The Player Who Can't Level Up

“What are you talking about?” Confused, Gi-Gyu looked at the three figures before him; finally, he noticed the giant wings on their backs. 

“Huh?!” Gi-Gyu gasped, realizing that they were indeed angels. Moreover, they were the very same angels he fought not too long ago in the Tower. Actually, there was a huge difference between the ones kneeling before and the ones he fought: The ones before him weren’t rotten, worn, or damaged; they were lively and real. They reminded him of El.

“Father.” One male angel approached Gi-Gyu and extended his hand. Gi-Gyu flinched but ultimately decided to accept the angel’s hand. Soon, he felt surprising warmth and energy emerging from within. Because his shell was damaged, his condition couldn’t be healed easily. However, his recovery speed increased thanks to this angel’s help. 

While Gi-Gyu was regaining his strength and health, the other angels waited patiently. Even when he got enough strength to stand up, he felt so weak that he had to sit down, so he chose a chair least damaged by the explosion.  

“Why would you call me your father… I don’t understand what’s going on.” When Gi-Gyu murmured, the male angel who treated him opened his wings and announced, “Firstly…”

With a respectful bow, the angel continued, “We shall battle each other to see who gets the honor of serving you, Father.”

-Hehehe.

Lou chuckled at the angel’s words while Gi-Gyu murmured in confusion, “What?” 

Kaboom!

And just like that, a battle began.

***

“So you’re telling me these three angels fought among themselves to pick which one gets to serve you the closest? And the explosion earlier was from their battle?” When Tae-Shik asked in disbelief, Gi-Gyu shrugged and replied, “Apparently.” 

“Haa…” Tae-Shik sighed deeply, not knowing what to think. “I just don’t understand anything anymore. Lately, everything’s been confusing me.”

“How do you think I feel?” Gi-Gyu retorted in frustration. 

Shaking his head, Tae-Shik requested, “Can you just put them somewhere else for now? I can’t concentrate with them standing like that, and we really need to talk.”

“Hmm…” Gi-Gyu thought before pointing at his gate that was producing crystals nearby. “Guys, stop fighting and go inside.”

When none of the angels responded, Gi-Gyu asked, “What’s wrong?” 

Gi-Gyu felt confused when they didn’t immediately obey him since they seemed ready to jump into fire for him just a moment ago. 

“Could you…” one male angel murmured hesitantly. 

“Yes?”

“Could you name us, Father?” the same male angel blushed as he asked. This gave Gi-Gyu a flash of understanding. 

“Hmm…” Gi-Gyu contemplated for a moment. A short silence fell, and even Tae-Shik kept his mouth shut and watched with interest. Finally, Gi-Gyu pointed at the male angel who made the request and replied, “You will now be called Hamiel.”

Hamiel’s face turned cherry-red as he began to cry. Gi-Gyu hadn’t read the book “101 Ways to Deal with an Embarrassed Angel,” so he just pointed at the second male angel and announced, “You’ll be Kamael.”

Finally, Gi-Gyu pointed at the only female angel and stated, “You’re Anael.”

The three angels kneeled simultaneously and thanked Gi-Gyu, “We’re so grateful, Father!”

[You have successfully synced with Hamiel.]

[You have successfully synced with Kamael.]

[You have successfully synced with Anael.]

As expected, Gi-Gyu heard the system announcements. 

“I, Hamiel, will serve Father faithfully as the oldest,” Hamiel swore solemnly. All Gi-Gyu did was name him, but the angel was sobbing in awe. 

Gi-Gyu couldn’t understand why; at the moment, he didn’t even want to know. Waving at the gate again, Gi-Gyu ordered, “Well, okay. Please get inside now.”

“Of course, Father!” The three angels answered and simultaneously jumped into the gate. For a fleeting moment, Gi-Gyu found them cute; immediately after, he felt creeped out by his thoughts. Rubbing his arm, which was covered in goosebumps, Gi-Gyu looked at Tae-Shik and sighed, “Haa…”

-Keke. A human naming angels… That’s funny.

Gi-Gyu heard Lou make a joke, but he ignored it.

***

It had been a long time since Tae-Shik and Gi-Gyu chatted, but Tae-Shik asked Gi-Gyu to assure his mother before beginning the chat since she must be worried. So, Gi-Gyu cleaned himself of the soot and went upstairs to tell his mother everything was okay. 

When Gi-Gyu returned, Tae-Shik and Gi-Gyu began the long-overdue conversation.

“So Soo-Jung found a clue and is in the middle of chasing the Caravan Guild. Did I get that right?” asked Gi-Gyu.

“Exactly. We have already informed the Philippines government about this. I’ve some influence in Korea but not much in the other countries, so I let Lucifer, I mean Soo-Jung, do most of the foreign investigation for me.” When Tae-Shik explained, Gi-Gyu nodded and asked, “What about the Caravan Guild’s Korean branch?”

“Well, we don’t have a lead yet… Korea isn’t a big country, so I can’t understand why we can’t find them yet. Where are they hiding? Anyway, we’ve put our best men on this, so I’m sure we’ll get something soon,” Tae-Shik’s eyes glowed as he replied. He may have been on a break from the investigation, but his hostility toward the Caravan Guild hadn’t pared. Considering how many players they had brainwashed and all the problems they had created, it was shocking how they weren’t noticed earlier. 

Determined to punish whoever was responsible, Tae-Shik changed the subject and murmured, “Anyway, I heard that you went through something big yourself recently. I heard the gist of it from Sung-Hoon.”

Sung-Hoon made a report to Tae-Shik after the day Gi-Gyu lost El. Sung-Hoon informed Tae-Shik that something terrible must have happened to him. Moreover, the internet already had plenty of photos of a blood-covered Gi-Gyu roaming the Gangnam streets. 

The association used its power to quiet down the public interest regarding Gi-Gyu, but they couldn’t completely eliminate it. Also, the public’s interest in Gi-Gyu was increasing since he was now making no effort to hide his identity. So, it was only a matter of time before he became well known. The association was doing its best to minimize any negative media exposure until then. 

“Well, yeah. But I got some new skills, and I’m doing okay,” replied Gi-Gyu. Now that he was sure he could get El back, he looked more hopeful. 

With a small nod, Tae-Shik hesitantly said to him, “And…”

“Is something wrong?” Gi-Gyu asked, worried by the concern he saw in Tae-Shik’s eyes. 

“Lately, new gates have been popping up everywhere. And, on top of that…” Tae-Shik trailed off. He began tapping the armrest of his chair, a tell indicating he was worried about something. Tae-Shik continued, “A couple of exceptional gates have appeared too.”

“Exceptional gates!” Gi-Gyu’s eyes widened. 

“That’s right. That’s why I’ve been so busy.” Tae-Shik sighed in frustration.

“Hyung.” Gi-Gyu’s voice turned solemn, and his eyes began burning with excitement. “Are there many guilds who have offered to enter these exceptional gates?”

***

Before Tae-Shik left the basement, Gi-Gyu asked him for a favor, “Could you keep the angels and Life a secret from the president?”

Gi-Gyu made this request because of what Lou said to him.

-I think that man knows much more than you think. Revealing too much of your abilities to him won’t be beneficial to you.

Gi-Gyu didn’t wholeheartedly trust Tae-Gu. He felt a bit closer to him than he would feel to a stranger, but that was because the president was Tae-Shik’s father. That wee bit of trust also stemmed from all the help he had gotten from Tae-Gu. In summary, Gi-Gyu didn’t hate him, but they weren’t chums either. 

‘All right, Lou. I’ll do as you say,’ Gi-Gyu replied silently. 

Tae-Shik accepted Gi-Gyu’s request without a word. Besides, Tae-Shik didn’t understand these new angels and Life concepts anyway, so he felt uncomfortable sharing this new information just yet. 

Gi-Gyu murmured to himself, “I guess things are going well between Hyung and Mother at least.” Gi-Gyu could smell soybean paste stew from him, and those minor cuts and vegetable smell on his fingers told Gi-Gyu who did the cooking. The stew actually smelled wonderful, so Gi-Gyu could tell he was working hard to court Su-Jin. 

Gi-Gyu turned around to get back to work. It was time to clean up the basement and enter the gate again. He ordered the skeleton soldiers to do the cleaning before entering the gate. 

“I have two weeks,” Gi-Gyu murmured. He was given a two-week reservation on the exceptional gates. It became a possibility only because not many players enjoyed these particular gates. However, these gates had to be cleared to prevent a gate break, so Gi-Gyu became one of those brave souls who liked to enter these strange gates. Tae-Shik promised Gi-Gyu that he would keep the other brave souls out for the next two weeks, which meant…

“I’ve to get El back within that time,” Now inside Brunheart's gate, Gi-Gyu murmured. 

Kaboom!

Suddenly, a loud explosion rang, leaving Gi-Gyu agape at the white light flashes in the sky. 

“Father obviously sent us here to annihilate you undead!” Hamiel screamed. 

“What the fuck are you talking about?! How did you get inside Grandmaster’s territory?! Come down from there, you fly!” Hart swore at the angels.

Gi-Gyu stared at the white and dark magic clashing against each other. 

***

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu sighed, pressing his temples with his fingers. The Life Root explosion had damaged his shell, so he needed time to recover from this injury; thankfully, the healing was almost done. It was truly a blessing, and Gi-Gyu had been feeling good about himself. Well, at least until he saw the battle inside the gate. 

“Father! We apologize!” the angels cried out.

“Grandmaster! I have done something terrible!” Hart roared even louder. 

“Please punish us!” the angels begged.

Four figures—Hamiel, Kamael, Anael, and Hart—knelt before Gi-Gyu, asking forgiveness.

“No, it’s okay. I mean… Haa…” Speechless, Gi-Gyu sighed again and massaged his temples. Earlier, Gi-Gyu shouted at the four to stop fighting and explained they weren’t enemies. Thankfully, the four loyal creatures obeyed his order, and the battle ended immediately. 

The angels begged to be punished for destroying Gi-Gyu’s gate, while Hart asked for the same for attacking the angels who belonged to Gi-Gyu. 

Gi-Gyu reassured them, “It was all just a misunderstanding, so… Let’s just forget about it, okay?”

“But Father! Why did you take in these undead!” When Hamiel argued, Gi-Gyu looked at him coldly and answered, “That’s enough.” 

Hamiel shivered when Gi-Gyu glared at him. There was no mercy in Gi-Gyu’s eyes as he continued, “Firstly, I’m not your father. We’ll have to talk about this soon, but anyway, and secondly, these undead have been my followers much longer than you. Even those skeletons over there have a longer history with me than you.”

When Gi-Gyu pointed at the skeleton soldiers and Hart, Hamiel shivered as if ashamed. He could see the angels were getting anxious, so he explained, “I mean… Just because they’ve been with me longer doesn’t mean you need to consider them your superior, but… I’m just saying you shouldn’t fight with them…”

“Ugh… All right. If that is your command, I shall obey, Father.” Hamiel nodded. 

“Huh?” Suddenly, Gi-Gyu saw a grin on Hart’s face, which was just a skull. Hart seemed happy because he thought he outranked the angels. 

Gi-Gyu hurriedly ordered, “Ah! Hart, you must not disrespect them either.”

“Of course, Grandmaster. Your wish is my command,” Hart replied with a deep bow.

Since things had finally settled, Gi-Gyu had to decide where the angels would stay. 

The angels begged, “Father, it feels too uncomfortable here because of the dark magic.”

“I’ll find a solution soon,” Gi-Gyu promised. The gate was a perfect place for the undead to thrive; understandable, it wasn’t for the angels. Gi-Gyu had already thought of this problem, and he had an idea. 

‘The exceptional gates.’ The exceptional gates’ appearance was a happy coincidence because if he managed to sync with them, he could accomplish many things he had been planning.

“Please be patient. Give me just a bit of time.” When Gi-Gyu told the angels, they replied, “All right, Father. We shall endure this hardship.”

“I told you I’m not your Father—”

“You gave birth to us! You’re our creator! Therefore, you’re our Father!” 

Gi-Gyu couldn’t even understand what the angels were saying. Repeating the same line frustrated him so much that he wanted to punish the angels by making them raise their arms and stand in the corner. It was the go-to punishment for naughty children; Gi-Gyu was sure it wouldn’t even make those semi-ranker entities break a sweat. 

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu shook his head and sighed. When he waved his hand to dismiss them, Hamiel and the rest left him. 

-They aren’t your average angels. They have no memories or anything. Just like they said, you have created them. When you have time later, check out their stats.

Lou seemed to be enjoying Gi-Gyu’s frustration. 

Gi-Gyu wanted to ask Lou a number of questions, but he didn’t have the energy to. After all, his shell exploded just a few hours ago, and he still wasn't fully healed. This added stress only frustrated and exhausted him more. 

One good thing was that Gi-Gyu now felt confident about injecting Life into El. Once his shell fully heals and Life’s at full power, Gi-Gyu would get El back. 

Feeling pleased, Gi-Gyu found a random spot and fell asleep. Strangely, he now felt more comfortable inside the gate than in his own home.

***

“Hello, Sir. Oh, you came too, Min-Su! Hi!” Gi-Gyu greeted. 

“Hyung!” Min-Su ran toward Gi-Gyu and gave him a hug. 

Old Man Hwang and Min-Su were here to visit Gi-Gyu. Old Man Hwang said to Gi-Gyu, “I did it. El’s body has been restored.”

Old Man Hwang, who looked exhausted, was covered in sweat, but a bright, satisfied smile was on his lips.