After filling up on sweets that were hardly kind to aging stomachs, Fugen and the Caravaneer left the tea shop thoroughly satisfied.
The latter said nothing about the next leg of his journey. A wanderer who followed his whims, he simply went wherever the road took him, free and unfettered.
He disliked goodbyes as well. At his age, any farewell could prove to be the last, bringing nothing but needless sorrow.
Rather than offer hollow promises that they would meet again, he preferred to save his anticipation for the joy of their next chance encounter.
The Caravaneer's advice gave Isis a direction to pursue. The moment her "shift" at the tea shop ended, she rushed to the Smithy by the village gate without even changing out of her waitress uniform.
Altaïr went with her.
He meant to check on Sajji, who had vanished for several days. The Espinas materials had arrived as well, giving him a perfect opportunity to ask about the progress of his new equipment.
—--
When he found Sajji, the Felyne's fur was a mess and dark circles shadowed his eyes. Yet he was unnaturally energetic, as if he had downed one Energy Drink too many.
The moment he spotted Altaïr, he bounded over and chattered endlessly about all the ingenious mechanical designs he had seen over the past few days, without caring whether Altaïr understood a word.
Isis went straight to the head smith, Hibasa, to ask about modifying her Gunlance.
After hearing her request, Hibasa stroked his neatly trimmed goatee. "I've heard a little about the modifications you're proposing, but to be honest, we don't have much technical expertise with Gunlance modifications here.
"Most Hunters in Kamura devote more attention to Silkbind techniques. At present, we have only two practical Gunlance modifications that are ready for combat.
"The first is a muzzle brake designed for Blast Dash. It looks like you've already completed that modification.
"The second is the Erupting Cannon. Simply put, it replaces the Wyrmstake Cannon with a lighter special stake that explodes. It fires more quickly, though its power is noticeably lower. In return, firing the Erupting Cannon heats the muzzle and blade, enhancing the weapon's slashing attacks.
"If you're interested in the Erupting Cannon, I can make that modification for you."
"So it would replace the Wyrmstake Cannon..."
Isis hesitated. She loved using the Wyrmstake Cannon. Driving a solid metal stake deep into a Monster's wound not only dealt tremendous damage, but also kept the wound bleeding. She did not want to give up such a useful attack.
Yet the Erupting Cannon's ability to heat the blade and temporarily enhance its slashing power was tempting as well...
"Could you add the Erupting Cannon while keeping the Wyrmstake Cannon? Maybe... add another barrel or something?"
Isis made the suggestion tentatively.
Hibasa shook his head. "That isn't possible, at least not with the technology we have here.
"Someone might attempt such a reckless modification, but it would drastically increase the risk of mechanical failure and severely compromise the weapon's reliability. I strongly advise against it."
"All right..." Isis's shoulders slumped.
As Hibasa had said, a Hunter's weapon had to be reliable before it could be powerful. Wyvern's Fire was devastating, but who would use it if there were a fifty percent chance of the barrel exploding?
Seeing her dejection, Hibasa scratched his curly, medium-length hair. "You don't need to be so discouraged. We can't perform the modifications you described here, but you could try Harth.
"Its reputation as the world's finest smithing village is well deserved. The smiths there may be able to offer you more options.
"I won't say too much, but I have heard that Harth's smiths developed a special form of Wyvern's Fire far more powerful than the standard version.
"It never became widespread because its tremendous power and recoil can easily injure the user.
"Only a handful of exceptionally powerful Gunlance users have their weapons modified to perform it. The resulting technique is powerful enough to be called a Hunter Art."
Isis's eyes lit up again. She resolved to find time to visit Harth soon.
"One more word of advice." Hibasa crossed his arms. "Techniques that powerful inevitably damage the weapon. Have it inspected and repaired regularly, or you may suffer a mechanical failure.
"If you don't have time to bring it to a smithy, ask Sajji. He's improving quickly; repairing a Gunlance's mechanisms is already well within his ability."
Sajji glanced over with a puzzled "Meow?" as though he had heard someone call his name.
Altaïr rubbed his head. Sajji was growing more versatile by the day.
"Oh, right. Since you're here too, Altaïr, there are two matters I need to confirm with you. First, the Armor. This set has a somewhat unusual design, so if you have any personal requirements, habits of use, or aesthetic preferences, now is the time to mention them."
Hibasa winked at him. "Our Smithy is very accommodating, you know. We even offer dyeing services. Interested in having your new equipment dyed pink?"
"...There's no need to dye it." Altaïr knew Hibasa was joking, but he made his refusal perfectly clear just in case.
"As for how I fight... flexibility, I suppose. I want to minimize any restriction on my movement without compromising the Armor's performance."
"Really?" Hibasa blinked in surprise. "I thought you would prefer something flashier.
"You know, a horned helmet, oversized pauldrons... I was even planning to add pauldrons to your Espinas Armor Set."
"Why would you think... All right, I know why," Altaïr said helplessly.
The Regios Armor Set he had worn for so long featured the quintessential horned helmet and oversized pauldrons. Its gleaming gold finish only made it look more ostentatious.
"The Regios pauldrons help sharpen my blade. If the parts serve no purpose but decoration, I can do without them. I'm a pragmatist." Altaïr firmly corrected Hibasa's misconception about his tastes.
"All right, then." Hibasa seemed a little disappointed. He had a fondness for exaggerated Armor designs.
Hibasa walked over to the workbench and picked up several blueprints showing the components of an Armor set.
The main body consisted of fitted plates of hard shell. Apart from a few connecting pieces, almost no metal was visible.
Given the strength of Espinas shell, a metal lining truly did seem redundant.
"Think it looks a little too fitted and bare?" Hibasa asked with a smile. "Be patient. It isn't finished yet."
He brought Altaïr another blueprint, this one depicting a sleeveless long coat.
Altaïr looked at him in confusion. Smiling, Hibasa overlaid the two blueprints and held them closer to the lamp on the workbench.
As the light shone through the sheets, the coat overlaid the hard Armor and transformed its appearance entirely.
Somewhere between cool and weird...
"I selected heavy Espinas shell for the inner armor. The outer layer will be a long coat tanned from tough Espinas hide. It combines tradition and modernity to create a distinctive look.
"Are you sure you don't want a pair of decorative pauldrons? Maybe some metal belt buckles too? They'd make you look imposing!"
Hibasa picked up a charcoal pencil and lightly sketched a few lines on the blueprint.
So this is how it looks with them...
Altaïr studied the blueprint for a while. "Aren't the shoulders already reinforced with thick padding? Two layers of it, inside and out..."
"That's practical. I'm talking about decorative pauldrons!"
"Thank you, but no." Altaïr remained firm. "Also, if possible, could you remove the spikes from the backs of the gauntlets? I think they'd interfere with my sword swings."
"What a dull young man." Hibasa sighed and tossed the blueprint back onto the workbench. "Well, you're the one who'll be wearing it, so we'll do as you say.
"Then there's your new weapon..."
"Tell me!" Altaïr cut in before Hibasa could finish, his expression suddenly grave.
Seeing his attitude change so abruptly, Hibasa's face darkened. "What is it with you Blademasters? You're all hoarders. The moment weapons come up, you get excited, but when it comes to Armor, you couldn't care less.
"Honestly... I should send you hunting naked with nothing but a sword!"
Sajji muttered from the side, "He did that just last month, meow..."
"..."
"Young people these days..." Hibasa muttered, as if recalling something. "Forget it. I don't want to know how reckless you are on the hunting grounds. Let's get down to business.
"Chief Maki told me that you use more than just the Long Sword, so I need to confirm what kind of weapon you want me to forge.
"What do you say? Should I use the remaining Espinas materials to make a Long Sword, or would you prefer something else?"
"Mr. Hibasa, in your opinion, what kind of weapon would suit these materials best?" Altaïr asked humbly.
"Dual Blades," Hibasa answered without hesitation, then repeated himself for emphasis. "Without question, Dual Blades!"
Altaïr fell silent for two seconds. "What about a Long Sword? It's the weapon I use most often. If its performance isn't much worse than the Dual Blades, I might still..."
"The difference is substantial," Hibasa cut in. "We can certainly make an Espinas Long Sword, but it can only be imbued with Poison Element.
"Compared with the Wyvern Blade 'Holly' farther along the upgrade tree, it has slightly greater destructive power but a weaker Poison Element. Each has advantages and drawbacks, so it would hardly be a clear improvement.
"A Hunter of your level has forged a Wyvern Blade before, I assume?"
"Yes. I have a Wyvern Blade 'Verde'."
"The Wyvern Blade has many upgrade branches. My advice is to continue along the Rathalos line. Don't branch off onto some side path; it isn't worth it.
"Back to the point. The poison buildup delivered by each strike of an Espinas Long Sword is essentially the same as that of the Espinas Dual Blades.
"Once you account for the difference in attack frequency between the weapons, you can see why the Espinas Long Sword's Poison Element is so lackluster."
"It does seem a little..."
"Hold on, I'm not finished." Hibasa grinned. "As I said, the Espinas Long Sword can only carry Poison Element, but the main and off-hand blades of the Espinas Dual Blades can carry Poison Element and Fire Element, respectively.
"The Espinas Dual Blades are already clearly superior to the Long Sword on poison alone, and their additional Fire Element is every bit as strong as their Poison Element. Do you understand the difference now?"
"A weapon with both Poison and Fire Elements?!" Altaïr stared at him in astonishment.
No wonder even a Hunter of Maki's caliber had called the Espinas Dual Blades "not bad." There was no reason to hesitate.
Espinas Long Sword? What Espinas Long Sword?
"Please forge me the Espinas Dual Blades!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)