Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

"I was a late bloomer as a wizard."

The GM's story began with that very first sentence.

"At twenty years old. Honestly, entering the magic tower at such a late age was extremely unusual. Of course, adapting was incredibly difficult."

Well, that made sense.

After all, elites like Raven who entered the tower young tended to dislike latecomers like him.

Though those they disliked even more were non-majors like Dwalke.

Anyway, the important thing was not that...

'A late bloomer...?'

No matter how I thought about it, it didn't make sense.

Was he lying to me now?

Because when I met him in the past, he said he was a 6th-grade wizard in his first year.

[Fortunately, the grade was high, but he still couldn't properly use magic and lived every day on edge...]

He even added that, so I assumed it was because he was possessed by a wizard's body.

But it wasn't?

'Let's hear him out...'

If true, it was a really unusual case.

From what I later learned interacting with players on Ghost Busters, most who crossed the Abyssal Gate had already mastered some magic.

Like our clan's Versil Gouwland, for example.

'He was already training magic in the tower long before he turned twenty.'

So why did the GM want to become a wizard?

If he hadn't started as a wizard, becoming an explorer and consuming essences would have been an easier growth path.

"Is there a particular reason you started learning magic at that age?"

I asked bluntly, and his answer surprised me.

"Actually, I never planned to become a wizard. I just thought I should be an explorer."

"Hm...?"

"Of course, clashing with monsters inside a dangerous labyrinth didn't suit me, so wizardry was fitting... But even the Baron would agree, it's not common to start learning magic after twenty."

"...That's true."

"I originally wanted to learn archery. I figured I could handle a crossbow well enough."

A hoped-for archer career...

Now I was even more curious.

How did someone aiming for archery become a wizard?

"I had to earn money first to buy even a crossbow when I was broke. As soon as I became an adult, I tried everything on the streets. Once, I even got a job at a blacksmith's..."

Surprisingly, while pounding iron, the GM's wizard path opened.

He met the master of his first sect like fate...

"The master was fascinated by a toy I made in my spare time. He called me over, wanting to talk for hours."

The master admired the precision and imagination in the toy's design.

'Well, that figures. He's from the modern world.'

Kind of like a modern cheat code?

Sometimes in novels, you see that kind of thing—

An engineer dropped into another world who wows everyone with every ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don't copy, read here) little thing he makes.

"So that's how you got to learn magic?"

"Yes. The Maireta sect specialized in wind-element magic, but since the master was interested in magic engineering and magic circles, I was lucky to catch his eye."

"...That's quite the story."

Nodding as I listened intently, the GM resumed.

"I don't mean to brag, but magic suited me perfectly. Under the master's guidance, my skills improved incredibly fast. As a result, I unknowingly earned a lot of hatred."

The GM's growth was explosive, unprecedented even in the magic tower.

"To enter at twenty and reach 6th grade in one year was unheard of in the tower's long history."

Huh... he really got to 6th grade in a year?

Wait, then what was that about being a half-baked wizard who couldn't use magic?

Coincidentally, the answer came soon from the GM.

"But despite that, I was a half-baked wizard."

"...?"

"Did you know? Among wizards, fields are so different that you can become a high-grade wizard without knowing a single offensive spell."

The GM was exactly that case.

He excelled in magic engineering and magic circle research but couldn't even cast a fireball, yet was a 6th-grade wizard.

And...

"Wizards who knew this always picked fights with me, so I had to live cautiously. Ah... those days in the tower were truly wild."

"But still, my master didn't want me to learn other magic. He said my talent was in magic engineering and that I had no time to waste elsewhere."

"Despite repeated requests, I started learning other magic one by one, but magic engineering remained my main study. I rarely slept more than two hours a day then."

Yet the GM pulled through.

He enjoyed magic engineering and was grateful to his master.

"It may sound strange, but at times the master felt like a father to me. I... didn't have a father."

Having been thoroughly gaslit, the GM seemed to drift further from the explorer path but endured the life stubbornly.

But "enduring" means limits come eventually.

"In the end, I couldn't stand it and ran away. I recruited comrades myself and became an explorer, spending years without returning to the sect."

He just increased studying magic helpful for exploring but never stopped magic engineering.

And time passed.

When a wizard named Yurben Havelion had earned some explorer fame—

"That's when the incident happened. Maybe the Baron heard of it, but... my master dabbled in forbidden magic."

Forbidden magic, taboo among wizards.

The royal family's army raided after discovering this, and the master was executed on the spot.

"All the sect's wizards were detained and investigated for months. I, who had researched with the master a long time, was questioned the most."

While detained and testifying daily, the GM accidentally learned—

What the forbidden magic the master researched was.

"It was shocking. Unbelievable."

"...What was it?"

"My master was researching 'soul transplantation' magic."

Magic aimed at imbuing souls into objects to create magical tools.

The idea was that if a conscious entity beyond biological limits could be taught eternally, it would lead to a leap forward.

'This is basically AI deep learning.'

I was marveling at the idea when—

"The most important factor in this plan was 'talent.' The master believed that learning speed depended on the intelligence of the soul transplanted and had shortlisted several candidates."

Only then did I understand why the GM didn't want to talk about this story.

"The list the investigator showed me had my name first. There was even a number after my name, probably a rating, and mine was the highest."

A betrayal by the master he once followed like a parent.

"Afterwards, the whole sect vanished, and somehow I ended up founding my own sect. As it grew, I got busy and stopped entering the labyrinth personally."

I got a rough idea of how he'd been living since.

Managing the community, building the sect, and secret political dealings with the royal family.

With the goal of leaving this damned world and going home.

"So... how was my story?"

The GM asked me with a relieved tone, and after a moment's thought, I answered briefly.

"Definitely not an interesting story."

"...Ahaha, really?"

An awkward laugh that clearly didn't fit.

But just empathizing and feeling sorry would only make the mood awkward.

I didn't think it would help him.

"But at least it's good, right?"

"Hm?"

"Because the bastard who betrayed you didn't live laughing but died miserably."

At that, the GM first looked dumbfounded but then burst out laughing.

And after a while?

"Ahahaha, yeah. I suppose you could look at it that way..."

The GM, laughing aloud, then muttered bitterly.

"...I wish I could think that simply too."

Well... human hearts don't always obey.

The next day after this honest talk with the GM,

We got up early and hurried to the cave leading to the underground passage.

By nightfall, we reached our destination.

But the problem was...

"It's not bad having this kind of time after a long while. It felt like returning to my explorer days. Thank you... Wait, why that face?"

That kind of thing should be said after returning to the city.

Suddenly saying it made me feel like something was about to happen—

"...Stop."

Out of habit, I quickly scanned the surroundings, then immediately stopped moving.

"What's wrong?"

"Quiet."

Lowering my voice, the GM tensed, gripping his staff tightly.

'Why are all wizards so Dwalke-like?'

The question popped up, but I focused on checking the cave entrance instead.

[Was here.]

[Daehan Geona Ibaekho.]

Graffiti by Ibaekho found earlier.

Below it, a new mark appeared that hadn't been there before.

[Rafdonia's king, Mother fucker.]

It was a phrase well-known in Ghost Busters—a meme among community players.

Who else but Ibaekho?

He probably scribbled it on the way back out of boredom.

"Th-that's...!"

"Do you know what language that is?"

"...I believe it's the language of evil spirits. And the letters above look like one of their alphabets too."

The GM was flustered, unable to reveal the truth about evil spirits, and hurriedly made excuses.

Normally, I'd have teased him with ignorant questions, but now there was no time.

"Looks like there were unwanted visitors. Let's get out of here."

"Huh...?"

"Better not run into them. It'd be troublesome if the city found out I'm outside."

"Ah..."

Though I really just didn't want to meet Ibaekho and his gang, the GM nodded in agreement.

So...

Swish.

As soon as communication ended, we slowly backed away.

Step by step, moving toward the opposite side of the cave.

One step, two steps, three steps.

Just as we were about to turn our backs—

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

A man's howl echoed from inside the cave.

It wasn't quite a scream.

Rather—

"Fuuuuuuuuuuck!!"

A shout born of rage.

Surprisingly, the echoing scream rapidly approached—

"Can you hear me? You're nearby! Can you hear me?"

A man burst out of the cave at a speed too fast to follow with the eyes, yelling.

'...Ibaekho?'

Sure enough, it was Ibaekho.

But here's another problem—

"Just try catching me! Huh? If you catch me, I swear I'll—"

Ibaekho leapt forward with acceleration as soon as he exited the cave.

And—

"...."

"...."

His eyes met ours.

Thud.

His body, which seemed about to fly into the sky like a jet, collapsed weakly and landed on the ground.

"...Uh, why is the Baron with him?"

Ibaekho's expression showed unusual surprise.

But it didn't take long before that expression twisted into a demonic glare.

"You two... did this together...?"

"Together...?"

I showed an expression meaning I didn't know, and Ibaekho yelled in frustration.

"Don't play dumb! Did you break the returning magic circle? Was it you two?"