The Player Who Can't Level Up

Choi Chang-Yong, riding a griffin, frowned harshly. He didn’t like how the situation was unfolding since he planned on having his guild take the lead in this hunt. Sadly, someone beat him to the punch.

And to have to travel on top of a monster like this…

“Dammit!” Choi Chang-Yong was embarrassed.

Choi Chang-Yong was a man who valued his and his guild’s fame and reputation over the safety of his country and humanity. And his confidence just fueled his selfishness.

‘After all, I’m one of the “Top 100 Players who Keep the World Safe” according to “The Player” magazine,’ he thought arrogantly. Being a proud high ranker, he believed he should be able to close this gate alone.

‘Tao Chen is more powerful than me, but that player named Michael… He’s even stronger. I can’t even tell how powerful he is,’ Choi Chang-Yong thought in annoyance. He was supposed to be the main lead in this hunt, yet there were not one but two players stronger than him.

“We’re here,” Michael, who was leading them, announced. Slowly, the griffins landed.

Tao Chen spotted Gi-Gyu, hopped down from the griffin, and greeted him with a fist-and-palm salute. “Ah! Morningstar! It’s nice to see you again.”

“Michael had told me you also entered this gate, Beautiful Beard. Nice to see you too,” Gi-Gyu replied, smiling, and shook Tao Chen’s hand.

Choi Chang-Yong jumped down from his griffin and muttered, “Kim Gi-Gyu?”

A deep frown appeared on Choi Chang-Yong’s face, turning the friendly atmosphere tense. Once all the Blue Dragon members had descended, the griffins flew away. Choi Chang-Yong silently stared at Gi-Gyu, but he didn’t acknowledge the guild master. Instead, he was looking at something in the distance.

Grit!

Choi Chang-Yong clenched his teeth loudly. He thought in a fury, ‘I can’t believe he won’t even greet me first.’

How dare a rookie player not greet him with respect? After waiting for a few minutes, Choi Chang-Yong finally asked Gi-Gyu, “So I suppose you have the ability to summon monsters?”

“Please give me a minute.” Gi-Gyu raised his hand and stopped Choi Chang-Yong.

Grit!

Choi Chang-Yong clenched his teeth again in a rage, saturating the air with tension. Trying to be patient, he took a step back and remained quiet.

After a few minutes, Gi-Gyu apologized to Choi Chang-Yong, “Ah! I’m sorry. I needed to check something.”

Gi-Gyu had been studying the terrain with Commander’s Eye; thereby, he couldn’t respond. Since not much time was left before the territory war, he wanted to prepare as much as possible.

“Can I summon monsters? Well, something like that,” answered Gi-Gyu. Since Choi Chang-Yong’s attitude toward him wasn’t kind, he didn’t feel the need to be respectful.

Choi Chang-Yong muttered, “You’re being too arrogant. I suppose you have a unique ability? That explains it. That must be why President Oh Tae-Gu favors you. What is your ability? Taming? Summoning? Whatever it is, I’ll admit that it’s unique.”

Choi Chang-Yong got the wrong end of the stick. Not knowing what to say to this silly man, Gi-Gyu stared in confusion.

Choi Chang-Yong continued, “But what can you do with that? The Tower is always fair. The entire chessboard belongs to the Tower; you just have a pawn or two. That's not enough. I mean, how many can you even summon? 50? 100? Can’t be more than that.”

Speechless, Gi-Gyu wondered why a high ranker like Choi Chang-Yong was making such assumptions. How could he judge Gi-Gyu or assume Gi-Gyu’s limitations?

When he remained quiet, Choi Chang-Yong became confident. He thought with a grin, ‘I guess he finally realized the gravity of this situation.’ 

His face relaxing a little, Choi Chang-Yong nodded in satisfaction. ‘He must have felt overconfident because Oh Tae-Gu and the KPA favored him. It’s my duty as an experienced player to teach this rookie a lesson.’ Choi Chang-Yong truly believed he was helping Gi-Gyu by teaching him about real life.

Gi-Gyu changed the subject, “Anyway, Michael gave you a brief explanation about what’s going down, right?”

“Indeed,” Choi Chang-Yong replied. Without giving Gi-Gyu a chance to speak further, Choi Chang-Yong continued, “I admit that you’re daring, but you must learn that overconfidence is poison for a player. Your unique ability to tame and control a demon is impressive, but is that why you chose to wage this territory war? Such hubris!”

“I never said anything like tha—” Gi-Gyu finally tried to interrupt Choi Chang-Yong; unfortunately, Choi Chang-Yong interrupted his interruption. “Don’t worry. We’re here now, so we’ll have a good chance of winning. The Blue Dragon Guild will lead the way and take care of the enemies, so you can stay behind and provide us some support.”

With this announcement, Choi Chang-Yong turned away from Gi-Gyu. Choi Chang-Yong’s behavior toward Gi-Gyu was disrespectful. He also insinuated that he was here to clean up the “mess” Gi-Gyu created and even ordered Gi-Gyu to stay behind and obey his command.

In the end, Gi-Gyu gave up. Choi Chang-Yong was an unreasonable man, and Gi-Gyu refused to waste his time on someone like him.

Trying to change the subject, Tao Chen asked Gi-Gyu, “What happened to the Cain Guild?”

Gi-Gyu was beginning to like Tao Chen more as he got to know him. “They’re searching the gate’s outer edges for Yoo Suk-Woo. You’ll probably know him by his code name Arok. Our group decided that Michael and I should tackle the gate’s center to get things done more quickly.”

“I see…” Tao Chen nodded before adding, “By the way, I’m impressed by your unique ability. Summoned beings? Taming? Whatever it is, I am in awe.”

Tao Chen’s reaction was completely different from Choi Chang-Yong’s. So, Gi-Gyu leaned toward Tao Chen and whispered, “You’ll see something even more impressive very soon.”

Tao Chen’s eyes widened before he burst into laughter. “Hahaha! I look forward to it!”

However, Tao Chen’s eyes quickly turned sharp as he prepared for the battle. Taking his position in front of the formation, he murmured, “Good luck, Morningstar.”

“Hmph!” Michael glared at Choi Chang-Yong in annoyance before flying to the sky.

[The territory war will begin now.]

It was finally time to fight.

***

“I really don’t think the guild master is here. I suspect he might be at the center,” Lee Bum-Jun announced with a tense face. They haven’t searched every inch of the outer gate, but they should have, at least, found a clue by now had Yoo Suk-Woo been here. Suk-Woo wasn’t an idiot or weak enough to be trapped easily. Therefore, the Cain Guild members sought special terrains or monsters that might have captured him.

But so far, they haven’t found anything.

“On top of that…” Lee Bum-Jun murmured.

Dun dun dun dun dun. 

Dun dun dun dun dun. 

For the last few minutes, the gate had been trembling lightly. Something had to have triggered this, so they had to make an important decision.

“I agree with you,” Looking tired, Shin Yoo-Bin replied.

Sung-Hoon added, “I agree as well. I believe Guild master Yoo Suk-Woo must be at the center.”

“Me too, Deputy Guild Master! I think so too!” Do Bong-Gu answered as he raised his hand. The two men looked terrible. Their hair was sticky with blood, and every inch of exposed skin was covered in cuts. Since they were at the head of the group, they suffered significant injuries. Pouring a healing potion on himself, Sung-Hoon continued, “I think the best thing we can do now is join Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu.”

Sung-Hoon emphasized his suggestion. He had been hunting inside this high-level gate for a while, allowing him to level up.

‘Of course, I know I’m in no position to worry about him. It’s probably the other way around.’ Sung-Hoon knew the reality very well. He knew he still wouldn’t be much help to Gi-Gyu, but he still couldn’t help feeling worried for Gi-Gyu.

“But…” Shin Yoo-Bin took a step forward and continued, “Someone needs to take the injured players out of this gate.”

At the beginning of their journey, when they first entered the gate, none of the players suffered any severe injuries, thanks to Gi-Gyu and Michael. However, once they began exploring the outskirts alone, they faced numerous chimera hordes. Unfortunately, they couldn’t avoid casualties then. While the Blue Dragon Guild took an aggressive strategy, the Cain Guild and the rest of the group took a defensive stance. Also, after each battle, they cared for their injured. Due to all these factors, their fatalities were lower, but their injureds were higher. Since healing potions and the healers couldn’t fix everything, some wounded needed continuous care.

Do Bong-Gu offered, “I will lead them out.”

“Are you sure, Team Leader Do Bong-Gu?” Lee Bum-Jun asked. Of all the team leaders in the Cain Guild, Do Bong-Gu was the weakest player. However, his desire to find Suk-Woo was unmatched, so he was allowed to join this hunt.

Do Bong-Gu would be a burden in harder fights, and someone had to help the injured players leave the gate.

Do Bong-Gu replied, “It will be fine. After all, there won’t be any monsters on our way out, right? I don't deserve to live if I can’t even travel back on this safe path. If I fail, I will gladly resign as the Cain Guild’s guide team leader.”

“This isn’t a matter of your position,” Lee Bum-Jun murmured. If a battle took place on their way back, the wounded players couldn’t fight. The wounded could kill a chimera or two, but what if a herd appeared? Although Do Bong-Gu stated the journey back should be safe, he risked his own life to help the injured players.

Do Bong-Gu answered, “But if I carry this honorable mission out successfully, it will be easier for me to get a promotion later, won’t it?”

It was an attempt to lighten the mood, but Lee Bum-Jun, still very worried, nodded and replied, “All right.”

The finalized plan was for Do Bong-Gu to lead the wounded players out while the others would travel to the gate’s center.

Lee Bum-Jun announced, “Now! Let’s get going.”

Everyone began to move.

***

“Trust yourselves,” Choi Chang-Yong declared in an unyielding voice to his guild. “We can do this. We have no other choice. We’re fighting a battle to protect the entire world. Be proud of yourself and your guild. Fight with your life.”

Choi Chang-Yong’s words echoed loudly. “Unimaginable wealth and glory will greet the survivors!”

The tension among the Blue Dragon Guild players lessened. Although Choi Chang-Yong was an arrogant man, he was a good guild master. He cared for his men, and his ability to increase morale was impressive.

Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun.

The gate vibrated ominously. Everyone knew the source behind this shaking. The Blue Dragon Guild members began to lose hope as they felt the ground tremble.

“N-no way… We can’t win this…” one of the players whispered in fear. Choi Chang-Yong didn’t scold this player because his own legs were shaking.

‘Oh my god…’ Choi Chang-Yong trembled as he wondered, ‘When was the last time I felt this anxious? Was it… then?’ 

Choi Chang-Yong remembered his first battle after becoming a high ranker, the one that made him famous. He was dispatched to close an S-Class gate in Japan. The team dispatched had five high rankers, including him, and twelve rankers. Every single one of them died except for him.

There and then, Choi Chang-Yong learned an important life lesson. This world existed for the winners; the people only remembered the winners.

‘Winner takes all! Only the survivors get to enjoy the bounties of war.‘

Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun.

Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun.

The ground shook again. In front of the players, thousands—no, tens of thousands of mantises were charging toward them. Apart from a fair number of chimeras, there were also three corps commanders.

Choi Chang-Yong shouted to remind himself, “We can’t die here!”

The battle was about to begin, and everyone would be on their own.

The monsters were getting closer and closer. The mantises were rushing as if they had wheels for legs.

Ta da da da da da da da!

Based on Choi Chang-Yong’s count, there were 60 Blue Dragon Guild players, himself, Michael, Tao Chen, Kim Gi-Gyu, and a few dozen Gi-Gyu’s griffins.

“Haa…” Choi Chang-Yong sighed before finally taking a step forward. He roared, “We are the Blue Dragon Guild! We shall fight with bravery no one has ever witnessed!”

“Uwaaahhhh!”

“Waaaaah!”

The Blue Dragon Guild players roared along and began running. There was no point in forming a defense line. With so many monsters coming toward them, any defensive move would get them killed.

Suddenly!

Boom!

A hushed explosion occurred, and a light beam shone from the sky. Michael had stopped the army of mantises with his spear-like beams.

Rattle, rattle!

“W-what are these?” one Blue Dragon Guild player stammered.

“Skeletons?!” another player whispered.

From behind the Blue Dragon Guild army, mysterious skeleton soldiers began to march out in an orderly manner. These skeletons were no ordinary monsters. Their bones shined brightly, their weapons were well-kept, and they exuded unprecedented power. At first glance, the skeletons’ movements seemed chaotic; there was order in their chaos.

There was no doubt that these skeletons were strong.

“W-where are these skeletons coming from?” Choi Chang-Yong stammered.

“More importantly, why are they suddenly appearing from behind? And they aren’t even attacking us!” one of Choi Chang-Yong’s men screamed in confusion.

“What the…?! What’s happening?!” Choi Chang-Yong mumbled. Everyone seemed confused as they looked around when suddenly, they heard Gi-Gyu shout, “Step aside! You gotta let the skeletons pass!”