A pleasant smell was wafting from Kieran's cave. A campfire had been set up with a skewer of meats piled on top of it, grilling quietly, juices falling from it, occasionally making a sizzling sound.

The firelight danced in the eyes of Kieran as he gazed at the meat, his mouth-watering. He was famished, and the smell coming from this Steel Boar meat was extremely tempting.

Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and cut a big slice of meat before he started eating it.

"It is so good!"

He quickly swallowed the piece of meat before taking another one.

"If only I had spices with me, it would be even better. I should try to bring some of this meat back to Mom. With her cooking skills, it would be even more incredible."

He spent the next hour devouring the meat of the steel boar, which was two meters long, leaving only the bones behind.

"My appetite has increased a lot since I advanced to the Bronze rank."

"Your body is stronger, so it requires much more energy to burn."

Kieran got up, finally satisfied, and was ready to train again.

His body quickly changed when he used his two crystal trees. A three meters tall lycan appeared. His fur had taken on a darker shade and had become tougher than before. The skin beneath it felt as hard as a rock.

Immense heat passed through his body before slowly escaping from his body, causing the temperature around him to rise slowly. It was as if a fire had been ignited inside him.

His abilities seemed to move differently from before. Some part of his body was deformed, but it only took him a few minutes to adapt quickly.

"I didn't need to use my crystal trees to hunt the steel boar since he was only Iron rank, but my abilities have really evolved! I feel like a huge force is contained inside my body, ready to be unleashed at any time!"

He lowered himself slightly, leaning on his legs. He suddenly disappeared from the cave to reappear several meters from the entrance.

"It's amazing. Even when I used the giant transformation ability on my legs with my crystal essence before, I could barely reach this speed. Now just with my body alone, without the help of my crystal essence, I can go as fast."

Crystal essence emanated from his body, and an invisible pressure fell on the area around him, a thick crystal essence covering his entire body as a smile appeared on his face.

The next moment he moved again, his blurry figure moving through the forest rapidly advancing at incredible speed, his pair of claws slicing through the air, splitting a tree in half without any resistance.

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The next two hours passed quickly as he got used to the new strength in his body, occasionally the trees were destroyed as he tried to lean on them, causing him to stumble, but after those two hours of training, he managed to correctly manage the strength of his body not to break the trees on which he took support.

He canceled his abilities sitting in the cave, still excited by the new strength in his body.

He forced himself to calm his mind. Closing his eyes, his consciousness slowly shifted towards his two crystal trees, trying to feel their new abilities.

Several minutes passed in this meditative state before he raised his right hand in front of him, the earth elemental particles around him began to stir, and a small stone, the size of a fist, slowly formed, floating above his palm.

Kieran opened his eyes, looking at the stone in his hand. He could feel a weight pressing down on him even though the stone was not in direct contact with his body.

Closing his eyes, he focused again. Shortly after, a small flame formed on his left hand, but he continued to keep his eyes closed, concentrating on the sensations he felt when using the two elements.

Soon the crystal essence moving through his body was slowly sucked in by the elemental particles around him. The flame and stone in his hands began to change, growing larger as his crystal essence decreased.

As the size of the flame and the stone approached two meters, the energy they contained suddenly became unstable.

"Shit!"

Kieran changed his body into a lycan, forming a protective layer around him with his crystal essence.

*boom*

A violent explosion shook the entire cave for several seconds, knocking down several rocks, and creating a thick cloud of dust that filled the entire cave.

*cough, cough*

Kieran's face could be seen through the smoke as he coughed, exiting the cave. The fur on his arms had disappeared, giving way to his burnt skin. Pieces of stone had pierced his chest and his arms.

"What happened?"

"You lost control of your abilities when you tried to increase the power of the flame and the stone you created, and it backfired. Elemental abilities are powerful but also require great control. Even though you have a good elemental affinity for someone who just breakthrough, you must learn to control them correctly. Try to hold back their power and change their shape for now. Your control will improve with time."

He listened to Runihoril's instructions and sat down at the entrance to the cave, circulating the crystal essence again through his body to invoke a flame and a stone.

Both grew rapidly in his hands, reaching 50 centimeters in height before they stopped growing. Slowly their shapes seemed to twist as if an invisible hand was trying to alter them.

***

Back on the Thundershields guild ship, nineteen team leaders were wearing a gloomy expression on their faces. They had found no traces of Kieran, and the time limit Kade had given them approached.

Kade's cabin door opened, startling them. He came out slowly when he frowned upon seeing the expression on the faces of the team leaders.

"You still haven't found any traces of Kieran?!" Kade's powerful voice rippled through the entire ship, making the team leaders shudder in front of him.

A man walked slowly, trembling at each step.

"Ch... Chief, the archipelago contains innumerable islands. It is not an easy task to find a single person..."

Before he could finish his words, his body was lifted into the air as Kade's hand tightened around his neck.

"Argh..."

"Is this the excuse you've come up with? If this is the extent of your usefulness, then our Thundershields guild no longer needs you."

Serpent-like lightning bolts streak through Kade's arm before penetrating inside the man, causing him to explode before the horrified eyes of the other team leaders, chunks of flesh flying through the air, splattering the deck of the ship as well as the team leaders.

Kade was standing there with his body intact. Not a single drop of blood had landed on him. Looking again at all the team leaders in front of him, a cold glint crossed his eyes.

"Chief!"

A voice came from afar, distracting Kade from the team leaders, a small boat with members of the Thundershields guild approached them.

"Chief! We found traces of Kieran!"

A crazy smile formed on Kade's face.

"Good!"