Monster Hunter Academy (IC/PG-13/Still Accepting)

[Mr. Hyde 204]

 

"LAND HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"  A crew member wailed from atop the crow's nest.  Thunder boomed, the timing almost drowned out his triumphant roar.  The sea was restless, as the storm above them churned the waves into something scarier than an enraged Lagiacrus.  The storm seemed to never end, since they had left port from the mainland.  The rest of the ship's seamen cried tears of joy, shooting their fists into the air.  The journey to Alcoria had been a complete success!  Although, one look at the haul of the ship would indicate that this journey had been quite the arduous one.  However, the peril wasn't over yet.  The dock hovered above the crashing waves, so that the crests seem to lick the underside of it.  

"All personnel,"  The captain roared.  "Prepare to make landfall!"  

A collective 'Hurrah' rang through the ship, as they alerted their precious cargo to start hauling ass.  

Slate sat alone in his room, on the verge of losing his lunch, when someone kicked his door in.  The hinges flew off, and the door cracked him right in the side.  

"Yo!  Get your stuff together, recruit!  We're about to make landfall!"

Slate flung the door off of his body, only to give the man a confused, albeit still sickly, look.

"What?  Aren't we going to set anchor at the dock?"  The crew member stood there for a moment, before bursting out into laughter.  

"Get yer' gear together, and get on the deck!  NOW!"  

Slate jumped up from his bed, and did just that.  He didn't like the sound of what was about to happen, but he was sure that everything would turn out alright.  He hiked his Iron Katana over his shoulder, and his other belongings were stuffed into a bag.  It was hard, and he hadn't really acquired his sea legs, but he somehow had made his way topside.  His face was being bombarded with rain, and hail.  His hair hung, drenched, in his face, as he swiped it back.  There, he could see the rest of the students who had made the journey with him.  Some of them were stumbling, as the ship rocked violently, while others stood there ground.  Even some of the ship's crew had a hard time handling the motion of the ocean.  However, the Hunter that had made the journey with them stood among those that were firm in their stance, even with this type of setting.  It was so cool that she had that strength!  He tried his best to keep still, but to no avail.  The constant crashing of waves against the ship had made him fall on his ass at least seven times since he had gotten onto the deck.

"Prepare to jump!"  The Hunter roared, as the ship had found itself at the top of a cresting wave.  The wave was travelling quickly towards the dock, but was quickly losing steam.

"Jump."  Slate squeaked.  Suddenly, the crew member's laugh rung through his mind.  "JUMP!?"  He screamed.  Before he could react, the lead Hunter had already, fluidly, burst into a run.  She jumped onto the ship's railing, unfazed by the ship's rocking.  As soon as her feet made contact, she once again bounded straight into the air.  With the wind at her back, she made it to the complete opposite end of the dock with grace. 

"Jump now, if you want to survive!  This is your entrance exam, newbies!"    

"Ah...so this is where it ends for me..."  Slate crumbled into himself, clutching his sword.  

[yui 576]

Sandstorms and rickety carriages were something Sifu was used to. She always thought those experiences could prepare her for the great blue sea. The only other time she'd felt so wrong in her life was the time before deciding to become a hunter. Rain and rocking ships were different beasts entirely. As such, Sifu had spent much of her voyage on the deck itself. If everything she'd heard about Alcoria was true, there was no point trying to hide herself under decks or roofs. It was best to acclimate herself to where she'd be living. Her arms were numb, her legs had done a marvelous job at not keeping her upright as the ship rocked back and forth, and the rather basic iron switchaxe she'd been carrying around felt all the heavier. This was what she'd be hunting in?

That was a challenge she'd accept any day. She'd have to be able to hunt anywhere in order to be the best, and something so opposite of her desert home was as fine a starting point as any. Because of her decision to stay above deck - something the sailor sent to collect her found to be pretty stupid - finding her wasn't tough, and she was the first to be met with a pro. This woman was her future. Sifu tried to mimic her stance, if only to keep herself on her feet for more than a few seconds at a time, but it simply wasn't working out. She'd have to figure out her own way. But for now, she had bigger things on her mind.

"Prepare to jump!"

"JUMP!?"

"Jump now, if you want to survive!  This is your entrance exam, newbies!"    

"Ah...so this is where it ends for me..."

Tch. Sifu, for one, knew there was no way she'd be able to make that sort of jump. Especially not with the kind of distance that hunter had managed. Not on this rocking ship, not when her legs were cold from the wind and rain, and definitely not with her switchaxe weighing her down. But coming all this way, just to quit at the front door? "You're here to learn how to rhunt monsters, and you're afraid of a jump!?" Sifu readied her switchaxe. If she was facing him directly, it wouldn't be hard to believe Sifu was ready to lop this boy's head clean off his shoulders. As if she were chasing down a monster instead of a dock, Sifu charged forward, leaping off the ship as she roared "If you can't find a way, carve one yourself!" That was what it meant to be a human! And so, in that human spirit, Sifu swung her weapon forward, lodging it into a beam holding the dock up, dangling precariously from her switchaxe.

And then she started climbing the weapon. Up, until she got a hand down on the dock's wooden surface, before pulling her switchaxe out of the beam and hoisting it up, followed by the rest of her body. She still didn't like the wind, rain, and hail against her body, but it was nice to be back on something that wasn't a boat. Sifu rolled over onto her back, stopping to catch her breath after the improvised feat of acrobatics. Once she got up to her feet, she walked the rest of the way, before nodding at the hunter, brushing some soaked hair out of her eyes. "Take it that counts as a pass?"

"Don't get too cocky, runt."  The Hunter blurted, not even giving the girl a glance.  "You might be the best of this bunch, but that ain't sayin' much.  This is where the real test begins."

Runt? But Sifu was taller than those other three, right? People usually commented she was unusually tall for a woman, even. She tossed the thought aside. If this was where the real test started, Sifu was ready to tackle whatever it'd take.

[Timeskipper 5]

The howling winds, pouring rain and rocking of the ship in that nightmarish weather Didn't seem to bother Zaita one bit as she stood unmoving on the rolling deck with a self-assured smirk on her face. Yep, you could read on her face, this was just like back home. At the start of the voyage, she was worried about the long voyage - she wasn't very used to those, after all. And now, she was almost sorry they were about to make landfall. One last latecomer emerged from below decks, harried on by a crewmember, as their Hunter guide stood with her same sureness in front of the ship's bow, to everyone else a pillar of strength and sureness in the blowing storm, to her a funny memory of that time her uncle Gyera tried to prove he could brave the storm even when drunk off his mind on mushroom liquor, and somehow managed to do it, too, until he comically turned around, accidentally bashed his head against the mast and fell in a basket of crawfish.

The ship hit a particularly big wave, and she noticed a tall, lanky girl dressed up like the nomads in Loc Lac City awkwardly stumbling into a lower stance, trying to mimic the Hunter, and she had to hold back a giggle. She looked so silly like that, like she was a child trying to scare the waves.

Zaita's attention was drawn back to the Hunter in front of them when she heard her feet beating on the planks. She expected her to give them a speech, but instead she just shouted: " "Prepare to jump!" and turned, ran towards the railing, her steps thundering before she effortlessly leapt past the parapet and landed perfectly on the pier.

The boy next to her seemed traumatized by the sight, first repeating the woman's words in disbelief, then muttering "Ah...so this is where it ends for me...", clutching his sword.

She wanted to giggle. To her, this was literal child's play, and yet...

She gave him a pat on the back, telling him "Ah, come on! It's easy! Follow me!", then, before even waiting for his answer, clutched one of her bone hatchets in her teeth and grabbed him by the hand, dragging him along, following the tall nomad girl in the big jump.

"LAST ONE TO JUMP IS A DEAD PRAWN!" she shouted, surprisingly clearly through her clenched teeth.

As soon as she got her foot onto the railing, she let Slate's hand go and jumped, flying through the air... before missing the pier by a hair and narrowly managing to get into diving position to avoid an impact.

Underwater, her instincts kicked in, letting her easily find her way to the surface in the space of a few seconds, breathing through the nose to not let the hatchet go as soon as she surfaced, and grabbing the pier's pylon and quickly climbing it with the help of her hatchet, and reaching the other two on the pier, smiling radiantly despite her gaffe.

"Watch where you're steppin', kid. You do that in the field, you'll be the dead prawn, no second chances!", the Hunter commented, sternly. Zaita's only answer was an embarrassed grin.

Edited September 11, 2019 by Timeskipper

[Saikazo 241]

Okita was many things, a hunter, a researcher, a child of a hunter. There was however, one thing he wasn't, and that was ready for all this. He had seen his parents do crazy things while on the hunt, but he had never seen them on a boat. Honestly, he could see them being as crazy as the lead Hunter. Now they just needed to cross the raging ocean and get onto the dock. It seemed the girls already had plans and smart ways of crossing, it just left him and some panicking guy.

Unlike everyone else though, Okita didn't have a bladed weapon... he had a hammer. It was an elegant weapon, from a much simpler time. He'd need to be creative here, seeing as keeping his balance wasn't the easiest thing, and he couldn't just stick his blade into the pier like everyone else. Thinking to himself, he took a step back, unsteadily making his way back to the ships mast. He waited... 3... 2... 1...

And with that, he ran down the rocking boat, doing his best to keep his balance. As he ran, he grabbed the massive hammer on his back and began to twist his body, spinning as he took steps forward, building momentum as he ran, the hammer held in front of him, swinging along with him. He spun faster and faster, getting closer and closer to the edge of the boat, and then, in perhaps his most brilliant or most stupid maneuver, let go of his hammer to throw it to the dock, only to immediately grab it again.

The momentum of the hammer along with him not fighting against him sent the young hunter rocketing off the boat, the hammer carrying him over the raging waters and crashing into the dock. Dust was kicked up, causing Okita to cough, but he quickly stood back up, placing his hammer back on his back. Looks like he managed to make it after all.

[Mr. Hyde 204]

"You're here to learn how to hunt monsters, and you're afraid of a jump!?" Slate looked over his shoulder to see a girl around his age.  Her stature was a pale imitation of the hunter guiding them here, but it was leagues above what Slate was able to do currently.  He looked at her in awe of how cool she looked, and he couldn't help but feel a little jealousy "If you can't find a way, carve one yourself!"  Like a rocket, the girl took off, jumping off the side of the boat and making a clean landing to the same end of the pier that the other hunter had, albeit with not as much grace.  Slate gulped.  It was a flashy display...but would he be able to make it?  

"Ah, come on! It's easy! Follow me!"  Just as he had heard the voice, he felt his arm being tugged in the direction of the docks.  He was in disbelief, his heart was going into shock!  Was this what it was like holding hands with a girl!?  He'd follow this sensation to the ends of the new world.  "LAST ONE TO JUMP IS A DEAD PRAWN!"

"Yeah!"  Slate shouted, only to come to the realization that the girl had made the jump, leaving him with all of his momentum at the railing of the ship.  He hesitated, causing him to fly over the railing.  His reflexes were sharp enough to grip onto the ships bow, however.  He clenched his teeth, as he clutched to any sort of holding there was for him.  It was incredibly hard, with the rain shooting pellets at his hands.  With all of his might, he managed to pull himself back onto the deck.  When he arrived, he noticed that everyone aboard had already jumped.  Slate swallowed the lump in his throat, as the boat began to turn vertical.  "No!  No no no no no!"  He fretted, getting a foothold on the railing, travelling all the way up to the back end of the boat, which now turned it's poop deck to the sky.  The pier was just in reach, as Slate closed his eyes and rocketed off the railing in a straight line.  He undershot the pier's edge, but managed to get a grip of it with both of his hands.  He pulled himself up to the tip, panting and struggling after he managed to do it.  He saw the ship as it traveled past the dock, and crashed straight into the side of the mountain, splinters spraying into all directions and into the sea.  

"That...that could've been me..."  

"A part of me wishes it was.  That was a rather pathetic display, runt.  Now get up before I throw you over." 

"I would, Ms. Hunter Lady...but I'm afraid I can't feel my legs!"  

The Hunter grunted, as he gripped the boys leg and dragged him to the end of the pier.  

"Well, looks like you all made it in one piece...well most of you anyways.  Let us pray for the ones who didn't make the jump."  After a moment of silence, the Hunter turned her back.  "Well, no sense dwelling on the scum of the scum!  Let's head in!"  She turned around, and threw a finger to the sky.  "Head's up Hunter Hopefuls!  You're about to enter Rath's Peak Academy!"  

[Timeskipper 5]

Once the students were finally assembled on the pier, a figure emerged from the sea mist.

A tall but burly man wearing a Jyuratodus raincoat, carrying a lantern on top of a stick. His face was shadowed by the heavy, wide-brimmed rain hat, but the four could still catch a glimpse of his bearded face.

"Well arrived to Alcoria, students", his voice resonated under the roaring of the sea and thunder.

"Follow me. You'll be cold and hungry by now, if I know Tyr. Come, I have already prepared your dinner", he announced. He turned and gestured for the students to follow him along the pier.

At the mention of food, Zaita perked up and followed the man with a spring in her step, licking her lips already at the thought of getting some warm food...

...

The group walked under the rain until the end of the long pier, apparently ending against a rocky cliffside. There seemed to be no way from which the man could've come... but appearances were deceiving. The man jumped on an unassuming rock near the cliffside, and revealed with his stick that there was a hidden cavity in the rocky wall that led them inside a tunnel, illuminated by the sole light of the torch carried by the man.

After a few minutes of walking the slowly climbing tunnel, a lightning in the distance shone a light through a (natural?) window... showing the students a glimpse of what was outside: a solitary bridge, as long as a day spent hungry, ran through the entirety of the canyon's width, oscillating slowly in the wind and rain.

As quick as the sight came, it went away, as the students were once again plunged in the near total darkness, immersed in the sounds of the raging sea and rain around them and a new, mysterious smell that still felt strangely familiar to the gathered teens, as if half-remembered from a dream or childhood memory.

"We're almost there", the giant cook announced, before stopping in front of a steel door barely big enough for him to pass through, with a strange lock resembling the valves of a trumpet instead of a handle. He fiddled with the valves for a short while, and as he pressed them, low notes lit up the silence in the tunnel, until he finally unlocked the door and opened it.

"Here. Careful where you step, young hunters", he warned them, "wouldn't want you to fall in the river. Long fall, see"

As he moved away from the door, the students could finally see what his frame was obscuring: in the vast gorge through which the World River's estuary ran hung a large number of manmade bridges, mostly of rope and wood, one of steel. Wooden buildings capped with large canvas covers that protected them from the pouring rain, forming little waterfalls in the process, clung to the sides of the canyon, dotted as they were with windows that were clearly carved into the stone, light coming from some of them, implying a network of rooms and habitations carved into the rocky cliffs, decorated with various symbols. In the middle of the river, upstream, stood the statue of a Rathalos, made of steel, wood and canvas, glaring silently at the small settlement clinging to the sides of the gorge with its austere gaze.

"Well then, greenhorns... welcome to Rath's Peak Academy. Pick your jaws off the floor and get moving!", their instructor chimed in.

Edited September 13, 2019 by Timeskipper

[yui 576]

"Well arrived to Alcoria, students. Follow me. You'll be cold and hungry by now, if I know Tyr. Come, I have already prepared your dinner."

Cold and hungry indeed. Food sounded  good. Something hot, and meaty. Sifu - along with the others, including that coward boy who had somehow managed to make the jump - followed into the cave that Sifu hadn't noticed at first, deeper into it, until being met with a door. It certainly wasn't like any door she'd seen before. And speaking of things unlike any she'd seen before...

"Well then, greenhorns... welcome to Rath's Peak Academy. Pick your jaws off the floor and get moving!"

Everything about Rath's Peak was a new sight to her, right down to the weather. She'd seen rain before of course - everyone had, right? - but never in this sort of quantity before today. The wooden buildings weren't like what she was used to, and the idea of carving what seemed to be some sort of settlement into the face of the cliff had always just been some wild imagination to her. Not to mention that rather imposing rathalos statue. In every way and form, this was nothing like what she'd grown up with.

"Quite a place," Sifu couldn't help but comment. No time to be wasted, though. There was a good meal waiting for her, and so, Sifu didn't hesitate to start forward along the bridge, minding her steps as she started crossing. She'd been on bridges before, but none quite as high up as this. Falling would be bad news. Not bad enough to stop her from turning around though, continuing along backwards as she faced the other students that had joined. The coward boy in particuluar.

"I'm surprised you made that jump at all," Sifu grinned. "You were shaking in your boots just seconds before jumping. Are you sure you want to be a hunter?"

[Saikazo 241]

"Well, looks like you all made it in one piece...well most of you anyways. Let us pray for the ones who didn't make the jump."  Well, that was respectable enough, and probably something they'd have to get used to. After all, even the most experienced hunter could die during a hunt due to bad luck. After a moment of silence, the Hunter turned her back. "Well, no sense dwelling on the scum of the scum! Let's head in!" She turned around, and threw a finger to the sky. "Head's up Hunter Hopefuls!  You're about to enter Rath's Peak Academy!"  Well, that was Okita's goodwill all used up already. Still, he wasn't in a position to raise any sort of objection or the like.

He instead took one final look over the rough ocean, praying for the souls of those who died before he followed the others. The pouring rain wasn't comfortable, but comfort wasn't a commodity that a hunter could afford. This was just training for the even harsher conditions that they would face in the future. Soon, they had climbed into a cliff's face, and had come forth into the academy proper. It was a sight to behold, much more elaborate than even the gathering hubs back home. He only hoped they had everything a hunter needed.

As they crossed the bridge, one of the ones in the front started walking backwards in order to address one of the others. "I'm surprised you made that jump at all," The girl grinned, an action that for some reason irritated him. "You were shaking in your boots just seconds before jumping. Are you sure you want to be a hunter?"

"Caution isn't a weakness," Okita commented, despite the fact that he wasn't the one being spoken to. Something about the way this woman talked just rubbed him the wrong way. "Recklessness is going to get you killed a lot faster,"

[Mr. Hyde 204]

Slate had barely made the jump, but it was totally worth it to see how cool the academy actually was.  He stared in awe of the architecture built into the side of a mountain, his jaw almost hitting the floor once he saw the giant river that seemed to cut through the entire school, unnoticed.  This was where new hunters were learning the trade?  A bolt of lightning almost made him jump out of his skin, as he clutched his Iron Katana once more, trying his best not to whimper. 

"I'm surprised you made that jump at all," the one girl grinned. "You were shaking in your boots just seconds before jumping. Are you sure you want to be a hunter?" 

"Y-y-yeah!  Hunters are cool as hell!  There's no way I'm not gonna become one!"  

"Caution isn't a weakness," Another student commented, this one wielding a large hammer. "Recklessness is going to get you killed a lot faster,"

Slate could only nod his head in agreement, turning his head over to the girl to stick his tongue at her.  

"Your attitude, by the way...not cool."  He said, flipping his hair. 

"ENOUGH CHIT CHAT!"  The lead Hunter roared.  "You thought you were just gonna get off that boat, and have it easy huh?!  Keep followin'!"  She did a swift heel turn, marching the group of recruits through the winding paths, and swinging bridges.  They marched for at least ten minutes, before they reached a large hut with a plume of smoke rising from a hole in the ceiling.  "Hope you prawns are hungry, because you've got some eating to do before we get into any of the knitty gritty!"  As they entered the hut, the aroma of fine cuisine hit Slate's nostrils like a truck.  He had never smelled anything so mouth-watering in his life, yet the smell alone made his taste buds rumble.  Golden, fried rice was almost caked to the ceiling, as monstrous cuts of meat were skewered along a tepid grill.  Vegetables and various fish could be seen sprawled across a large leaf, steaming after being seared for hours.  Fondues and fizzy beverages found themselves at the tail end of the counter.  "DIG IN!"  The Hunter commanded, prompting Slate to grab a pristine marble slab of stone that would be used for a plate.  

He grabbed a heaping helping of all the various foods, choosing to avoid the fondue fountain.  He preferred to let the food speak for itself, rather than caking it in a thick sauce.  As he sat down at a thick wooden table, the hunter interrupted.

"Once your bellies are full, we'll announce your hunting partners, and then it's off to training!  So eat up, and buddy up!!  You never know who you're gonna have to deal with here as your partner!"     

[yui 576]

"Caution isn't a weakness. Recklessness is going to get you killed a lot faster."

"If you haven't got the spirit to back it up, sure." Rushing in headfirst without a plan only worked if you had the morale and willpower to know you'd get out of there no matter what. If you didn't think you could make it, you wouldn't make it. What was that called, again? The power of suggestion? Basically, it meant that as long as Sifu knew she'd make it out of any hunt, she'd be fine. And if there was something she wasn't going to make it out of, it sure as hell wasn't going to be a hunt!

"Your attitude, by the way...not cool."

"I'm asking out of concern, you know," Sifu retorted. "If you get into this line of work without knowing it's what you want, it will kill you. It's not part of the job, but if I can stop one guy who isn't sure from getting killed in a hunt, I'll have a nice warm feeling at the end of the day." Simple as that. Sifu put her attention back to the march to... wherever it was they were all heading. It was a little hut, with smoke coming out of it. She could smell something inside. Something good.

"Hope you prawns are hungry, because you've got some eating to do before we get into any of the knitty gritty!"

Awwwww yeah, some food! The little hut was - fitting with everything else Sifu had seen since coming here - a bit different from what she was used to. But the smell of food once she stepped in was perfectly familiar. It was nice to have a good sensation now, rather than freezing her ass off in the wind and rain. Damn straight she would eat up! Sifu grabbed a marble plate of her own and filled it up, mostly with various meats, without much in the way of any sauce or other finishing touches. Without wasting any time, Sifu got a seat across from the coward boy, and dug in.

"Come to think of it, what's your name anyway?" Sifu asked between bites. "Mine's Sifu. Since you're already here now, try not to get yourself killed, alright?"

[Timeskipper 5]

As soon as she entered the hut, the smell of dozens of different foods, still hot and appetizing, assaulted Zaita's nostrils. As much as she had tried to keep her chipper attitude, she had to admit she was tired, cold and VERY hungry. And now, she would rectify that.

She ignored the discussion that Sifu and Okita seemed to be having next to her, and immediately started circling the table, grabbing one of the long dried palm leaves that were at their disposal to use as food trays, instead of one of the marble plates for the more traditionally-minded students from the mainland, and, holding it with one hand, piled more and more food on top of it. Bread cakes dripping with oils and emanating an exotic, nutty scent, fish that had been cooked to the point where their meat was tender and their skin slipped right off, dressed in zesty and hot sauces, tons and tons of rice, grilled vegetables, exotic and familiar meats, even some caviars and shellfish. She grabbed here and there, making sure not to pass up on anything the feast had to offer, before hauling her heavy leaf with both arms and dropping it on the big table.

"Hey, everyone... Have a blessed dinner, as they say back in Moga Village! DIG IN!", she loudly announced before grabbing her fork and starting to pluck from the piles of food on her tray, until her mouth was entirely stuffed.

She was halfway through her meal, when finally, the cook came back and whispered something to their guide.

"Hey, Tyr... I think it's better that you announce who the partners are now. It's getting very dark out, so it's better if your students don't hang out here for long after dinner..."