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

Viewers must have seen the Round 1 ranking results by now.

I was insanely curious.

Is Aleon in first place? How far behind is Gio? And what about my ranking?

As a game character, I would only get the proper results after the first-generation guild battle ends.

Then, the broadcast announcement rang out.

[From Round 2 onwards, there will be guild battles.

Please submit your guild roster within the remaining 24 hours while staying in your private rooms. Each guild must meet the minimum requirement of 5 members, with one guild leader designated.

Those who have not yet formed groups are encouraged to use communication to establish alliances.

We look forward to your careful selection of comrades who will accompany you in the following rounds.]

Of course, almost no one was acting solo at this point, but many small groups still needed to meet the minimum requirement.

These groups combined with others that had room via communication.

Before long, guild rosters started appearing on the screen in front of me.

“With the guild rosters submitted, we’ll each rest in our private rooms until the guild fortress is confirmed….”

It was a rare chance to have some alone time, but I could only sigh.

“-I said, can anyone explain why my tiny private room is packed?”

My small room was filled with four guild members.

Lilith sat next to me on the bed, with Gio beside her, making the bed sag heavily.

Meanwhile, Unahar was perched on the dining table, and Kanel was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room.

“We came to keep you company because it’s boring alone,” said the lively Lilith.

“Lilith is here,” said Gio, who always followed Lilith around like a tail.

“Because you’re here, Rudel,” added Kanel, as if he were my tail.

“I feel uneasy without you,” Unahar said, glancing at Kanel as if in competition.

Someone had commented after Round 1 that I was like the young head of the family.

I looked at each of the four who had occupied my private room and silently replied, ‘I can’t argue with that.’

An hour later, feeling like I was being punished:

[All guilds have been confirmed!]

I read the guild roster that was transmitted to my status window along with the broadcast.

First, I confirmed the four names under mine, then checked if my allies had properly formed their guilds.

Guild 1

Guild Leader: Aleon

Vice Leader: Ifrea

Members: …

…

Total: 68 members

Aleon, you’ve collected yourself and become the master of the Ice Castle again.

I expected Ifrea to become the vice guild leader. Though I only saw her briefly, she was intelligent and had decent stats. Aleon will need to listen to her carefully.

Guild 5

Guild Leader: Shemarin

Vice Leader: Muraul

Members: …

…

Total: 11 members

Shemarin has also built a well-organized, closed harem. It won’t collapse easily and will likely be both my rival and ally.

[All characters will be relocated in 5 minutes.]

[You will be guided to each guild’s fortress.]

[From now on, each guild can use the ‘Return’ mode in the status window to return after a round ends.

Or, if they retire (die) during the round, they will be automatically returned.

Additionally, visits to other guilds’ fortresses can be requested, and if accepted by the guild leader, visits are permitted.]

[All guild fortresses have the same functions, but their appearances reflect the preferences of each guild leader.]

As the fog cleared, our guild fortress appeared.

My first thought upon seeing the fortress was, “Are we on a vacation?”

A cute two-story villa with beige walls and a red roof stood before us. The size of the fortress is determined by the number of guild members, so ours is probably the smallest.

Due to my modest nature, instead of a small palace, our guild members ended up living in a place that looks like a pension in Jeju Island… I feel sorry for them.

‘Well, even though it looks like this, the performance is the same as others.’

Putting on a brave face, I opened the front door of the fortress first. The interior structure of the fortress could be arranged according to the guild leader’s preferences. As soon as I stepped outside the entrance, a holographic layout appeared in my status window. Adjusting it, I designed our guild’s fortress.

‘The most important training room should be… in the basement.’

I remodeled the entire basement into a training room, assigning the living room, dining room, conference room, and hobby space sequentially on the first floor. The second floor would house the personal bedrooms.

Finally, no more cramped quarters! I divided the second floor in half, with one side for the men’s bedrooms and the other for the women’s. With only five guild members, the buildable space stops at the second floor, but there is a staircase in the middle leading up.

This leads to the attic, which functions as an observatory.

The observatory’s function is as follows:

[In future rounds, members who stay behind in the fortress can support the guild members in the field remotely through the observatory.]

[For example, in the field, carrying potions is prohibited to prevent potion spamming. Potions can only be transported through the observatory during the round.

[However, using the ‘Potion Supply’ function from the observatory to support comrades is possible. Given the set cooldown time, more careful usage is required.]

While training my comrades in their basic stats and unique abilities, I’ll also need to train them on how to use this remote support control system.

I glanced at the layout of the observatory and quickly grasped the buttons and targeting methods of the control panel.

Did I enjoy flight simulation games when I was a real person? Somehow, this complex machinery felt easy to me.

[The structure of the guild fortress has been confirmed!]

[Players, please enter and check your new home.]

Turning around, I smiled at my gathered guild members.

“Come on, let’s go inside.”

Watching the guild members curiously enter the villa—no, the fortress—really made it feel like we were on vacation.

Considering that we have to head into a new round the day after tomorrow, feeling like I’m on vacation might mean I’ve lost my focus.

Time to reflect and get my head back in the game. I followed them inside, mentally preparing myself.

Ding.

A notification arrived, a public document sent to all guild leaders.

While my guild members explored the villa, I sat on the living room sofa, opened the status window, and read the document.

We will now guide you to the next round.

Before the full-scale guild battles begin, we have determined that a preparation phase is necessary, so we have set up Round 1.5.

The name of Round 1.5 is ‘Head Hunting Battle.’

Here is the content of the Head Hunting Battle.

Round 1.5 is new to me.

It seems the administrators decided to pull content initially planned for Round 2 and create Round 1.5 instead.

All players affiliated with a guild, including the guild leader, are ‘Top Players.’

Each guild is granted the right to command up to 50 ‘Subordinate Players.’

‘Subordinate Players’ are those without unique abilities who cannot enter the guild fortress and are assigned to its subsidiary accommodations.

In other words, they are lower participants who cannot defy the ‘Top Players.’

However, their potential basic stats are the same as the Top Players.

The ‘Head Hunting Battle’ will reopen the same field structure as Round 1, with approximately 500 new participants dropped into the field.

These 500 subordinate players consist of players who died in Round 1 and new recruits.

Each guild can send up to 3 members into the field to recruit participants who will become their subordinates, and especially desirable participants can be scouted directly.

More detailed instructions about the ‘Head Hunting Battle’ will be provided in 48 hours.

During this time, please rest and prepare for Round 1.5.

An additional preparatory round before the full-scale guild battles.

In the guild war, it’s not just about individual prowess but leading a squad of up to 50 members into battle.

As expected, they’re expanding the scale once more.

“Rudel!”

Lilith’s lively voice snapped me out of my contemplation.

“There are all these weird squares and lines here, and lots of board games! You should come see this!”

Board games?

She must be referring to the items in the entertainment room. So the weird squares and lines are probably PlayStations and cables.

I smiled at Lilith, who was trying to drag me out of the living room, and mouthed ‘later.’

Even in this newfound stable time, I was deep in thought, and it seemed she was trying to pull me away out of concern.

I appreciate the sentiment, but I need to think a bit more first.

I turned to the next page of the document. The next section was about the updates following the end of Round 1.

As we enter various rounds to compete in guild rankings, a mode for accumulating points and enhancing stats within the guild fortress has been opened.

Additionally, an item enhancement mode has been newly opened. Upgrade your existing equipment or items using various types of enhancement stones.

A way to increase stats peacefully within the fortress without killing other characters or hunting monsters.

With item enhancements and all, it seems like they’re focusing on content to boost combat abilities overall.

This is what I had been waiting for. I adjusted my posture on the sofa and began to read carefully.