Dungeon Diver: Stealing a Monster's Power

Chapter 6

My mind raced a bit, just going over everything that happened in the last 5 minutes then I got stuck to one sentence the man said when he entered the room. "We're D Class Hunters". They must be really strong...

The class system works in a pretty interesting way.

There are 5 main hunter classes:

The first is E Class. The class I'm currently a part of. When you're first awakened you are assigned an "E Class" rating. You're stronger than the average human, but still weak if the eyes of top class monsters and hunters alike. The first stage of E Class is making it past level 20, once you do that you're a "real" E Class hunter because you're able to take on the weakest bosses with a team. Even if you're not going to pursue a career in hunting and go the corporate route... (which over 50% of people do) It's still recommended to get a few months in the field while studying or working to get to that level 20 status.

Then once you're a "real" E Class hunter there's a few routes you can take. The first is just farming low level monsters and bosses to make a living. It's basically the same pay and work load of a regular construction job once you get to a certain skill level.

The second route you can take is joining a guild or the hunters association itself(the government, basically a huge guild). Around level 20-30 guild scouts start looking to recruit hunters with promising talent. Guilds find up and coming hunters and build teams to raid higher level dungeons. They will usually pay you a monthly wage and supply you with basic gear. All mana and unique drops are property of the guild that sends you out on the mission, unless you've made a special contract. Most Hunter's goal is to be recruited by a top guild, its stable pay and a more reliable way to slowly level up over time.

The last path to take, is to build your own party, or dive into dungeons solo. This is the high risk high reward route. You get to choose your own hours, keep your own drops, and challenge which ever dungeons you please. It's much more dangerous without a guilds "professional" guidance, but some hunters always choose this route.

The first step between an E Class Hunter and a D Class Hunter is a pretty big one. To get your Hunters License Renewed to a D Class certification your level must surpass 100. There are no other requirements, you just have to reach level 100.

In the first 5 years of a hunters career, about 10% of them make it to level 100. Most quit to work a corporate job, stay at the lower difficulty E Class Starter Dungeon, or get killed trying to push their limits too fast.

Making it to a D Class Ranking is a pretty big deal, but not too uncommon for senior hunters to achieve. It just takes time and patience. If you can achieve a D Class Status before the age of 25, most of the bigger guilds will try to recruit you without hesitation. It's every beginner Hunter's ultimate goal.

It's also a big deal to achieve this rank because in front of all D Class or higher dungeons there is a Hunters Association run gate. You are forbidden to enter, it is highly illegal to enter a gate over your rating. You will be fined heavily or potentially imprisoned depending on the event. It sounds harsh at first, but it's really just for the safety of the lower class hunters. Rules and regulations are usually made for a good reason.

The next class is "C Class". Every 4 months the Hunters Association holds a C Class advancement test. The requirement to enter is level 250. The hunters are put through a series of tests to make sure they are ready for C Class rated combat in the field. This is mostly for senior hunters that have been working in guilds for decades, but there are always a few prodigies that enter every year. They make the news paper. Up and coming C Class Hunters are very exciting to follow.

There are basically two types of C Class hunters. The first kind is the retired C Class hunters. These are older men and women who have made their fortune diving into dungeons and decide to build companies with their riches and connections, or just buy a home out in the middle of no where and no one hears of them again. The second type are the active C Class Hunters. A counties Military power relies fully on how many C Class and above hunters they can produce every year. Although there hasn't been a war in over 50 years, countries still like to flex on each other and boast military power.