The Player Who Can't Level Up

"Go ahead!” Bodhidharma urged.

Tao Chen chewed at his lips. Behind him, Aamon and Bodhidharma were fighting.

“Where do you think you’re going?! You foolish insects!” Aamon sounded furious. A massive amount of sorcerous energy flew toward Tao Chen and his army; again, it all disappeared like it never existed.

Fwoosh.

Bodhidharma ordered again, “Go!” He had protected them again.

Sun Won shouted, “The path is clear now.”

Finally, they had cleared a path through their enemies, but Tao Chen was still concerned about Bodhidharma.

Like Tao Chen, Sun Won and the other players were also concerned. They had a clear path now, but their enemies' number and Aamon’s seemingly ever-increasing strength were too great.

Tao Chen and his players wondered if they should stay and help Bodhidharma.

Grit.

Tao Chen clenched his teeth and muttered, “We must go now.”

As emotions ravaged his psyche, he continued, “We are useless here.”

Tao Chen’s voice was filled with anger and impuissance; it broke every player’s heart. Despite awakening a new status and skill, he was no match for Aamon. If not for Bodhidharma, they would’ve suffered a crushing defeat by now.

“Are you sure we should go?” Sun Won asked. “Bodhidharma may be a great fighter, but… And I know I have no right to judge him. But we have sparred with him before, haven’t we? So, we know…”

The elite players here had sparred with Bodhidharma before, and they all held the same belief: He was incredibly powerful, but…

Sun Won continued, “His skills and abilities are unmatched, but…”

As a player, Bodhidharma had the least amount of experience. On top of this, the monk didn’t hold much magic compared to the other players.

Tao Chen bit his lips again, aware he couldn’t waste more time hesitating. They needed to continue forward, or else they would be trapped here and fail. The more they delayed, the more time the president got to hide. Most likely, the enemy had already called for reinforcement. What if the reinforcement ended up trapping Gi-Gyu?

They would be annihilated. Tao Chen was deep in his worries when he heard Bodhidharma’s voice in his head.

-I can’t use my full power because of your army’s presence here. Hurry up and go. I won’t lose to this evil creature.

Bodhidharma sounded arrogant.

-Bodhidharma…

Tao Chen relaxed a little, feeling reassured. He announced, “We’re going now!”

Sun Won must have felt something from Tao Chen because he nodded.

Sun Won echoed Tao Chen’s order, “We’re heading out now!”

The players began moving forward. Tao Chen led them with his Green Dragon Crescent Blade held high.

“Ackkk! You bugs!” Aamon continued to scream, but its voice became more distant as Tao Chen rushed forward.

There was no guarantee Bodhidharma could kill Aamon, but…

‘I guess he’s confident he won’t lose,’ Tao Chen thought. It was no wonder Bodhidharma was Kim Gi-Gyu’s father. A faint smile finally appeared on Tao Chen’s lips.

Finally alone with the demon, Bodhidharma said to Aamon, “Now, let me show you what I can really do.”

“You arrogant bastard!”

Aamon’s flames grew, but it flinched when it saw Bodhidharma slowly forming different halves of the Taegeuk pattern with each hand.

Aamon flinched, sensing the incredible energy gathering inside the Taegeuk pattern. This energy couldn’t be compared to what Bodhidharma had shown so far.

The monk smiled bitterly. “It’s too bad I have to give up my son’s gift.”

The two halves came close to form a Taegeuk. Aamon tried his best to stop Bodhidharma, but it was useless.

“This is the end for you, Demon,” Bodhidharma declared.

“Ackkk!”

Finally, the two halves joined to form a true Taegeuk.

Fwoosh!

Bright light filled the space.

***

“W-who?” Gi-Gyu asked Lou in shock again.

Lou’s voice, unusually subdued now, was filled with disbelief.

-P-Paimon.

‘Paimon! So that red-haired demon wearing a white gown and a monocle is Paimon?!’

“Did you really say Paimon just now? But that can’t be!” Gi-Gyu shouted. “But you said Paimon was dead! And it was Andras who stole his legacy—”

Gi-Gyu stopped suddenly. After going through a few theories in his head, he came to the correct conclusion.

“Andras… brought him back, didn’t he?”

Meanwhile, Paimon only watched Gi-Gyu apathetically as if what was happening around him didn’t concern him at all.

-I-I’m confused too.

The greatest blacksmith of hell.

Old Man Hwang and his grandson Hwang Min-Su’s ancestor.

Min-Su was expected to become the greatest blacksmith only because he had Paimon’s blood running through his veins.

‘So this is Paimon, the greatest blacksmith.’ Gi-Gyu still couldn’t believe he was looking at Paimon.

Paimon finally said, “It appears that you’re with Lord Lucifer right now.”

Paimon looked amused as he stared at Lou in his sword form. A few seconds later, Lou materialized before Gi-Gyu in his human form.

Fwoosh.

“Oh… Your form…” Interest that teetered on the edge of being dangerous filled Paimon’s eyes.

Paimon was one of the few demons who hadn’t betrayed Lou and the most respected blacksmith of all time. Gi-Gyu assumed that Andras had used Paimon’s legacy to bring Paimon back, but he was still confused.

“How did this happen?” Lou asked.

Several furious Belphegors stood next to Paimon, while Leviathan didn’t move a muscle.

“As you can see, I am alive… again.” Paimon’s answer was useless, but he didn’t bother to hide his interest in Lou and Gi-Gyu.

Paimon continued, “I placed a backup plan in my legacy; sadly, none of my descendants had the capability to execute it. Andras took possession of my legacy and managed to bring me back. He could tell what it was that I wanted.”

Paimon’s white coat flapped around him. The red hair and the monocle did nothing to hide the demon’s madness.

“So I am alive again.”

Lou watched Paimon quietly.

Andras had revived Paimon, but was this Paimon the Paimon from before?

The greatest blacksmith who had remained loyal to Lou.

Was this Paimon faithful to Lou?

“I know what you’re curious about, but… I can’t answer that question.” Paimon smiled and opened his arms. “Because there is no time.”

He sounded annoyingly happy. At that very moment, both Lou and Gi-Gyu noticed a change. Lou hurriedly returned to his sword form, reappearing in Gi-Gyu’s hand.

Gi-Gyu didn’t hesitate. Hermes wasn’t fully charged yet, but he could still use it for a hot minute.

Fwoosh!

Hermes gleamed, Gi-Gyu kicked the ground, and time slowed for him.

‘I’m sorry, Mr. Hwang,’ Gi-Gyu silently apologized to Old Man Hwang. He wanted to learn more about Paimon and give Old Man Hwang a chance to meet the smithing demon.

But it was clear that Paimon was his enemy at the moment, and both Gi-Gyu and Lou felt that he was about to activate a trap. Gi-Gyu had no choice but to kill him.

In a blink of an eye, Gi-Gyu reached Paimon. Gi-Gyu was in the air, but there was still a smile on Paimon’s face as if he had no idea what was happening.

Slice!

Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Gi-Gyu slashed Paimon with Lou. Paimon had made an impressive appearance, but it was time for him to go.

“Hahaha, that won’t happen.” A small laugh was heard, making Gi-Gyu rigid.

Gi-Gyu had expected Paimon to split in half, but something blocked Lou.

“Grrrr.” One of the Belphegors that had transformed into a monster was stopping Lou with its mace.

It was a very familiar-looking mace.

***

Old Man Hwang watched the situation in confusion. He called out, “Chae-Il!”

Hwang Chae-Il replied, “I’m checking on it right now!”

Hwang Chae-Il had already started working on the problem because he knew something was strange.

Old Man Hwang looked anxious.

Hwang Chae-Il’s hands raced as he worked to find a solution.

“Master…?” Brunheart watched the screen and tilted her head.

Something felt wrong.

“I can’t feel him anymore…?” Brunheart whispered, realizing that she couldn’t feel Gi-Gyu’s presence. It was as if their sync had been disconnected, and she couldn’t understand why.

“How could this happen?” Old Man Hwang said in disbelief.

It wasn’t just the people in the room who had felt this sudden change. All of Gi-Gyu’s Egos in Eden had felt it. They were all heading toward the Sephiroth Tree.

The first one to arrive was El. “What happened?!”

“We lost contact with Gi-Gyu oppa!” Yoo-Bin entered next, followed by Lim Hye-Sook.

They all asked in shock, but no answer was offered. Old Man Hwang continued to stare at the screens, while Hwang Chae-Il's hands moved like a blur.

“Sir...” El slowed her breathing and stood next to the blacksmith. “What happened? I’ve lost my connection to my master.”

El couldn’t feel her sync to Gi-Gyu anymore. The anxiety made her tremble. All of Gi-Gyu’s Egos felt the same way.

Old Man Hwang turned to look at her. He had never looked more serious.

Old Man Hwang finally opened his mouth. “Look at that.”

He pointed at an area on the screen with unusual static. Nothing on that screen was moving, and it was filled with static.

But they could still see something on it.

“...!” El gasped.

“What’s going on, Unnie?” Yoo-Bin approached her and looked at the area Old Man Hwang was pointing at.

Yoo-Bin became rigid as well. Lim Hye-Sook looked at the screen and then placed her hand on Yoo-Bin’s shoulder.

Old Man Hwang finally opened his mouth. “Something might have happened to Gi-Gyu… I’m not sure.”

His voice trembled as he continued, “But I know one thing for certain.”

Old Man Hwang was still staring at the same screen. The last scene, seemingly engraved on the screen, displayed a giant orb materializing outside Eden.

Old Man Hwang announced, “There is a problem with us.”

They were done checking their situation.

Hwang Chae-Il also dropped his hands and explained, “It’s an enemy. Our enemy has placed a large-scale barrier around Eden.”

They had prepared for it, but none of them had thought something like this would happen. Their enemy was attacking Eden again.

Looking concerned, El offered, “I’ll gather everyone.”

“No need. It looks like everyone is already coming here.” Soo-Jung had a towel on her head because she had just taken a shower.

They could feel all of Eden’s creatures moving toward the Sephiroth Tree.