The Player Who Can't Level Up

“What happened?” Gi-Gyu studied his hands again and murmured. The memory of getting stabbed in the heart was still vivid in his mind, so how was he still alive?

El smiled and suggested, “Shall we take a walk, Master?” 

She stood up first and offered her hand to Gi-Gyu, who was still on the ground. He promptly took her hand and also stood up. 

“Ugh!” Suddenly, all his nerve endings became active, spreading mind-numbing pain throughout his body. However, a calming warmth gradually spread from El’s hand to him, reliving much pain. 

“That’s amazing,” Gi-Gyu said to her. Their current situation had many incredulous things: El's shockingly powerful healing ability, how comfortable he felt with someone who tried to kill him, and her physical body. I mean, he was taking a walk with El hand in hand.

Pausing for a moment, Gi-Gyu called her, “El.”

“Yes?”

“What about Lou and the other Egos?” Gi-Gyu asked, finally examining his body. He couldn’t hear any of his other Egos’ voices in his head, he wore a flimsy piece of cloth, and he couldn’t even feel his other Egos.  

“This is a separate space. The other Egos are somewhere else temporarily.” When El replied, Gi-Gyu accepted her explanation without question since she had no reason to lie. Still holding her hand, he could feel her sincerity. They were connected to each other, so he could feel her emotions. 

“I see.” Gi-Gyu nodded in understanding as he continued, “I must’ve survived because of Calleon’s special ability.”

El didn’t say anything, but Gi-Gyu continued to wonder how he survived as they walked in silence. Even the most powerful player couldn’t survive being stabbed in the heart. Yet, here he was still alive. Based on El’s calmness, Gi-Gyu suspected that he passed the test as well. 

Gi-Gyu had never received fatal damage before, so he completely forgot about Calleon—the ability El took from Ironshield’s holy sword Calleon. It could be used only once, but it was essentially a chance to recover from a fatal wound. It probably got activated when Gi-Gyu was stabbed. 

Gi-Gyu touched his chest and felt a scar. When El nodded, Gi-Gyu continued, “Ah, that was why Lou was so calm back then. I know Lou can be cold-hearted, but I still found it odd that he was so nonchalant about my death.”

“As his power increases, he will be able to remember and use more of what he knows.” Nodding to El’s response, Gi-Gyu began walking again. The gentle breeze felt very pleasant as they strolled together.

“Master.” When El murmured, Gi-Gyu turned toward her and replied, “Yes?” 

“Why didn’t you stab me? After all, I am a traitor who dared to raise my sword against my master,” asked El as she lowered her face, failing to look him in the eye.

“Since you weren’t in control, you aren’t to blame,” Gi-Gyu murmured. 

“But… I know my body was moving against my will, but…”  

“I know,” Gi-Gyu whispered and hugged El. Feeling her warmth, he realized El’s physical form resembled a human's. 

Gi-Gyu continued, “I know. You knew something like this could happen.” El acted strangely on the floors leading to the 40th; now that he thought about it, he realized she knew what might happen during the test. 

El explained, “I wanted to tell you. I wanted to stop you from taking the test. I desperately wished for you to not enter the 40th floor. Perhaps you could be satisfied with what you already had and live a safe life.”

She looked up, her eyes filled with tears. She stammered, “Bu-But…” 

El hugged him tightly. “You had to continue climbing the Tower, and I didn’t want to be in your way, Master. If I did, I wanted you to… With your own hands…”

“That’s enough,” Gi-Gyu interrupted El. “Everything worked out in the end, so you don’t have to explain.”

She didn’t have to force herself to vocalize everything since he understood her dilemma. She couldn’t have stopped him from ascending the Tower, his goal, just because he would’ve to face her betrayal otherwise. So, she couldn’t help what she did. 

Gi-Gyu murmured softly, “I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been for you.” 

The two, the traitor and her master, continued to embrace each other and cry silently. 

***

Walking on the grassland, Gi-Gyu and El chatted about many things. She revealed many secrets, yet he didn’t suffer any penalty. Was it because he had become more powerful? Or was it because they were in a special place independent of the rest? It almost felt like Gi-Gyu was in a parallel space where the Tower’s system couldn’t enforce its rules. 

El explained, “I was created to follow its will, so following another master confused me. I even began to question my own existence, which made me doubt you, Master.”

This was the reason El became so quiet lately. Well, she wasn’t all that talkative even in the beginning; she became even less talkative later. 

El continued, “All holy swords were originally angels. Not all angels are holy swords, but all holy swords are angels.”

Angels were creatures with noble wills, so they sacrificed their bodies and minds and downgraded themselves to tools when they committed a sin. That was how holy swords came into being. 

El added, “I am the empress of all holy swords. I was the very first holy sword, and all the others that followed after were created with my permission and will.”

Gi-Gyu nodded in understanding since he already knew that El was the Empress of Holy Swords. 

“But my memories are very hazy. I remember receiving a duty to become a holy sword, but I can’t remember the rest very clearly.”

“That’s…” When Gi-Gyu murmured, El lowered her face with a desperate look and replied, “After what happened on the 40th floor, I decided to forget my uncertainty and doubts about you. I believe I can’t remember because of my decision: To serve you as my one true master.”

Was it possible that El lost her connection to her original lord because she acknowledged Gi-Gyu as her new master? And did she lose her memories as a penalty? 

Gi-Gyu asked, “What about that demon you kept imprisoned? Do you remember anything about that?”

El gave him a small nod and replied, “Yes, but not much. I only remember that he was one of the rulers of the Tower.”

“One of the rulers of the Tower?” Gi-Gyu murmured. When he obtained El, this supposed ruler of the Tower broke the seal and got away. 

“This is so complicated.” Gi-Gyu shook his head. The more he learned, the more his confusion grew. After the gates and the Tower appeared, everything became so complicated that he could only fantasize about concepts easier to understand. There were many secrets in this world, and Gi-Gyu knew he wouldn’t understand most easily. 

“Let’s just take care of these complications later,” Gi-Gyu announced. There was a good chance he would get to learn more secrets as he climbed the Tower, so worrying about them now was counterproductive. 

“It’s not like I have no immediate dangers to worry about.” The escaped ruler of the Tower was just one of them and not that high on the current priority list. Gi-Gyu still needed to deal with Ironshield, Lee Sun-Ho—the potential enemy—after one year, and then there were the Caravan Guild and Andras.

Therefore, the demons and the rulers of the Tower will have to wait for now. 

“Slowly.” When Gi-Gyu mumbled, El asked, “Pardon?”

“Let’s just go slowly,” replied Gi-Gyu, making El smile. 

Gi-Gyu couldn’t tell how long they had been walking; when they returned to the giant tree, El said to him, “Master. Thank you.”

“For what?” Gi-Gyu looked at her in confusion when El thanked him unexpectedly. 

She explained, “For treasuring me and letting me live. For always being by my side.”

“What are you doing…?” Gi-Gyu trailed off nervously since El was acting like she was about to leave. 

El continued, “Please listen to Lou and trust his advice. He has become someone  trustable.”

“El?” 

“And you’re much more powerful than you think.”

“El!” Gi-Gyu yelled her name again, but El continued, unperturbed. An ominous feeling engulfed him, telling him to stop her from taking, but the terrible pain suddenly returned, preventing him from making any move. El had let go of his hand, so the pain was back in full force. 

El added, “Both Lou and I have lived for a long time and have vast knowledge. Still, we can’t control or direct your existence, Master. You have incredible abilities and potential.”

“El… W-what is going on?” Gi-Gyu could barely speak through the agony. With a smile, El continued, “Master, continued climbing the Tower. Slay everything that stands in your way, be it demons or angels.”

Gi-Gyu’s eyes began to blur, but he could still see the tears rolling down El’s cheeks. 

“Please destroy all your enemies and the rulers of the Tower. And”—she wiped her tears with her beautiful hand—“become the Master of the Tower. I know you can do it.”

“That’s—” Gi-Gyu couldn’t finish his sentence. He found it strange that an angel, the Empress of Holy Swords no less, would suggest something like this. He wanted to voice his doubts, but his consciousness left his body, and all he could do was close his eyes quietly.

***

“Ackkkkk!” A cruel, throbbing pain spread from his chest. It felt like there was a hole in his heart, and it turned out to be exactly that. 

“Ack!” When Gi-Gyu screamed again, blood spurted out from his chest. 

-Wake up!

-Master!

Gi-Gyu could hear Lou and Brunheart’s desperate voices. 

“Ackkkkk!” All Gi-Gyu could do was scream in agony. He couldn’t describe the pain since he hadn’t felt anything close to it before. 

-I said snap out of it, you idiot!

Lou roared again. 

Whack! Whack!

Gi-Gyu flailed his hands, hitting whatever and whoever was in front of him. During his struggles to get rid of the pain and screams, he forgot the passing of time. His voice went hoarse; thankfully, the pain in his heart also began to subside. 

His eyes were blurry, so he couldn’t see anything. It was as if there was a hazy fog all around him. Still in pain, Gi-Gyu sobbed, making Lou sigh.

-Haa…

Lou sounded relieved because his master had survived the worst of the pain and knew Gi-Gyu would live. 

-Hic.

Gi-Gyu could hear Brunheart’s hiccups from crying so much and Bi’s worried groans from nearby. 

“Ugh…” Finally able to breathe, Gi-Gyu realized he was alive. Despite what the reality-shattering pain made him think, he was alive. His face felt sticky, and the white space around him was now dirtied by much red. 

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu took another deep breath. 

‘This white space…’ 

It abruptly reminded him of someone very important. “El!!!” 

When his eyesight returned, he used his trembling hands to reach toward a sword chipped in too many places. It was so damaged that it no longer even looked like a sword. 

‘El.’

[You have passed the test.]

[You will now be given a reward.]

The system made its announcement calmly as usual.

“Ahhh!!!” Gi-Gyu screamed again: It wasn’t physical pain, but the pain from his heart. He wailed because he could feel it.

His link with El was broken.