The Gate had fully opened.
A gaping tear in reality, releasing an overwhelming pressure that sent shivers down the spines of every newly awakened Hunter.
Then came the monsters.
They poured out in waves—twisted beasts of claws, fangs, and unnatural shapes. Some ran on all fours, their bodies covered in razor-sharp bone plating. Others slithered with too many limbs, their glowing eyes locking onto prey.
The air was thick with the stench of death, and for a moment—just a moment—hesitation rippled through the crowd.
Not from me.
Not from the scouts watching from the shadows.
But from the new generation of Hunters, the ones who had just discovered where they stood in this world.
Some took a step back.
Some clenched their weapons, uncertainty flashing across their faces.
But then—
Three figures stepped forward.
The First to Act
Alec Kaine was the first to move.
The A-Rank newcomer launched himself forward, his body moving with terrifying force.
A single punch shattered the ground as he leaped, his fist colliding with the skull of the nearest monster.
CRACK!
The creature's head caved in like brittle glass, and Alec landed in a crouch, barely fazed.
The crowd gasped.
That kind of raw strength… was something that only an Awakened with a monstrous physical stat could achieve.
Alec wasn't just strong.
He was built for combat.
And he knew it.
He rolled his shoulders and smirked. "Come on, then."
More monsters charged.
He met them head-on.
Precision and Control
Not far behind him, Elaine Voss moved with cold efficiency.
She didn't attack recklessly like Alec.
Instead, she analyzed.
Her dagger flicked through the air, moving in precise arcs, striking weak points with surgical accuracy.
She was fast—inhumanly fast.
A monster lunged at her from the side. She twisted mid-air, her blade sliding between its ribs before she even touched the ground.
One clean kill.
Then another.
And another.
Her movements were flawless.
She fought not with brute strength, but with pure skill.
Unleashing the Beast
And then there was Derrick Graves.
Unlike Alec's sheer force or Elaine's precision—
Derrick fought with pure, reckless savagery.
He grinned like a madman as he rushed forward, weaving through attacks with inhuman reflexes.
His fingers dug into the throat of one monster, and with a violent twist—
SNAP.
Another leaped at him—he dodged at the last second, grabbed its leg, and swung it like a club into the others.
He didn't use weapons.
He didn't need them.
Derrick fought like a monster himself.
And judging by the way he laughed in excitement—
He was loving every second of it.
The Watching Guilds
The five major guilds were silent as they watched.
The scouts observed every movement, every technique, every moment of hesitation or confidence.
They weren't just impressed.
They were calculating.
"Titan's Fang will want Alec," one of them muttered. "His raw power is unnatural."
"Silverlight Order will go for Elaine. She's methodical—disciplined."
"Derrick… hmm. Phantom Reapers might like his instincts, but he's too wild."
They weren't just watching a battle.
They were deciding futures.
And Then— I Stepped Forward
I hadn't moved yet.
I had simply been watching.
Watching how they fought.
Watching how the monsters adapted.
Because they were adapting.
And no one had noticed yet.
I exhaled. Alright. That's enough waiting.
I took a step forward.
And for the first time—
I felt eyes on me.
Hunters. Guild scouts. Even the monsters seemed to sense something shift.
Because the moment I moved—
Everything was about to change.