Chpater One - Hunters

Year 2032. A rift opened. Ogres with ugly teeth, flies with wings as sharp as blades, and other atrocities poured out onto the streets of Arcadis. It was all a huge disaster, chaos created in an instant. Civilians had to flee, and buildings were destroyed. The monsters kept pouring out non-stop. Suddenly, in the despair, hope arrived in the form of hunters. They drew blades, fought with staffs, and eliminated the monsters, saving thousands of lives. In the next month, many more rifts opened, and more people awakened, gaining powers.

Within a few years, civilization changed. Normal jobs could be carried out easier, thanks to the resources and artifacts of dungeons. New institutions funded by high-ranking hunters emerged, and society became ruled by the strongest. At some point, the Hunter Association of Kingstown was founded, shortly known as HSK, where every person goes once they turn 20 to awaken. This also happened to me.

"The next one, please." I moved forward; it was my turn.

"Hello, mister," the squirrel-like lady greeted me, in a rather formal way, making me feel old. "What is your name?" she continued.

"It's Elijah Grey," I answered as curtly as possible.

"Ah… thank you!" Her typing was slow; she mustn't have much experience with this system. Likely a new worker. Her age would match that. "Now, I'd need to scan your… um, ID!"

"Sure, here you are." I reached it over. The picture was still too embarrassing, not that I had changed a lot, but still. My black hair wasn't as greasy, I had no pimples anymore, and my haircut was much shorter. I had fluffy black hair and bright green eyes. Seeing the difference made me proud. "The training paid off," I smiled.

She scanned the ID and handed it back. "Great. Then please, head, uh… over there!" The woman frantically looked around, searching for something a bit too fast. "Ah, Yes! Over there!" She cleared her throat, turning her head back, her hazelnut brown eyes meeting mine. "You can wait there for your turn to awaken and measure your potential." She laughed nervously.

I looked at her. She had cute glasses, a friendly vibe overall. Had we met elsewhere, I'd have hit her up. But instead, I just smiled.

"Is it your first day here?" I asked, feeling like I could giggle.

Her face grew red. "Uhmm… Yes. Is it that obvious?"

I chuckled. "Kind of. But don't worry, you're doing great."

"Gosh. Thank you!" She said in a squeaky voice, confirming my squirrel hypothesis. Maybe a tamer, I guessed. But since I had to go, I refrained from acquiring further and just headed for the area she pointed at.

There was just one problem. She just pointed and said no number. So within seconds, I could find myself being lost.

"Oh no. Maybe she wasn't all that good after all." I looked around and luckily found a sign saying 'Awakening Room Three'. It had a green light, signaling that it was empty. So I just went ahead and in. After all, there were relatively fewer people.

Somehow, I felt like I was not right here.

I pushed the glass door open, and inside was an awakening artifact. It was a fortune teller's ball. One would put his hand onto it; it would light up, sending magical energy, called aether, through your body, and then it would start to measure your potential and assign a class.

There were many classes, each with its specific sub-categories. Some less common than others. The most common classes were the most useful, usually special classes, which could turn out to be quite fulfilling, since there were almost no opportunities for those.

The most common classes were long-range fighters, close combatants, and support. In these classes, you had excellent combat or support skills. Typical subclasses included mages, sword-fighters, healers, as well as rarer ones like saintess or sword-master. These were people with immense growth potential and thus an A or S grade.

That's correct; hunters were ranked by their growth potential ranging from F to S. The top three are even said to have grown beyond that.

Anyway, I am getting off track. "Here goes nothing." I placed my palm on the device, and it began its measuring. I felt the energy surge through my body, and suddenly –

RING-RING –

"All civilians, please evacuate the premises."

A loud crash.

The alarms went off, becoming louder, and screams could be heard.

"A rift has opened. Please evacuate the premises."

Then it all got hectically chaotic. The walls crumbled, and suddenly there was a gigantic hole in the wall. It revealed a gigantic, dark purple rift. Its energy leaked out.

"Oh, prick." I was stuck. If I stopped now, I would never be able to awaken, but it could also cost me my life to stay here.