The Player that Can't Level Up

“Jupiter…” Gi-Gyu whispered. His eyes turned gray, and a blank look appeared on his face.

Asmosdeus’s eyes widened. He mumbled, “What is this energy…?”

Asmodeus still hadn’t completely possessed his host body; when he felt the sharp energy from Gi-Gyu, the host body began shivering. No, perhaps “sharp” didn’t describe it adequately. The power felt like a never-ending water body with a colossal typhoon in the middle, sucking everything around it.

“Lucifer?” Anxious, Asmodeus called out the forgotten name rather than attacking Gi-Gyu. He was here to capture the king he had betrayed in his past life.

But…

“No, you aren’t Lucifer. Then who…?”

The plaything he had been enjoying had suddenly changed into something entirely different. Gi-Gyu’s outer appearance remained the same, but the creature before him had a completely different energy. Asmodeus, a hell king, could tell that this creature wasn’t Gi-Gyu.

“What does it matter who I am?” A wide, almost comical, grin appeared on Gi-Gyu’s face.

Asmodeus was still busy trying to figure out what was happening.

Gi-Gyu whispered, “After all, you’re going to die, bitch.”

***

-Master! Master!

Rohan called out to Gi-Gyu in panic, but there was no answer.

Gi-Gyu had left with Lim Hye-Sook to rescue Shin Yoo-Bin. There was a chance he would have to face one of the hell kings, so his creatures created a diversion by making a scene outside the Bukhan River area.

-Master!

Rohan called out to Gi-Gyu one more time. But again, he didn’t answer him. Either he was somewhere their communication method didn’t work or…

‘Is he in the middle of a battle right now?’ Rohan wondered. Because they were synced, he could feel that Gi-Gyu’s current condition was unstable.

“I asked you what your relationship is with Gi-Gyu,” Soo-Jung asked again.

Rohan turned toward her. He knew her identity and association with Gi-Gyu. Yet she had suddenly attacked him, which meant Rohan had to interpret this situation on his own.

Was she still on Gi-Gyu’s side? Because he wasn’t sure of it, he wasn’t answering her question.

Soo-Jung placed her hands on her waist and muttered, “You really aren’t going to tell me?” With a sigh, she whispered, “Then this will be a problem.”

Soo-Jung had come here to kill Rohan, but it appeared she couldn’t. The energy from him felt too familiar. It was subtle and well-hidden, but there was no doubt that it was Gi-Gyu’s energy.

Soo-Jung’s eyes turned violet as she activated the Evil Eye. Her Evil Eye was of the highest level, so she should have been able to sense Gi-Gyu’s trace.

“Hmm…” Soo-Jung groaned while staring at Rohan. She couldn’t learn his identity despite using her Evil Eye. There were only two possible explanations: The target was stronger than her, or the target was purposefully hiding something for someone stronger.

Soo-Jung asked again, “This is the last time I’m going to ask you. What is your relationship with Gi-Gyu?”

There was no way Rohan was stronger than her. This meant he was being protected by someone as powerful or even stronger than her.

“Well…” Rohan hesitated before finally making his decision. He answered, “I’m his servant.”

“What?” Soo-Jung asked in confusion.

“I am the Grandmaster’s faithful servant.” Rohan knelt on the ground and bowed deeply. He continued, “It is an honor to meet the Grandmaster’s teacher.”

Rohan had chosen to believe that Soo-Jung was still on Gi-Gyu’s side. He believed that she was still Gi-Gyu’s teacher, which meant he needed to show respect.

“Ha.” Soo-Jung couldn’t hide her confusion. Then suddenly, she burst into laughter. She muttered, “Gosh, this is crazy.”

Soo-Jung stared at Rohan in disbelief.

***

“What the hell is happening…?!” Asmodeus’s confused voice rang in the air. With a loud thud, he fell weakly to the ground. He got up in a brace of shakes, but his shell, Shin Yoo-Bin, was badly damaged. Her face, which was now a mix of her own and Asmodeus’, was covered in blood and bruises.

“Kekeke,” Gi-Gyu sniggered.

Still confused as ever, Asmodeus quickly brought together his hair to form a spear and attacked Gi-Gyu. But Gi-Gyu slapped it away as if it were a fly. Shockingly, the slap created a gray area in the air which began engulfing Asmodeus’s hair.

Gi-Gyu wasn’t even using a sword. He only continued to chuckle, “Kekeke.”

“What are you?! How could you use a power like that?! This makes no sense!” Asmodeus screamed in frustration. He had never been this humiliated in his life. Even losing to Lucifer hadn’t been this bad. At the time, he had admitted defeat and knelt before Lucifer, so he avoided being physically humiliated.

This was why Asmodeus couldn’t believe what was happening to him right now. Being a hell king, he had assumed he could easily recapture Lucifer and enslave him.

Yet, at the moment, a mere human was pounding the hell out of him.

“Kekeke. Just shut up, you idiot.” Gi-Gyu—no, Jupiter giggled and made another move. He was ripping apart space to use the pieces as stepping stones. This had to be impossible, but Chaos’ power made it possible for him.

Powered by Chaos, Gi-Gyu’s flesh and blood fist jetted toward Asmodeus.

Whack!

Even the hell king was no match for it. Asmodeus, in a player’s body, was being ripped apart.

-Take it easy!

Lou warned him.

“Tsk,” Jupiter clicked his tongue in discontent.

Lou continued,

-Stop destroying the physical body. You’re going to ruin our plan. Having a body feels nice, doesn't it? If you want to experience it again, follow Gi-Gyu’s order. We both know you can’t steal his body just yet, so if you want to see the light of day again, don’t anger him.

“Just shut up already, you loser demon. Your stupid ass was betrayed by your kind and kicked out of your home, so just be quiet,” Jupiter argued.

-What?

Lou began Jupiter bickering.

Asmodeus took this opportunity to think hard. ‘I need to run now if I want to live!’ This thought embarrassed him to no end. The creature in front of him, whoever it was, was too dangerous for him to handle. This was especially the case since he still hadn’t completely overtaken the host’s shell. The smart choice to make right now was to run to fight another day.

Or else…

Asmodeus aimed his hair at Gi-Gyu again.

“Don’t you dare…!” Gi-Gyu raised his hand in time to grab the hair. He was about to rip the hair out of Yoo-Bin’s scalp when suddenly, that hair exploded.

Kaboom!

The blast created a thick black smoke of sorcerous energy, which blinded Gi-Gyu. Asmodeus was trying to escape by using this as a distraction.

But…

“Are you trying to run away?” asked Gi-Gyu.

“Kyaaaa!” Asmodeus’ high-pitched scream was unbefitting a hell king. Before he knew what was happening, he found his luscious hair in Gi-Gyu’s tight grasp.

Boom!

Gi-Gyu flung Asmodeus to the ground by his hair, causing another explosion. With a disgusted sneer, Gi-Gyu asked, “Is this how all creatures from hell behave? Are they all cowards?”

“How…? How?!” Asmodeus shouted resentfully.

Lou warned Jupiter again.

-I told you to take it easy.

“Gosh, everyone keeps screaming at me. This is so annoying,” Jupiter grabbed Asmodeus by his neck and began strangling him. He slowly raised Shin Yoo-Bin’s body higher in the air.

Asmodeus tried to attack Gi-Gyu with his hair, but it was pointless because a giant barrier protected him.

Gi-Gyu grumbled, “Don’t annoy me any more than you already have.”

When Gi-Gyu saw Asmodeus close his eyes, he joked, “Are you finally giving up? That’s very wise of you. It makes sense. You’re a king, so you should be able to make decisions like this.”

Suddenly, Asmodeus’ eyes opened, and Shin Yoo-Bin changed further. A hair strand blazed in bright white light and attacked Gi-Gyu.

“This is…?!” Gi-Gyu dodged the hair and gasped. He had been blocking Asmodeus’ hair easily until now, but his instinct told him this particular strand was different.

Lou whispered to Jupiter,

-It’s part of Satan’s physical body…

Gi-Gyu frowned and mumbled, “I see…”

The Asmodeus before him was different. He was silent, calm, and destructive now. The energy Gi-Gyu could feel from him had changed entirely.

Lou screamed,

-The fact that he can use Satan’s physical body means that Asmodeus is almost done taking over Shin Yoo-Bin’s body! You can’t delay any longer, you fucking idiot!

“Dammit…” Gi-Gyu raised his hands, which moved in a circular motion as they stretched toward the ground. They turned into two spears, but they looked more like two thunderbolts because they were gray and distorted.

“Just shut up already!” Gi-Gyu roared as the two spears that were his arms plunged forward. With a devilish grin, he whispered, “Thank you for this delicious meal!”

Gi-Gyu, no Jupiter, opened his mouth wide and sprinted toward Asmodeus.

***

The woman, unconscious and limp, remained on the ground like a corpse. Gi-Gyu picked up Shin Yoo-Bin and held her in his arms.

Gi-Gyu, still Jupiter, muttered, “Phew, what a persistent bitch.”

His face was covered with wounds. It was all because of that white hair strand that was supposedly part of Satan’s physical body. There was no way to block this weapon, and it also couldn’t be destroyed. If Asmodeus—who had been a step away from completely taking over—didn’t have this weapon, the fight would have ended much earlier.

-Stop procrastinating and separate them already.

Lou yelled angrily.

“But I don’t know how!” Jupiter replied.

Lou roared,

-I know you can do this, you jerk!

Jupiter grinned and replied, “Calm down already. I won’t tease you anymore. I’m just a parasite living off of another body, so I suppose I have no choice but to obey.”

Jupiter looked at Shin Yoo-Bin.

Lou muttered,

-Haa… I thought Kim Gi-Gyu was the most annoying creature in the world, but you’re a close second. Well, you two are the same, so… I guess it makes sense. Haa… I just don’t know what to do with you two.

Jupiter frowned indignantly and replied, “Don’t you dare compare me to that idiot.”

-Just hurry up already!

“Tsk.” Jupiter clicked his tongue and stopped arguing. His eyes slowly turned into a darker shade of gray.

And…

Fwoosh.

Something white and black began to leave Shin Yoo-Bin’s body. Before it disappeared, Gi-Gyu bit this ghost-like thing.

Crunch.

Gi-Gyu sucked in the strange thing like a noodle. When he was done, Jupiter dropped Shin Yoo-Bin to the ground.

Plop.

“I’ve held my part of the bargain. He better keeps his promise,” Jupiter declared.

-I’ll relay your message to him.

With this, Gi-Gyu also collapsed to the ground weakly; seconds later, he reopened his eyes.

[You have defeated a hell king, Asmodeus.]

[A reward befitting your accomplishment will be given.]

[You have obtained a part of Satan's physical body.]

Countless system announcements rang in his ears, but Gi-Gyu couldn’t focus on any of them.

-Are you awake?

“Yeah…” Gi-Gyu’s voice sounded dry and raspy. He couldn’t think clearly, and his body was throbbing in pain.

But…

“Dammit.” There was no time for Gi-Gyu to rest. He quickly stood up while trying his best to ignore the intense pain. He muttered, “I guess more enemies are coming…”

He was so exhausted that all he wanted to do was sleep, but he managed to stand up.

He could feel someone approaching him rapidly.