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

Despite Unahar’s attempt to change the subject, no one stepped forward to take the lead.

The zombie battle was just reaching its midpoint, and they had already lost their leader.

With the sole focal point gone, they needed someone to lead them. However, no one was willing to step up.

An awkward silence ensued.

“…Maybe we should rest for now?” Kanel suggested after a long pause.

Immediately, the four pairs of eyes turned to the slender boy who looked like he was about to fall asleep from exhaustion.

With Akata’s phoenix faltering, their core strength was effectively halved.

Considering the long-term battle ahead, now was the perfect time for a break.

It would also help them process the shock of their leader’s absence and gather their thoughts.

“Kanel, find a place where we can rest. You’re good at hide-and-seek, right?”

“It’s not hide-and-seek, it’s stealth,” Kanel corrected.

As Kanel recalled the paths he had taken, searching for a suitable hiding spot…

Whoosh-!

A hot, flickering strike shot towards them, slanting upwards from below the nearby pit.

Simultaneously, Gio blocked the attack with a pile of rocks he raised from the ground. Despite successfully defending, he was stunned.

“Fire…?”

Gio, who knew little, couldn’t fail to recognize that attack. He had seen it countless times.

It was the same attack that always emanated from the hands of their ruthless guild leader during training sessions.

From the pit where Rudel had died, a figure swam up through the water and approached them.

They came right up to their noses.

“Uh…?”

A gasp of astonishment escaped from among them, though no one knew who it came from.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I was in the middle of the guild hall. The cushions Gio had left scattered around were still there.

This was my first experience of death in the game.

‘…I just feel really drowsy.’

Getting torn apart by the rhino zombie had hurt enough to make me think of that bastard Ispan after a long time.

But the moment I stopped breathing, the pain vanished, and I felt peaceful, with no particular shock.

It was like fainting and then waking up with a gasp.

Not bad, right? Cheers to the GMs for installing the ‘Death PTSD Prevention System’ after round 1.

But if the only penalty for dying was a brief blackout, everyone would recklessly throw their bodies around without hesitation.

Before I even got up from the living room floor, I quickly opened my stats window.

[Health] 987 / ▼124 / C+

[Strength] 1290 / ▼157 / B

[Agility] 1481 / ▼188 / B

‘My precious stats… How hard did I work to raise them?’

No choice. It’s better than having Akata’s stats reduced.

Did Akata make it out of the pit and safely meet up with the others? …I hope he’s not being scolded for leaving me behind.

No, I trust my team.

I turned on the screen in the living room and searched for Akata, switching to his personal cam.

On the large screen, I saw the red-haired boy with our comrades. It seemed he had successfully rejoined them.

But strangely, there was no conversation. Everyone was staring in one direction.

Their expressions… they looked shocked, almost horrified.

If they were shocked by my death, they wouldn’t just be staring blankly in one direction. What are they looking at?

I adjusted the camera to follow their gaze. I saw what they were looking at on the screen.

A zombie was standing there.

“…Huh?”

Right. Damn it.

When you die to a zombie, your body goes to the fortress, but a character zombie is left behind…

I zoomed in the cam closer. The screen magnified the image of my zombified self.

Gone was the familiar white forehead, now replaced by the grotesque bulging veins typical of zombies.

Blue-tinted lips and dull, sallow skin unmistakably indicated a dead body.

My eyes were out of focus, with no light in them. An eerie, lifeless expression settled on my face, a look I’d never worn in my life.

I’m thankful to the GMs for keeping the character’s image somewhat intact, without twisted features, gore, or a stupid expression.

The problem was that it caused a mental breakdown for those who knew me. And that zombie had unlimited stamina and terrifying aggression.

Naturally, it didn’t recognize allies.

Fire flew again. Unahar, who was in the front, ducked just in time to avoid it.

[“Rudel…”]

Unahar, stunned by the attack from Rudel’s zombie, called my name with a disturbed expression.

[“Rudel!”]

Akata shouted happily and tried to step forward. Ah! I unintentionally shouted out loud.

Luckily, Unahar held him back.

[“Are you crazy? That’s not Rudel!”]

[“I don’t care what form Rudel takes or what she becomes.”]

[“The real Rudel is in the fortress! She’d be freaking out seeing you try to run into that on the screen!”]

Oh, Unahar knows me well. Thanks for saying what I would have said…

While you’re at it, could you use that bazooka in your inventory to kill me? I don’t want to remain on the field as a zombie.

A guild member who dies can’t communicate. I futilely tapped the communication function in my status window before giving up and trying telepathy.

‘Kill me! Please kill me! If another guild sees this, I’ll be so embarrassed! Just put me out of my misery!’

Shemarin might see my zombie and try to keep it on a leash. Yudirei would enjoy turning it into a meat toy.

Aleon would be shocked beyond words.

Blance would likely squat in front and start extracting every bit of information possible, from unique abilities to height, weight, clothing size, and shoe size—there’s a 99% chance of that.

Lesia’s reaction is unpredictable, but she definitely wouldn’t just let it go. She might even use her wind ability to play fireball baseball with zombie Rudel.

[“If it were Rudel… wouldn’t she want us to eliminate that zombie out of embarrassment?”]

Only our Lilith received my telepathic message! I felt a surge of relief and excitement.

[“Kill Rudel…?”]

But it’s not that simple. Seeing the guild members hesitating, it seemed unlikely this would end quickly.

While they hesitated, zombie Rudel spewed an enormous amount of fire. Without Gio, they might have all been roasted.

‘The firepower is no joke; she’s better than me.’

As the delay dragged on, I felt myself slowly losing patience.

[“Let’s leave her.”]

Gio opted for abandonment.

Gio, who usually seemed eager for such opportunities, was doing nothing. And what was with that conflicted expression?

At this moment, Kanel, who had peeked over the stone wall Gio had summoned, aimed his gun determinedly.

Alright, Kanel, you’re our only hope—.

[“…I can’t do it.”]

A moment later, Kanel muttered dejectedly, lifting his head. He used his gun barrel to block the flames that directly hit his face.

As the gun pushed back, it made a sharp sound, hitting his forehead and knocking him over.

While the guild members looked down at him in disbelief, Kanel muttered while coughing.

[“Take care of the… rest…”]

[“Stop messing around and get up. There’s no one here who can carry you, let alone Akata.”]

Unahar kicked his back and snapped at him, his expression more serious than anyone else’s.

Kanel quietly stood up on his own later.

“Maybe we could get used to the zombie face if we keep looking at it. Why not make that zombie our leader instead of me?”

I laughed hollowly, half out of my mind, staring blankly at the screen.

Then, suddenly, my vision sharpened. Lilith was stepping forward toward the pit.

[“I’ll do it.”]

[“Li-Lilith?”]

[“If it’s for Rudel, I can do it. Rudel would want this. I’ll give it a try.”]

While the guild members hesitated to kill zombie Rudel, the gentlest and weakest Lilith stepped up courageously.

I thought Kanel would be the most composed in my absence, but…

I glanced back and forth between Kanel, who had a bruised face from the zombie, and Lilith, who clenched her fists tightly.

Is Lilith possibly our guild’s next leader in my absence?

“I’ll do it! I’ll do it!”

However, Gio, unable to bear seeing Lilith in danger, shouted desperately.

Lilith nodded knowingly and lightly hugged Gio’s arm.

“Please.”

Lilith, did you deliberately provoke Gio? You’ve learned how to handle him now.

In that moment, I felt so proud that I forgot my zombified self.

Thud-!

And as expected, an S-rank earth ability instantly killing a B+-rank fire ability zombie was anticlimactic.

It took them a long time to handle something so easy.

“It’s dead!”

Gio shouted loudly, whether out of accomplishment or shock, it was hard to tell.

“Good job, well done! But saying well done feels a bit… odd.”

Lilith habitually praised him but seemed a bit puzzled.

Afterward, the men, all wearing similar expressions, chimed in.

“You killed her.”

“You killed Rudel.”

“That’s barbaric.”

“You said to kill! You told me to kill!”

Gio’s face turned red.

If I had been there, I would have been the first to tease him.

Even in my absence, Kanel, Unahar, and even Akata managed to cover that part for me.

Watching the guild members search for a place for Akata to rest, I finally felt a bit relieved.

I leaned back on the sofa, feeling loose.

‘…This is the first time I’ve been alone in a spacious villa.’

Once again, I realized the fact that my guild members weren’t with me.