Evening had fallen. Vincent returned to the cabin, exhausted and drenched in sweat from meditating and channeling mana. All he wanted now was to get some rest. He entered the cottage and did not see Randolph anywhere. He hadn't seen it yet when he opened his eyes for the second time while he was contemplating.

"It’s possible that he went to get some grass or something like that."

Vincent did not occupy himself with thoughts and threw his body onto the bed, and finally, he fell asleep.

...

"Vincent!" "Wake up!"

Vincent opened his eyes wide in surprise at the sudden shout.

In his view, he was in a regular room; the floor was wooden while the ceiling was made of stone. There were many beds scattered throughout the room, all of them stacked two high, and the room was empty. He was wearing black clothes that suited his dark appearance, as usual.

"Vincent, come on, wake up, you lazy one."

He looked towards the source of the sound and saw a boy with slightly yellow eyes. He couldn't see his features properly due to the dim lighting in the room. But he could distinguish his voice among hundreds of people; his name was Leonard, another boy in the orphanage, and he was like a brother to him.

"I'm awake, no need to shout."

Vincent spoke in a slightly exhausted voice; it was clear that he wanted to continue his sleep.

"Come on, you lazy one, let's go."

"Ha? "Where to?"

He was surprised, where could they go?

"Did the burnt cake affect your memory?"

Leonard said sarcastically.

"We will go to old lady Noel's house, do you remember?" "We have planned for a whole month for this matter."

Vincent opened his eyes with realization; he remembered that they had been planning to rob a rich man's house for a whole month, something he had almost forgotten.

"Oh, I almost forgot that."

Vincent scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed.

"What a terrible memory you have; it's good that you don't forget your name and where the orphanage is located."

Leonard said sarcastically, he was used to Vincent's fish-like memory that suddenly forgets certain things.

"Alright, let's go. I heard that old Noel is on vacation in the eastern part of the city. It's a good opportunity for us, considering that no one is home right now."

Vincent and Leonard took a backpack; they were planning to put the things they would steal inside it. It wasn't too big or too small, but it would serve its purpose. Leonard opened the window and climbed outside, grabbed the pipe on the wall, and slid down. He did the same thing but closed the window before going down.

Vincent and Leonard walked through the dark alleys. The orphanage was on the edge of the poor neighborhoods, nestled between the wealthy and the impoverished areas. Therefore, it didn't take them long to reach a large two-story house, which was designed in an old-fashioned style compared to the neighboring mansions of the rich. There was a huge fence surrounding the entire house, and at the top of the fence were pointed edges to prevent anyone from climbing over. Leonard ran around the fence while Vincent chased him. They quickly reached a tree that was taller than the fence itself. At first glance, he could tell what they were going to do.

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"Come on, climb onto my shoulder."

Leonard told me that before he leaned his back against the tree and tilted his head to the right. Vincent placed his foot on Leonard's shoulder after he helped him with his hand; he couldn't climb onto the trunk because of his height.

"Damn it, I can't reach it."

Vincent complained, and after Leonard heard that, he lifted Vincent's legs with his hands and threw him up. This helped him grab one of the thick branches that could support his weight. Vincent jumped from the branch over the fence, landed on the grass, and felt a little pain in his feet. It wasn't long before Leonard caught up with him.

"Are you sure you’re not a monkey disguised as a human?"

Vincent asked sarcastically, unable to explain Leonard's ability to climb despite his height and young age.

"I can assure you that I am not disguised, at least."

Leonard chuckled a little before he started moving towards the house.

"Come on, let's go."

Vincent quickly caught up with him. That was when they reached the back door.

Leonard took out a hairpin and inserted it into the keyhole. After a little while, he was able to unlock the door. Leonard entered. The house was very large; the kitchen alone was bigger than the reception room in the orphanage.

The old man Noel had an interest in history and archaeology, so he was able to see some strange statues and oil paintings hanging on the walls.

"Alright, do you want us to part ways and look for something of value?"

Leonard asked as he looked around him.

"This is the best option, I feel something bad will happen if we stay here too long."

"Stop being pessimistic, my friend; nothing will happen."

Leonard said with a smile on his face.

"If I said that."

Vincent didn't argue much and started moving towards the stairs leading to the second floor. Leonard was searching on the first floor, picking up pottery and anything similar that could be sold in hidden markets.

Vincent searched the second floor and found only a few rooms and two bathrooms, and there were no valuable items in it.

"Damn you, old man, do you take all the valuable things when you go out?" "And also, why are there two bathrooms? Do you get bored of one and go to the other?"

Vincent grumbled a bit in his head until he reached the door of a room he hadn't searched yet; the door was relatively large. He took out a hairpin and tried to unlock the door; his lock-picking skills weren't like Leonard's, but he eventually managed to open the door.

The room was very large, with a giant bookshelf reaching up to the ceiling on the right, while there were huge windows on the left. The windows and curtains were designed in an old-fashioned way, unlike the modern style seen in any average family's home. There was a medium-sized desk at the end of the room, and

Behind it, there was a fireplace. There was a computer on the desk along with a few books and files. A very model office.

Vincent arrived at the office and there was nothing valuable except for the computer, but of course, he couldn't put it in his bag. He saw a drawer and tried to open it, but of course, it was locked. He opened it with a hairpin.

"This hairpin needs to be upgraded to become Mr. Hairpin; how can it open any door and lock it?"

Think for a moment before opening the drawer; there were a few files and other valuable items like... It was just a necklace.

"Is this old man stingy or what? I didn't find anything valuable in this cursed house."

Vincent complained before seeing something that caught his attention.

The book on the desk was like any other book; its cover was a worn-out green, as if it would tear at any moment. There were a few words on it, but they surprised him.

"Neonad."

It was written in a strange handwriting, as if an artist had penned it.

"Neonad?" What is this?

He opened the book, and there were many things he didn't understand, which made his head feel dizzy.

"Continent of Azforth?" Empire? What is this nonsense?

Finn didn't bother himself too much and returned the book to its place, that was when he saw a small box next to him. The box was dark and could not be seen with the almost nonexistent light in the room. Vincent reached out his hand, grabbed the box, and opened it. There was a small ball that could be hidden in the palm of the hand, its color was crimson, as if it were a blood cell.

Vincent lifted his head slightly and saw Leonard rushing into the room, his face drenched in sweat as he closed the door!

"Leonard?" "What's is it ?"

"We need to go out." While I was downstairs, I heard someone opening the front door!

"Ha? "Has the old man Noel returned?"

Vincent had started to feel anxious.

"I don't know, and I don't lean towards that." "Anyway, we have to go out!"

Leonard went to one of the windows and opened it; the distance from this floor to the ground was high. Vincent put the box in his bag and came behind him.

"Damn, I hope you're not thinking about us jumping from here."

"Certainly not, you fool."

He looked at the walls outside and saw a pipe connected to the ground.

"There, we can climb that pipe." "But it is relatively far away."

They began to hear the sound of footsteps approaching the room, until it seemed to stop in front of the door.

"If we have to jump to it."

He pushed the door of the room open, and several figures appeared behind it. They were all tall and wearing masks to conceal their faces. The group looked at the duo by the window.

Leonard jumped and grabbed the pipe, then descended down.

Vincent tried to catch up with him, but one of them grabbed him by the bag. He tried to escape from it, but that led to the bag being torn off. Vincent jumped towards the pipe and went down.

The man's gaze turned towards them, then towards the bag, and he opened it. He returned his gaze to them, and then he moved away from the window.

Vincent and Leonard ran towards the backyard; fortunately for them, there were some boxes they could climb.

The duo ran towards a nearby alley to catch their breath, and Vincent took a glance at the road they had taken.

"It seems they didn’t follow us ."