Understanding Vital Seals
What They Are:
Everyone gets a Vital Seal implanted in their chest the day they're born. It's basically a living computer that records everything about your life. Point your phone at someone's chest and you can see who they really are - if they let you.
How We Got Stuck With Them:
Shape-shifting monsters started showing up and killing people by pretending to be human. The only thing they couldn't copy was a Vital Seal - it's bonded to your actual soul or life force or whatever. What started as "let's not get murdered by fake humans" turned into the government and society tracking every damn thing you do.
The Privacy Lie:
Technically, your Seal is "private." You have to press your finger against it to unlock your info for someone else to scan. Nobody can force it open... legally. But good luck getting a job, apartment, date, or even basic respect without showing your stats. It's like saying you have the "choice" to starve.
What Everyone Can See:
Regular People Get Rated On:
- Intelligence score (standardized testing + life decisions)
- Physical fitness level
- Work performance and job history
- Financial responsibility and credit
- **Sexual performance ratings** - yeah, every partner you've ever had can leave a review about how you were in bed, how you treated them, whether you were faithful, the whole mess
- Social compatibility scores
- Criminal record and legal issues
- Even stupid shit like "reliability" and "sense of humor"
Monster Hunters (The Awakened) Show All That Plus:
- Power level and abilities
- Kill count (monsters, not people... usually)
- Mission success rate
- Military-style rankings
The Awakened Hierarchy:
The people with powers who fight monsters have their own ladder:
Regular Ranks:
- E-Class: Barely stronger than normal humans, mostly do cleanup
- D-Class: Can handle weak monsters, basic enhanced abilities
- C-Class: Solid fighters, can work independently
- B-Class: Strong enough to take on serious threats
- A-Class: Elite hunters, usually team leaders
The Big Leagues:
- S-Rank: National heroes, everyone knows their names
- SS-Rank: Legends who've saved entire cities
- SSS-Rank: Myths made real, maybe five people in the world
How This Screwed Everything Up
Your Seal score controls your entire existence:
- Low ratings? Enjoy your minimum wage job and studio apartment in the bad part of town
- Bad sexual reviews? Good luck finding anyone willing to date you
- Poor work performance? Most employers won't even interview you
- Criminal record? Forget about it
Everyone walks around knowing that their whole life can be judged in thirty seconds by anyone with a phone. There's no hiding your failures, no reinventing yourself, no escape from your worst moments. That embarrassing breakup where your ex called you terrible in bed? It's there forever. That time you got fired for being late too much? Everyone can see it.
Parents obsess over their kids' developing scores. Schools rank students publicly. Dating apps sort people by their Seal ratings. Some places won't even serve you if your numbers are too low.
The worst part? The system works exactly as designed. We're all safer from monsters, sure. But we created something way more terrifying - a world where your worth as a human being gets calculated and displayed like a video game character sheet, and there's absolutely nowhere to hide.