The Player Who Can't Level Up

‘Why aren’t they coming?’ Go Hyung-Chul looked at his watch impatiently. It was well past the time Gi-Gyu, Alberto, and El were supposed to arrive. On top of this, he could not contact them either.

-Can you hear me? Can you?!

Go Hyung-Chul screamed in frustration, but no reply came.

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

‘Dammit,’ he swore.

“Please come this way,” an association agent escorted the Vatican player. The player’s uniform indicated he was a high-ranking figure in the Vatican.

‘Dammit,’ Go Hyung-Chul swore again.

He had gained the powers of the Shadow Lord thanks to syncing with Gi-Gyu; it helped him find information with incredible stealth. After assimilating into the shadow of the person he was following, he could extract information like where they had been that day. Go Hyung-Chul could also hide inside a shadow to move around secretly.

However, the Vatican player’s aura was like a sharp knife stabbing at him.

‘They called it divine power, didn’t they?’

Go Hyung-Chul could sense that the Vatican player posed a serious threat to him. Was it because sorcerous energy was his power source now?

‘Or maybe this player is stronger than we thought.’ 

Go Hyung-Chul decided that this Vatican player might be a more important figure than his uniform suggested. Gi-Gyu and El had told him earlier that the Vatican players were likely angels. So, the Vatican player’s divine power was now eating away Go Hyung-Chul’s sorcerous energy.

Thankfully, the Vatican player hadn't noticed Go Hyung-Chul yet. And despite being unaware of his presence, the player was giving off enough energy to affect Go Hyung-Chul.

That wasn’t good.

‘Please…’

Just where were they? At this rate, Go Hyung-Chul might get detected and fall into grave danger.

Frustrated, Go Hyung-Chul tried to contact Gi-Gyu repeatedly but never got an answer. Meanwhile, the Vatican player was on his way to healing the unconscious criminal.

‘Dammit! Dammit! Just why…?!’ 

If something had happened to Gi-Gyu, he would know. After all, their shells and souls were connected. But Go Hyung-Chul couldn’t feel anything wrong with Gi-Gyu, which was why he found it so odd that they had lost contact.

‘I can’t do this alone.’ 

It wasn’t that Go Hyung-Chul hadn’t anticipated something like this. After all, he was an experienced informant and a high ranker.

Yet, he didn’t expect the Vatican player to be such a powerful figure.

‘He’s as powerful as a high ranker.’ 

Now that he was synced with Gi-Gyu, Go Hyung-Chul had enough power to defeat this player.

‘But then I will be taking too much risk.’ 

If a battle broke out, Go Hyung-Chul knew he couldn’t finish this player off quickly. If the fight dragged on, the situation would become even more complicated. He would end up at a disadvantage.

And there was one more thing Go Hyung-Chul didn’t expect. The player’s divine energy affected him much more than he could have ever imagined.

‘Please… Get here already.’ 

Go Hyung-Chul didn’t want to lose this chance because he might not get another one.

“We’ve arrived. The suspect you need to treat is inside this room, Cardinal Castro,” the association agent explained as they stood outside a door.

“All right. With God’s blessing, I shall go inside. I will be entering the room alone,” Cardinal Castro replied.

“But…”

“I’m not just a simple priest. Haven’t you received the message from the top?”

“O-of course, Sir.”

Still hidden, Go Hyung-Chul could hear the conversation between the Italian Player Association (IPA) agent and the Vatican player. Finally, he had learned the mysterious figure’s name and rank.

‘He’s a cardinal!” 

Cardinals were incredibly powerful individuals as they ranked right below the pope.

‘This could be it.’ Go Hyung-Chul couldn’t afford to lose this chance. If he could capture this cardinal or at least extract as much information from him as possible, Go Hyung-Chul knew he could learn a lot about the Vatican.

In the end, Go Hyung-Chul made the only decision he could make.

‘I’ll do it when he enters that room to treat the suspect.’ 

The cardinal would be alone only while treating the unconscious criminal. When Go Hyung-Chul made the decision, he felt better. He had always worked alone, so this wasn’t something new. Gi-Gyu’s presence or absence would change nothing.

“Then…” Cardinal Castro entered the room.

‘Ten, nine, eight…’ After counting down to one, Go Hyung-Chul would enter the cardinal’s shadow. When inside the room, he would restrain the cardinal. It was a simple plan, but it wouldn’t be easy to execute.

Go Hyung-Chul took a deep breath once.

-Can you hear me?

Suddenly, Gi-Gyu called out to him. Go Hyung-Chul’s eyes widened. He was so shocked that he almost shouted physically. But he screamed in his head at Gi-Gyu instead.

-Why are you getting back to me now?! The cardinal is already inside the criminal’s room. I don’t know where you are, but it’s too late. I’m going to go in alone.

Go Hyung-Chul was about to disconnect when Gi-Gyu replied,

-Stop! The plan is a no-go. It’s a trap! If you go in now, it’ll end very badly.

It was an order; Go Hyung-Chul couldn’t refuse Gi-Gyu’s orders. And at that very moment, a loud explosion occurred inside the suspect’s room.

Kaboom!

The association agent screamed, “What the hell?! Cardinal Castro!”

“Kwerrrk!” a beastly roar rang. The screaming beast gave off incredible sorcerous energy.

***

“Help… Help…” A dry voice left the even drier lips. He couldn’t remember how much time had passed and when he last had a drop of water. It was probably at least a month, probably more.

“This fucking body…” Because his body was too powerful, he couldn’t even die of starvation. He couldn’t even kill himself. His hands, sharp enough to pierce anything, couldn’t pierce his own body. Committing suicide was taboo, meaning his only salvation was for someone to find and kill him.

“Please help…” He begged for someone to rescue him. If that wasn’t possible, then…

“Someone find me and kill me already!”

His body could survive starvation, but his mind was in a worse state. He prayed and prayed to God. He also prayed to the one who might be connected to him.

“Fuck…”

However, no one answered Michael. His body was shockingly thin now; he was sprawled in his bed. The comfortable blanket made him want to fall asleep.

‘But I mustn’t…’ 

Michael knew he shouldn’t fall asleep. He couldn’t let go of his mind.

‘If I fall asleep, That bastard…’

He feared the one who had called him “stubborn” would steal his body. So, Michael endured. He didn’t sleep or eat to avoid getting his body stolen.

‘If he takes my body, it might create the greatest demon ever.’

And that wouldn’t be a demon with sorcerous energy. It would be worse—an evil creature who believed it was doing God’s work.

If he succeeded in stealing Michael’s body and became the most powerful figure, then…

‘Even you might be unable to defeat him, Kim Gi-Gyu.’

Kim Gi-Gyu, code name Morningstar, was the strongest player Michael had ever met. He had a saintess and a demon as his servants. He had an army of hundreds of thousands of monsters under him and even formed a territory on Earth in this modern world.

But even a monster like Kim Gi-Gyu couldn’t beat the pope if he got Michael’s body. Michael couldn’t believe how ignorant he had been. How could it be that he never saw through the pope’s charade? His power and his plan?

‘This stupid body.’ Michael resented his body for being so strong. His body was perfect, and he was like a monster himself that the pope had created. He had no idea how the pope managed to do this. All he knew was the name, Gabriel.

A terrible headache stabbed his brain. The more he thought, the more pain he felt. However, the pain made his time bearable, so he was glad.

“Thank goodness…”

This pain helped him ignore the other pain he felt. The pope had recently visited him, meaning he wouldn’t return for a while. After all, the pope had a lot of work to do.

Before leaving, the pope had said to Michael, “This world will soon be mine. That disgusting Andras couldn’t do it, but I will.”

It was like a declaration. And his first step toward that was taking over Europe wholly.

‘Does he want to be a hero?’ Michael wondered. Did the pope want to become a savior? A messiah?

“But it must not happen.” Whatever the pope wanted, Michael couldn’t let it happen.

He sat up with his back straight and hands held together. His body was too thin, but he knew he could restore it whenever he wished.

Michael began to pray silently.

‘Please, if there is God…’ 

Michael begged to be saved. The pope had taught him all the wrong things, but if God truly existed, Michael knew he would be saved so that he could save the world.

‘Please help me stop that creature who is more evil than the demons.’ 

But if God didn’t exist, then…

“Help me,” Michael said out loud. Kim Gi-Gyu was the only one he could trust. He was the only man who could fix this situation, save him, and stop the pope.

Michael had tried to contact Gi-Gyu countless times, but it hadn’t worked so far. However, he didn’t give up because he felt Gi-Gyu’s heartbeat from time to time. Michael could briefly feel a faint connection to him. At the same time, he could also feel power and comfort.

So far, there had yet to be an answer. Michael couldn’t be sure if Gi-Gyu even heard his voice. But as long as this connection existed, he refused to give up; he was getting tired.

Michael frowned. He wasn’t sure, but he felt Gi-Gyu had heard his voice, which made him wonder if Gi-Gyu was too stupid to realize where it was coming from.

The thought angered Michael; he screamed, “I said you gotta help me, you moron!”

-Michael?

To his shock, his prayer was answered.

***

“Michael…?” Gi-Gyu asked when he recognized the voice. It was still unclear, but the annoyed voice definitely belonged to the man who had called El a “saintess” and knelt before him.

The man had the appearance of Gabriel but used El’s old name.

“Michael!” Gi-Gyu shouted.

With a jolt, Alberto asked, “What’s wrong?!”

“Master…!” El had felt something too.

The terrible pain that had rung in his chest and ripped into his head disappeared.

“How did this happen? How…?” Gi-Gyu asked in surprise. He came to Italy to rescue Michael; somehow, he heard Michael’s voice in his head.

“Where the hell are you?! Michael! Michael!” Gi-Gyu yelled, but there was no answer.

“Dammit.” For a moment, Gi-Gyu thought he had found the biggest clue, but it seemed that he had lost contact.

“I can’t hear him anymore. I think he’s gone,” Gi-Gyu said to El.

“Not yet. I’ll help you. Please open your shell, and I’ll protect the others,” El replied quickly.

Gi-Gyu didn’t hesitate long.

Fwoosh.

A strange energy filled the car.

“Mr. Morningstar!” Alberto felt like he couldn’t breathe for a second. But El must have done something because he looked a little better. Alberto stopped the car on the side of the road and placed a barrier around them. He made sure the explosion of energy didn’t escape the vehicle.

“Ugh…” El groaned in pain. “The connection is weakening… Please hurry…”

Gi-Gyu nodded and yelled, “Michael! Where are you?! Are you really in the Vatican? Where is the Vatican?”

Gi-Gyu tried to ask just the most important questions as quickly as possible.

-The pope… The association… The Colosseum…Stop… the cardinal…

Michael’s messages came in pieces.

“...!” Suddenly, Gi-Gyu figured it out. He wasn’t entirely sure, but it was all he had.

“Master, I lost him.” El was sweating heavily. She had to seemingly expended much of her power to maintain that brief connection. She looked very pale.

Gi-Gyu nodded and closed his shell. He needed to hurry and send a message to Go Hyung-Chul if his guess was correct.

“Hey, can you hear me?”

-Why are you getting back to me now?! The cardinal is already inside the criminal’s room. I don’t know where you are, but it’s too late. I’m going to go in alone.

Thankfully, Gi-Gyu could hear Go Hyung-Chul’s voice, and it appeared that he wasn’t too late.

-Stop. The plan is a no-go. It’s a trap. If you go in now, it’ll end very badly.

The Colosseum was where the association was located. This was the only thing Gi-Gyu could think of that Michael would warn him about.

“The Vatican player is up to something. It might be a trap,” Gi-Gyu continued to speak to Go Hyung-Chul, but when he felt something was wrong, he got out of the car.

Gi-Gyu said to Alberto, “Dammit! Alberto! I’ll get there faster on my feet!”

“Morningstar!”