I had fought with the doll more times then I could count and gotten bored. It seemed I had reached my limit of what I was able to do with my new fighting style, any more would just be wasting my time.

I would still keep up my training but had decided to do it outside. I preferred the outdoors and fresh air compared to an old barn house anyway.

I decided to go to my usual hangout spot, the hill at the edge of town. For some reason, I looked forward to going there every day now. As I reached the top of the hill I was ready to be greeted by Amy. This was the usual routine we had. I had a big smile on my face ready to tell Amy that I had defeated the training doll but when I got there I could see no one.

"That's strange did I get the time wrong" I was sure that at this time Amy would have usually been here. I decided that something must have come up and maybe she would come later.

I continued my usual training pushing my body to it's very limit trying to get faster and improve my stamina. I was a mad man, addicted to training. I seemed to enjoy it even more, now that I knew that I was making some progress.

It had been a couple of hours and still no sign of Amy. I had a strange feeling in my stomach I didn't quite know what it was. I got used to talking to Amy every day and I couldn't wait to tell her the good news. After all, I hadn't had a friend to talk to for many years now. The feeling must just be me getting tired from training.

I sat down by the tree with my head leaning against it. I closed my eyes to get some rest. I woke up a couple of hours later hoping that when I opened my eyes, Amy would be there. Just like the first day we had met, but still no luck.

I went down the hill and back into the village as the sun was starting to set, it was getting late. When I arrived at the village there were many people gossiping with shocked looks on their faces.

"Did you hear what happened"

"Someone must go out and find them"

"They're so young"

As I got closer to the town centre I could see a group of a.d.u.l.ts pleading the town people to help.

"Has anyone seen our children, they haven't come back home yet"

"Please if anyone has any answers."

I didn't recognise most of the a.d.u.l.ts that were asking for help, but two of them looked like Amy and Gary. Had they gone missing? is this why Amy hadn't appeared today.

An old-looking man came forward out of the crowd of people.

"The last time I saw them they were in my store buying some new weapons today."

Then it hit me. I remembered having a conversation with Amy the other day about her brother.

Gary had been talking about going into the forest to hunt some beasts. Amy was trying to convince him out of it. The forest mainly had basic tier beast which meant anyone with some sword skill would be safe. Even though the forest was safe there was always a chance a higher tier could arrive. Even though rare, the standard rule was you couldn't enter the forest unless accompanied by a guard or an adventurer.

The fact that Gary had bought new equipment meant he was preparing for something, there was a good chance that he and his friends went today. The children's parents also had no one they could ask for help. My father was still out on the quest he received from the kingdom and my mother went into the city and hasn't come back yet. The town had many guards but they patrolled the borders of the village and weren't allowed to leave their post.

Although I hated Gary and his friends, Amy was always nice to me. I looked forward to speaking to her every day. Still, they are humans, the ones who made me suffer. They deserve this don't they? This is just karma for what they did to me.

As my mind was going back and forth between whether to help them or not I remembered another event.

"That's it I remember, I promised to tell Amy when I had defeated the doll. I need to find her and tell her I defeated the doll."

I rushed into the forest as quick as I could hoping that I wasn't too late.