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

Runehan proved to be as clever as Rudel.

To discover a man shunned by others and immediately grasp that he was vulnerable to human kindness, intending to make him an ally, showed remarkable insight.

Garam continued to cover his face with his hand. Watching this, Runehan gently made a suggestion.

“If it bothers you, should I wrap it in a bandage? So it won’t be visible.”

“Are you trying to turn me into a mummy?”

“Trust my skills. While crossing the forest, you didn’t get a single scratch, but I got hurt from falling and being attacked. My bandaging skills are professional.”

“Your chatter is unconvincing. The more inadequate you are, the more excuses you have.”

“Don’t back out. Come closer and close your eyes. I’ll wrap just half your face, like a mask. You’ll look like a mysterious handsome guy.”

Despite his initial intention to use Garam, Runehan’s words became genuinely kind. The calculated motive he started with had faded.

[Name] Garam / [Level] 1

[Gender] Male / [Age] 22

[Intelligence] Intermediate

* * *

[Health/Strength/Agility Average] A

By the second day of the selection match, Runehan’s party of two naturally grew to three.

“Hic, hic…”

It happened because Runehan picked up a crying girl at the edge of the forest.

More accurately, Runehan pointed her out, and Garam lifted her by the scruff of her neck.

“What the! Let me go!”

The girl, writhing like a wild cub, had been abandoned by her group due to personality issues.

The moment Runehan saw her, he decided effortlessly that he would tame her and make her an ally.

“How about it, Junias? Isn’t it better to travel with two handsome guys instead of your old group?”

“What are you saying? You ugly pumpkin!”

Junias had quite the personality. Whenever Runehan got cheeky or made any contact, she would get annoyed and shake him off.

Yet, despite calling him ‘idiot’ and ‘fool’ frequently, her cheeks would blush after he walked away smiling unaffected.

‘Slightly better than the ones who abandoned me… just slightly!’

Using only the method of building a bond, Runehan gained another strong ally who had unlocked her unique ability.

[Name] Junias / [Level] 10

[Gender] Female / [Age] 15

[Intelligence] Lower-intermediate

* * *

[Health/Strength/Agility Average] B

* * *

[Ability Type] Switch

[Unique Ability] Lion

Day 4 of the selection match.

Runehan was known to users as ‘The Man with Flowers.’ He couldn’t help himself whenever he saw a field of blooming flowers.

“Let’s stop and look at the flowers for a bit.”

“Do you think this is a supermarket or something?”

Ignoring Junias’s grumbling, Runehan entered a field of cosmos flowers.

“Let’s go already! Runehan!”

“Oh, my knee! Suddenly, my injury from yesterday is acting up! If only Junias hadn’t pushed me over yesterday~!”

“…”

Viewers noted that the most significant difference between Runehan and Rudel was in their attitudes towards their companions.

Rudel, despite his weak stats, was determined to do everything on his own without relying on his companions.

Runehan, on the other hand, was shameless. He had no qualms about pretending to be weak, overacting, or even faking injuries to get help from his companions.

As Runehan enjoyed the flowers, a head of ash-colored hair suddenly popped up in the distance.

Time seemed to stand still. Runehan’s gaze shifted from the field of flowers to the woman.

Their hair fluttered gently in the breeze.

The woman moved first. She brushed her hair, gleaming in the sunlight, and lifted her other hand from the flowers.

“Uh?”

Runehan’s eyes wavered. The momentary trance shattered.

In the woman’s hand was a bloodied knife.

She had not been lying among the flowers but had been stabbing someone repeatedly beneath them and had just raised her head.

Despite this, Runehan, still in a daze, impulsively asked the stranger,

“Do you have a group? If not, would you consider joining me?”

The woman stared at him silently for a moment, then slowly wiped the blood off her knife with a handkerchief.

The reflected light made her indifferent yet beautiful face seem to glimmer.

The woman, Tian, had a group of her own. Four followers were drawn to her impressive swordsmanship.

Realizing this, Runehan forced a smile, feeling a bit disappointed.

He thought he had nothing to offer this remarkable woman, so he couldn’t even dream of forming a bond with her.

However, Tian didn’t seem to dislike him.

Maybe she found his large frame and his gentle habit of blowing on dandelion seeds intriguing. For the first time, she spoke.

“Do you know anything about unlocking unique abilities?”

Thanks to Tian opening up, their negotiation concluded dramatically.

Runehan shared the unlocking method for the Switch type, and Tian shared the method for the Pure Nature type.

However, neither piece of information was immediately useful.

Both Runehan and Garam had Soul-type unique abilities.

On the other hand, Tian had already unlocked her ability. She had a Pure Nature ability: lightning.

Tian revealed that she discovered the unlocking method for Pure Nature through her own experience.

Upon hearing this, Runehan looked at her sympathetically.

“To remain so calm after experiencing that. Didn’t it hurt? Bottling up bad experiences can make them fester. You should talk to someone about it… even if it’s just me.”

For the first time, Tian looked at Runehan with a hint of softening in her previously stony heart.

[Name] Tian / [Level] 22

[Gender] Female / [Age] 27

[Intelligence] Intermediate

* * *

[Health/Strength/Agility Average] A

* * *

[Ability Type] Pure Nature

[Unique Ability] Lightning

However, the strange feelings Tian had towards Runehan shattered the next day, on the fifth day.

At night, during the experience point tally, Runehan approached Tian.

“Tian, among the four people following you… one of them is a traitor with another agenda. He plans to assassinate you. I’d stake my life on this judgment.”

Tian’s expression changed.

It wasn’t because she considered Runehan’s words seriously.

Rather, she was furious at being seen as an incompetent person who couldn’t judge people correctly.

In a flash, she grabbed Runehan by the collar and pressed a knife to his throat.

She was a knife enthusiast and a master swordswoman who treated her sword with utmost care.

Her always-sharp sword tip was so light that it easily pointed at anyone.

“You can’t do anything on your own, relying on Garam and Junias to survive, and you dare to advise me? Someone like you? If your plan was to crush my pride, you’ve succeeded.”

Tian’s blazing eyes bore down on Runehan. She was like a predator before its prey.

“I said it because I didn’t want you to get hurt! That wasn’t my intention!”

But Tian, already enraged, spat venomous words.

“You’re all talk, yet you won’t even survive the selection match.”

“…….”

Despite the insulting remarks, Runehan’s dark eyes remained bright and undeterred.

Runehan, with zero kill points and a D rank, didn’t back down even an inch in the face of Tian, who had high kill points and a B+ rank.

His shout echoed through the area.

“I will survive, no matter what. Not even you can break my resolve!”

At that moment, a strange vibration emanated from Runehan’s body.

It was the moment of unlocking his unique ability. Soul type, the unlocking condition was ‘honest self-awareness and conviction.’

As Tian, bewildered, looked at him, Runehan’s awakening voice resonated.

[“No matter what happens, I will not lose myself.”]

The atmosphere shifted with Runehan’s unique ability awakening, and Tian’s anger quickly dissipated. She threw Runehan aside and left the scene.

The following morning, it was revealed that Runehan’s suspicion was correct: the person he identified indeed harbored jealousy towards Tian and had been planning her assassination.

Tian dealt with the traitor herself, using a well-sharpened sword.

After meticulously cleaning the blood from her clothes and ridding herself of the smell, she returned to Runehan.

Previously, she had never made any effort to hide bloodstains or be considerate of Runehan’s aversion to blood.

Surprisingly, the first thing the proud swordswoman did was apologize for her behavior the previous night.

“Sorry. Don’t take my words from yesterday too seriously. I regret saying those things to you.”

Runehan smiled and graciously accepted the apology.

At that moment, user chat noted that Runehan’s smile was strikingly similar to the trustworthy smile of the first-generation character, Rudel.

Moments later, Tian, awkwardly mimicking a smile as if for the first time, said,

“I think we need each other. Formally requesting: Runehan, can my three subordinates and I join your group?”

By the end of the selection match, Runehan had gained six companions besides himself. They naturally formed a guild with Runehan as the guild leader.

At the conclusion of the first round, his stats were as follows:

[Name] Runehan / [Level] 27

* * *

[Health] 445 / C

[Strength] 398 / C

[Agility] 543 / C

* * *

[Ability Type] Soul

[Unique Ability] Ability Copy

[Rank] A+

Even considering that the A+ rank was a temporary ranking based on rarity, his growth was impressive.

Runehan was secretly a hard worker, much like a student who pretends not to study but secretly works hard at home to stay at the top of their class.

His first round was quite smooth and successful.

The next stage, the mercenary recruitment round for the second generation, the Headhunting Match, commenced promptly.