The Player that Can’t Level Up

The group in front of the 90th-floor door, affected by the solemn atmosphere, prepared for the incoming battle. Hal and his knights focused on communicating with their dragons. Since they had to ascend the Tower quickly, the knights and the dragons had already gotten familiar with each other’s abilities. After the Dragon-Knight Order had evolved, it hadn’t had the time to familiarize itself with its new abilities. As they had ascended the Tower, the knights had gotten acquainted with the changes and their respective dragons.

Suddenly, Hal mounted his roaring Dark Dragon. When he caressed the dragon’s neck, it opened its huge wings and began flying. The rest of the dragons and their knights followed.

Go Hyung-Chul exclaimed, “Wow, is that a new skill too? They couldn’t have had the time to practice, yet they’re so great at it.”

The Dragon-Knight Order flew in formation. The knights were clearly talented dragon riders.

The dragon knights were trying different formations when Hal and Dark suddenly stopped. Go Hyung-Chul wondered, “What are they trying to do?”

“...” Gi-Gyu watched for a while before his lips curled up. He could feel what Hal was about to do.

-Grandmaster.

Gi-Gyu felt Hal’s eyes on him from high up in the sky.

“Kwerrrrrk!” Suddenly, Dark roared louder than it had ever roared before.

“...!” Go Hyung-Chul, and the rest looked up at the sky in surprise. Dark’s roar was surprising, but what had really shocked them was the change in airflow around them. Dark quickly shot a dark gray light beam from its mouth.

Kaboom!

The dark gray light crossed the 89th floor as if it was ready to shred everything on its way. It was seemingly also signaling the rest of the dragons.

“Kwerrrrk!” The other dragons began roaring as well.

Go Hyung-Chul whispered, “Breath…”

The dragons were extinct creatures considered one of the highest-level monsters. Breath was their unique ability, which was said to be powerful enough to destroy the world. And at this very moment, Dark’s Breath was falling from the sky.

Kabooooom!

The other dragons followed suit, shooting their Breath attacks from high above.

“Fuck!” Go Hyung-Chul swore. It looked like the entire 89th floor would be pulverized. Dust and rock fragments flew everywhere.

“That really is Breath…” Go Hyung-Chul whispered in awe. The legend was true.

***

“Ackkkkk!” Uranus screamed.

Lou wondered, ‘Has he lost his mind completely?’

Uranus had seemingly lost his sanity. Was it because he had been trapped inside Chaos for too long? Or did Kronos do something to Uranus while pretending to conciliate him? Whatever the reason, Uranus could no longer speak the human tongue and was currently acting like a beast.

Boom!

The only thing left inside Uranus was his desire to destroy. He was so big that a single punch from him shook the entire Gehenna. His fist was enveloped in Chaos energy, and his every swing made the Chaos energy saturating Gehenna jolt.

“Ackkkk!” Uranus’s punch, filled with Chaos, headed toward Lou. Lou, in his nine-headed dragon form, dodged by moving his necks. However, that turned out to be unnecessary, as a huge semi-transparent barrier appeared in front of him. One of Lou’s nine heads looked up into the sky.

-I’ll help as best as I can.

El, who had spent a lot of her energy breaking Uranus’ seal, looked down at him while maintaining this barrier. She was almost completely drained and wouldn’t recover completely anytime soon. Therefore, she couldn’t actively participate in this battle, but there was no need, as her specialty was defense.

-Thanks.

Lou thanked her telepathically. She was best when defending from behind rather than fighting at the front. A long time ago, during a war between El’s world and hell, Lou used to feel that El was the most frustrating enemy. She was an excellent fighter, who had killed countless demons, but she always remained in the back, supporting the angels at the frontline.

Later, when they had met in Gehenna and fought together, Lou felt thankful that El was on his side.

‘I could always count on her.’ Lou remembered. After meeting Gi-Gyu, Lou had fought many more battles, but nothing like this. All the lost memories he had regained finally felt real to him.

Lou’s nine heads looked at Uranus, who fiercely attacked the semi-transparent barrier. El received all the damages from his attacks.

Lou asked her,

-Can you buy me some time?

El replied,

-Of course, but I won’t last very long.

-It won’t take too long.

After Lou and El’s conversation ended, Uranus’ attack also stopped.

“Arkkkkkk!!!” Uranus roared as a colossal amount of Chaos energy crawled up from his feet. He may have seemed mindless, but he had still realized that his fists alone couldn’t break through El’s barrier.

Lou thought, ‘He’s getting ready for a big attack.’

Uranus was seemingly preparing to shatter the barrier with a single blow.

‘His next attack will be enough to destroy us all.’ Lou could tell that Uranus was gathering his power, so he also prepared himself. First, a black orb appeared in one of his mouths. And then, in quick succession, similar dark orbs appeared in the remaining eight mouths. Next, the orbs began growing.

-I’ll give you a signal. When I do, remove the barrier.

Lou said to El, and El nodded in understanding. Meanwhile, the Chaos energy around Uranus kept growing and condensing, threatening to swallow the entire world. Similarly, Lou’s Death orbs in his mouths swirled and grew.

Lou and Uranus faced each other. Everyone around them remained silent, trying their best to figure out how to survive the aftermath of what was to come.

And finally, it was time.

-Now!

Lou’s voice rang inside El’s head. The moment El’s barrier disappeared, Uranus’ attack shot toward Lou.

“Ackkkkk!” Uranus screamed as Chaos energy from his fist flew toward Lou.

-Death Breath!

All nine black orbs from Lou’s heads gathered into one and flew toward Uranus.

A bright flash illuminated the world before it went dark.

***

“Is it okay for us to do this?” Looking impatient, Go Hyung-Chul asked Gi-Gyu. It had already been two days since Gi-Gyu met Ha-Rim. He had ordered everyone to rest and get ready. His order was obeyed, of course, but Go Hyung-Chul couldn’t hide his impatience.

“Are you sure this is okay?” Go Hyung-Chul asked again. According to Ha-Rim, Kronos and Lee Sun-Ho had already started fighting on the 90th floor. Still, Gi-Gyu had chosen to stay on the 89th floor.

When Go Hyung-Chul asked the same question a second time, Gi-Gyu replied, “It’s all right.”

“What are you thinking?” Go Hyung-Chul didn’t seem reassured by his answer.

“The fight may have begun, but it hadn’t ended yet.”

“And I’m asking you… How are you so sure about this?!” Go Hyung-Chul began screaming, but he suddenly stopped. He murmured instead, “Haa… Fine.”

Gi-Gyu looked solemn, so Go Hyung-Chul decided that this was enough. It was clear that Gi-Gyu knew something, and it was no use bothering him. Feeling less impatient, Go Hyung-Chul left to check on others.

Standing alone, Gi-Gyu looked at the door that led to the 90th floor and whispered, “It’s not time yet.”

He was certain that the battle on the 90th floor couldn’t be over yet. Since ancient times, there had been certain conditions that needed fulfilling. The battle on the 90th floor was just a preparation to complete these conditions.

‘Lou… El…’ Gi-Gyu could feel their emotions. After gaining their memories, his connection to them had returned even though they were still in a special dimension called Gehenna. Of course, he still couldn’t communicate with them, but knowing they were okay helped.

‘And Sung-Hoon too.’ Gi-Gyu also knew what was happening on Earth thanks to Sung-Hoon’s message.

-We’re waiting, Master!

Brun greeted Gi-Gyu. They weren’t always connected, but he could talk to her occasionally. According to her, something huge was happening on Earth too. Sung-Hoon had asked Eden for help, and most Korean citizens had evacuated to Eden. Korea, now mostly empty, was filled with soldiers.

“It’s almost over,” muttered Gi-Gyu. Soon, all the conditions would be met. “And when that happens, we’ll climb to the 90th floor.”

Gi-Gyu planned on participating in the final battle. Until then, he would save his energy.

All his questions were answered one by one, but one thing still confused him.

‘Soo-Jung…’ Gi-Gyu was still skeptical about Soo-Jung, code name Lucifer. Her identity was still a huge mystery. He had found some clues in Lou and El’s memories, but nothing was clear.

‘But I’m sure she’s probably just part of this game too.’ Gi-Gyu decided. The battle that would decide the fate of this world would happen soon, and there was no way Soo-Jung wasn’t a part of it.

‘Until then, I pray she protects my family.’ Gi-Gyu trusted that Soo-Jung would keep his family safe. Not long ago, she had sent a message asking for his help. But instead of heading out to rescue her, he had put everything in motion, as the message told him Kronos was in the Tower.

Gi-Gyu suspected Soo-Jung had an ulterior motive, but this didn’t matter.

‘I’m certain it has nothing to do with my family’s safety.’ Gi-Gyu believed that Soo-Jung would protect them no matter what. His trust came from the clues he had found in Lou and El’s memories.

“Haa… I’m still worried,” Tae-Shik muttered as he walked toward Gi-Gyu.

“Why?” Gi-Gyu felt comfortable with only a few people, and Tae-Shik was one of them.

“I thought I learned a lot and gained even more power to fix many of the problems, but”—Tae-Shik gazed at Gi-Gyu seriously—“it is clear that it was all for nothing. I’m beginning to think we never mattered in the grand scheme of things. The fate of this world depends on just a few crucial figures, with you being one of them.”

“Hahaha.” Gi-Gyu burst into laughter.

“Why are you laughing?” Tae-Shik looked at him in confusion.

Turning serious, Gi-Gyu asked, “Is that really what you think?”

When Tae-Shik didn’t reply, Gi-Gyu shook his head and continued, “Everyone in the world, including you, is important.”

“...?”

Turning to look at the door to the 90th floor, Gi-Gyu added, “After all, you made sure I side with humans.”

Perhaps Gi-Gyu sounded arrogant, but Tae-Shik couldn’t deny the truth. He replied, “You’re right, Gi-Gyu.”

Suddenly, Gi-Gyu’s mood changed. “Hyung, you must survive.”

“What?”

Gi-Gyu grinned and replied, “If I don’t win this fight, I can’t revive you if you die.”

“What are you talking about?!” Tae-Shik yelled. Suddenly, an unpleasant noise rang.

Creak.

Everyone turned toward the sound.

“It’s opening now,” Gi-Gyu announced.

The door to the 90th floor was opening on its own. Taking a step toward it, Gi-Gyu added, “The final battle is about to begin.”