RING BORN

Chapter 18: Training and Disappearance

Ryo groggily woke up, rubbing his eyes. The room was empty.

"Huh? Where is everyone?" he muttered, stretching as he got out of bed.

As he stepped outside, a sudden impact hit him right in the face.

THWACK!

"Ahhh!" Ryo groaned, falling back. He clutched his forehead and looked up to see Yuuma grinning.

"Yo, Ryo! You finally woke up!" Yuuma called out.

Ryo glared at him. "Did you just hit me with a football!?"

"It was an accident—"

Before Yuuma could finish, Ryo picked up the ball and kicked it as hard as he could. It rocketed straight into Yuuma's groin.

"OOOOHHH!" Yuuma screamed, collapsing onto the ground.

Gabriel laughed. "Serves you right, dumbass."

Before the chaos could escalate, their guide, Ms. Ema, appeared, her sharp eyes scanning them. "Enough fooling around. Get ready. We're heading to the battleground for power training."

Hikaru perked up. "Oh, can we fight each other?"

Ms. Ema nodded. "Yes, but remember—no killing or seriously harming your teammates. Understood?"

The group agreed and followed her to the battleground. The facility was massive, with different training zones, targets, and combat arenas.

"So, this is where we're gonna train?" Ryo muttered, impressed.

"Yes," Ms. Ema confirmed. "Your goal here is to improve your control over your rings. Make the most of it."

Julia turned to Ryo. "By the way, what kind of ring do you have?"

Ryo scratched his head. "Uh… light?"

Julia frowned. "Are you sure? Your ring looks different from mine. See? My Healing Ring is green, with an aura that symbolizes recovery. But yours… looks unusual."

Yuuma, meanwhile, was challenging Gabriel. "Oi, Ice Boy! Fight me!"

Gabriel smirked. "Gladly."

Yuuma summoned cloud bullets and fired them rapidly. Gabriel, unfazed, encased his fist in ice and punched Yuuma straight into the ground.

"Ahhh, not again…" Yuuma groaned.

Daiki, off to the side, was focusing intensely. Lightning crackled around his body as he practiced his Thunder Aura. Ryo walked over, watching in amazement.

"Whoa, Daiki! Your ring is thunder-based?"

Daiki nodded. "Yeah. Pretty cool, right?"

Meanwhile, Hikaru was training, delivering powerful combo attacks to a training dummy. Ryo approached him.

"So, what's your ring ability?" Ryo asked.

Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "None of your business, kid."

Ryo frowned. "Come on, just tell me."

Hikaru sighed. "Fine. It's Steam."

"Steam?" Ryo blinked. "What kind of power is that?"

"It's a combination of Fire and Water," Hikaru explained. "That means I can use both elements in battle."

Ryo was fascinated. "That's insane! So, you basically have two abilities in one."

Hikaru nodded. "Exactly." He then gestured at Ryo's ring. "And speaking of abilities… I don't think yours is just Light. It has another element, just like mine."

Ryo's eyes widened. "Wait… seriously? Then what's my second element?"

Hikaru studied his ring for a moment before smirking. "It's Dark Manipulation."

Ryo's jaw dropped. "So… I can use both Light and Dark?"

"Seems like it," Hikaru confirmed. "A rare combination, kid."

While the team continued training, something serious was unfolding elsewhere.

At the Ringborn headquarters, Ms. Ema received a sudden call. As she listened, her expression darkened.

"What did you just say…?" she asked, voice tense.

She immediately rushed to report the information to higher officials. After a quick discussion, a decision was made: spies would be dispatched to investigate the matter further.

The situation was dire. One of the Cherubim team members, Haruna, had gone missing.

---

Meanwhile, in a distant town, the Cherubim team was desperately searching for their lost teammate.

Ren approached a group of locals, holding up a picture. "Have you seen this girl?"

The villagers shook their heads. "No, sorry. We haven't."

Seichi and Zack continued exploring the haunted mansion where Haruna was last seen. The old wooden floors creaked under their footsteps as they cautiously advanced through the eerie halls.

"I don't like this place," Zack muttered.

Seichi sighed. "Yeah, but we have to keep looking."

At the same time, Shura sat on the beach, gazing at the dark ocean, lost in thought. Meanwhile, Itoshi and Klaus were interrogating more townspeople, trying to gather any useful information.

"Damn," Klaus muttered. "This place really is cursed, huh?"

Back at the haunted mansion, Haruna had wandered into the backyard alone. A chill ran down her spine as she heard an odd whisper behind her.

She turned around.

A shadowy figure lunged at her.

"AHHH!"

Then—silence.

---

That night, Ren walked alone through a dimly lit street, surrounded by dense forest. His mind was clouded with worry.

Then, from the darkness, a voice called out.

"I knew you'd come."

Ren tensed, turning toward the source. A tall figure emerged from the shadows, his presence sending a wave of unease through the air.

It was Ken Ayashi.

Ren clenched his fists. "So it was you."

Ken smirked. "Let's see if you're ready to find the truth."