The Player that Can’t Level Up

om; it was of Tae-Shik’s palm colliding with Brunheart.

“Ackkk!” Gi-Gyu screamed as his body flew and became pinned against the wall; he was hit hard in the pit of the stomach.
His body slid down helplessly to the floor; then, he threw up bright-red blood. 

“Blegh…” Gi-Gyu gagged as he coughed up blood and sprayed it all over the floor.
Lou and El were on the floor far away from him, leaving just Brunheart on his person. 

‘Dammit!’ Gi-Gyu swore silently.
The difference in power was simply too big and utterly out of his expectations.
Gi-Gyu thought he could at least scratch Tae-Shik a few times.
He even imagined himself driving Tae-Shik against the wall with a little luck. 

But, the final result was pathetic.
Tae-Shik hadn’t moved a single step from where he stood, and it was Gi-Gyu who was driven to the wall while vomiting blood all over the place. 

Just then, a small plastic bottle was dropped in front of Gi-Gyu.
Tae-Shik said, “It’s the potion for the internal damage.
Drink it.”

“Why would you keep the potion in something like this?” Gi-Gyu muttered as he wiped his mouth.
He opened the bottle, took a sip, and enjoyed the warm sensation the potion brought to his stomach.
Internal injuries had to be treated quickly to prevent permanent damage. 

Tae-Shik announced, “You’ve passed.”

“Pardon?” Gi-Gyu asked in surprise.
His question was soon answered by the small scratch on Tae-Shik's fist.
It was a minor cut, but it was still deep enough to cause bleeding.

Tae-Shik wiped the blood from his fist and asked with genuine curiosity, “What was that?”

“Hahaha…” Gi-Gyu crowed.
The bleeding on Tae-Shik stopped quickly; within a few minutes, the small scratch disappeared as well.
Still flopping on the floor, Gi-Gyu scratched his head and replied, “I got really lucky with my item, I guess.”

***

“You have a week from today.
If the gate isn’t cleared in a week, association agents will be sent in,” an association member who managed the gates explained to Gi-Gyu in a professional manner. 

“Okay, I understand,” Gi-Gyu replied.

“Then I wish you best of luck in clearing the gate,” the man said without much expression.
Usually, association employees dealt with Gi-Gyu with much care after learning about his close relationship with Tae-Shik.
However, now that Tae-Shik was standing right beside them, the man couldn’t help but squeeze out every ounce of professionalism he had. 

Tae-Shik warned Gi-Gyu, “Forget about getting a whole week.
Five days.
I’m giving you five days.
If you aren’t out by then, there will be no agents—I’ll personally drag you out.”

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“You don’t have to do that,” Gi-Gyu protested, but Tae-Shik shook his head and replied, “It’s actually cheaper for me to go in than paying the agents the travel fee.”

Turning away from Tae-Shik, who couldn’t hide his worry, Gi-Gyu rummaged through his bag to do one last check of all the necessary items before entering the gate.

‘So I’ve got my potions, smoke shells, and food…’

When he was satisfied, Gi-Gyu tied the bag and turned toward Tae-Shik to say goodbye.
“I’ll be back.
This is only an F-Class Gate, so I’m sure it won’t be that dangerous.”

“Don’t act too cocky,” Tae-Shik replied as he patted Gi-Gyu’s shoulder affectionately.

-Isn’t this similar to that gate we hunted before? It’s not like we’re entering a haunted temple, so why is he making such a fuss?

‘He’s like a father to me.
He’s just worried, that’s all.’

-Tsk.

Gi-Gyu still hadn’t entered the gate.
Frustrated, Lou urged Gi-Gyu to get going. 

‘I already contacted Mom and Yoo-Jung, so all I have left to do is go inside.’

Gi-Gyu was finally ready and began walking toward the gate.
Its blue color shook beautifully as if it was welcoming him.
Gi-Gyu said to Tae-Shik, “I’ll be back.”

“Good luck,” Tae-Shik replied; with that, Gi-Gyu’s entered the gate.

***

[You have entered the gate.]

Gi-Gyu found himself in a humid cave.
The place felt familiar, but it was different from the fifth-floor test cave where he first met Lou.
This particular spot had a subtle brilliance and looked unique. 

-Doesn’t look like much.
Why did you have to take so long yapping back there?

“Shut up, Lou.”

-Master, please be careful.
Your safety is always our priority.

“Thanks.”

Gi-Gyu transformed both Lou and El into their sword forms and began walking.
Brunheart was already on his torso in its black leather armor form.
 

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“Higher-level gates tend to be bigger, but that’s not true in all cases.
We can’t be certain of anything in here,” Gi-Gyu warned.
As he walked slowly, he mentally organized all the information he had gathered about the gates over the years.
Gi-Gyu heard many things during his five-year tenure as a guide.
This wasn’t his first time inside a gate, but he still couldn’t help but feel nervous.
After all, this was his very first solo hunt. 

“As long as this isn’t a maze-shaped gate, an F-Class Gate shouldn’t take long to clear,” Gi-Gyu murmured as if to reassure himself.

Gates came in many shapes, and the hardest known forms were the maze, the underground, and the tower. 

“If this is a sustained type gate, then…”

Being the first player to clear a particular gate was the most important thing in gate hunting.
One-shot gates provided many rewards when cleared and then disappeared permanently, but the sustained gates continued to exist afterward.
To find out what type of gate this was, Gi-Gyu had to clear it.
If it turned out to be a sustained type, he didn’t have to worry about a gate break after it was cleared once.
Instead, he could end up with a lot of money from renting the gate out.

“Huh?”

Rustle…

Gi-Gyu suddenly stopped walking when he felt a monster’s presence.
It was coming from a corner he couldn’t see.
Gi-Gyu resumed walking but slowly this time and with taut nerves. 

‘There are three.’

He could feel three monsters nearby.
Thanks to Lou, El, and Brunheart's rising levels, Gi-Gyu’s instinct had improved as well.
So now, he could calculate the number of enemies and their conditions before facing them. 

‘What kind of monsters are they?’

He still hadn’t found out what kind of monsters inhabited this gate.
If a guild won the priority pass, it would’ve sent a team of scouts by now.
But as a commoner player with no money, Gi-Gyu only had himself to do all the work.

“Grrr!” a black creature growled as it suddenly jumped toward Gi-Gyu from the corner.

“Hup!” Gi-Gyu didn’t panic as he swung Lou to slice the monster. 

“A wolf?” Gi-Gyu whispered when he finally saw his opponent.
After getting injured by Lou, the wolf was glaring at Gi-Gyu while baring its fangs.
Soon after, two more wolves appeared from the same corner.
Gi-Gyu controlled his breath and announced, “They’re just wolves!”

This wasn’t going to be difficult at all.
Gi-Gyu’s lips were already curling up into a smile as Lou and El glowed.
The two swords began slashing at the wolves quickly.
The wolves were fast, but Gi-Gyu was faster.
The monsters’ sharp teeth couldn’t break through Brunheart, which meant Gi-Gyu was well protected.
The reflection skill even broke the wolves’ teeth. 

“Arf!”

“Arffff!” 

Before long, two of the wolves moaned in pain and collapsed to the ground.
Gi-Gyu yelled excitedly, “What a great start!” 

Then, he thrust Lou toward the third wolf’s mouth.