a forbidden act...

(POV: Noah)

"Well... this seems better now," I said while sharpening my greatsword with a stone. It seemed sharper now after my efforts. 

"This tastes bitter... I thought it was an apple," said Seras while eating a red fruit similar to an apple. 

"Hey, at least you can eat something. Be grateful," I replied, putting my greatsword on my back. It was time to keep exploring.

We had been exploring the jungle a little more and hadn't found anything significant, just some jagras. It seemed we were safe from strange monsters for now. I stood up from the log where I was sitting and said, "Well, let's explore more."

Seras sighed and said, "Okay..."

We began to walk through the dense jungle again.

"I want to find something different... there is always green everywhere," Seras complained as she looked at the jungle with boredom.

"It's a jungle. Obviously, there's going to be green everywhere," I said, equally bored by the scenery.

Suddenly, I stopped. "Don't talk," I told Seras. She went silent, and I listened intently. I heard a mechanical noise, like something broken or stuck.

"Interesting... do you hear it?" I asked Seras. She closed her eyes and listened for a second before saying, "It's like something is stuck and trying to move?"

I smiled and said, "Follow me. Maybe we've found something interesting."

We walked through the jungle, the noise becoming clearer. Thanks to my enhanced hearing, I could hear it better than a normal person. I approached a tree and listened closely. I touched it and said, "It seems normal..." Out of curiosity, I grabbed the tree and squeezed it. Unexpectedly, it didn't break. It wasn't wood but felt similar to the touch.

I had an idea. "Hey Seras, hit this tree," I said.

She was confused. "But... isn't it just a tree?"

I sighed and said, "No, just hit it... I have a feeling."

"Okay..." Seras said, approaching the tree. I moved away and watched as she clenched her fist and hit the tree. The air exploded around her fist, but instead of being destroyed, the tree sank like metal. It was tough.

"But what the fuck..." Seras said, surprised.

"So it's true... this tree is made of something different," I murmured, approaching the tree. I put my ear to it and heard something moving inside, like something stuck.

The "tree" was incredibly harder than wood but felt like wood. I started ripping the "wood," and slowly, I saw slightly rusty metal instead. This was really new...

Suddenly, the tree began to vibrate slowly. I moved away a little and said, "This seems... quite technological..."

Suddenly, the ground in front of the tree began to open like a hatch. Interesting...

"Wow... but what the hell...!?" Seras said, surprised.

"Well, if there are no risks, there are no gains. Come on!" I said with a smile as I grabbed Seras and jumped into the hatch. Darkness enveloped us, and I heard Seras scream. We landed on a floor, and I looked around, seeing something surprising: well-structured metal walls and small blue lights on the ceiling. Behind me, I saw a ladder, or rather, a completely broken ladder.

I let go of Seras and said, "This... this seems quite different from what I know..."

"Ah... it hurts..." Seras said, scratching her leg in pain.

I walked around the place and saw several doors. I approached one, and it opened automatically. Automatic doors?

I went inside and saw something that was certainly not from this era: several metal tables with yellowed papers scattered everywhere. I picked up a piece of paper and mumbled, "Experiment...?" That was the only legible word. The rest were too blurred to read.

I grabbed another piece of paper and felt a shiver down my spine. "Elder dragon, successful experiment..."

I looked at more words and muttered, "What the fuck...?"

I dropped the papers and grabbed more, reading, "Place set... traps failed... weapon failed... great tower..."

I muttered to myself, "This is from a long time ago..."

"They even tried to make weapons... but they failed..." I said with narrowed eyes.

I stopped reading the paper and approached what looked like a screen. I touched it, but it didn't work. It seemed broken. Sighing, I turned around. This place was really strange.

I decided to enter another door nearby, hoping it wasn't what I feared.

---

(third person)

In the middle of the great jungle, at its center, a great dragon with shiny scales like metal was eating a large monster with white fur and metallic blue scales. The great elder dragon known as Kushala Daora was slowly enjoying the limbs of the monster. Suddenly, Kushala Daora stopped abruptly, grunting and looking in one direction.

A growl echoed through the jungle. A greenish-skinned monster with powerful hind legs and tiny front legs appeared, its teeth even growing on its chin—a large and imposing Deviljho.

The Deviljho looked at Kushala Daora and roared. Kushala Daora growled and stood up slowly, then disappeared like a blur and attacked Deviljho with his jaws, lifting him up with immense strength. Kushala Daora threw the Deviljho to the ground, shattering the earth. The Deviljho roared in fury, expelling a large amount of black mist with red tints straight at Kushala Daora's face.

Kushala Daora roared, flying backward with burns and slightly scorched scales on his face. The Deviljho stood up, drooling from extreme hunger, and charged at Kushala Daora. Kushala Daora roared loudly, summoning huge tornadoes that reached up to the clouds. The Deviljho was lifted into the sky by the destructive force and fell far to the ground.

A massive earthquake destroyed everything around Kushala Daora. He rose to the sky and roared with fury, the sound traveling dozens of kilometers. Weak monsters fled in terror, but a black and red dragon breath attacked Kushala Daora, forcing him to the ground. The impact split the earth, sending nearby trees flying.

The Deviljho roared and ran towards Kushala Daora. Enraged, Kushala Daora summoned a massive tornado as big as a mountain, destroying everything in its path. The Deviljho launched its dragon breath at the tornado, but Kushala Daora attacked with smaller tornadoes, quickly cutting the Deviljho's skin.

The Deviljho fell to the ground, bleeding profusely. Kushala Daora crashed into the Deviljho, causing another massive earthquake. He bit the Deviljho's neck, lifted it, and threw it to the ground again. Roaring in the Deviljho's face, Kushala Daora began to tear apart its neck, blood flowing like a waterfall.

Kushala Daora roared to the sky in victory as the massive tornado disappeared. Looking towards a distant mountain, Kushala Daora growled and began to devour the Deviljho in anger.

On the distant mountain, a hooded person with a straw hat was eating meat from a campfire. "Haa... great... another fight that destroys this beautiful jungle... that's why I hate those longtails with wings... always destroying the beauty of the world... I hope they die..." the person said with annoyance.

The man sighed, murmuring, "I hope that metal with legs disappears from this beautiful jungle..."

Suddenly, a small humanoid cat appeared, meowing quickly towards the hooded person. The felyne made gestures, and the hooded person said, "Yes, yes... I'm coming..."

The hooded person sighed and said, "Well... work is work..."

He grabbed a large greatsword next to him and said, "Time to hunt..."

The unknown hunter sighed and began to go down the mountain. After a few minutes, he saw a Tigrex nearby, chasing some Felyne. He sighed and said, "How many times have I told you not to approach the Tigrex..."

The Felyne meowed a little. The hunter sighed and said, "Well... I'll finish this quickly."

Suddenly, the hunter disappeared in a blur and appeared above the Tigrex. He pressed the hilt of his greatsword and cut the Tigrex's neck easily. The Tigrex's head flew through the air and fell to the ground. The Tigrex's body began to convulse, but a few seconds later, it fell to the ground without moving. The hunter landed and said, "Well, I think we already have something to eat."

The Felyne approached the hunter and meowed happily, some even beginning to dance. The hunter sighed and said, "Well... I'll go up again. I like the views... don't do anything stupid again..."

The hunter began to climb back up the mountain. He sighed and murmured, "This place is really quiet, except for the monsters inside..."

---

(POV: Noah)

I sat in a chair and noticed how everything started to shake, but a few seconds later, the shaking stopped. Probably a fight between monsters. I got up and said, "Well, so far everything is... normal?"

Seras was looking at some papers and said, "Almost nothing is understandable... most of the papers are unreadable... it's like they've been here for decades or even longer..."

"Yes... this place looks new and old at the same time..." I said, looking at the metal walls. I think I know where this comes from...

I decided to explore another room. In this one, there were only more tables with more papers, nothing worth it. The vast majority of papers here are illegible, nothing worth it.

I walked towards another door, and it opened. I entered and looked at what seemed like a room: an old, quite dusty bed, a table with a chair, even what looked like a closet. I approached the closet and opened it. There was nothing; it was empty. "Nothing... there's nothing... surely there is something, we just have to look more..."

I left the room and walked down a somewhat long hallway. I looked at the walls, but there was nothing like a poster or something similar. Is there really anything useful here?

I continued walking down the hallway and entered another room. I looked around and only saw bones. Yes... bones.

Skeletal corpses. I approached and saw that they were wearing... scientists' clothes?

I squinted and grabbed a skull on the floor. I let go of the skull and explored the room more. There were several skeletons on the floor of the room. I squinted and looked at something peculiar in the room: a large skull that looked like that of a Rathalos placed on the wall. I approached it and examined it better. Yes, it is from a Rathalos.

"What the hell is this doing here...?" I muttered with confusion. Suddenly, I saw a wall with several papers on it. I approached and read what was readable, "Great war... artificial... I knew it, the ancient civilization..."

It seems that these were survivors...? But everyone inside died... what else could be inside?

I explored the place further and saw an old map on another wall. I approached it, and it was a huge map of the jungle. The name was...

"Artificial jungle..." I murmured in surprise. Is this jungle artificial??

Suddenly, everything started to shake even harder. What the hell is happening outside!?

I almost fell to the ground from the sudden tremor. Damn, it seems like they're fighting quite a bit, huh...

I tried to walk, but suddenly I heard something break. Oh... shit...

I looked behind me and saw the wall of the place crack. Holy shit--

Suddenly, everything in front of me was destroyed by an absurd wind that came from the ceiling. I was thrown against the wall, fell to the ground, and muttered, "Shit... Kushala Daora is close...?"

I got up quickly and left the room. The place began to shake even harder. Where is Seras!?

"HEY!! COME HERE!!" I screamed loudly as I ran down the hallway. Suddenly, I saw how some room doors began to fly due to the incredible force of the wind. Shit!

I ran down the hallway and arrived at the place where we entered. I looked at Seras covering herself with her arms due to the incredible force of the wind.

"Hey, come here!!" I yelled at Seras loudly, but the wind was so strong that she couldn't hear me. Damn...

I mutated my entire body to make it as resistant as possible. Scales came out of my arms and legs. I sighed and ran towards Seras. I was able to grab her and run out of the place, but suddenly a massive current of wind threw me back. I grabbed Seras with force, and we crashed against a wall. I even felt like I went through it. I closed my eyes because I felt the wind cut my right eye.

Shit...my head...

I noticed how the wind began to stop quickly. I looked around and it seemed like I fell into a big room. It was huge. Great... I hope we haven't gotten locked in here...

I looked at Seras and said, "Hey, are you okay?" Seras just said, "Yes...but it seems like the wind hit my chest...but I'll be fine..."

"Okay..." I murmured with relief. Seras stood up and said with surprised eyes, "Ah...Master, I think you should see this...holy..."

I turned around and there it was—a big monster with a rotten body on a wall. It had several metal parts and also parts of meat. It was chained to a wall. The rotten smell reached here. Damn...

I held my nose and said, "That's...an artificial monster...?"

"It seems so..." Seras said, looking at the large chained monster with a grimace of disgust at the disgusting and putrid smell of the place.

"It looks like we found something quite...dangerous," I said with a small smile. This seems...

"A forbidden act..." I murmured with a smile...