D-Rank Guild Leader of the #1 Guild - Episode 2
The character before me had stats far superior to mine.
[Name] Nahean [Level] 1
[Gender] Male / [Age] 16
[Intelligence] Mid / [Killing Intent] Low
* * *
[Constitution] 540 / C
[Strength] 1001 / B
[Agility] 450 / C
Nahean rummaged through the pockets persistently, but no items came from the dead character. Seeing that his clothes were only basic garments, it seemed he hadn’t found a supply crate yet.
But this kid was no different. Except for me, most of them had probably just woken up and were still out of it.
Flash.
Disappointed by the lack of items, Nahean turned to me with sharp, gleaming eyes. He seemed to have already lost his rationality after the murder he had just committed. He must have read the game guide window that pops up at the start, so he would know that killing another participant grants experience points and rewards.
*‘In other words, if it’s for survival, he could kill me at any time.’*
They had only been given the essential identity for the fun of the play, but at their core, they were programmed to engage desperately in the game. Programmed so that they wouldn’t even agonize over things like the reason they had joined the game or the meaning of their existence.
So if Nahean set his mind to doing something bad, I would have no choice but to be helplessly done in.
“…….”
Then, the stat written on the status window—‘Killing Intent’—caught my eye. I was sure I had seen an explanation for this in the homepage manual. What did it say? Did it say ‘the will to willingly kill an opponent’……?
So if that was Low, did that mean the likelihood of him wanting to kill an opponent of his own accord wasn’t very high?
To check this in detail, I cautiously spoke to Nahean.
“Did you kill him?”
The circumstances were already obvious, but for confirmation, I gestured with my eyes toward where the corpse had disappeared and asked. At that, Nahean’s eyebrows twitched.
“Can’t you tell by looking?”
A brusque tone.
Was this the normal reaction when probing a character with Low Killing Intent? It probably wasn’t because he enjoyed killing. Or was he annoyed because I had asked such an obvious question?
Nahean stared holes into me with eyes that said, *You’re next.* He seemed to covet the leather clothes I was wearing. But he didn’t immediately attack to steal them. Seeing how he was willing to converse, he seemed like the type to cautiously size up his opponent.
Then if I persuaded him well with words, perhaps I could survive.
Having organized my thoughts, I opened my mouth again.
“Look, see. I have no intention of attacking you first.”
“You wouldn’t. Because you look weak.”
“So…….”
Despite Nahean’s belittling words, I didn’t waver. Maintaining a steadfast attitude of trying to persuade him, I unfastened the bag from my waist.
Nahean’s eyes narrowed.
“I’ll give you this instead.”
I dropped it and held it out toward him, bag and all. It was at a distance that wouldn’t reach Nahean.
Nahean looked confused.
“You’re just going to give me that?”
“It’s not much as payment for asking you not to kill me. But this is everything I have.”
“Are you stupid? Do you think I’d promise not to kill you in exchange for that? If I kill you, my points go up. Why would I? If I kill you and snatch the bag, it’s simple. Why would I take such a loss?”
I met his gaze calmly.
Nahean’s words were practical. There was no reason for Nahean to spare me.
Even so, the reason I was attempting this was that I was gambling on my deduction regarding the Killing Intent stat. Because I thought that, being a game praised as outstanding, the characters would have been made like ordinary people.
And, to use this opportunity to carve my image into the viewers’ minds.
Even if this persuasion seemed like it wouldn’t work, I had so much to gain from it.
“First of all, you’re the first person I’ve met.”
“So?”
“I don’t want to blindly antagonize people as ordered. That’s why I’m asking you. Can’t we end this peacefully?”
Next, I delivered a line that was purely for show.
“Because we’re human, after all.”
Of course, I knew well that they were part of the game and, at best, nothing more than computer data values. But if they indeed possessed intelligence and emotions comparable to humans, wasn’t their situation not so different from mine right now?
Moreover, to win the viewers’ sympathy, I thought I needed to continue treating them as equals going forward.
Nahean slowly stood up. I didn’t flinch and looked at him impassively.
*Should I prepare to run if he comes a little closer? Though I don’t know if fleeing would be possible…….*
“I don’t believe you. But hand that over first.”
I obediently threw the bag in my hand.
Nahean snatched it with one hand and, without taking his eyes off me, opened the bag. Inside were a knife, uneaten bread, and water. He would be able to see that there were no pockets on my leather clothes.
Even knowing he wasn’t guaranteeing my safety, he would soon realize I had handed over everything I owned excluding my clothes.
Nahean took out the pocket knife inside and tested the blade. The well-sharpened edge glinted. As he spun the knife once, sharp light reflected across his face and mine.
I was tense, but I absolutely didn’t show any sign of fear.
“You had a knife; why didn’t you try to kill me?”
Nahean asked in a low voice.
“I don’t have what it takes to kill anyone.”
I spoke in a deliberately light tone and gave a slight smile. Combined with the line, my smile would look quite charming.
With that smile just now, the viewers would have locked in my character concept.
Nahean, who had raised the knife up to his chest…….
……folded the blade and tucked it into his clothes.
“Go. Far away.”
He whispered lowly.
“I’m not nice like you. For my survival, I’ll do anything. If you stay with me, I might kill you if I’m short on points.”
Only then did I retreat slowly by a couple of steps.
Now it was okay to show a little fear of Nahean. If I didn’t show any sign of being scared, both Nahean and the viewers would find it strange.
To win the viewers’ sympathy, I would become as human a character as possible.
I turned my back and ran in the opposite direction.
Nahean didn’t chase me until I disappeared from sight.
* * *
I had succeeded in not dying to Nahean.
Are you watching, viewers? I’ve survived again.
But this probably won’t count toward experience points right away.
From what I’d heard, experience points were calculated by combining various play elements—such as accumulating achievements or kill counts—along with popularity vote scores.
And this was only tallied at the moment rankings were compiled every night.
At that time, experience points were calculated according to the assigned score, and levels rose all at once.
*‘That means all characters are currently at the same Level 1.’*
Right now was the only time when strength and weakness were determined solely by the given base stats.
I looked at my status window again. My Constitution, Strength, and Agility were still pathetic.
Still, I wouldn’t give up.
Because the world loves the hardworking type more than the talented type.
Because people would rather cheer for someone who crawled up desperately from the bottom to finally stand at the top than someone who had been strong from the start.
For the first time, I was satisfied that the character I had entered was Rudel.
Because if you’re at the very bottom, that means you can climb that much higher.
With my resolve reignited, I left Nahean behind and began to scour the forest I had encountered. Whether luck was on my side or not, fortunately, I found another supply crate inside.
It was an Invisibility Potion. I was lucky.
It was then that I tried to widen my search range. Before I had walked far, a wide clearing appeared before my eyes.
The moment I gazed beyond where the dense trees disappeared, I had to retract the thought that I was satisfied being Rudel.
It was overflowing with ‘stat golden spoon’ characters that Nahean couldn’t even compare to.
*‘Right, characters with cheat-level stats from the start were bound to end up on top naturally.’*
When people gather, a leader is born. And so are those in power.
The one I was currently staring at appeared to be the head of that group.
* * *
It was fortunate that the supply crate I had found earlier contained an Invisibility Potion.
To observe the new group, I drank the potion and headed toward the clearing.
As I came further forward, the leader of the group became even clearer to see.
Even a mindless tyrant with an empty-looking head was handsome. His bulging muscles seemed to indicate his superior stats.
He was looking down at people from atop a large rock as if it were a throne, and his posture and form gave off a slight impression of a gangster.
Still, he was quite handsome, so viewers with particular tastes would probably pick him as their top choice.
“Hey you, I’ll spare you. Try running away.”
No, thanks to his actions, viewers would either love him or hate him.
The man spoke as if bestowing mercy upon the small, frail young man kneeling beneath him.
But not long after, the man shot the youth he had just let go in the back with a handgun.
Bang-!
Birds fluttered into the air at the gunshot. The man burst into a stupid-looking laugh.
The underlings bending at the waist around him looked accustomed to this situation.
*With that size and those muscles, and he even has a gun—this is too much.*
Gunshots definitely draw aggro. But this man probably didn’t care whether people came hearing the gunshots or not.
Rather, it seemed he was deliberately firing his gun hoping other victims would roll in.
I had to get a little closer to open his status window.
Wishing the Invisibility Potion would last as long as possible, I crept closer while invisible.