The Final Update
Hunter Land was a game that took the world by storm.
A world where monsters and humans coexisted. Players became hunters within that world, experiencing its many environments, following its story, and hunting down all manner of monsters.
The sheer variety of weapons and skills, the breathtaking natural landscapes that looked as though the designers had poured their very souls into them, the intricate ecology of the monsters that lived within those wilds — every careful detail drew people in by the thousands.
I, too, had once been completely absorbed in Hunter Land. I played it with everything I had.
The monster patterns grew harder and harder, but that only stoked my competitive fire. And it wasn't just the monsters that kept me burning. I scoured every environment for rare creatures to collect. When there was nothing left to do, I threw myself into challenge quests, obsessively updating the maximum and minimum size records for every monster I could find.
The result was inevitable. My rate of content consumption far outstripped the game's update schedule. By the time other players were still picking off challenges one by one, I had already hit a 100% completion rate — save for a single remaining achievement. My in-game rank had maxed out long ago. My gear loadout had nothing left to tweak.
In other words, I was a Bunny Princess.
That's right. I was the kind of lunatic who cut sleep down to nothing, played twenty hours a day, and still woke up every morning hoping the game would somehow be fun again.
So when Hunter Land announced its final update, I felt a strange mix of relief and melancholy. Sure, I'd spent ages whining that it was a dead game with no content, that there was nothing left to do — but I never actually stopped playing. It was just that enjoyable.
When the developers declared the final update and promised to return with a sequel, it felt like saying goodbye to an old friend. No game had ever been this fun. No game had ever made me work this hard. I'd gotten a little sulky at the announcement and slapped a negative review on it, but I went back and changed it to positive.
Things are beautiful because they end.
I planned to mark that ending properly — log in the moment the update dropped and take down the final monster right then and there.
That had been the plan.
I stared at my reflection in a puddle. There were no mirrors here; this was the only way to see myself. And the face looking back at me from the water was, absurdly, not my own.
What I could make out through the ripples was striking — white hair, pink eyes. Exhaustion from recent days had left deep shadows beneath those eyes, making the pink irises stand out even more. Long lashes trembled faintly. A delicate brow was drawn tight from frowning, and those peach-colored eyes flicked back and forth between me and the puddle. The pure white hair had become a tangled mess, and my clothes had long since been torn to shreds. Even my skin was pale. All in all, I looked terrible — half-mad, even.
But I wasn't a madwoman.
I'd been a man to begin with.
How did I end up in this world? I chewed thoughtfully on a mouthful of grass. A bitter taste filled my mouth, but it had enough moisture to be edible, more or less.
My last memory was the update. I'd meant to give Hunter Land a beautiful farewell with that crowning piece of content. So why was I here? Was the final content becoming content myself? Or had I gotten so deep into Hunter Land that I was having an impossibly realistic dream?
But games are fun precisely because they're just games. Living the situation was far less pleasant. I'd become a woman in a world crawling with monsters — and not just any woman. The character I'd played in the game.
Looking down at these pale white legs and smooth arms filled me with a profound sense of disconnect. The irony of hauling a greatsword around in a body like this wasn't lost on me. And yet, ridiculously, this female character was stronger than my original body had ever been. It wasn't that I'd been weak. This body was just that powerful.
But this wasn't an ordinary game world. Hunter Land was a hardcore title packed with overpowered monsters. There was no guarantee I could easily handle the creatures of this forest. I had to survive in these woods. Survive, and find other people in this world. Everything depended on the single greatsword strapped to my back.
"Haaaah…"
A vacant sigh slipped from my lips. I knew it was my own voice, but it was completely unfamiliar.
I should never have played this damn game. If I'd known it would come to this, I would have picked up a farming sim. Who could have guessed a light player like me would get this kind of "reward"? And if they were going to drop me into the game, couldn't they at least have put me in a village with people? Waking up in the middle of a monster-infested forest was just cruel.
That feeling of my life hanging by a thread with every step. Moving through a world where a monster could appear at any moment, I kept going simply to stay alive. Extreme wilderness survival. Someone could film a whole movie with me as the lead.
I'd already spent a full week here. Those seven days hadn't been wasted. I'd found water sources, located a cave to use as a shelter, hunted small animals that weren't monsters and cooked their meat. I'd managed to make it livable, more or less.
The problem was getting out. I didn't even know which direction to go. I felt like a teary-eyed baby thrashing around trying to escape a basement. Monsters lurked everywhere. Move carelessly and you die.
Rrrrrr…
The occasional howls from far off were constant reminders never to let my guard down. Until I was certain I could escape this place, I had no choice but to survive here with my life on the line.
Thinking about it, the situation isn't that bad. I'm not short on anything. I've got water and food. All I did was patrol the area like this, waiting for someone to find me.
Maybe I'll see a person today.
When will I be able to go back?
If I do get back… first thing I'm doing is changing that review to a zero. I'm going to tank the developers' ratings for putting me through this. That had been the only thought in my head from the start.
Aawwooooo!!!
…The howling was heavier than usual today. Were the monsters throwing some kind of festival?
I started walking toward the sound. Some might call it a suicide run, but anomalies needed to be checked in person. That kind of reaction from monsters wasn't normal. There might be people involved. Of course, it could just be monsters fighting over territory — but if there was even a chance it was a person, I was willing to hold on to that hope.
The Forest of Illusion was vast, dense, and labyrinthine — easy to get lost in if you weren't careful. Hunters didn't exactly flock to it. Tracking down a commissioned monster in the Forest of Illusion typically took weeks, and more often than not, the hunters gave up without ever finding their target. Wandering the Forest of Illusion without a map was no different from suicide, even for a veteran hunter.
Noah was a five-year veteran. She'd been through her share of trials, but even for her, the Forest of Illusion remained difficult ground. The sprawling, thick forest was packed with every kind of dangerous monster, and one wrong turn meant a living hell.
"Ugh, I really hate this place…"
She usually avoided the forest when she could. Unfortunately, this commission's target just happened to live here. The objective was an unusual Luga-lac recently spotted in the woods.
The Mad Wolf Luga-lac was a massive creature that looked like a jet-black wolf. True to its moniker, it was aggressive and vicious — so much so that it frequently died fighting other monsters. According to the hunters who'd first discovered this one, it was missing an eye and covered in scars. It was the first time a different variety of Luga-lac had been found in the Forest of Illusion, so the organization had issued a commission immediately. Something about capture for research purposes. As if hunting a rampaging monster made any sense.
Noah rummaged through her bag and shook her head.
"This forest is always so muggy and gross."
She'd dressed light knowing the job was in the forest, but it was still sweltering. Hiss-hiss. She sprayed insect repellent over herself as she walked.
"That's just how the forest is."
Noah wasn't alone. Including her, there were four of them. Hunter commissions always came with a party. Hunters were hunters, not valiant warriors. Facing a monster alone was almost never a winning proposition. Tools, strategy, terrain, even other monsters — they used everything available and only fought battles they could win. There was nothing cowardly about it. It was how you survived against creatures several times stronger than any human.
"Let's wrap this up and get out of here. Walking the same stretch of forest over and over is starting to creep me out."
"Yeah…"
Just another routine commission. That's what Noah thought — until one of her companions got skewered by a claw.
"Nab!"
"Ghhhk…"
Krrr…
Their preparations had been perfect. The brush traps they'd dug in advance, the bombs, the combat positions — everything had landed on the Luga-lac. The hunters had been certain of victory and moved carefully into their assault.
What they hadn't known was this: just as they had grown through countless battles, the Luga-lac had grown through fierce territorial wars in this forest. A battle-scarred veteran that had fought and survived against countless monsters was nothing short of a catastrophe for humans.
Even cornered, the beast refused to break. Its remaining eye blazed with red light as it charged. The scars carved into its body flared scarlet and vented blood-red steam, and it went berserk with even greater ferocity than before. Its hide grew tougher. Its claws became as sharp and hard as a tempered blade. A truly undefeated gladiator.
The result was defeat.
Against a Luga-lac that had lost all sense of restraint, the hunters felt nothing but helplessness. The beast flung the impaled hunter from its claws. He tumbled across the ground and came to a stop at his companions' feet.
"Hhk… ghh…"
Nab gasped for breath.
What do I do? What am I supposed to do?
Noah gripped her shield tight. Panic bloomed from the situation. Sword and shield in hand, she locked eyes with the Luga-lac as if to say she still hadn't broken.
Block the patterns with the shield, keep landing counters… Can we win?
Awwwoooo!!
The Luga-lac howled, throwing its head back. Terror seized the hunters. Its wounds flared red again, steam pouring off them. It was about to charge once more.
Noah sprinted forward, raising her shield. She had to block it. If she didn't, her companions would die.
Rustle.
Then someone burst through the undergrowth. A white-haired woman with a greatsword on her back appeared behind the Luga-lac. Noah's startled dark eyes met the woman's pink ones.
"Oh. A person."
The woman said it blankly. Startled by the figure that had appeared at its back, the Luga-lac spun around. Noah's mind raced.
Who is that? I don't know her. This is dangerous — at this rate we're all dead. Why is she just standing there with her weapon still sheathed, staring into space?
"Move already!!"
Noah shouted. But the woman showed no intention of moving. She tilted her head, looking at the monster in front of her.
"What, it's just a mutt."
!!!
The Luga-lac kicked off the ground and lunged. In a single motion the woman drew her greatsword and met the charge head-on.
CLANG.
A heavy impact rang from the blade. Claw and steel ground together with a shrieking scrape. The cloth that had bound the greatsword was caught in the shockwave and fluttered high into the air. In that opening, the woman slid her sword aside, extended her leg, and drove a kick straight into the Luga-lac's jaw.
She was the hope that would overturn this hopeless situation.