When Harth's village chief asked him to owe a favor in return, Altaïr agreed without hesitation.
He was a Hunter, and Hunting was the only thing he could offer. When the village chief said, "if Harth ever needs help one day," he could only mean that the village might encounter a powerful Monster.
If that Monster was within his ability to handle, then dealing with it would simply be his duty as a Hunter. If its strength far exceeded his own, then even if he was willing, the Guild would never allow a High Rank Hunter to throw his life away for nothing.
In practical terms, whether or not he owed the favor made little difference...
The village chief, of course, understood that as well.
The main reason he was willing to part with a collection that was precious even to him was Altaïr's exceptional compatibility with the Talisman.
Most Long Sword users pursued agility and precision and placed little emphasis on Focus or charge attacks. Great Sword users, meanwhile, relied on Charged Slashes to overpower their quarry, and few devoted much effort to precision attacks.
The Talisman would be somewhat wasted in their hands.
But when this young man tried it, he performed several different charge-based moves with his Long Sword. He should be able to draw out the Talisman's true power.
He actually agreed with his daughter Gemma's words: "A Talisman can only realize its true value in the hands of someone who needs it." He also found the young man's polite and measured demeanor quite agreeable...
Though it pained him, he would let it go as a parting gift.
After thanking him solemnly, Altaïr left the village chief's home and headed to the Gathering Hall.
He chose an Ioprey hunting quest near the Brute Tigrex's territory and set out alone for the hunting grounds.
Morgan's new equipment would take at least three to five days to finish. Altaïr planned to spend that time scouting the Brute Tigrex's usual territory, familiarizing himself with the terrain, clearing out Small Monsters, and getting used to his new Talisman, accomplishing several goals at once.
—--
Several days passed in a flash.
Only after Altaïr returned to Harth did he learn that the Troverian Master Craftsman had completed the new weapon in just two days.
The fact that he had crafted a Shen Gaoren Heavy Bowgun before had helped, but there was no question that he deserved his title as a legendary Master Craftsman.
During the days before Altaïr returned, Morgan had also grown accustomed to the oddly shaped Heavy Bowgun and its unusual construction.
When he saw Altaïr, the Gunner, who was usually stone-faced, had an uncharacteristic excitement in his eyes.
Sajji, who had watched the Master Craftsman work from start to finish, was even more excited than Morgan.
He did not understand the material processing or forging, but the Heavy Bowgun's intricate mechanisms and ingenious design had left a deep impression on him.
Now he was meowing incessantly as he explained to Altaïr how the Teppeki Shen Gaoren Heavy Bowgun's feeding mechanism worked.
Altaïr stared blankly at the Teppeki Shen Gaoren Heavy Bowgun that Morgan had placed on the table.
If Morgan and the others had not explained it beforehand, he would never have recognized it as a Bowgun.
It resembled a giant egg cast from bronze, roughly the size of a Wyvern Egg, and its surface was engraved with intricate, mysterious patterns.
At a glance, it looked like something unearthed from an ancient tomb.
For a moment, a bizarre thought flashed through his mind. If I claimed this thing was a relic of the Ancient Civilization and took it to Loc Lac, I could probably swindle a fortune out of those collectors with deep pockets and terrible eyesight.
"Ahem, so where's the muzzle on this thing?" Altaïr shook off the outlandish thought and stared at the "giant bronze egg."
"This is its folded state. It takes a different form when deployed." Morgan gently stroked the bronze egg. "Deploying a weapon in town is dangerous enough to earn a warning... but this is the Gathering Hall, so it should be fine, right? At worst, I just won't insert a magazine!"
Growing more excited as he spoke, he triggered an inconspicuous mechanism on the bronze egg. Amid the clicking of precision machinery, the giant egg rapidly unfolded and transformed.
"Well... at least I can see the muzzle now. Is this the trigger?" Altaïr reached out curiously.
Morgan slapped his hand away. "No, that's for switching firing modes."
"Fine." Altaïr withdrew his hand sheepishly. "By the way, what's this Heavy Bowgun called?"
"Gaoren Orb. That's what the Master Craftsman called her." A strange look filled Morgan's eyes. Was that... love?
"But the Master Craftsman also said that was the name of the standard Shen Gaoren Heavy Bowgun. This one is a new model built from Teppeki Shen Gaoren materials, so he said I could name it whatever I wanted."
"So what did you call it?" Altaïr's interest was piqued.
To be honest, the name "Gaoren Orb" was a little... straightforward.
"Shen Gaoren Cannon!"
Altaïr was speechless.
Your naming skills are on par with Isis's.
Though speechless, Altaïr had no intention of renaming Morgan's Bowgun for him. The corner of his mouth twitched as he asked, "What about ammo types? Which ones is this Bowgun suited for?"
As a Blademaster with limited knowledge of machinery and Bowgun-class weapons, this was the most technical question he could ask.
"Among standard Bowgun Ammo, it can use Normal Ammo, Pierce Ammo, and Sticky Ammo. Its magazine capacity is especially large for Normal Ammo and Pierce Ammo. However, it cannot load Spread Ammo; according to the Master Craftsman, this Bowgun was designed for mid-to-long-range combat. It is also extremely well suited for Dragon Ammo and can deal tremendous damage to Monsters weak to the Dragon Element! More importantly, the Bowgun is exceptionally stable. You can barely feel any recoil, making it perfect for sniping!"
Sajji chimed in, "The Master Craftsman also took advantage of the Teppeki Shen Gaoren materials' heat resistance to improve the Gaoren Orb's original design, meow! This Heavy Bowgun can fire Flaming Ammo, which standard Shen Gaoren Heavy Bowguns cannot use, and its slow reload speed has also been greatly improved, meow!"
"Long range, high accuracy, and it supports Normal, Pierce, Sticky, Fire, and Dragon Ammo, right? Got it." Altaïr took out his memo and jotted down a few notes for future tactical planning.
"That may be accurate, but summarizing it like that has no flair at all," Morgan complained.
Altaïr rolled his eyes. "Someone who came up with a name like 'Shen Gaoren Cannon' has no right to criticize me for lacking flair."
After silencing Morgan, Altaïr flipped back two pages in his memo. "You said you've mostly adjusted to your new weapon, so it's time to put the Brute Tigrex hunt on the agenda. What about Isis? Has she engaged the Kuarusepu yet?"
"She didn't just engage it. She finished hunting it days ago." Morgan folded up the Shen Gaoren Cannon. "While you were away, she sent a letter by Carrier Pigeon. Judging by the date, she completed the Hunt the very day we arrived in Harth. She was only delayed for a few days while waiting for the Kuarusepu materials to be processed. She's probably on her way here now."
"Tch, she moves fast." A hint of urgency crept onto Altaïr's face. "How are you two doing? We should set out early this afternoon so we can reach the target hunting grounds shortly after nightfall. I've already completed the reconnaissance. We'll rest at the camp overnight and begin the Hunt first thing tomorrow morning."
"So soon? Why not wait for Isis to arrive and go together?" Morgan did not understand the source of Altaïr's anxiety. "Waiting for her wouldn't even cost us two days, would it?"
Altaïr's face tightened, but he did not answer.
Sajji shot him a sideways glance. "Because he thinks that would make him lose face, meow."