Synopsis: In a brief flashback, Velou remembers using the mayor's axe ever since he was young, primarily to split firewood. He assures the mayor that he can take over that job from him to repay everyone in the hamlet for all that they've done for him. The mayor agrees, with an odd look on his face, saying that from now on, Velou will be the one to... Velou is suddenly shook awake by the shaking of the vehicle he and Grimm are riding in. Grimm is looking through a book and tells him he was moaning in his sleep, and Velou simply says that he was dreaming. Looking out from the cart, Velou sees the wide open land and sea as the strange contraption they're riding on, a Tractor Hermit Crab named “Amber” (essentially a giant hermit crab with a cart for it's shell), as they head for a town right at the entrance of the Hunters Guild, Borderport. Velou marvels at a what he thinks is a giant walking tree, but Grimm dismisses it as simply a giant that's passing through. It's been one week since the events at Kasoka Village, and Velou swore that he would become a Hunter so that he could go out and hunt werewolves to protect the scattered villagers. Grimm surmises that he's decided that to protect them he'll have to protect the whole world, a notion she says sounds more like a child's dream than anything else, but it's good enough for now. She promised to take him to the guild, and Velou stares down at the mayor's axe as he promises himself that he'll never let another disaster like that happen again. Grimm knocks on the window of their cart and tells the driver, Tylty, to stop so they can have breakfast. As they eat, Grimm asks Velou if that axe really belonged to the mayor. Velou says it did and was for cutting firewood, which makes Grimm all the more surprised he was able to cut open a werewolf's stomach with it. Velou explains that winters in the village were harsh, so he spent plenty of time cutting firewood for everyone, resulting in him knowing very well how to handle an axe. Grimm says that that does explain a few things – splitting firewood is very efficient for building strength, and she's even heard that there's a kingdom somewhere that uses it as a training regimen for new knights. Velou for some reason takes this to mean that it was his bond with the villagers that helped him defeat the werewolves, and Grimm simply says that's one way to look at it, sure. She thinks to herself however that it wasn't just that. She still suspects the axe is made of wolfonium, and wonders why the mayor had something like that. The village also attracted the attention of the Red List, targets the guild has labeled as 'kill on sight', and it was Lycaon, the alpha werewolf, and his partner Cinderella that showed up no less. Between all of that and Velou seemingly receiving knight's training, and her of all people being called in to eventually lead the boy to the guild...what was really going on in that hamlet? Velou interrupts Grimm's thoughts to ask her about the plan to exterminate all werewolves that she mentioned before. He's interrupted however by the driver of their cart who is now serving them breakfast, Tylty, who says it's way too soon for that, as only full guild members get to to hear about the plan. He starts to say it's way too soon for someone like Velou to think about getting accepted, only for his younger sister Mylty to hit him from behind. She tells him to just serve the food, and apologizes to Velou, saying that her brother gets a sharp tongue with people he trusts, a fact that Tylty denies. Mylty notices something in the distance coming towards them, and Velou again marvels at the sight of an Armored Crab, a species of giant crab that uses it's foamy spit to stick various things to it's body as armor. Tylty says this one has a tank stuck to it's shell, and Velou has no idea what that is. Mylty asks Grimm what they should do since it's alone and not firing at them, and Grimm says they should be able to leave it be as Armored Crabs are usually timid and harmless. The road they're on leads to the outskirts of the bay however, so they should lead it back to the wild. Without warning however, the tank's cannon turns to face them and fires, destroying their crab's cart. Tylty says someone must be piloting it, and Velou looks closey and spots a smaller crab coming out of a human skull sitting on top. While Tylty and Mylty are shocked that Velou can see something so small so far away, Grimm explains that the smaller crab is a Plier Crab, a clever creature with prehensile claws that loves to eat humans. She permits the siblings to use force and asks them to take care of this for them. Velou asks what they should do, and she says for him to watch and learn, also deciding that this is a good time to explain her body to him. She puts it simply, saying that a witch placed a hex on her and turned her body into that of a child's. When on the hunt, she can use an item called a Layer Clock to transform into an adult, but it only lasts for three hours and can only be used once a day. Once used, she's also entirely spent and unable to fight for a while. She's not worried however as Tylty and Mylty should be more than able to deal with their current threat. She's quickly proven right as Mylty is able to shoot through the tank's small visor and ricochet the bullet around inside, forcing the crab to crawl back to the top of the tank where Tylty waits. Tylty praises the crab's shot, before cutting it to pieces with a pair of short swords, saying that it's not personal, it just picked the wrong targets. Velou is amazed to see that it's not just Grimm, all the guild's Hunters are amazing, but Tylty explains that they're not Hunters at all. He and his sister both flunked out of the training camp that they're now taking Velou to, and now they work doing odd jobs for the guild. Tylty says about two hundred people apply for each camp, and out of those only about three or so pass, as only those who can survive the harshest training earn the right to join. As Velou frets about whether or not he can pass something that the siblings failed, they come upon a large, cube-like building with silly monster faces drawn on it, built above the water. As they explain that this is the Ironworks, the guild's mobile research facility, a large muscular woman ponders how many will survive this round of recruitment? Review: After the massive amount of worldbuilding presented to us in the last chapter, it makes sense that this one would take things a little bit slower. That said, we're still presented with a good bit more information on this world and how it works, while getting things moving in the direction needed for the next story arc. Right off the bat, we're treated to the reveal that this is a world full to the brim with monsters and fantastic creatures, not just the aforementioned werewolves and witches. Dragons were previously mentioned to have been wiped out, but there are still giants and monster-sized crabs. It's a little weird I admit to see Velou marveling at these things given the way he's been up until now, but I guess his ire is directly towards werewolves after all. To be fair, even after one attacked, he hasn't really been shown to be all that gung-ho about taking out all the witches. The crabs in-particular are utilized in an interesting way, as we're shown three different types of them that all have a different relationship with humanity. The first, the Tractor Hermit Crab, is used as a tool by the guild, seemingly showing that in the right hands at least, some of these monsters can actually get along just fine with humans, and can even be beneficial to have around. Only time will tell of course if this is a trait unique to the Hunters, or if general populace in other areas outside of Kasoka are able to use creatures like this. The second, the Armored Crab, is a big creature that could be dangerous, but is generally more afraid of people than people are of it and can be safely lead out of the way of human territory. It's not helpful, but is seen as more of a nuisance really than a threat. The third however, the Plier Crab, is a dangerous creature that despite it's small size will happily kill and eat a person – heck, it even uses a skull as it's home! I could be wrong, but I suspect that the reason we get three different species of the same animal is to show a greater degree of difference in human/monster relations than what we've had so far. Will we see more creatures that help out humans in some way? Probably, if I had to guess. Will we even see some monsters that fight on the side of humans? Well...that one's a little harder to put money down on. While we do get at least one mystery answered (for the most part, and I'll touch on that in a bit), there are plenty more mysteries that still remain, particularly the true nature of the Red List. Grimm's suspicions about Kasoka Village and Velou grow further as well, as there's still the question of how an axe likely made of wolfonium ended up in such a place, and why Velou was being taught to use it in a way that amounts to knight training elsewhere in the world. Was the mayor, or perhaps even Velou's parents, from this distant kingdom originally perhaps? I don't think we'll get everything answered anytime soon, but I have a hunch we'll get something more soon enough, because I'd imagine Grimm is probably going to take Velou's axe from him to have it examined at some point once they're at the guild. The characters of Tylty and Mylty aren't as fun as Grimm and Velou are, nor are they as interesting as any of the werewolves we've had thus far, but I don't think that's their point. I think they exist mostly to show us just how rigorous a Hunter's training really is – if these guys are this good just from the training they got, but still didn't manage to pass, then that says a lot about these tests. And especially considering the little tease we get of who's going to be giving the exams at least at first...whoa mama. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Chapter 7
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About the AuthorAspiring author and big anime/manga fan, just trying to do my best in the world. For more details, go to About Me. Archives
September 2022
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