The D-Rank Guild Leader of the Rank 1 Guild, Episode 10
“Why am I going through all this trouble! I could just burn you and be done with it! Jio, I’m going easy on you!”
I ran with all my might, but Jio was the so-called “monster Tarzan,” so I was caught in no time. A scream escaped me. As that giant man’s weight crashed down on top of me, I couldn’t breathe. Jio effortlessly captured a C-Rank character who wasn’t even using his unique ability, snarling with rage as he dragged me along. Toward the campfire he had been tending earlier.
“What are you going to do to me? Burn me? Or take me somewhere and beat me up? Surely you’re not going to eat me too?”
Did he have to go this far just because I snatched some meat for a moment? This was a reaction one step above being thrown out of the forest—he was way more pissed. I gave the meat back!
Wait, the fact that he’s going “this far”……?
I noticed some hint in Jio’s reaction and, with a nothing-to-lose mindset, called up my inventory.
“Here, eat this!”
And from within it, I pulled out a neatly packaged cake and tossed it to him.
“…….”
No response came. But the crushing grip that had been dragging me vanished. Jio crouched low over the cake on the ground. He sniffed around it here and there like a dog. He even poked the cream on the corner with his finger and popped it into his mouth. A moment later—*slurp slurp, munch munch*—Jio devoured the cake with both hands, settling down properly. In the meantime, I got up, nursing my aching body.
There had been some trial and error, but I had finally figured out how to handle this guy.
……This guy was a glutton of staggering proportions.
Food was his entire world, so he must have lived in a forest abundant with things to eat.
Now I understood. The reason this guy had chased out everyone who entered the forest was because he was afraid they’d steal and eat all the food in his forest.
‘If anyone messes with his meal one more time, they’ll end up dead.’
Jio’s eyes sparkled after he polished off the food instantly. It must have been the first time he’d tasted something this delicious. He even obsessively licked his fingers clean. His eyes met mine.
“Is there more of this?”
And to think he could speak so properly to the one feeding him.
“You want to eat more?”
“Yeah.”
“Then follow me. Leave this forest.”
Jio hesitated. He seemed reluctant to go. I coaxed him further with a threat that wasn’t quite a threat.
“How long do you think the food in this stagnant forest is going to last? Isn’t it almost gone already? There are barely any fruits on the trees, and you hardly see any animals. The forest’s resources are limited, so if you stay here, you’ll starve to death.”
At that, Jio became restless. He quickly looked up at me with desperate eyes.
“Then can you keep making food?”
“I can.”
I’d have to earn rewards like crazy, but compared to the benefits Jio would bring, it was a fair trade.
“And that fruit? That wild boar roasted without any seasoning? How is that supposed to taste good? Think about the cake you just ate. It was amazing, right?”
“You call that a cake?”
“Besides cake, there are thousands of delicious foods in the world that you’ve never tried. Do you really want to keep living only in this forest?”
Unable to fathom the number thousands, Jio did something idiotic like counting his ten fingers. But true to his idiocy, his decision was airtight.
“I’ll follow you.”
“Alright, come.”
“I’ll eat all the wild boar before we go.”
Tarzan of the forest, Jio, followed me out to the edge of the eastern forest.
They say you should reward a pet when it listens well. As praise, I took out a generous galbi rice bowl from my inventory. The truth was, I had been saving food that felt distinctly Korean, but now that Jio had joined, it was safe to say I no longer had any food to my name…….
“Spoon—.”
Yeah, eat with your hands.
Watching him shovel the food into his mouth the moment I handed it over, I gave up on giving Jio a spoon. Watching Jio eat a whole cake just five minutes ago, then wild boar meat, and now a heaping bowl of rice… the joy of obtaining a strong combatant faded, and I slowly realized something serious.
‘If I’m going to feed Jio to his heart’s content, does that mean Ririt and I will have to starve?’
Besides, what if someone else figures out Jio’s life philosophy and lures him away by offering more food? What if a chef-type character tempts Jio with rare delicacies? This idiot would switch sides in a heartbeat.
After eating everything, Jio licked his fingers and wiped them on the cloth of his only garment, his lower piece. I looked at the sight with disgust. How am I going to turn him into a proper person? Do I need to feed him garlic for a hundred days?
“Jio, if you want to come with me, put on some proper clothes.”
“No. It’s hot.”
Great, he has a clear sense of self…… like hell. It felt like my eyes were rotting in real time. Rather than hoping this guy would willingly wear clothes, it’d be faster for me to just get used to it. The sight of a man wearing only a single cloth, legs spread wide on the ground…….
“Rudel, can I come out now?”
At that moment, Ririt came out from where she had been hiding. Since there was no way to contact her remotely, I had simply told Ririt to join us if the situation looked okay.
“Yeah, come here.”
Since we were party members now, they should at least greet each other. If Ririt was someone who could also provide food, Jio would at least show some manners, right? Just in case, I gave Jio a lollipop to keep him docile.
“You’re supposed to suck on this slowly.”
I explained hurriedly before Jio could shatter the candy with his strong teeth. Meanwhile, Ririt approached gracefully, wearing her sweetest smile to greet the man she was meeting for the first time. To think she could see him in that state of undress without showing any reaction, Ririt. You have a truer poker face than me.
“Hi, I’m Ririt.”
*Plop.*
In that moment, I witnessed an unbelievable sight. Jio had dropped the lollipop he was eating to the ground.
Jio. Dropped. Food?
Tarzan’s gaze was fixed on the girl before him. His mouth hung open stupidly. Then the tips of his ears turned red.
“Pause Mode.”
Suddenly, Jio vanished. Into the bathroom.
“What? You knew how to use Pause Mode?”
My incredulous question was blocked by a four-pyeong wall and went unanswered.
A short while later, Jio reappeared. They were just the basic clothes given at the start of the game, but at least he was properly dressed top and bottom. The white cloth strained against the man’s muscles.
“Ah, hello…….”
Jio’s voice grew smaller and smaller as he greeted her. He seemed to have completely forgotten the candy dropped on the floor, his ears burning shyly. He couldn’t even meet Ririt’s eyes.
‘No way, I didn’t see this development coming either.’
Well, all’s well that ends well?
At least we wouldn’t have to starve to feed Jio, nor would I have to constantly worry about someone stealing him away. In conclusion, I had secured the strongest combatant with no risk of betrayal.
……The viewers are going to have plenty to talk about today.
* * *
Gone were the days when it was just Ririt and me walking around hand in hand; before I knew it, a large beast had attached himself to our rear. A fool of a Tarzan who possessed an S-Rank unique ability yet had no idea what that ability even was. I definitely had an enormous amount to teach him…….
Naturally, the characters who spotted our group whispered amongst themselves enormously.
“What the hell is that?”
“Pfft, isn’t that the idiot from the forest? He knows how to wear clothes?”
“Hey, shouldn’t that thing be on a leash?”
We’d become a laughingstock.
With Jio joining, we had become an even more pathetic motley crew.
“Is Rudel into that kind of thing?”
“What’s the point of dragging that Tarzan around?”
“It is impressive he dragged that thing out of the forest.”
“Like attracts like, I guess.”
The dignity I once had as the first unique ability unlocker seemed to have vanished as other characters obtained their abilities. There were more than one or two voices mocking me for my C-Rank stats.
Let them talk all they want. In the end, I’ll be the one laughing last anyway.
For the record, I had no intention of unlocking Jio’s unique ability right away. I’d train him in secret and keep him hidden for a while. I’d stockpile his strength and unleash him dramatically when it really mattered, sweeping through everything in his path. Jio would make all those bastards who called him an idiot grovel at his feet, and as the one who raised him, my stock would skyrocket…….
Ririt would never suspect that I was harboring such sinister thoughts.
“Why?”
I turned my head to see her simply beaming brightly at my side.
“Are you okay, Ririt? People keep talking about us.”
I had been slightly worried that the two of them might be shaken by people’s whispers, but it was a needless worry. Jio didn’t listen to others from the start. He only barely started listening to Ririt and me, and voices that put him down didn’t even seem to reach his ears.
And Ririt was surprisingly bold, too.
“That’s their problem, so I don’t care. We just need to get along well with each other.”
Though she must have known that the insults calling Jio an idiot also included her, her reaction was far more generous than expected. And despite hearing me, she still spoke to Jio as if nothing was wrong.
Of course, I had thought Ririt would be kind to Jio since she was a good person, but…… setting everything else aside, Jio’s reaction was too funny. I had to turn my head and bite my lips several times to hold back my laughter. It was only natural to laugh when a beast who didn’t even know how to brush its fur suddenly started grooming itself and putting on airs.
In particular, Jio looked at me holding Ririt’s hand with extreme envy. He desperately pointed at Ririt’s other hand and asked.
“Can I hold this hand too? Since you’re holding one…….”
But before Ririt could answer, I cut him off cleanly.
“No. Follow one step behind.”
How dare he try to lay a hand on our Ririt.