The 6:00 PM bell had already chimed. Rainier and his four subordinates, having taken off their goggles, joined the crowd of onlookers. They gathered behind and to the left of Wayne's gaming chair, while Marlin, his daughter, and Little Tess stood to the right.
Amy dragged over a chair so her aging father could sit comfortably and watch.
Marlin hadn't eaten dinner yet. He had felt hungry earlier while tracking his daughter all the way to Goldshire, but from the moment he stepped into the net cafe, everything on the screen made him forget his physical needs. He had even momentarily lost sight of his original goal: to bring back and discipline his "rebellious" runaway daughter.
Wayne prepared his items once more in the gathering hub, specifically focusing on recovery items, ammunition, and the materials needed to craft essential consumables.
For instance, he brought Nitroshrooms and Fire Herbs to craft Gunpowder, which could then be combined with Large Barrels to create Large Barrel Bombs.
Then there were the materials for his bullets: combining Hollowberries with Needleberry yielded Level 2 Pierce S, and combining them with Scatterfish yielded Level 1 Pellet S. Since he would eventually run out of Level 3 Pellet and Level 3 Pierce ammo, these would be Wayne's primary means of sustained damage after his equipment bonuses.
Items he had used frequently before, such as Flash Bombs, Sonic Bombs, and Traps, were all moved to his storage box. Since the Black Dragon was immune to all of them, he freed up his inventory for more useful items.
After a skilled preparation phase, Wayne accepted the quest "The Legendary Black Dragon" once more and set out for Castle Schrade for the second time.
As a game that supported up to four players in co-op, generally speaking, the more people playing, the lower the difficulty of the hunt.
This was true for two main reasons. First, in versions before the latest generations, the monster's health remained the same whether it was fought by one person or four. Under normal circumstances, the damage output of a group was significantly higher than that of a solo player.
The second reason was that most monster attacks targeted a single individual or a small area. As long as players didn't bunch up, while the BOSS focused on one person, the others would have a relatively safe window to deal damage.
However, there were exceptions to every rule—like Rainier in the previous fight. Because he was unfamiliar with the Black Dragon's attack patterns and his armor's defense was too low, he had almost zero margin for error. A single mistake leading to a hit from the dragon meant being sent back to camp by a cat cart and consuming a revival chance.
Four deaths meant an immediate quest failure, which effectively meant he was dragging Wayne down.
The quartet had discussed this, asking Rainier why he didn't just stay far away from the BOSS and only run in for a few hits when it was safe. While his damage would be negligible, he could at least carve materials after the kill.
Rainier told them he had tried that. When Wayne had taken him to farm the Gold and Silver Rathalos, he had attempted that strategy, but it only caused more chaos.
Because the BOSS chose its targets with a degree of randomness, if a player stood too far away and the BOSS targeted them, the monster would move toward that player's distant position. This forced Wayne, who was in a proper offensive rhythm, to chase after the BOSS.
Furthermore, for veteran Monster Hunter players, a BOSS's movements allowed them to predict its next attack.
In the battle against the Black Dragon, for example, if two people were attacking at close range and the dragon beat its wings to take flight, it meant it was going to hover and breathe fireballs. The players on the ground only needed to hide in the blind spot directly beneath it.
But if Wayne was fighting well and Rainier stood far away, the dragon taking flight could mean it was hovering to shoot fireballs, or it could mean it was going to fly toward Rainier and perform a diving pounce. If Wayne followed his usual logic and ran directly beneath the dragon, he would be swept up by the dragon's forward-moving pounce.
The quartet understood immediately. Just like their maneuvers on the battlefield, these actions required repeated practice during drills to form muscle memory. This allowed them to react naturally in life-or-death moments without wasting time thinking, and it prevented miscommunication between soldiers.
In situations where they couldn't speak, they even used pre-arranged hand signals to convey orders.
Once an operation began, everyone knew exactly who would lead, who would provide support, and who would cover the rear.
However, if someone who didn't follow the plan showed up—shouting strange commands or making nonsensical movements—it would only disrupt everyone's strategy.
Therefore, rather than dragging along an unprepared teammate, it was better for a veteran to solo the BOSS. At least that way, there would be no external interference.
As if seeing the mortal who had disturbed its rest return, the Black Dragon unleashed a massive roar before Wayne could even get close. The wind pressure signaled the start of the battle.
After the roar, the Black Dragon craned its neck, and a glowing red speck appeared at its maw. The speck rapidly expanded as scorching energy condensed into a massive fireball. With a flick of its neck, the dragon spat toward Wayne's position. The flames transformed into a beam that sliced through the stagnant, dead air of Castle Schrade.
Yet, before the flame breath even finished, three bullets had already struck the dragon's head. They pierced through the flesh, making continuous "pop-pop-pop" sounds inside the beast. It turned out that as the dragon flicked its neck, Wayne had already predicted the move and performed a roll to the left. He rose and entered aiming mode to fire at the head, while the dragon's flames passed exactly one body-length to his right.
The Black Dragon let out a furious roar. It raised its two front claws, spread its wings, and lifted its upper body, shifting into a bipedal stance on its hind legs.
Wayne sheathed his weapon and began running toward his front-left.
Just as he sprinted away, the dragon beat its wings, kicked off with its hind legs, and pounced forward with sudden violence!
However, this pounce missed again. Wayne, having already run clear, was now perfectly positioned beside the dragon's right hind leg. He pulled his weapon from his back, switched to Pellet S, and unleashed a volley into the dragon's right wing.
"He... he completely predicted the dragon's movements!" Verdan exclaimed.
Hudson: "The damage of a single bowgun shot isn't high, but the effective range is much longer than a melee weapon. As long as you have good positioning, you can maintain a constant stream of fire."
Verdan: "Exactly. But the prerequisite is predicting its actions. If the dragon chases you and you're constantly running for your life, forget shooting—you'll struggle just to survive."
Hicks: "You're both right, but I just want to say two words: Miller's badass!"
Hudson glanced at Rainier, who was sitting in front of the four of them, and quickly added: "I feel like since the four of us use melee weapons, we should learn more from the Commander. After he practices a few more times, he'll definitely catch up to Wayne's level."
The three of them looked at each other and quickly agreed: "Right, right, right!"