Chapter 936: Never Skip Class
A minute later, a post appeared on the official forum of *Monster Hunter*.
"Getting wrecked by Diablos, need a guide!"
Soon, players flooded the thread with replies.
"Sofa!"
"Haha, Ah Xue searched for a guide forever but couldn't find one, so she had to come to the forum for help."
"Front row claiming Ah Xue!"
"Just passing through to grab some soy sauce. I've only made it to Barroth, can't help much."
"Same here, haven't reached Diablos yet. But watching Ah Xue's stream, she's getting destroyed pretty badly!"
...
The post quickly climbed to over a hundred floors, but not a single one was on topic—they were all fighting for the front row...
After all, Lin Xue had so many fans that once they saw her post, each one took a floor, making the thread impossible to read...
Lin Xue was speechless: "Don't cause trouble, you guys! If you don't know anything, don't reply, or else when the pros respond, I won't be able to see their comments!!"
Her first instinct was to search online for a Diablos guide for *Monster Hunter*, but she couldn't find anything. Since the game had only been out a few days, Lin Xue was basically among the fastest progressors. Everyone was still in the exploration phase. Even if some players had already beaten Diablos, they were mostly pushing through later monsters and hadn't posted guides yet.
So, Lin Xue had no choice but to turn to the official forum for help.
To be fair, as a major streamer, Lin Xue had some clout. Soon, a batch of players left comments offering strategies to take down Diablos.
"Use the SOS flare! Ah Xue, stop being stubborn. Didn't you say co-op mode is the right way to play this game? You called in water friends for Anjanath earlier, so why are you trying to solo Diablos now? What's that about?"
"Exactly! Righteous sun bro here! I'm just about to start Diablos too. Ah Xue, do you still need a teammate? No matter the monster, just super-amp and it's done!"
"Using a longsword against this thing is way too hard. I recommend switching to a ranged weapon. Bow or light bowgun should be much better."
"Ah Xue, you're not willing to spend money! Use everything—big explosive barrels, small explosive barrels, pitfall traps, flash pods, sonic bombs... If you can't win in melee, play dirty!"
"Here, I strongly recommend a shady playstyle: the slash-ammo cult! This playstyle does a bit less damage and is a bit more troublesome, but it really works! Check out the light bowgun, the ultimate skip-class weapon! I have a video—click the link and watch it!"
The thread had all kinds of replies, but after reading for a while, Lin Xue only noticed the last one.
Calling teammates felt good, but Lin Xue had already boasted that she would solo it. Even if she couldn't, she had to at least make an effort.
As for other weapons like the charge blade, bow, and light bowgun, Lin Xue was also considering switching, because the longsword was just too hard against Diablos.
None of the other weapons had videos, but this guy with the light bowgun had posted a video link.
Lin Xue clicked in, watched for five minutes, and came out fuming.
"What the hell? Slash ammo is way too buggy, isn't it?"
"You just stay far from the monster and stick slash ammo into it the whole time? Then the slash ammo explodes and deals damage? So as long as you keep your distance and dodge Diablos's charge, you can just brainlessly output?"
"Bring full slash ammo and slash berries, craft more when you run out? If the berries run out, go back to camp to restock?!"
"Shameless, so shameless! This isn't skipping class—this is skipping the exam entirely!"
"No, I can't do this. As a technical streamer, I have to defeat Diablos with my own strength! Even if I cart ten more times, get launched into the sky by Diablos, or go fight Rathalos, I will never use the slash-ammo cult to skip class!"
"Hmph, I'll try the charge blade!"
Three minutes later.
"Oh man, this charge blade is way too complicated. Can't play it, can't play it. I'll try the greatsword."
Two minutes later.
"This greatsword's attack speed is way too slow! Can't stand it! Let's try the lance."
Three minutes later.
"The lance is just poke, poke, poke the whole time? Fine, I'll try the bow."
Lin Xue almost went through all thirteen other weapons. There was no helping it—weapons kept upgrading, and switching meant spending a lot of resources to craft new ones. Some special resources required grinding, so switching had its costs.
After messing around for a while, Lin Xue finally settled on the bow.
"Alright, I'll use the bow. Everyone says the bow is easy against Diablos. Let me try... Hmm, this is the slide step, and the ultimate move, Dragon Piercer..."
But the chat was already flooded with question marks.
"??? Weren't you just righteous about never skipping class? Now you're switching to a ranged weapon?"
"Cloud hunters don't get it—what's the difference between a bow and a light bowgun? Aren't they both ranged?"
"Ah Xue, don't chicken out! Stick with the longsword! Or the greatsword—real men always go head-on!"
Lin Xue's face darkened: "What do you mean, what's the difference between a bow and a light bowgun? Slash ammo is just brainlessly spamming at the monster. The bow is different—it requires skill! With the bow, you still have to dodge Diablos's damage! The bow... Anyway, I'm using the bow. This isn't skipping class, and I won't accept any arguments!"
The chat instantly filled with "2333": "Alright, Ah Xue, you're flat-chested, so whatever you say is right!"
Lin Xue pouted and used the materials she'd saved up to craft a decent bow, then went to the training area to hit some dummies and get familiar with the controls. She also watched a pro's bow gameplay.
To her surprise, the pro in the training area was actually fighting Diablos, which thrilled Lin Xue.
"Wow, so graceful! Non-stop damage!! So much damage at once! And sliding around, rubbing and rubbing, so cool!"
"The bow really has an advantage against Diablos—you can keep hitting the wings, and the damage seems pretty high!"
"You can also put the dragon to sleep and use explosive barrels to break its horns? It feels like every arrow shot costs money... Whatever, I'll go try it out..."
After watching the pro's moves, Lin Xue got excited again.
It didn't seem that hard!
The bow was indeed much more flexible than the longsword, or rather, ranged was much more flexible than melee. With the bow against Diablos, you just shoot at the wings. When Diablos burrows, toss a sonic bomb. Use sleep ammo to put it to sleep, then place big explosive barrels on its head. It looked a lot easier.
Lin Xue set off full of confidence.
...
Three minutes later, Lin Xue carted back to camp and fell into deep thought.
"What's going on? What's the problem here?"
"Why doesn't my bow hurt at all? This isn't what I was promised!"
"And ranged isn't even safe! Diablos is charging at me even harder!!"
Lin Xue was silent for a long time before finally, silently, opening the quest menu and sending out an SOS flare.
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