Cain and Rugo went to the beach, about twenty minutes of walk from the Guild. They had to pass through the north gate and a calming housing complex to reach the beach.

The cool wind blew over them when they arrived. The beach had a beautiful white sand with sweet sound of the waves lingering on the scene. The beach was so wide, there were people here and there.

“Whoaaa! What a view!” said Rugo, “so this is beach!”

Rugo stepped on the sand, his forward foot immediately half-sank because of his weight. “Ah, this is why it’s hard to run on the sand!” Rugo was excited.

“Memeeip!” Beil ran over the sand towards the water.

“Ah, yes! The waves!” Rugo walked to the water, he struggled a couple of steps, but he quickly adapted moving his weight over the sand.

Beil ran around the shore happily.

Rugo slowly walked over the water, small waves crashed against his knees. “So, this is beach, huh?” said Rugo, then he leaped into the water. A big splash fell around him.

“Does he know the water is salty?” mumbled Cain as he walked to the shore.

There were kites in the sky, played by some kids around the beach. A couple of small boats were sailing in the horizon. A group of people walked past him, they spoke foreign tongue.

“Tourists, huh? Just as I am,” said Cain with voice only he could hear.

“Ghuaahh!” Rugo emerged from the water. “The water is saltier than I thought!” he said.

“It’s fish pee,” said Cain.

“Haha, funny,” said Rugo with a flat expression, “but wait, hmm… if I think about it… ah nevermind!” responded Rugo.

Cain laughed lightly, then he stared into the sea. “How fast can you swim, Rugo?”

“Is that a challenge?” Rugo grinned.

Cain also grinned. “Let’s race!”

“Let’s go! But no magic allowed! Only your pure muscle strength and breathing technique!” exclaimed Rugo.

“Let’s go!” Cain undressed, leaving only his trouser.

“Hmm… elemental magic is convenient, huh?” said Rugo when he saw Cain buried his stuff on the sand with his magic. “Bury mine too,” he said.

Cain also buried Rugo’s khukris and crossbow after Rugo wrapped them with a cloth.

They stood next to each other, looking at the blue horizon.

“What’s the finish line?” said Rugo.

“Hmm… what about that boat over there?” Cain pointed to a small, distant boat with a white folded sail.

“I see it, ready?” said Rugo.

“On three!” replied Cain.

They raced to the boat, Cain had a better start, but Rugo caught up fast. Their race was tight, they used all their strength to get to the boat.

“Huh? What is that?” said the man on the boat, “it’s coming here!?” he was startled.

Cain and Rugo position was tied, they swam with high speed, making the water splashing around, they alerted the man on the boat.

“Aahh!!!” the man in boat curled in fear when Cain and Rugo came to the boat. But they submerged beneath the boat.

Then they emerged from the water not far from the boat.

“Hah! I win!” exclaimed Rugo.

“What do you mean? It’s my win!” said Cain.

“Can’t you see? My arm is longer! Obviously I reached the boat first!” Rugo showed his arm’s reach.

“I was closer to the boat than your!” responded Cain.

“Oh really? Let’s ask that man!” Rugo pointed to the man in the boat that puzzled with a mixed-up look on his face.

“A jaguar? Talking?” said the man in confusion.

Rugo sighed. “Let’s just make it another tie,” he said.

Cain laughed. “Alright,” he responded.

After the race Cain and Beil sat down in the shore, relaxing. Rugo was swimming around the beach, surprising a lot of people, but Rugo handled it very well. He politely introduced himself, diminishing his fierce look by doing so. He mingled with humans easily.

When the sky went dark, they went out looking for the street food for dinner. After that, they went to one of the cheap inns Shenie talked about. They rented a room with two beds, because it was cheaper than two single bed rooms.

Cain read the Book of Gomara before he went to bed, he confirmed the evolution of the Gauntlet from the book. Not much information about the evolution, other than the book said the Gauntlet still had so many rooms to evolve.

Rugo also slept after he polished his khukris.

…

In the early morning, Cain was jogging in the shore, he also felt the warmth of the first light of the sun when it rose from the horizon. He also practiced a number of water manipulation magic in the beach when there was no one around.

When he got back to the inn, Rugo was meditating. What amazed Cain was, Rugo only used his tail to support his body. He sat cross-legged while his tail sustained his entire body in the air. Beil was sleeping on his legs. Rugo’s arms crossed on his chest.

“(Oh, his fur has grown back,)” thought Cain, he was looking at Rugo’s legs. The burn wound Cain caused yesterday was nowhere to be found.

Then, Rugo’s left eye opened. “You’re back, let’s have some food!” said he.

Beil woke up when Rugo said that aloud. “Memeip!” he cried.

“‘I’m hungry, too’ what he said,” said Rugo.

“Alright, alright, I’ll wipe my body first,” responded Cain.

They went looking for breakfast after that. Cain and Rugo spent the morning exploring the town, but they did not explore too far from the Hunter Guild, they had appointment there after all.

“Ah yeah, Rugo, how about your Reaver magic? I’m curious why you used it when you weren't really in a pinch? Doesn’t Reaver magic use the caster’s life force?” asked Cain when they were strolling the street.

“Oh? Hahah! You find it weird?” responded Rugo.

“Yeah, as far as I know, humans who practiced it won’t use it except their lives are really in danger,” said Cain.

“Hmm, yeah, I heard from the Elders that humans also capable of learning Reaver magic,” Rugo greeted the passersby by waved his hand a bit, the people he greeted were baffled while returning his wave.

“Let me tell you,” said Rugo, “the origin of Reaver magic comes from my people, it’s called Reviras in my ancestors’ times. Probably you humans twist how to say it but it came from moasrahn tongue. But we call it Reaver nowadays because it’s easier to say.”

“Huh? Really? It came from moasrahn?” asked Cain in curiosity.

“Yeah, that’s why it has a flaw when something that shouldn't be for others is learned by others,” said Rugo.

“What do you mean?”

“The original of Reaver magic isn't fueled by the caster’s life force, at some point that is,” said Rugo.

“Huh!? I’ve never heard that before!” said Cain.

“At some point I said,” responded Rugo. “In my people, Reaver magic is still using the caster’s life force but won’t suck ‘till every last drop of your life like when you humans do it. It only takes a part of our age. Every practitioner of Reaver magic has his or her own threshold, when you hit the threshold, you no longer lose your life force when you use Reaver magic.”

“You mean…”

“Yes, I broke my threshold limit a long time ago, every Reaver magic practitioner can feel how much his life force has been used. I only used about twenty years life of mine, more or less,” said Rugo.

“Ah… wow… that’s interesting,” said Cain. “It is a total flaw compared to what humans have to pay to use that magic then.” he continued.

“Yeah, the longer humans use that magic the more their life force sucked out, but the force it produces enhance the caster’s power with the potential of no limit is still the same,” responded Rugo.

“I tasted that power, your power surely increased at least five times,” said Cain.

“That was nothing, my father blew up a mountain with his Reaver magic, at least his power was seven hundred times that time.”

“No kidding!?” gasped Cain.

Rugo just shook his head lightly.

Cain suddenly remembered what he read about Reaver magic in the Book of Gomara. “(Ah! That’s why he wrote that!)” he thought.

Gomara did not put Reaver magic detailed information or how to learn the magic into his book. What Gomara wrote in the book beside the general knowledge about it was that Reaver magic was not worth the trouble he would face. But Gomara warned the successor of his book, should he or she find and fight a master of Reaver magic, go full power from the start.

“So, Reaver magic is actually a buff magic?” asked Cain.

“That’s right,” said Rugo proudly.

“Then how about your magic resistance?” asked Cain.

“Oh, it came from my mother, she was a snow leopard moasrahn, which that type is so good with elemental magic resistance,” Rugo replied, “and Reaver magic came from my father,” he continued.

“I see… such a gifted child, aren't you?” said Cain.

Rugo just replied with a small laugh.

“And I see your attitude is so different from when we first met. Like you just greeted the passersby warmly, it’s so different when you wanted to shoot me between the eyes in Balrth Forest,” said Cain.

Rugo laughed again. “It’s an act, to see how they respond when I approach them with friendliness. Yesterday, I acted tough when we came to the Guild, all I could see was glare.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Ah, for your report to the Elders?” asked Cain.

“Correct,” said Rugo, “how about you, Cain? You yourself is skilled in combat, where did that come from?”

“From hardwork and discipline?” Cain laughed, “unlike you, I’m not a gifted child, in fact, I used to be a talentless.”

“Is that so? Your swordsmanship is good, no way you have no talent,” Rugo rubbed his chin, “but I could feel it when we fought, your movement was from someone who had been training diligently.”

“Yeah, I trained so hard… I was lucky there’s a book that let me learnt magic and combat abilities, you wouldn't believe me if I told you I can’t use any magic before I learn it from that book,” said Cain.

“Book? Oh, that book… really? That book can do that?”

“Yeah, as I couldn't learn any combat abilities and magic from my teacher, the book said the otherwise.”

“I see…”

“But unfortunately, even though magic and abilities from this book are strong, it broke the weapon I use,” said Cain.

“Yeah, I know that.”

“But this,” Cain showed Rugo the Bracelet of Azure Mysticbone. “As you know any weapon I use with my combat skills will break, but this one is different,” Cain added.

“You said it’s Azure Bone Gauntlet, right?” asked Rugo.

Cain nodded in answer.

“I don’t know if it’s the same, but there was also a mention about Azure in my people, well by my long lost ancestors,” said Rugo.

“Is it?” asked Cain curiously. They were still walking down the street of Ulstena town.

“The records I read was scarce, but If I remember correctly, Azure is a blue flame that has been here from the ancient times. It was one of the lost Eternal Elements. Azure flame was called Azraq in our tongue.”

“Azraq?... it’s one of those!?” said Cain in surprise.

“You know about it?”

“I read about the Eternal Elements in the Book, one of them is called Azraq!” responded Cain, he took out the Book of Gomara and flipped the pages.

Eternal Elements were elements from the past, they were unique, powerful and very rare. But suddenly they vanished since thousands years ago.

“Here…” Cain pointed a page about the Eternal Elements, of course all Rugo could see was a blank page.

“Azraq, Karmozijn, and the others I can’t read… Do you know what Karmozijn is?” asked Cain.

“No, there’s no Karmozijn word in moasrahn tongue.”

“Ah, okay… so Azraq means Azure, from your tongue, huh? This Karmozijn and other words I can’t read probably words from other races.”

“Hmm… that could be true,” responded Rugo. “Your book knows about things in the ancient times, it’s interesting… I wonder who Gomara really is, to be able wrote all of those.”

“He’s even mysterious to human’s history,” Cain shrugged.

“Too bad the knowledge section is invisible to me, otherwise I’d like to borrow it,” Rugo laughed.

“Hmm? We’re here,” said Cain when he saw the Guild.

They arrived at the guild, it was noon. The Guild was quite packed in front of the door. Cain and Rugo made their way through the Hunters, this time, Rugo put on friendly face.

When they entered the Guild, a man and a woman in their thirties were surrounded by Hunters. They sat and chatted casually with them. The eyes of the Hunters were sparkling with admiration.

The woman, who had a pleasant and charming smile realized Cain and Rugo’s presence, she poked the gentle-looking man beside her in the arm and pointed at Rugo with her thorough eyes.

“Ah, welcome!” said the man with a wide smile when he got his eyes on Cain and Rugo.

The Hunters shifted their gazes to Cain and Rugo who were walking towards them.

“Amazing…” said the man in awe, “I didn’t believe it when Sir Ogen said he met a moasrahn. Holy Goddess… he said the truth!”

“You know Professor Ogen?” asked Cain.

“Yes, he’s in Gleth, and he told me about you two,” answered the man with a warm smile.

“Are you the one who’ll decide about me getting into the Guild?” asked Rugo.

“They are,” a familiar voice came through from the crowd of Hunters, it was Nelcauf with Telia next to him. The hunters opened a path for them to pass through.

“Nelcauf! Long time no see! Telia, too!” greeted the woman cheerfully.

“Sorry, we couldn't greet you earlier, we had to take care of something,” said Nelcauf.

“No problem!” the man laughed and shook hands with Nelcauf.

Nelcauf turned to Cain and Rugo. “Let me introduce them to you, they are Mr. and Mrs. Rive, Emerald rank Hunters, The Mercury Titanoboa Slayers.”

Cain and Rugo introduced themselves.

“This is great, to see something that has been declared extinct still alive and well!” said Mr. Rive.

“Indeed, by the way let’s move to the office to talk about Rugo joining the Guild,” said Telia to them.

Mr. Rive nodded in agreement. “Okay, guys, it’s fun talking to you, work comes, we have to excuse ourselves,” said he to the Hunters around.

Cain and Rugo went with The Slayers to the office, Nelcauf and Telia also went with them. It was a spacy room, decorated with old weapons and paintings in the wall. A wide desk with a pile of paperwork stood in front of large window. Two large couches were facing each other in the center, and a wooden table was in between them.

They all sat on the couch. Beil as usual sat on Cain’s lap.

“Okay, here, you can just call me Daen and my wife Halni,” said Mr. Rive, “or whatever, you can even just call me Sir,” he shrugged.

Cain nodded in response.

“Alright, without further chit chat. We accept your application to the Guild, Rugo.”

“Ho? That was fast,” said Rugo.

“Well, we really have no reason to refuse,” said Halni.

“Though, being the first moasrahn in the Guild carries a great responsibility, you’ll have to become a good example for others,” said Daen. “Who knows, maybe when your race hearing about your feats they’ll come around to the society, because I’m sure you’re not the last of your kind.”

“A good example, huh?” Rugo rubbed his chin, “and you’re right, I’m not the last.”

“Good, good!” Daen smiled. “I pray one day humans can walk with your kind with harmony,” he said.

Rugo just smiled a little.

“Now, you can go with Telia to complete your registration and become the first moasrahn in Hunter Guild,” said Nelcauf.

Telia nodded at Nelcauf. “This way,” said she to Rugo.

“I’m coming with you,” said Halni.

Rugo went outside with Telia and Halni. Cain excused himself to look at the quest board, hoping to get a good quest to do, Beil followed him out of the office.

“That young man, he reminds me of someone, but I can’t picture who,” said Daen to Nelcauf. They chose to stay in the room.

“Does he? Hmm… and he looks strong, from his posture alone I can tell he’s not just an ordinary Aquamarine newbie,” responded Nelcauf.

“True…”

In the administration desk, Rugo completed his registration, but what he did not expect was the Hunters there applauded him when Telia said he just became the official member of Hunter Guild.

Rugo nodded at Telia and Halni then went to the quest board. When Rugo left the desk, the Hunters started swarming Halni Rive. She handled them with a smile.

“Done? I saw the commotion,” said Cain when Rugo stood next to him.

“Yeah, quite convenient method they have,” replied Rugo, he showed Cain the Aquamarine crystal from his palm. “now, let’s see what’s good.”

Cain sighed. “You’ll be disappointed,” he said.

...

“Disappointment indeed,” said Rugo after ten minutes of looking at the quest board. “But this,” he pointed to one of the papers hanging on the board.

“Hm? Slay the predator killer?” Cain read what was on the paper. “Predator killer? Interesting… but it’s for Topaz rank and up.”

“Do you see any better quest than clean the sewer for Aquamarine rank?” asked Rugo.

“Err… nope,” said Cain.

“Let’s go ask Telia, No warriors should clean the sewer to earn their food,” said Rugo proudly.

“Well, let’s ask her then,” Cain shrugged after he took the paper from the board. He looked at where Beil was, he was surrounded by a bunch of female Hunters, who curiously petted him.

“He won’t go anywhere, let’s go,” said Rugo.

“He’s living a good life,” responded Cain with a little laugh.

They went to Telia on the reception desk, beside her, Halni sat behind the desk, she was talking with the Hunters across the desk.

“Hey, can we take this quest?” Cain showed Telia the paper.

“No, you can’t,” responded Telia without taking the paper, she shook her head slowly. “It’s written for Topaz.”

“Hmm… is there a way to increase our rank quickly then?” asked Rugo.

“No, all Hunters have to-”

“There is,” Halni cut Telia’s words.

Her sudden change of attention towards Cain and Rugo made the Hunters who were talking with her annoyed.

“What is the way?” asked Rugo.

“Gemstone Trial,” said Halni with a smile.

“But, Mrs. Rive!?” Telia looked so surprised.

The faces of the Hunters became pale when they heard the words, Gemstone Trial.

“I’ll talk to my husband about it,” said Halni, “it’s been a while since we have a promising member,” then she looked at Cain for a few seconds. “Sorry, members,” she smiled sharply.

“What is Gemstone Trial? I’ve never heard of it?” asked Cain curiously.

“Telia will tell you about that, and I have to excuse myself to see my husband,” said Halni, “of course you can refuse, but you’ll have to rank up with normal way,” she smiled sharply again then went to the door near them, to the office.

Telia sighed. “To put it simple, Gemstone Trial is meant to increase your rank significantly, and it’s free,” she said.

“Oh, there’s a way, and it’s free!” Rugo exclaimed, “let’s do it then!”

“Calm down, I haven’t told you everything yet,” said Telia. “Gemstone Trial is not something to be taken lightly, you have to pass two tests, first is written test and the second is battle test,” she continued.

“If you beat the trial, based on the score you have gained, the Guild will determine what rank you jump into, the highest score will let you join Topaz rank, can’t go higher than that.”

“It seems simple enough,” said Rugo.

“Not for the second test,” responded Telia, “in the second test, you have to fight a supervisor of high ranking Hunter, and the battle itself is unrestrained.”

“Unrestrained?” asked Cain.

“It has no rules,” said Telia, “you’ll fight for your life, the supervisor will try to take your life, and if you die, well, you die, the Guild will not take responsibility about it because it’s your decision to take part in the Trial.”

“Whoa!? So harsh!” said Cain.

“Interesting…” said Rugo. “Do we have to kill the supervisor to pass the Trial?”

“No, your objective is to stay alive for ten minutes, but if you kill the supervisor, you still can pass the test but you’ll only can go up one rank, no matter how well you perform on both test.”

“Consequences, huh?” Rugo nodded a couple of times.

“If you manage to survive for ten minutes, the highest rank you could have is Spinel, but if you make your opponent surrender, you’ll have Topaz rank, and don't forget the written test also take part in the scoring.”

“Hmm… so the highest rank we could have is middle rank, huh?” said Rugo.

“Yes, ten ranks of Hunter are Aquamarine, Garnet, Zircon, Spinel, Topaz, Alexandrite, Emerald, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond. With this Trial, you can jump ahead from the bottom to the middle rank,” said Telia. “Also, you can only take this Gemstone Trial once in a lifetime, and if you’re already at Topaz rank, you can’t take the Trial.”

“Why am I only hearing about this just now?” asked Cain.

“It’s not really recommended, even some higher ups from the Guild disapprove this Trial because it has 60% death rate,” replied Telia.

“That high?” responded Rugo.

Telia nodded calmly. “Mostly, the participants of the Trial were cut down in just a couple of seconds. That’s why the receptionists of the Guild are prohibited to tell new recruits about the Trial. And now, new members and low ranking Hunters could only participate this Trial with a recommendation from a high ranking Hunter, just like you, you are recommended by Mrs. Rive.”

“I see… and, is the killing really necessary?” said Cain.

“It is, we can’t let you join the higher rank without knowing how good you are. Especially when you’re just a newbie Hunter. Being challenged with your life in the line should give us the insight of what you can do. So, yes, the killing part here is to motivate you to do your best, besides, when you’re out there doing high ranking quest, you're either killed or live another day,” answered Telia. “But don't worry, if the participants really that good and promising, usually the supervisor won't hurt them that much,” she continued.

“Forget about it, man,” said one of the Hunters, “that moasrahn is likely to have a chance. I don’t know what Mrs. Rive saw in you, no offense, but you have zero chance, man.” he said to Cain.

“Yeah, don’t throw away your life,” said another.

“Don’t worry, he has a chance as high as mine,” Rugo smirked.

“I-is that so?” responded the Hunter.

“I’ll try my best,” said Cain with a confident smile.

“Are you really going to do the Trial?” asked Telia.

“Yes,” said Cain and Rugo confidently.

“Looks like you’ve made up your mind,” said Daen, he came out from the office with his wife and Nelcauf.

“Complete the paper and you’re ready to do the Trial,” said Nelcauf

“Here,” Telia handed them two pieces of paper, “these papers contain about you participating in this Trial of your own will, and the Guild will not take responsibility if you die, also you’ll not be held responsible if you kill someone in the course of the second test of Gemstone Trial.”

Cain and Rugo took the papers.

“Sign with your blood in the bottom, if you really want to take the Trial,” said Telia.

Without hesitation, Cain and Rugo shallowly sliced their fingers with a knife from Telia, they signed the papers.

“Done,” Telia took the papers.

“Damn, they are really doing it!” said one of the Hunters.

“Well, good luck to you,” said another.

“Do you need preparation before the first test?” asked Nelcauf.

“I’m ready,” said Cain.

“Me too,” said Rugo, “by the way, who’ll be our opponent in the second round?”

“You’re looking at them,” said Nelcauf while looking at Daen and Halni.

“Ooh! Shit! Mr. and Mrs. Rive themselves who will fight them!”

“My Goddess! I take back the good luck! They’ll need a miracle!”

“Man, this will be over in an instant for that man, but I don't know about that moasrahn, I think he may be able to survive for ten minutes.”

The Hunters became restless.