Asta of the Hunters'Guild

Chapter 6: To the Rising Sun

(Asta's p.o.v.)

  It was 9 a.m. and we had just left Mike's smithy after getting my Longsword, and I was excited to learn how to use it. Orion also bought one to help demonstrate the moves and the forms. The cost of all the equipment was 6,700 zenny. The currency used on every continent, other the one I was born on, is called zenny. And compared to Clover Kingdom's Yul, zenny is worth much more. Case in point, 10,000 Yul is the equivalent of 5 zenny. That means that, in a sense, Clover Kingdom is worthless compared to the rest of the world, and that put a smile on my face.

Anyway, since we used some of the supplies we had gathered before the Harvest Tour, we need to do some more shopping. So, we headed to the market to buy what we needed before leaving for our next destination. Orion told me that we would be heading for Yukumo Village, a mountain village in the Land of the Sun. He said that there was a school that trained hunters there that would help teach me a few knew techniques with my weapon, and in the meantime, along the way, he would train me. Thankfully, Orion had plenty of money saved up, so we didn't have to worry about going broke for a while.

  By the time, we got done stocking up on supplies, it was noon. And we were at the docks, waiting for Megan to show up. On the trip to this continent, Megan and Orion told me that Hunters often form teams of 4 called parties. They often band together to fight powerful monsters, such as Elder Dragons. When a party completes a quest, the reward is split evenly among the members. And since Megan and Orion had been friends for a long time, they've been working together as a two person party, so Megan was going to come with us. We had been waiting for the last half hour when we
heard a familiar voice call out, "Orion! Asta! You two ready to head out?!" We looked in the direction of where the voice came from and saw Megan coming our way with a long pole looking thing on her back. Orion answered her question, "Hey Megan, you got back from your quest?" Yeah, Megan was on a quest to a place called the Frozen Seaway, to exterminate some small monsters that were getting in the way of a caravan who were trying to pass through the region. She answered, "Yeah, it went rather smoothly. I got back two days ago, and I went by Mike's to ask him if he could upgrade my weapon. He was almost done with Asta's Longsword when I came by his shop." I asked, "Now that you mention it, what weapon do you use, Megan?" I had forgotten to ask about what weapon does Megan used. I knew that it was the thing on her back, but what I wanted to know exactly what it was. She replied, "Let's talk about it on the way to Yukumo. No point standing on the docks all day after all." She had a point, we had to get going before nightfall. With that, we boarded a cargo ship that was heading to the Land of the Sun, who's captain was an old friend of Orion's, and we began our journey.

  Timeskip - dusk

It was dusk and we were a good distance away from Port Tanzia. We were in the galley about to eat dinner, and Orion and Megan had been telling me about the Land of the Sun.

  Megan said, "The Land of the Sun is a nation who's entire territory is an archipelago, a sea full of numerous islands. The country is quite peaceful and hasn't known war for the last hundred years. It also wholeheartedly supports the Hunters' Guild because they strongly believe in the balance of nature as well." I asked, "Why are we going there to train specifically for me to learn more advanced techniques? Couldn't you guys teach them to me yourselves?" It actually had thrown for a loop when Orion told me that I would have to learn more advanced Longsword techniques from Yukumo. My teacher replied, "For a couple of reasons. One, is that our specialty isn't with wielding Longswords. We can teach you the basic movements, but not every there is to know to master it. Two, is that while I was giving my report on my mission in Clover, Bacchus told me there had been an official notice from the Guild the day after I left. It is mandatory for hunters to learn a set of new techniques for the use of their weapon of choice. They're called the Hunter Arts."