The Player Who Can't Level Up

(El is still referred to by her old name, Michael, until the next scene change in the chapter.)

“Could it be…?!” Gabriel exclaimed in disbelief.

Raphael swore, “That’s right, you fucking bastard.”

Despite Raphael missing his heart, his chest wound healed; just before the wound had fully closed, Gabriel saw something inside Raphael’s open chest.

Gabriel screamed, “Did you get the Life Root? You idiot! That power isn’t something you can handle!”

Receiving a part of Life was one thing, but accepting the Root itself was something only Michael could do. Gabriel had just realized that Michael had given her Life Root to Raphael.

Raphael whispered, “It’s only a piece of it. Only a piece, but…”

Holy flame bloomed from Raphael’s body in the process of sanctification.

Raphael burned the Life Root Michael had given him to gain power. He screamed as he grabbed Gabriel, “I should be able to take you with me!”

Gabriel, with his incredible power, tried to push Raphael away, but it was unexpectedly difficult. Then again, Raphael had used Life—God’s power—to suppress Gabriel, so how could it not be?

“N-no!” Gabriel screamed, but it was too late. Raphael held onto Gabriel like a leech and plummeted. Raphael, covered in holy flames, trapped Gabriel’s power, and the two archangels fell into Chaos’ jaws.

“You’ve lost your mind!” Gabriel screamed.

However, Raphael closed his eyes and ears as he whispered, “It is you who has gone mad, Gabriel.”

***

“What happened next?” Gi-Gyu prodded El in frustration. So far, El had explained how Raphael and Gabriel ended up in Chaos’ mouth. Now, it was clear that Gabriel had betrayed them, so why was El sealed away?

El replied,

-I don’t know, Master. That’s as far as I can remember at the moment. But I know one thing for certain.

El paused before continuing,

-It wasn’t Chaos that I sealed away. I am sure of it. That is why we have to meet Gabriel, who must be the player currently using my old name.

It seemed that El was finished with her story. Gi-Gyu asked, “By the way… You’re saying that Gabriel was wielding Lou?”

-That’s correct, Master.

In her story, El had claimed that the sword that had stabbed Raphael was Lou.

“Lou! What happened?” Gi-Gyu called out to his Ego.

However, El was the one who replied,

-At the time, Lou’s consciousness was locked away. He had no free will, so he was being used as a tool and nothing more. I doubt Lou remembers anything. Isn’t that right, Lou?

Lou replied weakly,

-That’s correct. And I don’t like hearing about this.

Gi-Gyu shook his head and summarized what he had just learned.

“So what happened to Raphael and Gabriel? I found Lou in the Tower, and El was inside a gate. So…”

Gi-Gyu still couldn’t figure out what El was protecting the world from. As far as he could tell, that red-eyed creature had to be a demon.

El answered,

-It was indeed a demon. While the seal to imprison Chaos was in the works, I believe I was used to trap a demon instead. I think this demon was a powerful being. Perhaps it was as powerful as the hell king…

-Are you saying it was at my power level?

Lou asked, but El didn’t bother answering him. Her silence indicated that Lou’s guess was correct.

Lou muttered,

-That narrows down the list significantly. Not many are and were as strong as the old me.

Lou thought for a second before suggesting,

-The closest one I can think of is… Satan.

“Satan? But didn’t you say you killed him?” asked Gi-Gyu.

Lou explained,

-It’s true that I killed Satan. However, I only destroyed his physical body, and his soul had snuck away. I tried to chase it, but I failed in the end.

Gi-Gyu grumbled, “Why is this so complicated?”

Indeed, it was a convoluted situation; Gi-Gyu found it as clear as mud.

-Unknowns and mysteries.

Lou commented.

Gi-Gyu asked, “What?”

-Our lives are filled with many things we don’t understand. So I get that it won’t be easy to figure out.

Gi-Gyu nodded and replied, “Fine, fine! I think I’ve heard everything I need from El for now.”

El agreed,

-That’s correct, Master. If you have any more questions later, please feel free to ask.

Lou asked,

-So are we done resting now?

“Yes.” Gi-Gyu nodded. He had learned everything he needed to for now. Moreover, while he had been lightning to El’s story, he didn’t stop assessing other things.

For example…

“By the way, my Life has gotten stronger,” Gi-Gyu announced. He had experienced some changes after the second test. He figured that since he had experienced improvements after the first test, he must have gained something from El’s test too. This was why he had diligently assessed his body while listening to El.

Gi-Gyu smiled and continued, “I feel stronger, and my mind’s a little clearer. And most of all…”

Tilting his head, he added, “My shell has become more stable. At least, that’s how I would describe it.”

The uncomfortable and foreign energies within his shell were definitely disappearing.

Lou muttered,

-Well, I guess that’s good.

El seemed happier to hear the change.

-Congratulations, Master.

“Thanks, El. And now…” Gi-Gyu was about to announce his intention to open the third card. He needed to get through the final test to complete his quest. But before he could, Gi-Gyu gasped when he heard a voice in his head.

-We have an emergency!

It was Old Man Hwang from Brunheart’s gate. The voice was faint, but it was definitely Old Man Hwang.

‘What’s wrong, Sir?’

***

Old Man Hwang’s voice sounded urgent.

-Can… you…

‘Sir!’ Gi-Gyu called out to the blacksmith. For some reason, Old Man Hwang’s voice sounded strange. It was as if his voice was being played in slow motion.

-Hear… meee…? I…

Old Man Hwang kept repeating himself over and over again. Unfortunately, Gi-Gyu couldn’t figure out what the blacksmith was trying to say. Feeling frustrated, Gi-Gyu yelled in his head, ‘Sir!’

Gi-Gyu kept yelling to the blacksmith, but he could no longer hear the elderly man. Suddenly, Gi-Gyu slapped his cheeks and grunted, “What an idiot I am?! What am I doing? Why didn’t I think of this earlier?!”

Old Man Hwang’s voice sounded so urgent that Gi-Gyu wasn’t thinking clearly. He quickly touched Brunheart and ordered, “Open!”

A blue light appeared before his eyes, but…

“What’s wrong with the gate?” Gi-Gyu gasped. Usually, the gate would open wide for him; instead, it looked distorted and faint. Also, it opened noticeably slower than before. He was staring at it in confusion when he heard Old Man Hwang’s voice again. This time, it was much clearer.

-Can you hear me now, young man?

“Yes, Sir. I can hear you fine!” Gi-Gyu smiled in relief. Brunheart’s gate had acted strangely, but Gi-Gyu’s connection to everyone inside seemed okay.

Gi-Gyu asked, “What’s wrong, Sir?”

-We have a serious problem.

Old Man Hwang sounded grave as he asked,

-Is something going on where you are?

“Pardon?”

-Time here is flowing strangely! I went out of the gate to see Min-Su for a second, and I realized that time was flowing differently inside the gate.

“What do you mean?” Gi-Gyu asked in confusion.

-I’m certain that I spent a week inside the gate, but…

Old Man Hwang sounded shocked as he claimed,

-When I went outside the gate, I realized two weeks had passed!

“Pardon?”

-I’m telling you that the flow of time has changed inside the gate. This kind of change usually involves a problem with different dimensions. As far as I know, you’re the only one who can affect the gate directly. Consequently, I believe something you did or something about you has caused this change!

Old Man Hwang added quickly,

-And to top it all off, we have an even bigger problem on our heads. The gate is losing its connection to the outside world!

“...!”

-When I returned to the gate, the path back out to the world was blocked. So you must hurry u… p…

Old Man Hwang’s voice became strange again as he continued.

-...andddd… passsss… the test…

Fwoosh!

The gate suddenly disappeared. It was as if a computer’s power cord was suddenly pulled out, making its screen go out abruptly.

“Ugh!” Gi-Gyu groaned in shock. He could feel pain somewhere in his body as if he was injured. He murmured, “What… is going on…?”

Lou announced in a serious tone,

-I think you need to hurry up and finish the test.

“What?”

-I’ve never heard of this happening, but I think the place where you’re taking your test right now…

Lou’s voice sounded certain as he added,

-Isn’t inside the Tower.

“What did you just say?” Gi-Gyu asked in confusion.

-Old Man Hwang is right. The difference in time flow means that we’re in different dimensions. The Tower is connected to Earth, so there would’ve been no time dilation had you been inside the Tower. But…

What if Gi-Gyu wasn’t inside the Tower? What if he was in a completely different dimension?

“I see.” Gi-Gyu nodded in understanding. Lou’s guess explained why time was flowing differently in Gi-Gyu’s gate. Gi-Gyu overworked his improved intelligence to assess the situation.

Lou continued,

-But this is very odd. Except for the human world, the Tower has swallowed all the other dimensions. That is why… time shouldn’t be flowing differently at all.

El suggested,

-Lou, there is another possible explanation.

It seemed that Lou knew exactly what El was talking about.

Lou murmured,

-So you think it’s that?

-Yes, exactly.

Being the ignorant one here, Gi-Gyu yelled, “What are you guys talking about?!”

Both Lou and El answered simultaneously,

-The Underground.

-The Underground.

“The Underground?” asked Gi-Gyu.

-The Tower penetrated different dimensions and ate them. I will explain the process in detail later, but that’s the gist of it. The Tower was built for this purpose.

Lou continued to explain quickly,

-So, by now, almost all the worlds have been swallowed by it. The only one left is your human world. So this means the axis of time shouldn’t have changed. However, there is still one place that could explain this.

“And that’s the Underground?”

-That’s right! The Underground is where Chaos lives and the monsters sleep. The Underground and your human world are the only two places the Tower hasn’t engulfed fully!

“Just what the hell are you talking about?!” Gi-Gyu yelled in confusion.

Lou and El replied in a panic,

-Just get through the last test! We have no idea how much the time axis has changed; if it changes even more…

-Master, please hurry!

“Fine! I got it!” Gi-Gyu looked up in the air as if being chased and announced, “I’ll take my last test!”

The moment he declared his intention, the surrounding space crumbled. Soon, he was transferred to another space. Here, he saw the last card floating in the air.

The gray card.

Lou prodded,

-Hurry!

Gi-Gyu promptly grabbed the last card.

[The last test will begin.]

The Tower announced as if it was a death sentence.

‘That’s it?’ Gi-Gyu wondered as he felt his body move. For the first two tests, there had been many announcements. But this time, he only heard a single system announcement, which echoed throughout the space.

[You have been transferred to the testing chamber.]

Gi-Gyu slowly opened his firmly closed eyes.

gomi's Thoughts

Gomi: Lou said earlier that the human world is the ONLY place the Tower hasn't swallowed (he said it like a second ago!). Yet he now says that the underground ALSO hasn't been taken??