1 Another Day Another Raid I

'If I die now, then it would have all been for nothing.' Ezra thought to himself, surrounded by the bloodied floor around him.

He had expected life to go a little differently than the way it was at the moment, but it always seemed like the universe itself was against him.

'What- am I even thinking? There isn't much to look forward to…'

If only there was something.. Maybe there was… And he just didn't know…

'Why me of all people?'

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In the current day and age, Ezra Hoaths lived in a different kind of world than what was before. Just years back, the world used to be normal and society went along the same way it had always done, until a strange event took place.

No one could say for sure how it started, or what exactly happened, but on that very day, the entire world experienced an unimaginable phenomenon that dictated the course of the world moving forward.

This strange happening brought about the birth of new geniuses, as it seemed like a selected few humans were chosen to battle the great evil that fell upon humanity.

This phenomenon was the appearance of gates. Following that was the appearance of the first awakened, the first hero.

Three years followed after that, and humanity and the earth celebrated their heroes and lived in peace. It wasn't until the end of that third year that the earth was thrown into a frenzied state where nowhere was safe to live in. The only way to describe it, was worldwide Monster Invasion. These monsters were called by that name because they were just that, monsters. Their appearance was nothing like the regular wildlife on earth. They were hideous, ferocious, and despicable in their actions and habits, much like their appearance.

Since then, many people have had the opportunity of being blessed with the gift to fight against these monsters and protect humanity and their lands. These were the Awakened ones. The ones who possessed the ability, and chose to battle these monsters were referred to as 'HUNTERS'.

Ezra was one of such people. The only difference between him and all others like him, though, was that he was not far off from being a regular human.

If the entire Hunter Association has to create a new rank for an individual, you know that individual is special. The problem was that, in Ezra's case, the rank F was created. It happened right after the Association launched their new measuring device that could measure even higher, and also even lower. Ezra somehow happened to be the first F rank to be measured, just his luck.

Sure, there were other F ranks, though not many, but he was the first and weakest of them, so the nickname stuck like dried gum under a rough desk. The First F rank.

"If you would have somehow, by whatever impossible power, risen to at least an E rank, maybe that nickname would have died down." Someone said jokingly to Ezra as both of them ate lunch under the scorching sun.

"Shut up and focus on your job, idiot. Even though that happened, it would remain the same. You know that." Ezra responded to his friend, who liked to joke a lot, even when it was not necessary.

"Yeah, whatever."

Just before they took the last bite of their bugger, a voice called out to them, signaling to them, "Hurry up! We return in 5!" the voice said.

"Come on. Just stay behind me when we enter." Ezra's friend, Oscar, said.

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Ezra was an orphan who still lived at the orphanage despite being twenty-three. He wasn't always an orphan though. Unlike most of his kind of kids, he knew his parents for a while and even grew up with them up until a certain point.

The way it happened was strange, really. One day after picking him from school, his mother took him in a hurry and they travelled. He could tell the journey was long, and at the end of it all, she dropped him at some orphanage, which he then grew in. He was only 6 at the time.

Ezra never knew his mother and father to a good extent that he could look for them, just as most other kid that age, he knew them as mummy and daddy, nothing more.

Ever since then, the orphanage was the one that took care of him and brought him up. It wasn't a good place with all a child could wish for, but it was a place one could confide in.

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"Today's raid was.. Heh.." Oscar whined as they walked out of the gate in the middle of nowhere.

"You complain too much, but I don't have the right to say much."

"Good thing you know."

Both of them stood at a distance while discussing about some things. Oscar was only going to be in town for some days then he will be going back to where he was based at the moment.

"Alright! The top dogs have taken their share of the loot, lets share the rest." A man with long curly black hair said as he walked closer with a medium-sized bag in his hand.

Everybody moved closer as the man placed the bag on the ground and opened it, spreading the content within to be seen by all. Ezra stood behind everyone, as it was quite clear what his place in the line was, dead last.

After everybody had taken their share of the loot, there wasn't much to take really. All Ezra could do was pick the scraps that were left behind, basically worthless pieces.

This is how it always was. Apart from the personal loot earn individually, the one earned by defeating the dungeon or killing a boss monster was shared by the entire team, and it would go to the ones who contributed the most and the strongest hunters before it reached the rest. Ezra, being weak and not contributing much, would always be left with scraps to take home. As for killing monsters and picking their drops, it was not only hard but less frequent than he would hope for.

After they were all done with the loot, everyone present signed out before leaving for the day. Altogether, there were nine people that day who raided that particular dungeon.

Ezra and Oscar had to walk a long distance from the sight of the dungeon until they reached the road where they would then board public transportation back home. This was normal for Ezra, but Oscar had to tag along since he didn't exactly bring with him his car and everything.

"See you tomorrow. Stay safe." Oscar said to Ezra as Ezra exited the vehicle.

"Yeah, you too." Ezra waved the car as it went off.

'I should go cash this in before returning home.'