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

Our delight at seeing our comrade Gio again was tempered by the sight of his nudity, which was more than I cared to see. Lilith, however, was undeterred by such concerns and busied herself trying to remove the glass barrier separating her from Gio.

“How do we open this?” she asked, tears streaming down her face as she turned to Taggiros for help. However, he was feigning ignorance, pretending not to notice her distress.

“Taggiros, don’t you know how to get him out? Didn’t Akata also get himself out?”

Taggiros remained unresponsive, as if he hadn’t heard my question. Akata, however, answered in his stead.

“I was never inside a glass tube to begin with. Taggiros, or Gis, smuggled me out.”

“I see, then maybe we should try hacking…”

I was about to turn around to attempt a hack when I noticed Gis still fixated solely on Akata.

‘This looks familiar.’

Avoiding eye contact and refusing to engage with anyone except a specific person reminded me of how Akata used to behave.

‘Why did they have to resemble each other so much?’

Shaking off my thoughts, I focused on the priority of freeing Gio. The glass tube containing him had no visible mechanisms, making it clear that the system would need to be hacked to open it. After manipulating my status window and trying various commands, I finally found a successful one.

Ziiing.

The glass lowered, indicating success. Now we could physically reach the naked beast, though I had no desire to do so myself. I marveled at Lilith’s lack of hesitation as she caressed and hugged Gio, regardless of his state.

“Oh, my poor eyes…”

I turned away, grimacing, and noticed Shemarin and Zaet looking puzzled.

What’s their deal now?

“Hmm—”

Shemarin seemed overly interested in Gio’s body, craning her neck to get a better view. Meanwhile, Zaet stood firmly in front of her, blocking her view.

“…”

I decided to leave them to their own devices, whether it involved admiring Gio or something else. 

Now, how do we wake Gio?

Despite being so close to his beloved Lilith, Gio showed no signs of waking.

“Is there any way to wake him up?”

“Try hitting him. Or splash some cold water.”

“Is there another way?”

Ignoring my less-than-helpful advice, Lilith turned to Taggiros again. He whispered something into Akata’s ear, who then relayed the message.

“He says that Gio needs an adaptation period. If left at room temperature without any major shocks for about three days, he will regain consciousness on his own.”

“How does Taggiros know that?”

“He said he was the player used in the initial testing of the glass tubes…”

“I see. Anyway, let’s keep Gio at room temperature for now. When he wakes up, we’ll throw a grand feast to celebrate. Let’s move on.”

There were more important tasks in the factory. For that, we needed to split up again. Specifically, we had to send the ‘characters’ who were still unaware of this world’s secrets away.

“Zaet, can you carry Gio?”

His expression clearly conveyed his reluctance, as if questioning why he should expend his energy on someone he had no connection with.

“If you don’t carry him, Shemarin will have to. Lilith doesn’t have the strength. Are you okay with that?”

After a silent standoff, Zaet finally conceded.

This space, which Taggiros used for eating and sleeping, had only one large black cloak typically worn by a Champion Challenger. We wrapped Gio in the cloak and hoisted him onto Zaet’s back, with Lilith clinging tightly to his hand.

“Shemarin, take Zaet and Lilith back to the refuge.”

“What, me too?”

“If it’s just Zaet and Lilith, they won’t say a word to each other out of awkwardness. Besides, can you trust those two to find their way? What if something happens?”

“Alright—”

It was a flimsy excuse, but fortunately, Shemarin accepted it. This naturally left just me, Akata, and Taggiros in this place.

…Or so I thought. Shemarin, with her perceptive nature, wasn’t leaving. She lingered, her eyes prodding my profile.

“Hmm—, should I take Taggiros along too?”

Of course, someone as sharp as Shemarin wouldn’t fall for my ploy. She was smiling slyly, as if she saw through my intentions and was humoring me.

She misunderstood, thinking I wanted to be alone with Akata.

Though a bit exasperated, I didn’t care what Shemarin misunderstood as there were no viewers to worry about.

“Just go already.”

Despite my dismissive gesture, Shemarin remained, smiling and waiting for me to speak.

“Say what you need to say.”

“I really enjoyed playing the role of Akata’s lover.”

I expected her to make some crude comment, but she surprised me with something unexpected, hitting me like a blow to the back of my head.

The most sensual and strong woman I knew had a sincere smile just for me.

“It was never a waste to do anything for Akata. He’s the person I know who is most captivated by you.”

“…”

“He’s as steadfast as an old tree. He’s not as gentle as you think, quite the opposite. But he suits you perfectly.”

“I can’t tell if that was a compliment or an insult.”

Apparently, Akata never showed any warmth toward Shemarin in private. But Shemarin, with her keen intuition and ability to see through people, had sensed something deeper.

“It might be fake for me, but I felt that for Rudel, everything he does is genuine. So—”

“Enough. Just go!”

I pushed her out of the door and, just before she left, I grabbed her collar tightly. After hesitating, I finally spoke.

“The things you think you know about Akata—I know them better. I don’t need to hear it in someone else’s words.”

Shemarin looked stunned.

“You just made my heart flutter.”

…That was unexpectedly sincere. I think Zaet is watching from behind.

After finally sending Shemarin off, Akata suddenly slumped to the ground with his large frame.

“What’s wrong with you now?”

“My heart is beating too fast.”

“For heaven’s sake, don’t you start spouting nonsense too.”

Though a bit chaotic, the necessary people remained. Leaving the still-flustered Akata behind, I approached Taggiros directly.

“I need your help.”

I aimed to revive the characters who had been eliminated, essentially those in a state of death. But I wasn’t sure if this task could be accomplished within the game or if it required confronting the company in reality.

That’s why I sent everyone away except Akata. (I knew Lilith would follow Gio regardless, so I let her go.)

Even though I had revealed the truth of our existence to Shemarin and Zaet, I couldn’t disclose that they might be able to leave the game.

Of course, I felt guilty about being the only one who knew the truth. Absolutely.

‘I know. It’s ridiculous to call it a revolution when I’m hiding most of the facts from those beyond my comrades.’

But as someone who knew, I believed I had to consider the impact of revealing all truths to the characters.

With these thoughts, I turned back to Taggiros and asked another question.

“You said earlier that you were a player used in the initial testing of the glass tubes. Do you know where and how characters are created or where the dead ones go?”

“…….”

Again, Taggiros did not respond. I was considering bringing Akata back to get answers when Taggiros’s gaze suddenly shifted to a specific spot.

Naturally, both Akata and I followed his gaze. Akata started striding toward the spot as if to confirm what was there.

“Rudel, come here.”

Akata called out from the area he had walked to. The room he had entered was filled with 14 monitors lining the walls, reminiscent of a spaceship’s control room.

Even though the administrators had disappeared and the factory was an empty building, the monitors emitted a bright light. They continued to display an endless stream of text, automatically scrolling down.

My keen eyes quickly deciphered the meaning of the characters on the screen.

‘I’m glad I sent Shemarin back.’

I quietly uttered the words, “This is the heart of the system.”

At the same time, the weight of my own words left me momentarily paralyzed. My hands, which should have been reaching for the keyboard, hung limply by my sides.

This is it.

I had reached the end of the game.

Standing before the myriad of monitors, I felt frozen. It wasn’t the endless stream of computer language that overwhelmed me; it was the reality of the world surrounding me, the fact that I had reached the ‘reality’ I had been striving for.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was large and firm, a hand I could visualize even with my eyes closed, covering my shoulder entirely.

Turning, I saw a man with red hair, smiling gently as he always did.

“Rudel, I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy as I am right now.”

“…Why?”

“Because I’ve met you again. And because I’m here with you at the moment you’ve finally achieved your desire.”

Our eyes locked, and our breaths synchronized, chests rising and falling alternately. Akata’s lips quivered slightly.

I instinctively thought he might kiss me.

‘…I really know how to ruin the mood.’

Recalling the monumental task still ahead, I gently pressed my fingertips against his lips, stopping him.

Akata understood and smiled back at me. It was a playful, somewhat embarrassed, yet perfectly radiant smile.