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

The man’s ashen eyes scanned me indifferently. 

Though his features were obscured by a mask like a bandit, the scar slashing across the corner of his eye gave him a rather chilling appearance. We were all characters with fresh, youthful exteriors, yet this man alone exuded a worn, battle-hardened aura.

‘It feels like the pressure of someone who’s spent a long time rolling around the battlefield, stained with blood,’ I thought.

He had a different atmosphere compared to Yudirei, the murder demon. This man, how should I put it… reminded me of a retired soldier.

Wrinkles occasionally formed around his exposed eyes. He was handsome even now, but ten years ago, he must have been incredibly striking. It was the first time I’d seen a middle-aged character in this game. As far as I knew, most characters appeared to be in their twenties to thirties. About 20% of them were minors, or teenage characters. Yet, there seemed to be a very small percentage of middle-aged characters, those in their forties or older.

‘There must be a reason they’ve included a middle-aged character among the youths. Should I call this distinguished middle-age?’

He had a dignity and elegance that was hard to find in existing characters. Even just standing straight with his face covered by a mask, he exuded an effortless charisma. He would probably look even more impressive wielding a sword or holding a gun.

I thought I had seen my fair share of battles in the game, but compared to my relatively delicate and refined appearance, like a young lady raised in comfort, this man’s strong exterior was unmatched.

‘I’m a bit envious. I wish I could look that imposing.’

As I scrutinized him, he too observed me. After a moment, the heavy sound of his footsteps echoed as he stepped back, making way for me. Every movement, even the way he averted his gaze from me, was slow and deliberate. Yet, it wasn’t frustrating; it had a solemnity that made even me feel subdued.

“Thank y-.”

A question arose at that moment. Should I speak to this character formally or informally?

“……”

The man looked at me with eyes that seemed to ask, ‘Why did you stop speaking?’

If he’s in his forties, he’s more than twenty years older than me. In reality, he would be addressed with various titles of respect like elder, teacher, or boss.

…The Confucian spirit still lingering in me found it impossible to speak informally to an elder.

But how could I act solely according to my feelings? I am the leader of a guild. All top characters are of equal rank, and those representing a guild must carry their own authority. If I spoke formally to this mysterious man, it would mean that not just me, but my entire guild would bow their heads.

After a brief internal conflict, I opened my mouth.

“…Thank you.”

I kept my words short and quickly moved towards the vending machine, trying not to look back at the man again. My conscience kept pricking me, as if I had made a huge mistake.

Hmm, I thought I had perfectly adapted to this game, but there are still points where it clashes with fragments of reality. It’s a shame I can’t peek at his character status window. At least I should know his name, right? Even though I’m slightly weakened by this seniority debuff.

Summoning my courage, I turned around, avoiding direct eye contact, and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Blance,” he answered curtly.

The name Blance sounded familiar. I recalled the status window I had seen before.

[Other Guild Information]

Guild Name: Blue Monday

Guild Leader: Blance

This guy is also a guild leader. I had met guild leaders Yudirei and Lesia in the second round of Death Run, but I hadn’t seen any other guild leaders. The reason Blance and I hadn’t crossed paths in the second round of Death Run was probably because his guild chose to step back in that round. Maybe a few minor guild members showed up, but there weren’t any memorable characters.

This was my first encounter with Blance, so naturally, there wasn’t much to talk about unless I wanted to pick a fight. What should we talk about? Maybe asking some trivial questions would help me get a sense of what kind of character he was.

“What does your guild name mean? …What does it mean?”

I almost forgot that I should be speaking informally. It wasn’t because I was slack. It was because Blance looked too solemn. If I didn’t keep my mind focused, I would automatically use polite speech.

I muttered, guessing, “Blue Monday? Depressing Monday? Well, it would be depressing.”

“…Blue Monday is a cocktail I like. It’s based on vodka, with blue curacao and white curacao shaken together—”

“Oh, I see. I don’t know much about cocktails.”

True to his character design, he was a drinker. It was quite amusing that while he wore a mask to hide himself and refrained from talking much, he would go on about cocktails.

When I stopped talking, Blance didn’t continue the conversation either. I turned back around and pressed the health potion button on the vending machine several times. I also grabbed a handful of anesthetic potions. The anesthetic potion was probably one of the least used potions within the fortress. Maybe it had the lowest sales?

But it was an important potion for me. It was my only means of defense during Unahar’s wolf taming training. Since taming had yet to show any significant results, I was stocking up to avoid needing to buy more later.

I shoved the rattling potions into my inventory one by one.

The potion container slipped from my grasp and rolled across the store’s floor. I quickly moved to pick it up, but a calloused, bronze hand reached it faster. Blance retrieved the potion and handed it back to me with a friendly gesture.

Why is he still hanging around me?

Without any attempt to hide it, Blance continued to linger nearby. Given that this shop was a public place and I was the victor of the second round, it made sense for someone to follow me. However, experiencing it firsthand was incredibly annoying.

Going to buy Akata’s medicine like this would be a bit…

“Why do you keep following me around? Don’t you have anything better to do?” I snapped, hoping my irritation would make him leave. Since he seemed like a stern and serious character, I thought he might react to my words and go away.

Instead, Blance stepped closer.

“That’s an odd thing to say. No matter what kind of impression my face gives off…” Blance moved even closer. I stepped back and bumped into the vending machine. His large shadow completely enveloped me, stretching over the vending machine.

“I am a man who will do whatever it takes to win. Whether it’s spying, coercion, violence, or deceit…”

There was nowhere to look but at Blance’s body. There was no escape. His arms seemed ready to trap me completely. Avoiding his gaze, I quickly spoke up.

“Uh, don’t come any closer?”

What is Blance doing? The shop isn’t a combat zone, so what can he do by cornering me against the wall? Is he just trying to scare me? Does he think I’ll be frightened by this?

Blance seemed to realize the futility of his actions. He stared down at me for about three seconds, then withdrew his arms and stepped back. However, his murky ashen eyes remained fixated on me.

It seemed impossible to shake him off.

It was ten minutes to closing time, so I had no choice but to move to the adjacent store, the “Item Shop,” with Blance still trailing behind.

The shop had several smart pads, like those you’d see in an unmanned convenience store. Since it was nearly closing time, I was the only customer. Blance, who was following me, could be considered an unwelcome guest.

So, I had to search for and purchase medicinal recovery items right in front of Blance. Naturally, he would wonder what I needed those items for. I didn’t want to give away any information about our guild to someone who wasn’t one of us. I scowled at the thought.

But there was no other choice… Akata was critically ill, so I couldn’t afford to come back tomorrow.

As I began to search for recovery items in the store’s database, a menu at the bottom caught my eye: ‘Random Draw.’

What’s this, a gacha system?

Out of curiosity, I clicked on it. It seemed like a way to obtain unidentified items that couldn’t be searched in the status window.

The items available for each draw seemed to change every round. I checked the probabilities listed beside the item grades.

S-rank item: 0.1%

A-rank item: 0.9%

B-rank item: 10%

C-rank item: 50%

Miscellaneous potions: 39%

What a minefield of meaningless content.

“You don’t seem like the type to enjoy gambling,” Blance remarked curtly from beside me.

Oops, did my thoughts show on my face? Did I make a disgusted expression at the sight of the random draw?

Despite his earlier claim that he would do anything to win, it seemed Blance also looked down on the random draw. He seemed to find it inefficient, observing me with curious eyes.

Neither do I, unless I have points to burn.

But then, an item on the random draw screen caught my eye. Unlike the others, it seemed to sparkle.

Special Item: Elixir of the Heavens

Description: Cures all ailments instantly.

Usable: Guild Fortress

An elixir that cures all ailments instantly. This was exactly what Akata needed. My interest was piqued immediately.

Should I give it a try? It might also distract Blance.

I pressed the draw button.

Click, click.

The screen burst into a dazzling display of lights, and soon, the first item I drew appeared out of the light.

‘Health Potion’

The red container, which I had bought thirty of for a pittance earlier, popped out of the slot. I had effectively paid almost ten times the price for a potion. This cursed random draw.

“Better not to do it,” Blance commented.

“Just leave. There are 7 minutes left until closing,” I shot back at Blance, who had added his unsolicited opinion.