The Player Who Can't Level Up

Inside that not too small a room, Soo-Jung asked Gi-Gyu, “Is everyone here?”

Gi-Gyu nodded quietly. Inside the room were Lou, El, Lim Hye-Sook, Soo-Jung, Baal, and lastly…

“Yoo-Bin!” Lim Hye-Sook greeted in excitement.

Shin Yoo-Bin was here too. Her outer appearance had changed; it wasn’t a big difference but noticeable. She was never an unattractive girl, but she used to look rather average. But now, her aura was different, and she had more defined facial features. Before, her face hadn’t been all that memorable, but now…

Lim Hye-Sook thought, ‘She looks like an actress.’

Shin Yoo-Bin now had an attractiveness to her that was absent before.

Yoo-Bin greeted Lim Hye-Sook happily as well. “Grandma, I’m relieved to see you’re okay.”

Soo-Jung picked her ear and announced, “Now, now. There will be time for you to chat later. Let’s get down to business first.”

For some reason, Soo-Jung seemed to dislike Lim Hye-Sook or Shin Yoo-Bin.

Lim Hye-Sook replied coldly, “I apologize for showing such weakness.”

She held Shin Yoo-Bin’s hand tightly and sat down.

Soo-Jung asked, “Is there anyone else you need to invite? I don’t care if any more of your Egos hear this.”

Gi-Gyu replied, “They’re all busy. Besides, they can still hear this from where they are, so don’t worry.” It wasn’t a lie, as he had opened all the communication channels to his Egos. Even if he got confused or missed something, he knew his Egos could help him later.

Rattle.

A chair sprung up from the floor suddenly.

Hwang Chae-Il had made it happen, indicating just how powerful he was within this place.

Soo-Jung sat down and crossed her legs as she announced, “Well then, let’s get started.”

She raised a finger and murmured, “Who should go first? Me? Or”—she pointed at Lim Hye-Sook—“my teacher?”

“What?” Gi-Gyu asked in confusion. He picked his nose, wondering if he heard it wrong.

Lim Hye-Sook’s face turned rigid, but after a short silence, she replied, “It has been a long time since you last called me that.”

Lim Hye-Sook had just confirmed Soo-Jung’s claim.

***

“Dammit.”

Gi-Gyu heard Jupiter swear again. He didn’t mind others swearing around him, but Jupiter was repeating itself too much.

Gi-Gyu, sitting in the lotus position, opened his eyes and muttered, “Just how many times are you going to say ‘dammit?’”

He couldn’t tell how much time had passed. And since time passed much slower in shells, he had even less idea about the time outside.

“You asked me repeatedly to keep sparring with you; now, you’re just sitting there? It makes me wish we were fighting instead,” Jupiter grumbled with metal chains hanging all around it.

It mocked, “Watching you sit there with my face just feels weird. And knowing that you can move around freely while I have to stay chained is so frustrating. Is this your new way of torturing me?”

“You know exactly what I’m doing. So, why are you saying that? Are you afraid?” asked Gi-Gyu.

“...”

“If you’re trying to interfere, go right ahead. I don’t care.” Gi-Gyu closed his eyes again.

“Tsk.” Jupiter clicked his tongue, but Gi-Gyu ignored him and shut down his senses again.

With great care, he gradually focused on his shell. He zoomed out to see the bigger picture. Things were different now. Before, his shell seemed like the dark universe to him; now, the vast shell felt like a whole new world. He could see a prairie, an area thick with trees, an endless row of clouds, and even an ocean. Gi-Gyu had no idea his shell had a world like this.

And inside this strange and separate world…

‘Egos.’ 

His Egos lived here, and it looked like they were affecting his shell.

After studying his shell for a while, he zoomed out even more. Then, he saw a world of black, white, and gray. The three colors dominated the area, but the area also had a tiny spot. It was so small that he couldn’t even determine its color.

The next part would be critical.

‘Tsk.’ 

Gi-Gyu felt like he could hear Jupiter clicking his tongue again.

***

“I’ll start,” Lim Hye-Sook said, still holding Yoo-Bin’s hand.

Turning toward Gi-Gyu, Lim Hye-Sook explained, “It has been a long time coming, but we had to beware of the penalty. At least we get to tell you now. Well, as much as I know anyway.”

“Before that,” Gi-Gyu said hesitantly.

“Go ahead.”

“Why did Soo-Jung call you her teacher?” asked Gi-Gyu. He was very curious about this.

Lim Hye-Sook turned to look at Soo-Jung as if asking her to explain it herself.

Soo-Jung’s eyes turned cold as she stated, “I got my code name because of this woman. When I became a player, she came to me and—”

“We’ll hear the rest after we discuss our main business,” Lim Hye-Sook interrupted Soo-Jung. Soo-Jung didn’t seem to like the idea, but she didn’t argue.

Gi-Gyu didn’t say anything, as he didn’t know enough to decide how he should feel. For now, he needed to hear more.

Lim Hye-Sook looked at Gi-Gyu and announced, “Now! Where should we begin? Hmm, oh, that’s right.”

She seemed ready to get right into it. She offered, “I promised to tell you about your father, Kim Se-Jin.”

Finally, Gi-Gyu could hear the truth. He had accomplished so many things, all so that he could hear this and begin anew. After hearing this, he knew everything would change. All his hard work was about to pay off.

Tense, Gi-Gyu waited for Lim Hye-Sook to continue.

“He was a hero born from the Tower…”—Lim Hye-Sook’s eyes darkened—“as well as a demon created by the Tower.”

“...!”

“Kronos… Did you meet him?”

Gi-Gyu had no time to deal with his confusion. All he could do was nod, and Lim Hye-Sook smiled bitterly.

“Then you must’ve seen it. He isn’t from our time. In fact, he isn’t even from our world.”

“...” Gi-Gyu remained quiet. He knew that, as he had seen it.

Lim Hye-Sook added, “He’s someone from before Babel.”

Babel was the Tower’s real name known by only a few.

“And he was the ruler.”

The story finally began.

***

"Why don’t you tell me?” Jupiter asked knowingly during Gi-Gyu’s brief break.

Gi-Gyu didn’t have a second to spare, but he also knew that taking breaks was necessary. Studying the world inside his shell and moving inside it required utmost focus. It was very mentally taxing, so he had to take regular breaks to remain here. If he didn’t, he could land in trouble.

Gi-Gyu turned toward Jupiter and asked, “If you’re worried about me, just say so.”

“Worried…? Hmm, perhaps you’re right. But still, why don’t we talk? After all, you don’t know much about me, do you? Do you think we will ever get another chance to just let loose and talk like the buddies we are? Believe me, we won’t get another chance once you accomplish your goal.”

Jupiter tonelessly offered, “So, why don’t we talk?”

Gi-Gyu sat more comfortably, agreeing with Jupiter. He needed to accomplish a lot here, and learning about Jupiter and obtaining the information it had were up there on his to-do list.

“All right, let’s try talking,” Gi-Gyu replied.

“Kekeke.” Jupiter sniggered ominously

“But…” Gi-Gyu ordered, “Only I’ll be asking the questions. You shall only answer. Agree to this, and we’ll talk.”

“Is this what you people call a desperate attempt?” Jupiter grumbled.

Gi-Gyu deemed this necessary because he didn’t have the time to answer all of Jupiter’s questions.

“Fine. Ask away. Wanna pinky swear on it?” Jupiter asked.

“I don’t care. I won’t believe everything you say, so it doesn’t matter.”

Clunk.

Jupiter shrugged, making the metal chains around it rattle.

Without delay, Gi-Gyu asked, “Your father, the one you know…”

“...”

“What was Kronos like?”

Clunk.

The metal chains rattled again. At the moment, Jupiter felt torn, but Gi-Gyu found it impossible to read the expression on its face. The emotions that flashed on its face were like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle: Interlinked yet distinct.

“He was a good ruler,” Jupiter answered.

Kronos was the ruler of all humans. His father, Uranus, was the former ruler, but Kronos dethroned and killed him to take over. This made Kronos a relic and a bastard.

But Kronos was still a good ruler. After killing the tyrant Uranus, he brought peace to the human world.

Looking blank, Jupiter added, “But he wasn't a good father.”

“Didn’t you hear everything already? You must know why I am in this situation,” Jupiter apathetically muttered.

Gi-Gyu nodded because it was true. Jupiter was him, but it was also an entirely different existence. And Kronos was why it was trapped inside Gi-Gyu.

***

“I don’t know how much you saw, so I’ll just tell you the summary. He committed patricide, but he was a good ruler, as he got rid of the worst tyrant, Uranus. Kronos accomplished something no one else could. This made him a hero. Of course, I’m talking about the time before Babel.”

Gi-Gyu was curious about how Lim Hye-Sook got this information, but he didn’t ask. He didn’t want to waste any time asking unnecessary questions.

Lim Hye-Sook continued, “After he became the ruler of the human world, he realized the truth.”

“...”

“Chaos. It was all because he saw it. His father and former ruler, Uranus, was aware of Chaos and knew it would bring about the end. This knowledge made him mad, turning him into a tyrant. When Kronos became the ruler and discovered Chaos’ existence, he despaired. But, there was one hopeful aspect.”

“God…” Gi-Gyu whispered, guessing what Kronos must have had prayed for.

Lim Hye-Sook explained, “That’s right. He believed God would save everyone, but his prayer didn’t come true.”

Gi-Gyu asked, “You’re saying God wasn’t interested in his creations, and he didn’t bother coming to save them?”

“Exactly.” Lim Hye-Sook nodded unhappily and continued, “Kronos almost lost it all. So he wanted to find another way. Instead of waiting for the help that was never coming, he decided to save the humans alone.”

“That’s…”

Lim Hye-Sook and Gi-Gyu spoke at the same time.

“Babel.”

Babel was the solution Kronos had suggested.

“Kill God and take everything from him to defeat Chaos. This will save the humans, or at least this was what he believed. And this is how everything began.”

Gi-Gyu focused even more on Lim Hye-Sook’s story. Moreover, he wasn’t the only one engrossed in learning about the secret behind the world. Everyone in the room listened carefully.

“But it wasn’t an easy task. Babel was built according to his plan, but its required power exceeded his expectations.”

This made sense. How could Kronos have thought a weapon to kill God would be easy to make?

Gi-Gyu had already seen what the solution to Kronos’s problem was.

Lim Hye-Sook looked unhappy as she continued, “What happened next connected the world to Chaos. Sadly, there was no other choice, as they had to kill God and only dimensional essence could power Babel.”

Looking even more upset, Lim Hye-Sook added, “So he contemplated. Using the dimensional essence was one thing, but Kronos knew that those dimensions would be annihilated if he did this. He was doing this for humans, but he believed he couldn’t destroy all the other dimensions just to save humans.”

“...”

“So, he made a decision.” Lim Hye-Sook closed her eyes and mumbled, “Stealing God’s power simply to kill Chaos didn’t seem smart to him. He decided to destroy Chaos and become God with that same power.”

“...”

“Then, he planned on creating a new world.”

This was the beginning of everything.