"Ohhh! That's wonderful!" Laios beamed with joy.
"Marcille's not a fan of eating monsters, but I think the creatures here don't count as monsters, so it should be fine!"
"Exactly! The monsters here aren't influenced by any kind of magic—they're purely the creations of nature!" Kairo Retsu nodded firmly.
Then Laios tilted his head in curiosity.
"By the way, Guildmaster… earlier, I heard you mention Elder Dragons when talking about equipment. What are those?"
"Elder... dragons?" Laios mused.
"Like, elder as in 'ancient'—does it mean dragons that have just lived a really long time?"
"Hmm…"
Kairo Retsu paused, then shook his head.
"No, it's not just about age. That's not what Elder Dragons mean."
He scratched his chin, organizing his thoughts, then began explaining:
"Actually, I've been meaning to write something for future rookies—an introductory guide about monsters and Hunters. So I don't mind giving you a sneak peek now."
"Elder Dragons are a category of dragons."
"They possess immense power and bodies that rival natural disasters themselves. They're the apex of all living species in this world, with extraordinarily long lifespans. Some Elder Dragons have been alive since times even more ancient than the most ancient of eras. They're rare beings that exist outside of the basic ecosystem."
Hearing this, Laios straightened up with keen interest.
After all, anything worthy of such descriptions had to be unbelievably powerful… He had already thought Rathalos and Rathian were strong, but it seemed even more fascinating creatures existed.
"To put it more accurately—Elder Dragons embody natural phenomena and disasters."
Kairo Retsu thought a moment, then continued.
"For example, remember how powerful Rathalos's flames were?"
"But among Elder Dragons, those that can breathe fire produce flames capable of leveling entire cities. That's the scale we're talking about."
He began counting on his fingers:
"Descriptions and titles for Elder Dragons are usually really flashy—meant to convey their overwhelming power."
"Like… 'Harbinger of Calamity,' 'Lord of Purgatory,' 'The Fanged Sun,' 'Star of Despair,' and my personal favorite: 'The Dragon of Destruction and Rebirth.'"
"The Dragon of Destruction and Rebirth? That sounds like a pretty amazing dragon. Why's that your favorite?"
Laios's curiosity grew.
Ever since they started talking about dragons, Kairo Retsu had become visibly excited—just like when he discussed monsters. Laios thought they'd make great friends.
So he wanted to understand more about the Elder Dragon that Kairo Retsu liked so much.
"You wanna know?" Kairo Retsu's eyes lit up.
"Nergigante's story is awesome!"
"Hold on, let me find it…"
He excitedly opened up his menu, scrolled through the supplementary features, and finally found a rough sketch of Nergigante in the Hunter's Notes, then showed it to Laios.
"See? This is Nergigante!"
"A muscle-packed dragon! Absolutely terrifying in close combat! Thanks to its regenerative powers, it can even fire the spikes on its body as weapons! It's an Elder Dragon that preys on other Elder Dragons!"
Kairo Retsu was practically buzzing.
"Most Elder Dragons don't engage in direct, violent conflict with one another. But Nergigante is one of the very few that does—and when it hunts other Elder Dragons, it usually attacks head-on!"
"Normally, the Elder Dragon ecological web is separate and peaceful. But a dragon like Nergigante completely changes that dynamic!!"
"I love it because of that…" Kairo Retsu paused before continuing:
"Because of balance!"
"Balance?"
Laios raised an eyebrow.
"But didn't you say it hunts other Elder Dragons? That sounds more like it breaks the balance…"
Then Laios paused, thinking.
"Wait… Elder Dragons are extremely rare beings that exist outside of the basic ecosystem… I get it now."
He recalled Kairo Retsu's earlier explanation.
"Even though they're outside the basic ecosystem, they're still living beings. They can't possibly exist without impacting the environment. A natural disaster without limits can eventually cause catastrophic consequences…"
"So Nergigante is… a form of natural regulation within that ecosystem?"
Laios's eyes lit up with realization.
"Yes! That must be it! Elder Dragons have their own vast 'macro-ecosystem'—but because that system is so massive and slow to change, it's hard for normal creatures to even notice it."
"But the balance still exists!" Laios clenched his fist.
"Elder Dragons are part of nature!"
"I knew you'd notice that!" Kairo Retsu gave him a big thumbs-up.
"Exactly! That's why I love Nergigante!"
"And I think that's what being a Hunter should mean too."
Kairo Retsu turned to Laios with a serious gaze.
"I want to write this down someday—for the other members, and for the ones who might join us in the future."
"Right now, we haven't encountered any 'regulators'—any forces that act as a check on us, the ones who hunt monsters. But even if such a thing doesn't exist now…"
"If we act without restraint, one day a being will appear to regulate us."
"That's why, as Hunters, we must strike our own balance."
"Like Tanjiro—in his world, there's Muzan."
"Or you, Laios—your world's demon. We may hunt to resolve anomalies, but we also have to be mindful not to become the kind of monsters that destroy nature ourselves."
"Otherwise, one day…"
"The 'Nergigante' that hunts us Elder Dragons… will appear above our heads."
Kairo Retsu looked solemnly at Laios.
"This is the guidance and responsibility I carry as Guildmaster—wait, Laios, what are you looking at?"
"Guildmaster!!"
Laios exclaimed in shock.
"Look above us!!"
"Huh?"
Kairo Retsu looked up.
Through the seam in their tent ceiling… he saw a massive silhouette with twin horns hurtling straight toward the camp.
In the next instant, the entire tent was blown away by the shockwave of a landing Nergigante.
"THIS WASN'T YOUR CUE TO SHOW UP, NERGIGANTE—AAAAAARGH!! HELP!! A MONSTER'S IN THE CAMP!!!"
Poll: What should replace Teaching Kendo in Tokyo 1980 (TKT)?
Hey everyone,
I've decided to put Teaching Kendo in Tokyo 1980 (TKT) on hiatus for now. In the meantime, I thought it'd be fun to run a poll to see what you'd like me to work on next. Can't wait to see what you all pick!
Options:
A brand new fanfic (picked by me)
Continue a recommended fanfic (suggested by Readers and will be voted on Again)
Two chapters a day for Uchiha Kei: Game Dev in the Shinobi World
Two chapters a day for My Game Studio is Full of Valkyries?!
Two chapters a day for Monster Hunter Grand Assembly
📅 Voting will be open on Patreon for one week!
patreon.com/BestElysium