Path of Immortality in the Apocalypse

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It had been over two centuries since the Cataclysm—a day etched in the annals of history as the end of human dominance. On that day, dimensional gates tore open across the globe, and waves of ferocious monsters flooded Earth, overwhelming every nation. The once-mighty armies of the world, armed with humanity's most advanced technology, fought desperately, but it was a one-sided massacre.

The invaders—creatures from realms unknown—possessed an otherworldly power. Each monster was encased in an energy shield that rendered humanity's weapons futile. Bullets bounced off, rockets disintegrated upon contact, and even the nuclear bombs—once humanity's ultimate deterrent—could barely kill the weakest of these monsters. Most of the monsters walked out of the blast zones like there was no nuclear-powered explosion.

Within a single week, the armies of Earth were decimated. Cities crumbled, nations fell, and chaos reigned. The modern world, with all its advancements, proved powerless against the unrelenting onslaught of these beings from beyond. It was the end of an era, the fall of the old world, and the beginning of a new, terrifying age where survival became the only goal. 

In just one week, two billion lives were lost. Cities lay in ruins, and every country on Earth stood shattered. But amid the devastation, a strange phenomenon began to unfold. From the ashes of fallen civilizations, a new generation of humans emerged—teens and young adults who were suddenly bestowed with magical abilities. They were different from the rest, wielding powers beyond the comprehension of science. With a flick of their hands, they could manipulate the elements, summon raw energy, or tap into forces long thought to be the stuff of legends.

Where the combined might of nuclear bombs and cutting-edge weapons had failed, these gifted individuals succeeded. Armed with nothing more than their bare hands, cold weapons, and their newfound powers, they were able to slay the very monsters that had decimated the armies of the world. 

Those who could harness and control mana became known as "Hunters." Their emergence marked a turning point in the battle for survival, as humanity finally had a means to fight back. With the Hunters leading the charge, humanity launched its counterattack against the monsters. These gifted individuals became the backbone of resistance, closing gates and slaying monsters that had once been unstoppable.

However, even with the Hunters' help, Earth was far from safe. The number of Hunters was painfully small compared to the sheer volume of monsters flooding through the dimensional gates. Gates continued to open in waves, often in the most remote and inaccessible places. The worst of these were in the oceans, where humanity's grasp could not reach.

In the next hundred years, the situation only worsened. Despite the Hunters' efforts, humanity gradually lost control of the seas. It was impossible for the young Hunters to dive deep enough to reach the gates hidden in the ocean's depths, as the mana required for underwater survival was too taxing for even the most powerful among them.

As a result, humanity was forced to abandon the seas entirely. Naval routes were closed, and coastal cities fell into ruin. The oceans became a domain of terror, ruled by monstrous creatures that no human dared to challenge.

 Safe zones were established, walled fortresses built in strategic locations where Hunters could guard against the endless waves of monsters. New cities began to rise, constructed under the protection of powerful Hunter guilds or influential Hunter families. 

In this new world, only six countries survived, their borders drawn from necessity and dictated by the need for mutual defense. Most of the once-diverse nations and cultures were either wiped out entirely or forcibly merged with neighboring regions to form these superstates. In most cases, racial and ethnic distinctions faded as survival took precedence, leading to a melting-pot society where old national identities became relics of the past. 

The six remaining nations of humanity were Novaterra in North America, Amazara in South America, Valenheim in Europe, Savannor in Africa, Zenshi in East Asia, and Sundara in Western Asia. Each of these countries had become the focal point of human resistance, their borders fortified and defended by Hunters. 

The once-great island nations, including Japan, the United Kingdom, and many others, had either been forced to retreat to the mainland or were wiped out entirely. In the last 50 years, several attempts were made to reclaim Australia, a land now teeming with terrifying monsters and countless dimensional gates. Each expedition ended in catastrophic failure.

Now, despite the constant peril, humanity had begun to carve out a foothold in these hellish times. Resilient and unyielding, people adapted to living in a world where danger was a constant companion. The number of hunters was slowly increasing, though not at a pace fast enough to offer true security. For every new hunter that awakened, it seemed another fell in battle.

Being a hunter was the most respected occupation in this new world, but it was also the deadliest. People generally awakened their mana abilities between the ages of 14 and 20. However, the brutal reality was that only half of those who awakened lived past the age of 30.

...

Right next to Gateway Mountain stood one of Europe's fortified cities—Gateway City. It earned its name because of its proximity to the mountain, a critical landmark in the defense against monster hordes. Two hundred years ago, this mountain was known as Mont Blanc. But all of that changed when an S-rank dragon attacked, obliterating the surrounding cities and scarred the mountain itself with its devastating breath attack. 

The once-pristine mountain now bore a massive fissure, splitting it from north to south, creating a natural passage that connected the two regions. This fissure, known as the Gateway Pass, became the key strategic point for the city. To the north and northwest lay a wasteland—a chaotic region where dimensional gates frequently broke, spewing waves of monsters into the world. 

The geography of Earth had been dramatically reshaped due to the cataclysmic gate breaks. Entire regions had transformed into landscapes alien to their original inhabitants, no longer resembling the world before. Where France and Germany once stood, half of the land had become an infernal wasteland, a burning hell overrun by fire affinity monsters.

To the east, once-temperate lands were frozen wastelands. Icy tundras, mountains coated in frost, and glaciers dominated the landscape. The only safe location in between was the Dark Forest; it looked like a verdant eye in between the lands of fire and ice. When a gate broke, the effects were not just limited to the creatures spilling out. Entire portions of the land were forcibly replaced by the environments within the gates. Cities, towns, and homes were swallowed up in an instant, replaced by deadly jungles, deserts, or elemental chaos. 

One moment, you could be relaxing at home, and the next, you could find yourself standing in the middle of an inhospitable wasteland, burned by firestorms or frozen in subzero temperatures. These dimensional displacements caused unimaginable death and destruction, sometimes surpassing the monsters.

...

It was a sweltering summer day in Gateway City, and the heat weighed down on everything like a smothering blanket. In the lower sections of the city, where the towering buildings blocked what little breeze there was, a boy of twelve was hard at work. His hands gripped the edges of a heavy box, straining as he loaded it into a floating truck.

Despite his young age, the boy looked older than he was, his tall, muscular body a testament to the hard labor he had been doing for years. Taking a moment to rest, he wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, his muscles aching from the day's work. His eyes drifted toward the foreman, who was lounging comfortably under the shade of a canopy, sipping from a cold drink.

The boy walked over and stood before the foreman, his posture respectful despite the exhaustion etched on his face. "Sir, I have finished loading the truck. Could I call it a day?"

The foreman, lounging in his reclined chair, waved his hand dismissively, his eyes still closed as if savoring the moment. "You can go," he replied, his tone indifferent. The foreman was 19, barely an adult, yet he carried himself like he ruled this place. As the nephew of the owner, he felt untouchable. While others toiled under the blistering sun, he simply lay back, soaking in the cool shade, treating the logistic company as his personal kingdom.

While he and the other workers labored hard to keep the business running, the foreman only acted like he was working when the owner was around, and other times, he would just bark orders.

Lucas wanted to leave, but the foreman still owed him a month's worth of overtime pay. The foreman opened his eyes and saw Lucas still standing there. He rudely said, "What?" Lucas knew what was coming. This was not his first rodeo. As an orphan, he had to fight tooth and nail to get what he was owed, but this didn't change the fact that he was tired of this. He released a soft sigh and continued talking respectfully.

"Sir, you promised to give me overtime at the end of the month. I have worked 30 extra hours this month." Lucas had been beaten too many times for asking for his pay, but he would rather die than back down from claiming what was rightfully his. On paper, there were government organizations to prevent exploitation, but those rules meant nothing if you had one of three things: the owner needed to be an above-average hunter, have connections to a hunter family, or belong to a hunter clan.

If they had one of those, no one in the government would care if an orphan got his overtime. A C-rank hunter owned this logistics company, and Lucas knew that if he couldn't make the foreman think the money was worth less than the trouble, he would never get what he was owed.

The look in the foreman's eyes changed, and with a sour expression, he spat, "This is why you shouldn't help those orphan bastards. We took you in and gave you your paycheck without delay, and now you're acting like you're part of our employees. You're just a temp. This is why those parentless kids have no manners. Have some tact and get the hell out of here."

Lucas couldn't help but smirk. This bastard was acting like he was hiring orphans and social outcasts out of the goodness of his heart. He had brought Lucas on, knowing he could exploit him more easily. Every other worker around them acted as if there was nothing wrong, choosing to ignore the scene unfolding. Lucas had learned from a young age that you can never depend on others. They would just let you down.

The foreman got annoyed, pointing his finger at Lucas as he stood up from his chair. "Did you just scoff at an adult, you mannerless bastard!" knowing a slap was coming. He quickly dodged, narrowly avoiding the foreman's outstretched hand. 

Why did this happen to him all the time? Was this the fate of the weak? Lucas's mind raced as he weighed his options. He knew the foreman embezzled overtime pay, but if he went to the cops, nothing would come of it other than more trouble for himself.

Lucas wasn't afraid of the foreman or the other adults. He had grown accustomed to getting beaten, but he knew that blowing up this situation might draw the ire of the C-rank hunter who owned the logistics company. If the owner was anything like his nephew, Lucas would most likely end up in a ditch somewhere.

He steeled himself, preparing for the inevitable. He knew he would get beaten, but he had to bite back and wear the foreman down. It was essential to make the foreman think the money wasn't worth the trouble of dealing with him, or a bully would always come back.