Gao Is Everything

The proposal was slimy from the very first sentence.

"Hmph. Isn't it obvious? Asha... or rather, the orange-feathered harpy. Just get in that monster's way."

If I got involved, I could already smell the headache of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠getting dragged into the Red Tower's internal political bullshit.

Still, a hundred million credits was on the line.

I didn't back off right away. I listened for the full story.

"You two are from the same tower, aren't you?"

"We are."

"Don't people usually cooperate in tests like this?"

In most tests, didn't people from the same guild work together to boost each other's scores? When I tilted my head at the question, the man in front of me let out a derisive snort as if I'd said something ridiculous.

"Cooperate with that monster? Don't make me laugh."

"M-monster?"

"What else would you call a freak who reached 4-Star before even entering the city?"

"But if she's from your own guild, isn't that a good thing?"

"Good? What's good about it? You really don't know anything, do you?"

The man clicked his tongue, clearly fed up with my answer.

"It's an unwritten rule—no, a sacred law—that 4-Star talents aren't sent to tryouts like this. These events are supposed to be for fresh rookies who just left the nest. But that monster didn't just hit 4-Star in Mental Image rank. Her stats are 4-Star across the board. And those stubborn old fossils in the Red Tower—!"

His voice dropped into a low growl as he clenched his fist, emotions boiling over.

"They're planning to burn this entire tryout to the ground just to solidify their position inside the tower. And the one they put at the vanguard is that orange-feathered harpy, Asha. She's not just strong. She's a monster in the truest sense of the word."

"Hmm. I see."

So some internal tower politics had pushed an abnormally strong prospect into the mix. That much I understood. But one part still didn't sit right with me.

"...Is 4-Star really that high? Couldn't a bunch of 3-Stars take one down?"

My own Endurance was 4-Star, after all. If someone like me could reach it, how big a deal could it be? When I tilted my head again, the man sighed and gave me a quick rundown of the ranks.

"You're new, so you probably don't know. 1-Star is your average person. 2-Star is a skilled user of tools and weapons. 3-Star is the realm of superhumans."

"And 4-Star?"

"Natural disasters. Storms. Earthquakes. That level."

"...It jumps that hard?"

From superhuman straight to forces of nature? The gap felt absurdly wide. The man sighed again at my muttered impression.

"The difference between 3-Star and 4-Star is massive. You don't reach it just by training for a long time."

After hearing that, my own 4-Star Endurance suddenly felt a lot more impressive. Well, spending my previous life grinding the same community over and over clearly wasn't normal.

"Think of every 4-Star as a monster. Unless you're also at 4-Star, you can never beat them. Understand?"

"Yeah. But what if your stats are around the same level? Like Endurance?"

"4-Star Endurance? That's still a monster. Someone like that could probably keep their abilities active even if their real body was unconscious. I'd avoid a head-on fight if it were me."

"Whoa..."

Thanks to the man's explanation, I was finally getting a feel for how the stats worked. It made sense why he'd be pissed about losing the spotlight to her. Still, something felt off.

"If she's that much of a monster, there's no reason to ask a small fry like me for help. You guys should just team up with people from the other towers and stab her in the back."

"......"

If there was an insurmountable wall between 3-Star and 4-Star, then between 1-Star and 4-Star there was probably a wall you couldn't even perceive. At my pointed observation, the man reluctantly spat out the truth.

"...We can't beat that monster. Ever."

"Ever?"

This didn't sound like a simple 'she's too strong' kind of story.

"Asha's magic... burns fear."

The man gripped his own forearm tightly as he spoke. My eyes caught the burn scars etched into his skin.

"We know that fear. So when we face her, we'll burn up just like everything else. The only ones who can beat that monster are people like you—who don't know fear."

Burns fear. Just hearing the words didn't give me a clear picture. The man let out a dry chuckle at my puzzled expression.

"So, what will it be? Will you accept the offer? If the Hunter Guild approached you, you should at least be strong enough to stall ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that monster for a little while. Five minutes. Just hold her off for five minutes after the test begins. Do that, and we'll secure your citizenship for you."

"Hmm..."

It wasn't a bad offer for me. If my only goal was to get citizenship no matter what, there was no reason to refuse.

"Sorry. I'm not really feeling it."

"What?"

But once again, I turned the offer down.

"In the end, you can't beat her face-to-face, so you're trying to pull some shady backstab with other people? That's pathetic."

"Are you insane? You'd throw this away over something so trivial—"

"It's not trivial. Gao is everything."

"Ha..."

The man exhaled in disbelief at my answer. I looked him dead in the eye and declared:

"Oh, but make sure you have the money ready."

"...What?"

"You're doing this because you're scared Asha will become the final survivor, right? Don't worry. The final survivor is going to be me, so just prepare the reward money."

The man shook his head at my declaration.

"...Unbelievable. Now I see why the Hunter Guild was talking shit about you. No manners at all."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"Ha."

The man sneered openly and made a bold declaration right to my face.

"Fine. If you really manage to defeat that monster and become the final survivor, I'll pay you exactly as you wish."

"Just prepare the hundred million. Actually, never mind—that might be too heavy for your wallet. Let's make it fifty million."

"Your confidence is something else. What's your name, kid?"

"Me? Just call me Helper."

"Helper? Alright. Helper. I'll remember it."

"What's yours? I'll need to know who to find once this is all over."

"Drake."

"Got it. I'll remember too."

With one last snort, Drake turned and left. Once he was gone, I let out a small sigh.

Man, it really is a shame to lose a chance like that. But it couldn't be helped.

I couldn't do anything that would look pathetic to the players.

If this ever became a game, players would definitely be able to see memories like this. Especially when I got entangled with other playable characters like this, the chances would be even higher.

That's why gao mattered.

No matter how many bad things you did, if your gao was intact, players would like you. But if you weren't cool, they'd see you as an unlikeable character.

In that sense, Drake's proposal had zero gao. Especially if I'd accepted it, Asha's fans would have slapped a permanent hate label on me.

I couldn't tell Drake any of that, so I just stayed consistent with the same reason I'd given Estelle. Consistent characterization was important. Though it felt like my character was slowly turning into some insane guy who lived and died by his style.

"Then, we will now begin the tryout."

It was finally starting. Following the staff's guidance, I boarded the bus. When we arrived at the foggy ruined streets and got off, a guild employee opened a trunk packed with weapons.

"For the next five minutes, please select any weapon you wish to use."

The guild-provided weapons were mostly melee arms, with guns excluded. Most new hunters like me picked one up, but those from the four major guilds already had their own. There were actually more hunters with no weapons at all.

Since I didn't have anything prepared, I hesitated between a spear and a sword.

"For a beginner, a spear will be easier to handle."

"Oh. Thanks."

Following Hwa-ryeong's advice, I picked up a spear. Come to think of it, the sword had been harder to swing than I'd expected last time. After choosing my weapon, I looked around.

There was nothing around to mark this as an exam area. Shouldn't they at least draw boundary lines? Or mark where you'd be disqualified if you left? As I was thinking that...

"...Sigh. This is such a pain."

A familiar sigh came from nearby. When I glanced over, I saw Elsie sighing as she pointed her staff toward the foggy city. Wait, why was she here?

The moment I tilted my head in confusion...

"Fog, descend and cover the entire world."

Elsie hummed as if singing a song. All the fog in the world began moving according to her command.

"This is...?"

The majestic sight of fog being drawn out of the fog-covered streets and moving at Elsie's will. The mist slowly changed shape, forming a massive wall of fog that surrounded the area. As I stood there admiring the newly created exam arena, a guild employee immediately began explaining the rules.

"We will now explain the rules for the practical exam."

"Finally..."

"The practical exam will be a battle royale among the 100 applicants. Your goal is to survive for three hours within the designated arena while completing as many missions as possible."

A battle royale with a hundred people. That was the true nature of this tryout.

"The rules are simple. Do not leave the arena. Survive until the end. As long as you follow these two rules, we will not care what you do. Use the weapons you prepared, form teams, do whatever it takes to survive. Additionally, the exam will automatically end once only one applicant remains."

Just from this explanation, it might sound like a simple survival test. However...

"The missions you must complete have been sent to your temporary citizenship device. Please check them immediately and prepare your strategy. Also, the points earned from clearing missions can be converted into credits after the exam."

Once you saw the contents of these missions, you could immediately understand the true purpose of this test. I lowered my head and pulled out the citizenship terminal that resembled a smartphone to check the document that had been sent to me.

The missions were blatantly designed to make everyone kill each other.

"The first person to successfully clear each mission will receive massive sponsorship money from the broadcast viewers. Any questions?"

No further explanation was needed. Everyone seemed to think the same, as no one asked the guild employee anything.

"Very well. We will now begin the practical exam."

Right away? While everyone was still gathered like this? The moment that question crossed my mind, the fog that had risen to our ankles suddenly swallowed every applicant whole.

"Huh...?"

The next instant, I was thrown somewhere inside the fog-covered arena.

And then—

The world burned.

Flames. A bird made of vivid red fire soared high into the sky.

With a single flap of its wings, every sound in the world vanished. A deafening roar and flesh-searing heat crashed over me at the same time. The fog itself became fuel, devouring the city's ruins. In the apocalyptic scene, my terminal went insane with alerts.

I didn't even need to look to know who it was.

Asha.

A helpless laugh escaped me.

"She wanted me to stop this?"

Those bastards had no conscience. I cursed while watching the approaching tidal wave of flames. This was no time to laugh. At this rate I'd be reduced to ashes and disqualified. I started running like crazy to get away from the fire.

"Kiiiieek...!"

I wasn't the only thing leaping out of the flames. Grotesque monsters that looked like a fusion of human screams and beastly howls were fleeing as well. The fusions. The very things that should have been the biggest threat in this exam were running around like hunted prey.

"Grrrr...?"

"Hey, seriously? Even in this situation?"

No, scratch that. It would've been great if they just kept running, but one of them that had been fleeing suddenly turned and charged at me, still wanting to kill a human even now. If I ignored it and ran, my back would get torn to shreds.

"......"

The fusion was already half-destroyed, its body mangled by the flames. In this state, I could take it. I recalled the times I'd faced off against fusions the hunters had missed while working as a porter. As long as I didn't panic, I could win.

"Grrrrr!"

I gripped the spear tightly and stared the fusion down. It roared and charged straight at me.

"Hup!"

My thrust pierced cleanly through its chest. The creature collapsed to the ground. It dissolved into the fog like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠paint spreading in water, leaving behind a misty cube on the floor. I let out a sigh of relief and picked up the cube.

"So this is a Mental Image Stone..."

This was it. The crystallized Mental Image of a fusion.

I pressed the extractor Estelle had given me against the stone and pulled the trigger. The Mental Image flowed into the device like liquid. Then, just like when receiving an awakening injection, I pressed the extractor against my temple.

Hunters could grow stronger by absorbing the Mental Images of defeated enemies. Of course, absorbing too much would turn you into one of those monsters.

"...Ugh."

A splitting headache hit me, accompanied by a bizarre taste in my mouth. As I grimaced, a strange sensation washed over me. For a brief moment, I saw the world through the eyes of a beast rather than a human. My physical abilities seemed to have improved too. Not bad.

"Grrrr..."

While I was absorbing the Mental Image, a new fusion appeared. My body reacted before my mind could. The spear thrust forward without hesitation and burst its heart.

"Nice effect."

I whistled and absorbed the second stone. By then the flames had drawn right up to my face. I barely managed to escape the blaze, and eventually the spread of the fire stopped. I must have run outside Asha's range.

I breathed a sigh of relief and checked the map. The nearest mission was occupying a base. As I headed toward the target point, the clash of swords and the thick smell of blood reached me. The sounds of blades meeting and the scent of blood grew stronger.

"..."

I prepared for battle and cautiously entered a half-collapsed building. The sound of a sword piercing someone's chest came from just around the corner.

"Krrk, hack..."

The enemy was right past this corner. From the shadow cast on the wall, it looked like one person had just stabbed another in the chest. Perfect timing for an ambush. I gripped my spear and charged forward to pierce both of them at once.

"Whoops."

My spear was casually deflected, and a counterattack came flying back. I was kicked in the chest and sent tumbling to the floor. A familiar voice rang out.

"Well, well. If it isn't Mr. Helper—the pride of all new hunters, the one courted by the Hunter Guild himself."

The person standing before me was none other than Hwa-ryeong.