Exactly 120 years into the future.
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April 27, 2190.
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Human Population: 1,000,856,740 souls worldwide (as recorded by the SLN).
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Not many people remember.
Many don't want to remember.
Many like to remember.
Many never had the chance to remember.
There was once a time when this planet was ruled by humans.
Humans were not confined to underground or trapped behind shield zones, fearing the monsters beyond them.
Humans once… lived as if in paradise. They weren't afraid of food shortages or of being recruited as soldiers to fight hordes of monsters on the front lines.
When did it all begin? From the digital library's books, it all started around 120 years ago, precisely in the year 2070.
Thousands of portals appeared all over the world, bringing forth monsters and creatures unknown to humanity.
Thousands of languages, nations, and races vanished in an instant, leaving behind a small fraction of humanity to unite and build small fortresses across the globe.
And then he wondered again: Since when? When did humanity stop striving to reclaim their land?
Instead, humans adapted to their current conditions.
The portals that were once feared are now being explored, and the mysterious powers of the monsters have been harnessed by humanity.
We now have millions of people who possess these mysterious powers. Today, these powers are called magic and are studied worldwide.
But the monsters persist. Thousands of efforts to reclaim human territory have failed and are no longer attempted.
Instead, the job of exploring these portals has been given a name:
Hunter.
Well, he is one of those called Hunter, and his role as a Hunter is—
"Healer, Rank E."
Someone called him.
He looked up again, closing his notebook.
His squad captain stood before him. The captain's massive 7-foot-tall frame made Angga's neck ache every time he tried to look at his face.
"Angga… that's your name, isn't it?" asked the captain.
"Yes," Angga replied emotionlessly.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Arjuna," said the squad captain, offering a handshake.
Angga gave a faint, bitter smile as he returned the handshake. Arjuna's grip was firm and strong.
The captain then shifted his attention away from Angga and began checking on the other squad members.
"Fighter, Rank D, Jayabaya?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Nice to meet you."
The same handshake was exchanged with the others.
He had been doing this for over 20 minutes now.
They were all standing near the military camp's canteen, set up close to the portal, preparing for their exploration mission that would soon begin.
In reality, this was a good activity for a squad leader—to communicate with his members and build teamwork.
But for Angga, having such an overly serious squad leader… only made him more reluctant to do anything.
"Hahh…" he sighed bitterly.
In the end, he didn't care.
He only cared about the reward from the portal exploration quest that would be given to him and his squad.
Angga tucked his notebook into the bag slung over his shoulder.
Hunters rarely worked alone; most worked in squads to explore portals.
He only knew a few Hunters who worked alone, and those Hunters were in the S-Class—a level he would never reach.
Compared to most Hunters, they were gods, while everyone else were flies.
They possessed the power to destroy entire islands and wipe out thousands of monsters.
Meanwhile, the strongest member of their team was just a man who could kill a bear single-handedly.
Most Hunters couldn't handle the dangerous task of exploring a portal alone.
"You're Angga, right?"
A woman's voice entered his ears.
Angga turned to his side, surprised.
A cheerful-faced woman was resting her head on her dining table.
The weapon strapped to her back was a sword. He guessed her role was Fighter.
"You're our squad's Healer, right? Nice to meet you, I'm Ayu, Fighter." The woman extended her hand.
"Y-yeah… nice to meet you," Angga replied, shaking her hand.
"It's pretty rare to meet a Healer these days," Ayu said, looking at him with curious eyes.
"Rare?"
"You know… on Island 3-C, most Healers have been recruited by the government and sent on expeditions elsewhere."
"Ah… I don't have enough qualifications to be recruited by the government," Angga replied, pulling a drink from his bag.
"So you work with the Hunter Guild, huh?"
"The pay isn't consistent, but at least I have more freedom this way."
Hunters who worked for the government received a stable salary and usually lived in government-provided housing.
In contrast, independent Hunters took missions from the Hunter Guild and weren't provided with anything.
Suddenly, Angga's thoughts shifted…
His eyes drifted downward.
"Ayu."
"Yeah?" Ayu responded.
"Do you remember the original name of Island 3-C?"
"I think… my grandmother once told me a story about it… but I can't remember." Ayu's gaze also turned distant.
"If I'm not mistaken…"
Yes, that name—a name long forgotten by most. A name erased for the sake of efficiency and operational convenience.
Not a trace of the old world remained. It was a world humanity had long abandoned, a world no longer remembered.
"Sumatra… wasn't it?" Ayu said.
He was wondering.. if humanity had killed all the monster or manage to close all the portal. Would this world be forgotten too?