NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33
Meanwhile, Lilith kept smirking, so I tried to explain myself to her.
“Kanel said it was a joke.”
“But he said it’s true that he thinks you’re alright.”
“If you keep this up, I’ll bring up Gio.”
It was already a well-known fact within our guild, other guilds, and even among viewers outside the game that Gio was head over heels for Lilith.
It couldn’t be more public.
I wondered what Lilith thought about this.
“Since we’re on the topic, what do you think of Gio?”
Honestly, I expected Lilith to be flustered by this question or to fall into deep contemplation as if she were thinking about it for the first time.
But instead, her eyes grew serious.
“I like him.”
Huh…?
“Lilith, by ‘like,’ you don’t mean-.”
“I like him, next to you the most.”
It was a vague statement. But it was also the most honest and decisive thing Lilith could say.
“For me, there’s only Gio. He’s always in front of me.”
Lilith had been noticing Gio, who was constantly following her.
When I realized this, my mouth opened in surprise.
“Then… I’m sorry. For deliberately keeping you away from Gio last time.”
“Huh? I thought you wanted to hang out with me?”
“…You can think of it that way. But you’re not thinking of dating Gio yet, right?”
I asked cautiously.
“Dating? No. I don’t know much about that.”
Thank goodness.
For a moment, I had all sorts of thoughts. How would the viewers react if Lilith started dating Gio?
Would they welcome it since they were an official couple, or would they lose interest because the fun of Gio trailing after Lilith would disappear?
There’s always that phenomenon where the excitement decreases when an on-screen couple actually gets together, which worried me.
Then I suddenly realized how calculating my thoughts were, and I felt ashamed to look at Lilith.
Who was I to control Lilith’s feelings for Gio? Who was I to have such thoughts?
Even though they were game characters, they were so vivid and full of their own will.
I just felt another wave of guilt towards Lilith.
I decided it was time to go back and took Lilith’s hand.
Feeling guilty, I thought about repaying it with our guild’s achievements.
* * *
Guild fortresses are fundamentally created to reflect the preferences of their leaders.
In this sense, the fortress of Yudirei, who ranked 5th in the individual rankings of Round 1, was a skull castle where ravens seemed like they could take flight from its spires at any moment.
The place was entirely dark, with hallways lit by lanterns, windows draped with crimson curtains, and skull models rolling on the floor, creating a sinister atmosphere.
(In reality, despite its grim appearance, the floors and walls were polished and clean.)
The guild leader’s tendencies were also reflected in the meeting room.
In Rudel’s meeting room, who ranked 7th in the individual rankings, everyone sat around a round table without any distinction of seats, promoting equality.
In contrast, this place was designed to resemble a throne room where one would have an audience with a demon king.
Sitting on the throne decorated with horns and bones was a small girl with a pale face and delicate features, slouched in her seat.
The small master of the throne and the ominous atmosphere of the anteroom did not seem to match at first glance, but the girl’s nonchalant attitude made it appear natural.
Guild leader Yudirei was very disappointed with the content of Round 1.5. The armrest of the throne creaked under her grip.
“Round 1.5 prevents top players from killing lower-ranking players? And we can’t even attack players from other guilds?”
Round 1.5 was a phase to prepare for the combat round by recruiting subordinate characters, or subordinates.
Therefore, it was not surprising that an ‘attack disabled mode’ was applied between top players.
However, Yudirei stomped her feet and threw a tantrum as if something she had been given was taken away.
“Ugh, forget it. I’m not going out.”
“What?”
A few guild members in the same meeting room were astonished.
“You’re not going out?”
“Why bother if I can’t kill anyone? It’s boring. I’m not interested, get lost!”
“But Yudirei, we need to go to recruit subordinates!”
“Any one of you can go! Three need to go out? You, you, and you, go!”
Yudirei randomly pointed at three members with her small finger. Each of the chosen guild members jumped in surprise.
“The guild leader must go personally!”
The girl’s red eyes flashed with irritation.
“Oh, for—”
Yudirei swallowed a curse and glared at the guild member who had just spoken.
Her fierce glare, imbued with a murderous aura, made the guild member shrink back in fear.
“No, other guild leaders are probably showing off their unique abilities to impress the participants and get a flood of applications for subordinate players… right?”
The guild member trembled as he looked at Yudirei pitifully, hoping for mercy.
All the guild members here had almost been slaughtered by this small girl in the field of Round 1. Those who managed to survive by using potions were captured and became her subordinates. As soon as Round 1 ended, they had to sign up for Yudirei’s guild, feeling like they were being dragged to the slaughterhouse.
However, guild life wasn’t as hellish as they expected. The skull castle was gloomy but clean, and Yudirei didn’t pay much attention to her guild members. She preferred to stay locked up in her room, so the guild members were usually free. As long as they didn’t upset the guild leader, the guild ranking was sure to remain stable.
Yudirei glared at the guild member who had just spoken.
“Do I have to take care of even that?”
Since she couldn’t kill anyone, she planned to settle for cutting some bleeding meat.
She jumped down from her throne.
Despite her small frame, the sound of her landing reverberated ominously.
“Guild leader! Then, what criteria should we use to choose the subordinates?”
The guild member, forced to organize the subordinates, cautiously approached Yudirei.
Yudirei, exasperated, concluded her instructions for Round 1.5 in just two sentences.
“Other guilds are checking the status windows of strong candidates and recruiting them directly, right? Do the same.”
She glared coldly at the guild member who asked the question.
“If you bring back anyone inferior to other guilds, I’ll kill you.”
With that, she disappeared around the corner.
The guild member knelt, covering his mouth to stifle his tears. Like their guild leader, each of them was nearly a selfish lunatic, but in front of their higher-level crazy guild leader, they were powerless.
The other guild members patted the back of the one tasked with the guild leader’s job, developing an unprecedented sense of camaraderie.
Meanwhile, Yudirei sat alone in the dining hall, cutting a nearly raw steak with an axe. With her other hand, she opened her status window.
[Other Guild Information]
Guild Name: Ice Castle
Guild Leader: Aleon
As soon as she accessed the guild information, a photo of the guild leader appeared in the status window. An ice saint with blue hair, even bluer eyes, and an aura of serene elegance.
Guild Name: –
### Guild Leader: Rudel
With black hair and an oriental appearance, some might find unparalleled boldness and fiery passion within her character.
Yudirei looked at these two with longing every day.
These two were the only guild leaders she hadn’t met in Round 1.
“I can’t wait to cut them down. I’ll have to wait for the next round.”
The girl grinned as she stabbed her axe into the meat.
* * *
### Reality
[Round 1.5, the Head Hunting Battle has begun.]
[Survive in the jungle for the next two days.]
[Round 1.5 is a round where participants demonstrate their potential to join one of the 17 guilds.]
[Each of the 17 guilds can send out up to three guild members. Show your willingness to join a guild and become a survivor.]
[Participants who do not belong to any guild at the end of Round 1.5 will die immediately.]
If it is the role of top players and top characters to ensure their survival and create their own stories by gathering allies, there are also lower-tier players who, regardless of their personal growth, must become weapons for their guilds and devote themselves to raising the rankings of top players.
Round 1.5 was a survival game for those lower-tier characters.
To facilitate easy selection by top characters, each of the 500 lower-tier players in Round 1.5 was equipped with an individual camera.
### Participant 500’s Camera
If participants 1 to 261 were characters who died in Round 1, participant 500 was undoubtedly a character being revealed for the first time today.
Amid the lush green jungle, the screen was filled with the red, voluminous hair of a boy who had his head bowed.
His skin was so pale it seemed doubtful he wasn’t a wax doll, making his lush red hair appear even more striking.
The boy’s extraordinary presence began drawing viewers’ attention to the 500th camera.
Suddenly, the boy lifted his head, revealing his face directly to the game screen.
###
For a moment, there was no activity in the chat, and silence prevailed. It was as if time had stopped.
‘…I seriously suspect this company. What’s their deal? Are they people from the 22nd century?’
Finally, someone managed to move their fingers and type a message, and gradually, the other users began to regain their composure and start chatting again.