Chapter 24: Where it began

In a different dimension of unknown latitude, with a slower flow of time and a world plagued by dimensional cracks known as gates, back to the place where it all began.

At the center of the city, several monsters had escaped the entrapment of hunters from City I by going through the sewers.

Inside the mall, once bustling with life, was now a graveyard, its floors littered with bodies of men, women, children and even the elderly, their forms mangled beyond recognition indiscriminately, the monsters spared no one.

These creatures, though considered low-intelligence, were mutated, making them deadlier than expected. Among them, the Hobgoblin were initially classified as Rank D, under Category C, but had now been reassessed as Rank D+, Category: mutant.

The hunters who were immediately dispatched to contain the outbreak had successfully neutralized most of the monsters, but they had yet to encounter the mutated Hobgoblin who had managed to evade them.

It wasn't until they received a report from the surviving guards that they realized the full extent of the devastation. Safe Room 1 had been completely annihilated, with currently no survivors.

A team of hunters was hastily formed; they were divided into groups and arrived at the mall, moving with urgency. As they advanced towards the Safe Rooms, they encountered a trail of corpses and, one of the groups to their realization, a Lesser Troll was moving in their path.

Jay, a D++ rank hunter and the team's swordsman, assessed the situation swiftly. "It's a troll… based on its appearance, it's also a mutant" he muttered.

Then, he spoke without turning to his team as a slight carelessness might lead to his death, he gave a sharp command. "I'll handle this one. Paul, you and your partner will head to Safe Room 2 and check for survivors. Do not engage in any threat unless you are in danger, just wait for me. Then the rest of you, search Safe Room 1 and see if there's anyone left alive."

Paul, a Rank D- scout, gave a firm nod. "Got it. Be careful, Squad Leader."

Without hesitation, the team split up. Paul and his partner dashed towards Safe Room 2 where the Hobgoblin was supposedly reported to be heading, while the other two diverted toward the remnants of Safe Room 1.

The troll, sensing a divide in their forces, snarled at them and hurled a stone spear at Paul and his companion.

Jay's eyes sharpened as he moved with speed. His sword flashed under the blinking emergency light, his sword intercepting the spear mid-air, deflecting it towards the ceiling with a sharp metallic clang. He met the troll's gaze and smirked.

"Your opponent is me," he declared, he stepped forward, with his blade at the ready.

The troll sized up Jay, gripping its final spear, a distinct weapon with an iron tip, unlike the stone ones it had been throwing earlier. It seemed to treasure this one.

Jay's eyebrow twitched as he assessed the weapon. 'A rare-class spear? Where did it get that? No matter, as long as it fetches me a good price.'

Jay watched the troll's movements, he tried closing the distance. 'I can't let it take advantage of the space between us.'

Sensing his intent, the troll instinctively backed away from him while hurling its attacks towards him.

Their weapons clashed against each other as Jay deflected the spear's thrusts. Despite his defense, the troll's reach allowed its spear to graze his neck.

Jay clicked his tongue. "Tch You little-"

The troll showed a smirk while pressing its advantage. Its bulging muscles flexed as it launched its spear with increasing speed, forcing Jay to slightly retreat.

Their weapons clashed once more, Jay exhaled sharply. "You're tougher than I thought. I was trying to rely on swordsmanship alone, but you left me no choice."

Mana surged from his body, amplifying his strength and speed.

The troll's triumphant expression faded into shock. It instinctively raised its weapon to defend itself, but it was too late.

Jay burst forward, dodging the incoming thrust and countering with a precise slash. The troll's thick hide, which was impervious to bullets, split as he severed its arm.

'Damn… What kind of skin is this?'

Pressing his advantage, he slashed at its remaining arm, impairing it momentarily. Then, with a powerful diagonal strike, he cut across the troll's chest. The wound was shallow and not enough to kill it.

Jay knew trolls had insane regenerative abilities. He had to end it now or else.

Pouring all his mana into his sword formed a thin layer of mana that enhanced its sharpness considerably, he aimed for its neck and pressed further with the intent to decapitate it.

The troll, sensing the incoming danger, tensed its neck muscles in an attempt to resist the strike.

'What?! This bastard is trying to withstand it with sheer strength? You arrogant brute!'

From the corner of his eye, Jay noticed the troll's severed arm had already healed. The spear was rising again, slowly pointing at him.

Panic surged through him.

"RAHHH!" He roared, channeling every last drop of mana into his blade.

With a final, decisive slash, he severed the troll's head.

THUD!

The massive headless body toppled backward lifelessly.

Jay exhaled, wiping away the sweat on his forehead while steadying himself. "Mutated monsters really are something else… That thing nearly had me there. I have to warn the others not to engage that Hobgoblin recklessly and wait for the high rankers to arrive."

His gaze shifted to the fallen spear. He picked it up and smirked. "Heh… I wonder how much this will fetch me."

Just to be safe, he walked over to the troll's corpse and plunged his sword straight into its heart.

"That took longer than I expected," he muttered before wrapping the spear and slinging it onto his back.

Without wasting another second, he dashed toward Safe Room 2, where Paul and his partner had gone to.

Before Jay's battle with the troll began, Paul and his partner, May, rushed towards the direction where the Safe Room 2 is located. However their eyes widened as a spear hurtled towards them.

Paul barely had time to react before Jay appeared, deflecting the spear into the ceiling with a sharp clang. Jay let out a sigh, flashing a confident smile before turning to face the troll.

Paul and May didn't waste time. They continued running down the hall, following the grim trail of corpses that tried to run away. As they searched for survivors, they came across people hiding in one of the stores.

Paul immediately released a small pulse of mana, scanning for any signs of lurking monsters. After a brief moment, he glanced at May and nodded.

The survivors huddled inside stiffened at the sound of approaching footsteps. A child whimpered after hearing the sound, his mother quickly covered his mouth to muffle the sound. Their fear only grew as the steps drew closer.

Then, a voice whispered through the darkness.

"Don't worry, we're hunters. You're safe."

The civilians' eyes widened. A woman among them nearly shouted for help, but before she could, Paul swiftly moved forward and covered her mouth.

"Shhh," he whispered, his tone firm yet reassuring. "Be quiet, there might be more monsters nearby. Nod if you understand."

The woman, with her trembling body, sobbed softly before nodding.

Paul turned to the others huddled together. "Listen, stay put and wait for the rescue team. Reinforcements are coming soon. Nod if you understand me."

The group nodded in unison.

"Is anyone injured?" he continued. "Raise your hand if you know someone is Injured."

A man scanned the group before shaking his head.

Paul sighed in relief. "Good. Now just stay here and keep quiet for now. Help is on the way."

After confirming everyone was safe, Paul left the store and met May, who had been guarding the entrance.

"All clear. Let's move," he said.

May, a fellow D- rank rogue, nodded. Both of them wielded daggers and short swords, ideal for scouting and quick engagements.

As they moved through the mall, they found more survivors, they administered first aid and reassured them that help was coming. Unfortunately, not all had been so lucky. Some stores contained nothing but lifeless bodies, the gruesome aftermath of the troll's attack.

Paul knelt beside one of the bodies, examining the wounds. The clean punctures told him everything he needed to know.

"Spear wounds… and a crude one at that, the bastard found them," he muttered.

Seeing this scene was nauseating, they suppressed the urge to puke and pressed forward.

Then, a sudden noise shattered the eerie silence.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The heavy, thunderous impacts sent vibrations through the ground.

Cold sweat formed on Paul's forehead as he exchanged a wary glance with May. Without speaking, he used hand signals to communicate with her.

"Stay here. Guard our backs. I'll check it out."

May nodded, giving an "OK" sign in return.

Paul took a deep breath and crept forward, sticking close to the wall. As he neared the source of the sound, his heart pounded against his ribs.

Peeking around the corner, his breath caught in his throat.

A gigantic, muscular Hobgoblin loomed in the distance.

His mind raced as he analyzed the creature's grotesque features. Then, realization struck him like a hammer to the chest.

'No… That's not just a mutant Hobgoblin. That's a fucking Hobgoblin Cadre a C-rank or higher!'

Panic crept in as he processed the implications of his finding.

'The intel was wrong. We need to warn the Hunter's Association-'

His thoughts were abruptly cut off.

His eyes darted to the side, and his stomach nearly dropped.

On the other side of the collapsed wall, standing frozen in shock, were two of his teammate hunters who were supposed to be searching Safe Room 1.

His blood ran cold.

'Shit! Those idiots! What the hell are they doing there?!'

End of chapter