MTLNOVEL Chapter 113
“Hey guys, doesn’t Rudel look great?”
Their alluring guild leader, looking particularly vibrant that day, showed the detailed bromide purchase page to her guild members.
Despite her cheerful demeanor, the men in the guild found it hard to agree with her opinion.
As they all sweated nervously, Zaet took the lead and shared his thoughts.
“Of all the bromides, this one looks the most plain.”
“You guys—. No sense of taste. Look, doesn’t she look sexy like a queen with a whip?”
Regardless of the men’s bewildered expressions, Shemarin turned back to the page, smiling as she muttered to herself.
“This bromide is the most artistic, no doubt—.”
Without hesitation, she used all 10 purchase tickets on Instructor Rudel.
“I’ll have to vent my frustrations by slicing these up…”
In the skull-built fortress, a small girl carried 10 Instructor Rudel bromides, each larger than herself, under her arm. The guild members were horrified.
One brave member cautiously raised a hand and asked,
“Y-Yudirei, you mentioned wanting to kill Aleon too. Why didn’t you buy his bromide…?”
“That bastard’s picture makes me puke.”
“What?”
A slender finger was about to click the ‘Instructor Rudel’ bromide purchase button.
A man with pink hair tied to the side and draped over his shoulder gently bit down on Lesia’s finger.
“Sia, why are you stockpiling 10 Rudel bromides? Rudel is already ranked number one; do you want to give her even more points? Shouldn’t we boycott instead?”
“Hmm—.”
Uncharacteristically, Lesia’s eyes darkened.
“I think I caused Rudel some trouble during the event round.”
Siakan’s eyes widened.
The event mission’s failure was not unexpected; he had anticipated it from the start.
He expected Lesia to be carefree and indifferent to missions, enjoying herself instead.
But now Lesia seemed to care about it?
“This should settle my debt, right?”
Siakan wore a sullen expression, unhappy that Lesia treated Rudel as even a fifth as valuable as himself.
“Oh, Sia doesn’t like it? Then I’ll buy this.”
Lesia immediately thrust the bromides of Bathtub Aleon and other scantily clad male guild leaders, grinning slyly.
“Disgusting!”
“See?”
‘Rudel, I underestimated her.’
After the event round, Blance’s thoughts about Rudel had shifted slightly.
More precisely, it was the video of Aleon from Ice Castle and Rudel from Agasa meeting at the shop’s tea house that changed his perspective.
Rudel’s face, as he discussed the qualifications for a champion challenge, was undeniably radiant with confidence and determination.
‘I expected him to stagnate soon due to a lack of clear goals, but it’s the opposite. A person like Rudel, with such ambition.’
To ensure the survival of Blue Monday guild in the next second generation…
‘Maybe it’s better to start gaining his favor now.’
You have selected 10 ‘Instructor Rudel’ bromides.
When the surprise event’s results were finally delivered to Rudel of Agasa, only the guild leader’s bewildered shout echoed.
“Why am I the top seller??”
* * *
I still can’t fathom why my Instructor Rudel bromides sold the most…
(It might be some kind of conspiracy.)
The event was over, and now the long-awaited second generation match was about to begin.
There was no time to dwell on past events.
For the second generation selection/headhunting match, an exclusive chat feature for top players has been added.
The admins seem to have come up with a brilliant idea for watching the second generation selection.
Principally, the interiors of all guild fortresses are not open to viewers.
However, players can only watch the selection match through the screens inside their fortresses.
It’s clear that viewers would be curious about our first generation’s reactions to the second generation selection.
Hence, instead of revealing the interiors of guild fortresses, the admins devised the ‘chat system’ to show the characters’ real-time reactions.
As a result, a chat room with the following name appeared before us:
[Agasa/Red Monarch/Anawing/Ice Castle/Blue Monday/Slaughterer Chat Room]
Just like in the previous event round, the system has grouped five or six guilds into one chat room for the second generation selection.
Whether enemies or allies, players are expected to chat in character, leveraging their growing familiarity through previous rounds.
This chat reaction might even become paid content, similar to merchandise sales.
I don’t think it’s a bad idea.
The game company needs to survive, and this way, we won’t be forgotten amidst the emergence of the second generation.
But will the chat be as lively as the admins expect?
Most characters would probably feel awkward. What if they accidentally reveal important information about their guild while chatting thoughtlessly?
Additionally, in other guilds, the hierarchy between guild leaders and members is typically strict.
Would regular guild members even dare to chat properly under the watchful eyes of their leaders?
Even I would likely just lurk without saying anything.
* * *
However, the world did not allow me to merely lurk.
The chat room started buzzing because a second-generation character in the jungle looked exactly like me.
‘Shemarin (Red Monarch): Rudel~~~ that guy looks just like you~~~’
‘Shemarin (Red Monarch): ><’
‘Me: Quiet’
‘Akata (Agasa): He doesn’t look alike’
‘Akata (Agasa): Not even a bit’
‘Me: Stop chatting, Akata’
‘Shemarin (Red Monarch): Hi Akata~~ hahaha’
‘Kanel (Agasa): A fake Rudel has appeared.’
‘Kanel (Agasa): I will ensure to eliminate him in the future.’
*Agasa Guild’s chat has been deactivated by the guild leader’s authority.*
‘Blance (Blue Monday): √Rudel look-alike. Needs research’
‘Blance (Blue Monday): ?’
*Blue Monday Guild’s chat has been deactivated by the guild leader’s authority.*
‘Aleon (Ice Castle): Even as a man, Rudel wold be beautiful. That guy is’
‘Ifrea (Ice Castle): Aleon, please mind your typos.’
‘Aleon (Ice Castle): The keypad doesn’t follow my will.’
*Ice Castle Guild’s chat has been deactivated by the vice-guild leader’s authority.*
‘Yudirei (Slaughterer): Who the hell is that guy and why does he look like Rudel?’
‘Yudirei (Slaughterer): Makes me want to stab him to death.’
‘Yudirei (Slaughterer): A good practice run before killing Rudel.’
*Inappropriate language. Chat has been disabled.*
*Inappropriate language. Chat has been disabled.*
‘Lesia (Anawing): I wish the night would come quickly.’
‘Lesia (Anawing): Our Siakan is so cute at night.’
‘Siakan (Anawing): ;;;;;’
‘Muraul (Red Monarch): Couples, get lost.’
*Anawing Guild’s chat has been deactivated by the vice-guild leader’s authority.*
‘Muraul (Red Monarch): They really left.’
‘Shemarin (Red Monarch): Muraul~~ didn’t I say you could chat anytime~~~?’
‘Shemarin (Red Monarch): You need to be punished~~~ come to my room.’
*Red Monarch Guild’s chat has been deactivated by the guild leader’s authority.*
Yeah, I expected this.
We’re rivals; we’re not going to have friendly chats.
Each character stopped chatting for their own reasons, in line with their personalities, causing the group chat to freeze. The empty chat room felt cold and desolate.
Great. Now I can finally concentrate on watching the selection match in peace.
“Let’s divide and watch by the regions: north, south, east, and west. If you spot any unique players, make sure to note them down. Record their names and whether their unique abilities have been unlocked. If possible, estimate their basic stat levels too.”
“Got it.”
Each of us—me, Kanel, Unahar, Akata, Lilith, and Gio—took a notebook and assigned ourselves a region to monitor.
(Lilith and Gio were paired since one of them might not be helpful at all.)
“And I’ll personally monitor the guy who supposedly looks like me. Because, well, he looks like me.”
[Name] Runehan / [Level] 1
[Gender] Male / [Age] 23
[Intelligence] High / [Murderous Intent] Low
‘Well, let’s see if he really looks that much like me. No way he resembles me more than Aria.’
At first, I didn’t think much of it as I zoomed in on him and watched for the first few minutes.
However, the more I observed, the more frequently I found myself narrowing my eyebrows.
It wasn’t just that he slightly resembled me like a sibling might… there were quite a few elements that reminded me of myself.
His ability to express a wide range of emotions appropriately to the situation. The baseless confidence that he would survive to the end despite having nothing. His audacity to approach characters with higher stats and try to recruit them as allies despite his weakness.
He was a bit more carefree and cunning than I am, but…
Still, he gave off an uncanny sense of familiarity. It felt unsettling, as if I had found a lost brother through the screen.
* * *
**Selection Match, Day 1.**
The beginning of everything. Runehan, wearing basic white clothes, woke up leaning against a tree stump in the forest and immediately checked his stats.
[Health] 185 / D
[Strength] 160 / D
[Agility] 201 / C
He tousled his black hair, which reached his nape, and then let out a wry laugh.
“My life is over.”
He quickly checked his hopeless stats and despaired, but only for a moment. Soon, he was filled with determination.
“I won’t die. I’ll survive, even if I have to cling to someone else.”
His incredible adaptability right from the start was remarkable. Runehan then carefully read through the survival manual provided to all participants.