TNAAS Ch 10

Episode 10

Drawn by the sweet voice, Yeonwoo turned around as if bewitched, only to be startled.

“Who are you…?”

Who was this man? He had the same light brown hair as Yeonwoo but incongruous black pupils, and he stood motionless, staring intently at him. Though Yeonwoo was on the smaller side, the man was so tall that Yeonwoo had to lift his head to look at him. Since arriving here, he had only ever seen one person that tall.

Unbothered by Yeonwoo’s piercing gaze, the man relaxed his broad shoulders and approached.

Whoa. If I got hit by those shoulders, I’d be done for.

His appearance inspired awe. It felt like watching a model from the real world stride toward him. While Yeonwoo was absorbed in observing him, the man closed the distance and leaned down to meet Yeonwoo’s gaze.

“You couldn’t possibly not know me.”

“No, really, this is our first time meeting. Do you… know me? That can’t be.”

Yeonwoo, dumbfounded by the man’s overly familiar attitude, just blinked repeatedly. Was this an NPC he had met before, and was his memory failing because of age? Or perhaps he was a companion of the thugs Yeonwoo had encountered in the back alley not long ago? That seemed unlikely, but the thought made Yeonwoo step back cautiously.

Bearing in mind the Korean adage that you shouldn’t easily let someone into your space when you don’t know what kind of person they are, he stayed wary.

The man chuckled at Yeonwoo’s defensive stance, like a small dog baring its teeth. Straightening his posture, he introduced himself properly.

“I’m Leo. I was wearing a mask, so I guess it was hard to recognize me. Does this help jog your memory?”

With a wave of his hand, Rai reached into thin air and pulled out a mask. The ability to use space so freely was astonishing enough, but Yeonwoo was shocked that he would reveal his bare face at all.

The guild master “Rai” had supposedly never once shown his face, yet here he was revealing it so easily. This game had to be utterly broken. Otherwise, what reason would such a meticulous man have to show his face to someone he had just met?

Thrown into deeper confusion by a world that never seemed to follow the rules, Yeonwoo could only stare with his mouth slightly open. Whatever Rai made of his reaction, he only curved his eyes kindly in a smile and stroked his chin.

“No matter how handsome someone is, staring that intently is a bit embarrassing.”

He was even spouting nonsense now. Sure, the man was so handsome it made Yeonwoo’s eyes pop, but wasn’t it more embarrassing to say that about himself?

Watching Rai’s incomprehensible behavior, Yeonwoo sighed. He resolved not to take it too seriously. Maybe this was some kind of quest in the game he didn’t understand. Folding his arms, he glared at Rai instead.

“How was I supposed to recognize you when you were wearing a mask? I’m not some psychic.”

“I thought you would already know. After all, Mr. Yeonwoo, you’re not an ordinary person.”

“What?” Yeonwoo almost screamed. What did he mean? What was the implication? Did Rai figure out that Yeonwoo knew his true identity, or had he already realized Yeonwoo was a Spirit Master? From the moment he met Rai, Yeonwoo could never tell how much of what Rai said was genuine.

Maybe Rai was just talking casually, but when it came from him, it somehow gave the unsettling feeling that he truly knew something—as if Yeon-woo were a flea struggling in the palm of his hand.

“N-no? Not at all! I had no idea. I’m not nearly as perceptive as I look.”

Yeonwoo tried to sound calm, but even he could hear the way his tone wavered in every direction, betraying his fluster. While he thought this was a disaster, Rai, in contrast, looked perfectly composed.

“I understand that, but my voice isn’t exactly common, so I thought you’d recognize me. And considering how unpredictable you are, you’re definitely not an ordinary person.” Rai smiled brightly.

Was he serious? Why did today seem full of people who made Yeonwoo want to curse? To make things worse, Rai’s almost overbearing self-confidence left Yeonwoo dizzy.

Determined to return to his original resolve of not getting entangled with this man, Yeonwoo quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, what do you mean by going together?”

“Just what it sounds like. I’m also participating in the subjugation battle, so I have to go to Vieta.”

“Then why are you going with me? We could just go separately.”

He had not meant to sound sharp, but he was genuinely curious. This wasn’t the kind of character Rai was supposed to be. His eyes urged Rai to explain to resolve his confusion. With a small cough, Rai replied.

“Looking at me like that will only make things harder for you.”

“Why? It’s not like just staring or being scrutinized is a crime.”

“Never heard the saying that you’ve got a face that looks like easy prey, ripe for being devoured?”

Rai’s lips curved in a smile, but his eyes gleamed sharply. Even so, Yeonwoo did not understand the meaning hidden in that gaze.

Why would anyone want to devour someone else…

Scowling with dissatisfaction, Yeonwoo soon gave up talking altogether, feeling more and more as though he was losing ground the longer he talked with Rai.

“Enough with the nonsense. How exactly do you plan on going?”

“Since I doubt you’d like walking, would you prefer to fly, or should we take the land route?”

Wait, you’re a Guider?

A Guider was a class that specialized in handling animals. At lower levels, they started with small creatures, and as their level increased, the range of animals they could control grew. Back when Guiders were at the peak of popularity, Yeonwoo himself had even handled dragons. There were higher-tier creatures from the Demon Realm as well, but he had given up on them because he was too busy leveling his main character.

Considering the personalities of Guider NPCs in the game, they were typically easygoing or had the rugged strength of someone who could survive in the wild. Not “usually” so, but by design, their character settings were that way. Which was why Rai seemed entirely incompatible with the idea. A Guider? Impossible. Unless Rai actually was a Guider, there was no way he could control animals.

“It shouldn’t be that easy to handle animals. Are you a Guider?”

“Who knows.”

What did he mean by that? Even when Rai wore the mask, and now even after taking it off, Yeonwoo still could not read him. Rai’s way of hinting at something while never fully showing his hand irritated Yeonwoo. It made him want to rip away the facade.

He felt he needed to test whether Rai’s words were empty or true.

“Then let’s fly. It’s always been my dream to fly in the sky.”

“As you wish.”

Rai finished speaking, then pricked his finger with the sharp edge of the necklace he wore. He let the blood drip onto the ground. The sight was bizarre. No Guider had ever summoned an animal like that. Their standard method was to use a specially crafted whistle to call tamed creatures from nearby.

“What are you doing…? Why drop blood on the ground…?”

“You said you wanted to fly. To do that, you need a mount.”

Rai’s calm reply carried a faint glint of red in his eyes, but when Yeonwoo blinked, it had vanished. Suddenly, the ground trembled, and from the spot where the blood had fallen, something began to writhe and grow.

It grew larger and larger until it took the form of a massive black bird. Yeonwoo had never seen anything like it before. It was so grotesque he could hardly call it an animal, yet it was unmistakably a bird.

“What is this? I’ve never seen anything like it…”

Rai glanced at Yeonwoo, who was staring in shock, and answered boldly with a shrug.

“A bird. Obviously.”

“A bird? A bird?? In what world is that a bird? It looks like it just crawled out of a Demon King’s castle!”

“How did you know?”

Ugh! Yeonwoo screamed inwardly. He had no idea what to do with this shameless man. Yet, strangely enough, Rai’s words carried a ring of truth. Judging by its appearance, it really did look like some kind of demonic beast. But the idea that Ivant’s Guild Master was a demon made no sense; Yeonwoo had never seen such a setting described.

Of course, there was little detailed information about him, but even so, this was too much. The representative figure of the Demon Realm was the final boss, Helleo… Could it be?

Suspicion filled Yeonwoo’s eyes as he looked at Rai, who tilted his head slightly.

“Why look at me like that? Would it be a problem if I were the Demon King?”

Well, this world was largely devoid of people Yeonwoo could reason with. Best to just give up.

“No, forget it. Let’s just go. We’ll be late if we waste more time.”

Determined not to listen to another word, Yeonwoo turned his head sharply away and approached the black bird. He could avoid Rai later if needed, but for now, he could not stand unnecessary delays.

How was he supposed to ride this thing? Should he just climb onto its back like other animals?

While Yeonwoo stood in front of it, examining it from every angle, strong arms suddenly wrapped around his waist.

“Ahh! What is this!”

Turning his head, Yeonwoo saw Rai lift his still-standing body effortlessly with one arm. Yeonwoo flailed in shock, but Rai, showing no sign of strain, set him securely on the bird’s back with a relaxed expression. 

“You didn’t seem used to riding animals, so I thought I’d help.”

“Then at least say something! I thought I was going to drop the baby!”

“Are you pregnant?”

“Don’t you understand metaphors? Metaphors!”

At this point, Yeonwoo was afraid to say anything at all. This was one terrifying person.