The Player Who Can't Level Up

“It’s that stupid mace. Wasn’t looking at it when it attacked me again and again for a week enough?” Gi-Gyu muttered as he studied the mace. It was a giant weapon. Gi-Gyu was a fairly tall guy himself, but the mace was three times his size. Gi-Gyu grabbed the handle and tried to raise it.

“Ugh…” he groaned, barely managing to lift it off the ground. Not only was it big, but it was cumbersome too.

“What is this made of?” wondered Gi-Gyu. Just what could make this weapon so heavy? No metal Gi-Gyu knew of could weigh this much despite its size.

Lou answered,

-A corpse.

“What? A corpse?”

-Before I came to be the king, you know seven kings ruled hell, right?

“Yes,” replied Gi-Gyu. He remembered hearing about it from Lou before; a bulb went off in his head.

It felt like new information suddenly entered his mind. Gi-Gyu’s eyes became unfocused as he mumbled, “The Seven Kings… Belphegor was one of them; his nickname was the King of Sloth… The other six kings also carried their own sins…”

Gi-Gyu remembered the information he had never heard before.

“This is…” he mumbled while organizing his thoughts. “Your memory, isn’t it?”

‘This must be Lou’s memory,’ Gi-Gyu thought in surprise. This made sense since he had gained Lou’s data from the first test.

-That’s right. It could be a piece of the memory I erased, a piece of what I remember, or even a piece of what the Tower remembers about me.

Lou’s voice sounded uninterested as he continued,

-Anyway, it’s definitely my memory.

Gi-Gyu shook his head. It seemed that the new information he had gained wasn’t something he could access at will. Perhaps it could be remembered if he heard something relevant.

Gi-Gyu asked, “So? You were saying that this mace is actually a corpse? Explain it to me.”

He had to hear more to wake up the new information lying dormant in his head.

-Hmph. Anyway, I suddenly appeared in hell and began killing demons, aiming to be the next king. You see, I wanted to become the true master of hell.

Gi-Gyu listened with interest.

-I defeated them, ate them, and became the strongest. And at some point, I challenged their kings. Even though I was ridiculously powerful, I couldn’t defeat all seven of them together.

“So?” Again, the light bulb went off, and new information popped up in Gi-Gyu’s head.

-I challenged the strongest king.

“Ah…” For some reason, he understood who was the strongest king.

-The King of Wrath…

Gi-Gyu and Lou simultaneously said,

-Satan.

“Satan.”

Before Lou, Satan was the closest to being the sole ruler of hell. Being the strongest of the seven, Satan, the King of Wrath, reigned but not ruled.

-I succeeded in defeating Satan and eating him. I then used his leftovers to make weapons. After killing and eating the most powerful king, I became even more powerful. So, the other kings swore their loyalty to me, and I gifted these weapons to them.

Lou finished his story with a bitter whisper.

-Of course, they were as loyal snakes.

Awkward, Gi-Gyu turned to look at the mace again. “So you’re saying this is a part of Satan’s corpse?”

Lou didn’t reply, but Gi-Gyu could tell he was right about it. “So what should I do with it…?”

The mace was too big to be used as a weapon, so he knew he couldn’t use it effectively. And his two hands were usually occupied by Lou and El.

“But…” Gi-Gyu also couldn’t give it to one of his creatures; the other option he thought of was selling it.

Or perhaps…

“Wait!” Gi-Gyu yelled, suddenly remembering something he had overlooked. His priority shouldn’t have been thinking about how to utilize the weapon.

“Lou!”

-I applaud you.

Lou replied sarcastically. Gi-Gyu felt annoyed, but controlling his emotion, he asked, “Why are you laughing at me?”

-I’m only congratulating you on becoming smarter. I’m surprised you figured it out.

It appeared that Lou had read Gi-Gyu’s mind. Lou’s words were flattering, but he couldn’t help feeling like Lou was being condescending.

-Weren’t you about to ask me if this is really Belphegor’s mace?

“Yup, that’s right,” replied Gi-Gyu. Before him was Belphegor’s mace, but the test he had just passed was only a simulation created by the Tower. Gi-Gyu certainly didn’t go back in time to fight the real one.

In real life, Lou couldn’t kill Belphegor. He almost did, emphasis on the almost, so the real Belphegor should be alive. Then, this mace…

“Are you sure this is the real thing? Maybe it just looks like one,” Gi-Gyu wondered out loud. The original mace had to be with Belphegor. And a weapon made with Satan’s corpse had to be a legendary item. Given that there were no two same legendary items, this one was bound to be a copy. Unless, of course, the Tower could make another original. If it did, then…

‘It would mean the Tower is like a god.’ 

But this couldn’t be possible.

-You’re right. Even the Tower can’t recreate Belphegor’s mace since that’s impossible.

Lou continued firmly,

-But… the thing in front of you is definitely the original mace.

“What?”

-...

After thinking long and hard, Lou explained,

-I think… Something happened in hell since the last time I was there. They may have faked their loyalty to me, but they aren’t stupid enough to throw away the weapons made of Satan’s corpse. I can think of two possibilities that explain this.

Gi-Gyu guessed the possibilities before Lou continued,

“Belphegor either got another weapon that’s more powerful than this mace or…”

Gi-Gyu added, “He died.”

Tilting his head in contemplation, Gi-Gyu decided, “Well, either way, I think I should keep this mace. I’ll give it to Old Man Hwang for now. Maybe he’ll figure out a way to use it. This isn’t something I or my other Egos can use. And I have plenty of money already, so it doesn’t make sense to sell it.”

Lou, El, and Brunheart agreed.

-Good idea.

-That’s an excellent idea, Master.

-I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I love it, Master!

Gi-Gyu opened Brunheart’s gate and pushed the mace inside. He sent a telepathic message to Old Man Hwang, ‘Please take good care of it, Sir.’

-Don’t worry. I understand what you want me to do with it.

Gi-Gyu could now telepathically communicate with Old Man Hwang since he was now Gi-Gyu's Ego. He was sure Old Man Hwang would learn everything there was to know about Belphegor’s mace, just like the Paimon’s inheritance.

“The next thing I need to do is…” Gi-Gyu murmured, realizing it was time to check on his body. He could feel some changes after he had obtained Lou’s data.

“I don’t want to admit it, but…” Gi-Gyu’s brain was definitely working better and faster. He could now devise better solutions, which was a huge improvement. He could tell that his ability to process given information had also improved.

And most of all…

“My shell feels more stable now,” Gi-Gyu said after noticing the shakiness disappear from inside him.

-Meditate and have a look at your shell.

Just as Lou suggested, this was his priority.

***

“I am certain. My shell has stabilized,” Gi-Gyu declared. In the Gangnam Gate, Lou had descended into his body. The descent made Death flood and shatter his shell, making it unstable. According to Lim Hye-Sook, it also broke a seal he never knew he had. Lim Hye-Sook had to use every ounce of her strength just to place another seal over it, and Gi-Gyu had no choice but to take the 50th-floor test in his unstable condition.

Yet…

“It’s still not perfect, but my shell has definitely calmed down. Death has relaxed a little too,” Gi-Gyu explained in relief. Even Lim Hye-Sook’s seal failed to do anything about Death’s hyper-activeness, so he was surprised to find it so much calmer now.

Why was this happening?

Gi-Gyu could come up with only one guess. “I think it might be because I obtained your data. You were the original master of Death, so…”

-I agree. I had no idea this was possible.

In the past, Lou was the only one who could use Death, his pride and power source. Gi-Gyu had experienced its true power during the first test, and he had to admit its destructive power was unreal.

‘However, using it is incredibly difficult,’ Gi-Gyu thought in wonder. Death was a double-edged sword. If he wasn’t careful, it could kill him. Gi-Gyu hadn’t mastered Death yet, but still…

“Using it feels so much smoother now.”

Initially, Gi-Gyu was planning on not using Death because of his unstable condition; now, summoning and utilizing Death felt much easier.

“And…” Gi-Gyu murmured. The physical changes he felt were welcoming. Absorbing Botis had already given his body much improvement; now, he felt even stronger.

But all in all, his favorite change had to be…

“I must say that becoming smarter is the best thing that has happened to me so far.”

-I agree.

Lou replied. The difference was obvious. Gi-Gyu tested his new brain against Lou, El, and Brun, confirming his intelligence had improved.

Gi-Gyu commented, “I guess you were pretty smart, huh?”

He had become smarter after obtaining Lou’s data, which meant Lou was very intelligent.

-Of course, I am. If all I had was brute strength, I couldn’t have become the King of Hell.

Lou’s arrogant voice was a little annoying, but Gi-Gyu had to admit it was true. After going through the rewards and changes, Gi-Gyu summarized the findings.

“So I got Belphegor’s mace. And my shell became more stable, my body became stronger, and my brain is working better. To top it all off…”

Gi-Gyu paused before adding, “I can now access your old memories, Lou.”

Gi-Gyu now had Lou’s information and experiences. However, he couldn’t peruse them like his own memories; he had to search for them as he would search for something on the internet. He needed to think of relevant terms to access the newly given information.

“So, is this the secret to the 50th floor everyone kept talking about?” Gi-Gyu mumbled. Many people had told him he would find all the answers after reaching the 50th floor. Was this what they were referring to?

Gi-Gyu shook his head, uncertain of this guess. The other people didn’t have Lou or El, so this explanation didn’t make sense. Gi-Gyu could come up with some other possibilities, but he decided not to come up with any conclusions yet.

“After all, I still have two more tests to go.” He had only passed the first test, so it was too early to conclude.

Gi-Gyu announced, “I’m ready.”

Immediately, two cards appeared before him.

***

The first card, the black one, led Gi-Gyu to a recreation of Lou’s past. Gi-Gyu had passed that test and was happy with everything he had gained. Now, there were two more tests left. So, Gi-Gyu promptly chose his second card.

[The test area will be established based on El’s date.]

[The player will be transferred to the test chamber.]

[The player must get ready.]

[The test shall begin.]

A similar system announcement was heard after Gi-Gyu picked the white card.