The Player Who Can't Level Up

Sun Won frowned because the man's answer was odd.

‘A child’s father?’ Sun Won thought in frustration. Did the man, who also looked like a monk, want to have a deep, meaningful conversation with another monk?

Although Sun Won was annoyed, he didn’t act disrespectfully. He asked, “Whom may you be, Sir? I am but an ignorant monk, so I cannot understand you.”

The chilling energy this man gave off was extraordinary. It wasn’t something one could gain by merely leveling up; only a wise man could gain it through enlightenment.

‘I didn’t know there was a man who could give off such energy in this world,’ Sun Won wondered in awe.

The man finally stood up, and Sun Won was again reminded of how familiar this man looked.

Who was he?

Frustration filled Sun Won because he just couldn’t figure out where he had seen this man before.

The man shyly looked away and mumbled, “As I said, I’m just a child’s father.”

With a short shrug, he added, “He hasn’t acknowledged me yet, but I hope to become his father.”

It was obvious this man was a Buddhist monk, so how could he have a child? Was he an apostate monk?

‘What child is he talking about?’ Sun Won’s train of thought stopped when he felt subtle but distinct energy. Whoever was approaching them was giving off this energy on purpose.

Knowing who it was, Sun Won bowed deeply toward the newcomer and gave him the fist-in-palm salute.

Sun Won announced, “Greetings to the true master of the Shaolin Temple.”

“No.” Gi-Gyu shook his head as he walked up to Sun Won with Tao Chen. Gi-Gyu stopped in front of the mysterious monk and added, “I’m not the master of Shaolin Temple.”

“Oh!” Sun Won turned toward the stranger in confusion. Suddenly, Sun Won realized that he had made a mistake. This man could be an enemy, which meant he had unintentionally put Gi-Gyu in danger.

Sun Won tried to make a move.

However, Gi-Gyu announced, “That man is the real master of this temple.”

The announcement shocked Sun Won, and he froze on the spot.

Tao Chen turned toward the mysterious monk with interest and mumbled, “Oh, so this is the gentleman.”

“I am the man who wants to become this child’s father…” The monk returned the fist-in-palm salute. He seemed uncertain about how to introduce himself. He glanced at Gi-Gyu before continuing, “I am no longer a monk, therefore… Please call me Jayavarman.”

“Jayavarman?” Gi-Gyu felt confused but nodded. He knew the monk as Bodhidharma, so why had he introduced himself using an unfamiliar name?

“H-huh?!” Sun Won jolted and shuddered. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped to the floor.

“B-Bodhidharma!” Sun Won gasped. Jayavarman was Bodhidharma’s name before he became a monk. He was the Khmer Empire’s king before he became a monk. Sun Won had finally recognized the man. He looked familiar to Sun Won because Sun Won had seen a portrait of him. The portrait wasn’t a one-to-one copy of the man, but Sun Won was certain of the man’s identity now.

“How?!” It looked like Sun Won was about to faint.

***

Sagrad was Bodhidharma’s consciousness, and Gi-Gyu had captured it. He had synced with Bodhidharma, but there was one problem: The monk’s soul wasn’t perfect.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this before,” Gi-Gyu explained.

Bodhidharma’s soul wasn’t in perfect condition, just as he had said. It was a mere fragment of the original left for future generations.

Gi-Gyu didn’t have much experience with dealing with fragments. On top of this, he had never formed an Ego using just a fragment. Therefore, his sync with it wasn’t normal. And he also couldn’t give it a normal physical body.

After discussing the problem with his Eden beings, Gi-Gyu had accumulated all the remaining God power in the secret room and left. It was then that Gi-Gyu realized that the clay soldier couldn’t move despite being synced with him because it didn’t have consciousness.

On the other hand, Bodhidharma, also synced with Gi-Gyu, couldn’t move because he didn’t have a physical body. So, in the end, Gi-Gyu injected Bodhidharma into the clay soldier, and everything worked out.

“So that clay soldier protecting the space was…” Sun Won whispered.

“That was originally my body. My consciousness lived in the room, while my physical body remained outside to protect it,” Jayavarman answered.

The clay soldier was Bodhidharma’s physical body. This way Gi-Gyu could inject the fragmented Ego into it without fear of rejection. Finally, Bodhidharma had a body and could descend into the modern world.

“I can’t believe that… Bodhidharma has returned.” Sun Won was in awe. This had to be a historical event for all the monks and Chinese people.

Gi-Gyu said to Sun Won, “Please keep this a secret. I don’t want to cause a big turmoil. And although he will still follow Buddhism, he doesn’t want to live as a monk in this life.”

In fact, Jayavarman wanted to follow Gi-Gyu. Apparently, he wanted to fulfill his role as Gi-Gyu’s Ego and father.

This troubled Gi-Gyu.

‘Is it really okay to think of Bodhidharma as my father?’ Gi-Gyu wondered. Although both Bodhidharma and Kim Se-Jin were copies of the same creature and had lived similar lives, they were obviously two different men.

Bodhidharma seemed to have guessed Gi-Gyu's thoughts. With a kind smile, he explained, “I will think of you as my son, but that’s just me. Please do not feel burdened by it. And if you feel uncomfortable, I will keep this to myself. I will be careful.”

“That’s not it. I just… Anyway”—Gi-Gyu turned toward Sun Won—“I hope you can keep this to yourself.”

“O-of course!” Sun Won rose quickly in excitement. He acted like a child, making it hard to believe he was the Shaolin Temple’s head monk.

Sun Won performed the fist-in-palm salute again and greeted, “It is an honor to meet you, Bodhidharma.”

Bodhidharma nodded with a generous smile, and Sun Won looked like he was about to cry joyfully.

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu sighed.

Sun Won’s current demeanor was alarming. The restrictions that once limited Sun Won had been lifted. He would no longer lose his memories because the secret room had ceased to exist.

Shockingly, the Shaolin Temple’s real master and progenitor, Bodhidharma, had returned. Sun Won looked like he was going to pee his pants.

Gi-Gyu solemnly told Sun Won, “We must execute our plan flawlessly.”

“Of course!” Sun Won replied enthusiastically.

Gi-Gyu closed his eyes after taking one last look at Bodhidharma. He wanted to chat with the monk, but it would have to wait. Gi-Gyu wished for Bodhidharma to stay in China and take care of the Shaolin Temple.

-If that is what you wish, I will.

Gi-Gyu suddenly heard Bodhidharma’s voice in his head.

‘Ah.’ Gi-Gyu remembered that this man was now his Ego.

A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.

“Monk.” Tao Chen, who had been keeping quiet, called out to Bodhidharma.

With the same kind expression, he looked at Tao Chen.

Tao Chen requested, “May I ask you for a spar? You invented Shaolin—no, you invented what is known as Chinese martial arts—”

Before Tao Chen even finished his sentence, Bodhidharma replied, “Of course.”

A sharp look appeared in the monk’s eyes.

‘All of Kronos’ copies were born as him and led similar lives, but I guess because they weren’t exactly the same. Their personalities varied.’ 

They had a few differences, but they all had one thing in common: They loved their sons.

‘Quite unlike the original.’

***

“Hahaha…” An awkward laugh escaped from the gate that floated in front of Gi-Gyu like a mirror.

It was from Old Man Hwang.

Old Man Hwang muttered, “So Bodhidharma is a past version of your father. And every copy left something for the others down the line.”

The elderly blacksmith seemed in disbelief as he continued, “Bodhidharma has become…”

“Indeed.”

“Your Ego and is currently with you in the Shaolin Temple.”

“Yes, he is currently sparring with Tao Chen.” Suddenly, Gi-Gyu seemed to have remembered something. He added, “Bodhidharma is actually sparring with many other players too. He seemed both pleased and saddened by the changes in his martial arts. And he was shocked by the existence of players.”

“Hahaha…” Old Man Hwang laughed, still in disbelief.

Gi-Gyu could understand how he must be feeling. Even as he explained what had happened, he felt like it was all a dream.

“If anyone else had told me this story, I wouldn’t have believed them, young man,” Old Man Hwang muttered.

“Well… But didn’t you already feel something?” asked Gi-Gyu. Old Man Hwang and his other Egos should have felt a powerful addition when Gi-Gyu synced with Bodhidharma.

“Yes, I did. Anyway, is everything going well over there?”

“Yes,” Gi-Gyu answered.

Tao Chen’s coup would begin tomorrow. This coup would last only a day, so it would also end tomorrow. The Chinese people had suffered enough. They were screaming for help, and although they didn’t even know what or who Andras was, they wouldn’t hinder Tao Chen’s coup. Much of the public was already on his side.

“The only thing left to do is get rid of the current president and replace him with a new one,” Gi-Gyu explained. It was a simple plan, and what would happen afterward wasn’t his problem.

Whatever happened to China was none of Gi-Gyu’s business.

Old Man Hwang nodded in agreement. “Indeed, you shouldn’t have to worry about that.”

Unlike Gi-Gyu, the blacksmith seemed worried about the people of China, though.

“Many things will change, I suppose,” Old Man Hwang whispered. However, the blacksmith and Gi-Gyu knew the change had begun long ago. What Gi-Gyu was about to do would only further push them toward the inevitable.

Just then, an arrogant voice called out, “Hey.”

It was Lou who had remained in Eden to recover and train. Lou’s goal was apparently to become strong enough to defeat Gi-Gyu, who had unified with Jupiter.

Scratching his cheek awkwardly, Lou asked, “So… how are you feeling?”

Gi-Gyu grinned and replied, “I’m fine. After taking God’s power from the temple, I feel much more stable now.”

“Hmm…” Lou thought for a moment. “It looks like my guess was correct.”

“I guess so.”

“Much of your God power must have been used to deal with Jupiter. The rest is probably somewhere in your body.”

Gi-Gyu agreed with Lou.

Lou continued, “Not only that. The Chaos energy inside you… I’m guessing part of God’s power was used to suppress it. But when Jupiter’s seal disappeared…” He trailed off.

Gi-Gyu continued for him. “God’s power must have lost its purpose. So it probably dispersed; consequently, I couldn’t feel it anymore.”

“And every time you used your power, nothing would be left to suppress Chaos, leaving you feeling overwhelmed every time.”

Gi-Gyu nodded in agreement. His guess was the same as Lou’s theory.

There was actually one proof to support this theory.

“Now that you have gained more of God’s power, your body has learned to suppress Chaos again.”

“Yeah,” replied Gi-Gyu.

The problem was…

Lou warned, “You better hurry up and find the new portion of God’s power you have gained and get good control over it.”

Lou was in his child’s form, so the serious expression on his face looked awkward. Then again, he wasn’t really a child.

Lou continued, “You shouldn’t have any big problems now or in the future. If and when Chaos tries to swallow you whole, God’s power will show up and stop it. But the problem is…”

“God’s power won’t make an appearance unless something dire happens.”

“Exactly. You might end up experiencing the same symptoms as before during your future battles.”

This could be very dangerous for Gi-Gyu.

However, Gi-Gyu nodded, relieved that he at least had an explanation for what had happened.

“Well… I’ll be waiting here, so hurry up and call for me.” Lou sounded impatient.

‘Has he become even more powerful?’ Gi-Gyu became curious, but this wasn’t the time to find out.

Gi-Gyu nodded, ready to close the gate. Tomorrow was the big day, so he needed to make some preparations. But Lou’s voice stopped him from leaving.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Umm…” Lou asked cautiously, “Is Kronos’s copy really that powerful?”

Gi-Gyu laughed. Was Lou worried he would no longer be the second-strongest creature after Gi-Gyu? Or was he just curious as a fellow fighter like Tao Chen?

Behind Lou, El stood and cheered for Gi-Gyu, “Good luck, Master!”

Her voice sounded especially encouraging today. Gi-Gyu couldn’t wait to finish his business here and return home.

***

The Chinese presidential palace was located in the Central South Sea.

“Please come this way!” The players dispatched to protect the civilians ushered the non-players to safety.

Around the presidential palace, the biggest barrier in history appeared. This would be the center of Tao Chen’s coup.

However, inside the presidential palace, the Chinese President smiled mysteriously and whispered, “They’re later than I expected.”