A Duel

Ray attempted to fight the doll four more times. Each time, it ended in his humiliating defeat.

However, by the fourth time. He was completely knocked out, unable to stand anymore. If not for the fact that his worried mother went out to find him and discovered him out cold on the cold and muddy ground of the barn, then he would've frozen right there and then.

Ray couldn't even complain.

The wooden sword of the doll didn't deal much damage to him.

But it was a painful experience fighting the doll, so he decided he needed a break. Furthermore, Ray also thought that it wasn't that good to be hit repeatedly with his fragile body.

When he woke up, he went out for some fresh air to clear his head and try to figure out a way to defeat the training doll. The village was a nice quaint place, and Ray greatly appreciated the peace. The place was located near the border of the Alure Kingdom and the Crune Empire.

The village was a mining village that often traded with both parties. In order to keep the steady stream of natural resources, the two sides often sent soldiers to protect the village from monstrous creatures. But only along the border of the kingdom and empire.

Ray went out of his own so he could practice away from the prying eyes of anyone. He discovered a hilltop just outside the village. He rushed towards the top of the hill and went beneath the shade of a nearby tree.

After making sure that nobody was around, he took a deep breath and swept his gaze across the views in front of him. The whole village could be seen, the view was breathtaking.

It had been a long time since Ray felt such peace and saw such a view. This was all that he wanted back then. Unfortunately, all of his peaceful days in the past would always be interrupted. Though, those interruptions reminded him of why he had to train painstakingly every day.

Ray stood up and took out his sword. He closed his eyes and visualised the doll. In his mind, he knew what to do, he could see all the steps that he needed to take for victory. Ray opened his eyes and started swinging hard. His movements were fast, but it felt lacking for Ray.

He could feel that his body couldn't keep up with his brain.

Ray trained for a few hours until he felt drained. Covered in sweat, he sat beneath the shade of the tree and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes once more, he was surprised to see a little girl looking at him. He was so startled that he stood up, but ended up hitting the back of his head against the tree.

"Are you okay?" The girl said in a worried voice.

"You startled me! What was that for?" 

Ray said while rubbing his head that collided against the tree.

Ray looked straight at the girl, she seemed to be around the same age as Ray. Wearing a little red dress with a basket in her hand. She had blue eyes and her blonde hair reached up to her collarbone.

She pointed towards the village.

"It is getting late and the sun is starting to set. I think it's better if we return to the village now. I was just thinking of how to wake you up, and that's why I was staring at you. Surprisingly, you woke up before I could even do anything." A smile was plastered across her face.

Ray looked up to the sky and discovered that the sun was already setting. 

'I must've fallen asleep without realising it.'

"How did you know that I was here?" Ray asked.

"What are you talking about? I was here the whole time."

Noticing Ray's confusion, she pointed to the other side of the wide tree where Ray laid down earlier. An embarrassed smile appeared on Ray's face as he couldn't help but feel awkward realising that he wasn't able to detect her presence.

"My name is Amy… This is my spot. I come here all the time."

"My name's Ray…"

She smiled at Ray upon hearing his name.

"I know… You are quite a famous one around the village."

Ray knew too well what she meant.

It was because of the so-called curse of the Talen family brought upon by the sudden appearance of his red hair.

Just as Ray was starting to walk with Amy down the hill. A group of boys appeared in front of them. One of them was nearly identical to Amy. Apart from the clothes and short hair, there was nothing that one could use to differentiate the two from each other.

"Get away from my sister!" That boy shouted.

"He didn't do anything to me, Gary!" Amy jumped in, realising that an argument may blow up.

Gary proceeded to check if Amy was all right, he even checked if Amy's hair colour was starting to change which was a clear insult to Ray, "If I see you come near my sister again, then you are dead!"

He glared.

The two other boys chimed in, "Just do us a favour and leave the village, please…"

"Cursed boy…"

"Your mother and father should leave the village as well, they are just as much to blame for having a cursed child like you."

Ray was greatly incensed. Blood started to rush over to his head. He wouldn't bother doing anything against them if their insults only targeted him, but they had touched his reverse scale…

Furthermore, his father and mother clearly protected the village in the past few years. These idiots clearly knew nothing about what his parents had done for the village. Yet, they dared to insult his mother and father? They dare insult his new family.

'These boys need to learn how hard life can be.'

Ray rushed towards the boy who said those final words. Ray directly sent a punch towards the boy's startled face, but it was blocked by Gary. However, Gary clearly didn't expect the power behind the punch, so he staggered backwards and lifted his other hand to support his hand.

"Why did you stop my punch? I only wish to hit the one that insulted my parents.'

Ray said.

"If you want to fight, I will humour you…" Gary declared.

"I don't care, all of you…can come fight me together."

 This was what Ray needed, real life fighting experience, and against a bunch of kids his age it would be a good measure to see where his skills were at.

Ray scoffed and raised both of his arms in preparation to fight.