The Player Who Can't Level Up

Gi-Gyu mumbled, “What do you mean, El?”

-Ah! I think you misunderstood me, Master.

El corrected her statement,

-I meant he was a vile existence.

“Lou was a vile existence?” Gi-Gyu asked, still confused. He wished he could have this conversation face to face with El. 

-Because we are just tools now. Your tools. 

There was sadness in El’s voice as she continued, 

-That’s probably why he’s feeling confused right now. He must’ve remembered his past, so it may take him a while to process everything. Please just be patient and wait for his return.

“By the way, El…” Gi-Gyu asked hesitantly, “Does that mean you went through this too?”

-Yes, Master.

Gi-Gyu didn’t say another word as he patted El. He remembered the time when El didn’t speak to him. It turned out she was being considerate while going through a tough time herself.

***

-Who is this hero of the Yeosu Gate?

-Why is the association keeping mum about this whole situation?

-Why is the association not making an official statement regarding this mysterious player? Is he the association’s secret weapon?  

-Will this player lead Korea into the world league?

-The player with the potential to become the next high ranker. 

-The association is playing favorites with the selected player. Is this wise?

Countless articles about Gi-Gyu filled the newspapers and the online forums. Even with the mask, people could somehow make that he was a handsome devil, making the public even more interested in him. And Koreans weren't the only ones acting like chatty Cathies—the entire world was interested in Gi-Gyu, believing in the inevitable birth of a new ranker. 

Very few players could become strong enough to be called a ranker, so there weren’t that many of them. Consequently, the appearance of a player with such potential stirred the entire world. 

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu sighed deeply. He murmured, “I should be climbing the Tower right now.” He needed to reach the 50th floor as quickly as possible, but he was stuck at home. Because if the paparazzi caught him and exposed his identity to the world, it would be a huge problem. This sitch frustrated Gi-Gyu, but it wasn’t like he could kill all the player paparazzi just because they were trying to interview him. 

And then there were Lou and Brunheart: They were still keeping silent. But Gi-Gyu had no time to waste anymore. With a determined nod, he announced, “I’ll just wait for a bit longer, and if things don’t settle down by then, I’ll have no choice but to go. I’ll have to climb the Tower sometime soon.”

Gi-Gyu was sitting on the sofa when his mother approached him.

“Gi-Gyu.”

“Yes, Mom?”

“Would you like to walk with me?” his mother asked him. Suddenly, Yoo-Jung, who was in her room, ran out when she heard Su-Jin’s suggestion. She yelled with excitement, “Me too! I wanna go for a walk too!”

With a warm smile, their mother explained, “It’s so rare for you to be home nowadays, so I would love it if we could spend the day as a family.”

‘I guess I’ve been neglecting them,’ Gi-Gyu thought as he looked at his family. Usually, he spent all his free time worrying about not spending this time inside the Tower. Now that his mother was healthy and Yoo-Jung was also home most of the time, Gi-Gyu decided to no longer ignore them and spend some quality time with them. 

Resting at home quietly was Gi-Gyu’s way of unwinding from having to kill as a profession. This was why he spent his time meaninglessly on the sofa or in his room whenever he was home. 

‘And Mother has also been staying inside a lot.’

Even after drinking the elixir, their mother rarely went out. 

Gi-Gyu asked, “Is there anywhere you would like to go, Mom?”

“I heard there is a pretty cafe nearby, but I haven’t been able to visit it since I can’t drive. It would be nice to go there today as a family. What do you think?” When their mother suggested, Yoo-Jung chirped, “Me too! Me too!”

“Are you a parrot or something, Yoo-Jung?” Gi-Gyu asked with a grin.

“I wanna go out too! We haven’t been able to leave the house much except when Sung-Hoon or Tae-Shik ahjussi took us out!” Yoo-Jung grumbled.

Gi-Gyu stood up and announced, “Then we better go out for a drive. I’ll get the car ready, so come out when you're ready.”

He decided to spend this nice day with his family. Gi-Gyu put on his jacket, hat, and mask and left the house. 

***

“Pfft.” Yoo-Jung’s suppressed laugh made Gi-Gyu narrow his eyes. He warned her, “Stop laughing.”

“Hehehe.” When Gi-Gyu heard his sister laugh again, he began, “You…!” He was about to yell when his mother stopped him. 

Gi-Gyu’s family sat at the cafe terrace that overlooked the Bukhan River. They were enjoying quality time as a family for once. Yoo-Jung had been teasing Gi-Gyu, saying he looked like a wanted criminal with his hat and black mask. 

Yoo-Jung mocked him, “If you walk around at night looking like that, all the girls will run away from you screaming!”

“I’m not wearing all this because I want to. Besides, I don’t plan on dating anyway,” Gi-Gyu replied lightly. 

“I’m just saying that you’ll get more attention by looking so suspicious,” Yoo-Jung slurped her caramel macchiato and grumbled. Pointing toward the customers inside the cafe, she said to him, “Look there.” 

When Gi-Gyu turned to look, he saw several female customers staring at him. With his enhanced hearing, he could hear their conversations clearly. 

“Are they celebrities?” one girl asked,

“I don’t know, but I think so,” her companion whispered.

“You should go and try to talk to him. He’s hot, isn’t he?”

“But can’t you see those two women sitting with him? They are so pretty.”

Gi-Gyu quickly took off his hat and mask, feeling embarrassed. He didn’t want people to misunderstand why he was covering himself up. Once he revealed his handsome face, the girls inside the cafe exclaimed and chatted even more loudly. But soon, they stopped guessing if he was a celebrity. 

“It’s so nice here.” Enjoying the refreshing river breeze, Su-Jin murmured, “Coming out here with my son and daughter like this… I’m so happy right now.” 

When she smiled brightly, Yoo-Jung pointed inside the cafe again and whispered teasingly, “Mom! You need to look over there as well.” It turned out that the female customers weren’t the only ones interested in Gi-Gyu’s family. Su-Jin discovered many male customers staring at her and murmuring among themselves.

“Wow, she’s so pretty. Are they all celebrities?” one male customer exclaimed.

“Who’s that man?” asked his friend.

“Hey, it’s obvious she’s hanging out with that guy for his looks.” 

Gi-Gyu became angry as he listened to them talking about his mother. He considered teaching them a lesson, but he decided against it. He was with his mother and Yoo-Jung, so it was best not to make an unnecessary scene.

‘Mother really does look very young now.’

Gi-Gyu never paid much attention to his mother’s looks; objectively speaking, it was true that Su-Jin had become very beautiful. His mother now looked about the same age as Soo-Jung. 

Suddenly, Gi-Gyu’s eyes darkened as he thought of the reason that brought such a drastic change. 

‘Elixir.’

And that thought tugged on some nasty memories: What happened inside the maze.  They weren’t fond memories, so Gi-Gyu’s face became rigid.

‘Lucifer…’

Gi-Gyu wondered what she must be doing right now. And where was she? With these thoughts, he slowly drank his coffee.

***

The time Gi-Gyu spent with his family was lovely. They went on picnics and chatted happily for the next several days. Gi-Gyu even registered his mother for a driving school. Enough time had passed that it was now safe for Su-Jin to enjoy an active lifestyle. The public transportation system was so horrible around their neighborhood that even grocery shopping without a car was near impossible. So, their family could do with another driver. 

Gi-Gyu had more than enough money in his account, so once his mother got her driver’s license, he planned on buying her a car of her choice. 

Time passed peacefully, but the media’s interest in Gi-Gyu remained. Gi-Gyu couldn’t wait any longer. He murmured, “I don’t have more time to wait.”

He certainly didn’t consider spending time with family a waste, but he had to remember his currently tricky situation. Many powerful enemies were chasing him, so Gi-Gyu couldn’t help feeling anxious. 

“Ha…” Gi-Gyu laughed bitterly. He murmured, “I guess I can’t rest until I become a high ranker.” His enemies were such impressive fighters that he realized long ago he couldn’t rest until he was just as strong, if not stronger. Most players could never dream of becoming a ranker, no matter how hard they worked. So Gi-Gyu felt daunted by the huge goal he had to accomplish. 

But this didn’t mean he felt discouraged. Determined, he mumbled, “I will reach the 50th floor no matter what! I swear!” To his disappointment, no one applauded his confident statement. Usually, Lou would have made rude comments, calling Gi-Gyu an idiot. Gi-Gyu was surprised by how much Lou’s absence affected him. 

Feeling Gi-Gyu’s disappointment, El apologized, 

-I know you miss Lou’s nasty comments, but I can’t say such rude things to you, Master. How could I—

“It’s all right, El. I’m not feeling this way because I like being disrespected,” replied Gi-Gyu with a smile. Grabbing his bag with the built-in expansion magic, he announced, “Let’s get going.”

“Are you going back to work?” Gi-Gyu’s mother asked with a worried look.

“Yes, I can’t stay home like this forever.”

“Please be careful. I will be devastated if you get hurt, Son.”

Gi-Gyu opened the front door with a bright smile and reassured her, “Please don’t worry.” He was finally on his way to return to the Tower. Before closing the door behind him, Gi-Gyu said to his mother, “I am living my dream right now.”

***

“Wow… This is crazy,” Gi-Gyu murmured when he saw a large group outside the association. The reporters were swarming the building like a colony of ants. Some were even holding large signs stating their demands.

-Release the masked man’s identity to the public! 

Gi-Gyu pushed his hat down to hide his face better. He wore oversized clothes today on purpose, hoping they would help prevent people from recognizing him. He dawdled among the reporters to get to his destination. Around him, other players were also having difficulty reaching the Tower. They grumbled, 

“Gosh, these reporters! They are such a nuisance.”

“They are why reporters get such a bad rap.”

“Who cares if there is a new ranker? Why are they making such a big deal?!”

Gi-Gyu couldn’t help feeling apologetic, realizing he was the reason behind all this. 

‘I’m sorry…’ 

Unfortunately, Gi-Gyu was an unusually tall guy. Every time he took a step, he easily pushed away several reporters. Some reporters began to eye him with interest, making Gi-Gyu pause anxiously. Just then, one of the reporters started to walk up to him cautiously.

Step, step…

Many thoughts crossed Gi-Gyu’s mind at that moment. He was trying to come up with a lie or an excuse for this reporter while suppressing his annoyance as best as he could. The man finally reached Gi-Gyu and whispered warily, “Are you also a reporter? If you just got here, you need to move to the back.”

“Pardon?”

“I can tell that you’re a rookie. We’ve been waiting here for a long time, so this is our spot. Just go to the back and wait there! If you cut in line like this, the older reporters will get very angry at you. There are many player paparazzi here, so you better watch your manners.”

Nod.

Gi-Gyu nodded without thinking and began walking toward where the reporter pointed. Coincidently, the spot was near the Tower, where he wanted to go anyway. 

He was walking there when he spotted a familiar face. Gi-Gyu suddenly became angry as he asked, “What are you doing here?”

Sung-Hoon seemed confused as he stared at Gi-Gyu. He asked in return, “I should be the one asking you why you’re here, Player Kim Gi-Gyu.”

“I meant—” Gi-Gyu was about to ask why Sung-Hoon didn’t come to pick him up. But suddenly, he realized he never called Sung-Hoon to come and get him. Gi-Gyu closed his mouth in embarrassment, secretly relieved he stopped in time. 

When Gi-Gyu didn’t finish his sentence, Sung-Hoon stated, “I figured you were taking a break, but I guess you managed to make it here today. The association president has been so frustrated by these idiots here.”

Sung-Hoon shook his head in annoyance and continued jokingly, “If our president were a red player, all these people would’ve died. It would’ve been the return of Asura! Damn! That would’ve been quite a sight, but I suppose human lives are too precious.”

Looking toward the Tower, Sung-Hoon asked, “Are you on your way into the Tower?”

“Yes, If I have to hide for a while, I thought it would be best to spend my time hunting in the Tower,” replied Gi-Gyu. After all, the best place to hide from your average reporters was inside this magical structure. 

Sung-Hoon nodded in agreement. “The player paparazzi looking for you in the Tower are all on the high floors. They think you’re already a ranker. So I think you’re safe to go inside and do your thing.”

That was exactly what Gi-Gyu thought when he chose to enter the Tower. He nodded and was about to walk on when suddenly, he heard an unfamiliar voice in his head.

-Are you his master?