Mr. Penneybrook—holding another unfamiliar talisman—sighed as he looked past Hector, gazing at the stall behind him. The screams and wails outside, dulled by the sound-damping talismans, carried through the stall’s fabric. The man shook his head. “I need to stay and protect them,” he said, eyes hardening, as he glanced back at the chest where he kept the talismans. “It’s all that’s important right now.”

More than your own son or nephew—what’s so special about some damn talismans? You can’t eat them.

“But, sir, what about Marcus? Surely he’s— “

“You will take care of him,” the man said, cutting Hector off. “While I do my best here to make sure we don’t lose our future.” He moved towards the chest, his steps shaky, and stood over it, staring. “I can’t lose all this. You have to understand. Marcus will understand.”

“I think the old man’s lost it,” Lincoln whispered next to Hector’s ear. He hadn’t lost it, but he was definitely prioritizing the wrong thing. What was with the adults in their lives, always thinking they knew what was best. They didn’t. They were just as unsure as them—this fact was true even in Hector’s old world.

“Mr Pennybrook.”

“Go!” the man, shaking with emotion, yelled, startling Hector. “You children can’t afford to waste any more time.” Mirae tensed, gripping the fabric of Hector’s shirt as she deepened her hug.

Hector turned, moving Mirae along with him, facing the exit to the room. “It’s okay, we are going to go. It’s gonna be fine.” He, brushing his hand through Mirae’s hair, looked up at Lincoln. “It’s pointless. He’s not going to listen. We have to find the others.”

“We tried,” Lincoln said, shrugging and placing a hand in his pocket. “We have these now, anyway.” He inclined his head to his trousers. “When we find Marcus, we will just tell him what happened. It’s not our fault.”

It kinda would be. If I didn’t have Mirae, I would be tempted to try to drag him out. But that could do more harm than good.

Hector nodded. The light, flickering softly from the various lanterns, wobbled as the ground shook. They needed to go—whatever was happening outside was getting worse.

Hector pushed Mirae forward, looking back one more time. Mr. Pennybrook was frantically running around the room, placing heavy wall talismans—apparently very useful for reinforcing a structure, at least that’s what Marcus had once said—in every corner of the stall.

Hector took a step and stopped, grabbing onto the door frame and frowning as he moved forward. The man cared so much about his wares that he was willing to risk his life for it. Why? It didn’t make much sense to Hector. You couldn’t bring someone back to life with any of this. Was the man that scared of losing a few talismans? Surely he had more at the shop.

He needs to learn to cut his losses. But then again, who knows, maybe I would be doing the same if I were in his shoes.

Leaving the room behind, his heart heavy as he thought about how Marcus would react, Hector sighed. They had to go back out there, but if he was honest. It was probably better to be out in the open. At least you might see something coming—the speed those guys were fighting at it was a little hard to keep track of things, for him anyway.

Mirae turned to him, a nervous smile on her face. Hector nodded, but as she went to speak, an ominous aura, thick and oozing, like a slug sliding under his skin, washed over him. The slimy essence invaded his body, making his skin spasm. Hector, gagging, reached for Mirae as a look of sickness overcame her features.

Lincoln’s eyes went wide as he looked at Hector, his whole body trembling. An instant later, a roar ripped through the space, shredding the air and slamming into Hector’s ears. He dropped to one knee, clutching his head in pain as the world began to spin. A second reverberation sent him to the ground, screaming as the sound tore his mind apart.

Lincoln and Mirae—both affected by the terrible sound—writhed on the floor in pain. Gritting his teeth, mind thick with fog, Hector tried to crawl towards his sister. Hector fought through the pain just to get a little closure, but then all at once the sound stopped, silence flooded in, and his ears were left ringing.

What in the hell was that? I’ve never heard anything like that before… Mirae.

He scurried forward, scooping his arms underneath Mirae and pulling her to his chest. The girl groaned, clearly in pain, but she wasn’t hurt physically. “Hey, Hey. Look at me,” Hector said, snapping his fingers as her eyes aimlessly wandered around in their sockets. “Just focus on my voice.”

Finally, after a moment, her eyes focused, and she looked at Hector and gave him a weak smile. “I’m alright, you don’t need to worry. How is everyone else?”

Hector smiled, glancing away from her. Lincoln, shaking a little, was on his hands and knees. He let out several curses, bringing his hand to his chest and letting out a heavy sigh. “That is not how you get someone’s attention.”

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

I don’t think whatever that was is looking for attention.

Hector looked back at the backroom of the stall. The ominous feeling still pervaded the air, but it had lessened some. No movement came from the back room. Was Mr Pennybrook okay? He should be—it had been bad, but not enough to kill someone, surely.

“I’ll go check on the old man,” Lincoln said, getting to his feet with a wobble, and staggering past Hector.

Hector focused back on Mirae. She seemed a lot better. Hector smiled at her, and straining a little, got her back to her feet. He climbed to his feet a moment later. “How are you feeling?”

“Not the best, but I think I should feel fine.”

The screams, which had been silent until now, sounded again—the sound-dampening talismans dulled most of it though. But even with that, they seemed more intense. Something was wrong. “The man is fine,” Lincoln said, stepping out of the backroom, and shaking his head. “He’s back to protecting his room. It’s best we go now.”

“I don’t know,” Hector said, clenching his fist. The lights on the stall’s canopy shook. “I don’t know, but whatever that was, it sounded like it would be a lot worse than two mana-cultivators fighting. Maybe even a mana-beast, a big one.”

Lincoln chuckled, “Don’t be ridiculous; how would it get past the great lake for one and two, how would it get past the city walls?”

“I don’t know.”

“Trust me, it’s not a mana-beast.” Lincoln, arms tense as he clutched at the talismans in his pocket, walked past Hector, placing a hand on his shoulder. “A mana-beast would be long dead before it set foot in the city. I can promise you that.”

Hector pursed his lips. Mana-beasts—creatures charged with mana that lived beyond the great lake—weren’t rare, but you would definitely not see one in the city unless it was in chains. Was Lincoln right? Perhaps. But then, what was it? He’d never heard of a beast roar doing anything like that.

Hector nodded, gesturing towards the exit. He wanted to help Mr. Pennybrook, but he had to get Mirae out of here first. Once she was safe, they would come back and force him out. Lincoln moved, and Hector followed, Mirae trailing behind. They threaded through the cramped aisle, ducking under swaying lanterns.

They exited the stall, walking out into the open air, bracing for what they would find. They froze. The path, which had once been a bustling stall-choked walkway, was completely destroyed. Wood and cloth from what used to be different vendors lay scattered. Broken and torn. The confetti had stopped falling, and screams strangled the air from various directions—the festival was in ruins.

All around the area, various festivalgoers groaned in pain, some holding their heads, others clutching at broken limbs. A man, red-faced and huffing, sprinted down the street. Vomit stained his clothes, but that seemed to be the least of his worries.

What is he—

A creature, its black tentacles writhing from its back, burst out of a shattered stall, tearing the fabric to shreds as it slammed onto the cobblestone. Spider-web-like cracks spread from its obsidian paws as it locked onto the man—though Hector wasn’t sure how, as it had no eyes. Just rows of sharp white razor-like teeth littering its wide mouth.

The man looked back—a mistake—tripped over his feet, and tumbled to the ground. The creature exploded forward, bounding across the cobblestone and over to the man in several leaps. The creature stopped, tilted its head, and snapped down on his leg with a sickening crunch.

“What in the great lake is that thing?” Lincoln yelled, as nearby people, eyes wide with fear, screamed.

“Isn’t that a Mana-beast?” Hector asked, tugging Mirae and moving her behind him.

“No. Mana-beast don’t look like that.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve seen pictures in books, alright. And none of them look anything like that.”

Hector’s brow tightened as he scanned the area. What was that thing? And were there more?

————————————————

///: Acquiring target stats… Identifying outlier…

————————————————

///

Creature Type: Void Hunger

Cultivation level:[Rank-1] = [Gravity Forging - 2]

Talent: [None]

Talent Fragment: [2-Uncommon]

///

————————————————

That thing has talent fragments, but how? It doesn’t even have a Talent. What is a Void Hunger?

Whatever the creature was, it was only a minor realm above him. The only problem was Hector had never seen or fought anything like it. Just because it was a single realm higher didn’t mean it would be a close fight.

Hector turned to Lincoln, standing transfixed on the beast, and rested a hand on his arm, shaking him. “We need to go.” He was in no position to save the man, especially with Mirae around. If there were more than one Void Hunger in the area, he would be putting Mirae at risk.

Lincoln, his eyes locked onto the creature, nodded. “Yeah, we should get out of here. I don’t exactly fancy being turned into minced meat.” He turned to Hector, licking his lips as his eyes darted from left to right. “It’s after that, man. We should use the distraction to sneak the other way.”

Hector frowned—it wasn’t a bad plan, but it was callous, almost barbaric. He glanced at Mirae, who had an appalled look on her face. Hector, taking her hand, sighed and looked back at the man being eaten alive by the creature. “It’s the easy way out, but I can’t risk your life. Mirae, we’re going to have to go with Lincoln’s idea.”

Mirae groaned but nodded. “It’s a coward’s excuse. I almost don’t want to say it, but we are too weak to help him.” She said, sniffling as she wiped a tear falling down her cheek.

“If he had only been a faster runner,” Lincoln said, scratching his head.

Lincoln, this really is not the time.

Some people, freed from their fear, scrambled to their feet, tripping over themselves as they pushed past others. A bold bearded man knocked an old lady to the floor as he ran for his life. He was a coward for sure, but could Hector blame him? He was a mortal, and Hector was sort of doing the same.

They, as one, began to walk back, careful to not catch the Void Hunger’s attention as it ate. The poor man screamed as it moved up his body, crunching on him like lettuce.

Hector gulped, shielding Mirae’s eyes as he moved her along. A few broken stalls down, wood and fabric exploded as another beast crashed onto the cobblestone. More than a few paces behind it were two white-robed guards. They scurried over the remains of the stall, poles angled toward the beast.

It snarled, batting a paw at one of the poles that thrusted towards it. Sparks flying as claw contacted metal. The creature jumped back. Swivelled. And began running down the path, tentacles lashing out as the guards chased it.

Hector froze, heart hammering in his chest, and pulled Mirae to a stop. Lincoln backed up, stumbling on a piece of wood. It was coming towards them.

You’ve got to be kidding me.