Inside a camp tent where the temperature had dropped below freezing, a traveler from another world huddled inside a freezing pelt sleeping bag, flipping open a notebook he had found and scanning it line by line.
[Hunter’s Notes] Item
Quality: Fine
Description: A personal notebook belonging to a 4-star hunter.
It contains 18% of the New World’s ecological map, an index of 12 large monster species, 16 small monster species, 75 endemic species, and usage techniques for the Sword and Shield.
P.S.
This is a notebook, not a diary.
Who in their right mind keeps a diary?
[Day 1 in the New World: Although we encountered Zorah Magdaros en route and the fleet suffered damages, fortunately there were no casualties.
Everyone arrived safely at Astera.]
[Day 2 in the New World: Sunny.
Great weather today.
I took a quest from a forest rascal—a 1-star task to hunt seven Jagras.
Though this quest is beneath my status as a 4-star hunter, I lost all my weapons and armor during the encounter with Zorah Magdaros at sea.
Now I can only use a Hunter’s Dagger bought from the armory and leather gear.]
…
[Day 12 in the New World: Cloudy.
As expected of the powerful hunter who made our entire Fifth Fleet wait for a week—she defeated an Anjanath using nothing more than a beginner weapon like the Iron Katana.
That’s a Brute Wyvern known by scholars as the Forest Bully, named Anjanath, and it looks fierce just by its appearance.
As a fellow member of the Fifth Fleet, I couldn’t possibly do that.
Is the gap between people really this huge?]
…
[Day 20 in the New World: Sunny.
The Zorah Magdaros Capture Operation failed due to the interference of an Elder Dragon.
Was that…
Nergigante?
An Elder Dragon that preys on Elder Dragons!
Just looking at it made my legs tremble involuntarily.
Was I cowering before the majesty of an Elder Dragon?
Search my soul as I might, I was simply terrified.]
…
[Day 25 in the New World: Overcast.
Today we pushed our investigation into the Rotten Vale and established the Central Camp.
Thanks to the info provided by the senior hunter from the First Fleet.
To conduct ecological surveys all alone in such a dangerous environment…
truly worthy of respect.]
…
[Day 30 in the New World: Light rain.
Following the Zorah Magdaros Diversion Operation devised by the Commander, we successfully lured Zorah Magdaros, which was seeking to end its life before the Everstream, out into the open ocean, softening the impact of the explosion.
To celebrate the victory, Astera hosted a grand feast.
I also saw the Commander-in-Chief of the Research Commission—he was as fierce and imposing as a raging Rajang!
Ah!
Scratch that!
I drank two extra glasses of Star Brandy tonight, the Commission-approved spirit.
It really packs a punch.]
…
[Day 65 in the New World: Cloudy.
Taking three days, our four-person squad completed an ecological survey requested by the scholars and successfully captured a Pukei-Pukei.
As soon as we returned to Astera, I heard that she repelled the Elder Dragon Teostra all by herself.
Ridiculously strong.
Sometimes the gap between people is wider than the gap between a human and a Downy Crake.]
[Day 70 in the New World: Sunny.
Didn’t take any quests today; spent the whole day lounging in my room.
When I went to eat at the Meowscular Chef’s place in the evening, I heard that same person slayed Nergigante single-handedly.
Powerful as a god.
I can’t imagine any dragon or beast she couldn’t defeat.]
…
[Impossible!
This is impossible!
I refuse to believe it’s real.
The Commander-in-Chief said that during the battle, she fell into the depths of the Everstream along with the mysterious Elder Dragon born in the Elder’s Recess.
O Sapphire Star!
Please bless her with good hunting luck and a safe return.]
[The Commander-in-Chief went down on a Wingdrake and brought back news—that dragon is still alive, absorbing energy and growing in the Everstream, but he found no trace of her…]
…
[Xeno’jiiva lingers in the Everstream, unwilling to leave.
Astera sent high-ranking hunter teams multiple times to slay it, but all returned in failure.
Now the bioenergy is abnormally active, causing the monsters of the New World to grow restless.
Hunters going out to explore have spotted powerful subspecies multiple times.
If only she were still here.]
…
[An Elder Dragon attacked Astera.
Its body is encased in ice crystals, entirely azure blue, and it can freely manipulate cold air to unleash super-low-temperature breath.
Though we ultimately repelled it with Wyvern’s Fire, we lost many companions at the same time.]
…
[It’s snowing.
Snowflakes are actually falling in the Ancient Forest.
This is my first time seeing snow in the New World.
The snow is getting heavier—in just one day, it piled up more than half a meter deep.
Temperatures are dropping rapidly, making gathering and hunting in the forest difficult.]
[The monsters are restless.
Powerful beasts continuously attack Astera in the blizzard.
Misfortunes pile up: sea dragons have also appeared along the ocean routes, attacking supply ships.
We are becoming somewhat isolated and helpless.]
…
[There is no longer a place for us in the New World.
The leaders unanimously decided to withdraw from the New World.
We failed.]
…
[Today I finished my last hunting and gathering run in the Ancient Forest.
The temperature hasn’t warmed up, and snow is still drifting from the sky.
Fortunately, supply collection on the ship is almost complete.
Tomorrow we leave the New World by ship to return home.
I left my notebook and initial weapon at the camp as my mark left in the New World.]
Under the light, two red, frozen fingers turned the page filled with handwriting, but the pages following it were all blank.
The notebook ended right here.
After finishing the thick notebook, the image of a black figure appeared in Lin Ke’s mind, holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, performing basic actions like chopping, slashing, cutting, and slicing.
“Looks like I’ve learned a bit of Sword and Shield techniques too.
What a magical experience.”
Closing the notebook, Lin Ke put it away into his backpack and turned off the flashlight on his phone with his right hand.
Without a light source, the tent plunged into darkness.
[Camp Tent] Item
Quality: Common
Description: A sturdy tent made of canvas and thick beast pelts.
Even without maintenance for a long time, it still offers decent heat retention and insulation.
P.S.
Its owner has been gone for 995 days.
Ignoring the text appearing at the corner of his vision.
In the dark, Lin Ke impassively reached out his left hand from the pelt sleeping bag and rubbed his eye sockets with his thumb and middle finger.
He really didn’t know what expression to make facing this world.
Fuck!
As a newcomer traveling to another world for the first time, he had already felt the full malice of the New World through this thick notebook!
To summarize the four pieces of information he gathered from this anonymous notebook:
First, the Sapphire Star—a title bestowed only upon the strongest hunter in the New World—went missing during the operation to slay Xeno’jiiva, and that prematurely born, chosen Xeno’jiiva was still alive.
Second, the azure Elder Dragon that could manipulate frost was likely Velkhana from the Hoarfrost Reach.
For unknown reasons, it had come to the New World, and the snow-covered Ancient Forest was now suffering under Velkhana’s ecological influence.
Third, all research fleets had evacuated the New World.
He might be the only surviving human left in the New World right now.
Ever since the Sapphire Star went missing while hunting Xeno’jiiva, events had spiraled out of control like the dump truck that ran him over and transmigrated him here, crushing everything he knew.
He had thought he could coast along in the Monster Hunter world by clinging to the Sapphire Star’s thigh, but she had actually gone missing.
What a hellish start.
If he wanted to survive in this New World now, he might have to face a combo attack from Monster Hunter World plus Iceborne!
Fortunately, he still had a cheat.
Hopefully, it would be reliable.
[World information collection complete.
Generating class for player…]
32%
It had been over fifty minutes since he transmigrated and hid in this tent.
He had read an entire notebook, yet the system progress was only one-third loaded.
“I can’t delay any longer.
I need to take action.”
Lin Ke clenched his fists.
His current situation was far from good.
According to the notebook, his current location should be a cave camp on the edge of the Ancient Forest, so he didn’t need to worry about being attacked by wild beasts for now.
However, the temperature outside the tent was probably already below freezing.
In such a low-temperature environment, if he went outside, his body would suffer from hypothermia after at most two hours of activity, and without timely warming, his life could be in danger.
But if he stayed inside this tent, hiding in the sleeping bag without food or water, he could last at most a day.
And if he hid in the tent for more than half a day, by the time he wanted to do something to survive, his physical state might no longer allow it.
After a moment of silence…
Lin Ke crawled out of the sleeping bag that had just been warmed by his body heat.
Though there were many difficulties, he had to face them step by step.
“I’d better take advantage of my good condition now and resolve the simplest problems first.”
*Hiss—*
The moment he unzipped the tent flap and bent down to step outside, Lin Ke gasped at the frigid air.
The cold air outside the tent poured straight down his collar and up his ankles, stripping away his body heat while raising a massive layer of goosebumps on his skin.
Chilled to the bone, his body shivered uncontrollably.
“So cold!”
Currently, Lin Ke was wearing a cotton short-sleeved shirt on his upper body with a thin black jacket over it, and casual sports pants over boxer shorts on his lower body.
They were all made of polyester fiber—fine for blocking wind and rain, but their thermal insulation was hardly impressive.
His sneakers and cotton socks were reasonably warm, but against subzero temperatures, his autumn clothes were woefully inadequate.
Lin Ke crouched down, first pulling up his socks to tuck in his pant legs, then stood up to zip his jacket all the way to the top, ducking his neck to minimize skin contact with the air and slow the loss of body heat.
After tidying his cuffs, Lin Ke shoved both hands into his jacket pockets and looked around at the tent’s surroundings.
It appeared his camp was located inside a mountain cavern.
The cave spanned roughly eighty square meters, with a dome shape standing over three meters tall, shaped like an inverted rice bowl.
Even without the phone’s flashlight, the cave wasn’t dark.
Clusters of glowing plants grew along the surrounding rock walls, each cluster made of several ping-pong-ball-sized purple spheres huddled together.
Though their fluorescent glow wasn’t enough to illuminate the entire cavern, it was at least sufficient for Lin Ke to see everything inside clearly.
[Glowmoss] Moss Plant / Item
Quality: Common
Description: A glowing plant that grows in dark places.
Can be used as Slinger ammo.
When loaded into a Slinger and fired, it emits light at the impact point to illuminate the area.
P.S.
Hitting a Flying Wyvern’s head with it can also make it see stars.
There were two exits leading out from the cavern.
One was embedded in the rock wall, about a meter high; after crouching and walking three or four meters, it was completely blocked by thick snow.
The other opened at the roof of the cavern, roughly thirty centimeters in diameter.
When he shone his phone light inside, it twisted and turned out of sight.
It was likely a ventilation hole.
Lin Ke felt somewhat relieved that it hadn’t been blocked by snow.
Because when he breathed, he didn’t feel the air inside the cave was stale, and he could even feel a trace of cold breeze on his scalp.