Counted as the seven strongest warriors in the world of the highly popular light novel and anime series Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, the Seven Great Powers are a fearsome group of combatants whose might is the greatest among all the races inhabiting this universe. The collective itself came to exist in the aftermath of the Second Human-Demon War, and its existence is popularized by stone monuments erected all across the world, in places with an especially high concentration of mana. Although the titles within this elite class fell out of use in the centuries after the war, the system has endured without it, as the monuments update themselves of their own accord, whenever there is any change in the rankings, or if a member meets their demise. Each monument rises to about knee-height and is inscribed with the number "7" at the center of its upright surface in the Fighting God language.
The motifs of each of the Seven Great Powers surround this letter, beginning with the first rank situated directly above the number 7. From here, the ranks are laid out in sequence, proceeding clockwise along the stone surface. Despite how ironclad this system may appear at first glance, it is not as cut and dry as the method of switching ranks cannot always be correlated with the relative combat prowess of newer members and those they deposed to gain a rank among the seven. All the seven epithets are suffixed with the title "God," to signify their almost divine power when compared to the remainder of the general populace who inhabit the world of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. Furthermore, there are a few anomalies within this system, and the true meaning behind its creation is yet unexplained in the series, with little revealed about the one who gave birth to it in the first season of the anime.
Created By The Demon God
It has been rumored that the concept of the Seven Great Powers was created by a figure known as the Technique God, who holds the highest rank among them. This figure is revealed to be none other than the Dragon God Laplace, who was split into two entities which both occupy separate spots in the ranks. While Laplace's Dragon-side half is the Technique God, his Demon-side half has the title of Demon God, ranked fourth in the hierarchy. There is also a rumor that this system was created by the Technique God, in order to aid him in finding powerful opponents worthy of challenging him in battle. Additionally, since the Technique God is himself missing, there is practically no way for anyone to usurp his post and claim the highest rank for themselves.
As all seven of the original members participated in the war, and a few of them even perished during the hostilities, the system was well known for a time. However, since some of the upper ranks were reported missing, and the lower ranks regularly swapped spots over the centuries, the seven titles associated gradually fell into disuse. In the aftermath of the Laplace War, there were great doubts about whether Technique God was an actual individual or simply the product of fabrication. This has further been augmented by the fact that no such person has shown up even in the years since the war, extending till the start of the series' main story several centuries later. Since the Seven Great Powers was conceptualized following Laplace's split into two entities, there is no spot for his original form as the Demon Dragon King, and his two halves have instead been given separate ranks within the hierarchy.
The Strongest In The World
Beginning with the highest rank of Technique God, the remaining members of the current incarnation of the Seven Great Powers are titled: the Dragon God, the Fighting God, the Demon God, the Death God, The Sword God, and the North God. Many of these figures are hundreds, if not thousands of years old by the start of the series, and have retained their rank among the seven since the system's inception. When pitted against the majority of combatants in the world of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, there is no chance of them tasting defeat due to the sheer heights of power these figures have attained. This is made evident from the very start of the story, with the introduction of the first member of the Seven Great Powers, Orsted the Dragon God.
First encountered during Rudeus' journey back to Fittoa Region after the Teleport Incident sent him and Eris to the Demon Continent, Orsted's overwhelming power is terrifying when put on display. The gap in skill between him and the main trio of Dead End, including a warrior as strong and battle hardened as Ruijerd is plain to see, and none of them even stand a chance against the second-strongest warrior in the world. Every attack against him was rendered ineffective, and he was able to easily dispatch Eris and Ruijerd in quick succession, without suffering so much as a scratch. Rudeus was himself left on the brink of death, and even his most potent attack at the time — creating a fireball in a manner akin to nuclear fusion — was easily dealt with, although Orsted did remark that Rudeus' abilities were quite impressive. In this vein, it is plain to see that there is more than meets the eye with this hierarchy.
The Hierarchy Behind The System
Despite the fact that the Seven Great Powers system is supposed to recognize the strongest individuals in the world, there is also a further split between the ranks that spells out their true meaning in a more comprehensive fashion. To begin with, the first four ranks are termed the upper ranks while the remaining three are known as the lower ones. This is because there is a drastic difference in power even between these two cohorts. In fact the jump in strength from rank five Death God, and rank four Demon God is quite significant. The rankings only change when a current member is defeated or dies, which is the source of the present conundrum around the first rank. Since the Technique God is missing and not dead, with little to no knowledge of their whereabouts or status, there is no clear-cut way for this rank to be updated.
Hence, even though Orsted, the Dragon God has regularly been hailed as the strongest, even more powerful than Laplace's Dragon-side, there is no way for him to rise up to the top spot unless the Technique God reappears. All in all, these ranks are a pivotal component of the immaculate world building that is a hallmark of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, one of the many facets that makes it stand out among the current crop of isekai anime that have been on the airwaves in recent years.