The Player that Can’t Level Up

o have a look.”

Curious, Gi-Gyu walked to the mirror; when he saw his reflection, he stammered, “W-what the?!” The mirror reflected some man with bloodthirsty eyes and a face-length angry frown.
The man, Gi-Gyu, had no idea he was going around with such a menacing look.
After looking at his reflection, Gi-Gyu finally understood why everyone asked him if he was angry. 

Tae-Shik suggested, “You should control your violent aura.”

“But I wasn’t doing it on purpose!” Gi-Gyu screamed in confusion.
While staring at his reflection, he tried to control his emotions.
Slowly, the fury in his eyes dissipated, and his face returned to normal.
He murmured, “What the hell was that?” 

“I heard you slept for two days straight.
Did you have a nightmare or something?”

‘A nightmare…?’

Gi-Gyu felt like he could almost remember the dream, but his head began to pound, so he gave up. 

Gi-Gyu replied, “No, I don’t think so.”

“All right, fine.
Now, here is the bad news.” After Gi-Gyu’s face returned to normal, Tae-Shik continued with a sigh, “Iron Guild is creating a branch in Korea.” 

The bloodthirst Gi-Gyu managed to control just now burst out with full force.

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***

“I’m sorry,” Gi-Gyu apologized after finally regaining control over his fury.
Tae-Shik pressed his temples as if in pain and replied, “Get a grip over your emotions.
I mean, really.
If not, you’ll get in trouble.”

“I know,” replied Gi-Gyu dryly. 

Shaking his head, Tae-Shik continued, “You have no idea how much work this single news bought me.
Anyway, the Iron Guild is planning on establishing a branch in Korea.
Its branch master will be…”

Tae-Shik rubbed his forehead before murmuring, “Rogers Han.”

“…” The rage broke out with greater fervor, but Gi-Gyu tried to control it by biting his lower lip and clenching his fists.
His fingernails dug into his palms, and his lip began to bleed, but Gi-Gyu didn’t care. 

Tae-Shik pleaded, “We tried our best to stop this.
We really did since we know you can’t face the Iron Guild just yet.” Tae-Shik seemed genuinely apologetic because Gi-Gyu was an association mercenary and a close acquaintance.
Being helpless to protect him frustrated Tae-Shik greatly.

“The Iron Guild made this request to the Global Players Association.” Tae-Shik explained, “The old man had some say in this, of course.
So, he would've stopped if it were just the Global Players Association, but…”

When Tae-Shik fidgeted a little, Gi-Gyu knew there was more to this story, so he focused on Tae-Shik’s words. 

“The Angela Guild has also gotten involved.
The Global Players Association and the Angela Guild requested the Korean association to allow the Iron Guild branch into Korea.
The old man could’ve dealt with the Global Players Association, but the Angela Guild…”

Tae-Shik clenched his fists and apologized, “I’m really sorry about this, Gi-Gyu.”

“…”

A short but heavy silence fell inside Tae-Shik’s office.
Soon, an eerie smile appeared on Gi-Gyu’s face, and he said, “Actually, this is perfect.” 

***

After hearing the Iron Guild news, Gi-Gyu's whole focus turned toward researching the Iron Guild.
He used all of his resources to learn about the Iron Guild, including its overall strength, the number of agents it had sent to its other branches, Rogers Han’s current condition, and Ironshield himself. 

“Hmm…” Gi-Gyu murmured as he looked over the documents Sung-Hoon handed him.
Yes, the association helped him get much of this information.

“What do you think?” Sung-Hoon asked. 

Gi-Gyu asked, “So you’re saying Ironshield hasn’t appeared in any public event for a long time.”

“Yes.” 

From their research, they learned that ever since Ironshield left the Maze of Heryond, he hadn’t appeared in public, much less participated in hunts. 

Sung-Hoon added, “And Rogers Han barely survived.” After getting stabbed in the neck, healing potions alone weren’t enough to treat him: High-level healers had to use medical magic to keep him alive.
Now, Rogers was back in the field, but he still suffered a huge side effect. 

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“In terms of strength, their Korean branch would be comparable to the Phoenix Guild,” murmured Gi-Gyu as he shook his head.
It would be just one of Iron Guild's many branches worldwide, but it would still be powerful enough to be a top ten Korean guild.
This reminded Gi-Gyu of just how strong his enemy was. 

Gazing at Gi-Gyu with worry, Sung-Hoon asked, “What are you going to do?” During the last three days, Sung-Hoon has witnessed a glimpse of Gi-Gyu’s quiet rage and resentment.
After seeing the extent of his anger, Sung-Hoon couldn’t help but worry.

Gi-Gyu asked, “Will the association really do what I ask?”

Sung-Hoon replied without hesitation, “Yes.
The president, as well as everyone else, is with you on this.” After taking a deep breath, Sung-Hoon added, “We will do our best to hide everything and anything you do, Player Kim Gi-Gyu.”

“That’s a strange way of saying things.
You’re making it sound like I’m about to do something illegal,” Gi-Gyu grumbled.
Saying the association would help would’ve sufficed, but Sung-Hoon said they would do their best to “hide” everything Gi-Gyu did. 

Sung-Hoon grinned and replied, “General Manager Oh Tae-Shik wanted to kill Rogers Han himself, but the association cannot openly refuse and fight the Global Players Association and the Angela Guild.
And if the association makes a big fuss about this, you might get involved in something even worse.”

Gi-Gyu smiled and answered, “I know.
The association is already doing more than enough, so I’m not complaining.”

Just then, a familiar voice called his name, “Gi-Gyu!” 

It was Suk-Woo, so Gi-Gyu waved his hand with a grin.
Suk-Woo exclaimed, “You’re finally a ranker too! Congrats!”

“Well, I need to win this match to become an official ranker.
So I think it’s too early for you to congratulate me,” Gi-Gyu replied playfully. 

“You’re right.
Shin Yoo-Bin is strong, and that’s why everyone calls her the strongest rookie ranker.
Don’t let your guard down.” 

“I know.
Don’t worry,” Gi-Gyu reassured.
After hearing about his opponent from Tae-Shik, he made sure to do his research on Shin Yoo-Bin.
He had learned more about this rookie ranker than the Iron Guild so far.

Suddenly, Gi-Gyu heard loud bickering from the door.

“Gosh, old man! I told you I got this!” Tae-Shik insisted.

“You said you got it, yet you got nothing done!” Tae-Gu screamed in return.

“I’m going to marry the woman I love, so just stop this already!” 

When the two men noticed Gi-Gyu, they waved their hands and greeted him.

“Hey, Gi-Gyu.
You’re here early,” Tae-Shik said to Gi-Gyu.

“Long time no see, Young Man,” the association president greeted Gi-Gyu.
Everyone related to the ranking match was here except for Shin Yoo-Bin.
Currently, they were inside a secret sparring room, similar to the one Tae-Shik and Gi-Gyu battled in, located within the association building.
Since it was an unofficial match, it couldn’t occur within the Tower or any other public place. 

After a few minutes, the door opened again, and Shin Yoo-Bin walked in.

“I’m so sorry I’m late.
Something urgent happened in my guild, so I had to take care of it.
I sincerely apologize.” When Shin Yoo-Bin bowed deeply, Gi-Gyu smiled.
Looking at her familiar face warmly, he greeted, “It has been a long time.”