The Player Who Can't Level Up

“Adam? You mean the very first human made by God?” This was a new piece of information to Gi-Gyu. He was more bothered by this than the fact that Andras was trying to create a secret weapon. Adam was an important figure, so why had he not heard about Adam being real before?

El murmured,

-Master. We don’t know much about Adam either. We had heard of his existence, but he was like a myth to us too. So we knew no specifics about this man.

Lou agreed,

-Same here. But… I did hear one thing about him. Since he is the very first figure created by God, he supposedly resembles God the most among all creatures.

“Andras believed Adam is a being greater than God himself. That is why he named his project after Adam. He planned on giving the same name to his greatest weapon too,” Hwang Chae-Il explained.

Everyone turned toward Hwang Chae-Il again. Go Hyung-Chul’s eyes glowed eerily; apparently, he didn’t know much about this project.

Gi-Gyu asked, “What do you mean by ‘greatest weapon?’”

The facts were that there was a project called Adam and that Go Hyung-Chul was created for this purpose. However, Go Hyung-Chul was human. He had demonic eyes, but he was still indubitably a human.

So how did he tie in with the greatest weapon?

Hwang Chae-Il smiled bitterly and replied, “He is a shell.”

Hwang Chae-Il tightened his metal chain around Go Hyung-Chul through telekinesis. But Go Hyung-Chul didn’t fight back because he didn’t feel any hostility from Hwang Chae-Il.

Hwang Chae-Il turned toward Gi-Gyu and continued, “An artificial shell. A shell capable of holding Satan, who must be sealed away somewhere now, and Lucifer, the worst king hell has ever seen. That was supposed to be Adam.”

Hwang Chae-Il’s eyes moved until they caught Go Hyung-Chul. The chain didn’t stop Go Hyung-Chul from glaring at Hwang Chae-Il.

“And unfortunately, this man is just a failed product of this project.” Hwang Chae-Il’s eyes showed sympathy while Go Hyung-Chul smiled bitterly. It seemed he already knew he had been abandoned because he was a failure.

Go Hyung-Chul laughed in defeat and asked, “Ha. You asked me why I was in Yoo Suk-Woo’s hospital room, right?”

A harsh smile appeared on his face. Seeing this, Gi-Gyu suddenly got a bad feeling. His heart began to beat faster and louder, making him wonder if others could hear it. He worried the others would find out what he was afraid of.

Unfortunately, his worry became a reality as Go Hyung-Chul mumbled, “It’s because the project also created Yoo Suk-Woo.”

***

Gi-Gyu thought about what Go Hyung-Chul had told him earlier.

“I only found out about it by accident. After I learned that you people are after the Caravan Guild, I began researching them more actively. Oh Tae-Shik and Lucifer probably never found out about it, but I already had a clue that led me to Project Adam. After Lucifer had destroyed one of the Caravan Guild branches, I visited it and met someone who was dying.”

Gi-Gyu remembered how sad Go Hyung-Chul looked as he had explained this. Go Hyung-Chul had been created artificially and then abandoned because he was deemed a failure. He could feel Go Hyung-Chul’s sorrow.

Go Hyung-Chul continued, “This man was one of the managers of Project Adam. He was fatally injured by Lucifer and was suffering very badly. So I made a deal with him. I promised to give him an easy death if he told me the secrets of Project Adam. I wanted to find out if there was another one like me.”

And this turned out to be Suk-Woo. Gi-Gyu had asked Hwang Chae-Il, “I can’t believe Suk-Woo was created as a part of Project Adam… Did you know about this too?”

Hwang Chae-Il shook his head. “I don’t know much about Project Adam. I knew of it and participated in the research a little, but Andras had designated many managers for this project. He kept much of it a secret, so even though I was the general manager of it all, I was still never told about the candidates selected to become Adam.”

A guilty look appeared on Hwang Chae-Il’s face, and he looked at Go Hyung-Chul with mixed emotions.

Gi-Gyu began summarizing what he knew, “Suk-Woo was never on good terms with his family.”

And that was why he treated his Cain Guild like family. Gi-Gyu realized that perhaps Suk-Woo wasn’t loved by his family because they weren't related to them by blood.

“I guess I better go see Suk-Woo again.” Gi-Gyu smiled bitterly. Despite all the very many answers he was getting, he didn’t feel his anxiety decreasing. It was actually increasing as if only more darkness awaited him. He wondered if this was the calm before the storm.

Hwang Chae-Il had said before Gi-Gyu left, “I’ve heard the gist of what happened in the outside world. About Ha Song-Su… I think the project was a success; he is Adam. Based on what I remember, Andras has successfully found the sealed away Satan.”

Just then, Gi-Gyu heard El’s voice.

-Master.

He felt her familiar warmth enveloping him. El slowly appeared in her human form and embraced him.

“El.”

“Everything will work out for you, Master. Please do not worry. Worrying isn’t good for you.” El’s physical warmth and kind words seeped into Gi-Gyu’s shell.

He touched her hand reassuringly.

It was then that Gi-Gyu heard Hamiel’s voice as well.

-Grandmaster. Heo Sung-Hoon wants to relay a message to you.

Ever since Gi-Gyu became an Ego Master, he could communicate with all of his creatures even if they were outside Brunheart's gate. Antecedently, he could only talk with his creatures when they were inside the gate. This was how Hamiel could communicate with Gi-Gyu.

Hamiel continued after receiving Gi-Gyu’s permission,

-He found a Caravan Guild secret branch based on Hwang Chae-Il’s information. I will send you the location.

Hwang Chae-Il had told Gi-Gyu about Caravan Guild branches earlier. He, in turn, sent this information to Heo Sung-Hoon through Hamiel. A slow smile appeared on Gi-Gyu’s face as he whispered, “Time to move.”

It was time to stop wasting time worrying.

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on Gi-Gyu’s door.

“It’s me,” Old Man Hwang announced and opened the door. Even though the blacksmith was inside, El didn’t stop hugging Gi-Gyu. Gi-Gyu didn’t seem to mind her show of affection either.

Old Man Hwang flinched before announcing, “I think it’s almost done.”

The moment he finished his sentence, Gi-Gyu heard the system announcement.

[The injection of Lou has been completed.]

***

“Lou’s physical body created by Father and Min-Su was pretty perfect,” Hwang Chae-Il explained as his many arms danced around him nonstop. Thanks to one of his special skills, Hwang Chae-Il could merge with the workshop. He didn’t have legs; instead, he rooted himself in the workshop. Through this connection, he gained the ability to manage the entire gate.

[Hwang Chae-Il has connected to the gate.]

Now, Hwang Chae-Il was like the nucleus of the gate. He could now control and monitor every corner of the gate by working with Old Man Hwang. This was an excellent complimentary position for him as Old Man Hwang’s son. On top of monitoring the gate, he could also influence everything inside physically. For example, he could dig a canal himself. Currently, the monsters inside the gate were working on this canal along with Hwang Chae-Il instead of Go Hyung-Chul, who was no longer slaving away.

Hwang Chae-Il continued, “But one thing was missing. This was the most important part, actually. The best of Paimon’s abilities wasn’t granted to the body.”

Gi-Gyu wondered how many things Hwang Chae-Il was working on simultaneously. Being an exceptional multitasker, he was working on the canal and fixing Lou’s physical body.

“This skill can create a shell. Father could only make incomplete Egos because he didn’t know how to create a shell. The reason Andras placed me on Project Adam was this. I have Paimon’s ability to make a shell.” Hwang Chae-Il smiled. The smile on his burning face looked bizarre.

“Of course, my skill isn’t as perfect as Min-Su’s. That boy was blessed with more skills than I was. Thanks to Min-Su and Father’s excellent work, I just had to make a few tweaks.” Hwang Chae-Il smiled again and added, “I did everything possible to create perfection.”

After their conversation regarding Go Hyung-Chul and the Caravan Guild, Gi-Gyu had ordered Hwang Chae-Il to perfect Lou’s physical body. He had been working on it for three days, and Gi-Gyu injected Lou into it after he was done. Unlike when he injected Hwang Chae-Il into the statue, injecting Lou took a while.

‘I can’t believe it took a month,’ Gi-Gyu thought. Considering the dire situation, this was a lot of time to spend on a single task. But Gi-Gyu knew it was worth it.

Gi-Gyu had heard from Heo Sung-Hoon that his family was safe. Heo Sung-Hoon heard this information from Tae-Shik himself; unfortunately, they didn’t know the exact location of Gi-Gyu’s family.

‘And…’ During the last month, a few more Ego Master abilities had awakened. After the secondary job change, he could better sense the changes in his creatures.

Meanwhile, his creatures and monsters trained diligently. Hwang Chae-Il and Old Man Hwang never stopped creating new items. Botis was becoming stronger, and so were El and Gi-Gyu himself. Everything was slowly going according to his plan.

Now, it was time for…

“Lou.” Gi-Gyu turned to look as he asked, “How is it?”

Crack.

The sound of bone rubbing against bone rang inside the gate.

Whoosh.

Something ripped the air viciously.

“Kekeke…” Dark laughter of pleasure rang in the air.

Finally, in his physical form, Lou whispered, “I like it. It’s perfect.”

Gi-Gyu looked at Lou’s new body closely.

Tall, handsome, and rugged yet nimble.

It was very close to what Lou had been like in the past. In fact, this new body looked even stronger than his original form.

“I wonder if it’s possible too,” Lou muttered.

Suddenly, a loud whooshing noise was heard.

“Are those wings?” Gi-Gyu gasped.

“Oh!” Lou exclaimed without answering Gi-Gyu.

A set of gruesome-looking wings had popped out from Lou’s back. At the same time, four large horns grew on Lou’s forehead.

“...!” Gi-Gyu’s eyes widened at the sudden change.

Lou laughed, “Kekeke… This is amazing. I love it.”

Hwang Chae-Il seemed relieved as he replied, “I’m glad you like it.”

It was no wonder Lou was satisfied with his new body. Only the best and the rarest materials were used to make it.

‘Old Man Hwang used his most treasured materials…’ Gi-Gyu didn’t even know the names of the materials the blacksmith had used to create Lou’s body. Apparently, the blacksmith had gathered these materials when he had traveled to hell in the past, which explained their priceless nature.

And most importantly…

‘Belphegor’s Mace!’ This incredible weapon Gi-Gyu had obtained from the test was also used in making Lou’s body. This was why Old Man Hwang had decided to resurrect Hwang Chae-Il. He knew he could never collect these impressive materials again.

And the final result was fantastic. It wasn’t exactly like Lou’s old self, but it was very close.

Gi-Gyu smiled at Lou and announced, “I’m glad you like it.”

The horns, wings, and handsome face were odd, but they suited Lou well. This was what Lou was supposed to look like.

“Everyone worked so hard to make this. Now that you have this body, it will help us greatly. We are about to jump into a difficult battle, and—” Gi-Gyu’s excitement-filled speech was cut short by another vicious whooshing sound.

“What do you think you’re doing?” El screamed as she grabbed Lou’s sword-like first aimed toward Gi-Gyu.

Lou didn’t stop and continued to push, making El take a step back. El, who was incredibly powerful herself, seemed confused.

Lou’s grin widened as his lips moved to reveal his sharp teeth. “Get out of my way, you pigeon!”

Lou’s voice sounded creepy as he continued, “I’ve always wanted to do this.”

“W-what the?!” El gasped.

Before she could react, Lou had thrown her far away.

Kaboom!

A loud explosion occurred as Lou’s fist connected with Gi-Gyu’s chin.

Crack!

Gi-Gyu was sent flying helplessly, crashing into a nearby wall.

Lou shouted, “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited to punch that idiot’s face?!”

Gi-Gyu stood up and shook the dust off his body. He wiped the blood from his lips and replied, “Fine by me. I’ve wanted to beat the crap out of your arrogant ass too, Lou!”

An ugly grin appeared on Gi-Gyu’s face as he dashed toward Lou.