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

As a side note, some sharp-eyed users zoomed in on Rudel just before Akata’s awakening to analyze the situation.

Instead of Rudel’s face, they zoomed in on Rudel’s hand just before Ispan approached.

[New Interpretation: Even if Akata hadn’t awakened, Rudel would have captured Ispan anyway.]

It’s the sword Rudel pulled out just before Ispan approached with his blade.

It’s not just an ordinary dagger, but a special item upgraded with an enhancement item from round 1.5.

According to the website, it has the effect of slashing as much as it drinks the owner’s blood.

In conclusion, Ispan was tricked again, lol.

It seems Rudel deliberately got hit by Ispan to turn the tables with this sword; Rudel really seems to use his body recklessly.

But it seems Akata’s awakening rendered it all moot in the end.

Comments [1065]

‘So, there’s no need to worry about Rudel.’

‘She had a trump card, but Akata awakened, so she didn’t need it.’

‘Rudel, I apologize for my lack of faith until now.’

‘Rudel might be a higher-dimensional being that we can’t judge.’

‘? Is this the birth of a religion, lol?’

Despite the game being suspended, the homepage was noisier than usual.

In response, the management team eventually reversed the permanent deletion of Akata and decided to add Akata as the final top-tier character.

Amid the users’ welcome, the unstable system restoration work was completed in a short time.

* * *

Not only Unahar but also Kanel and Lilith followed along and gathered to watch as Unahar laid Akata down in his room.

“I’d like to watch over Akata alone for a while. Can everyone leave? Please.”

At those words, Kanel and Lilith promptly left, but Unahar hesitated, unwilling to comply.

“This is my room, though…”

“Am I being unreasonable? I’m sorry. But could you wait in my room instead?”

When he gazed at Unahar and asked, Unahar surprisingly left the room obediently, as if something had convinced him.

‘But just a moment ago, he was opposing it, saying men and women should be separate. Yet, he went to my room so readily? What’s his standard?’

I don’t know… Worrying about Akata makes it hard to think clearly.

I dragged a chair next to the bed to look at Akata, and my eyes suddenly met my reflection in the full-length mirror in the corner of the room.

It was the palest face I’d ever seen.

It was the expression I had been hiding from my guild members all along.

‘In reality, they must be conducting an emergency inspection around now…’

The presence of a character like Akata had this kind of impact.

Just having this bug character might prompt the GMs to interfere with our guild’s affairs to pinpoint issues.

It means that all my efforts to bring Akata here might be meaningless.

What should I do at this moment? Is there nothing I can do but brace myself and wait?

…I feel powerless and incompetent.

I can’t believe I’m only now realizing how insignificant I am.

I poked the sleeping boy’s cheek. Still no reaction.

“Akata.”

I called out loudly and shook his shoulder, but he didn’t move, like a doll.

‘Could it be that Akata not waking up is related to the game company?’

It seems like the programmers have put Akata’s time on ‘pause’ until they decide how to handle him.

Can this be called life?

Unpredictable narratives naturally emerge from the abandonment of characters created with highly sophisticated technology.

But in situations like this, the management actively intervenes.

And that’s not all.

Since this game is translated and distributed worldwide, there are countless viewers across the globe.

Their voices are loud and vigorous, and the management listens to their opinions.

If I make even a small mistake, the fans can turn on me instantly, like a celebrity being chased from the top to the bottom.

In that case, the developers might immediately approach my character and ‘delete’ it.

‘Then I would die. Even if restoration were possible, it wouldn’t be me anymore.’

A long sigh escaped as I pondered. At that moment, I felt a presence behind me.

When I turned quickly, I saw familiar silver hair fluttering through the open door crack.

I smiled and reached out my hand.

“Come in, Lilith.”

The chair was too small for two people, so I sat Lilith on my lap.

Then I reached my arms around to hug her from behind. Lilith tightly held onto my hands.

“Were you worried about me?”

When Lilith turned around, her eyes were moist. She nodded vigorously.

But her gaze wasn’t just directed at me; it also fell on the boy lying on the bed.

“Were you worried about Akata too?”

What should I do with this kind girl?

While others were indifferent or awkward around Akata, whom I had brought in on my own, Lilith accepted him into her heart just because I had brought him.

That’s not an easy thing to do.

Smart ones like Kanel or Unahar would have realized just from the broadcast announcing the suspension of round 1.5.

They would understand that this is the first time the system has intervened so deeply in the game.

‘Considering the impact of the broadcast on us, they must also anticipate that this situation will disadvantage us.’

But Lilith is neither that smart, nor would she have cared even if she noticed.

She would have continued to help the sick Akata, not hesitating to lend a hand.

“Lilith, could you watch over Akata alone for a while?”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“I’m just going to check on the others for a bit.”

I’m still far from being good enough.

As a guild leader, I should be able to alleviate the anxieties of other guild members and lead them, no matter the situation.

In my confused state, I had left them neglected.

First, I stepped outside and went to Kanel’s room, which was the closest.

‘Looks like he’s not here.’

The door was locked, and there was no response even when I pressed the intercom button.

‘Then, how about Gio in the next room…’

When I pushed the door, it opened easily. Despite having a lock function, he had left it open.

He’s already fast asleep, so I’ll skip him.

Next, I went to Unahar, who should be in my room.

“Unahar?”

There was no answer, so I opened the door wide.

Unahar, who had opposed laying Akata on my bed because Akata was a boy, was now sleeping soundly on my bed, despite it being a girl’s bed.

Seeing that, I felt a strange sensation. It seemed like I was missing something.

Was the excuse that Akata was a boy just a pretext? Maybe he was wary of Akata from the start simply because of his presence?

Moreover, why was he sleeping with his face buried in the pillow like that? The more I looked, the more peculiar it seemed.

Finally, to find Kanel, who wasn’t in his room, I searched every corner of the villa… no, the fortress.

He wasn’t in the living room, the study, or the game room.

‘Could he be in the training room…?’

Descending the basement stairs, I heard the rough breathing of a man echoing to the entrance.

A few steps further down, I saw Kanel, shirtless, intensely focused on his workout.

His chest muscles and broad shoulders, hardened from rigorous training, were on full display.

I couldn’t help but cover my mouth with my hand, overwhelmed with emotion, as I approached Kanel on the exercise equipment.

“You truly are an exemplary guild member.”

“…? Thank you for the compliment.”

Even in this chaotic situation, he was increasing his stats through unsupervised training!

Kanel seemed to feel that his appearance was too indecent in front of the guild leader, so he rose from the equipment and put on the shirt he had taken off.

“No, go ahead and finish what you were doing. I was just patrolling for a bit. You look fine, so that’s enough.”

“Why wouldn’t I be fine?”

Unfortunately, Kanel seemed to be in ‘thinking’ mode and picked up on something in my words.

“Are you worried about whether we’re okay? Thank you, but if you’re that worried about us, it means you’re also feeling anxious, right?”

Kanel wiped his sweaty face with a towel, then looked up again.

“Don’t worry too much. Sure, we might get penalized because of that boy, but we can worry about that after the results are announced.”

Kanel, you really do think similarly to me. You’re calm and rational.

But you’re different from me.

You don’t understand what you should truly worry about.

You don’t consider why you’re playing this game, who is forcing this upon you, or what your true identity is.

…Because that’s how you’re programmed.

So, no matter how similar your personality is to mine or how smart you are, you can’t make me feel a sense of kinship.

Kanel seemed to notice my dark expression and bent down to match my eye level.

His pitch-black pupils, devoid of any light, stared straight at me.

“Did I say something wrong?”

At that moment, a high-pitched electronic beep echoed from every speaker in the fortress.

[We will now announce the details of Round 1.5.]

I waved my hand in front of Kanel and strained my ears to catch every word.

[First, we will explain the reason for the suspension of Round 1.5.

As you witnessed through the ‘Camcorder’ item, participant number 500, Akata, experienced an anomaly by awakening a unique ability.

As a result, two lower-tier players were eliminated, and Akata was promoted to a higher-tier player.]

In reality, they probably announced that Akata was a bug and that they would address it through system checks. But that’s the outside world.

We, as game characters, would have a different narrative.

And this was the conclusion the management had reached.

[However, please note that this is not an error.

Participant number 500, Akata, is actually the sole hidden player of Round 1.5, and the one who claims him gains a new higher-tier player.]

I couldn’t keep my mouth shut at the new title bestowed upon the bug Akata.

[Thus, we officially announce that Akata is now a legitimate member of the Rudel Guild as of this moment.]