The Player Who Can't Level Up

Gi-Gyu headed to the cocoon just as Lou suggested.

“It’s so big,” Gi-Gyu admired. While the gates merged, the cocoon had been moved to the outermost area of the gate. The hole Gi-Gyu tore in the cocoon was still there, but…

“It’s still so big.” The hole was tiny in comparison with the entire cocoon.

-I’m not sure if it’s possible, but…

Lou stated in an amused tone,

-I think it might work, so don’t worry.

The confidence in Lou’s voice reduced the pressure Gi-Gyu felt from the cocoon.

-Thankfully, I can sense no one around us.

Lou had asked Gi-Gyu to ensure that his creatures stayed away from the cocoon. Being his loyal summons, every creature obeyed and gave the cocoon a wide berth.

“Is there anything Old Man Hwang can’t do? That man is amazing,” muttered Gi-Gyu as he pulled out a long stick he carried on his back. This stick was a barrier item Old Man Hwang had made especially for Gi-Gyu. Surprisingly, the blacksmith could create Egos and numerous types of barrier items. No wonder he was the pupil of Paimon—the greatest demon blacksmith. Him being stuck in that tiny workshop for years was such a waste.

-Stop talking, and let’s get this done. Didn’t you say you’re in a hurry too?

Lou ordered in annoyance.

“Fine,” Gi-Gyu replied and plunged the long stick into the ground. After a brief vibration, a minute surge of energy surrounded the area. That was Gi-Gyu’s protection against a possible cocoon explosion. He didn’t have high expectations of the thin barrier, but he hoped it would at least provide a little protection in case of an explosion.

-Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.

“Hmm…” Gi-Gyu couldn’t tell why Lou seemed so confident today, but he nodded and replied, “All right.”

Gi-Gyu slowly approached the cocoon. Not only was this creature big, but its magic was also incredible.

Gi-Gyu murmured, “The power I can feel from it is just… unbelievable.”

-As I said before, Botis is a powerful demon. Even after borrowing my power, you shouldn’t have been able to kill it so easily. We only won because Botis put its essence inside this cocoon, weakening itself in the process.

Lou continued to explain,

-Low-level demons are weak in general. However, as you go up the power scale, i.e., face off higher-level demons, you’ll notice their power grow exponentially. It’s a miracle we could even defeat Botis, a being near the demon lord level, without significant casualties. Though, why did Botis even create this cocoon?

After a short pause, Lou added,

-So… If you really have to egofy Botis, use the cocoon.

Gi-Gyu finally placed his hand on the giant cocoon, wondering if it would even work since it wasn’t like Old Man Hwang’s pseudo Egos. Was it possible to grant an Ego to a lump of magic shaped like a cocoon?

Gi-Gyu felt uncertain, but he knew contemplating would get him nowhere, so he murmured, “Grant.”

Gradually, Botis, the Ego, left from Gi-Gyu’s palm and began assimilating into the cocoon.

-Kekeke. Botis, you fucking bastard! I’m going to eat you up over and over again.

Lou sniggered, waiting to get his payback from Botis, the traitor. For once, Gi-Gyu could understand Lou’s excitement.

[Grant will begin.]

Before long, the cocoon’s magical energy began to shake.

***

“I don’t see any changes to the status screen,” Gi-Gyu announced as he closed the status screen.

-Hmm…

Lou didn’t say much. Gi-Gyu wondered if this didn’t work because he had eaten Botis. And it wasn’t like eating Botis did him any good either, because he had no new ability or physical change. At least, this was the case for the moment.

“We’ll look more into it later,” Gi-Gyu suggested. He had spent too much time inside the gate; he felt impatient now. Deciding to finally wake El up, he transformed her ring form into her sword form before placing her on the table. When he concentrated, her status screen appeared.

“It’s perfect,” Gi-Gyu announced when he saw that he had met all the evolutionary conditions. Till now, a lack of Egos had kept him from evolving El, but…

“Thanks to your new power, everything will work out,” Gi-Gyu murmured in satisfaction. Lou’s evolution gave him an ability called Transmutation that let him absorb and transform hunted monsters’ souls into Egos. That ability made obtaining Egos easy; using it, Lou absorbed tons of Egos during the last battle.

-Don’t forget that the Egos of low-level monsters are nothing like those of high-level monsters. These Egos will also be different from that blacksmith’s pseudo Egos.

When Lou explained, Gi-Gyu asked, “Will it be better to use high-level Egos for this evolution?”

-That would be my guess. You won’t know anything for certain until you experiment.

That made theoretical sense, so Gi-Gyu nodded. Egofying high-level creatures did result in Egos with a shell and a growth rate vastly surpassing those made with low-level creatures. Gi-Gyu looked down at his wrist and observed Oberon.

Gi-Gyu murmured, “For example, Oberon has stopped growing lately.”

-Its shell is limiting its growth; it can’t be helped.

Gi-Gyu had used Grant to incorporate an Ego into Bi, but he hadn’t done the same for Oberon and Hermes. Consequently, regardless of how many monsters he hunted with them, they didn’t grow stronger.

“I have to do something about this,” Gi-Gyu decided. He was attached to these weapons, so he didn’t want to grant them just any Egos. He was looking for the highest level Egos for them.

“For now…” Gi-Gyu headed toward the table that had El. There was a simple reason why she couldn’t wake up yet.

‘It’s because she overused her Life piece,’ Gi-Gyu thought. The strain had damaged her Life piece, which was also her energy source, forcing her into a deep slumber.  

“So I need to inject a bit of Life, and at the same time…” Gi-Gyu murmured. He was finally going to evolve her. And this time, it would be the proper one as opposed to the forced one El had used in the Gangnam battle. Strangely, the legitimate evolution would give her less power than the forced one, but it would help her tap into her potential more stably.

Gi-Gyu slowly held El’s handle and announced, “I’m going to use the corps commander’s Ego.”

He had never planned on using the mantises or the chimeras’ weak Egos. He had gained three corps commander Egos during the battle, and any of them would be perfect for El’s evolution.

-She will be a beast after her evolution.

Lou muttered. The Egos used for Lou’s evolution weren’t weak either, but a corps commander's Ego was on a whole new level. Soo-Jung had also fought a corps commander in the Maze of Heryond, but hers hadn’t gone berserk as Gi-Gyu’s had. Therefore, Gi-Gyu couldn’t be certain of how powerful they were, but…

-These corps commanders aren’t comparable to the one Lucifer fought. The one she fought was also called corps commander, but its strength was unusual.

“But the ones we fought can’t be too inferior, right?” When Gi-Gyu asked, Lou replied,

-Of course not.

“Maybe I should’ve used Botis’ Ego for this?”

-Well, maybe. But then, you couldn’t have utilized the cocoon. Also, who would’ve told us Andras’ plan then? But whatever.

Lou answered indifferently, making Gi-Gyu shrug. It was too late to change his mind anyway, and Lou was right about needing to hear Andras’ plan.

“All right. Let’s begin her evolution.”

[Evolution will now begin.]

As the Egos left Gi-Gyu's body through his palm and entered El, she shone brightly. Then, he began injecting Life into her. Death now overflowed from his shell, creating an imbalance, but that didn’t stunt Life’s growth; now, it was huge. Gi-Gyu had no idea why Life became so big, and he also found controlling it harder, but he was pleased with its excessive size. The changes slowly began when he injected a large amount of Life into El.

***

The sword began vibrating and only stopped after what seemed like hours.

“Is it finally over?” Gi-Gyu asked, his forehead covered in sweat. Injecting Life during the evolution process was challenging and took plenty of focus. Controlling El’s vibration while the evolution took place wasn’t easy either.

But now, it was over, and El’s vibrations had stopped; she was stable.

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu gasped. To an outsider, it might have just looked like he was having difficulty holding onto a sword. However, the truth was anything but that.

And finally…

El resonated one more time before becoming still.

“El.” When Gi-Gyu called out her name, he heard a system announcement.

[The evolution has been completed.]

After the simple announcement, Gi-Gyu called her name again, “El.”

Fwoosh!

A light so blinding emanated from El that Gi-Gyu feared it would swallow the world. Ironically, the dazzling light brought along equally powerful darkness, blinding Gi-Gyu. As if trying to absorb the shine of every incandescent object, El continued to glow brightly.

“El!” Gi-Gyu called her once more. Suddenly, El vanished from his hand. He tried to find her, but he was slowly losing his senses to the light. His body refused to obey as the blinding light covered his whole body. Then, he felt as if he was floating.

“Master,” a warm voice murmured. Slowly, the light that resembled the sun disappeared, giving back Gi-Gyu his sight. He opened his eyes as he felt a warm hug.

“Master!” A puff of warm breath tickled Gi-Gyu’s ear.

“El,” Gi-Gyu murmured when he saw El hugging his neck with a smile. She no longer looked like a young girl; instead, a grown woman with a mysterious aura stood before him.

“Wait a second…” Gi-Gyu took a step back and studied El’s face.

“Master! Is there a problem?”

El looked different from how she looked on the 40th floor or during the battle when she forced herself to evolve.

***

Her previously perfect silver hair now had a tinge of violet. Her face and overall appearance had also changed: She used to be taller than him; now, she was a head shorter. Also, her otherworldly face had changed.

‘Before, she looked so mysterious, but now…’ 

El was still as beautiful as ever, but she now looked seductive and mature. Before, she looked like a mysterious goddess, worshiped by many. But now…

‘The mystique is still there, but…’

Gi-Gyu found himself attracted to her. He wanted to be close to her and hold her hands. What surprised him even more was that these emotions felt natural.

“Master, is there something on my face?” El asked, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at him.

“N-no.” Gi-Gyu quickly shook his head. In the past, El’s eyes had been light gray, almost white; now, they were much darker. So many changes had occurred. He was a little disappointed that he could no longer see the adorable girl version of El, but all in all, he was pleased with her current appearance.

“Ah, if that is what you wish.” El closed her eyes; shockingly, she began to shrink and quickly returned to the adorable girl form.

“You can change at will now?” Gi-Gyu shouted in surprise.

“Of course, Master.”

“Hahaha!” When Gi-Gyu laughed, El smiled and replied, “I will be what you prefer, Master.”

“N-no, there is no need. You can be whatever you feel most comfortable with, El,” Gi-Gyu stammered. He didn’t care what El looked like as long as she was with him. She nodded and returned to her mature form.

“This is what I feel most comfortable with, Master.” When she smiled faintly, he jolted a little. Shaking his head, he stuttered, “E-El!”

“Yes, Master?” El bowed obediently.

“Do you want to look at your status screen?” asked Gi-Gyu. He suddenly felt strange, so he wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible. El had evolved, so there had to be many changes. They needed to check her screen.

As always, he placed his hand on her shoulder to open her status screen.

[El]

[First Evolution]

………..

“...?” Gi-Gyu didn’t know what to say.

“Master, is there a problem?” El looked up at him in confusion. A bit confused and disappointed now, Gi-Gyu replied, “Your stat screen won’t come up.”

Except for El’s name and the fact that she had evolved, nothing else appeared on her screen.