Malachi clicked his tongue and made his stygian blade vanish. “Come in.”The door opened, and Miss Lorna entered with a tray of stews. Her expression was one of disgust as she put the tray on the table.Lucius was half-conscious on the sofa, and Lorna acted as if she did not see anything wrong. Suddenly, to Malachi’s surprise, Lorna dipped her hand into the steaming hot stew, and when she showed her hand, a mark appeared on her inner wrist.“The Umbral Brand.”“Show me yours,” Lorna said.Malachi took off his clothes and showed his back. His left shoulder blade lit up in red before a black Umbral Brand appeared.“At first, I thought you managed to get that mark by accident, but after seeing this, you really are an assassin.”“I got it by killing a member of the syndicate. That means I can become a member.”“You can, but that doesn’t mean you will. You will need to pass some tests and prove your loyalty.”“I’m ready.” A blade appeared in his hand and stabbed Lucius’ neck almost instant

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.

The trees blurred away from view as the carriage sped through the forest. Malachi sat by the window, his elbow resting on the wooden frame while he looked at the ever-changing scenery outside the carriage. The sky was clear today, bright blue, almost reaching afternoon. Tall grasses swayed in the gentle breeze, their golden tips shimmering in the sunlight. In the distance, a river meandered lazily, reflecting the vibrant blue of the sky. Malachi looked ahead, his gaze fixed upon the mesmerizing scene unfolding before him. The rhythmic sound of hooves thumping against the earth filled the air, creating a soothing and almost hypnotic melody. Two majestic Crystalhooves, their antlers shimmering with iridescent colors, were harnessed to the carriage, their powerful forms pulling it forward effortlessly. Their steps left behind fleeting trails of magical light, casting an enchanting glow on the forest path. Malachi could feel the tranquil aura of the Crystalhooves as they moved with gra

Bantania and the other seniors stood there, panting heavily, their disbelief evident in their wide-eyed stares. Malachi had managed to evade every single one of their attacks effortlessly, leaving them feeling frustrated.Malachi lazily dodged another punch as he was deep in thoughts. The young students here were quite talented and skilled in physical fighting. They weren’t dumb either as they used many dirty tricks when attacking him. It was clear that they reached this academy by defeating many other children before. The academy basically filtered out the weak and picked the best to train in this academy. ‘I do not want to waste time here. I need to do something so I can be free from attending class.’Malachi stepped forward, his hand formed the shape of a blade, and he struck towards one of the boy’s chests.With a loud thud and cracking sound, the boy got the wind knocked out of him as he fell to the ground and vigorously gasped for air.“Help! I can’t breathe! Help me!”The othe

Malachi was allowed to return to his room, and so he did. He wouldn't be able to learn anything new from the class anyway. The professor's skills and abilities were basic for him. Mascarino was far stronger than Malachi; if it wasn't for that, Malachi wouldn't have struggled so much. But, if he really wanted to defeat the professor, he could. He just did not want to reveal all of his abilities yet.In the bout earlier, he didn't even use all of his skills yet. His intention from the start was to impress the professor to grant him special privileges and to prevent the other students from shouting out complaints.The only way to do that was to show his capabilities to them all. His fight against the professor was merely a show for them to approve of this privileged access. No one would complain about it; in fact, they would nod and admit that Malachi deserved this privilege.In a day, he managed to earn the respect of his peers, impressed the professor, and earned a privilege within the