I Gave Up Being Stronger

“Where did you get this?” Gap-Soo asked.

“From the Petronas Twin Towers Dungeon,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Petronas what?”

“It’s from a Dungeon from a foreign country, but you probably would not recognize it even if I told you.”

The old man looked a little offended.

“Then why didn’t you turn on your livestream?” Gap-Soo asked another question.

“I didn’t think it would be that interesting,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Well, if you are a Streamer, you should have turned it on. Don’t you think about the viewers who are waiting for you?”

The old man was a little more hysterical than Jin-Hyeok expected. Jin-Hyeok wondered if the Earth Patch was not fully completed yet. He gave Gap-Soo a brief explanation of what happened at the Petronas Twin Towers.

“...That’s how I got it, but it’s in the form of a vial, so I thought maybe an Alchemist could make something better.”

“You mean a poison potion[1] optimized for toads?” Gap-Soo said bluntly with his arms crossed. “I can make it, but why should I make it for you?”

“Because there is a new Dungeon at the Ilsan Lake Park[2] right now.”

“So what?”

“They say there are a lot of toad monsters there, so I thought having some poison would be handy.”

“And you think I will make it for you?”

The old man was even more uncooperative than usual. He seemed to be very upset that Jin-Hyeok had cleared the Twin Towers Dungeon without turning on the livestream.

This reminded Jin-Hyeok of something Kang Mi-Na had once said.

“When an extreme fan turns around, they become an extreme hater. That’s something you really have to be careful about.”

“Why? What’s so grand about being a fan? If they simply like something, they become a fan, and if they don’t like it, they become a critic.”

"Can’t you concoct a poison potion with your name on it?” Jin-Hyeok asked him again.

“My name? Why?”

It was entirely at the makers\' discretion when it came to putting their names on the product, and the decision on whether they put their name on it or not was solely theirs and theirs alone.

“Well, I am going to be using the product a lot on the show, and I thought it would be nice if the name of the person who helped me was shown on my livestream.”

Viewers on the SSP, especially the VIPs, paid astronomical amounts of money to watch the livestream. There were also viewers who donated money just to hear their names called in the live chat. It was weird to some, but Jin-Hyeok totally understood them.

An innate desire to be the best—it was something that existed in any and all fields, and it was certainly true even in the realm of viewers.

Jin-Hyeok thought that aspiration was noble and that was why he was certain.

‘The old man is definitely going to take this bait.’

“Your nickname on the SSP is MoneyShower, right?”

“It is.”

“Then how about we call it MoneyShower’s Centipede Potion?”

Gap-Soo crossed his arms and rubbed his chin, his fingertips trembling slightly.

“I am not doing this because my name is going to be on it.”

Jin-Hyeok knew this would work.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Give the potions you brought to Lilia,” Gap-Soo said.

“You can just take them, can’t you?”

“Then why do I even have a secretary?”

It was clear to Jin-Hyeok that Gap-Soo was trying to play a trick on him through the Succubus.

‘This is a great opportunity for me to test Imperial Resilience.’

Jin-Hyeok wondered how much better the Skill was than Mental Barrier, and how much he could resist the temptations of a Succubus whose Level was so much higher than his own.

He started to get a little excited.

The old man clapped once, and the door opened. Once again, Jin-Hyeok could smell the sweet smell of peaches. He tried to use his Broadcaster’s Truesight without making eye contact.

‘Oh?’

This new Imperial Resilience was a perfect match for his Job. It seemed to have greatly enhanced the power of Broadcaster’s Truesight.

[LV97/Lilia/Skills/Night Ruler]

It used to be all question marks, but now he could see a lot of information about her. However, he could not read the details because there was no underlining. He thought it was because the Level difference was too much.

Also, Jin-Hyeok saw a strange status notification.

[#Is he interested in me? #Of course he is. #Boys will be boys.]

The only reason he was excited was so he could test the Imperial Resilience Trait. It was strangely irritating to think that she thought he was interested in her.

‘Do I look that petty?’

[The Succubus has used the Skill 「?」.]

‘Wow. I can see that too?’

It was marked as a question mark because their Level difference was so great. If they were at a similar Level, he believed he would be able to read what the Skill was.

‘I bet it’s probably some sort of seduction Skill.’

His heart was not pounding like it used to. The sweet smell of peaches did not seem as deadly as before.

‘I must have grown. Now this is what I call a sense of accomplishment.’

[#Isn’t he interested in me? #Didn’t he get seduced by me? #What is he so excited about?]

Gap-Soo took a sip from his cup of tea and asked her, “Lilia, I hope you are doing your best.”

“Of course, I just used Night Temptation.”

When Lilia said ‘Night Temptation,’ it sort of worked as a trigger. Now Jin-Hyeok was able to interpret what the question mark was.

[The Succubus has used the Skill 「Night Temptation」.]

He scratched his head.

‘Night Temptation? That is the most powerful seduction Skill available to the Demons of the Dreams below Level 100.’

It was probably the strongest seduction Skill available at this stage.

‘No way…’

It was a very famous Skill that had a nearly one hundred percent chance of working on someone of the opposite sex if their Level was lower than the Level of the user. Even if Jin-Hyeok had the Imperial Resilience Trait, it would be difficult for him to resist the Night Temptation used by a Succubus with a Level difference of more than fifty Levels.

Even if he could, he couldn’t be this casual about it.

‘Is it because our Server hasn’t been updated yet?’

All the information he currently had was from a couple of years later. It seemed like the effect of the Night Temptation would become more powerful on the Earth Server in the later days.

‘Maybe the Skill is currently set as a weak Skill.’

There was no way he could withstand a real Night Temptation Skill used by a nearly Level 100 Succubus.

Lilia walked toward Jin-Hyeok.

“This is a bit of a blow to my pride.”

After retrieving the Centipede Venom he had brought, she looked at him with a smile.

“Don’t you think I am pretty?” she said.

“You are very beautiful.”

“But why do you seem excited about something else when you are in front of me?”

He was at a loss for words. He couldn’t explain it.

“You are right. I am attracted to you,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Hmm~ Is that so?”

She flicked his shoulder with her index finger as if it didn’t matter.

“What is your Level?” she asked.

“I am Level 40.”

“I don’t think I have ever met a male at Level 40 who wasn’t all over me.”

She leaned in and whispered into his ear.

“I think I am attracted to you.”

“...”

“You are making me curious.”

‘Wow.’

Jin-Hyeok was on the verge of being creeped out. He knew this from before, but her lines were too corny, and her B-rated lines were like a wake-up call to him.

Clearly, this Succubus needed a lot of practice with her pick-up lines. She was like those Level Grinders who only relied on their Levels and Skills, not hard work and training.

‘Ah, I guess that’s why I am not seduced by her. She is just a Level Grinder.’

“Hey, old man, when will the potions be ready?”

Jin-Hyeok knew ignoring her was the answer. For the record, he never liked Level Grinders. They were just Leveling for the sake of Leveling, not for the sake of real accomplishment and growth. They were full of shit.

As he thought about it, it made him feel a lot better. He didn’t think he would be seduced in the future now that he had lost interest in her.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Three days had passed. Lilia came to Jin-Hyeok’s house and handed him the potion called MoneyShower’s Toad Killer.

She sat down on the couch.

“Do you see your sister over there?” Lilia asked.

“Yes, I see the lump of stone that is shaped like a human.”

Cha Jin-Sol’s mouth dropped open at the sight of Lilia, and she could not move. Lilia smiled and pointed at her.

“That is the normal reaction of someone who sees me for the first time.”

“Is it normal for people to be in awe of you?”

“That’s how beautiful I am.”

“Okay, whatever.”

Jin-Hyeok did not feel like getting into a deep conversation with a Succubus. He quickly cut to the chase.

“What did the old man ask for compensation?”

“He wants you to send him an invitation before the livestream starts.”

“What’s that?”

“You don’t know?”

It was something that Jin-Hyeok was unfamiliar with. He did not interact with his audience at all, so he was not familiar with the system.

“You can buy invitations with one million Dias.”

“Does sending out invitations in advance change anything?”

“With an invitation, they can be the first to enter the livestream.”

Lilia did not understand why Gap-Soo would brew his own potion just to get one of those invitations.

For reference, that potion cost over three hundred million Dias in ingredients alone. However, Jin-Hyeok was very easily convinced.

“I see.”

“You’re already convinced?” Lilia said.

She thought a normal Player would feel overwhelmed. Instead, he understood so easily that she was taken aback.

“Is there any reason not to be convinced?”

“I thought you would think it was weird.”

‘I guess she knows nothing since she’s just a Level Grinder. She has no idea how important it is for some people to be first in anything.’

He was disappointed in Lilia yet again. Unaware of his feelings, Lilia continued to talk.

“And then there is this thing called the Invitation List. The names of people who got the invitation would pop up there.”

“Oh, they even get their names shown to the public?”

“You sound like you suddenly understand everything.”

“Of course. That is like a notarized statement that you’re the only viewer who got an invitation to the livestream.”

“You can put it that way.”

The feeling of being the only one.

The feeling of being the best at something.

Jin-Hyeok was briefly envious of Gap-Soo.

“Oh, and you will have the privilege of having a one-minute conversation on that channel.”

“Hm… That’s enough to make Gap-Soo take interest.”

“...”

“I might even say that he is getting overcompensated for what he has done.”

[#I don’t get it. #Am I weird?]

Lilia was confused. She did not understand Gap-Soo, and Jin-Hyeok, who seemed to understand this so easily. So she just decided to let it go.

“...When are you going to start your livestream?”

“I am thinking of starting around 10 a.m. tomorrow.”

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After Lilia left his house, Jin-Sol, who had been like a stone, became human again.

“Oppa, what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“Who is she? She’s not a human, is she?”

“...”

“I’ve never seen anyone that pretty before. Is she some kind of celebrity? Wow, she’s so pretty.”

Jin-Sol spewed out words like a rapper. Jin-Sol kept asking him who she was, how did he know her, how can someone be that beautiful, why does she smell so good, are you dating her, etc…

Jin-Hyeok did not remember all the questions because, after the first two questions, he just tuned Jin-Sol out.

“She is Gap-Soo’s secretary, and we just met for business.”

“What kind of business relationship would have someone to go to your house in that beautiful sundress and smile so innocently at you? Like, she had her entire body covered, but why was she so sexy?”

“...She was wearing a sundress?”

He could not remember what Lilia was wearing.

Anyway, Jin-Sol kept asking him who she really was. He told her several times that Lilia was just the secretary of Gap-Soo. Jin-Sol had a bad habit of tuning people out and only hearing things she wanted.

Jin-Hyeok decided not to make a big deal out of it because he had the same bad habit.

After thirty minutes, Jin-Sol’s rambling stopped. Finally, the conversation moved on to the next topic.

“Oppa, can I apply for this?”

“What is it?”

She held out her cell phone. There were various miscellaneous messages attached, but the message was simple.

[We are asking for active support from outstanding Players.]

This had already been announced last time. It was the government’s Player development policy. It became more specific, and they started to get support from many talented Players. Essentially, the government wanted to foster its own Players. It was a path Jin-Hyeok had taken before.

“If you want to do it, you can, but…”

“But what.”

“Personally, I want to stop you from going.”

She would have to do more dirty work and had to take more risks than other Players. She would belong to the country.

It was an honorable enough job, respected enough, and he knew someone had to do it. But he didn’t want that someone to be his sister.

“Why?” she asked.

“I just wonder if it’s a good choice to become a public servant after quitting your job at a global conglomerate.”

Jin-Sol tuned this out too.

“Look! There is also a video. It’s legit. Check this out.”

She played a video that he assumed was a public service announcement.

‘What?’

The video was a little strange.

‘Why is Lee Hyeon-Seong in that video?’

1. Just think of it as poison in the form of liquid, in a vial/bottle. We’re adding the word potion here as it will be included in the item’s name going forward. ☜

2. A little north-west of Seoul. ☜