I Formed a Guild
"To cut straight to the chase: become my guild member."
"Just what kind of poison did you swallow this time to lose your mind...?"
"Nothing like that. I'm just planning to form a guild now."
It had already been two months since I began learning the sword from her. At first, I thought living quietly like this wouldn't be half bad. But then—ah. Out of nowhere, the goal I had originally set out to achieve resurfaced in my mind: establishing a system where I could kick back, eat, and lounge around in peace.
To be honest, there were several paths to that end, but I intended to establish a guild—just like Avalon. It was the most comfortable and familiar framework to me, which certainly influenced my choice. But the most critical problem was gathering members capable of standing against Avalon.
"Wait, stand against Avalon...? Have you lost your mind?"
"If you want to die, go die alone. Don't go around soliciting suicide from innocent people."
"Ugh... a lunatic roaming around in broad daylight."
I had reached out to a few promising talents, but without exception, their responses were colder than ice—downright cutting, in fact. Because of that, my plan shifted to forming an elite, small-scale guild with whatever capable hands I could find.
The bare minimum requirement to register a guild was two people. So long as there was a Guildmaster and a Vice Guildmaster, a guild existed on paper. Naturally, I turned to the person I was closest with: Yeong So-so. But...
"I shall join, on one condition."
She countered with terms of her own. From the glint in her eyes, it was obvious she had anticipated this all along. Meeting her gaze with the sharp eyes of a high-stakes gambler, I replied:
"I don't know what it is, but deal. Honestly, this choice feels like one of the most pivotal crossroads of my life. As long as it's within my power, I'll agree to anything."
"Hmph. Is that so?"
Her expression looked as though she was toying with the entire situation. Then, completely belying that playful smirk, she hurled a question that pierced straight to the bone.
"The secret you are hiding. Even if it is only a fraction, speak of it right this instant."
"......"
"I can see through falsehoods in a heartbeat, so for your own sake, you had best speak only the truth. This inquiry has nothing to do with our relationship as master and disciple."
She wasn't bluffing. That gaze of hers was dissecting everything—my pulse, my pupils, the cadence of my breath. A lie would be shredded the moment it left my lips. I looked back at her and asked:
"Do you really need to know?"
"Indeed. For an entire month, no matter how much I pondered it, I could not arrive at an answer. In my life, I have experienced countless martial arts, pursued supreme techniques, and slaughtered martial artists without number. Yet this curiosity eluded me completely. Or perhaps my premise was flawed from the very start. That is why I am granting you the chance to speak for yourself."
"Ah, of course, even if you refuse, we share the bond of master and disciple. I have no intention of severing our ties or silencing you to keep a secret, so you may answer at ease."
"However, should you claim you must sever our master-disciple bond merely to protect that secret..."
Yeong So-so lightly nudged the hilt at her waist, easing the blade an inch from its scabbard. It was a gesture whose meaning required no explanation. Besides, deceit would never work against her in the first place. Not that she wouldn't normally accept a brazen lie with a nonchalant 'Hmm, is that so?' and move on... but just as a child hates lying to their parents, I didn't want to deceive the woman who had helped me take my first steps in this world.
A heavy silence lingered between us. Finally, I made up my mind.
"Can you block out all sound with your qi?"
"Naturally."
With a flick of her slender fingers, a massive barrier unfurled, blanketing a ten-meter radius around us.
"Not a single whisper will leak beyond this perimeter."
"Alright. To put it simply..."
Dumping every excruciating detail would only confuse her anyway, so I chose an analogy familiar to martial artists: janggi, the game of chess.
I explained that this world was akin to a board where one commanded and nurtured the pieces. That in that other world, I was the player moving those pieces—and otherwise, just an ordinary young man. Having somehow managed to vanquish the final piece, the Demon King, I was about to pack away the board for good... when I was abruptly summoned into the very world inhabited by those pieces.
Damn. Even I have to admit, that was a flawless summary.
At first, Yeong So-so listened with a blank, detached expression. Her face clouded over when I mentioned a world inside a game board, and when I dropped the bomb that I had beaten the Demon King to death, she was thoroughly dumbfounded.
"Frankly, every word strains belief. To claim this world is nothing more than the inside of a game board..."
"Then don't believe it. The board is just an analogy anyway. If you want an easier comparison, think of it as a story in a martial arts novel. Wouldn't that make more sense?"
"Indeed, that is far easier to grasp. Still... to think that the master of Avalon, hailed even in the East as a gathering of legendary heroes, was none other than you..."
I quickly corrected her.
"Think about it. A piece on a board has its actions forcibly dictated by the player. If they were merely lifeless carved figurines, there wouldn't be any issue. But what if those pieces were living, breathing people? And what if those people happened to be absurdly, terrifyingly strong?"
Her playful innocence drained away, her features turning rigid. In the heavy quiet that followed, her voice dropped to a murmur.
"They would either kill you... or subject you to torture on par with death. It would almost certainly be one or the other."
"Bingo! See? This is why I love dealing with someone from Murim. You get me!"
Clap—! Clap—! Clap—!
I clapped my hands, congratulating her on the correct answer. Then, casting aside the flippant tone I usually put on in front of her, I slipped back into the voice of the 'me' from Earth. At the same time, I pulled a sheet of parchment from my inventory.
A Geas.
An absolute oath bound to the mana residing within a human soul. Should either party breach the terms or seek a loophole, their entire reserve of mana would evaporate instantly, resulting in immediate death.
"Now that you've heard my truth, you only have two choices left. Kill me and walk away from here in silence. Or bind yourself with this Geas and swear never to speak of this for the rest of your days."
"......"
"Call me heartless if you want, but that's just who I am. I was born unable to trust other people. That's how desperately I need you in this guild to have taken this risk..."
When I finished, Yeong So-so's expression was surprisingly light, almost refreshed. Wait, what's with that look?
"That is hardly a difficult choice."
Without a trace of hesitation, she pricked her finger and signed her name in blood upon the pre-drafted Geas. A brilliant radiance swirled around the two of us several times before settling into our skin. The Geas was bound. She let out a breath, her voice carrying an unburdened lightness.
"Since you shared one of your secrets, it is only fair that I share one of mine."
Energy began to manifest around her. It was not the azure qi she had displayed until now. It was darker than the midnight sky—a pitch-black aura bordering on the abyss itself.
Demonic qi...?!
Only then did a certain martial faction from the setting lore flash through my mind. A place where slaughter and death walked hand in hand, where even fratricide among siblings was commonplace. A nest of madmen willing to commit any atrocity in pursuit of supreme strength.
"One of the Young Cult Leaders of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. I, myself, am the Blood Sky Demon."
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. And standing right before me was one of its Young Cult Leaders.
In the game, there had been no mention, no event, and no character associated with her. I had naturally assumed she was content slated for some future DLC or an entity existing purely in background lore... Wait a second. Now that I think about it, what was the name of the sword technique she taught me...?
The Yang Demon Sword Technique. Demon... as in Ghost Demon?!
Holy shit. Is this some kind of sick comedy? Everything's coming to light all at once?!
I had thrown out the 'Pandora's box' analogy as a casual quip, but this really was Pandora's box. A box that could screw everyone over the moment curiosity pried it open. And right now, that very box had been thrown wide open by my own two hands.
"To me, 'life' was nothing more than acting precisely as the Cult Leader commanded. Coming down here to this land was half an act of rebellion."
"It was nauseating. Utterly wretched. A mechanical existence where I had to kill when told to kill, torture when told to torture, and assassinate when told to assassinate."
"I did not wish to speak of it. I was certain that if I revealed the truth, you would flee, despite the bond of master and disciple we had forged. That is why... that is why..."
"And so?"
"If word of my whereabouts reaches the Cult Leader... it means your guild could be wiped out entirely."
"......"
That was indeed a monumental complication. I had gone through all this trouble just to survive Avalon, and now my guild could be obliterated in a heartbeat by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult? Man, I wouldn't even be able to rest in peace if I died like that.
And yet... I still wanted her.
Would someone who won the lottery and poured hundreds of millions of won into a game have done so if they were in their right mind? I simply loved the game. Unlike test scores that never budged no matter how desperately I studied, the game rewarded specific actions. It allowed me to nurture characters and witness their stories unfold. Even if those stories were fabricated by design, their lives had been precious, irreplaceable sources of happiness to me.
So whether this place was a world inside a game or reality itself, it didn't matter. What I want, I take.
I reached out toward the hesitating girl. And once more, I extended the invitation.
"Join the guild. Young Cult Leader or whatever, let's just live freely for once. What does it matter whether it's the Heavenly Demon Cult or the Earthly Demon Cult? If even a single member of the Round Table shows up, they can snap that Cult Leader's neck in a single clash anyway."
"......"
"Worst comes to worst, I'll stake my own neck and beg Avalon to do it. I'll tell them to go chop off the head of that lunatic out East."
"For me...? For someone you have known for a mere two months...?"
Man, she's like a totally different person compared to when she was ripping a minotaur's head off. Frustrated by the dragging tension, I laid it bare.
"Are you joining or not? Just give me an answer. The suspense is killing me! If this were a comic or a web novel, readers would be flaming the comments right now for pacing this slow!"
"......Haaah. What did I do to get tangled up with a man like you? Fine. Whatever consequences may follow, I shall join your guild."
"You promised, alright? And for the record, the name of our guild is..."
The name from the past that I hadn't been able to use when I settled on Avalon.
"Elysium."
The moment the conviction that I had truly established a guild sank in—
The Nurture System has been unlocked!
Guild Name: Elysium
"......?"
Accompanied by a brand-new notification, the DLC had officially begun.