Chapter 1: The Brainless Bandit

The forest stretched as far as the eye could see, with lush trees towering up to the clouds. From within the woods, a young boy strode forward, wearing a tunic made of wool and leather boots. Coupled with his average looks, he looked just like any other peasant in the Kingdom of Rengol.

Holding a bow and donning a quiver packed with a dozen or so arrows, the boy marched forward. A smile formed on his face. "Oliver is almost seven years old, huh? I still remember carrying him when he was just a little baby," he reminisced nostalgically, though he himself was only 14 years old this year.

His name was William, born and raised in a small village located in the northern forests of Rengol. With a population of less than 200, almost everyone was familiar with each other one way or another. William himself was quite popular in his village and he took pride in it. "Years of hard work," he told himself.

Since he was a young boy, he held an immense love for wealth. If it involved riches, he wanted it. This obsession had led him astray at quite a young age, from stealing coins from his mother's pouch when he was just four years old, to outright robbing houses. He had gone undiscovered for countless years.

That is not to say that the villagers didn't know of this mysterious burglar's existence; in fact, it was the talk of every villager these days. His infamy had even earned him a title: "The Brainless Bandit." They called him, showing clear disdain for William's talents. William himself was not disappointed with his title; in fact, he took absolute pride in it.

Countless times he had almost revealed his secret identity, yet he held back, as he knew if the villagers knew of the bandit's identity, what would come was neither appreciation nor respect, but disdain and anger. The lightest punishment he could think of was being chased out of the village, and he dared not think of the harshest.

Anyways, leaving all that aside, tomorrow is William's younger brother Oliver's birthday, and as per family tradition, having a horned rabbit as the main meal was a must. This horned rabbit was no ordinary animal but was, in fact, a magical beast! Albeit only rank one and the weakest of all magical beasts, if one was not careful, losing their life was not impossible.

Horned rabbits had a sharp horn half the size of their body on their forehead. It could rip through ordinary leather armor with ease. Moreover, they could also use two simple spells, swiftness spell and leaping spell. One could make it run faster, and the other could make it jump higher.

Though facing one was dangerous and potentially fatal for the inexperienced, William did not fret and was quite confident. His father was an experienced hunter known as one of the best in the village, and he himself had tagged along a couple of times, though he did nothing and just watched from afar. That said, he was also a self-proclaimed "master archer," though his father would say he was just average, he ignored him. William firmly believed confidence was key.

Today, William was loitering around the village, looking for his next victim when his father found him and entrusted him with the task of getting a horned rabbit. William, who was interrupted, was annoyed and refused. He regretted it instantly as his father dragged him to their house and gave him an hour-long lecture on how he was a disgrace to their hunting family lineage.

"Stupid old man, just wait until I catch three horned rabbits, then we will see who the disgrace is," muttered William as he moved forward. Suddenly, he stopped and looked forward. Through the gaps in the trees, he saw a glimpse of light blue. Stopping in his tracks, a wicked smile crept across his face. "Finally found one. Just you wait, old man."

Carefully, he approached while taking cover behind the trees and making sure not to make any noise. A half-meter-long horned rabbit lay just 10 meters away, munching on grass, its ears raised up, alert against any predators. William breathed in quietly and slowly took out an arrow from his quiver. Steadying himself, he aimed carefully and shot! The arrow wheezed through the air and splendidly... missed.

The embarrassed William stood in place for a few seconds. When he looked again, the rabbit was nowhere to be seen. His mood turned worse as he trudged forward to retrieve his arrow. "Damn this bow, it must be broken," he said, consoling himself.

He was just a couple of steps away from the arrow when he felt himself sinking. "A pit," he quickly realized. His father had warned him about the forest being full of trap pits made by hunters, but just now he had been too agitated to think carefully. Quickly, he tried to use his arms to hang on the edge, but it was all for naught. And then he fell, screaming.