A farming village in Iowa, only an hour away from a big city, United States of America.

"I guess she's gone and died. Not that I care", said Martha, a middle-aged lady, wife, and mother of one.

She had remarried into her husband's family three years ago. They'd had a son together, but he'd already had a daughter from his previous marriage.

Martha couldn't even pretend this one was her kid. Both her and her husband were blond, and blue-eyed, but this one was as brown-haired as they came. Her skin was tan like the sand on a beach, her eyes, instead of the crystal blue both Martha and her husband possessed, were of a darker, hazel color.

Now, Martha wasn't a racist, of course, but she simply believed that Americans should live in America. To her, immigration was a plague that watered down true American blood.

That's what the girl was. She was a half-ling. The product of a mistake.

She had turned seventeen not long ago. If it had been up to Martha, she would have been kicked out already, but her husband insisted that she waited until the girl turned eighteen at the very least.

"Ugh, why does he care so much about her… She doesn't even look like him." She clicked her tongue. "For all he knows she might not even be his."

To vent her anger, every night, Martha entered the girl's room, and she did horrible things to her. The girl had tried to defend herself at first, but unfortunately, she had been blessed with a small frame by her mother. In comparison, Martha and Jonathan, her husband, were colossal. Both above six feet tall, and decently fit.

When fighting back hadn't worked, the girl had tried to call out to her father for help, but he had ignored her thoroughly. No matter what bruises she presented, what evidence she showed, her very own father couldn't be bothered to care.

Martha sighed as she looked at her infant son lovingly. "Now we can really have our very own little family, isn't that right, Ethan?"

It had been a week since Faith, the girl, had shown her face around their house. Martha thought it was about time she'd ran away. She wondered how she'd endured all those beatings until now and she scoffed.

KNOCK KNOCK

Someone at the door.

People rarely came all the way out here.

Perhaps a delivery.

Martha kissed her son's forehead and she stood up. "Yes, I'm coming, hold tight!"

'Who could it possibly be...and why are they knocking so hard? I'll be sure to give them a piece of my mind.'

When she opened the door, Martha saw nothing until she looked down.

She raised an eyebrow. "What the hell? What possessed you to come back?"

It was Faith. She was bruised. Her clothes were torn, and one of her eyes was swollen, but it was indeed her.

She slapped the girl's cheek. "Don't you understand already? You're not wanted here! Even your father wishes you were gone!!"

Faith did not reply.

Martha prepared to slam the door. She thought that girl had finally lost her mind. She'd always been quiet, so she supposed non-verbalism was simply the next natural step.

Faith stopped her. Then, she stretched out her hand, stood on her toes, and she grabbed Martha's face.

"W-What are you doing!?? Let me go!!"

Martha tried to break free, but she could hardly move. 'W-when did she get so strong!??'

Martha was forced to look into Faith's eyes.

The girl's lips parted. "...You want… to die… desperately…."

[Minor Mental Domination.]

In reality, this skill was useless. It did not work on those of the same level, and even for those weaker, if they focused, the skill had no effect.

However, as long as there were no major disturbances, this skill was infallible against someone who did not even have a system. They had no way to defend themselves against it.

Still, it drained an enormous amount of mana.

Faith immediately felt dizzy as she watched Martha walk toward the kitchen and grab a knife.

Despite the dizziness, however, for the first time in a long, long time, Faith smiled, and tears pooled in her eyes.

That night, Jonathan returned home to a nightmare. A bloody scene, and his infant son crying profusely.

Faith was nowhere to be found.

—

Many more stories such as this one unfolded across the globe. Some joyous, some sorrowful, and some outright dreadful.

When Peter Popov's success was announced, every major country was already in the possession of at least one 'Conqueror'.

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Year 20X4 and 20X5

The world had finally begun to grasp what these 'Gates' were, and what it meant to be a 'Conqueror'.

It was quickly understood that the 'System' that the Conquerors possessed contained many advantages within it.

For one, it eliminated all language barriers between them, which made worldwide cooperation much easier.

Research efforts were at an all time high.

Canadian scientists were the first to detect a mysterious form of energy seeping into our world, or perhaps one that had always been present, only now awakening.

For now, it had no name, but it would later be known as Mana.

Using specialized equipment, they were able to measure and recognize this special energy. They quickly noticed that it seemed to concentrate around Gates, at differing levels.

Canadian scientists sought the cooperation of approximately fifty other countries that maintained tight control around Gate management and entry.

Using records from Gate expeditions across the world, they came to a simple conclusion. It became apparent that when Gates emanated little of that new energy, expeditioners tended to return victorious. With this in mind, scientists drew a significant correlation between the density of the energy, and survival rates of expeditioners.

Soon, Gates began to be characterized by 'Danger Level'. Visually indistinguishable, each one a featureless pale white, Gates provided no outward indication of their threat level. This led researchers to rely solely on mana density as a classification metric

The Gate Hazard Classification Index (GHCI), or the Tremble Scale, in honor of the lead scientist of Canada's Mana discovery team, was born. Upon an international treaty, it was adopted by nearly every country, and used to classify gates uniformly.

Class I - Minimal

Little to no threat, even in the event of a break

Class II - Localized

Threat to a low number of human lives and infrastructure. The Lesser Wyvern came from a gate of this level. Manageable with military grade intervention, but conventional firearms had limited effect.

Class III - High

Threat to a large number of human lives and neighboring cities. Generally required well-trained Conquerors to challenge, or to contain in the event of a break. If no Conqueror was available, extensive carpet bombing had proved somewhat effective until one could arrive.

Class IV - Potential National threat

A break of this level had never occurred, hence the danger level was unknown. Hypothesized to pose a threat to an entire country. Only one recorded Gate existed of this level. At an altitude of five thousand meters above the Atlantic Ocean, referred to by the public as the 'Passage to Heaven'.

Class V - Extinction-level (Hypothetical)

A break would likely represent an existential threat to humanity.

By year five, an international generation of elite Conquerors had emerged, each representing their own region's philosophies, strengths, and innovations.

Shu ha from China's rising dragon association had recently attained level fifteen and class level nine, making her the most proficient swordswoman in the world.

Lucien D'armont, from the Ordre de la voix ancienne, a new faith in France, had reached level fourteen, and Paladin class level eight.

Jason Halloway from the USA's protectorate was only level nine, but he was the first in the world to reach class level ten and unlock his third class skill, the [Elemental Arrow] of the archer class.

There was also Mateus Cordo from Brazil, first to unlock the Druid class. His combat power was low, but it seemed useful considering Brazil's extensive Amazonian forest.

Riley Vega from South Africa was first to conjure a fire spell using a spell book she had found in a dungeon. This sparked heavy research into magic. The mage class had been believed to be useless before this, but thanks to Riley, that misconception was quickly torn apart.

The Passage to Heaven remained untouched, but it was little cause for concern. Every Gate in the world was heavily monitored. When a break was on the verge of occurring, mana density suddenly surged, and it generally took a week before the break actually happened.

All in all, humans had done what they did best. They had adapted to the sudden change in the world. Projects to harness mana as renewable energy were in the works. Entire divisions had been created to study the System. Skill databases had been created. Classes had been ranked. Materials from dungeons had been harvested to create armor, weapons, and luxuries.

Curriculums had been created in schools. Training camps had been put in place to foster the next generation of Conquerors. The world was turning, the world was evolving.

Until April of year five.

A novice raid team from Australia reported a strange flower within a class II Gate. Even after it'd been closed, the flower remained, transported to the 'real' world. The event was reported to the Australian government. Photographs had been taken and shared.

A flower with crimson petals that had yet to bloom, until only a week later that is. Without so much as a warning, the flower's petals unfolded, and 'something' seemed to materialize into existence.

It was… human-looking, but with horns, and a weird symbol on its forehead. It remained still for quite some time, allowing the Australian forces to respond appropriately.

Betting on familiarity, the same novice raid team that had once closed the Gate, was sent to make first contact.

"Who… or what, are you?" The captain, a young man who wielded a mace, asked.

The being looked around. "At last one of you has come. I suppose it was worth it to pull all those strings for me to come here earlier."

A woman who couldn't have been older than twenty, turned to her companions and whispered. "...It speaks our language… that's uncommon for monsters."

"That's only ever been seen in Class III Gates with especially powerful trolls or orcs…" another said.

The captain drew his sword. "Looks like he's not listening to us at all… Hey! Come here slowly and tell us what you are!"

The being finally looked at the man, and he snickered. "Ah~ Humans, what a treat!"

The sigil on his forehead pulsed. "Lacerate"

The raid party was massacred instantly.

This was later known as the Australian massacre, and the being was recognized as a demon.

It took every Australian Conqueror, heavy artillery, and ultimately… a nuclear warhead, to defeat

a single demon.

The event was later known as the Australian massacre, and the being was soon understood to be a 'demon'.

The nuclear blast devastated hundreds of miles of land, and the fallout zones were declared permanently uninhabitable.

But at the very least, the demon had perished.

Still, Australia had effectively fallen at the hands of a single monster, which was unthinkable. There hadn't even been a Gate break.

Not allowing the world to understand what had happened, many more flowers sprouted throughout the same very same country. Dozens, hundreds perhaps.

The survivors were forced to migrate to Asia and Europe. Another Australian massacre would not be allowed to occur.

----

The Protectorate high council room.

"A single monster wiped out Australia? I know people there, strong ones! This doesn't make sense!" The American Protectorate Association leader, Protector Anthony shouted.

Sitting around the meeting table, the leaders of the protectorate could only remain silent.

Anthony sat down, and whispered a curse. "...What do we do? It took a nuke to kill that thing, a NUKE! We can't just keep throwing nukes every time one shows up! What if it appears in the middle of the city!??"

Sitting across the table, Jason Halloway spoke with a grim expression on his face. "...Those who survived described it as incredibly strong, fast, and practically immortal. No matter what they did, it would simply regenerate and continue its slaughter."

A woman sitting to Anthony's right leaned back in her chair. "Aren't we f*cked? I mean, Anthony's right. If something like that shows up in say… New York, we're done for."

"...Makayla, can't you try to be a little more optimistic?" Said Trayvon, sitting right across from her.

Makayla shrugged.

She was right, and no one could tell her otherwise.

Little by little, humanity was pushed back. In a few months, under the guidance of Conquerors, nations fell, and new alliances were forced into existence.

The Western Hemisphere Defense Coalition in the Americas. USA, Canada, Mexico and surviving countries from the South American disaster that had migrated northward.

The United African Union in the south of Africa.

The European Continental Defense Alliance.

The Eastern Continental League of Nations.

As of the cusp of year six, these were the last remaining settlements of humanity. Many heroes had perished. Thousands of kilometers of land had been rendered uninhabitable both by nuclear radiation and demonic corruption.

The end of the human race was near.

In fact, the only reason they had not been exterminated yet was because of two individuals.

Shu Ha, the Sword Dragon, who had discovered something called 'Aura'.

A supposed energy reminiscent of eastern Chi or Ki that dramatically increased physical capabilities. The method had spread, but beside her, there were only a handful that could use it in battle. A limited edge.

The other reason was an unknown mage from England who could see mana thanks to a skill. He discovered that demons used mana as a source of energy.

Repurposing the GHCI, low mana density areas were identified, and demons were lured to them, making them… marginally weaker.

These breakthroughs were useful, and given just another decade or two, humanity might have made tremendous progress.

But that was time they did not have.

Post chapter rubric

Skill: [Minor Mental domination]

Rank : C

Level : NA

Rarity : Rare

Type : Active

Description : The weak of mind are yours to command. Look into their eyes and force your will upon them. With enough practice, the depths of your dominion may grow.

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