Toward Our Own Guild
Selphis, the principal of Arcana Academy, had just one goal: to make Arcana the unrivaled pinnacle of prestige. But rivals still abounded.
'Celia... Croa... Leona! If we take first place in this tournament, I can sweep them all away in one fell swoop! We might even claim the title of the nation's top academy.'
Selphis grinned ear to ear at the mere thought. It was only natural, then, that he'd take an interest in Zien, their contender. In fact, he was itching to coach the boy himself—he was a 6th-rank Saber, after all.
'If only I'd retired from active duty three years later, I could've trained him myself! Argh! What a shame.'
But with his bulging frame, that was out of the question.
"Of course, I don't doubt your skills for a second! Het het! So... how's the preparation going?"
"Yes, it's going well. Hmm, but..."
Zien's troubled expression made Selphis lean in with a startled look.
"Speak up! What's wrong?"
"Ah... it's nothing major. Just... the club room equipment is a bit..."
Unlike clubs with funding, Zien had only been given a bare-bones room. It was embarrassingly sparse as a result.
'This room's going to serve as our guild office someday.'
It couldn't stay so empty. Selphis cleared his throat with a thoughtful "Hm!" before beaming paternally.
"With a grand event like this on the horizon, what's a little club funding? I'll yank it from those underperforming clubs right away!"
"Thank you."
Zien bowed his head in gratitude.
'As expected of the principal.'
In this school, at least, Selphis was the law.
"Hoho, no need for thanks. But your performance in the event... het het! I can look forward to it, right?"
This favor stemmed entirely from Zien's achievements. Slip up even once, and Selphis could turn on a dime. Zien knew that all too well.
"Yes. You won't be disappointed."
G Channel studios.
With the launch of their massive Battle Survival broadcast looming, dark circles shadowed every employee's eyes. Overtime hell, day after day. In such chaos, G Channel had one unspoken rule:
Never open the door to a producer's office with a [Working!] sign—even if it's the director. No exceptions.
"It's heeeere!!"
Bang! Slam!
But that rule just shattered.
The shouter was assistant producer Caston. He waved a single sheet of paper at Brodo.
"He applied! Mage Tower! Orphan! Test!"
Mage Tower. Orphan. Test.
Cryptic keywords, hard to parse. But Brodo shot to his feet.
"Finally! I was sweating bullets thinking he wouldn't join! Ha ha ha!"
"Right?!"
Brodo and Caston hugged it out, jumping for joy.
"We had to snag him. Good work, Caston!"
"I was shaking—deadline was right around the corner."
Clap clap clap. High-five city. Scouting contestants was Producer 101. Brodo had finished his intel on Zien.
"Backstory. Character. Looks. All killer. And the mage tower incident on top!"
Zien checked every box in Brodo's holy trinity.
Backstory.
Orphanage roots and former dead-last status to hook viewers.
Character.
Zien's unreal swordsmanship. Especially a sword Magic Tool—always a crowd-pleaser.
"Heard the school gave him the moniker Sword God? Tell the design team to whip up a costume like this. Black to match the sword."
Brodo sketched furiously on the paper. In seconds, a Zone 3-style black martial robe took shape.
"Zone 3 vibe... but black feels kinda villainy?"
"Matches the sword. Send it to design as-is."
"Nice~ You're on another level with the details, boss."
Caston threw up double thumbs. Brodo waved it off modestly.
"Gonna rig it so he doesn't drop early. Start him near good item drops, surround with weaklings."
Caston grinned wickedly, finger-gunning Brodo.
Then he blew the "smoke" off his finger like a real pistol.
"You got it, boss. On it now."
Caston bounced out, hyped. Brodo grabbed the entry form. He had to check Zien's teammates.
'Pace first. If not, add a costume mask or... nah, masks might be too much right now?'
Brodo scanned the list slowly.
[Zien Russell]
[Chris Arun]
[Isabel Blitz]
"Hmm."
Chris Arun.
"Cute and small type... sure, it'll play, but not number one? ...Tch, why'd Arcana pick this kid?"
Brodo rated Zien's star potential sky-high.
'With teammates like this, early boot. And a boring exit kills the shine.'
Battle Survival was entertainment, but no cakewalk. Contestants were top Sabers from each school.
Especially teams from Celia Academy and a few others—star power and skills. Brodo flipped the page, thoroughly disappointed and stone-faced.
'Next... Isabel Blitz. Isabel Blitz? Blitz, Blitz?'
Brodo paled and yelled.
"No way! That Blitz?!"
Yubel, the reclusive mega-tycoon mage tower lord. Family name: Blitz.
Come to think of it, that redhead felt familiar.
'Right! From the exam!'
Gloves wielding fire at will.
Psionic Magic Tool, plus firepower.
'Moniker: Crimson Witch... yeah, character gold, easy costuming too.'
Witch? Pointy hat, obviously, Brodo mused.
'Face is celeb-level...'
Brodo crossed his arms, pondering. Talented orphan boy + chaebol heiress. His blood boiled with excitement.
"This slaps. This slaps!"
Skilled teen Sabers.
Handsome boy, beautiful girl—romance brewing.
Class divide as the obstacle.
'Scriptless drama. If Arcana's team blows up, sponsorships will explode.'
Brodo knew viewers' faves meant open wallets.
Zien. Isabel. Chris.
A weekday, but the trio sat in the club room instead of class.
Sunny spot with prime lighting. Thanks to the chairman and Selphis's support, the room was now furnished nicely.
"Club room went from rags to riches overnight?"
Overkill for their numbers, as Chris said. Massive table laden with premium tea bags and snacks. Giant screen, executive lounge sofa—the works.
Not even a results-backed club got this; it screamed Selphis's growing obsession.
"Now that Isabel's here, shall we kick off our first meeting?"
Zien had gathered these three for Battle Survival. A 500 million coin prize off-campus event. But just a stepping stone.
"Our reasons for winning Battle Survival boil down to three big ones."
Chris shot his hand up.
"The prize money?"
"That's part, but there's bigger. First: SP Points. They unlock way more perks than you'd think."
Isabel propped her chin, humming thoughtfully.
"Don't tell me... for Gates?"
"Exactly. Second year, we'll use our SP hoard to buy Gate priority. Pick the ones we want."
Zien knew Zone 1 through 4 history inside out. He'd leverage that by choosing Gates. One criterion: the toughest. Minimized rival casualties, maximized rewards.
"Rewards vary, but common knowledge—harder Gates drop better stuff."
Isabel narrowed her eyes at Zien.
"You talk like you can spot the tough ones."
A hint of suspicion.
Zien sidestepped smoothly with a sly grin.
"I took first in the written exam."
"...Fine, whatever. What's second?"
"Before that... our party's ultimate goal."
These three united for Battle Survival victory. But that wasn't Zien's endgame. Just necessary. Otherwise, no need to negotiate with Selphis for a club room.
"Our party's goal: become a guild. The school's first."
"Not a party—a guild?"
Zien began explaining slowly to the puzzled Chris. Party-to-guild evolution: his core strategy to grow fastest pre-graduation.
"Right, that guild. Listen, Chris—graduation's all about exams. Classes? Irrelevant if you ace those."
"True."
Chris nodded. The trio here proved it.
Skill earned Arcana's full perks.
"Second year, we skip classes for off-campus work. But that needs outing passes. If we earn more SP than we spend on passes?"
"Then...?"
"We take every job. Fair reward? Cleaning, escort, Gate clears—we do it all."
Party as request agency.
"Need more explanation?"
The sheer scale drew all eyes to Zien.