Kieran entered the administration office, his eyes scanning the room. It resembled a university classroom, with rows of chairs arranged neatly at the back and a raised podium at the front. The atmosphere was a mix of nervous anticipation and quiet excitement.
Upon entering, a man in a sharp suit, who looked to be in his late thirties, nodded at him. He had a calm, authoritative presence. "Welcome," he said, his voice carrying clearly across the room. "I'm Tom. You should find a seat for now while we wait for the others."
Kieran thanked the man and found an empty seat towards the back, settling in quietly. He observed the other occupants of the room. There were around twelve people already present, some of whom he recognized from the line outside the testing room. They were a diverse group, a cross-section of society now bound together by their shared awakening. Some looked eager, others apprehensive, but all held a spark of newfound power within them.
As time passed, more newly awakened Hunters trickled in, until the room held seventeen, including Kieran. Tom, the man in the suit, stepped up to the podium and addressed the group.
"Alright, I think that should be everyone. First, let me congratulate you all on awakening as Hunters," he said, a genuine smile on his face. A smattering of applause and relieved sighs filled the room. "This is a momentous occasion, the beginning of a new chapter in your lives."
Tom paused, his expression turning more serious. "But let me ask you this: what is a Hunter?"
A man with spiky, gelled-back hair, who gave off a somewhat boisterous, almost hooligan-like vibe, raised his hand and answered confidently, "Hunters are the new kings of this world! We're the ones with the power now!"
Tom acknowledged his answer with a nod, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "That's... one way to look at it," he said diplomatically, "but it's not the whole picture." He then turned his gaze towards a timid-looking girl sitting near the front. "How about you? What do you think, miss...?"
"My name is Anna," the girl said, her voice soft but clear. "And I think... Hunters are those who hunt otherworldly creatures at the Gates. We protect humanity."
"That's closer," Tom said, "and certainly more noble. But you're both only partially correct. There's a deeper essence to what defines us as Hunters. We are not merely adventurers seeking glory, nor are we soldiers bound by duty, and certainly not just super-powered individuals. We are something more."
He leaned forward, his voice gaining intensity. "My job today is to brief you on what it truly means to be a Hunter, to give you some context for the world you've just entered, and to introduce you to the organizations that govern our actions."
"You all know that a few years ago, Gates began appearing in our world," Tom continued. "These mysterious portals opened up across the globe, seemingly at random, and from them poured forth... things. Otherworldly creatures. Monsters. They were creatures of nightmare, possessing powers and abilities far beyond anything we had ever seen. They invaded our cities, wreaked havoc, and caused untold death and destruction. Our conventional weapons were often ineffective, and humanity was on the brink of collapse."
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "Luckily, at the same time as the Gates appeared, individuals with supernatural abilities started appearing as well. People began to awaken, gaining powers that allowed them to fight back against the creatures. These individuals, possessing unique abilities and the potential to wield mana, became humanity's last hope. They were the first Hunters."
A man in the crowd raised his hand. "But... why call them 'Hunters'?" he asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind. "Why not 'Defenders' or 'Guardians' or something else?"
Tom nodded, anticipating the question. 'That is what we thought so before' he said, then continued "The answer to that lies in the characteristics of the Gates themselves," he explained. "The Gates are not static. They fluctuate, they change, and most importantly, they are not one-way portals. While creatures emerge from them, the Gates also contain valuable resources, materials, and even artifacts that can enhance our own abilities. To survive, humanity couldn't just defend; we had to be proactive. We had to venture into the Gates, confront the creatures on their own terms, and secure those resources. We had to hunt them."
Tom elaborated on the true nature of the Gates, his expression grave. "But although the association has some tension with the Concord, their founder Arthur shared a crucial information with us," he revealed. "He said that the mission of the Lumina Concord, and by extension, all Hunters, is to hunt otherworldly creatures. At first, the leadership did not understand him, but he explained..."
Tom paused for dramatic effect, then continued, "That the Gates are not what we think they are. They are not just mere portals. The truth behind them is far more terrifying. These Gates are the fortresses, the ships, the vanguard – whatever you may call them – that other worlds send to conquer our world, to rob it of its very essence."
A collective gasp filled the room. The implications of Tom's words were staggering. The Gates weren't random occurrences; they were deliberate incursions.
Tom nodded grimly. "But due to their malicious intent, the will of our world uses a defensive measure to delay them. And that is: unless they can anchor themselves to our world, they can never truly get out of the Gates."
The man who asked the question earlier spoke again, "You mean, by 'getting out of the Gate' is what we all know as a 'dungeon break'?"
"Yes, you are right," Tom confirmed. "The Gate is the defensive measure of our world. And once you enter it, you will be transported to the vessel of the otherworldly creatures. Some take on the appearance of fortresses, others towers, dungeons – there are various types. And this is only the superficial part."
He emphasized, "This is only the part where we hunt and destroy the Transmitter in order for us to close the Gate temporarily. But Arthur discovered a way to permanently close the Gate and stop the invasion of other worlds. And that is by hunting them at the Anchor."
Tom explained, "To truly stop the invasion, to sever the connection between their world and ours, we have to strike at the heart of their power within the Gate. We have to hunt them... at the Anchor."