Weltschmerz

Chapter 1 – Anfang:

Author's Note:

I've been wanting to write a monster hunter fanfiction since the trailers for the new game came out. But I had no idea what to write about... until now. The moment that I am writing this, there is seven days until Monster Hunter Generations comes out. I plan on posting this the day it comes out. As of this moment, I have no story board, just a general idea where I want to take this fanfiction. I may end up reworking this entire chapter... in any case, I hope you all are as excited for Generations as I am and I hope that you enjoy this chapter!

UPDATE: This update was made the day before Generations comes out. I would just like to note that I am assuming you all have either: played a Monster Hunter game or are planning to play Generations. I will be using some terminology that may seem strange to the uninitiated. I am trying to keep it simple, but it will seem odd to those who have no idea what I'm talking about. This is taking place during the fourth generation, MH4u to be exact.

XXX

Kill, carve, make new weapons and armor, hunt stronger monsters. A cycle that seems to infinitely repeat itself. Again, a single hunter thought as he downed another Rathian. He quickly carved the beast and waited for the next one to appear.

The hunter's name is Zim. And he is a particularly accomplished hunter. When most were just starting the academy, he had already killed his first monster. Hunting monsters was just a hobby for several years until the hunter's guild caught wind of skill.

Zim was recruited to join the guild where he became a high rank hunter at the age of thirteen. He was well known in Loc Lac as the lone wolf. A hunter that could down the highly dangerous Deviljho by himself.

The guild had decided to move him to a new village in order to help newer hunters learn the ropes when he turned sixteen. It was why he was fighting low rank Rathians. He had no low rank gear and he was not permitted to use his high rank equipment.

He basically had to start from scratch, just like everyone else. Except he had nearly ten years of experience when many had just started doing simple gathering quests. He was just doing what the guild asked. He would help the newer hunters for a few years and then he could start right back where he left off.

A new, unclassified monster had appeared recently and a new village had opened up to hunt it. It was named the Gore Magala. It carried a special virus with it that could effect other monsters, making them highly dangerous.

It was why Zim was needed. The low rank hunters that had been flocking towards the challenge had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Zim was there to be an undercover guide to speed up their progress.

Gore Magala is weak to fire, Zim kept repeating to himself as he waited for the next Rathian. It would be his first time hunting a Magala along side the newer hunters. He usually hopped from group to group, attempting to help everyone.

But there was one group that he kept coming back to. And he wasn't sure why. It was made up of a brother and his younger sister as well as his girlfriend. The older brother insisted on being called Wolf and the younger sister Rose. Zim was sure it wasn't their real names, but he never bothered to ask. The other girl was named Eve.

They were no longer complete newbies. They had several large monster kills under their belts and they were preparing to hunt a Magala. Zim had faith in the rag tag team, they weren't amazing, but they got the job done.

Speaking of jobs to do... Zim mused as he watched the green-scaled, flying wyvern start to descend. He grabbed his trusty Lagiacrus long sword off of his back and prepared to attack the unaware beast. Since he was hunting alone, he was permitted to use his favored high rank long sword.

Zim ran towards a ledge the Rathian was landing near. Once he moved to the new village, he was told of a new hunting technique. He would jump off of ledges and cliffs, trying to land on the monster and knock it over.

He leapt off of the ledge and mounted the monster in midair. Using his hunting knife, he stabbed at the Rathian, quickly knocking her onto her side. Entering the long sword's signature stance, he effortlessly executed a spirit combo. He sliced her tail off, causing her to tumble away from him.

Not hesitating, he charged at her. He dodged a fire ball and ducked under a tail swipe. He brought his sword up and cut into her legs and underbelly. He back-stepped through the Rathian's signature poison tail swipe. He dashed forward, initiating another spirit combo on her legs.

She was once again knocked out of the air. Zim began cutting into her thick head plate, hoping to break her crown. He was hunting for an elusive Rathian plate. A difficult piece to carve, but it was easier to get since he cut her tail. Snap! And broke her crown.

She roared in rage, but Zim did not falter in his combo. A single slice to her head finished her off. Her body sparked for a few seconds after the cut was made. It was a side effect of the long sword he used. The Rathian collapsed and Zim went to work carving the body. This was the last Rathian he had to kill, the quest was over.

He finished carving the beast and moved on to the tail, hoping for a plate. He did not get one. Typical, he thought to himself. It was nearly impossible to carve one off of her, he would have to wait until the guild sent him his reward for completing the quest.

He began his long trek home. The hunt was at the Ancestral Steppe so he did not have far to go, but it would take a few hours. The guild would pick up the bodies, carve them for parts, and reward him based on what he had broken off of the monster.

Zim hoped cutting the tail would make a difference. I should've capped them, Zim grumbled. He had already gone through the trouble of finding a Rathian plate years ago when making his favorite set of Rathian armor. Armor that he couldn't even use.

Once Zim arrived back at Val Harbor, a guild representative handed over a chest full of Rathian parts. Zim dug through the chest fervently, tossing most of it away. "A plate!" Zim exclaimed excitedly.

"You seem excited," a tall hunter remarked when he approached Zim. This was Wolf. He was twenty-two years old and was six foot eight, very tall for the average hunter. He wore Gypceros armor.

"Why shouldn't he be? How long have you been searching for that plate?" a female voice sounded. It was Rose, she was never far behind her brother. She was eighteen years old and was six feet tall. She wore battle armor, gemmed for attack up large.

Zim ignored the bickering duo and headed over to the smithy to forge himself his new weapon. "Hey, where did you get that long sword?" yet another woman asked. It was Eve. She was twenty years old and was actually not wearing any armor at the moment. She was six foot three, putting herself nearly halfway between the brother and sister in terms of height.

"Hey, that is a cool sword, where'd ya get it?" Wolf asked, stepping away from his argument with his sister.

Damn it, Zim thought to himself. Technically, no one was supposed to know that he was a highly skilled hunter. None of the new players accepted help from higher ranking players, even if they really needed it. That was why Zim had to start all over, it was a disguise.

The group knew that he was from Moga village and had been hunting longer than they had. But they assumed that "longer," just meant a year longer. The academy trained hunters until they turned eighteen, then they would be allowed to actually hunt monsters. Wolf had waited for his sister, but Eve had started later than most. They had no idea Zim was only sixteen.

Eve had been suspicious of Zim's true talents the moment they joined forces. Not that it really mattered to Zim. If he was caught and they refused help, he'd just go back to hunting more challenging monsters. Alone.

"It was made from a monster that had attacked my village a long time ago. They sent it to me when I asked for it," Zim shrugged off Eve's suspicions. None of them had ever hunted a Lagiacrus before, there was no way to explain it to them.

"So are we 'bout ready to hunt?" Wolf asked impatiently. In his mind, he had been born ready to fight the Magala.

"I just need to put on some armor. Should I use a bowgun for this one?" Eve asked, doing a little spin.

"I don't know, I'm just going to use my trusty greatsword!" Wolf grinned maniacally.

"Hmm, I'm thinking ranged too, then. Perhaps a bow would be better. I'll have to switch armor too..." Rose mused to herself.

Zim sighed as the smithy handed over his new weapon. He handed it back so it could be upgraded again and turned around to face his team. "Guys, we've never fought one of these before. I've been in contact with a few higher ranked hunters, and they all say that it moves rather erratically. I think a weapon that can guard might be for the best."

Zim remained in contact with the hunter's guild and several other high rank hunters. He was not the only one selected to go undercover to help the new hunters. Although most of the high rank hunters had moved on and gone back to high rank hunts.

"Greatsword can guard, I'm all set," Wolf shrugged off Zim's concerns.

"You think so? I guess I'll get a sword and shield..." Rose mumbled. She left to go and change weapons.

"If it moves erratically, you'll want me to put down status effects, right? Bowgun will be fine, as long as it's distracted with you all," Eve said. She then left to go and equip her armor and weapon.

"Don't you have a lance with fire element?" Zim asked Wolf. He took his new weapon back from the smithy and equipped it. He handed his long sword over to a nearby Palico to take back to his equipment box.

Palicos always unnerved Zim when they were around. One attached themselves to him immediately upon his arrival to the village. The cat-like creature was durable in battle, but Zim didn't need help. The Palico loitered around Zim's residence anyways.

"Why?" Wolf asked. Wolf loved using greatswords, but had a few other weapons at his disposal. One was a lance made from Rathian parts. Wolf didn't think much about using elemental damage because his favored weapon lacked an element. Not to mention greatswords dealt more raw damage than elemental or status, so Wolf never bothered.

"Because the Gore Magala is weak to fire. It might be a good idea to have a weapon with a shield and fire damage," Zim explained.

The two women came back fully equipped and ready for the hunt. "What weapon are you using, then?" Wolf asked angrily. He crossed his arms and glared at the shorter hunter.

"I'm using dual swords, I just got a nice pair of Rathian ones." Although Zim had mostly used long swords and greatswords, dual swords were starting to grow on him. The smithy in Loc Lac didn't know how to make dual swords, so he never had the chance to use them.

"Ha! You're not using a shield and you have fire damage. There's no need for me to have fire on my weapon," Wolf grinned.

"Your funeral," Zim responded nonchalantly. He double checked his items to make sure he had what he needed and went over to the counter to grab the quest. He waited for his companions to eat and grab the items they wanted to bring.

"Are you sure that you don't want a shield?" Rose asked as she stood next to the exit, prepared to disembark. "You did say it would be for the best..." Rose was the easiest of the three to get along with. While Eve was skeptical of Zim's actual talents and Wolf being an arrogant know-it-all, Rose actually listened to what Zim had to say. And she was shaping up to be a talented hunter, easily outclassing the other two in her group.

"Positive. My speed will keep me alive," Zim said. While dual swords didn't put out a lot of raw power or even elemental damage, they were fast. The damage stacked up quickly and they were mobile enough to dodge attacks and re-position for mounts.

The group of four walked out of the gathering hall to hunt a Gore Magala. Zim didn't know much about the beast. He only knew it was pure black and spread the dangerous frenzy virus.

XXX

So here's the first chapter of my first Monster Hunter fanfiction. Like I said, I only have a vague idea of where I want to take this. I just wanted to establish our main human characters. I would just like to note that Zim, our prodigal hunter, is a tri hunter, when there was no G rank. It may be awhile until a new chapter comes out, but when it does, I will have a story board ready. This is more of a trial chapter that I hope you all enjoyed. And remember, happy hunting!