Metal Goblin

Alan, who was at this moment in a luxurious car, suddenly noticed something he hadn't before: the car had no wheels; it floated somehow. It was quite interesting to see how technology had advanced. Yuto also noticed this.

"Young Alan, I see you're interested in the current cars. I can't imagine how it must have been for you, one day everything was normal, and the next day you were 20 years in the future. These cars were developed five years after the portals appeared, using crystals dropped by monsters as fuel."

Alan looked at Yuto, still not responding, just calmly observing everything with a pensive expression. "Everything changed... Too quickly for me," he spoke with a calm tone, then looked out the window, watching the landscape change slowly. They were heading towards a more beautiful and consequently wealthier part of the city.

"You'll undergo some orientation classes soon, and we'll also provide you with a new identity. If you're willing, you can participate as a Hunter. We have a simulation training center to see how you fare," Yuto explained.

Alan became interested in what had just been said. "How does this simulation work?" Yuto smiled slightly before responding, "It's actually quite simple. We have some robots that simulate monsters, ranging from Rank F to Rank D."

"If possible, I'd like to try the simulator as soon as possible," Alan said calmly, still looking out the window, now seeing tall buildings, which were common in the past but now reserved for the safer areas of the cities.

Yuto nodded, understanding that it wasn't uncommon for a Hunter to want to test their strength against a monster and to do so in a controlled environment, where there was no chance of dying; it was the best way.

After a few more minutes, they arrived at the Hunter Association headquarters, a large and spacious building, actually three buildings together with a beautiful white structure and a wide entrance in the center. Many people were coming and going from the location.

"Welcome, Alan, to the Hunter Association!" They walked inside the building, and Yuto guided Alan to a room where he would receive some classes on the current state of the world.

Alan was left alone in the room where a video started playing. In the video, he could see most of the things he had already researched: how the ranks of Hunters were classified, guilds, and the Hunter Association. However, there were some additional important details.

Humanity had already lost numerous places to dungeon breaks, which were considered too dangerous to mount an attack force and reclaim the lost lands. Approximately 30% of the original lands had been lost, including those inhabited by humans. If we were to account for the sea and denser forests, the rate would be much higher.

With his hand on his chin, he thought, "The strength of humans is pathetic, losing part of the land to monsters, and the majority of these monsters don't even have intelligence. Even with the Hunter Association controlling everything worldwide, they're still incompetent at this level. Maybe they don't deserve this power; ultimately, power without purpose is nothing."

He thought this, but at the current moment, he himself didn't have a defined purpose yet, not yet, but with what he was learning about this new future, he already had something in mind. After all, there were lands lying vacant all over the world, just waiting to be conquered.

"Getting strong enough and creating my empire on Earth? Or better yet, creating my Guild," he smiled. Guilds could claim territory that had already been abandoned by the country if they could clear the dungeon and the monsters in the area. This wasn't commonly seen since all territories were infested with deadly creatures.

Once the video lesson ended, Yuto entered the room. "Let's proceed, Alan. We need to make your identity, but first, let's head to the simulator."

With that, the two walked to the simulator's location. There were some Hunters in line waiting for their turn, but as Alan was with Yuto, they bypassed the line entirely.

Many eyes were on Alan, and there were some derogatory comments about him cutting in line. Soon, an older man emerged from the room, sporting some bruises on his body, nothing serious really.

"You're up next, Alan. There are some weapons on the side inside the room if you need to use any. I'll set up a Rank F goblin robot. When you're ready, let us know, and we'll start the combat," the man said.

Alan then entered the room. It was a large and spacious area, entirely white, with slabs of white tiles covering the walls and floor, creating a strange white ambiance. On the side, there was a shelf with shields, swords, spears, bows, and even some kind of staff with a green stone on top. Alan was curious about how the Earth's staffs worked and walked over, picking up a staff in one hand and a short sword in the other.

He felt the weight of the short sword; he didn't like using such a small sword, but the weight of the other weapons was too much for his body without the initial vitality power of a knight. Looking to the side, he spoke, "We can start." 

The floor in front of him began to open slowly, and a pile of metal—specifically, a metal-shaped creature—appeared. It was ugly, with numerous iron spikes all over its body, wielding a club and a small round shield. It emitted some metal sounds, which, to someone inexperienced, would be very intimidating.

The onlookers outside the room began laughing and thinking that Alan's turn would come more quickly, and, of course, the kid who had cut in line would get beaten. However, that's not what happened. The goblin robot leaped towards Alan, who calmly stepped aside, using the short sword to deflect the club's trajectory, causing the goblin to fall to the ground and roll a few meters forward.

As this happened, the people watching stopped laughing. "Hey, did he just do that? What's his rank?" someone asked, while everyone began wondering who the young fighter was.

As the robot regained its balance, it immediately lunged at Alan. He was analyzing the metallic goblin's actions, but all its movements were simple, brute, and uncoordinated, just swinging the weapon at the target as hard and fast as possible.

As the robot approached him, Alan channeled mana into the staff, and a flash occurred, momentarily blinding everyone watching the fight, including the robot. As soon as they could open their eyes again, the robot's head fell to the ground with a sharp metallic thud.

Alan stood a few steps behind the robot, with a black liquid dripping from his short sword, probably oil that made the robot move. Alan looked at the sword and then glanced back, seeing the robot's body falling shortly after. "That worked better than I imagined. Very good," he thought, while everyone observing remained silent, watching the scene unfold.