The Final Survivor
The announcement echoed through the testing ground.
[The final survivor has been born.]
The moment the words rang out, the flames that had engulfed the entire area vanished in an instant. The scorching heat I'd felt just seconds ago now felt like nothing more than a fleeting daydream. In a place where everything had been reduced to ash, the only one still standing was me.
The final survivor is Hunter Lee Seong-hyun. With this, the practical exam is now over.
As soon as the exam-ending message appeared, the wall of fog crumbled away. The collapsing mist swallowed everything in the testing ground, and just like when the exam had begun, I closed my eyes and opened them again to find my surroundings completely changed.
“Congratulations on being the final survivor, Hunter Lee Seong-hyun.”
“…It’s really over, right?”
The place I’d been transported to was a room with the atmosphere of a bank. When I asked the guild employee who greeted me with a friendly smile a slightly dazed question, he simply smiled back and answered.
“Yes. The tryouts are now officially complete. In a little while, the naming ceremony for the Four Major Guilds will begin. The reason we called you here, Hunter Lee Seong-hyun, is to handle your settlement.”
“Settlement? Oh, you mean those achievements?”
“That’s correct. Here, these are all the achievements you accomplished during the tryouts.”
The terminal the guild employee handed me listed every achievement I’d earned during the tryouts in a long column.
[Base Capture] — 500,000 Credits
[Competitor Elimination] — 1,000,000 Credits
[3-Star Fusion Entity Defeated] — Sponsorship 33.33 million Credits — 3,000,000 Credits
[Final Survivor] — Sponsorship 93.5 million Credits — 15,000,000 Credits
[Speedrun] — Sponsorship 550,000 Credits — 5,000,000 Credits
“You didn’t complete that many missions, but you certainly raked in a lot of sponsorship money.”
“Wait a second. So all of this adds up to…”
“The total comes to 151.88 million Credits. Just sign a few documents and we’ll transfer it straight to your linked account.”
151.88 million Credits. This was the money I’d earned by surviving until the very end. Even after buying citizenship, I’d still have 50 million left. That was more than enough to establish myself properly in Shion.
“I’d like to purchase official citizenship. Can we handle that here as well?”
“Of course it’s possible. What type of citizenship would you like?”
Citizenship is citizenship, so why ask about types? One might think that, but Shion’s citizenship system was structured so that each district’s ruler could issue their own. Naturally, those only worked within districts allied with the issuing ruler, but they had the advantage of being cheaper than the Hunter Guild’s version. Still, I had no intention of buying a restricted citizenship just to save a few bucks.
“I’ll purchase official citizenship.”
“Pardon? If you mean official citizenship, then…”
“The one issued directly by the government, not the Hunter Guild.”
That’s right. I planned to buy the citizenship issued by the government, not the Hunter Guild. Before the city known as Shion was formed by the convergence of multiple dimensions, this was the original city’s true owner. The ones outside Shion who now only managed it by outsourcing to the Hunter Guild.
“Um, Hunter? There isn’t much difference between government citizenship and Hunter Guild citizenship. I’d recommend the more economical option if you’re looking to save money.”
The guild employee tried to dissuade me, apparently thinking I was about to waste my money. In reality, just as he said, there was virtually no difference between the two. Every benefit you could receive with government citizenship could also be enjoyed with the Hunter Guild’s version.
But I knew the future. I knew that on the day the Babel Tower collapsed, the Hunter Guild’s system would crumble along with it, bringing chaos on a massive scale. And that in that situation, the only people who could properly travel between districts would be those holding government citizenship. That was exactly why the protagonist in the prologue was considered so important. How could I not know?
Therefore, even if it meant spending more, obtaining government citizenship was the correct choice. After the catastrophe hit, it would be impossible to get one even if you tried.
“It’s fine. I’d like the official citizenship, please.”
“If that’s what you want, Hunter…”
The guild employee, clearly unable to understand my reasoning, manipulated the terminal and handed me a contract.
“Yes. Just sign here.”
“Understood.”
I scribbled my signature on the contract, and a notification immediately popped up on the terminal.
Temporary citizenship has been revoked.
Official citizenship has been issued. Welcome to becoming a citizen of Shion, Lee Seong-hyun.
Account Deposit: 1,880,000 Credits
Official Citizenship Monthly Fee Due In — 28 days.
One hundred and fifty million Credits vanished in the blink of an eye. And of course they made it twenty-eight days instead of a full month. These guys really know how to suck money out of people. But that thought only lasted a moment. When I looked at the new terminal the guild employee handed me, a wave of emotion washed over me. It was an official citizenship terminal engraved with Shion’s blue seal. Though most people just called them phones.
“Here. This is your personal status window access terminal.”
“Status window?”
“Everyone calls them phones or smartphones, but originally they were devices meant to display hunters’ status windows.”
So it wasn’t just a citizenship terminal. I took the phone from the guild employee and tapped the screen. My status window immediately appeared.
“Ah, since you were the final survivor of the tryouts, you should have received a special skin. Would you like to apply it to your status window?”
“A special skin?”
A skin? It really was like a game system. Well, this world literally was from a game. Following the guild employee’s instructions, I went into the menu and applied the setting. Sure enough, a skin indicating I was the final survivor was now active.
Final Survivor Skin has been applied.
“It’s pretty simple, isn’t it?”
“It is nice, but what’s it used for?”
“Well, it’s just for decoration. Like putting your name on a business card. Some people spend a fortune collecting these skins, so having one can’t hurt.”
After casually finishing his explanation, the guild employee acted as if our business was concluded and kindly guided me onward.
“Then shall we get going?”
“Where to?”
“Why, the naming ceremony, of course. The main character can’t be absent, can he?”
Right. The naming ceremony was still left. Feeling a bit nervous, I followed the guild employee’s lead and soon found myself in a rather extravagant hall. Had the cleanup finished while I was talking with the employee? Several familiar faces were waiting on the stage.
“You can wait right in the center over there.”
The place the guild employee led me to was the very center of the stage where the Four Major Guilds’ promising talents were gathered. The absolute center of the stage. Well, if they weren’t going to put the final survivor here, where else would they put me? It felt strange.
When I’d first entered the waiting room, no one had paid me any attention, and I had sat alone in a corner.
But now? Thanks to what I’d accomplished, I was standing in the most noticeable spot among all the promising talents of the Four Major Guilds. This was an achievement worth bragging about.
Of course, even so, I wouldn’t actually receive a nomination during the naming ceremony. Only the Four Major Guilds participated in the naming, and for them to use their nomination right on me would mean abandoning the promising talents they’d raised themselves.
No matter how impressive it was that I’d defeated Asha and become the final survivor, the Four Major Guilds wouldn’t value me highly enough to make that kind of choice. After all, I was still just an ordinary human. With that resigned thought in mind, I stepped onto the stage.
Below the stage, the hall was packed with reporters and guild officials. The countless gazes and camera flashes directed at me felt awkward, but I did my best to look calm and stared straight ahead. Standing beside me were Drake, Asha, and the other promising talents from the Four Major Guilds, all wearing stiff expressions.
“……”
No, scratch that. Even though Asha was clearly covering her eyes with the wings on her head, she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings at all. Instead, she was staring directly at me with a piercing gaze. Was she that upset about losing to me?
While feeling a stare that seemed like it might bore a hole through my back, the doors opened and the scouts from the Four Major Guilds entered. Once the emcee confirmed that all four guilds—Magic Tower, Murim Alliance, Reverse Factory, and Academy—had gathered, he loudly announced the start of the naming ceremony.
“We will now begin the naming ceremony for the joint guild tryouts!”
The emcee’s booming voice filled the hall. After a few formal procedures, they finally moved on to the main event.
“Following tradition, each guild will first nominate their own promising talents. Magic Tower, please begin.”
The Magic Tower scout had been chatting with others until the very last moment, but he eventually stood up slowly. Obviously, he was going to nominate Asha first. That’s what I thought, but what happened next completely defied my expectations.
“…The Magic Tower will use this nomination right on Hunter Lee Seong-hyun.”
A moment of silence fell over the hall. I doubted my ears. Everyone in the hall did.
“W-what did he say?”
Drake, standing beside me, couldn’t hold back his shock and broke the silence. The scout sighed as if Drake’s reaction was pathetic and explained why he had chosen me.
“He cooperated with another hunter to defeat a 3-star fusion entity first, and above all, the fact that he defeated a 4-star ability user using only 1-star power caught our attention. Most of all, the fact that he accomplished all of it with a human body.”
The crowd stirred at the scout’s words.
“…The Magic Tower is recruiting an outsider?”
“No way. Those stiff-necked bastards?”
“This tryout must have really shocked them.”
“It really is incredible that a human body managed to do all that.”
But the shock didn’t end there.
“The Murim Alliance will also use our nomination right on Hunter Lee Seong-hyun!”
The Murim Alliance scout shouted boldly.
“The way he stood his ground and fought against the strong without retreating, all with the body of a pure human! You possess the true qualities of a hero of justice!”
Then the Academy’s scout as well.
“The Academy also nominates Hunter Lee Seong-hyun. If he accepts our offer, we are considering designating him as a special scholarship student.”
And even the Reverse Factory.
“The Reverse Factory also nominates Hunter Lee Seong-hyun. Personally, I believe we can support him the best.”
A completely insane situation had unfolded. All four major guilds had abandoned their own promising talents and nominated me instead. The faces of the promising talents standing on stage twisted with despair and betrayal. They stood there in a daze, as if they couldn’t believe they had been discarded.
Had something like this ever happened in the history of the tryouts? This stage was supposed to have long since become nothing more than a formal debut event for the Four Major Guilds’ promising talents. I couldn’t understand any of this. It was true that I had become the final survivor, but this was beyond common sense.
Right then.
“Everyone, please calm down. I understand the intentions of the Four Major Guilds.”
Estelle made her appearance. Every sound in the hall focused on her single voice. Estelle looked at me on stage with a relaxed smile.
“However, unfortunately, those nominations are invalid.”
“What are you saying, Team Leader Estelle!”
“Hunter Lee Seong-hyun is the final survivor! The priority nomination right belongs to us!”
The guild representatives protested fiercely, but Estelle didn’t even blink.
“He is already a talent our Hunter Guild has made contact with. Although he declined, the priority negotiation right still belongs to us.”
Estelle smiled at me and said,
“How about it? My offer is still valid. Won’t you join our team now? Seeing how desperately the Four Major Guilds want you, it seems my eyes weren’t wrong after all.”
Everything in the hall was revolving around me. The shocking offers from the Four Major Guilds and a direct scouting proposal from the strongest hunter in the Hunter Guild. In less than a day since arriving in Shion, I had become the hottest topic in the entire city.
I adjusted my grip on the microphone. Now everything depended on my choice.
Every gaze in the hall was focused on my lips. Estelle, the scouts from the Four Major Guilds, the promising talents on stage, and the countless reporters. Eyes filled with expectation, greed, jealousy, and curiosity poured down on me as if they would pierce through me. I took a short breath and spoke firmly.
“I sincerely thank you all for your generous offers.”
I first bowed deeply toward the Four Major Guilds and Estelle. When I raised my head again, an unshakable smile was on my face.
“However, I will not be joining any guild.”
“Asha. Abandon that monster.”
“Pardon?”
The Magic Tower scout was bewildered by the direct order that had come down from the Tower Lord. What kind of instruction was this?