The Player that Can’t Level Up

“Tae-Shik hyung!”

“General Manager Oh Tae-Shik!”

Gi-Gyu and Go Hyung-Chul yelled at the same time. Gi-Gyu quickly supported Tae-Shik’s head with one hand and asked, “Hyung, are you awake?”

Gi-Gyu looked nervous, while Go Hyung-Chul watched Gi-Gyu worriedly.

Suddenly, Tae-Shik pushed Gi-Gyu away.

“What’s wrong?!” Go Hyung-Chul was about to rush to help, but Gi-Gyu raised his hand to stop him.

“Ugh…” Tae-Shik groaned as if in pain. Gi-Gyu watched him and prayed that he was okay.

‘Please…’ Gi-Gyu begged silently. Tae-Shik had pushed him away with no hostility. He was seemingly only trying to protect himself because he felt vulnerable.

“Is that you, Gi-Gyu…?”

When Tae-Shik called out his name, Gi-Gyu yelled, “Hyung!”

Unlike Gi-Gyu’s hopeful voice, Tae-Shik sounded anguished. “I… I need… to be alone for a moment.”

“...” Gi-Gyu’s anxiety grew, and the others watched nervously.

Trying to reassure Gi-Gyu, Tae-Shik smiled and added, “I’m fine… Thank you for saving me… you twit.”

Tae-Shik was trying to act like usual, but Gi-Gyu couldn’t miss the troubled look in his eyes.

***

“Guess we’re here,” Lou muttered as he and El stood in front of a giant door. The ruler of Pandemonium was behind the door. It looked extravagant as if it was meant to protect an amazing kingdom.

‘The problem is that this place looks so familiar…’ As Lou had followed Suk-Woo down the hallway to the door, he had felt this. ‘I think I know the truth now.’

Ever since he had entered Pandemonium, he had been feeling deja vu. It was intense because everything here, especially this castle, felt familiar to him. He remembered seeing the structure and the architecture of this entire place.

‘I feel the same,’ communicated El telepathically. And that was the even bigger problem.

Thanks to Gi-Gyu, the connection between Lou and El was strong. They had been able to communicate with each other for a long time.

Lou nodded in understanding. He and El were both feeling this strange sense of familiarity. And they believed it was because they were once inside Chaos’ stomach.

‘This is what makes Gehenna unique,’ Lou thought.

Lou and El only had one thing in common apart from the obvious.

‘I was stuck inside Chaos before,’ Lou said to El in silence.

‘So was I,’ El replied. They had both fallen into Chaos in the past because of Gabriel. However, at some unknown point in time, they had found themselves out of Chaos and in some place different. And until Gi-Gyu had found them, they had spent an unrevealed amount of time there.

“Are you ready?” Yoo Suk-Woo asked. He seemingly knew that Lou and El were telepathically communicating because he had kept quiet until now. He must have thought their conversation was over now.

“What is there to be ready for?” asked Lou bluntly.

“Take us to him whenever you wish,” El replied to Yoo Suk-Woo.

As the entrance opened, a grotesque metallic sound rang.

Squeak!

When the door opened, neither Lou nor El spotted anyone inside. But when they looked inside, their eyes opened in shock.

“This place is…!” Lou was in disbelief. “The castle from hell.”

Lou knew the place behind the door very well. It was the castle inside hell where he had spent a long time. He knew that castle inside out; this place had the same architecture and structure.

Lou was so preoccupied that he didn’t even notice someone approaching him.

“Welcome,” a charismatic and powerful voice greeted. “I have been waiting for you for a long time.”

Lou and El turned toward the voice.

***

“We must hurry.” Go Hyung-Chul warned Gi-Gyu. “This floor may not be collapsing right now, but… We don’t know when danger might come our way. We’re putting ourselves at risk just being here.”

“All right.” Gi-Gyu nodded toward Go Hyung-Chul. He knew very well that they didn’t have much time. Still, they had remained on this floor because of Tae-Shik, who was currently sitting in front of Behemoth with his eyes closed.

Oh Tae-Shik had told Gi-Gyu earlier that he needed some time. A whole day had passed since then, but Tae-Shik still hadn’t moved. Meanwhile, Fenrir, who had been staying beside Behemoth as if to protect it, was seemingly getting tired. It shrunk in size and purred as it rubbed itself against Gi-Gyu.

“...” Gi-Gyu had been so distracted by Tae-Shik that he had forgotten the new information he had obtained earlier.

“Fenrir…” Gi-Gyu murmured. Fenrir, originally Bi, had synced with Gi-Gyu a long time ago.

“So you can speak…” Only recently, Gi-Gyu had discovered that Fenrir could converse. However, it was only barking softly like a puppy right now.

“Woof! Woof!”

“Can you not talk in this form?”

“Woof!” Fenrir nodded happily.

Gi-Gyu couldn’t help but chuckle as he patted the wolf a few times. ‘I am not sure if it’s telling me the truth.’

“Are you going?” Go Hyung-Chul asked.

“Yup.” Gi-Gyu finally rose. They had no time to waste, so he had to talk with Tae-Shik as soon as possible. He left to meet him, and Go Hyung-Chul picked up Fenrir like he was picking up a puppy.

As if trying to give Tae-Shik as much time as possible, Gi-Gyu strolled. When Tae-Shik saw him, he smiled and whispered, “Thank you.”

“Are you finished?”

“Yes. For a while now. I was just communing with it, and I appreciate you giving me some extra time.” Tae-Shik looked and sounded serious. Gi-Gyu gave him a small smile, pretending it wasn’t all very confusing to him.

Gi-Gyu had searched for Tae-Shik for a long time. He hadn’t even been able to communicate with Tae-Shik, let alone look at him or understand his situation. It had been a long time, and Tae-Shik looked gaunt. He used to be a muscular man, but now, he was much leaner.

“Hyung…” What worried Gi-Gyu the most was how burdened Tae-Shik looked.

“Don’t make that face. I’m sorry I made you worry,” Tae-Shik apologized, his body slumping forward and his voice trembling.

“By the way…” Tae-Shik looked up.

Noticing Tae-Shik’s hesitation, Gi-Gyu urged, “Go ahead.”

Gi-Gyu wanted Tae-Shik to speak comfortably; more importantly, he wanted Tae-Shik to feel better.

Tae-Shik’s voice shook as he asked, “Su-Jin and Yoo-Jung… D-did you find them?”

“...” Gi-Gyu looked down, afraid he might burst into tears.

“I… I guess you haven’t yet…”

An awkward silence fell between them before Gi-Gyu heard footsteps. Next, he felt Tae-Shik’s large body embrace him tightly.

“You must have suffered a lot, Gi-Gyu. Good job.”

“...” Gi-Gyu couldn’t say anything. Tae-Shik must have experienced hell himself, yet he worried more about Gi-Gyu and his family. Gi-Gyu felt overwhelmingly grateful.

Gi-Gyu and Tae-Shik hugged for a long time before Tae-Shik let go. He announced, “Let’s get going now. I can feel that there is something wrong with the Tower. We can talk while we travel.”

Tae-Shik’s voice was shaking. He looked away quickly, but Gi-Gyu managed to catch that his eyes were wet and red.

“Don’t cry, Tae-Shik hyung.”

“I’m not crying, you jerk.” Tae-Shik’s voice returned to normal.

“We’re leaving now!” Gi-Gyu yelled his order to everyone in his group.

***

“Oh Tae-Gu…” Lou muttered the name of the man ruling Pandemonium. Oh Tae-Gu was the president of the KPA and Tae-Shik’s father. He was also one of the first five high-rankers.

‘And he’s somehow connected to Kronos too,’ Lou thought grimly. Here, he was referring to Gi-Gyu’s father, Kronos.

“So you’re the master of this place?” Lou asked suspiciously. It was hard to believe that a mere human held the highest position in a place with other, more powerful species. It wasn’t just Oh Tae-Gu, but also other humans, including Yoo Suk-Woo and even Yeon Nam-Ju. All humans in Pandemonium seemed to hold high positions.

‘But they didn’t seem overly powerful,’ Lou thought in confusion. Demons and other species also lived in this place. Most species resented weakness and tended to look down on humans in general. But despite this, it appeared that humans roamed Pandemonium freely and safely.

“I noticed this when I first entered Pandemonium, so I assumed that a human must run this place. I know Yoo Suk-Woo hasn’t been here for long, so it had to be someone who can climb the ranks quickly.” Lou looked at Oh Tae-Gu’s face and added, “But it’s really hard to believe it’s you.”

Oh Tae-Gu wasn’t weak by any means. And everyone knew that he had been sent to Gehenna. This was why Lou and El had come here, after all.

Lou continued, “We expected you to have survived here, but… I still can’t believe you hold the highest position.”

Both Lou and El couldn’t hide their shock. Lou asked, “Why don’t you explain what happened?”

“I am indeed the master of this place for now, but…” A broad smile appeared on Oh Tae-Gu’s face.

‘What is he thinking?’ Lou wondered. Oh Tae-Gu’s smile resembled Kim Gi-Gyu's when he was about to give away a big clue.

Oh Tae-Gu seemed amused as he continued, “Originally, you two ruled this place.”

“What?” Lou asked in shock.

“...!” El could only gasp.

The smile on Oh Tae-Gu’s face deepened as he announced, “You two created Pandemonium.”