Hunting: The Dawning

Chapter 13: The Weapon Is Completed!

Since the successive passing of his parents, Gordon had been living alone.

Although he was unrestrained, it was always a bit lonely to live in a room by himself. Now with Pig Chop around, it should become more lively.

After working together with Pig Chop to clean up a small room as its bedroom, Gordon asked Pig Chop to take a rest and then entered the kitchen to prepare dinner.

After living alone for many years, Gordon thought his cooking skills were fairly good.

Before long, two huge fried pork chops were served on the table, accompanied by a fresh lettuce leaf salad and sliced dried bread, a simple yet substantial meal.

To Gordon's surprise, although Pig Chop was named "Pork Chop", it was tasting this food with the same name as it for the first time.

After being tenderized and marinated, the tender and juicy pork loin was coated with breadcrumbs, fried twice until golden brown, and then topped with a thick, sweet and salty sauce. It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and Pig Chop fell in love with it immediately.

After asking Gordon, he learned that the name of Pig Chop had nothing to do with favorite food or the like, but because the golden oval patch of fur on its belly resembled a fried pork chop.

This made Gordon involuntarily think of the name "Steak".

After asking, as expected, there was also an oval pattern on Steak's belly, but the color was a deep brown like roasted beef, and thus the name Steak came about...

Unable to hold back his curiosity, Gordon asked Pig Chop about its mother's name.

A wild guess would be "Chicken Chop"?

As a result, Pig Chop said its mother was called "Kikiya", which made Gordon choke on a mouthful of words that he couldn't spit out or swallow, and he had to hastily end the topic.

...

The next day, just before dawn.

Gordon got up from bed on time. After washing up, he was about to wake Pig Chop up, but unexpectedly, Pig Chop got up even earlier than him.

At this time, it was fully armed and was swinging its cat pickaxe in the small yard in front of the house, practicing its martial skills.

While this surprised Gordon, it also made him rather gratified. Pig Chop might be a bit timid, but it was very hardworking.

Courage could be honed and cultivated, while hard work and perseverance determined its upper limit in the future.

Walking up to Pig Chop and greeting it, Gordon's eyes were involuntarily attracted by the set of equipment on it.

Obviously, this was a set of armor specially designed and made for the Ailuran body type. The main materials should be leather and some hard shells.

The big backpack that Pig Chop carried with it contained this set of things.

After asking, he learned that this set of equipment was called "Acorn Cat Armor". Its defensive ability was not outstanding, but it was light and nimble, which was commonly used by novice hunting Felynes.

This was similar in concept to the hunter's set that Gordon was using.

Since Pig Chop was so hardworking, he couldn't slack off either. Gordon took off his shirt, picked up a huge stone block, and began to build up his strength.

Seeing the stone block that was three or four times heavier than itself being lifted up and down and tossed around by Gordon, Pig Chop was dumbfounded.

Shaking its small head, it couldn't help but speed up the swinging of the cat pickaxe in its hand.

Instructor Ernest, who happened to pass by Gordon's house, greeted Gordon first and then looked at Pig Chop in some surprise.

"Is this kid your hunting Felyne?"

"Yes, it's called Pig Chop. We just signed a contract yesterday." Gordon put down the stone block and introduced with a smile.

"You lucky brat."

Ernest scolded with a smile. "Do you know how many hunters are looking for a good partner but can't find one? And you, just becoming a formal hunter and haven't even taken a single task, already have a hunting Felyne partner?"

"Y... hello, meow. I'm Pig Chop, meow." Facing the instructor, Pig Chop seemed a bit reserved but still bowed politely to greet.

The instructor waved his hand heartily. "Don't be so polite. This kid Gordon is always so careless. I'll leave him to you in the future."

Then he turned to Gordon and said, "By the way, Gordon, I just met the blacksmith shop owner. He asked me to tell you that your Burst Blade has been forged. Don't forget to pick it up later."

"Really?!" Gordon's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "I'll go there right now!"

After saying that, he randomly put on a shirt, climbed over the fence like a monkey, and ran towards the blacksmith shop.

"Meow... meow?!"

Pig Chop, who was still a bit slow to react, meowed and quickly chased after him.

Watching the man and the cat running away madly, the instructor shook his head with a smile. "Still the same, so impetuous. But if one doesn't even care about his new weapon, hah! Then what kind of a hunter is he?"

...

"Clang, clang, clang!" Lifting the curtain in front of the blacksmith shop and walking in, the hot air and the sound of metal hitting simultaneously engulfed Gordon.

Wiping the beads of sweat that had oozed out due to the sudden rise in temperature on his forehead, Gordon grinned stupidly, which was a manifestation of his uncontrollable excitement.

He could hardly wait.

After his Hunter's Dagger was damaged, he felt that something seemed to be missing in his life. And now, that missing part was about to be filled.

"Oh, Gordon is here. Everything is ready. It was crafted with great care by me personally!" The blacksmith shop owner with a fleshy face had a very loud voice.

Pig Chop, who was following behind Gordon, couldn't help but shrink its neck.

It was this person who scared me yesterday, meow!

As if to prove its bravery, Pig Chop tried hard to raise its head and look directly at the big face of the blacksmith shop owner. But when the blacksmith shop owner looked over, it couldn't help but shrink back behind Gordon.

"Oh ho, isn't this the little kitten from yesterday? So you're Gordon's partner." The blacksmith shop owner said loudly.

After saying that, without waiting for Pig Chop's reply, he strode up to Gordon, stretched out his right hand that had been swinging heavy hammers all year round, and patted Gordon's shoulder heavily.

Gordon felt as if he had been slapped by a big bear. If it were a weaker person, he might have been knocked to the ground.

"Good, kid. You're strong enough to match the greatsword I crafted with great care!"

The blacksmith shop owner nodded with satisfaction and said boldly, "Follow me. It can't wait either."

After saying that, the blacksmith shop owner walked into the inner room first, and Gordon and Pig Chop quickly followed.

In the inner room of the blacksmith shop, on a huge and thick solid wood long table, there was a huge and ferocious-looking blade with a silver-gray color. Under the reflection of the furnace fire, it quietly reflected the unique cold luster of steel.

This greatsword named "Burst Blade" completely overturned Gordon's perception of the concept of "sword".

No wonder it was called Burst Blade. Compared to a sword, it was more like a broadsword.

The blade was wide and thick, almost like a shield. The curve of the back of the blade was very large. There was no sharp tip. The front part of the blade bent downward, forming a huge hook claw.

However, what surprised Gordon the most was not the hooked tip but the blade part — This greatsword had no edge?!

Did the craftsman uncle forget to sharpen the Burst Blade due to negligence? Obviously not. No one would make such a stupid mistake that couldn't even be called a low-level one.

Soon Gordon noticed that the blade part of the Burst Blade was "hollow" — There seemed to be some mechanisms hidden inside the blade.

"Do you see something interesting?" The blacksmith shop owner folded his arms and looked proud.