Charles, who left the park, prepared to go to the prop shop and weapon shop that he usually frequents. As a thief, he is very good at using various props to achieve his goals. Therefore, he is keen to collect some novel props to help him complete some difficult thefts and battles.
"Hey, Mr. Thief, would you like to see my props?"
A teenager beckoned to Charles. The boy was wearing baggy overalls with a black shirt inside and a beret on his head. Oddly, the teenager pulled the beret down so that it covered most of his face, allowing Charles to see only his chin and mouth.
Charles noticed that the teenager's mouth was small and pink, like a delicious cherry. At the same time, the boy's hands were sickly white. Charles felt that this was probably caused by the long-term absence of the sun.
"So, boy, where's your prop?"
Charles asked him curiously, because Charles didn't see any props on the boy.
"I think you'll like it."
While talking, the boy took out two miniature metal balls from the pocket of his overalls:
"Dude, look, these two metal balls are small bombs. You don't need to ignite them, just throw them hard and it will explode. A small bomb is powerful enough to kill a goblin."
The teenager's description intrigued Charles. You know, the bombs he came into contact with, one is a chemical bomb that needs to be ignited, and the other is an alchemical bomb. Because the former needs to be ignited, it is often difficult to really use it in battle. The latter are generally not very stable and expensive.
"Is this small bomb made by alchemy?"
"No, it's actually a chemical bomb, so the price is very affordable. As for why it doesn't need to be ignited, it's because it has some clever designs."
"You designed it?"
"No, sir, I'm just an agent."
Charles could sense that the teenager was resistant to his question. Charles guessed that maybe this boy was the real designer, because he was worried that his design would make others think badly about him, so he chose to conceal the fact.
"Okay, I need 5 small bombs. I hope that's true or you don't get a second chance to do business here."
"Don't worry, I know this is the territory of the Thieves Union, and I understand the rules."
While talking, the boy took out the other three small bombs. He even squeezed the small bombs in his hand hard to prove the stability of these bombs.
"Five small bombs for five silver coins. I believe this is a good deal."
Charles took out 5 silver coins, put them in the boy's hand, and then took the small bomb from the boy's hand with the other hand. When they were trading, Charles' hand touched the boy's hand, and the boy retracted his hand as if he had been electrocuted, and even threw five silver coins on the ground.
Charles was puzzled by the boy's behavior, and his intuition told him that maybe the boy was actually a girl. The boy realized that his behavior just now was a little abnormal, so he quickly picked up the silver coin that fell on the ground:
"If you think the bomb is good, you can come to me next time."
After speaking, the girl pretending to be a teenager turned and left in a hurry. Charles became interested in her because he usually tried to make some simple props and weapons. If he can cooperate with this girl, maybe he can realize some better ideas.
Charles, who was in a good mood, followed his familiar path to the Thieves Guild.
"Brother Charles, you are here!"
A boy who looked to be about 10 years old saw Charles in the lobby of the Thieves Union, happily ran towards Charles, and then hugged Charles' thigh.
"Brother Charles, I heard from Brother Aaron that you were a very good thief when you were 10 years old. How can I be as good as you?"
Charles smiled and touched the boy's head:
"Jimmy, as long as you listen to Aaron and receive training from the union, you'll be fine."
"How about Brother Charles to train us? Brother Aaron is too strict."
Suddenly, a young man about Charles' age appeared behind Jimmy. He looked at Jimmy with a serious expression:
"Jimmy, go to the basement and continue your training. I need to talk to Charles about something."
Hearing the young man's words, Jimmy trembled, and then ran away quickly. After Jimmy left, Charles said to the young man in front of him:
"Aaron, here's the month's share."
Charles took a money bag from him and handed it to Aaron. Aaron didn't say anything, and put away the money bag:
"It's been hard work for you. You need to support the union every month."
"It's nothing. Some children are really not suitable to be thieves, but I still sent them here. It should be funded with some money."
After speaking, the two fell into silence. After a while, Aaron proposed to Charles:
"Want to see the children's training?"
"Can."
Charles and Aaron came to a dark basement through the secret door in the hall. A dozen or so kids in the basement were training with miniature daggers.
"Remember, as a thief, the most important thing is to think and observe!"
A middle-aged man wearing a blindfold stood in the center of the basement, shouting loudly to the children who were training around him:
"Observation is to observe the surrounding environment, observe one's own state, and observe the enemy's weakness. We don't have the power of a warrior, nor the destructive power of a magician. We don't have the recovery ability like a priest."
"Thinking is to think about the conditions that are beneficial to oneself and the conditions that are not conducive to oneself, and then find a way to change the conditions that are not conducive to oneself. At the same time, to enlarge the conditions that are beneficial to oneself."
Charles and Aaron felt a little nostalgic when they heard the teaching of the middle-aged man. Because, this middle-aged man named Gavin is also their thieves mentor. It was Gavin who made Charles and Aaron thieves.
Many members of the Thieves Guild are abandoned children, as are Charles and Aaron. When they were young, there was no current Thieves Union, so in order to survive, they often went together to steal and rob goods and food.
The merchants in Kanal knew that these children did such evil deeds in order to survive. However, there are also some who are not kind and will catch and beat them.
As a child, Charles kept wondering what he had done wrong to be abandoned and face such a difficult situation. He would cry a lot because life was so hard for kids like them.
In the team of thieves at that time, besides Charles and Aaron, there was actually a third child named Franks. Franks was stronger than Charles and Aaron at the time, so he tended to prefer to rob, and sometimes even rob Charles and Aaron of their harvest.
Until he meets a young man, Gavin, wearing a blindfold. At that time, Gavin, as an outsider, was regarded as prey by Franks. However, it was unexpected that Gavin quickly subdued the strong Franks. When Charles and Aaron were about to save Franks, Gavin noticed them and said:
"You are very talented to be thieves, do you want to be my students?"
Later, Charles, Aaron, and Franks found out that Gavin was a high-level thief and a well-known professional adventurer. However, for unknown reasons, Gavin left his adventure party and came to Karnal alone.
Under Gavin's training, all three of them became qualified thieves. Charles is good at wits and props. And Aaron chooses to be a thieves mentor like Gavin, who teaches homeless kids to be thieves, while Franks declares himself an adventurer.