Hunters

The first Hunters surfaced just as humanity began encountering mana. As that energy settled into certain people's bodies, they awakened and each gained a personal set of abilities all their own. Since no one else could destroy magic beasts or close gates, an industry worth billions rose around them and pushed them into high social standing. Most join guilds, which range from small bands to several thousand members.

Strength is rated on an international scale running from S down to E, the latter being weakest and the former strongest. The instant someone gains their powers, both their rank and their stats lock into place and ordinarily stay put, although rare second awakenings let a few rise higher. Worldwide, only around 0.001 percent of people ever awaken, and a mere 0.0002 percent reach C-rank or beyond.

Awakening does not force anyone into the trade; some opt for an ordinary civilian path instead. Despite holding A-Rank certification, Yoo Soohyun became a celebrated model, and Han Song-Yi chose to remain in school for her diploma. The profession also breaks into combat and non-combat groups, then further into six classes: Fighters, Mages, Assassins, Tankers, Rangers, and Healers.

There are hints that bloodline plays a part in who awakens. The link is unconfirmed, yet several awakened relatives suggest it, among them Yoo Soohyun together with her cousin Yoo Jinho, and Sung Jinwoo together with his father Sung Il-Hwan.

To gain formal status, an awakened person must obtain a license from their country's Hunters Association, which permits entry into gates and dungeons. Anyone licensed has to heed the Association's summons; failing or skipping three in succession voids the license. Each license also brings healthcare, financial aid, and death insurance paid out to a Hunter's family. Such perks pulled Jinwoo into the work, since they let him provide for his sister, fund his sick mother's treatment during her Eternal Slumber, and ensure a payout to his family should he die in a dungeon.

The numbers make plain how scarce these people are. About fifty thousand awakened live in South Korea among roughly 51 million residents, and somewhat under one in ten of them actually chooses hunting as a livelihood. With deaths frequent and demand steep, the pay stays generous even at the bottom, where the weakest still pull in thousands per job, and Jinwoo once observed that to an S-Rank, two million dollars is little more than spare change.