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

The memorable first training session of an S-rank fragile character.

Unahar offered to oversee Akata’s training, as he was in charge of managing the guild members’ basic stats, but I came myself.

I need to be there to personally encourage him. If I leave right away, Akata might lose his motivation to train.

“What should I do?”

Akata rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked around, following my gaze.

“Well… was it anaerobic before aerobic, or the other way around…?”

I’m the instructor, but I don’t know the basic principles of fitness.

But that doesn’t matter here.

This is a game, and these exercises are just standardized tasks to increase stats.

So, there are many parts that don’t align with reality.

For example, doing just one exercise doesn’t cause physical imbalances.

No matter what exercise you do, the gym in the guild fortress focuses on maintaining the character’s aesthetic according to their original settings.

That’s why Unahar, no matter how hard he trains, doesn’t bulk up like a bodybuilder but retains a sleek physique.

So, what should I have Akata do?

The treadmill Lilith is running on?

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

The belt under Lilith’s feet felt like a hellish path that wouldn’t stop.

What if Akata slips? What if he tries to stop the machine and gets his arm caught in the belt?

What if he falls and his arm gets pulled out?

“That looks too dangerous.”

Next, there’s the lat pulldown Gio is doing. A back muscle strengthening exercise.

“No, his shoulder could dislocate.”

Or the chest exercise Kanel is doing?

“His arm might break while trying to build chest muscles…”

What about the cycle Unahar is using?

No, no… Akata would probably sprain his ankle after just a few rotations.

Were these exercise machines always such dangerous contraptions? I desperately wanted to get Akata out of this gym.

“Akata, how about we just take a walk?”

I coaxed him with a smile, holding his hand.

A walk around the guild fortress could be a safe exercise, allowing us to spend good time together.

I expected him to smile and agree, but Akata didn’t smile back.

That was a bit surprising, but what shocked me more was his resolute reply.

“Walking isn’t exercise. It doesn’t increase stats. I want to be helpful to you, Rudel.”

Then he pointed straight at the treadmill next to Lilith.

“I want to do that.”

I was even more soft-hearted than Akata. I felt ashamed of myself.

But I really did worry as if something terrible might happen…

Akata straightened his shoulders and chest, taking the treadmill at its slowest speed with perfect posture.

I stayed close by, anxiety gnawing at me, monitoring Akata’s status window as he worked out.

[Name] Akata / [Level] 1

* * *

[Stamina] 4 / ▲ / F

[Strength] 3 / F

[Agility] 8 / ▲ / F

It seemed like his stats related to aerobic exercise on the treadmill would increase. The increase symbol was showing, after all.

We would see the specific numbers by tonight.

[Health] 91

Akata was already sweating and breathing hard, but he kept running steadily. His steps didn’t falter.

At that moment, I planned to have him finish his assigned amount and let him rest.

Then, a sudden sense of foreboding hit me.

[Health] 91

[Health] 86

“Akata, wait, hold on! Stop!”

But Akata stopped before I even finished speaking. He must have been struggling to hold on.

He pressed the stop button, lowered his head, and abruptly covered his mouth.

He staggered off the treadmill and pushed away my supporting hand, running to one side.

Akata pushed away my hand?

He disappeared faster than he had been running on the treadmill.

It seemed more like he was forcing out every bit of his energy to desperately get away.

Soon, the bathroom door in the gym slammed shut.

‘He’s going to throw up.’

I froze with my hand half-extended, and behind me, the guild members were also disturbed by what they had just witnessed.

Lilith watched in shock, then carefully stepped off her still-moving treadmill.

Kanel released the grip of the pec deck fly machine and wiped his sweat, looking this way. Unahar stopped pedaling on the cycle, and even Gio’s eyes were fixed on the scene.

We exchanged glances, and it seemed no one was comfortable with the idea of me going into the men’s restroom. Kanel and Unahar had a brief standoff with their eyes before Unahar, being closer, reluctantly got up from his exercise machine and approached the bathroom door.

Just then, the sound of water stopped. Before Unahar could open the door, it swung open from the inside.

“Akata…”

Akata had rinsed his mouth and wiped the water from his lips with his sleeve. His expression wasn’t too distorted, but a blood vessel in his left eye had burst.

In that state, he tried to get back on the treadmill.

“Akata, it’s better to stop now—”

Lilith, who had come closer, tried to hold him back by grabbing his arm. But Akata slipped past her.

With a completely exhausted face, he restarted the treadmill.

Eventually, Kanel got off his exercise machine. In an instant, the guild members gathered around the treadmill.

It was a scene that couldn’t be ignored.

“Stop it, are you crazy? If you push yourself too hard and collapse, it’ll be even more of a problem!”

“I acknowledge your spirit. I apologize for assuming you couldn’t train. But you need to stop now.”

Unahar and Kanel each chimed in.

However, when I raised my hand from behind them, they somehow sensed it and stopped moving.

“No… let him be.”

[Name] Akata

[Health] 76

I knew Akata’s health was dropping as he gasped for breath, but I still didn’t stop him.

Even Unahar seemed taken aback by my cold demeanor. Eventually, Lilith cautiously spoke up.

“Rudel, I don’t think this is right…”

“It’s not. This is a crucial moment. Real athletes continue training even while throwing up. After going through this process several times, they break through their limits.”

I quickly realized I was speaking from my faint memories of reality, but I decided it wouldn’t seem too suspicious.

The child who had been bedridden was now running through the pain to prove something to me and to all of us.

His determination.

And one thing to note, none of us forced Akata into this.

We never said we’d abandon him if he were useless. This was entirely Akata’s own will.

“If his health drops further, I’ll stop him. If he levels up from F rank, this won’t be as difficult for him in the future. It’s something he had to go through at least once. I’m grateful Akata made the decision himself.”

In reality, pushing the body this hard could cause serious harm, but in this game world, there’s a clear recovery method—health potions.

After running for a long time, just as Akata was about to collapse, I caught him as he stumbled off the treadmill.

“You fought well. You’re a warrior like no other.”

I sat down, supporting Akata. I felt the guild members’ eyes on us.

Akata completely leaned on me, his head drooping on my shoulder. His sweat dampened my clothes, but I didn’t mind.

He had met the treadmill conditions three times. According to my calculations, this should be enough to boost his stamina and agility to D rank.

“Akata, how do you feel?”

“…”

Akata leaned his head on my shoulder, staring at the floor. His eyes were unfocused, his face pale as if he were dying.

A cold chill ran down my spine, as if I had stepped into a morgue.

I shook my head to dispel the feeling.

“You’ll be fine. I’ll take you to your room. Eat something, and rest for the day. By tonight, when your stats update, you’ll feel better.”

Lilith, Unahar, Kanel, and I decided to take turns watching over Akata until 9 PM, when all characters’ stats are updated by the system.

The utterly exhausted boy couldn’t even lift a finger as I laid him on the bed.

In a near-death state, he couldn’t swallow the porridge and spit it all out.

Even after drinking a health potion, there was no improvement.

“Why isn’t the health potion working on Akata?”

I hurried to question the fortress manager NPC in the living room. The faceless, robed NPC replied in a monotone voice.

“When a player with average F rank stats falls into a debuffed state, there is a certain probability that potions won’t work.”

“A debuffed state?”

Did it mean the gradual health loss from ‘overexertion’ earlier?

“What is the probability? If we keep giving potions, will one eventually work?”

“In this case, the debuff activation probability is 99.9%.”

“…”

Why do I feel like punching something? Can I use the fortress NPC as a punching bag?

Why mention ‘a certain probability’ if it’s basically guaranteed?