The Player Who Can't Level Up

“The Caravan Guild and the Iron Guild are monitoring Korea very closely. Most Korean guilds have sided with them too. At first, we expected the Angela Guild would take over after the KPA’s demise, but with what happened to Lee Sun-Ho… I think the other Korean guilds had no choice but to submit to the powers that be.”

Heo Sung-Hoon was explaining what he had learned in the outside world. Important figures within the gate were all listening attentively, including Gi-Gyu, El, Lou, Hal, Old Man Hwang, Hwang Chae-Il, Hart, and Botis.

‘Ugh…’ The room was filled with mighty beings, so the physical and mental pressure made Sung-Hoon quite nervous. The creatures seemed oblivious to each other’s power, probably because they were used to it.

But it was a different story for Sung-Hoon.

‘I feel like I’m suffocating.’ Sung-Hoon felt like he had been dropped in a high-level gate. He discreetly wiped the sweat bullets on his forehead and continued, “Honestly, I believe destroying the Caravan Guild or the Iron Guild right now wouldn’t change anything. The lives of the regular citizens haven’t changed much just because the KPA is gone. I’m sorry to say this, but…”

Sung-Hoon glanced around nervously as he added, “The population considers the players and the association a part of the ruling class. They wouldn’t notice a difference even if the ruling class changed until the new ruler acts like a tyrant or makes a huge mistake. In fact, the non-players—”

Old Man Hwang interrupted and asked, “Are you saying the people are actually happy with the change?”

“Yes,” Sung-Hoon answered. “After the Caravan Guild and the Iron Guild took over, the number of gate appearances and gate breaks has decreased significantly.”

“Is that actually possible?” asked Old Man Hwang in confusion.

Sung-Hoon mumbled, “I’m not sure, but… there is a rumor that the Caravan Guild either knows the conditions to open a gate or a method to decrease gate appearances.”

“Ha. Tsk.” Old Man Hwang clicked his tongue.

“It’s actually possible.” Hwang Chae-Il suggested as he turned toward Lou. Hwang Chae-Il explained, “Andras has more secrets than you may believe. Think about how he planned to create a shell that could hold Satan and Lucifer. He is a class apart from other demons. So, him being able to control gate openings isn’t completely out of the question.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Old Man Hwang mumbled, “So Caravan Guild isn’t the problem here. Our priority should be Andras.”

“Actually, the Caravan Guild is Andras,” replied Hwang Chae-Il.

With a shrug, Lou announced, “Well, whatever the situation, we know one thing. We must continue with our original plan and destroy them all.”

Gi-Gyu smiled and agreed, “True. That’s our plan.”

With this, the meeting was over.

Gi-Gyu ordered, “Now! It’s time to prepare ourselves. This will be a little different from what we did in Yeoksam city. Since we can’t make up a gate break this time, there will be an actual gate break.”

Everyone had a fairly good idea of the overall plan. All they needed to do was prepare and attack.

Gi-Gyu turned toward Sung-Hoon and said, “As for you, Sung-Hoon, you need to…”

Sung-Hoon glanced at Go Hyung-Chul and replied, “Work with Go Hyung-Chul, right?”

“Yes. As you know, Go Hyung-Chul is a player paparazzo, so his ability to collect information is incredible. We can’t trust him with our life, but since we have the same goal, we can rely on him for this one,” Gi-Gyu answered.

Go Hyung-Chul was indeed working with them since he also wanted to destroy the Caravan Guild to learn more about Project Adam.

Gi-Gyu announced to everyone, “You can all leave now. Please work hard till the end. Hwang Chae-Il, could you stay behind.”

“You want to talk about Lou. All right,” replied Hwang Chae-Il.

Lou was a respected figure inside the gate. Gi-Gyu didn’t know the hierarchy among his Egos, but whatever it might have been, he knew Lou and El were at the top of this system.

Everyone finally left. Sung-Hoon and Go Hyung-Chul would be collecting information till the last moment. They already had a good understanding of the branch they planned on destroying.

Gi-Gyu turned toward Hwang Chae-Il. Lou and El were still present in the room as well. Being a part of Gi-Gyu, their place would always be beside Gi-Gyu.

Glancing at Lou, still trapped in his child form, Gi-Gyu asked, “Is there anything you can do?”

***

Lou’s child-like body was an expression of his weakened state. His fight with Gi-Gyu—in which he overdrew on his energy reserve—had left his shell shaken, resulting in him receiving a penalty-like backlash. Since he couldn’t use all of his abilities at the moment, it was feared that this might become Lou’s weakness.

“There is a way,” Hwang Chae-Il replied.

“Oh!” Lou exclaimed in excitement. He had been frustrated about his current state, so this news was welcoming.

“So, what is it?” Lou asked rudely, but Gi-Gyu couldn't blame him. After all, Lou had to be much older than Hwang Chae-Il.

Hwang Chae-Il answered, “You can find your original body.”

“What…?” Lou frowned. This was clearly impossible, and Lou knew this very well. He knew exactly what had happened to his old body. Even Hwang Chae-Il knew this story.

“Are you trying to pick a fight with me?!” It seemed like Lou was about to fly into a rage.

But, Hwang Chae-Il continued, “If this isn’t possible, then… there is another way.”

Gi-Gyu began to wonder if Hwang Chae-Il didn’t like Lou.

“Your current body is made of Satan’s body. Satan was originally made of two forms, was he not?” asked Hwang Chae-Il.

“That’s right…”

“Exactly. That’s why his body was incredibly fluid. The body was tailor-made to ensure Satan could easily exert his power. This was also why we could give you those wings and horns.”

Lou nodded before yelling, “But I didn’t ask for this body’s details! I’m telling you I don’t want to live in a child’s body! I never wanted this!”

‘Does Lou have bad childhood memories or something?’

Hwang Chae-Il smiled and replied, “I understand, and that’s why I’m trying to explain the solution. Your current body is made of Satan’s body, but it’s not perfect because it only has bits and pieces of Satan.”

Hwang Chae-Il continued, “So all you need to do is collect and bring me more of Satan’s body. You will no longer suffer such a penalty once you have Satan’s complete physical form. Until then, there is, unfortunately, nothing we can do, so be prudent when using a large amount of your power. That’s all you can do. As for your current state, it should return to normal in time.”

“Tsk!” Lou was annoyed.

But Gi-Gyu felt they were given a fair solution. “Mr. Hwang Chae-Il.”

“Yes, Master,” replied Hwang Chae-Il.

“You don’t have to call me ‘Master.’ Please don’t be so formal; it makes me uncomfortable,” Gi-Gyu requested.

“Of course.” Hwang Chae-Il nodded.

Gi-Gyu smiled and promised, “I swear, I’ll bring him back. I’m sure he’s safe.”

Gi-Gyu was referring to Hwang Chae-Il’s son, Min-Su. Whenever Hwang Chae-Il looked at Gi-Gyu, it seemed like he wanted to say something. Gi-Gyu suspected that it was about Min-Su’s safety.

Hwang Chae-Il nodded and thanked Gi-Gyu.

Meanwhile, Lou wasn’t paying any attention to the conversation. He mumbled to himself, “I like this. So all I need to do is take back what I gave those bastards? I’m already excited at the prospect of hunting them all down.”

Lou was smiling, but everyone in the room could feel his fury.

***

“Haa… I can’t believe we were given such a demeaning job like monitoring,” a member of the Caravan Guild grumbled. This player was once a part of a small guild, but the Caravan Guild had scouted him when he became a ranker. The money and the benefits offered were so tempting that he had accepted without question. Here in the new guild, he had received much training.

Accompanied by other guild members with similar levels, he was currently monitoring a small neighborhood. Their job was to monitor the magic flow in the area and report back. It was indeed a menial job for a ranker.

But of course, they weren’t full-fledged rankers yet. They were all from small guilds where their potential turned them into big stars. However, here, in the big league, they were considered novice rankers. And these players, they had barely reached this far.

Another player, usually reticent, replied, “Don’t be so discontent. This is a good gig for us. Hunting in the gates or the Tower can be very dangerous, and it still would never pay this well.”

“I guess you’re right,” the first player agreed grudgingly.

The quiet player was right. Compared to those risking their lives in the Tower and the gates, they were getting paid much more. Some of these players weren’t even proper rankers, so they just needed to be thankful that they received such high salaries for an easy job like this.

The group's newest member asked, “So why are we monitoring this place?”

“What? Didn’t you go through the training before coming here?” asked the first man who had first complained.

This monitoring job was given only to those who had undergone rigorous training, but the newbie seemed to have skipped that step. The first player thought this was odd, but he ignored it.

The newest member explained, “Yes. They told me they were short-staffed, so I should get the training out here.”

“Hmm…”

Another member shrugged and spoke up, “Well, that makes sense. You know how many players are being dispatched to the monitoring positions lately. Remember that one time they detected an odd magic flow? They found nothing even after dispatching numerous players, but they doubled down and dispatched more players for this job.”

“That’s true.” The first player nodded. As if he were teaching a child, he finally answered the newbie’s question, “You’re gonna be floored when you hear what this place is.”

“Pardon?” the newbie asked. The first player was purposefully trying to scare the newbie.

The first player announced, “You know the most wanted player, right? His house is located in this area.”

“The most wanted player?!”

They were referring to Kim Gi-Gyu.

The newbie asked, “But why would they dispatch so many players to the area with that guy’s house? It’s just his house, right?”

“I know, right? This is Kim Gi-Gyu’s house. So why should we have to monitor it? I mean… The Caravan Guild is a powerful group. It should have been able to destroy him and his house by now! So why is his house considered so important?” the first man grumbled.

Finally, the man who had been here the longest spoke, “Don’t say things like that. I think there is something inside that place. I’ve heard that the Caravan Guild sent a team there, and…”

The player spoke like he was telling a horror story. “None of them returned.”

“What?”

“They were all at our level. Some of them were even stronger than us, yet none could escape the house. Maybe there is a barrier of some kind? Anyway, that’s why we are doing this right now.”

“That’s crazy,” the first man whispered. “I mean… Is there a gate inside that place or something? This doesn’t make any sense.”

“Who knows? If you’re so curious, go inside and take a look.”

The first man couldn’t answer. He tried his best, but he couldn't hide his fear. After a short silence, he commented, “Ugh… Anyway, don’t you think it would be amazing if we could find Kim Gi-Gyu while monitoring his house? I heard he’s close to being a high-ranker now. If we capture him, we can retire.”

“Hey, didn’t you hear what happened? That group that tried to take down Kim Gi-Gyu on the 51st floor was massacred.”

“That’s probably because they didn’t do it right.”

“Hey!” shouted the newbie.

The other players asked in surprise, “What’s wrong?!”

“Doesn’t it look strange over there?”

“Where?”

The novice player belonged to the sensor category, which made him more sensitive to energy changes compared to the others who were fighters. When the others looked at where the newbie was pointing, they became confused.

“What do you mean?”

“That spot has no more magic,” the novice player replied.

“What?”

“I’m telling you that the energy I could feel from over there has disappeared!”

An awkward silence fell before the team leader asked, “What are you talking about? I can’t feel anything from there.”

The newbie became upset, as no one believed him. “But something’s not right there!”

“Hey! Wait!” The leader suddenly realized something. He whispered, “Are we supposed to be a group of… five?”

Normally, all the units were made of four players. Yet, at the moment…

There were five of them standing. Except for the newbie, the rest knew each other very well.

Suddenly, the leader found his thoughts lagging. To be precise, he couldn’t think because his head was on the floor.

Slice.

“Idiots. Took you long enough.”

“...!”

The players stared at the player holding a red dagger. His ability to blend in was so incredible that the others, who were rankers, didn’t even notice anything wrong. But now that he had shown himself, it was obvious he didn’t belong here.

“Enemy!” a real team member shouted.

“Did you figure that out just now?” the spy, Go Hyung-Chul, mumbled and moved his dagger again. He grumbled in annoyance as he muttered, “Why are rankers so weak nowadays? Do they just pick them out randomly?”