmed. Most Elders simply fought for territory or domination, not for predation.

  ‘Hunts you?’ Valen wanted to confirm if she was in danger.

  ‘He try. Evade long. He abandoned. I hard catch and cautious now.’

  So it confirms that Nergigante tried to chase her for a while but gave up after she proved too elusive. Valen breathed in relief.

  ‘Other Elders?’

  ‘Vulnerable. Most strong and repel, but spikes hunt young, weak. Elder flee now. Come back when he gone.’

  This was important information, because it meant that once the threat of Nergigante was gone, other Elders should come back to the Recess. They just needed to be able to take care of it. Still, Valen was surprised she had been so forward with information… She always gave the bare minimum, but he supposed that Nergigante had made her realize she needed his help to put it down. So he nodded to her and replied.

  ‘I relay information to companions. They hunt spikes.’

  She nodded. However she raised a paw, seemingly about to say something, before she engaged in another motion and said.

  ‘I rest and heal, stay here.’ To which Valen simply nodded, but he could not dismiss the feeling that she was about to say something important before dismissing the conversation.

  He did not push the matter however and left her alone, she already revealed enough information… So he simply decided that they would stay here until she healed as a deterrent to hostile Elders then rendez-vous with the others once the time was up. He relayed the information that she told him to Ikari, who agreed that it made taking care of Nergigante a priority task. Though he also raised a good point.

  “How will you justify getting this information Valen? Sure you can use the site where Nikki was ambushed as a good point, but it will still be suspicious.”

  “I think I’ll simply say it’s my theory from those examinations. I don’t need to say we confirmed this information. I believe a lot of our research is simply theories anyways…”

  “Good point. I’ll be the one to put forward this theory then, you’ll just make the observations.”

  Valen nodded. Ikari had a good idea, so he will follow him on this… It seemed he was getting used to Nikki, but still was wary of her, but he was happy about that at least.

  So they went to sleep that night, Valen and Adem trading watch turns, more as a reassurance to Ikari than anything else.

  They spent a couple days together with Nikki, who had healed remarkably well, though she would keep that scar on her shoulder. But then came the time they had to get down if they wanted to be back in time. So after saying his farewells to the Valstrax, she informed him that she would move her nest closer to Astera, since she did not trust the one she picked in the Recess, and believed it was too crowded anyways. She did not inform him where she would go though.

  So after a last hug between the two, they climbed down the mountain and Nikki flew away. The two days with Nikki had done wonders for Ikari and he even worked up the courage to scratch her once, a fact to which Valen and Adem smiled.

  They returned on time to where the group split, the Admiral, Lea and Aiden were already there, though Rapha?lle and Sophie weren’t back yet. Still, the Admiral welcomed them.

  “Valen, Ikari, Adem. I hope your findings were significant?”

  “Yes, I found important information. But let wait for Rapha?lle first.”

  “I would not expect anything less.” He replied with a grin.

  Valen nodded, and settled to wait for Rapha?lle. He chatted occasionally with Aiden, about the life in Astera and the challenges the outpost was currently facing. The Admiral seemed interested by their facts, since he had been away for long.

  However when the afternoon went by and the sun started setting, they started to get worried, and were about to try looking for her when they finally appeared from away… And they gasped. Rapha?lle clearly showed signs she fought, limping a bit and her armor torn in some places, and Sophie and Flighty were dragging a sled that was full of monsters materials… That Valen recognized.

  The Admiral ran towards them, and helped support Rapha?lle, who appreciated the gesture. Valen followed him, and together helped Rapha?lle to sit down. The Admiral then immediately asked.

  “I have a guess, but can you tell us what happened.”

  Rapha?lle nodded and said.

  “We found Nergigante tracks where we want, and even a tribe of Felynes, though they were different from the Grymalkyne found everywhere… They were hostile at first, but Flighty managed to communicate with them and inform them we did not have any intention to fight, then when she mentioned that we were looking for Nergigante… They pleaded us to help them. Apparently it had settled its nest just next to their base and caused them to abandon it.”

  Sophie took over.

  “So we said that we would try to repel it and force it to resettle. I kept near the arena under my mantle while she and Flighty tracked it down and fought it…”

  “Then… When I started to injure it and wear it down. It did that weird roar and… became extremely aggressive and frenzied.” She exhaled. “I barely managed to keep up with it, and had a few near misses.”

  “The Felynes helped her then, throwing explosives and knives at the Elder, which helped, at least to divert its attention for a bit, but it was still mostly focused on Rapha?lle.” Sophie said.

  “However, I managed to lure it below one of those crystals that jut out of a wall, whose tip was eroded… Then my Kinsect rammed it as hard at it could, causing it to fall on the Elder, which broke its wing and pinned it down. I did not waste time exploiting the opening, and cut open large gashes on its belly, it bled out soon and laid still, I waited a few minutes to make sure.”

  “I joined her after, and after she carved the parts she wanted, we had to leave the body behind. Scavengers must already be on it.” Sophie concluded.

  Valen approached the pile of materials that were carved, they were a sizable amount, enough for a weapon for sure, but would be limited to a couple pieces of armor. He noted the lack of a peculiar item, so he asked.

  “That is everything you carved here right?”

  “It is. I hoped for the whole body, but I did not have the means to bring it back…”

  “And should you not have slain it already, I planned that we report our findings to Astera and task you with the hunt.” He grinned. “It seems you were way ahead of us this time however.”

  Valen smiled, then nodded.

  “We made some discoveries on our own, but it seems the root of the problem has now been taken care of.”

  “Let’s walk team, we’ll share everything on the road!”

  Everybody replied on the affirmative, and Valen started, explaining the signs of an ambush they found, which were followed by Ikari’s hypothesis.

  Aiden however did not find much of its tracks, however they did make detailed reports of three monsters they encountered in the volcanic area, two already familiar to the guild, being the volcanic cousin of Jyuratodus: Laviasoth, and what was thought to be the only wyvern to move around by rolling before the discovery of Radobaan: Uragaan. The new species was some kind of rock eater that shared some similarities with Jagras.

  With Rapha?lle already having told their tales, they only could elaborate on the finer details they have seen. But Valen was relieved, she may not have been prepared for it, but she proved what he suspected she had the ability of: to overcome the highest challenge a Hunter could face: Hunting an Elder.