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

For a while, Han Nayeon, who was enjoying my embrace, suddenly lifted her head with a start. “Oh my, I’ve kept you standing for too long. Please, take off your shoes and come in! I live alone, so it’s fine. The house is quite shabby and messy, though—”

“No, it’s similar to our pension. It actually looks better.”

It wasn’t an empty compliment. So this is what a Pangyo officetel looks like. Not only I, but also our kids who were slyly looking around, had their eyes widened.

“Where’s the manager?”

“There’s no manager here, Unahar. The tenants have to take care of things themselves.”

As our conversation continued with references to the game, Han Nayeon seemed to find it hilarious, covering her mouth and giggling alone.

“Luckily, there’s an extra room. The men can use this room! Feel free to use it as you wish. You can eat, sleep, and do everything here!”

“Ms. Han Nayeon, we are very grateful, but you don’t have any ulterior motives, do you?”

“That’s right! I have lots of ulterior motives! I’m the homeowner, so I can have some, can’t I?”

Han Nayeon perked up her droopy eyes and acted both cute and confident. I chuckled.

“That’s right. You can have some ulterior motives. Thank you for taking us in. We’ll be indebted to you.”

At that, she clutched her chest as if her heart was about to stop.

Meanwhile, the kids, who had already been looking around the place like it was their own home, came back and politely greeted her.

“The house is pretty. Thank you!”

“We appreciate your kindness.”

“Thank you. If there’s anything we can help with, let us know. Carrying luggage or anything that requires strength, Kanel and I can handle it.”

Most of our characters, except for a few, don’t know how to use honorifics. Up until now, there hasn’t been anyone we needed to address formally.

Fortunately, Han Nayeon didn’t mind and seemed overwhelmed by the characters’ sincere thanks.

“I should be the one thanking you! Thank you for not being deleted and staying alive! Thank you for making me a successful fan!”

Even though it was a brief informal speech, she understood that the characters were genuinely grateful to her.

The best way to overcome a shock is to get a good night’s sleep first.

Unahar and Kanel went into the room and fell asleep under the blankets Han Nayeon provided. Lilith lay down on my lap on the sofa.

As I looked down at the peacefully sleeping Lilith, Han Nayeon, who had been hovering around, disappeared for a moment and then returned with a beaming smile. She handed something to me.

“Guild Master Agasa, you need this, right?”

It was an old smartphone.

I looked at her with gratitude.

“As expected, you’re my fan. Thank you.”

“Hehe.”

I was impressed by Han Nayeon’s thoughtfulness in giving me a spare phone without me even asking.

Rudel never rests. Once a safe house for the comrades is secured, instead of resting, this workaholic character immediately focuses on the next task.

That’s exactly who I am.

“The next task, of course, would be to gather as much information as possible about this new world.”

“But do you know how to use a smartphone?”

“Yes, I do.”

If I told her that I came from the real world, it would be too shocking, so I’ll keep this fact hidden from Han Nayeon until I’m sure.

I powered on the phone and clicked on “Ranking of Soul” trending in real-time searches without needing to search separately.

A vast sea of information unfolded before me.

‘Why is my death in the game a news article?’

It’s like I’m a celebrity. What kind of world is this?

Reading through the news articles, I was astonished to find that the air date for Champion Challenge was five days ago.

We had emerged into reality immediately after the Champion Challenge ended, but five days had passed in the meantime.

It seems that, except for live broadcasts, time flows differently in the game and reality. Specifically, the game skips several days of real-world time.

Anyway, not knowing where to start, I decided to visit the official site first.

[Official Website]

The official homepage was neatly designed, bustling with users. The real-time chat scroll was moving so fast that it was hard to read.

‘Rudel is truly shocking….’

‘Is she really dead?’

‘This must be a dream, this must be a dream, this must be a dream…’

Users were still reeling from the fall of the Agasa Guild….

I stopped the scroll and read slowly.

‘This is spicy….’

‘Give me back my Lilith… Give her back’

‘Can Rudel still call herself a leader after this?’

‘What’s the use of Gio being number one if the guild is wiped out because of one misjudgment?’

‘But if Agasa is gone, what happened to Gio and Akata?’

‘?Released from prison but lost the house….O.O’

‘?They said the admins are discussing and will give an announcement about Gio and Akata soon’

‘Just resurrect Agasa….’

I’m being criticized like Sun Quan from the Three Kingdoms for screwing up at the end of my career.

But so what. Just wait and see, you guys.

‘You can criticize all you want now. Later, when you see what I accomplish, you’ll regret it.’

Although I was being heavily criticized, the game company Mijon had actually gained a better image after Champion Challenge.

‘Did they really delete it….? Mijon is crazy? They’re just throwing money away.’

‘What can you do when the characters chose it?’

‘A game with no manipulation ㅇㅈ’

Positive stories about the game company were spreading. I felt wronged.

‘You’re all being deceived. Do you know what the GMs threatened me with in the private room before I died?’

I hope I can expose this later.

After gauging public opinion, I exited and browsed other sites.

[Character Fan Café]

Besides the official fan café for Ranking of Soul, each guild had its own dedicated fan café. Just by glancing at them, I could see that the number of active members was in the tens of thousands.

There were even cases where a single character had their own fandom café.

(I discovered a fan café with my name on it but was too scared to check it out immediately.)

This was another moment that confirmed the immense influence of the game, which had surpassed tens of millions of concurrent users.

[Real-Time Discussion Room]

[Unique Ability Research Lab]

There was even a real-time discussion room reminiscent of a national debate forum. Even during the game’s downtime, it was bustling inside. Most were game betting gamblers.

Moreover, the Unique Ability Research Lab was swarming with self-proclaimed experts. They were studying the abilities more meticulously than the characters themselves.

There were even papers, categorized by class and character, circulating among them.

[Merchandise Store]

[Community]

There was no need to talk about merchandise. They even had offline shops worldwide.

And when I entered the community, it was like a literary contest.

‘Parody novels, fan art, fan videos, and mad movies, unofficial merchandise.’

All the talented individuals in the world seemed to be wasting their talents here.

What’s CP? Oh, it’s couple fan art.

R-rated comics? Let’s not even go there.

I just saw fan art of me and Unahar kissing, which gave me a fright. Let’s move on, move on.

[Meme Contest]

[Top 20 Memes of the Month]

Memes and reaction images couldn’t be left out either.

Ranking of Soul memes were even mentioned in public programs. Plus, the memes and screenshots were widely used as student wallpapers and emojis.

But why do I feel like I see my face a lot in the comedy meme corner? It must be my imagination.

One comment caught my eye.

‘Someone please make Akata adult merchandise.’

‘If you haven’t seen Akata’s adult form, you can’t sit with us.’

‘↑The whole world has seen it lol a table for ten million is possible lol’

“……”

I couldn’t see my expression, but Han Nayeon, who was peeking beside me, suddenly flinched and looked at me nervously.

I immediately searched for ‘Akata’ in the community and read the words that came up in pieces.

‘Surge in fan art. Rudel x Akata stocks skyrocketing. Competing for first place in male character looks with Unahar, even without a new appearance poll….’

As I continued to browse the search results, I couldn’t bring myself to check the fan art of Akata’s adult form and closed the window.

My heart ached. A deep sense of helplessness washed over me.

Han Nayeon watched my reaction.

“……Rudel, have you seen Akata’s adult form before?”

Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked the question, despite being fully aware of my mood.

I don’t really want to talk about Akata, but it’s rude to ignore the person who’s letting us stay in their house.

“Yes, I’ve known for a long time.”

Han Nayeon’s eyes widened as she stared at me. Did she think the “Rudel x Akata” stock just went up in front of her?

After that, I clammed up. Han Nayeon, becoming more cautious, added her own story hesitantly.

“When Akata first appeared, he was a lower player but awakened his flame ability. Actually, back then, there was talk outside about deleting the character due to an error.”

I had predicted that much, so I listened quietly without reacting.

“At that time, Rudel’s fans started a petition against Akata’s deletion. I signed it too. I even promoted it to friends who didn’t play.”

She seemed to support “Rudel x Unahar” earlier. Was I mistaken?

When I looked at her curiously, Han Nayeon’s face flushed.

“Of course, I support ‘Rudel x Unahar’ more…! But I thought it would be nice if Akata could also be part of Rudel’s future… Not that I participated with that in mind!”

…It seems she did want that.

Anyway, Han Nayeon was nervously trying to explain herself.

“Whether it’s Unahar or Akata, I just wanted Rudel to be happy. I really, really like Rudel.”

She continued, hesitantly.

“It’s not just because Rudel is cool! Watching Rudel’s actions has given me strength many times. At work, I’d think, ‘If I were Rudel, I’d handle my boss’s harsh words gracefully,’ and it comforted me. So, the more I watched Rudel, the more I wanted to cheer for her and see her happy.”

At some point, Han Nayeon’s words turned into a sincere confession.

The performances I had done in the game, just for my own survival and fun… It was surreal to think that my existence as a game character could become a role model for someone in real life.

Han Nayeon held my hand tightly, as if it were a treasure.

“I swear on my life, I won’t tell anyone that Rudel, Lilith, Unahar, and Kanel are here. You can even take my bank account and ID card as collateral.”

“No, that’s not necessary…”

“You’ve really come to the right place. Now, Rudel, do what you want here.”

I must be lucky even in reality. The person I spent an hour waiting in front of a merchandise shop for turned out to be someone like this.

Hesitating for a moment, I thanked her.

Han Nayeon smiled brightly, without any ulterior motives.