Morning's first light was shining over the city. Streets were empty, not even a single person was around. At the center of it, there was a crack. It was located in the middle of the large street. The yellow-clothed people were around, this time they were working together with the people in lab coats. There was machinery around the crack, and people were watching the big screen which shows various information about the crack.
"All the streets are closed. People who live close by have already been transferred to the safe location." Said by a man who was wearing a police uniform. Afterward, he handed the document to a person with a lab coat.
"Thanks for your service. The New World Association will take care of the rest." The officer left after that.
"Sir, I have the reports of the Crack's energy levels." Said by a younger man, who was also wearing a lab coat.
"Let's look… Everything looks normal. I guess we're ready for the action. The only thing left is the engineer's arrival."
"They said hunters will be sent by the New World Association. Since there will be an S-class hunter, is there a chance that 'Zael' will show up?"
"I doubt that. He's a busy man. I think he has more important things to do. Association has other S-class hunters for these kinds of jobs."
"Yeah thinking that the entire country has 21 S-class hunters and 7 of them are part of the New World Association, stuff like this wouldn't be a problem for them."
The man's eyes fixated on a group of people who had just arrived at the scene.
"Looks like some of the engineers are already arrived. Let's start the procedure"
"Lead the way, sir."
…
After arriving at the address on the card, David is shocked by his surroundings. He's kinda amazed by the fact that everything around him was unfamiliar. A group of lab-coated people was watching and analyzing the data on the computer screens, some of them were checking the items around. A group of people, who had a special symbol on their arms, were discussing stuff. The symbol means the person is awakened and works as a Crack Hunter.
And of course the crack itself. It looked like a crack on a glass panel, but of course, it was in the middle of the air. One of the people came a little close to it for a second, crack started to make cracking noises and grow larger until the guy stepped back.
"This is why we have these security bands. I told you guys a million times not to cross the line." Said by one of the people with a red armband, pointing that he is a crack hunter.
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Crack hunters look like normal people from the outside but in the end, they are no different from the monsters. When a person kills a monster that originates from the crack, they awaken and gain inhuman abilities.
Depending on their strengths, awakeners are classified into different classes. D-class is the lowest class of hunters. Despite being the weakest, they still show an inhuman strength. Ranks that follow are C-class, B-class, A-class, and S-class. A-class hunters have enough strength to destroy multiple buildings with one blow, still weaker than S-class hunters. S-class hunters being the strongest, can wipe out cities with ease. S-class hunters are rare; only 1 in a thousand hunters are S-class.
Because of their destructive nature, special laws are created for hunters. According to the laws, hunters must wear an armband that shows their hunter status.
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After that, the person stepped back more and fixed the security band around the crack.
"Here you are, Mr. Blake." David turned back after hearing the familiar voice.
"What, you always call me like that." It was Ethan. He was wearing a hoodie instead of his classic office outwear.
"I'm glad that you're in the mood for jokes, sir."
"Come on, don't stress out this much. I said yesterday, it's going to be fine."
"I can't help myself, but I will try." He tried to fake a smile but it didn't work.
"Kid, listen…" His speech was cut by an announcement.
"All attendant engineers please gather at the G2 zone. All attendant engineers please gather at the G2 zone."
"G2 zone?"
"I have no idea what that means, but I see other civilians there. Let's follow them."
"Okay." Afterward, Dave and Ethan joined the group of people.
"6, 7… 8 and 9. I guess everyone is here. So we can start. I'm an A-classified hunter from the New World Association. I will be your Crack Guide today. You can call me Casey." He was a tall man with gold-colored hair and blue pupils. He was wearing a red colored suit with a loose black tie. After checking his list, he started talking again.
"Me and my friends here will guide you today. Meet other hunters Henry, Cameron, Grace, and Daniel… He is supposed to be around here. Anyways… They are all A-class hunters and Daniel is our healer."
Henry was a slim man with a fixated posture. Unlike him, Cameron was a long guy with a large body, looks like he is the tank of the team. Grace had a large staff on her hand, which indicates she is the mage.
"What does that mean? They said there will be an S-class hunter in our group." Someone from the crowd asked.
"Oh yeah, Hunter Cole was supposed to join us but he said he would be late so we will go in without him."
"This is unacceptable, we're leaving our lives in your hands and you can't even arrange an S-class hunter's schedule? What a mess!"
"You are sending us to our dooms!"
"Ladies and gentlemen. Please calm down… You're at the hands of the country's best hunters. Don't worry; I will be there to heal your paper cuts!" Said by an approaching young man. He was pretty young compared to the other hunters. He had a warm smile on his face and his blue eyes were shining under sunlight.
After his little speech, the crowd seemed to have calmed down.
"Since our healer is here, I will give you a little information about the crack. We will be entering the crack over here. Crack number 28-11-85B is an A-rank crack. It is a special type of crack. Normally crack's entrance gets sealed, after the strongest monster aka the boss has been defeated. But this crack didn't sealed. So we're planning to build a base inside. Stick together inside the crack, don't wander off yourselves. The remaining monsters in the crack are mostly B or C-class so they are weaker than us. You guys will be safe. So if you are ready we can go."
Few whispers could be heard in the crowd but no one opposed the idea. Ethan and David just looked at each other with confused looks. Ethan starched his head and let out a deep sigh. "This is it I guess."
"Since everyone is ready let's go and finish this, whatever" This time the talking person was the slim man.
After that, the group approached the crack. Hunter Casey passed the security lines, crack started to get larger and larger. In the end, it shattered with a loud noise. It was like a window, on the other side there was a large grassland. Large alley which is full of unidentified species of flowers. It was beautiful. Hunter Casey stepped to the other side and called others.
"Let's go"
The group entered the gate one by one. After they all passed to the other side, the crack closed.
"What is this, are we stuck here?" The man was shocked. He walked to the crack and the crack opened once more. But this time there was a street full of researchers on the other side.
"Cracks works for both of the sides. You can enter and exit anytime you want. That's amazing isn't it?"
After a short walk, the group stopped. The place they stopped had a large empty area, with a large forest close to it. There was a sound of flowing water, pointing there is a nearby water source.
"This is the place we're planning to build the base. There is a river close to this area, water is safe to drink but we prefer not to. Underground water sources could be a problem while building, so do your research well. You guys can explore around but take a hunter with you."
Civil engineers in the group started their measurements. Meanwhile, Ethan and Dave were staring around. Ethan made a hand movement to call Hunter Casey. After finishing his talk with others, Casey came close to our duo.
"Sir, we want to ask you a few questions."
"You two must be computer engineers. How can I help you?"
"Yes. I've just checked and there are zero phone signals. I guess we're really on a whole different planet. The thing I want to ask is, can we pass through a cable from the crack or not."
"We tried it before but it didn't work. The crack closes immediately if there is no living being near it. We can put someone around the crack, but monsters can also pass through the cracks. Keeping the crack open lures more monsters over time."
"So we can't do anything about communication. Maybe we can build some solar panels. At least you guys have the electricity."
"That could be a good idea. I want you guys to give more thoughts on the communica…"
Suddenly the ground started to shake viciously. Loud noises rose from the nearby forest. And it stopped after a few seconds.
"What was that?"
"I guess it was an earthquake. I've never experienced it inside a crack before. Everyone, please gather together!"
Blue sky slowly turned into crimson red. Before Casey finishes his sentence, monsters start to come out from the forest. Monsters looked like wolves, but they had dark blue colored fur and an extra set of legs. They were running from something and stopped after they saw the group. One of them attempted to attack the engineers who were close to the trees. The tank jumped in front of them and shouted:
"Hunters gather here and protect the civilians!" while slamming the monster's head with his large axe.
But it was too late. The group was already surrounded by them. Mage cast a small mark on the ground.
"You will be safe in this area. It's an area protected from monsters, please don't leave it.
After this, she started to cast buff spells on the other hunters. The slim guy was using a short knife, cutting through monster bodies. Hunter Casey took out his spell book and started casting fireball-like skill, burning monsters that got close to the group. People in the group were afraid, 2 of them were praying.
"Does anyone get hurt?" It was Daniel. He was holding one of the female engineers in his arms. After putting her into the safe area, he started checking the other people. After seeing everyone was safe, he switched his gaze to the tank and started to cast the healing spell.
Things weren't going well. Looks like the monsters had no end. They were also stronger than B-rank, which makes beating them harder. The hunter group was managing it well until a sharp scream.
"Nngh!" It was coming from Hunter Casey. His right shoulder has been bitten by a monster. He shook it off from his shoulder and burned it with his fire, but there was blood. Daniel switched his target and focused on Casey, but another scream was heard afterward. It was the slim guy. His right leg gets bitten off in a second, ended up with him screaming.
"Aaaaargh!"
His leg was shaking on the monster's mouth. There was so much blood, that almost all the grass under his leg turned red. People started screaming in fear, which triggered monsters even more. They began to swarm. Monsters had no end, there were too many of them. Hunters were barely able to protect themselves.
Using this as an advantage, monsters passed through the hunters and started to attack the protected area. They headbutted the barrier again and again. In the end, one of the monsters broke through the barrier. The barrier shattered with a loud noise and the monsters started to come closer to the people. Before they make any move; a strong, loud roar is heard from the sky.
Sky covered by black smoke. A pair of red glowing eyes could be seen inside the smoke. It slowly took the form of a long snake-like creature with a pair of arms close to its head. On top of its head; 2 large horns can be seen between its long, hair-like fur. It looked like an Asian Dragon in the book illustrations, but it was pure black except for its eyes. After the dragon's appearance, monsters started to scatter. But the damage was already done. All of the hunters seem to be defeated. The healer was trying to attach the leg back.
The civilians were frozen solid; they couldn't even find the strength to run. David closed his eyes and opened them, hoping it was just a bad dream. But it was the reality; all of them were going to die in this crack. He was still breathing and all of his limbs were attached, at least for now.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!" One of the female civilians screamed. Her coworkers grabbed her by her arms and dragged her far from monsters. Others saw them, gathered their strength, and ran. But they were running the opposite way of the crack entrance. All of the hunters were on the ground, accepted their defeat.
"GUYS, COME ON WE NEED TO PROTECT THEM!!!" Daniel was trying to keep the slim guy alive. He couldn't do anything but shout out. But it didn't work.
The mage got up on her legs and looked into the sky. That monster, it was so strong. There was no hope. "Sorry. I can't." Her eyes were full of tears, she started to run to save her own life.
David decided to get up and run with all of the strength left in his legs. Maybe he can reach the crack entrance and call for help from outside. His eyes searched for Ethan. Ethan was sitting on the ground, frozen solid. A wolf monster was getting closer to him. One of the monster's legs was injured, it was hardly walking.
"ETHAN GET UP!!! YOU NEED TO RUN!!" David shouted, but Ethan didn't even give a reaction. He was watching the monster getting closer and closer. David wanted to help him, but what could he do against a wolf? His right hand touched something hard. He turned his head. It was a short knife, which probably belonged to one of the hunters. He held the knife with all of his strength. He got up slowly, and without a second thought, he shouted out.
"HEY COME HEREEE!!"
Monster turned it's head in David's direction. David's hands were shaking, barely holding the knife. He took a deep breath, collected all of his strength, and ran into the monster…