The Player that Can’t Level Up

Gi-Gyu had a bit of time after Kronos had reversed time and before he had returned to the past. While Kronos had spent that brief time looking at Gi-Gyu, Gi-Gyu had done something unexpected.

[You have synced with the Scythe of Time.]

Before Kronos had taken it away, Gi-Gyu hadn’t even known how to use this item. He used to think it was a simple watch. But after syncing with it, he realized what it was.

‘Lee Sun-Ho…’

Lee Sun-Ho was the Creator. Unlike the fake who had Order, the Creator could create and destroy worlds.

‘And I know how to defeat him.’ Time was moving slowly around him; he had found a way to kill the supreme being.

Gi-Gyu woke up holding Lou and El. He realized that he was in the past. Lee Sun-Ho still hadn’t woken up Chaos, and Hal and Gi-Gyu’s other creatures were still alive. He didn’t know if Kronos had helped him out of necessity or kindness, but that was inconsequential. Gi-Gyu could tell from Lee Sun-Ho's expression that he was unaware of the time manipulation.

‘Lee Sun-Ho is still unstable…’ He may be the Creator, but that didn’t mean he was perfect. It was as if something was missing in Lee Sun-Ho.

‘And I know how to defeat him.’

[God Hunter is active.]

Currently, all of his Egos were connected to one another. And in this state, his Dragon Hunter armor had transformed into the much more powerful God Hunter armor.

[God Mode is active.]

‘God Mode…?’ This was unexpected, but Gi-Gyu had no time to wonder. Lee Sun-Ho was about to summon Chaos, so he had no choice but to dash toward him.

Gi-Gyu needed to stop him.

***

In the God Hunter armor now, Gi-Gyu clashed with Lee Sun-Ho, thrusting him into the air.

“Ugh,” Lee Sun-Ho groaned, but he regained control quickly.

Looking confused, Lee Sun-Ho mumbled, “What the hell…?”

Everything had changed suddenly. Gi-Gyu, who had been like a bug he could crush, had become powerful enough to injure him.

“How…?” Lee Sun-Ho couldn’t understand. How was this possible? Lee Sun-Ho asked Gi-Gyu, who remained silent.

Lee Sun-Ho frowned and raised his hand again. He summoned his power to protect himself and tried to wake up Chaos again. However, with a loud ghastly thud, he found himself rolling helplessly in midair. Gi-Gyu had crashed into him again like an angry bull.

“...?” Blood dripped from Lee Sun-Ho’s mouth, and he was now baffled. But soon after, a smile appeared on his face, and he muttered, “How amusing. Spending all that time in the dark now almost seems worth it.”

Gi-Gyu seemed horrifyingly bloodthirsty, but Lee Sun-Ho was still smiling.

“But this has gone far enough.” Lee Sun-Ho sounded confident. “I must get back what is rightfully mine.”

“I will tell you again. They don’t belong to you.” Gi-Gyu finally opened his lips. Through the one-piece armor, he sounded hoarse.

“Nonsense.” Still smiling, Lee Sun-Ho ordered, “Come back to me, my slaves.”

Crack.

Gi-Gyu’s arms began breaking down. The armor was a part of him now, and Lou and El were being forcefully ripped out of it.

“Return to me, my swords,” Lee Sun-Ho repeated.

Gi-Gyu’s hands trembled as they tried to keep a firm hold over Lou and El.

“Come back to me. Come back to your master.” When Lee Sun-Ho commanded again, the two swords left Gi-Gyu’s hands quickly.

Whoosh!

Still smiling, he got ready to hold the two swords.

“...?” Lee Sun-Ho raised his hands confidently, but instead of surrendering, the two swords stabbed his stomach.

“How…?” Lee Sun-Ho bled profusely from his stomach, where two swords were stuck. It appeared as if a lion had mauled him. The swords, like giant vampire fangs, were draining his blood.

Gi-Gyu ordered drily, “Return to me.”

Whoosh!

Leaving deep wounds on Lee Sun-Ho, Lou and El returned to Gi-Gyu’s hands. As they reached him, they smoothly joined the armor to become part of the God Hunter.

“W-what is going on?” Lee Sun-Ho stammered like a broken record.

“I told you,” Gi-Gyu replied. “Nothing belongs to you.”

Gi-Gyu stood quietly, ready for battle, and pointed his swords upward toward Lee Sun-Ho, hovering in the air.

“And now…” Like a grim reaper, Gi-Gyu announced, “Even your life won’t belong to you.”

Slice.

Gi-Gyu suddenly appeared behind Lee Sun-Ho and cut off his right hand.

Fwooosh!

Like a broken faucet, the handless right stump spewed blood.

“Ackkkk!” Lee Sun-Ho screamed. “How?! How?!”

“I guess this is the first time you’re feeling real pain, huh?” said Gi-Gyu. The Creator’s senses had never been this sensitive before.

‘And my sync is becoming rapidly more potent…’ Every creature connected to him was giving him all of their power, and Gi-Gyu could even feel the thoughts and emotions of others around him, including Lee Sun-Ho.

-The pain! It hurts!!!

As Adam, Lee Sun-Ho held the Creator inside him.

‘Yet he’s unstable…’

This was because Lee Sun-Ho’s body was still human.

“I can win. I can defeat him. I can save everyone!” Gi-Gyu yelled as he cut off Lee Sun-Ho’s other arm.

Slice!

Lee Sun-Ho screamed as his torso bled uncontrollably. His body stretched and expanded, and the space around him did the same. This time, Gi-Gyu failed to dodge him and was kicked to the ground by Lee Sun-Ho’s bulging power.

Boom!

Gi-Gyu fell and was embedded deep in the ground, making everything around N Seoul Tower shake like an asteroid had struck Earth.

“It’s all mine! I created everything, so everything will be…!” Lee Sun-Ho’s white eyes glared coldly at the spot where Gi-Gyu had fallen.

Fwoosh.

Just then, darkness rose. Lee Sun-Ho’s dark energy covered the sky and the sun. As the world darkened, Lee Sun-Ho twisted his body again and announced, “I will destroy everything! I shall take it all back.”

Suddenly, his two amputated arms grew back. He raised his hand, and Gi-Gyu, rushing toward him, bounced off some kind of barrier.

“I’m done playing.” Lee Sun-Ho smirked and raised his hand again.

Dun dun dun dun dun dun.

The ground began shaking. Everything that had happened before Kronos had reversed time was seemingly happening again. Gi-Gyu could feel the world being ripped apart as Chaos woke up.

‘The Tower is crumbling.’

Gi-Gyu repositioned himself and closed his eyes. All his other senses sharpened, and he could clearly feel the danger. Screams, battles, blood, and pain surrounded him. All those emotions belonged to the creatures standing before him.

Gi-Gyu suddenly opened his eyes. In sharp contrast to Lee Sun-Ho’s white eyes, Gi-Gyu’s eyes were now pitch black, like the darkness of an abyss.

“Pause,” Gi-Gyu said quietly.

“What the…? What have you done?!” screamed Lee Sun-Ho.

“I’ve stopped time.”

“...!”

***

‘Kronos…’ Gi-Gyu thought. With Kronos’ Scythe of Time and his own power, Gi-Gyu could now stop time. He had paused time for everyone except Lee Sun-Ho. In other words, he had stopped Chaos from waking up, ultimately saving his creatures.

‘I’m so glad.’ Gi-Gyu was relieved that he wouldn’t lose Hal and his other Egos.

‘And with them alive, I’m in my best condition.’ Gi-Gyu felt like he couldn’t be any stronger. He looked up to see Lee Sun-Ho flailing like a fish out of water.

‘I don’t have much time,’ Gi-Gyu decided. Lee Sun-Ho was unstable, but Gi-Gyu still couldn’t restrain him for long, so he had to finish the fight as soon as possible.

Gi-Gyu flew up like a bullet, piercing through the barrier that had stopped him before. And then, he thrust Lou and El into the Creator’s chest.

But before he could inject Death, Lee Sun-Ho glared at him and screamed, “Didn’t I tell you I’m done playing?!”

“...!” Gi-Gyu backed away in confusion. “I stopped time, so how…?!”

He had paused time for everyone except Lee Sun-Ho and himself, yet Chaos was seemingly waking up.

“Chaos!” Lee Sun-Ho roared.

Gi-Gyu abruptly sensed something wide and dangerous, like death’s maw opening behind him, so he quickly moved away. He had turned so fast that he had accidentally ripped away the muscles around some of his bones. “Hup!”

Gi-Gyu looked ahead, visibly cringing with pain.

“Everything shall end, for it is my perpetual wish.” Lee Sun-Ho announced, watching Gi-Gyu from atop Chaos’ head. “This world will end.”

Chaos’ muddy form became one with Lee Sun-Ho. The giant beast, once big enough to planets in comparison, shrank to match Lee Sun-Ho’s size. Gi-Gyu tried everything he could to break through its skin but failed each time.

‘It’s not working…’ Gi-Gyu grew restless. He could only defeat the Creator if he remained unstable, so he needed to stop Lee Sun-Ho and Chaos from uniting.

‘He will become complete after uniting with Chaos.’ Lee Sun-Ho would completely become the Creator—the god from the beginning of time. And this god had only one wish: The obliteration of the world.

“No!” Gi-Gyu screamed and swung Lou and El, but it was useless. Lee Sun-Ho and Chaos ultimately united and became one.

“It’s over.” Lee Sun-Ho announced as Chaos solidified around him to turn into armor. Chaos had a pitch-black hide, but the armor had a milky glow.

Lee Sun-Ho opened his eyes, looking through the headgear now. They were the same white color, making his overall appearance oddly grotesque.

“It’s time to end this farce.” When Lee Sun-Ho raised his hand, time began to flow again. Things returned to normal slowly, and Chaos’ dark monsters appeared from the ground a second time.

‘At this rate, things will end the same way.’ Gi-Gyu felt returning to the past would become meaningless then.

He couldn’t let this happen. Somehow, he needed to find a way. Suddenly, he remembered the system announcing something about God Mode.

What did this mean? He was now the God Hunter and knew how to use its power. But what was God Mode? How was it helpful? Gi-Gyu knew nothing about this.

“Kwerk!” The chaos monsters were already nearby. Gi-Gyu closed his eyes tightly to figure out God Mode’s functionality. He had but a moment for this as his fight with Lee Sun-Ho could restart any second.

What was he supposed to do?

“Ah, I got it…” Suddenly, Gi-Gyu figured it out. God Mode was active, but had he met all the necessary conditions to use it?

‘I need to become almost as powerful as him.’

There was only one way for him to achieve this. Gi-Gyu yelled, “Sync!”

[Your request to sync has been accepted.]

[Your request to sync has been accepted.]

[Your request to sync has been accepted.]

[Your request to sync has been accepted.]

[Your request to sync has been accepted….]

As the system notifications boomed in his ear, Gi-Gyu realized just how monumental a task he had accomplished: He had just synced with the entire population of Earth.

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu felt the newfound energy filling him. Every time he breathed out, the air shook. He became dizzy from repeatedly hearing the same message, approximately 8 billion times. As every human’s thoughts, feelings, and memories entered Gi-Gyu, he felt like his head would explode.

The growing power allowed him to slow down time, but he couldn’t stop it again. Gi-Gyu continued to sync with other humans as invisible threads crossed the gate and Eden.

‘It’s still not enough.’ Despite all the new connections, Gi-Gyu could still not use the God Mode. In addition, he could feel the clear difference in power between himself and Lee Sun-Ho, the Creator.

Gi-Gyu’s sync threads changed direction and began syncing with players now. He even synced with inanimate things like buildings, and Gi-Gyu found his face burning like he was boiling from the inside.

The time flow became even slower as he synced with more things. In the end, his threads had covered every corner of this world, creating a round web around Earth.

‘Earth… The 100th floor of the Tower… My home…’

Gi-Gyu heard two more announcements.

[You successfully synced with Earth.]

[You successfully synced with Babel.]

For the first time since his ears had started ringing, he heard something unfamiliar.

[God Hunter: God Mode]

Gi-Gyu began radiating darkness while looking at the sky. His magnificent yet solemn light differed from that of Lee Sun-Ho or Chaos’. His light shot into the sky like a column.

Finally, the flow of time returned to its normal pace.