Who is Penn Jennson?
Penn is a 27-year-old (soon to be 28) who recently transferred out of the military to the Hunter's Association. He was a part of the military for almost 10 years, as he joined as soon as he graduated from high school and turned 18. He's 5'10 with pale skin, midnight-black hair with a subtle side part, and ocean-green eyes. His hair is still relatively short since he only just recently left the army, but it is in an awkward state as it starts to grow out. He's quite athletically built, with some good portioned biceps and thighs (a well-trained close-combat fighter).
Penn was quite cold and strict in the military and was only soft to the people he knew prior (like his best friend Tennant, Tennant's uncle Mark, and Tennant's wife, Hailey). Since he has been in the military for quite some time since his teens, he lacks some more normal social skills and tends to be quite aloof to situations socially. He does have a soft heart, though, especially for people with puppy-like personalities.
Penn is an A-ranked Guide, who can eventually class-up to an S-rank if he works for it. His esper subskills are Quickdraw, Skilled Marksman, and Team Champion (the only team-based buff skill he has).
How does one know if they awaken as a Guide?
When a guide awakens, it starts with hearing subtle whispers of voices - and it amps up to causing headaches. You feel emotions that are not your own, smell scents strongly around certain people, and can be overwhelmed by mana from any nearby awakened. This can cause the Guide to collapse. Guides can go into shock if the ranks between them and the esper they are guiding is too large and they get drained too fast, and when a Guide has reached their limit it is scientifically called Mana Depletion Rebound. The esper-to-guide ratio is around 30:1, but counting only the active working hunters, the ratio is closer to 20:1.
Guides can become dedicated to one specific Hunter, meaning that Hunter becomes the priority even if the Guide is guiding someone else at the time. Dedicated Guides are usually higher-ranked guides assigned to the highest-ranked Hunters, and they get a boost to their pay to drop anything when needed - including going to dungeons with that assigned hunter.
Bonded Guides get paid less than the average pay since they have a smaller workload. Bonding means that only that Esper can get help from that specific Guide, and that Guide can't help any other Esper. If they try and force it, it could make them sick. It is usually frowned upon for higher-ranked Espers and Guides to bond due to emergencies, though it is encouraged for lower-ranked as it will increase the efficiency and time of the guiding session.
The higher the rank a Guide is, the more they can spatially guide someone - meaning they can just sit beside them without touching them. The larger the gap of the Esper being higher-ranked than the Guide, the Guide needs as much surface area as possible to properly guide. The same goes if the Hunter is close to berserking - where even mucal guiding may be necessary.
Why does scent matter?
Esper's abilities have a certain scent to Guides, and that scent can even evolve into a deeper and more robust scent when their abilities are in use - making it easier for the guide to sense where the esper is. Nathan's scent is sea salt and musk, but when he's actively fighting in the dungeon, a chestnut smell works its way in. Daniel has a more homey smell of milk soap, a forest after rain, and freshly cut jasmine. When he drinks too much, his abilities activate, and the jasmine smell evolves more into a vodka smell, and the forest smell evolves more into an earthy minty dark chocolate.
Who is Nathan Landry?
Nathan is a 31-year-old Esper, a rank-S hunter, and has been awakened since he was a child. He is 6'4 with fluffy sandy-blonde hair that curls at the edges, slightly tanned skin, with cold-brown eyes that turn black the longer he goes without guiding. He has a thin, well-built frame. When he wears comfortable clothes, they are quite baggy so he can look lanky.
Nathan's awakened ability is classified as a Striker. It is an enhancement class for strength and speed that also puts energy (Force) into weapons. He can also reverse-guide someone, forcing that person to Guide against their will and beyond their capabilities until they collapse.
Who is Daniel Parker?
Daniel is a 29-year-old esper working as the lead receptionist for the Hunter's Association. He's 5'0-5'2 with peachy skin, pale gold-like hair that has a slight perm to it, with hazel eyes. When he smiles, he has deep Indian dimples. He is an extroverted, fun-loving, and social person who is very activity-prone, and physical touch is his love language. He's persuasive, easily amused, optimistic, and loves entertaining people. He's a bit awkward with the people he likes, so he'll come off as a bit clingy.
Daniel's awakened ability is classified as a Librarian. They have access to a shared knowledge network and can read and store memories from dead hunters and monsters.
How do gates work?
Outter Rings: Age of Gate
- Blue: New gate
- Green: Cleared gate
- Purple: Dungeon break eminent
Inner Rings: Danger Levels
- Yellow: F ranked to D ranked
- Orange: B ranked to A ranked
- Red: A+ ranked
Gate System Notes:
- A yellow gate can take a few hours to a day, a small group of five to ten people.
- An orange gate can take a few days to a week, a medium-sized team of around twenty people.
- A red gate can take several weeks, a large team of around forty people.
- Most gates are temporary and will disappear when a dungeon boss is defeated.
- Some gates are permanent and are transformative dungeons - can rarely change into an enclosed dungeon with people inside.
- Enclosed dungeons close with people inside and won't open until all mobs are defeated or the quest is completed - like a locked room.
- Instant dungeons are how hunters level up a class, by taking the class exam through the system and a gate opens only for them and disappears once pass or fail
- Gates are open terrains, while dungeons are enclosed spaces.
- Some gates cate level up once a break happens, and if the boss monster manages to get kills, they level up themselves and the gate, taking the mana and forming a dungeon within the gate.