Thief

Victor was right—the Magic Academy students had come to the trial with the mindset of a vacation. Only this time, they had chosen the wrong place for it.

Like a few naive lion cubs charging into a grassland teeming with wolves, the seven-person team, utterly lacking in adventure experience, plunged headlong into the perilous Whispering Forest with reckless courage. They ventured too deep into the woods, set no warning traps around their camp, and the two on night watch, each lost in their own thoughts, failed to notice the thieves creeping closer.

Faced with the sudden assault, the usually composed magic prodigy girl now trembled so badly from nerves that she couldn't even chant a spell properly. In her panic, she grabbed a Magic Scroll but forgot to activate it, instead hurling it at the thief like a weapon. A complete mess.

Seeing the girl beside him frozen and helpless, with the steel-wielding thief closing in, Donald shouted, "Enemy attack!" Then he grabbed the Tree Rat Hide, spun around, and bolted into the darkness. Several thieves gave chase without a second thought. By the time Richard and the others heard the noise and rushed out of their tents, all they saw was Lucia standing there alone, her face on the verge of tears.

"Brother!"

"Donald!"

Roger and Wesley each held back the impulsive Richard and Kelly. After a hasty preparation, the six lit torches and set off in the direction Lucia had pointed, searching as they went. Roger and Richard took the lead, Fiona, also a squire, brought up the rear, and Wesley stayed in the middle to protect Kelly and Lucia.

***

He had lost track of how long he'd stumbled through the darkness. At some point, the thieves behind him had lit torches, their chaotic footsteps mixed with fierce shouts growing closer and closer. The tree shadows ahead blurred indistinctly, and faint sounds of women laughing drifted to his ears. Donald remembered what the hunter Joey had said—he couldn't go any further.

The moment he hesitated, the thieves surrounded him.

"Wait, I know what you want. I'm willing to hand it over. If you don't kill me, I think my companions would be willing to pay a ransom." Donald pressed his back against a giant tree and raised the Tree Rat Hide high above his head.

Only now did Donald get a clear look—there were six thieves, all armed with steel blades. The one who seemed to be the leader was noticeably the most burly.

"Boss, let me kill him. This kid led us on such a chase—those girls might have gotten away by now," a thief with a small mustache said angrily. "That thing the girl threw earlier—the more I think about it, the more I'm sure it was a Magic Scroll. These sheep look pretty plump."

"If you make a move, I'll destroy the hide!"

"Fine, I won't kill you," the thief leader said coldly, striding casually up to Donald and snatching the Tree Rat Hide from his hand. Then he suddenly swung his steel blade at Donald.

He didn't notice that in Donald's other hand, he had been holding an egg-sized blue fireball the whole time. Before the blade could land on the boy, the fireball Donald had thrown was already flying at his face. He couldn't dodge in time. The fireball exploded on his face, and with a scream, the thief leader's entire face burst into flames.

This was the first time Donald's small blue fireball had shown its true power. Blue was the color of the purest Fire Element burning—unimaginably high temperatures brought far more terrifying lethality than an ordinary fireball.

Donald didn't stop. In an instant, four more identical fireballs exploded on the thief leader's body.

"He didn't chant a spell! It's a one-use magic item! Rush him together and kill him!"

The remaining five, spurred on by the mustached man, actually charged forward. Amid the flashing blades and war cries, Donald's heart felt like it had stopped. His back pressed tightly against the tree, his calves trembling uncontrollably. Even though he had practiced the Triple Fireball model tens of thousands of times and didn't need a chant, under the shock of being surrounded, his first cast failed, and the second failed too. Thank goodness, the third finally succeeded, shooting toward the thief in the lead. If it had been even a moment later, the opponent's steel blade would have mercilessly split him in two.

After successfully casting that fireball, Donald regained his confidence. His casting speed grew faster and faster, eventually surpassing his usual pace. The blue fireballs almost formed a continuous stream, sweeping from his palm toward the thieves.

Even after all the thieves had turned into screaming pillars of fire, he still didn't stop. He unleashed over forty small fireballs in one breath. When the last fireball flew out, his Fire Element was completely drained. Then an overwhelming dizziness hit him, and he collapsed into unconsciousness.

When Donald slowly came to, a strange girl of about fifteen or sixteen was beside him.

"You're finally awake." The girl's big eyes stared straight at Donald.

"How long was I out?" Donald's mind still felt foggy, and the scene before him was blurry, as if dawn had just broken.

"I don't know. I just found you sleeping here."

Donald felt she looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who she was.

"Are you from the Magic Academy?" Donald noticed the girl was dressed as a Magic Apprentice.

"Yeah, how did you know? Are you from the Magic Academy too?" When the girl was curious, her eyes opened wide, very pretty, but with a strange feeling he couldn't quite place.

"I'm a worker in the Academy's Library. Have you seen my companions?"

"I only saw you. I'm heading back to the Academy now. Come back with me." Saying this, the girl pulled Donald to his feet.

Donald felt his legs weren't under his control. He couldn't help but follow behind the girl, step by step. The girl walked briskly, as if she was very familiar with this place.

"I haven't seen you at the Academy," the girl said without turning around. Donald stared at her back, wondering why she gave him such a strange feeling.

"Really? Maybe I'm not very noticeable. How long until we leave the forest?"

"Why would we leave the forest?"

The girl's words grew stranger and stranger. Donald felt his mind couldn't keep up.

"But big brother, the Academy doesn't have a Library at all."

Donald didn't know how to respond. Why had she suddenly changed how she addressed him?

"Why... why are you calling me big brother?"

"You're the big brother who caught Tree Rats with Grandpa."

Donald suddenly felt an inexplicable terror. He remembered who she was.

"You're Nina!?"

"When Nina went back, Grandpa was really already dead... Big brother, are we dead too?" At that moment, the girl in front of him suddenly stopped, then slowly turned around. It was the face of a corpse.

Donald passed out again. When he woke up once more, he thought he was seeing the legendary Harpy.

(One more chapter around nine in the evening. Also, please vote for recommendations and add to your collection. Thank you!)