Many other developments occurred during that period on this planet as a result of the emergence and spread of mana and its physical elements, such as metals, also benefited from this energy, enabling humans to create stronger, more durable, and more effective weapons and materials
Major changes also occurred in the area and terrain of their planet, which is now in a state of constant expansion and change
After nearly two centuries had passed since the appearance of the dungeons on their planet, humanity waged a fierce war with the monsters during this period
They sought to adapt and tip the scales in their favor using all available means, but to no avail, as the speed of the monsters' development exceeded anything they had imagined
In the year 298 after the Great Earthquake, or 56 years ago, another major change occurred on this planet which the young man realized that it had the same distribution as Earth's continents
A giant meteorite, 50 kilometers in diameter, struck the surface of this planet and fell into the Pacific Ocean
This incident caused further changes on the planet, as the density of mana within it increased dramatically
Also, on the night of the meteorite fall, exactly nine hours after the collision with the planet, a transparent blue screen appeared in front of every person on the planet over the age of 18
This screen listed the person's name, race, level, abilities, and skills
After examining this screen, the humans realized that the name column contained the person's real name, given to them by their parents
The race column indicated the type of creature the screen belonged to, in this case, humans
The level column related to the level the screen's owner was at on the evolution ladder through mana absorption, meaning they progressed from level one to level ten
The skill column was empty for most people, but the ability column took a few seconds to display
After a quick survey by various organizations, it became clear that the ability, as the name suggests, represents an individual characteristic of a person, and upon awakening, it allows them to perform a specific tasks better, faster, and more easily, depending on its type
It also became clear that these abilities and their effects differed from person to person and were divided into 10 grades: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, and finally, Grade X
This incident was a pivotal and extremely important turning point in the history of this planet and its resistance to the invasion of monsters
The various abilities awakened that night enabled humans, in just a few years, to achieve tremendous advancements in many fields, such as the manufacture of weapons, medicines, and even their combat capabilities
In this way, humans were able to restore balance to the war between them and the monsters after they had been on the losing side, and they were also finally able to muster the ability to launch large-scale counterattacks
During this period, which lasted approximately twenty years, humans experienced their golden age, clearing more dungeons at an accelerated pace and acquiring more knowledge and various treasures from within by taking advantage of the various abilities they awakened, and it seemed to them that their progress this time would be unstoppable
Unfortunately, contrary to all their hopes, just when everything seemed perfect and on track, new dungeons appeared in much greater numbers than the first time, and monsters poured out of them at a faster and more terrifying pace
Many special types also appeared among these dungeons
Unlike regular dungeons, these special dungeons did not produce the same monsters, but rather numerous hideous, short, green creatures
These creatures quickly formed terrifying armies and raided most of the nearby cities, villages, and human fortifications, costing them thousands of lives and heavy losses and they immediately placed humanity in a situation far more dangerous than anything they had ever experienced before
Sensing the magnitude of the danger surrounding them this time, humanity immediately declared a state of emergency and waged a massive war against these creatures called Goblins
This war lasted for years and continues to this day
Due to the intensity of this war, and in addition to the violent and continuous attacks of the monsters on human settlements, humanity was unable to stop its losses, even with all the progress they had witnessed, and only 15 Great Cities remained for humanity to protect the last sparks of human civilization on this planet
Two of these great cities are located in North America, one in Central America, and one in South America
Three great cities are located in Europe, in the regions of England, Rome, and Spain
Six great cities are located in Asia, in the regions of Japan, India, Russia, Middle East, and two in China
Two great cities are located in Africa, in the regions of Egypt and South Africa
As for Australia, the Arctic Ocean, and the other islands scattered across the oceans and seas, these lands has been almost completely controlled by monsters and goblins, with humans possessing only a few small, hidden settlements, fortresses, military castles, and the headquarters of some major organizations that exploit these areas to train their personnel or obtain rare resources and items
The great cities represent the pinnacle of human development today, containing highly advanced, violent weapons and towering, sturdy walls that are a combination of the effects of mana and previous human knowledge, and these cities also extend over an extremely vast area
These great cities have withstood numerous monster attacks and goblin armies with remarkable efficiency, thanks to the contributions of people with various advanced abilities, as well as the continuous development and improvement of major organizations, such as the Distant Night Guild, which, in cooperation with the great cities' rulers, built a giant space portal in each one of them
These giant space portals allowed the great cities to quickly support each other while facing waves of violent monsters and attacks by terrifying goblin armies
They also allowed for easy movement, knowledge exchange, and trade, and maintained communication between the various human organizations, which ultimately hindered the goblin plans to divide humanity and isolate its colonies from each other
Seeing the benefits of this technology, many rulers decided to further exploit it
They built other, smaller gateways connected to these central gateways, allowing the great cities to communicate with their satellite cities and their fortresses
This way, human cities and colonies in a single area could easily support each other and hold out until reinforcements from other great cities arrived
Thus, humanity was able to avoid a recurrence of the destruction of great cities and saved many human lives, whose value increases with every passing moment in this war
Unfortunately, with the continuous expansion of the planet's surface, and also due to the extreme load that long-range transportation places on the structural strength of the spaceports, they require ongoing maintenance and they consume enormous amounts of money and resources to ensure their continued operation, but the rulers of the Great Cities happily spend these expenses, knowing that they are a necessary investment to maximize trade, knowledge exchange, and support between themselves and their sub-colonies, as well as with other Great Cities
In these thirty-six years of war between humans and goblins, humanity lost nine Great Cities in the first years of the war
Now, only thanks to the construction of the Great Space Gates have humans been able to halt the goblin advance and establish impenetrable defensive lines, and they haven't seen another Great City destroyed in over five years
This might seem like evidence of a decline in the frequency of goblin attacks, but its totaly the opposite
The goblins went berserk after realizing the existence of these Space Gates and attacked the Great Cities with ferocity
With difficulty and after making enormous material and human sacrifices, humans were able to prevent eight more cities from being destroyed, despite the escalation of the war and the fact that these cities were under siege by goblins and endless hordes of monsters for years and until now
Due to the suffering from all these multiple crises since the day of the Great Quake, the population of this planet has decreased significantly over time, and now their number is less than 200 million people, most of whom are concentrated in the major cities, while a small part of them live in the subsidiary cities, colonies, and castles affiliated with these cities, as well as in some hidden bases such as the headquarters of ancient families, hidden organizations, sects, and various armies, as well as important resource points affiliated with various companies and organizations, such as mines and giant forests