The Player Who Can't Level Up

[You have entered the test floor.]

[The test will now begin.]

Gi-Gyu was in an utterly white space when he heard the system announcement. It sounded kind, but his face remained tense. The 40th-floor test was about to begin; If his guess were correct, he would face…

Still keeping mum, El appeared in his grasp. Feeling her anxiety, he didn’t say anything; he believed El would return to normal after he passed the test. 

Clunk!

A powerful metallic noise rang, and Gi-Gyu’s Egos transformed into their original forms. 

Hermes, Oberon, and Brunheart turned into shoes, dark gauntlets, and gray armor. 

“Grr.” Bi appeared by Gi-Gyu’s side and rubbed his head on Gi-Gyu affectionately. 

“Everyone, come out.” When Gi-Gyu ordered, the space nearby distorted, Brunheart’s gate opened, and the skeletons jumped out. Before long, the durahan also walked out and greeted without his usual stutters, “Greetings to the grandmaster.” Moreover, the durahan used to carry his head in his hands before; now, it was where it belonged.

Whir.

Then, Lou began vibrating, bleeding purple smoke and thick blood droplets; soon, the three summoned beings materialized. 

“I’m finally ready.” Holding Lou and El in each hand, Gi-Gyu took a step forward in a lunging position. This was a strategy he learned from Lucifer during their special training. 

The moment he felt ready to battle, hundreds of swords rained from the sky.

Kaboom!

The space was completely empty, but it appeared that there was an invisible floor beneath him. Gi-Gyu’s face turned hard as he murmured, “These are all holy swords…” 

He didn’t have to examine them in detail: He knew they were holy with a glance. 

Fwoosh!

Suddenly, a powerful glow appeared nearby. Feeling the burning sensation in his eyes, Gi-Gyu closed them for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, he stammered, “A-angels?”

Gi-Gyu saw dozens of angels with pure white wings aiming their swords at him.

***

Clang, clang.

The area looked like any old blacksmith’s workshop, but the blacksmith himself was unexpectedly young. The blacksmith was a boy, hardly ten, but the strength with which he used the giant hammer on a steel piece was otherworldly. Nearby, an elderly man was studying a sword glowing with green light. 

“Hmm?” 

Whir, whir.

Zap, zap.

Suddenly, the sword reacted to something and began vibrating. 

Whir, whir, whir.

Old Man Hwang studied the sword with utmost focus since this reaction was alien to him. 

“Did something happen?” Old Man Hwang murmured. Despite having been a blacksmith for long, he couldn’t figure out why the sword suddenly began weeping. 

Meanwhile, the sword began vibrating even harder. 

“Hmm.” As the vibrations continued, Old Man Hwang clicked his tongue and looked in the direction of Seoul. He already knew Gi-Gyu was climbing the Tower. After being reborn as Gi-Gyu’s Ego, Old Man Hwang could now feel Gi-Gyu’s emotions. 

The blacksmith looked down at Nine again.

Tremble.

The sword was shaking so much that he couldn’t even hold onto it anymore. 

“The sword looks… afraid,” Old Man Hwang whispered.

***

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

“Huh?” Holding the ripped head of some player, Soo-Jung wondered out loud as the head continued to bleed. 

Thud, roll.

Looking uninterested, Soo-Jung dropped the head, which rolled on the ground before reaching Baal’s foot. 

“Baal, read his memory and let me know,” When Soo-Jung requested, Baal replied, “All right.”

Baal picked up the head, widened his eyes, and looked straight into the head’s eyes. The head belonged to one of the Caravan Guild members. Like many other Caravan players, Andras had also brainwashed this dead man. The player Soo-Jung just killed was responsible for recruiting new players, making him one of the evilest members of the guild. 

Catching this player took her long, so she had to gain as much information as possible from him. Suddenly, Soo-Jung turned to look elsewhere and murmured, “Is my adorable pupil up to something now?”

She looked down at her arm and found it covered in goosebumps. She wasn’t connected to Gi-Gyu the way Old Man Hwang was, but her Marking was still in effect. So, Soo-Jung knew that something was happening to Gi-Gyu at this moment.

“It’s shaking,” Baal murmured.

“What’s shaking?” When Soo-Jung turned toward Baal and asked, he replied, “The Tower is shaking.”

Unlike Soo-Jung and the other players, Baal had deep ties to the Tower. He could feel the Tower shaking because a significant change was occurring within. 

‘Is it finally starting?’ Baal wondered briefly before shaking his head.

‘Not yet. Probably just a precursor.’ Realizing it was too soon, he shook his head. 

Baal returned to reading the dead player’s memories. From far away, Tae-Shik walked up to the pile of ripped and severed player heads and murmured, “You caught him already?”

***

“Will this ever end?” Gi-Gyu grumbled in frustration. 

Zing.

The angels flying above him continued to aim their old swords, beaming down white lasers. Thankfully, El could absorb these lasers. 

[El is absorbing divine power.]

Gi-Gyu didn’t suffer any damage as the laser beams perished. But…

Zing.

Zing.

Zing.

Countless laser beams continued to drop toward Gi-Gyu. He wasn’t sure if the rays should even be called lasers. Also, the beams weren’t targeting him: They were after the skeletons and the beings Lou summoned. 

Rattle.

The angels on the ground turned skeletons into ash with a touch; the summoned beings were barely holding on. 

“Gotta join the fight,” Gi-Gyu murmured as he watched the angels fighting with their chipped holy swords. They were angels, but they were shockingly ugly: They wore rags, their bodies were rotting, their eyes were cloudy, and they were drooling heavily. 

They looked more like undead than angels. If it weren’t for their pure white wings and Lou’s assurance, Gi-Gyu would never have thought these were angels. 

-Gotta say. Never seen an angel this ugly. 

Lou muttered in disgust. 

“Everyone, get back. Durahan, are you okay?”

When Gi-Gyu asked, the durahan replied, “Grandmaster… I… can last… a little while longer.” The durahan was so badly hurt that he began stuttering again. 

Gi-Gyu announced, “No, you can’t. You need to get back inside too.”

“I… am… sorry…” In the end, the durahan and the skeletons hurriedly returned to the gate. He had to change tactics; otherwise, he would just be wasting crystals. 

Gi-Gyu ordered, “Hart, it’s your turn.”

“I’ve been desperately waiting for your call, Grandmaster.” The lich, Hart, walked out confidently from the gate. 

Gi-Gyu commanded, “You will only support the others. Be careful and just focus on providing support.”

“Your wish is my command.” Hart bowed and replied. Looking up toward the continuous beams, Hart whispered, “Blackout.” 

A black cloud appeared above the summoned beings when Hart waved his hands. Hart’s Blackout wasn’t as powerful as Elemental Dark when used with Spirit Fusion, but it worked better in this situation. The dark cloud now blocked the beams turning the skeletons into ashes, so the summoned beings were safe. 

“Now, let’s begin.” Gi-Gyu no longer stood idle and blocked the rays. When he positioned himself, Lou said to him.

-It has been a long time since I slew some angels.

Lou sounded a little excited. 

Whoosh!

Gi-Gyu sprinted toward the angels at what seemed like the speed of light. 

-I don’t think it will be much of a fight, though.

***

“Phew… It’s finally over.” Gi-Gyu’s forehead was covered in sweat, indicating the difficulty level of the battle he just fought. He was strong, but that didn’t make the angels any weaker. Thankfully, the beams couldn’t hurt him. But knowing they were strong enough to turn his enhanced skeletons to dust, Gi-Gyu shivered as he imagined the lasers hitting his body. 

All the angels were excellent swordsmen, and they fought with skills Gi-Gyu had never seen before. 

Looking around him, Gi-Gyu asked, “Are these all holy swords…? El? Are you still not ready to talk?” 

There were no angels left around, not even their corpses or any crystals. All that was left behind was a mountain of holy swords. They were more damaged than before, but they were still holy, so Gi-Gyu stored them in Brunheart’s gate and asked again, “El?”

The test wasn’t over yet, but Gi-Gyu decided to rest briefly. 

Holy swords and angels: These two things had a close connection to El. 

After a long silence, El replied,

-They were the angels of Princedam, low-level angels abandoned because there were of no use to them. They are guardian angels.

“Guardian angels?” When Gi-Gyu asked, El replied, 

-They are the angels that guard their land, Princedam. 

“What? Princedam? Or was it Princedam? Is this place we are in right now?”

-No, it’s not. This is just a grave. I would like to thank you for giving them peace and rest.

El sounded sincere, but the bitterness in her voice confused Gi-Gyu. She continued,

-But I don’t see their masters. I wonder where they are…

She added worriedly,

-They should’ve all been doing their respective duties… I’m beginning to remember now.

Ba-dum.

El’s words made Gi-Gyu’s heart beat faster. He interrupted El and whispered, “It’s here.” This ominous feeling that made his heart pound. The same feeling from when Lou’s body appeared.

-My duty… 

Gi-Gyu interrupted El again and explained, “El, please wait. I think the next enemy is about to appear. So we should talk later. I’ll get you to evolve too.” 

El tried to say something, but Gi-Gyu couldn't hear it since he expected the powerful enemy to jump out suddenly. 

Ba-dum.

Ba-dum.

His heart continued to thump wildly. Akin to what a non-player felt like after running for a long time. His heart began to ache because it was pounding so fast. 

Fwoosh!

Suddenly, his eyes were blinded again by a bright light.

“Huh…?” Gi-Gyu gasped in confusion when El disappeared from his hand. Because he was still blinded, he couldn’t even search for her. Confusion and nervousness overwhelmed him. 

“El!” When Gi-Gyu yelled, the light that blinded him disappeared. 

“Your test will now begin,” A shockingly beautiful woman appeared in front of his eyes and announced. To his surprise, she was holding El. 

Just then, Gi-Gyu realized what was going on.

“I get it,” he murmured in a humbled tone. Since he entered this test chamber, El had never once addressed him as “master.” 

Gi-Gyu asked, “You’re El, aren’t you?” 

The unbelievably gorgeous woman only looked down at Gi-Gyu silently as her wings fluttered in the air.