I Gave Up Being Stronger

‘Okay, let’s try talking to them first.’

Players with 8-Star Jobs were actually hard to find without seeking them out proactively. Statistically speaking, they fell within around the top 5% of Job star ratings.

For Cha Jin-Hyeok, however, it went without saying that they didn’t seem all that special because he had been surrounded entirely by 9-Starrers in his previous lifetime. He turned and started to make his way toward them.

“Wait!”[1] Jin-Hyeok felt a presence let out a cry and encroached on him from behind. Like lightning, Jin-Hyeok grabbed the approacher’s sleeves and heaved all his weight over Jin-Hyeok’s shoulder.

‘Oh, oops… I did a shoulder throw without thinking.’

This was why habits were a scary thing. Jin-Hyeok had sparred heaps with the Martial King, Kim Jeong-Hyeon, in the past, and of that time, a lot was spent training in hand-to-hand combat as a contingent in the event that Jin-Hyeok was caught without his blade.

Perhaps he was sorely lacking when compared to Kim Jeong-Hyeon, but that was not to say Jin-Hyeok would have any trouble overpowering more ordinary individuals, like right now.

THUMP!

‘Frick, my body is screaming at me.’

Jin-Hyeok was pretty sure he just heard a crack from his own hip. Every fiber in his body groaned with just that one throw. Jin-Hyeok supposed that, to be fair, Joseph was a 190 cm tall dude with a large frame whose weight neared 110 kg.

‘I don’t know whether I should cry about the fact that this was enough to strain my body, or rejoice that I could even throw Joseph in the first place with this untrained Streamer physique.’ Jin-Hyeok wasn’t sure. ‘I mean, I guess Joseph’s not a combatant class Player, so I did get kind of sloppy…’

Jin-Hyeok imagined that if he was still a combatant class Player, he wouldn’t have lost the intuition to properly establish his center of gravity first before trying the shoulder throw. Plus he would have done a lot of exercise related to martial arts if he was still a combatant… and there’d be a higher chance he wouldn’t be suffering like he was right now.

‘Yeah, that’s right… I can cut some slack for myself on this sort of sloppiness. I practically haven’t exercised or trained properly.’

Even Jin-Hyeok could give a weakling like his present self a pass on this occasion.

***

When Joseph was flying through the air over Jin-Hyeok’s shoulder, it felt like time had stopped.

‘Huh?’

A lot of different thoughts flashed by in that moment.

In truth, Joseph had been a wrestling athlete until he graduated high school, and was even a wrestling state champion at one point. No matter how much he may have not expected this situation or let his guard down, he never imagined he would be helplessly tossed about like this.

“My apologies. I don’t really like it when people approach me from behind.”

Jin-Hyeok offered a hand. With a dumbfounded look, Joseph accepted it and stood up with Jin-Hyeok’s assistance.

‘Nothing popped up on him excelling in any physical activity when I was doing my research…’

If that was so, that meant the finesse Jin-Hyeok had just displayed came from his prowess and Playing ability as a Player.

But Jin-Hyeok was a Streamer. Just like Joseph himself, his Job was of a non-combatant class. It was then that, through his almost primal level of intuition and gut feelings, Joseph came to a revelation.

‘He’s a dual-class!’

His main Job had to be Martial Artist, so that meant Streamer was his secondary Job. That was the conclusion Joseph came to.

After apologizing and helping Joseph up, Jin-Hyeok was in the process of walking away. Joseph activated his Skill ‘Potential Evaluation’ and concentrated on Jin-Hyeok’s back.

‘Wait, what?’

A sudden pang of dizziness hit Joseph. It seemed as if the entire universe was suddenly sucked into a singular point, that point being Jin-Hyeok’s back. In this absolute darkness, only Jin-Hyeok sparkled with dazzling light, so dazzling that Joseph couldn’t look at him properly.

Before, the twin sisters Joseph saw lingering around seemed like they had some considerable potential as well… but now, any thoughts about those two melted away from his mind, and only Jin-Hyeok remained.

‘This is ridiculous.’

This situation was not all that different from that of a firefly’s glow being dwarfed by the light of the sun. Jin-Hyeok was the sun, and all else were nothing but fireflies pitter-pattering about, including Joseph himself.

Joseph swallowed. ‘I need to recruit him into the Avengers Army. No matter what.’

The Avengers Army—the most elite of teams—was the brainchild of Egan Paul that started with his selective recruitment of rankers from places all around the world, and this Player, Kim Chul-Soo, just had to be included as well.

And Jin-Hyeok’s potential didn’t only lie in his ability as a Player.

‘With those looks, I see the makings of a massive star.’

Joseph was certain in his belief that once society adapted to the System and it just became another part of daily life, there would be the coming of a new age. And he was equally certain that Jin-Hyeok would not just be a star, but an icon of this new age: one that would embody its zeitgeist.

Though by Joseph’s standards, Jin-Hyeok looked far too slender and flimsy for his liking, there was no question that he had the face, the looks, of someone who was simply made for stardom.

But from Joseph’s perspective, it seemed that Jin-Hyeok himself hadn’t had the self-awareness to realize this yet.

‘It definitely looks to be that way, seeing as how he doesn’t reveal his face on stream.’ Joseph’s heart steeled with resolve. ‘I’ll be the one to make him see. I’ll help him break out of this shell he’s made for himself and soar.’

Joseph had the confidence to market Jin-Hyeok the right way, and make him into a shining global star. A worldwide hero.

***

Meanwhile, Jin-Hyeok was hastily getting away from Joseph and approaching the twin sisters.

“Excuse me, hi.”

The one with the bob cut turned sharply and looked at Jin-Hyeok.

“What is it?”

The girl with the bob cut was Seo Ji-Soo, and she was the younger of the twins. After seeing who was calling her, the slight enmity she had seemed to simmer down a little.

That was good because, as far as Jin-Hyeok was concerned, she was far too good-looking to have a frown on her face.

“Uh, I wanted to…” Jin-Hyeok trailed off.

He’d succeeded in the first step of hailing them down before they went off elsewhere, but it was a bit of a challenge to think up where to go from here. He couldn’t exactly just say \'Hey, you! Join my team!’ out of nowhere.

“I won’t be giving you my number., she said.

“I wasn’t planning on asking for it.”

Seo Ji-Soo seemed to flush a little.

“Th-then what is it?” she asked.

“You’re a Player, right?”

“What of it?”

“I wanted to ask if you’d like to raid a hidden Field of a Dungeon together.”

“D-did you?”

Jin-Hyeok tilted his head slightly to one side. ‘I’ve got no idea where on earth she got the certainty that I’d be asking for her number.’

In fact, Jin-Hyeok was genuinely curious now. After all, he wasn’t too acquainted with such peaceful everyday social interactions(?).

“Why were you so sure I’d ask for your number?”

“Well, I mean, it’s pretty obvious what a guy wants if he randomly strikes a conversation with me on the street. It’s always my number that they’re after.”

Jin-Hyeok’s eyes widened.

“For real?” he asked.

“Sorry?”

“If I may ask, are you saying people ask you for your number that frequently?”

“Hey, wait, why is that so surprising?” Seo Ji-Soo asked in return.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m asking because I’m genuinely curious.”

“Oh. My gosh.”

“What’s wrong?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“The fact you’re genuinely curious makes me feel even worse actually. Are you looking for a fight?”

Jin-Hyeok’s heart skipped a beat. Hearing those words made his heart flutter.

Sword King! Let’s make it clear who’s the better out of us two!

Sounds good to me. Bring it on!

‘Man, that brings back memories.’ So many fights had started along these lines.

The “older” sister, Seo Ji-Ah, tapped on Seo Ji-Soo’s shoulder.

“Just give it a break. He says he’s come to ask us if we\'d like to raid a hidden Field of a Dungeon together.”

Seo Ji-Soo frowned at Jin-Hyeok.

“Is the information regarding the hidden Field credible?”

“Of course. I’ve even got it on video. Would you like to take a look?” Jin-Hyeok offered.

“Let’s have a look then.”

Jin-Hyeok confirmed for them that a third floor indeed existed in Sareoga Mart Dungeon, and it was open.

“I-I see you were telling the truth. Give me a moment, please. I’ll just go over some things with my older sister first,” Seo Ji-Soo said.

***

A few moments passed while the Seo sisters whispered back and forth amongst themselves.

Seo Ji-Soo finally spoke up.

“Alright, sounds good to us. Let’s do it together. It just so happened we needed to complete a hidden Field for a quest too.”

“You won’t regret your decision,” Jin-Hyeok replied. “How about we head over to where my teammates are so everyone can say hi to each other first?”

Jin-Hyeok walked back toward the cafe with the sisters tagging along.

“Hey, actually, I want to ask something,” Seo Ji-Soo piped up. “You hear a lot that you’re more socially lacking than what your looks would suggest, right?”

It hadn’t seemed like she was all that spiteful before this moment.

“Or do you hear a lot that you’re a bit… eccentric?” Ji-Soo asked Jin-Hyeok one question after another.

“This is my first time,” Jin-Hyeok answered.

“Really? Is this really your first time hearing that?”

“This is really the first time I’m hearing something like this since I was born.”

Jin-Hyeok felt like she had managed to strike a spot that hurt.

Other than his companions and teammates, the support team behind his team, and staff from the NIS, he had formed almost zero other social relationships in the past. There literally just hadn’t been any opportunity to.

In truth, Jin-Hyeok had indeed been slightly worried that his social skills had degraded without him knowing, and Seo Ji-Soo had very precisely attacked this worry of his.

“That stung a little just then, didn’t it?” Seo Ji-Soo asked.

“No, not at all,” Jin-Hyeok denied.

“I don’t know, I reckon anyone with half an eye can tell that one stung.”

“I believe this is a misunderstanding on your part.”

“Why are you speaking as if you’re a spokesperson for the royal family or something?”[2]

“A spokesperson? What do you mean?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

Seo Ji-Soo suddenly burst out giggling.

Later, Ji-Ah would ask her why she laughed, and she would answer: with the way he is, at that point his good looks are literally just part of the punchline.

On the other hand, Jin-Hyeok was puzzled.

‘What on earth is so funny?’

He didn’t feel like he even said anything particularly laugh-worthy.

‘Wait, does this mean I have a knack for comedy?’

***

Seo Ji-Soo asked him again.

“This really isn’t some big plan to get our numbers, right?”

At this point, it was almost like she wanted him to say, ‘Yes! I wanted your number all along!’

“Like I said, no.”

Why couldn’t she just take him for his word? Was she this untrusting of others?

[#As if, right? #Doesn’t he want my number? #He really doesn’t have a thing for me?]

At least this was a sight to see.

Anyone who was so sure of their own charisma needed a proper rude awakening. It was better to treat this illness of hers now before it was too late.

“You often hear that you’re pretty, don’t you?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Do I look like I do?” Ji-Soo answered, her gaze softening.

[#Yeah, I knew it #Here comes his true feelings #I’m open to it, you know #’Cause you’re a handsome one]

Jin-Hyeok turned off his Broadcaster’s Truesight.

“Please just disregard any good samaritan that says that to you from now on.”

“Sorry?”

“Because you’re really not all that.”

“...Excuse me?”

Maybe he was prattling on and telling her off like a boomer, but Jin-Hyeok felt she really needed that piece of advice. It would help her grow.

He knew that if she continued Playing as a Player in later days, a day would come when she would realize to her core that surrounding oneself with yes men that only told you what you wanted to hear was a one-way ticket to destroying your life. And indeed, he’d seen a lot of famous rankers decline for that very reason.

To those that leaped into the frontlines of battle like the rankers, the only natural step after one’s declination was death.

‘And you two ended up committing double suicide...’

As far as Jin-Hyeok was concerned, it was important to be a little selective when it came to befriending others. People needed friends who’d give them appropriate pills of truth that may be hard to swallow at times, but were good for them—instead of offering nothing but sweet lies.

Seo Ji-Soo seemed a little taken aback.

“So this is like your whole schtick, isn’t it?”

“My schtick?”

No, this wasn’t some schtick of his where he was playing hard to get. He was telling her what he actually thought.

But Ji-Soo simply charged forth and asked him straightforwardly.

“Do you really not find me pretty? I get that I’m pretty a lot, you know.”

“Okay, well, firstly, you’re really not up to that level in my eyes.”

“...Screw you.”

“And I don’t really like pretty girls all that much.”

Yes, it was true. In fact, Jin-Hyeok wasn’t very fond of females in general, though he particularly did not like pretty ones. Based on his experience, just like how all kids that were exceptional happened to be that way because they were evil, all pretty women he had met had unfailingly capitalized on their beauty to operate as assassins or devise other schemes.

‘It was frightening, even looking back now.’

Jin-Hyeok found honey traps who lured others through temptation to be much more terrifying than some lunatic wielding dual axes and screaming for a fight. He would take the latter any day. At least they were straightforward, whereas if you were caught by the wrong woman, it was truly game over.

Ever since Yeh-Lim, one of the few people Jin-Hyeok had actually opened his heart to, tried to feed him poison in the midst of kissing him, he never tried to get involved with women again. He only assessed them from a distance as if they were trees on the side of the road.

It had been nothing but a necessary sacrifice if he wanted to survive.

“If you say you don’t like pretty girls, does that mean I’m pretty?”

My goodness, she was a tenacious one.

“You go ahead and interpret it however you want.”

“Come on, tell it to me straight!”

“If I really had to analogize, you’re a bit like a tree I’m passing by on the side of the road.”

No matter how beautiful a roadside tree was, a tree was a tree.

Seo Ji-Soo grumbled. “There’s something about this oppa that makes me really not like him.”

Regardless, Seo Ji-Soo and Seo Ji-Ah agreed to run some plays with Jin-Hyeok.

They happened to be completing a quest called ‘The 8th Mark.’

“For the 8th Mark, we have to hunt down any monster that isn’t on public record. If it’s a monster that was hidden in some way, like spawning in a hidden Field or through a hidden interaction, we get a bonus reward.”

“That sounds perfect,” Jin-Hyeok commented. “The third floor of the Sareoga Mart Dungeon is a Field that hasn’t been publicized even once, so there’s bound to be a monster that has rarely been encountered.”

“I’m only cooperating with you because our interests align,” Seo Ji-Soo said rather flatly.

“Likewise,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

“I’m fully serious, so don’t get it twisted. I’m mentioning that just in case.”

“Don’t get what twisted?”

“That I’m cooperating with you just because you’re a looker or something.”

“I won’t.”

“I’m for real.”

Jin-Hyeok hadn’t even said anything that would remotely suggest he was getting his hopes up. Having understood this agreement that way from the get-go, he didn’t even bother to retort back.

The band headed back toward Sareoga Mart Dungeon. Jin-Hyeok was admittedly already a little glad they had extra firepower with them now, though he did feel a little guilty because it felt like this wasn’t really what Wind Wanderer had in mind when he first offered his mission. This was going to be a dine and dash of the mission reward, with way less of the needed blood, sweat, and tears paid.

‘Mok Jae-Hyeon, Cha Jin-Sol, Seo Ji-Ah, Seo Ji-Soo… this should be enough fighting strength.’

Ah, the opportunity to explore a third floor of a Dungeon that no one had known about… Jin-Hyeok knew he shouldn’t be getting excited, but he couldn’t help himself for this one.

‘I should compose myself for the livestream.’

Reminding himself that he needed to play the part of a Streamer, Jin-Hyeok went back on live.

[I am completing a mission with some new members.]

He had a good feeling about the title he chose this time around..

1. In English. ☜

2. She refers to the formal prose that was used by the Korean royal palace (궁세체), which is used in the modern day as a slang term for when someone speaks very officially and flatly without room for fun. I thought this translation would carry some of that feeling while maintaining eloquence. ☜