FanFic:MHAdvance Chapter 2: Ville d'automne

>Introduction Page<

When Jack came to, he was laying in his bed. His shirt had been removed and was almost entirely replaced by bandages which were soaked with blood. His shield arm’s shoulder had been dislocated in the fight, but it was set now. His forearm was in a splint of some sort. He was bandaged in a few other places, but aside from his chest and arm, there wasn’t anything too major. He tilted his head and looked at his father’s weapon rack, where his proudest creations waited to be used. Next to all of the powerful equipment was the rusted Sword and Shield.

He tilted his head to the other side of his bed, looking at his nightstand. On it, he found a large bowl of soup that was still hot, with a note that read ‘Eat some. You’ll feel better.’ He propped himself up and put the bowl of soup in his lap. He ate a little bit before setting the soup back on his nightstand.

Getting out of bed, he hobbled over to the door. Outside, he heard his father working to meet the demands of several customers. He opened the door and stepped outside. Three hunters had come in with commissions for new equipment. As his father finished the commissions and handed the hunters their gear, he took his pay and collapsed into a chair, breathing heavily. “Dad…” Jack said weakly. His father looked at him and made an exhausted smile. But his face became serious quickly. “Jack, what did you run into out there?! I was feeling panicky when I heard that roar from the forest, then saw those electric bursts…” he said. “In any case, I’m happy you made it home. I tried to guess when you’d wake up so the soup was still hot…” Jack smiled, but it hurt. His face was pretty cut up and bruised.

“I’ll tell you all about it if you can spare a minute.” Jack replied. He took a seat on his own chair. His father looked at him with anticipation. Jack took a few minutes to explain how he had run into an Astalos in the Verdant Hills, and how he had tried to run from it. He took some time to explain where the sword came from, and he finally ended by talking about the brief fight.

By the end of Jack’s story, his father was in awe. He was in sheer disbelief at what he had once thought of his son. He had thought that Jack would try to run away from a monster, no matter what. But, for whatever reason, he decided to fight instead of flee. Sure, he got busted up, but he ended up winning. He thought for a second, and finally asked Jack. “After this encounter, do you still have interest in joining the Guild and becoming a hunter?”

Jack thought about it for a few moments. He, a scrawny kid with no prior hunting experience, had fought a dangerous monster with a dull blade. Maybe he had potential, just like the tarnished sword. “More than ever.” He replied. His father stood up and smiled. “Then it’s settled. Tonight, we’ll start our ride to Freia Village’s Guild HQ.” Jack looked enthusiastic, then he limped inside to gather his things.

He took his item bag full of supplies; potions, rations, whetstones, energy drinks, and more. Then he moved to the weapon rack, removing his sword and shield and placing them on his back. He took other things, too. Spare clothes, ingredients for food, and his zenny. He ate the rest of his soup and watched the sun as it set. When it was finally dusk, his dad had finished preparing his Aptonoth for travel.

Jack threw his bags into the cart and stepped in. He laid down on a bedroll and drifted to sleep as the Aptonoth trotted off. He read over his application as they rode. This time, he was certain about applying. Either way, it’s not like he could go back now. He tucked the paper into is trousers and fell asleep.

The next morning, the cart pulled into Freia Village. It was a secluded place surrounded in maple trees with orange leaves. Most of the ground was dirt, but the outskirts of town were covered in trees and yellow grass. A stream ran through the center of the village, dividing the residential and Guild areas. Jack looked around in awe. He saw villagers roaming around, and newbie hunters who are also about to register at the Guild Hall.

Jack hopped out of the cart with his application in hand. He was still bandaged up, but they were fresh and no longer bloody. He caught sight of a few girls about his age looking at him and talking amongst themselves. He walked towards the Guild Hall, both excited and afraid. But his fear was suppressed this time by his spirit. He smiled as he stepped into the hall.

He was greeted by socializing groups of hunters, all playing cards, eating, or drinking. Then there was a girl, talking with the Guildmaster. She had an application in her hand. Jack overheard the Guildmaster say that this was the last day they were accepting hunter application for the season, and that she was just on time. Jack approached them, and handed the Guildmaster his application. “Eh? You’re that Jack kid, right? You’ve applied here three times before?” the Guildmaster asked. Jack looked away, a little embarrassed. “I can’t withdraw it this time. My dad said he was tired of me looking back, that I needed to go forwards. So here I am.” Jack replied.

The Guildmaster, being a short Wyverian who had previously been sitting on the front desk dropped to the floor and shook Jack’s hand. “Then it’s settled. Welcome to the Guild, both of you.” He said. Jack looked at the girl. She wore Lagombi armor made with pink cloth instead of the standard blue. Her skin was a dark tan color, and her eyes were a cloudy gray. Jack shook her hand and introduced himself. “I’m Hilda. Nice to meet you.” The girl said.

Jack noticed she was looking at his bandaged chest. “I got roughed up by an Astalos a few days ago. He gave me some pretty bad gashes.” He explained. Hilda seemed interested in the story, but Jack told her he’d tell her another time. As the two turned to leave the hall, a group of what Jack could only assume were hunters walked in. A man Jack could only assume was the leader of the group approached him and Hilda.

The man wore a blue jacket with the guild insignia sewed into the back. Behind him was a man with a red jacket, and another who had modified his jacket into a cape. Behind them, four men in black jackets followed. All of the jackets had a guild insignia. The leader of the group, who stood taller than almost everyone else in the hall, save for a few Guild hunters and the man with the cape, and looked down on the newbie hunters.

The caped man asked, “Ah, come on Devon. You aren’t going to try and intimidate the newbies again, are you?” Devon looked at the caped man and scoffed. “I don’t suppose you want to question my authority. If you mean to challenge me, I’ll be more than happy to accept.” he replied, crossing his arms and looking back at Jack and Hilda. He singled out Jack first. “What happened to you, kid? Fall off the Aptonoth or something?” Jack’s face turns a little bit red, but Devon continued. “What’s your name? Wait, I don’t care. Father’s name? No, I’d better spare him the embarrassment.” he said. Jack was getting angry. Why would a G-Rank hunter treat a newblood like such trash?

Devon examined Jack, checking his more prominent wounds. He notices burn marks from electric shocks. He snickers and crouches down to meet Jack eye to eye, and pokes hard at his bandages, sending shots of pain up Jack’s body. “What happened here?” he asked.

Jack quickly explained the Astalos hunt with as little detail as possible. Devon listened, clearly unconvinced by the story’s legitimacy, and also seemingly uninterested. Jack talked about the battle the most, explaining how he cut up the Astalos and sent it running. Devon chuckled a little bit at what he believed was a complete fabrication.

“Oh please, you’ll just have to tell me the one about you slaying an Elder Dragon next!” Devon said, with obvious sarcasm. “Now, let’s assume for a second that I believed you. Why did you let the Astalos escape?” he asked. “I was too injured to run after it. I had to get home and patch myself up…” Jack replied. “You’ll never be a good hunter if you let your prey escape. Oh, what am I saying? You’ll never be a good hunter regardless.” Devon said with a smirk.

Devon’s relentless insults weren’t over yet. “Who’s the girl? Is she with you? Of course not. She’s female.” He chuckled. Jack was reaching breaking point. Hunters in the hall were laughing at him, egging Devon on. Jack stood, stiff as a board with his eyes wide. He clenched his fists, but resisted the urge to lash out.

Devon looks at Jack’s rusty blade. “Nice sword. Did you find it when you were digging for treasure in a field?” he taunted. Jack became confused, questioning whether or not this was an insult or an actual question. “And on another note, your arms are like noodles before you put them in water. Put any strain on them and they’ll break! Where’d all the muscle go, noodle boy?” he said, laughing. His men laughed with him, and Jack was turning brighter red with every insult.

“And your posture is atrocious! Your mother let you walk around like that? Or is she just as stupid as you are?” Devon taunted. Suddenly, Jack snapped. He drew his sword and swung at Devon with all his might. Devon simply caught the blade with his bare hand, and wrenched it from Jack’s hand. He looked at the rusty sword before tossing it to the side.

(Do you do that every time someone asks a question?)

“Don’t say that about my mother… EVER!” Jack yelled. Devon and his men stopped chuckling, and everyone in the hall went silent. It was the first time someone had stood up to Devon with that much unyielding rage. Usually the blue jacket was enough to deter swings. Devon raised an eyebrow. “Your sword is blunt. You’re better off attacking me with your fists than with that rusty stick.” He said.

After this, Devon became bored of insulting Jack, so he turned to Hilda, trying to think of something clever. “It’s a good thing you moved here from Pokke. You should have left it to the professionals in the first place.” He said, seemingly out of creativity. He turned around, and threw one last insult at Jack, then turned his back. “If this is how you treat people like yourself, how much can you really know about hunting?!” Jack yelled in return, causing Devon to stop in the doorway. He turned around and spit on the floor, then walked out.

Jack picked up his sword, when what looked like green metal was revealed from under the rust. He shook his head and sheathed the sword. Everybody just stared at him, even the Guildmaster. He walked out of the Guild Hall, embarrassed about the whole incident. His dad was talking to a Guild representative, moving Jack’s belongings into a small lodge.

“It’s pretty nice here. There are worse places to have to stay.” Hilda commented, trying to make Jack feel better. “If you want, we could go for a walk after I get moved into my lodge.” She offered. Jack looked at her and smiled a little, then he nodded. He walked towards his father while Hilda went to unpack her things.