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

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an enormous bird.

It blocked out the scorching sunlight entirely, casting a shadow over the entire arena.

Of course, it wasn’t as massive as Unahar’s wolf, but it was the second largest animal I had ever seen.

A black-eyed eagle, hovering leisurely in the sky with just a few flaps of its wings.

“What is that? A parrot?”

One of the characters who had gotten up muttered indifferently.

No matter how you looked at that huge beak and claws, it was an eagle, the king of the sky.

Why were the players calling it a parrot or a budgerigar, attaching all sorts of cute bird names to it?

…It must be because the eagle was an unusually bright pink.

“Wow, there are a lot of you! Amazing! You’ve survived without wings so far?”

And the eagle… talked?

“…?”

The characters were even more agitated when the eagle’s clear, breezy female voice rang out, as they still hadn’t adjusted to its striking color.

How could it speak? Switch ability users would have their oral structures transform to match the animal when they morphed, right?

“Hey! There’s someone up there!”

At that moment, one of the characters, who was also looking up diligently like me, pointed at the eagle.

Come to think of it, I could see a head sticking out from above the eagle.

That must be the source of the voice. A woman, riding on top of the eagle like a trainer, looking down at us cheerfully.

I wanted to check her status window, but she was a bit too far. If she could just come down a few meters…

“Move aside! This arena now belongs to our Anawing!”

The excited shout echoed loudly.

Screeech!

The pink eagle spread its wings horizontally and then swooped towards us like a kingfisher snatching prey.

At this moment, Kanel urgently sent a communication from the lookout.

[“Rudel, hold on to Gio tightly! It’s a duo with Pure Nature wind abilities and a Switch eagle! If you’re not careful, everyone will be blown away!”]

As he said, it was an enormous wind. All the characters were sent rolling and flying.

I would have ended up the same if I hadn’t clung to Gio’s back.

[Name] Lesia

* * *

[Health•Strength•Agility Average] A+

* * *

[Ability Type] Pure Nature

[Unique Ability] Wind

[Overall Grade] A+

*[Output] A+

*[Precision] A

*[Resistance] S

S-grade!

The stats of the woman riding the eagle. My eyes widened as I confirmed the S-grade on a character I had just met for the first time.

Even if nothing else, her unique ability seemed to be on par with Gio.

In that case, her temporary ranking in the public reality list must be just one or two places different from Gio’s.

The world is vast and full of strong characters. To think I hadn’t encountered such a character even once in the first round.

So then, the stats of the eagle she was riding would be…

[Name] Siakan

* * *

[Health•Strength•Agility Average] A

* * *

[Ability Type] Switch

[Unique Ability] Eagle

[Overall Grade] B+

*[Output] B

*[Precision] B+

*[Resistance] B

Not a Switch user superior to Unahar, but with stats sufficient to support her guild leader effectively.

“Krraaah!”

The giant eagle turned the arena into a chaos.

It swooped down at an incredible speed, disrupting the arena, grabbing characters with its beak, dropping them below, and then soaring back up.

A perfect hit-and-run tactic.

“Ah, the breeze feels good!”

Lesia, riding the eagle like a prized horse, shouted boldly.

She scanned the arena with joyful eyes, and whenever Siakan descended, she picked a character to knock away with a gust of wind.

Thanks to her, the arena was quickly cleared, in a way different from the brawls Gio and I had engaged in.

“Hey, watch out!”

The mocking voice of the eagle rider echoed.

This time, the giant eagle swooped directly at Gio and me.

Just as we were about to collide and be thrown off, I barely dodged the eagle’s beak, and for the first time, locked eyes with Lesia as she passed close by.

She was a woman with short hair like a soldier’s, with a bold and cheerful face.

From her hand came a gust of wind far stronger than the ones before.

But when Gio and I remained unaffected by the wind, Lesia was visibly shocked.

“-Huh?”

Before I could see more of her surprised face, the eagle soared back into the sky, ending our brief encounter.

As time passed, Gio and I were the only ones who hadn’t been pushed back by Lesia and Siakan’s joint attacks.

This was thanks to Gio firmly anchoring himself to the arena floor. After all, the material of the arena broadly belonged to the earth.

So, even when faced with winds as strong as a hurricane, he could stand his ground steadily.

Of course, I clung to Gio’s side, swaying even with the slightest breeze.

…Soon, the arena emptied out. The population density reduced to just the two of us.

Lesia didn’t attempt to attack us again. She probably considered Gio and me as the final contenders.

Flap, the eagle’s wings flapped vigorously.

Lesia leaned her upper body sideways to get a proper look at us from above. Unlike before, her face was serious.

“Is that an earth ability? Right, young man!”

The new character’s persona was extraordinary.

With her tall, striking appearance reminiscent of an army officer and her hearty, middle-aged man-like speech.

Meanwhile, the eagle descended slowly onto the arena. As soon as its claws touched the arena, it folded its wings neatly and landed.

Lesia soon leaped off the eagle.

[Death Run’s Final Battle!]

[A 2:2 match between Anawing Guild and Agasa Guild!]

* * *

Guild Fortress, Pension.

[Death Run Round 2 in Progress.]

With just two members absent, the interior of Agasa’s guild fortress felt unimaginably desolate.

This was because the guild’s spiritual pillar, the guild leader, and the bumbling yet incredibly powerful guild member were both away.

One of the surplus members, excluding the lookout team, sat alone on the living room sofa, exuding a near-death aura.

He had lost his usual radiant golden glow, now looking like moldy bread.

‘No one is here to see me being downcast right now.’

There was no one to impress with a sparkling expression and carefully groomed appearance.

If any of his comrades saw him, they’d be shocked, asking, “Is that really Unahar?”

‘I am dead right now. It’s like I’m not breathing, and my heart is frozen. …Maybe I’ll come alive again when my guild leader returns.’

At that moment, Unahar was overwhelmingly curious about what his guild leader was doing.

His slumped arm slowly moved, turning on the screen in front of him with the remote.

[Eliminations are happening rapidly due to the Agasa Guild!]

Now, he could do nothing but watch.

Whatever happened to Rudel, all he could do was anxiously pray for her victory.

‘I can analyze the other guilds’ plays later during replays. For now, let’s just focus on Rudel.’

Unahar, staring at the running Rudel, left a justification for himself.

The eyes that had lost their shine earlier now sparkled with the fervor of a die-hard fan.

Before long, Unahar found himself gasping in admiration, trembling with tension at some scenes, and watched the round with rapt attention.

Click.

Rustle, rustle…

At that moment, there was a faint sound of a door from the second floor. Soon, light footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs.

In an instant, Unahar’s entire focus shifted to his back, and his expression turned cold.

The presence he had been ignoring until now finally revealed itself.

As red hair peeked out from the side of the sofa, Unahar shifted his eyes to look at the person.

He was a recluse who avoided making eye contact with anyone other than Rudel.

Strangely, however, the boy’s demeanor didn’t show any of those weak traits.

His posture was upright, and he walked with straight limbs and back. He didn’t slouch his neck. As long as no one spoke to him, he looked quite normal.

Thump.

Unahar pretended not to look, but he was startled enough that his eyelashes trembled.

That kid had walked out of his room on his own and had sat down on the sofa where someone else was sitting.

‘…Did he come out to see Rudel on the screen?’

Unahar glanced at Akata.

‘He can’t even take care of himself, clinging to Rudel like a leech, without thinking about the harm he causes others… just wagging his tail like a dog…’

Unaware that his inner monologue was quite self-revealing, Unahar continued to fume inwardly.

He disliked even the idea of Akata’s gaze landing on Rudel on the screen.

‘I want to get rid of him…’

He tried to force himself to focus on Rudel and Gio working together on the screen.

Only then did he manage to think rationally.

‘What a pathetic thought, being so worked up over that scrawny kid…’

Once he calmed down, Unahar turned his head to scrutinize Akata sitting next to him.