The Player Who Can't Level Up

Everyone gaped when they saw the giant gate glowing with blue light. The gate didn’t do anything special, but everyone still felt overwhelmed due to its sheer size.

“Dammit. If a gate that size breaks, then…” one of the Grigories whispered. A gate’s size didn’t always dictate its class, but it was one of the deciding features. So, if the gate above them, which was the biggest anyone had ever seen, broke…

“And that’s exactly what is about to happen, so keep quiet,” Sung-Hoon replied with a playful grin. His words were light, but his tone wasn’t. He felt overwhelmed as well, but he tried to hide it as best as he could.

Gradually, the blue gate began to change; thankfully, no monsters jumped out of it.

Well, not at first, anyway.

“Ugh.” one of the Grigories groaned, unable to endure the gate’s massive energy pressure. His legs shook as he watched powerful magic escape the gate. Normally, magical energy was invisible; for it to be visible to the naked eye, it had to be in undreamt of quantity and concentration. The gate’s energy slowly filled the surrounding area.

Then, the second change happened.

“What the hell is this?” a Grigory mumbled again. The gate’s energy was the most viscous energy they had ever sensed, but they had trained for days like these, so they could withstand the gate’s thick energy to some extent.

But the situation changed for a second time.

Plop.

Some players abruptly fell to their knees. And it wasn’t because of the overwhelming pressure. The new energy that engulfed them was light and refreshing, like a spring breeze.

Yet…

“Blarghhhh!” Some players began to vomit. The sensation that had been forced upon them felt too unfamiliar and strange. It was something they had never felt before.

El opened her palms and calmly explained, “Death and Life became a part of Brunheart’s gate a long time ago. So those who are used to it won’t feel any difference, but it’s normal for these players who have never felt this before to react this way.”

Gi-Gyu’s face turned rigid, and he replied, “I’m glad we evacuated the non-players.”

Had the regular not been evacuated and El hadn’t placed a protective barrier around them, this mix of Life and Death and magical energy may have killed them.

Finally, the third change happened. This time, no new type of energy left the gate. Instead…

Everyone remained quiet as they felt various presences emerging from the gate.

Soon, Gi-Gyu’s creatures exited the gate.

Hart was riding the Griffin King.

Hal and the knight’s order were riding their Phantom Steed.

“I-is that a helicopter?” a Grigory whispered when he saw Old Man Hwang in something like a helicopter.

As usual, Hart approached Gi-Gyu first and greeted him respectfully, “Grandmaster.”

Hart controlled the Griffin King with ease and bowed deeply toward Gi-Gyu. Behind Hart stood the rest of Gi-Gyu’s creatures, including Botis, in line.

Hart looked up with a smile and announced, “You are our god, Grandmaster.”

“Kwarrrrk!” The rest of the gate monsters roared as they approached Gi-Gyu.

[A landmark has been proclaimed.]

The system dryly announced.

And lastly…

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

Loud metallic sounds began to echo around them.

Someone moaned in shock, “I-is that a Tower?!”

What appeared next was the tower Old Man Hwang had built inside Brunheart’s gate.

***

“Boss,” the leader of the Grigories called out to Sung-Hoon, who outranked him.

Sung-Hoon replied casually, “What is it?”

“May I ask you something?” the leader asked.

Sung-Hoon was now the unofficial head of the Grigory. In other words, they weren’t following him because Tae-Shik had ordered them—they did so because they truly believed in him.

“Of course. You can ask me anything,” Sung-Hoon offered. At the moment, he was enjoying a well-deserved break.

“Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu, or whatever his true rank is, I have a question about him.” The Grigory’s leader seemed confused about how to address Gi-Gyu. “I’ve thought about this before, but… He is really a human, right? Or…”

The Grigory leader calmly explained, “Either way, it doesn’t matter. I really mean it. Our mission is to obey our orders. We, as a group, are willing to work with anyone to accomplish our mission.”

The Grigory leader whispered, “So I’ll just ask you one thing, Boss.”

Sung-Hoon sat up straight, believing the question would be an important one. Then, he nodded to give his permission.

The leader pointed out the window and asked, “He’s really on our, I mean humanity’s, side, right?”

They were still in the lava-filled Bukhan River. In the middle of it was a new tower that had appeared from the gate. The Grigories were given a floor to rest.

“Kwarrrk!” The gate monsters were constantly roaring outside the tower. The griffins were flying around busily to make nests while the mantises and the other land monsters diligently dug various holes. It was quite a scene.

The players were most shocked by the skeleton soldiers constructing a building. Under Old Man Hwang and several other high-level skeletons’ leadership, they worked like a well-oiled machine.

Sung-Hoon stood up and answered, “You’re right. I don’t know if he is a human or not.”

He sincerely continued, “But…”

Sung-Hoon smiled slowly. The Grigory leader couldn’t tell what this smile meant, but he remained silent and listened.

Sung-Hoon added, “But he’s definitely on our side. I can undoubtedly say that he is on humanity’s side. I can guarantee that.”

All the Grigory members nodded.

***

[You can look at the landmark map.]

[You can build a structure that connects the landmark and the gate.]

[...]

Countless system announcements rang in Gi-Gyu’s ears. They were so loud and incessant that Gi-Gyu couldn’t even understand half of them. When he shook his head, the announcements stopped.

“Did it work?” Hwang Chae-Il asked.

The tower had been built inside Brunheart’s gate, but it now stood under the Bukhan River. Currently, Gi-Gyu, Sung-Hoon, and Hwang Chae-Il were on the top floor.

“Congratulations, Mr. Hwang Chae-Il,” said Gi-Gyu. Antecedently, Hwang Chae-Il couldn't leave Brunheart’s gate, but that changed after Gi-Gyu had proclaimed his home and the surrounding area his landmark.

‘I guess this is like his control tower,’ Gi-Gyu thought. From here, Hwang Chae-Il could command everyone, with Gi-Gyu’s order and permission.

“It obviously worked! It’s a huge success!” Old Man Hwang exclaimed. “This turned out much better than we anticipated!” Old Man Hwang gestured toward his son, Hwang Chae-Il.

Gi-Gyu’s eyes widened in surprise. The giant window that took up an entire wall slowly transformed into a map. Soon, he realized that it was a map of the surrounding area.

Sounding apologetic, Hwang Chae-Il explained, “I think there are many more things possible here other than this map. But… I’m afraid I still haven’t figured out everything yet. I will try my best to learn them as quickly as possible.”

Gi-Gyu waved his hand and replied, “There is no need to apologize.”

To lighten the awkward mood, Old Man Hwang suggested, “Why don’t you have a look at the map?”

Gi-Gyu obeyed and walked up to the window.

Old Man Hwang continued, “As you might have guessed, this is the map of our neighborhood.”

Gi-Gyu nodded. But his expression changed when he realized that the map looked a little different.

Old Man Hwang had seemingly guessed Gi-Gyu’s thought as he explained, “This place is now mixed with our gate, which is why it looks strange. Originally, it was a barrier-like gate created by the Caravan Guild. Now, it’s a mixture of that barrier, our neighborhood, and your gate.”

Old Man Hwang turned toward the map and added, “We initially wanted to connect this place to your gate by proclaiming it a landmark.”

Gi-Gyu nodded in understanding, as Old Man Hwang was right.

Landmark Proclamation was a skill he had gained after becoming Ego Master. This skill worked the best for Brunheart. Based on Gi-Gyu’s understanding, he could use Land Proclamation to incorporate a designated area into Brunheart’s gate.

This was exactly what Gi-Gyu wanted. He now had a much larger army of monsters. And this new place gave him and his creatures a place to grow and hide whenever necessary.

“It’s a fortress.” Old Man Hwang smiled in satisfaction. At the moment, they were at war with the Caravan Guild and perhaps the whole world, so a fortress was exactly what they needed.

“On top of it all…” When Old Man Hwang waved his hand, a part of the floor nearby rose to showcase the Crystal Heart, a part of Paimon’s inheritance. Earlier, Gi-Gyu had synced with it.

“Thanks to this, our fortress is even more solid.” Old Man Hwang waved his hand again, which made the map change. On the map, red lines suddenly appeared all around the Bukhan River.

Old Man Hwang explained, “It’s a barrier.”

The blacksmith’s hand moved again, connecting the red lines in a highly complex pattern. “The barrier the Caravan Guild created here is now under our control. We were able to improve it further. And there is more.”

The map’s color changed under Old Man Hwang’s control. He smiled and added, “The energy in this entire area has thickened, and most of all… Your Life and Death have spread to every corner of this place. Do you know what that means?”

“Does that mean that I can use more of my power here? Like you told me earlier, my enemies will become weaker in this place, and…”

“That’s right!” Old Man Hwang clapped his hands. “So, just like you had hoped, this place has become your fortress. I think it’s safe to say that you will never be defeated in this place.”

Gi-Gyu grinned in satisfaction and said, “I guess all we have left to do is wait.”

The reason he had proclaimed this place his landmark wasn’t just to create a fortress for himself. There was something even more important he wanted to accomplish.

Gi-Gyu whispered, “I need all of them to come and find me here.”

“Exactly!” Old Man Hwang agreed.

Now, all they had to do was wait here. It didn’t matter if it were his allies or his enemies that found him. He will fight the enemies and wait for his friends. And if his enemies continued to hide, then…

‘I’ll make them come to me.’ 

Gi-Gyu’s smile slowly disappeared as he asked, “So what happened to Lou, Sir?”

***

-A gate break occurred under Korea’s Bukhan River.

The reporter on TV spoke loudly. It appeared that she was confused and shocked. The situation was being taken very seriously.

-The entire world is watching this area closely. This also happens to be the home of the most wanted player, Kim Gi-Gyu.

The reporter’s voice sounded panicky as she continued,

-We were told that it was no ordinary gate break.

Click.

The TV was turned off.

The TV screen now reflected a woman sitting on a sofa. She grinned slowly and whispered, “Very impressive…”

She suddenly burst into laughter, “Hahahaha!”

The woman flicked her finger, and someone appeared behind her. She ordered, “Tell everyone that we have found him.”

The man stared in silence.

“What are you doing just standing there? I said I found my pupil! Baal?!” Soo-Jung couldn’t hide her grin as she said to Baal.