The Player Who Can't Level Up

“I’ve finished all the preparation. I’ll return after hiding the gate,” Old Man Hwang said to Gi-Gyu. Locking in Brunheart’s third gate was an easy enough task, but hiding the gate beneath the Iron Guild headquarters was the tricky part. Unlike normal gates, gate sensors couldn’t detect Brunheart’s gate, but a sensitive player could detect the constant energy it radiated.

“I’m so relieved that I have you, Sir,” Gi-Gyu complimented with genuine gratitude. Old Man Hwang’s skills had been a great help to him so far. 

“Haha, it’s no big deal. I should be the one thanking you for all that you’ve done for me. Min-Su is learning very quickly; soon, I’ll leave all the work to him and live the rest of my life as a simple gate manager.” When Old Man Hwang announced, Gi-Gyu asked in surprise, “You're planning your retirement already?” 

Was burdening a kid, who was still in his early teens, with such an important job okay? 

“Min-Su enjoys it, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, he’s better than me in many aspects already. I still have to help him with certain details and enchantment works, but as a blacksmith, he’s already so much better than what I can ever be,” Old Man Hwang declared. The pride in that statement was apparent. 

‘I’m sure I can trust him to make the right decision,’ Gi-Gyu thought. Old Man Hwang was an honest man, so Gi-Gyu knew he wouldn’t make the wrong decision. Besides, Old Man Hwang wouldn’t leave him after retiring, so he could call Old Man Hwang for help whenever necessary. 

Gi-Gyu suspected that Old Man Hwang only wanted to retire because he wanted to spend all of his time racing his luxury cars. Even a major car accident wouldn’t stop him from doing that since he wouldn’t die from it. 

Gi-Gyu said his goodbye, “I’ll take my leave now, Sir.”

“Of course. See you soon.”

“Please stay safe. And if you need help…” When Gi-Gyu murmured in concern, Old Man Hwang smiled and replied, “Don’t worry. Everyone inside the gate obeys me as they obey you. I have all the help I need.”

Gi-Gyu smiled back and turned around. When he checked his watch, he realized the lock-in process took longer than expected, but he still hadn’t been away from the hotel for too long. However, there was no telling when the meeting would end, so he made himself scarce.

“Elemental water.” Gi-Gyu turned into water droplets and left the sewer. Old Man Hwang was someone he could depend on, so Gi-Gyu didn’t doubt whether he could complete the task and just felt grateful that Old Man Hwang was on his side. 

Step, step…

The sudden appearance of the unratable gates had left the world in chaos. However, since the US had the GPA and less unratable gates than Korea, the people here felt much safer. Therefore, the streets were quite busy.

Gi-Gyu decided to walk for a while until he reached a secluded spot. From there, he planned on running the rest of the way.

Suddenly, a passerby brushed against Gi-Gyu’s shoulder.

Tap.

Gi-Gyu became rigid as he slowly turned around. A non-player wouldn’t have thought twice about bumping into someone on a busy street, but things were different for him. He was now a powerful player and could easily avoid physical contact with other people. So, if someone still bumped into him…

The other guy had to be as strong as him or stronger. When Gi-Gyu turned around, he saw a man grinning at him. The player moved his lips to whisper just loud enough for Gi-Gyu to hear.

“Hey, demon’s lackey. Where have you been all afternoon?”

The man wearing a hat to cover his face looked familiar. 

“Michael…” Gi-Gyu whispered in annoyance.

***

“Follow me,” Gi-Gyu said to Michael. 

‘Since when?’ Gi-Gyu wondered how long Michael had been following him. How he hid from Gi-Gyu wasn’t the big question, but how much he saw was. If he saw Gi-Gyu placing his gate underneath the Iron Guild’s building…

‘Will I be able to defeat him?’ Gi-Gyu asked himself. As numerous thoughts crossed his mind, a question popped up—Did he have to kill Michael? 

“That makes sense. I don’t want to make a scene here either,” replied Michael. To Gi-Gyu’s relief, Michael followed him without a fight. They walked together for a while and arrived at a deserted road. Gi-Gyu used his senses to check out the area and felt that they were alone.

Gi-Gyu refused to say the first word and waited patiently for Michael to speak first. After an awkward silence, Michael finally asked, “By the way… What were you doing?” 

Michael was no longer smiling. His eyes looked calm as he studied Gi-Gyu.

“What do you mean?” When Gi-Gyu asked in return, Michael smirked and muttered, “So you’re gonna pretend you didn’t do anything.” 

Gi-Gyu had no idea how much Michael knew, so he needed to be careful about what he said. 

‘I can’t defeat him,’ Gi-Gyu thought in disappointment. Based on what he could feel, Michael was almost as strong as Lucifer. He could put up a good fight, but he doubted he could out the victor or alive. Besides, their fight would be anything but silent. Even if he managed to kill Michael, keeping it a secret would be impossible. 

“I can see your eyes filling up with bloodthirst. I guess that makes sense since you’re a demon’s lackey? You’re thinking about killing me, aren’t you?” When Michael asked, Gi-Gyu closed his lips and nodded. Since there was no avoiding it, he decided to be straight with his opponent. 

Gi-Gyu asked, “What did you see?”

“What do you think?” Michael sniggered and added, “I saw you going underneath the Iron Guild headquarters.” It was a nonchalant statement, but Lou was pressing against Micheal's neck the second he finished his sentence. As Gi-Gyu held Lou, he saw a small drop of blood slide down Lou from a small cut. 

Michael’s eyes turned deadly as he murmured, “Demon…”

Lou’s aura was probably what evoked that statement. Until now, Michael hadn’t acted overtly hostile, but his demeanor changed quickly. 

“Haa…” Michael sighed and pushed Lou away with his hand. Taking a step back, he murmured, “I didn’t come here to fight.” 

‘Dammit!’ Gi-Gyu groaned silently. He wasn’t stupid enough to try to intimidate someone as powerful as Micheal by putting a sword to his neck. Just now, he wanted to kill Micheal with a single move aimed at his neck, but Michael’s unparalleled power stopped Lou from piercing his neck. Gi-Gyu knew it would be hard, but he didn’t know it would be this hard.

“If you didn’t come here to fight, let’s be straight here. I don’t particularly enjoy meaningless face-offs like this either,” Gi-Gyu muttered as he turned Lou into his ring form. He was more than happy to resolve this with a simple talk. 

Michael replied, “I know you went beneath the Iron Guild building and did something. But I couldn’t get close enough to you without you noticing. So, I kept my distance and didn’t actually see what you did.” 

‘Can I trust his words? What about the gate’s energy then?’ 

“By the way, I could feel something from the sewer. An unique magical energy, to be exact,” Michael added. 

‘This is bad. There’s no way I can fool someone like Micheal. Although he didn’t see it, he certainly felt its energy.’ 

Gi-Gyu asked, “Were you following me? Shouldn’t you be in the waiting room right now?” 

“I didn’t leave the hotel with the intention of following you. I had an errand to run; then, I saw you,” answered Michael. If he didn’t deliberately follow Gi-Gyu, that meant… 

Gi-Gyu muttered, “Ironshield’s demon bothered you too, didn’t it?”

“Yes,” Michael didn’t deny it.   

“Ironshield has always had a close relationship with the Vatican.” When Michael added, Gi-Gyu asked, “Is it because of his holy swords?”

“Of course. So for Ironshield to suddenly appear with a demon… It was very unexpected.” 

Gi-Gyu paused for a moment and thought, ‘Could it be…’

A possibility popped into Gi-Gyu’s mind. 

‘Micheal definitely believes I know a lot. Ergo, he probably also assumes I passed the 50th floor.’ 

‘This is my chance!’ Gi-Gyu thought in excitement. If he could get Michael talking and avoid the penalty somehow, he could gain valuable information. Gi-Gyu’s brain worked fast, and his mouth worked even faster. 

“Don’t you already know that some demons are on our side? So Ironshield…” When Gi-Gyu stated smoothly, Michael argued, “Nonsense! Are you pretending ignorance? Or…” 

“Yup, I’m just pretending,” Gi-Gyu replied hurriedly. Michael nodded with a knowing look. Did Gi-Gyu’s plan work? 

Michael continued, “I knew it. There is no way a powerful player like you doesn’t know that the demons destroyed the Vatican. Therefore, we don’t care if some of those cretins are on our side: We abhor them all.”

Michael may have been a jerk, but he had always had an oddly docile look in his eyes. But now, there was a deadly bloodthirst in them. 

“They must all die,” Michael finished his sentence, furious 

“I see,” replied Gi-Gyu. The demons and the Vatican couldn’t coexist. Not many people knew about the Vatican as a country, but Gi-Gyu now knew it had at least two incredibly powerful players: Micheal and the pope. It was useful information he was happy to remember.     

Feeling a little guilty, Gi-Gyu nodded. With a sigh, Michael offered, “Well… You seem a little different from the other demons. Anyway, I didn’t get to spy on the Iron Guild because of you. So, time for a little kiss and tell." 

“...?” Suddenly, goosebumps rose on Gi-Gyu's arms, and the sudden change in the situation left him nonplussed. 

‘This bastard!’ Gi-Gyu realized that Michael had been hiding his full strength. Michael’s eyes glowed, and he could sense that Micheal’s magic was much thicker than Lucifer's. 

Was Michael stronger than Lucifer? Gi-Gyu couldn’t understand what was happening. 

“If you tell me the truth, I won’t hurt you too much,” Michael announced as 12 wings opened up from his back. 

***

“Bastard! You said you didn’t come here to fight!” Gi-Gyu spat angrily.  

“That was my original intention. But I really wanted to fight you too,” Michael replied with a shrug.  

Gi-Gyu couldn’t believe what was about to happen. Although they were on a deserted road, they were still in a well-populated city in America. Also, New York and the Global Players Association headquarters were not too far away. If their battle radiated a significant magic wave, they would receive much attention.

Creak!

Blue sparks flew as Lou blocked Michael’s three wings. The impact Gi-Gyu received from the attack through Lou made him recoil. 

Michael shouted, “Don’t worry! This place is being barricaded by the Vatican’s treasure: the Holy Grail. No one will interrupt our battle!” 

“No, that’s not it!” Gi-Gyu shouted in frustration but talking and dodging was proving itself difficult. They were, of course, not fighting using their full power. At least, Gi-Gyu wasn’t, and he could tell Michael didn’t have any intention to kill him either. 

But…

Dagger-like words appeared from Gi-Gyu’s lips.

“If you continue like this, I’m not going to hold back.” 

Flinch.

Michael jolted as he backed away a little in the air, his twelves wings still dancing around dangerously. His wings were a bit different from Hamiel or El's. But at the moment, Gi-Gyu wasn’t interested in finding out more about it. For now, he just wanted to erase the unpleasant feeling that filled him. 

His wings fluttering, Michael landed lightly. His face tense, Gi-Gyu asked, “Are you attacking me simply because of the demonic power you can feel from me?”

When Michael didn’t respond, Gi-Gyu continued, “Based on what you said earlier, one would think you’ll try your best to kill me because of my demonic aura. But it’s clear you aren’t using your full power to kill me. And didn’t you also say I was a little different?” 

Slowly, Gi-Gyu released his magic aura to suppress his opponent. His energy began to increase exponentially as he added, “And if you were curious about the Iron Guild, you would’ve just asked me.”

Gi-Gyu’s logic was flawless. Michael’s silence continued, and Gi-Gyu finally asked, “Are you doing this because of El?”

Flinch!

Michael’s reaction proved that Gi-Gyu’s hunch was right. Finally, Michael murmured, “El… Her name is El?”

“That’s right.” 

Michael closed his wings. Unlike Hamiel, Michael’s wings disappeared completely. 

-Master.

El requested,

-May I take my human form?

Gi-Gyu asked Michael, “If I let you speak with El, what will you do?”

“...” 

“Are you willing to have a frank conversation with me and stop this nonsense?” asked Gi-Gyu. He suspected that he could learn a lot from Michael. Michael had to know that he resented the Iron Guild, and he had planted something under the Iron Guild’s headquarters. Yet Michael wasn’t showing any hostility toward him. This told him that they had the same goal. 

Michael didn’t respond, but taking this as yes, Gi-Gyu murmured, “El.”

A blindingly pure white light appeared from Gi-Gyu’s hand.