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

I wonder what the viewers are thinking right now. They must be ecstatic.

‘Wow, what the hell is this?’  

‘This is insane, Rudelㅠㅠ’  

‘Rudel’s been planning this all along…’  

‘Look at that pig’s face, lol.’  

‘She just made everyone else’s day.’  

‘lol’  

‘Where are the ones who bet on Rudel dying now? Must be regretting it so much, lol.’  

‘This is crazy, Rudel crawled up from the bottom and now she’s at the top.’  

‘↑ Someone’s really into it…’  

‘This is epic, did you see the graphics when the fire came up?’  

‘The graphics are so awesome, I felt like I was burning too.’

But I didn’t succeed perfectly. The moment I used my ability, Ispan ran away.

Originally, I intended to unlock my unique ability and kill just Ispan to see how much those kill points would be worth later.

But I guess I got too injured beforehand. My eyes wouldn’t open properly, my stomach churned, and I could only take shallow breaths.

Handling my unique ability was tough too. The fire, which should have moved according to my will, just circled around me, emitting heat.

‘I should’ve ended it here to keep the viewers satisfied and to avoid future troubles…’

I felt like I was about to lose consciousness. I managed to sit up, but what if I collapsed again?

However, since the broadcast announcing the first unique ability unlock had gone out, characters would flock here out of curiosity. I had to pull myself together before they arrived.

‘Or maybe it’s already a spectacle?’

Come to think of it, there were about ten of Ispan’s lackeys around earlier.

When I barely managed to open my eyes, I saw that there was no one in sight. Thankfully, it seemed they had all run away like Ispan.

They must have seen Ispan fleeing in fear of me, so they wouldn’t follow him anymore. Just run away.

But then, I noticed one man who hadn’t fled. It was the character who had beaten me to death on Ispan’s orders earlier.

He was trembling but cautiously creeping towards me.

Every time the flames around me crackled, he flinched but didn’t stop coming closer.

Soon, he placed a red health potion in front of me and then bolted away.

‘Is this an offering to the strong or just a handout to a pitiful person…’

Either way, there was no reason to refuse something given for free, so I forced my uncooperative arm to reach out and gulp down the red potion.

‘Phew, I can live now.’

One health potion wasn’t enough for full recovery, but at least I could move my limbs again.

I cracked my limbs with a stretch and immediately started walking to avoid other characters. Being the first to unlock a unique ability while looking like a complete wreck might make me seem either resilient or just a beat-up weakling.

‘Hmm, considering my frail body, probably the latter.’

Maybe that’s why it wasn’t long before I ran into trouble.

“So, you’re the one who managed to unlock a unique ability?”

A tall character blocked my path. I wasn’t using my unique ability right now, and no other character could peek at my status window, so my appearance must have spread around in no time.

Lying didn’t seem to suit me, so I silently nodded.

“How did you do it? Can’t you tell me? I’m not asking for it for free; I’ll give you this instead.”

The person offered some appetizing food and two red health potions. It seemed my pitiful state was still attracting charity…

“I’m not interested. Move aside.”

I thought I had declined politely enough, but the character’s face turned red with anger, feeling insulted.

“So, you plan to hog the unique ability for yourself? Aren’t we supposed to help each other out?”

“Is that what you call helping? You just want to take it for free. Find someone else.”

“Oh, so you know how to unlock a unique ability but you’re hiding it out of selfishness.”

The forest around us grew noisier as more characters seemed to eavesdrop on our conversation. In the faceless crowd, I was being cast as the selfish one. I could only scoff.

What an absurd accusation.

If any of these characters had been the sole unlocker of a unique ability, would they have announced, ‘I need to share this with everyone!’? They would have hidden it immediately.

They were just angry because they weren’t the ones benefiting from the unique ability.

…I wanted to say that, but the viewers could probably catch this contradiction quickly enough, so I decided to respond more elegantly.

“I happened to unlock it by chance. I can’t explain the exact conditions to unlock a unique ability.”

This was also a statement for the game and the viewers. Though I, as a possessor, knew the conditions beforehand, officially, I was pretending it was a fortunate coincidence.

“I worked hard to get my reward. You should dig your own well, too.”

I spoke softly and turned away. Hopefully, they understood. Life is something you live on your own.

“Arghhh!”

It seems someone had trouble controlling their anger.

Showing off my power in front of everyone might not be a bad idea.

I waved my hand at the character who lunged at me from behind, scattering flames in a threatening manner.

The character, whose eyebrows were nearly singed, fell back on their butt and scrambled away in a panic.

I extinguished the flames at my fingertips and silently glared at everyone present, issuing a wordless warning.

I’m not sure how intimidating my glare is, but I should practice looking more charismatic tonight.

No one stopped me as I left the area.

* * *

If I were even half as strong as Ispan, no one would have dared to meet my eyes the moment I gained a unique ability.

It seems I’m still too easy to underestimate.

‘I need to recover my body first to avoid being looked down upon any further.’

Though I lost all the items in my inventory, I had the foresight to leave half of them with Lilith.

As I approached the cave where Lilith was staying, a sense of unease crept up on me.

My character’s weak stats also meant dull senses.

This meant that even if I couldn’t see or hear anyone, a few might still be stealthily following me.

Not to mention the presence of invisibility potions couldn’t be ignored.

‘…I hope nothing has happened to Lilith.’

Despite my aching and stiff body, I quickened my pace.

It was possible that Ispan’s subordinates had attacked or that others aiming for my unique ability had taken Lilith hostage.

Lilith also had many items.

‘If needed, I’d have to beg them to spare her, even if it meant giving up everything. But what if she stubbornly refused to give up my stuff and got hurt?’

Lilith is like that. She’s like a delicate flower with a fragile stem that still tries to reach for the sunlight.

Before I knew it, I had reached our hiding spot.

It was oddly quiet. Just before I rushed into the cave, I sensed something and quickly pulled back.

Bang!

A bullet aimed at me.

Instantly, flames emerged from behind me and swallowed the incoming bullet.

I then directed my ability towards the source of the shot. With the surging flames came a fleeting cry of agony.

The person who shot at me couldn’t even scream properly before dying instantly. Their suffering must have been very brief.

This was my first kill. And I hoped it would be the last.

“Disappear.”

I looked around, warning the others who must have followed me.

I hadn’t rushed here like an idiot. I knew someone would be trailing me, so I let them.

Since I failed to kill Ispan, I had to kill another character to check the kill points.

‘The viewers will understand that I had no choice but to kill the guy who was not only tailing me but also shot at me.’

After making an example of the man I just killed, the others scattered.

I quickly entered the cave.

“Lilith!”

As expected, a large man was standing in front of Lilith, who was being lifted by her collar.

I couldn’t risk using flames inside the cave and turning it into an oven, so I aimed the gun I took from the man I killed.

“Let her go!”

The man, startled, immediately released Lilith. Though he raised his arms in surrender, I had no intention of letting him go.

“No, Rudel, don’t shoot!”

If Lilith hadn’t tried to calm me down while coughing, the man wouldn’t have had the chance to escape the cave.

“Lilith, what are you going to do with such a soft heart?”

I scolded her since she didn’t seem to regret letting the man escape.

Lilith gave me a sheepish smile.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t help it. It’s just my nature.”

“Well, there’s nothing to apologize for…”

If Lilith’s innocence and kindness were ever tainted, the viewers would be very disappointed.

So it seemed best for Lilith to remain as a healing character under my protection.

Then Lilith noticed my battered state and screamed.

“What happened to you!”

Her nagging sounded just like a worried mother.

I awkwardly averted my gaze.

“It’s a badge of honor. Don’t look at it like that.”

I boasted playfully on purpose.

Being tough outside and showing off in front of Lilith would make the viewers find me endearing.