TNAAS Ch 6

Episode 6

After boldly paying in full with his card, Yeonwoo walked into the room with an excited step. Perhaps because he had spent a lot of money, the “Grand Suite Room” occupied an entire floor on its own. Once inside, the interior was dazzlingly splendid.

Until now, the only time Yeonwoo had seen a room like this was in photos posted by celebrities on Stargram. For him, who had grown up in such harsh conditions, it felt as though he had stepped into the realm of the gods. 

“Wow, unbelievable. How much would all of this cost?”

His rustic dialect slipped out naturally; that was how extravagant the room was. Most of the furniture seemed covered in gold, and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling sparkled as if decorated with diamonds, scattering light like transparent jewels.

The suite was divided into a main living room, bedroom, study, dressing room, and a sub-room. The bed in the main bedroom was enormous. It was so large that even five grown men could lie on it with ease. It was clear that Yeonwoo would never fall off, no matter how much he tossed and turned.

Overwhelmed with excitement, Yeonwoo attempted something he had not done since childhood—diving onto the bed. It was not even a waterbed, yet it was so soft that his body bounced and swayed.

“This feels better than an X-Mons^[1] bed.”

Though he had never actually tried one, he guessed that since this was such a luxurious place, it had to be superior. While he was happily sprawling across the mattress, small glowing orbs suddenly floated up before his eyes.

[Why are you enjoying this by yourself?!]

[That’s right, what about us?!]

[You’re having fun thanks to us!]

Ah, right. He had forgotten about them. Spirits were still unfamiliar to Yeonwoo, and he had completely forgotten their existence until just now.

“Haha, sorry. I wasn’t forgetting about you, not at all.”

[Master, are you so dumb you’re getting dementia now?]

[How could you forget cute little ones like us?]

[XX!]

Yeonwoo’s head filled with question marks. What?

“Where did you learn that kind of word?!”

Yeonwoo pressed the one glowing with a green light, glaring at them with narrowed eyes. But instead of looking guilty, they floated about playfully, giggling.

[That’s what Master kept saying all day!]

[Exactly! We learned it from you.]

[But what does XX mean?]

Yeonwoo had no idea where to even begin explaining. Was this why people said you should not even drink cold water carelessly in front of children^[2]? Since they were only repeating what they had learned from him, smiling innocently as they did, he couldn’t bring himself to scold them further.

Sitting on the bed, deep in thought, Yeonwoo resolved never again to swear, whether aloud or in his head. Just then, the incident from earlier crossed his mind.

“Anyway, don’t say things like that. Oh, right. Thanks for drawing blood for me, but whose blood did you even take?”

Wait, how did they secretly take it? Was that even possible? Although Yeonwoo knew the storyline of this world well, now that it had become reality, he was starting to notice differences here and there. What shocked him most today was realizing that a Spirit Master, whom he thought could only use buffs, was actually capable of such delicate work as extracting someone’s blood.

[It’s from the person who was right next to Master.]

“What?”

The person next to him—did they mean Rai? Or that timid employee? He knew the employee’s trait was “Cold,” but Rai’s trait was still a mystery. Trembling with anxiety and fear, he looked at them nervously, only to be met with a lively reply.

[The one who drew Master’s blood!]

“Then why did you come so late? If you could take it from someone right beside me, you should have arrived sooner.”

Yeonwoo had worked so hard to stall for time and tried every possible trick, yet the spirits had only shown up at the very last moment. If they could take blood without anyone noticing, there was no reason it should have taken so long.

[It’s more fun that way!]

“You really… Who did you get that rotten personality from?”

[Master!!!]

If only they couldn’t talk, it would at least cut the chatter in half. Sticking his tongue out at how they all looked like miniature versions of himself, Yeonwoo collapsed onto the bed, exhausted beyond measure. He no longer had the strength to argue with them. The spirits landed on his chest, peering down at him, while chattering and playing among themselves as if nothing could be more amusing.

“How did you know that person was a mage?”

He had not asked out of genuine curiosity, but because it bothered him that they were excluding him from their fun. His question came out half-hearted. Immediately, they scolded him as if he were clueless.

[You can tell just by looking at the waves! Can’t you see that, Master?]

[If you can’t, you can’t be a Spirit Master!]

[You’re lacking talent!]

Why was it that whenever he said one thing, they responded with three? Was this the true magic of this world? Reaching a state of resignation, Yeonwoo pulled a pillow close and began to settle in for sleep without reacting.

“So you can tell someone’s class just by looking at their waves?”

As soon as his head touched the pillow, the drowsiness that had been building up surged over him. Though he had thought it would be impossible to fall asleep in such an unfamiliar place, the sheer number of events that day had drained both body and mind.

Even while heavy with sleep, he dutifully spoke to them. With no acquaintances in this place, the spirits were his only comfort.

[Of course. Mages usually have strong waves, while people who fight with swords are a bit weaker. And besides that…]

It seemed the beginning of a long explanation, but Yeonwoo, already half asleep, could not hear it. Drifting deeper, a sudden thought rose through the haze of his consciousness, and he spoke it aloud without realizing.

“Then… what class is Rai…?”

He needed to hear the answer; he felt he had to, yet his body slipped beyond his control. Even though he had asked, he could no longer catch the reply.

[That person is…]

The spirits, unaware that Yeonwoo had already sunk into sleep, kept chatting excitedly among themselves. They said something, but Yeonwoo did not hear it properly. He surrendered to slumber, thinking he would have to ask again later.

And somewhere deep inside, he desperately hoped that when he woke, it would be reality again.

* * *

“No chance.”

Reality? As if. If life were so easy, it never would have twisted into this mess. Perhaps because he had gone to bed early, Yeonwoo woke not long after sunrise.

The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was the tiny spirits, now not only materialized but fully humanized. They had not merely intruded on his pillow but completely taken it over, leaving Yeonwoo sleeping with only a corner to rest his head on.

Sitting up, he glared at the spirits sprawled across his pillow. Knowing full well that scolding them would be useless, Yeonwoo let out a sigh and shook his head.

Watching the spirits quietly, Yeonwoo found it fascinating. With appearances that looked like something out of an anime and even tiny wings attached, they were surprisingly cute. Was this what parents felt? People always said children were the cutest when they were asleep.

His gaze, which had been on the cute(?) spirits, shifted to his own hand. His skin had always been on the pale side, but because he had customized his character’s appearance carefully, it looked even whiter now. What made it more unsettling was that his face had been modeled exactly after his real-life self.

“It really feels like I’ve stepped into the game… Or maybe, like in a novel, this is actually the real world, and everything until now was just a dream of another world.”

It was a surreal situation that could not help but leave him confused. On top of that, there were subtle differences that did not quite match the setting Yeonwoo was familiar with. Rai, who was supposed to be famous for his iron walls, was paying attention to others, and no matter how he thought about it, there had never been a hotel in Firenze Village.

“Why is it different? The basic framework seems the same, but…”

[Master, you’re noisy!]

[Why are you talking to yourself so much this early in the morning!]

Of course. The sorrow of parenthood was that one could never have time alone.

Though Yeonwoo had never raised a child, he suddenly felt like a weary mother lamenting the hardships of parenting. He desperately needed time to think about his next plans, but the noisy spirits made it impossible to focus.

“Please, just give me some time to myself.”

[No chance.]

[You’ll get it once you’re dead!]

It was a lively morning indeed.

* * *

“Fine, never mind adapting. First, let’s make money!”

With a booming voice, Yeonwoo descended to the hotel lobby. Startled by his loud declaration, the people passing through the lobby cast him sideways glances, but Yeonwoo paid them no attention.

He walked past the lobby and approached the mercenary board nearby. He had heard that the board listed various jobs, and all he had to do was choose one that suited him and report it to the office.

Since Yeonwoo had gone on a huge spending spree at the hotel the day before, and since he would need plenty of money for equipment upgrades in the future, he searched for the highest-paying work he could find. Among the listings, monster subjugation jobs offered the best pay, and just as he was about to reach for one of the flyers—

“That job will be difficult.”

Startled by the sudden voice at his side, Yeonwoo turned around. At some point, Rai had approached, arms crossed, watching both Yeonwoo and the flyer with a look of interest.

For a guild master, he looked incredibly carefree. The office staff were drowning in the swamp of overtime, struggling to stay afloat, yet here he was, wandering about at leisure. Was this the very picture of an annoying boss? Casting him a glance filled with mild disdain, Yeonwoo quickly snapped his head back toward the board.

“What could be so difficult about monster subjugation? And with a buff mage like me around, it will be much easier to finish the job.”

Rai shifted his gaze from the flyer and stared intently at Yeonwoo. The intense look burning into the back of his head made Yeonwoo uneasy, so he reluctantly turned his head back to meet Rai’s eyes.

“W-Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, I just found it interesting.”

“Interesting? What do you mean?”

Sensing something suspicious, Yeonwoo instinctively took a step back, only to bump into the board. Amused by the sight, Rai closed the distance with a step forward. Leaning down, he lowered himself until their eyes were level.

“It’s just that you really look like someone who came from another world, knowing nothing.”