D-Rank Guild Master of the Top Guild, Episode 9
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[Congratulations! Your unique ability has been unlocked!]
[Congratulations! Your unique ability has been unlocked!]
Game alerts blared noisily.
I had started a baseless rumor, but two whole days had already passed since the unique ability unlock, which meant some people were starting to stumble upon them through other means.
In other words, I was no longer the only unique ability owner.
‘This was bound to happen anyway, so there’s no point in being disappointed.’
The problem was that as other unique ability unlockers appeared, the viewers' interest in me had decreased.
It was about time to boost my profile again.
While I was at it, I figured it would be nice to recruit a companion with outstanding hidden potential or impact, someone on my level if possible.
With that in mind, I set out with Ririt the moment the sun rose.
Ririt was bright and cheerful throughout, finding joy even in the most trivial things. Her exuberance was a distraction when I was trying to think things through, but I didn't dislike it.
If she hadn't been here, my life in this place would have been terribly dull and monochrome.
Just then, I heard passing characters muttering.
“Hey, a ‘Tarzan’ has appeared in the eastern forest.”
Tarzan? Tarzan was a term referring to a man raised by beasts, with a beast-like mindset and great strength.
A Tarzan in the eastern forest? Was it a metaphor, or was there really a Tarzan-like man there?
At that moment, some instinct struck me—a former hardcore gamer.
“Ririt, shall we go check out the eastern forest?”
Of course, this game was the ultimate idle game to end all idle games, a variety title without any manual controls whatsoever, so there wouldn't be anything like a special event; it was just a hunch.
There was something big in that eastern forest.
Right then, I saw a character approaching his group from across the way.
That character had dark bruises all over his face and arms.
“Hey, there's some monster roaming the eastern forest! What kind of lunatic is that?”
Then other characters who appeared to be his teammates responded.
“That bastard’s an incredible idiot. I thought he was a beast. He wanders around naked without clothes, beats wild boars to death bare-handed without weapons. I don't think he can even speak human language? He was growling like a bear.”
One of them imitated a bear, giggling excitedly.
Monster, Tarzan, beast, fool. They all seemed to be talking about the same being.
Of course, it was probably a person.
I knew that as survivors decreased and a certain balance was reached, monstrous creatures would appear in the field, but that wouldn't happen until at least day 8.
In other words, since no monstrous creatures existed yet, that was definitely a person.
We arrived in front of the eastern forest in no time. It was a fairly large forest.
And before long, we spotted the very man called “Tarzan” at the forest's edge.
...Now I see why they call him Tarzan.
A man was hanging from a tree near the clearing.
He didn't seem very interested in the world outside the forest, as he hadn't noticed Ririt and me yet.
Looking closely, the man was quite handsome, his entire body armed with muscles like a kickboxer's.
The only reason I could see this in such detail was because the man was wearing absolutely nothing but a single cloth wrapped around his lower body.
Was this a feast for my eyes, or had I thrown my eyes away...?
“Why isn't he wearing clothes? The forest leaves should sting against bare skin....”
I snickered at Ririt's quiet muttering.
As if mere leaves could wound those firm muscles.
‘But surely he isn't walking around like that because he doesn't know how to wear clothes...?’
The thought suddenly crossed my mind, but regardless, I was certain he was the person I'd been looking for.
No one else but him could be called Tarzan.
Like a monkey, the man climbed a tree and picked fruit to eat. He didn't wash them or even peel them.
At this point, it was obvious he had no interest in supply crates. Did he not even realize the rules of this game?
Out of curiosity, I left cover and approached without being spotted. It would be troublesome if he tried to attack me the moment he discovered me.
Just then, the moment the man tried to move to another tree, the distance between us narrowed to its shortest.
‘Got him!’
Like snatching with my hand, the moment his status window appeared before my eyes, I quickly checked it first.
[Name] Jio / [Level] 5
[Gender] Male / [Age] 21
[Intelligence] Low / [Killing Intent] Mid
So there were people with ‘Low’ intelligence, huh. Hmm.
[Health] 7411 / B+
[Strength] 6335 / B+
[Agility] 5670 / B
The stats were incredible, befitting the nickname Monster, Tarzan. And he was only Level 5.
Here, I was slightly drawn in.
[Ability Category] Pure Nature
[Unique Ability (Locked)] ■■
[Potential Grade] S
My face hardened as I stared into empty air.
“Ririt.”
“Yeah?”
Ririt, who had been crouching down small, answered immediately.
“Let's catch him.”
I was serious.
The moment I found out Tarzan of the eastern forest, Jio's potential grade, my eyes went wild.
I found him. My target.
[Intelligence] Low / [Killing Intent] Mid
‘Mid’ meant an indecisive middle ground, neither high nor low.
I had examined the status windows of numerous characters and reached this conclusion about those with ‘low intelligence and mid-rank killing intent.’
In short, they had no compunctions about killing or letting live. They could kill others if necessary.
Because their intelligence was low, they naturally didn't think in complicated ways. However, if there was no particular reason to kill, they didn't bother killing either.
This degree of ambiguity was a decent condition for making him a companion.
All I had to do was make him follow my words.
Besides, that man was special.
The fool everyone ignored because he ‘couldn't speak human language and didn't know how to wear clothes’ actually possessed an S-rank unique ability?
And that cheat ability would be revealed to the world thanks to me taking him in and raising him?
I had in mind not just ‘my own growth,’ but also ‘the growth of a companion character whom I nurtured and raised to unlock their potential.’
That was why I firmly decided to make Jio my companion.
Of course, Jio had never agreed to become my companion yet....
Soon Jio disappeared deep into the forest. I turned to Ririt with grim determination.
“I'm going into the forest for a moment.”
Ririt jumped up.
“Everyone who went into the forest got thrown in by that guy we just saw! Off a cliff!”
The more Ririt worried, the more I wanted that man.
He threw away everyone who approached? Then he hadn't interacted with anyone yet?
Loners banding together in a meeting of minds to take the rankings by storm—what a cool narrative.
“You know I'm smart. I won't do anything dangerous. Still, just in case, Ririt, you hide nearby.”
Ririt hated seeing me get hurt, but she didn't try to break my will.
Because she believed that whatever I did would surely bring some kind of gain.
“Okay. Be careful!”
After hiding Ririt nearby, I took a deep breath and gazed at the forest where Tarzan lived.
Let's go.
Since Jio wasn't coming out, I had to go in myself.
The forest was actually an absolutely favorable terrain for me.
Because my unique ability, fire, would blaze this forest magnificently.
But setting the forest on fire from the outside to lure Jio out... seemed like an overly crude method.
More than anything, if the fire got big, crowds would gather.
For these complex reasons, I decided to enter without using my unique ability, facing the monstrous muscle-bound human with nothing but my bare C-rank stats.
Rustle.
Jio appeared before my eyes faster than expected.
And right above me, at that.
“....”
Without a word, Jio lifted me up like luggage, brutally and recklessly. Lacking any manners toward women, he grabbed my buttocks and back haphazardly.
And the next moment, I tumbled onto a clearing about 2 meters away from the forest.
Retry.
“Let's talk!”
Thud!
Third try.
“Let me—!”
Crash.
He seemed to remember people who had come before. The more attempts I made, the faster and further he threw me.
I had no ability to land smoothly, so I rolled several times and groaned as I got up.
My bruises hurt, so I rested for about five minutes.
Was this the seventh try?
Perhaps because I entered after a brief pause, Jio wasn't where I'd last seen him.
I looked between the dense trees and thought I saw faint smoke rising from among them.
Jio was there.
In a small clearing in the middle of the forest, he had started a fire.
It seemed to be mealtime, as I could see him placing large chunks of meat over the fire.
‘Unlike the assessment that he was like a beast, he knows how to use his head a bit? He was using fire.’
The moment Jio reached for the steaming wild boar leg...
I rushed in and snatched the roasted pig he was about to grab. And I hid it behind my back, trying to divert Jio's attention.
“Now, let's talk!”
They say you shouldn't even bother a dog when it's eating—sorry! But please listen to me!
“Why do you live only in this forest?”
I attempted conversation, bracing myself for the beast before me to turn slightly hostile.
I had to persuade him to come with me, so I needed to figure out Jio's psychology first. I couldn't read what Jio wanted from his status window.
Despite my question, Jio stood blankly frozen for a moment.
He seemed to be grasping the situation.
Then he raised his head toward my face.
How should I put it? Like the gaze of a fierce beast glaring at a human who had touched its cub.
I was met with such a gaze.
Pitch-black pupils. I had never felt such fear before. Dizzy with terror, I took a step back.
Jio slowly stood up. Grinding his teeth, a low, bestial growl rumbled from his throat.
Was he more sensitive about food than a Korean? I placed the meat on a nearby rock like lightning so it wouldn't touch the dirt.
“It was because of this! Here, sorry for touching it.”
But even though Jio saw me put the meat down, he charged at me instead of going for the meat.
‘Ah, why?’
A brown bear stained with rage, bursting into a charge.
So I started running.