Stealing, the physical act of taking another person's belongings. An action considered evil, and those who stole from others were despised, hated, and even killed. But a deeper perspective in the act of stealing or theft was much more complex between human desires, social norms, and moral dilemmas. Some define stealing as an action of evil, envy, and arrogance, but some describe it as desperation for survival where there were no other ways to live except stealing.

"Today, you are going to steal something from someone. Not out of hunger, envy, or anger, but because you need to learn how to take something precious or valuable possession of other people. Valuable things are valuable because they are rare; things are rare because they are in such low quantity. Most known things are already owned by someone else; the only way to possess them is to steal it from others," the man spoke as he stood at the edge of the hill. Behind the man, there were more than a dozen children standing still. Malachi was there as well.

"This is your first test to be eligible to enter the Shadowcraft Academy. I will explain your task as simply as I can. Below, there is a small town of which currently a festival is being held. This festival attracts merchants and people with money alike. All you have to do is to bring as many valuable items as possible. This can be Aetherium Crystals, magical items, spellbooks, rare herbs, or even dragon scales if you're lucky." The man continued, "Now, there are about 25 of you. I will only accept 5. You have time until sunrise. Go!"

The young children were confused and hesitant at first because the man explained things too quickly and didn't let them ask any questions, but one of them began to run downhill towards the small town, and everyone followed suit.

Malachi stood still as he watched their little feet trying to be as fast as they can. There were still some children standing there.

One of them smiled and approached. "I knew there would be some genius here. Listen, I am not as dumb as the other children. Instead of working by ourselves, we can work together. They only accept five people, so let's all five of us work together. My name is Tristian, by the way."

Tristian laughed as he was very lucky that five people decided to stay on the hill so he didn't have to chase other kids one by one and convince them to join his group.

"What do you say?" He asked again.

One of the kids looked at the others before nodding.

The other three looked hesitant before nodding as well.

The boy smiled. "That's good. And what about you?" he glanced at Malachi with a welcoming smile. Tristian had noticed him for a while. This boy had a calm demeanor as if nothing bothers him at all while everyone else seemed to be confused and hesitant.

"I will pass."

"Why? It's better for us to work together." Tristian talked to Malachi in order to coerce him to join.

The adult man, who brought Malachi and other children here, crossed his arms as he watched the situation. "There are always that one bright child who thinks outside the box."

He was responsible for filtering out the children before they are allowed to enter the Shadowcraft Academy. Once in a while, he would see a child or two who had a very creative idea on how to assure their success in passing the test.

"Are you really sure that you're not going to join us?" Tristian asked once more. "I promise to give you candies. You like candies, right?" In the past, he had gathered a bunch of children to be his followers by promising them candies.

"I'm good," Malachi replied with indifference. He didn't even bother to look at Tristian.

Tristian sighed with a smile although he was slightly disappointed. "Don't regret your decision later. The next time we meet, we are not your friends, remember that. Come on, guys. Let's find someone else to join us."

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The four of them ran downhill immediately.

Malachi calmly walked to the edge and put both hands behind his back as he looked down with his chin up. From a distance, he looked like a king that watched over the territory he ruled.

The man frowned. For a split second, he felt like Malachi wasn't an 8-year-old but instead an extremely old and wise figure that had been through countless experiences.

The sensation he felt convinced him enough that this kid might really be able to kill Lady Morwen who was a veteran member of the Syndicate.

"An assassin like her cannot be killed so easily. What kind of tricks did that kid pull to kill her?" it was still a mystery to him. Lady Morwen might be old, and much of her power deteriorated with her old age, but she was still an assassin of the syndicate.

'Perhaps I can see what makes this kid so special during this training.'

To the man's surprise, however, Malachi sat cross-legged and closed his eyes, seemingly in a meditation state. Then, he spoke. "What is your name?"

"Yeoman Jobba," the man spoke, only realizing that his lips felt like they moved without his order. It was as if he had an obligation to reply to this child.

Malachi let out a grunt before he turned silent.

Jobba frowned even deeper. 'What is he planning to do?'

Hours passed, and Malachi was still there. The town below was bustling with light and noises of the festivals. Magical energy burst from every direction from the activity. There were some people shouting "Thief!" Here and there, but their voices were soon drowned in the bustling of the crowd.

The clouds in the sky began to clear, and then, a bit of light took a

peek from the edge of the world. Enriching yellow light took form as the sun began to rise.

That was when the children began to return uphill. From above, more than a dozen small dots began to run uphill. Their figure became clear as they climbed higher, but then some of the kids began attacking each other and steal their stuff. Many began to fall and roll downhill again. Some of them crashed headfirst against a boulder, killing them immediately.

During this chaotic fight, a group of five children stood out working with each other as they attacked other children and took their possessions. Because of their numbers, they easily managed to defeat everyone nearby.

"Haha! I told you making a group will make us win!"

"Unfair! You cannot make a group! That's against the rules!"

"Really? I did not hear anything about rules! I only hear that we are told to steal, but there is no restriction in stealing from the other children! Hahaha!"

The more than a dozen 8-year-olds fought quite well for their age. Their techniques and forms were terrible, wildly throwing punches and kicks at each other. Some used basic elemental magic, throwing pebbles and splashes of water all over. A lot of them revealed small blades that they hide in their bodies.

Minutes passed, and many children rolled down the hill or threw away their stuff and ran to safety. The surviving children sprinted to the top and arrived on the hill.

"Hahaha! We did it! We got more stuff than the others!" Tristian shouted. "We will surely win this one. We don't need to fight them. They are going to lose anyway."

His team members nodded in excitement and were glad that they agreed to join him.

The other children looked at their meager loot and knew that they will not pass this test.

Jobba saw that Malachi was still sitting cross-legged. The man let out a sigh. "Seems like he's trying too hard to act cool. Now, he will not get any chance to win."

Jobba was about to approach the children and announce the winner until he stopped on his feet, and his face froze in horror for what he saw.

In front of him, Malachi was running around, his whole form seemed to be obscured by the veil of shadows, making it hard to track his movement even from afar. His dark serrated blade swiped left and right, beheading children left and right. Long before their heads fell, Malachi had already killed several more.

Splat! Splat Splat!

Blood splattered all over the ground as his blade sliced their necks.

Tristian and his team froze in horror.

"How can this be..." Tristian's legs trembled. His heart thumped like crazy, and his mind was filled with fear. He wanted to run, but his legs refused his order.

Malachi then glanced at them and rushed forward like a phantom.

The boy in front of Tristian suddenly had his head exploded into particles of blood and brain matter, revealing Malachi's eyes starring daggers at him.

"No! No! Spare me! I don't want to die! I want my mom!"

Tristian turned around, slightly relieved that his body obeyed his command, but then he fell to the ground with a thud. His eyes were looking at the sky, but he wanted to run, yet he couldn't move an inch. A second later, he realized that his upper body was separated from his lower body. His hips and legs were standing without the upper part. They swayed for a moment before falling down.

Seeing this, Tristian screamed in horror. He saw Malachi was staring at him and turned around, clawing away with his fingers to get away from the monster.

Then, in less than a minute, all the children died. Malachi stopped moving. He stood amidst the lifeless bodies, drenched in a gruesome tapestry of blood and flesh that clung to his face and clothes. The air became heavy as the boy glanced at Jobba, an oppressive weight that one would feel within the presence of a powerful ruler. Malachi's eyes showed no remorse for what he just did.

"How is it, Jobba? Do I pass the test?"