They are influenced by essence/aura, resulting in mutations.

Oversized lizards that spit fire, giant snakes that spit venom, enormous frogs with acidic tongues...

The list can go on and on.

Kingdoms fell, the world went into flames.

But did humans remain stagnant? No. They also mutated.

Did humans grow exponentially larger? No. Their mutation is different. 

They gained a new power... they now have aura within them... and the potential to control it. To use it.

Those who can control aura, they call the phenomena:

An Awakening. 

The first human awakened as his village was being ransacked by the mutated monsters. Just as the monster was about to kill his family.

He gained immense strength and power. Some might say superhuman power. 

He tackled the monster and wrestled with it, choking it to death. And with no hesitation, he grabbed his sword nearby, opened the door, and helped his fellow villagers. 

One by one, others awakened and followed him. 

From then on, the tides have turned. Humans are now capable of defending themselves. In fact, they can now overpower normal monsters.

Humans seized territories, rebuilt kingdoms, adapting to the new world. They reclaimed their position as one of the top of the food chain. Swordsmanship has also gained popularity, as humans learnt how to combine aura with swords.

In particular, 7 figures claimed their spots as the greatest swordsmen. They helped spearhead the rebuilding of mankind, and also contributed a lot in the exploration of the new world.

Each of them have mastered one of the styles of swordsmanship: cutting, piercing, striking, stabbing, slashing, flowing, crushing.

And honed it to the best of the best in their era. Even monsters flee from hearing the sounds of their sword techniques obliterating their comrades.

They are undefeated... unrivalled. 

They are Legends.

Swordsmen were revered as heroes, guardians that everyone admires.

However, one of them decided to go on an exploration into the wild. On his own.

He went missing and was never heard of ever since. 

And his legendary sword technique? It vanished together with him.

The world was shaken with the news, people started questioning if the monsters have mutated once more, and that the 7, now 6, legends were not invincible after all.

But nothing changed, humans continued to expand their rule across the lands. Everyone just slowly moved on from the incident. 

Swordsmanship competitions, academies, dojos are created.

Hunters and adventurers became an interesting hobby for skilled swordsmen, while most still chose to enroll into the knight order for a more stable income.

Then one day, a human found out that monster hearts are extremely concentrated with essence, and once consumed, one can grow their aura without much training. It was a ground-breaking discovery.

And so, guilds were established. Hunting groups were formed. Monster hearts became a delicacy desired by all swordsmen and even noblemen. And hunters became one of the most ludicrous job for swordsmen.

Children were brought up wanting to awaken as soon as possible and become swordsmen.

Parents who are hunters encouraged their children to learn swordsmanship and become a hunter when they grow up. Even parents who are not hunters also encouraged their children to become hunters when they grow up.

A new era for mankind thus began.