When Elias stepped out of the Central Subway Station, the world he knew was completely gone.
The sky, once a clear spring blue, was choked with thick black smoke. The distant sound of artillery fire and military helicopters echoed through the ruined city. The first wave of Gates had wreaked havoc, but humanity was nothing if not resilient. The military was already pushing back, establishing temporary safe zones.
Elias didn't join the fleeing crowds. Instead, he found an abandoned penthouse suite in a half-destroyed apartment building, locked the reinforced door, and slept. For the first time in ten years, he slept without holding a weapon, protected by a perimeter of invisible Shadow Knights.
[Three Days Later]
The world had adapted at a terrifying speed. The "System" was no longer a secret.
People who survived the initial monster waves and killed at least one creature had "Awakened," gaining levels, classes, and access to their own Status Windows. The media started calling them Hunters.
Governments quickly realized that modern firearms were useless against higher-tier monsters. The only way to fight magic was with magic. Thus, the monsters' bodies, their weapons, and the glowing 'Mana Crystals' found inside their chests became the most valuable resources on the planet. Money was losing its value; Mana Crystals were the new gold.
At the edge of Military Safe Zone 4, a sprawling makeshift bazaar had popped up overnight. Tents and wooden stalls lined the streets where scavengers, early Hunters, and desperate civilians came to trade. It was dubbed the 'Awakening Market.'
Elias walked through the muddy market wearing a dark, unassuming hoodie. His presence was completely masked, his terrifying aura suppressed. He looked like any other desperate survivor.
He approached a large, heavily guarded stall. A crude wooden sign painted in red letters read: Viper Trading - Weapons & Crystals.
Behind the counter sat a bald, scarred man smoking a cigar, surrounded by four burly men holding illegally modified shotguns. They were clearly a street gang that had Awakened early and used violence to monopolize the local trade.
"We're closed for buying, kid," the bald man grunted, not even looking up from the low-level mana crystal he was polishing. "Unless you've got food or healing potions, get lost."
Elias didn't say a word. He simply raised his left hand, flashing the sleek black Ring of the Void, and channeled a tiny fraction of his mana into it.
Clatter! Crash!
A literal mountain of rusted broadswords, crude iron breastplates, and heavy wooden clubs poured out of thin air, crashing onto the wooden counter and spilling onto the muddy ground.
The bald man dropped his cigar. The four guards aimed their shotguns, their eyes bulging out of their sockets in sheer disbelief.
"S-Spatial Magic?!" the bald trader stammered, staring at the ring on Elias's finger. Then he looked at the pile of loot. There were at least forty weapons here. A normal group of ten Hunters would struggle to farm this much gear in a week.
"Twenty Skeleton Knight broadswords. Five Hobgoblin iron plates. Fifteen Orc clubs," Elias said, his voice flat and cold. "I want Mana Crystals. Mid-grade only. Give me a price."
Greed immediately replaced the shock in the bald man's eyes. He looked at Elias—a lone, skinny kid in a hoodie—and then at his four heavily armed guards.
The trader smiled, revealing yellow teeth. "Tell you what, kid. I'll give you five low-grade crystals for the pile. And as a bonus, I'll let you walk away with your life if you hand over that fancy ring."
The four guards cocked their shotguns and stepped forward, surrounding Elias.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Elias asked softly. He didn't sound afraid. He sounded bored.
"Listen, you little punk, spatial rings are worth millions. You think you can just walk in here—"
Elias sighed. "Iron."
The shadow cast by Elias's boots suddenly expanded, spreading across the muddy ground like a pool of black ink. Before the guards could even pull their triggers, a massive, pitch-black hand erupted from the shadow.
It was easily the size of a man's torso.
The shadowy hand grabbed the closest guard by the face and violently slammed him down into the mud. The impact shattered the concrete beneath the dirt. The man was knocked out cold instantly.
The giant Elite Hobgoblin Chieftain slowly rose from Elias's shadow, towering nearly three meters tall, its electric-blue eyes glaring down at the thugs. The temperature in the market plummeted.
"A-A summoner?!" one of the guards screamed, dropping his shotgun and falling backward.
The bald trader turned pale, his cigar burning a hole in his shirt. He realized instantly that the gear on the table wasn't scavenged. This monster of a kid had hunted all of it himself.
Iron let out a low, guttural growl, lifting his massive shadowy battleaxe.
"Wait! Wait! I was joking!" The bald trader threw his hands in the air, his voice cracking with terror. "Fifty mid-grade crystals! That's everything I have in the safe! Please, just call off your beast!"
Elias stared at the man for a long, suffocating moment.
"Bring them," Elias commanded.
Within two minutes, Elias walked out of the Viper Trading stall. His Ring of the Void was now filled with a small fortune of glowing mid-grade Mana Crystals, the exact resource he needed to artificially boost his stats and upgrade his shadow army even further.
As he walked away, the market parted for him like the Red Sea. Whispers spread like wildfire about a mysterious, terrifying 'Summoner' in a black hoodie.
Elias smirked beneath his hood. The first phase of his plan was complete. He had wealth, he had an army, and he was completely untraceable.
Now, it was time to officially register at the Hunter's Association and get a license.