As Hayato approached the city gates, making his way toward the low-level hunting grounds, he spotted Chisa standing near the entrance, glancing around as if she were searching for someone. His stomach churned as she called out, “Yami! I’ve been looking for you!”

Hayato froze. Is she waiting for me? His first instinct was to avoid her, so he quickly turned his head and tried to walk past unnoticed. Sweat began to bead on his forehead as he worried she might have realized his intentions back at the ruins. But Chisa’s voice carried through the air, stopping him in his tracks.

“Yami! Wait up!”

Hayato’s heart sank. Did they figure out I was planning to PK her? Feigning calm, he tried to speed up, but Chisa hurried over, her eyes bright with excitement.

“Guess what? I noticed you’re not in a guild yet, and I was wondering if you’d like to join mine! I already spoke to the leader, and he’s fine with it!” she said, her voice practically bubbling with enthusiasm.

“What!?” Hayato blurted out, taken completely off guard. Before he could formulate a response, Chisa began rattling off a list of benefits, explaining the perks of joining their guild as if she were recruiting a brand-new player.

Suspicion crept into his mind. Why would she invite me? Is this some kind of trap? Still, Hayato realized that this could be a way to achieve what he’d been after—a guild, even if it seemed weak. I’ll use whatever methods or people I need to achieve my goals this time.

Cutting off Chisa mid-sentence, he muttered, “I’ll join.”

Her face lit up with a huge smile, and she eagerly accepted his decision. “Great! Come meet everyone at the base!” She pulled out a small bell and rang it once.

To Hayato’s surprise, a pair of large double doors materialized in front of them. “Each guild gets to choose the form of the item that summons their base entrance,” Chisa explained with pride. “We chose a bell! Now that you’re a member, you can use it too.”

Hayato stared at the doors, surprised. This wasn’t a feature in the game back when I played, he thought, quietly marveling at how much had changed since his last time in VWA.

Reluctantly, he followed Chisa through the doors. The interior of the guild base was nothing like the grand halls of the high-tier guilds he had known. In fact, it wasn’t even close to his old guild’s base, which had been spacious, organized, and elegant. This place felt like a forgotten relic—a small, cramped, and run-down house with the appearance of a traditional Japanese home from the medieval era. Tatami mats lay scattered across the floor, many of them ripped or worn out. Old, rickety tables and chairs filled the room, some so unstable that Hayato thought they might collapse at any moment.

Chisa, however, seemed completely oblivious to its run-down state, her smile as bright as ever. “This is our base! Great, right?” she beamed.

Kiba—the lancer who had saved them at the ruins—sat slouched in a chair, his feet propped up on a table. He was balancing precariously on the back legs of his chair, staring up at the ceiling, completely disinterested in everything around him.

As Hayato scanned the room, a female player standing by the wall gave him a polite smile, while others cast him jealous glances. From the back of the room, a player grumbled loudly, “Another low-level recruit? Great…”

Chisa, as oblivious as ever, cheerfully introduced Hayato to everyone and started talking about how he had "saved" her. Finally, the guild leader, who had been sitting quietly, looked up with a smirk.

“Oh yeah? If anyone needs help, just ask him. Apparently, he’s got a charitable soul and always shows up in the strangest places to help people. Never met anyone so generous,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

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Chisa, completely missing the sarcasm, began clapping for Hayato’s supposed kindness. Embarrassed, Hayato turned his gaze to the wall, trying to avoid the confused and skeptical looks from the other members.

Suddenly wanting to escape the awkward situation, Hayato asked if anyone was up for leveling up with him. The girl who had smiled earlier opened her mouth to volunteer,but before she could say anything, the group of jealous guys who had been glaring at Hayato earlier leaped at the chance. She hesitated when she noticed Chisa’s enthusiasm to join the group.

“I just remembered… I have a big exam tomorrow. I should probably study,” the girl quickly said, clearly trying to avoid the awkwardness of a group with Chisa.

Immediately, the two guys who had been eyeing Hayato eagerly began offering their excuses as well.

“I promised my grandma I’d take her to Muay Thai practice,” the first one said.

“I have really beautiful eyes,” the second murmured, as if that somehow justified his departure.

That doesn’t even make sense, Hayato thought, shaking his head in disbelief.

One by one, the members left the guild base, leaving Hayato alone with Chisa. Hayato was about to call it quits and head out to level solo when Chisa suddenly exclaimed, “I’ll come with you!”

Hayato blinked. Why would a level 22 player want to grind with a level 1? She won’t even benefit from this. But, seeing no harm in accepting, he nodded. If it helps me level up faster, I’ll take it.

They left the base together and headed toward a hunting ground that would be a decent middle ground for both of them—an area crawling with wolves that were around level 11 to 13. It would be a challenge for Hayato, but Chisa could take them down quickly with her magic.

On the way, Chisa babbled on excitedly about how much she loved the game—its world, its monsters, the various environments. She seemed completely lost in her admiration for the game, her eyes sparkling with joy as she spoke. Hayato, only half-listening, checked the guild list in the menu. Most of the active members were low-level, just as he had expected. There were a few max-level players, including Kiba, but most of the high-level members had been inactive for months.

“How long have you been playing?” Hayato asked, his curiosity piqued.

“Since the very first day!” Chisa replied, beaming with pride.

Hayato’s face fell. That’s not something to brag about, he thought, forcing a weak smile. “That’s… incredible.”

They finally reached their hunting ground, a rocky field teeming with wolves. The plan was simple: Hayato would lure the wolves with his rock-throwing skill, and Chisa would cast her AoE spells to wipe them out. Simple enough, Hayato thought.

Hayato began attracting wolves one by one, then two, three, four. This should be good enough for now, he thought, sprinting back toward Chisa as the wolves chased him.

But as he neared her, he noticed something odd—her eyes were closed as she finished casting her spell. Wait… Can she even aim like that?

A moment later, Hayato was standing back in the city, utterly confused. Did I just get killed by her spell?

A message popped up on his screen: “Sorry! My aim was off!”

Accidents happen, Hayato thought, sighing as he made his way back to the hunting grounds. But no matter how much effort he put into dodging her spells, it kept happening—one, two, three more times. Every time, Chisa’s eyes were closed right before casting, and every time, Hayato found himself standing back in the city, Chisa would send an apologetic message, but the cycle continued. nursing his frustration.

After several more failed attempts, Hayato found himself sitting in the city square, staring blankly at the ground. His eyes twitched, a hollow laugh bubbling up from his throat. “Hahahaha…” He could feel the madness creeping in.

I get it now. She knew everything from the start. This is her revenge for what I tried to do. She’s torturing me, slowly, cruelly. What a sadistic monster!

More apology messages from Chisa appeared on his screen, but Hayato ignored them, drowning in his delusional thoughts. His growing anger was interrupted when he heard Chisa’s voice.

“Yami! Today was so much fun!” she said brightly. For who?! Hayato thought bitterly. “You really helped me train! My aim isn’t the best, but you were a great practice partner!” Great… Wasn’t I the one who was supposed to be leveling?

Before Hayato could respond, Chisa continued, “Anyway, I have to log off now, but I hope this helps you get better gear!” She sent him a large sum of in-game currency, then logged off before he could even begin to express his anger.

Hayato looked at her as she logged off. “You—! Arghhh!” He quickly checked his inventory, expecting to see a paltry amount, but when he saw how much she had sent, he blinked in surprise.

“…Maybe she wasn’t doing it on purpose,” he muttered, the anger draining from him. “She’s just an idiot.”

With a tired sigh, Hayato logged off. I’m done for now.

End of Day 1: Level 1, 0% EXP, Money: Decent.