Monarchs of Above and Below (On Hiatus)

Bonus Chapter

A/N: This is simply a bonus chapter where I explain some general rules and such of the system, the world of SL, the American hunters system of organization as it's different from Korea, etc. If you feel the need to, you can skip this chapter as it doesn't progress the narrative, but by all means if you would like to read it, enjoy.

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The "levels" of Hunters:

From lowest to highest the ranks of licensed goes as follows; E > D > C > B > A > S. However there are special cases where a hunter will be recognized as far stronger then an S rank by the world government. The hunters are then given the rank of National, however this is generally reserved for 1 hunter in every large country.

While the System doesn't quite have a ranking system of this sort as it allows the user to grow, here are the general level ranges for each rank if they had the system:

E: 1-5
D: 6-14
C: 15-35
B: 36-50
A: 51-70
S: 71-100
National: 100+

Do note however, that some hunters of a specific rank may be slightly above or below these levels based on their skillset, items, experience, etc.

Rankings of the System:

Most things within the System are ranked similar to hunters [E-S] occasionally along with a plus(+) or minus(-) sign next to it to indicate if it is above or below average for its rank. From skills, to magical items everything is ranked similarly to hunters. For example, a skill or item befitting of a B-rank hunter would be of a B(+ or -) rank. Additionally, the difficulty of quests determine the determined 'level' one would generally need to be to complete it with moderate difficulty. Additionally, higher ranked quests give greater rewards. Some quests may even have secret conditions for additional rewards.

FBH and Guilds:

The FBH, or Federal Bureau of Hunters, is the largest single authority of hunters within North America. They have records of every licensed hunter, their abilities, identification, etc. Over 80% of the FBH's staff are made up of former or current awakened hunters. While many hunters within the FBH do not venture into gates as a raiding party they have been known join some parties for various reasons, such as researching a particular hunter or managing a specific location with a strange flux in gate density [the proportion of land/space compared to how many gates appear within it during a given year].

Guilds are numerous, albeit it much smaller, managers of the hunters within its designated locations. Guilds widely vary in size, from having the power over a small town, to ones whose influence rivals that of the FBH itself. Guilds are often private companies who own all gates within a designated area of a certain rank. The rank and area of which vary from guild to guild. The gates owned by the guild can only be accessed by hunters within that guild unless given permission by the guild itself. Any profit from the gate goes primarily to the guild with a smaller portion given to the party that conquered the gate. The amount given to the hunters varies wildly from hunter to hunter based on the guild they work for, their rank, and a variety of other things.

Gates and Magical Beasts:

The ranking of gates is identical to the system of hunters [E-S] however the parties allowed within the gate are as follows:

- A minimum of 1 hunter within the party must be at least 1 rank higher then the listed ranking of the gate with at least 3 hunters being equal rank to the gate.

- The rest of the party must be no lower then 2 ranks below the rank of the gate if they are in a combative role.

- The size of a raiding party must consist of at least 5 licensed hunters of proper rank unless given permission by the Federal Bureau of Hunters or high standing guild.

Magical Beasts are the various creatures found within dungeons. Different ranked gates have different creatures that could appear in them. For example while a D-rank gate may have your simple crazed goblin, an A-rank dungeon is likely to have intelligent creatures such as giants or high orcs. Every type of creature has a different rank depending on its threat level and what rank of gate it traditionally appears in. Bosses of a ranked gate are considered 1 rank higher then the gate itself. For example, the boss of a B-rank gate will often have a rank of that of a low A-ranked magic beast.

Regardless of these rankings gates are often unpredictable and there have been reports of ranked gates holding various creatures many ranks below or above its registered rank, however this phenomenon is often the fault of Red Gates.

Alter Gates:

An 'alter gate' is a unique type of gate with special properties then a normal gate. Often times traversal of the alter gate is only for more experienced and specialized raiding parties. Whilst there aren't many types of alter gates, and they are fairly rare, if one does appear it is only known once a party has stepped inside it. The types of alter gates are as follows;

- Red Gates: the most well known and dangerous of the alter gates. A red gate is only revealed once a certain amount of hunters have entered the gate, this number is random for every gate, however generally the number is larger the higher rank the gate is. Once the threshold is reached the once blue gate turns red, preventing any entry or exit from the gate. Once this occurs there is a time dilation effect within the gate, causing time to go much quicker. While the dilation varies slightly from gate to gate, the dilation is generally 1 hour within the real world is 1 day within the gate. The magic beasts within red gates are often far stronger then the rank of the gate itself, making it almost certain death for an inexperienced party.

- Double Dungeons: The less dangerous of the alter gates, albeit generally the most rare. While for the most part they are similar a normal gate, a double dungeon is special in that- hence its name- it has an additional, albeit generally smaller, dungeon within it. The additional dungeon is slightly weaker or stronger then the original dungeon of the gate, however there have been exceptions.

- Earth Gates: While also called "fortune gates" or "pay gates" by hunters, Earth Gates are often seen as a blessing for raiding parties as they are much richer in magic crystal then traditional gates. While the more common of the alter gates, they are generally no more dangerous then a normal gate of similar rank.

- Survival Gates: Survival Gates are generally the middle ground for alter gates. While moderately more difficult then a normal gate of similar rank, most of a Survival Gate's difficulty stems from its harsh environment, such as a blazing dessert or frigid snowscape. However to compensate the magical beasts within it are generally slightly less powerful then their rank (however often not even to reduce their actual rank).