Chapter 927: Teaching
Lin Xue was a top student after all. After obtaining the longsword, she didn’t rush to fight monsters but instead headed to the training area to familiarize herself with its controls.
She had just watched a fifteen-minute weapon introduction video, but she was still completely clueless about how to actually use each weapon. The video didn’t explain the specific controls; it only showcased combos, characteristics, and difficulty levels to help players choose. Only after picking up the weapon and trying it out in the training area could she learn the actual combo methods.
In the training ground, there were many wooden practice dummies, and nearby stood a wooden crate containing all fourteen weapons.
Lin Xue noticed that after entering the training area, new information appeared in her field of vision. On the left side, a combo list showed up, and beside the dummies, a hunter sat on a rock, ready to demonstrate combo techniques for players.
“Wow, I can watch a tutorial demonstration? Hmm... let me try the skills myself first!”
Lin Xue walked up to a dummy, drew her blade from its sheath, and felt eager to try.
The moves and combos in *Monster Hunter* were more complex than those in *Dark Souls*. In *Dark Souls*, most of the time you just charged in when you saw an opportunity, as long as you saved enough stamina to roll away and counterattack. But in *Monster Hunter*, if you only knew how to rush in, your damage would be pitifully low. You had to make full use of various skills, following a relatively complex damage rotation.
Take the longsword, for example. Its standard attack methods included three types: the overhead slash, the thrust, and the spirit blade slash.
The overhead slash was a simple draw-and-cut, while the thrust was a forward stab with the longsword. Landing these attacks filled the spirit gauge. The spirit blade slash, on the other hand, consumed spirit gauge energy but dealt much higher damage.
Additionally, the longsword had special combos. For instance, chaining overhead slashes produced different moves in a three-hit cycle. Alternating between overhead slashes and thrusts made the attack animations more fluid. There were also special moves like the fade slash, which allowed the player to dodge in any direction while attacking, effectively evading monster strikes.
Then there were the two most powerful moves: the foresight slash and the helm breaker.
Using the foresight slash at the moment of an incoming attack could parry the monster’s blow and counterattack. A successful counter would instantly raise the spirit gauge level by one. In the hands of a skilled player, this was both the ultimate defensive skill and a gauge-boosting tool. The helm breaker, usable only when the spirit gauge was at white level or higher, involved stabbing the monster, leaping off it into the air, and slamming down with a devastating strike—instant explosive damage!
Thus, in *Monster Hunter*, two players with similar reflexes and skill could have vastly different hunting speeds if one knew the moves and the other didn’t.
“Wow, this spirit jump slash, also called the helm breaker—what a badass name! And the animation is so cool! Jumping off a dragon into the sky and slashing down? Amazing! I definitely made the right choice picking the longsword!”
“Hmm, this damage rotation looks pretty simple. In short, build up the spirit gauge through normal attacks or the foresight slash, then unleash explosive damage with the spirit blade slash and helm breaker. I should always try to stay in red spirit gauge mode to maximize damage... Got it, this is no challenge for me!”
Lin Xue was a top student, so after carefully studying the tutorial, she basically understood the longsword’s damage rotation. She wasn’t like those players who ignored skill descriptions and played for ages without even knowing how to raise the spirit gauge.
But understanding it was one thing; actually executing it was another.
Lin Xue turned her gaze to the hunter sitting on the rock nearby.
This guy was clearly no nobody—his outfit was way too flashy. He wore a set of white armor, with wings on his back and a faint blue glow emanating from his chest, like a lantern. It was impossible to ignore.
This gear was the Xeno’jiiva armor set from *Monster Hunter*, widely considered one of the coolest sets in the game.
“So, I can watch a battle demonstration? Then show me!” Lin Xue selected the [Skill Demonstration] option.
The hunter stood up from the rock, drew a long longsword, and across from him, a massive beast emerged from the jungle, roaring as it charged toward him.
This dinosaur-like monster was a familiar sight. Lin Xue recognized it as an Anjanath, having seen it in the earlier cutscenes.
But this Anjanath was semi-transparent, meaning it wasn’t a real monster—just a tool for the demonstration.
“ROAR!!”
The Anjanath charged straight at the hunter, its massive body like a small mountain. Its huge claws pounded the ground, and Lin Xue could even feel the earth tremble.
The hunter casually sidestepped, thrusting his longsword forward. Each strike viciously stabbed into the monster’s weak points, while he used the fade slash to constantly reposition himself, always staying clear of the Anjanath’s front.
The Anjanath grew even more enraged. It lifted a hind leg to kick the hunter, but he raised his longsword—foresight slash! The attack was perfectly parried, and the hunter’s movements didn’t pause for a moment. Soon, he entered red spirit gauge mode.
With the red gauge, the hunter stepped back—helm breaker!
He stabbed the longsword into the Anjanath’s hind leg. Even with its thick hide and muscle, the blade tore through, sending blood splattering. At the same time, the hunter planted his feet on the Anjanath’s massive body, leaped into the air, raised the longsword high, and plummeted down like a meteor, slamming it into the Anjanath’s tail!
“CLANG!!”
A sharp metallic clash rang out. A dazzling blade light erupted from the hunter’s longsword, slicing downward and cleanly severing the Anjanath’s tail in one stroke!
That slash was crisp and decisive.
Standing close by, Lin Xue could clearly see the entire process—the blade cutting through skin and flesh, snapping bones and tendons. The massive tail crashed to the ground, splattering blood everywhere.
The Anjanath let out another roar, but this time it sounded more like a wail. Losing its tail threw it off balance, and the searing pain jolted its nerves. It slammed its head into a nearby rock, then collapsed with a thunderous crash, its legs kicking wildly as it struggled.
Yet the hunter’s movements remained relentless. Every monster attack seemed to be perfectly parried by his foresight slash, and the helm breaker came one after another!