The Player Who Can't Level Up

Gi-Gyu's shell was fully healed, and he was now ready to proceed.

Old Man Hwang frowned deeply and waved his hand as he explained, “I thought this’ll be the death of me. If you ask me to do it again, I will fail. If it weren’t for Min-Su, it would’ve been impossible.”

Old Man Hwang patted Min-Su’s head affectionately. The little boy’s genius had done it again. 

“Anyway…” When Old Man Hwang clapped his hands, the skeleton soldiers brought in a beautifully decorated box. Opening the box, the elderly man announced, “It’s finished.”

When Gi-Gyu looked inside the box, he saw the familiar sword he had been waiting for. He murmured, “El…” 

She looked just like before. In fact, for some reason, El looked even more elegant than before. 

-I have to admit Old Man Hwang has great skills. I can’t believe he made El’s form even more beautiful than before…

Lou sounded envious as if he wanted the same thing done for himself. Gi-Gyu asked, “Lou, do you want me to ask him to improve you too?” 

-Are you crazy? This isn’t like what you humans call… umm… cosmetic surgery. This is incredibly delicate work, and I, for one, will never go under the knife. 

“Hehe,” Gi-Gyu laughed playfully. It was amusing to see Lou acting so afraid. 

-Master! Me! Can’t I get it done?

“Well… Brunheart, I will think about it,” replied Gi-Gyu. Brunheart was embedded in his chest, so Gi-Gyu wondered if it was possible to reinforce him. Gi-Gyu shook his head and dismissed the thought, thinking it must be impossible. 

Gi-Gyu announced, “I think we are ready.”

“Are you going to proceed right now?” Old Man Hwang asked. After a short contemplation, Gi-Gyu nodded and replied, “Yes. Let’s do it.”

***

After practicing on so many holy swords, Gi-Gyu had learned a few things about this process. One was to never conduct this process inside his gate. He didn’t believe he would fail this time, but…

-Don’t think for a second that the difficulty level would be the same as when you used those holy swords. 

“Those” referred to the three angels gazing at Gi-Gyu with love from the basement corner. Each of them had a Life Root piece, so he placed them within reach to counter anything unexpected. 

-Okay, so the initial steps for El’s revival should be the same as the other holy swords. However, you’ve to inject an entire Life Root piece into El instead of a bit of Life. This was always the plan, so I suppose it’s a good thing your Root exploded into several pieces.

According to Lou’s explanation, Life’s Root was like a human liver. Any slight damages or breakage would be recovered if given enough time. However, that didn’t mean you could go around distributing it: Giving and accepting it was almost impossible, which made the three angels a miracle.

-Because El was originally the master of Life, there shouldn’t be any side effects. 

Lou reassured Gi-Gyu; finally, it was time to save El.

-But… 

Lou abruptly announced, his voice sounding strangely expectant. 

-I think simultaneously carrying out El’s evolution would be a good idea. This revival process is a continuous cycle of expansion and compression. If her evolution takes place at the same time, I think El’s power will increase even more.

“I agree,” Gi-Gyu murmured. Even though there was no proof, Lou’s explanation made sense to him. He opened the screen to recheck El’s evolution conditions.

[El’s first evolution]

[El’s token: 1/1]

[Ego fragment: 10/10]

[Egofied souls: 1/3]

[Holy sword: 1/1]

He had fulfilled all conditions except one. The only egofied soul was of Hwang Chae-Il, but Gi-Gyu couldn’t use him.

“There are two fragments,” Gi-Gyu murmured. Now, Gi-Gyu could use Life to repeat the process that turned Old Man Hwang into an Ego. And he still had the fragments of Phoenix Guild’s Choi Won-Jae and the Iron Guild’s Chalemont. 

“But I still need one more.” Gi-Gyu thought before he said, “But I don’t have the time to look for another fragment right now.”

After Lou’s evolution, the monster and the player's egofication success rate increased. However, it still wasn’t 100%, and Gi-Gyu didn’t think delaying El’s revival was a good idea. 

“It doesn’t feel right.” His instinct screamed at him that he needed to get El back immediately. Perhaps Gi-Gyu felt this way because he felt impatient. Also, carrying out the evolution process wouldn’t make El a god, so waiting just to carry it out simultaneously seemed like a risk to him. 

He made up his mind and announced, “We need to do it now.”

-As you wish.

Lou respected Gi-Gyu’s choice. Noticing the concern on Gi-Gyu’s face, Hamiel said, “Father, we are always here for you…”

Waving his hands in frustration, Gi-Gyu replied, “I told you I’m not your father…” 

It was awkward enough when Min-Su called him “Dad” before. To have these beautiful men and a woman call him “Father” made Gi-Gyu feel uncomfortable. 

Gi-Gyu ordered firmly, “You can call me the grandmaster like the others or… Just call me by my name, Gi-Gyu.” 

Hamiel and the other two angels contemplated and replied, “We would never dare to call you by your name, Father. So we shall call you the grandmaster.”

“All right. I don’t like that word either, but it’s better than being called ‘Father.’ Let’s just keep it consistent.” Gi-Gyu was glad this problem was settled. 

-Well, I guess you’re right.

Lou agreed quietly, and Gi-Gyu began preparing for El’s revival. “Now, what else do I need?”

El was completely different from all the other average holy swords. Just her strength was on a completely different level, so injecting Life into her was bound to take much time and effort. 

“Hamiel, you will be given the duty to protect this basement. Do not let anyone enter this space without my permission. But if it’s my family or acquaintances, be respectful and ask them to return later,” Gi-Gyu ordered. 

Hamiel bowed and answered, “Of course.”

“You are banned from using violence to turn people away, okay?” When Gi-Gyu emphasized, Hamiel roared respectfully, “I won’t forget, Grandmaster!”  

‘Haa… How are the angels more aggressive than the demons?’ Gi-Gyu wondered in confusion. Hart and the other undead seemed more docile than these angels. 

-This is normal. But I agree that they’re even more combative than usual. It might be because you influenced them.

“Me?” When Gi-Gyu asked in surprise, Lou explained,

-Didn’t I tell you this before? Their existence came from you. Their bodies and abilities are from their original form; the most important parts—their life and soul—stemmed from you. 

“But I didn’t do anything!” Gi-Gyu exclaimed, and Hamiel protested, “Fathe— I mean Grandmaster! You gave us everything!”  

Hamiel was so passionate that Gi-Gyu decided not to argue. With a sigh, he stated, “Let’s just finish getting ready.” 

Gi-Gyu changed into comfortable clothes, took off all of his Ego, and piled them in a corner. He did so because he feared the other Egos might affect the revival process. 

Then, he placed the new and improved El on top of a table.

“Phew…” He took a deep breath. 

Just then, Old Man Hwang and Min-Su walked out from the gate. The blacksmith asked, “Were you going to start without us?” 

The luggage and tools they were holding told Gi-Gyu they planned on staying outside for a while. “Of course not. I’ve been waiting for you.” 

Old Man Hwang and Min-Su contributed a great deal to El's revival. Therefore, they had the right to witness the process. His hands trembling, Gi-Gyu held El’s handle and announced, “Now, I will begin.”

***

The day Gi-Gyu took his 40th-floor test, gates began popping up everywhere. Moreover, some of them were the highest level gates ever seen. 

Several gates had even gone through their breaks already, causing severe damage. In some nations, the streets had more monsters than humans. The American Players Association (APA) sent some of its players to help such countries.  

While many became powerful by closing such exceptional gates, many also died in the process. In Korea, three of the new gates turned out to be exceptional. 

Tae-Shik had promised he would reserve them for two weeks as per Gi-Gyu’s request, but two began showing signs of an imminent break. Therefore, these had to be cleared as soon as possible. In the end, the Cain and the Blue Dragon guilds, two in the top ten Korean guilds ranking, were recruited to take care of them. 

This left one exceptional guild to be saved for Gi-Gyu.

“An air battle…” Gi-Gyu murmured as he stood at a cliff's edge so high he couldn’t see the bottom. 

“This is definitely going to be a tricky one.” This exceptional gate forced Gi-Gyu into fighting in the air. He had no idea what was at the bottom of the cliff, but he knew one thing: If he fell, he would die.

There were small peaks down the cliff, which the players could use to rest if necessary. Most players were not comfortable with airborne battles unless they belonged to the magic category, had unique abilities, or possessed hidden jobs. 

“Well, I’m sure I’ll be fine.” When Gi-Gyu shrugged arrogantly, Lou muttered,

-You’re the worst.

But Brunheart seemed excited as he exclaimed,

-Master! I love your confidence! I love it! Yay!

“Hmm…” Gi-Gyu rubbed his chin as he watched the monsters flying around him. According to the scouts, the gate was populated by griffins. These monsters weren’t especially powerful, but even rankers had difficulty dealing with them in the air. 

With a grin, Gi-Gyu touched Bi, currently in its necklace form around his neck. 

“Elemental Water.” Gi-Gyu slowly turned into water droplets and began floating in the air. 

“Let’s hunt!” These droplets shot in various directions like bullets and attacked the griffins. 

***

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu stretched his arms and exhaled deeply. He didn’t enter this exceptional gate because he wanted to clear it alone: He hadn’t hunted in a while, so he wanted some exercise. 

“Grandmaster! We have demolished the griffins!” the angels said proudly.

“How dare you! Don’t speak like you did it all by yourself!” Hart argued angrily.

“How dare an undead speak to me in such…!” Hamiel began to bicker, but he became quiet when he felt Gi-Gyu’s gaze on him. With a forced smile, Hamiel announced instead, “Haha! The undead have been such great help! I never knew they could be so helpful!” 

Both Kamael and Anael scratched their heads awkwardly and followed suit. 

Flap.

The angels flew around Gi-Gyu’s droplet form, and Hart rode a cloud-like dark substance as he hunted the griffins. 

“Kirrrrk!” Another griffin screamed as the durahan, riding a griffin turned undead by Hart, killed it.

“Grandmaster, I killed one for you as well.” When the durahan announced proudly, Gi-Gyu answered, “Good job. But… What’s with you guys? You guys are trying too hard for my compliments.”

The hunt was rather easy. He didn’t even have to use the skeleton monsters or Lou’s summoned beings. The three angels, Hart, and the durahan were enough to eradicate the weaker monsters inside the gate. 

With a deep bow, Hart offered, “If you want an undead griffin too, I shall capture one for you, Grandmaster.”

“N-no, it’s okay. I don’t need one.” When Gi-Gyu refused adamantly, Hart seemed very disappointed. 

‘The griffins are so ugly. And I can’t even imagine how bad they would smell if they turned undead,’ Gi-Gyu thought. 

While the skeletons and Hart only had bones left, the durahan now held a dark, human-like form due to his newfound strength. However, most undead had rotting flesh, i.e., they were bound to smell bad over time. This was why Gi-Gyu wasn’t particularly interested in owning an undead griffin. 

Some time later, Gi-Gyu heard a refreshing voice in his head.

-I’ve taken care of the boss monster.

Fwoosh!

Gi-Gyu looked up to see a figure flying straight toward him at an incredible speed. The one holding the griffin king's head, this gate’s boss, was…El.