A swift moving yet silent arrow travelled across the air, heading straight for garden.
Strangely, it was only able to travel a little past the fence that surrounded the cultivation and then, the arrow forcefully returned to where it had come from.
"Shit," Jin cursed as he quickly ducked and the arrow fell a few metres behind him.
"There's a barrier around the garden as usual. He must not be at home," Cain chipped in.
The boys peeped from the corner in which they perfectly hid themselves so as not to draw attention to themselves.
Stealing was a detestable act in itself. Stealing from a powerful mage was an abomination, especially when the thieves were lowlifes.
"What do we do now?" White head sought for answers from the other boys since they were always the ones leading him.
"Cut down the barrier with something even stronger," Jin rubbed his chin and placed his bow on the ground. "Rueben, find something suitable."
"Yes boss," Rueben nodded and began his search in the pouch around his waist after putting on a pair of digital glasses.
The pouch was filled with gadgets and portable weapons, of which were among the things they had ever stolen.
"I found something," He finally said after a brief moment, waving what looked like a glassy pebble. "It's just what we need from the description I see."
"Right," Jin took it from him and as instructed by Rueben, he threw the pebble in a direction that was above the garden.
Mid-air, the pebble disintegrated into smaller parts that they could barely see due to how tiny they were. Once the pebble was fully divided into pieces, the pieces fell onto the barrier and the boys soon noticed the transparent look of the barrier wearing off like water dripping down a car glass.
"Perfect," Jin smiled. "Now, White head it's your turn. If you really want a name and a life, this is your chance."
White head looked ahead. What were the odds?
As he walked in the direction of the garden, he heard Jin say, "Just leave guarding to us."
He nodded and wore an amulet he had long taken out of his pouch. The amulet's ability then concealed his presence, making him invisible to the eyes that never noticed his earlier suspicious movements.
He jumped over the fence to see that the garden was a lot different from what it looked like on the outside. It was a vast land of vegetation while on the outside it was a beautiful garden on a small portion of land.
"Where do I find those luminous pears like Jin said?" He walked forward, almost as though aimlessly.
Most of the plants that Lord Camellias grew were mostly used to enhance the physique of mages, help them level up, and gain either foundational abilities or new abilities.
Luckily for him, he managed to find the tree that harboured the pears he was in search of. The tree was thick and huge. It's branches as thick, and the bluish-green pears graced their tips.
"Just four," He muttered to himself.
Displaying a round of feat and stunts he could muster, he was able to bring down the amount he needed.
"Four..." His gaze remained on the fruits in his hands. "What if?"
His eyes returned to the tree. Instead of putting the four into his pouch, he found himself eating one.
Two things were behind his actions - one being that he was starving and the other being that he was curious to know what the pear would do.
Seconds passed and he felt nothing. Minutes came and left, still nothing.
"Did it really awaken my spirit core or are those losers playing some kind of games with me?" His brows furrowed.
Perhaps it took time to get a response from his spirit core. He went ahead to get another pear, making it four once again.
Since he was the one who risked his life, he would eat two and unlock double abilities for himself. He deserved it.
Or would he even get the chance to leave?
The fence through which he had come was no where to be found. He was just in a large vegetation that seemed endless with no entrance or exit.
For some reason, he didn't seem perturbed.
He walked back to where he remembered coming from, with the hopes that if he did he would find the fence again.
But, even his walk turned endless.
"This must be a joke!" He shook his head and dropped to his knees.
"It cannot be a joke. In no way is this funny," A voice came to him and he lifted his gaze to see a man in blue garments.
The Lord Camellias...
Even before it happened, he knew it would. Lord Camellias was too smart to have his garden robbed by a bunch of teenagers.
"How can you see me?" White head's eyes widened.
"I am not a 7th level mage for nothing," The man sneered. The amulet on the boy's neck dispersed into dust particles at the man's command and slowly, the invisibility wore off.
*.*.*.
"I do believe that the laws remain laws even to children and here is a 19 year old boy who has failed to not indulge in such detestable practices," The prideful Lord Camellias began.
Seated high before him was a panel of four - Two men and two women.
These four were dressed in similar white clothing and they were referred to as the reapers. The reapers determined the fate of those who broke the laws and not even a single soul was not afraid of them.
But...
White head laughed and scoffed while kneeling beside the man who had made him get dragged by a mob to the panel. His pouch had been taken away from him and its contents shared amongst themselves.
"Boy, what do you say for yourself?" One of the women asked, her gaze keen on the boy.
"What am I to say?" He scoffed. "I was never allowed to say anything until today that I have committed what you call a crime. I have no food to eat and this man keeps them all in a garden that he barely touches."
"You fool!" Lord Camellias spat. "My Lords, the case is before you and we all know the punishment for stealing."
"It is not debatable neither is it negotiable," One of the men in panel, added.
"Take him to the altar's top to be executed for all to see. Let his crimes be known and pass a warning on," The panel ordered two soldiers who carried out the orders of the reapers.
The soldiers were the punishers. They had no faces and their heads were covered in a metallic helmet but all they wielded was a great sword each.
Whenever an execution was to take place, no one except the criminal and the punishers mounted the altar's top. Every other person was to remain on the ground level and witness the execution or simply ignore it. The altar's top was the top of a great mountain on which all criminals were executed.
"Yet again, another lowlife has dared to break the laws that our ancestors long created. The boy with white head who has no name has stolen from the powerful Lord Camellias and so he shall die by the law. Born with no name and he shall die with no name. This is a warning to all those who will ever think of breaking the rules!" Voices emerged from the faceless soldiers in unison.
White head remained silent. His eyes as empty as usual, a calm demeanor as though he was long awaiting this kind of death.
With their swords held out at either sides of the neck of White head who had his hands behind him, they allowed their blades to go through flesh and bones.
The head fell off from the body and rolled down the mountain, and the body followed almost immediately. Once the body and head reached the bottom of the mountain after a violent fall, they reduced to sand that merged into the mountain.