Living a new life after abandoning a dark one.

A thief is only called a thief if one acts on the opportunities given to them…

The first instincts of a thief can vary depending on the individual and the situation. However, some common initial instincts or tendencies that thieves may have include:

Opportunity: Thieves are often quick to identify potential opportunities for theft. They may be observant and look for vulnerable targets, such as unattended belongings, unlocked doors or windows, or situations where they can take advantage of distractions.

Stealth: Thieves instinctively try to remain unnoticed and minimize the chances of being caught. They may prefer operating in low-light environments, using disguises, or employing techniques to avoid detection, such as moving quietly and avoiding unnecessary attention.

Quick thinking: In situations where thieves encounter unexpected obstacles or potential risks, their initial instinct may be to think on their feet and come up with quick solutions. They may have the ability to adapt their plans or change their course of action to overcome challenges.

Resourcefulness: Thieves often possess a resourceful mindset. They may have a knack for identifying alternative routes, escape routes, or tools that can aid them in their activities. They may also possess skills such as lock picking or hacking to gain access to secured areas.

Evasion: When faced with potential confrontation or detection, a thief's instinct may be to escape or avoid capture. They may possess knowledge of evasive maneuvers or have a heightened sense of situational awareness to navigate their surroundings.

Calculated risk-taking: While thieves aim to minimize risk, they may still have a tendency to take calculated risks when the potential reward outweighs the perceived danger. They may assess the likelihood of being caught or the potential value of the stolen goods before deciding to proceed.

Disregard for others' rights: Initially, a thief's instinct may be to prioritize their own desires or needs over the rights and belongings of others. They may have a diminished sense of empathy or a willingness to exploit vulnerabilities for personal gain.

Opportunity, Stealth, Quick thinking, Resourcefulness, Evasion, Calculated risk-taking, Disregard for others' rights…these were all the skills needed for me to be able to live as a thief…and because of these skills, I was able to attain all sorts of temporary glory…

And now, I found myself in the middle of a forest.

"...What?" to see the rustling leaves and the sound of a stream by the side…all I could ever think of at the moment was the issue at hand.

Where am I?

To analyze the situation, I had to quickly assess my surroundings.

"...From all the sides of the forest, I can only see trees, bushes…a wide river in the south and a pile of poop down north." I said to myself.

With that said, the most intriguing part of this area was the river. With my past knowledge, it was mainly known that all rivers lead back to the ocean…so if I follow the river, I can probably take a gander that I might make it to the sea, but if I don't, then I might as well take view of what or where I was at the moment.

This river might lead me to a lake…or maybe a civilization. As long as there was something I could do at the moment, I might as well do it.

"...The river is running fast." I said to myself.

While walking along its current, I tried to summarize the bits of information I have from before I was brought to this place. But the moment I came to the thought of my past, I was rushed with a headache running to my head.

"!?" confused and troubled, I grab hold of my head to suppress the pain…

"My name…my name is…S-Shay…Shay Winston." simply remembering my name gave me a migraine for some reason…

And after simply acquiring my name, I then proceeded to think of what I did before coming here.

"...I know that I was thief…my past life activity is more clearer to remember. Strange."

As for some reason, my name was difficult to remember, but my past occupation was simply flowing like the current of the river beside me.

"...Hmm, did being a thief brought me here? Was I took away by a mafia gang and thrown into a forest or something? That can't be right, mafia people simply kill us without hesitation if we are not being used…so this doesn't make any sense."

Having been deep in thought, my eyes began to look all over me…to see if I was injured, but to my surprise, I wasn't injured and beside having no injury, the clothes that I was wearing were very looking. From their design alone, it looked like I was from a medieval renaissance fair, a villager from one of those old frilly clothes you would find in some museums.

If my clothes were different, it made me wonder of all the other changes that were done to my body…so to my curiosity, I turned to a calm flow of water to try to see what I looked liked.

"...Unbelievable." and to my surprise, I was meet with an younger version of my self..but instead of a straight flowing hair, I had a slightly curvy hair. My eyes were dark blue instead of brown and from the way how I felt a bit more energetic, I could take a gander that my age was around 18 to 25 years old.

"..." With that known, I continued to walk along the river.

After an hour and thirty-two minutes of walking, I finally came into a different scene.

A lake that had a field as flat as the cutting board on a kitchen.

The area was quite big, and along that place, a could see some things that I would dare to say were quite different in a matter of a sense.

One would say that these things were based of a fantasy…

From a horse that had wings capable of flying, to a horse that had a horn as sharp as a knife, or even a pack of moose that were oddly colored and Foxes that were colored white and had three tails. A lot more other animals were in the view, from birds to predators, all I could see in front of me was a hint that I was probably not on Earth anymore.

"...Dude, where the fuck am I?"

I said as I sat down on the grass and looked to the majestic scene of the lake and it's animals. The despairing situation of my circumstance was hard to process.

I was clueless as to what was happening to my life.

"...God, please tell me what is going on right now?" in an attempt to clear my head, I tried to call for a sense of hope in asking to the heavens. Clearly no one would answer, is what I thought.

While doing so, suddenly a screen suddenly pops up in front of me for no particular reason.

[+]

It was but a plus sign…and simply looking at it, I was rubbing my eyes to see if what was in front of me was nothing more than an illusion. But despite me looking away and back to the screen, the plus sign did not go away.

"...Hm?" to my desperate curiosity, I reached for the screen.

As I did, the screen expanded and showed a weird tray of options.

"...Oh, there's a question mark." I said as I saw a question mark on the corner of the screen.

Having pressed it, a message came to show.

It was a long and winded message that was similar to that of a notification of a software from a phone, asking for a sort of authority. Normaly, I would quickly press the accept button and get it over with, but because of my unusual circumstance, I decided to read the long message.

And in summary, it explained my situation as a whole.

It explained that this screen in front of me was a book that was called "The All-Known". A book that had the capability to explain to me all of the necessary information that I need to live my life here in this world. To activate the book, all I had to do was to ask the screen by my voice or typing it down using the keypads that looked a bit like a transparent screen.

It also explained that I died and that this was my second chance at life. That this world was called Astra were I was reincarnated into a younger version of myself while retaining all of my past experiences. And because of my wish that was analyzed by the All-Known, I was given a mission to be a Farmer and live a life that was worth living.

"...Oh, I remember." I said as the core words that was put out by the book was throwing back the memories to me.

"I did say that I wanted take over the farm that my father had."

Having said that, this was a second chance at life…only that everything that I would face right now was going to be a new experience.

"So, first things first for a farmer is to claim land…Hmm."

Having said this, I looked around the area and could only find that the most safest place I could find for now was a high enough area to avoid any predators, meaning the trees. Since I can't build a protective house in just hours from now, I might as well start by gathering wood for fire during the night, food for consumption, at least anything that is sharp for a sense of protection, like a knife and water.

Because I had a running river just beside me, I can easily gain water. As for dry woods, when I was making my way down here, I was able to spot a few dead branches that I thought were capable of lasting a whole night.

The only problem now was for my sense of defending myself. A knife…or a spear made of wood.

"...AK, Is there anyway for me to gain a knife or a sharp object used to cut things?}"

AN: AK= All-Known

I asked the screen in front of me and in return it began to analyze the question.

[THERE ARE VARIOUS WAYS TO GAIN A WEAPON IN YOUR CURRENT STATE OF SURVIVAL.]

[FOUND WITHIN ONE OF THE CAVES OF THIS FOREST, A HOARDING MONSTER KNOWN AS A GOBLIN AWAITS. THERE IS A HIGH LIKELIHOOD OF DISCOVERING A KEEN EDGED KNIFE DURING YOUR SEARCH]

"Goblin?" despite me living to an age of thirty, I had no idea what a goblin was…it wasn't really something I was familiar with even as a life of a thief.

AN: The MC isn't someone who knows anything about a fantasy setting. He does not know about goblins or mythril or any sort of fantasy concept that you would find in any fantasy novel. He is a normal human being in his past life.

[A GOBLIN IS A TYPE OF MONSTER KNOWN FOR ITS CRAFTY WITT TO ATTACK ANY POTENTIAL RESOURCE. FROM ATTACKING PEOPLE FOR THEIR MEAT OR TO STEAL ANY USEFUL ITEMS FOR FUTURE ENDEAVORS, THE GOBLIN IS A PEST OF THIS WORLD. THEIR ABILITY TO HOARD IS UNDER THE FUNCTION OF SURVIVING AND REPOPULATING.]

"...Ohh, since they attack, is there any chance for me to survive if I try to go to this cave?"

[...CALCULATING PROBABILITY OF CHANCES…CALCULATING COMPLETE. YOU HAVE A 76% CHANCE OF SURVIVING A RAID TO ONE PARTICULAR CAVE. WITH YOUR CURRENT SKILL AND PROWESS, YOU CAN DOMINATE THE CAVE.]

"Aren't they supposed to be crafty? How strong are they in scale from a man to a child?"

[...A GOBLIN HAS THE SAME FEATURES AS THAT OF A 12 YEAR OLD BOY…YOU CAN EASILY DROPKICK THEM FOR A SURPRISE…THE ONLY REASON WHY THEY ARE CONSIDERED A THREAT IS IF THEY HAVE TIME TO PREPARE FOR AN AMBUSH. MAINLY ITS THEIR CORRODED AND POISONOUS ITEMS THAT YOU HAVE TO LOOK OUT FOR.]

"Hmm, so that's why I have a 76% chance of winning."

Simply said, I just need to be stealthy in my approach. I'm a thief, it should be easy for me to do so. So I have to prepare.