Two dark figures walk in a dark forest dimmed with the moonlight and a lamp held by one of the two figures. The air was dense and cold. The exhaled air looked like warm steam.
The two figures were Mira and Oscar.
Oscar suddenly stopped in his path.
Mira noticed that and stopped as well and asked.
"Why did you stop?"
She asked gently.
"You see? Since you already know the location of the great dragon, we cannot let you live, so please don't bear any hatred towards me?"
Oscar said.
Mira's heart felt like it was going to burst after hearing that.
Without wasting a single second, she burst into a run in an unknown direction without looking behind.
Moments later, Oscar found her and killed her violently.
While Jin and Keir didn't have a sliver of knowledge about what had happened to Mira.
The two boys stood in front of the hooded man as he spoke to them.
"In two years, there would be another trial, and we have signed you up for it. In these two years, get stronger and gather knowledge about Qi. It doesn't matter what tactics you use, we'll cover it up for you."
The man in the hood said carefully.
He pointed his finger toward Elric and said.
"Elric would be in charge of you. If we have any business, we will inform you through him, and be careful...You may leave"
The man concluded.
Elric unfolded his arms and walked into the dark corridor followed by Jin and Keir.
The three left the rough space and Oscar entered.
"Hope you have left no evidence."
The hooded man said with a glum and tensed tone.
"Not a single sir. Her flesh fed to wolves and clothes burned off and as for her weapon, I destroyed it in pieces and spread it around the forest."
Oscar said as a sinister smile emerged on his face.
The hooded man nodded and said.
"The other two are precious. Keep them safe."
He got up from the chair and walked away into the darkness of the cave.
Elric let Jin and Keir out of the cave and into the cold forest.
They looked at the sky, and it was already dawn.
The sky had taken a blue and orange color and the forest felt even colder.
"After this, you will be on your own. You have orders which you have to complete."
Elric said and left them out in the forest as he walked away into the dark cave in a hurry.
Keir and Jin looked at each other with confusion between them. They did not have a single clue to what they are supposed to do from now onwards.
Both of them were starving, and they needed food for their growling stomach.
They left the hunting grounds and found themselves in the middle of nowhere.
Luckily, Keir still had the map, and the guards were present.
Keir was about to head toward the guards when Jin stopped him with a worried look on his face and said.
"I don't have a good feeling asking for help from them."
Keir ignored what Jin said and proceeded to ask the guards for help.
The guards sat on huge rocks and logs of wood and in front of them was a burnt-off wood that had turned into charcoal.
Keir neared the guards and one of them stood up in an awkward manner, looking at him near them.
"We need to return to the guild but don't know how to, could you help us with that?"
The few guards looked at each other and made weird smiles without showing it to Keir.
The standing guard smiled and nodded and waved his hand in a gesture, telling Keir to follow him.
Keir walked behind the guard and made a similar gesture toward Jin.
Jin shambled behind them as that guard led Keir and Jin deep into the woods without looking back.
They walked deep into the forest when the guard stopped and unsheathed his weapon while he looked behind Jin and Keir.
He had a face filled with malice.
He turned his body towards the boys and before they could equip themselves with their weapons, he had already launched an attack on the boys.
Alarmed, Keir closed his eyes as he readied himself to receive an attack.
Seconds passed, but nothing came.
Keir opened his eyes and saw the man lying on the ground and a dark black figure standing in front of the body.
The dark figure wielded a black smoking sword and wore black armor.
It was one of his summoned warriors.
Jin was stunned, and at a loss for words as his mouth fell open.
Keir stared at the warrior as it turned into black smoke and vanished into the air.
Keir was in surprise as well. He just realized he could summon them with his unconscious mind.
He gazed into the mind of his warriors and found a route to leave this place.
Both of them caught a wagon and boarded it. Keir explained his abilities to Jin to not lose any more of his trust by staying in a mysterious zone.
But that seemed to be a failure, as Keir felt a scared feeling from him.
It might have been because of the abilities of a beast, or he just knows Jin to understand his feelings.
They both stayed quiet during their journey because of what had happened between them.
It was pretty normal to fear a person who can summon other humans, and it was common knowledge that summoning up humans was something dark and inhumane, but when Keir revealed his ability to Jin, he couldn't help but fear Keir.
While Keir doesn't feel a thing for killing an unknown human or beast but it would affect his heart knowing he had killed someone he knew, someone he was on good terms with.
They stopped by a few inns for food and shelter, and when they were ready, they left for the guild.
After reaching the guild, they queried them about what had happened to Mira Rose.
"She left the guild a few hours ago before you came. Apparently, she has no wish to be an adventurer anymore."
The receptionist says with her usual cheery voice.