“I was a late bloor 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 extrely unusual. Of course, adapting was incredibly difficult.”
Well, that made sense.
After all, elites like Raven who entered the tower young tended to dislike latecors like him.
Though those they disliked even more were non-majors like Dwalke.
Anyway, the important thing was not that...
‘A late bloor...?’
No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t make sense.
Was he lying to now?
Because when I t 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 assud 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 so 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 beco 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 .
“Actually, I never planned to beco a wizard. I just thought I should be an explorer.”
“Hm...?”
“Of course, clashing with monsters inside a dangerous labyrinth didn’t suit , 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 soone aiming for archery beco a wizard?
“I had to earn money first to buy even a crossbow when I was broke. As soon as I beca 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 t the master of his first sect like fate...
“The master was fascinated by a toy I made in my spare ti. He called 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?
Sotis 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-elent 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 resud.
“I don’t an to brag, but magic suited 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 ca 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 beco 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 , so I had to live cautiously. Ah... those days in the tower were truly wild.”
“But still, my master didn’t want to learn other magic. He said my talent was in magic engineering and that I had no ti 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 tis the master felt like a father to . I... didn’t have a father.”
Having been thoroughly gaslit, the GM seed to drift further from the explorer path but endured the life stubbornly.
But “enduring” ans limits co eventually.
“In the end, I couldn’t stand it and ran away. I recruited comrades myself and beca an explorer, spending years without returning to the sect.”
He just increased studying magic helpful for exploring but never stopped magic engineering.
And ti passed.
When a wizard nad Yurben Havelion had earned so explorer fa—
“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 ti, 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 aid 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 had my na first. There was even a number after my na, 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 sohow 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 ho.
“So... how was my story?”
The GM asked with a relieved tone, and after a mont’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 ti 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 feel like sothing was about to happen—
“...Stop.”
Out of habit, I quickly scanned the surroundings, then imdiately 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 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 ti.
“Looks like there were unwanted visitors. Let’s get out of here.”
“Huh...?”
“Better not run into them. It’d be troubleso if the city found out I’m outside.”
“Ah...”
Though I really just didn’t want to et Ibaekho and his gang, the GM nodded in agreent.
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 ? You’re nearby! Can you hear ?”
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 ! Huh? If you catch , I swear I’ll—”
Ibaekho leapt forward with acceleration as soon as he exited the cave.
And—
“....”
“....”
His eyes t ours.
Thud.
His body, which seed 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 aning I didn’t know, and Ibaekho yelled in frustration.
“Don’t play dumb! Did you break the returning magic circle? Was it you two?”
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