The Kushala Daora came to a halt. Its cold, steel-blue eyes locked onto the direction of the Ancient Forest.
There, wrapped in surging currents, the Elder Dragon spread its wings—wings like a starry night sky. Mysterious, and perilous.
Riding atop massive waves, it surged toward the Kushala Daora, crackling with lightning.
Even in its twilight years, with the edges of its carapace turning pale, the Kushala Daora showed no fear. Its roar pierced through the stormwinds, whipping up whirlwinds that pulled the sea into towering waterspouts.
The Storm Dragon ignited its life force in full, charging forward without a trace of fear.
Logan stood at a high point, letting the rain, heavy as beans, pelt his body. His eyes remained fixed, unblinking, on the distant battlefield.
Unfortunately, with the wind and rain obscuring everything, not even a Rathalos's keen sight could make out what was happening.
A battle between Elder Dragons—he didn't even qualify to be a spectator.
The clash between the Kushala Daora and the Namielle lasted for a long time. In the end, it was the Kushala Daora that withdrew, its Elder Dragon Crossing declared a failure.
As mysteriously as it had come, the Namielle disappeared once more—vanishing without a trace.
With the end of the battle, the storm dispersed, and sunlight returned. The sea receded, and the land once devoured by water reemerged. Relying on the unstoppable vitality of nature, it wouldn't be long before vegetation and wildlife repopulated those drowned regions.
And on the coastal cliffs where the Ancient Forest met the Wildspire Waste, a massive dragonbone ship now rested forever upon the mountaintop.
A group of young men and women filled with dreams, alongside elites from various fields—though tested by nature's brutal assault—did not choose to give up. Instead, they regained their confidence. Centered around the ship, they began collecting supplies and adapting to the terrain, initiating the construction of an outpost.
Logan and Aki returned to the nest. They had been fortunate—the sea had nearly reached the nest's location. Though some seawater had surged in with the wind, it soon drained out through the stream that ran through the nest.
Logan lay on a high ledge inside the nest, spacing out. Aki, meanwhile, destroyed her old bedding, then flew in and out, bringing back fresh branches to build a new one.
Reality was not a game. Elder Dragons were not like the dumb beasts in games that just spewed some fire, summoned a couple of cyclones, and brawled clumsily in the open.
The battle between the Kushala Daora and the Namielle—its ferocious elemental onslaught—was a symphony of storm, water, and lightning.
Ordinary wyverns? Forget brawling with Elder Dragons—getting close was already a fantasy.
Though Logan hadn't been able to witness the true fight between the two, he had clearly seen a massive Diablos swept into the sky by one of the Kushala Daora's seawater-spun cyclones. It likely didn't survive.
And that was just from the aftershock of their battle.
Of course, maybe the Kushala Daora and Namielle that appeared this time were exceptions. Not all Elder Dragons might be this overwhelmingly powerful. Even among common wyverns, individual differences were immense—so how much more so for Elder Dragons?
But one thing was undeniable: those capable of controlling disasters stood firmly at the apex of the food chain.
At that moment, Logan became profoundly aware of his own insignificance—and of the overwhelming might of the world's ecosystem.
Even a Kushala Daora, able to change the weather with ease, could still be repelled by a Namielle. As long as one remained part of the ecosystem, they would inevitably be bound by its laws.
Perhaps only those 'Forbidden' that transcend the world itself—existing independently outside the ecosystem—are truly unaffected.
The war between Elder Dragons had passed, but life had to go on.
Because large areas on the outskirts of the Ancient Forest and Wildspire Waste had been flooded, the living space for many creatures was drastically compressed. As a result, the remaining habitable zones in those two regions had descended into chaos.
Herbivores roamed in search of new habitats, while carnivores began new territorial battles.
This was destined to be another brutal struggle. The winners would survive; the losers would become nourishment for the ecosystem of the New World.
But none of this had anything to do with Logan and Aki. Unlike typical wyverns, their superior intelligence had led them to stockpile large amounts of food in advance. While other creatures fought tooth and claw, they merely needed to stay quietly in their nest and wait for things to settle.
...
In a flash, five years passed.
Thanks to the New World's powerful self-regulating ability, the damaged regions began to flourish again. Countless creatures returned, and the ecological system was rebuilt anew.
Only now, in addition to the original inhabitants of the New World, there was another presence: the New World Research Commission.
In the sky, a male Rathalos nearly nine meters in length circled overhead. His fiery red scales were pristine and spotless, and his athletic form was perfectly proportioned—like a living embodiment of the golden ratio, hiding explosive strength beneath his streamlined muscles.
Jagged spines gleamed coldly in the sun. Though his body was still relatively slender compared to full-grown beasts, he already carried the majesty of a true king of the skies.
Target locked—he dove at high speed, plunging like a blazing meteor. In an instant, he appeared above his prey, his sharp talons gripping the herbivore's neck tightly. Without a single extra movement, flames began to spread across the creature's skin.
Flames coiled around Logan's entire body, burning away anything that dared approach.
[Flame Body: When combat begins, flames surround the user's body, burning all that comes into contact. The temperature of the flames changes depending on the host's own fire energy.]
With a single thought, the swirling flames were absorbed back into the gaps between his scales. The heat dispersed with the wind.
[Flame Draw: Absorb external fire to enhance flame-based abilities. The amount absorbable increases with the host's physique.]
Both Flame Body and Flame Draw were traits Logan had acquired during the past five years. Under his development, Flame Draw could now be activated at will—even drawing in flames from his own Flame Body.
As for Flame Body itself, beyond simply wrapping him in fire, it had significantly increased his resistance to flame. At one point, Logan even suspected he might be completely immune to fire.
That was, until one day when boredom led him to provoke an irritable Anjanath just to test things out—only to discover otherwise. The Anjanath's full-powered fire breath still made him feel heat.
Well… it was just hot. Nothing more.
He still vividly remembered the way that big idiot's expression shifted from excitement to complete bewilderment. After mustering all its strength for a sneak attack that finally landed, not even a single scale had been scorched—what a devastating blow.
Of course, those two weren't the only traits he'd gained over the past five years. There was another one Logan was particularly satisfied with.
[Mind's Eye: Extensive battle experience, coupled with a unique soul, has significantly enhanced your senses, allowing you to easily detect your opponent's weaknesses, see through their movements, and respond in advance.]
In the Pokémon games, this trait allows the user to ignore evasion stat changes, maintain perfect accuracy, and even land Normal- or Fighting-type moves on Ghost-types.
But once it was adapted to his body, it comprehensively boosted all of his senses—even his elusive sixth sense saw a remarkable improvement.
This became especially apparent when Logan tested it against an Anjanath. In his eyes, every muscle twitch of the Anjanath became visible. Whenever the beast so much as stirred, Logan could deduce its next attack, and his body would instinctively dodge and counter.
The result? No matter how hard the Anjanath tried to bite him, it couldn't land a hit. Instead, Logan repeatedly exploited its openings to land his own attacks. Though his strikes only caused superficial injuries, it still drove the Anjanath into utter frustration!
The most crucial moment came when Logan once failed to notice the incoming fire attack. His sixth sense went wild with alarms, and a perfectly timed mid-air roll allowed him to dodge an unseen attack entirely.
Over the years of countless hunts and battles, the effectiveness of Mind's Eye continued to evolve.
Logan firmly believed that if he kept developing this trait, then one day... Mom will never have to worry about me getting hit by a flash bomb again!
Three traits in over five years, plus a body that had grown to a full 9 metres in length—he still wasn't quite on par with full-grown monsters, but his actual combat strength was no weaker than some of the mid-tier creatures. If he ever encountered that same Pukei-Pukei from five years ago, Logan alone could take it down with ease.
No escape possible!