The Player Who Can't Level Up

“Traitors?” Choi Chang-Yong asked cautiously.

‘Traitors? Does she mean… I guess I was right. It sounds like the Morningstar-Child Guild survived only because it betrayed Kim Gi-Gyu. But then, why did they enter this gate in the first place?’ Choi Chang-Yong couldn’t help but wonder. The only people Choi Chang-Yong could think of that Kim Gi-Gyu might call “traitors” were the guild masters of the Morningstar-Child Guild. So why did they volunteer to enter the Bukhan River area? They had to know Kim Gi-Gyu well enough to comprehend they could never defeat him. Had he betrayed Kim Gi-Gyu, he would have done everything he possibly could to avoid entering this gate. He would have traveled to the opposite end of the world just to avoid Kim Gi-Gyu.

“I’m referring to people like the ones I have just killed. For example, your guild players standing behind you,” El explained.

‘What does she mean by that? Didn’t she attack my men to warn me?’ Choi Chang-Yong stared at El.

“What are you talking about?” Choi Chang-Yong asked. Suddenly, he heard more screams from behind him. They weren’t as sharp as before; they were more like groans this time.

“Ughhh…” the voices behind him moaned in pain.

“Have a look for yourself,” El suggested.

Choi Chang-Yong turned around; however, before seeing what was behind him, he could already feel strange energy behind him.

Choi Chang-Yong whispered, “Demons?”

The players El had attacked were now on the ground, transforming into grotesque-looking monsters. As they began standing up, powerful sorcerous energy erupted from them.

El leaned forward and whispered into Choi Chang-Yong’s ear, “Would you like me to take care of them?”

It didn’t take him long to figure out what had happened; his face turned dark.

‘Have I always been this incompetent?’ Choi Chang-Yong couldn’t help feeling inept. How could he not see through his own guild members? The demons wearing his men’s bodies hid themselves pretty well, but Choi Chang-Yong knew that he had no excuse. He was the guild master—he was responsible for each and every player in his guild.

“I’ll do it myself.” Choi Chang-Yong replied and unsheathed his sword. This time, he didn’t aim it at Botis. Instead, he directed it toward his men. Walking toward the twisted bodies that were once human players, Choi Chang-Yong ordered the remaining unchanged players, “Take out your swords.”

His eyes glowed in determination.

***

The First Potion, which the Caravan Guild freely provided to its members, was considered a banned substance. When it first appeared on the market, it posed a high risk of death. Therefore, no one used it willingly.

However, the First Potion’s quality and effectiveness soon improved; somehow, they managed to dramatically reduce the side effects.

‘And now, you can even retain your sanity,’ The Iron Guild leader team thought. The user couldn’t maintain complete control, but they could still think to some extent. This was clear proof that the First Potion was being enhanced quickly.

But…

“I guess mine was just special,” the Iron Guild team leader muttered. He looked around to see that only he had retained his mental capacity. Around him, his teammates had turned into mindless beasts. Thankfully, they could still tell friends from foes, but there was no telling how long this would last.

The First Potion was an expendable item; ironically, the players who used it became expendable themselves. The First Potion turned players into bombs to be used against the enemy.

“Kyaaa!” a mindless player screamed and ran toward a mantis while effusing powerful sorcerous energy. The monster’s armor shattered from the player’s attack, and the mantis fell to the ground helplessly.

‘Maybe we still have a chance here?’ The Iron Guild team leader became hopeful as he watched. Earlier, the mantises looked invincible; now, the First Potion-rich players were killing them one by one. The monsters swarming toward them now looked hesitant.

On the other hand, the beastly players looked fairly unharmed, as the First Potion gave its users inhuman recovery and regeneration power. It looked like the Iron Guild team might have a chance.

Well, to be more accurate, all the players would die except for the team leader. However, their deaths were inconsequential as long as the leader survived.

“Kerrrk!” the mantises roared.

“Die! Die!” the beastly players screamed in return.

The insect monsters and the human monsters fought viciously. Meanwhile, the team leader slowly stepped back and hid nearby to survive.

But…

“Kerrrk!” The mantises suddenly began retreating. The hope in the team leader’s eyes slowly left, replaced by the now-familiar despair as a new enemy appeared before him.

This new opponent’s dark energy seemed stronger than the energy of all the beastly players combined. The team leader could tell this new enemy was on a whole nother level.

His players were like a beast—it was a beast.

The team leader whispered, “Who are you…?”

“Hmm?” The enemy, who looked like a child, smirked. The boy was clearly not someone to be underestimated. Every experience, every instinct, and every sense begged him to run away.

The boy asked, “How are you still retaining your sanity? You’re different from the other players, aren’t you?”

The team leader couldn’t hide his confusion.

Suddenly!

Whoosh.

The team leader’s eyes darkened as the child picked him up—the him enhanced by the First Potion—with purely his physical strength. Then, the child slammed him to the ground.

Whack!

The shock of it rattled the team leader’s entire body.

“Ugh!” he groaned and tried to stand up, but when his eyes met the boy’s eyes, he knew it was all over.

The boy, Lou, announced, “I think I should take you with me alive. Old Man Hwang would love to have you.”

***

Kim Sun-Pil and Gi-Gyu stood before each other.

“Hyung…” Kim Sun-Pil wanted to approach Gi-Gyu, but he stopped himself.

Looking uninterested, Gi-Gyu asked, “Have you been well?”

The Morningstar-Child Guild members and its co-guild masters, Kim Sun-Pil and Kim Dong-Hae, stood before him awkwardly.

None of the Morningstar-Child Guild members knew what to do. This meeting had been planned in advance, but they didn’t expect to meet Gi-Gyu this early in their journey. Also, they hadn’t expected to meet him alone; they thought all three guilds would face Gi-Gyu together.

“Sun-Pil,” Gi-Gyu called out to Kim Sun-Pil.

The remaining guild members watched nervously, wondering if they should take out their weapons to fight. Sun-Pil shook his head toward them, signaling them to stand down.

Sun-Pil ordered firmly, “Step back.”

It was rare for Sun-Pil to take over the command like this, as Kim Dong-Hae had been leading the Morningstar-Child Guild as of late.

Kim Dong-Hae walked up to Gi-Gyu and greeted him, “It has been a while.”

“Kim Dong-Hae,” Gi-Gyu murmured.

Kim Dong-Hae looked nervous as he continued to walk.

Meanwhile, Gi-Gyu looked at him with the same disinterest he had looked at Sun-Pil.

Kim Dong-Hae asked, “Have you been faring well?”

“No, not really.” Gi-Gyu emotionlessly replied, “Everything went to shit while I was away. It wasn’t that long, yet the KPA was gone when I returned. So was my home, my family, and…”

Gi-Gyu’s eyes glowed as he gave off hostile energy.

“Ugh.” All the Morningstar-Child Guild members groaned and grabbed their chests. Gi-Gyu’s power was aggressive enough to affect their hearts. The players felt they were having a heart attack.

Shortly afterward, Gi-Gyu took away his hostility. It was only there for at most three seconds, but during this time, every player of the guild had experienced death.

“Haa… Haa…” Kim Sun-Pil panted while Gi-Gyu looked at him nonchalantly.

Kim Dong-Hae tried his best to calm down his heart as he whispered, “Y-you have become even more powerful.”

“I’m not done talking,” Gi-Gyu replied and stepped forward.

Thud!

It was a single step, but it felt like an earthquake to the players. The players stumbled even as they tried not to stumble.

Thud!

Gi-Gyu took another step forward and whispered, “Care to guess what else disappeared from my life? Take a guess.”

He talked slowly as if he was giving them a riddle. When no one answered, Gi-Gyu continued, “Friends.” Gi-Gyu finally stopped moving, now standing between Kim Sun-Pil and Kim Dong-Hae.

Sun-Pil suddenly kneeled and yelled, “H-Hyung! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Please forgive me!”

Gi-Gyu looked down at Kim Sun-Pil, who was sobbing. Gi-Gyu didn’t say anything. He only watched.

Sun-Pil begged, “I really didn’t want to do it. I know it sounds like an excuse, but… I really didn’t want to do it. Please believe me!”

Tears rolled down Sun-Pil’s cheeks and soaked the ground.

Without even blinking, Gi-Gyu asked, “Didn't want to do what, Sun-Pil?”

Kim Sun-Pil clenched his fists on the ground, grabbing some soil into his hands. He bit his lips so hard that they began bleeding. His mouth felt dry, and it was a wonder he could speak at all.

Kim Sun-Pil stammered, “I-I lured your family…”

Slumping desperately, he continued, “Into a trap.”

While Gi-Gyu had been busy taking the 50th-floor test, Gi-Gyu’s mother and Yoo-Jung were put in danger once. The Caravan Guild had almost captured them, and it was all because of the Morningstar-Child Guild. Because Gi-Gyu’s family had been acquainted with this guild, they trusted Kim Sun-Pil. However, the Morningstar-Child Guild used this to lure the family straight into the Caravan Guild’s hands.

It was a close call. The Caravan Guild would have captured Gi-Gyu’s family if it weren't for Tae-Shik and Suk-Woo. Gi-Gyu didn’t want to even think about what might have happened to them then.

Kim Sun-Pil continued to sob and beg. “I really didn’t want to do it. But… I know anything I say will sound like an excuse, but… I really wanted to pay for my sins. I regret what I did a thousand times. The Morningstar-Child Guild has been improving because of what I did, but I haven’t been able to shake off my guilt. Hyung… I’m so sorry.”

Kim Sun-Pil couldn’t speak anymore, as the continuous sobbing didn’t let him.

Then, Ha-Neul stepped forward and whispered, “Oppa.”

The other Morningstar-Child Guild members watched in deadly silence.

Gi-Gyu’s hostile energy from a moment ago had left her face pale. She said, “We are all as guilty as him. We all betrayed you, Oppa.”

Kim Ha-Neul looked calm but sad when she explained, “The new deputy guild master of the Iron Guild, Rohan, came to us not too long ago to make an offer. He told us that you are at the Bukhan River gate, so we should come here to meet you. Since it hasn’t been long since you left the Tower’s test chamber, he said you wouldn’t know what happened and what we did. He told us you would accept us and asked us to spy on you by staying close to you.”

Kim Ha-Neul glanced at Kim Sun-Pil sadly and whispered, “Sun-Pil accepted the offer, but it wasn’t because he was going to spy on you. He wanted to see you and make amends. He has been wanting to make everything right.”

She refused to back down, seemingly willing to shoulder Kim Sun-Pil’s sins.

Gi-Gyu only watched her quietly.

“We’re so sorry…” The other Morningstar-Child Guild members walked up one by one with their heads bowed in shame. Many of them had met Gi-Gyu in the past. An awkward silence fell while Sun-Pil continued to cry.

Finally, Gi-Gyu slowly opened his mouth.

“Why did you do it?” He turned toward Kim Sun-Pil and asked, “What made you sell my family?”

Sun-Pil remained quiet as he continued to look down. Just then…

Clap, clap, clap.

“What friendship!” Someone clapped and declared in glee.

Gi-Gyu turned toward the voice and found a man smiling at him.

The man explained, “He did it because of me.”

Everyone turned toward the man. Kim Ha-Neul and Kim Sun-Pil, their faces wet with tears, bit their lips. They seemed unsurprised by this man’s words.

“I didn’t expect them to risk their lives for this. I also didn’t know they came here to beg for forgiveness.” The man continued, “I was the one who did it. I made them do it. I told them that if they didn’t bring me your family, I would personally slaughter each and every weakling in their little guild. And then I seasoned that offer with their families.”

The man seemed to be enjoying the situation. He smiled and added, “When I threatened Kim Sun-Pil, he cried so hard. He couldn’t decide, so he tried to kill himself… More than once! What a fucking loser! I had to stop him from doing it, of course… It was annoying. And every time he tried to pull that shit on me…”

Grab!

The man suddenly grabbed Kim Ha-Neul’s neck and twisted it.

Gi-Gyu watched the whole thing apathetically without making an effort to help Ha-Neul.

The man continued, “This bitch helped me. She would beg Kim Sun-Pil not to kill himself, saying shit like ‘Gi-Gyu oppa would understand,’ ‘Everything will work out,’ and whatnot. This wench has been very helpful.”

The man let go of Kim Ha-Neul, who fell to the ground.

Plop.

“Khoff! Khoff…” Kim Ha-Neul gasped for air on the ground. There was a clear red handprint on her neck.

The man muttered, “But it all worked out for me in the end. I knew that if I stayed close to these players, I would get to meet you soon. These idiots have done their job, so…”

He opened his palms with a smile and offered, “It’s only fair that I gift them death, don’t you think, Kim Gi-Gyu?”

The man, Kim Dong-Hae, smiled like a maniac as he whispered, “Or should I call you Lucifer’s master?”

Kim Dong-Hae playfully asked, “So, where is Lucifer now?”