Ray sat on his bed; the morning sunlight filtered through the blinds. He looked out the window, yawning. “Did I sleep for the entire day? It was still late noon when I slept yesterday.” He stretched his arms and jumped out of bed as some birds sat on the windowsill, chirping and jumping around while Ray opened a door inside his room. After entering it, he washed his face and tied up his hair.

  Soon he exited his room, entered the hallway, wearing his new uniform and with his sword tied to his waist. He looked around the empty hallway, and soon the men in red-white began ringing the bells. Ray yawned again and strolled outside the dorm. The chilly morning breeze whistled through the trees as he walked along the garden path, and the smell of flowers filled the air. “What should I do today?”

  He glanced toward the library and halted, scratching his temple. “Lysa’s gone out, and the library has nothing I haven’t read.” He exhaled sharply, staring at the blue sky. “What can I do?” His eyes darted around, not lingering anywhere a moment longer. Maybe I should learn to use a new weapon? He scratched his head and sighed.

  “Wait, money. I need money for clothes.”

  He turned and rushed towards the back gates, but the guards stopped him. One of them asked, “What do you want?” Ray took a moment before responding, “M — Instructor Maximus asked me to go into Teqa to get something.” The guard stared at him, his eyes squinted. “This early in the morning?” Ray scratched the back of his head. “No… he asked me yesterday, but I forgot.” And chuckled.

  The guard sighed and pushed open the gates. “Go on then, hurry.” Ray smiled and ran out the gates after thanking the guard. As he drew closer to Teqa, its bustling sounds — hammering, bargaining — started filling his head. By the time he arrived at the wall of Teqa, the only things he could hear were the people, their footsteps and loud hammers. He groaned as his face dropped. “Ugh, I hate this place. It’s so noisy and annoying.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, filtering out the unnecessary sounds, until he could hear what he wanted to hear — murmurs of people talking about money.

  Let’s see… He leaned against the cold stone wall, his eyes still closed.

  —lost a bet at the night market…

  Night market… betting… I don’t have money to bet. He thought.

  —always has a way to sneak out goods…

  That’s useful… I guess. He filed the information away.

  And then, a rushed, tense, loud voice from nearby:—bastard ran away with the bag of coins. I’ll pay anyone a thousand Silis if you catch him…

  Ray opened his eyes. A slow smile spread across his face. That’s it. A bounty.

  He rubbed his hands together and entered Teqa, blending in with the crowd. He focused on the man’s voice as he slowly but skillfully made his way through the crowd. The man described the thief — a short, brown-haired guy wearing a white garb. Short, brown-haired, there are hundreds of guys like that here. Ray thought, his eyes glancing over everyone. He actively switched his focus from the man’s voice to the heartbeats of people. A thief should be in a hurry. If not, then there must be a group of them.

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  Taking a deep breath, he walked towards the man’s voice. He tapped on his shoulder and asked, “What else can you tell me about the thief?” The man dressed in an orange robe looked Ray up and down. “Get lost, kid.” Ray let out a brief sigh and crossed his arms. Thought so. His eyes wandered around the man, hovering over items lying around.

  He turned around when he heard a few clicks of coins, not so distant. Is that it? He followed the sound; the dust didn’t move under his steps. Soon near an alley, he heard two voices, one of them calm, the other steadying its breath.

  —I got the money…

  —Good, now we jus — “Who’s there?!” one of them said and threw a dagger in Ray’s direction, which he dodged by an inch and slipped into the crowd. This is a bit dangerous.

  —Somebody’s onto us… Let’s split up…

  The two heartbeats rushed in different directions. Ray hesitated, then followed the one with the jingling of coins. He followed the man, just close enough for him to know he’s being followed but far enough not to know from where. Soon, they both exited Teqa and entered the forest. Ray halted in his tracks and looked around. I lost him?

  A ripple through the air caught his attention, and he ducked, dodging the dagger. The man jumped at him from above, sword in hand. Ray unsheathed his sword and blocked the man’s slash, his knee sinking to the ground.

  “Who the hell are you, brat?” The man asked, pressing down on Ray’s sword.

  “Just some kid,” Ray replied, slanting his sword and head-butted the man’s chin. The man stumbled to the ground. He grabbed a handful of dirt and flung it toward Ray, but missed as Ray was kneeling next to him. “You’re pretty bad if you’re losing to me, a kid.”

  The man’s veins popped out as he thrust his sword at Ray, but missed again, as Ray had already gotten behind him. He hit the back of the man’s head with the hilt. His body slumped to the ground. I thought this would be dangerous… oh well. Ray knelt and took the pouch attached to the man’s waist. He opened it and counted the coins inside. That’s exactly seventy Siliu. That cheap merchant was gonna give only a thousand silis for this? This is at least seven thousand silis.

  “I’m keeping this. I can get three sets of fancy clothes and some good food with this much money.”

  He tied the pouch to his waist and stared at the man, crossing his arms. “Should I take him to the merchant? No, I got the money I wanted.” And turned around and walked away, leaving the man lying on the ground in the woods. He entered Teqa and strolled through the market, eyeing things. Soon after arriving at a place, he looked around. Is this it? I see clothes, but I don’t like them.

  A loud voice rippled through the crowd; somebody had found the man in the forest. The merchant refused to hand the man who found him the thousand silis, saying he didn’t bring the money pouch. Ray chuckled and slipped through the crowd and left Teqa. I’ll get the clothes later; I have the money now.

  He trudged through the forest, passing by the Acacia Guesthouse, which sent shivers down his spine with how silent it was. The wind breezed through the woods; the leaves crunching under the weight of his steps. Birds chirped and flew around as he continued up the road. When he neared the back gates of the academy, he heard Maximus’ voice. His step halted; he glanced around until Maximus called his name. Ah, fuck.

  He continued slowly, with a practiced look of mild confusion on his face. Maximus stood with his arms crossed, a knowing smirk playing on his lips as his gaze drifted pointedly to the newly gained, heavily laden coin pouch at Ray’s waist. “Did you get what I asked you to get?” His voice was dry as dust. Ray cleared his throat and said, “No, the goods hadn’t arrived yet.” The guards glanced between them; the one who allowed Ray to leave said, “You’ll find it next time; go inside now.” And walked back to his position.

  Ray nodded and was about to enter when Maximus placed his hand on his shoulder. “Come hunting with me and my apprentices.” Ray scratched the back of his head. “No?” Maximus let out a slow laugh, patting his shoulder. “The guards here report directly to the headmaster.” He looked at Maximus, eyes squinted. “Are you blackmailing me?”

  “I am.”