Monster Hunter World: Monsters and Magic

by Blackdrag-rose

Recovery

For a time there seemed to be nothing, just Grogar floating in a sense of unconsciousness, though after some time he found out something interesting, he seemed to be alive, where he weakly opened his eyes, to the best of his ability anyway, and saw that he seemed to be somewhere in Astera, since he saw what he assumed was the dock area outside. His body was in pain, which was understandable since he had been in a fight with Nergigante, though it wasn't as incredible as he thought, rather he felt like he had been partly crushed, by an Anjanath when he considered everything, though the fact that he was able to think was a good sign. Of course his vision was still weak, which was understandable given everything he had been through, though as he forced himself to focus he discovered something else, he was resting on a bed in what he assumed was the infirmary of Astera, where he could faintly see some Felynes tending to him before departing from the area. The other thing that he found was that he seemed to have some company, where he thought he could see Sherry sitting in a chair off to his right, leaving Patches and Jaya who had to be somewhere else in the ship city.

Of course he dipped in and out of consciousness, which he understood given everything he had been through, but as time went by Grogar was sure of one thing, he was recovering from his fight with the Elder Dragon that had attacked him, which he was happy to see, especially since his senses were coming back to him.

As time went by Grogar found that his sight and other senses were returning to him, where he was able to see more of the surrounding area and confirmed that Sherry was definitely sitting nearby, though he knew that she must have been totally terrified for his survival. His Handler didn't look like she had slept since they went to the Wildspire Waste, rather she was focused on making sure he healed and got his strength back, even though such a thing weakened her and made her more drowsy than he felt, though as he drifted in and out he noticed something, she was keeping an eye on those who entered and those who left. The reasoning was made clear moments later, it seemed the stress of his survival lead to her being unable to control her body, as in there were times where he was sure he saw her tail, or the claws, or maybe the horns in her hair, or even scales on her arms and legs, though when someone approached the room she forced herself to return to normal, expanding energy unnecessarily. He would have chuckled as he witnessed that happen, since it was cute that she was so worried about him that she would almost let someone else in on her secret, maybe even meaning she trusted him with the secret that she was keeping from everyone else, though for now he continued to rest and recover.

After another undetermined amount of time, however, Grogar found out something else that surprised him, he was able to open his eyes and move his body like he had recovered from his near death experience, which he attributed to the Vigorwasp spray that Patches used, causing him to sit up at one point.

"Gr... Grogar?" Sherry asked, seeing him sit up for the first time since he had been brought to Astera, even though this was the first time she had seen something, anything really, that suggested that he had survived his encounter with the large and imposing figure that was Nergigante, before she smiled as she rushed over to the walkway that was outside the room he had been set in, "Commander! Everyone! Grogar's awake!"

Grogar chuckled for a moment as he pulled himself off the bed he had been resting on, finding that his strength was just fine and that the pain had disappeared, though he also discovered several scars on his bare chest, where Nergigante had cut him with his sharp claws, which had healed quite well and assumed it was the Vigorwasps spray. He stood up, giving him a chance to test the strength of his hooves for a time, finding that he seemed to be at full strength, reminding him of the fact that the Vigorwasp nectar was designed to fully heal someone, and it did so rather well based on what he could see right now. In addition to that he determined something else out, his magical power seemed to be far stronger as well, making him wonder if being displaced boosted one's power and that this near death experience had unlocked some of the power that was locked deep within his body, though if it had been he knew he wasn't going to do something like that, as he wanted to live and that meant training himself to survive hits like that. In that moment he understood what needed to happen, he had to get used to fighting and incorporate his own style into the weapon arts of the Hunters, something he was going to need help with at some point in time, before he headed out into the field, causing him to focus on Sherry as he stopped near the end of the walkway.

In that moment he decided to try something and summoned his magic around him as he stepped onto the edge of the walkway, where Sherry freaked out as he stepped forward and started to fall, or at least he would have if his magic had failed him in that important moment, because he was now levitating in place and he smiled, to which he extended a hand and Sherry grabbed onto it before he floated down to where Shepard was standing.

"Our newest Hunter survives his encounter with Nergigante and shows off his magical might," Shepard remarked, though it was easy for Grogar to tell that he was relieved, as the Commander had been worried for his safety after sending him into an area that Nergigante had been sighted in not that long ago, before he let out a light chuckle, showing that he was joking about the 'showing off' part, "but in all seriousness, it is good to see that you are alright. We've heard the reports on what happened, from Sherry, Patches, and the Scholar you rescued, but I'd like to hear what happened from your point of view... though I insist that you sit down while making your report, just until we're sure that you're fine."

Grogar could have disputed the command, given that he had been spent who knew how long sleeping in the infirmary, but he nodded his head and took a seat that was offered to him, though as he did that he found someone wearing armor that carried one of the long swords into battle, baring the flag of the First Fleet, meaning he was strong. In addition to that he found that Alexia was standing nearby as well, no doubt interested in the fact that someone had fought Nergigante and survived, a newcomer to be exact, and there were a few others as well, all eager to hear his side of the tale. Once he was ready he told them exactly what happened upon their arrival in the Wildspire Waste, informing them about how they had discovered the trail of the Scholar who had gone missing, the spikes that he had found and collected, which the medics had passed onto the Researchers, and them discovering both the Scholar and the Jyuratodus. From there he went into the battle that unfolded after they were caught off guard by Nergigante's sudden arrival, how it trashed the poor Jyuratodus, to the point where it died from it's wounds, and the terrifying and powerful move that smashed through the barriers he had set up to protect himself from harm.

Eventually he got to the end of his tale, his supposed death when he felt the sheer power of Nergigante's move, and how he was sure that there was another dragon in the area, a wyvern that Sherry and the others might have heard around the same time, not to mention his surprise when he discovered that he was still alive. With his side done Shepard told him about the other side of the story, where Sherry and the others at the scene claimed that another Elder Dragon, one that none could identify with all of the short glances they got of it, who chased off Nergigante and recovered him. Grogar, upon hearing that piece of information, raised an eyebrow as he tore into some of the food that the Meowscular Chef had made for him, to get his strength and energy back at a much faster pace, as he was surprised to find that an Elder Dragon would go out of it's way to save someone it didn't know, even put itself at risk by delivering him to Astera. Such a thing told him that he must have imagined seeing Sherry before he passed out, why he had no idea, though he was more interested in the existence of an Elder Dragon that might be friendly towards him and the other Hunters, since it might help them with their mission and even counter Nergigante, if the latter showed up again, and he had a feeling it would.

As he thought about that, and noticed that Sherry was fidgeting while they talked, Grogar knew that there was no way he was going to survive in this world if he kept being passive, as there were monsters out there who were aggressive, such as the Anjanath, and that he needed to adapt as well, otherwise he wasn't going to survive his stay in this world.

"How long was I out?" Grogar asked, because while it seemed like next to no time had passed, that it was still the same day he had gone out to find the missing Scholar, the time he had spent in the infirmary told him otherwise, that it should have been more like a few days, even though it didn't appear that anyone had made progress in tracking down Zorah Magdaros or the path he left behind.

"You were out for one whole day... I know, we're just as surprised as you are," Shepard replied, as he could see the brief confusion that crossed Grogar's face when he said the first part, hence why the second part came out, before he glanced down at the table and the reports that were on it, "We're still looking for Zorah Magdaros, but it's like the Elder Dragon just vanished without a trace, so you didn't miss anything too important."

"I see. I'm also aware that I need to start training in the art of the other weapons," Grogar said, something that caused the majority of the people to glance at him, no doubt assuming that he would have stayed true to his staff and pacifist style, or at least that was what they would have seen of him since his arrival in the New World, to which he gestured to the scars on his chest, four painful lines that would serve as a constant reminder, "I knew things weren't going to be simple, given that the New World is constantly testing everyone, but Nergigante showed me that I can't keep playing the pacifist, not if I want to be of assistance in figuring out the Elder Crossing... so, I'm going to resume my training and add the Hunter Weapons to that list."

"Well, if you're going to do that, then you'll need some trainers to show you the ropes," Alexia replied, where she tapped her sword and shield for a moment, reminding them that she was a capable fighter, even if Grogar hadn't seen her fight in the time he had been in Astera, or the New World for that matter, and he could see that she seemed to be smiling, like she enjoyed the idea of having someone new to beat up, "I can handle the sword and shield, though you'll need to find more to learn how to wield the other weapons... its a shame that we lost Scarlet twenty years ago, as she was one of the best dual blade users in her generation."

"Scarlet was a Hunter of the Third Fleet... yes, they had Hunters, just not many since they were mostly Researchers, and we've gotten reports that all of them have fallen in action," Shepard commented, informing Grogar that there was a place out there, in the vastness of the New World, that the Third Fleet was currently trapped in, preventing them from leaving, and he knew that the only reason they knew what had happened to that fleet was due to Alexia, who must have flown all over the continent before finding them, "Grogar, I understand your desire to solve the Elder Crossing, but for now you should leave that to us and focus on recovering from your ordeal... we'll tell you when we find something interesting."

Grogar understood the silent command that hadn't been said, Shepard wanted him to be fully rested before he attempted to do anything, though given that he felt fine, and his body seemed to be in pristine condition, he decided to tackle Alexia's training in the art of the sword and shield. The first thing he did was check out his Hunter attire, which had claw marks due to his encounter with Nergigante, before checking out the weapon cache that had been offered to him when he first came to Astera, all of the beginner gear that he had ignored, choosing to favor his staff. Such a thing made him ask Sherry about his weapon, where she told him that it had been lost in the Wildspire Waste, during his encounter with Nergigante, where he sighed and thanked her anyway, since it answered his question, even if he wished that the weapon had survived in the end, just so he could retire it on his own terms. With that in mind he reached into the cache and pulled out the first of the fourteen weapons he would be learning to use in due time, where Grogar found that the blade and shield looked more like heavily beaten slabs of metal that had been refined into their current forms, to which he said nothing as he placed them in the positions he had seen Alexia carry them in.

With that done he put on a new shirt and chest piece, since he had a spare and the other would be taken in to be mended by the blacksmiths that worked on armor, before he headed out to see what sort of training Alexia had for him, though he had a feeling it would going to be tough and he was eager to see what happened next.