When Levi first participated in the Nocturnal Ring, he was placed against Newbies just like him since his strength was at the bottom of the barrel... that was the normal Season.
It represented the natural progression of the Nocturnal Ring, as the matchmaking followed the true average strength of each rank.
Meanwhile... Jasmine was considered a Newbie to the Platform, but her average strength corresponded to that of Teraowner Rank, not Homeless Rank.
It wouldn't be fair for those who had collected Game Points and grinded their way toward a promotion to Territory Owner to have someone else join the platform late and immediately get promoted without collecting the necessary points.
Hence, an Off-Season was born with its own set of rules.
Rifters were allowed to join the platform and start fresh while maintaining their strength... but they would be placed against entities with similar average power levels.
