The Player that Can't Level Up

The second the blue gate appeared, the magic circle began glowing, emitting red and blue rays toward the gate. Gi-Gyu took a step back toward Baal, who murmured, “Hmm…”

Baal studied the magic circle carefully, while Gi-Gyu looked at it anxiously. They had experimented many times before, but they hadn’t seen any positive results yet.

Fwoosh!

The gate began vibrating ever so slightly, and no skeletons jumped out like before.

Baal announced in an excited voice, “Oh! It’s a success!”

Gradually, the light from the gate began gathering in one place and gave birth to something shiny.

Gi-Gyu murmured, “Wow... We really just created a crystal.”

The blue crystal forming on the magic circle’s edge even had Baal invested. When have you ever seen the stoic Baal look so relieved and interested?

-I have to admit that Baal always had talent in the field of black magic. That jerk is one of my minions who learned my wisdom correctly.

Lou didn’t sound very happy as he explained, but Gi-Gyu could tell that Lou acknowledged Baal’s talent.

Fwoosh!

The gate vibrated again, and the glow disappeared from the magic circle. Now, there sat a single blue crystal over the magic circle. After Gi-Gyu studied it for a few seconds, he announced, “This is real.” The crystal was like all the others he got from the gates and the Tower floors, so he could sell it easily.

Baal raised his glasses again and replied, “Grandmaster, your gate is too inefficient. You feed it all those crystals, but it isn’t efficiently utilizing the crystals’ energy. But now, you can collect this surplus crystal energy and create new crystals.”

Like a mad scientist, Baal continued with excitement, “Soon, you’ll be able to produce crystals from the surplus energy without using any magic. This magic circle will be a stable source of income for you.”

“That would be wonderful,” Gi-Gyu replied with a nod. While staying with Lucifer and Baal, Gi-Gyu gained more than just special training and protection for his family. Lou had lost his memory and knew the bare bones of black magic, but Baal was an encyclopedia.

Brunheart’s gate had to eat crystals to become stronger; it was a necessary evil. Consequently, Gi-Gyu had to spend much time taking on mercenary jobs to make money for this gate. He could take more jobs in the future, but he also had other things like exacting revenge, killing a few fools, etc.

However, Gi-Gyu now had a passive income stream, thanks to Baal. He could now use the leftover/surplus/wasted crystal energy to create more crystals. The magic circle could only make blue crystals, considered only mid-grade, but going beyond that was always a definite possibility.

Picking up the crystal, Gi-Gyu nodded and said to Baal, “Please continue to take good care of me.”

Baal nodded, returning to his stoic nature. Gi-Gyu was now certain he would never understand this Lucifer-Baal duo. “But please remember that black magic has many fields, and what I can do is limited.”

“Of course. Anyway…” Closing the gate, Gi-Gyu continued cautiously, “How is ‘that’ going?”

The excitement returned to Baal’s face as he answered, “No progress yet, but I’m sure I’ll be able to find a solution very soon. I am excited to be allowed to try all these various things. You’re exceptional, Grandmaster.”

Since Gi-Gyu owned Lou and El, masters of all the holy and evil swords, Gi-Gyu could do things no other being would ever dare try. Currently, he had Baal working on something that could help him greatly. After hearing Baal’s reply, Gi-Gyu’s expectations peaked since his dream was within reach.

Baal cleaned up the magic circle. This project was still experimental, so he needed to improve it further. Watching Baal, Gi-Gyu asked, “Didn’t you say the gates are territories?”

In between training sessions, Gi-Gyu chatted with Baal, who told him a few secrets. Recently, Baal informed Gi-Gyu that the gates were “someone’s” territories.

Baal answered, “Yes. The gates are abandoned lands.”

“And these ‘someones’ are demons?” Gi-Gyu had asked this question before, but Baal didn’t give him a straight answer at the time. Since Baal felt pretty good because of the magic circle’s success, Gi-Gyu decided to strike the hot iron.

“It could’ve belonged to a demon, but not necessarily,” Baal replied dryly.

‘Yes! Success!’ Gi-Gyu clenched his fists secretly in excitement. He remained quiet and looked at Baal encouragingly. To Gi-Gyu’s delight, the demon continued, “It’s not like only demons can possess lands.”

“Then why would anyone abandon their land?” Gi-Gyu wondered why someone would give up their possession.

“The lands…” Baal trailed off before continuing after a short pause. “It wasn’t by choice. They just abandoned it. I’m sure there are some that still have owners.”

Baal finally finished closing the magic circle. Gi-Gyu asked a few more questions, but Baal didn’t give him any more answers. When Gi-Gyu begged, Baal promised, “When you cross the 50th floor and become worthy, I will tell you.”

Baal may have called Gi-Gyu “grandmaster,” but he didn’t serve Gi-Gyu. It was out of respect, nothing more. In the end, Gi-Gyu could only lick his lips in disappointment.

***

The training resumed. The sparring match now became part of Gi-Gyu’s daily routine. According to Soo-Jung, Gi-Gyu would use his attributes much more efficiently after their training was over. Gi-Gyu had to admit that he could feel significant improvement already.

[The assimilation level is increasing.]

[Assimilation (A): You can now use 70% of your Ego’s abilities.]

With the system announcement, Gi-Gyu felt something incredible coursing through his body. He could feel an unfamiliar and powerful sensation enveloping him. This sudden change was different from when his Egos leveled up. Along with it, Lou’s violet aura darkened further, so Gi-Gyu raised Lou in confusion.

“Uwaah!” Soo-Jung exclaimed as she slammed her sword against Lou. The dark flame hit Lou, but nothing happened. No sounds, no sparks, no nothing.

“...” Gi-Gyu became quiet, and silence filled the basement.

Her face filled with awe and surprise, Soo-Jung took a slow step back and murmured, “That’s amazing…”. She looked at Lou as if he was the most beautiful jewel.

“What’s happening…?” Finally remembering to speak, Gi-Gyu asked Lou.

-It’s Death. Since our assimilation level increased, your ability to control Death must’ve also increased.

Lou explained with his usual, bothersome rude and arrogant tone. However, Gi-Gyu couldn’t care less since the sudden feeling of fullness and satisfaction was euphoric. Gi-Gyu had never done drugs before, but he wondered if this was what it felt like.

Soo-Jung suddenly shouted, “Snap out of it!” Her voice rang in the basement, but all Gi-Gyu did was slowly look up. He couldn’t see it himself, but his change was obvious to Soo-Jung.

After Lucifer took away her energy, Gi-Gyu’s right eye regained its normal color. However, now his eyes—both of his eyes—were glowing a faint violet.

“Tsk!” Soo-Jung clicked her tongue in frustration. Despite her shouts, Gi-Gyu remained dazed, so she promptly stormed toward him. Soo-Jung hadn’t gone full-speed during their spars, but she was now using a part of her true strength.

Clank!

A clear metallic sound echoed in the basement. Her black flame sword transformed into its true form.

Pshhh...

Unexpectedly, the black flame didn’t have much effect on Gi-Gyu. Suddenly, she threw her sword, grabbed Gi-Gyu’s neck, and slammed him to the floor. She didn’t stop there. She got on top of him and punched his face.

“Ugh…” Gi-Gyu groaned, finally regaining his consciousness.

“Phew…” Soo-Jung sighed in relief as she warned, “Do not let the darkness take control. Keep today’s incident as a reminder of what black magic can do to you.” She rubbed her hands and stood up.

Gi-Gyu murmured, “But it felt so—”

“I know,” Soo-Jung cut him off, clearly knowing what he would say. “The satisfaction is something very hard to resist.” Looking at him with a bitter expression, she continued, “It feels like you’re a superior being. Like the human species is beneath you. That feeling was the reason why demons act the way they do.”

That was precisely what he felt just now; Gi-Gyu nodded emphatically. The euphoric sensation made him feel like he was floating. It made him lose his human side; it was a never-felt-before sensation.

Wait, he did feel something similar before. When he first awakened his evil eye, which surprised even Soo-Jung, and then when he overused Death. Yes, it was an unfamiliarly familiar feeling.

Soo-Jung murmured, “You must find the player with the hundred swords in the future.”

“Is that player connected to Ironshield?”

“That’s right.”

Curious about Ironshield and his holy swords, Gi-Gyu had previously asked Soo-Jung and Baal about him. At the time, Soo-Jung explained, “Ironshield was lucky enough to meet the player with the hundred swords. This player isn’t registered, but he has to be a high ranker. And most of his swords… have special skills.”

Ironshield helped this player in the past, which was how he received several of his powerful holy swords.

While Gi-Gyu maintained silence, Soo-Jung advised him, “Your black magic is getting stronger, so you’ll go through some changes. Since that can’t be helped, just make sure you maintain a good balance.”

With a sigh, she continued, “You’re on your way to becoming a unique player. You’re in the middle of good and evil. You’ve to remain in the middle, so make sure you don't neglect your holy sword, El.”

After defeating Rogers, Gi-Gyu had found a way for El to absorb Nine. But in the end, he decided to save this new sword for later use. Consequently, Gi-Gyu had to find another holy sword for her to absorb and become stronger.

“Haaaaah...” Soo-Jung yawned as she stretched. Gi-Gyu wasn’t sure what tired her. Was it the tension leaving her body, or was she just bored with training him? Before leaving the basement, she said to Gi-Gyu, “We better finish up our training soon so that you can return to the Tower.”

After she left, only Gi-Gyu and Baal remained in the basement. Baal was busy doing his experiment, so Gi-Gyu looked around awkwardly.

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu felt both tired and relieved at the same time. He was deep in his thoughts when his phone suddenly rang.

R-r-r-ring.

He took out his phone to check the caller ID.

“Old Man Hwang?” The elderly man had never called Gi-Gyu before, so he became curious.

“Hello?” answered Gi-Gyu.

-R-right… n…now c-come to my workshop… Please…

Beep.

The call was abruptly disconnected.