First Battle (1)

Everyone was stunned as they looked at the Velocidrome, who was focused on eating the old driver's innards.

The towering figure, over 2.5 meters tall, was really intimidating for Aimer.

And there were two other Velocipreys patiently waiting their turn to eat. They occasionally roared at the squad as if silently saying, "Do not disturb."

The pungent smell of blood, coupled with the bloody scene, made everyone nearly throw up.

Aimer noticed Rize having a panic attack as she struggled a lot in his embrace. He quickly hugged her tightly because any disturbance could be fatal.

He used his palm to close Rize's mouth so she wouldn't scream, while using his other hand to cover her eyes. He whispered, "Calm down, calm down," repeatedly.

He didn't know why he did it; it just came out of instinct. Perhaps it was the remnant of the original owner's will, trying to protect this little girl.

Aimer looked to his right side, and coincidentally, Viktor looked at him too.

Viktor brought his finger to his mouth, making a 'shh' gesture, and pointed his thumb towards his back. His message was clear.

"Sneak out."

They were about three meters apart, so they couldn't directly communicate, fearing the Velocidrome would notice.

Aimer nodded at Viktor, then whispered softly to Rize, "Stand up slowly, don't make any noise. We're going to sneak out. Everything is going to be alright. Got it?"

After hearing his words, Rize calmed down significantly. She immediately nodded and gave a thumbs-up gesture.

"Smart girl, let's go." Aimer loosened his palms and patted her head. He quietly stood up, using half his strength to support Rize.

'She looks small, but she's actually quite heavy,' he commented silently to himself.

Rize stood quietly, not daring to breathe loudly. She mimicked Aimer's gestures as they walked back silently, keeping an eye on the Velocidrome.

After several seconds, Aimer, Rize, Seria, and Viktor managed to band together.

Only now did Aimer notice that Seria was carrying a huge shield and lance on her back, while Viktor had two identical blades at his waist.

They still didn't communicate verbally while walking backwards with a tacit understanding.

"Good, keep going," everyone thought.

Aimer felt Rize grab his hand and squeeze it tightly, perhaps slightly relieved when she saw that the Velocidrome didn't react.

Unfortunately, one of the Velociprey jumped high above their heads, cutting off their path of retreat.

Everyone was shocked and quickly organized a defensive formation, facing outward with their back against each other.

At the same time, they simultaneously readying their weapons

The Velocidrome also stopped eating and slowly walked towards them.

"We aren't so lucky after all," Seria said with a slight laugh, though her expression remained serious.

"If we were lucky, we wouldn't have ended up in this predicament in the first place," Viktor replied with a light sigh.

Velocidrome was a boss monster usually hunted by 3-star hunters at the lowest. Even then, they must be adequately prepared to face it.

Both Viktor and Seria were only 2-star hunters; neither their equipment nor their experience was sufficient to face this boss!

They didn't even prepared carefully as they were frightened by Rize's rashness.

Don't forget that they were at the periphery of the forest. Velocidrome should not show up here.

Aimer noticed Rize, who was already sobbing as she held her light bowgun.

'She was blaming herself?' Aimer sighed inwardly, 'She should save her tears for later.' After all she was just a teenage girl. Her mentality wasn't as strong as him.

"Rize!" Aimer shouted at her. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him, tilting her head slightly.

"Do you remember our promise?" Aimer asked while smirking confidently.

"Our promise? The fire wyvern?" Rize answered instinctively.

"That's right." Aimer flashed a smile at her. "We're going to bring down the legendary Rathalos together."

"So, how could a mere Velocidrome stop us?"

Rize gazed at him dazedly. After a moment, clarity returned to her eyes as she smiled widely.

"That's right! I'm the Divine Hunter Rize! Let's rip this stupidrome to pieces!" Rize instantly fired up, gripping her light bowgun strongly.

"What's gotten into him?" Seria and Viktor were surprised by Aimer's words. The Aimer they knew was not usually this optimistic.

You must know the difference between a champion and a loser was their mentality.

And for hunter, it was really important. On par with Equipment and experience.

'I should re-assess him later. If we lived that is.' Viktor took another mental notes in his head.

And now, what is the strategy?" Aimer asked Viktor, the most experienced hunter present.

"2 Velociprey and a Velocidrome," Viktor quickly came up with a plan.

"There is no way to win in a group battle," Viktor said. Seria and Aimer nodded in agreement.

Ganging up on a single monster was fine, but if the number of enemies equaled your team, the best action would be one-on-one.

After all, in a group battle, you have to watch out for several monsters at once, while this disadvantage was minimized in a one-on-one fight. Of course, the premise was that the hunter could go toe-to-toe with the enemy.

"First, Aimer and Rize will fight a Velociprey. You don't need to kill it, just hold it as long as you can.

Second, I'm going to face the other Velociprey. After I kill it, I will help Aimer and Rize.

Third, Seria, you have to hold back the Velocidrome. Sorry, but you have the highest odds of holding back the monster. Rize will occasionally help you with her arrows.

Give me 10 minutes, no, 5 minutes. I will kill both Velocipreys, and then we are going to gang up on the Velocidrome.

Remember, we aren't going to kill it. Even a rat is going to go crazy when cornered. We just gonna repel it.

Don't be reckless. Does anyone have objections?" Viktor quickly stated; this was the best plan he could muster at the moment.

"Umm, how about Rize just focuses on the Velociprey and doesn't help Seria? It might provoke the Velocidrome and cause it to target Rize. That's dangerous," Aimer offered another piece of advice.

You know, there was a hidden parameter in the game where a monster would go berserk, resulting in the monster recklessly attacking a specific target.

Aimer didn't dare to bet whether it existed here or not.

"You are right, but Seria..." Viktor looked hesitantly at Seria. Aimer's advice was logical, but undoubtedly, the burden on Seria would be heavier.

"You can count on me. Ten minutes is easy," Seria smiled as she effortlessly lifted her huge shield and lance. As for whether her words were really true, no one knew.

Viktor solemnly nodded and said, "Good luck guys."

Then without another word, he charged at the Velociprey beside the Velocidrome.

Simultaneously, Seria also charged at the Velocidrome.

Aimer looked at their backs and took a deep breath. There was no way he was not nervous; this was his first fight ever.

And the opponent was a Velociprey. The difficulty was really high.

Even his hands were cold, but he still forced himself to grip his shield and sword tightly.

"Rize, I'm going to distract it. You just focus on its thigh or leg whenever you see the chance. We're going to make it unable to move," Aimer instructed Rize calmly. This is the real world, so common sense should work a bit.

"Okay," Rize nodded and aimed at the Velociprey's leg.

Aimer nodded and ran straight at it.

While running, he felt that his body actually had really good strength and speed, probably the result of training every day.

The original Aimer might have been dim-witted and stupid, but one thing he admired was that the original owner was really diligent and determined.

And the result, this body was really strong! Aimer was even surprised that there were no broken bones after being rammed head-on by a Bullfango.

He was just knocked silly because the original Aimer had placed his head too close to the shield while defending against the Bullfango's attack.

It was practically no different from headbutting a Bullfango! How stupid...

These thoughts flashed through Aimer's mind as he ran towards the Velociprey.

The Velociprey opened its beak in response to Aimer.

It wanted to bite him!

Aimer also recognized the signature move of the prey's family.

He immediately rolled sideways, dodging the incoming attack.

"It's here! At the instant the monster attacks, there's a split-second interval where they are unable to evade or defend!" Aimer recalled countless experiences from the game.

"RIZE, SHOOT!" Aimer shouted loudly.

Rize, who was ready and aiming, immediately released the arrow.

Whoooosshh

The arrow made a friction sound as it flew straight towards the right leg of the Velociprey.

Aimer, who was crouching on the ground, watched with anticipation.

DDDDIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG