What do you want to do when you're older?
That was the question adults always asked. And I couldn't really give an answer; however, many other children around me had answers.
Some wanted to be lawyers, while others aspired to achieve greatness. Others hadn't figured it out yet. But the ones I admired most, if only a little, were the ones who said they wanted to be heroes.
Whether that be a doctor that help the sick, a cop who wants to seek justice, or a firefighter who runs into burning buildings, they wanted to save lives and make the world a better place.
But I'm sure most of them at the time had the idea of being some sort of hero with powers, like Superman or Spider-Man. Things like that were mere fantasies, though.
Only these fantasies didn't stay fantasies for long.
That was because the gates appeared.
The world had gone into a panic, not knowing what those things were. Even the greatest scientist hadn't the slightest idea of what was going on. However, soon people realized what they were. They were portals, portals that led to a different dimension. That realization came as monsters started to pour out of the gates.
Even with the world's mightiest military, no one could match the power of these creatures. Behemoths that were as tall as skyscrapers and could shoot out high-energy beams, to full-blown dragons that could sink entire continents, to giant leviathans that ruled the seas.
In this brand new world, we weren't the top of the food chain…at least for long.
Hunters.
This was a term given to the people who awakened some unknown force and gained some unknown powers. It was thanks to this power that humanity could fight back against the monsters.
It was still a mystery where these gates came from; however, the benefits they provided exceeded human expectations.
The world changed in no time, and people were celebrating a new age of technology, wealth, and, more importantly, power.
People blessed with luck would awaken as hunters, and they could clear gates and obtain wealth beyond their wildest dreams.
I was one of those few who were blessed to awaken; in fact, I was by far one of the most powerful hunters in the world.
What was my nickname again…ah, right!
They called me the "Black Flame Emperor".
Cringy, yeah, but I didn't care.
I had risen to the top of this new world and was considered the strongest hunter there was. But that wasn't my dream.
Now, what was my dream?
Simple, I wanted to live life as a slob. Someone who had a large amount of wealth and could spend however they pleased. They did nothing but reap the rewards of other people. That's what I wanted to be.
In society, it was clear what was important, and that was money and nothing more. The world was something that didn't have anything to motivate me. So my life goals were obvious:
Study → Get into a good university → Land a high-paying job → Retire rich..
But who the hell would've guessed that I would awaken as a hunter? Not just that, I awakened as an S-rank hunter, the strongest rank. Now, some may assume that I skipped my whole plan and landed on "retire rich." Jackpot, right?
However, they were wrong.
Dead wrong.
I gained wealth beyond my wildest dreams however, I didn't have the time to spend a damn dime!
Every day, I try to lie down, maybe finish a TV show I've been watching. The next thing I know, I'm standing inside a dungeon fighting some sort of giant fire-breathing chicken! I mean, seriously, who the hell wants to fight some sort of hentai tentacle monster on a Saturday morning!? Then there are the world council meetings, where we have to go over new information on the gates and monsters, which didn't interest me in any way.
After the event known as "The Fracture," as the world called it, people united and started to rebuild the world and pushed the monsters back.
However, even though we were able to push them back and reclaim our land, the gates kept opening. This made the humans open a governmental branch known as the "Hunter's Guild".
They track gates and are responsible for the people who gained supernatural powers and were dubbed "Hunters".
Despite what you may think, there were a few idiots who tried to take over the world, thinking they had the right. But they were crushed as soon as they tried.
However, in the years passing, more and more hunters started to appear. Thanks to that, the Hunter's guild allowed the creation of subbranches which the public called "Guilds". While the Hunter's guild focused on monster research and order, the other guilds were responsible for clearing and harvesting loot from the gates.
This was a very lucrative business, but also deadly.
With my skills, though, clearing almost any dungeon was a breeze, but that also made me make my fair share of enemies. Despite all my achievements, this place felt so…tiring.
Day in and day out, I was clearing high-ranking gates or killing monsters that escaped the gates. I had no time to relax, and that wasn't mentioning all of the assassination attempts I had to face. But then the new year came.
At first, things seemed great, and I could finally relax.
No high-ranking dungeons, no close-by dungeon breaks, and finally no assassination attempts. I thought I could finally live my slob lifestyle.
But no!
Just before the day was ending, and I mean right before like 11:59 pm, a giant gate opened over Greenland.
The gate was so big that it covered almost half of the damn island. Thanks to its size and the amount of mana radiating off of it, that gate was declared the second S-rank gate to ever appear.
Aside from the one that was in the fracture.
Next thing I know, I'm in some sort of summit where hunters from around the world are figuring out what to do.
Everyone was panicking while others were trying to make schemes to get ahead.
Me?
I was fucking annoyed!
I mean, seriously, it was like god was toying with me! This was like when you get excited for summer vacation before your teacher hits you with summer homework!
It took 2 days; however, the best of the best went to Greenland. With hunters came new weapons developed by the hunter guild that would help in our efforts.
However, little did we know how much carnage there actually was going to be.
***
Around me, corpses of otherworldly creatures lay. Some were ripped to shreds, some were burned, while others were severed into 3 pieces.
Whipping away the blood on my face, I looked around the area. The once white arctic snow was now dyed in the blood of both hunters and monsters. Swinging the ebony blade in my hand, I watched as more blood splattered onto the floor.
But then I froze.
The portal above started to pulse rhythmically before it turned a jet black. The next second, a humanoid figure started to float out of the portal, and when it did, I was able to get a clear few of the creature.
Despite being humanoid in appearance, the jet-black wings on its back said otherwise. Its glowing violet eyes scanned the battlefield before they locked onto me. Stretching out its hand, I felt the mana around me shift.
Immediately, I stabbed my sword downward into the ground. A teal glowing barrier appeared and surrounded me. At the same time, a black orb formed in the creature's hand before it turned into a laser-like projectile that charged toward me.
When it made contact with the barrier, a loud explosion happened, rocking the area around me. Smoke filled my vision; however, when I let out a breath, the smoke dissipated. Then, around a mass of long, thin, teal leaves appeared. The leaves then shot toward the creature, who didn't seem to care.
Tensing my legs, I quickly jumped on the teal leaves; however, they didn't disappear. It was like I was standing on solid ground.
I continuously jumped on the teal leaves while I manipulated them to obscure the vision of the creature and make a good spot for me to jump.
Seeing that I was quickly approaching, the creature waved its hand before jet black beams headed toward me. Minpulating the teal leaves, I blocked some of the beams before I spotted an opening. Tensing my legs as far as I could and pouring most of my mana into my legs, I quickly shot toward the creature. As I was getting closer, black flames started to surround me, and they started to cover my blade.
As I got closer, I saw the look of shock on the creature's face
Swinging my blade at the creature, I watched as it raised an arm to defend against the attack. However, the sword was able to slice through it with ease. Using my otherhand I grabbed the creatures hand.
Before I could use my skill [Crush], I was facing the ground as I was heading toward it. Quickly using one of my skills, some glowing teal leaves appeared, allowing me to jump and avoid becoming a pancake.
Jumping again, I lifted my hand using another one of my skills. Around me appears made of crimson flames appeared before solidifying. I watched as the spears quickly headed toward the creature.
However, the creatures then flapped their giant bat-like wings.
BOOOM
A loud explosion occurred before the spears could reach the creature. However, the smoke obscured both our visions. Activating another skill, my vision changed, and I was able to see a white silhouette through the smoke.
Moving the teal leaves in front of me, I made a path.
I then quickly started to jump before black lightning surrounded me. In the next instant, I shot out of the smoke and appeared in front of the creature; however, before I could swing my sword, I felt the air leave my lungs.
I was launched back at a tremendous speed before I felt my back hit the ground. At the same time, I felt a tremendous pain in my back.
'What just happened?'
I quickly tried to analyze what happened, but then came a simple conclusion.
'Seems like this battle isn't going to be as easy as I thought'
Getting up, I slowly felt the mana around me before I looked back at the creature. Lunging toward it again, I swing my blade.
After that, everything felt like a blur.
I didn't know when, but I had gotten on top of the beast and started to pummel it. My fist was covered in mine and its blood, but I didn't stop. I was in a trans as I kept punching it in the face before I heard voice.
"Ah stop it you damn bastard!"
Stopping my fist, I looked at the beast in confusion, "You can talk?"
Hearing that I watched as it flared in anger "Of course I can you fu-ah shit I'm sorry!"
When it started to curse at me, I started whaling on it even more before it started to apologize.
"Hey, listen, you can have this world, alright? I'll leave it alone! I'll even give you Othra, just let me live!"
I had to say this thing looked pretty pitiful. Its face was covered in bruises, and some of its sharp teeth were missing from its mouth.
"That's it?"
"Yes! Now pl-argh ah wait, fuck stop!"
Once it finished, I kept hitting it. I wasn't an idiot; I realized this thing was just regenerating. And I would be damned if I let that happen! Besides what was an Orhra?
As I kept whaling on the thing, I watched as its pleading turned into sobs. But as I kept hitting it, I felt something weird. The mana around me had practically vanished, and the air went still, before I could react; the creature in front of me started to turn into red flames.
"Ah what the fuck are you doing!?" I yelled in shock
"Fuck you bastard! If I can't control this world, then no one can!" it shouted. "Now die!"
"Ah you crazy fucker!"
As the red flames consumed the body beneath me, I watched as they jumped toward me. However, when the flames touched me, I felt nothing.
That wasn't surprising considering I had a fire resistance skill, making me basically immune to all types of fire attribute attacks.
Or so I thought.
The next second, pain filled my entire body as I saw my skin start to melt off.
"Ahh!"
I screamed and activated some of my skills. That allowed me to maintain some sort of sanity. However, I also knew that I was going to die.
Glaring at the burning body beneath me, a black haze slowly enveloped my fist. The next second, I started to punch the thing again.
"You damn-"
*BOOOOOOM*
As soon as I made contact with the creature, I heard a loud boom before my vision went black.
That was how I, Royce Bennett, died.
***
{Hahahaha this is fucking hilarious}
Looking at the tiny humanoid creature that was floating around me, I clenched my fist. It took all my might not to fucking deck this thing right now.
{What are you, a baby? Bahahaha! You want a pacifier too?! Hahahahaha!}
I tried to reach for it, but then I pushed down by a pair of slender hands.
"Your highness, please don't exert yourself too much," a female servant said while another servant grabbed a bowl of porridge before moving it in front of my face.
'This fucking sucks'
Opening my mouth, I felt the warm porridge in my mouth while asking myself a question.
'Just how did I end up here?'