The Player Who Can't Level Up

Gabinji13-16 minutes 24.07.2022

“What did you find out?!” Tae-Gu’s shouted. That wasn’t anger behind his question—it was excitement. Gi-Gyu looked around the room, wondering if he could trust everyone present here. 

No, more importantly, was what he knew even a secret? How much did the players in this room know? Did they know about the existence of demons? While he was busy pondering, everyone stared at him in anticipation. 

Gi-Gyu didn’t have to contemplate long. “A demon’s behind this.”

“A demon?” Tae-Gu asked in confusion while the rest of the group remained quiet.

“...” 

Based on everyone’s facial expression, Gi-Gyu felt certain of one thing. 

‘They all know about the existence of demons.’ 

This just proved they were mercenaries for a reason. Gi-Gyu didn’t know the exact qualifications to become a mercenary, but he was confident abilities and stats weren’t the sole qualifiers. He suspected Tae-Gu had a fixed standard for mercenary selection; today, he felt like he learned a bit about it.  

After organizing his thoughts, Gi-Gyu continued, “Before coming here, I visited the new gate in Gangnam again.” 

Lou said he wanted to confirm something, so Gi-Gyu asked Sung-Hoon to drop him off at the site before coming to the association building. 

“I’m not sure if you know, but I was at the scene when the gate first opened in Gangnam,” explained Gi-Gyu. The Gangnam gate was currently considered special because it was the first unratable exceptional gate. It spurred a chain of unratable exceptional gate appearances all around the globe. 

Tae-Gu replied, “We already knew that.” 

Tae-Gu meant that everyone in the room knew about Gi-Gyu’s presence in Gangnam on Christmas day. He wondered, ‘Does this mean the mercenaries share all the information among themselves?’

He didn’t believe it to be the case since he had only ever held discussions with one mercenary so far: Suk-Woo. Also, the association kept everything about the mercenaries hush-hush. However, the mercenary themselves were free to disclose their information based on their comfort level. 

This told Gi-Gyu that the other mercenaries did their own research on the Gangnam gate. They probably looked into all the players present when it opened. Even as he spoke, he tried his best to learn as much as he could about Tae-Gu and the other mercenaries by studying their reactions. 

Gi-Gyu continued, “I have a special ability that lets me look at the details of demons.”

“Hmm. I will vouch for him on this,” Tae-Gu announced to reassure the other players.

“I will also vouch for him.” Tae-Shik followed quickly. 

Gi-Gyu appreciated their help since now he didn't have to explain his ability to everyone. 

“Based on what I found”—Gi-Gyu hesitated—“someone purposefully opened these new gates, and that someone is…”

Tae-Gu asked quickly, “A demon?”

“Yes.” 

“Hmm…” When Tae-Gu groaned, Gi-Gyu murmured, “I’m sure you can guess who I’m talking about.”

“I see. So it’s him, huh?” Tae-Gu whispered, and Tae-Shik nodded in understanding. Gi-Gyu looked around to study the other mercenaries. Some knew who he was talking about, while the others looked confused. 

The present probable suspects for this situation were Andras and the Caravan Guild. 

Gi-Gyu offered more information. 

“I have two more things I can tell you. First, Andras couldn’t have done this alone. He had help from a group, not just two-three accomplices. The friendlies could be humans, demons, or both.”

Gi-Gyu had the full attention of the room. Tae-Shik watched him with a small smile, proud of him. Everyone in the room had much more experience than Gi-Gyu, but these powerful players were hanging onto his every word. 

“The second information is…” Gi-Gyu trailed off in hesitation. A while back, Lou told Gi-Gyu the most important fact about this gate situation, but since Gi-Gyu had never seen or experienced something like this, he had difficulty comprehending what Lou meant. 

Finally, Gi-Gyu continued, “Apparently, all the new gates are demon territories.” 

He didn’t mean to shock anyone, but shock he did. 

***

-The penalty still applies, but since you passed the 40th floor, you’re probably a little more qualified now. So I’ll give you some information. 

Lou began. The penalty was an unbearable pain a player suffered when they learned information way above their level. Gi-Gyu had a good guess as to when he will become free of this restriction.

‘Once I pass the 50th floor, many things will change.’

For now, he was still restricted by the penalty. But based on what Lou said, he was allowed a little more information now that he had passed the 40th-floor test. 

“By the way, Lou, I have a question.” Before they began their important conversation, Gi-Gyu needed to satisfy his curiosity. “The penalty gives the listener pain that’s bad enough to kill, right? So can I use this as a weapon?”

Wouldn’t forcing information that his enemy wasn’t qualified to hear down their throats be an effective weapon? Wouldn’t that mean he could literally kill with words? 

-Idiot. Do you really think that’s possible?

Lou muttered in frustration, but El kindly answered,

-Master, I will explain the process to you.

“Thanks, El!” 

-It’s true that the penalty causes pain when a player hears information that they aren’t allowed to obtain. However, that’s not the only condition. 

“Condition?” Gi-Gyu asked.

Lou replied.

-The necessary conditions are as follows. First, the listener must be curious about the given information. 

El took over smoothly.

-The listener must also have great potential. There has to be a good chance that he will someday become powerful enough to hear the said information without suffering the penalty.

Lou added.

-And finally, the information can’t be used to purposefully trigger the penalty. 

El finished the explanation.

-These three conditions dictate the penalty’s activation. 

For some reason, Lou and El were getting along well today. Gi-Gyu wondered aloud, “Why are you guys working so well together today? Anyway, I have to admit the Tower’s system is annoying, but it’s fair.”

The Tower had a system that was just. If only it didn’t have such control over Lou and El, Gi-Gyu wouldn’t have minded it. Just what was the truth about the Tower’s system?

Lou continued his original explanation,

-Anyway, let’s get back to the main topic. I believe the newly opened gates are territories still owned by demons. I can’t be sure since we haven’t visited the other gates, but the one in Gangnam is definitely a demon territory.

“So what exactly is a demon territory?” asked Gi-Gyu. Baal previously told him that the gates were lands abandoned by the demons. After being abandoned, they would appear as gates. 

So, what did it mean for a gate to still belong to a demon? 

Lou answered,

-It means that there is a landlord. 

“A landlord?” 

This time, El explained, 

-Master. Lou is saying that there is probably a demon physically living inside the gate. You already know that demons can use different amounts of power depending on where they are, right?

“Yup,” Gi-Gyu nodded. That was also why the mighty Lee Sun-Ho still hadn’t been able to conquer the Tower. Suddenly realizing what El was trying to say, Gi-Gyu exclaimed, “Ah! So you’re saying that the demon living inside the Gangnam gate can use his full strength?”

Both Lou and El replied.

-Exactly.

-That’s correct, Master.

Gi-Gyu became speechless. He had seen how strong the angels and demons could be. So to face a demon’s full strength… He didn’t doubt the volunteer mercenaries' strength, but he just realized that this mission would be much more dangerous than he expected. 

Gi-Gyu asked, “Should I go now and stop them?” 

-No. You already told them that this gate was a demon’s territory. There is no way that guy Tae-Gu doesn’t know what this means. I’m sure they know what they’re doing.

When Lou replied, Gi-Gyu agreed, “I guess you’re right.”

Tae-Gu’s knowledge was almost comparable to Lou's in some subjects, so Gi-Gyu trusted that the association president knew what he was doing.

-Anyway, the landlords of these new gates probably aren’t the most powerful demons out there. 

Lou murmured when Gi-Gyu noticed Tae-Shik approaching him.

“Hyung,” Gi-Gyu called out to him. After the meeting, Tae-Shik wanted to have a private conversation with Gi-Gyu. However, Tae-Shik had an errand to run, so their conversation got delayed till now. 

Tae-Shik greeted, “Hey, there you are. Did you wait long?” 

Tae-Shik looked exhausted; Gi-Gyu also noticed this earlier during the meeting. The workload had to be overwhelming for an experienced player like Tae-Shik to look this tired. 

‘It’s no wonder. He was already busy with the Caravan Guild situation, and now, he has to deal with the exceptional gates too.’

As the general manager, Tae-Shik was burdened with leading these investigations. Gi-Gyu didn’t have to see it for himself to know how hard Tae-Shik must be working.  

“Phew! Let’s go out for a quick break. I need coffee right now, or else I’ll collapse.” When Tae-Shik grumbled, Gi-Gyu laughed and followed him.

***

The traffic was unbelievably light. They sat in one of the Gangnam cafes, which was almost empty. Gangnam was the busiest area in the country, so this was an unusual sight. 

This was all the association’s doing. The unratable gate’s appearance made the association tightly control the traffic in Gangnam. Consequently, most non-players didn’t enter Gangnam if they could help it. Now, only players curious about the gate or needed to enter the Tower frequented the once busy city.

Tae-Shik was sipping on his coffee when Gi-Gyu asked, “Why didn’t you want me to raise my hand?”

“Because there is something I need you to do,” replied Tae-Shik. 

“Really?” When Gi-Gyu asked, Tae-Shik finished his coffee in one gulp. The fatigue must have been really high for him to chug coffee like water. Finally, Tae-Shik answered, “Let’s talk about the Caravan Guild first.” 

“All right.” Gi-Gyu didn’t protest. 

“We have some good leads on the Caravan Guild now. Their main playground is Korea, but we learned that they are active worldwide. I’m so embarrassed that we didn’t notice anything until now,” Tae-Shik muttered. The Caravan guild’s influence was more expansive than they had expected. 

Gi-Gyu asked, “Is Soo-Jung still after them?”

The last he heard, Soo-Jung was abroad searching for the Caravan Guild.  

“Yup. She destroyed the Philippines branch and found a clue that led her to another country. I was going to join her, but after what happened here, I am stuck. Based on what you said at the meeting, it sounds like Andras is behind these gates. Maybe he’s trying to distract us and even disperse our forces,” explained Tae-Shik. 

“It’s possible, Hyung.”

“Anyway, maybe we’ll have the Caravan Guild by the time we get a handle on these new gates.” When Gi-Gyu didn’t reply, Tae-Shik asked, “You’ll help, won’t you?”

“Of course,” Gi-Gyu promptly replied. Tae-Shik knew Gi-Gyu would never refuse since he was interested in the Caravan Guild on a personal level. He needed to get something back from them for Old Man Hwang, and he was curious about Andras too. So, he was fully ready to be a part of the Caravan Guild’s destruction.

Tae-Shik nodded and continued, “Good. By the way, just how strong are you now? It hasn’t been long since I last saw you, yet I can’t sense your energy at all. Is it because of those angels?”

“Well, something like that. My last few days have been particularly bountiful,” Gi-Gyu replied without giving any specifics. He recently synced with the angels and Hal, and that didn’t just signify their submission—it also meant he could borrow their power through the sync. His attributes also increased accordingly. 

And with the recent increase in his assimilation level, Gi-Gyu could use his Egos’ powers more efficiently. All of these changes have allowed him to grow exponentially. 

Gi-Gyu offered, “I’ll show you how strong I’ve become sometime soon, Hyung.”

“Haa… That sounds so scary,” Tae-Shik sighed. Their conversation remained playful, but their eyes were serious. Both wanted to know just how strong the other had become. 

Gi-Gyu was becoming more powerful by the second, and Tae-Shik was dying to learn more about it. Tae-Shik added, “But you don’t have to fight me this time. Just prove yourself in real life.”

“In real life?”

“Be it battling the Caravan Guild or fighting the new exceptional gate monsters, you’ll get a chance to show off your power soon.” When Tae-Shik explained, Gi-Gyu replied, “Got it.”

This was exactly what Gi-Gyu wanted, so he nodded. Remembering something odd about the meeting, Gi-Gyu asked, “By the way, it looked like we were short three mercenaries today. What happened?”

“Hmm…” Tae-Shik looked grim at the question. Gi-Gyu briefly regretted asking, but he knew that any information could help him someday. With this thought, he waited patiently. 

Tae-Shik finally replied, “One betrayed us. Well, I guess you can’t exactly call it betrayal since he just changed his nationality. But, he now belongs to the US.” 

Gi-Gyu didn’t ask who it was since powerful players moving to the US or other foreign countries were common. 

Tae-Shik continued, “The other one betrayed us in every sense. He is now a red player and a wanted man. The last time I heard, he entered the Tower and got himself many followers. He is living like a king now. Someday, I’ll catch him and kill him.”

Tae-Shik’s eyes glowed, making Gi-Gyu wonder what this player did to deserve such fury. 

“And the last one… is dead. Okay. That’s enough talk about the mercenaries.” Tae-Shik seemed upset, so Gi-Gyu replied quickly, “All right.”

Tae-Shik wanted to ask Gi-Gyu for a favor. It must have been something difficult because he seemed hesitant. Just what was it that he wanted Gi-Gyu to do that was more important than scouting the exceptional gates? 

After a short pause, Tae-Shik finally began.