The Player Who Can't Level Up

“Y-you… Th-this strong? T-this doesn’t make any sense!” Rogers asked in his strained voice, barely dodging another attack. He had Nine, it hadn’t been that long since the Maze of Heryond incident, and he had also grown stronger. So, how could Gi-Gyu push him into a corner? 

Rogers screeched again, “What the hell do you mean by ‘original?’”

Gi-Gyu only smiled and continued to swing his swords. 

“Binding!” The gauntlet wielding El released some sort of black energy that began tying up Rogers. Unable to move, Rogers flinched hesitantly as he witnessed the next gruesome scene.

Slice.

A long cut appeared on Rogers’ right arm with a slashing noise. It wasn’t a deep wound, but Wound Aggravation and Bleeding, Bi’s skills, made sure the severe pain left Rogers shaken to his core. 

Taking a slow step back, Gi-Gyu asked, “Why should I tell you?” With a satisfied smile, he continued, “The more curious you are, the more fun I’ll have! I will never tell you the answer.” 

Swirl.

Gi-Gyu playfully twirled his swords before the bound Rogers, having the time of his life.  Meanwhile, the wound on Rogers’ arm refused to heal despite his high level and the immunity he had gained over the years. It seemed that he was no match for Gi-Gyu’s attacks.

“Accckkkkk!” Rogers howled in anger. His head was filled with confusion, but the increasing pain helped clear his mind a bit. Remembering his goal, he clenched his fist and punched his own face. His lips began to bleed, but he chuckled and murmured, “Let’s do this…”

The pain awoke Rogers’ senses, and he decided to accept Nine’s side effects to win. He decided to use every ounce of his strength to accomplish his goal just as he had always done. 

Watching Rogers’ eyes turning sharper, Gi-Gyu replied, “That’s more like it. Let’s have some fun”—he took a slow step forward—“After all, I’ve been planning my revenge for a very long time.”

Gi-Gyu's steps quickened, and he dashed forward.

***

Lou explained while Gi-Gyu was battling Rogers.

-That’s a corrupted holy sword; I wouldn’t even call it a holy sword. That’s why absorbing it would be hard.

Gi-Gyu didn’t respond, but Lou continued, 

-Nine might be closer to being an evil sword at this point. As for the reason behind—

“Shut up!” Gi-Gyu shouted. He was talking to Lou, but it was Rogers who responded, “What the hell are you talking about?! I didn't say anything!”

“Sorry. I wasn’t talking to you.” Gi-Gyu grinned and swung Lou widely. Thinking he found a gap, Rogers plunged Nine forward, but El blocked it easily. 

Feeling distracted by Lou’s chatter, Gi-Gyu asked, “We’ll talk later. This battle takes priority over your story.”

“What the hell are you doing?! Focus on me, you bastard!” Rogers shrieked. 

-Tsk. 

Thinking Gi-Gyu wasn’t taking him seriously, Rogers became angrier. Ironically, Gi-Gyu was actually trying to concentrate on this battle. Gi-Gyu had been waiting for this for a long time, and he suspected his true strength would only emerge after defeating Rogers. 

In a bored voice, Lou suggested. 

-If you want this battle to last, you should take away his sword.

“What?”

-At this rate, Nine is going to eat him up. 

“Got it.”

With a nod, Gi-Gyu studied Rogers’ movements again. He tried his best to separate Nine from his enemy, but Rogers seemed adamant about holding onto his holy sword. Gi-Gyu tried various skills, including Binding and Thundering Feet, to steal Nine, but it wasn’t working: This fight seemed like Rogers’s swan song. 

“I guess I have no other choice.” In the end, Gi-Gyu backed away. Thinking Gi-Gyu was trying to escape, Rogers jumped forward and shouted, “Focus!” 

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu sighed and hurriedly blocked Nine using Lou and El.

Smack!

The block sent red sparks flying everywhere, and Gi-Gyu took the opportunity to punch Rogers’ face. Rogers flew helplessly and landed on the ground far away. He managed to rise quickly and dashed toward Gi-Gyu again; then, he suddenly paused. 

“Death.” When Gi-Gyu murmured, purple smoke appeared from Lou.

***

Sung-Hoon, the Cain guild members, Yoo Suk-Woo, Sun-Pil, Dong-Hae, and their guild members arrived and watched the battle from afar. 

“...” Most, including Sun-Pil, Dong-Hae, and the nameless guild members, were speechless. 

“That’s Gi-Gyu?” When Suk-Woo, looking pale, asked, Sung-Hoon replied, “Yeah.”

“He has become unbelievably powerful…” Suk-Woo murmured in shock. Everyone watching the fight could tell Gi-Gyu was toying with Rogers. Meanwhile, Rogers could barely defend himself and acted like a mindless zombie. 

Sung-Hoon announced, “We’re almost out of time.” 

The barrier was lifted just then, meaning Lee Sun-Ho was on his way here. Sung-Hoon yelled, “Player Kim Gi-Gyu, you gotta finish him off quickly!”

“Got it!” When Gi-Gyu replied cheerfully, Rogers roared, “How dare you?!” 

Rogers’ face turned red as he shrieked in frustration, but no one listened to him. In the end, Gi-Gyu plunged his sword into Rogers’ chest.

Rogers staggered and screeched, “Arghhhhhh! Dammit! Dammit! How? Why? How did you become so powerful?!” 

Gi-Gyu swung Lou again, amputating Rogers’ right hand that held Nine. Rogers’ hand, still gasping Nine, fell to the ground nearby. Ignoring Rogers’ pained scream, Gi-Gyu picked up Nine: It was badly damaged by now. 

“Ugh…” Gi-Gyu groaned as he felt some strange energy enter his body. However, apart from a little reluctance, he felt no discomfort. 

Lou announced in resignation.

-I just don’t get how your body can tolerate it.

His other Egos cheered for him in the order of El, Brunheart, and Bi.

-You’re amazing, Master.

-Master, you’re the best!

-Grr…

While his Egos were reveling in his victory, Gi-Gyu held Nine and thought about ways to use it. 

‘Can I absorb it or somehow use it in the future?’

“Open,” Gi-Gyu announced to open his gate. 

It might’ve seemed like an easy victory to the onlookers, but Gi-Gyu found this fight tough. The constant use of Accelerate and Rush ate a lot of his stamina, Death made his muscles ache like hell, and he now only desired the warmth of his bed. Unexpectedly, even Bi’s elemental skills used a lot of his power. 

“T-this doesn’t make sense… How could this happen…?” Collapsed on the ground, Rogers looked up at Gi-Gyu in bewilderment. 

“...” Gi-Gyu only smiled and looked down at Rogers quietly.

“Do you really think you’ll survive attacking the Iron Guild like this? I may have lost, but our guild master will avenge me!” Rogers screamed as his body twisted in agony. He tried his best to stand up and fight again, but it was useless. 

Still smiling, Gi-Gyu poured healing potions on Rogers Han’s wounds. 

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Watching his body heal slowly, Rogers roared. Somehow, it made him believe he had succeeded in scaring Gi-Gyu, so Rogers gleefully yelled, “Hehehe. I get it. You’re afraid of the Iron Guild, aren’t you? That makes sense. Good. If you let me live, I will not tell Ironshield what happened here. I won’t tell him about you.” 

Realizing Gi-Gyu would let him live, Rogers chuckled. Gi-Gyu smiled and asked, “You haven’t checked your status screen, have you?”

“...?” Why was Gi-Gyu asking him such a strange question? Rogers shivered as an ominous feeling engulfed him. He could feel the weakness—it was as if he had aged dozens of years during this battle. Pretending not to care, Rogers opened his status screen.

“...!” Rogers’ eyes widened when he saw how meager his attributes had become. His level was still the same, but most of his attributes and skills had disappeared.

With a satisfied smile, Gi-Gyu asked, “Aren’t you curious why this happened? Too bad, I don’t plan on telling.” 

“Arghhh! I’ll kill you! No matter what happens, I’m going to end you! I will torture you again! I’ll strip your flesh from your bones and rip your veins out!” Rogers screeched, but Gi-Gyu remained calm and lifted him by his neck. “Sorry, but that’s not gonna happen. In fact, I’m going to be the one doing those things to you.” 

Rogers flailed like a fish, too weak to resist. 

“Open,” Gi-Gyu murmured. His gate opened again, and as he threw Rogers inside. “Stay there. Eat, get healthy, and wait for my return. Soon, I’ll send you a companion—Ironshield. Hart!”

-Yes, Grandmaster.

“Keep him alive. Make sure he’s healthy. You can use as many potions as you need from my stash. He can barely fight a single skeleton soldier anymore, so he won’t be any threat to you.” 

-Your wish is my command.

Gi-Gyu watched emotionlessly as the skeleton soldiers dragged Rogers away.  “Oh, and Hart. Keep Nine safe too.”

-Of course, Grandmaster.

After closing the gate, Gi-Gyu thought about Nine.

‘This sword eats up its master’s attributes.’

According to Lou, Nine took the stats of all its lesser masters and absorbed their enemy’s life force in return. Once it found a worthy master, it would bestow them all the accumulated stats. Therefore, Nine was closer to being an evil sword than a holy one. 

‘I don’t know what Ironshield was planning, but I know one thing: He did this to steal Rogers’ power.’

Ironshield used Rogers as a tool, and it helped Gi-Gyu gain another piece of the puzzle. 

“Ugh…” Suddenly, Gi-Gyu staggered from pain as Sung-Hoon shouted, “He’s here!” 

“Ugh, he isn’t even giving me any time to rest,” Gi-Gyu murmured. He could feel the massive aura tsunami heading toward them. It seemed Lee Sun-Ho didn’t feel it necessary to hide his presence. 

“Oh my, I guess it’s all over now,” Lee Sun-Ho announced.

***

The man had an emotionless and pale face, but the entire world recognized him since his name was synonymous with power.

Lee Sun-Ho placed Korea on the map and was the guild master of the most famous guild. He wore an ordinary outfit, but this didn’t change that he was Korea’s pride.

Suk-Woo and the rest stayed behind and watched tensely as Lee Sun-Ho studied Gi-Gyu. 

“Are you Kim Gi-Gyu?” Lee Sun-Ho asked.

“Do you know me?”

“With that unusual eye color, one has to be blind not to recognize you.” Lee Sun-Ho’s familiar attitude confused Gi-Gyu. At first, Gi-Gyu was surprised to learn that Lee Sun-Ho knew his name; soon, he realized that this made sense: Lee Sun-Ho’s Angela Guild was one of the few groups more powerful than the association.

Looking around, Lee Sun-Ho murmured, “This is very odd.” Turning toward Gi-Gyu again, he continued, “It doesn’t look like a gate break occurred here at all.”

The hurricane of violent aura made Gi-Gyu gulp nervously. However, he knew that Lee Sun-Ho was being respectful by only showing a part of his true strength. Yes, that aura hurricane was just a part. 

Lee Sun-Ho added, “Well, it doesn’t matter.”

‘Go Hyung-Chul told me Lee Sun-Ho was badly wounded, but other than looking pale, he looks perfectly fine.’ Gi-Gyu thought as he watched Lee Sun-Ho. 

Running toward them, Sung-Hoon hurriedly stated, “Angela Guild’s Guild Master Lee Sun-Ho! I’m Heo Sung-Hoon from the association! Everything has been dealt with here. All the monsters from the gate break have been killed. We even took care of the boss monster too. Unfortunately, some Iron Guild members died in the process. Oh, and the rest suffered great losses too.”

“That’s funny,” Lee Sun-Ho replied. With a smile, he continued, “But it doesn’t really matter. I already know that you people took care of the Iron Guild. Well, its Korean branch anyway.”

No one said a word. Gi-Gyu studied Lee Sun-Ho with interest and used his sense to make an educated guess.

‘If I fight him now, will I have a chance? Is a nick possible if I go all out and even use Death?’

-Don’t be an idiot and just stay still.

-Master, no.

-Master! You can’t fight him! Never!

Gi-Gyu had to agree with his Egos since he also knew the answer in his heart of hearts. There was a very good reason why Lee Sun-Ho was considered the strongest player in the world. 

When neither Sung-Hoon nor Gi-Gyu replied, Lee Sun-Ho said again, “It really doesn’t matter to me.”

“Then why did you come here? If you aren’t concerned about what happened, I would like to know why you bothered coming here.” Everyone here came because they believed in Gi-Gyu and risked their lives to help him take revenge. So, even as his joints ached tensely, he stepped forward. 

Gi-Gyu was grateful to them all, so he felt responsible for their lives. A fight with Lee Sun-Ho could harm his friends, so he had to prevent that at all costs. 

Lee Sun-Ho announced, “I made a deal with the Iron Guild.”

“...” Gi-Gyu had already heard this from Go Hyung-Chul. He still didn’t know the details of this deal, but he suspected one thing.

‘It must have something to do with Lucifer.’

Lee Sun-Ho continued, “The Iron Guild promised to give me something I want if I help it establish a branch in Korea. More specifically, I was told I will get to meet the person who has what I want.”

“The elixir….” When Gi-Gyu whispered, Lee Sun-Ho didn’t deny it. Lying and hiding information at this point was a waste of time and effort. 

Lee Sun-Ho nodded, closed his eyes, and explained, “And the only one who has the elixir at the moment is Lucifer. So if you don’t want me to rip your heir into shreds, you better”—he opened his blood-red eyes with a smile—” show yourself now, Lucifer. It’s time.”

Gi-Gyu asked in confusion, “What are you talking about…?”

“...?” Sung-Hoon’s eyes widened in confusion, but Gi-Gyu gasped as he realized what was happening.

Suddenly, two figures, a man and a woman, appeared out of thin air in front of Gi-Gyu. The familiar woman with violet eyes and black hair grumbled, “You call yourself god’s messenger, but you play dirty like this.”

Turning toward Gi-Gyu with a bright smile, she greeted, “Long time no see!”

It was Lucifer.