The First Test and the Hidden Treasure

The measuring device let out a soft hum as the results appeared. The guild staff member overseeing it muttered in disbelief, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Awakening… 5-star? No way.”

It was a perfectly natural reaction. Five stars wasn’t something you reached unless you were at least the master of an entire district. For a fresh-faced rookie who had just awakened to suddenly hit that rank? Of course he couldn’t believe it.

His eyes widened at the impossible result, but the five brilliant stars shining on the display suddenly faded. In their place appeared nothing but pure white light.

“Huh? Is this a glitch?”

The guild employee fumbled with the device, clearly flustered by the unexpected error.

“Why is it doing this? It’s never acted up before…”

He restarted the machine, but the monitor still showed only that blinding white glow.

“What the hell? Why isn’t it showing anything now?”

In his panic, the employee started messing with every setting on the device. Finally, the white light dimmed and the results reappeared.

“1-star?”

A single star. The lowest possible rank. The guild employee ran the test several more times, convinced there had to be a mistake, but every single result was identical. In the end, he let out a disappointed sigh and finalized the reading.

“Yeah… looks like that earlier result was just an error. Your Mental Image rank has been confirmed as 1-star, Hunter Lee Seong-hyun.”

“That’s a shame.”

“I’m disappointed too. Getting judged as 5-star right after awakening is every hunter’s dream, you know.”

The employee chuckled lightly as he continued typing on his keyboard, moving on to the next part of the analysis.

“Please keep your hand in place. The measurement isn’t finished yet. I’m going to draw a little blood, so it might sting.”

The moment he finished speaking, a sharp pain pricked the tip of my finger. The gray monitor instantly turned transparent.

“Your ability code is Clear. No color at all.”

“Code… you mean attribute?”

“Yes. Like Code Red or Code Blue. Normally, a hunter’s Mental Image should display the color of their inner world, but…”

The employee pointed at the completely blank monitor.

“As ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you can see, there’s nothing. So it’s transparent. That’s Code Clear.”

Code Clear? I’d never heard of that attribute in the original game.

“Is it rare?”

“Not really. It’s actually pretty common among new hunters. Since it’s easy to color with other Mental Images, it might even make growth a little easier.”

I already knew that in Last Shion, colors were used as attribute names—Code Red, Code Blue, that sort of thing. But transparent? That was new. Maybe it only appeared for 1-star characters like me, which is why it never showed up in the game.

While I was lost in thought, the guild employee pulled the cartridge containing my blood from the analyzer and inserted it into a vending-machine-like device. A mannequin popped out with a clunk, like a can of soda dropping from a dispenser.

“This is…”

“It’s a doll infused with your Mental Image. We’ll use it to test your abilities.”

What were they going to do with a doll? I tilted my head in confusion. The mannequin that had been lying on the floor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wobbled upright. Another identical one appeared in front of it.

The doll containing my Mental Image immediately threw a punch at the target mannequin. The impact only made it sway slightly. After that, a whole series of tests followed.

They submerged the doll in gray liquid to see how long it could endure. They measured how fast it could run. They tested the maximum distance it could move away from the control device. They evaluated how precisely it could move. Finally, they checked how much impact it could withstand.

Considering how quickly most of the tests ended, I doubted the results would be anything impressive. As I waited for the final evaluation, the guild employee spoke in a bored tone.

“That’s all the tests. I’ve sent the results to your phone.”

“My phone?”

“Your citizenship terminal.”

“Ah, thank you.”

I bowed politely and checked the results that had arrived on my device. I was curious what kind of evaluation I’d received.

“Endurance at 4-star?”

It was a rather ambiguous report card, with only Endurance standing out at 4-star. Still, I could guess why. My ability let me check the community all day long. That kind of constant access probably earned the high endurance rating.

Destructive power, strength, and range were basically nonexistent for my ability. Speed… yeah, searching wasn’t exactly lightning fast. Precision made sense too—most searches only returned one result, and I was basically just reading text. No surprises there.

Now that I had my evaluation, it was time to finish registration. I left the room and walked briskly toward the reception desk. As I moved, I glanced at a message that had appeared in the corner of my vision.

A search function had been added? Just like the message said, a search bar had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠appeared at the bottom of the community screen. When I touched it, a keyboard interface popped up. Was I supposed to type in a keyword?

I thought of the word “Last Shion,” and the search executed instantly. Looked like the keyboard was just for show.

I smiled faintly as I examined my newly upgraded ability.

“Not bad at all.”

The addition of the search function was fantastic news. Until now, my power had only shown me randomly appearing new posts. With this, I could look at older ones too.

The biggest weakness of my ability had always been that I couldn’t choose what I wanted to see. A search function would help cover that flaw. Of course, since I could only use it three times a day, I’d have to be smart about it.

“This might actually…”

Watching the Last Shion community posts refresh before my eyes, my thoughts began to shift.

The Tryout. The name came from sports open tryouts. It was the single stage that decided the fate of new hunters. You either showed everything you had and earned the attention of a top guild, or you failed to prove yourself and got discarded.

At first, I hadn’t even considered doing well in the Tryout. I planned to use my experience as a helper to join some small guild that was desperate enough to recruit the rejects.

But if I had this ability, things were different.

Future Sight. In gacha games, it usually meant looking at updates from other servers to predict what would come next. For me, that Future Sight could become literal.

If I knew what events were going to happen, I could use that knowledge to my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠advantage.

If I used Future Sight properly, maybe I could actually get a decent score in the Tryout. If so, joining one of the Four Major Guilds instead of some tiny outfit might not be impossible. Hell, I might even get hired directly by the Hunter Guild.

So, to make the most of my Future Sight, I decided to use one of my three daily searches right here.

“…Tryout. Let’s see if this works.”

I entered “Tryout” into the search bar. One post appeared.

“……”

This was not what I had expected at all. As I carefully read through the post, one piece of information caught my eye that could actually be useful.

“…A treasure beneath the church?”

There was a treasure hidden under the church at the Tryout testing site. It even looked like the post listed the security password for the device protecting it. If a villain-like character was after it, the item had to be incredibly valuable. If I could get my hands on it, I might earn enough to buy citizenship regardless of my Tryout results. Since a villain was supposed to take it anyway, wouldn’t it be better if I grabbed it first?

Alright. First things first—find the church at the Tryout venue.

With a new plan forming, I reached the reception desk, quickly submitted my documents, and received my participation qualification.

“You’re now officially registered as a Tryout participant. Please be careful not to lose your ID. If you do, your qualification may be revoked.”

Following the guild employee’s guidance, I entered the waiting room. The moment I stepped inside, every participant already there turned to stare at me.

“…What? A human?”

“Nothing special.”

They quickly realized I wasn’t worth their attention and looked away. Not wanting to invite any unnecessary trouble, I quietly moved to a corner of the waiting room and observed the others. That’s when I understood why they had sneered at me for being human.

“There really isn’t anyone else.”

Not a single human was visible in the waiting room. Every participant had strong non-human features. There didn’t even seem to be any half-humans. Well, it made sense. Surviving this kind of competition as a pure human would be incredibly difficult.

As I was thinking that and preparing to check the community again, a graceful man dressed like a martial artist from the Murim world approached me.

“Oh-ho. You are human, aren’t you?”

“Who are you?”

“Ah. I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am Hwa-ryeong, a wanderer who travels the world with only the nameless wind from Mount Hwa as my companion.”

“Ah, a wandering swordsman.”

“…I prefer the term wanderer.”

After Hwa-ryeong introduced himself, I returned the courtesy.

“Lee Seong-hyun. Just an ordinary helper.”

“Helper? What might that be?”

“…Someone who helps hunters clear gates more easily.”

“Ah. So basically an errand boy.”

“……”

“……”

We stared at each other for a moment, having traded blows evenly, then reached a silent understanding.

“Nice to meet you, Helper.”

“It’s an honor to meet a wanderer like yourself.”

After ending our childish exchange, we both burst into quiet laughter and shook hands warmly.

“They say even brushing sleeves creates fate. Don’t you feel some kind of connection from this meeting?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we’re the only two humans here. How about we become friends?”

“Specifically?”

“To the point where we can share drinks together later.”

“That sounds good enough to me.”

“Haha. We understand each other perfectly.”

Considering the final test ahead, making connections like this wasn’t a bad idea. As I chatted casually with Hwa-ryeong, the inner part of the waiting room suddenly grew noisy. I glanced over and saw a group of applicants emerging from a deeper room.

“Those are…”

“They’re from the Four Major Guilds. Since their acceptance is basically guaranteed, they can afford to look so relaxed.”

The Four Major Guilds. The most powerful organizations in Shion after the Hunter Guild itself—Academy, Murim Alliance, Magic Tower, and Reverse Factory. They held priority contact rights in this Tryout right after the Hunter Guild.

It was common knowledge that the Hunter Guild’s Tryout had become a debut stage for promising talents from the Four Major Guilds. Even my past self, who only knew about Shion from the occasional TV documentary, had known that much.

“How enviable. The late-stage disciples of the Murim Alliance.”

Hwa-ryeong muttered while looking at the Four Major Guild members, his voice carrying zero actual envy. I answered in the same casual tone.

“Well, having their spots already reserved is pretty enviable.”

“Indeed. Having somewhere to lean on brings peace of mind.”

“Man, I wish I could join one of the Four Major Guilds too.”

“Haha. That would be impossible for the likes of us.”

“Still, if we do really well, maybe there’s a chance?”

“Hah, as if.”

Hwa-ryeong answered my murmur with absolute certainty.

“How could a human possibly manage something like that?”

“…Hm?”

It had only been a few words, but the statement didn’t match the carefree personality Hwa-ryeong had shown so far. Though he spoke lightly, it was clear those words had come from deep within his heart. I was still processing that realization, wondering how to respond, when all the applicants from the Four Major Guilds finally entered the room.

That’s when I spotted a strangely familiar face.

“Huh?”

A harpy with orange feathers, small wings on her head partially covering her eyes. She looked timid, yet her entire body trembled with visible nervousness. I knew that face.

I quickly glanced at the post I had tucked away in the corner of my vision. Among the countless photos in the popularity poll summary, I found the face I was looking for.

Popularity poll rank 133. Asha. She was standing right in front of me.

That said, I didn’t actually know who she was. She wasn’t famous enough that even people who didn’t play the game would recognize her like Estelle. She wasn’t popular enough to get dozens of fanarts a day like Luca. Ranking 133rd out of 201 basically meant she wasn’t very popular. The only thing I knew about Asha was her official illustration.

Of course I could search for information about her, but with limited search uses, that felt like a waste. In the end, my impression of her stopped at simple curiosity toward an original character I was seeing for the first time. Though I did feel a bit of sympathy for a fellow unpopular character.

“…?”

Apparently my gaze felt different to her. Noticing me staring, Asha looked my way with an expression that suggested she had seen something impossible. I was tilting my head at her strange reaction when—

The waiting room door burst open and a guild employee walked in. Was the Tryout already starting? Everyone’s eyes turned toward the employee.

“Is it time to prepare?”

“No. Looks like a scout has singled someone out.”

“Singled someone out?”

“Yeah. Seems there was a rookie who awakened a pretty decent ability.”

“Oh…”

An ability good enough to catch the eye of the Four Major Guilds? That was honestly a little enviable. I was still thinking that when—

“Is there a participant named Hunter Lee Seong-hyun here?”

“…Huh?”

My name had come out of the guild employee’s mouth. Wait, what the hell was going on?

“Honestly, there’s no need for you to come to the Tryout, Team Leader. I can handle it alone. Why don’t you get some rest?”

“Really? Then maybe I will.”

“Yes. You haven’t been sleeping properly lately, right? Go get some proper sleep.”

“Alright, then…”

A black-haired woman with a Japanese sword at her waist walked alongside a woman wearing a witch’s hat, chatting as they moved. She looked quite tired, even yawning as she walked, but suddenly—

“…?”

She turned her head sharply, as if she had seen something unbelievable. Yet her gaze was fixed on a completely empty wall.

“Team Leader? What’s wrong?”

“…It’s nothing. I don’t need to rest. I’ll come to the test too.”

“What? Suddenly…?”

“Something interesting is about to happen.”

The black-haired woman kept her eyes fixed on the seemingly empty wall as she continued walking. She was trying to burn the afterimage she had just seen into her memory.