Board Thread:4. General Discussion/@comment-124.83.16.225-20160206164556

Apologies in advance if this is too confusing to read through.

So, if everyone else here is like me, I'm sure people have been confused on how to classify races in this setting, mainly because the differences haven't really been clearly put down into organized categories. While I haven't bothered taking anything beyond mental notes, I thought my observations on the usage of some kanji that have been used to classify the monster races, namely 系 (group/system/lineage) and 種 (kind/species/class).

系 has been used to define an entire category of monsters, like for Rou's summoning skills for devils and dragons. As he's capable of summoning Lords for his oni (using Oni as the kanji for it isn't being translated as Demon here anymore and, as I'll be mentioning Ogres as examples, I don't want to cause any unnecessary hassle in separating my usage of the word 'ogre' as a specific race and as the racial grouping) summoning ability, it's entirely concievable that he can summon both Midians (the devil equivalent to Lords) and the lesser devils like the monsters that appeared in the Reincarnation God's dungeon since they're all under the same Devil system.

系 has also been used to separate Ogres from Lords even though they're both under the same "Oni" system.

The Karma Oni have been called a higher kind (種) within the Ogre group (系). Midians, Beast Men, Insector (and Insectoids, I assume, as they're both probably 虫人 which translates into Insect Man, even though only Insector use the 虫 kanji in their name), and Plant Beings (the kanji is 植物 and they encompass races like Dorian's) are also associated with 種.

The Paraberangers are also a subspecies (亜種) within their species (種) as Karma Oni. So Ogres, High Ogres, Karma Oni; they're all species of monsters within the Ogre grouping and the Ogre grouping itself is part of a larger system associated with all Oni races.

Cyclops and Trolls? They both belong within the Oni system, but they also belong under the Giant system. And there are High Cyclops and Troll Mages as well, which are likely different kinds (種) within the Cyclops and Troll groups as well. The small, pigmy orcs Rou found squatting in the goblin community's original home are also a species of orcs within the Orc group which in turn is under the Oni system.

Midians make things more complicated since, although they should be the equivalent to Lords, they're also divided into further groups (系) like Uncertain, Bird, and Metallic groups. So, since Lords and Ogres are both groups too, that means they might even have smaller groups of species underneath them as well.

There's also the fact tha Kings and Emperors have 種 to describe them as well. They're a class above Lords, and races like the ones Kichi, Kanami, and Asue have are considered equivalent to them as well.

Netsuki and his companions also ranked up from one Lord species to a different Lord species considered to be of a higher kind (so the equivalent here would be of an Ogre becoming a High Ogre, I suppose, to put it into easily understandable terms; though, since 'High' is used to describe a creature that's become more human, it may not be possible unless the monster was born or created as one; I suppose an Ogre could also rank up into an Ogre Mage, if being a Mage can be considered a specific species under a certain group).

So, here's how I've broken down the system currently with my own understanding into the following categories:

System (Oni/Devil/Dragon) ->

Class (Princess/King/Emperor/Ancestor. They seem to be an advance version of the previous racial group a monster belongs in. Kichi became a stronger version of Minotaur, for example. I suppose I could erase this category and put them under species with this understanding. Just like how High Oges and Troll Mages both seem to fit under a certain group, Kings and Emperors may simply be an upper class version of a species within a racial group.) ->

Group (Lord/Ogre/Midian/Beast Man/Insect Man/Plant Being) ->

Secondary Group (Unknown for my examples of Lords and Ogres, though Midians would would be divided into groups like Uncertain, Bird, and Metallic here.) ->

Species (Apostle Lord/High Ogre/Dryad. Presumably, there would be specific species of Bird and Metallic Midians here, like it is for Beast Men who have tiger, wolf, bear, rabbit, and a lot of other specific kinds of beasts) ->

Subcategory of species (Subspecies/Extinct Species/New Species/Transcendental Species/Living God Species. Easiest to understand.)

The races within the Oni system are the easiest to subdivide since we've got the most in-depth view of their evolutionary ladder. There are different kinds of Lords and Ogres, plus it seems like even if they don't have specific kinds like those 2, they can be divided into elemental affinities like the Red, Yellow, and Blue Hobgoblins that Kichi faced in that one dungeon. The elemental affinities may actually fit into "Secondary Group" if they're not within the "Species" category I've got listed up there. 