"So, this world is this unique, huh? Hollows, Ethereals, investigators, Proxy Masters, as well as Bangboos and carrots. But I never imagined the city you're living in now is humanity's last hope. New Eridu, that's a nice name."
Andrew listened as the little thing—oh, he should call it a Bangboo now—explained the state of the world, and couldn't help but marvel at humanity's resilience.
As expected, no matter the world, the light that humanity shines with when fighting for survival is always dazzling. It was true for the people in the world of Monster Hunter, and it's true for the people of this world too.
Seeing that the man in front of her didn't seem to be corrupted by Ether, Belle stopped rushing him like she had at the beginning and started answering his questions instead.
"So, from the looks of it, these Hollows and Ethereals are pure forces of natural destruction. I imagine the ecosystem here must be in tatters after being ravaged by them, right?"
"Ecosystem?"
This time, it was Belle's turn to be stunned. All of humanity was struggling just to survive in the face of the Hollows; the term "natural ecosystem" had been forgotten long ago.
"Sorry, that was a redundant question. When facing a problem as massive as the Hollows, just discussing survival takes everything you've got. Naturally, there's no energy left to care for anything else. And the Hollows... They are the enemy of all existence in this world."
"I don't totally get what you're saying, but you're right that the Hollows are everyone's enemy. Most people are working hard to eliminate them, but don't think everyone's so noble. There are plenty of villains who'll take advantage of the situation, persecuting others to line their own pockets. Gangs, Hollow Raiders, and even rebels... they're all like that. They're extremely dangerous desperados, so don't show any mercy if you run into them!"
Sitting on Andrew's shoulder armor, Belle used Eous's short little hands to pat his white helmet with its faint purple markings. She patiently explained the situation in New Eridu to Andrew, who seemed as clueless as a wild man who'd just popped out of some forgotten corner of the world—though his strength was completely off the charts.
Just then, Andrew, holding a Hunter's Dagger, struck with a swift flash of his blade. He pierced right through the gaping maw of a pouncing Hati-type Ethereal, skewering its Ethereal Hollow at the same time. Immediately after, he began skillfully carving materials from it.
Claws, teeth, hide—in just a few short seconds, Andrew's incredible speed and sharp Hunter's Knife had stripped a set of everything from the creature.
In this world that clearly had no Guilds, Andrew felt the material gathering process was even more challenging due to the rules of the world itself.
He had Lone Bird to thank. If she hadn't been competing with him for materials every single day, Andrew never would have developed such extraordinary speed.
"Such fast movements! How did you train to do that? And why are you collecting all that stuff? As the Ethereal dissipates, its parts will gradually disappear along with the Ether energy, right? Doing that also prevents the Ethereal from converting into Ether crystals."
Despite sitting on Andrew's shoulder, Belle didn't feel any jostling from his movements. It was as if he was completely used to having a small thing on his shoulder; he even managed to notice if the Bangboo had slipped a little on the curve of his pauldron.
"I have special preservation techniques, don't worry."
Andrew waved a hand to reassure Belle before continuing:
"Where I came from, we had the technology to forge monster materials into weapons and armor. This set of gear I'm wearing was made that way. During my time as Ann adventurer, I learned a lot of crafting techniques from them. Once we're out of here, I plan to see if I can make anything with these materials. As for my speed..."
At this, a slight smile touched Andrew's lips.
"It's because my good partner and I used to compete for materials every day. I refused to lose, so we were always fighting over them, and it gradually became a habit. You could say practice makes perfect. It's just that now, I'm racing against time instead."
"Eh? You have a partner? Where is she? Is she waiting for you somewhere?"
Hearing that this tough guy in front of her actually had a companion, Belle's curiosity was instantly piqued.
She shook the Bangboo's head, making Eous's ears wiggle like two wavy lines.
Andrew instinctively reached up and adjusted Belle, who had slipped down a bit from all the shaking, back into place before explaining:
"No, they're not in this world. I'm all alone in this world now."
The moment the words left Andrew's mouth, Belle wilted on his shoulder. Her head stopped shaking, her ears stopped wiggling, and she sat there obediently, as if she'd suddenly turned into a prim and proper girl.
She stammered for a good while before finally whispering Ann apology.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up."
"It's fine. They're living just fine back in that world. They'd probably be okay even if I died, so it's really no big deal."
Completely oblivious to the ambiguity of his words, Andrew waved his hand dismissively.
The misunderstanding, coupled with Andrew's seemingly nonchalant attitude, struck a sharp blow to Belle's conscience, and she scrambled to change the subject.
"Right, right! You're so strong, are you sure you're not the newly nominated Void Hunter? In all this time, I've only seen you in that pure white armor! Just give me the scoop, after all, you already know I'm a Proxy Master, don't you?"
"The legendary Proxy Masters, 'Phaethon'?"
Seeing the normally lively Belle suddenly acting so demure, Andrew couldn't resist teasing her.
"What legendary Proxy Masters?! We're aspiring to be legendary Proxy Masters, aspiring! We're not legendary yet! It's just a tiny, tiny group of people who say that right now!"
Although Andrew's teasing made her a bit flustered, the moment the topic turned to her area of expertise, Belle immediately puffed up with pride.
"Even though there are a few others on the Proxy Net who are ranked up there with us, Phaethon, I can say with confidence that when it comes to being Proxy Masters, Phaethon is definitely the best!"
Belle's tone was full of passion, but all Andrew could see was Belle in her Bangboo form. Watching her stand on his pauldron with the Bangboo's arms crossed, making these bold declarations, was just unbearably cute.
"I'm serious!"
Seeing Andrew trying to hold back a laugh, Belle couldn't help but get exasperated, waving the Bangboo's little hands and rapping them against his helmet with a series of clangs.
"Stop knocking, stop knocking! Of course I believe you. I've never once doubted your words."
Seeing that Belle was genuinely getting a little angry, Andrew immediately began to plead for mercy. Since he didn't seem to be lying, Belle magnanimously decided to stop knocking on his helmet.
"So what about your identity? I was being completely honest with you!"
Hearing Belle press the issue, Andrew helplessly scratched his helmet.
"But I've never even been to New Eridu. Before you explained it, I didn't even know what a Void Hunter was. Besides, I've only been here for a week. There's no way I could've gotten a title like Void Hunter on my very first day, right? So it must just be a coincidence with the armor color. If you're really asking for my identity, I only have one: Hunter."
Belle found Andrew's explanation very reasonable, but it also made her realize something.
"You only just arrived in New Eridu?"
"Yeah."
"Then you're probably not anyone's exclusive Proxy, are you?"
"What's a Proxy?"
Hearing this, Belle immediately got excited. She stood up on his pauldron and, with a few quick hops, jumped down to the ground while Andrew shielded her with his other hand. She then immediately turned and placed her hands on Andrew's, who had knelt down to prevent the Bangboo from getting hurt in the jump.
"In that case, come be a Proxy for us, for Phaethon! With our Hollow technology and your strength, we can definitely become the strongest combo in New Eridu!"
Belle was just about to list the benefits she could promise, remembering what Nicole had told her a few days ago—'When you're recruiting someone, you gotta sell them the dream first'—but before she could get the words out, Andrew firmly grasped the hand she had placed on his.
"I accept."
"You... you accept?! But I haven't even told you about the pay or anything! Aren't you afraid I might actually be a bad guy and totally screw you over?"
Andrew's acceptance was so quick that it completely threw Belle off, causing her to ask a slightly incoherent question as her first reaction.
"I'm not worried about that. I'm agreeing because I trust you. Besides, you didn't ask for any payment when you helped me."
As for what he left unsaid, besides his trust in the girl's previous actions and his own judgment, there was also his confidence in his own strength.
Before the Sapphire Star, he would always be a disciple, but out in the world, he had never feared anyone.
Me, afraid of bad guys? The bad guys should be afraid of me. Even if I run into someone with a knife hidden behind a smile, my fists aren't for show.
But Belle had no idea what Andrew was thinking. Standing on the ground as Bangboo Belle, she subconsciously looked up at Andrew's face. She had to admit one thing: he was completely serious. He truly trusted her.
This feeling of being trusted was really nice, but it also made Belle start to worry. What if someone took advantage of how easily Andrew trusted people? Thinking about this, Belle decided that as his Proxy Master, she would have to vet things carefully for him from now on.
"Alright then! From this moment on, the team of New Eridu's strongest Proxy Master and strongest Proxy is born! To celebrate our new partnership, when you get to New Eridu, I'll treat you to the best restaurant near my place! It's all you can eat!"
As soon as he heard the word "food," Andrew, who had been starving for most of the day, nodded eagerly. If he wasn't responsible for protecting Belle from Ethereal attacks, he would have flown to the restaurant that very instant.
A Hunter's appetite is naturally huge, and going without food for so long had only made Andrew's stomach feel worse. He subconsciously thought of the sumptuous Canteen meals the Head Chef used to cook back in the New World, and couldn't help but swallow as he quickened his pace.
Along the way, he listened to Belle's constant chatter as she explained all sorts of common knowledge about this world to Andrew.
For example, a Proxy is essentially the "hands and feet" of a Proxy Master. Most Proxy Masters are non-combatants responsible for strategic command, intelligence analysis, and most importantly, guiding people through the Hollows. The Proxy, on the other hand, is the tactical executor, carrying out commissions from the Proxy Master to complete Hollow explorations, material retrieval, and the most special task of all: rescuing personnel surrounded by high-risk Ethereals.
The last type of mission offered the highest reward but also involved the greatest danger. Beyond normal commissioned work, what Belle wanted from a long-term partnership was for Andrew to be a sort of guardian. That way, even if they suddenly encountered Ann Ethereal they couldn't handle during other commissions, they wouldn't have to worry as long as Andrew was there.
Watching Belle, in her Bangboo form on his shoulder, happily wiggling its two ears as she enthusiastically planned for the future, Andrew couldn't help but feel his own spirits lift.
Thinking back on the two sudden transmigrations he'd experienced in his life, Andrew sighed with emotion.
"I really seem to have a strong connection with interdimensional travel..."
"What? What connection? A connection with who?"
Although Andrew's voice was quite low, Belle, sitting on his shoulder, still caught the gist of it. She leaned curiously against his helmet, her gossip-loving heart burning with intensity.
With half his vision blocked by the Bangboo's expression display, Andrew rubbed Eous's head and pushed it back to its original position.
"I was saying that the two of us seem to be fated to meet. Otherwise, in a Hollow this big, how could we have run into each other so easily? Besides, we get along pretty well."
Realizing the gossip was about her, Belle's face instantly started to feel a little hot. Wise, watching from the side, tutted, marveling at how his sister was still so easily flustered. In response, Ann embarrassed and angry Belle grabbed the soft flesh of his waist and twisted it a full one hundred and eighty degrees.
Ignoring her brother, who had let out a wretched scream and collapsed to the floor, Belle patted her hot cheeks to cool them down a bit before reopening the voice connection on Eous.
Noticing that Belle had gone quiet for a moment, Andrew asked with some confusion:
"Why did you suddenly go silent just now? Did something happen? I thought I heard someone cry out in pain in the background."
"It's nothing, just my brother. He just stubbed his little toe on the corner of a table while walking. But he's tough as nails, so don't worry about him."
Hearing his sister's heartless words, Wise, lying on the floor, silently wrote the character for "Tragic" in front of him with ketchup, then stretched out his right hand and went still. With his left, he turned on his personal music player and started playing a mournful song featuring a female solo.
"Kibou no hana~"
As the saying goes, "when the woman sings, the man dies." Unable to take it anymore, Belle rushed over, slammed Wise's music player shut, and started shoving him out of the room.
"Don't smear ketchup on the floor! It's my turn to clean today! If you have the energy for these shenanigans, then hurry up and drive out of the Hollow to pick someone up! You can't expect Andrew to walk all the way to New Eridu from this far out! It's not like he can be shipped by express delivery!"
"No way, Belle. How long have you known him? And you're already exploiting your big bro to do favors for a new guy?"
Wise chuckled teasingly as Belle pushed him out of the room from behind.
"Hmph! You should be thrilled that we managed to pick up such a strong Proxy for free. Just driving to pick someone up is nothing, it's called showing good faith!"
"Actually... I can just run to New Eridu directly. When I first started as a Hunter, I could track prey for dozens of kilometers through a rainforest just for a hunt."
Hearing Belle say she would come pick him up, Andrew, confident that he had more than enough stamina to run there, made the suggestion.
"But this is different! What kind of Proxy Master makes their Proxy walk while they sit around waiting comfortably at home? Don't worry, my brother and I might mess around, but we're not careless when it comes to things like this. Besides, this way we can save on the shipping fee for Eous."
-
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