[Auxiliary Chapter: The World's Power Structure]
*Abilities and Fortitude
In this world, every individual is born with a latent ability. The strength of that ability and the person wielding it is measured by a single stat called Fortitude.
Fortitude isn't just a number. It's the aggregate of everything. Physical condition, ability strength, combat experience, mental resilience. Two people with the same ability can have completely different Fortitude scores depending on how much they've developed themselves.
Fortitude is measured on a scale from 0 to 10.
Rank Classification
Based on Fortitude, every ability user is assigned a rank:
F Rank→ Fortitude: 0
No measurable ability output. Either a late bloomer who hasn't awakened yet or someone with no combat application whatsoever.
E Rank→ Fortitude: 0.1 to 1.9
The earliest stage of awakening. Ability exists but output is minimal. Most people at this rank are still learning basic control.
D Rank→ Fortitude: 2.0 to 3.9
Functional ability users. Can hold their own in basic combat. The majority of registered ability users fall somewhere in this range.
C Rank → Fortitude: 4.0 to 5.9
Competent fighters. Abilities are developed enough to be genuinely dangerous. This is where most serious combatants operate.
B Rank→ Fortitude: 6.0 to 6.9
Elite fighters. A significant gap exists between B rank and everything below it. At this level, raw ability output alone can overpower most opponents regardless of technique.
A Rank→ Fortitude: 7.0 to 8.9
The upper ceiling of conventional power. A rank users are rare. Most never reach this level regardless of training. Governments, institutions, and powerful organizations actively recruit at this tier.
S Rank→ Fortitude: 9.0 to 10
Documented cases are less than one percent of the global ability user population. S rank individuals operate on a level that makes conventional combat classifications almost irrelevant.
Beyond S Rank→ Transcendents
Outside the standard classification exists a category the ranking system was never built to account for.
Transcendents are ability users whose Fortitude and ability output exceed the measurable limits of the current scale. They don't register as S rank. They simply don't register correctly at all.
Transcendents are extraordinarily rare. Most live under false identities specifically to avoid the attention their true rank would attract from governments, institutions, and people who would rather control them than coexist with them.
If you ever encounter someone whose rank the system cannot read, don't assume it's a glitch.
*The Tier System
Rank determines individual power. But in social environments like schools, workplaces, and organized hierarchies, rank gets translated into a simpler three tier structure.
Low Tier→ Fortitude 0 to 3.9 (F and E and D rank)
The majority of any population. Often dismissed. Frequently overlooked. Occasionally underestimated.
Middle Tier → Fortitude 4.0 to 5.9 (C rank)
The functional middle ground. Respected enough to be left alone. Powerful enough to enforce that respect.
High Tier→ Fortitude 6.0 to 10 (B, A, and S rank)
The top of any social hierarchy. In environments like Silvic High, High Tiers don't just have power — they have authority. The rules bend toward them.
*A Note on Cripples
The term "cripple" refers specifically to individuals who have reached adulthood without awakening any measurable ability. They register as F rank with a Fortitude of 0.
Most institutions, including schools, government programs, and the Bureau Hunter Academy — traditionally excluded cripples from participation entirely on the assumption that without an ability, combat viability was zero.
Recent policy changes have begun challenging that assumption.
Whether those policy changes reflect genuine progress or simply bureaucratic optics remains to be seen.