The Player Who Can't Level Up

“Uwahhhh!” a child, who looked to be about three years old, cried out. Delicate features graced her petite face, promising to blossom into stunning looks. Her natural beauty was evident even at such an early age.

The child continued to cry.

“My goodness!” A woman nearby finally realized the child was crying and ran toward her. The woman was also beautiful and looked too young to be the girl’s mother. There was also no resemblance between the two.

The woman quickly picked up the little girl.

“Uwahhh!”

“Princess! Why are you crying?” The woman tried to console the child. “Princess! What’s wrong?”

“Mommy! Mommy!”

“Oh, you want to see your mommy?”

The child slowly stopped crying as she whispered, “Gran…ny…”

The child had seemingly changed her mind. She now wanted to see her grandmother instead of her mother. The woman smiled and replied, “Ah, so you want to go see your granny?”

“Yes!” The child stopped crying altogether and laughed adorably. The woman rubbed her chin against the child’s cheeks and exclaimed, “You’re too cute!”

The woman carried the little girl and walked past a small flower garden. When she entered a cabin, a woman, too young to be a grandmother, greeted, “Oh, there you are, Princess!”

“Granny!” the child exclaimed.

The child smiled widely and hugged the shockingly beautiful woman.

The woman who had brought the child here frowned and wondered, “Why do you think she doesn’t like me?”

“It’s not that she doesn’t like you. You just need a little more experience.”

The grandmother hugged the child even tighter, and the child began dozing off. Just then, the wooden door creaked as it opened. The child was about to fall asleep, so she frowned at the interruption. But when she saw the newcomer, the child yelled in excitement, “Mommy!”

“Greetings.” The two women bowed deeply toward the woman who had walked in.

The child’s mother waved her hands and protested, “I told you not to treat me like that! Please think of me as your granddaughter and friend.”

When the child reached her mother, she burst into laughter.

El, the child’s mother, smiled and thanked the two women, “I'm deeply grateful to you for looking after Do-Bin, Yoo-Bin and Adviser Lim Hye-Sook.”

***

“Haa…” Yoo-Bin sighed after El, considered the mother of Eden, and Do-Bin had left. A while back, Yoo-Bin and Hye-Sook had offered to look after the children in Eden.

Hye-Sook asked Yoo-Bin, “Are you disappointed?”

They were still inside the cabin, which was empty now. It was unusually quiet today, as it was usually filled with children.

“It’s a special day today, so I don’t mind. Besides, it’s nice to have a day off.” Yoo-Bin gave the adviser her best smile, but it was clear that she was a little disappointed. Yoo-Bin loved children, which had led her to become a highly sought-after nanny for the children of important figures in Eden.

Due to Yoo-Bin and Hye-Sook’s reputation as excellent caregivers, many people wanted their children in their care. This was why the people of Eden had given Yoo-Bin and Hye-Sook a gift.

[Eden Kindergarten]

The sign on the cabin looked impressive.

“I still can’t believe they made the sign out of ether…” Lim Hye-Sook shook her head in disbelief even as she smiled. Paimon and Old Man Hwang had improved the material called ether, and the new version was now the most expensive material in the world. Most people weren’t even aware of the material’s existence.

‘If I sell that sign, I’ll probably become the richest person in the outside world.’ But of course, Lim Hye-Sook would never do something like that.

“Anyway, I wasn’t asking you about that, Yoo-Bin.”

“Pardon?” Yoo-Bin looked confused.

“Didn’t you like Kim Gi-Gyu as well?” When Hye-Sook asked, Yoo-Bin turned bright red. It was true that Yoo-Bin liked Gi-Gyu before.

Yoo-Bin explained, “Yes, but it wasn’t like that. I just admired him, that’s all.”

Hye-Sook smiled sadly. “All right.”

A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled.

‘It’s because of El,’ thought Hye-Sook. Gi-Gyu was madly in love with El, which meant that Yoo-Bin had no chance. Also, Yoo-Bin could not date humans because of the side effects of that Asmodeus piece. Yoo-Bin had almost died before, but she had survived thanks to gaining a piece of Asmodeus. She had actually become stronger than before.

Unfortunately, the Asmodeus piece carried with it a side effect, including the inability to love a human being. At first, Yoo-Bin was shocked and upset, but she had accepted her fate by now.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. Hye-Sook smiled. The kindergarten was closed for the day, so she knew exactly who was at the door.

“Please come in,” Hye-Sook said quietly.

The door creaked open, and two men in expensive suits appeared. The younger man looked incredibly powerful, while the older man was a handsome middle-aged man.

“Are you all ready?” the older man asked.

“Not yet.” Hye-Sook shook her head. “But we’ll hurry.”

While Hye-Sook and the older man chatted, Yoo-Bin and the powerful-looking man looked at each other.

“Give us a minute.” Hye-Sook took Yoo-Bin away so they could change. When they returned, Hye-Sook took the older man’s arm while Yoo-Bin stood beside the younger man shyly.

“Let’s go, Tae-Gu oppa,” said Hye-Sook.

Strange was the fact that such a young woman had been addressed as “Granny” before, but stranger was her calling the middle-aged man “Oppa.”

However, Tae-Shik’s father, Oh Tae-Gu, nodded and replied, “Of course.”

Hal, the powerful-looking man, said to Yoo-Bin in a slightly gloomy voice, “You look especially beautiful today.”

When Yoo-Bin blushed, Hal took her hand and added, “Let’s go.”

***

“Why are they so late?” Gi-Gyu looked frustrated as he tapped the table.

“I’m sure they’ll be here soon.” El smiled patiently.

It was well past the meeting time, yet some guests hadn't arrived.

El asked, “Your mother is doing well, right?

El was still busy as ever running Eden. After giving birth to Do-Bin, Gi-Gyu suggested that perhaps she should step down, but she had refused.

El had smiled and explained, “After all, I’m not an average woman.”

Despite her long work hours, she always spent quality time with Do-Bin. Stamina was never an issue for her.

“Mom’s busy… raising Soo-Bin now,” Gi-Gyu replied awkwardly. Oh Soo-Bin was Tae-Shik and Su-Jin’s newborn baby girl. Getting a new sister had come as a shock to Gi-Gyu. However, because Soo-Bin was extremely shy, Gi-Gyu rarely saw her, despite her being the same age as his daughter.

“Tae-Shik hyung and Mother have been neglecting me because they’re busy with Soo-Bin,” Gi-Gyu grumbled.

“They got married years ago, so you should really stop calling him ‘hyung.’”

“But….” Gi-Gyu was torn. He now had a stepfather, but Gi-Gyu kept his last name Kim. It was all very awkward, and he even wondered if he had made a mistake by encouraging Tae-Shik to pursue his mother. But whenever he saw the joy on their faces, especially after the arrival of their newborn daughter Soo-Bin, Gi-Gyu was assured that he had made the correct choice.

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu sighed again after looking at his watch. It was two hours past the meeting time. He was getting angry when a man walked in.

“Sorry, I’m late.”

“Where the hell have you been?” Gi-Gyu demanded to know.

“I was sleeping.”

“...”

Do-Bin ran toward the man and exclaimed, “Uncle!”

Lou picked her up unapologetically. Lou now ruled Eden with El. His body had been perfected, and he was currently wearing a nice suit. Lou looked gorgeous enough to make any man or woman fall in love with him.

“Gosh, Lou, when will you grow up, huh?” Gi-Gyu muttered.

“I’m older than you, idiot. You’re the one who needs to grow up.” Turning toward Do-Bin, Lou whispered, “Do-Bin, you look as pretty as ever, sweetie.”

“You’re pretty too, Uncle!” When Do-Bin yelled, Lou, Gi-Gyu, and El grinned.

“Well, I guess they are even worse than you, Lou,” Gi-Gyu whispered. Two couples still hadn’t arrived. It was ironic because one of these couples had actually requested this meeting.

Lou replied, “You have all the time in the world, so be patient.”

“Do you think El gets many days off nowadays? Frankly, I would love to take El and Do-Bin and run away. I should be enjoying my time with them, not you,” Gi-Gyu protested.

“Ha! Jokes on you because this place suits Do-Bin the best. She belongs here.”

Lou was right. Do-Bin was special. How could she not be? She was the offspring of the queen of all angels and the only god of this world.

Crack.

Lou, El, and Gi-Gyu heard a loud sound and turned quickly.

“Hehe, I broke it.” Do-Bin smiled widely. In her hand was a training sword Paimon had made for her. The training weapon could even easily hold Death, but she had snapped it like a twig.

“...”

“...”

“...”

The three stared at the little girl in awe. After a few minutes of silence, Gi-Gyu murmured, “Umm, I guess I better ask Paimon to fix it…”

A chilling expression appeared on Lou’s face as he warned, “You need to teach her to control her strength.”

“I’m not doing that on purpose. If anyone bullies her, she’ll know exactly what to do.” When Gi-Gyu said proudly, El pinched his leg.

Just then, another couple appeared. Gi-Gyu announced sarcastically, “I’m so honored by your presence.”

“Sorry, sorry!” the man apologized.

“Sorry! Ah, you’re already here, Lou!” the woman greeted.

Lou said to them quietly, “You guys are totally late.”

The newly arrived couple was Yoo-Jung and Suk-Woo. They were still dating, and they had asked for this meeting.

Gi-Gyu asked, “So what is it you want to announce today?”

“Hmm? But shouldn’t we wait for Jupiter and Soo-Jung? Are they here?” asked Yoo-Jung.

“Not yet.”

“Hmm…” Yoo-Jung and Suk-Woo considered their options before finally reaching a decision.

Yoo-Jung whispered to Suk-Woo, “We should just tell them now, right?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Turning toward the other, Yoo-Jung declared, “I’m pregnant.”

Schwing.

Schwing.

Suddenly, two swords appeared out of nowhere and took aim at Suk-Woo’s neck.

“What the hell are you guys doing?!” Yoo-Jung screamed.

“Umm… G-guys…?” Suk-Woo stammered, trembling.

His hand shaking, Gi-Gyu whispered, “How dare you…!”

One wrong move and he could behead Suk-Woo in a heartbeat. But, of course, Gi-Gyu had perfect control over his weapon.

Suk-Woo protested, “I’m obviously going to marry her, so take this sword away! And Lou! Why are you trying to kill me too?!”

“Gi-Gyu made my body do it.” Lou shrugged.

An awkward silence fell in the room, but the arrival of the last couple broke it. Jupiter and Soo-Jung had brought along their son Tae-Suk. One year younger than Do-Bin, Tae-Suk looked so pretty that he could be a girl.

“What’s going on? Why does it feel so tense here?” Jupiter asked.

“Did something happen?” Soo-Jung inquired.

Looking annoyed, Gi-Gyu turned toward Jupiter and asked, “Why are you so late?”

Jupiter seemed flustered, so Soo-Jung answered, “We went to meet his father.”

“F-ather?”

“Yes, Mother, too,” Soo-Jung replied.

A short silence fell before Gi-Gyu opened his lips. “Kronos…?”