The Mercenary Guild
Originally, registering as a mercenary at the Mercenary Guild and receiving a mercenary tag to operate was a Japanese-style JRPG convention. It was a setting that blended Western guilds with Japanese ronin culture, serving as the starting point for most events and the central axis of the narrative. That was why I deliberately left Yanne at the inn. There could be mercenaries like Joy from the Chico Mercenary Group who might unnecessarily butt in after seeing a young girl.
The Mercenary Guild in Durendal Territory operated not only guild business but also an inn and tavern. Perhaps because of that, quite a few people were sitting at tables drinking even in the morning. When I approached the reception desk, a woman in her late thirties came out, which left me slightly disappointed.
One of the JRPG mercenary guild clichés is a beautiful female receptionist! Why isn't the cliché happening?
Since the cliché wasn't being followed, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. I hadn't even brought Yanne along on purpose, yet having an auntie handle the registration made me feel like the cliché had been stolen from me.
"Are you here to take on a request?"
"No. I'm here to register as a mercenary."
"Then, can you read and write?"
The receptionist handed me a paper form. As I looked at it, something felt off. The characters weren't translating directly. When I froze while staring at the form, the woman at the desk assumed I was illiterate and started asking questions herself, writing them down on the paper.
"Your name? Age? Where are you from?"
"Jinwoo, 27 years old, Honey Mushroom Village."
Jinu? Where is Honey Mushroom Village? I suppose I should write down black hair and small black eyes for physical characteristics.
"Do you have any specialties or skills? If you have skills, they'll be reflected in your mercenary rank."
"I can use magic."
"Magic use, hmm? So you're a mage who uses magic?"
Aila, the receptionist, asked in surprise.
"You're a mage?"
"Yes. I'm a mage, but a support mage who can't use offensive magic."
"A support mage? Then, can you use healing magic by any chance?"
"That, I can do."
Aila hurriedly wrote down that healing magic was possible on the documents.
"Which magic tower did you train at?"
I hadn't thought that far ahead, so I just said Changing Magic Tower as it came to mind. Since the company that made the game was Changing, it wasn't exactly wrong.
"Changing Magic Tower. One moment, please."
Aila carefully examined the list of magic towers on display. However, the name Changing Magic Tower wasn't among the two hundred or so listed. She figured it was probably a small magic tower in some remote countryside or that I was a mage from another continent. In such cases, rather than judging herself, the guild master or vice-guild master needed to verify.
"Please wait a moment."
Aila brought Vice-Guild Master Eld and explained the situation. Eld then went up to the guild-operated inn and helped Martin, who was lying injured in bed, down to the lobby.
"Mage. I'm sorry, but we'll need to verify before issuing the mercenary tag."
"Does that mean I just need to cast healing magic on this person?"
"Yes. It's a necessary step for determining your mercenary rank, so please understand. The guild will cover the three gold cost for the healing magic."
Since I'd already been verified by Chico and Joy, I understood. It seemed like a natural process to receive a mercenary tag with a rank engraved on it. Besides, they were even offering three gold for the treatment, so there was no reason to refuse.
The person they'd brought for treatment was clearly seriously injured. His head was bandaged, probably from a crack, and there were visible stab wounds on his shoulder, arm, and chest that had been stitched and wrapped in bandages.
"Your name? How did you get hurt?"
"My name is Martin. I got injured fighting orcs during a request."
I hadn't seen orcs yet, but if a sturdy mercenary like this had been hurt so badly, it seemed like it would be difficult for me to win against them. For my own safety, I needed a tank to block in front of me. Even for the sake of recruiting such meat-shield mercenaries later, I needed to leave a good impression on the guild.
I deliberately chanted in a low voice, "Elon Paypal Tesla Twitter!" like a spell, then cast Active Buff and Healing Buff. A sparkling light permeated Martin's body, and light began to shimmer from his wounded areas. Dirty, dark-red blood and grime bubbled out from the gaps in the stitched wounds.
"Oh! The wounds are closing as they're being purified."
Martin had originally possessed a strong physique and high physical energy. Combined with the healing buff, his wounds were visibly healing.
"We've confirmed the healing magic. Mage Jinwoo will be registered as a B-rank mercenary."
Vice-Guild Master Eld personally took out his seal and stamped the documents, then had Jinwoo's information engraved on a copper mercenary tag.
"Mage. We're the Labyrinth Hounds, a C-rank mercenary group. If you join us..."
"Mage. We're the Great Stones of Hillian. I'm Nols, the leader of this C-rank mercenary group. If there's anything you desire..."
"Mage! We can assign a mercenary with a Kite Shield exclusively for you..."
"D-rank mercenary groups, back off! How dare you butt in!"
Even before the mercenary tag was finished, they were making a fuss trying to recruit a mage.
"Having a mage in a mercenary group raises the group's rank by one level. That's why they're all trying to recruit you."
Vice-Guild Master Eld handed over the mercenary tag along with three gold as payment for the healing magic.
"The Labyrinth Hounds and the Great Stones of Hillian are mercenary groups with decent credibility. They also have sufficient funds."
As Eld said, if I joined a mercenary group and moved with mercenaries who could serve as tanks, things would improve in terms of stability. I'd even be able to sleep comfortably with night watch shifts. However, that would mean having to move according to the mercenary group's schedule. Moreover, if the group headed into dungeons or battlefields just because a healing mage had joined, it might actually become more dangerous.
Well, the other testers will probably form parties with mercenary groups and do their game testing, right?
That would be the standard way to progress in a fantasy game. But since I was a support mage without offensive magic, following that standard path carried too much risk. Besides, from talking with Chico, I already knew that mercenary life wasn't filled with the dreams and romance people usually imagined. As the name suggested, mercenaries sold themselves for money and had to go wherever they were sent. Life in reality was already tough enough—I didn't want to be dragged around by mercenary groups for money even in the game.
Deciding to walk a different path from the other testers, as befitting a support mage, I spoke up.
"I appreciate the offers, but I have other things to do, so I probably won't be joining a mercenary group. Instead, as a celebration of joining the Mercenary Guild, I'll offer half-price healing to anyone who needs treatment."
Having seen Martin's wounds from the orc attack heal before their eyes, the mercenaries with money stepped forward for treatment. I healed four mercenaries that way and used the six gold I received to buy food ingredients at the market. Since it was the main castle ruled by a baron, there was a proper permanent market, but I couldn't find crops like tomatoes, peppers, or sweet potatoes. There were merchants dealing in sugar, salt, and pepper, but the prices were quite high and the quality didn't look great either. I wished there was at least soy sauce for flavoring, but there was no such sauce. Only salt, pepper, and herbs were available. I thought soy sauce might have been implemented somewhere like coffee beans, but if finding it was a quest, it might take years. Begging the development team to just send it to my inventory seemed like the fastest option.
Game usage time: 7 hours 38 minutes. All vital signs are normal.
"Whew."
When I came out of the capsule, my body felt strangely heavy today. I was hungry, so I opened the fridge, but there was nothing to eat since I hadn't gone grocery shopping in a while. Still, there were dumplings in the freezer, so I boiled ramen and fried some dumplings in a pan. Since there wasn't even space to set up a proper table, I laid a board under the sink and ate the ramen and dumplings there. While eating, I saw the chives stuffed inside the dumplings and thought of making bindae-tteok with haggis ingredients. I considered taking out the dumpling filling to make it, but it felt too pathetic, so I dropped the idea.
Even though I was stuffing myself with spicy ramen and dumplings, something felt unfulfilled. In the game, there was Yanne who ate with me, and people who welcomed me as a mage. But in reality, outside the game, I was huddled on the kitchen floor of a cramped two-room apartment eating ramen in a miserable state, which couldn't help but make me feel depressed. The game gear capsule took up the entire large room, so I had to curl up and sleep in the small room that used to be a closet, which was also depressing.
Of course, even in reality, I could have contacted Kang-il hyung or my college friends and asked them to eat together. But since it was already 4 PM, it wasn't a time when people tied up at work could do anything with me. Even though not even two hours had passed since I logged out of the game, I wanted to go back in. However, I had to stick to the eight-hour connection limit. The secretary was sensitive about managing connection time due to the game addiction-related conditions, so there was nothing I could do.
After doing the dishes and sending the report, I called the secretary.
"Um, Secretary. Is there any chance you could add something else to the game?"
"We can't add any more weapons."
"Ah, it's not weapons. I need seeds like tomatoes, peppers, and sweet potatoes."
"What? Tomato or pepper seeds?"
"Yes. I was thinking that even if I try to cook something in the game, there aren't any of those crops, so maybe I could try growing them from seeds."
"Hmm. Something like small seeds might be possible. I'll check with the development team, and if it's approved, I'll send them to your inventory."
"Thank you."
***
"Park Jinwoo seems to have entered the immersion phase now. His attachment to life in that world has increased."
"So he's starting to feel more affection for there than here."
When Elon Busker looked at Park Jinwoo's report and requests, he could feel that Jinwoo was prioritizing life on the other side.
"Good. Send the seeds. They might be findable in that world, but just sending them will be easier for everyone. There won't be any issues with transmission energy, right?"
"No. We used energy for cooking tools and the slingshot, but seed types are sufficient. Also, he said he joined the Mercenary Guild—should we assign him objectives?"
"Has Park Jinwoo been there for over ten days now?"
Next to Park Jinwoo's name on the wall display, D+11 was shown.
"Since he's a support mage, it would be difficult for him to take the front lines, but forming a party or rising to the upper ranks of the guild should be easy."
"We don't need to seize control of the Shuzel Kingdom's Mercenary Guild yet. Just tell him to raise his mercenary rank to A-rank if possible."
"Understood. Then I'll instruct him to raise his mercenary rank and move to the capital."
"Right. And give him a heads-up to stay away from the Church of Tablon, the God of Balance. If he approaches the Tablon Church without knowing anything, all his efforts could go to waste."
"Yes. I'll tell him to keep his distance from the churches."
***
◈ Various vegetable and crop seeds stored in inventory.