Chapter 126

Whoooosh.

The wind blows cool and refreshing.

Even though I’m wearing leather armor, the strong wind carries a lot of sand, making it feel cool.

If this were reality, I’d close my eyes and head home, but this is a virtual world, and unpleasant sensations are filtered out. So, I’m completely absorbed by the overwhelming scenery before me.

“Wow… I’m finally seeing that majestic environment I used to only see on screen…”

Monster Hunter has changed a lot since the old days.

First, the most surprising thing was the ability to choose between Story Mode and Survival Mode.

Story Mode is, as the name suggests, a mode where you follow a story, while Survival Mode is about hunting monsters in a vast open world.

I was torn about where to start, so I did a quick search and found out that if you don’t want to follow the story, you can just play Survival Mode. The only difference between the two modes is whether or not you engage with the story.

Back in the day, Monster Hunter’s story wasn’t particularly great, so unless you were a streamer, almost everyone played Survival Mode. So, I chose Survival Mode too.

After finishing a simple tutorial, I arrived at the place I’m looking at now—the arid zone.

With little water, sandstorms blowing in from the distant desert, small monsters roaming around, and sparse vegetation, my heart is already racing.

There’s no story, but there’s an overarching flow to the game, presented in the form of quests.

Before hunting my first quest monster, I decided to warm up.

Even though I’ve been living as Arang for quite some time, I’ve spent far more time living as a man, so there’s no awkwardness.

Moreover, perhaps because Arang’s talent is exceptional, I quickly adapted to my now fully male body.

After getting used to my body, I pulled out the massive greatsword I had planted in the ground beside me.

Of course, when it comes to Monster Hunter, the greatsword is iconic.

A greatsword as tall as I am.

People don’t usually prefer the slow attack speed and heaviness of the greatsword, but as a man, there’s a desire to wield a greatsword with both hands and swing it at a massive monster.

I grabbed the basic greatsword and charged forward to enjoy Monster Hunter.

==

Monster Hunter is a game that’s been out for almost two years now.

Everyone who was going to enjoy Monster Hunter has already done so and moved on, leaving only the truly dedicated players.

This Monster Hunter open world is essentially an 8-player multiplayer. Each open world has 8 hunters, and it automatically plays in multiplayer mode.

Today, as usual, a veteran player logged into Monster Hunter and started moving around to hunt any random monster when they spotted a new player.

“A newbie…!? A newbie in a 2-year-old game!?”

The veteran, intrigued by the newbie’s basic leather gear and greatsword, stealthily started following them.

“But their username is weird… [Chicken Without Legs]? Isn’t that trash?”

The veteran watched as the newbie took on their first monster.

With the game now a VR experience, Monster Hunter’s difficulty has skyrocketed.

In the past, you’d press a button, and your character would perform an action, but in VR, you have to physically move your body to attack, making physical fitness crucial.

Especially, understanding how to use strength and weapons is vital, so even long-time players often struggle to improve.

Of course, there’s a balancing system, but the game’s entry barrier has become much higher than other games.

That’s why the veteran, thirsty for new players, silently cheered for the newbie to successfully complete their first hunt.

Even though the first monster is the easiest in Monster Hunter, considering the overall difficulty, it’s still challenging for beginners.

Especially with the greatsword, which has long startup and recovery times, one wrong move, and the monster’s attack can drain your health in an instant.

“I’ll watch for a bit and use a wide-area health potion if things get dire.”

The veteran planned to help the newbie if they were about to die but noticed something strange as they watched the hunt.

This is definitely a newbie.

They’re not using any of the system-assisted attack motions or combos.

They don’t seem to know the monster’s patterns and are just headbutting it…

“Why are they so good…?”

Veterans usually predict the monster’s subtle movements and prepare to dodge or block attacks.

But this newbie used the greatsword’s special tackle motion right as the monster’s attack was about to land.

The tackle, designed for the slow greatsword, grants super armor.

It allows you to maintain your stance and fight through most attacks.

Using tackles and rolls effectively, the newbie controlled the greatsword as if it were an extension of their body.

With the introduction of the virtual world, the concept of alternate characters has disappeared, so this is definitely their first time playing Monster Hunter.

But with such physical prowess…

“This has to be a top-ranked VR gamer or an athlete from another game!”

They don’t seem fully accustomed to Monster Hunter yet, but with their overwhelming physical skills, they’re already slaughtering the monster.

As the veteran watched the newbie’s hunt, something felt off.

“Why aren’t they getting stunned?”

One of the reasons this game is difficult is that taking a certain amount of damage causes you to get stunned, leaving you vulnerable.

If you get hit during that time, you can die, so later on, stun resistance becomes essential.

But newbies don’t have that, so they always have to be careful about getting stunned.

Of course, the newbie is playing well, but they’re not avoiding all damage.

They’ve used two healing potions so far, and their health is already down to about 50%.

Considering the damage they’ve taken, they should be stunned.

But the newbie hasn’t been stunned once and keeps moving.

“This is weird… How is this possible?”

==

“Is it because it’s a 2-year-old game? Does this still work here?”

The no-stagger system, which was considered too overpowered in Leore and got hotfixed.

There was a crazy system where, because I don’t have limbs, I’m completely immune to stagger effects from limb-based attacks. It was so broken that Leore hotfixed it immediately.

But Monster Hunter is a game that’s been out for 2 years and isn’t receiving updates anymore.

So, in Leore, it’s stagger. In Monster Hunter, it’s stun. The old system.

I’ve played Monster Hunter on PC for a long time, so I know about the stun system.

Since the game was released 2 years ago and updates stopped a year ago, I decided to test it by intentionally taking hits to my arms and legs.

Sure enough, I didn’t get stunned.

I’d need to do more precise testing to understand the stun system fully, but for now, I know that taking damage to limbs doesn’t build up stun.

“Ugh!”

As soon as I said that, the monster’s tail grazed my waist, and I got stunned.

Starting from my waist, my whole body felt like it was electrocuted, and all movement stopped.

“Wait, so I’m not completely immune to stun…!?”

Thud!

“Ugh!”

While stunned, I couldn’t block or dodge the monster’s massive tail, and it hit me square in the stomach.

“Now I get it… It’s not that I’m completely ignoring stun.”

I thought I wouldn’t need stun resistance skills later because I wasn’t getting stunned, but that’s not the case.

Taking hits to limbs doesn’t build up stun, but stun still accumulates; I just don’t get stunned.

“Just a light tap, and I’m instantly stunned.”

Turns out, it wasn’t a free pass after all.

Of course, this is still a huge advantage.

If I play my cards right, I can control the stun timing.

“But still, Monster Hunter is something else.”

Wielding a greatsword as tall as I am and dueling a massive monster really gets a man’s blood pumping.

The greatsword feels heavy, but that weight translates into satisfying attacks against the monster.

The visceral impact felt throughout my body, the thrilling soundtrack, the cool monsters.

In that situation, engaging in a fierce battle—it’s exhilarating.

I’m still not fully accustomed to the game, so I take hits often, but every time I land a blow, the monster flinches or falls, and it’s just so much fun.

Of course, I flinch and fall too, and I get stunned, but the one-on-one duel with the monster is incredibly—

Suddenly, the soundtrack changed.

The calm, adventurous melody gradually became more intense, then shifted into something grand and majestic.

“Is this…?”

Having played Monster Hunter on PC, I know what it means when the music changes.

In an instant, the surroundings darkened, and when I looked up, there was something massive in the sky.

“Oh, come on—”

“Seriously? I’m just a newbie on my first hunt, and this is happening!?”