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20 Years ago, it was the night before Christmas, when everyone was in the mood of holidays.
In the cold dark night, suddenly Meteors began to fall. They descended slowly like falling balloons and glowed soft white. When they touched the ground, they landed softly, without making loud sounds or causing harm.
Some fell in open fields, some near rivers, some on peoples' houses, some on vehicles and some fell on empty roads. People came out of their homes to watch. Children pointed at glowing trails, others watched them in shock and excitement. No one would have guessed that the silent fall of these beautiful meteors was actually a disaster in disguise.
In a few seconds the entire Earth was covered in such meteors. People posted pictures and videos about the meteors on social media. Saying "Unnatural Phenomena" or "Rain Of The Stars". Very few humans dared to touch these fallen rocks, but animals and birds were a different case. In moments the rocks vanished in thin air, except for the ones touched by a living organism.
As these rocks faded away, the air became dense, as if something new was mixed in the atmosphere.
The rocks had a white crystalline structure and its scent was as sweet as the scent of sugar. Many animals, birds and insects were fooled by its scent and started munching the rocks. With every bite, they grew bigger, stronger and evolved into ferocious monsters. Even some humans tried to eat them. As they cracked out and swallowed tiny chunks of the rock, their minds went blank, their heads started to hurt like someone was stabbing their head with a sharp knife. They ate more and more of it, every bite made them even more unhinged.
The pain increased as they continued eating the rock, their senses dulled and gradually, they turned into zombie like monsters. Their teeth and nails grew sharper, body became more like an animal and they started to devour everything in sight. It was the same with the animals, insects and birds. They began to eat anything and everything that came in their way, even other animals and humans.
Amidst all the chaos, some extraordinary people appeared. They had awakened unusual abilities. May be because of the meteors, or may be the reason was something else completely, but at that point, it did not matter. They fought for the sake of humanity and slew the monsters and zombies one by one. As the night regained its silence, they sat on the ground with confusion and sadness.
They had killed people—humans with their own hands. Some said it was a natural disaster and some said it was a new beginning.
24th December of the year 2024 was hence forth known as "The Day Of Metamorphosis".
On 'The Day Of Metamorphosis', 30% of the human population and 60% of other fauna were wiped out from the face of the Earth. The plants also underwent certain mutations and evolved with time. New plants and trees started to grow on Earth. This created new habitats, which then became home of new species of creatures. Not just on land, this happened in the oceans and at the poles as well.
After that day, the world changed completely. The laws of the world that were thought to be absolute were now just myths, and... the fantasy of myths, became the truth of reality. As days, weeks and months passed, new discoveries and dangers started to appear.
Humans awakened with supernatural abilities fought against the monsters. They were now being recognised as Raiders. They are ranked according to the level of Mana they possess.
Mana is a form of an otherworldly energy that was mixed in Earth's atmosphere on The Day Of Metamorphosis.
The highest Rank of an awakened is S, followed by A, B, C, D, E and F Rank. F Rank individuals are awakened, but with no abilities. They are not suited to be a Raider until they acquire at least one skill and become an E Rank. Awakened people have a Mana Core and normal people do not. In a few months, 4% of the population were documented as awakened and the percentage kept increasing every month.
Five months after 'The Day Of Metamorphosis', rifts in Space-time created Voids. A Void is a portal that connects the Earth to different miniature worlds randomly. These worlds have a small boundary, sometimes they are just abandoned mansions or arenas, but the creatures that live there, are not human. They are monsters, some are weaker than a cat but some are even stronger than a raging dinosaur.
A Void can be cleared by two methods, one—Killing all the monsters and breaking the Void Crystal which is like the brain of a Void. This will close the Void completely. Two—by keeping the Boss monster alive and getting the Void Crystal out of the Void. With this method, a Raider with higher rank than the Void Crystal, can control the opening and closing of that Void.
Voids are classified as...
yes, I know, you already know it, but still let me tell you...
They are classified into S, A, B, C, D and E Rank Voids. 'S-Ranked Void' being the Most difficult and 'E-Ranked Void' being the Least Difficult.
You might be thinking, Why are they called Voids and not Gates or Dungeons like in other manga or anime, there is a reason for it.
The major difference is...
When the time limit of a Void is exhausted, the monsters do not come out of a void, but something even more dangerous happens.
The Void compresses and becomes a point sized black hole sucking the surroundings into itself leaving huge craters behind. The Void Grows in Rank every time it absorbs its surroundings and the monsters inside also become stronger. The radius of the absorption increases as the Void grows. This is why they were named "Void".
Voids are not connected to Earth completely, they are temporary. But if an S Rank Void is not cleared in three weeks, then something even absurd happens. The Void turns Into an underground dungeon with multiple floors and gets permanently connected to the Earth.
Now, it has been 20 years since the fate of the humans on the earth changed. The technology and application of Items found in the voids has advanced exponentially. A Japanese scientist recognised by the name Aakihiko Aashida had made significant contribution in formation of today's society. He studied the meteors and all the unnatural phenomena occurring in mere months. He also invented many devices, like the device that measures the amount of Mana in items and human body. Mana Reader makes it easy to Rank items and Awakeners.
The monster population on Earth kept increasing. The Voids of random Ranks started appearing in different busy locations like schools, train stations, airports etc... but this did not stop the advance of humanity. By defeating monsters and Clearing Voids, the Raiders amassed great wealth and grew financially powerful. Every person began working hard to become a Raider, because becoming a Raider meant becoming successful in life....
Somewhere In Goa - India, December 24, 2044
"Why F Rank?!" a person screamed as he punched a concrete wall in an alleyway.
Crack.
The sound of his finger bones cracking was low but his scream that followed was really loud.
This guy here who just now cracked his fingers is our protagonist.
Kai Healer, Age 20, Occupation: Jobless! Black hair, skinny body, short height and ragged oversized clothes was his overall appearance. This was his first time taking the Awakener test.
You might have guessed the results, ...he was an F Rank.
Every Awakened was given a smart watch like device after the test. SDN (Stats Display Node) was designed to provide real-time stats of an Awakened. Of course it was not for free. Kai had worked countless odd jobs to afford the Awakener Test and the device, but all of it had been for naught. He was an F Rank with no skills.
Now he was somewhere in an alleyway of slums regretting his decision. In the same alleyway there was a small group of thugs. About 7 men. A person from that group called out to him.
"Hey! Kid, Come here. Our boss has an offer for you." Kai did what a sensible person would do. He tried to act as if he did not hear that guy and tried to slip away. He shouted once again, "If you don't come here, we'll follow you to your house!"
Hearing this, Kai burst into uncontrollable laughter. He turned around,
"Hah haah hah! You'll follow me to my house??... Only if I had one. I'm homeless, you idiot."
He hadn't planned on talking to those guys, but the thought of someone with a fate like his having a decent house was so absurd that he couldn't help but mock them.
He was born at that night, an hour after the glowing meteors fell. Parents were nothing special. Mother was a brilliant housewife, and father was an honest man working as an engineer in a company. They had a beautiful little house near the woods. His father Awakened supernatural abilities on that night and defeated hundreds of monsters to protect the hospital where his wife and newborn son was.
Many patients and the hospital staff witnessed his amazing power. He defeated all the monsters, but he was severely injured and poisoned in the fight. The Hospital regarded him as a Hero and took the responsibility of treating him.
It has been twenty years and he hasn't woken up until today. His achievement was not great enough in the eyes of the government to aid in his treatment. The company he worked in also turned its face after giving a few thousand rupees as medical fund. His Heroic story was forgotten and lost in the small part of the local newspaper that mentioned him.
Kai's mother fell ill and continued to become weak worrying about her husband. She is also being treated in the same hospital. She lies on the bed next to her husband and wishes for him to wake up every moment. Their house was destroyed by the animals from the forest who turned into monsters. And now Kai is working hard to walk in his father's footsteps and get justice for him and his family.