FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"This place looks like it's seen better days..." Jason commented to himself as he cautiously made his way through the ruined Citadel. The young hunter was making his way through the area, looking for whatever monster he could find in an attempt to slay it. Most of his prior training had been exploring other areas, taking on tough monsters such as Rathalos, Astalos, Mizustune and Lunagaron, and whilst he had done some hunting within the current area, he'd never made his way towards the dilapidated castle. Many years ago, it looked like this area would have been bustling with life, but as it is now, it was only a breeding ground for monsters.

"One can only imagine what kind of monsters might dwell here." He thought, creeping through an archway leading towards a small flight of stairs. A general feeling of unease flowed through him, as if he was expecting something big to be lying in wait, but he had to at least check it out - he did have a farcaster on him just in case things get dicey.

He peered over the top of the steps, and he could spot something resting in what looked like a courtyard. He made his way towards the nearest wall, peeking past the stony structure to see what it was.

"Oooooh crap..." He gulped when he identified the monster ahead of him - a Malzeno. The regal, vampyric dragon was considered a major threat to Elgado, and approaching it was only advised if the hunter in question had enough experience and strength to do so, as all other efforts would be tactical suicide. However, something seemed off about this particular Malzeno - from what he had seen of it in pictures, it was silver and red, this one appeared to be black and purple. Maybe it was a variant that he wasn't aware of?

"Maybe, if it looks away, I might be able to get the drop on it!" He said - he didn't know just how strong this beast was, but again, it didn't hurt to see if he was capable of taking it on, given he had means for a quick escape if necessary. He snuck around in whatever shadows and foliage there was to conceal himself, beginning to ready his great sword.

"Let's do this!" He said under his breath, charging up an attack as he lunged forwards, driving his blade into the dragon's tail. The creature let out a pained shriek as its tail thrashed about, knocking Jason off his feet. "Guh!"

The Malzeno growled, casting its gaze upon Jason.

"Did that hurt? Cause I've got more where that came from!" He taunted, charging forwards once again to go for another hit. This time, the Malzeno swatted him with its tail, knocking him to the ground once again. "OK, well THAT hurt..." He groaned, shaking himself off as he stood again. "Still, let's see if you like this!"

Jason readied himself, carefully dodging the next handful of attacks that the Malzeno threw his way. When the timing was right, he leapt from the ground, jumping straight towards the creature's face. He drew his sword, bringing it crashing down against the dragon's muzzle. The beast let out a pained cry as the attack connected, Jason landing back on his feet, sword still drawn.

"Hah, you didn't like that, did...you..." He stammered when he saw the monster become enraged, much quicker than normal. It glared at him with such intensity and ferocity, it drove a shiver down his spine. "Ohhh crap!" He braced himself as the beast began to deliver a flurry of attacks, sending waves of energy his way. Jason was able to dodge the first few blasts that came his way, but they were coming on with such speed and frequency, it was getting harder to avoid them, culminating with the hunter getting struck by multiple blasts, sending him flying backwards through a pillar. He was starting to curse the fact that he had decided to travel out without his Felyne and Canyne companions at this point.

"Guhh... I'm not... down..." Jason struggled to get back to his feet, legs wobbling from the impact. He couldn't even finish the sentence as the Malzeno's tail was brought down upon his head, knocking him out cold. "Bleeeehhh..."

The monster growled, approaching the downed hunter, looking over him. It brought a clawed hand to the wound on its face, feeling blood seeping from the cut. It pressed its paw hard against it, a glowing aura surrounding the wound as it healed up in a matter of seconds.

"Urrghhh..." Jason groaned, moving in and out of consciousness.

"I really should have done a LOT worse to you for trying to scar my face..." The creature spoke in an oddly feminine voice, looking down at him. "Then again, I didn't really appreciate you interfering with my work, anyway..."

"Wha..." He blinked, looking up at the creature. His brain must have been rattled pretty badly, because there's no way that the Malzeno was actually talking to him.

"A girl can't come here to gather materials from monsters? Or even test out a few things with them?"

"You're... talking?"

"Yes, and it's not the concussion doing so!" She seemed to smirk. "Perhaps it might help if I were to change my appearance just a little bit?" She added, a magical aura surrounding her. In the space of a few seconds, she shrank down in size, her appearance shifting to a more anthropomorphic look, yet still distinctly that of a Malzeno. She still stood taller than him, her taloned feet tapping against the ground.

"Are you... are you sure I'm not concussed... this doesn't make any sense..." He said in a woozy tone. She leant down, placing a hand on his head, sending a small wave of energy through him. His head felt clearer, a small amount of energy being return to him.

"There, will that make you believe you're not concussed?" She chuckled, Jason now looking a little more alert.

"....You're actually talking..." He stammered, looking up at her - he found himself blushing a little at the sight of the dragon's scaled breasts, shifting his gaze a little further upwards to meet hers.

"Yup! Again, be thankful I'm not an actual Malzeno, as you'd probably be long dead at this point!" She grinned.

"Right... wait, you're NOT a Malzeno?"

"Nope, my normal form's that of a humanoid raven. I just took to this form in this world so I'd be able to fit in with the local monster population for what I needed to do."

"..." Jason stared on as if his brain just shut down. "This... is raising SO many questions... So you're not a Malzeno, and you're not from this world?"

"To save you from having an aneurysm, I'll skip all the long details and just say yes!" She nodded. "The name's Shade, and yours?"

"Jason." He responded.

"Well, Jason..." Shade moved in closer. "Since you had the guts to actually raise a weapon against me, and since you didn't run away screaming at the initial sight of me, I deem you worthy!"

"Worthy?" He blinked. "Worthy of what?"

"The gift I'm about to bestow upon you. Granted, it would have been nice if you HADN'T attempted to disfigure my face..."

"S-sorry..." He looked away nervously.

"You would have been if I hadn't picked up on a few basic healing spells from a couple of my friends - I'd have likely turned you into one of this world's herbivores and left you to fend for yourselves against all the predators!"

Jason gulped - that would indeed be a humiliating end for him.

"But again, since you showed such courage in taking on a monster without any of your animal companions, and showing such suicidal recklessness in the process, I think it's only fair that I bestow a small gift upon you... and I think I know just what to give you!" She snapped her fingers, a large pouch appearing in her hand. "Now let's see, where did I put it?" Shade rummaged through it, picking out a few odd bits and pieces in the process - potions, various monster parts, what appeared to be a deck of trading cards, a plush of a pink-furred feline creature... "Ah, here it is!"

Shade pulled out a large gem from the pouch, holding it in front of her. Jason instantly recognised it.

"Is that a Lunagaron Frost Jewel?" He asked.

"Good eye! How do you know what it is?"

"Because I've been trying to carve one from a Lunagaron for god knows how long so I can forge some gear! Where did you get it from?"

"Oh, I obtained it during some research..." Shade started. "OK, I lied this time, I found it on the corpse of a Lunagaron whilst I was exploring!"

"... SERIOUSLY?!" Jason suddenly erupted in a mix of jealousy and outrage. "I've hunted like ten of them, and you find one on a random corpse?!"

Shade blinked, slightly taken aback by the outburst. "...yes? I don't know why you're getting so mad about it, I'm giving it to you!"

"Right, right... sorry, it's just when you spend so long trying to farm one monster for certain parts and it doesn't drop, and then someone else gets it easily, it tends to get to you."

"Hey, I totally understand." She nodded. "Anyway, there's something very special about this jewel - shall I show you?"

"Special? In what way?"

"You'll see in a moment!" Shade grinned, suddenly lunging forwards, driving hir taloned claws right into Jason's chest, breaking through the armour, yet executed carefully enough so that she caused him no damage, placing the jewel gently against his pectorals. Her hands glowed bright purple as she pushed the jewel into the hunter's body.

"Gah... guuhh..." A cold chill crept through him - the Frost Jewel was certainly living up to its name. "That's... c..cold...!"

"Maybe it might help if you were to remove your clothing?" Shade suggested.

"A-are you nuts?!" He retorted. "Just because you've got nothing on, doesn't m-mean that I need to strip naked as well, that's c-counter intuitive!"

"Oh, hon... you won't need anything on either when I'm done with you~" She smirked, using her magic to disrobe him, throwing his carefully crafted coverings aside. She could see the jewel starting to take hold, grey fur spreading across his chest, the jewel glowing between his pectorals.

"Wh...what do you mean by that?" He felt like he had to ask that, the cold licking at his body. The fur was spreading further, still a deep grey across the inside of his arms, a deep, blood-red colour taking hold around the outside, the muscles in his biceps bulking up suddenly.

"Haven't you noticed?" Shade gestured to his arms, thick, plated scales growing out from the lower half of his arms. His hands twitched, long, sharp claws growing from the tips of his fingers. Jason took a look at his arms, surprised at the drastic change in appearance.

"How in the..." He whispered, the muscles in his torso swelling and developing. His pectorals expanded, abs following suit, the fur travelling along the inside and back of his legs whilst scales continued to grow along the front, providing some solid armour for him. As Shade said, it was looking increasingly likely that he wouldn't be needing his old gear again. Hell, judging by the claws he was wielding, he'd probably never need his weapon again, either!

"I'm a witch. This stuff comes naturally to me~" She giggled, a bump appearing at the base of his spine, which was also stretching vertically, adding several extra inches to his frame.

"A witch... I guess that explains how you changed form..." He was too distracted to notice the changes reaching his feet, the bones clicking and popping, pressure shifting towards the balls of his feet as they enlarged, thick fur covering them. His toes dug into the ground, long, dagger-like claws sprouting from each digit, the big toe shrinking away into the limb. He stumbled around as he tried to keep his balance, unaccustomed to standing digitigrade. Thankfully for him, he didn't have to worry about balance for that much longer, a long, powerful tail working its way out from his rear quarters, brushing at the ground as it did so.

Jason paused for a moment, taking a look at the new appendage that had grown outwards. It was covered in a mix of sanguine fur and scales, thick enough to deflect attacks from anything except the most absurdist of sharp blades. The underside was covered in equally thick scales, barring a large tuft of fur around the top part. He didn't quite know why, but he felt oddly compelled to give the new limb a hug, curling it close to him so he could bring his arms around it, holding it close to him.

"Ok... can't say I was expecting to see this..." Shade smirked, looking at the changing hunter. "I'm starting to wonder if I really DID give you a concussion back there!"

"Huh?" He noticed the awkward look Shade was giving him, causing him to relinquish his tail. "S-sorry! I don't know what came over me there!"

"It's fine, it was kinda cute if anything - not something I'd expect coming from an icy werewolf!" She said with a laugh.

Looking at all the fur and scales covering his body, Jason was at least thankful that he wasn't feeling the chill from the Frost Jewel anymore, his form quickly adapting to the cold. The fur worked its way over his face, the scales growing everywhere else whilst his jaws elongated, thrusting forwards. "Ghh..grhurgagghhhh..." An inhuman snarl left his darkening lips, nostrils flaring, nose sinking into his upper jaw, tongue stretching to better fit his canine maw.

"Oh, there's a lot of things you don't know about me. Not yet, anyway!" She smiled, enjoying the transformation. His teeth grew into serrated fangs, several inches long, canines protruding past his mouth. His now scaly ears grew to points, moving to rest atop his head, eyes moving away to the sides, a bluish-pink coloration filling them.

"GrrrghhhhhhHHHHHHH AAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" The freshly-transformed hunter threw his head back, howling to the moon as the changes completed, leaving him as an anthropomorphic Lunagaron. The irony that he had been turned into a monster that he had slain several times wasn't lost on him, but he didn't seem to mind at all, especially with how he seemed to be enjoying howling like that.

"This is the most 'human' that you can be from now on, Jason. I don't think you mind that, do you?"

Jason finally stopped howling, turning to look at the Malzeno witch. He still had to look up at her, but the gap in their sizes was now slightly smaller.

"Not at all, I think this feels great!" He grinned, flashing his fangs. "Long as my fellow hunters don't attempt to take me on, I don't think I'm gonna be complaining any time soon! And since I'm no longer human anymore, how about you call me Nazzyrothius from now on?"

"Nazzyrothius? Hrm... how about I just call you Nazz for short? Nazzyrothius sounds like the name you'd give to a metal band!"

"A metal band?" Nazz tilted his head. "I have no clue what you're talking about, but I'm fine with Nazz for short!" He smiled, moving in closer to Shade, wrapping his arms around her before pulling the dragon into a hug, gently nuzzling at her cheek before affectionately licking her neck.

"Heh, you're really an affectionate one, aren't you?" Shade asked, petting Nazz's head playfully. "I think the only time I've had this happen from a canine convertee was that one person I turned into an Arcanine!"

"An Arcanine? Can't say I've ever heard of that, is it another breed of Canyne?" He wondered.

"I know their names sound similar, but no, that's the name of a Pokémon."

"Never heard of them." Nazz shook his head. "But still, I think I'd be willing to learn what they are!"

"Perfect! And I'm really going to have to take you to my world to show you a few things!" Shade giggled. "I know a good few metal bands and Pokémon you'd probably like, and that's only for starters!"

"Really now? I have a feeling there's a LOT of stuff you wanna show me that I'm not familiar with!" Nazz said.

"You'll find out all in due time, my friend. For now, let's move to a more peaceful place. I'd rather not have this moment ruined by any other hunters!"

"Lead the way, Shade!" Nazz nodded, watching as Shade opened a portal to a grassy-looking area unlike any area he'd ever seen before. The duo hopped through it, closing the portal behind them, the only remnants of Jason left there was his discarded armour and weapon. Any other hunter who came across it would assume that he met with a horrible fate, but that was far from the truth. Maybe they'd discover it for themselves someday, but that was a tale for another day.