As the Academy kept producing talents, the danger from the lack of manpower kept decreasing.
It came to a point where even B ranks weren't needed. They were stuck at the point where their price was too high and yet most of the tasks were taken by A rankers.
Those undesirables were instead given to C and D ranks who worked for far less than B ranks. In a strange twist of fate, their situation became awkward.
Unique individuals trying to explore unknown paths had it better with funding from the governments, but the ones who went along the common path?
Their bank accounts were crying and sometimes they even had to lower the prices of their services or had to embark into Africa.
That place was still hell for most, even with the influx of SS ranks and S ranks fighting all the time. Most weren't even able to get close to a fight of S ranks, much less SS ranks.
Just a slight mana wave of an SS rank was enough to make B ranks cough up blood and see their ancestors fifty times over.
And thus most B ranks waited for a wave, the one and only place where they could make money without being blasted into smithereens as long as they were careful.
Yet it all changed when Wave 13 arrived. The Earth trembled and nature became berserk. Tornadoes with kilometers in diameter were the least of their worries.
Cracks in earth revealed gushing magma as if Earth herself was crying in agony. Not even an hour passed and as the world was distracted by the surge of calamities appearing all over the world.
The frontlines were shocked even further. Southern Pole had not even opened and everything poured out of the Northen Gate.
Millions of C rank and below creatures forced the ground to tremble with their synchronised steps as a SS rank drummer boosted the entire prowess of the army.
Not long after they appeared, multiple ICBMs were seen approaching the army. Their fate was never to be fulfilled.
A second SS rank creature appeared and as if it solidified the entire sky. ICBMs, one by one, exploded on their own. Even the mana shields crumbled as if they never existed.
Soon enough, sounds of mana boosted rail guns thundered and inflicted actual damage for the first time.
And when humans finally attained some momentum, the pieces on the ground gathered together to reform an undead variation.
An army filled with powerful monsters now held two lives each. It was clear. Somewhere a hidden third SS rank was lurking.
Grim feeling began to eat unnaturally at their psyche. A wave of light from an S rank powerhouse soon negated it.
More of these spells were cast as vitality began to grim.
Life like tide crashed against the enemy, which brimmed with deathly energy waiting to unleash itself.
The hundred or so present S ranks capable of long range attacks readied themselves. Not long after, the entire skies were filled with multiple lights.
Even if that army had so many pawns, more than half of the boosted C rank creatures which held the power of B ranks were gone.
Thousands of A rankers soon followed with into the battlefield as they let the weak army continue.
Powerful auras made their presence known as even more A rank creatures confronted the A rankers.
The sky now became a battlefield of the strong. Meanwhile, on the ground, a legion of the Roman Empire manifested a bull as they clashed with the opposing army.
Albeit surprised by the power spike of the Wave 13. Humans were not too flustered.
The battle in the air and on pieces of ice was not the only battlefield. Creatures hundreds of meters in length were swimming through the water.
Even more brutal battle commenced deep within the dark waters. Blue turned into red and the energy output of every creature would give even S ranks some problems.
This was the highest level battlefield as only S rank and above creatures were qualified to even approach the enemy.
Creatures of different sizes exchanged blows, S rank level beings were dying left and right. Until a bright light bursted through though.
The light brought a majestic being enshrouded in mist like substance. Tides of the battle were changed in just a second.
Battle whose outcome was undecided became obvious right away. Before the creatures above could finish their battle, the deep waters turned quiet once again.
Meanwhile, humans suppressed the weaker enemies through formations as they stood no chance. The outcome seemed to be decided as some specialist humans began gathering corpses.
At least, before a bad news thundered throughout the battlefield. Right as they were delivered, the enemy which stood on its last legs gained a sudden surge of power.
The message they received was a grim one.
'A third gate appeared in the Black Sea.' Most of the enemies turned into suicide bombers as they destroyed their bodies to deal the most damage.
And while this carnage had caught the higher ups, the situation near the Black Sea wasn't great.
An elite legion appeared with an SS rank being at its helm. Ten S rank creatures appeared behind it, followed by a thousand A rank threats.
Just those thousand A rank and dozen S rank threats were enough to be counted as a top tier force on Earth, excluding the three superpowers.
The Roman Empire responded first as the Emperor made a move personally, showing his true might for the first time in the world.
He had no choice as near the Black Sea stood the third most important city for the entire Empire. His power created seven knights decked out in heavy armor, excluding S rank level power.
Air trembled as he exchanged blows with the enemy. Behind it, the rest weren't waiting either. If not for his summons, he would have been surrounded already.
Fifteen minutes after his arrival, reinforcements appeared with Han blasting away the SS rank being to give the Emperor some more breathing space.
Once the A rank legion detected the presence of another SS rank being, they turned into puddles of black, viscous liquid.
It devoured the nine S rank creatures before converging on the final one. A new presence appeared and its prowess neared the SSS rank.
Without the intention to fight it blasted into the direction of one of the settlement. By the time Han got there, it was reduced to less than dust.
This didn't end its rampage, and after destroying two more cities with a population of more than a hundred thousand, it changed its destination.
Now the Capital itself was its target. A barrier isolated the Capital. Everyone contributed their mana as the SS rank creature appeared soon after.
It gathered everything it could within a short period and a beam of light tackled the barrier.
Everything around trembled, earth around the capital cried from the shock as tears and ravines appeared.
Small cracks appeared on the barrier, but it withstood the power of the creature near the strength of SSS rank.
Han was not far from it, and he appeared within a minute. Although still far away from the peak of SS rank, he stalled the monster.
Its body was now made out of black armour with nothing else visible. A lance appeared in its hands and soon exchanged a couple of blows with Han.
The body he was so proud of was now tattered and his miserable state was nothing to laugh at. Small wounds all over his body inflicted just by its aura were littered on his body.
More of these were growing at a great pace, barely suppressed by the medicine he consumed and his natural regeneration.
The creature, on the other hand, had a slight dent on its armor, the fight continued...
While not under direct attack, the barrier trembled from time to time as the populace was trying to regenerate their mana fast enough.
More reinforcements appeared and multiple loads of ICBMs, like fireworks, signalled the end of the fight between the Emperor and the other SS rank creature.
With the Emperor on his way and another SS ranker who was nearby, they barely held on.
The stalemate broke though, as the other had broken through recently. The lance drilled a hole in his stomach as he retreated behind the barrier to heal up.
Though he bought just enough time for the Emperor to arrive, slight injuries were spread on his body, though they were soon into scabs.
The Emperor's prowess was much greater and soon they had made dents all over the being's body.
In its final moment, it unleashed a massive mana wave which blasted Han and the Emperor away. Its body turned to the barrier.
An explosion of massive proportions soon followed, eclipsing the power of megatonne level ICBMs.
Barrier creaked and struggled to hold. Even when the SS ranker inside supplied his mana, it didn't hold for more than a few seconds.
That day, a quarter of the Roman capital vanished, becoming history. Although the frontlines held the advancement of the enemy.
The sudden appearance of a new, unknown gate threatened the survival of the entire race. No more were they separated by thousands of kilometers of water.
If the enemy ever broke through the Gate, which appeared in the Black Sea, it would threaten the Roman Empire.
Destruction of a huge part of the capital alone brought sorrow to many. Thousands of years of history and heritage were now truly erased.
To boost the morale of the populace, the Roman Empire entered the enemy world through a stable portal and destroyed dozens of settlements.
Under the siege they had managed to slay a SSS rank being whose head was hung on the gate leading to the capital.
No longer were they lax with the defences and even SS rank mana beasts were allowed near the capitals. The enemy didn't take the retaliation lightly and introduced a new type of warfare.
A SS rank creature broke through the African defence for a few moments through exploding. Another S rank creature then arrived on the Iberian peninsula.
Single drop of its blood sucked the creature dry as it turned to dust and the blood dropped onto the ground.
Life had died on a massive scale as A rank mana beasts were turned to dust. Even the S rank mana beasts had to run without the power to resist alone.
It took the cooperation of a few human SS rankers and five SS rank mana beasts before it was contained. One thing was sure, for at least a decade, the Iberian peninsula was turned into a lifeless place.
The once rosy situation made a ninety-degree turn. Need for SS ranks grew to an all-time high as they required a presence of one in every important city on Earth.
Talks of using technology on the Northen Pole were discussed as all eyes were now focused on the third gate.
Both of those former gates held a minimal amount of danger as aquatic creatures wouldn't let them pass. Didn't matter if they flew.
Their presence on the Black Sea was something else. Albeit huge now, it wasn't enough to create many powerful aquatic creatures, and only one SS rank had been spotted.
An opportunity for the enemy advancement through the deep underground. Caves, once small, could now probably fit huge creatures and it was unknown how many were hidden in those waters.
While they might not lead far, even dozens of kilometers would force SS rankers to split their attention. Further escalating the need for SS rankers.
Academies all over the world received an influx of funding and it was as if the race between the two had begun anew.
The greatest Academy had been given so many resources that its density alone became a holy land for everyone.
Space around it was reinforced to a point where even SSS rank creatures wouldn't be able to intrude within a few minutes.
And as the world was boiling, other forces like Gaia's Will appeared once again...