The Player Who Can't Level Up

[Landmark Information]

[Eden]

A bunch of information followed this:

The available monster militias inside the landmark.

Gi-Gyu’s creatures.

Even the players.

All of their attributes were calculated and available for Gi-Gyu to see. On top of this…

Dun, dun, dun, dun!

The Bukhan River area, now Gi-Gyu’s landmark named Eden, began to vibrate.

-Young man! What have you done?!

Old Man Hwang asked in a hurry.

***

“Hahaha,” Old Man Hwang tittered. He looked around the area as he commented, “I can’t believe just naming this place caused such a change.”

They were inside the tower’s top floor, now nicknamed the control tower. All Gi-Gyu had done was name the landmark “Eden,” yet the reaction had been an incredible change.

“We can now concentrate the magic inside this place a little better to build a crystal mine. Our control over the barrier has also improved. The landmark can now be controlled a little more precisely. I would say this is more like a territory,” Old Man Hwang explained. He then asked, “Have you decided on the place?”

“Yes,” replied Gi-Gyu with a smile.

Min-Su’s disappearance had made Old Man Hwang a bit lonely. But now, he seemed more lively.

Gi-Gyu elaborated, “I plan on building it near the tower.”

At the moment, they could only use one gate. Or, more specifically, they could use only one portal, a door that led to the gate. If they needed more…

‘If necessary, I can build a portal to the Iron Guild,’ Gi-Gyu thought in satisfaction.

These weren’t the only changes, but he didn’t know them all and could only learn about them individually.

“Everything is going smoothly,” Old Man Hwang commented.

Gi-Gyu nodded and answered, “Yes. I’m glad.”

After a short pause, Gi-Gyu asked, “How is Lou?”

Old Man Hwang’s face turned a little serious.

Gi-Gyu continued, “Is he better now?”

The blacksmith turned to look at Hwang Chae-Il and ordered, “You keep working on Eden. We need to go see Lou now.”

“Yes, Father,” Hwang Chae-Il answered obediently.

Without asking Gi-Gyu if he wanted to go, Old Man Hwang announced, “Let’s go.”

Gi-Gyu didn’t argue; instead, he silently followed the elderly man. He had wanted to see Lou for a while now.

***

Lou was trembling like a cell phone on vibrate.

“Hey.” Lou greeted casually, but his pale face suggested he wasn’t doing well.

“Lou… Are you okay?” asked Gi-Gyu.

After Lou had absorbed a contaminated piece of himself, he lost consciousness. Before he had fainted, he asked Gi-Gyu to take him to Old Man Hwang, which was exactly what Gi-Gyu had done.

The elderly man explained, “The contamination is affecting his body. At this rate, it will swallow Lou and kill him.”

Old Man Hwang turned toward Gi-Gyu and continued, “What Lou absorbed was a piece of himself. I think it was created by combining the piece with Paimon’s inheritance and Andras’s power… Nasty concoction.”

The blacksmith walked up to Lou and touched him.

Lou moaned in pain, “Ugh…”

Old Man Hwang let go of Lou’s hand and added, “I don’t know what exactly contaminated it, but it is eating Lou from the inside.”

“First Potion.” The blacksmith faced Gi-Gyu again and muttered, “I think I now know what it is.”

“And what is it?” asked Gi-Gyu.

The players that had attacked him on the 51st floor had consumed the First Potion and turned into strange beasts. Recently, he had also witnessed the branch manager of the Caravan Guild do something similar. Apart from transforming into a monster, the branch manager had absorbed Haures’ ability and improved it.

It was the First Potion that made all of these things possible. This suggested that this potion was something extraordinary.

“My body…” Lou’s lips trembled as he continued, “Or maybe it’s my root or even my magic… It doesn’t really matter what it is. I just know that parts of me were mixed into it. The thing that allowed that branch manager to absorb Haures’ ability and develop it further… It had to be…”

“Are you saying…” Gi-Gyu seemed to have caught on to what Lou was trying to say. “It sounds like your ability.”

Lou's most valuable skill was the power to absorb his enemy’s ability and improve it further. And the branch manager had done something very similar.

Lou muttered, “I don’t know what’s going on exactly. But my body disappeared, remember?”

Gi-Gyu had met Lou’s old body during one of the Tower's tests. He had obtained a piece of Lou’s physical body after defeating it. Therefore, there shouldn't have been more of Lou’s body left inside the Tower.

Yet…

“You absorbed a contaminated piece—”

Lou interrupted Gi-Gyu and mumbled, “I said I don’t know what’s going on. What I absorbed… It didn’t feel like it was just a piece of me. It was mixed with something. I don’t know… Fuck…” His speech sounded a little slurred, like someone drugged.

Gi-Gyu turned toward Old Man Hwang and asked, “So are you saying that the problem is the contamination?”

“That’s right. If it were just a piece of Lou, it would have actually helped him. The contamination is the reason behind his suffering.”

The elderly man looked at Lou and continued, “But I don’t know what the contamination is. I can only treat him if I know what it is.”

“So there is no way?” asked Gi-Gyu.

“Hmm…” Old Man Hwang lowered his head and whispered, “Actually, there is one.”

The blacksmith’s reaction said the solution wouldn’t be easy.

Gi-Gyu prodded, “What is it?”

“There are three ways.”

‘Three?’ Gi-Gyu was surprised that there was more than one solution. So did this mean that all three of them would be difficult? Gi-Gyu waited patiently for Old Man Hwang to explain.

The elderly man began, “The first way is for you to bring more of Satan’s body. Lou’s shell and physical body are made up of Satan’s body parts. So if you bring more of it, I can strengthen Lou further and stop the contamination from progressing. But….”

“It will be tough to get Satan’s body parts,” Gi-Gyu replied in disappointment. The remaining hell kings had the rest of Satan’s body. Defeating them would be hard but not impossible, so he could at least try. The problem, of course, was…

Old Man Hwang mumbled, “There is no time.”

Just reaching hell would take a long time. And then defeating all the hell kings in their home ground would be even more time-consuming, if possible at all. If Earth weren’t in trouble and there was no time constraint, Gi-Gyu might have made an effort. But at the moment, he couldn’t leave Earth like this.

Gi-Gyu asked, “What’s the second option?”

“We can destroy Lou’s current body and seal him away until we have a solution.”

Lou objected quickly, “No way.”

Old Man Hwang and Gi-Gyu turned toward him.

Lou explained, “We’re in the middle of a war here. If I lose my body and get sealed away, do you really think this idiot could get anything done? It would be better for us to just give up on this war and go to hell to fight the hell kings.”

“Lou…” Gi-Gyu called out to him in protest, but he actually agreed with Lou’s assessment. Lou was a big part of Gi-Gyu’s strength, so he couldn’t even think about losing Lou.

So far, Old Man Hwang’s solutions hadn’t been feasible.

Finally, Gi-Gyu asked, “What’s the last option?” He couldn’t lose Lou, so he desperately hoped for the last option to be something feasible. Praying silently, Gi-Gyu waited.

“We can transfer the contaminant,” Old Man Hwang suggested.

“Transfer the contaminant?”

“That’s right. I’m talking about moving the contaminant out of Lou’s body. And the only one who can do this is…”

“Me, right?” Gi-Gyu answered. The unknown contaminant was currently feasting on Lou, and since Gi-Gyu was synced with him, only he could remove it.

Gi-Gyu continued, “You’re saying it will have to be moved into my body.”

“That’s right.” Old Man Hwang calmly explained, “It will be a perilous task. There is no guarantee that the contaminant won’t affect your body. No, I’m certain it’ll destroy your body, but the degradation would be slow and maybe even to a lesser extent, but you will suffer the same pain. Your shell and your special abilities… There is a small chance that they might miraculously heal you. All in all, it would be a huge gamble.”

They now knew that the First Potion was either a piece of Lou’s body or his magic.

‘It’s basically a poison,’ thought Gi-Gyu. Or was it more like a drug? It was an evil potion that would eat your existence but give you incredible power in exchange. This was the best description Gi-Gyu could come up with for the First Potion.

Gi-Gyu replied, “I suppose this is the only way.”

“Are you sure?” asked Lou.

“We don’t have any other choice, do we? And I’m stronger than you, so…”

Lou smirked and muttered, “You say the darnedest thing.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do a good job. Sir, we’ll take the third option. So what should I do?” Gi-Gyu took a deep breath and asked Old Man Hwang. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice in his head.

-Do you want me to help you, Master…?

It was a much-resented voice, but Gi-Gyu was strangely glad to hear it.

***

Rohan asked, “So, is everyone satisfied with the number of people we decided on?”

The long meeting was finally over. Unlike the Korean Players Association, which was very efficient in leading this kind of meeting, the Iron Guild representative was terrible. Had the Blue Dragon Guild’s Choi Chang-Yong not made a fuss to hurry along, the meeting would have lasted longer with no clear conclusion.

Rohan looked around and saw no objections. He continued, “Then the Blue Dragon Guild’s guild master, Choi Chang-Yong, will lead the scout team around the Bukhan River. And we will be counting on two more mid-sized guilds to volunteer.”

“Hmph,” Choi Chang-Yong smirked at Rohan. He looked around the room and muttered, “Idiots.”

Korea was in crisis, and more danger was coming; unfortunately, none of the Korean guilds were ready or willing to protect it. All the guilds only cared about their profits and safety.

‘Fuck.’ Choi Chang-Yong swore silently. He couldn’t control his frustration, especially since the problem wasn’t just what had happened in the Bukhan River area.

The sudden appearance of the unratable gates had already crippled the top ten Korean guilds. Thereby, these guild leaders had to act gingerly. Although annoyed, Choi Chang-Yong understood their plight.

“As soon as we decide which mid-sized guilds will help, I will contact you, Guild Master Choi Chang-Yong. You will then come up with a schedule and begin at your leisure,” Rohan announced.

The meeting was officially over. The Blue Dragon Guild, which had suffered the least damage from the unratable gates, was chosen to lead the scout team. This decision was partly also because Choi Chang-Yong had volunteered.

Choi Chang-Yong stood up and asked Rohan, “I have some guilds I prefer to work with. Can I choose them?” He kept his tone respectful since he was asking for a favor.

Rohan smiled and answered, “As long as they agree to volunteer.”

“Okay. I’ll contact them.” Choi Chang-Yong left the room.

The other guild masters followed him out. They all had strange expressions on their faces. They had devised a plan during the meeting, but everyone felt unsettled. Some felt guilty, while others felt angry.

“Haa…” Left alone, Rohan sighed deeply. He had just met with the leaders of the top ten Korean guilds. The guild masters had acted docile, but he knew that none of them could be underestimated. Leading such a meeting had been very stressful.

Rohan shook his head. It was time to make his report about this meeting.

‘He’ll like what he hears,’ Rohan thought expectantly. He had done everything according to the plan set out for him, so he felt certain he would be praised. Bowing slightly, Rohan spoke in his head.

-Master…

Within seconds, he heard an answer.

-You may speak.

It was Gi-Gyu’s voice.

gomi's Thoughts

Gomi: Of course the issue is with the contamination. DUHHHHHH!