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

“Lastly, Unahar, you’ll be the supporter, right? You’ll provide long-range damage with the bazooka and act as a scout… Keep watch from a tree a bit further away.”

“You mean to watch for other monsters? We haven’t confirmed whether the monsters live in groups or alone.”

“That’s right, but also to see if anyone else is approaching. If someone hides and waits for the monster’s health to drop, then swoops in for the final blow and runs off, the hunting points go to them.”

Hearing this, Unahar clicked his tongue.

“You’re really thorough.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“Yeah, let’s definitely aim for the ‘First Monster Slayer’ title.”

“It’s not just about that. Even if it’s not the first kill, it’s frustrating if someone else snipes the final blow after we’ve done all the work.”

* * *

On the 8th day of the first round, the field suddenly faced an intense winter.

The characters had been provided with basic thermal clothing and insulation, so none of them froze to death on the morning of the 8th day.

However, most of them couldn’t adapt to the chaotic situation and hid in their caves.

The snow-covered field became eerily quiet as the characters held their breath.

Beneath the heavy snow, the ground heaved as if a gigantic mole the size of a house was roaming around.

This movement wasn’t confined to one area but spread across the entire field.

And two male characters, rare wanderers in the field, observed this ominous change from behind a snow-laden tree.

‘Can I handle that with my C-rank unique ability?’

Just 30 minutes ago, they had witnessed a character being devoured alive by something that burst out of the ground.

The male character, Aichen, didn’t want to die.

Wouldn’t it be better to avoid these monsters for the remaining 4-5 days of the first round?

Instead of trying to gain an advantage for the second round and risking permanent elimination from the game, wouldn’t it be better to somehow survive and move on to the next round?

However, there was no certainty that they could avoid being noticed by the monsters forever.

The monsters were pushing through the forest like moles, knocking down trees and expanding their territory, leaving no place for the characters to hide.

‘It would be better if I could protect my life by bowing down to someone overwhelmingly strong… but such a person won’t appear easily.’

Holding the arm of his weaker friend, Aichen thought this.

At that moment, he saw two figures walking out from the opposite forest.

They were dressed in white thermal clothing, similar to their own.

One was very tall and muscular, with sturdy thighs, while the other was comparatively small in stature.

‘I can’t see their faces clearly, but the one on the left is definitely a man… the one on the right could be a slender man or a tall woman,’ Aichen speculated as the two figures stopped right in front of the trembling ground where the monster lay.

Despite approaching silently, they were now dangerously close to the monster, and Aichen thought they should quickly move to a safer place. Standing out in such an open area was careless.

However, the aura emanating from them was unusual, and Aichen soon realized they were there to hunt. The larger figure pulled back the hood and face covering of their thermal clothing, revealing a man with disheveled hair and a carefree expression. The man summoned a well-honed middle-sized sword from his inventory.

The other figure, still covering their face, applied oil to the blade. At first, a small flame flickered from their fingers like a match, but as the flame grew, Aichen’s eyes widened in realization.

‘A unique ability with fire… could this be the ‘First Unlocker of Unique Abilities’ I’ve heard about?’

At that moment, the man turned his head and locked eyes with Aichen, who was hidden behind the tree. The man’s sharp senses seemed to have detected him, sending chills down Aichen’s spine. The man whispered something into the ear of the smaller figure, likely discussing him.

“Should we tell the handsome guy to keep watch?”

“Leave it be. I’ll handle it,” the smaller figure responded, their voice too quiet for Aichen to hear.

The person with the covered face brought the flame closer to the man’s blade, causing it to burst into a fiery blaze. Given that the monsters were resistant to cold, the heat from the flames would likely be effective.

“Be careful.”

“It’s not hot at all,” the man replied innocently, ignoring the warning to avoid burning himself rather than the monster.

Without any further warning or preparatory movements, the man sprinted into the clearing. The ground, swollen where the monster lay, began to quake violently.

Despite the earth shaking, the man showed no signs of fear. He leaped like a predator and plunged the flaming sword into the center of the raised ground.

Kieeeek-!

A scream of agony erupted as the ground lifted. The man was carried upward but maintained his grip on the weapon and his balance.

Kiii-!

Fragments of the earth cascaded down, revealing the colossal monster as it emerged from below.

The monster was encased in a hard shell and resembled a grub with identical ends. One end had a mouth filled with teeth. There were no visible eyes, suggesting that vision was unnecessary for a creature that dwelled underground. 

The sword embedded in its back by the man didn’t seem to have caused significant damage. The monster howled and thrashed, trying to shake the man off. Yet, the man remained nonchalantly gazing down.

Aichen held his breath, and his friend beside him trembled in fear. Meanwhile, the other person in the field silently watched the monster through their mask.

Aichen realized what was happening from the calm reactions of the two.

‘Ah, the man on the monster was waiting for a signal from that person.’

Eventually, the masked individual gave a silent hand signal. The moment the man landed back on the ground, the monster’s eight legs, emerging from beneath its body, stamped on the ground where he had stood.

However, instead of the expected splatter of blood, the man was no longer there. He had dodged in time, rolling and rising nearby, with his sword in hand.

His movements were naturally agile. The man then ran in one direction, and the monster madly chased after him. Their speeds were almost equal. The man was fast, but so was the monster, especially considering its massive size.

The man made a wide circle around the clearing, sprinting through the snowy path the monster had trampled. Meanwhile, the person who had given him the signal swiftly entered the clearing.

Finally, they removed their hood and face covering, revealing a woman with long black hair and sharp, gleaming eyes.

“Gio, eleven o’clock!”

She pointed to the side while a fiery explosion erupted from her other hand, illuminating the area.

Aichen was captivated, unable to close his mouth, as it seemed like a volcano had erupted in the snow-covered world. The surroundings blazed, melting all the snow.

The woman appeared like a fire spirit.

“What’s eleven o’clock?”

The man, who had stopped, asked quizzically, ruining the picturesque scene.

“It’s on a clock, eleven o’clock!”

“I can’t read a clock.”

“……I’ll explain later.”

The woman spoke, barely managing to contain her bubbling anger. Despite the fierce cold, the woman blessed by the fire showed no sign of even a rosy cheek. Her skin was as impassive and pure as snow, with the red glow of the fire sensually shimmering.

‘So this is the power of Pure Nature.’

Aichen felt a sense of awe rise within him, along with a quiet sense of defeat beneath it. The monster charged straight at the woman. She remained still for a long moment, not avoiding the charge, as if she was offering herself to the monster’s maw. Then, a vivid red flame suddenly filled the entire field of vision. The monster, sensitive to fire despite its resilience to the cold, thrashed more violently than before. As soon as the woman thrust the flames into the monster’s gaping mouth, she was thrown back by the recoil.

“Oops.”

Despite having landed a critical hit on the monster, she stumbled and fell, her basic stats apparently lacking. Even in such a state, she suddenly raised her hand. It was a signal.

Boom!

Aichen was startled by the sudden sound of gunfire. A dark shell struck the mouth of the monster that had been thrashing and wailing from the fire. 

‘They even have more team members…?’

He looked towards the direction from which the shell had come, but it was obscured by the forest. However, another shell soon flew from a different direction and hit the monster accurately. The location from which the shells were fired kept changing.

‘Either there are at least three people providing support, or one person is quickly changing positions and firing.’

Before the monster could charge at the source of the shells, the man who had briefly stepped aside with his sword drew its attention. In that brief moment, the woman gathered herself and prepared another flame. Aichen drew his conclusion about them.

‘It’s an organized effort. They are hunters. Even though the monster appeared only this morning, they act seamlessly and naturally, as if they had planned this all along.’

For some reason, Aichen felt an overwhelming emotion he couldn’t describe. Perhaps it was because, up until now, he had only seen characters helplessly devoured by monsters, but now he was witnessing people seriously hunting them. He suddenly remembered a thought he had when he was terrified of the monsters.

‘I had wanted to survive by serving under a strong leader……’