“Hmmm, I don’t know who it could come from, but that confirms that at least one of the Poachers is a Hunter, maybe a former one,” the Admiral commented once he had studied the knife.

  “That was my feeling as well…” Valen sighed. “It was a lucky find, but in the end it doesn’t really help me that much in figuring out where their headquarters are. I only just narrowed down which area they preferred acting in.”

  “Don’t worry, Valen, as you know, what you have already found can take even longer than other Knights. They are always more counting on chance and lucky deduction to further their investigations,” Arcos pointed out.

  Valen took a moment to digest these words then nodded.

  “You are right… I am here for the long haul, so I just should keep what I am doing. Thanks for the help. How is Seliana going?” Valen asked, deciding to change the subject.

  “Amazingly well,” the Commander replied with pride in his voice. “Lukas is proving to be a great leader. The confidence boost he gained from that Deviljho hunt was invaluable and I thank you for that. The settlement is developing well and they are almost finished with the defense. They also believe the Gathering Hub should be finished soon.”

  “And about Rapha?lle and Aiden - She is currently investigating the Ancient Forest, they believe a Nargacuga is roaming around so she’s confirming that. Aiden is on-call for Seliana right now.” The Admiral finished.

  “I see they are doing wonderfully.” He paused for a bit. “Anything from the Old World?”

  “Remember Kamura Village?” The Admiral asked, and Valen nodded. How couldn’t he? It was where the Valstrax variant had been slain. “They finally resolved the Rampage, there was a pair of Elders frolicking called Narwa and Ibushi that did not care about the consequences, they had to be slain. One of them is being called the Hero of Kamura, but they are not an official Named. They announced the Rampage officially resolved, but the team of hunters in charge of it did not have long to celebrate. They have now been called at Elgado outpost as anomalies in the area had been spotted, and since they were the most experienced team available, they were assigned the task.”

  Valen nodded.

  “I see. Thank you for the information. I think I will spend the night here then I'll be back on the field tomorrow.”

  “You do that Valen.” Arcos turned to the Admiral. “Admiral, you probably should hold on to that knife, maybe you’ll be able to figure out who it came from.”

  The Admiral chuckled.

  “I will. And good luck Valen, keep up the good work!”

  Valen took his leave and exited the office, then he spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with other hunters, catching up on the news and doing a few arm-wrestling rounds. Once the night had properly fallen, he called it a night and went to sleep.

  After more weeks in the wilderness, Valen was once again riding back to Astera. He was no closer to finding the headquarters, but had at least found more clues regarding the Poachers’ activity. What he was certain of though, was that their illegal hunting was having results for them, he could confirm that their equipment was increasing in quality, which also meant that there was a smith working for them.

  That made him worried, as he knew that it would make fighting them that much more risky if he ever found their trail. He made certain that he always had his flare gun at his hip. Other hunters questioned why he had such a gun while their Slinger did the same job. He had always replied that since he was often so deep in wilderness, a regular flare would be seen by nobody. So he had brought it with him so he had a chance to signal at least an imminent danger should he fail at it. Rapha?lle and Aiden knew the truth though, that this gun was to signal Nikki instead of the hunters.

  Valen unhooked the hook that was attached to his Wingdrake and landed in Astera proper. A couple Hunters waved at him, and he waved back, though he saw one of the port’s hands that made the motion for him to come, so he followed.

  “Valen! Good thing you came when you did! Somebody came on the ship to the New World, they were looking for you, but when we explained that you were on long trips in the wilderness, she decided to go to Seliana.”

  He raised an eyebrow. He had a suspicion as to who that ‘she’ was…

  “Alright then, thanks for the information, I will go there as soon as I can then.”

  The hand gave him a thumbs up and Valen headed towards the Commander’s office so he could make his report. He did not have much to relay, but he was surprised when the Commander also suggested to him that he go to Seliana.

  Thankfully there was now a ship that was tasked to deliver shipments to Seliana now, to free up the Third Fleet’s Airship. So Valen hopped into it, then the ship departed not long after.

  The following day, they arrived at Seliana. Valen disembarked, thanking the ship’s sailors for the smooth ride. Then he headed to the forge… And indeed he found there the one person he was friends with in the Old World, chatting with the Second Fleet Master: Aki.

  The two of them paused their conversation to see the newcomer in their forge, then Aki scrambled to put down her hammer and ran at Valen.

  “Valen! Finally back from your escapade?”

  “I am.” He chuckled, then looked at Aki. “I only came back yesterday to Astera, but was promptly informed that somebody was waiting for me here. I had no doubts as to who it was! Though I was surprised that you decided to still come.”

  “It is the slow period back in the Old World, and since Astera was now open to trade, I decided that would be the perfect occasion to visit an old friend and meet a legend,” she said while smiling at the Master.

  Valen chuckled.

  “I am an old friend now? Still, it is really good to meet you.” He opened his arms and the both of them hugged, Adem joining the two of them from Valen’s shoulder. They enjoyed each other's company for a while until they separated. “Anything new back there?”

  She shook her head.

  “Nothing, besides that stuff that happened at Kamura Village, but they already have their own master smith back there, so it is not like they needed my help. Same thing for Elgado, they have another respectable smith there.”

  “Don’t count yourself out, lass! You are in the same class as us, why, that armor of yours that Valen is wearing is a Masterpiece, I don’t think even I could replicate that feat!” The Second Fleet Master interjected. “And I had a week to get to know you too, you know your stuff for sure, and your ingenuity is impressive, just look at these fingers you crafted!”

  “Ugh don’t remind me, the blueprints I made had been stolen one day and I have no idea of the culprit! I know I don’t really need them anymore, but that is the principle of the thing! Somebody touched my stuff!”

  Valen tilted his head at that.

  “Your blueprints were stolen?”

  “Only those for my hand.” She showed the mechanical fingers that worked flawlessly thanks to the Gem powering them. “I had made a couple more for injured Hunters, but they never worked as well as mine. They were slow and prone to malfunctions, which confirms our suspicions that Gems have some properties that help whatever they are integrated with. There has never been better proof than your armor, given how smoothly your thrusters work.”

  “Indeed.” The older smith said. “I had the opportunity to forge no less than two armors for Named recently, and both had significant increases made in durability on their armor once the Gems was slotted in, and the Gale Breaker even had additional effects factored in, though the Sapphire Star did not have any, but we suspect it is because of how powerful but young the Elder she had slain was.”

  “Which is a shame, but there’s nothing we can do any more once the armor is forged, besides repairs. Which it seems I don’t need to do for you Aiden, I see you took my warnings to heart.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Valen chuckled.

  “I also have a friend that helps me take care of it.” Aki’s eyes then glinted at that.

  “How is she doing by the way? It has been a while since I saw her.”

  “Wonderfully, she has taken well to her new environment.” Valen smiled. “She has been a great support for me.”

  Aki seemed to pause for a moment, then looked at the Second Fleet Master, who seemed interested in their conversation.

  “Excuse-me Zyges, I need to catch up with my wonderful friend right there, I’ll find you again later.”

  He chuckled.

  “Fine for me lass! It’ll allow me to take care of some forging this village needs!”

  Aki waved at him, then led Valen towards a bedroom she had been given for her stay in Seliana.

  “Valen, I have heard what happened at Kamura before I left, would I be right to believe our mutual friend had more information to convey.”

  “She did…” Valen then shook his head and sighed. “And she confirmed to me that the Valstrax I slain was in the process of becoming a Crimson Glow. For all she knows the process is irreversible, and apparently she almost started it, but managed to stop it, though I worry it still had lingering effects for her.”

  “Oh, Valen… I know how important Nikki is to you. She has recovered though?”

  “She did, thank the Sapphire Star. She is currently helping me on my new mission.” He looked around and asked. “How secure and soundproofed this room is?”

  “Perfectly, you need to if you want to sleep here while other smiths work during the night.” Aki chuckled.

  “We found signs of Poachers active here, I am tasked to root them out… Even have been promoted to a Guild Knight for it, though only in private. But they have been careful so far, I have found no signs of them at all.”

  “… That is infuriating that they managed to settle there, and I hear enough about them in the Old World when Knights come for repair and resupplies, so I know how difficult they are to track down…”

  Valen nodded.

  “It is not all bad at least, I have been able to enjoy a lot of time with her since I have to worry less about being followed. Besides, I think I at least found the location where they act in, I just need to either be lucky and catch them in the act, or wait until they become overconfident and slip up… Either they go after an Elder and fail, or they aren’t as careful on the cleanup. One way or another I will prevail.”

  Aki smiled then asked.

  “Did you get the chance to try the flare gun?” She asked while pointing at his hip.

  “Only once,” Valen chuckled. “It was enough for Nikki to spot it and find me when I arrived. I think that she could see it from anywhere in the New World, save the Hinterlands… I am keeping it as a precaution, because you know how cowardly Poachers can be.”

  “Good idea, you have the luck to probably be the only one that has backup that could come quick enough in case you are in danger.” She paused then said. “It feels like she has become a bit more involved with you recently, at least regarding giving you information.”

  “That is because she has. She doesn’t give information outright, but she does confirm or explain in more detail how things work once we have figured out the basic gist of it. She also helped explain Rapha?lle’s irregularity regarding her armor.”

  “This is a great thing for you! It shows that she trusts you, if she’s being more forthcoming with this kind of information!”

  “True.” Valen nodded. “It is great…” Then he rolled his shoulders and looked at her. “Anything new happening at Seliana? I just know that some new monsters appeared around.”

  “Well, Rapha?lle and Aiden are investigating rumors of a new Anjanath subspecies that is roaming around Seliana, and making sure it won’t be a threat to the settlement, besides that I believe they are no closer to figuring out the origin of the song that had been heard.”

  Valen frowned.

  “I should ask Nikki about it, but I am not certain she can hear it, since it is quite low pitched.”

  “And they are also monitoring the Velkhana that had appeared at the Elder Recess but has since moved back to the Hinterlands. They think something is off with it, and are ready to intervene.”

  “It would be something to get another Named at this point,” Valen joked.

  “Don’t tell me! How you got TWO of them in such a short span of time still eludes me! It has never happened before in recorded history and yet now it is what happened for you! If you count Jake, you now have four of them in close proximity, which is not something that happened before either. Even though Jake is technically going to retire soon.”

  “And do not forget you also are one, Green Devil,” he teased.

  “Eh, at least it has been years since I earned it, and people tend to forget I am one due to my main profession.”

  Valen laughed softly at this, enjoying their banter. He then took a deep breath and relaxed.

  “I’ve missed this, our conversations.”

  “Same Valen… But sadly I cannot stay here forever, eventually I need to go back to the Old World at my forge. Things have been quiet back there, most of the action is at Kamura, Elgado and here… Though some are worried, when it got this quiet, usually it was because a great disaster was about to strike… People never forgot that mess with Dire Miralis.”

  “Oh yeah, when a large part of that sea evaporated and it took years before the weather patterns stabilized back to normal? I wasn’t born then… Then there is also the Frenzy Virus epidemic.”

  “That too, things had been really quiet before that, then it started suddenly.”

  “I know that no matter what happens though, I will be the first in line to defend our world. This is our task as Hunters, and it is one I will make sure I can accomplish until my dying breath.”

  Aki nodded.

  “And us smiths are always right behind you to make sure that you got what you require to accomplish it!

  They both paused for a moment before Valen stood up, and sighed.

  “It was great to be able to see you, and chat again… But I have to go back now.”

  “I know…” She smiled. “Stay safe, Valen, and may the Sapphire Star light your way.”

  “And may the Red Comet keep your skies clear!” He finished enthusiastically.

  They clasped hands and held them together for a moment before separating, then they headed towards the door and descended the stairs to go back to the main forge area.

  “Finished, you two lovebirds?” Zyges teased.

  “Oh shut up! You know that we aren’t interested like that, and I have the right to catch up with my old friend!”

  The older smith chuckled.

  “Still fiery spirited…” He turned towards Valen. “And you Sky Piercer, it was great to be able to see you again, come here more often will you? I know you have an important mission, but don’t forget that resting is still important.”

  “I will, do not worry,” Valen replied with a nod.

  “Good lad. Now good luck to your endeavors, it must be a hard task if you are taking so long to fulfill it.”

  “You have no idea…” Valen replied. Then he sighed. “I will see you later Aki, I’m leaving with tomorrow’s ship.”

  “See ya Valen!” Aki replied cheerfully.

  They waved at each other and Valen went to the Gathering Hub, which was now finished, to spend some time and eventually hear what news hunters from the field came back with.

  Eventually, he went back into the Ancient Forest, still attempting to catch the Poachers in the act. His goodbyes with Aki felt exceptionally solemn and he lost count of the time their goodbye hug lasted.

  He did not know how long it had been since he returned from Seliana this time, but he was certain it was the longest period of time he was out in the fields by far, he was certain it had been months by now… He was living off the wilderness, hunting herbivores to feed himself as well as foraging. Adem was a great help in tracking down prey animals for him.

  Still Valen was worried about the fact that he did not find any sign of the Poachers for a long time. He believed that they were currently being extremely careful for some reason, and he guessed either they were preparing for a large operation, or they suspected they were being investigated. There was also the fact that there had been a small earthquake recently, but since it was a one-off, he did not worry about it any further.

  He was currently going through the forest, patrolling the area of a sort, as he had started to establish a routine, though he was careful of not going through the same route everyday…

  However he was snapped out of his musing by Adem slapping his leg, and Valen looked behind him at his partner.

  “Meowster, I hear nothing.”

  Valen was confused for a bit, before he immediately realized the implications, for Adem to hear nothing, not even the usual noises of the small animals… Meant that there were predators around, dangerous predators, or an outside element.

  He immediately went into a guarded stance and drew his weapon. Adem did the same for his own, and they stood back to back, scanning the environment, looking for anything suspicious.

  Above there was only clear skies, as they were in a large clearing in the forest, there were not many of them… But it also meant that there was nowhere for them to cover behind.

  Then suddenly Valen heard a loud twang, of a bowstring being released, and he immediately dove to the ground, rolled and stood back up, Adem doing the same but staying by his side.

  A split second later, a large arrow, one that could only come from a Hunter’s Bow, impacted the spot where he was only a moment ago.

  Then he heard slow clapping, and looked around, until he noticed somebody emerge from the undergrowth. The man, as he believed he was, was smacking his right hand against his shield, strapped on his left hand, which seemed off for some reason, producing the clapping sound. He was wearing what was definitely Odogaron armor, which gave him the hint that they managed to operate in other regions of the New World… Once he noticed that Valen had spotted him and was looking at him, he stopped clapping.

  “Impressive, but you aren’t the Sky Piercer for nothing, are you. Too bad that this time, you are outmatched!”

  And then suddenly, from all edges of the clearing, emerged a couple dozens of poachers, a large number of them wielding ranged weapons, and they surrounded Valen, leaving him no way to escape.