When he woke up and looked around, he noticed he was in a bed with a lady sitting next to him.

"Where am I."

"Oh my- Well, Mister Jones, you finally woke up. After another hunter arrived at the scene of the dungeon break, he was able to finish off the monsters and rescue you."

"Ok"

"....due to the hunters' quick response, only one person died, which is a miracle considering the situation."

"Thanks for the treatment. Can I leave now?"

"No. Of course not you just woke up after two days of sleeping. Not only that, but the HA needs to confirm some things with you about the incident."

"Are they here?"

"Hmm...Yes, there is an agent ill go get him."

The nurse then walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. Which left Alex all alone in his room.

'I guess it's fine to stay. I heard that the government pays for the treatment of injuries that happened during dungeon breaks. Even after that 'day,' the US healthcare system still is annoying.'

Suddenly messages appeared in front of him.

"Holy sh*t that scared me, what is- wait, this is what I saw before I blacked out."

The door opened, and two people came in. One was the nurse, and the other being a well-dressed man. The man came and pulled up a chair at the end of the bed and then took out a notepad.

"My name is Cooper Dimins from the American Hunters Association, and I'm here to ask a few questions about the dungeon break. So, from what we gathered, while everyone was running away, one unlucky girl got trapped by some goblins. You then ran in to save her; however, you were not quick enough."

'Hmm, I guess that's about right... wait, huh?'

"Wait, what do you mean not quick enough."

" The hunter who arrived at the scene stated that there was a dead girl who was clearly killed by the goblins as well as four dead goblins surrounding you."

'The first part is definitely true; however, the second part makes no sense. How did the 4 goblins die? Wait, what was that message before I blacked out... [You have absorbed the souls located within 10 meters of you]... F**k. No way. Is that possible'

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Umm, Yeah, sure, that's pretty much right."

"While it was unfortunate that you weren't strong enough to save the girl as well as not obtaining any mana stones, we at the HA commend your bravery for the situation. Well, now that this is all clear, I'm going to head out. Nurse."

"Yes, please follow me."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot one more thing, we apologize, but we couldn't find your hunter's license at the scene, so we will have a new one made for you."

"Huh- what do you mean."

"You don't have to worry about the process. I'll handle it all. Based on what happened, I'm assuming you were an F-rank. correct?"

"Huh-uh sure"

"All right, then it's no problem at all; F-rank IDs aren't very expensive anyway; we will get that to you in the next couple of days, and best of luck to you in the future"

The two left the room and closed the door again, leaving Alex to his thoughts.

'What just happened... Well, first off, I guess I'm now a hunter, although only an F-rank, and second, based on their reactions or I guess lack of reaction, nobody else can see this menu screen.'

Then several days later, the nurse came in with a small package from the Hunter Association and the release forms for Alex to finally leave the hospital. After signing the documents, Alex left the hospital and went down to the bus station located close by. When the bus arrived, Alex was about to step on when he realized he had no money. Thinking about what to do to get home, Alex remembered one of the changes that came about in the past 10 years- the power of a hunter. Instead of paying, Alex walked onto the bus and showed the driver his hunter ID, which allowed free transport throughout the country. It took about 30 minutes from the hospital to get to Alex's apartment in the lower east side of Manhattan.

'Well, I guess it's nice to be home at least, but what the hell am I going to do now.'

Although times have changed and The United States is nothing like they were before the 'Cataclysm,' which wiped out well over half of the country. At the end of the day, New York City is still New York City and is one of the most costly places left in the country. When Alex was forced to move here with the only family he had left, his grandpa, along with millions of others, had to adjust to this new lifestyle. Alexs' grandpa had passed precisely a year ago, and all the money he had left is gone along with any reason for Alex to live.

'Man, I f*cked up big time. I was planning to off myself, so I quit my job, but now what am I gonna do.'

Alex proceeded to walk in, close and lock the door, and went straight to bed, hoping that all his problems would vanish. Boy, was he wrong.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Hey kid, you better got the money, or you're outta here for good"

'F*CK not this guy again.'

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, you geezer."

"Kid the rent money, Now!"

"Hey, look, I don't have enough. I got caught up in a dungeon break the other day and lost it all."

"Really? Fine, I'll give you 2 more days, but that's it"

"Thank you, I'll see you later then."

The landlord walked away, and Alex shut the door.

'Dumb*ss.'

There is one thing that everyone in these times can relate to, and that is the struggle a typical person faces when monsters are involved. In the US especially, almost everyone is someone or knows someone that has suffered because of monsters and dungeons.

'I do need some money badly,' Alex stated with a smirk looking at the system interface in front of him, 'but I have a feeling that things are going to be changing.'