The match has been decided and Steven has been declared the winner of the duel.
"I win," he said calmly.
Did he just win, that new kid just won against Ben; one of the recruits said, and there were other whispers between the other recruits talking about Steven and Ben's duel.
Steven walked over to Ben and offered him a hand.
"Good fight," he said sincerely.
Ben took his hand and got up. He felt a mix of disappointment and respect.
He congratulated Steven on his victory and thanked him for the challenge. They shook hands and hugged, then walked off the arena together as a friend's physician had come over to where Steven and Ben were to tend to their injuries. while they were tending to Steven and Ben's injuries, Andrew had entered the training hall a while ago only to witness Steven's last move in the duel against Ben.
Andrew walked over to Elijah and sat down next to him on a bench. He looked at the smile on Elijah's face and shook his head.
"You're proud of your recruit, aren't you?" Andrew said teasingly.
"Of course I am. He's amazing. Did you see how he handled Ben? He has a natural talent for using a sword." Elijah said proudly.
"I did see a little. He's imposing. But he's also very inexperienced. He needs more training and guidance." Andrew said seriously.
"I know that. That's why I'm going to mentor him and I am sure he will work hard while he is also training here. I see a lot of potential in him. He could be one of the best beast hunters in the Ironclaw association." Elijah said confidently.
Steven and Ben had been treated quickly because their injuries were not that deep or too serious and had gone back to join the other recruits who already started their training.
Steven went to Jake who was already training with his whip.
Jake smiled when he saw Steven approaching him. He was impressed by Steven's performance in the duel. He had watched the whole fight from the sidelines and was amazed by what he did.
"Hey, congrats on beating Ben. That was awesome!" Jake said as he wrapped his whip around his arm.
"Thanks, Jake. He was a tough opponent. He almost got me a few times." Steven said as he removed his sword from the sheath and started to slash it at the dummy in front.
"Yeah, and at least now I know that you are not going to be the weakest while you start training with us," Jake said as he uncoiled his whip and continued his training.
"It looks like the recruit is already training with Jake, let see how long he can last," one of the recruits said as he placed his sword on his shoulder.
Steven had brought the sword technique book that had been given to him by Elijah. The book was a low-level book that could be used by recruits to the second-rate beast hunters. It had eight stages and Steven was only at the first stage.
Since he was a little kid, he had always loved to practice with a wooden sword and was trained by his father before he died. A natural talent when it comes to the use of swords.
Steven had gone through the entire book and was determined to learn the eight stages as soon as possible. As Steven was training with his sword, a notification appeared.
[A book written by one of the best beast hunters for low-level beast hunters]
[Quest: master all the eight stages of the book]
[Reward: ????]
Another quest again, I just finished one about an hour ago what is the system doing? I do not even know what the reward is. It does not have a time limit so I guess It is until I learn all the stages.
Let me check my status and see what has changed.
[Name: Steven Grayson]
[Level 2]
[Hunter's rank: recruit]
[Exp: 50/200]
[Strength: 13]
[Agility: 16]
[Stamina: 11]
[Ki energy: 45/45]
[Stat points: 2]
Now the stat point is two, the system usually gives me five why two now? Steven thought about it for a while but then he knew that he didn't have to worry about that right now.
Steven's training was intense and challenging. He followed the book's instructions carefully, practicing each step and technique until he mastered it. He was going to learn the basics such as how to hold, swing, thrust, parry, and slash with his sword. He was also going to learn how to balance, move, dodge, and attack with his body, with how to sense, anticipate, and exploit his opponent's movements and weaknesses.
The training for the day had ended and Steven was exhausted as he lay on the floor of the training hall where he trained which was covered with his sweat. "It looks like you need to work on your stamina. while training I could see you huffing and panting almost every few minutes. Why don't you join me every morning to jog and do a few exercises" Jake asked as he was ready to leave for the day.
"Yes I would love to," Steven said without hesitation as he stood up from the floor.
"I would look forward to it tomorrow morning"
Steven had left the training hall and was now heading to Elijah's house. He went straight to his room to fresh up and do what other things he had to do before he started his Ki cultivation
"Tomorrow I am going to jog with Jake and I wonder just how long are we going to jog for," Steven thought.