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

I had a dream.

I was barely hanging onto a railing, with the vast emptiness below threatening to swallow me. If I let go, I would die. Just glancing down made me dizzy. My arms, gripping the railing, felt like they would burst from the pressure.

More terrifying than the fear of falling was the presence staring down at me from the rooftop.

“Isn’t it hard hanging on like that?” The figure crouched before me asked casually. “It’d be easier to just let go and fall.”

My feet dangled in the air, finding no support. My sweaty hands were slipping from the railing. In that moment, I found myself shouting, “What did I do wrong… why are you doing this to me?”

My desperate cry echoed endlessly on the rooftop. After a pause, the figure spoke.

“You did nothing wrong. We just needed a smart soul like yours.”

Strangely, I remember this last conversation vividly, yet I can’t recall their face or voice.

My grip weakened, and I felt myself falling.

“…!”

Just before hitting the ground, I woke up with a jolt.

As I sat up, I noticed red marks on my palms. The skin had been scraped off, leaving my fingers reddish, matching the dream exactly.

Beep.

[“-I will take revenge.”]

The fleeting image and ringing in my ears faded, and the wound on my hand vanished when I looked again.

In that moment, I realized that the dream was undoubtedly a memory of my past. I had died like that and entered the game.

Did escaping to reality affect my memory? I wrapped my trembling arms around myself.

“As I suspected, I was a real person. I was murdered, turned into a character, and brought into the game…”

The one who killed me was likely connected to Mijon. Maybe the developers have been deceiving users and committing unimaginable acts.

Further investigation of Mijon revealed a remarkably secretive organization, with no information on internal affairs, private security measures, and no new hires. No public figures were associated with the company.

If my hunch is correct, there might be something darker than just protecting their technology.

‘In reality, even if I delve into it, can I really investigate it? I’m just worried it might put the kids in danger instead.’

Originally, once we succeeded in escaping, I intended to find out how AIs like us were created and how data could be materialized. 

I thought that if I could dig into that, I might find a way to catch Mijon off guard. However, with security being this tight, it seemed more likely that any illegal methods like hacking or infiltration would just get us caught. 

Moreover, we didn’t have the funds for that. 

I decided to give up cleanly on investigating Mijon’s background and just focus on another plan.

Anyway, it seemed like falling back asleep was out of the question. Even though I was tired, I just got up. 

Looking around the big room, I saw Han Nayeon, the owner of the house, deeply asleep on the bed. 

Since the only remaining room was given to the men, Lilith and I slept in the same room as her. 

I made sure Lilith, who was sleeping next to me, was properly covered with a blanket and silently left the room.

In the dimly lit living room, there was a glass door leading to the veranda. The cool air touched the bare skin exposed outside my clothes, feeling cold. 

Standing by the glass window, I looked down at the glittering night view of Pangyo. 

…How do I feel right now?

‘I feel like I’ve abandoned everything and run away.’

‘Even though two of my people are still there.’

Someone inside me muttered cynically. Even though I knew it wasn’t true, it was hard to argue against it.

So I just floated in my emotions.

Watching the cars that looked like toys, I felt small for the first time.

Then, suddenly, I turned around at the sound of the veranda glass door opening. 

Lilith, who had woken up at some point, was standing there.

I had already hidden my expression. I gave her a lazy smile.

“Did I wake you up, Lilith?”

“No.”

Lilith shook her head. Even when I told her to go back inside because it was cold, she came closer and stood right next to me.

“If we stay close, it’s not cold.”

“…Right.”

Her body heat was warm, and it made me feel a little better.

I lowered my head and gently leaned it on Lilith’s shoulder. She naturally patted my shoulder.

Lilith’s voice came from above my head.

“Well, I woke up because I dreamed about Gio. When I close my eyes, I see Gio and I can’t fall asleep. …Are you the same?”

I did have a different dream, but… 

It wasn’t entirely wrong, so I just lifted my face and answered with a smile.

“What if Gio and Akata get deleted? Thanks to you, we got here safely, but Gio and Akata don’t have you there.”

Lilith murmured wistfully, as if she might vanish into the night view.

And strangely enough, just wanting to reassure Lilith cleared the fog that had been enveloping me.

The gloom that had been consuming me faded, and strength returned to my legs.

I straightened my posture from leaning on Lilith and resolutely promised her, “I will definitely save both Gio and Akata. Even if they’re dead, I’ll bring them back to life.”

My thoughts went further than that. “There must still be data left of other characters who were deleted for various reasons. Maybe we can restore them too.”

Lilith’s eyes widened as she pondered my words. How much wider could they get? Watching her, I eventually spoke with a slightly embarrassed tone.

“Seems like I came all this way to become everyone’s hero.”

I slowly turned my head to look at the night view.

“But, you know, if we restore them like that, there’s a good chance they won’t be the same person as before. They might lose all their memories, things like that.”

It was better to warn her of the potential downsides in advance to prevent Lilith from being too hopeful and then disappointed. 

Lilith looked determined yet somber, like someone who had sent a loved one into surgery and was waiting for the doctor’s report.

“Even if Gio loses all his memories, it’s fine. As long as he’s alive, it’s fine. But, but, I hope he likes me again.”

I gave a bitter smile and patted Lilith this time. “Gio will surely like you again. That’s the kind of guy he is.”

Lilith clasped her hands together as if in prayer. Beside her, I also clasped my hands and prayed.

Returning to the room, we held hands and fell asleep.

Tomorrow, I’ll wake up and stretch under the morning sunlight and move busily. That’s who I am, that’s Rudel.

* * *

Well, what greeted me when I woke up in the morning wasn’t the warm sunlight I had expected, but a drizzly autumn rain. But mere weather couldn’t dampen my enthusiasm.

The first thing I did was prepare a lunchbox for Han Nayeon, who had to go to work, using the induction stove in the kitchen.

Han Nayeon was overjoyed. “A lunchbox made by my favorite character!”

She was so excited, taking photos and making a big fuss. I, worried, urged her repeatedly not to tell anyone that Rudel had made it.

“I usually oversleep and buy convenience store sandwiches! This looks much tastier!”

“Heat it up in the office break room.”

Han Nayeon left for work, readily leaving the four game characters at her home. She told us to text her on the spare phone she left if anything happened.

Thus began the stay of game characters at Han Nayeon’s house.

Coming out of the game and into reality, Kanel and Unahar, who had mid-high intelligence, gradually became aware of their contradictions. Just like how I had dreams related to my past life.

“…So that’s it. We don’t have parents.”

“We don’t have childhood memories or the environments we grew up in.”

“We lived without questioning, thinking it was normal to play the game.”

Although they didn’t particularly get along, they shared the same feelings at this moment and leaned on each other.

“We were created for the game.”

Still, the fact that they weren’t alone provided comfort to them.

Sitting in front of the computer with intense focus, ignoring our origins and such, probably helped the kids too.

Just to be sure, I checked, but as expected, no one else had memories of a past life or information about reality suddenly come to mind. 

Anyway, I made sure the three others were busy with various tasks to prevent them from being consumed by doubt. 

For example, thoroughly cleaning Han Nayeon’s house.

“Do we really have to clean ourselves?”

Having lived in a fortress where the administrator always cleaned up magically no matter how messy it got, rubber gloves and sponges were entirely unfamiliar to us.

The four of us were scrubbing the window frames when Unahar suddenly chuckled.

“I thought the people looking down on us must have a superior civilization, but surprisingly, it’s not that much…”

It didn’t take long for Kanel to become immersed in the internet. Unahar got hooked on TV dramas. Lilith, though still downcast thinking about Gio, followed along watching dramas with Unahar. 

But I had no time to enjoy leisure even in reality.

Kanel and Lilith lingered around me while I was stuck in front of the computer.

“Need any help?”

“Is there anything I can do?”

But when they saw the strange symbols I was typing, they both shook their heads.

“What is this?”

“It’s a game development tool.”

“Even if you say that, I don’t really get it… How do you know all this?”

“Well, I originally knew it.”

If there were faint traces of my past life left within me, including memories of death, that was my only weapon now. I had to revive it as much as possible.

Thus, I started to relearn coding by downloading sample videos from online coding classes.

‘Types of operators… how to divide with int and //, increment and arithmetic operators…’

I didn’t need to study.

I already knew how to use all computer languages.

‘Maybe, I…’

It became more certain. I was originally a programmer. Probably a game developer.

By tinkering with various things and recalling old memories, I felt I could create a console game within a few weeks, assuming I had a professional computer and tools.

Could I then catch up to the developers at Mijon?

A few weeks later.

I called everyone for an important announcement.

The kids sat on the floor, staring at my back as I typed on the keyboard.

Soon, the chair wheels spun, and I turned to the three of them.

“I’ve roughly set a goal.”

After weeks of waiting, I gave my comrades an order as their guild leader.

“We’re going to reveal it to Mijon officials and everyone else. That we’ve become aware that we are characters from a game.”