Eddy got up with a start as the dragon boat rocked heavily. He almost fell his bed as the vessel tilted back and forth. Now alert, he was confused for a moment by his surroundings till he remembered where he was. He was on board the S.S. Desert Dragon, a strong sand ship sailing across the desert countryside. As Eddy shook himself more awake he remembered he came here with 3 other hunters to slay or repel the largest of all the monsters, the whale of the sands known as jhen mohran. The ship shook again, this time harder as if something struck the side. The force of the blow knocked Eddy onto the floor face first with a thud. Groaning, he slowly got back up just as the cabin door opened.

“Eddy! Get off your fat, lazy butt and get up here!” The hunter in the doorway shouted. He was clad in heavy armour made from the scales of a rathalos, a matching greatsword on his back. Both hunters wobbled on their feet as the boat shook again. “Get your gear on now! We only have one shot at this and I rather not have to walk home if the beast destroys our ship! Move it!” The hunter slammed the door behind himself as he returned the the deck to help the others already topside.

Eddy understood the urgency of the situation perfectly well and started stuffing himself into his volvidon armour as quickly as he could. He grumbled a little as he grabbed his uragaan hammer. Sure, he know that they were in danger but he didn't have to be a jerk and call him fat. Sure he was a bit on the pudgy side but he wasn't that big. Grabbing his gear he made sure to grab a few pick axes as well. He knew that jhen mohran's rocky backside held many precious ores and he was not gonna let that opportunity slide. The moment there was an opening he would jump onto the creatures back and harvest as much as he could before having to return to the ship. With his gear ready and armour fastened tightly he made his way on deck.

He got on deck just in time to see the massive beast leap over the boat, letting loose a roar that could be heard for miles before landing on the other side and diving straight back down into the sand as if it were water. Around him he could see his fellow hunters gathering up spears and cannon balls for the ships weapons as they prepared for when the monster would surface again. Besides the greatsword wielder there was also a zinogre geared hunter wielding a heavy crossbowgun and a gunlance wielder geared up in agnaktor armour. Eddy joined them in preparing for the next attack, loading a cannonball into the starboard cannon just as the beast surfaced along that side.

“There she blows! Starboard side!” Shouted the gunner, readying his crossbowgun and prepared to fire. He aimed at the monster as it started moving towards the ship, its large tusks aimed squarely at the ships side.

“She's gonna ram us! Eddy, bang the gong on my mark!” The gunlancer pointed to the pressure plate by the rear mast. The gong was a massive metal disk tied to the ship which would make noise loud enough to startle the jhen mohran However they had to time it right or they beast wouldn't be close enough to fire upon and they would have to wait at least ten minutes for the mechanism to reset itself. Eddy waited patiently as the monster got closer. He just had to remain steady and calm. He was starting to get nervous as the signal wasn't given once jhen was in firing range, moving closer and closer at a fast pace. Its tusks were almost close enough to reach out and touch it by the time the signal as given. “NOW!”

Eddy pressed the button and the gong rang. The noise of the gong enough to cause the leviathan to let out a startled cry and slow itself to a halt with its tusks only inches away from the boat. Everyone let loose a cheer and a battle cry as they began firing about the beast, pounding its sides with exploding cannonballs and piecing its stoney flesh with harpoons. With the creature so close to the boat Eddy took his chance. He ran up the the side of the boat and took a mighty leap on top of the creatures tusks. With his goal in reach he ran down the sides of the creature just as his companions tethered the monster with the harpoon guns and leaped on to join him. He made his way towards a hole one of the cannons made in the jhen mohran's rocky spine. Inside the spine gems and ore sparkled in the midday desert light that was shining through. Eddy grinned, pulling out his trust pick and starting mining away. With each mighty swing a gem or a chunk of ore broke loose which he eagerly picked up and put away into his pouch pockets. He kept chipping away until he saw something glowing among the rock and scales which made him pause. A gem he had never seen before was embedded within the beast, giving off an unusual purple glow. Eager to take it back home to have it appraised he swung his pick to dislodge it. However, his swing went wild as the jhen shook itself free from its bonds causing Eddy to stumble and strike the gem directly. The gem chipped and a chunk flew directly into his shoulder, piercing his flesh causing him to drop his pick and cry out in pain as he grabbed his bleeding shoulder.

The jhen mohran cried out and shook itself again in an attempt to dislodge the intruders on its body. The other three hunters made it back to the boat just as the monster started swimming away but unfortunately Eddy lost his balance and was thrown off into the sands causing him even more pain and pushing in the lodged chunk of gemstone even more into his body. He tumbled and rolled in the sand, the ship and jhen swimming away. For a split second he thought he was gonna be left behind when he was suddenly slapped by a rope which he grabbed almost instinctively. It was the tow rope dragging behind the boat for hunters to grab onto should they fall off. With rope in hand he started painstakingly pulling himself towards the boat. It took him a minute to get back on board but it almost felt like an hour to him with his shoulder throbbing painfully. Panting with exhaustion he opened the rear door of the ship and started making his way back to the deck. Once there his eyes went wide as he saw jhen charging straight for the vessel.

“This is it, you guys! The final attack! Ready the Dragonator!” The rathalos hunter shouted.

The gunlancer nodded and stood up front, ready to activate the devastating drill weapon on the front of the ship referred to by all as “The Dragonator”. They all watched and readied themselves to abandon ship should the timing be off even by a second. This was one game of chicken they couldn't afford to lose as if that beast struck their ship it would be torn to shreds. All of them tensed up as jhen grew closer and closer, roaring at them as it charged. The gunlancer readied himself for when the monster got close enough, sweat dripping from his brow and his breath quickening. Time seemed to slow down for a moment as the great beast of the sands neared, maw open wide in another roar as if to show the hunters their fates if they don't succeed and escape in time.

“NOW!”

The gunlancer didn't hesitate to slam that button the moment he heard the signal. Once pressed the Dragonator whirred to life and shot forward. The jhen mohran rammed right into the devastating weapon and cried out in agony as the drill dug into its rocky hide and created a large gash in its side as it tried to veer away. The boat shook and rocked heavily from the force of impact but it held together and the hunters managed to hold their footing. With a wail of pain the jhen mohran turned away from the ship and swam away which gave the hunters reason to rejoice, cheering as the jhen mohran fled from the area. They cheered and congratulated each other as they turned the ship around to head back home to tell the guild their quest was complete.

After receiving his reward he said his goodbyes to his fellow hunters as they decided to go on another quest and took a seat at the guild canteen. He knew he should have his shoulder looked at but he was famished from the journey and his shoulder didn't hurt anymore anyways so he thought it wouldn't hurt to get a bite to eat first. He rang the service bell to catch the attention of one of the felynes working at the canteen.

“What can I get for you today, sir?” The felyne at the counter asked, holding a pencil and a pad of paper in his paws.

“Hmmm...I could go for some meat and fish.” Eddy said as he browsed over the menu. His stomach rumbled just as he put the menu down. He gave it a few pats and looked back at his server. “You know what, I'm not feeling too picky right now so just put together whatever you got for me and as much as you can make. I'm feeling famished and I want as much food as you can give me.”

He dug into his pouch and pulled out a large amount of zenny placing it on the counter. The felyne nodded enthusiastically and quickly put the zenny away before shouting st the cooks who all started working feverishly to prepare a hearty meal for the hungry hunter. Eddy was actually a bit surprised at himself for ordering like that. Normally he'd just order a simple yet hearty meal but he felt hungry enough right now to devour several wyvern eggs. After a few minutes a large platter of various foods was set before him. He took one good whiff of his meal and took a bite of a piece of meat before he began to viciously dig into his meal. He was so engrossed in his delicious meal that he didn't notice that his shoulder was starting to swell. In fact his whole body was starting to bloat and his skin was becoming tougher and scaly. His armour grew tighter the more he ate as his body swelled more and more with fat. His appetite only seemed to settle slightly as he finished his large meal and ordered a second much to the surprise of the felyne chefs who watched the hunter grow fatter and more scaly. The more he ate the more drastic the changes became as rocky spines erupted from the transforming hunters back, plates of his armour popping off and clanking on the ground as it failed to hold in Eddy's increasing bulk. His belly especially was growing massive, pressing tightly against the canteen's counter firmly. His face pushed out to form a roundish snout and a pair of thick tusks poked out of his cheeks as he stuffed his fat face. His pants tore to shreds as a short but thick tail formed from his backside and his hips swelled to massive proportions. His swollen feet broke free from his boots to reveal that his toes had merged into two thick stone grey claws on each foot. His stool couldn't take the weight anymore as it gave out a loud groan and snapped, causing Eddy to cry out and land on his back which caused a small tremor in the area.

Eddy shook his head and grunted as he heaved himself back up onto his feet. He didn't know why he felt so heavy. He was a it dizzy and his eyes were a bit unfocused from hitting his head hard on the ground so he had yet to notice something different about himself. Once his vision cleared he noticed he was standing taller then normal and that there were two spikes sticking out in his field of vision. Reaching up to touch the protrusions he saw that his hands were much thicker and covered in green scales that turned beige on his palms, fingers and thumb almost completely replaced by four thick rocky black claws per hand with the fifth digit missing. Panicked he looked down at himself to find his view was filled completely by a massive beige scaled belly with his chest swollen into watermelon sized moobs. Looking over his body as best he could he rushed as fast as he could with his massive 1 ton body towards the edge of the Marina and peered over the edge to see his reflection in the water only to see the face of an anthro jhen mohran stare back at him. He leaped back in surprise, causing his body to wobble some.

“I'm....I'm...a monster! I'm a big fat monster!” He cried out to himself, trying to take everything all in.

Turning back around it was then he realized that EVERYONE in the Marina and guild hall was staring at him, eyes wide as saucers. He looked at everyone nervously and started to blush when he realized he had no clothes on anymore. Not that it mattered too much as his massive belly hung so low that it covered his unmentionables. Couple of the hunters looked like they were ready to draw their weapons.

“Ummmm... uhh... hu-hi? It's me, Eddy. Please don't hurt me. I can explain....I think?” Eddy said, smiling nervously and gulping as he prayed that he would have a chance to attempt to explain his situation.

A few days passed since Eddy's transformation. Unfortunately he wasn't able to find any means of reversing his condition but he found he was adjusting easily to his new form. Although massively obese his new form was also incredibly strong. So strong in fact that he could take out a great jaggi in a single blow from his hammer. Such strength was invaluable to be able to simply bear the weight of his current form. He also managed to have his gear altered to better fit his new body, although nothing on the planet could cover up his belly. Not that it seemed to matter that much since the scales covering him were as hard as stone which meant he could take as much abuse as he could dish out. The only downsides to being an anthro jhen mohran was that his ability to flee when the going got tough was virtually non-existent and his appetite was so great it was eating through his zenny faster then gear repairs and upgrades. It also came with one other problem...

“Hey Eddy!” A hunter shouted at the obese “Jheddy” as he was looking over the quest board. Eddy sighed and turned around, facing the group of hunters that had gathered around him with picks held up high.

“Do we really have to do this every day? It isn't exactly comfortable having my back mined you know.” Eddy said with a grumble. The last remaining problem with being an anthro jhen mohran was that just like his much larger and more feral brethren his back produced ore along his rocky spines. No one knew exactly how but at this point no one really cared as it made Eddy an easy way to gain valuable ores without traversing the dangerous landscape beyond the village.

“You are doing the guild a great service, Eddy. Now turn around and show us that lovely back of yours.” The lead hunter said, making a twirling motion with a finger.

Eddy sighed once more and turned around, showing off his back covered in rocky spines which glittered in the light with ore. The hunters each took turns mining the poor anthro jhen's back which didn't hurt him but it didn't feel very comfortable having mining picks hacking away at his spines.

“Alright! I got some dragonite!” Shouted one hunter happily.

“I got some carbolite!”

“I got....some raw meat?” One hunter said confused as he held up a large piece of meat.

That left everyone looking at both the hunter and Eddy in confusion for a while before they resumed mining Eddy dry until his spines grew back with more ore. Eddy was relieved when they finally stopped mining him but knew that this will be a short lived relief once his spines grew back again.

“Just gotta remember it is for the good of the guild.” Eddy said, sighing once more before he left on a new quest, considering planting his fat ass on the next person who walks up to him wielding a mining pick.