Interesting. I haven't finished the chapter yet but I want to make a prediction. The best of the first generation of hunters, it said that he 'disappeared and never returned' but right after that, it mentions that all of the subsequent challengers 'failed' it. So, why didn't the story say that HE failed it? It only mentioned that he disappeared. So I predict that he'll reappear again at some point in the future, possibly as a mentor or antagonist for the main character.