Chapter 44: Systematic Plunder
"It’s..." he spoke with much difficulty, his voice wavering.
"It’s because of our population... Forty-nine years ago, when the apocalypse befell Earth, a mysterious system came forward to ensure everyone received an equal opportunity for survival against the endless strong monsters. In that moment, nearly every human received one of the strongest powers and classes—becoming the very first and the strongest generation of awakeners. However... Against the monsters who were seasoned in hunting others, humans’ battle experience fell short by a cliff."
As he continued to speak, Ethan could easily imagine the scene unfolding in his mind.
Just like Jake said, humanity at that time had grown complacent. With the wars shifting to nuclear warheads and meeting halls and without the need to hunt for their own food, their combat awareness had reached an absolute floor.
Although a select few were still above the rest due to their professions and hobbies, they were, in the end, people who had forgotten "survival."
To them, fighting only meant driving one to defeat, not killing. In a life-and-death battle, one’s own mind begins to weaken under the dreadful gaze of their opponent.
Even worse, when the enemies horde on a single target with saliva dripping through their mouths. Facing such circumstances, even the so-called strongest people start to waver.
’Now that I think about it, the people of that time did really seem outrageously powerful. Considering the monsters I’ve faced till now, their powers were far stronger than any of them.’ Ethan nodded his head subconsciously.
Without even listening to the end, He was able to understand the situation.
"In the end, facing the imminent pursuit of monsters, the strongest awakeners, sooner or later, died a cruel death. However, we do not blame them," Jake said.
"Had they been given some time, they would’ve been able to wipe out all the monsters with ease."
"How so?" Intrigued by his words, Ethan asked.
"It’s because of the rank system," Jake replied, turning his head to the side.
"Only days after the apocalypse, the Earth was rummaged with bloodthirsty creatures. Guns and missiles did little to no damage to them, almost as if they were protected against those weapons. Thus, when our population hit dangerously low, the world leaders decided to deploy all the nuclear warheads at once. However, to their surprise, all the nuclear bombs had been left unusable."
"A population of eight billion humans receded down to a hundred million within a week. By then, almost ninety-eight percent of all the awakeners had died. But thanks to their death, scientists and other awakeners were able to uncover the system of stats."
’This is it...’ Ethan’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
But Jake hesitated at the last second.
Was it really okay for him to know such details?
Should I just pretend not to know all this?
Would that even work?
But before he could conclude, Ethan pushed him into answering. "Tell me about it."
Swallowing down his hesitation, Jake was left with no choice but to reveal the details.
"The ranking system of both the humans and monsters is divided into two parts: class and overall rank. The class decides an individual’s potential and talent. The latter, on the other hand, decides and displays their current battle strength in proportion to their talent."
"Talent in awakeners can be expressed in many things—their adaptability to different conditions, their possible strength, and their growth. But most importantly, it also determines the maximum capacity of their stats."
"These stats can be increased through combat, training, or, in rare circumstances, through special encounters. Monsters have a similar concept, but instead of just killing humans, they need to devour us and absorb our biological material to increase their stats. Once all the stats have reached their maximum limit, an individual can proceed through evolution and break through to the next tier of strength."
"But then, shouldn’t all the humans be able to somewhat resist the monsters?" Ethan’s expression had changed vastly over the conversation. Now, he was squinting with deep lines forming over his forehead.
Surprisingly, throughout this conversation, Jake had never mentioned anything about leveling up. Even when talking about stats, he only mentioned the ways through which one might be able to naturally increase their strength.
"It’s because of an exception," Jake said, slowly getting on his knees before sitting up with his back hunched like an old man.
"All the F-rank humans and monsters have their stats maxed equally regardless of their potential and class rank: humans at fifteen and monsters at ten. According to the system, it was to provide an equal chance and start to everyone. But it was this exact reason that brought the downfall of humanity. Before they could evolve or increase their strength, every awakener was targeted by tens of monsters." Jake’s expression had calmed down quite a lot.
As someone who was born decades after the apocalypse, he naturally didn’t share a similar hatred.
"Using that systematic yet cruel form of plunder, our population was reduced to a measly ten million in total. Almost seventy percent of the earth, including oceans, had been taken over by monsters. By killing different animals and humans, they kept raising their strength, while humans struggled every day to survive."
"Thanks to a handful of first-generation awakeners who survived that hell, we were able to survive to this date. Even now, they’re all fighting non-stop to prevent stronger monsters from leaking into our borders. However... It’s also because of this that they can’t abandon their post and return even when lower-rank monsters wreak havoc amongst our cities."
"So that’s how it is..." Ethan said, his voice dry and cold.
Over the conversation, Jake had gradually come to believe Ethan’s facade. The way he replied, his questions, and his response—everything felt natural.
But little did he know that his information really proved more than just beneficial to Ethan.
In contrast to his dreadful voice, his lips curled into a devious smile.
’So that means, until I reach a certain rank, I can run rampant without worrying about powerful awakeners or monsters coming after my head?’