Xie Wen pulled the Fresh Blade: White Nagi from the hunter's dimensional waist pouch with a grim expression…

It even came with a shoulder strap and sheath!

"Meow? So it's this weapon. Cang Lan Xing, you have pretty good taste, meow."

As Xie Wen drew the blade, Ailu Cat walked over and patted his arm, complimenting him.

Faced with the cat's praise, Xie Wen rolled his eyes in silence.

It was only natural for Ailu Cat to like this blade; after all, it looked like a long swordfish with a handle stuck in its mouth…

Speaking of which, the main material used to craft this weapon in the game is indeed the swordfish.

Thinking of this, Xie Wen brought the Fresh Blade: White Nagi closer to his nose and sniffed…

Fortunately, there wasn't any fishy smell on it.

However, even without any strange odor, Xie Wen still felt quite frustrated about having only the Fresh Blade: White Nagi as a weapon; to be precise, it was just the fact that it was a sword that troubled him.

Although the design of the Fresh Blade: White Nagi was a bit abstract, Xie Wen didn't pay much attention to it, as there were many abstractly designed weapons in Monster Hunter, and the Fresh Blade: White Nagi was, after all, a final form sword, saving him a lot of time grinding for materials.

Yet the problem lay with the sword type of weapon.

It's not that real-life sword users are like those in the game, where their talents are allocated to looks and style; mastering it can be quite difficult. Xie Wen's golden finger was still quite reliable, and all the weapon skills he had obtained would not bring shame to the name "Cang Lan Xing."

However, in Monster Hunter, all swords are wild swords, or rather, great swords, which are nearly the same length as the height of the game characters and must be slung diagonally on the back for ease of use. With Xie Wen's height of around 1.3 meters, it would be quite challenging for him to proficiently wield a sword nearly two meters long.

Moreover, with his currently slender arms and legs, swinging it would also be…

Eh?

Suddenly, Xie Wen froze as he realized he had been holding the Fresh Blade: White Nagi for a while without feeling much strain.

So he tried to lift the sword again and swung it a couple of times according to the knowledge he had just grasped.

Although it felt a bit awkward due to its length, Xie Wen indeed did not feel any heaviness.

It seemed that although his body had been shrunk, his physique had been enhanced to the level of a qualified hunter.

This way, he wouldn't have to rely entirely on the cat to protect himself anymore.

Xie Wen let out a slight sigh of relief.

If possible, he still didn't want to be a burden.

Since he couldn't sling it on his back, after sheathing the sword, Xie Wen adjusted the shoulder strap slightly so that it hung horizontally at his waist, allowing him to draw it more quickly in critical moments.

After equipping his weapon, Xie Wen reached out and scratched Ailu Cat's chin and said, "Now that I have a weapon, I should be able to protect myself, but we should probably find a safe place to settle down first. Who knows when we'll run into others?"

Ailu Cat squinted his eyes, enjoying Xie Wen's scratching skills for a moment before patting his chest and saying, "Leave this to me, meow! I might not be good at fighting, but you can always trust Ailu Cat for exploration! You just rest around here for now, and I'll come back to let you know when I find a suitable spot, meow!"

Xie Wen absolutely believed this; early Ailu Cats had the setting of flying around in hot air balloons to observe, and later versions even allowed the Ailu Cats to explore on their own and help gather materials. In the game, there were plenty of Ailu Cats and Meilu Cats living under the noses of various monsters, and players could even find some items and materials in their nests.

Moreover, in the Rise version, a specific gathering-type Ailu Cat was introduced.

So he continued to scratch the cat a few more times and smiled, saying, "Don't call me Cang Lan Xing anymore. My name is Xie Wen. What’s your name?"

"My name is Sanji, meow," the light yellow Ailu Cat answered honestly.

"Sanji?" Xie Wen was taken aback.

Actually, he wasn't particularly surprised to hear this familiar name from the Ailu Cat in front of him. During the PSP era of Monster Hunter, due to the localization group's interference, the Ailu Cats indeed had names from various anime characters. In the later versions where Xie Wen could name his Ailu Cat, he had also habitually continued this tradition, assigning corresponding names based on each Ailu Cat's development direction.

For example, cutting-type Ailu Cats would have names like Ichigo Kurosaki or Zoro, while striking-type ones would be called Vita or Bobby.

Although in later versions the chef cats became NPCs with unchangeable names, it was quite natural for the chef cat in front of Xie Wen to have the name Sanji.

However, after carefully examining the cat’s appearance, Xie Wen realized that this was not just a simple coincidence.

The overall fur color of the chef cat matched Sanji's light yellow hair, except for the pure black fur on its two feet, which made it look like it was wearing a pair of black boots, clearly referencing Sanji’s nickname "Black Leg."

Additionally, on the tips of Sanji's ears, there were black tufts of fur resembling those of a lynx. However, unlike a lynx, these tufts were not straight but curled like Sanji's eyebrows.

Previously, due to the angle of view, Xie Wen had thought the tufts were drooping because they were wet from seawater, but upon closer observation, he discovered this intriguing resemblance.

So…

Perhaps this chef cat named Sanji actually has quite high combat power?

Thinking of Sanji, who ranks among the top in combat strength within the Straw Hat crew in One Piece, Xie Wen felt more optimistic about the upcoming island survival.

As Sanji the cat dashed into the jungle, Xie Wen, not planning to be idle, also drew the Fresh Blade: White Nagi from behind and began to train using the hunter memories he had just obtained.

As mentioned earlier, for some unknown reason, his current combat skills were not as practiced and fluid as those in his memories. For the safety of himself and the cat, it was essential to quickly master the techniques from his memories.

In the inheritance of memories Xie Wen had received, aside from those combat skills for hunting, there were also plenty of training methods in various aspects, so he didn't have to worry about practicing incorrectly.

Furthermore, unlike in the game, some techniques from various weapons are actually universal in reality.

For instance, the charge of the great sword, the demonization of dual blades, and the charge thrust of the lance can all be utilized even if the weapon is a sword; even the super discharge of the switch axe can be executed by releasing the accumulated energy all at once.

Moreover, the sword's energy blade cut and opening techniques do not require hitting an enemy to gather energy, as in the game.

Unfortunately, techniques like the insect glaive's insect control, the gunlance's wyvern fire, and the light bowgun's slicing ammo cannot be executed by Xie Wen, as he lacks the necessary elements.

Additionally, the new wirebug techniques from Monster Hunter: Rise are in the same situation; without the wirebug, most of the wirebug techniques cannot be used, and even the few that can be performed would lose some attached effects and damage due to the lack of wirebugs.

However, these are not major issues. As long as they find a village and then go to the gathering hall to do some quests to earn some money, he can once again dedicate himself to the arts of slicing and cutting.

As Xie Wen planned for the future, he swung the salty fish sword in his hand with vigor.