The Genius Programmer Turned Wizard - GPW Chapter 7: The Adventurer’s Guild (Part 2)

Sure, it made sense that anyone with Crow’s Badge would get VIP treatment.
But this level?

‘But why is he looking at me like that?’

His eyes sparkled as he looked at me, yet he seemed a little shy.
Of course, this wasn’t how he looked in the game.

‘Which means… it’s because of me?’

I was still deep in thought, trying to figure out what variable of mine had changed him like this.

“I thought I had my fair share of run-ins with golems.”

It felt like a random brag, but it didn’t seem like he was just trying to boast.
And, according to the game lore, it wasn’t a lie either.

“But I’ve never seen someone handle a golem like you did.”

‘Like me? Does that mean he saw the match?’

His twinkling gaze was a bit overwhelming, but one thing was clear—he was impressed by me.

‘Not a bad feeling.’

As if affirming my thought, he continued.

“But someone like you wants to start as a regular apprentice? What would the members of that party think?”

From his tone, it sounded like he was about to recommend that I take the official rank evaluation.
It was a very generous offer.
Though… I didn’t particularly need it right now.

“Hmm… Wouldn’t they just think they struck gold?”

“Huh? Well, yeah, that’s true, but…”
“I’d like to start as an apprentice.”

When I made my stance clear, the branch manager’s eyes widened.

“Apprentice? Are you serious? With your skills, you could be ranked C… no, possibly even B!”

“There’s a specific party I want to join.”

More precisely, I wanted to go to the dungeon that party was heading to.

“What party is that…?”
“Liam’s party.”
“Liam? Isn’t that the party with the Red Saint from the Red Magic Tower?”

As expected, they were famous.
Well, if someone’s going to be my magic mentor, they ought to be at that level.

‘And since he already knows that much, I probably don’t need to explain more.’

Just as I guessed, the branch manager tilted his head for a moment, then nodded with understanding.

“Ah, so that’s why you want to be an apprentice!”

I nodded.
He’d hit the nail on the head.

It was an unspoken rule among mages, whose pride was notoriously prickly, that no other mage could join a party that already had one.
But under the Adventurers’ Guild’s apprentice system, it was allowed for a mage to work under another mage.

“That does make sense! But wait, isn’t that party headed to…”

“The Shallow Hollow of Graham?”

“Yes, that’s the one! You’re going there as an apprentice?”

His face suddenly turned serious—but oddly enough, there was a glint of excitement in his eyes too.
I wasn’t sure why he looked like that, but I did understand why he was asking.

Still, knowing too much would seem suspicious, so I played dumb.

“Isn’t that just a D-rank dungeon?”

“So you didn’t know. A D-rank party was wiped out there not long ago. That’s why a party with the Red Saint is being dispatched now.”

He was right—it was a dangerous place.
But I had a reason I had to go there.
Because the “Ancient Magic” was supposed to be located there.

“The more dangerous it is, the more fun, right?”

At least in the game, that was true.
Whether it still held now that this was reality, I wasn’t sure—but thinking about the code hidden there… yeah, it would definitely be fun.

At that moment, the branch manager suddenly burst into laughter.

“Bwahahaha! Fun? You’ve really lost it, haven’t you?!”

The mood shifted suddenly, but I wasn’t shaken.
I already knew he was like this.

“Yeah! Get your ass kicked and nearly die—that’s what it means to be an Adventurer! These brats today don’t get that, dammit!”

Uh… I don’t actually plan on dying, though.
Sure, it’s a risky place, but I’ve got everything prepared.
No need to mention that, of course.

“Alright, alright. I’ll write a recommendation letter for Liam’s party.”

The branch manager stood up with an excited look on his face, and just as I was thinking everything had gone smoothly—

‘Huh?’

He suddenly froze in place with a strange expression.

“Is there something else you wanted to say?”
“Hmm, well… there is one condition.”

‘A condition? What does he want? Money? Crow’s badge? No, if it’s the branch manager I know…’

Crap. He’s going to challenge me to a fight, isn’t he?

“Sorry, but I’m not really in the mood to—”
“Just give me your autograph!”

…Wait, what?

“…Didn’t you just say something else a second ago?”
“Nope. Nothing at all.”

‘Wait—autograph?’

A dozen dangers flashed through my mind at once.
Fraud, identity theft, illegal contracts…

This might actually be more dangerous.

“What kind of autograph are we talking about…?”
“Ahem!”

He suddenly turned around.
His white shirt stretched tight across his broad back, like a blank canvas.

“Would you mind signing… here?”

His shy voice made my head go numb, but I barely managed to keep it together.

‘Does this even make sense in a medieval fantasy setting?’

Was it the developer’s weird sense of humor, or just one of the branch manager’s quirks?
I wasn’t sure—but I picked up the pen anyway.

‘Well, doesn’t seem like he means any harm.’

Just as I was about to write my name, my hand froze again.

‘Now that I think about it… my name is…’

Using “Baek In-wook” as-is didn’t seem right.
In a culture that looks like medieval Western Europe, the name would stand out and be hard to pronounce.
Rather than making up a totally random name, it might be better to use a familiar nickname…

‘Ah, this’ll work.’

Having settled on a name, I began writing it across his back.

— Inux

Translatin_Otaku

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