The D-Rank Guild Master of the No. 1 Guild

‘It’s so heartbreaking to see a female character getting beaten up like that…’

‘Stop it, Ispan, you jerk.’

‘? Will he stop? He’s gone fully dark.’

‘Should I give her a health potion or not? He’s toying with her, crazy LOL.’

‘It’s fun, but will Rudel really die like this?’

‘(Breaking News) Gio and Unahar are looking for their guild leader.’

‘But she might die before finding her…’

‘Wow, and in the midst of this, Rudel’s giving the health potion to Akata…’

‘Is this out of character? Why is Rudel acting like this? She should obviously take the potion herself to fight and save Akata. Why give it to Akata? Do they think Akata will fight for her after drinking it?’

‘He’s F-rank, it’ll probably just tickle him.’

‘You’re the only ones saying it’s out of character.’

‘Rudel’s MBTI is T, but sometimes she’s F.’

‘That’s why she saved Lilith in the beginning.’

‘And comforted Unahar when he was an injured wolf.’

‘She looks after her guild members, their meals, and sleeping arrangements.’

‘I think she’s the typical cold but warm-hearted character.’

‘She probably feels guilty for what happened to Akata because of her.’

‘And maybe she just likes Akata.’

‘She’s taking care of him like one of her own guild members.’

‘I understand why Rudel gave the potion to Akata, but I get why some people are frustrated.’

‘Did you see her eyes when she told them to give the potion to Akata?’

‘She’s a game character, but she’s amazing… look at her determination.’

‘On the surface, Rudel seems like an ordinary girl, but I think her guild members follow her because of that look in her eyes.’

‘But why does Rudel like Akata so much?’

‘Until now, Unahar and Kanel were all useful, but Akata is completely useless. Isn’t that strange?’

‘Is it too far-fetched to think Akata might have some hidden potential?’

‘Rudel has a good eye for people… It doesn’t make sense she’d bring Akata just because he’s pretty. Isn’t she called a top executive candidate along with Shemarin for a reason?’

The chat was more lively than ever, with various opinions being exchanged. As countless viewers’ attention focused on Ispan approaching Rudel with a knife in hand,

Ching-!

In an instant, the graphics exploded, filling the screen with blinding flames. Moments later, viewers witnessed the previously seemingly weak boy standing unscathed amidst the flames.

* * *

[Round 1.5 is temporarily suspended.]

The sudden halt of Round 1.5 occurred both within the game and in the real world. Viewers witnessed, for the first time, a “screen freeze bug” right at the moment when Rudel and Akata were returning to the guild fortress. The screen began to glitch, the chat froze, and eventually, all viewers were kicked out of the virtual reality viewing mode.

Ten minutes later, an apology was posted on the official website.

[…A critical error was discovered during today’s Round 1.5 gameplay.

Due to this, we had to immediately suspend the game to identify the error, causing inconvenience to the viewers.

We sincerely apologize for not notifying you in advance and for the disruption caused.

Here are the details of the error.

At 17:25 standard time, during Round 1.5, a bug occurred where lower player number 500 awakened a unique ability.

The development team suspects there was an issue with the character {Akata} from the creation process.

This error affected the game flow as follows:

Firstly, {Akata} used the ‘Flame’ unique ability to permanently eliminate participant number 108 {Ispan} and number 172 {Rex}.

Secondly, the game system recognized {Akata} as a higher player due to possessing a unique ability, thus approving {Rudel}’s ‘Guild Recall Request’ for him.

The administration will promptly address and eliminate the anomalies caused by this incident.

We apologize once again for the inconvenience caused to the game users.

Additionally, we will continue to strive to provide better services in the future…]

Judging by the content of the apology, even the administration did not anticipate this situation. Another announcement from the administration was posted a day later.

[We apologize for keeping our users waiting for so long.

After a lengthy meeting, we have made a final decision to prevent further errors and stabilize the game system.

At 18:00 on the same day, we have decided to delete the character {Akata}, which was the cause of the issue.

There will be an emergency server maintenance afterward, so please take note.]

The administration finally decided to permanently delete the “bug character” after a long wait for the users.

* * *

Thanks to the health potions, the injuries that Akata and I sustained healed quickly. However, the boy character still had not regained consciousness. All the guild members stood around, glancing at the boy lying on the floor and then looking at me.

Everyone seemed very anxious, and I was no different. However, as the guild leader, I couldn’t show my frustration outwardly. Pushing aside my complicated thoughts, I put on a bright expression again.

“Akata isn’t regaining consciousness right away. Let’s lay him down somewhere.”

Since I had brought him here without consulting the guild members…

“I can’t ask you to lend your rooms. I’ll put him in mine.”

It seemed right that I take care of the character I had brought in unilaterally. I knelt down, slipped my hands under Akata’s back and knees, and lifted him. It wasn’t much effort; the boy’s body was incredibly light, easily allowing for a ‘princess carry’ with my C-rank strength.

“Is it really necessary for the guild leader to offer her room…?” Kanel, who had been watching, frowned and tried to dissuade me. Unahar, agreeing with him, urgently stepped forward.

“He’s a boy! It’s inappropriate for you to lend your room. Let him use my bed instead.”

Saying this, Unahar took Akata from my arms almost forcibly. Despite his words, Unahar was quite attentive to the guild members, so it would have been hard for him to ignore the small and frail Akata.

‘…Though he seems to be handling him rather roughly.’

Unahar marched ahead, accidentally bumping Akata’s head against the corner of the wall with a thud.

“…”

Unable to scold him for trying to help, I had to watch anxiously.

* * *

In the real world.

The website traffic hit an all-time high as soon as the administration posted the announcement about permanently deleting the bug character. Simultaneously, all the chat rooms exploded with activity.

‘Are we really going to let Akata be deleted like this?’

‘Our beloved Rudel is going to be pissed.’

‘Let’s save him for Rudel’s sake.’

‘How about a petition? If enough users complain, the administration might listen.’

Most of those opposing the permanent deletion were fans of Rudel and her guild. After all, Akata was the character Rudel had saved while enduring immense pain and fighting desperately. The boy had responded to her sacrifice by displaying stunning graphics and dramatically taking down the villain.

Separating them? That was simply unacceptable.

Not only did Rudel’s large fandom rally together, but other users who found the situation intriguing also joined in, causing the opposition to Akata’s deletion to snowball. Within just an hour of the announcement, a signature campaign was launched.

[Opposition to Akata’s Deletion Signature List]

This is a signature campaign against the deletion of Akata.

Users willing to join, please leave your nickname (used in chat or betting) and the first four characters of your ID (e.g., yj12-) in the comments, and I will add you in real-time.

Comments [5912]

– ‘RudelDevotee, dio9-/ Hey, the developers caused the bug, so why should Akata be permanently deleted? What did Akata do wrong?’

– ‘CatPunch!, catf-/ Deleting Akata would be a huge mistake by the admin team.’

– ‘StrawberryMilk, sjs-/ Honestly, the developers must also see the potential in Akata’s character. Just let it slide this once.’

– ‘heybo,ii88-/ Just add Akata to Rudel’s guild; it’s not that hard.’

As the signatures continued to pour in, the highlight scenes from this incident gained significant attention. In particular, Akata’s dramatic awakening and the moment when Rudel extended her arms to embrace the approaching boy captivated viewers. These scenes garnered more interest than any other video posted on the website over the past month.

Viewers especially marveled at the flame graphics created by Akata.

‘This is insane… Was this really created by a bug?’

‘Isn’t Akata like Narcissus?’

‘More like Apollo, the sun god.’

‘? LOL no way.’

‘Akata’s flames look much more intricate than Rudel’s.’

‘Is it okay for unique abilities to overlap? Rudel uses fire abilities too.’

‘If you watch closely, there are phoenix-like figures flying around. It might be a slightly different type.’

‘Aha.’

‘No way, did Rudel…’

‘Did Rudel realize Akata was a hidden character and go through all that trouble?’

‘Whoa…’

‘Foresight…’

‘Rudel’s secret plot…?’