Two Wrongs Makes a Right Ch.48 (Patreon)

I arrive at the usual meeting spot in the Company Trade Hub; the sprawling food court, specifically near the McDonald's franchise outlet. But much to my surprise, I didn't find the witch alone this time.

She's sitting with another girl who is considerably smaller than Wilma in every conceivable sense. The newcomer has long, messy black hair that reaches down to her thighs in tangled, unkempt waves that look like they haven't seen a brush in days. She's wearing an extremely oversized white shirt that extends far enough to reach her knees like a dress. If that wasn't enough to paint a complete picture, she has distinctly dark-ringed eyes that speak of too many sleepless nights.

And they seem to get along, as that disheveled newcomer is stuffing her mouth with chips while Wilma imitates her with matching enthusiasm and zero self-awareness.

But then Wilma turns her head, notices my arrival, and immediately stands up with enough force to nearly knock over her chair, waving her hand enthusiastically. "Adam! Hey! You're here!"

I sigh heavily and approach the duo, already preparing myself for the inevitable headache.

The smaller girl slowly turns her head in my direction and lets out a yawn that shows she still hasn't bothered swallowing her food first.

Whatever…

I pull out a bag full of fresh mangoes from my pocket dimension and set it on the table. "So, what did you find for me?"

"Found for you?" Wilma mutters with obvious confusion, her green eyes staring blankly before suddenly widening in horrified realization as the insect wings buzz loudly and her hands fly up to grip her long hair. "I FORGOT! FUUUUUUUCK! I didn't write that down anywhere! Shit, shit, shit!"

I stare at her for a long, silent moment in complete disbelief before sighing in pure exasperation and storing the bag back into my pocket dimension.

"Noooooooooooo! Real food! Actual real food! Nooooooo!" Wilma cries out dramatically, slumping forward onto the table and trying desperately to reach the fruit with outstretched hands like a child. "Come back! I'll be better! I promise!"

What a brat…

"It's just mangoes. The synthetic stuff here tastes basically the same anyway," the other girl comments dryly with her mouth still completely full of chips, unbothered by the witch's antics.

"You don't GET IT, Tomoko!" Wilma wails in anguish. "It's REAL food from a different world! Actual isekai fruit! That shit is literally out of this world… like, literally! The taste, the texture, the freshness; you can't replicate that authenticity here no matter what! There's a difference!"

And also that she is banned from practically everything in this place.

Tomoko blinks slowly, then casually throws a half-chewed chip from her mouth directly at Wilma's face. "There. Food. Problem solved."

And much to my disgust, Wilma actually picks up the partially eaten, saliva-covered chip from the table where it landed and eats it without the slightest hesitation, even going as far as licking her fingers afterward.

Wilma notices my expression of pure revulsion and her face goes bright red. "I'm HUNGRY, okay?! Chronically hungry! I haven’t found any fluids! Can you really blame me for that in my situation?! "

"Yes." If I had so little sympathy for her, now I have none.

"You're so mean!" Wilma slams her face down on the table in complete defeat, making a pitiful whimpering sound.

I sigh deeply, dragging my hand slowly across my face in mounting frustration. "Alright, woman, whatever. I don't particularly care so…"

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait!" Wilma snaps her head back up with renewed manic energy. "I haven't introduced you two properly yet!" She gestures enthusiastically between us with exaggerated hand movements. "Adam, this is Tomoko! She's like, super cool and knows literally everything about fandoms! Tomoko, this is Adam! The hot bull guy I told you about!"

"You told her what?"

"Nothing! I said nothing!" Wilma quickly backtracks.

The messy girl just blinks at me slowly with half-lidded eyes and waves slightly while still chewing her chips loudly.

I roll my eyes at the informal introduction.

Then Tomoko gulps down her mouthful. "Huh, it's really weird to see an Adam Taurus walking around here." She tilts her head. "Everyone always picks Jaune or Ruby for their RWBY runs if they don’t go as an OC because they're the easiest starting points."

"You know me?" I ask with guarded curiosity.

"Well yeah? RWBY is a pretty shitty show overall, but it's got decent porn; not at Overwatch level, but solid B-tier," she states with absolutely no shame whatsoever. "Although the fandom's kinda dead now since it got cancelled when Rooster Teeth went under financially, and honestly, the show went out with a pathetic whimper. Just faded into obscurity. There's no hope for any revival besides occasionally appearing in random porn compilations on Rule34 or the semi-decent fanfic that pops up now and then on AO3 or FF."

Oh. I think I know exactly what kind of person this girl is. A chronically online shut-in, it fits her appearance too.

"I mean like..." Tomoko continues, warming to her topic with more animation. "You definitely had potential to be like a final boss or a proper tragic antagonist with actual depth and complexity, but nah, the writers threw all that away and turned you into a shitty jealous toxic ex-boyfriend instead. That'll surely pump the stocks for Bumblebee shipping, right? Despite the fact they worked SO hard building up Blacksun earlier in the series. Like fuck, man, that himbo Sun literally took a bullet for the shitty kitty and got completely cucked for his loyalty. That’s why I give him head whenever I can back at home."

Shitty kitty... Blake.

I take a deep breath, forcibly pushing down the surge of anger that comment triggers. "I would rather not discuss anything related to that woman."

"Uh? Why not? Aren't you..." Tomoko pauses mid-sentence, her eyes suddenly widening with genuine understanding. "Ohhhhhh, you aren't a possession case but a substitution case instead. But that's basically the same unless..." Her eyes widened even further. "Ah! Adam's personality became the dominant one! Okay, okay, that happens sometimes with substitution scenarios when the original personality is stronger. Makes sense."

And she nods a couple times to herself while Wilma imitates her.

"That's what I've been saying this whole time!" Wilma speaks up triumphantly, as if this is some sort of self vindication.

"Your point being?" I ask coldly, my patience wearing thin. "I'm myself and I'll always be myself."

"Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever you say," Tomoko waves dismissively, clearly not particularly invested in that topic. "Anyway, since our resident girl-failure here is a total loser…"

"Hey! That's rude!" Wilma protests loudly.

"...maybe I can help instead. I actually remember shit." Tomoko looks at me with newfound interest now. "But what exactly do you have to offer in exchange for information?"

"The same thing I offered her," I reply dryly, gesturing vaguely at the empty space where the mango bag had been moments ago.

"Mangoes?" Tomoko considers this for a moment, her expression thoughtful. "Meh, sure, why the fuck not. Real food is real food."

"Tomoko! Those were supposed to be MINE! Don't be an asshole and steal my client!" Wilma protests loudly, actually standing up in indignation.

Tomoko just shows a shit-eating grin. "Skill issue. Git gud."

"Fuck you."

"Anyway, little bull-" Tomoko starts casually.

"Don't call me that."

"Okay, Adam," she corrects without missing a beat. "So what exactly are you looking for here in the hub?"

I decide there's no particular harm in explaining my needs. "Wilma mentioned something about contractors playing Helldivers cooperatively in full dive immersion mode. I thought that perhaps this place has advanced training facilities or simulation chambers that could help me expedite my combat training exponentially."

"Oh! You mean the hyperbolic training capsules?" Tomoko's expression brightens with immediate recognition.

"What?" I ask, unfamiliar with the term.

"Those hyperbolic time chamber things... you know, like when Goku trains in the Room of Spirit and Time?" She pauses, seeing my blank expression. "Okay, different reference; like when Goku gets betrayed and sealed in the time chamber for thousands of years in those fanfics?"

I blink slowly. I actually have no idea what she's talking about besides Dragon Ball Z.

"Wait, really? You don't know Dragon Ball’s fanfic scene?" Tomoko looks genuinely surprised and almost impressed. "Damn, lucky son of a bitch. That's a nasty rabbit hole to fall down with all the power-scaling debates and terrible horny crossovers, but whatever." She waves it off. "Anyway, the trade hub does have an entire dedicated level with these advanced time dilation chambers where you can train yourself subjectively for what feels like years in a matter of days, hours, or even minutes in actual real time outside. I don't know exactly how the time dilation technology actually works scientifically or what physics-breaking bullshit makes it possible but hey, that’s the company for you.”

"That's... actually extremely useful to know," I admit, that’s good news.

"Yeah, I know, right? Super broken for grinding skills and levels." Tomoko grins. "The floor is officially designated as floor DBZ-01. Super cringe, but whatever works I guess. Weebs gonna weeb."

I give her a nod and then pull out the bag of mangoes and toss it to her.

Tomoko catches it easily with surprising reflexes, pulls one out with interest, and smells it carefully. "Oh wow, there really IS a noticeable difference from synthetic fruit. Interesting." She bites into it experimentally. "Damn, it's actually juicy and fresh. Really sweet too... Cool."

"Bitch, don't mess with me like this!" Wilma cries out in betrayal.

"Skill issue," Tomoko repeats cheerfully with her mouth full of mango. "Learn to code."

I simply decide to leave these two chaotic individuals to their antics and turn to leave.

"Wait."

I stop, and look over my shoulder, raising my brow questioningly.

Tomoko is the one who stopped me. "So since you're Adam Taurus, I'm right to assume you come from Remmant, right?"

"Correct."

"So why are you looking to train so intensively? Like, baseline Remnant isn't really that difficult of a world comparatively speaking, especially compared to Warhammer or SCP foundations or DxD or Fate. And you seem to have upgraded yourself quite a lot." She gestures at my cybernetic arm. "That robotic arm means you've got trans-humanist heritage or something similar, so you should be dominating easily in a RWBY setting and making a big harem of breeding sows for your Faunus revolution babies."

I just stare at her flatly and sigh heavily.

"What? That's pretty much what fits the thematic setting and your character archetype," she continues shamelessly, completely serious. "I mean, aren't you basically designed to be an extremist faunus supremacist looking to enslave all humans? It fits narratively as a breeding bull for revolutionary Faunus supremacy and create a farm of all the female cast getting pregnant over and over again."

"See?! I'm not the only one who thought that!" Wilma chimes in triumphantly, pointing at Tomoko. "Validation!"

I hate the fact that I cannot hurt any of them due to company rules.

So I will ignore that. But it isn't really any harm in telling her the basic truth about my situation, I suppose. She might actually have useful information or advice if she knew.

"My Remnant differs vastly from any canon timeline scenario you might know," I explain carefully. "It's a cyberpunk dystopia where racism against my people is the accepted societal norm and legally enforced, Atlas dominates the entire world economically and militarily, corporations run everything, and it's infested with Grimm that have evolved far beyond their canon capabilities to the point of becoming alive; we call them behemoths. Apex predators, all of them, roaming the world and territories as the dominant species."

I pause, then add more details, "Behemoths came into existence because of setting modifiers that added Monster Hunter elements; both the Old World and New World monster ecosystems, and they became completely integrated parts of Remnant's natural ecosystem rather than separate."

"Monster Hunter mixed with RWBY?" Tomoko actually looks genuinely interested now, leaning forward. "Damn, I can actually see that working pretty well thematically. Huh, it kinda makes perfect sense when you think about it, especially with RWBY's team compositions of four Huntsmen being literally designed to hunt big monsters. So instead of calling them wyverns like in Monster Hunter lore, you call them behemoths? Yeah, that works really well thematically with Remnant's existing terminology."

"So yes, I'm looking to train myself so I can fight these creatures effectively with the little resources we have available and eventually teach my people so they can fight them as well."

"Well then, since Monster Hunter mechanics have fundamentally mixed with RWBY in your world, why don't you train in the advanced hunting styles from later games, especially the extreme style? Hunter Arts from Generations? Wirebugs from Rise? Silkbind techniques?" Tomoko gets more animated. "And then grab what's possibly the most broken, overpowered, bullshit weapon ever created in that entire franchise, the Magnetic Spike from Frontier!"

"What?" I ask, genuinely unfamiliar with these specific terms and weapons.

"Wait, you don't know?" Tomoko looks at me like I'm an idiot. "What kind of person picks up a whole franchise crossover world modifier without knowing literally anything about the source material or doing basic research?"

"I ask myself the same thing constantly," I reply with complete honesty and dry sarcasm, recalling my past dumb self creating that build purely for shits and giggles without thinking about consequences.

"HA! And you called ME an idiot earlier!" Wilma laughs loudly, which only earns her an icy glare from me that subdues her instantly and makes her shrink back.

"Yeah, well, anyway," Tomoko continues, gesturing with her hands, "you should definitely look for all the advanced equipment and combat techniques from Monster Hunter if you're going to properly face wyverns; or behemoths in your case. I'm sure you can customize those time chambers to specifically practice Monster Hunter combat styles and weapon techniques, and since you must have martial talent, you'd become a seasoned veteran hunter in maybe a little over a subjective year. Maybe less if you're particularly talented."

"That's... not a bad plan at all." I admit.

“Yeah, that sounds cool.” Wilma even agrees.

"Yeah, yeah, I know I'm smart," she says dismissively with false modesty. "Also, important question; have you encountered any Elder Dragons yet in your world?"

I frown in thought but then remember that's the Monster Hunter designation for the strongest apex-class monsters. The most powerful I've personally seen was in the Grimm Lands during one of the pods’ expeditions, a giant dragon-like behemoth with massive curving horns made out of gravity dust and its body covered in thick spikes that regenerated in seconds. "Nergigante and Shara Ishvalda."

Those are their official names since there are no actual names for them in Remnant since nobody ever saw them but me.

"Holy shit, you DO have actual Elder Dragons in your world!" Tomoko's slams her hands o the table.  "Then you need to be REALLY, really careful and start praying intensely there's no Fatalis variant there."

"Fatalis?" I ask, unfamiliar with that specific name.

"Yeah, you better start training seriously right the fuck now," she says with a complete serious face, the tiredness of her eyes completely gone. "Because a Grimm-ified Fatalis existing in Remnant? You better start praying earnestly to whatever gods you believe in and making peace with your mortality, because nothing you or your people will ever possibly conjure or create will ever be able to stand even a remote chance against that walking natural disaster and apocalypse incarnate. That thing is literally a civilization-ender, a species-extinction event. It's called THE Black Dragon for a reason."

I roll my eyes at what seems like typical gamer dramatics and exaggeration. "I'll keep that warning in mind."

"No, seriously," Tomoko insists. "If you encounter anything that even remotely matches Fatalis's description you run. You don't fight it, you don't try to study it, you evacuate everyone within a hundred miles and you fucking run. Promise me."

Her uncharacteristic seriousness actually gives me pause because that’s a contractor actually worrying for another contractor. "I'll... consider it. Don’t worry."

I hope that won’t be the case, but I will look for some books about Fatalis.

"That's not a promise, but I guess it'll have to do." Tomoko sighs. "Just don't say I didn't warn you when you're staring down a monster that literally weaponized its own hatred."

“That sounds edgy!” Wilma chimes in. “But still cool as fuck!”

Shaking my head, I simply leave those two chaotic girls to their antics and head toward the elevator, scanning the floor directory until I find the designation Tomoko mentioned.

DBZ-01.

I select it and the elevator begins its smooth ascent; or descent, I honestly can't tell in this place.

When the doors open, I'm expecting something like a convention center like the other floors with. Instead, I'm greeted by what can only be described as a pristine white room that extends far beyond what should be physically possible given the building's exterior dimensions. The space is vast, sterile, and almost clinical in its perfection.

Scattered throughout the room are several people dressed in flowing white robes, each standing next to sleek, futuristic spherical machines. They all hold tablets and seem to be assisting other contractors who are entering or exiting the chambers.

So without wasting more time I approach the nearest attendant; a short woman with distinctive indigo hair featuring a vibrant pink streak, wearing thin-framed glasses that give her a professional appearance. She looks up from her tablet as I get close, offering a polite smile.

"Welcome to the Hyperbolic Training Division, contractor," she greets smoothly, her voice carrying a professional tone. "I can see you're new to our services. Whatever training regimen you're looking for, I can help you configure the optimal program and explain everything you need to know about our systems."

I nod, appreciating the straightforward approach. "I need combat training. Specifically, I want to learn advanced weapon techniques and hunting styles from the Monster Hunter franchise and I mean all variants across the games, including the extreme style, Hunter Arts, and this 'Magnetic Spike' weapon I was told about."

The woman's smile widens as she begins rapidly typing on her tablet. "Ah, Monster Hunter. Excellent choice, and quite a popular choice between worlds with hunter systems, actually." She studies whatever data appears on her screen, presumably scanning my contractor profile and capabilities.

"Based on your registered heritage, talents, perks, defenses and physical augmentations..." she continues, her eyes moving across the information. "You have all the prerequisites. The martial talent will expedite the learning process significantly, and your enhanced physiology means you can withstand the rigorous training without injury concerns to handle the weapons."

She looks up, meeting my gaze. "I can confidently say that one subjective year of intensive training will be sufficient for you to master all major hunting styles from both Old World and New World hunters, including the extreme style variant, and then progress to Hunter Arts which represent the apex of Hunter combat techniques. The Magnetic Spike style ties directly into extreme style training, so it integrates naturally into the curriculum."

One year. That's... actually very reasonable.

"Let me show you what you'll be capable of after completion," she says, turning her tablet toward me.

The screen displays footage of a hunter dressed in incredibly heavy armor; giant shoulders, coils and other pieces, moving as if he's wearing nothing at all. He wields the Magnetic Spike weapon Tomoko mentioned, and I watch in fascination as he practically flies through the air, spinning at impossibly high speeds, the magnetic forces propelling him in ways that defy conventional physics. He tears through a massive dragon who is desperate to land a single hit, and then the weapons transform into a hammer that each impact creates shockwaves.

Then footage shifts to show a different hunter wielding a longsword, performing what appears to be a high-speed drilling attack with her entire body and weapon, the blade spinning rapidly as she drives it deep into the chest of a giant gorilla-like monster, penetrating through its thick hide and bone until she appears at the other side.

I can already tell that will be invaluable for fighting behemoths. With these I should be more than capable of facing Brachydios again.

"This training will also establish the foundation for you to learn additional skill sets later, that are essential for hunters" she continues. "The muscle memory, tactical thinking, and combat awareness transfer across disciplines and weapons."

However, much to my surprise the tablet in the woman's grasp suddenly flashes bright red with a warning icon and an audible alert.

"Oops," she says, her professional demeanor slipping slightly. "Excuse me for one moment, this is a priority call." She presses a finger to what I now notice is a headpiece integrated into her glasses.

"Yes, boss?" She listens intently, her expression becoming more serious.

"Mm, yeah, I understand."

A pause.

"Okay, okay, it will be done immediately."

Once she ends the call, she looks back at me with an apologetic smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, contractor, but there's been a new development. Your discovery and utilization of this particular training feature will unfortunately break the power-scaling balance in your designated world far too severely. Therefore, you will be permanently banned from using this service after this single training session."

"What?!" I can't keep the anger and disbelief from my voice. "You're telling me this NOW?"

That’s unfair!

She raises her hands in a placating gesture. "Please, let me finish. The Company operates under the fundamental principle of fairness; give and take, all for the sake of entertainment value and narrative balance. So while yes, you're being restricted from future use, this particular training session shall be completely free of charge as compensation."

She continues before I can interrupt. "And instead of the standard rate of one subjective year compressed into one real-time day, we're offering you an enhanced service; one full subjective year of training compressed into just one real hour of external time. That's one of our fastest and most effective conversion rates, normally reserved for premium contractors."

My anger dims slightly, replaced by cautious interest.

"Additionally," she adds with a much better looking smile, "we will provide you with a complementary weapon as further compensation; the Rukodiora Magnetic Spike. It's a powerful, high-tier weapon that will be extremely effective in your world without being so overpowered that it breaks the fundamental power scaling. Consider it a parting gift and apology for the sudden restriction."

Even after hearing all of that I want to argue, to demand access to this invaluable resource for my future training needs. But I force myself to take several deep breaths and think rationally.

At least I'm not being turned away entirely. I'm still getting the training I desperately need, plus a powerful weapon, all completely free, and in just one hour of real time instead of a full day. This isn't a total loss… far from it, actually. It's still an incredible advantage.

But the restriction stings. This could have been useful for training others not just me but other members of my retinue…

I force myself to stop that line of thinking. Take what's offered and adapt.

"Fine," I finally say, exhaling slowly. "I accept the terms."

"Excellent decision!" Her professional smile returns in full force. "Please follow me so we can get you properly configured and begin your training immediately."

She gestures toward one of the sleek pods, and I notice it's already opening, revealing a surprisingly spacious interior.

I take several more deep breaths to center myself, pushing down the frustration and focusing on the opportunity rather than the restriction.

Then I step forward and enter the capsule.

The woman begins configuring settings on an external panel. "The simulation will feel completely real because technically it is, consider it like another world where you will be transferred to a different body, a pocket dimension. And with a bit of magitek and space quantum everything you learn in that new body for a full year will transfer automatically. There will be no setbacks or adverse conditions, so please give it your best without fear. But avoid dying because you will lose an entire day of training in your limited time."

"Understood," I confirm, settling into the seat.

"Beginning initialization in ten seconds. Good luck, contractor. You're going to become one hell of a hunter."

The pod door begins to close, and the last thing I see is her giving me a small, almost respectful nod before everything goes white.

----------------------------------------------

I walk back toward the food court, carrying the Rukodiora Magnetic Spike mounted securely on my back. The weapon is massive compared to my body, it’s almost 8 feet long. It looks somewhat like a giant bow at first glance, but the 'string' is actually the primary handle, and the thick limbs house sharp blades that can transform mechanically into a devastating heavy hammer. The magnetic gun is secured to my belt, which is necessary if I want to properly use this weapon, rather interesting that I need to shoot a magnetic bullet to the monster first..

A bit disappointing that the longsword Pod created for me became obsolete so early, but since I need every possible advantage against behemoths and the threats I'm facing, I won't let an opportunity like this slip through my fingers just because of sentimentality.

As I approach the food court area, I spot the duo exactly where I left them over an hour ago. Tomoko is blatantly provoking Wilma, still slowly eating the very last mango with exaggerated enjoyment while the witch looks on the verge of tears. The messy-haired girl licks her fingers with a smug expression plastered across her perpetually tired face.

"You're an actual bitch," Wilma whimpers dramatically.

"Mm-hmm," Tomoko agrees without the slightest shame, taking another slow, sensual bite just to twist the knife further.

But their petty antics stop immediately when they both notice my arrival and the massive weapon on my back.

"Holy shit, you're done already?!" Wilma exclaims the instant she sees me. "I thought it would take at least a full day minimum! You were gone for an hour!"

I shrug casually, adjusting the weapon on my back. "They permanently banned me from using the facilities ever again. Apparently, unlimited access would break the power balance in my world."

"Well, that's completely fair I guess. That time chamber shit is legitimately busted, especially if you stack it with martial talents and other learning perks," Tomoko says, her eyes focused intently on the weapon mounted on my back; which is hard to ignore given its sheer size. "But damn, nice score on getting the Magnetic Spike as compensation. Best weapon in the entire franchise, hands down. Absolutely broken and overpowered if you actually know how to use it properly. Only that bitch Elzelion could give you trouble, but that thing isn't even canon so whatever."

Another monster name that means nothing to me.

"I agree," I say with a satisfied smirk, remembering how incredible it felt flying through the air in the training, soaring between attacks completely unscathed like some kind of armored missile. It's the perfect weapon for fighting massive behemoths on land, especially considering that in the year-long simulation, the monsters could barely land a single hit on me once I properly mastered the advanced techniques. Although, I did ‘die’ a couple of times and it was equally painful.

From my memories, the term "i-frames" or known as invincibility frames, was actually achieved through a short-lived but incredibly powerful magnetic field that actively repelled all physical attacks within a certain radius. The duration was brief, maybe a full second at most, but timed correctly it made you essentially untouchable to physical force.

The only critical issue that couldn't be ignored or dismissed is that the magnetic field generated is so devastatingly powerful that it can magnetize the iron in your own blood and kill you horribly through internal hemorrhaging, organ failure, and catastrophic vascular damage. The weapon is also capable of compressing your entire body into a compressed sphere if handled recklessly. But like the attendant specifically mentioned, that's exactly why all my defensive perks and body enhancements protect against that specific lethal hazard, including my Aura which constantly regenerates any internal damage. Without those multiple layers of protection or being a Native of that world this weapon would be an immediate agonizing death for any wielder.

However, this weapon isn't particularly effective against human-sized opponents due to its massive size and the inherently telegraphed nature of its attacks. So it balances out in a way. Unless I used this against Atlas's robots, where the magnetic field alone should be extremely effective at causing havoc in their organized ranks.

"And the design is sick as hell too," Tomoko adds with enthusiasm, examining the weapon's distinctive coloring. "Can't remember the exact monster, but it looks badass. That color scheme goes so hard."

"Rukodiora," I supply the name. "And yes, these are its natural colors—the orange stripes and the distinctive blue blade edge." That’s what they called it after all.

"Yeah, that one! The Magnetic Dragon!" Tomoko's eyes light up with recognition. "Really cool and challenging fight in its G-rank hardcore mode. Absolute nightmare if you don't have the right gear, not even halk pots could save your ass."

I just shrug.. "So in the time I was gone, did either of you manage to remember anything actually useful? Or were you both just fooling around and wasting time?"

"Fooling around, duh!" Of course Tomoko is the shameless one.

"NO! I was actually working really, really hard trying to refresh my memory!" Wilma protests desperately, sitting up sharply from where she'd been dramatically sprawled across the table. "I've been thinking this entire time! My brain hurts from thinking so hard!"

Does she even think?

"So what do you remember that will be useful to me?" I ask with justified skepticism.

"Not yet! But I have something right on the tip of my tongue! I can feel it there!" Wilma insists, her insect wings buzzing anxiously. "It's like, right there in my brain but I can't quite grab it!"

"Yeah, what a complete girl-failure," Tomoko comments casually, earning an angry glare from Wilma.

"Fuck you!"

"Anyway," Tomoko continues smoothly, shifting topics without acknowledging the insult, "unlike our useless friend here, I've actually been thinking about other practical ways you could fight back against your shitty situation in your cyberpunk dystopia, or you know, just survive better and do some cool kingdom building. Menagerie is still a complete shithole by most standards, right?"

I frown at the blunt statement. "I've actually been making leaps of progress improving my homeland. There are now proper houses for all its inhabitants instead of shanty towns, consistent employment opportunities across multiple industries, everyone is fed adequately with varied nutrition instead of just shitty rations. I've made sure to set proper foundations for my people to actually grow and develop, including accommodations for those who migrate from other kingdoms before they integrate."

I continue, warming to the topic. "Plus extensive urban planning to properly connect all the settlements with maintained roads and functional infrastructure, not even counting the major industrial projects to establish heavy manufacturing and develop new sustainable energy sources to reduce Dust dependency."

Still in relatively early stages, but with the new resources I'm planning to acquire, we should have most of that completed in less than a month.

"Damn, that's way more actual progress than most contractors ever make in their worlds," Tomoko says with what might actually be respect. "Most lazy bastards just drop money on their worlds after breeding the faunus girls for population growth and then fuck off to do other more entertaining shit. So you should definitely get more RTS worker units to accelerate your projects exponentially."

"Already have them deployed. I've got Villagers from Age of Empires working on various infrastructure projects across Menagerie."

"Ah, cool. Then get more of them. You can literally never go wrong with additional worker units. More workers equals faster everything."

"That was already part of my plan," I confirm.

"Ah, cool, cool..." She pauses, then looks at me with an stupid grin spreading across her face. "Have you thought about breeding more kids yourself to expand your population base faster? We can industrialize breeding sows, its so fucking hot-"

"I'm leaving," I state flatly, turning on my heel immediately.

"Wait, wait, I'm being serious this time!" Tomoko calls after me, but I ignore her completely and keep walking.

I think she tried to say a couple more things, but I dismissed her voice as noise. Lost causes attract after all.

I head back toward the main hub commercial areas, returning to the Nier shop to purchase another set of Pods to help distribute the workload among the units, especially since all of them had to drop everything for the mission cataloging behemoth populations. After that transaction, I navigate to the contract floors to sign an employment contract with another group of Villagers to speed up construction projects across Menagerie; twelve additional workers this time, which should significantly accelerate timelines.

After completing those essential purchases and contracts, I exit the massive building and make my way to the front courtyard plaza to leave this place entirely.

However, just as I'm about to activate the green-eyed orb, I hear rapid, desperate footsteps behind me.

"MONSTER HUNTER STORIES!"

I turn around to see Wilma running at full sprint before she literally drops to her knees at my feet, gasping desperately for air.

She's panting heavily, completely winded and red-faced, before she rolls dramatically onto her back.

"What do you want now?" 

"M-Monst-ter Hu…hunter Stories," she manages to wheeze out between ragged breaths. "Try looking into that. That's what I was trying to remember!" She collapses face-first onto the ground with a pathetic thud, apparently having expended absolutely all her remaining energy on that.

I stare at the witch sprawled pathetically on the floor before Tomoko arrives moments later at a much more reasonable walking pace, casually eating yet another mango she must have grabbed.

"Monster Hunter Stories, also I told her that." Tomoko explains calmly. "Instead of hunting and killing monsters for parts and resources, you bond with them emotionally and they become your loyal partners and companions. Kinda like Pokemon, but instead of being called a trainer, you're called a Rider. You raise monsters from eggs, form connections with them, and fight alongside them as a team."

I furrow my brows, my mind immediately going to Brutus and the strange, unexpected bond we've somehow formed with the Grimm-Squig. There's certainly some merit to the idea of creating bonds with behemoths rather than just killing them for materials and also now that they have shown the possibility of reproduction...

No, wait—that's actually an incredible concept beyond just Brutus. Taming behemoths wouldn't only make the island considerably safer for expanding settlements and other economic sectors, but it would represent a potentially massive addition to our overall military power. Behemoth riders could fundamentally change everything about how we fight and defend ourselves.

It could even serve as an equalizer against Atlas, because despite their overwhelming technological superiority, numbers and manufacturing capacity, they still cannot reliably kill behemoths without massive resource investment and casualties.

Although I'm definitely assuming far too much based on far too little actual information. I don't actually know anything about Monster Hunter Stories beyond this extremely brief explanation.

I send the green-eyed orb back to my pocket dimension storage and focus my full attention on the smaller girl. "Tell me more. Everything you know."

She grins widely and extends her hand expectantly, palm up.

I pull out a bag of fresh pineapples and hand it over as payment.

"Excellent choice. Come on, there's a lot to explain and we should definitely sit down for this lecture." Tomoko starts walking back toward the building entrance, already opening the bag to examine and smell the fresh fruits with satisfaction.

I follow without hesitation, leaving Wilma still collapsed dramatically and pathetically on the ground behind us.

"Aren't you going to help her up?" I ask, glancing back at the miserable witch.

"Nah, she'll get up on her own.” Tomoko says dismissively without even looking back. "Total attention-seeker, she thinks this somehow will get her laid. Now, Monster Hunter Stories operates on a fundamentally different premise and game design philosophy than mainline Monster Hunter..."

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AN: Just a clarification, I know plenty of Monster Hunter, old gen and New gen. But when I started to write this story, I had very limited knowledge which came from just the first 2 chapters of MH World base game so hence just the concept of big monsters and also reflected on Adam's own knowledge.

Also Kudos to the guy who actually predicted the direction lol. Here, have a star.