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

I doubted my eyes.

Amidst all this, he’s so handsome.

Oh, my heart is racing and it feels so good… is this real?

Weren’t you supposed to return after being detained for the first quarter?

???

Mijon, seriously, where do you get off claiming to have a meeting and then pulling a surprise like this?

Messages continued to flood the screen of the phone in my hand.

Shock slowly spread among the crowd as they discovered the identity of the hidden character.

…No one would fail to recognize him.

No one who saw him challenge the champion, transformed from a boy into a young man, during the last Champion Challenge.

The person who was no longer a boy scanned the crowd with indifferent eyes.

He looked as if he wouldn’t bother counting whether there were hundreds or more people watching him.

Then he opened his lips calmly.

[“It seems everyone knows me. But I am meeting all of you for the first time. I don’t even know your names.”]

Following Akata’s gaze, the auto-cam briefly showed the faces of Aleon and Shemarin.

They looked visibly shocked, whereas Akata seemed merely dazed.

As if he didn’t recognize the two of them at all.

[“The system explains that I am the loser of the previous round, but I don’t remember. All my memories have been erased. That’s why I’m standing here now.”]

Both inside and outside the game, only silence prevailed.

Akata’s voice vividly penetrated my ears, one word at a time.

[“Also, you should neither know nor be curious about the last round. I am just a new player recruited in the third quarter.”]

It was an expressionless face I had never seen before.

The broadcast, which had briefly fallen silent to give Akata the floor, soon moved on to the next procedure.

[“With the Hidden Player, Akata, now officially a regular player, his status screen will be revealed to you all just once.”]

Like an auction displaying Akata on a pedestal, his information was revealed to everyone.

Of course, this included the viewers.

In my daze, I made the ridiculous mistake of trying to open my own status screen here.

Of course, it was impossible, and Akata’s status screen soon appeared on the broadcast screen.

[Name] Akata

[Gender] Male / [Age] 21

* * *

[Health • Strength • Agility Average] A

* * *

[Ability Group] Soul

[Unique Ability] Incandescence

[Overall Grade] S

*[Output] S

*[Precision] A

.*[Resistance] S

“What? Wasn’t it Pure Nature?”

“Why did it change?”

“That’s the White Phoenix standard. I guess the White Phoenix is different from the Red Phoenix?”

“Last time: Flame-Phoenix. This time: Incandescence-White Phoenix?”

“Incandescence, by definition: Heating an object to emit a white light at a high temperature. Or that heat.”

“Hmm…”

“Just have him use the ability once, and then we’ll know.”

“Show us (clap) show us (clap).”

However, nothing was shown.

[“We will now select the guild for Player Akata.”]

This event was to determine the affiliation of the new player for the third quarter, but the decision ultimately lay with Akata.

Therefore, there was no need for Akata to flaunt his unique ability to appeal.

After a moment, only the guild leaders, representing their respective guilds, remained as per the system’s guidance.

Though any guild would covet an S-class new player, the guild leaders hesitated to propose an invitation.

[“The boy I knew…”]

[“How am I supposed to take this? It’s so sudden.”]

They were as stunned as the viewers, all wearing expressions as if they had been struck on the back of the head.

Only Akata remained composed. He looked around at the guild leaders with slow, deliberate movements.

Standing on the same ground and seeing them again, Akata was taller than most of the guild leaders. And he was beautiful.

He looked like a living statue.

Just as the guild leaders had confirmed Akata’s strength and agility in the recent ninth-round chase,

Akata seemed to have gauged their abilities while evading their grasp.

He might have already chosen the guild he wanted.

“Agasa!! Agasa!!”

“Your guild is Agasa! Get a grip!”

“Oh shit, I’m tearing up…”

“Agasa’s absence is really hitting hard.”

At this moment, the camera captured the Blue Saint.

[“You said you don’t remember me. But I remember you…”]

Aleon approached and gently grabbed Akata’s arm. Tears welled up in his blue eyes.

[“I am Aleon of the Ice Castle. Won’t you come to me? I’ll give you anything you want, risking my breath. I’ll ensure your comfort. Even the subordinates group that was your friend is with me…”]

Akata weakly shrugged off his hand. He didn’t seem to feel the need for a polite rejection. Without even looking properly, he turned away.

Akata’s steps soon stopped in front of someone.

Could it be that he had an eye on someone since the chase began?

[“…”]

Shemarin, who met Akata’s gaze, seemed to sense something and, unusually, showed a stiff expression.

Her light blue hair fluttered. It was the same length as Akata’s.

After a moment, Akata knelt on one knee in front of Shemarin and gently took her left hand.

[“Will you accept?”]

With his simple words, he placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

“Why Shemarin…?”

I wasn’t the only one taken aback. Chat messages began to flood my phone screen.

Shemarin herself was no different.

Despite her usual demeanor of welcoming handsome men into her harem, she was caught on camera with an unusually stiff face.

She quickly pulled her hand away, trembling slightly.

[“No.”]

Her direct rejection didn’t make Akata flinch.

His lifted eyelids showed a smooth, fleeting smile, and his now-serious gaze pierced her.

[“You won’t be able to refuse.”]

…It was true.

The final decision lay with the hidden player who had won the ninth round.

That powerful reward did not consider even the guild master’s refusal.

Soon, the image of Akata kneeling before Shemarin appeared on the screen.

It was a picture-perfect shot. The two characters looked incredibly well-matched.

I didn’t realize it was the ending screen until the two-hour broadcast time was up and the ninth round concluded.

“…”

Until then, none of the others said a word. They all stared at the blank screen in shock.

Akata’s new persona hit us with an almost violent impact.

I pressed the button to turn off my phone screen.

I couldn’t keep up with the chat. This was the moment I needed to think the hardest, but I was blank.

“Looks like the GMs are getting a taste for making money through emotional manipulation.”

At that moment, everyone, including Han Nayeon, turned to look at me.

Fortunately, everyone was too shocked to care about my aggressive tone.

“Did you see Aleon grieving over my supposed death in the guild special before? They made a fortune from that and got hooked. Yeah, it’s an unprecedented character. A memory-loss character.”

Suddenly, Lilith grabbed my hand. I looked at her, puzzled by the comforting gesture.

“Your hand is slippery.”

As Lilith said, my hand was drenched in cold sweat.

Unahar and Kanel also looked the most bewildered I had ever seen them.

They seemed as overwhelmed as when they first came into the real world. Han Nayeon just watched us silently.

In the game, I thought I just had to return before the first quarter ended because Gio and Akata’s detainment would only be lifted after that.

“But the GM broke the promise.”

Probably because the viewers pressured them.

I belatedly checked the announcement and saw that Akata would be released in the third quarter, while Gio would be released as originally scheduled in the fourth quarter.

Releasing even one of them early would make the fans happy, no matter what.

But for me…

“…It could be a different person with the same face and name.”

This was Unahar’s opinion, which earned him a glare from Kanel.

“What do you mean by that? Akata himself said he was the challenger in the last round.”

“So what? If he has no memories, he’s essentially a different person. A different person, I tell you!”

Unahar shouted, and the tense atmosphere quickly turned their conversation into an argument.

“So, Unahar, are you saying we should just leave the current Akata alone? Did Akata erase his memories on purpose? He sacrificed himself in the Champion Challenge for us. Just because his memories are gone doesn’t mean he’s unrelated to us!”

“That’s not what I’m saying!”

“Don’t make excuses! You’ve always disliked Akata.”

“My point is, how could Akata propose to another woman? That Akata is a different person!”

It looked like punches might be thrown at any moment. Unahar, in his excitement, was breaking down.

In contrast, Kanel, with a cold face, sarcastically taunted him.

“You’re speaking nonsense. Why don’t you just be honest? If Akata goes to another woman, isn’t that good for you? Do you think I don’t know why you challenged Akata to a PK last time?”

“What? Take that back. Or else—”

“Enough!!”

The two men, who had been huffing and puffing, shut their mouths at my shout.

Han Nayeon had already left the room when the voices got louder. Lilith was nervously stroking my hand.

I rubbed my forehead and, as the guild leader, decided to deal with the two men.

“Both of you, hold hands in front of me. Just like me and Lilith.”

“…! Rudel, anything but that!”

“No exceptions! If you don’t apologize to each other right now, I won’t let this slide. Kanel first, then Unahar.”

I trusted Kanel and Unahar, so I knew that if I made them do this, they would eventually reconcile sincerely.

After all, they shared the same room.

While they struggled with the task, I tried to think rationally as I looked at the trembling Lilith.

‘At least Gio hasn’t been released yet. We’ve avoided the worst chaos.’