The Player Who Can't Level Up

Before Go Hyung-Chul got into a fight with the local druggies, Alberto had given Gi-Gyu and El a tour of Rome. Hamiel and the others, however, were trying to find a trace of other angels.

“This tastes great.” Gi-Gyu licked his ice cream, standing before Capitoline Hill. “El, are you sure you don’t want one too? Would you like a taste of mine?”

Gi-Gyu offered his cone filled with melting ice cream which was also slathered with his spit.

“No, never mind. It’s got my saliva all over it. It’s too dirty.” Gi-Gyu admitted his mistake and retrieved his hand.

“...” El seemed shocked, but Gi-Gyu didn’t notice.

Alberto, who was also eating ice cream, commented, “Mr. Morningstar, you have no manners.”

Gi-Gyu and Alberto had become friends quickly. Perhaps it was because Alberto was an optimistic person. Or maybe it was because as the branch manager, he had to be friendly and possess great social skills.

‘Maybe I like him because he’s so much like Sung-Hoon.’ Gi-Gyu took a bite of his ice cream and smiled.

Gi-Gyu replied, “By the way, you’re good at this, huh?”

“Well, I didn’t become the branch manager for my soccer skill, that’s for sure,” Alberto mumbled with his mouth full of ice cream.

They were touring Capitoline Hill, a trendy tourist place in Rome. Gi-Gyu and El were two enthralling individuals, but no one stared at them even though it would’ve been the normal reaction. This was all thanks to Alberto’s ability.

Gi-Gyu had a guess about Alberto’s level the moment they had met. Alberto wasn’t weak, but he wasn’t a high ranker either.

“I’m a pretty famous support-category player. Then again, it is nothing to brag about before you, Mr. Morningstar,” Alberto explained. His level was low, but he had incredible skills and a unique job. He could expertly use all of his countless support skills.

Alberto had used his Cognitive Impairment skill on Gi-Gyu and El so that the ordinary public wouldn’t pay them any attention.

If an unusually powerful player appeared or someone high up in the Caravan Guild showed up, things might be different. But Gi-Gyu had already made plans for such a situation. Using their temporary sync, he had connected to Alberto’s skills. Now, only those stronger than Gi-Gyu or with special detection skills could see through this.

‘I could use the Halloween skill, but…’

Gi-Gyu had the skill named Halloween, which he had gained when he synced with Rohan. He could change his appearance using it, and only the strongest could see through the change then.

But the skill couldn’t be used on El and had other annoying limitations. This was why Gi-Gyu had accepted Alberto’s help.

“Hmm…”

“What’s wrong?” Alberto asked.

“Something feels strange.” Gi-Gyu looked around and replied, “I can see that these are just normal people going about their everyday lives, but…”

The scene before him just felt odd. He turned toward El and saw that she also seemed a little rigid.

“It might be because”—Alberto opened his mouth—“Rome’s crime rate has gone up lately. Murders and arson are occurring more frequently.”

“...”

“The government is trying to hide it to the best of its abilities, but the locals can feel something is wrong. The police department’s players are trying to catch these criminals, but…” With concern in his eyes, Alberto said, “They either return injured, or we receive reports of police brutality. We have to regularly dispatch a lot of players, which is a huge problem.”

This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

“Police brutality?” asked Gi-Gyu.

Alberto looked around hesitantly before he whispered, “I’m talking about the criminals dying.”

“I’m guessing most of these criminals are players?” The situation would be illogical otherwise. After all, the police department’s players weren’t weak, so how could non-players injure them or even force them to do something brutal?

“That’s the problem,” Alberto replied.

“Pardon?”

“Most of the criminals are actually non-players.”

When Alberto answered, Gi-Gyu and El looked at each other.

***

After concluding everything on today’s agenda, Gi-Gyu and El returned to the hotel. They hadn’t learned anything useful; they still couldn’t help feeling like something was wrong.

Thump.

Also, Gi-Gyu’s heart pounded at random periods.

“Master! Are you okay?”

“Ah, yeah.”

Gi-Gyu’s answer was calm, but El couldn’t help feeling worried. She asked, “May I examine you?”

They were alone in a luxury hotel room.

Gi-Gyu replied, “No, I’ve already checked myself. You don’t have to worry.”

Gi-Gyu didn’t want to worry El, but she still seemed unsatisfied.

Gi-Gyu continued, “Something’s very wrong.”

“Are you talking about the non-players being able to injure the players?”

“Yes, but there is more…” Gi-Gyu trailed off.

They had spent all day in Rome and found it unusually peaceful.

Alberto had explained the reason. “Just like most crimes… These things seem to only happen at night.”

During the day, everything seemed normal, which was why the government could hide the increasing crime rate and continue accepting tourists. But there was one more odd thing.

“According to Alberto, Italy is now in the hands of the Caravan Guild,” said Gi-Gyu.

The Caravan Guild, with the help of the Vatican, was now controlling the entire Europe. Gi-Gyu suspected the Caravan Guild had a huge presence in Europe.

“Yet I rarely sensed people with sorcerous energy here,” Gi-Gyu mumbled. Italy seemed cleaner than Korea. Moreover, Gi-Gyu had sensed more Caravan Guild members in Korea than here.

There were, of course, some in Rome too, but fewer than in Korea.

“And lastly…”

“Yes, Master?”

“According to Go Hyung-Chul, the Vatican took the First Potion.”

When El nodded, Gi-Gyu continued, “But what we know of the Vatican suggests that this group is made of…”

El turned rigid, knowing what Gi-Gyu was about to say.

“The Vatican must be made of angels… Very few angels can survive being overtaken by sorcerous energy. This means…” Gi-Gyu closed his eyes, guessing that all Vatican angels must have gone corrupt.

If not, then there was only one other possibility.

“Just what are they using the First Potion for?” Gi-Gyu wondered. The angels might have become corrupt after colluding with the Caravan Guild, but the process of angels becoming corrupt was much more complicated than Gi-Gyu knew.

The usefulness of the First Potion to the Vatican Angels confused Gi-Gyu the most. Paimon had previously told him the First Potion’s basic ingredients. And one of them was actually the essence of Satan.

To be precise, the First Potion was the essence of sorcerous energy and Chaos. Satan, once trapped underneath Chaos, had absorbed a part of Lou’s data and Chaos itself. Also, they suspected that Satan was currently within Ha Song-Su.

Paimon explained, “The First Potion’s intended purpose was to create demons with power comparable to seat holders. And in the process to achieve that…”

Andras had created countless hell kings. He was still perfecting it because the current clones had fatal problems.

Therefore, the angels would have a difficult time using it. But once Gi-Gyu figured out the Vatican’s true identity, he knew he would learn more about this.

“El, let’s go,” Gi-Gyu announced. It was finally dark outside, the perfect time to witness these special criminals. There was obviously something very abnormal about these people.

‘I think they hold the key to everything.’ Gi-Gyu stood up. Alberto had asked them not to leave the hotel at night, but Gi-Gyu wasn’t obligated to obey Alberto. If something happened, their relationship might get strained, which would mean they might not get further help from Alberto.

“But if we don’t do something, nothing will change,” Gi-Gyu said to El. They couldn’t just waste their time touring the city.

“All right.” El followed Gi-Gyu without arguing. They put on their jackets and were about to leave when, suddenly, Go Hyung-Chul popped out from Gi-Gyu’s shadow.

Whoosh.

“Where are you guys going?” asked Go Hyung-Chul.

Looking at him in confusion, Gi-Gyu asked, “What do you have in your hands?”

“Oh, these?” Go Hyung-Chul held several men in his hands. “I think I found a clue.”

Go Hyung-Chul smiled brightly.

***

“So… they picked a fight with you, so you caught them and brought them here? Did I get this right?” Gi-Gyu asked Go Hyung-Chul with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Go Hyung-Chul had gone out to gather information about the Vatican; instead, he had returned with a bunch of non-players. And apparently, he had done this because they tried to pick a fight with him.

“Well, if you say it like that, it sounds bad, but… Yes, that’s basically what happened,” Go Hyung-Chul answered.

“So how”—Gi-Gyu narrowed his eyes—“can you be so unapologetic about this?”

Go Hyung-Chul was looking at him with his arms crossed. It looked like he was expecting praise from Gi-Gyu.

Gi-Gyu rubbed his forehead. ‘Does he think he is some puppy out to bring home sticks? Why would he kidnap these men just because they picked a fight with him?’

“Hmph.” Go Hyung-Chul smirked. “It looks like you don’t understand the situation. I’m telling you these men are clues.”

“...?”

“See? Look.” Go Hyung-Chul raised his hand.

“Hey! What are you doing?!” Gi-Gyu screamed, but Go Hyung-Chul didn’t stop.

Whack!

Go Hyung-Chul hit one of the non-players’ heads. He didn’t use his full strength, but that should have killed the non-player. It had happened so fast that Gi-Gyu couldn’t even stop him.

But now, Gi-Gyu and El watched the result in shock.

“See? Look!” Go Hyung-Chul announced proudly.

“Huh?” Gi-Gyu stared. The non-player had fainted, but he didn’t die.

Go Hyung-Chul explained, “You guys can sense that they are non-players, right?”

Gi-Gyu could indeed feel no magic from these people.

“If you don’t believe me, you try it yourself.” When Go Hyung-Chul suggested, Gi-Gyu nodded. He now understood what was happening here.

El said quietly, “Master, these must be the criminals Alberto mentioned.”

Just as El had stated, these were Rome’s troublesome criminals who could harm players. Gi-Gyu walked up to one of them to ascertain something.

“El, if something goes wrong, please heal him immediately,” Gi-Gyu ordered.

“Yes, Master.”

Gi-Gyu gathered a bit of his power, just enough to kill a non-player.

Whack!

The moment Gi-Gyu hit one of the non-players’ head, he heard a man’s voice.

“What are you doing?”

Everyone turned toward the door to find Alberto standing at the entrance.

“Alberto, what are you doing there?” Gi-Gyu gaped as he stared at Alberto first before looking down at the non-player he had hit just now. “Ah… This isn’t what it looks like…”

Gi-Gyu couldn’t help sounding guilty.

‘But wait, I didn’t actually do anything wrong, did I?’

***

Thanks to his special skills, Alberto could walk around while hiding his energy. He was considered one of the best in this field. Because he had hidden his presence so well and revealed no hostility toward Gi-Gyu, Gi-Gyu could not detect him.

There was an urgent matter, so Alberto had opened the door to Gi-Gyu’s room without knocking. And the door was unlocked because Gi-Gyu was about to leave.

“Haa… You scared me there for a second.” It looked like Alberto was really shocked.

In front of them were the non-players who remained unconscious. Alberto had walked in to see Gi-Gyu hit one of them, so it made sense that Alberto misunderstood the situation.

“Well, I thought that if you meant to kill them, I knew no one could stop you, Mr. Morningstar. I assumed you would kill me too for witnessing this, so I didn’t bother running,” Alberto explained. In that brief moment, Alberto thought Gi-Gyu might have lost control over himself. If this were the case, he would be willing to stay and contain the situation even though he knew it meant he would die trying.

“I’m glad we cleared things now.” Gi-Gyu scratched his cheek awkwardly. They had talked for a while, but the non-players still hadn’t woken up.

“All I did was make them unconscious,” Go Hyung-Chul explained when Gi-Gyu thought he had done something to them.

“I don’t think…” Alberto, who finally seemed to understand the situation, murmured. “They are going to wake up.”

Deep worry filled Alberto’s face.