Monster Hunt: Notes from a Hunter

"Give it to Meow."

Anhir took the glass bottle from Mushroom.

About one-third of the bottle was filled with rotten flesh and blood as culture medium, and the remaining part was filled with sporangia the size of bird eggs and some bluish-white hyphae.

Anhil tightened the lid of the glass bottle tightly, and then carefully placed the fungal specimen into a special package.

Mushroom held a looting knife covered in filth, raised his head and asked Ancil, "There are still many cats, do you want two more bottles of cats?"

Anhil was silent for two seconds, "No, just collect a piece of fungus from a corpse, and we'll look for it later."

"Good meow."

Mushroom nodded, casually wiped the robbing knife twice on the lignified dandelion-shaped strain on the side, and then put it back behind him.

Ancier wanted to remind it that it should clean it carefully and take good care of the weapon, but looking at the surrounding environment, he still didn't say anything.

The group continued to search in the cave.

Not long after, they found another body.

Compared with the relatively "fresh" bat corpse before, this skeleton may have been here for several years. The flesh and blood have been decomposed by fungi, and the bones have long been dehydrated, very dry, and look quite clean.

Anhil and others took a look and prepared to move forward, but were stopped by the mushroom.

Mushroom picked through the dead bones, found a thicker one, maybe a leg bone, and broke it with a robbing knife.

The place where the bone marrow used to be was densely covered with hyphae.

Anhil squatted down, took the severed bone, looked at it for a while, and then put the severed bone into another glass vessel.

"There are still a few bottles containing specimens. Let's take a look around. Once these bottles are filled, we will go to the core area again."

Gale looked at him in surprise, "Why did you suddenly change your mind? Didn't you say you won't cause trouble with the corpse dragon this time?"

An Xil capped the bottle and stood up, "There's just something I'm a little concerned about and I want to confirm."

"Don't say half and half, what are you confirming?" Gale asked.

Anhil was silent for a while, "I felt something was wrong before, but now it seems that we may have misunderstood the relationship between fungi and sarcopterygium, and also underestimated sarcopterygium."

"You** better keep talking! If you keep doing this, I'll pinch you!" Gale glared at him dissatisfied.

“The fungus is spread by spores and can also be spread through parasitic animals and carcasses.

You have also seen how strong these fungi are. They can survive for many years relying only on the negligible nutrients in dry bones.

Will there be fewer opportunities for cadaverosaurs to come into contact with these fungi? Don't forget, there are piles of rotting corpses in the lair of the Corpse Dragon. "

Gale blinked, "Yeah, according to this theory, the lair of the corpse dragon should be covered with fungi and turn white."

As a scholar, Ajian immediately understood what Ancier wanted to express, "You want to say that the corpse dragon has the ability to suppress this type of fungus.

Lest these fungi proliferate excessively, destroy the balance of the Miasma Valley, and damage the source of earth energy? "

"Yeah, but I prefer to think that the corpse dragon is to prevent fungi from decomposing the corpse and robbing the nutrients. After all, the mountain of corpses in the nest is its 'canteen'."

Anhil paused and continued: "I was thinking before, why didn't the corpse dragon with its body covered with carrion evolve into the form of the fog miasma dragon?

Why has it not recurred in the past two years after we were able to burn off the fungal vesicles all over our body?

Is it because certain conditions for a fungal infection are not met? For example, need to be injured, weakened immunity, etc.?

Now it seems that it is more likely that the cadaver dragon can actively decide whether to be infected or not. "

"Oh~!"

Gale clapped his hands with his fists, "If this is the case, then many of our previous judgments will be reversed.

It's not that the Corpse Dragon accidentally turned into the Miasma Corpse Dragon and gained the ability to survive in the outside world, so he wanted to go outside the Miasma Valley.

But under the influence of the Dark Lantern Dragon and later the Earth Crying Dragon, the Corpse Dragon planned to leave the Miasma Valley.

So why did he take the initiative to let the fungal infection parasitize him, turning himself into a miasma corpse dragon, and thus gained the ability to leave the canyon? "

"That's probably true." An Xil nodded and looked at Ajian, "Among the scholars at the research base, some of them should have made similar conjectures?"

"It does seem to be there." Ah Jian adjusted the goggles attached to the mask, "It's just that the investigation team has been very cautious in their research on the Dracula, and there haven't been many opportunities to verify it."

"etc."

Gale raised his hand, “If it’s like what you said, then our trip won’t be in vain, right?

Does the corpse dragon in Guiding Land have no fungus to infect, or does it not want to be infected? If it's the latter, there's no point in taking the strain back?

The miasma zone over there is quite large. Is there really no bacterial strain present? "

"This cannot be determined at this time."

Ancier put the bottles containing the specimens into a special backpack, "Given the destructive ability of this fungus to the ecological environment, it is not impossible that the 'Dragon King' cleaned them out in some way.

Whether this plan will ultimately succeed can only be known when it is implemented to the last step. "

After collecting enough fungal samples, the group spent some time reaching the deepest part of the underground cave.

Outside the entrance of the tunnel made of snake dragon skulls, Anxier took out a bottle from the backpack full of fungal specimens, and handed the rest to Gale together with the backpack.

"Set up some traps to facilitate retreat when the time comes."

Gale took the backpack and threw it behind him, "Understand, you should also be careful."

Anxier nodded, checked the ammunition, put on the miasma-resistant protective stone, and entered the tunnel filled with high concentration of miasma.

Just like that, he walked forward for dozens of meters, looking at the strange vines that were intertwined and had a scarlet color like biological muscles in front of him, Anxier frowned and walked up.

He pushed the vines away with force, and then entered the real core area of ​​the Miasma Valley.

The "sky" composed of dark brown miasma, the mountain made of countless corpses, this place is like the legendary hell.

"What a disgusting place."

He scanned the surrounding environment and failed to see the figure of the corpse dragon.

Is it sleeping deep in the nest composed of corpses?

Ansir came to a pile of corpses with a look of disdain.

It must be said that if someone came to this ghost place for the first time, and happened to see a corpse dragon covered with rotten flesh, like a zombie, crawling out of the corpse mountain and sea of ​​blood.

If he didn't scare half his life, he would be considered brave.

But he knew what was sleeping under the corpse mountain.

He even bombed that thing over and over again with his heavy crossbow, and then he led the diffusion heavy crossbow team to run everywhere.

Then naturally he couldn't be nervous.

"Hiss--" A strange howl sounded.

A paralysis dragon with its eyes covered by cataracts, its body in tatters, and even some bones and internal organs exposed, ran over with stiff steps.

It should have died long ago, and the reason why it could barely maintain the function of its body was entirely due to the blue-white miasma wrapped around it.

That was the miasma unique to the corpse dragon.

"Sure enough, you are in the nest." An Xier had no intention of hiding his whereabouts. He quickly unfolded the heavy crossbow and pulled the trigger.

"Boom!" After the cannon sounded.

The zombie paralysis dragon was instantly turned into several broken pieces. Even so, only half of the head was still opening and closing, and the broken heart was still beating.

An Xier held the heavy crossbow and stared at the pile of corpses for ten seconds.

There was no movement.

"It seems that it is not going to come out." An Xier lowered the muzzle of the gun and folded up the heavy crossbow. "Forget it."

He took out the bottle of fungal sample he brought with him and smashed it with the bottle on the body of the paralysis dragon covered with blue-white miasma.

The fungal hyphae that can theoretically coexist with miasma shrank and dried up at a speed visible to the naked eye. After just a few minutes, it turned into a small ball without vitality.

"Sure enough."

After getting the answer he wanted, An Xier had no interest in staying in this ghost place any longer, and simply turned around and left.

Next, it was to return to the place where demons gather.

That Hazak over there is not as well off as the "Lord of Miasma Valley" sleeping in the food pile.

It should accept this gift, right?

————

Ps. I always think the setting of Miasma Hazak is very interesting, but the description in the official data is vague.

The official book does mention "a scholar guessed" that the fungi in the Ancient Tree Forest are more active, so Hazak ran to the Ancient Tree Forest and became Miasma Hazak

This theory is a bit difficult to make up. How did Hazak become Miasma Hazak? Leave Miasma Valley to get fungi in the Ancient Tree Forest? How to leave Miasma Valley? Become Miasma Hazak! (Covering face)

So I want to make some reasonable supplements from the cause.

Mmp, the more I fill in, the more things I find to be rounded

Suddenly I understand why Capcom's description of some ecological details must be "guessed by a scholar".

Because if there is something unreasonable, it means that the scholar guessed wrong