The Player Who Can't Level Up

A player losing their unique ability—it was a scary and shocking thought. This couldn’t be possible. How could a player’s unique ability disappear? This was impossible because…

Suk-Woo smiled bitterly when he saw Gi-Gyu’s expression. He mumbled, “I know this sounds ridiculous.”

Now, both Gi-Gyu and Suk-Woo had the same facial expression. They looked like they had seen a ghost.

Suk-Woo continued, “It means you’re losing your ability as a player.”

A player losing their unique ability didn’t just mean that they were losing a single ability. It meant that they could no longer be a player. They would lose the meaning of their existence.

“Something like this has never happened before,” Gi-Gyu whispered.

***

Until now, only death could stop a player from being a player. So what happened to Suk-Woo inside that gate?

Lou and El suggested,

-It must have something to do with Paimon’s inheritance.

-Please go talk to Old Man Hwang, Master.

“No.” Gi-Gyu shook his head and replied, “Seeing him right now would be useless. There is no guarantee that the penalty won’t prevent me from hearing the details.”

Gi-Gyu continued with determination, “And I don’t know what restrictions I might face if I gain more information. Right now, what I need to do is…”

With nothing but resolve and clarity in his eyes, he said, “Get to the 50th floor.”

He had delayed the 50th-floor hunt for long enough. If he waited any longer, he feared things would get even more serpentine.

Lou and El answered as if relieved,

-Good idea.

-I agree completely, Master.

“You guys have been frustrated with me too, haven’t you?” Gi-Gyu laughed.

Lou replied,

-Well… you not reaching the 50th floor did slap us with many limitations. But, I understand why you haven’t done it yet, and I think now is a good time to do it.

“Actually, the timing isn’t that great.” Gi-Gyu disagreed and continued, “We still have some open unratable gates. And we haven’t put a stop to Andras’ scheme. Above all…”

Gi-Gyu looked down slowly and added, “My condition isn’t at its best.”

-That’s true.

“But I can no longer make excuses to delay this. Reaching the 50th floor is too important now. Gotta take care of a few things before it, but”—Gi-Gyu began walking fast—“I’m going back to the Tower.”

Gi-Gyu needed to make some preparations.

***

There were a few things Gi-Gyu wanted to accomplish before targeting the 50th floor. The first was waking Suk-Woo's comatose brain; now that the Cain Guild’s master was awake, Gi-Gyu believed that Korea was in a much safer situation.

Then, there was the matter of Go Hyung-Chul whom Gi-Gyu captured in Suk-Woo’s hospital room.

Hearing Gi-Gyu’s concern, Old Man Hwang, from inside the gate, spoke to him telepathically.

-I’m teaching him some manners now, so you don’t have to worry. By the time you return, he will sing like a bird. I will make sure of that.

Gi-Gyu smiled and called out to the man sitting in front of him, “Hyung.”

Oh Tae-Shik, who had his eyes closed, thinking, replied, “What is it?”

“Are you sure it will be okay?”

“Hey!” Tae-Shik yelled in annoyance. “I know you have become much stronger, but this world went on fine without you before. If it falls apart just because you were away for a while, we deserve to die. So, instead of worrying about us, focus on your own safety.”

Gi-Gyu couldn’t help worrying about what might happen when he was away. What if the unratable gates caused more problems? What if Andras did something to further threaten the world? What if those precious to him got hurt because of these things?

This was why Gi-Gyu came to see Oh Tae-Shik. To his relief, Oh Tae-Shik confidently reassured him, “Don’t worry. We will do our best here, so stop talking nonsense and get to the 50th floor.”

‘Tae-Shik hyung has a secret of his own.’ He now looked at Tae-Shik a little differently. El had told him before that she found something strange in Tae-Shik’s shell. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he replied, “Then please be ready for anything. You also gotta come up with a good plan.”

“Ha! Don’t worry. That’s my job anyway.” Tae-Shik gave him a thumbs up. Some players had already, or probably would in the future, lost their bodies to Andras. That event was threatening to everyone; therefore, it was vital that they come up with a plan to fight this.

Tae-Shik’s eyes turned sharp as he continued, “I have a rough idea of what to do. Once you’re back, I’ll either brief you on it or you’ll see it in action.”

“I feel much better now,” Gi-Gyu replied. When Tae-Shik laughed, Gi-Gyu asked, “Ah, by the way. Haven’t you gone to see Mom yet?”

Tae-Shik turned awkward at Gi-Gyu’s question. Tae-Shik hadn’t visited Gi-Gyu’s mum ever since he had left the unratable gate. Gi-Gyu suggested, “I can guess what you must be thinking, but don’t do that. Being too considerate can be harmful.”

Gi-Gyu finally stood up. He knew that Tae-Shik couldn’t bring himself to see his mother because he was afraid. Tae-Shik’s job involved dealing with dangerous enemies. It was obvious Tae-Shik was afraid Su-Jin might come to hate him for his job.

Tae-Shik nodded and replied, “All right.”

Gi-Gyu finally left the room.

***

Gi-Gyu’s main concern wasn’t for Korea in general but for his family and friends. With only one thing left to do, he was finally almost ready to return to the Tower.

“I suppose it will happen soon,” Old Man Hwang spoke in excitement.

“Yes, it’s true. To be honest, I’m a little nervous myself,” Gi-Gyu said.

Old Man Hwang chuckled and asked, “Why are you worried?”

Old Man Hwang reassured him, “We will always be with you, so don’t worry. You aren’t alone.”

Gi-Gyu laughed, feeling much better. They were just words, but he felt much more confident now.

Turning around, Old Man Hwang continued, “A massive brain trust is working around the clock to come up with a solution for this situation. And an even bigger mass is ready to protect you from the enemies. Working together will only make things easier for you.”

The blacksmith pointed at the scene in front of them and suggested, “Have a look.”

Gi-Gyu turned to see countless skeleton soldiers, griffins, and mantises. They were being led by even more powerful creatures. Watching them gave him confidence and relaxed his taut nerves a bit.

Old Man Hwang added, “I have to admit that their brains might not be very helpful to you, but they certainly have the number to aid you.”

“When I come back, there are a few things I would like to ask you, Sir.”

“I will, of course, answer all of your questions truthfully,” answered Old Man Hwang.

Gi-Gyu took out something from his pocket and murmured, “This…”

It was one of El’s feathers. It was glowing in bright light, but part of it was stained with darkness.

“This is…?!” The blacksmith gasped in shock.

Gi-Gyu murmured, “So you recognize it. This feather holds some power from Paimon’s inheritance. El extracted it from Suk-Woo’s body.”

Old Man Hwang’s eyes sparkled as Gi-Gyu asked, “I think this must be a special kind of power. Will you examine it?”

The elderly man nodded emphatically and replied, “Of course. I’ve never touched Paimon’s inheritance with my own hands before, but with a sample like this, I should be able to learn a lot about it. I will try my best to find the answer you’re looking for.”

Old Man Hwang accepted the feather as if it was a precious treasure.

“All right. Please take care, Sir.” Gi-Gyu grinned and turned to leave, ready to take care of his last affair.

***

In a cafe in New York, an Asian man wearing a hat was sipping his coffee. The cafe was located near the Iron Guild headquarters.

Step, step.

A blond-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian man walked toward his table. Faint freckles adorned his pale skin. He wasn’t a beautiful man by any means, but there was something unusual about him. He looked rather dangerous. When he stopped in front of the table, the Asian man ordered, “Sit.”

The Caucasian man nodded and sat down. In a quiet voice, almost a whisper, the man replied, “Greetings to you, Master.”

The Caucasian man’s voice cracked, unpleasantly, as if he had hurt his vocal cord. It wasn’t bad enough to make one cringe, but it was still hard to hear.

The Asian man, his face hidden under the hat, greeted in a rigid voice, “Rogers, long time no see.”

Shockingly, the Asian man was Gi-Gyu, and the Caucasian man was Rogers.

The same Rogers who was once Ironshield’s minion and Gi-Gyu’s enemy. Astonishingly, Rogers—an Asian—now looked like a Caucasian.

“Is that body fitting you well?”

Rogers bowed deeply and replied, “I am so thankful for your kindness, Master.”

Gi-Gyu frowned a little and ordered, “We’re at a cafe. Don’t act so strangely.”

“I-I apologize.” Rogers no longer looked like an arrogant and selfish player. Only loyalty and fear filled his eyes when he looked up at Gi-Gyu.

“Did you successfully infiltrate the Iron Guild?” asked Gi-Gyu.

“Yes. Everything is working out according to your wish, Master.”

Gi-Gyu looked around before stating, “You will have to get this done faster. And…”

Gi-Gyu continued with a blank face, “You must collect as much information as possible about Ironshield. That includes things about the demon he consorts with and any changes that may be happening to Ironshield. I also need to know about any new guild members the Iron Guild has accepted recently.”

Gi-Gyu rose and ordered, “You better get this done right, or else…”

Rogers’ turned pale as Gi-Gyu continued, “I shall punish you.”

Then, Gi-Gyu left, leaving Rogers trembling in fear. Drops of sweat rolled down from Rogers’ forehead, indicating how much he must fear his “punishment.”

***

When Rogers became an Ego, he received a new body. When he was egofied, Gi-Gyu initially injected the ego back into Rogers’ physical body.

But…

‘I had to do something so that he could infiltrate the Iron Guild.’ Gi-Gyu remembered his reasoning. Rogers couldn’t join the Iron Guild again in his original form. This was why it was necessary to change Rogers’ appearance.

At first, Gi-Gyu couldn’t come up with a solution. If Rogers’ appearance was changed using low-level magic, the Iron Guild’s high-level associates would see through it quickly.

But thankfully…

‘I didn’t expect him to have such a skill.’ Gi-Gyu thought in relief. Rogers had a skill named Capture. This skill allowed Rogers to take over a corpse. The catch was that he could do this only three times, but it was still such an amazing skill.

Not too long ago. Rogers had successfully taken over an Iron Guild member's corpse. In this new body, Rogers grew stronger. His original body was stored safely inside Brunheart’s gate, but it seemed that Rogers didn’t want to return to his old body.

“Well, whatever. I’ve done enough for him,” Gi-Gyu muttered.

Lou joked.

-You’re a cruel bastard.

Gi-Gyu began walking when someone appeared in front of him.

“I’ll take you there, Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu,” Sung-Hoon offered.

“Please take good care of me and help me reach the 50th floor,” replied Gi-Gyu.

It was finally time to return to the Tower.