Free Web NovelChapter 312: Third Cohort Leader
Alcohol? Why did it smell like alcohol?
The moment Andrew caught that faint trace on the air, his first instinct was to assume he’d imagined it. But as the two of them climbed the spiraling staircase step by step, the scent stubbornly refused to fade the way a hallucination would.
If anything, it was getting stronger.
With each step upward, their field of view expanded. It wasn’t until they cleared the first landing that the full interior of the Research Institute finally came into sight.
Iron-plate walkways branched outward in every direction, connecting the individual platforms that each researcher had claimed as their own. Every platform was piled high with bookshelves and stacked tomes — these were the private ateliers where the scholars did their work, day in and day out.
Normally, the Wyverian scholars would be hunched over their desks in furious concentration, or clambering up and down the shelves in search of some reference text or experimental record. Today, without a single exception, every last one of them had completely collapsed.
They were slumped face-first over their research benches. Even the younger scholars who usually worked below deck in the cargo hold cataloguing supplies had not been spared — all of them were sprawled across their bedrolls, faces flushed bright red, dead to the world.
One look at the state of them, and Andrew knew. They’d drunk themselves into oblivion.
And the source of that steadily thickening smell pervading the air? Undoubtedly this entire heap of passed-out scholars.
The sheer chaos of it all made Andrew instinctively tilt his head back and peer up through the silk ribbon banners overhead, checking the sky outside.
The sky above the Coral Highlands was as brilliantly clear as ever. The faint disc of the sun told him in no uncertain terms that it was, in fact, midday — not some strange nocturnal misvisit born of a muddled internal clock.
Which just made it all the more baffling.
This... this couldn’t be right, could it?
Beside him, Miyabi was staring at the scene with an expression of her own quiet bewilderment.
"Andrew — what on earth...?"
Ever since her father had discovered she’d inherited Wuwei during the fall of the old capital and established the Hoshimi family’s private research institute, its purpose had been to study Wuwei’s scabbard. As the wielder of Wuwei, Miyabi herself had assisted the institute’s scholars on numerous occasions over the years.
But in her memory, the scholars of that institute had never been quite so... unrestrained, had they?
Getting this spectacularly drunk — was that actually compatible with conducting serious research?
Was this perhaps a cultural difference? Were the scholars of this world simply like this — was this just how they operated?
Miyabi didn’t understand it, but Miyabi chose to respect it.
Faced with Miyabi’s quiet, charitable misreading, Andrew had every intention of speaking up in defense of his homeland’s scholarly community — but the truth was, he’d never once seen them in this state either. He was just as lost as she was.
Still, for the sake of the Monster Hunter world’s academic reputation, he felt compelled to clarify, even as the situation left him thoroughly perplexed himself:
"No, no, no — normally, the old-timers really aren’t like this."
"In my memory, they’ve always loved a good drink — but no matter what, they have never, not once, let it eat into a single minute of research time."
"Even after the biggest banquets, without fail, every single one of them would be back at their workbenches first thing the next morning."
Saying it out loud only deepened his confusion.
There was no festival in the New World recently that would call for a celebration like this. And if there were some special occasion, the Commander or his own master would surely have mentioned it to him specifically.
There was no way he’d be this completely in the dark about it.
He gave a slow, certain nod, arriving at a firm conclusion: this was an anomaly. Something that had simply never happened before.
"Given how completely consumed these old-timers get when they’re deep in ecological research, a situation like this absolutely means something unusual has happened."
The thought that in the years since he’d left, the Third Research Fleet might have simply finished mapping the entirety of the New World’s ecology — that possibility never even flickered across his mind.
Humanity’s exploration of the New World barely scratched the surface of what was there.
Vaal Hazak and Ruiner Nergigante’s destruction had solved the mystery behind the Elder Dragon migration events that had haunted the New World for so long — but that certainly didn’t mean this singular, extraordinary ecosystem could be fully charted in a mere three years.
If anything, it was the opposite.
With the Elder Dragon migrations brought under control and much of the New World’s ecosystem finally stabilized, these old scholars and their young apprentices actually had more opportunities than ever before to safely venture out and investigate unknown territory firsthand.
Which made them even more fired up than they’d been before.
Experiencing and verifying these phenomena in person was infinitely more compelling than hearing a hunter describe it secondhand.
For a scholar, words would always fall short of seeing it with your own eyes.
So before he’d left, the scholars of the Third Fleet were already darting all over the New World day after day — chasing down recorded phenomena they wanted to witness for themselves, utterly tireless, completely unstoppable.
They were having the time of their lives. His master Sapphire Star, on the other hand, was perpetually buried in rescue operations — constantly pulling scholars out of whatever bizarre predicament they’d gotten themselves trapped in. It had gotten so bad that when Andrew was leaving, he hadn’t even managed to properly say goodbye to all of them. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Given that they were a breed of people who literally wouldn’t let the prospect of death slow down their research, Andrew found it very hard to believe the old-timers would let anything else derail their work.
No, something had to have happened.
"Let’s head in and see what’s going on."
Faced with the situation, Andrew decided the best move was to take Miyabi deeper into the institute and look around.
After all, he didn’t know about the others — but he was absolutely certain there was one person in here who wouldn’t be slumped over unconscious like the rest of the old-timers.
And as it turned out, he was right.
In this vast research institute, there was indeed someone awake.
As the two of them made their way to the innermost section of the institute — the largest platform in the entire complex — a distinctive fragrance swept in and completely displaced the heavy smell of alcohol that had followed them through the rest of the building.
It was as if they had stepped into an entirely different world.
On this platform, reclining languidly in her chair, was a mature woman. In one hand she held a small incense burner; the other was unhurriedly turning the pages of a thick, heavy tome.
Unlike the heavy armor Andrew was used to seeing on the hunters back at Astera, she wore a loose, flowing scholar’s robe.
Sophisticated. Intellectual. And undeniably beautiful.
But more than any of those qualities, the very first thing that struck Miyabi — the most immediately overwhelming impression — was the unmistakable, singular aura of a true scholar that radiated from her.
Her thick hair was adorned with a hairpin alongside feathers from some bird Miyabi couldn’t quite identify, lending her a cultivated, classical elegance. A long, patterned stole draped around her shoulders added a quality of grace that was difficult to put into words.
At a distance, she looked less like a scholar and more like a sheltered young lady from a great noble house.
But as the two of them drew closer along the spiral staircase, that perfect image began to show its cracks.
It was only up close that Miyabi noticed: what she had taken from afar to be a floral pattern decorating the robe was in fact the dried residue of some unidentified liquid — stains left behind where it had soaked in and dried.
Stray strands of hair that had fallen across her face were pinned up carelessly behind her head with the hairpin. And the hem of her garment had long since frayed and gone ragged with wear.
Yet somehow, in Miyabi’s eyes, all of these details only made the scholar’s aura around her feel richer and more genuine.
After all, this thoroughly disheveled appearance was virtually indistinguishable from the scholars at the Hoshimi family’s own research institute.
Around her, countless candles burned — it was surely from here that the warm, waxy scent they’d noticed at the entrance was emanating.
Somewhere on the platform, incense of some kind — made from plants and monster extracts Andrew couldn’t identify at a glance — was smoldering quietly. As the two of them approached, thin ribbons of its fragrance began to curl into their nostrils, weaving together into that singular, complex scent.
The effect was instantaneous. Both of their minds sharpened, as if someone had turned a dial.
At that same moment, the woman who had been deeply absorbed in the materials in her hands finally noticed that two visitors had appeared before her.
She raised her head. The moment she recognized who had come, a bright, unguarded smile spread across her face.
"I did receive the Commander’s letter," she said warmly, addressing both Andrew and Miyabi, "but based on my original estimate, I actually expected you to be a fair bit slower."
The speed and flight range of a wyvern carrying a person versus one carrying only a letter were necessarily quite different.
And the data she’d used for her calculations was from Feiyan’s performance back when Andrew had left.
But now, looking at the two of them standing here already...
"It seems your Feiyan has grown quite a bit in these past few years, even without going out on missions."
She looked at the two of them and gave a small, satisfied nod.
Then, with a warm smile, she said:
"It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it, Andrew. Even by Wyverian standards, this counts as a considerable stretch of time."
"When word came that you had gone missing, everyone worried for a very long time. But whatever happened, what matters is that you’ve come back safe and sound."
Hearing that familiar, gentle, unhurried voice of hers, Andrew felt a smile spread across his own face. He gave a nod.
"Yeah, it really has been a long time. But — I’m back, Captain."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Andrew moved on to introductions, as the two women were meeting for the first time.
Though the question of why the rest of the institute was passed out drunk was still nagging at the back of his mind, he set it aside for now.
Was it really just... ordinary inebriation? With no deeper cause?
Either way, business first. Because if anything genuinely dangerous were happening, there was simply no way the Captain would be sitting here as calm as ever, reading her book without a care in the world.
Under the Captain’s curious gaze, Andrew first lifted a nearby table that was cluttered with various pieces of experimental equipment and moved it steadily into position in front of them both.
Then, from his Item Bag, he withdrew all of the mutated Frenzy Virus samples he’d collected, along with the original vaccines, and laid them out before the Captain.
He also made sure to include the Ether Crystals he’d brought along as energy samples.
At the sight of what Andrew had placed before her, the Captain — who was severely nearsighted — fished her glasses out of her pocket and put them on before picking up the items to examine them carefully.
She didn’t even wait for Andrew to begin his explanation before she had already recognized what she was looking at.
"The Frenzy Virus? And this is... a vaccine?"
But almost immediately, a slight frown creased her brow. She studied the virus sample more intently and revised her words:
"No — wait. That’s not quite right. This virus has... mutated? Due to exposure to some unusual energy? But this energy... I’ve genuinely never seen anything like it."
"Is this the energy source?"
Andrew had never expected the Captain to piece it all together from just a few sentences — he’d come here half-hoping it might work, with no real confidence it would. He couldn’t help but show a flash of genuine surprise.
"Captain, I thought your primary research focus was neuroscience — through olfactory study, specifically? I didn’t realize you had this depth of knowledge in virology too."
The Captain, who had still been examining the virus sample intently, looked up from it and slanted a sideways glance at Andrew.
"Young one, don’t go underestimating a Wyverian scholar’s breadth of knowledge."
"Even if I have a primary field of specialization, I have never let my studies in other areas lapse. At worst, I’m simply less proficient in them than my main focus."
Then, having already deduced Andrew’s actual purpose the moment she’d identified the materials, she continued in a tone of mild, barely-veiled exasperation: freewebnoveℓ.com
"Besides, I happen to have a... relative who specializes in biology, botany, and natural science. It would be stranger if I knew nothing about it at all."
"And the real reason you went out of your way to come find me isn’t actually about my expertise, is it? You came here to get me to call him away from his work on your behalf."
Being sought out specifically as a scholar — only to realize the actual intention was to use her as an intermediary to reach a different scholar — would be enough to irk just about anyone.
But she couldn’t deny the plain truth of it.
When it came to developing vaccines against a virus, her brother — a scholar of considerable depth in the field of biology — was demonstrably more qualified for the task than she was.
"Hss..."
Caught completely in the open, Andrew gave a diplomatic little cough, then dropped his gaze to the burning candles beside him and began studying them with great and entirely performative interest, as if he hadn’t heard a single word she’d said.
After all — convincing her only required convincing one person. Convincing her brother would mean starting from scratch and convincing someone else entirely. Given that, why not simply cut straight to the most efficient path?
These candles really were... quite the candles, though.
Watching Andrew play dumb in precisely the same way Sapphire Star always did, the Captain found herself even more exasperated than before.
But a moment later, she let out a quiet sigh.
"All right. Tell me the details. Where did this virus come from? What triggered the mutation? And what’s driving you to go to these lengths to make sure the vaccine gets developed as quickly as possible?"
As she said the last part, a glint of genuine seriousness moved through her eyes.
Because these two — master and student — were not the type to play these kinds of games with their own people unless they genuinely felt the situation demanded it.
Faced with a Captain who had shifted into full earnest mode, Andrew dropped the act entirely. He began laying everything out in the most concise terms he could: the unique nature of New Eridu’s Hollows, and the anomalies he’d uncovered during the battle against Nineveh — every detail, distilled to its essence.
He included, as well, his best theory about the origin of the virus.
As she listened to Andrew’s account, the image of a world so extraordinary that even the well-traveled Captain found herself sinking into deep, wordless thought took shape before her.
A world where humanity’s only remaining living space was a single city...
The conditions of survival for the people of that world were far, far more desperate than anything humanity faced in the world beneath her feet.
No wonder Andrew had started searching for a way back to develop a vaccine the moment he caught even the faintest hint of the Frenzy Virus.
Even a weakened strain of the virus — spread by infected individuals — would be a threat that the people of that world could not afford to dismiss.
She raised her head and gave a firm nod.
"Understood. I’ll write to that man right now and tell him to drop whatever he’s working on and come help immediately."
____
👻🔥Heey! Walnut-chan for more Chapters!🔥👻
🔥 New history:JJK: Naoya Zenin Reborn as a Woman
Help us reach these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 universal bonus Chapter
