"We're under attack!"
A researcher screamed through the broadcasting system, alerting his higher ups
"Can you identify the enemy?"
An old bearded man asked, responding to his subordinate's alert.
"Lord Micheallis..... I-It's... RAGNAROK!"
"WHAT?!"
Ragnarok, a large criminal organization responsible for a great deal of chaos across many worlds. They operate in the shadows and their end goal is a mystery to anyone unaffiliated with them.
However, their goal in this attack was obvious
The stage of the battle was The Cradle, a research facility dedicated to creating the perfect hunter— an ultimate super soldier with limitless power and today, the fruits of said research had been finalized.
"WAAAH, WAAAH"
The cries of two newborn babies— Twins, one of which, was the cradle's masterpiece.
The cradle mobilized their forces to repel the threat and stop them from achieving their goal— capturing the cradle's masterpiece.
The fierce battle raged on for three days and nights with cradle buying time for government backup to arrive. The smell of blood and soot permeated the air for what seemed like an eternity with both sides being pushed to their absolute limit..... Until
The arrival of reinforcements signalled the end of the stalemate and Ragnarok was forced to retreat. This seemed like a complete victory, except—
"Which one....is our masterpiece?"
The babies identities had gotten mixed up?
"Why didn't you mark the right one, you idiot?"
A female, high-strung researcher growled at her companion in a fit of rage.
"I-I did, Mika. It's just that....."
"Just that what?!"
"W-Within the chaos and confusion of the battle, someone must have removed them"
"And who the hell is that someone, HUH?!"
Mika retorted, about to strangle her co-worker
"Calm down, Dean, Mika"
"L-Lord Micheallis?!"
The two saluted their boss and it was followed by a period of awkward silence. Dean made the first move
"S-Sir, what do we do now?"
"Relax. We'll just train both of them for now"
"B-But"
The old man raised his palm to signify his decision was final.
"They will be just two other trainees in our programme. As we test their abilities, it will become obvious which one is our masterpiece.... and which is the worthless faliure"
The cold, indifferent gaze in his eyes sent a chill down his surbodinate's spines. He quickly replaced it with a smile
"Now then.... I best go see to repairs, we need to be up and running as soon as possible"
And thus, the twins became trainees in the cradle— a secret research facility for training human weapons— powerful hunters and soldiers to strengthen the government's might and explore the infinite gate worlds making up the branches of yggdrasil.
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12 Years Later
Fences—no, walls blocking the unknown horizon, stretching out as far as the eye can see. This is a land....no, a world of walls for the people inside. This was The Cradle.
Inside the cradle were children of different ages— from infants to teenagers all training to achieve mastery over ygg. While most were not allowed beyond the walls, the very few, exceptional children were taken outside in teams for training— to hunt monsters, clear dungeons and sometimes explore new worlds.
One of those teams had just returned to the cradle.
"Ash is back!"
One of the children cried with excitement
"Huh? Really?"
"Yeah. Didn't you hear the bell. Also, I hear he brought back the head of great white serpent"
"WHAT?! C'mon, let's go see"
The sounds of running footsteps reverberated through the land as children of all ages rushed to greet them— To greet him.
The Cradle's Masterpiece, Ash Stollen
Most of the kids flocked around Ash like moths to a flame, ignoring the other party members. They didn't even notice one of them running off into the facility.
Amy Heat, the top ranked trainee among the ten year olds, ran with all her might ignoring the fatigue from her just concluded mission, her painfully sore muscles or few cuts and bruises she sustained in battle as she arrived at her destination.
She flung open the door to the library
"OH? BIG SIS AMY'S BACK!"
She ignored the chorused welcome of the 5-7 year olds and instead leaped into the arms of her senior, hugging him tightly—a senior who had a striking resemblance to Ash.
"Arc, I'm home"
"Careful, you'll break his spine"
A female twelve year old standing behind Arc with blue eyes and brown hair tied into twintails cautioned her. She quickly let go and started apologizing to Arc, stumbling over her words
"It's fine" He replied, patting her head.
"I heard you guys killed a great white serpent, congratulations Amy"
"Waaaahh.... it was so terrifying, I'll probably have nightmares for weeks. Comfort me, Arc"
"There, There"
Arc replied, patting the head of the pouty ten year old hunter. The twelve year old pulled Amy away from Arc with a hint of jealousy in her eyes.
"Hey! Stop using that glorified snake to hog Arc all to yourself!"
"It was a freaking tier 9, Katie. I'll like to see you stand up to that! You'll just wet yourself"
Amy and Katie started bickering again. It was such a regular occurrence everyone around just sighed with a smile.
"Hey Arc, what's a tier 9?"
A five year old asked, tugging Arc's shirt. The room fell silent— everyone, including Amy and Katie turned their attention to Arc as he began explaining with a smile.
"Well, you already know about the existence of gates— portals which connect the human world "Midgard" to other worlds teeming with monsters, mysteries and adventure..... "
Everyone was listening with glee. They always enjoyed Arc's passionate and detailed explanations.
".... and hunters are special people with clearance to explore those worlds. The main reason only hunters are allowed to explore new worlds are the dangerous and unknown beasts and monsters who attack people"
He cleared his throat
"However!, After over 500 years of research and accumulated knowledge of hunters, monsters and beasts were grouped into tiers 0-21 according to their threat level. 20-21 are reserved for weak, harmless beasts like slimes and rabbits. 19 for small beasts with powerful features to defend from predators. An example is the poison porcupine. 16-18 are for mid sized, powerful beasts like silverwolf packs and twin headed ceberus, 13-15 are high tier beasts capable of wiping out countries and 10-12 are boss monsters"
His eyes turned cold to express the seriousness of his next statement
"And then, there are the single digit monsters 0-9.... Disaster-class beasts capable of wiping out entire worlds. Any Hunter less than master class are advised to run for their lives if they encounter one"
"WOOW, SO COOL" The kids chorused, their eyes glittering with stars
"I know right? That shows how strong Amy and Ash are, they're the best of the best. Even the current paladins weren't able to defeat a disaster class beast until they were at least 17 years old"
Hunters were divided into 9 ranks with 5 subranks which determined the threat level of worlds they were given clearance to explore.
Rookie, Expert, Specialist, Slayer, Master, Grandmaster, Saint, King, Paladin.
The lowest rank was Rookie-5 and second highest King-1. The strongest hunters in the world earned the rank of Paladin.
"It's quite rare for people our age to see a slain disaster class beast. Don't you kids want to see it?"
"YEESSS!"
The kids responded to Katie's question enthusiastically and hurried over to see the beast. Once they were gone, Katie's face sank and tears started streaming down Amy's face.
"How can you be so calm, Arc?" Amy asked
"Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. There's nothing I can do about it, I'm getting deported this time"
The Cradle was a facility dedicated to creating the ultimate Hunter. Their trainees eclipse other hunters of their age in terms of ability and potential and they are all loyal to the cradle backed by the government. This makes the cradle one of the greatest military forces in Midgard.
Children begin as soon as they can walk— undergoing harsh training and genetic modifications to boost their powers. A military power has no use for failures, which is why those who can't keep up are kicked out— shipped to an orphanage where they lead civilian lives and never allowed to become hunters. Amy rushed to hug Arc, crying.
"I-It's not fair. You're more knowledgeable about beasts than anyone I know and no one wants to become a hunter more than you...why must fate be so cruel"
"The Cradle has no use for a failure like me who can't even use ygg or fit into any of the classes—"
Hunters make use of beasts to gain power and the medium that makes it possible is ygg, a special energy in nature and all living beings. The method hunters use to gain power are divided into 3 classes— Warriors who assimilate the essence of the beasts, gaining superior physical abilities and the powers of the beasts, mages who draw powers from beast familiars to cast spells and tamers who control beasts for battle.
Everyone can use at least one class. Although, there are geniuses like Amy and Ash who can use all three classes. And then there's the only anomaly in the world, Arc Stollen, who can't even use ygg let alone fit into any class.
"YOU'RE NOT A FAILURE! You're smart, kind, sweet... I-I...."
Arc patted her on the head and wiped off her tears.
"My journey as a hunter ends here, so now it's up to you to become a powerful hunter"
"I'll not just become stronger, I'll be the strongest paladin this world has ever seen!"
"That's the spirit! I wonder what I should do with my new life? Maybe I'll open a farm or zoo.... spending all day around animals, sounds like fun"
"You sure love animals"
Katie joined in the conversation grabbing his arms.
"Well, if I get deported too, let's run that farm together"
"Don't say such ominous things. You may still escape barely"
"I don't care about becoming a hunter as long I'm with you"
She replied, hugging his arm tightly. This sparked another bickering session between Amy and Katie with Arc in the middle.
"Hey, stop hugging him like that, Arc's mine!"
"I don't see your name on him, get lost pipsqueak"
The catfight soon escalated to a tug of war with the laughing Arc as the rope.
"Stop that, both of you. Are you two seriously fighting on Arc's last day here?"
A tall, beautiful woman with scarlet red hair tied in a ponytail walked into the room.
"Don't say that, Instructor Maya. The brass might still decide to keep Arc around"
"That's highly unlikely and you know it"
Amy's face sank. Maya took a deep breath and turned to Arc.
"I'm sorry. I'll really miss having you around though, Arc"
"Y-Yeah"
The blushing twelve year old replied. Amy and Katie kicked him in both legs
"Ow! What was that for?!"
"Hmph... Just you wait, mine will grow bigger than instructor Maya's one day"
Amy acknowledged her instructor as a romantic rival at that moment
"Hahaha"
"Stop laughing!.... Hey, Arc?"
"Yeah?"
"Will I..... ever see you again?"
She asked with teary eyes. He patted her on the head
"Ofcourse. When you become a famous hunter, I promise to come visit"
The light in her eyes returned and she put on a cheerful smile as she and Katie headed arm in arm with Arc to supper. Arc might've been a faliure in the cradle, but he made irreplaceable friends and that was something he was thankful for.
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"Who are the dropouts this time?"
Lord Micheallis asked the instructors and researchers. They were at a board meeting to decide the dropouts.
"Neil Strange, Katie Byron, Carl White, Honoka Ishigami and Arc Stollen"
"Hmmm.... Do we all agree that Ash Stollen is the cradle's masterpiece and Arc the liability?"
"NO OBJECTIONS"
A unanimous decision. A devilish smile formed on the lips of the man known as Lord Micheallis as gave his verdict.
"Alright. Prepare for their execution!"