The Player Who Can't Level Up

“Healers! If you don’t want to die, put all of your energy into the tankers! We don’t know when we will be attacked again!” Choi Chang-Yong used his power to shout. Without it, no one would hear him on this hectic battlefield.

“Ugh…!” many Blue Dragon Guild players groaned in agony.

“Get me some potions!” someone badly wounded screamed for help.

A normal pitch would never be heard in such a situation, so Choi Chang-Yong had to waste his power on yelling.

“Dammit!” Choi Chang-Yong swore under his breath. Unlike his men, he was still perfectly fine and unharmed. These skeleton soldiers were stronger than usual, but he was no joke, either. How could these monsters hurt a high ranker like him?

However…

‘I’m going crazy.’ Choi Chang-Yong thought in frustration. He couldn’t believe the damages the other players in his team had suffered so far.

Their immediate surroundings were free of skeletons for the time being. So, he ordered, “Everyone, you can take a break now! Guards! You’re up. You better protect the perimeters with your lives!”

The uninjured moved per his order. Kim Sun-Pil and Kim Dong-Hae’s injuries were light, so they also volunteered to guard the area.

Choi Chang-Yong mumbled, “Did I make a mistake coming here?”

Before his team had entered the gate, the missing citizens living near the Bukhan River had returned safely from inside the gate. None of them was even injured, so Choi Chang-Yong saw this as a sign from Kim Gi-Gyu. He believed that Kim Gi-Gyu wanted to retain his human side and didn’t want to cause any unnecessary harm. This was why Choi Chang-Yong had entered the gate confidently. He had thought his team would be safe.

“Dammit.” But it seemed that Choi Chang-Yong was wrong. He had thought that Gi-Gyu would approach him to talk once they were inside; instead, his team was attacked by powerful monsters from all sides.

Choi Chang-Yong assessed his team. The monsters had not only attacked and severely wounded the Iron Guild players but also the Blue Dragon Guild and Morningstar-Child Guild players. All of these players were injured to varying degrees.

“Guild Master.” One of his guild members approached him and reported, “We have 70 injured with ten teetering on the edge of death.”

Choi Chang-Yong waited for the worst news, but he was shocked by the rest of the report.

“And no casualties so far.”

“What?!” Choi Chang-Yong exclaimed. He quickly swept the area with his senses and discovered that no one had died, just as he was told. He had felt drained until a moment ago; he suddenly smiled. Choi Chang-Yong was beginning to feel energetic again.

“After a short rest, we will resume. Just leave the severely injured players here!” he ordered.

“Pardon?” the player who had made the report asked in surprise. He protested, “But Guild Master! If we leave the injured here, then they… We can’t…”

“Then what do you expect me to do? Do you think it’ll be safer to drag them along with us deeper into this gate? Or”—Choi Chang-Yong glanced at the gate entrance on the outer edge—“do you think we can leave this gate now?”

The gate entrance was now closed. It had closed as soon as they entered. By the time they realized this, it was too late; now, there was no going back.

Choi Chang-Yong continued, “That’s my order, so let everyone know. Tell the Iron Guild about it too. If they don’t like it, they can do whatever they want. We don’t owe them anything. They can remain here if they want. Maybe they will be safer here.”

“All right, Sir.” The player bowed and left to let the others know.

Choi Chang-Yong fell deep in thought before raising his hand.

‘Dammit,’ he swore quietly when he felt the sticky magic in the air. On top of this, some kind of ominous energy he had never felt before began to cover his body.

“What the hell is this…?” Choi Chang-Yong mumbled in disbelief. It felt like a leech was swallowing him while he was drowning in a swamp. And he quickly realized that he alone wasn’t sensing this strange energy.

Kim Sun-Pil walked up to him and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, how about you?”

“I’m okay too, thankfully.” His eyes filled with uncertainty, Kim Sun-Pil asked, “Do you know what this odd energy is?”

“No, I don’t,” Choi Chang-Yong answered curtly. This unpleasant energy was partly why his team had suffered so much during the battle. It interfered with his players’ magical flow and distracted them simultaneously. In such a vicious battle, even the simplest disturbance could be fatal.

Choi Chang-Yong looked around the area and stopped to watch the Iron Guild members concentrating on healing themselves. He asked Kim Sun-Pil quietly, “You know, don’t you?”

Kim Sun-Pil nodded slowly.

Choi Chang-Yong smiled bitterly and murmured, “I can’t believe I didn’t realize this earlier. I guess I am getting old.”

Their current situation appeared dire; for some reason, Choi Chang-Yong’s smile wasn’t as bitter as it should have been.

***

Old Man Hwang commented, “So Life and Death can cause an effect like that, huh?”

“Magic is sensitive energy, and players are impressive creatures. Just because some humans were ‘awakened’ by the Tower, they can use magic as if they’ve always had it in them. But, some are better at it than others. The less talented bunch will find it very hard to distinguish magic from all the other energies in this gate,” Hart replied.

Old Man Hwang, Hwang Chae-Il, Gi-Gyu, El, Lou, and Hart were watching the players from the control tower. Choi Chang-Yong’s team was taking a break while treating their injured teammates.

Hart added, “But this tactic won’t work on demons or players that can adapt to different forms of magic quickly. It’s only effective here because most of them have mediocre talents at best.”

They were all studying this experiment with interest. After the landmark proclamation, the gate had gained many new abilities. Unfortunately, they never got the chance to test any of them until now. So, they decided to test out the gate’s defense system against Choi Chang-Yong’s team as soon as the team entered.

Gi-Gyu whispered, “How are the skeletons doing?”

“Excellent. I’ve armed them with the weapons I made with the lava. They are working out great. Also, the experienced skeletons are managing to stay alive longer,” Old Man Hwang answered proudly.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Indeed. I still can’t believe how well it has gone so far. I mean… How can a mere skeleton army fight so well against a group with a high ranker? Just that alone should be enough for us to celebrate.”

Old Man Hwang’s excited tone made Gi-Gyu laugh.

Gi-Gyu asked, “By the way, what we’re doing to them right now… I think we’re no better than demons, don’t you think?”

Gi-Gyu and his creatures were studying the battle like scientists studying lab rats. They had their monsters attack the humans and were now callously discussing the battle.

Old Man Hwang shrugged and replied, “Well, who cares?”

Gi-Gyu agreed with the blacksmith. He had only mentioned this to remind himself not to lose his human side.

Old Man Hwang commented, “There are many more things we need to learn about this landmark than I thought. Chae-Il!”

“Yes, Father.”

“What do you think? How does it look?” asked Old Man Hwang.

Hwang Chae-Il's many hands moved like a blur as he replied, “All good, Father.”

Gi-Gyu couldn’t tell what the father-son duo was talking about, but everything seemed to be going well.

“Hmm…” Gi-Gyu returned his attention to the monitor.

Choi Chang-Yong was seemingly saying something to Kim Sun-Pil.

Gi-Gyu became quiet. Then, he whispered, “I think they have caught on.”

“It’s about time,” Old Man Hwang replied. “To the next phase, then?”

Old Man Hwang was asking Gi-Gyu permission. It may have looked like the blacksmith was in control of everything, but this wasn’t true. He was only doing a lot of the work to help Gi-Gyu’s plan go smoothly. No matter how it looked, Gi-Gyu was always the one in control of this place.

“Yes, please,” Gi-Gyu said. On the screen, he saw Choi Chang-Yong standing up and moving. It looked like he was leaving the wounded players behind.

Gi-Gyu ordered, “Please change their path into a maze.”

***

“Fuck!” Choi Chang-Yong swore angrily. “Gather around, you idiots! I said get over here, you fucking morons!” Whenever he felt nervous, he would rain expletives, as he believed that swearing was the greatest and the fastest way to relay his message to his men.

“Tankers!” Choi Chang-Yong shouted.

The tankers slammed their shields on the ground and roared, “Got it!”

A giant wall of shields was created around them.

“Fuckkkk!” Choi Chang-Yong screamed again; this time, it was because the ground was shaking. It wasn’t shaking because of the tankers’ action but because something was about to erupt from the ground.

Everyone quickly realized the stone wall erupting from the ground was surrounding them.

“Dealers! Break that fucking wall!” roared Choi Chang-Yong.

Clank!

The players’ various attacks hit the wall. A cloud of thick smoke spread everywhere, blurring everyone’s eyes.

“Status! Give me the numbers!” Choi Chang-Yong screamed as he asked for the number of the wounded players. He was quick in assessing the situation even when things looked so hectic. Choi Chang-Yong’s personality may have been questionable, but no one doubted that he was a gifted commander.

“Get out of my way!” he yelled. He thrust his sword in the air, which shot a violet flame.

Kaboom!

A different sound rang in the air. An even thicker smoke appeared, and Choi Chang-Yong ordered, “Supporters! Clear the area!”

Following their guild master’s command, the supporters summoned their wind-related skills to eliminate the smoke.

Choi Chang-Yong skimmed the area to assess the situation.

“Dammit… What the hell is going on here?!” he swore again.

One of his players reported, “We can’t see the Morningstar-Child players!”

Another player from the opposite end yelled, “We can’t find the Iron Guild members either, Sir!”

“I already know that,” Choi Chang-Yong mumbled. Even before he had heard the reports, he could sense the other guilds’ disappearance. Well, it wasn’t exactly “disappearance,” but more like “isolation.”

“What the heck is this wall?” Choi Chang-Yong whispered.

A huge wall stood in front of him. Surprisingly, his sword attack had struck the wall square, but the structure still looked perfectly intact. Choi Chang-Yong knew that the other guilds had to be outside this wall.

“Kim Sun-Pil! Can you hear me?!” Choi Chang-Yong shouted, using his magic to increase his voice’s amplitude.

“Kim Dong-Hae!” He continued to yell, but there was no answer. It seemed that this wall was absorbing everything, even the echoes. Obviously, some kind of magic had been employed to quarantine them completely.

Choi Chang-Yong turned toward his players in the supporter category.

Knowing what their guild master wanted, the supporter team leader stammered, “I-I’m sorry, Guild Master. There is nothing we can do about it.” The supporter team leader had said he couldn’t disable this strange wall.

Choi Chang-Yong mumbled, “Just what are you thinking…? Kim Gi-Gyu… What is he trying to do?”

It was the perfect isolation system. This wall separated the three groups.

The Blue Dragon Guild led by Choi Chang-Yong.

The Morningstar-Child Guild led by the co-guild masters, Kim Sun-Pil and Kim Dong-Hae.

The Iron Guild’s team.

Choi Chang-Yong was losing hope rapidly. He tried to fight the panic rising inside of him. He had to be right about his guess. There still had to be some hope.

Kaboom!

A loud explosion occurred, and Choi Chang-Yong dashed forward. He put much of his power into his legs to move faster, and every step left a big crater on the ground. He grasped his sword even tighter. It was an amazing sword, and powerful energy began to flow through it.

“Get out of my way!” Choi Chang-Yong screamed and ran even faster.

Boom!

Another blast was heard, followed by a cloud of thick smoke. He was sick of his eyes blurring like this. Choi Chang-Yong used himself to discharge an electric current all around him. The smoke cleared again, and…

“It has been a while,” a familiar voice spoke to Choi Chang-Yong.

The creature before him seemed relaxed, but Choi Chang-Yong glared at him. The members of the Blue Dragon Guild quickly moved into their best battle formation. This formation was something this guild had invented using their vast experience, but…

“This can’t be…” the players whispered hopelessly. They didn’t seem to have any will to fight, and despair filled their eyes. After all, in front of them stood…

“The gatekeeper of the Gangnam gate!”

The demon Gi-Gyu had defeated.

The Repulsive Earl.

“If you have forgotten, let me remind you. I’m Botis,” the creature introduced himself.

It was no wonder the players were discouraged because this was an enemy they knew they could never defeat.

gomi's Thoughts

Swearing? The fastest way to relay his message? ...Really?