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

The current silence emanated from the guild members behind me. It was too ominous to be a mere coincidence.

“Don’t say things like that!” 

Nahean must have quickly sensed the shift in atmosphere, just like I did. His response was immediate.

“I’m nowhere near Rudel’s level. Such reckless talk!”

Even when joking, the way Nahean put everyone in check had changed now that he was an adult. The subordinates group, initially taken aback, soon burst into laughter.

Nahean had a keen sense of social dynamics, evident from how he skillfully diffused the situation by gauging Unahar and Akata’s reactions and halting the careless chatter of the subordinates group.

Eventually, Nahean greeted Akata, following his interaction with me. With so many people around, greetings were made in turns.

They were friends, but now one had suddenly grown up, making Nahean seem five years older than Akata.

Nahean’s height now required Akata to look up, making the contrast even more pronounced.

While Akata, typically calm and unflappable, seemed unaffected, Nahean appeared more unsettled by the change.

“It should have been you who got selected. I feel like I took your chance.”

“That’s not true.”

“You don’t hate me, right?”

“Of course not.”

Listening to their conversation, I remembered what Akata had quietly whispered to me just before we came down to the subordinates group’s quarters.

“Though I’m disappointed I wasn’t selected, let’s still congratulate Nahean.”

In any case, this special event had significantly bolstered the subordinates group’s strength. If they could participate in the seventh round, Nahean would likely be a major positive factor.

* * *

Details of Round 7 will be sequentially sent to each guild.

The rules are more complex than those of other rounds, so please take the time to understand them thoroughly.

Yes, this was the kind of announcement we needed. Not the half-hearted proclamations from the administrators like in the battle rounds, but a proper bulletin like this.

The setting is the ‘Sookwon Archipelago,’ a cluster of small islands along an emerald coastline.

The background instantly conjured itself in my mind. A perfect resort-like setting. The viewers would love the scenic beauty.

But for us, it was just another bloody battlefield. The turquoise sea would soon be stained with blood.

‘But wait, did they say the sea?’

That means the water-based Pure Nature guild practically has home-field advantage.

I was calculating when Gio could potentially face and defeat Aleon, but it seems this round won’t be it. The terrain is too advantageous for Aleon.

It’s not exactly unfair; previous terrains like jungles or deserts favored Gio and me, so it’s just the rotation of luck.

But why are they giving us a preview of the round’s background now? This has never happened before.

‘The beautiful setting makes it all the more ominous.’

The keyword for Round 7 is the special item, ‘Sookwon’s Stone.’ Each guild receives ‘Sookwon’s Stone’ proportional to the number of guild members participating. Higher-ranking players get three stones, and lower-ranking players get one each.

Below is the information about ‘Sookwon’s Stone’:

– If ‘Sookwon’s Stone’ falls from the player’s body, it immediately loses its light and becomes a mere stone. A ‘Sookwon’s Stone’ that has lost its light does not count towards the score. However, the stones can be transferred or stolen among players if they are not dropped.

– ‘Sookwon’s Stone’ emits a light that cannot be hidden by clothing, revealing how many stones each player has.

– ‘Sookwon’s Stone’ suppresses its owner. The more stones a player possesses, the more their abilities and stamina decrease. If stones are transferred or lost, the lost stamina is recovered. Strategically distributing the stones according to each guild member’s capabilities will be key.

It looks like they’re expecting us to use our brains for strategic planning now, not just brute force. This hybrid approach suits me perfectly. I love it.

But, as always, the devil is in the details.

Even though most characters have foreign names, the game is Korean, and the primary setting language is Korean…

The last line about special rules is concerning.

After mentioning the special rules, they finally revealed the name of Round 7. It seems the name was the highlight.

The name of Round 7 is ‘Zombie Battle.

Unbelievable.

Players who are wounded and killed by field monsters, zombies, will be infected with a virus and turn into zombies. (Their real bodies return to the guild.)

The ‘Sookwon’s Stones’ held by the zombified player will be destroyed.

This sounds fun!

…or are they insane? This is overkill.

Handling ‘Sookwon’s Stone’ alone is already chaotic, and now they’re throwing zombies into the mix.

* * *

The sun shone brightly over the beautiful sea. On the glittering coastline, characters were…

“Screaming!”

Running.

Behind the sprinting characters in combat gear, zombies chased them furiously.

Gray-skinned with dried, dark red blood on their filthy clothes, limbs and necks twisted at odd angles, they ran at a surprisingly fast pace.

My guild and I were fortunate enough to spawn behind a forest that provided good cover, allowing us to watch without being pursued.

I thought they were running because the zombies looked disgusting, not because they were scared.

If this were a disaster game, this beautiful archipelago would have turned into a scene of chaos.

Thud!

One character swung a metal chain horizontally, knocking down the attacking zombies like dominoes.

In a superpowered game, zombies are just mobs. Every guild likely has at least one player capable of sweeping through a horde of zombies.

“Kaemilla! Over here!”

[Unique Ability] Ultrasonic

That’s a unique ability to watch out for. It must be hard to see and defend against.

As expected of second-generation characters, they’re young and vigorous.

No matter how many zombies they kill, they won’t get a single Sookwon’s Stone. Using their unique abilities only drains their stamina.

We seemed to have landed in the jungle on the largest island of the archipelago.

Hidden by trees, we had some time to regroup and strategize without being seen by other characters.

For the first time, our entire guild was participating.

I looked at each of the five guild members standing in a circle and began the briefing.

“The first thing we need to do is mind control.”

Unahar, expecting a solemn directive, laughed in disbelief at my seemingly simple statement.

Ignoring him, I grabbed the hands of our guild’s youngest members, Lilith and Akata, and looked them in the eyes with utmost seriousness.

With a look of trust and confidence, I asked, “Lilith, Akata, are you ready? Can you survive the whole day?”

It reminded me of the survival game feel of the first round.

Since it’s not a race or a deathmatch but a method of surviving for a day with Stones of Aspiration from zombies and other characters.

Lilith nodded vigorously. Akata gave a short but firm reply, “Yes.”

“You saw how the zombies look. They’re scary, but you need to be strong. Don’t be afraid. We’re all in this together. Got it?”

“Yes, Rudel. I’m not scared! I’ll definitely help with my warmth ability!”

Lilith, it looks like your lips are trembling.

But her determination was genuine, not just bravado, which made me smile a little.

“You don’t have to overdo it. And Akata?”

“…As long as Lilith is with me, I have no worries. I’m ready.”

“Huh?”

At first, I didn’t understand what he meant by needing only Lilith, but then it clicked—he was talking about her stat buffs.

Currently, Akata’s only weakness, despite his awakened unique ability, was his low stamina.

With Lilith’s buff, his base stats would rise to C+ grade, allowing him to keep pace with us.

This way, he wouldn’t lag behind and end up being carried by Kanel or Gio.

I placed my palm briefly on Akata’s head and then withdrew it.

I didn’t need to encourage the other guys as much, since I already trusted them completely, and moved on to the second briefing.

“And the second thing we need to do is find the ‘subordinates group summon button’ before any other guilds. We mentioned this before the round started, so we’ll skip further explanation.”

Now for the most important third briefing.

“Because of these ‘Stones of Aspiration,’ I feel sluggish and weak. Do you guys feel the same?”

“Yeah, it seems like all my stats dropped by about one level.”

“When Lilith uses her warmth ability, it will boost our stats back up. This gives us a significant advantage over other guilds, thanks to Lilith.”

Due to the Stones of Aspiration, all characters were provided with identical special black combat suits for this round.

These suits had the guild name emblazoned on the chest, making it easy to identify each character’s affiliation.

Additionally, the number of Stones of Aspiration each person held was marked by a glowing symbol on their back.

This glow could be seen even if someone’s hair covered their back, making it impossible to hide from the enemy.

The strategy of who carried how many Stones of Aspiration would be a crucial element in the game.