The Player Who Can't Level Up

Gi-Gyu and Sung-Hoon stood on the 42nd floor. Since Gi-Gyu hadn’t arrived at the 49th floor yet, he had to reach it and clear it as soon as possible. The Tower was a vast place, that was why he chose Sung-Hoon as his guide to clear the remaining floors. Had he cleared the 49th floor before, he could’ve used the inter-floor portals to cover the distance quickly. Sadly, he had to climb each floor physically now.

‘I knew it would be fairly easy, but…’ Gi-Gyu thought in awe. He knew he was a powerful player now, but his path to the 50th floor was too smooth. The way he ascended couldn’t be compared to the other players around him. With Sung-Hoon acting as his guide, he expected to climb the Tower at a decent speed, but this was beyond his expectation.

“This is—”

Sung-Hoon interrupted Gi-Gyu and exclaimed, “We’re inside the Tower, right? And we aren’t on one of those lower-level floors either. We’re actually in the mid-level now, yet…”

They were conquering each floor too easily. The monsters on each floor seemed shockingly weak. Moreover, Gi-Gyu wasn’t the one doing all the hunting—his creatures were.

“Yeah, I know.” Gi-Gyu shrugged and replied. He didn’t know what else to say to Sung-Hoon.

“Master, did you wait long?” El asked in worry when she returned.

“Huh? No… It’s not that,” Gi-Gyu replied quietly.

Thinking Gi-Gyu was disappointed that they weren’t moving fast enough, El apologized, “I’m sorry. Should I work a little faster?”

“N-no! You should actually take a break,” Gi-Gyu answered weakly. Gi-Gyu chose to get help from his creatures because he wanted to climb the Tower quickly. This was why El was clearing the path for him, but…

“S-she’s a total beast, Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu!” Sung-Hoon exclaimed in awe.

El glared at him and argued, “Beast? How can you call a lady that?”

Sung-Hoon shivered and coughed. He had seen El's power, so he knew offending her was a bad idea.

Gi-Gyu said to El, “El, revert to your ring form and rest. I think we’re getting too much attention.”

“Of course, Master.” El faded away with a smile. “As you wish.”

Gi-Gyu looked around while Sung-Hoon suggested, “Shall we get to the next floor now?”

There weren’t many players around them, but the select few were gaping at them. Gi-Gyu didn’t mind the attention, but too much of anything was bad. Then, he nodded and walked away.

***

Gi-Gyu and Sung-Hoon stood on a giant rock on the 43rd floor.

“This was way too easy,” Gi-Gyu commented.

It was the truth, so all Sung-Hoon could do was nod. “Yeah… I mean, this is more like a massacre than a hunt, huh?”

The ground around them was drenched in blood and covered in sparkling crystals.

Kaboom!

From somewhere nearby, a loud explosion rang. Gi-Gyu and Sung-Hoon turned to see the sky seemingly shooting a bright light beam. They both knew it had to be El’s attack. Blood and souls flew toward Lou from where the explosion took place, ready for absorption. El’s evolution had given her the ability to attack a wider area with increased destructive power. And thanks to her huge wings, she could attack and fly around simultaneously. With a simple wave of her hands, she could cause incredible damage.

Sung-Hoon declared, “Well, the path is clear.”

While El was responsible for clearing Gi-Gyu’s path, Sung-Hoon was responsible for pointing toward the right path.

“Let’s go,” Sung-Hoon announced and took the lead. Gi-Gyu followed, and they soon reached El, who was still up in the air. El looked so much like a heavenly goddess that the passersby felt shocked twice. First by her destructive power, then a second time because of her beauty.

“Master!” El smiled brightly when she spotted Gi-Gyu.

“I told you not to call me that.” Gi-Gyu scratched his cheek shyly. Being called “Master” in public made him an object of much unwanted attention.

One of the players nearby whispered, “Did you hear that? She called him ‘Master!’ So is she a summoned being?”

“Summoned being? Well, that makes sense, I guess… I mean, look at her wings!” another player exclaimed.

“Uwaah! She’s incredible!” a player passing by yelled in awe.

Because of the unratable gates’ materialization, many mid-level players were inside the Tower. The powerful players had been dispatched to these gates, so the unselected rest took this chance to climb the Tower. This was a perfect time because there would be less competition.

Gi-Gyu wasn’t on a higher floor, so there were many mid-level players around him.

One of them asked, “Hey, doesn’t he look familiar?”

“What…? Ah! It’s him!” his companion answered in excitement.

“Who?”

Pointing at Gi-Gyu, the second player whispered, “I think he’s that player named Morningstar.”

“Ugh! What a corny name!” his friend muttered.

***

Gi-Gyu and Sung-Hoon stood on the 44th floor. Like a bulldozer, El flattened everything that stood in Gi-Gyu's path. There was no need to bring out anyone else from Brunheart’s gate because El alone seemed like overkill. After all, she was as strong as a high ranker.

‘And not just any high ranker. I would say she’s like those super high-level ones,’ Gi-Gyu thought proudly, certain of his assessment. No wonder she could easily annihilate those monsters on the mid-40th floors. There wasn’t even a need to study the type and strength of the monsters on each floor, as she killed everything in her path indiscriminately.

“It’s impressive,” Sung-Hoon whispered.

Gi-Gyu grinned and replied, “You get impressed by her on every floor.”

“Well, I can’t help it since she really is impressive.” Sung-Hoon smiled awkwardly. Gi-Gyu teased him just now, but he had to agree with Sung-Hoon. The higher the floors, the more powerful the monsters were. Yet El seemed to be having no problem dealing with them. It was as if she was also becoming stronger with each floor. Gi-Gyu couldn’t help but be surprised by her.

“They say things are easy up till the 44th floor. From the 45th floor on, things become more problematic,” Sung-Hoon offered a pessimistic opinion for the first time.

Gi-Gyu asked with curiosity, “Really? So the monsters become much more powerful starting from the 45th floor?”

Until now, they haven’t faced any difficulties. Was the difficult part finally here? But as far as Gi-Gyu knew, there shouldn’t be any big differences between the low-40s and the high-40s.

Sung-Hoon explained, “Starting from the 45th floor, we will have multiple doorways leading to the next floor, but only one will be correct.”

“Ah.” Gi-Gyu hadn’t thought of this. Unlike normal players, who had to hunt monsters and find the doorway to the next floor, they had bulldozed through with no problem so far. Unfortunately, their streak was about to end since they now had to choose the open doorway.

“Well, still… I guess this might not be the case for you, Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu.”

“I suppose not,” Gi-Gyu replied with a smile, looking ahead. He already had a solution. Meanwhile, El, ahead of them, slaughtered the monsters like it was her fate to kill all of Gi-Gyu’s enemies.

***

Currently, they stood on the 45th floor; just as Sung-Hoon had explained, there were many entrances, and not all of them were open. Different entrances opened at different times, which confused many players.

Letting El clear all the paths until they had the correct one would’ve been the perfect plan. However, Gi-Gyu looked at the creatures in front of him and declared, “I better give you guys a chance to shine too.”

Hal bowed deeply and slammed his halberd on the ground. He roared, “Thank you, Grandmaster!”

“You are already receiving so much attention from the other players, Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu. So let’s just make the best of it,” Sung-Hoon suggested. Countless players had witnessed Gi-Gyu’s power, including his angel and the other powerful summoned beings. Everyone would remember him as an incredible summoner.

Gi-Gyu was a famous figure, but not much about him was known. Consequently, everything Gi-Gyu did became the talk of the town.

Sung-Hoon explained, “I’ve heard the rumors going around from the association agents.”

Before turning toward Sung-Hoon, Gi-Gyu ordered, “Guys, your mission is to clear the path I’ve chosen for each of you.”

“Yes, Grandmaster!” Hal and Hamiel bowed. Hal took his knight’s order while Hamiel led the other two angels. Gi-Gyu decided that this was enough to pass through the 45th floor.

Finally turning toward Sung-Hoon, Gi-Gyu asked, “What rumors?”

While El and the others worked, Gi-Gyu and Sung-Hoon chatted. The way Gi-Gyu had his creatures work was incredibly efficient. All he had to do was sit around while he gained experience points and attributes through his Egos, not to mention the mountain of crystals.

The irony of it all was that Gi-Gyu still couldn’t level up.

‘But I suppose…’ At this point, Gi-Gyu didn’t care. He no longer had to obsess over it because he had another way to become powerful.

Sung-Hoon replied, “They are about you. The players know you as Morningstar, and…”

“Haa… I’m so embarrassed by that code name.” Gi-Gyu grumbled.

Sung-Hoon continued, “Hmm. Anyway, the rumors are about you, Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu.”

Gi-Gyu seemed more alert as if he was interested. It wasn’t because he was greedy for fame or favor. He was simply curious.

With a grin, Sung-Hoon replied, “They say you’re a pervert.”

“Pardon?” Gi-Gyu became confused.

“A dirty pervert.”

“...?”

“People believe you’re a crazy perv who whips the beautiful angel. Pfft…!” Sung-Hoon tried his best not to burst into laughter, but he was doing a terrible job of it.

Gi-Gyu frowned and murmured, “It’s true she works for me, but… I’ve never whipped her! What the heck?! Why would such a rumor be going around? It’s not like I ordered her to call me ‘Master.’”

“But you must admit that it looks bad, right?” Sung-Hoon replied.

Gi-Gyu shrugged in disbelief and said under his breath, “I don’t even own a whip.”

“Pfft!” Sung-Hoon covered his mouth again.

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu sighed deeply, but he didn’t unwelcome such a rumor.

As for people believing he was a summoner, Gi-Gyu believed it was good because…

‘That way, my real ability can remain hidden,’ Gi-Gyu thought in relief. Being able to sync with beings called Egos was an incredible ability. As he gained more Egos and they became stronger, Gi-Gyu also became more powerful. Just El’s recent evolution and Botis’ fresh capture were enough to…

Gi-Gyu clenched his fists. He could feel the overwhelming power inside him. He wasn’t even using any skills at the moment. Just the simple act of clenching was enough to generate a large amount of energy. The only problem was that Gi-Gyu still wasn’t good at controlling his new power.

But…

Zing!

Gi-Gyu punched the air upward, creating a loud energy wave. All he did was swing his fist, yet it created such destructive power.

Sung-Hoon gaped. He couldn’t help feeling Gi-Gyu was giving him a warning for teasing him.

Gi-Gyu smiled widely toward Sung-Hoon and replied, “Well, it’s all right.”

Now, it was Gi-Gyu’s turn to tease Sung-Hoon.

***

They were now on the 46th floor. Gi-Gyu’s creatures had quickly found the correct entrance on the floor below. Because it was Hal who found it, he seemed ecstatic. He was always so eager to please Gi-Gyu. Gi-Gyu was also happy to keep Hal close by as he climbed higher.

“There are noticeably less players now,” Gi-Gyu commented. This made sense, especially after the 45th floor. The 45th floor was considered a turning point, so it was no wonder the crowd was noticeably thin on the 46th floor.

Sung-Hoon explained, “Are you surprised? Just finding the correct entrance normally takes a long time. Without incredible luck or power, it isn’t something that can be accomplished quickly.”

Even as they chatted, Gi-Gyu’s creatures worked hard to clear the paths Sung-Hoon designated for them. All Gi-Gyu and Sung-Hoon had to do was stand around and watch them.

“Hmm…” Gi-Gyu tilted his head, feeling that something had changed. As El and the others hunted the monsters, Gi-Gyu could feel himself gaining more experiences along with them. It wasn’t simple experience points or crystals—it was real battle experiences as if he was the one fighting. Was it because his assimilation level had gone up? Or was it because of the “seal” Lim Hye-Sook mentioned?

Real battle experience meant that Gi-Gyu also experienced real fatigue, but this wasn’t a problem. He was essentially gaining important battle experiences from sitting, which would be a huge advantage for any player.

“Ah, Sung-Hoon, you’ve already reached the 50th floor before, right?” Gi-Gyu asked. Sung-Hoon wasn’t just Gi-Gyu’s personal secretary. He was a powerful player in his own right who worked hard to improve himself. In fact, Sung-Hoon had already crossed the 50th floor before, making him a great guide for Gi-Gyu.

“Yes, that’s right,” replied Sung-Hoon.

Looking straight into Sung-Hoon’s eyes, Gi-Gyu asked, “Just what is on the 50th floor? What is there that will bring about so many changes for me?”

Gi-Gyu had already searched the internet for answers, but he couldn’t find anything. He had worked as a guide for a long time, but it was rare to hear about the 50th floor. All Gi-Gyu knew was that the secondary job change took place here.

“On the 50th floor…” Sung-Hoon was about to answer Gi-Gyu when a voice rang in Gi-Gyu’s head. Simultaneously, the loud noise of fireworks rang. Both Sung-Hoon and Gi-Gyu turned to see the fireworks in the sky nearby.

They exclaimed, “Guardian!”

It seemed that a guardian had appeared near them.