Location: Global / N.D.A.I. Safe Zones, India
Date & Time: January 25, 2025 | 10:00 AM (IST)
The end of the first global wave did not come through a miracle, but through cold, calculated, and brutal force.
The E and D-Rankers had perished because they relied on standard steel and hollow overconfidence. But when the G.D.A. and global associations finally deployed their C and B-Rank squads, the fundamental rules of combat shifted. These high-ranking Dungers weren't limited by the sharpness of a blade. Their massive mana reserves and strict tactical discipline became their primary weapons.
Location: Times Square, New York (U.S.A.A. Forces)
In the freezing New York morning, B-Rank squads of the U.S.A.A. were systematically clearing Times Square. Before them stood a massive horde of hundreds of D-Rank monsters.
There was no clashing of swords here. The B-Rank 'Casters' (Mages) standing at the rear were utilizing their 50,000+ MP with clinical precision. They had no need for steel. A Caster extended his hands, converting his raw mana into pure thermal energy. The air temperature spiked instantly, and a massive shockwave of fire incinerated the entire horde. There was no need to cut through thick hides; the monsters were simply cooked alive within the inferno. In a single strike, more than twenty beasts were reduced to ash.
Location: Red Square, Moscow (The Winter Vanguard)
The Russian forces treated survival like a mathematical equation. Their C-Rank Vanguards stood in a rigid phalanx. They carried no sharp weapons, only heavy, flat iron shields.
When a twelve-foot-tall C-Rank monster charged their line, a Vanguard with 35,000 MP braced his shield and dug his heels into the frozen ground. The impact was violent, yet the Vanguard didn't give an inch. He condensed his mana into his fist and delivered a blunt punch directly into the monster's chest.
The punch didn't pierce the skin, but the kinetic energy of 35,000 MP was transferred directly through the impact point. The monster's internal organs—its heart and lungs—were pulverized by the shockwave. Without a single external wound, the beast collapsed, coughing up blood. It was blunt force trauma at its most efficient; sharpness was irrelevant.
Location: Connaught Place, New Delhi (N.D.A.I. Forces)
In India, the N.D.A.I. had rapidly adapted its strategies. On the streets of Delhi, a C-Rank Warrior squad surrounded a vicious pack of D-Rank monsters.
These Warriors carried the same standard steel swords that had shattered in the hands of E-Rankers. The difference, however, lay in their mana control. These C-Rankers employed 'Mana Coating.' They wrapped their dense mana around the steel like a secondary skin. The sword was no longer just metal; the mana layer increased its durability a hundredfold and gave the edge a high-frequency, chainsaw-like vibration.
A Warrior stepped forward, swinging his glowing blade. This time, the metal held. The mana-coated blade sliced through the D-Rank monster's neck in one clean, smooth motion.
Location: Park Street, Kolkata & Marina Beach, Chennai (N.D.A.I. Squads)
In the hyper-dense cities of Kolkata and Chennai, combat had become raw and practical. The C-Rank Dungers there realized that common steel would eventually fail them, so they abandoned it entirely.
At Marina Beach, a squad faced a massive C-Rank sea-mutant. The squad leader carried a giant, reinforced femur bone harvested from a C-Rank monster killed during the first day. This otherworldly bone was far more durable than any terrestrial metal.
The leader infused the crude bone club with 40,000 MP and delivered a crushing blow to the sea-mutant's head. The bone didn't break; the monster's skull did.
Behind him, two Warriors attacked the monster's blind spots with long iron spears. They didn't strike the armored hide; instead, with precise accuracy, they drove the spears directly into the creature's eyes and open maw. This tactical squad-based attack on weak points was flawless.
Across the globe, the counteroffensive continued with the same ruthless discipline. The C and B-Rankers proved that humanity still possessed the power to fight back. They weren't fighting like a desperate mob; they were operating as a coordinated military machine.
The erasure of 40% of the world's population was a horrifying price to pay. But that cost had taught the associations how to survive in this new order. The flow of monsters was contained. The streets were slowly being cleared.
Yet, behind the victory of these high-rankers lay a bitter truth. They had only defeated scattered C and D-Rank monsters. On the G.D.A. radars, the true threat was still blinking.
The Hell Gates were still three weeks away from opening. And the Bosses waiting inside those gates possessed MP levels that dwarfed the combined strength of these C and B-Rankers. This victory was merely a silence—the silence before the actual storm.
Chapter Summary
World Status: The first wave of monsters from the fractures is largely contained by high-rank (C and B) Dunger squads across the globe.
Tactical Evolution: Humanity has adapted. New tactics include pure mana/thermal attacks (Casters), kinetic blunt force (Vanguards), and Mana Coating to reinforce steel (Warriors).
Biological Warfare: Dungers have begun using monster parts (bones/claws) as weapons, as they are more durable than Earth's steel.
The Cost: Global population has stabilized after a 40% loss.
Foreshadowing: Despite the current victory, the G.D.A. remains terrified of the upcoming Hell Gates (3 weeks away), as the Bosses inside far exceed the power of current C and B-Rankers.