The Player Who Can't Level Up

As Gi-Gyu stood up, El asked in confusion, “Master! What do you mean?!”

With a blank face, he turned toward her and ordered, “Stop it.”

“Pardon?” El seemed confused.

Gi-Gyu shouted again, “I said stop this prank already!”

His loud voice echoed inside the hospital room, but El only gazed at him.

After a short silence, Gi-Gyu finally asked, “What are you?”

Suddenly…

Crack.

Everything around him crumbled down except El and the bed he was sitting on. Now, he could only see darkness and El’s uncaring eyes.

“I thought you were slow, but I suppose I got it wrong. You have pretty good instincts,” a voice suggested. Just like their surroundings, “El” cracked like a glass cup. The place where El stood was now occupied by…

A human-like dark figure stood before a shocked Gi-Gyu. Although its form looked human, it didn’t have eyes, nose, or lips. And despite being pitch black, it was somehow distinguishable from the equally dark space around them.

“What are you?” Gi-Gyu asked again.

“I am”—the dark figure opened its long mouth, showing dozens of teeth and a slithering forked tongue—“you.”

And then, Gi-Gyu lost consciousness.

***

“Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu! Please wake up!”

At first, he could only hear someone whispering for him; soon, he realized it was Sung-Hoon yelling at him.

“I’m all right,” Gi-Gyu mumbled, grabbing his head as he stood up. His head was pounding as if it would bust. He slowly looked around to find himself still in a dark room. Thankfully, there was no one around staring at him.

“An ambulance will be here soon, so you just need to—”

Gi-Gyu interrupted, “I’m really all right.”

“What just happened?” Sung-Hoon asked but just sighed after a bit, realizing Gi-Gyu wasn’t ready to explain. Sung-Hoon then took out his phone to make a call. It sounded like he was canceling the ambulance. Afterward, Sung-Hoon turned toward him again and asked, “We’re in the waiting room reserved for the chief mourner. Could you tell me what happened? Could it be…”

Sung-Hoon trailed off. He suspected Sung-Hoon was worried about Lou descending again.

Gi-Gyu replied, “No, don’t worry. I’m really fine. I think I’ve just been exhausted lately.”

Sung-Hoon looked helpless as he stared at Gi-Gyu.

“How’s everything outside?”

“Surprisingly, Guild Master Choi Chang-Yong took the lead with Deputy Guild Master Lee Bum-Jun to reassure everyone. I think people believe you’re suffering from the shock of losing so many players,” Sung-Hoon explained.

“That’s a relief.” Gi-Gyu smiled bitterly. Choi Chang-Yong probably feared the public's curious questions and thus promptly helped disperse their interest.

Sung-Hoon asked, “Would you like to go back now?”

“Yes, I think I should,” Gi-Gyu replied and stood up. His body felt perfectly fine, but…

‘I have a killer headache.’ His head was pounding like a 24-hour gabber rave.

-...

Meanwhile, Lou remained quiet, but it sure seemed like he had something to say. Gi-Gyu wondered what could be the reason.

Creak.

When Gi-Gyu opened the door, he was greeted by the same bright lights and mourning families. The cries, the murmurs, and so were the people who took split-second interest in him.

Lee Bum-Jun approached Gi-Gyu and asked, “What happened? Are you all right?”

“Ah, yes. I’m fine. I came to show my respect, but I ended up burdening you. I apologize,” replied Gi-Gyu with a bow.

“There is no need to apologize. I can imagine how hard these last few days must’ve been… You should get some good rest,” Lee Bum-Jun seemed very worried.

Shin Yoo-Bin, standing beside Lee Bum-Jun, blurted, “I just got here, Oppa. What happened? Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just tired, that’s all. So you came too.”

When Gi-Gyu gave Yoo-Bin a small smile, she lowered her face and replied, “Of course. Haa… Please don’t scare me like that.”

“I’ll try. Umm… I’m really sorry, but I’m still not feeling that great. I think I need to go, so I’ll see you later,” Gi-Gyu whispered.

“All right.” Shin Yoo-Bin nodded.

Gi-Gyu was about to turn around and leave when Yoo-Bin suddenly called out, “Ah, Oppa!”

Gi-Gyu turned toward her, and Yoo-Bin asked, “You remember Advisor Lim Hye-Sook, right?”

Gi-Gyu became quiet. He remembered Lim Hye-Sook; the elderly lady had asked him to visit her.

Shin Yoo-Bin explained, “She asked me to tell you that you should visit her soon. I couldn’t understand what she meant exactly, but…”

She hesitated as if she was confused about something. Then, she looked at Gi-Gyu and continued, “She told me that the seal might be in danger.”

“...!” Gi-Gyu’s eyes widened.

***

On his way back home, Sung-Hoon suggested cautiously, “I think you should visit Advisor Lim Hye-Sook as soon as possible.”

Sung-Hoon seemed to be choosing his words carefully as he continued, “The thing is… No, forget it. It would be best if you heard about it from Advisor Lim Hye-Sook. She probably wants to tell you something about your father, Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu.”

‘My father?’

“Before you talk to your mother… Hear it first from Advisor Lim Hye-Sook,” Gi-Gyu recalled Sung-Hoon’s words while he was on the way back home.

Things were becoming increasingly complicated. Before he could solve one problem, two more would pop up. This escalation of his lifestyle was exhausting.

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu sighed. He had been trying not to sigh so much lately, but it was difficult. After chatting with his mother and Yoo-Jung for a bit, he went down to the basement. With serious continence, he called out, “Lou.”

-I’m listening.

Lou's reply was immediate, but his voice was tense.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

-...

Lou seemed very hesitant; after a brief silence, he replied,

-I don’t know. I really don’t.

“So you don’t know either,” Gi-Gyu slumped and whispered. Since Lou had erased his memories many times, Gi-Gyu could understand why he didn’t know. Lou still knew a lot of useful things, but that was just a slice out of the whole pie.

-It’s not because of that.

“Huh?”

-I don’t know because I… don’t. It doesn’t have anything to do with my erased memories. I’ll bet El doesn’t know either. When that strange thing happened, my consciousness sank to the bottom, below the darkness that came over you.

Gi-Gyu listened quietly.

-And I felt what you felt. So many extreme emotions… We were flailing as if we had dropped into an endless pit. It felt awful. Anyway, that’s why I don’t know what happened to you. I just know something unusual happened.

Gi-Gyu nodded since Lou’s explanation made sense. He also had to tell Lou what he felt earlier; when he did, Lou listened carefully.

-Hmm…

Lou muttered cautiously.

-It’s hard to say what you experienced, especially because I didn’t see or feel it myself.

Gi-Gyu nodded as Lou continued,

-But I can make a good guess.

“Huh? What is it?”

-Remember that piece of me left inside you after Death flooded your shell? It was probably that.

Gi-Gyu acknowledged it as a real possibility. The dark figure indeed reminded him a little of Lou. But then…

‘It also reminded me of El.’ This dark creature reminded him of Lou and El and…

Gi-Gyu shuddered when he realized he could also see himself in that dark figure.

-Also.

It seemed that Lou was about to give him a big clue.

-The thing that’s hidden inside you—

“What? What is that?”

-Sorry. Penalty.

Lou didn’t give Gi-Gyu further explanation. Had Lou said more on this subject, Gi-Gyu would have suffered the penalty.

‘Dammit.’ The penalty problem was becoming more and more annoying. This reminded him why he had to ascend to the 50th floor as soon as possible.

-I’ll look through the memories I managed to retain. So you should follow that player Heo Sung-Hoon’s advice.

“You mean…?”

-Go find that woman Lim Hye-Sook. I think she must know something.

Gi-Gyu nodded. Originally, he planned on taking his time meeting with Lim Hye-Sook, but he now had no time to wait.

***

“Please wait here for a moment. The guild master and the advisor will arrive shortly,” a woman said to Gi-Gyu.

“Ah, all right,” replied Gi-Gyu. He was inside the Gypsophila Guild headquarters. This unusual guild was made of only a few elite female players. It was an interesting concept, but Gi-Gyu was too preoccupied to give it much thought.

‘El… And all of my other Egos…’ Gi-Gyu was told that El and the others experienced the same thing as him when he was in the funeral home. They all felt that strange pull toward the deep darkness and that volley of emotions.

‘It’s incredible that I could sync with all of them,’ Gi-Gyu thought in awe. Back in the funeral home, when his vision darkened, he had synced with everyone inside the funeral home. Thankfully, no one seemingly noticed this except for Sung-Hoon. Because he had synced with them, he had felt their emotions.

And…

‘The incredible power!’ The funeral was for two major guilds, so many player mourners were present. When Gi-Gyu synced with them, all of their powers combined and joined him. Some were strong while others were weak, but their strength combined was enough to satisfy him.

‘Why? How?’ Gi-Gyu couldn’t answer these questions. Why was it even possible? He was here partly hoping that he would get an answer to this question. However, Shin Yoo-Bin and Lim Hye-Sook were still nowhere to be seen.

Gi-Gyu organized his thoughts before returning to one sensitive topic.

‘Father…’

Kim Se-Jin.

Gi-Gyu had no memory of him. He had heard everything he knew about his father from his mother, which wasn’t much.

Well, actually…

‘I do remember something about him,’ Gi-Gyu thought grimly. The only thing Gi-Gyu remembered of his father was how he looked at him.

“I’m sorry we’re late. We’re still dealing with the aftermath of the recent gate closure,” Shin Yoo-Bin apologized as she walked in.

“I’m sorry too,” Lim Hye-Sook also apologized. “Did you wait long?”

“Not at all. I just got here too,” Gi-Gyu replied.

Lim Hye-Sook smiled widely and mumbled, “You must be exhausted too.”

The elderly woman’s face was heavily wrinkled, but it only made her look warmer and kinder. Feeling comforted, Gi-Gyu smiled back.

Lim Hye-Sook asked, “What took you so long?”

“Pardon?” Gi-Gyu couldn’t understand what Lim Hye-Sook was asking. She only smiled at his confusion and turned toward Yoo-Bin.

Lim Hye-Sook requested, “Yoo-Bin, could you get us some tea?”

“Yes, Grandmother,” answered Yoo-Bin. It appeared that in private, Yoo-Bin called Lim Hye-Sook “Grandmother” rather than “Advisor.”

Lim Hye-Sook elaborated, “I would really appreciate you taking extra time making this tea.”

“All right.” Shin Yoo-Bin quickly caught on to what Lim Hye-Sook was asking and left after nodding at Gi-Gyu. This was the Gypsophila Guild’s headquarters, so Guild Master Shin Yoo-Bin should be leading the meeting. But, Lim Hye-Sook wanted to talk to Gi-Gyu in private.

“Kids are watching, so I had to bring her here for show.” Lim Hye-Sook seemed to be referring to bringing Shin Yoo-Bin into the room. Gi-Gyu replied respectfully, “It’s no problem, Ma’am.”

“All right. I asked you to see me because I have something to tell you. It’s about your father, Kim Se-Jin.”

Gi-Gyu’s eyes widened as Lim Hye-Sook’s appearance changed right before his eyes. She was a wrinkly old lady a second ago; now, a young woman just as beautiful as El sat in front of him.

Lim Hye-Sook continued, “He was the very first mercenary and the one who came up with this whole mercenary system idea. His code name was Kronos.”

There was a reason Gi-Gyu was never overly curious about his father. Gi-Gyu had been subconsciously avoiding hearing about him. It was one of the reasons he didn’t visit Lim Hye-Sook earlier.

‘I remember the resentment in his eyes when he looked at me,’ Gi-Gyu thought dejectedly.

That was the only thing he remembered of his father.