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

After that, I silently focused on the draws. However, the Elixir of the Heavens, being a rare item as flashy as its appearance, was not easy to obtain. I failed repeatedly.

Time was really running out. As I anxiously moved to press the draw button again, Blance’s voice stopped me.

“Is this the item you’re looking for?” He gestured towards an item on the random draw list. “You don’t have to get it here. It’s also sold at the recovery item vending machine. It’s a bit more expensive, though.”

“…”

Why didn’t he tell me this sooner? I’d already wasted so many points. With nothing left to hide, I immediately moved to the adjacent machine and purchased the Elixir of the Heavens. It cost exactly twice the amount of the points I had wasted on the random draws. Tears almost came to my eyes as I paid.

A blindingly white peach emitting a radiant glow emerged from the slot. It was funny that a peach was sealed in a bag like bread.

“Is it for that twig-like kid?” Blance asked, causing me to flinch, though I didn’t show it. I ignored him and turned away.

This is why perceptive old men are… so annoying. Everyone seems to know about Akata. Is that good or bad for him?

“I’m leaving.” I added quietly, not wanting to leave without a word after receiving his help. I then teleported back to the fortress immediately.

As soon as I returned to our guild, Gio, drawn by the sweet scent of the peach, came rushing over like a ghost. I managed to shake him off and fled to the kitchen.

While I peeled the peach and blended it to make it easier for Akata to consume, I thought about Blance, the guild master of Blue Monday. 

This is a game, and all characters are designed to appeal to viewers. Bright characters are meant to be lovable, and even if a character has a bad personality, it becomes their charm point…

In that sense, Blance is the most dignified and impressive middle-aged character I’ve seen. If I were designing a character like that, I wouldn’t make him look ridiculous by aimlessly hanging around the victor of the second round.

It seemed like Blance wasn’t just idly circling me for no reason… 

‘It felt like he was trying to gauge my character,’ I thought. 

Based on Blance’s behavior, he seemed as serious a competitor as I was, thoroughly preparing for the next round. 

I wondered if Blance had gathered any useful information about me from our encounter. I hadn’t gleaned much from him either—just his existence and his face. Without the cheat of peeking at the status window, I wasn’t omniscient.

After blending the peach smoothly, I went up to the private room and fed Akata spoonfuls while he lay on the bed. Suddenly, the guild status window flickered.

[A notification regarding the third round will be announced.]

A notification in the dead of night without a broadcast—have they lost their touch since the second round of the guild war? Just a ding and a message, really?

Still, as a powerless character, I had no choice but to open the announcement without complaint.

Round 3: Commander Battle

– The entry condition for the Commander Battle is “the two lowest-ranking members in the guild.” The main members of the guild, excluding these two, will observe from the watchtower.

The shock made my head throb. The official player rankings had not yet been revealed. Therefore, the system sent separate messages to each guild, indicating who the “lowest two” were.

But even without opening the message, I knew exactly who had to go into battle in this fourth round.

Lilith and Akata.

Agasa Guild Entry List

– Lilith

– Akata

My eyes involuntarily fell on the boy, who was weakly swallowing the finely ground peach. I rested my forehead in the hollow of my hand and mumbled to myself without realizing it.

“Should I recruit new guild members after all?”

While the guild leader was fixed, the guild members could be changed. If a member voluntarily left or was expelled by the guild leader, they could join another guild with permission.

Currently, neither Lilith nor Akata was in any condition to fight. If I could replace them, even by recruiting new members…

But… no, I shouldn’t break the harmony of our six-member team. The viewers would be disappointed, and so would I.

“Recruit new members?”

I was startled. Akata had opened his eyes and was gazing at me with a hazy look.

“You heard?”

I smiled gently and took Akata’s hand. He immediately clasped his hand over mine, showing surprising strength despite his illness. His face looked clearer and rosier, as if the sickness had washed away.

“How are you feeling?”

“Good.”

“It looks like the Heavenly Peach worked. Do you think you’ll start gaining stats again with some exercise?”

“Recruit new members?”

This kid was persistent. I shook my head and smiled more brightly.

“Just talking to myself. You don’t need to worry.”

I tousled his messy red hair. Akata’s face took on a dreamy look, and he seemed to be drifting off to sleep again.

“No, don’t fall asleep yet. I have something to tell you.”

It seemed best to inform him about the third round beforehand. But how should I tell him…? What if he faints from the shock?

Akata’s eyes widened.

***

The atmosphere in our guild leading up to the third round Commander Battle was like that of a funeral. Yes, it was as if Yudirei’s axe had come crashing down on us, not just a fire on our feet but a full-blown disaster.

“Shouldn’t we just give up on the third round?” Unahar asked cautiously, watching my reaction.

I seriously considered Unahar’s suggestion for about three seconds, but then I made up my mind.

“No.”

If we gave up, we wouldn’t be able to achieve the top guild ranking. I still believed vaguely that the secret of this game lay beyond that first place.

However, if we participated, we were forced to use Lilith and Akata. No matter what we did, we couldn’t change this. So, our only options were to either forfeit completely or send two non-combatants into battle.

I rested my head on my hand on the sofa, smoothing the wrinkles on my forehead. If I didn’t do this, I couldn’t keep my expression under control.

‘Is this my fault? Should I have trained Lilith and Akata earlier?’

No, it couldn’t be just me. This was a regret all guild leaders must be feeling. What guild doesn’t have weak members? Unless you’re like Shemarin’s guild, where all members are top-tier elites from the start!

“How are they doing now?” I asked Kanel and Unahar, who were hovering around me almost like personal assistants. The mental state of the people involved was the most crucial issue.

“Akata is in the training hall, working on strengthening his muscles.”

“Really? Akata is so mature. What about Lilith?”

“I found her curled up in the library. Gio stayed behind to comfort her, but he didn’t seem to know what to say. Last I saw, he was pretending to be a potted plant in the library.”

“Of all things… Lilith must be really shocked. I’ll go cheer her up.”

I decided to go to Lilith, then to Akata, and back to Lilith again.

“First things first… Lilith, Akata, both of you report to the special abilities training hall.”

I turned on the communicator to relay my instructions.

***

The red-haired boy clutched his chest and soon fell to his knees. Sweat poured down Akata’s face like rain as he gasped for breath. Flames still surged from his fingertips, not yet extinguished, as if they were alive.

He swallowed the flames as if devouring a fireball, then panted heavily. Without uttering a single groan of pain, he uncorked a health potion and drank it.

Since drinking the Elixir of the Heavens, his debuffs had been lifted, and his body had returned to normal, allowing his stats to increase through exercise. However, this did nothing to improve the current situation.

I watched the boy with a cold, calculating gaze. His output was S-rank, but his precision was F-rank. His basic stamina, strength, and agility had only just grown to D-rank.

It seemed that the first and last time Akata had been able to use his powers was at the moment of his awakening.

The immense and disastrous output he possesses puts a tremendous strain on his young body. I cautiously approached the boy, still sprawled on the floor and gasping for air, and gently rubbed his back with my palm.

“Are you okay?”

“…Yes.”

He needed to catch his breath properly before answering. It’s not just his basic stats, but also the F-rank precision that’s problematic. Precision is something that can’t be taught by others; it must be honed and learned through practice.

Thankfully, as a fellow fire ability user, I could explain and help him understand in a way that was tailored to his perspective. Memories of the frustrating days spent training Gio flashed through my mind. Gio, at least, was a natural genius with his innate abilities, and now possessed strength predicted to place him among the top rankers.

Akata, on the other hand, was far from a genius when it came to handling his abilities. The word “blockhead” might be more appropriate. Sending him into the third round in this state was too sudden. Although the Elixir of the Heavens had restored his body, time was too short. He hadn’t mastered how to surpass the limits of his unique ability and was about to be dragged into the round.

“I’m… fine. I’ll practice more. I can do it.”

Akata gritted his teeth and spoke, clinging desperately, even though I hadn’t worn a harsh expression.

I shook my head.

“I don’t want to grind down my guild members just to get first place.”