The force of the flowing energy nearly pulled Anton off his feet. While he was certainly unsteady at the moment, the fact that merely gathering energy had that effect left him in awe. As the sky continued to darken, the lone eye he’d spotted grew clear and bright. Along with the eye was a wrinkled hand, more folded skin and gnarls than even Anton had ever had.

All of the energy in the area around Thuston gathered into that hand. Anton knew he shouldn’t be stopping to stare at it, but the beast swarm had paused as well. Perhaps they couldn’t do anything else.

Though Anton was quite certain it was merely early evening, stars bloomed in the sky. However, as the great hand in the sky closed, the stars started to fall. His head turned as he watched the first star streak from the sky, striking a great bear, leaving behind only a flaming crater and no discernable remains of the creature. However, despite the power of the falling star the building immediately adjacent didn’t even get singed.

Smaller stars rained down on other beasts, sometimes merely piercing through beasts like flaming spears. Those were especially common inside the village, where the powerful concentrations of energy brushed past the villagers of Thuston without harming a single one.

Soon enough, the great eye and hand turned… more stars plummeting into the forest, though leaving behind no fire.

As the last of the stars in the sky fell, the sky began to return to the dull red sky of sunset. The hand and eye faded from existence, but Anton couldn’t help but think that right before they disappeared the eye turned back and focused directly on him, just for a moment.

Unsure what to do, Anton half walked half hobbled into Thuston. Timothy crawled out of a hole in the side of a building and joined him. The villagers of Thuston were all talking with each other about what happened. Upon seeing Anton and Timothy, they asked them.

“I can’t say I know for sure,” Anton said. “Though I would expect a grand elder got involved.” Timothy didn’t know either, and he kept looking over his shoulder into the sky.

There were dead beasts around the streets of Thuston, and while there were a few injured villagers, and some dead, along with a few destroyed buildings Anton was still willing to declare the battle a victory. He just wasn’t sure if he had an important impact on it, if everything was finished off by someone not even present. But instead of feeling discouraged, Anton supposed he should be thinking about reaching that level of power. Cultivation was so much more than just what he had seen and experienced so far.

After finding Catarina to determine she was alright- injured just like the other two, but nothing fatal- Anton requested the villagers for a place to rest. Cultivators could recover pretty much anywhere, but a proper room and comfort could help immensely.

Natural energy was just beginning to flow back into the area after having been entirely used up. It wasn’t an issue, since Anton found himself only able to handle just a little. His meridians ached from overuse, but he didn’t exactly have the luxury to hold back in a battle. He spent several hours circulating energy throughout his body. He found that his tendons- the next target of his tempering- had progressed quite significantly. Though they were sore now, he was likely only a week or two from completing the tempering and the seventh star. At least the desperate battle had been good for something.

Anton was disturbed from his cultivation by a smell. Not a bad one, but the pleasant smell of food. Upon stepping outside his borrowed room, he found the center of town was filled with a large number of bonfires and roasting meat.

The villagers waved him over. “You’re finally out! This feast is in honor of you, and the survival of our village!”

Among the food was a large amount of boar and surprisingly large drumsticks of avian meat. Anton smiled. His mind returned to celebrations in the past. He pushed away thoughts of those no longer with him, and instead focused on the happy feelings. Timothy seemed to be enjoying the festivities already, while it seemed that Catarina had hidden away with a plate of food.

The feasting and celebration lasted well into the night, but eventually the time came for sleep, and then the morning. Just because the beast swarm had been defeated didn’t mean everything was resolved. There were still many bodies of beasts- despite many being destroyed or consumed- and while Anton and the others filled the magic bag there were many more. Tanners and butchers had already gone to work dismantling beasts, and the villagers had sent people to nearby villages and to the Order for help. Those sent to the Order wouldn’t have arrived just yet, but Thuston knew the Order would pay them for the materials… and help remove the corpses before they started rotting.

Thinking of the Order, Anton found the others. “I am going to go secure the hole in the barrier. Just in case…” He knew he wasn’t fully recovered yet, and both Timothy and Catarina were the same. Hoyt had… probably reached the Order the evening before. It seemed unlikely a Grand Elder would have gotten involved by random chance. Unless there were some other powerful cultivator in the area who just happened to help, but that seemed completely improbable. Besides, that cultivation power had radiated the aura of the Ninety-Nine Stars, in addition to the dramatic method of their attacks.

Anton didn’t want to bring his young companions into more danger, but he also couldn’t refuse to let them come with him. Besides, he might need their help. At the end of their almost leisurely hike back to the barrier, Anton’s concerns of danger were immediately assuaged.

“Anton!” Elder Vincent waved. “It’s good to see you made it. I was just providing some support as these fine fellows repaired the barrier,” he gestured behind him. Vincent nodded to Timothy and Catarina, “Your companion Hoyt nearly ran himself to death to warn us what was happening. A dangerous situation you got into.”

Anton nodded. “Yes… I’m not sure we handled it the right way.”

“Did the defense of the village go poorly?” Vincent asked. “I heard the situation had been resolved but…”

“Some of the villagers were injured, and others died. I wonder if we could have drawn the beasts away, or if we should have abandoned the village…” Anton bit his lip.

Vincent gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, you made the right choice. A beast swarm like that wasn’t running on just instinct. They were seeking out people. You might not have been able to draw them away from the village, and if they fled… they would merely have been caught without a defensible position, and likely without their homes. Magical beasts can be incredibly destructive.”

“Vincent!” one of the elders at the barrier called.

“I have to finish here,” Vincent waved. “Oh, The Hunt is officially over. It seemed we made a mistake with our estimations of the danger, and this break in the barrier…” he shook his head. “Get back to the Order and get your well deserved rewards.”

-----

Elder Lois was not alone in handling the rewards hall at the current moment. After all, The Hunt brought many people to collect rewards. The contents of the magic bags were actually sorted by the equipment refinement department, but they sent a report on the value to the rewards hall, where the points would be logged. There was a bit of a line, but almost everyone was in good spirits.

Even though the points would be split in four, a full magic bag had to be worth quite a few contribution points. The villagers of Thuston wanted to give them more, but they had participated in the battle as well and deserved some recompense. Anton and the others had taken the most valuable remains of the magical beasts, where they still had structure.

Anton ended up being attended to by Elder Lois herself. “Hello again!” she said as Anton handed over his token. “Let’s see here… with the information from the refinement department and the other rewards… your portion of the total should be this.” She held out a sheet for him to see. The number 2308 was on the paper. “Your team also received some commendations, which are more than just a nice word.”

“Is that number right? I thought my share of the materials would only be half that, at most.” Anton was concerned the others might have given him a larger share because of his higher cultivation level, even though they needed the contribution points as well.

Elder Lois smiled, “The additional points are for valorous actions. The Order absolutely rewards defending villages. That includes all forms, such as your friend who ran to retrieve assistance.”

Anton nodded. “Good. Thank you.” He had no idea what he would do with so many contribution points. He didn’t need a new bow- he doubted he would find one significantly better within that range. Perhaps some armor. He had heard there were exceptional armors available, light like clothing but able to defend like steel. He had used armor along a similar vein- though the more mundane sort, enough that it had protected him from dying at least. Now that he had been through some battles and could afford it, the thought of something better was quite appealing. He understood that he was quite mortal even after cultivating, and he had things he wanted to live for still.

Since money burning a hole in the pocket was a poor reason to spend, Anton decided to wait until another day and give some proper thought to it. Perhaps there was something he needed more but wouldn’t consider right away. Besides, he still wanted to rest more.

When he arrived back at the complex where he lived, he was surprised to find an unknown elder waiting for him. The elder bowed his head. “Anton Krantz. Grand Elder Vandale has requested to meet with you, at your earliest convenience.”

Anton understood what that meant. It meant now. Sure, he could make an elder wait around for a while to escort him to see someone important… but he had no intent to be petty. Especially not if he was right in his estimation that this Grand Elder was the eye and hand in the sky.