No one was surprised when the commander approved Alex's addition since they had no doubt that should anything unusual happen Alex and Zain together could handle it. only a blind person would not be able to see Alex's rapidly rising power that had already reached a fearsome level even if it wasn't at the level of most elder dragons. If you team him up with Zain who had proven to be a near unrivaled hunter and no mission was beyond their means. It showed as well with how comfortable the scholars and handler were under their protection.
The wildspire waste was located to the east of the ancient forest and was basically a desert area covered in red plateaus and loose sand for the most part with the occasional watery marsh area from the underground rivers that leaked into the area. The trip there was not as slow as it was in the game since Zain wasn't unavailable to push the cart as Alex kept lookout from the sky above the group. The strength of a hunter should not be underestimated as they were covered in extremely dense muscles that gave them strength and durability to put any strongman on earth to shame.
With Zain pushing the cart the groups speed was much faster than it was in the game however the events of it still occurred in regards to the rathian and barroth that showed up. The rathian was lured away by Alex into the sky allowing the group to pass without issue and even profit a bit as Alex clashed with the rathian and chased it off with serious wounds. The scholars were thrilled with the samples Alex had gotten from the rathian during their fight even if they were a bit damaged.
When the barroth showed up however Zain and Alex teamed up to bully the poor monster to death as Alex kept hammering it with brutal punches and Zain used the opportunities that provided to slice it up. The poor monster wasn't even given the option to flee as the two of them killed it far too fast for that. The group was approached by a man with an insect glaive as they worked on the molten pile zorah had left behind much to their surprise. The man eyed Alex in astonishment as he introduced himself as someone from the first fleet.
The man was apparently a wanderer that lived out in the wilds to study the new world more thoroughly and as such was rather out of touch with the times and approached to group to catch up. Zain introduced himself as a member of the fifth fleet while alex was introduced as the anomalous elder dragon with sapience that lived in astera with the rest of them. Alex merely snorted at Zain when he said that and rolled his eyes but didn't disagree since that was indeed a way he could be described. "Fascinating , in all my travels I have not once seen or heard of any elder that matches your description , but from what I have just been told you are still maturing correct?" The wanderer asked calmly.
Alex nodded in agreement since he was indeed still very young considering his three hundred year life span. Even in terms of normal reptiles Alex could be considered an adolescent at the very most since he was only around five months old. "I don't know if it applies to you in particular , but I have seen records of monsters that must reach a certain level of power before they mature into their final forms." the wanderer said calmly.
Alex shrugged and wrote in the sand "It doesn't really matter to me either way since no matter what , I am me". The wanderer nodded in agreement "A very wise way to see things indeed , I admit that I was worried you may have been feeling isolated due to your uniqueness but your words have set me at ease." The wanderer said honestly. The three of them chatted for a while before Alex and Zain had to bid the man farewell as they needed to escort the group back to astera with the large slag boulder.
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