Serving as Isis's sparring partner was exhausting. Although Altaïr's stamina was exceptional even among Hunters of his rank, after several hours he still felt on the verge of collapse.
There was a reason the session had lasted so long.
At first, Isis had indeed wanted a little "payback." Altaïr's remark, "Nothing new. Master Amos and your mother should both know how to do that too," had simply been too infuriating.
Yet no one expected that the fire inside her would lead Isis to a new idea while she practiced her shield charge.
For a slow-moving Gunlance user, a way to move quickly was crucial.
Whether they could reach a companion in time, move in front of a Monster to hold the line, or maintain formation, every situation exposed a Gunlance user's lack of speed.
She drew inspiration from Fabius's aggressive use of the Shield Charge. By capitalizing on her height, long legs, and great strength, she had already managed to force more speed out of her charge.
She had also been experimenting with using shelling recoil to extend the distance gained from Evade Extender and improve her mobility.
She had never considered combining the two until Altaïr's "Instant Slash" inspired her.
If sword intent could resonate with will, couldn't the momentum of a charge resonate with recoil too?!
Altaïr desperately wanted to explain that the two concepts were not the same, but Isis had already begun practicing with great enthusiasm.
She first rehearsed the movement several times with a wooden staff and a practice Large Shield, then picked up her own Glavenus Gunlance.
A wooden practice staff could not fire shells and provide recoil, after all.
In principle, the move was simple: charge behind a Large Shield, point the Gunlance's muzzle behind you, and fire, using the shelling recoil to accelerate even further.
The problems emerged on her first attempt.
At full speed, Isis leaned forward behind the Large Shield, shifting her center of gravity far ahead of her. The first shot nearly launched her into the air.
Holding his own Large Shield in both hands, Altaïr instinctively tried to catch her and soften the fall, only to be sent flying as well.
Scenes like that repeated themselves throughout the hours-long training session.
By dusk, Isis had finally begun to get the hang of it and decided to end practice for the day.
Altaïr silently chugged a Potion.
Isis walked over apologetically and tried to support the unsteady Altaïr, even though she was bruised all over from her own repeated falls.
"I'm fine." Altaïr rubbed his shoulder and raised a hand to stop her. "But seriously, if you want to turn recoil-assisted movement into a regular technique rather than an emergency measure,
"you should talk to a smith and see whether your weapon needs to be modified."
"Agreed, meow." Sajji, who had been crouching nearby watching the show, spoke up as well. "Under normal circumstances, recoil is an unwanted side effect of firing a Gunlance. To reduce it, Gunlances use muzzle brakes, meow.
"If you remove those brakes, the recoil from each shell could be at least a couple of levels stronger, meow. That's assuming you can keep your footing and stop the weapon from flying out of your hands, meow."
"That sounds a little frightening, doesn't it?" Altaïr said with a dry laugh.
A moment earlier, when Isis used shelling recoil to accelerate her charge, both her feet had already left the ground. Without the muzzle brakes, wouldn't she go flying?
"It shouldn't fly out of my hands. My grip is strong enough." Isis's eyes sparkled. "Tomorrow, I'll ask Master Hubert whether he has any good ideas for modifying it!"
Altaïr set aside the heavily cracked wooden practice shield. "All right. Tomorrow's problems can wait until tomorrow. Let's head back to the ship."
Altaïr was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to rest.
With heavy steps, the two made their way toward the large ship in the middle of the river. As they stepped onto the pontoon bridge, they ran into Morgan striding briskly toward them.
Morgan stopped when he saw them. "Perfect. I was just about to look for you two. Miss Nymera just returned from reconnaissance, and the Village Chief sent me to find you. Did you two... have a fight?"
At the sight of their disheveled appearance and the bruises and swelling across their bodies, Morgan raised his finely shaped eyebrows, unusually slender for a man.
"No, we just trained a little too hard." Altaïr brushed the matter aside and changed the subject. "How did Nymera's reconnaissance go?"
"Not well." Morgan strode ahead at a brisk pace, but Altaïr and Isis could easily keep up with their long strides. Without realizing it, he quickened his pace even further.
The group was almost jogging by the time they entered the dining hall, leaving Altaïr and the others slightly tense.
Was the situation truly that urgent?
Apparently not. Although the Village Chief and Ms. Meow-It-All, the expedition team's two leaders, were both present, they had not gathered every group leader. Among the Hunters there, Nymera was the only one besides the three who had just arrived. If the matter were truly urgent, at the very least every Hunter would have been summoned as combat personnel.
"Please, sit down." Before Altaïr and the others could even settle, the Village Chief spoke urgently. "Miss Nymera has discovered that, in addition to the Lolo Gougarf already hunted down, there are at least three more within a ten-kilometer radius, with signs of still more Lolo Gougarf farther out. This is not normal."
"Indeed." Altaïr frowned.
Earlier surveys had found no sign of Lolo Gougarf activity along the western edge of the Mangrove Forest near the riverbank. They must have migrated into the area only recently.
"The Village Chief and I have discussed it, meow. First, we'll send Hunters to deal with the Lolo Gougarf within a ten-kilometer radius of the logging camp, meow."
"Deal with them? You mean slay them?" Isis looked at Ms. Meow-It-All in surprise.
Generally speaking, the Village Chief, whose primary goal was expansion, favored a relatively aggressive approach to dealing with Monsters, while Ms. Meow-It-All, as a scholar, tended toward restraint.
In a sense, Ms. Meow-It-All served as the check the Guild had placed on the expedition team, keeping the Village Chief from getting carried away with the expansion and slaughtering everything in sight.
Given Ms. Meow-It-All's usual approach, she should have preferred driving the Monsters away to sending Hunters to slay them outright.
"That's right." Ms. Meow-It-All spread several quest forms across the table.
Altaïr looked them over.
Slaying quest: (★★★); Quest objective: Hunt 1 Lolo Gougarf; Quest location: Mangrove Forest; Time limit: 3 days
Reward money: 3500z + 1500z (special subsidy); Monsters that may appear: Royal Ludroth, Ludroth
The bloodthirsty Village Chief: Several Lolo Gougarf have come near the logging camp. Go teach them a lesson and make them understand that the riverbank is already our territory!
"Under Guild protocol, we would normally investigate the cause first and then solve the problem at its source rather than suddenly issue several hunting quests like these, meow.
"If today's attack had not happened, we might still have chosen that more cautious approach, meow. But now that we've been attacked, we have to strike back, meow.
"Our earlier sweeps against the nearby Monsters already sent the local wildlife a clear warning that this territory had been claimed, meow. Both sides of the river are now the expedition team's 'territory,' meow.
"The Lolo Gougarf are testing our claim, meow. If we don't respond forcefully, more and more will push into the area, and then we'll have a much larger problem on our hands, meow."
"So first, we deal with the Lolo Gougarf that have entered our territory. If the ones farther away still dare to come any closer, we'll take care of them too!" The Village Chief clenched a fist and tried to look fierce, but combined with his enormous nose, the expression came across as slightly ridiculous.
Altaïr nodded, understanding the logic.
Measures like these were actually quite common. Cities and villages regularly sent Hunters to clear nearby Monsters, and whenever a dangerous Monster approached, they immediately dispatched Hunters to slay it, all to assert ownership of the territory.
Otherwise, before long, Monsters would be strolling straight into town.
"So, you're hoping we'll deal with these Lolo Gougarf?" Altaïr asked.
"No, quite the opposite." The Village Chief shook his head. "The other Hunters will handle the Lolo Gougarf.
"The assignment I have for you is more complicated and more dangerous."
Ms. Meow-It-All added, "Eliminating the Lolo Gougarf near the base addresses only the immediate threat. It does not solve the heart of the problem, meow.
"We want you to head deep into the Mangrove Forest, discover what is driving the Lolo Gougarf's abnormal migration, and resolve the problem at its source, meow!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)