The Story You Absolutely Need to Know to Survive (Part 3)

“My apologies for the late greeting.”

The man smiled faintly as he lifted my hand.

His lips brushed the tips of my fingers for a brief moment before pulling away.

“Welcome, Your Majesty.”

The instant he whispered that to me, someone muttered toward him like a groan.

“The Selector……”

The first sage after the fall.

The foremost philosopher.

The prophet of the Butterfly Tomb.

The seeker who would guide humanity.

There were many titles for the man before me.

But having cleared WWC dozens of times, I could say with certainty that those grand labels were nothing more than flattery.

“A qualification test, you said?”

“Haha, so you did hear that properly. Good. Your hearing passes.”

His white teeth, revealed as he answered one of the candidates, were bright enough for a soda commercial.

“You call that an answer?!”

The man who had asked the question finally snapped.

“Oh dear, I was praising you.”

“Are you mocking us?”

“Mocking? Don’t paint me as such a villain. Do I look that unpleasant? That can’t be right.”

Even as the other man trembled with clenched fists, the Selector remained cheerful.

He would do well as a theme park employee.

“Or are you craving attention? Haha, you should have said so. I like that too, dear customer!”

“Just what exactly—!”

Before the man could shout again, someone restrained him.

Another stepped forward instead.

“Explain yourself.”

It was Yimok from the Eastern City.

Elegant as if painted in ink.

Also one who had passed the test through sheer strength.

“Selector Caliburn.”

“Very well.”

The man who had appeared after the world’s fall and shown humanity a path to survival responded easily.

“Let me put it simply. Why do you think you’re here?”

“Because you acknowledged us.”

After the sudden collapse of the world and the emergence of strange post-apocalypse creatures, a man had appeared before the survivors.

—This is the process of the world being reconstructed.

He was neither entirely of the old world nor the new.

Wrapped in a long robe like a mage, massive as a bear yet slender as a deer, flamboyant like a tropical bird.

With every step he took, butterflies of countless colors bloomed beneath his feet.

—I’ve come to show you how to survive. The choice is yours. I never force anyone.

Yet wherever those butterflies touched, even raging flames froze over as if struck by a blizzard.

—Some of you will gain new power, like the creatures you call post-apocalypse beings. But that alone won’t be enough.

—Humans need a king to survive.

—And I am the one who selects that king.

—Of course, the choice is yours. I never force anyone. I cannot.

After he vanished, his words became reality.

People with mysterious powers began to appear.

Cities formed around them.

And then one day, the man who had predicted it all sent invitations.

—Have you made your choice?

“You invited us personally.”

“Haha, that I did.”

The Selector floated upward and seated himself upon a chair formed by countless jeweled butterflies.

“Then did you show me enough?”

For the first time, Yimok faltered.

The Selector laughed again.

“You came to become king, didn’t you? Then you should have shown it. Your qualification.”

Though his hood obscured his eyes, it felt as if he was scrutinizing us one by one.

“Qualification…?”

“Yes. Qualification. Surely you didn’t think that simply receiving my invitation meant you were qualified?”

He made a dramatic fuss.

“That would be terrible! Did I forget to write it on the invitation? Oh dear, my apologies if I did!”

His theatrical tone only made the air colder.

No one could answer.

Everyone here had believed they were already chosen.

“Anyway, that’s why I held a test.”

“You mean this was the first?”

“Yes. A bit late, but congratulations to all who passed. Should I give you a hug? Or perhaps a kiss?”

And so, from now on, they would have to continue proving they deserved to remain here.

“That’s odd. No volunteers? I dressed up for this.”

He spread his arms theatrically.

Suddenly—

“If that’s the case!”

“Ghk!”

Jeok-o.

And the one he dragged forward by the collar—

Was me.

“Why is this one considered a success, Selector?!”

“Oh? Our first-place winner? Should big brother give first place a kiss?”

Something cold brushed my cheek.

A glittering butterfly had landed there.

“Everyone else proved their power! Only those passed! But this one didn’t! When did he—!”

“Gkh!”

My body lifted into the air.

I floated helplessly before the Selector.

Upside down.

My head was going to explode from the blood rushing to it.

The Selector reached out to touch my cheek.

“I heard the top scorer would explain his solution process?”

“Is this really a visit? Feels more like a forced summoning.”

“Was the ride uncomfortable?”

“Luxury sedan tier. Though I’ve never actually ridden one.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“How long must I keep playing along? This kind of hospitality is new to me.”

“Stop spouting nonsense and answer!” Jeok-o snapped.

Why am I the only one being grilled?

“If you read the prompt carefully, the answer reveals itself.”

“Prompt?”

“You saw it too.”

The Selector conjured the text in the air.

Welcome.

All entrants are welcome.

This is not a safe zone.

Beyond this point, an additional pass is required.

Inspectors are arriving.

Prepare your pass.

Prove your pass to the inspectors.

“It wasn’t a safe zone, meaning something dangerous would happen. In this world, that means post-apocalypse creatures. And as for the entry pass and additional pass—”

I glanced at the crowd below.

Though hanging upside down ruined the effect.

“How did everyone get here?”

“By invitation—”

Jeok-o stopped mid-sentence.

He had realized it.

“Being invited was the entry pass. Then the additional pass required ‘from this point on’ must be something else. Something we must prove to remain.”

I wanted to shrug but couldn’t.

“The inspectors were the creatures. Even if they were illusions.”

In this world, the king stands against those creatures.

So the test was obvious.

“What must someone prove while facing those creatures? If you gathered to become king, what must you show?”

“Strength?” someone muttered.

“Strength is part of it.”

But not the whole answer.

“What we had to prove was the value we would pursue as king.”

The Selector nodded.

“Strength is one answer. People gather beneath a sharp blade. But our top scorer offered a slightly different solution.”

His hooded gaze turned to Jeok-o.

Jeok-o clearly understood.

“You dare—!”

Why glare at me?

“Yes. You understood.”

I had provoked Jeok-o deliberately.

To save him from losing his arm on the first day.

The answer I showed the grader?

Mercy.

Compassion.

Benevolence.

“Solution time is over. Any questions? Haha, none.”

The butterflies scattered.

The Selector landed lightly.

“The first test ends here. Replay is only fair, yes? Congratulations to the successful.”

He struck the ground with his staff.

Those who had died revived instantly.

“The failed may return home.”

And they vanished.

In the now-empty hall, the Selector turned to me.

“Top scorer, come. Interview time.”

I widened my eyes.

He laughed.

“No need to worry. Just a formality. Like recommending a promising son for graduate research.”

“That’s basically grad school—”

The butterflies carried me closer.

He leaned down and whispered so only I could hear.

“You moved before the prompt appeared.”

“…!”

“You already knew what would happen.”

“……”

“That’s why it’s a one-on-one interview, sweetheart.”

I had no choice but to let myself be dragged away in silence.