The sun was shining and Steven had been woken up by a knock on the door. Leaving his room to check out who it was, he saw a person at the front of the house.
"I guess I did the right thing by coming here, I can see you are just waking up," Jake said as he entered the house.
Steven rubbed his eyes and yawned. He was not expecting Jake to show up so early.
"Hey, Jake. Good morning," Steven said, trying to sound cheerful. "You're punctual, huh?"
Jake grinned and slapped Steven on the back. ". Come on, I don't have all day. Let's go for a run. It's a beautiful day and we don't want to waste it."
Steven nodded and quickly changed into his clothes. He grabbed a bottle of water and followed Jake outside. The sun was shining brightly and the air was fresh. Steven felt a surge of energy as he started running with Jake.
They ran along the streets of Glympton, passing by shops, houses, and people. They greeted some of their neighbors and Steven waved at some of their recruits from the Ironclaw. He enjoyed the sights and sounds of the city, feeling alive and happy.
"So, how are you liking the training at the Ironclaw so far?" Jake asked Steven as they ran.
Steven smiled and said, "Well it has only been a day that I have spent there but it is amazing. I've always wanted to be a beast hunter ever since I was a kid. I love learning different types of sword techniques and how to use those techniques when fighting against beasts. The instructors are awesome and I love everything and everyone."
Jake nodded in agreement. "Me too. It's like a dream come true. I can't wait to become a beast hunter and go on missions with the others."
They spoke about other things for a while, such as their hobbies, their families, and their backgrounds. Jake also spoke about how his father was killed by a beast, which is why he and his brother wanted to become a beast hunter.
Wait you have a brother? Steven asked as was curious to know who this person was. Is he training with us at the Ironclaw as a recruit as well?
"Yes, he does, and for who he is you will know that very soon"
They ran for about an hour, covering a good distance. They stopped at a park near the Ironclaw training hall and stretched their muscles. They drank some water and rested for a while.
"That was a great run," Jake said, panting slightly. "You're pretty fast, Steven."
"Thanks," Steven said, wiping his sweat. "You're not bad yourself, Jake."
[Stamina:11≈12]
"So my stamina increased by one just from a morning Jog, I guess an hour plus of running was quite helpful"
"Alright, let's head to the training hall," Jake said, getting up. "We don't want to be late for our training."
"Right," Steven said, standing up as well. "Let's go."
They jogged back to the Ironclaw training hall, feeling refreshed and ready for their training. Steven was looking forward to learning more stages of the sword techniques he was practicing and was also curious to know who Jake's brother was.
Two weeks have gone by and Steven kept training like he usually does. every morning he and Jake would go for a morning jog and Steven could see the effect. In those two weeks, his stamina had increased by three making his stamina altogether fifteen.
Steven also continued to train and learned the first stage of the sword technique from which there were eight. He told Elijah about his achievement and Elijah was surprised. Something that would take some recruits two months or so to learn with determination, Steven had mastered it in two weeks.
In those two weeks, with the jogging him training together with Jake, he bonded with him a lot, more than when he had just arrived. But a certain person was disturbed by this.
"I always wanted him to be that lonely person he had always been, but he became friends with that recruit. Well I guess it is time to make my move"
---
Steven and Jake had just finished their morning jog and were heading to the training hall to continue their training. They were doing their usual warmups when an idea came into Steven's mind.
"All the time we have trained together, we have never really had a friendly duel like all the other recruits do with their training partner. I know he is strong, but I want to see how he will do against me"
"Should I ask him for a duel? Yes, let me ask him for a duel"
As Steven was about to ask Jake for a duel, he could feel a large amount of Ki energy heading his way from behind, which a Ki slash followed but the attack was stopped by a whip.
"Damn it, that attack was fast who could that be," Steven said as he slowly turned his head in the direction the attack came from, only to see a guy in a mask and with a sword placed on his shoulder.
"It looks like you were fast enough to block the attack from hitting your new friend, isn't that right Jake" Liam said as he was looking ready to go for another attack.
"How dare this recruit try to attack me" Steven said as he removed his sword from the sheath and dashed at him but was stopped by Jake who was at his front. "He is too strong for you Steven, I will handle him"
"Watch me Jake as I send your new friend to the infirmary"
What the hell is going on, why does that recruit want to attack me, I don't talk to anyone else except Jake. So what is this guy's problem? Well, I guess I would enjoy seeing Jake fight even if I don't like the fact that he is fighting for me.
A fight had started between Jake and Liam which got a lot of attention from the other recruits. Jake was using his whip impressive and was looking like he was gaining the upper hand.
Jake was swinging his whip making sure Liam didn't get any closer and Liam on the other side was dodging and blocking his attacks without putting much effort into it. It continued like that with Liam dodging and blocking Jake's attacks and Liam sending in a few Ki slashes once in a while which Jake was able to block until an opportunity came in for Liam to go straight for Steven.
Liam had gone straight for Steven which was shocking to Steven himself. Jake swings his whip toward Liam but he is slow to stop him only cutting through the mask on his face. and Steven could not believe what he saw.
Liam's face was identical to that of Jake only with a scar on his left eye.