Three weeks have past and a group of people were looking for Elijah. They decided to head to the nearest towns, hoping that Elijah had somehow escaped and made his way there. but there was no sign of him.
They have all returned to Glmpton and Oscar was in his office looking out his window deep in thought. "I made a mistake by sending both of them alone, now I do not know if Elijah is alive or dead. what if the beast had already killed him and eaten him then another hunter saw the beast and then killed it" Oscar said as other thoughts were running through his mind.
"And that Kai left him there to die, they should have stayed together and found a way to escape together from that beast. Elijah is not just a beast hunter at the Ironclaw, he is a son to me. I guess I made the right decision by not allowing Kia to be a member of the Ironclaw anymore"
"Just come back to me, Elijah"
Steven was in the training hall and he was feeling disturbed, he had not seen or heard from Elijah in three weeks. he kept on training like usual and he had mastered the second stage of the sword technique he was learning.
After the day was over Steven decided to do one thing, he decided to ask Oscar if he had heard from Elijah.
Steven walked to Oscar's office and knocked on the door. Oscar looked up from his desk and saw Steven standing there with a worried expression on his face.
"Come in, Steven. What can I do for you?" Oscar asked.
"Sir, I wanted to ask you about Elijah. Have you heard anything from him? Is he alright?" Steven said.
Oscar sighed and shook his head. "No, Steven. I haven't heard anything from him. By now you should know that I sent him out on a mission and during that mission, they saw a powerful humanoid beast and he was left alone by his friend. I don't know if he's alive or dead. I'm sorry."
Steven felt a pang of sadness and anger in his chest. He clenched his fists and said, "Sir, I can't just sit here and do nothing. I want to go and look for him. He's my friend and my mentor. I can't abandon him like this."
Oscar looked at Steven with a mix of admiration and concern. He knew that Steven cared deeply for Elijah and that he was a loyal and brave recruit. He also knew that the chances of finding Elijah alive were slim and that the journey would be dangerous and difficult.
"Steven, I appreciate your courage and your loyalty, but you have to understand that it's too risky to go after him. The beast that attacked him was a rare and powerful one. We saw a brunt body but we are not sure that might be the beast. It could still be out there, waiting for another prey. And even if you manage to find Elijah, he might be too injured or too weak to survive. You could end up losing your life as well."
Steven shook his head and said, "I don't care about the risks, sir. I have to try. I owe it to him. He would do the same for me. Please, sir, let me go. I won't rest until I find him."
Oscar looked into Steven's eyes and saw the determination and the hope in them. He felt a surge of emotion and he knew that he had to make a decision.
"No Steven you are not going anywhere. You want to go and face a beast even I would have trouble defeating it. So forget about it, intend to go and keep training for the academy, you leave in a week"
Steven didn't know what to do, a beast even Oscar wouldn't be able to defeat he was about to go look for it "What am I thinking? please be alive Elijah" Steven said as he headed home.
" Only Me living here sucks," Steven said as he went straight for his room.
*******
Somewhere in the mountains, huffing and panting could be heard. "I have been a peak-rate beast hunter for three weeks now and I haven't even landed a blow on him," Elijah said as he dashed at Lucas once again who was with a whip, another weapon in his possession. Holding both blades in his hands and covering them with his fire energy to make his attacks faster and stronger, he swings them at Lucas, who counters his attacks with a kick. Elijah manages to barely block the kick by crossing his swords and making Lucas's leg hit the blades, but he is sent flying back a bit.
Elijah regains his balance and unleashes a fire slashes at Lucas, hoping to catch him off guard. Lucas dodges the slashes with ease and smiles. "You're getting better, Elijah. But you're still too predictable and reckless. You need to learn how to control your fire energy and use it more creatively. Fire is not just a weapon, it's a force of nature. It can be gentle or fierce, calm or chaotic, depending on how you shape it."
Lucas raises his hand and creates a ball of fire in his palm. He then throws it at Elijah, who instinctively blocks it with his swords. The fireball explodes on impact, creating a cloud of smoke and sparks. Elijah coughs and tries to see through the smoke, but he feels a sudden heat behind him. He turns around and sees Lucas standing there, holding a flaming whip in his hand. Lucas cracks the whip and lashes it at Elijah, who barely dodges it. The whip leaves a scorch mark on the ground where Elijah is standing.
"Why don't we stop here for today, let's head inside the cave," Lucas said as he was walking away. "come on just like that, why don't we train a little more" Elijah as he dashed at him with his sword pointing at Lucas.
Lucas turned back and used his whip to block his attack. The whip and the sword clashed, creating sparks and noise. Elijah pushed his sword against the whip, trying to overpower Lucas. Lucas smirked and pulled his whip back, making Elijah lose his balance. Lucas then swung his whip again, wrapping it around Elijah's sword arm. He yanked the whip, making Elijah drop his sword. Lucas then kicked Elijah in the chest, sending him flying back. Elijah landed on the ground, groaning in pain.
Lucas walked over to Elijah and picked up his sword. He tossed it to Elijah and said, "I didn't just become a zenith-rate beast hunter yesterday you know. You can't beat me with brute force alone. You need to use your fire energy more efficiently and effectively. You need to learn how to manipulate fire in different ways, not just slash and burn. Fire can be used for defense, offense, distraction, deception, and more. You need to be more versatile and adaptable, like fire itself."
Lucas then turned around and walked towards the cave. He said, "Come on, let's go inside. It's getting cold out here. We'll continue our training tomorrow. Maybe then you'll be able to land a blow on me." He chuckled and entered the cave. Elijah got up and followed him, feeling frustrated.
"Lucas do you have a way of sending these crystals to Glympton" Elijah said as he looked at them. "why do you want to send it to Glympton all of a sudden" Lucas asked.
"Recruits will be going to the academy in a week and I want to give these to someone"
"And why do you want to send intermediate crystals to just an ordinary recruit"
"Trust me, this one is special, and he his my br......."
"Oh I see, I would like to see him. we will go to the academy when they resume"