The Player that Can’t Level Up - Chapter 352: Ironshield (2)

After channeling all his resentment and fury into his fist, Gi-Gyu had punched the giant, suspected to be Ironshield. It had created a huge hole in the giant’s chest, but it was already healing.

‘I need to be more mobile,’ Gi-Gyu thought as his calm returned. A single punch wasn’t enough, so the monster stood perfectly alive, just like his unresolved emotions.

‘The problem is that Hermes won’t last very long.’ Hermes, his shoes, had been with Gi-Gyu since the beginning. His shoes were one of his very first Egos. ‘It’s dying.’

At the start, Hermes was just a pseudo-Ego created by Old Man Hwang. However, as Gi-Gyu grew stronger, Hermes had grown with him. Later on, it had given Gi-Gyu a really incredible skill: Super Rush. It allowed him to move without limits.

In summary, Hermes was no ordinary Ego, but it was dying now.

‘It can’t stand my power anymore.’ Hermes could no longer keep up with Gi-Gyu’s exponential growth. With Egos like Lou and El, it wasn’t a problem because they were already powerful. As for the other pseudo-Egos, Gi-Gyu didn’t use them as often. He used Hermes frequently; if he continued to do so in this battle, Hermes might die.

That was why Gi-Gyu decided to find another method of transportation.

“I’m going to borrow your dragon.”

“But Grandmaster!” Hal yelled in confusion, but Gi-Gyu was already riding away on top of Dark Dragon.

“…” Hal looked down at the ground in shock as he fell. Thankfully, Gi-Gyu didn’t let him fall flat to the ground.

“This is…” Hal whispered when he found something like a plank supporting him up in the air. He looked down at it in awe.

Just then, a dragon roared and approached him in midair. Hal brightened a little, but when he looked up, he saw that it wasn’t his Dark Dragon.

“Chief, please hop on.” It turned out that a member of the Drake-Knight Order, which had evolved into the Dragon-Knight Order, had seen him and had come to give him a ride.

“…” Hal silently plopped down on the dragon, wondering what this new emotion was. As far as he could remember, Hal had lived his life for his master. He used to think he could happily do anything to help his master. If his master asked him to die, he would oblige.

Yet, right now, he was feeling an unfamiliar emotion, ‘I don’t know how to describe it.’

Suddenly, Hal remembered a conversation he had with Old Man Hwang. He spent the most time with the blacksmith, partly because Old Man Hwang had made all his weapons and armor.

Till now, every time Hal had visited Old Man Hwang, he had found the elderly man lovingly cleaning his car collection in Eden—a curious detail.

One time, Old Man Hwang had asked Hal, “Do you know when I felt the most frustrated in my life? This one time, I bought a brand-new car and parked it somewhere for a moment. Lo and behold, some absolute scum of the earth had stolen it by the time I returned. That was so very annoying.”

Hal wondered why he remembered this particular conversation. Looking at Hal’s expression, the knight murmured, “I understand how you feel, Chief.”

Hal closed his eyes quietly before replying, “I want to be alone.”

***

“I’m sorry, Hal,” Gi-Gyu whispered as he flew away. He could see Hal on another dragon, and Hal’s expression was that of a huge loss. It appeared that Hal heard Gi-Gyu’s apology because he slumped a little.

Through their sync, Gi-Gyu could feel Hal’s emotions, which only made matters worse because he could sense Hal’s unwavering loyalty.

“I’m so sorry, Hal… But it’s not because I wanted to ride a dragon.” Gi-Gyu told himself that he was only doing this because he was worried about Hermes.

“Kwerrrk!” Dark Dragon, which seemed to fear Gi-Gyu at first, forgot its nervousness and flew smoothly under Gi-Gyu’s control. He had never ridden a dragon before, and he had to admit that being in the air like this was refreshing.

‘Have I finally lost my mind?’ Gi-Gyu smirked at himself. The giant was still screaming, and its wound was healing rapidly. The vicious energy saturating the entire floor weakened everyone, but Gi-Gyu felt refreshed, riding toward the giant on his dragon.

‘And that giant is really Ironshield.’ When Gi-Gyu had punched the giant, its flesh and blood had allowed him to read part of its memories and emotions. There was no doubt that this monster was Ironshield.

‘But strangely, I feel calm.’ Gi-Gyu had come this far partly thanks to Ironshield. His resentment and need for revenge had spurred him on.

‘Am I calm because I’m enjoying this?’ Gi-Gyu wondered if he was happy that he was finally about to get his revenge.

‘Or is this pity I feel for him?’ Ironshield, in his monster form, was suffering terribly. In Ironshield’s memories, he had seen that Ironshield had fought the unknown players day and night for over a week. Ultimately, he had won and eaten the unknown player.

‘And now, he’s also eating this floor.’ The fact that Ironshield was recovering proved this. Gi-Gyu’s punch hadn’t been a friendly jab; it should’ve done much more than putting a hole in the monster’s chest.

“It should have obliterated him,” Gi-Gyu muttered. He had put a lot of his power into it, the effect of which was killing Hermes. Yet Ironshield had survived and was even healing.

This could be Gi-Gyu’s chance to attack again.

‘But not yet.’ Gi-Gyu waited. It wasn’t because he wanted to take his time enjoying his revenge or because he was arrogant enough to want his enemy fully recovered before attacking again. Ironshield was absorbing everything around him, and if Gi-Gyu attacked now, he might get sucked in as well.

Pshhh…

Ironshield was absorbing everything, including the ground. Gi-Gyu wasn’t sure if others could see it, but he certainly could. Before coming here, Mammon had told him that Andras had succeeded in giving Ironshield an ability similar to Gi-Gyu’s sync called Predation. Of course, these two powers weren’t exactly the same. But both allowed their user to become more powerful.

Gi-Gyu decided to look around to find an advantageous spot for fighting Ironshield.

“I guess they finally arrived.” While Ironshield recovered, the Angela Guild players reached Gi-Gyu’s creatures. It took them much longer than Gi-Gyu, but they still arrived quicker than he had expected. Gi-Gyu assumed that one or more of them had some kind of teleportation skill. He watched them join Go Hyung-Chul, Haures, and the Red Players.

Soon, the real battle between Gi-Gyu and Ironshield would begin. Those nearby would witness this epic fight as the audience.

‘But they can’t join in.’ It would be a dangerous battle, so Gi-Gyu didn’t want them to get hurt.

“Lizardman.” When Gi-Gyu called out, the lizardman, still unnamed, jumped out from his inner pocket. In the dimensional gap back then, he had learned that the lizardman could turn into a pebble. The lizardman could be summoned easily at any time.

“Kirrrk!” The lizardman got on top of the Black Dragon.

Gi-Gyu ordered, “Go help everyone.”

“Kirrk!”

“And…” Watching the Angela Guild join Haures and the others in a safe zone, Gi-Gyu added, “Fenrir, you too.”

The lizardman disappeared and soon reached its destination and jumped. Then, Gi-Gyu watched as a giant black wolf caught the free-falling lizardman with its teeth.

Thud!

The ground shook lightly, and those on the ground watched the wolf in relief.

Finally, Ironshield’s chest wound completely healed, and he screamed, “Kwerrrrk!”

“Let’s get this going.” Gi-Gyu’s eyes glowed, and Dark Dragon roared.

***

The sky fell, and the ground collapsed. The scene was reminiscent of the battles in old forgotten myths. Kang Ji-Hee always thought she had seen and experienced more than most. Yet, the scene before her eyes was beyond her wildest imagination.

“Hang on!” a male player screamed, and Kang Ji-Hee stared at the familiar figure.

‘Isn’t that Go Hyung-Chul…?’ She felt sure that it was the infamous player paparazzo Go Hyung-Chul. Not many people knew his face, but Kang Ji-Hee was one of the highest-ranking members of the Angela Guild.

“Kwerrrk!” The dragons roared as they formed a barrier filled with sorcerous energy to protect the players from the giant flames.

‘This is… It’s something straight out of a novel.’ While working for the Angela Guild, Kang Ji-Hee had closed hundreds of gates and reached the Tower’s highest floors. Yet this was the first time she had ever seen a dragon. Moreover, there wasn’t just one—she could see dozens of them around.

“Kirrrk!”

“Hide behind the lizardmen!” a man in a strange outfit ordered his players.

‘Are those Red Players?’ Kang Ji-Hee stared. The Angela Guild actively participated in keeping the floors safe, so she knew much about the Red Players. She could even see some of the world’s most wanted players here. If a non-player reported them to the association, they could get handsomely rewarded for some of them.

“Yes, sir!” To her shock, these criminals acted like well-trained soldiers as they obeyed the strangely-dressed figure and hid behind the lizardmen.

Then, there was a giant monster that resembled a wolf. Kang Ji-Hee wasn’t sure if she could even call it a wolf. Its name appeared to be Fenrir, and this black building-sized monster leaped around, leaving black smoke everywhere. Somehow, the ground its feet touched would stop crumbling down.

‘How is that possible…?!’ Kang Ji-Hee wondered.

“Deputy guild master,” one of her men called out to her.

“Y-yes. I s-see it too…” Kang Ji-Hee raised her head to look at what was happening far away. The things happening around her were shocking enough, but the battle happening at a great distance was way more incredulous. They were safe because they were on the outskirts of the main battle area.

“That’s really happening, right?”

“I-I’m not dreaming, am I?”

The Angela Guild members whispered among themselves. Beyond the barrier created by the dragons, a fire-breathing giant and a dragon-riding knight were fighting. Every time they crashed into each other, the whole world shook. Every time the giant screamed, a chunk of the ground disappeared. The dragon-riding knight dodged every attack from the giant and rapidly fought back.

Kang Ji-Hee shook her head. “This is nuts.”

The world had seemingly gone mad. While fighting for Lee Sun-Ho, Kang Ji-Hee used to believe she was closer to the secrets of this world than anyone else. She thought she knew the truth and fancied herself a guardian of these secrets.

“I was wrong… This is…” Kang Ji-Hee realized that she had been naive. The incredible power Gi-Gyu held was something no one could survive.

‘If he wants, I think he might even be able to destroy the Tower.’ Kang Ji-Hee began to believe this wholeheartedly. The Tower was the beginning of the confusion and chaos in this world. It was the source of evil, and she thought Gi-Gyu could destroy it.

“Lee Sun-Ho called him the Trumpet of Apocalypse…” she whispered. “What a befitting name.”

His codename was Morningstar, and this player fought like he was about to end this world.

“I think it’s almost over now,” a man on top of a bone dragon announced softly. Kang Ji-Hee stared in surprise because, unlike the other dragons, this one was carrying two men. One of them looked like the head of the group called the Dragon-Knight Order.

Boom.

A bright light suddenly appeared and covered the entire world. Kang Ji-Hee, the Angela Guild, and the Red Players all stared.