Oh No! They Got Lost!

Then they walked toward there. As they reached they saw a large crowd there. There were people from various races. It was a mixed hunt afterall. 

Lucas:- looks like this hunt is quite famous. (He said while looking around in the crowd)

Nora:- Why wouldn't it be? After all, it's a good chance to earn a good amount of money. Just look at those bid prices. 

Zen:- Oh that's true. That's huge.

Lucas:- Wait, money? That much money is.. Hard to gain this easily. How about we…?

Zen:- Are you thinking about participating?

Lucas:- Yup. We will be able to earn money while we can also test our strength. 

Nora:- That's a.. Good idea. 

Zen:- Eh? You sure? 

Nora:- Mhm. We need to put our practice into reality too. It might be a good opportunity for us.

Lucas:- Yesh. Then let's not waste our time and entry our name. Let's go! (He started to drag Nora and Zen by their arms.)

As they planned, they went to participate in the hunt. They went in the medium animal hunting zone. They hunted a good number of animals. It was already afternoon, so they planned to return. But suddenly they saw a beautiful deer and started chasing it. While chasing it, they got out of the arena zone and went into the jungle part mistakenly. After a while, they lost trace of the deer and stopped. But they were already lost in the jungle.

Nora:- Shit. We are lost.

Lucas:- What do we do now? The night is approaching. It's dangerous here.

Zen:- Don't panic, Lucas. We will find a way. Nora, you used "Aerokinetic Sound" before. Right?

Nora:- Yeah?

Zen:- Let's try using that again. We may have found our way back.

Nora used her powers. The night already hit the world but they were still wandering around the jungle. Even though Nora used her powers they couldn't find out the real way. There was no sound of humans Nora could hear, as if they had totally left the human living area. 

On the other hand, night came but they didn't return to the castle. Mika was concerned for them. So he sent some people to look for them. He was standing at the hallway looking at the entrance by the window, when sir Aiden saw him standing there.

Aiden:- Lord Farnese? May I know what happened? You don't look good. (He said as he approached him.)

Mika:- Sir Aiden! It's already night time but the kids haven't returned yet. I'm worried for their safety. They didn't even tell me where they went.

Aiden:- Eh? They haven't returned yet? (He replied surprisingly)

Mika:- Um. No. Perhaps you know something?

Aiden:- Ah, I suggested they look around the duchy. Zen was having problems with concentrating. So, I suggested that he relieve his stress. But they should've returned already.

Mika:- Do you know where they went?

Aiden:- Unfortunately no.

Suddenly a knight rushed toward them and called for Mika. 

Knight:- Lord Farnese. Sir Aiden. Greetings. (He bowed a little.)

Mika:- You have returned. Have you got any news about them?

Knight:- My lord, I heard they participated in a hunting competition. But the competition ended by evening. They still haven't returned from the hunting ground. Count Heints knights are already searching for them in the hunting zone. (He provides safety for the participants as he sponsors the hunt. If anyone goes missing his knights are the first to be dispatched for search.)

Mika:- What!? That's terrible.

Aiden:- We should alert his grace about it. I have a bad feeling about it.

Back to them, They were still wandering in the jungle. 

Lucas:- What the heck. This jungle just doesn't end. The night is growing. We don't even have any lamps with us.

Nora:- It's too dark in here. Zen, can you light a fire with your power?

Zen:- Eh? How do I light a fire with thunder?

Lucas:- Oh yeah, you can do it. You can use your thunder in a branch that will spark fire. Wait, let me make a torch first. 

He gathered some dry branches from below. He used 'Botanical Manipulation' to create some vine from a tree beside. He tied the branches with the vines. And put some branches separated in the ground.

Lucas:- Now it's ready. 

Zen:- So what do I do now?

Nora:- Just use 'Electric Shock' on those branches there (she pointed at the branches on the ground.).

Zen:- Oh. Okay. 

He did as they said, as he used his power there and a little spark of fire came out.

Zen:- Wow! We can light fire from thunder!? That's so awesome!

Nora:- You didn't know? You really suck at general knowledge. Even a kid knows it.

Zen:- Ya! Don't be like that. It's not like I don't know anything. 

Nora:- You really don't know anything, dumbo. 

Lucas:- Okay, okay. Don't fight. Let's move once again now that we've got some fire. At least we will be able to see something. (He said while lighting the torch from the spark.)

They once again started walking but suddenly they heard some noises. The noises of people's footsteps but it was too fast. 

Nora:- I hear some footsteps coming closer. But it feels like there are few people and they are running at a fast speed. It can't be human speed even if they ran superfast. 

Zen:- What do you mean, Nora?

Nora:- The sounds are too light for a footstep and too fast to be just wind. It must be something else.

Lucas:- Maybe they are another species?

Zen:- That can be. Let's stay alert, we don't know if they are enemies or friends. 

Zen couldn't finish his sentence before they heard a noise. They look up from the direction the noise came from. They saw some people standing at the hill above them. Their eyes were glowing in the dark. The surroundings were so dark that they couldn't see their faces clearly. They wondered who they might be.

To Be Continued

**Khadiza Jahan**