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

The health potion not just being less effective but entirely ineffective was something I hadn’t anticipated.

Watching Akata, who couldn’t swallow food and lay there suffering, I felt a painful helplessness. All I could do was change the wet cloth on his forehead.

Still, by 9 PM, he should be able to shake it off and get up. His stats would change, after all.

By 8:57 PM, all six of our guild members had gathered.

Usually, we met in the living room or conference room to report the day’s stat gains, but given the circumstances, we assembled in Akata’s room.

It was cramped with all of us there, but the room’s occupant was too ill to notice.

*Beep.*

[PM 21:00. Daily stats have been updated.]

The long-awaited moment for Akata to escape from F rank!

The momentous, historical moment when this frail boy would finally get out of bed—!

[Name] Akata

* * *

[Stamina] 4 / F

[Strength] 3 / F

[Agility] 8 / F

…?

The guild members were disturbed, seeing the dumbfounded look on my face. They started murmuring.

“Is there an error in the management window…?”

Muttering, I closed and reopened the window. The screen remained the same, even after repeating this process three times.

Nothing changed. He was still F rank.

The increase symbols (▲) I had seen when Akata was exercising had vanished.

I turned to look at Akata.

He seemed even more emaciated, shadows under his eyes deepening. He lay there, breathing shallowly.

Kanel, seeing this, went out to the living room and began shaking the fortress NPC by the collar.

But the response was:

[Due to a chronic illness the player has, stats will not increase even if the stat increase conditions are met until the player’s health improves.]

Chronic illness with a debuff overlay—it was a disaster.

My blood boiled. I pushed Kanel aside and grabbed the NPC by the head.

“Isn’t exercising supposed to improve his health?”

[It is recommended to improve lifestyle habits to cure the chronic illness.]

“You should’ve said that earlier!”

So why did Akata go through all this effort today? After struggling so much, collapsing from exhaustion, and getting no results, it was infuriating!

I was furious that Akata had to endure unnecessary suffering and that his hard work yielded no reward.

This cursed game had cheated us out of his stat gains!

So, this was the reason.

Akata’s character had a ‘chronic illness’ setting that others didn’t have.

That’s why, no matter how much he ate or slept, he was always weak and listless.

As if he had some terrible, incurable disease.

It wasn’t just because his stats were F rank; there was a fundamental frailty about him…

Taking out my frustrations on the NPC would accomplish nothing. I returned to Akata’s room, holding my head in my hands.

Even the guild members kept glancing at me nervously.

Unahar, who had brought me a cool drink, cautiously began to speak.

“I should have broken Akata’s leg to prevent him from running… It’s my fault.”

“No, if you had broken his leg, it would have caused a bigger injury than now. You did well by not breaking it. But don’t break your comrades’ legs.”

“It was just a figure of speech.”

His face was too solemn for it to be just a figure of speech.

Lilith, with a tearful expression, grabbed my hand.

“It’s my fault for not taking better care of Akata. I couldn’t cure his chronic illness.”

“Lilith, you did your best.”

It felt like a confession session, as Kanel bowed his head to me next.

His posture was like that of a knight kneeling to his lord.

“I’m sorry. I should have stopped you. I should have made Akata rest.”

“No, you tried to stop me, but I insisted on going through with it…”

Kanel has a slightly different mindset from Unahar.

While Kanel usually follows my orders blindly, he speaks up when he believes I’m wrong.

In contrast, Unahar never says I’m wrong.

A moment of silence fell, and suddenly, the two men almost simultaneously turned their heads to look at someone.

“What are you looking at?”

Gio sat there with a nonchalant and cocky expression.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“You bear no responsibility for Akata falling ill? Even if you don’t, pretend you do.”

“We’re a guild, we’re one.”

When it comes to supporting me, Unahar and Kanel show a terrifying unity. Their eyes gleamed with madness as they cornered Gio. Even that muscular beast flinched a little.

Unable to withstand their gaze, Gio eventually lowered his head.

“Okay, sorry. I’m partly to blame too.”

“What did you do wrong…?”

“I ate the restorative porridge you left for Akata.”

As I listened to Akata’s labored breathing, I pondered.

If there’s a chronic illness, might there be a way to cure it? A game with this level of freedom must have implemented something like that.

I turned to Kanel, standing nearby.

“What time does the store close?”

“They said it closes at 10 PM.”

“I’m going to step out for a bit.”

This was actually my first visit to the store, but I had a feeling.

Maybe they sold special potions or medications that could heal Akata.

I assigned the guild members to take turns watching Akata and sent the others to bed.

* * *

Marketplace.

It was already dusk, and the streets were getting darker as I stepped into the market area. Right at the entrance, I saw an NPC standing in the center. It was the same mass-produced type of manager I’d seen at the guild, probably there to keep order.

[Agasa Guild, one entry]

As I entered, an automated voice echoed throughout the street.

A few unfamiliar characters turned to look at me, but I avoided eye contact with anyone.

The market looked like a picturesque European shopping street, with pretty stalls and shops lined up along several paths.

Some shops were filled with large machines, giving off the impression of an unattended arcade.

‘Potion Purchase’

‘Item Purchase’

‘Fortress Decoration Items’

‘Resale’

The shops seemed to be categorized based on what they sold.

In the middle of the square was a fountain, designed to toss coins into. Water spouted up from it.

Made of white, smooth marble, it created a very peaceful atmosphere.

Perhaps it was adorned so beautifully to discourage conflicts with other guilds.

Or maybe there was some secret hidden within it?

I approached the fountain and observed the statue of a cherub spouting water, even dipping my hand into the water.

But there was nothing special about it. No coins at the bottom, as one might expect.

“Careful, someone poisoned that fountain.”

Someone suddenly spoke from behind, making me flinch.

I pulled my hand out and shook it off. Contrary to the warning, the water felt cool and refreshing.

As I turned around with a puzzled look, the unknown character laughed and quickly returned to their guild.

I tried to grab their arm and check their status window as they disappeared, but as expected, no character information popped up.

Abilities are sealed in the market, and physical attacks are not possible.

It’s the most restricted space in the game, making my presence here unnecessary.

Yet, the unique aspect is that the market is not allocated individually to each guild.

All characters share the same market space.

Therefore, characters from all guilds can meet here, just like in the PK arena.

As I dried my hand, I felt multiple gazes from the shadows and secluded corners.

It wasn’t specifically because I was from the guild that had just won first place; it felt more like they were watching everyone who visited the market.

To track who came at what time, what they bought, and when they left, to report back to their guilds.

Guilds with enough surplus manpower seemed to plant watchers to see who was buying good items.

‘I should just buy a few potions inconspicuously.’

As the potions in the fortress were running low, I decided to purchase some along with the special medicine for Akata. This way, I could avoid drawing attention to my true intentions.

‘Potion Purchase’

I glanced around, wary of other characters’ scrutiny.

In the guild fortress, items were acquired through a remote transaction using a touchpad.

I assumed it would be similar here, but in the marketplace, characters were physically retrieving potion containers from machines and carrying them away.

‘Hmm, not all potions are available for remote purchase, it seems.’

Potions for the observation deck could be bought remotely from the fortress, but other potions had to be purchased physically here.

And the purchasing process…

*Beep*, *clunk, clunk*.

A man inserted points into a large machine, pressed a series of buttons, and the potions rolled out with a thud.

A vending machine?

Seeing something from reality was oddly comforting, even if the items dispensed were potions, not drinks.

I waited as all three vending machines in the ‘Potion Shop’ were in use.

The man at the center machine finished first and turned away. I quickly approached.

“Going to use it?”

A deep, cavernous voice rumbled in my ear. Curious, I looked up to see who it was.