Monster Hunter: Dawn of the Hunter

Chapter 2

Rage woke up suddenly and looked outside. It was still dark. He could hear his father snoring in the room next to him.

Perfect. Rage thought Where's Jazaxy?

Almost as if the thought had summoned her, Jazaxy's head appeared in Rage's window. She smiled and waved at him excitedly. Rage smiled back at her and quietly walked over to a chest containing some clothes and armor he had hidden from his father. It also held a pair of dual blades. Rage couldn't wait. This was the day! The day he had dreamed about for years. It was finally here. He quickly put on the armor and weapons and left his room through the window. Jazaxy was waiting for him, the biggest smile Rage had ever seen on her face.

"Eeeee! I'm so exited! And I'm not even the one entering the Trials." She said, bouncing up and down.

"Keep your voice down. Someone could hear you! More specifically my dad could hear you." Rage whispered.

Jazaxy nodded still bouncing up and down. Rage shook his head and walked past her on his way to the Guild Hub. Jazaxy quickly stumbled after him managing to catch up.

"Why are you in such a rush? We still have another hour before the Guild Hub opens up for the day." Jazaxy asked.

"Because I know people will already be lining the block trying to get their submissions in." Rage explained, quickening his pace even more.

Jazaxy nodded remembering last year's Trials and how she had to wait a whole 10 hours before she could enter her submission. Soon they turned a corner and there it was, the Guild Hub. It was the largest building in town and was made of stone with a thatch roof. It had a hanging sign over the entrance that sported the Guild's symbol. It swayed slightly in the morning breeze. A few windows appeared here and there higher up on the wall, but for the most part the building had no way for natural light to get in or, more accurately, no way for unwanted guests breaking in. Rage looked at the long line that had already formed and let out a sigh. He then turned his gaze to the building with the same awe and excitement he had felt yesterday.

"This is going to be so awesome! I can't wait!" Rage said as he and Jazaxy got in line.

Jazaxy nodded. "It's super exciting! I just know you're going to be one of the 10 they pick."

"Thanks Jaz. Oh! How did the Tigrex hunt go yesterday? I assume it went well or else you wouldn't be here."

"It was awesome! I had some help from an MR hunter so it was a little easier. It was still really hard but I managed to pull through and land the final blow. I felt so cool! Also, from doing that quest I'm now HR 25!" Jazaxy pumped her fists into the air.

Rage laughed. "I wish I could have been there to see you kill it but I was stuck at the shop all day and I wouldn't have been able to anyways cause I'm not a full fledged hunter yet. That all ends today."

"That's the spirit! Watch out monsters! Here comes Rage the monster hunter. Yeah!" Jazaxy declared giving Rage a playful punch in the shoulder.

Rage laughed again and rubbed the spot where Jazaxy had punched him. Although she didn't know it, because of her constant exercise from hunting monsters, she hit a lot harder than she meant to. As Rage was distracted, talking with Jazaxy, he didn't notice the trio of boys that cut in front of him. One of them snickered at Jazaxy as she did another fist pump. Rage turned around and for the first time noticed the boys. Two of them were about the same height as Rage but the third, who seamed to be the leader, was taller than both Rage and Jazaxy. They all wore matching Tigrex armor and the leader actually looked like one.

"Hey, we were here first. Go to the back of the line." Rage said.

"Is that so, daddy's boy?" the leader asked.

"It is. So, if you wouldn't mind moving to the back of the line, we would appreciate it greatly."

"I don't think so. Shouldn't you be sweeping the floor or something? Like your daddy asks?" the leader laughed.

Rage clenched his fists. Jazaxy noticed and stepped in front to him.

"Good morning boys!" she said "Can you please do what my friend here has asked you to do? We really were here first."

The leader looked at Jazaxy and smiled.

"Now why would a pretty gal such as yourself be hanging around with a loser and not with handsome hunters such as us? The name is Jarger by the way."

Jarger grabbed Jazaxy's hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss. Jazaxy quickly pulled it away and wiped her hand on her pants, causing Jarger and his buddies to laugh. Rage watched as Jazaxy's face slowly darkened into a frown and he grinned. Jazaxy almost never got angry and when she did she made sure there were no survivors.

"Alright you little punk, I'm going to count to 3 and if you aren't out of my sight I will show you what it means to be afraid." Jazaxy said walking up to Jarger and looking him dead in the eyes "One."

Jarger laughed. "You aren't going to do anything. She's just bluffing guys."

"Two."

Jarger actually stepped back a little. His buddies, seeing their leader stepping back, did so as well.

"Three."

Jarger and his two cronies ran for the hills before Jazaxy could even take a step. She burst out laughing as they rounded a corner, disappearing from sight. Rage joined her and they both laughed until they couldn't breathe anymore. After a few minutes of not laughing they looked at each other and burst out laughing again. Eventually they managed to get a grip and control themselves. As the sun started to rise in the sky they reached the front of the line. A tired and bored looking man sat at the desk in the main building. He let out a long sigh.

"Good morning and welcome to the Guild Hub" he said in a very melancholy voice "I assume you both want to enter the Trials?"

"Oh no," Jazaxy said "just him."

The man let out another sigh and nodded. He pulled out a piece of paper and slid it across the desk towards Rage.

"Write your name, first last and middle, your weapon of choice, your birth date, gender, and age." the man said.

Rage nodded and started writing. He quickly finished and handed the paper back. The man looked at it and nodded. He then gave Rage a pin that had the Hunters Guild symbol on it to put on his armor to show he was participating in the Trails. The man looked at Jazaxy suspiciously.

Jazaxy held up her hunters card, which had all her information on it. "Sorry I didn't show this sooner." she said.

The man sighed yet again and pointed his hand at a doorway.

"The contestants rooms are to the left. The audience seating is on the right."

Rage and Jazaxy nodded and they parted ways.

"You're going to do great!" Jazaxy called after Rage.

'I sure hope so.' Rage thought, suddenly worried about his decision.

He looked at the room before him, which was empty and ready to receive a new contestant. He took a deep breath and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.