It was 71 years ago that earth experienced catastrophic change. On that day every country on Earth experienced some kind of natural disaster like tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes etc. It felt as if the world was coming to an end. As the humans were trying to save themselves and their loved ones somehow ..another catastrophe hit the world. Cracks suddenly started to appear in the sky across the world. As people looked towards the sky…thousands and thousands of monsters and creatures started pouring from these cracks all across the world. As if the destruction and loss caused by natural disasters was not enough, the monsters also caused unprecedented destruction,.. so much so that almost ⅓ rd humanity was wiped from the face of the earth. As something like this could really happen was never even imagined before……even the governments of superpowers like the USA, Russia, China could not understand what should be done as none of the modern weapons, even the weapons of mass destructions like nuclear warheads which were used as last resort were ineffective against these monsters, all that those weapons did was to vaporize what was remaining of the already destroyed cities.

But like someone had ordered them …all the monsters rampaging and destroying everything that was in their way suddenly started going back into those cracks and those cracks started closing themselves. This was as if someone up there just wanted to show off what they can do in just a week and it felt like it was a warning for a coming disaster which would completely destroy the earth.

Those who survived that disaster saw the closest thing to what hell would be like while they were alive. That incident came to be known as "Week of cataclysm”. Those who survived knew that they were just lucky…but if something like this happens again they will be crushed like bugs. So humans started extensive research about those monsters and weapons that could possibly destroy them. Luckily for some mysterious reason humans also started awakening with super powers to fight against these monsters. These superhumans were called Slayers. After the closure of those cracks which basically caused hell on earth…new cracks also started to appear gradually but their frequency was low and they were different from the cracks that appeared in the Week of Cataclysm as the monsters did not come out of the cracks immediately. These new cracks were called dimensional portals. Monsters generally took 5-7 days before they came out of those dimensional portals. It gave humans some time to mobilize the Slayers.

As Slayers explored those portals they found that each portal was a completely different world with a lot of possibilities and dangers. These Slayers also formed guilds to manage portals. Lots of new items that were never seen before were also found in portals. The monsters that were killed also dropped crystal like Mana stones which also became the new source of energy for humankind. Scientists were fascinated as one of the lower leveled small stones contained enough energy to destroy a whole city. Using these mana stones humans also created some extraordinary weapons which could help slayers in hunting those monsters. These weapons were a new ray of hope to the human kind. Along with these man made weapons Slayers also found some weapons in the portals which were even more powerful than the man made weapons. Guilds across the world became the new economic powerhouses of the countries as they dealt with these portals. Monster remains were also useful as they were used in a lot of different sectors like weapons industries, pharmaceutical industries etc.

Governments of countries also understood the importance of these slayers, so a significant amount of their budgets were allocated for the management of the slayers. New Slayer management bureaus were also set up to manage the slayers. As slayers were taking huge risks in clearing these portals their guilds gained a lot of influence and wealth so much so that they even started influencing the government decisions, as if countries all over the world are ruled by guilds.

Slayers were ranked starting with lowest level F to highest level S. There were also SSS and the strongest of the all The KING class but they were on the rarer side. Only 16 Slayers in the whole world crossed the SSS level threshold,and were considered the most powerful slayers of the world. Their powers were immeasurable with the current standards. These 16 slayers were universally called King Level slayers.

Slayers were also classified into two categories on the basis of their sources of powers i.e. MANA and AURA. The Mana could be used in a lot of different ways depending on the user. There was one more class which was rarely found ….that was Healer class. They had special mana which, depending on the level of the slayer, could heal any kind of injury, ailment or even life threatening diseases. They were the most valuable class as they were rare and could potentially save someone from life threatening situations.

Those who used aura were mostly martial artists. They trained their bodies to such extents that they could manifest nature’s energy as their own in the form of aura. They were similar to the warrior class of slayers. They gathered aura directly from nature and circulated it throughout their body for strengthening. Generally every slayer gets awakened before the age of 16 years old. There were some slayers who awakened after the age of 16 but it was very rare. Everyone attended normal schooling till they became 16 even if they are awakened. After that a slayers ranking test is held and awakened ones will be enrolled into one of the two slayers academies of the country namely National Slayers Academy, Mumbai* and Indian Slayers Academy, New Delhi*.

Present day,

National Slayers Academy, Mumbai, Maharashtra*.

Day of the slayers test

[Hey look, that loser is back again this year]..

[Seriously!! …why won’t he just give up….he is just gonna get humiliated again like last 2 years] [who are you talking about?]

[You see that guy over there…fuck even I am embarassed to say it….we gave the slayers test together last year but he couldn't even get the lowest rank]

[Yeah ... .apparently he has been coming 1st in the written test nationwide for the last 2 years so everyone was looking forward to the genius’s rank but what a disappointment he couldn’t even get F rank …]

[what? He was 1st nationwide ... .what a waste .. even a well trained regular human can get F rank but he couldn’t even get that then what's the point in studying that much..]

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

[I hate people who don't know their place…]

Second year students who were there as the coordinators of the exam, were whispering among themselves as someone passed by.

….

{Just wait you assholes… this year I’ll definitely get a rank and then i am going to shut your mouths.} Ansh thought to himself when he heard those guys as he was going towards his place to sit. The test candidates were told to sit in their designated areas in an auditorium where the exam was to be held.

Ansh Deshmukh was the elder son of the one of the two King ranked slayers of India Daksh Deshmukh who was also called The Dragon. He also had a little sister Jivika Deshmukh who was completely opposite of him, as she awakened when she was 4 years old. She was even considered the prodigy of the century as no one before her ever awakened at the age of four. Ansh was treated very differently than his sister as he was considered a failure by his father. His sister also considered him a failure and was ashamed of him. Even the servants working in their house treated him as if he didn't even exist . He was also bullied by his classmates as he couldn’t get awakened even at the age of 16. There was only one person in his family, who always supported and motivated him, his mother, Devyani Deshmukh. Although Dragon was really famous, very few people knew about Ansh as he never got a chance to attend any public events with his father.

Ansh was trying his best to get the powers awakened …He never skipped his physical training and theory classes. He was enduring everything in the hope that one day he could get his powers awakened and make his father and sister acknowledge him. He was very persistent as he never gave up on his dream even after facing all the scorns, criticism and bullying. He has had a girlfriend since he was in middle school. Her name was Anjali. She treated him nicely even though everyone else scorned him. He really liked her as she gave him strength to endure the pain he was going through. Last year, she also gave the exam with Ansh and got selected as an A rank slayer but he failed. Ansh didn’t notice at first but something changed since that exam. Ever since that day her attitude towards Ansh was changed. He realized that his failure was the cause for this. But even if she acted annoyed or if she was rude with him he deliberately ignored this even though he was hurt because he thought once he gets awakened their relationship will be normal again.

Ansh sat in his place. Soon everyone else who was there for the test also found their seats as the exam was going to start. He was really desperate this year as he felt like this might be his last chance for him to get awakened. Jivika also turned 16 this year so she was also giving this exam. This added more pressure on Ansh as he was always compared to his sister.

When Ansh looked towards the stage he saw a handsome boy approaching the mic.

[Welcome everyone to the awakening test of this year! My name is Arush Pandya and I am the student body president of the school. As you all know our academy is one of the most prestigious Slayers academies of this world. This academy has produced a lot of great slayers who are fighting for mankind in India and across the world. I hope a lot of you guys will be able to pass the test and become one of them in the future. Now without taking much of your time I'll dictate the process for the test. We will call everyones name one by one. Upon hearing your name please proceed into that room on the left side of the stage. Examiner there will explain the details about the test. You’ll get your ranks according to the Universal Ranking System.i.e from F to S. After getting your rank you’ll be allotted in classes respective of your rank. Now I'll start calling your names one by one…] After the announcement he started calling names of the aspirants who gathered there. As the examinees heard their names they started to go into the examination room one by one. When their test was done their rank was announced in front of everyone.

[Jivika Deshmukh] finally it was the name that everyone was looking forward to. Jivika was already considered S rank as she was the prodigy of the century.

[I can't believe she is going to go to the academy with us…][She is so beautiful …ahh my heart just won't stop beating.] [I am so excited to see her rank….][What are you even talking about she is definitely S class …she doesn’t even have to give this test.][ Of course she is the daughter of The Dragon who was considered most powerful even amongst the king level slayers] [If she goes to academy with us then will we be able to see the dragon??] People started murmuring upon hearing her name.

[Ohhh as expected Jivika Deshmukh has officially received S rank! With this we have our 1st S rank of this year…Congrats] Arush announced.

{As expected She really got an S rank. She is amazing …..but what about me?......what if I don't get any rank this year too?} As soon as he heard Jeevika's rank Ansh felt mixed emotions, he was happy at first but that happiness was soon overshadowed by his anxiety. As these thoughts were flashing in his mind he started sweating and felt like somebody was squeezing his heart. He was having an anxiety attack.

{Calm down!Let's not think about failure right now……that's right.. I am going to get awakened this year anyhow..}

Ansh took a deep breath and barely calmed himself.

He saw Jivika coming and gave her a thumbs up to congratulate her. She outright ignored him but just smirked at him as if he wasn’t even worthy of congratulating her. Ansh was used to her treating him like this so he didn't mind much.

…

….

After some more examinees,

[Oh …we have our second S rank of this year everyone. Arnav Thackray-S rank…ohh this year we already have our second S class….] Arush announced.

{ohh another S rank already I guess a lot of talented people are giving exams this year} Ansh also thought to himself. S ranks were rare as they were the most powerful at the level of awakening as they had the highest chances to advance to SSS and King class. On an average only 9-10 S ranks got awakened every year.

[ohh my god! We got another S rank back to back. Its 3rd S rank slayer of this year, Naksh Agnihotri] Another S rank was announced by Arush.

…

..

After some more names

[Mrigya Pillai]

As soon as the name was announced a really beautiful girl got up and went towards the examination room. Her fluttering black hairs reached till her waist and she looked really elegant.

[Hey look, she looks so beautiful….][Damn we were already lucky that we had Jivika in our batch..][You better not approach her thoughtlessly you know, She is also considered as one of the prodigies of this year….][yeah i also heard she also already considered S class]

..

Ansh also saw her when her name was called. He had a strange feeling when he saw her.

{What is this feeling?….I am sure that this is the first time I am seeing her but why does it feel like I know her from before} Ansh thought to himself.

[Well whatever…this is not the time to think about it! …..But she is really beautiful!] Ansh muttered as he brushed off his thoughts quickly.

..

.

As some more names passed by,

[This is just unprecedented!! We have our 16th S rank of this year……even I can't believe this is happening this year even though I am the one who is announcing the results…is this real!] Arush announced. Everyone was really surprised as this was something that never ever happened before since the humans started awakening as Slayers.

..

Soon Ansh's name was also called.