In one of the large streets of Verdenstream City, known as the City of Steam or Giant Factories, located in the northern part.
Monarco Street, which carried the old Victorian architectural style, had houses lined up straight, varying in size and building materials. For example, some were made of red brick, others of concrete, and they consisted of one to two stories. The windows had an old-fashioned style—some long, some small—and were not made of aluminum but of iron. There were also balconies overlooking the street, each with a vase of flowers in every corner and clothes hanging out to dry in the morning light.
The large street consisted of two intersecting roads, with a pedestrian island in the middle to prevent accidents between horse-drawn carriages. Small trees on the island gave the street a breathtaking beauty. There were sidewalks for pedestrians on both sides of the intersecting roads, alongside the tree-lined island. And let's not forget the ornate lampposts with decorative lanterns.
....
At the end of Monarco Street, there were many loud voices coming from numerous shops selling everything from food to clothes to household items.
"Come here, we have the finest fish caught from the Sea of Nothingness!"
"Three kilos of freshly picked vegetables for just one lira!"
"Here you'll find the best clothes that will make you look like nobility!"
"Madam, we have moon-emerald earrings that shine and glow—they'll make you look more beautiful than all other women in your husband's eyes!"
The voices of merchants from various professions could be heard loudly, trying to attract customers to buy their goods, whether fresh or antique. There were numerous wooden crates and tables in front of the shops.
Many people gathered in front of the different shops to buy necessities. The market was lively and bustling, filling the small street with crowds.
Amidst these shouts and price disputes between merchants and customers, there was a person wearing a long-sleeved white button-up shirt and black pants in good condition, with a hunting hat on his head.
He was running quickly through the crowded street, sometimes pushing people aside with his hands or shoulders. Because of this, many people were angered by his disrespectful behavior, but he didn't care and continued running, ignoring the curses hurled at him by those he pushed.
His green eyes darted left and right among the many shops, searching for a place to hide and rest for a while until things calmed down.
When he looked ahead, he saw a relatively large restaurant with a sign hanging in front of it written in a strange language Xiao Ping couldn't read. But he didn't bother with that because he could only distinguish shops by the type of items they sold—otherwise, he wouldn't have known whether it was a fish shop or a vegetable shop.
He also saw, in the corner of the restaurant on the left side, a dark alley with some glass bottles in front of it.
Xiao Ping didn't waste any time. He turned his body toward the western side of the narrow street and saw some crates blocking his path to the restaurant. But he didn't say anything and ran toward them quickly before climbing on top of them, jumping high, performing a forward flip, and rolling on the pavement before getting up and continuing to run toward the alley in the corner.
"Huff... huff..." Xiao Ping was breathing heavily while holding his knees, bent over catching his ragged breaths.
He had been running for a long time on Monarco Street, but he finally left it after much time. The street was very large and long.
Xiao Ping raised his head and looked at the dark alley, which was filled with garbage and filth due to the previous night's rainwater. On the walls were chalk drawings, likely made by some homeless children. If he hadn't activated his ability, he wouldn't have been able to see anything.
Xiao Ping slowly stepped into the dark alley to hide from the people accompanying the princess.
He felt the dampness of the alley floor seeping into his feet through his worn-out shoes. Sometimes he stepped on trash or old wood, which made noise as he walked. The alley was literally a dump, but he had to endure the smell of this place for a while. Once things calmed down, he would leave here, find some work, and earn a few liras, as the people of this world called it.
The strange thing was that he could understand their speech but couldn't read the writing on the shop signs or the golden watch in his pocket. The only writing Xiao Ping understood was inside that mysterious book.
His mind stopped working for a moment before thoughts rushed back in. He felt proud of what he had done—mastering a special skill immediately upon reaching level one. But then he felt it wasn't very strong and sought to improve it. He had seen earlier how the person on the royal carriage stopped his attack, even attracted it and made it spin on his finger.
Xiao Ping felt humiliated by that person's actions, as if he were mocking him. He realized he needed to train to better control his power in the future.
When he remembered his encounter with the beautiful princess earlier, he felt as if he might fall in love with her at first sight. But he pushed those thoughts out of his mind. He didn't want his first love to be a princess, nor did he want to form any relationships with any girls or women in this world. Falling in love at first sight was utterly ridiculous!
"I'm just an extra in this world, and even if I have powers now, what can I do? They're only level one powers, and even then, only first-tier!" He sighed and said, "I still have a long way to go. If I want to break through the first ten tiers and advance to level two, I must work hard and not let anything hinder me. Even if I have to abandon my humanity to rise above this world, I would throw it far away and become a cold person to achieve my goal." His tone carried deep sadness.
Xiao Ping looked at the drawings on the wall of the next shop and found them interesting.
"Oh, such good drawings in a world like this are truly wonderful."
Xiao Ping touched the damp, rough wall and looked at the drawings again. The drawings were very realistic and not old-fashioned, contrary to Xiao Ping's assumption.
The drawings were of a person in their twenties, wearing a white mask with a curved, devilish smile and a completely black suit. There was also a crimson moon looming over that person, emitting a glow.
"What an amazing drawing—truly worthy of appreciation," Xiao Ping commented on the drawing before focusing on the children also drawn in chalk.
They were circling the man, with different expressions on their faces: fear, happiness, gratitude, and one of them had an expressionless face.
"Hmm, this part seems contradictory to the rest of the drawing! It seems to hint at something, but I don't know what. It might be an unsolved story or just a drawing made by children for fun." Xiao Ping sighed as he removed his hand from the wall.
At that moment, a sound came from the trash beside him.
Xiao Ping instinctively turned to the side, using his green eyes and his power to see clearly (not to see the threads), and discovered it was just a stray cat.
Its fur was completely black, and its eyes were a pale green.
When Xiao Ping saw this, he felt that this cat was suffering just as he had previously suffered from hunger and exhaustion. But there was nothing he could do. He said, "Sorry, cat, but I don't have any food, just like you!"
The cat ignored Xiao Ping's comment and continued looking at this crazy human who was trying to talk to an animal! After a few moments, it turned around and slowly moved toward the alley exit.
This time, Xiao Ping used his ability to look at the body of that departing black cat, and the shock was: it had a strong, broad silver thread moving smoothly through its body, like a peaceful river in a stream.
But this wasn't his only shock—it was just a prelude to the next one.
"Human child, I advise you to find work and earn some money to buy food instead of begging in alleys." With that, the black cat left the alley, leaving Xiao Ping stunned.
"What in the hell!" Xiao Ping exclaimed, his eyes wide open from what he had seen and heard.
When he spoke to the cat, he didn't expect a conversation—he was just telling it he had nothing to give. He never expected a response, but he was shocked when the cat replied, scolded him, and gave him advice!
Xiao Ping instinctively stepped back in shock, and unfortunately, his foot stepped on an old glass bottle behind him. Because the place was dark, and even with his power, there were limits, he couldn't turn around and see it.
He stumbled, lost his balance, and swayed backward, unexpectedly hitting the wall of the restaurant, causing his hat to fly off before he stabilized it.
He braced for the impact, but he didn't feel any pain or anything. Instead, he felt as if his body had passed through something transparent, not a wall.
At that moment, he was assaulted by the vision of many lantern lights and felt warmth in his body.
The smell of alcohol and bad breath wafted into Xiao Ping's nose, making him cover it before he stood up and brushed the dust and dirt from his shirt and pants that had stuck to him in the alley.
He bent down to pick up his hat from his right side before noticing a man sitting at a table on his right. He paid him no attention and took his hunting hat before placing it on his short hair to cover it.
He turned his body to look back and see what was there, but what he saw made him sweat a little and say, "This is truly a wonderful predicament! Or perhaps an opportunity for work."
~End of chapter, to be continued....