The Player Who Can't Level Up

Oh Tae-Shik was left speechless when he heard Gi-Gyu’s voice. Meanwhile, the bright light that had blinded everyone was slowly dissipating. Tae-Shik soon came out of his stupor and asked, “Gi-Gyu…?”

“Yes! Why did you call my name?”

Gi-Gyu, walking out from the gate, looked around in confusion. Countless armed players were staring at him in awe. He could feel the tension in the air, so his confusion grew.

Click!

Suddenly, the crisp sound of a camera shutter going off rang in everyone’s ears. More flashes and camera shutters quickly followed it. 

Click! Click! Click!

The flashes and clicks were akin to a chemical reaction, showing no signs of stopping. Realizing what was happening, Tae-Shik shouted, “Control those reporters! Hurry up! Follow the standard protocol!”

Sung-Hoon ran toward Gi-Gyu; since he knew Sung-Hoon had no intention of harming him, he just waited there. Sung-Hoon yelled, “Please put this on! Hurry up!”

Sung-Hoon was handing Gi-Gyu a mask. Unfortunately, it was an ugly black one with a wide, creepy smile. Despite the confusing situation, Gi-Gyu found the time to joke. “Sung-Hoon, your taste in fashion is rather—”

“Please hurry!” When Sung-Hoon insisted, Gi-Gyu finally wore the mask. Meanwhile, the other association agents were bustling around them. A few minutes ago, their task was to protect innocent citizens from the vile monsters. But now, they were running around confiscating cameras and controlling the rampant reporters, all to protect Gi-Gyu’s identity from being released to the public. 

Meanwhile, the reporters shouted, “Take as many photos as you can!”

“This is the biggest scoop of our lives! Take! Photos!”

The reporters screamed and moved with incredible speed. Since everyone thought the gate was about to break, most reporters here were players. 

But the association agents were just as fast, if not faster. The two groups clashed with each other valiantly. Yeosu was preparing for a gate break, which could be hellish; now, it was facing a different kind of hell. 

“We need to get outta here.” Tae-Shik approached Gi-Gyu and announced. 

“What’s happening here?” Gi-Gyu asked in confusion. 

“I’m the one who should be asking that! But we don’t have time for chitchat right now. We need to leave immediately!” Tae-Shik shouted and pulled Gi-Gyu along. The gate manager and Sung-Hoon walked beside Gi-Gyu to block him from the reporters’ view. 

To Tae-Shik and Sung-Hoon’s relief, they managed to escape the pandemonium much more easily than anticipated.

***

“We couldn’t stop the reporters completely, Sir,” the gate manager apologized with his head bowed low. They were currently inside Tae-Shik’s office in the association building, discussing the recent event. 

Tae-Shik replied, “I understand. No one expected that, and we hadn’t had anything like that in quite a while. No use crying over spilled milk; don’t worry too much about it.”

The gate manager turned toward Gi-Gyu and apologized again, “I’m very sorry, Mr. Morningstar.”

“It’s all right,” replied Gi-Gyu awkwardly. Distraught by his failure to maintain control over the gate site, the manager left quietly. 

When the manager was out of sight, Gi-Gyu murmured, “I’m still so confused and shocked.”

“That’s exactly how I feel too,” Tae-Shik replied as he shook his head. Just thinking about the dangerous situation earlier made him tense again. Tae-Shik finally asked, “So what happened? I swear that gate was about to break.” 

Everything pointed out that the exceptional C-grade gate was about to explode. Tae-Shik could've fought off all the monsters, but that was only true if he was doing it inside the gate. Once the monsters were out in the world, they tended to become overly excited. There was no way to stop them from attacking the civilians hidden all over the city. Even if the association gathered every strong player to protect the city, it wouldn’t be possible to save everyone. 

Tae-Shik, feeling emotional, turned away as he murmured, “I thought you… died. And since the gate was about to break, you would’ve definitely disappeared even if you hadn’t died.”

“Ah, Hyung… Please don’t cry.” Gi-Gyu felt too shy and embarrassed to console Tae-Shik. 

“You bastard! How could you put yourself in danger again?! Don’t you care about your mother and Yoo-Jung?!”

“B-but!” Gi-Gyu couldn't help but feel wronged. True, entering the gate was dangerous, but he didn’t feel like he was in a truly fatal situation. When Gi-Gyu seemed ready to blurt out an excuse, Tae-Shik sighed and continued, “Haa… Never mind. A merc is supposed to work in the shadows, i.e., their identity has to remain a secret. But because of the potential break this time, we failed to keep you safe from the reporters.”

In the case of a possible gate break, the entire city needed to be informed and warned to prepare for it effectively. That was why much of the information regarding the Yeosu Gate was released to the public. 

Tae-Shik added, “And that’s why so many reporters gathered at that spot. We’re in such a mess… Haa…” 

Tae-Shik seemed genuinely concerned about what had happened. He muttered, “In the past, we could control the reporters by force or money. But now, so many of them are ex-players that it has gotten much trickier. It’s even worse because those reporters think the association is their enemy for some reason. If they suspect the association did anything wrong or is hiding something, they will go berserk and make exaggerated reports.”

“Are you talking about player paparazzi?” When Gi-Gyu asked, Tae-Shik replied with a nod, “Yeah.” 

Player paparazzi were ex-players turned reporters who covered players and the Tower-related news. Because non-players weren’t strong or fast enough, this was a new job created after the Tower and the gates’ appearance. These player paparazzi mostly belonged to the assassin or thief category, which meant their specialty was agility and stealth. 

Instead of risking their lives fighting the monsters, these players chose to hunt for other players’ secrets to make a living. They made great money finding player-related scoops. 

Tae-Shik murmured, “This might become a little annoying.”

“Well, it’s not like the association released my information to the public on purpose. So I’ll be fine, Hyung,” Gi-Gyu replied reassuringly. It was out of everyone’s hands, so worrying about it too much was unnecessary. Gi-Gyu knew the association would do its best to stop his identity from being revealed to the public, so he didn’t want to blame or pressure Tae-Shik.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Tae-Gu greeted them, “There you are.” 

Ambling, he asked Gi-Gyu, “Have you finished talking with my son?”

“Old man! I told you to call before coming to my office!” When Tae-Shik threw a childish tantrum, Tae-Gu raised his cane and smacked his son’s head. 

Thud!

For quite some time now, Gi-Gyu had been wondering why Oh Tae-Gu even carried a cane since he could walk perfectly fine on his own. But now, he could make a pretty accurate guess. Ignoring his grumbling son, Tae-Gu turned toward Gi-Gyu and asked with a bright smile, “If you haven’t finished your conversation, may I join you to listen?”

Gi-Gyu looked at the old man awkwardly before replying with respect, “Could I discuss it with Tae-Shik hyung in private first, Sir?”

“Hmm… All right. I will respect your decision.” When Tae-Gu muttered in disappointment, Tae-Shik shouted arrogantly, “See?! Get out, Old Man!”

Smack!

Tae-Gu hit Tae-Shik’s head again before leaving the office with a dejected look. The president’s sudden appearance made Gi-Gyu think about a topic he had been putting off for a while now. He asked Tae-Shik, “Hyung, should I tell the president and Sung-Hoon about Egos?”

To explain what had happened inside the gate, Gi-Gyu had to first tell them about his Egos and unique ability.  President Oh Tae-Gu was Tae-Shik’s father, but this alone wasn’t enough for Gi-Gyu to trust the elderly man completely. His Egos, which were essentially his unique ability, were his biggest strength and weakness. Sharing this information with others came with great personal risk. 

‘After all, without my Egos, I’m just the player who can’t level up.’

When the Iron Guild caught Gi-Gyu, he learned what being apart from his Egos felt like. A crass description would be a junkie failing to get his next fix. Although drinking the elixir had helped him grow stronger, it still couldn’t make up for what the Egos did for him.  

Tae-Shik replied, “You can trust the old man and Sung-Hoon. But of course, it’s your decision. I can guarantee you that those men will never harm you, though.”

“Well…” Gi-Gyu hesitated before voicing his thought, “If the president wanted to harm me, he could probably just kill me with his pinkie.” Gi-Gyu was still afraid of Oh Tae-Gu. It wasn’t the elderly man’s personality or position—It was the fact that Oh Tae-Gu was Asura, which meant his power had to be beyond Gi-Gyu’s wildest imagination.

Gi-Gyu thought for a moment before continuing, “Then I will just tell him everything. I think I will need a lot of help from him, and it will be too difficult to come up with different explanations and excuses every time.”

“All right, and I’ll help ensure you don’t regret your decision. And if the old man harms you in any way, I”—Tae-Shik gave Gi-Gyu a naughty grin—“I will make you my heir!”

***

“The existence of items with a consciousness and a growth rate is indeed surprising. Egos… huh. So you’re saying that gate was also an Ego? And you synced with it…?!” Sung-Hoon gaped at such an incredible concept. 

Sung-Hoon, Gi-Gyu, Tae-Shik, and Tae-Gu were all sitting inside the association president’s office. These four men were the people Gi-Gyu could trust the most inside the association. 

Tae-Gu asked discreetly, “So may I ask what happened to that gate?” Asking about someone’s unique ability could be considered rude, perhaps even aggressive. So, the president wasn’t too overbearing with his question and maintained a respectful attitude. 

Gi-Gyu gave the elderly man a sour smile and replied, “It hasn't stabilized yet, so it isn’t answering me. I guess the gate was badly damaged when I closed it.”

“I see.” Tae-Gu seemed disappointed by Gi-Gyu’s answer. Actually, Gi-Gyu also felt the same way, as two of his three Egos weren’t answering him. Lou was in the middle of his awakening, and the newly named Brunheart was also staying silent for some reason. Thankfully, there was a silver lining: Lou wasn’t answering him, but he could still use Lou’s attributes and skills.

Gi-Gyu added, “I will let you know when I find out more about it.”

“All right. I would appreciate it, and I will also do my best to find out as much about this as possible. Huh… A player who can control gates. If the world learns of this, it will create such turmoil,” Tae-Gu murmured in concern. 

Based on what had happened so far, it seemed that Gi-Gyu could control gates. There was no way of knowing what this entailed, but if Gi-Gyu could control gates and the monsters within, it would be a game-changer. 

Gi-Gyu’s value as a player would skyrocket—measuring him in terms of power and importance would become nigh impossible. It wouldn’t even matter if the gate he owned was a low or a high grade one. 

With determination in his eyes, the association president decided, “We’ve to hide you better, Young Man. I will do my best to block those reporters from releasing your photos, so don’t worry.” 

When Tae-Gu promised, Gi-Gyu bowed and replied, “I hope I’m not burdening you with this, Sir.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“That’s right, Gi-Gyu. He never does anything that won’t profit him in the long run,” Tae-Shik announced. 

“Indeed, the president is a savvy businessman,” When Sung-Hoon agreed with Tae-Shik, Oh Tae-Gu raised his cane. He tried to smack them, but they blocked his attack with ease.

Thud, thud.

Narrowing his eyes, Tae-Gu turned toward Gi-Gyu and explained, “Anyway, I will send the reward for completing this request to your bank account. Now, how do you feel about being an association merc? Is it to your liking?”

“Yes, Sir.” Gi-Gyu nodded and replied without hesitation, “If there are any more missions like this, please let me know.”

Tae-Gu gave Gi-Gyu a pleasing smile.

***

“Hyung,” Gi-Gyu murmured to Tae-Shik.

“Yes?” 

Since Sung-Hoon had parked Gi-Gyu’s car at his home while he was inside the gate, Tae-Shik offered to drive him home. So, they were currently returning home in Tae-Shik’s car. And Gi-Gyu took this opportunity to invite Tae-Shik to a family dinner. 

When they arrived, Gi-Gyu’s mother was still busy cooking. Yoo-Jung also hadn’t returned home yet, so they sat in the living room and waited. Gi-Gyu was looking at his phone when suddenly, he asked in disbelief, “Hyung, is this right?”

“What is it?” Tae-Shik took Gi-Gyu’s phone. After checking the content on the screen, Tae-Shik replied nonchalantly, “Yup, that looks about right.”

Gi-Gyu took his phone back and gaped before wiping his phone screen. He asked again, “Are you sure?”

“Yup.” 

Tae-Shik got back to looking at Gi-Gyu’s elementary school yearbook. He seemed quite interested in a particular snotty brat. He saw a photo he liked and was about to ask something when Gi-Gyu interrupted him. 

“So I was paid five billion won for the mission? Seriously?” Gi-Gyu’s voice remained calm, but his heart was pounding wildly. 

“I said yes, didn’t I?” Tae-Shik seemed annoyed that Gi-Gyu kept asking the same question. He explained, “You are a mercenary for the association. And this is your pay for just closing a C-grade gate. You with me?”

“Yeah.”

“You actually closed it all by yourself. On top of that, this gate almost broke. If it did, it would’ve been a huge disaster. In simple terms, you’re the hero who saved numerous lives!” 

“Y-you think so?” When Gi-Gyu stammered, Tae-Shik grinned and replied, “Yes. And the old man isn’t an idiot. Do you have any idea what the public outrage would be like if the old man is stingy with paying a hero?” 

“Oh…” Gi-Gyu nodded, still unable to believe his account balance. He was paid five billion won for a few days' work. When he hunted the fourth-floor guardian as a part of the B-grade mercenary team, he got 500 million won. Seeing his bank account balance proliferate, Gi-Gyu became speechless. 

Gi-Gyu murmured, “I guess I will never have to worry about money again.” He knew his whole family could live comfortably for the rest of their lives with just the money he had. And that was before his recent payout. There was a time when just spending a thousand won would make his hand tremble. Thinking about that, Gi-Gyu couldn’t help but hug his phone as if it was a long-lost lover. 

“Gosh…” Tae-Shik sighed with a smile as he watched Gi-Gyu. He knew how hard Gi-Gyu’s life had been until now, so he felt both pride and sorrow. 

After a moment of silence, Gi-Gyu shouted, “Mother! I’m rich now!” He left his room and ran to his mother in the kitchen.

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