MHGA Chapter 200 – David's Resolve
"So expensive… so expensive!" Kairo Retsu looked heartbroken as he stared at the list of items exchangeable for Arena Challenge Coins. "Why does a Kelbi Raptor cost so many coins?!"
"Because a Kelbi Raptor is a very precious partner, nya!" the Felyne said innocently to Kairo Retsu. "No matter how harsh the environment, Kelbi Raptors can go with Hunters, nya!"
"We can't even afford a Kelbi Raptor…" Kairo Retsu lamented in sorrow.
He quickly did a little mental math.
If he started now and fought in the Arena Challenges non-stop without sleep, and with his current combat skill it took about two hours to defeat a challenger… and that was just one of the beginner-level ones…
Then he'd only need—three months to get a Kelbi Raptor of his own!
"There's no way! In three months the flowers will have wilted!" Kairo Retsu shouted. "Isn't there an easier option?! Like a Mount Whistle or something?!"
"Hunters can also hire Palamutes, nya! And Palamutes can even help in combat, nya! They're really strong!" the Felyne explained. "As for the Mount Whistle, we do have something like that…"
"Really?! Can we use it?" Kairo Retsu's eyes lit up with hope.
"But… aren't the Hunters going to hunt in Night City, nya?" The Felyne looked puzzled. "If the Hunters use a Mount Whistle, what mount would actually come, nya?"
"Ah!"
Kairo Retsu collapsed forward in despair onto the ground. "Looks like once we find Kirin, we'll just have to chip away at it over time…"
"Guildmaster," David asked with a puzzled look, "what's a Mount Whistle?"
"It's a super handy tool that lets you summon a local mount once you've built up enough reputation with the local tribes," Kairo Retsu explained. "Damn it! I miss my Palamute!"
"Then, Guildmaster…"
David hesitated a bit, unsure if he should say it, but in the end he poked Kairo Retsu and asked, "Can't we just ride a motorcycle or drive a car?"
"..."
David's words cast a deathly silence over the entire room.
Tanjiro, Himmel, and Laios had never encountered cars or motorcycles before, so it never occurred to them.
Kazuma, Joseph, and Naofumi Iwatani had all spent too long at the Gathering Hub and hadn't switched gears mentally.
Rakuro Hizutome and Shirou Emiya were still just high school students—they hadn't gotten driver's licenses for motorcycles or anything yet…
In the end, David was the only one who thought of using technology.
"Genius!"
Kairo Retsu sprang up from the floor and tackled David. "How did I not think of hunting on motorcycles?!"
"Hunting on motorcycles… What kind of anachronistic tone shift is that?" Kazuma complained. "That's just bizarre!"
"But I don't have a license…" Shirou Emiya said anxiously. "Should I go back and take the exam…?"
"Night City needs a license?" Kairo Retsu clapped a hand on Shirou's shoulder. "Relax, just hop on a bike and go. Licenses? Night City doesn't check for that."
"Fascinating."
Himmel, who had sobered up and quietly joined the strategy session, smiled as he observed the other Hunters preparing their plans for the hunt. It reminded him of when he and his companions used to strategize for Dungeon raids.
"If there's anything I can help with, just let me know," Himmel said with a gentle smile. "If anyone wants to improve their combat technique, I'd be happy to help train you."
"Wha—! Himmel, aren't you coming with us?!" Kazuma's eyes widened. "You're the strongest one here!"
"If there's a place where I'm truly needed, of course I'll go,"
Himmel replied. "But… if I get too involved, I'd end up stunting your growth."
"What are you thinking?! You slacker, Kazuma!" Kairo Retsu shot him a look of disdain. "Himmel is our base's ultimate secret weapon! If we just drag him in, when would we ever get to show our stuff…"
"Being carried is a kind of strength!" Kazuma argued confidently. "It's super efficient!"
"Overruled!"
Kairo Retsu rejected him without mercy. "Everyone here is a rising star full of potential! Kazuma, how the hell did you even make it this far?!"
"You bastard! Weren't you clinging to Himmel's leg before too?!" Kazuma lunged forward and started grappling with Kairo Retsu.
As the strategy session drew to a close, after passing on all the information about Kirin, Kairo Retsu also asked the Hunters to think of any good strategies they might have for taking it down.
And beyond Kirin, Kairo Retsu finally brought up the matter of David and Night City.
"By now, you should all know—Night City is part of a huge series, with a ton of stories inside it…"
He looked at David. "David is just one of those stories. But when it comes to Night City, there's still a lot we can do."
"For example: Arasaka Corporation. The Relic. Then there's Saburo Arasaka… and Yorinobu Arasaka."
Kairo Retsu continued, "Even though David's mother has been rescued… David, you're not planning to stop here, are you?"
He said this while glancing at the blood on David's body—blood caused by cyberware implants.
"I want… to change Night City!"
David clenched his fist. "Night City is completely broken!"
His expression grew intense.
After seeing the other Hunters at the Gathering Hub—some of whom even had peaceful lives in comparison—David could feel the twisted nature of Night City.
His world was the most technologically advanced of all the Hunters' realities, yet it was also the one most steeped in decay and death.
Night City was sick. It had been sick for a long time.
David believed that if he really was destined to follow the path of the Hanged Man—fated to sacrifice himself for something—then he would use that fate to change this diseased Night City.
For the comrades he saw in his future.
For his mother.
And for that girl… the one in his dreams, wrapped in color.
"I will become the legend of Night City!"
David Martinez, standing before the Hunters, made his solemn vow.
"This Night City is completely diseased. It's become a creature that's deviated entirely from normalcy—a monster…"
"If there's a reason I became a Hunter…"
"…Then hunting this monster is that reason!"
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