Missing!

Ray had fought with the doll more times than he could count. He quickly became bored with fighting against the doll for he had realized that he reached the limit of what he was able to do with his new fighting style.

Spending more time fighting would just be wasting time.

Of course, Ray would still continue his training but he would rather continue it outside and savour the fresh air there, rather than stay inside the old barn.

He eventually decided to visit the hilltop once more. For some reason, it became his routine to visit the top of the hill and he looked forward to going there every day. As Ray climbed up to the top, there was already a smile on his face.

This was the usual routine that he had, there was a smile lifted on his lips for he was ready to tell Amy that he had finally defeated the training doll, but when he got there. He saw no one, not even a shadow of Amy was there.

"That's strange, did I get the time wrong?" Ray was pretty sure that Amy should have been here at this very spot. Thinking hard about what was going on, Ray surmised that something must've happened. Maybe, she would just come later.

He proceeded to do his usual routine. Pushing his body to the very limit, Ray felt as if he was a madman addicted to physical training. Furthermore, he seemed to be enjoying it even more now that he knew he was making progress.

A couple of hours had passed, yet there was still no sign of Amy.

Ray felt that there was something strange going on, but he couldn't quite grasp it. In the end, he decided that it must be because he was too excited to tell Amy about his recent achievement that he was starting to feel antsy.

Sensing the tiredness of his body, he leaned his head against the tree and closed his eyes. He hoped that when he opened his eyes once again, Amy would be there, standing in front of him and staring right into his face, startling him awake similar to that day.

Unfortunately, when Ray woke up a few hours later. Amy still wasn't there.

Letting out a sigh, he went down the hill and returned to the village.

There, he heard a few gossips and murmurs.

"Did you hear what happened?"

"Someone must go out and try find them!"

"Oh no… They are still so young…"

As Ray got closer to the village centre, he noticed a couple of adults pleading with the other villagers for help.

"Has anyone seen our children? It's already this dark, yet they still haven't come home!"

"Please! If anyone has any answers, then please tell us!"

Ray didn't recognize most of the adults that were asking for help, but two of the adults looked incredibly similar to Gary and Amy. PArents often looked quite similar to their kids. Had they gone missing? So this was the reason why Amy hadn't appeared at her usual spot today?

After a few minutes, an old man came forward.

"The last time I saw them, they were buying some new weapons from my store…"

The old man's words struck Ray like a horse carriage.

He remembered having a conversation with Amy the other day regarding her brother.

Gary had apparently been talking with her about going into the forest to hunt some beasts. Amy was obviously trying to talk him out of it. The forest mainly had basic-tier beasts, in short, anyone with decent skills should be able to make it out of there alive.

But even though the forest was generally safe due to the existence of humans. There was always a chance that a beast of a higher tier would arrive. Even though it was rare, a chance was still a chance. The worst could happen at any time.

The standard rule when it came to hunting was that one must never do it without the company of an Adventurer or a properly skilled guard.

The fact that Gary bought new equipment today meant that he was preparing for something and there was a good chance that he and his friends went out of the forest to hunt today. That explained why there were so many adults looking for their children.

These people had no one to ask for help. 

Ray's parents, the bastion of this place when it came to skills were still out. Ray's father was still out on the quest that he received from the kingdom, while his mother was still in the city. 

The town had a lot of skilled guards, but they had their jobs to do and they couldn't possibly leave their post to do menial work.

Although Ray hated Gary and his friends, Amy was nice to him. He looked forward to talking with her every day. 

'Still, humans are the reason why I am suffering and why I suffered a lot back then. They deserve this, don't they?'

'This is just karma for what they had done to me…'

Ray was in the middle of his internal debate when he suddenly remembered the words that he said to Amy.

"That's right… I remember. I promised Amy that I would find her and tell her that I defeated the doll after I succeeded!" 

Ray then rushed into the forest as fast as he could, hoping that it still wasn't too late.