I Gave Up Being Stronger

“Come on, just help me out a little here. It’s the first Mission I’ve received in a while. Yo, you get what I’m saying? It’s a Mission, man. The viewers need to spend their money to buy the VIP package if they want to give a Mission—these don’t just grow on trees. Not everyone can give a Mission just because they feel like it. So come on, help me out here… please? Oppa?”

Any semblance of a respectful tone usually completely went out the window when Kang Mi-Na talked to Jin-Hyeok—who was technically older than her though they were born in the same year, since he would have been in the grade above if they went to school together—-but the moment she received a Mission, she’d all of a sudden revert back to calling him oppa.

Whatever the case, it was true that Missions were a fantastic reward opportunity for Streamers.

That said, Kang Mi-Na’s mood would also change depending on who the viewer who gave the Mission was.

“Wind Wanderer is seriously a top-tier viewer. He doesn’t ask for more than what was agreed upon, he’s polite, and he doesn’t make any weird requests. As long as he’s having fun, he gives out huge rewards to Streamers. He’s suuuper chill. The compensations for his Missions are always great, and his Missions are generally on the easier side too. He’s a good one.”

That same Wind Wanderer had offered Jin-Hyeok a mission.

[Mission Title: Runaway Dog from the Heavens.]

According to the details, Jin-Hyeok’s Mission was to find some sort of divine dog that had strayed away from its home and take care of it until the owner came.

The name of the dog was Boongboong.

‘Boongboong? That name rings a bell somehow.’

For now, the question was where and how to find this Boongboong. Considering that labor, the Mission reward was pretty lackluster.

[Mission Reward: Jade Jar of Perfume Oil.]

The Jade Jar of Perfume Oil was an item that was exactly as its name suggested: a jar made of jade with perfume oil in it. It had a very good scent, so many people literally just used it as a fragrance. There was a wide range of other possible uses for it, but the fact was that this reward item was just not very useful for Jin-Hyeok.

It was at this moment that Jin-Hyeok heard the bark of a dog.

Woof, woof!

‘A dog’s bark?’

Jin-Hyeok figured that if he was going to be spoonfed this much for the Mission, he might as well take it.

[You have accepted the Mission.]

The barking sound was coming from the direction of the convenience store.

When Jin-Hyeok entered the store, he saw a small bulldog—the dog technically wasn’t that small, but the size was adorable compared to the massive monsters he was used to seeing—that looked to be around 10kg.

“Are you Boongboong?”

He checked the dog using Broadcaster’s Truesight.

[LV35/Boongboong/Hungry/Haphephobia][1]

The information he was met with was a little different than when he looked at Players. Instead of the Job or the most recently completed Achievement, there was a prompt description of the dog’s current condition.

Boongboong growled at Jin-Hyeok, baring its teeth.

It had a much higher Level than Jin-Hyeok.

Jin-Hyeok wanted to fight against Boongboong, but as a grown-up, he admirably controlled his combat instinct.

“Hey, look, a sausage. Doesn’t it look yummy?”

It turned out Boongboong was a very easy one to tame. It didn’t take long before it lay wiggling on its back on the ground, asking for the sausage which it then received and immediately chowed down.

Afterward, Boongboong looked at Jin-Hyeok with sparkling eyes.

“Hey, that was a 30,000 Dias sausage,” said Jin-Hyeok.

Boongboong repeated a cycle of rolling on the floor and sitting up—probably in a display of what it thought would look cute and curry up favors.

Then it poked Jin-Hyeok’s hand with its paw, looking at him ever so desperately.

“Phew. That’s 30,000 Dias gone, just like that.”

Boongboong had gobbled down a ridiculously decadent sausage worth a whopping 30,000 Dias in less than three seconds flat. Now well and truly hooked on sausages, Boongboong continued to wag its tail.

Contrary to Boongboong’s status description of haphephobia, it seemed it actually quite liked the touch of a human.

‘Now, the real question is when will its owner be coming.’

The Wind Wanderer’s Missions were supposed to be on the easier end most of the time. It was more probable that he or she wouldn’t have assigned a difficult Mission to a Player still traversing the Tutorial Fields.

‘I should just try waiting for a bit for now.’

In the meantime, Jin-Hyeok and Boongboong built quite the friendship.

“Yo, Boongboong. Why do you feel so familiar?’

Boongboong barked once.

Woof!

It seemed that Boongboong understood what he said, so Jin-Hyeok rewarded it with a pat on its head.

Jin-Hyeok was surer the more he thought about it—-he had definitely seen Boongboong somewhere before.

Some time passed, when Jin-Hyeok heard someone shouting anxiously.

“Boongboong!”

It was a girl’s voice.

Boongboong snuggled in Jin-Hyeok’s arms as soon as it heard the voice, almost as if it didn’t want to be found.

Soon, a girl in a yellow dress entered the store. Mok Jae-Hyeon’s eyes widened the moment he saw her, a gasp escaping his mouth without him knowing.

To be fair, this was a normal reaction to seeing an Angel for the first time. After all, Angels were well renowned for the absolute beauty that they were endowed with, trumping above all else in the Server.

But Jin-Hyeok knew that one should not be fooled by their appearance.

The large majority of them were very much lacking in the social department.

‘Hmm, that angel looks pretty familiar, too.’

The possibility occurred to him that perhaps he was confusing this one with all the others. They were all similarly beautiful and good-looking, but that also meant they all looked the same to him, much like how Jin-Hyeok had trouble telling Caucasians apart.

[LV?/Luluka/?/?]

Jin-Hyeok’s Level was too low to even read her Level—-it seemed the gulf between them was humongous. All he could see was her name: Luluka.

It was not long before the Angel spotted Boongboong.

“Boongboong!” she called out to the dog, running toward Jin-Hyeok.

“How dare you touch my Boongboong?!”

With that, without even asking for a response from Jin-Hyeok, Luluka swung a fist at him.

Jin-Hyeok tried to avoid it, but he couldn’t because it was simply too fast.

Smash!

The Angel’s fist collided with Jin-Hyeok’s Broadcaster’s Barrier.

Even though Jin-Hyeok was protected by his barrier, he could feel the sheer impact of the punch reverberate through his entire body.

This was soon followed by the realization that his arm may be broken.

It was the first time in a while that Jin-Hyeok had felt this kind of pain, but it was actually a relief that he had gotten away pretty easily, considering that it came from an Angel.

‘Now that I’ve seen this punch, I finally remember.’

As they say, his body still remembered what his head could not.

‘I see, so she’s that Luluka.’

She was supposed to be an Angel that Players could meet at Hongik University Dungeon.

Now that he remembered her, he could also recall that she was truly one bratty child for an Angel. Back then, she had told him that she was around 200 years old, hadn’t she? That was actually a considerably young age for an Angel—around the equivalent of a middle schooler in terms of human years.

‘I think she was the one that could be influenced easily if you motivate her by pissing her off a little in the right way.\'

Now that he thought about it, Boongboong was also found in Hongik University Dungeon. There was no wonder this friendly creature felt so familiar.

Luluka picked up Boongboong and hugged it tightly, shooting Jin-Hyeok a glare.

“You. Why do you not admire me?”

“Admire you for what?” Jin-Hyeok asked back.

“Do you not find me beautiful?”

As expected, she was very unsociable.

“Is that the first thing you ask after breaking my arm?”

Yet Luluka just continued to say what she wanted to, seemingly not caring about Jin-Hyeok’s injury in the slightest.

“Hey, you,” she said as she pointed at Mok Jae-Hyeon.

“Yes, yes!”

“What do you think about my looks?”

“You’re… beautiful...”

Luluka nodded in approval, as if that was the correct response. She turned back to Jin-Hyeok.

“Yet you insist that you are not moved by my appearance?”

“Maybe you should thank me first since I found your dog for you, how about that?”

“Why do you talk to me in such an insolent manner?”

“You did it first.”

“Well, I am 284 years old.”

“You’re practically a child.”

“What?”

Luluka’s face flushed pink. Only a child would be so offended at being called a child.

“And grown-ups don’t talk like that,” Jin-Hyeok added.

Most of the angels were rude regardless of whether they were young or old, but adult Angels nonetheless didn’t talk like Luluka. Even among Angels, only a child that wanted to be viewed as a grown-up would talk like that.

“How dare an ignoramus like you say such a thing? You know nothing!”

“I do know for a fact that you’re just a kid. And I know Boongboong hates you.”

Luluka’s face turned red with anger. Seeing her like this brought many old memories back to Jin-Hyeok. Jin-Hyeok remembered that several of his teammates had a hard time pleasing her in his previous lifetime.

“Come here, Boongboong,” said Jin-Hyeok.

As soon as Jin-Hyeok squatted and beckoned it to come, Boongboong flailed in Luluka’s arms to make its way to him. Luluka seemed to be in a state of considerable shock at that sight.

Eventually, Boongboong was able to wriggle free from Luluka’s hold and bounded toward Jin-Hyeok, where it rolled over and showed its belly.

“Hey. Why do you think it ran away from you?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“I tell you well and truly, it did not run away! It simply went on a trip!” Luluka tried explaining.

“Without its owner? While it was starving?”

“It was going on a picnic, I tell you…” Luluka faltered.

“That’s called ‘running away’ in my dictionary. You know very well that it ran away, and that’s what made you run around all over the place searching for it. Isn’t that right?”

“I do not run like you undignified beings—I fly.”

“I’ll give you that much, since I can see your wings are all sweaty.”

Luluka clenched her fists. She looked as if she was considering readying herself to strike Jin-Hyeok again, but it never came.

“I’m a Streamer. My abilities as a Streamer let me check out Boongboong’s status, you know?”

“Hmph. You do not have the least bit of my attention.”

“But your ears are perking up.”

“...but if you truly wish to tell me out of your own volition, I shall lend you an ear. Consider it a privilege.” Luluka caved in.

“One of Boongboong’s current conditions is haphephobia. It hates being touched.”

It was obvious how that development had come out with a single glance—Luluka had likely been overwhelming Boongboong with her love, cuddling and kissing it all day.

“Boongboong, am I right?” asked Jin-Hyeok.

There was no way Boongboong didn’t catch what Jin-Hyeok said.

Woof! Woof!

It barked as it nodded earnestly.

Luluka indeed seemed very shocked.

“What a filthy trickster you are,” she tried accusing Jin-Hyeok.

“Why would I want to fool you? Anyway, you’re the owner of Boongboong, so it’s your problem.”

Jin-Hyeok carefully scooped up Boongboong in his arms and handed it over to Luluka. Boongboong’s ears and tail drooped immediately.

Luluka glowered at Jin-Hyeok for a while with Boongboong in her arms, before finally speaking.

“How did you get Boongboong’s heart?”

“With sausages,” replied Jin-Hyeok.

“Are you serious?”

“Sausages are much better than kisses.”

“My kisses are priceless!”

“Yeah, tell that to someone who believes you.”

Jin-Hyeok had a long conversation with Luluka. There was something delightful about teasing her.

“Anyway, as a mature and grown-up Angel, I shall grant you a reward for finding my dog,” said Luluka.

Luluka grabbed Jin-Hyeok’s arm. Her hand was quite warm as Angels had higher body temperatures than humans. She murmured some words under her breath as if casting a spell as she rubbed it here and there.

‘Wow, she needs to do all this just to heal a broken arm?’

There was no mistaking that Luluka didn’t have a knack for healing.

Nevertheless, the treatment was completed.

“You are now healed. What else do you want?” asked Luluka.

“Forget it. I don’t want anything from a kid. Just go,” Jin-Hyeok answered.

In a situation like this, Luluka usually refused to yield and gave the best of whatever she had.

With a face once again flushed with annoyance, Luluka plucked a feather from her wings.

“This is a feather imbued with the sacred power of the Angels.”

“It’s not housing any diseases, is it?” ”

“I will split your head in half if you keep talking like that!”

Luluka turned around and flew away. It looked like Mok Jae-Hyeon was trying to get a word in within the midst of all of this, but he was completely ignored.

“I’m not interested in lame men,” was all Luluka said.

She glanced back at Jin-Hyeok with some venom.

“And I hate rude men even more!”

Luluka’s wings were quivering. It sounded like there was a lot more emotions housed in her words than initially apparent.

A gate, that appeared out of thin air, was gone soon after Luluka entered it.

[You have cleared the Mission.]

[As a reward for clearing the Mission, you receive the 「Jade Jar of Perfume Oil」.]

The item entered Jin-Hyeok’s Inventory immediately.

Jin-Hyeok decided to sit down on a chair for a bit.

‘What were the odds?’

Although the Jade Jar of Perfume Oil was normally used as a perfume, there was another way to use it, which was rather special.

If a feather of an Angel was added to the Perfumed Oil, it became a Blessed Perfumed Oil that had the Angel’s holy powers imbued in the oil.

It didn’t mean that the oil could work miracles such as heal the severely ill or injured, but this Blessed Perfumed Oil could become a very powerful tool when a Player was dealing with monsters with demonic characteristics.

‘I did hear that Wind Wanderer gives a lot of helpful missions to Players.’

Jin-Hyeok and Mok Jae-Hyeon were still unable to go up to the first floor.

Jin-Hyeok began to suspect that it wasn’t just an odd turn of events that he got the feather and oil in this situation.

‘This is no coincidence.’

Jin-Hyeok pictured the possibilities.

‘Back then, there had been a few tragic incidents that happened in Tutorial Fields all around the world.’

Jin-Hyeok couldn’t remember the exact number, but there had been three or four occurrences.

Considering that there were at least tens of thousands of Tutorial Fields scattered around the world, the probability of getting rewards as good as this was small enough to almost converge to zero.

‘A demonized human had appeared before.’

A demonized human was no longer a human being.

They were just monsters filled with bloodlust, eager to murder and tear flesh. That was why people didn’t bother to refer to these creatures as demonized humans, and just called them demons.

Unless a Saintess of Miracles entered a battle against one of these, the only method to deal with them was to put them down.

‘And whenever a demon appeared in the Tutorial Fields… a Great Hero was born.’

The Great Hero was a Job. Graded as a 9-Star Job, it was considered the best amongst the best.

That said, Jin-Hyeok wasn’t particularly fond of the Job. Since the Great Hero was literally a ‘heroic’ occupation as the name suggested, there were many constraints on those that entered this Job.

For instance, the constraints were such that they had to display a noble spirit of self-sacrifice, or choose to die an honorable death.

All the Great Heroes that Jin-Hyeok had known lived lives that were full… and short.

“Huh? Hyung, the escalator’s working now!” Mok Jae-Hyeok suddenly said. “Hmm? Wait, who is that?”

Someone was coming down on the escalator.

His eyes were a deep black, and horns sprouted from his head.

As Jin-Hyeok had expected, a demon had appeared for real.

‘Wow.’

Jin-Hyeok had goosebumps. His body was tingling head to toe, a sensation that he liked.

‘He’s a really strong one, isn’t he?’’

Jin-Hyeok did not realize it, but a smile crept across his face.

1. Poor dog has a phobia of being touched. ☜