The Player that Can’t Level Up

“That’s…!” Gi-Gyu whispered.

Every player on the floor—Go Hyung Chul, Tae-Shik, all the Angela Guild members, and Gi-Gyu—recognized the person who had appeared from the 90th floor.

The figure was covered with blood and wounds and was limping. Gi-Gyu and the group’s presence had seemingly surprised the figure too. A long, awkward silence fell. It was only broken when the figure lost consciousness and collapsed.

Everyone in the group turned toward Gi-Gyu to see what he would do next.

“...” Gi-Gyu remained silent before calling out quietly, “Ha-Rim…”

Ha-Rim was a close acquaintance of Ha Song-Su and someone Gi-Gyu had met before. What Gi-Gyu couldn’t understand was why she was here looking like this. He hadn’t seen her since the day he had defeated Ha Song-Su. Her unexpected appearance here had shocked him.

However, he couldn’t spend more time just standing here, staring at her.

“Dammit.” Realizing something, Gi-Gyu announced, “We better heal her first.”

The first one to move was Haures. He quickly rushed toward Ha-Rim.

“...” Ha-Rim had lost consciousness, but her body seemed to have a mind of its own as it resisted Haures’ help. Haures, however, wasn’t weak enough to lose a fight against an unconscious individual, and he was fast, so he quickly paralyzed her and brought her to Gi-Gyu.

“I’ll heal her first. Then, we’ll try talking to her. We’ll discuss climbing to the 90th floor afterward.” Gi-Gyu decided. He looked at the door to the 90th floor, which had opened briefly when Ha-Rim had left. Through it, Gi-Gyu could guess what had likely happened on the 90th floor. As he looked away, the door closed, seemingly refusing to let anyone in.

***

Gi-Gyu injected Life into Ha-Rim, but that changed nothing. She had severe physical injuries, and someone had drained her of all her energy. She had also seemingly suffered psychological trauma.

‘I think she went through the same thing,’ thought Gi-Gyu. Just like Lim Hyun-Soo and Oh Tae-Shik’s shell, her shell also had something unfamiliar.

Ha-Rim and Ha Song-Su were a team. After Ha Song-Su had disappeared, Ha-Rim’s whereabouts had also become a mystery. Gi-Gyu wanted to read her memory, but her shell’s condition made him hesitate.

Just then, Ha-Rim woke up with a groan. “Ugh…”

Everyone gathered around her cautiously. When Ha-Rim opened her eyes, she was shocked to find so many eyes staring at her.

“...!”

She moved quickly to prepare for a battle, but Go Hyung-Chul restrained her. “Stay still.”

However, Go Hyung-Chul’s action turned out to be unnecessary, as many others had already restrained her. They had restrained her physically and mentally. What Go Hyung Chul had done had only helped her appreciate her situation.

“Ugh…” It seemed that Ha-Rim couldn’t even speak because she groaned strangely. All she could do was glare at Gi-Gyu and his group.

Ha-Rim was allowed to speak after a while. She wasn’t in peak condition, so her voice cracked as she asked, “Why am I with you people?”

When Gi-Gyu gestured, Haures brought her a cup of water. Ha-Rim refused it repeatedly, so Go Hyung-Chul just poured it on her head.

“...” Ha-Rim glared at him with venom, but her condition improved noticeably from absorbing some fluid.

“Resisting like this won’t do you any good.” Gi-Gyu, who had been quiet until now, said, “You were gravely wounded, yet you somehow escaped. That must mean you still want to live.”

Ha-Rim gave off bloodthirsty hostility toward him, but Gi-Gyu ignored it. His voice even colder, he continued, “If you don’t want to die, you better not resist.”

Ha-Rim flinched at Gi-Gyu’s hostile energy. After retrieving his vicious aura, Gi-Gyu added, “I don’t want to take your life. I just want to talk.”

He wanted to know why she was on the 90th floor and what caused all those injuries.

“...” Ha-Rim kept her mouth shut. She seemed to be contemplating, and after a long time, she finally asked, “Whose side are you on?”

The question was directed at Gi-Gyu, and Gi-Gyu asked in return, “Whose side?”

It was such a random question, but Gi-Gyu could not confirm his suspicions after hearing it.

“I knew it.”

Gi-Gyu’s answer had seemingly surprised Ha-Rim.

Gi-Gyu asked, “Lee Sun-Ho and Kronos… they are on the 90th floor, aren’t they?”

When she heard Gi-Gyu’s question, Ha-Rim trembled. Wondering what could make her shudder like this, Gi-Gyu injected more Life into her to calm her down.

Ha-Rim stopped trembling, looked at Gi-Gyu again, and asked, “So… whose side are you on?”

Gi-Gyu was the only one who truly understood her question. The rest of the group kept quiet, knowing they would have to wait for Gi-Gyu to explain later.

Gi-Gyu replied, “I’m not on anyone’s side.”

Ha-Rim began panting.

He continued, “I just want all these things to end.”

She could feel that Gi-Gyu meant what he had said. She closed her eyes for a while. When she opened them again, she asked, “Morningstar, you’re correct. Guild Master Lee Sun-Ho and Kronos are on the 90th floor.”

Ha-Rim had decided to be open; she began talking freely. She told Gi-Gyu what was happening on the 90th floor and why she had been there.

***

Whoosh.

A strong wind blew in Gehenna. The monsters, previously swarming like ants, seemed afraid now. They were retreating but hadn’t stopped screeching, and black barriers now protected them. Once they were all gone, only Pandemonium soldiers and Lou and El remained on Gehenna’s vast land.

However, they all remained in formation and kept their weapons up. Some even erected barriers, and others kept powering their transformed form. Many gathered in large groups to use a giant spell together.

‘He’ll come soon.’ Standing at the front, Lou thought. Uranus, Gehenna’s warden and key holder, was about to appear.

Meanwhile, El was high in the sky with her wings open, looking down. Her power was unraveling the seal over Uranus.

Dun dun dun dun.

The vibrations in Gehenna were worsening. The entirety of Gehenna was resonating. Chaos was flailing as if trying to expel the parasites inside its stomach.

Lou ordered the Pandemonium soldiers, “Get ready.”

This would be their last battle inside Gehenna. If they win, they would escape. If they lost, they would all die.

“Do not even think about defeat,” Lou continued. The only way for them to win was to fight like they had won. Uranus had been living inside Chaos’ stomach for nearly an eternity. And that meant he had absorbed a lot of Chaos and was under its effect.

‘That’s probably why the other monsters ran away.’

These monsters were born inside Chaos, yet they feared Uranus. These monsters had sensed the imminent arrival of the ruler of this place, and they knew Uranus didn’t consider anyone his ally. Their instinct told them to run.

Even Lou began to shudder. After El unraveled the seal over Uranus, Chaos’ shocking aura inside Gehenna thickened even more. Once Gehenna was utterly saturated with Chaos energy, Uranus would appear. And the exit out of Gehenna would appear following Uranus’ death.

‘But it won’t lead to the Tower's first floor.’ Before he had regained his memories, Lou didn’t know about this. But now, he knew that Gehenna was a special place. Since Gehenna was Chaos’ stomach, it was connected to Chaos.

‘And most importantly, it’s in the Tower’s basement.’

Therefore, the exit out of Gehenna could lead the user anywhere inside the Tower. The moment it opened, Lou and El would have to lead the Pandemonium soldiers into another battle on the floor Gi-Gyu was at.

‘I’m sure that fight has already begun,’ Lou guessed. He suspected Kronos and his opponent already knew Lou and El were inside Gehenna. They would have realized that it was finally time.

‘But I know one thing for sure. Gi-Gyu may have started the fight, but it’s definitely not over.’

Lou knew that because he knew what Kronos and his opponent were after.

-Get ready…!

El sounded even more rushed, indicating Uranus was about to descend.

“Kronos and his opponent want Chaos to wake up,” Lou muttered when he felt Gehenna had begun vibrating even harder. Kronos and his opponent wanted Chaos in its complete form, and the only ones who could make this happen were Lou and El.

“We gotta win,” Lou murmured. The scent of his Death spread around him, ready to resist the Chaos energy slowly eating away Gehenna. He burned as Death and Chaos fought each other.

Death enveloped Lou. He thought grimly, ‘I might be able to do this.’

He was turning into the form he resented the most. Lou didn’t want this, but this was the most practical form for the upcoming battle. The sound of scraping metal could be heard as Lou transformed. His current form wasn’t the body he had in hell. This body had been made using Satan’s body. Except for the part Baal possessed, Lou now had every part of Satan’s body.

Everyone silently watched Lou transform. He was growing so big that the Titans looked like ants beside him. Lou turned into a giant nine-headed dragon. This was the apocalypse dragon, the second form of Satan.

Dun dun dun dun dun dun!

Gehenna’s ground split open, and a giant just as big as Lou slowly emerged.

***

“We completed forming the three-level barrier!”

“All the non-player citizens have been evacuated!”

Several reports arrived simultaneously. The majority of the cities in Korea, including Seoul, had been evacuated. Most of the Korean population had left their home, which had never happened in the history of this country.

All those people had entered Eden. In their place were countless soldiers, including players, monsters, demons, and angels. The players were the best from all over the world, ready to protect Korea.

-We’re ready too.

-Me too.

Sung-Hoon heard Tao Chen and Alberto’s messages in his head and nodded. Gates after gates formed in Seoul, indicating something big was about to occur. This was why the neighboring countries were already preparing for the aftermath. As for the distant countries, they had sent reinforcements.

Old Man Hwang announced, “We’re all ready.”