After Tendo's figure disappeared at the end of the park path, the time axis of the side story instantly jumped forward one month.
Desolate, silent, oppressive...
In the scene, Tendo's home, which had signs of everyday life only a month ago, now looked as if it had suffered a decade of neglect, marked heavily by the ravages of time.
Walls covered in spiderweb-like cracks, ceilings stained with large, dark yellow patches from water damage—all evidence of the rapid change in the city over just one month.
As the camera pulled back, the Dimensional Audience quickly saw a bizarre, urban steel jungle, overgrown with creeping vines, moss, and dense vegetation.
Tendo sat on an old sofa in the middle of the living room. On the coffee table in front of him were survival supplies such as chocolate, canned goods, and batteries.
He looked at the huge amount of greenery that had aggressively grown outside the window in just one month and muttered to himself, "Only a month, and it's come to this..."
"Those strange energies are really quite something."
The Dimensional Audience immediately understood what the "strange energies" were—they were Star Energy.
The fact that Tendo, an eight-year-old child with no prior knowledge of Star Energy, could sense the fluctuations in Star Energy during the Beast Tide was undoubtedly an astonishing feat.
Coupled with Tendo's previous statement, "The wind tastes different," the Dimensional Audience instantly connected the dots.
'An eight-year-old can sense the changes in Star Energy in the air by himself? Tendo's talent is totally glitched!'
'Tendo's talent must be the ceiling of the entire Star Generals, right?'
'Hard to say. Everyone says the Director-General, Enite, is the strongest Star Envoy of this era.'
'The Director-General is the strongest of this era. Tendo is clearly the strongest of all time!'
Amidst the discussion of the Dimensional Audience, Tendo, now fully rested, picked up the last piece of milk chocolate from the table. Peeling back the wrapper, he walked to the balcony.
The evening breeze lifted his silver hair, revealing a faint, not-yet-faded scar on his neck—a wound left from a fight with a Star Beast last week.
A month had passed, but his appearance hadn't changed; he was still the harmless-looking eight-year-old boy.
But as the camera followed his gaze across the street, a cityscape of post-apocalyptic ruins instantly appeared before everyone's eyes.
On the derelict street, the wreckage of abandoned cars was twisted into bizarre shapes. Store windows were shattered into shards. Exposed power lines on streetlights crackled with sparks, casting flickering shadows on the ground.
Even more shocking, however, were the white bones scattered around the streets like 'garbage.'
Some of these bones were caught in railing gaps, others were half-covered by vines.
They silently spoke to everyone about the catastrophe the city was enduring.
And less than twenty meters from the balcony, right at the community entrance, lay the corpse of a massive creature.
It was a Star Beast almost five meters long, resembling a wild boar. Its gray-black skin was covered in wrinkles, and a poisonous mushroom with a cap the size of a round table grew on its back.
The beast was completely charred, and the ground around it was marked with black scorches. A faint smell of gasoline and burnt matter hung in the air, indicating it had been burned to death.
[Name: Mushroom Boar]
[Level: Level 1]
[Feature: Omnivorous animal. The poisonous mushroom on its back can release hallucinogenic spores, causing intoxicating effects on inhaled organisms.]
Tendo first glanced at the corpse of the Mushroom Boar he had killed, then looked down at his arm.
While grappling with the Mushroom Boar yesterday, its tusk had slashed a deep, bone-visible gash on his arm. But pressing it now, only a slight itch remained.
He chewed the chocolate, feeling the sweet, energy-rich substance slide down his throat. The scabbed wound pricked faintly—a sign of new tissue growing.
"The frequency and strength of the prey are increasing..."
After looking at the Mushroom Boar's corpse for a moment, Tendo looked up at the sun about to sink below the horizon, saying profoundly, "...This means the powerful predators have left. Otherwise, they wouldn't dare approach here casually."
As his words fell, the episode suddenly inserted a flashback.
Late one night half a month ago, the window of Tendo's room was suddenly enveloped by a giant shadow.
He sat up and peeked through the curtain gap, seeing a massive creature over a hundred meters long passing outside the community.
Its immense size caused the ground to tremble slightly with every step, and its scales glistened with a cold, metallic sheen under the moonlight.
Ordinary humans would be as tiny as ants before that monster.
Fortunately, the monster merely glanced toward the community before moving straight on, seemingly uninterested in hunting a bunch of 'ants.'
This was what saved Tendo from being forced to 'log off.'
The flashback ended, and Tendo's gaze was cast in the direction where the sunset was sinking.
This was also the direction the behemoth had taken when it left.
Looking at the blood-red horizon, the Tendo in the scene suddenly smiled.
His dark eyes sparkled with excitement, like a child who had discovered a new toy.
"Everyone says Calamities are terrifying, but now that I've seen one with my own eyes, I realize that what people call a Calamity is actually quite interesting."
Seeing the young-faced Tendo on screen, and his fearless, fully excited eyes, the Dimensional Audience was stunned.
'Is this the mindset of the strong? Calamities are just interesting toys in his eyes? You darn Tendo!'
'This attitude... No wonder Tendo is successful. If not him, then who?'
'My eight-year-old self: I don't want to play with you anymore! Tendo's eight-year-old self: Why can't I be the strongest in the world?'
As the bullet comments scrolled, the sky outside the balcony gradually darkened.
The nighttime hours were when the survivors ventured out.
Tendo also chose this time to go out, though his reason was different from others.
While others went out to search for survival supplies, Tendo was looking for a special something—a thing that only existed inside Star Beasts that made him feel 'warm.'
At this point, he didn't know it was called a Star Core.
But the 'hungry' instinct in his body naturally drove Tendo to seek out those things and continuously hunt the 'prey' appearing around his community.
Scattered points of fire lit up in the city ruins—signals that survivors were out searching for supplies under the cover of darkness.
At this moment, Tendo also slung his empty backpack over his shoulder and turned to leave the room.
The hunt had begun.
After leaving the community, Tendo followed the faint Star Energy fluctuations in the air to a neighboring community supermarket.
The glass door of the supermarket was long shattered. The sound of rummaging through fallen shelves and the rough curses of several men could be heard.
A group of uninvited guests had reached the location before Tendo.
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An Important Announcement: Time to Write Our Own Novel!
Hello everyone!
Thank you all so much for your support; it truly helps me keep going!
I have some exciting news: after translating many fanfics, I've decided it's time to start writing my own Novels! I plan to begin with a new fanfic—I'm currently thinking of either the Avatar: The Last Airbender or Douluo Dalu universe, featuring a Neutral protagonist.That is exactly what I meant by Neutral Protagonist (This refers to the character's Alignment. A Neutral Protagonist is not strictly bound by concepts of absolute good or evil, nor are they necessarily tied to Law or Chaos. Their actions are generally motivated by their own survival, personal goals, or a desire for balance, operating in a morally gray area.)
Once I've written a few fanfics and gained more experience, I can then move on to developing my own original novel soon after.
If you want a direct hand in shaping the main character's destiny and giving input, be sure to join the poll!
I've launched a poll on my P@t reon page!
HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE:
1. Head over to our P@t reon page and become a member. (Don't worry, even those with a free membership can join the poll and share their input!)
2. Select any option you desire in the poll
3. Leave a comment on the poll post or send me a DM if you have any specific thoughts or ideas!
p@treon HongMengZi