The Player Who Can't Level Up

Lou’s physical body was completed. Gi-Gyu smiled and asked Old Man Hwang, “And how does it look?”

If the bright smile on the blacksmith’s face weren’t enough to tell him that the final product was a work of art, the final product before him certainly was.

Even Lou seemed speechless.

-...

Gi-Gyu knew Lou was satisfied with it, and this made him smile.

“But…” Old Man Hwang seemed worried.

Realizing something was wrong, Gi-Gyu asked quietly, “Is something wrong?”

Per Gi-Gyu’s request, Old Man Hwang had created Lou’s physical body after toiling for a long time. El could materialize in a human form and Old Man Hwang had been resurrected, so Gi-Gyu believed he could achieve something similar for Lou too.

“The first part of this job was easy, thanks to Min-Su’s help.” Old Man Hwang turned serious as he explained, “Paimon taught me my skills, but since I’m not his descendant, I am not like Min-Su. Consequently, my Egos are only half of what they could be.”

Gi-Gyu nodded in understanding.

The blacksmith continued, “But Min-Su is Paimon’s direct descendant. With Paimon’s blood flowing inside him, Min-Su can use much more of Paimon’s power, which is also why I could be resurrected. I knew that with his help, making a physical body for Lou would be possible.”

Gi-Gyu could guess what Old Man Hwang would say next.

The elderly man spoke hesitantly, “Min-Su participated in the first and the middle part of the creation. However… I had to take care of the last part alone. Since you were taking the test, the gate entrance was blocked… So…”

“You’re saying Lou’s body might not be perfect,” Gi-Gyu said.

Old Man Hwang replied, “That’s correct.”

The blacksmith walked as he added, “It’s possible that it might not work.”

Old Man Hwang had suggested that transferring Lou’s Ego into this physical body might fail.

Gi-Gyu replied simply, “It’s all right.”

Gi-Gyu wasn’t afraid, nor did he blame Old Man Hwang. When Gi-Gyu seemed confident, the blacksmith brightened a little too.

Gi-Gyu stated, “If Lou gets a physical body, it will be a huge help.”

Lou seemed proud as he agreed.

-Totally.

“But…” Gi-Gyu said reassuringly, “Even if this doesn’t work right now, it will be fine. If we fail, we can try again later.”

Gi-Gyu looked straight into Old Man Hwang’s eyes as he announced, “We will rescue Min-Su, of course. If we fail now, we can just work on it again after having saved your grandson. We still have plenty of time, Sir. Please don’t worry.”

Old Man Hwang looked reassured.

Lou agreed as well.

-Well… Fine. I guess you’re right.

Gi-Gyu thought everything was settled, but Old Man Hwang mumbled, “But there is one more thing…”

The blacksmith stopped walking before a place covered by a dark cloth. Lou’s physical body wasn’t located here.

Old Man Hwang continued warily, “Paimon has another descendant, remember…?”

Gi-Gyu’s eyes widened. When Old Man Hwang removed the dark cloth, what Gi-Gyu saw made him speechless.

“...”

Gi-Gyu could feel the blacksmith’s determination. There was darkness on Old Man Hwang’s face again. It wasn’t from fear of failure; he was forcing himself to face his greatest regret.

It was time for the blacksmith to face his past.

“I’m referring to my son,” whispered Old Man Hwang. Removing the dark cloth revealed a grotesque-looking statue staring down at Gi-Gyu.

***

“You said we can try making Lou’s physical body again if necessary, but… I can tell you that it won’t be easy.” Old Man Hwang didn’t take his eyes off the strange-looking statue.

‘I can see the resemblance,’ Gi-Gyu thought. The statue looked gruesome; it didn’t look human at all. The statue had no legs; instead, it had eight arms and a burning face. It looked anything but human. Despite its strange visage, Gi-Gyu had to admit that it resembled Old Man Hwang’s son, Hwang Chae-Il.

“The materials needed to make Lou’s physical body won’t be easy to find again. If the Ego transfer fails, I don’t know if I can reuse the materials. They might act as consumables. That’s why I’m telling you it’s not as simple as you might believe.”

Old Man Hwang continued, “The materials I used to make this body for Lou are priceless. They make Lou’s physical body close to perfect. But if I use something else… There will be no guarantees. We might not even get another shot at making a body for Lou. I just…”

Lou studied the blacksmith as he muttered,

-That body is probably unstable. It might even be like those fake Egos he used to make before. I think he is worried about that. He… just doesn’t want to make more “fakes.”

Old Man Hwang’s fear was based on his desire to be the greatest craftsman.

“That’s why I decided to bring back my son. I asked Min-Su to make a body for my son, and it’s finished now. I’ve changed the appearance slightly, but it was made using Min-Su’s materials and skills.” Old Man Hwang caressed the statue in a careful yet rough manner.

The elderly man continued, “Min-Su could resurrect me because of the power he holds as the direct descendant of Paimon. Since my son has the same blood running through his veins, he can perfect Lou’s body further.”

“That’s… Hwang Chae-Il’s body?” Gi-Gyu asked as he pointed at the statue.

“Yes, it is.”

Gi-Gyu became quiet. Even if he forewent Hwang Chae-Il’s help in the Lou situation, he still had to resurrect Hwang Chae-Il. After all, Hwang Chae-Il had tried to open the door to the Tower’s underground world with the Caravan Guild, which Andras created. They were currently at war with the Caravan Guild and Andras, so they desperately needed Hwang Chae-Il’s knowledge.

‘With him, we might be able to learn much about the First Potion and the secrets of Paimon’s inheritance.’ Gi-Gyu knew they needed Hwang Chae-Il. They had delayed this only because Old Man Hwang was against the idea. Hwang Chae-Il had committed patricide and had nearly sacrificed his son. It wasn’t Gi-Gyu’s place to forgive him. The forgiveness had to come from his father and his son.

Old Man Hwang had built a new body for the son who had killed him. Did this mean the blacksmith forgave him?

‘Or did he do it only as a craftsman ?’ Gi-Gyu wondered if Old Man Hwang’s sole purpose for doing this was to perfect Lou’s body.

Gi-Gyu couldn’t come up with an answer, but it didn’t matter. Now wasn’t the time to ponder over Old Man Hwang’s feelings. Since Old Man Hwang had voluntarily created the body, why should Gi-Gyu hesitate?

“This statue will become my son’s body… Can I count on you?” Old Man Hwang requested.

Gi-Gyu nodded and asked, “May I ask you one thing, Sir?”

Gi-Gyu walked closer to the statue that would be Hwang Chae-Il.

“Go ahead,” answered the blacksmith.

“Why did Hwang Chae-Il’s body turn this way?” asked Gi-Gyu. The statue looked grotesque and gruesome. He couldn’t understand why it was made this way.

“It’s a punishment.” Old Man Hwang explained sadly, “This is a punishment I am giving to my son to forgive him.”

Gi-Gyu nodded, walked up to the statue, and murmured, “Grant.”

The difficult process finally began. Slowly, Hwang Chae-Il’s Ego left Gi-Gyu’s body.

***

After Gi-Gyu had passed the 50th-floor test, his job title became Ego Master. However, he didn’t feel any significant change. His increased assimilation level did exponentially increase his attributes. And everything he held inside his shell was much easier to use now. But, Gi-Gyu expected much more, considering he went through something so significant as the secondary job change.

‘This isn’t enough.’ Gi-Gyu couldn’t help feeling disappointed. Secondary job change was like a blessing to players; it was like winning a lottery. But it was true that although some players became incredibly powerful from the secondary job change, others didn’t. Gi-Gyu supposed he was the latter.

But soon, he realized that he had been mistaken.

[As a result of becoming an Ego Master due to the secondary job change, a hidden ability will be revealed.]

[Grant will be renamed Injection.]

This was the first change Gi-Gyu experienced.

[Ego’s Injection has triggered an automatic start of other processes.]

[Certain amount of time will be required to obtain the best result.]

Gi-Gyu took his hand off the statue when he heard the system, or Gaia’s, voice.

Old Man Hwang asked, “Is it done?”

“I’m not sure,” Gi-Gyu replied. The abrupt change took away all the sureties Gi-Gyu had. Meanwhile, the statue remained unchanged, unlike what had happened when Old Man Hwang had been resurrected.

Old Man Hwang and Gi-Gyu were watching the statue quietly when…

“Huh?” Gi-Gyu gasped, noticing a huge amount of energy leaving him. It was, of course, a small amount compared to the total he held, but it was still a large quantity nonetheless.

“Ugh…” Gi-Gyu groaned.

Old Man Hwang asked in worry, “What’s wrong?”

Next, Death left his body. While losing energy wasn’t a big deal, Death leaving him was. Consequently, sudden pain engulfed him. But finally, Gi-Gyu could see something happening.

‘I’m syncing with it.’ Gi-Gyu saw a thin thread-like connection between himself and Hwang Chae-Il’s statue.

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu panted when Life left him last. The experience was different from injecting Life into holy swords. Grant was renamed Injection, but they were two very different processes. All the necessary components were automatically transferred to Hwang Chae-Il’s statue.

“This is convenient,” Gi-Gyu commented. He felt a little lethargic, but it was bearable. Getting a good vibe about it, he looked down at the blacksmith.

“Huh…? Are you okay?” Old Man Hwang looked at him with concern.

“I’m fine, Sir. But it looks like this process will take a day to be completed.”

“Hmm…”

“By the way…” Gi-Gyu trailed off. No more energy left his body, and Hwang Chae-Il’s statue began to change. Therefore, it was time to discuss something else.

“Do you have something you need to talk to me about?” asked the blacksmith.

Gi-Gyu named the player paparazzo, “Go Hyung-Chul.”

Go Hyung-Chul had been captured in Suk-Woo’s hospital room and was imprisoned inside Brunheart’s gate.

‘He has the eyes of a demon.’ Gi-Gyu remembered the red eyes. “What happened to him?”

Old Man Hwang gave Gi-Gyu a cruel grin.

***

(*This is from Go Hyung-Chul’s perspective)

‘Just how did this happen…?’ 

He no longer knew when it was day or night. The place had no sun or the moon, so he had to use his player instinct to tell time, but it was not easy.

He dug up a shovel full of dirt and whispered, “What went wrong that day…?”

With his incredible attributes, he shouldn’t be feeling any pain, yet his arms ached badly. How long had he been shoveling for? When was the last time he ate a proper meal? He had no idea. He was a revered high ranker; now, he had no idea what he was doing in this place.

“Be quiet,” a low baritone voice ordered. The gloomy voice filled him with fear. But at the same time, he couldn’t help the fury erupting inside him.

“I… I…!” He couldn’t take it anymore. He had tried to escape countless times but didn’t succeed once. Just what were these creatures? How could they restrain a high-level player like him so easily?

This place was strange. It made him immobile and dazed.

‘No!’ He snapped out of it and turned around.

‘I need to run now.’ There was only one creature guarding him. He believed that he could handle this creature…

Suddenly, a whip ripped through the air right in front of him. The ground he was working on cracked from the force, making him gasp.

The ugly voice asked, “Why aren’t you working?”

‘I guess I better hang around for a while longer,’ he told himself. Just a bit more, and he believed that he might get another chance to escape. The thing that had ripped the air just now wasn’t a whip but the creature’s tail. If he got hit by this tail, then…

‘I will die.’ 

Go Hyung-Chul couldn’t die just yet because he had to accomplish a goal. He shoveled again and looked around.

At the moment, he was…

“How can they ask me to dig a canal all by myself?” he muttered.

Just then, a familiar voice called out to him, “Go Hyung-Chul.”

It had been a long time since he heard his own name. Go Hyung-Chul slowly turned toward the sound.