The Player Who Can't Level Up

The scene was so astonishing that Gi-Gyu, try as he might, couldn’t hide or control his shock.

He watched silently as his enemies approached him from all around. He clenched his fists and thought angrily, ‘So it wants me to experience death?’

Did the Tower’s system even know what death really was? Gi-Gyu had already experienced it several times before.

Terrible darkness and loneliness.

Despair and pain.

The indescribable fear.

‘That’s death.’ Gi-Gyu remembered it very well. It wasn’t something he wanted to experience again, but…

“If that’s what’s necessary, I’ll do it,” he announced. He was on the test floor; if he failed to accomplish the goal set by the system, he couldn’t leave this space. Only death would await him if he didn’t pass this test. So either way, he would have to die.

Lou said to Gi-Gyu,

-Do your best.

Gi-Gyu nodded. He saw the first row of soldiers coming toward him. They looked like lowly foot soldiers because they wore average armors and held mediocre weapons.

The army running toward him had orcs, goblins, lizardmen, other low-level monsters, and even unique monsters, but it didn’t have a single human.

“Kill him! Kill the king! The king is weak now! This is our chance!” the demon with the giant horns ordered. Smirking at Gi-Gyu arrogantly, he roared again, “Kill him!”

“Krrrrk!” the monsters shrieked in excitement. Gi-Gyu clenched his fists again and looked over his body. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find any weapons anywhere. All he had to fight with were his bare hands.

-Moron.

Gi-Gyu heard Lou again, who explained,

-Why would you think you don’t have a weapon? This was when I was being betrayed by the other demons. Don’t you remember?

Gi-Gyu’s eyes widened as he suddenly remembered what he had heard about it. Antecedently, Lou had explained how he was betrayed when he was the king of hell. Gi-Gyu didn’t know the details, but…

“Does that mean…?”

Lou explained,

-That’s right. This test was made using my experience, memories, and the data stored in the Tower.

“That makes sense.” Gi-Gyu quickly caught on to what Lou was trying to say. For some reason, his brain was working faster than ever. Gi-Gyu usually had a hard time following Lou’s explanation; today, a few hints from Lou were enough.

Gi-Gyu clenched his fists again, and a long black sword materialized in his hand. “So you’re saying I’m you right now.”

The Emperor of Evil Swords and Black Magic.

King of Demons.

Ruler of Hell.

Lou’s dazzling past had become Gi-Gyu’s present. For this test, Gi-Gyu’s consciousness and Lou’s body were one.

-Exactly.

Lou’s voice remained a little bitter as he continued,

-You won’t die easily. Perhaps you don’t even have to die at all…

The monsters who were storming toward Gi-Gyu hesitated when they saw the sword. Ever since their king became the ruler by making everyone kneel before him, their instincts had changed. They were all aware of their king’s might. And now, this incredible might was all for Gi-Gyu to wield.

The two-horned demon screamed in frustration, “Why did you slow down?! What do you think you’re doing?!”

His exceptional energy rushed toward the hesitant frontline monsters. Their leader continued, “Anyone who retreats will be killed by me! Kill the king! Kill the king!”

The two-horned demon’s voice was annoying. Gi-Gyu frowned in displeasure.

Lou announced,

-Enjoy yourself.

Lou’s voice became quieter as he continued,

-Lose yourself in this battle. I would love it if you could kill that crazy Belphegor.

Gi-Gyu laughed at Lou’s words. They were inside the test chamber, but this looked like a piece of Lou’s memory. Gi-Gyu wondered what Lou must be feeling, looking at the demons who had betrayed him.

“What should I do?” asked Gi-Gyu. Unfortunately, he couldn’t comfortably use Lou’s powers just yet. Since he didn’t know exactly what abilities Lou possessed, he couldn’t figure out how to deal with the seemingly endless army.

-You already know how to use my powers.

Lou said to him.

“I see.” Gi-Gyu took a slow step forward. The single step made all the monsters rushing toward him flinch. Frustrated by the monsters' fear, Belphegor screamed again.

“Ugh!” Suddenly, Gi-Gyu vomited blood. It was clear his body was in bad shape. It was a surprise that he wasn’t already dead. The pain felt like his innards were being ripped into pieces. Him taking a step through all that pain was a thing of wonder.

“The king barely managed to escape the Six Kings’ attack! He’s a loser! Do not fear him!” Belphegor ordered as he sniggered at Gi-Gyu’s weakened state.

-Hmph.

Lou smirked as he watched Belphegor. Gi-Gyu took two more steps, making the monsters hesitate even more. They began to retreat slowly. The dread that was deeply rooted in them made them fear even the slightest movement from their king.

Sadly, Gi-Gyu was in terrible shape, as Belphegor had claimed. Lou’s body was in tatters after the Six Kings’ surprise attack.

Drip.

Blood dripped from the numerous cuts and gashes on his body, soaking the ground. It was a passing observation, but Gi-Gyu realized that Lou also bled red like him.

Seemingly unaffected by the myriad of wounds, Lou muttered,

-If you’re so keen on killing me, you should do it yourself, Belphegor. What a pig!

Lou laughed at Belphegor openly as Gi-Gyu took another step forward.

And…

“Death,” Gi-Gyu whispered, making ominous black smoke burst from his body.

Kabooom!

A black mushroom cloud crawled toward the monsters like a living creature. The space between Gi-Gyu and the monsters was flooded with darkness before it engulfed the monsters.

“Krrrrk!” The black mushroom cloud seemingly ate everything in its path because only screams were heard, and skeletons scattering into dust was seen. There wasn’t a single monster that survived the smoke.

A sudden silence fell.

“...” Belphegor seemed speechless when he realized that a chunk of his army had disappeared.

“Dammit,” Belphegor swore. Shaking in disbelief, he muttered, “The six kings wounded him badly, but he can still do this?!”

Belphegor couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The foot soldiers he had sent out certainly weren’t experienced elite soldiers or even high-level demons. But they should have been enough to drain the king’s power further. Unfortunately, it was clear Belphegor had underestimated the king. With a single Death attack, the betrayed king had massacred an entire unit.

“I’ll do it myself!” Belphegor announced. Backing out was no longer an option, and he couldn’t let the king live. He risked everything for this chance. If the king survived and returned after recovering, then…

‘It will be the end of all of us,’ Belphegor thought in despair. They would have no hope if this betrayed king survived. Belphegor, one of the six kings, should have been enjoying luxury and power. Yet because of this king, he had been living in hiding as he feared for his life.

This had to stop.

Dun, dun.

Belphegor, the giant demon with two horns, moved forward. The ground shook and caved with every step. Lou’s Death, which had been swarming toward Belphegor, shook as well.

“Humph!” Belphegor frowned in annoyance and punched the black smoke, dispersing it.

Whoosh!

The gale created by his punch made the space tremble and pushed away Lou's energy. Death, which seemed powerful enough to swallow anything and everything, looked helpless against Belphegor’s power.

“Sleep!” Belphegor shouted as he swung his mace. His sheer size made his sweat droplets seem like torrential rain.

“Krrrrk!” A few surviving monsters groaned when Belphegor stepped on them. Ignoring his soldiers’ pain, Belphegor moved and roared again, “Sleep!”

Lou’s Death calmed down as if it was really put to sleep.

Death was an incredible skill, but Belphegor was no weakling either. Belphegor was one of the original Seven Kings that ruled hell. He was still considered one of the kings and had the power to bring down this new king of hell.

Belphegor screamed in a fury, “I’ll kill you!”

The battlefield had not many strong fighters left. The other five kings were injured severely during their surprise attack on the new king. So, they were resting at the moment, and only Belphegor was still strong enough to fight. The other kings could join him soon, so Belphegor had to move quickly to become the hero of this war.

Belphegor continued to shout and move toward Gi-Gyu.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Belphegor’s feet were moving faster and faster when suddenly, he stopped. Someone stood in front of him and murmured, “The King of Sloth.”

The creature was drenched in blood, looking like a blood-soaked weapon. The blood made his already black armor look even darker. His eyes were red as if they were about to burst, and the ground beneath his feet was also red.

Belphegor replied, “King.”

“So you’re the King of Sloth, Belphegor, huh?”

Belphegor seemed confused at his enemy’s question. It seemed that he even forgot that he was here to kill the king.

‘Something’s wrong,’ Belphegor thought in surprise. Normally, the king would have attacked him by now. This was why Belphegor had covered himself with dozens of barriers for protection.

Yet…

Belphegor abruptly realized that the one standing before him wasn’t who he appeared to be. “Who are you?! You aren’t the king!”

But the creature wearing the king’s body didn’t reply. Instead, he grinned in amusement.

After a brief silence, the creature murmured, “Lou asked me to tell you…”

“Lou?” Belphegor frowned even deeper, his body shaking in fury. “Where is the king?! I must capture and kill the king! The king…!”

Belphegor screamed, but he didn’t dare to approach his enemy. The creature in front of him had to be a fake wearing the king’s body, but Belphegor was still scared.

The king’s mouth opened, and an ominous voice announced, “I shall eat all of your kin alive. I will return to hell, and I will destroy everyone who worked for you. They will die screaming your name Belphegor.”

Belphegor trembled in fear and anger. He yelled, “You bastard!”

Belphegor swung his mace. He couldn’t understand what was happening, but he knew he needed to kill the creature.

The one in the king’s body pushed away the mace with one hand and rushed forward at the speed of light. Before Belphegor knew it, the king’s sword had sliced his arm.

“Ackkk!” Belphegor screamed as his arm dropped to the ground.

“H-how…?!” His body was being protected by dozens of barriers. These barriers were from the rulers of the Tower, which meant even the Emperor of Evil Swords couldn’t pass through. So how could this creature injure him so easily?

“Ughhhh!” Belphegor screamed in pain. It had been a long time since he felt this kind of pain. To his shock, the one in the king’s body was already on top of his shoulders as he whispered, “You better worship your true king.”

An icy smile appeared on Gi-Gyu’s face as he crouched on top of Belphegor.

“Ackkk!” Belphegor screamed the king’s name in a fury, “Luciferrrrrr!”