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

Honestly, if I had tried a bit harder, I might have been able to hold out with Akata in that pit somehow.

We might have survived until Gio arrived, but… I didn’t.

Was it for the sake of a heroic sacrifice scene? That was part of it, but not the main reason.

‘Akata. I’m sorry. For using you. And for showing you something so terrible.’

I looked at the screen, where a boy was about to fall asleep with his head resting on Kanel’s knee in a cave. 

I watched him with a pang of emotion, then turned to what I needed to do.

This zombie battle was the first integrated match of the first and second generations, an idle battle on a free map.

This meant the GMs were likely at their busiest and most distracted.

With the complexity of zombies, Stones of Aspiration, and the use of subordinates, it was the most complicated round to date.

Would the GMs have the manpower to monitor a player who returned alone to the guild fortress?

In summary, while my chances of being caught by the GMs for suspicious activity were usually around 10%, right now they were down to about 0.1%.

I recalled my goal that I needed to achieve during this opportunity.

The way to utilize the unexpected information I obtained from Akata’s white bird.

* * *

A few days earlier.

The programming language circuits in the white bird were finally exhausted. I had mastered all the formulas it had.

“Do you have anything else?”

I hadn’t even awakened Akata yet. Is this it? Show me more.

With the intention of extracting everything, I grasped the white bird and shook it.

The white bird, seemingly dizzy, leaned its head against my finger joints like a pitiful heroine.

Oddly enough, it was cute, much like our Akata.

Feeling a bit softened, I released the white bird. I had stayed here long enough that the patrolling GMs might find me.

But instead of leaving, the bird seemed to remember something and nestled back into my hand.

The white bird’s last attempt to give me information.

‘…!’

I pushed the bird away as if I had seen something I shouldn’t have. The white bird floated in the air, looking dejected.

“Are you allowed to show me this? Did you get permission from your master?”

I mouthed the question.

Permission from its master… It probably didn’t have it, but the white bird seemed indifferent. Was it saying it was okay?

Hesitantly, I reconnected with the white bird.

The image it showed was Akata’s memory. A small space from Akata’s perspective.

A cozy abode similar to our villa.

It wasn’t particularly like our villa but rather resembled any common household.

Unusually, there were no windows. No doors either.

As I looked around from a first-person perspective, I realized.

This was where Akata had stayed. Akata’s memories before participating in the ‘game.’

And the faint figure standing behind Akata…?

Aria.

It was definitely her.

‘Aria? Let me see your face too!’

I thought I might finally meet the long-anticipated person through the white bird.

‘What’s this? It’s not even a mosaic, just blurry.’

Of course, my plans never go smoothly.

I could see a figure, presumed to be Aria, but it was too blurry to identify clearly.

I focused all my attention, not wanting to miss a single moment.

The memory was very short. It seemed the white bird had extracted the maximum possible fragment.

There were scenes of Akata briefly talking with Aria, learning to read by deciphering labels and brand names in the house.

…And the moment Akata was dragged out of the house.

Akata struggled, unwilling to leave, as he was taken away by men in black robes.

He must have been separated from Aria forever at that moment.

That was as far as I could see in the memory.

It was as if someone had covered my face with their hand, plunging me back into the darkness of the room.

‘Why can’t I see Aria’s face?’

Did Akata intentionally hide everything about Aria, or had he decided to forget her completely?

Or was it that learning about Aria would cause a significant error, thus resulting in a lockout?

‘It might just be a baseless fear, but… it feels like Aria is something I shouldn’t touch. An instinct to avoid her, perhaps?’

It’s disappointing, but even this much is a huge revelation.

I felt cold sweat trickling down my back during that brief glimpse.

I wanted to hug and kiss the white bird in gratitude, but it quickly disappeared back into Akata, as if it had made a big mistake.

Probably, it fled fearing it might get in trouble after giving me such significant information.

“Thank you. For giving me this last piece.”

Even with just a brief glimpse, I had gained something significant and certain.

* * *

Back in the middle of the zombie battle.

“…”

My hands were still trembling from the memory.

‘The place Akata was in was definitely the real world. Probably South Korea, given the labels written in Korean.’

So, the conclusion was:

‘Entities inside this game can move to the outside world, retaining their form.’

Just as Akata, who existed in reality, was converted into data within the game.

It confirmed that we were both data and living beings at the same time.

Realizing this truth, I repeatedly asked myself, steeling my resolve.

‘Can I handle this? Am I ready to fight alone?’

The answer was within me.

Thus, the conclusion: I had half-intentionally died in the zombie battle. To return alone to this fortress, where the GMs would be too busy to check.

I turned on the screen showing my comrades and took out a notebook and pen.

I pretended to analyze their play while scribbling in my notebook, but the content had nothing to do with the current zombie battle.

Like a student pretending to take notes in class while secretly doodling, I took advantage of this golden opportunity to write down the programming language I had learned.

From delving into Akata’s memories, I finally knew what command to input for this one chance.

The method with the highest likelihood of achieving my goal was:

‘I need to go to the real world.’

There, I could avoid the game’s surveillance and learn about them.

Computers are simple. No matter how complex a command is, if it has no errors, the code will be executed as soon as it is input.

If I could create the code that makes it possible.

‘Do you think I can’t do it?’

I already had crucial hints for the command from Akata’s memories and the white bird, so it wasn’t that difficult.

However, I also had doubts about myself.

Even if I was highly intelligent, could I really build the command I wanted by just looking at the code from the white bird?

A code that exploits a loophole in the system…

I had often doubted whether I was just a regular game character with some special settings.

But now I know I am not.

The admins wouldn’t have allowed a mere character to have the ability to tamper with the game’s secrets.

Like Akata, I am a perfect glitch in this game.

I believe—no, I’m certain—that in reality, I was a programmer.

The more I studied this programming language, the more I felt I was bridging the gap between the game world and the real world.

* * *

No character, unless their base stats are close to S-rank, can remain entirely tireless for 24 hours.

Therefore, under the long game time of 24 hours, players needed to pre-select places to rest or hide.

And Kanel of the Agasa Guild was an expert in that field.

He knew more than five secret spots or hideouts that even his fellow guild members were unaware of.

With his skills, he quickly found an undiscovered underground spot, an ideal location.

Since no one carried pillows, Kanel ended up offering his lap as a pillow for Akata after some discussion.

Akata soon fell into a deep sleep to replenish his energy for the remaining zombie battle.

“Now, it’s time to execute Plan B.”

Upon hearing Unahar’s words, Kanel was the first to place the ‘Stones of Aspiration’ he had on his palm.

Plan B was the redistribution plan for the ‘Stones of Aspiration,’ the most crucial element in the seventh round of the zombie battle.

The plan wasn’t necessarily directly related to Rudel’s death but was a separate strategy devised for the later stages of the round.

So, even without Rudel, the plan had to proceed.

Suppressing the increasing difficulty of breathing due to emotional strain, Unahar voiced his thought.

“I don’t use my wolf ability on Rudel’s recommendation. So, I’m the most unnecessary fighter here.”

Despite his formidable unique ability being like an unattainable treasure, in this case, his A-rank strength was essential.

“Give me all the Stones of Aspiration. Carrying all 15 will probably put me in a state of near unconsciousness, but since I’m A-rank, I’ll still be breathing.”

“If Unahar passes out carrying the Stones of Aspiration, the one to carry Unahar would be…”

Inevitably, the only option for the role of the ‘storage carrier’ was the guild member with the freest hands, Lilith.

She, with her buffing ability, nodded firmly, patting her shoulder.

“With my warmth ability, I can carry Unahar. If anything dangerous happens, I’ll hold and protect him tightly.”

“No, that won’t be necessary. It won’t come to that because Gio will be the one handling it.”

Imagining himself being carried around by Lilith, Unahar felt a pang of grief.

‘If Rudel were alive, she would have carried me…’

Unahar felt deeply pained at the thought of relying on Lilith. It was almost unbearable for him.