I Gave Up Being Stronger

‘Wait, but how does he know the name “Unleashing Technique”?’ Serchan thought.

He could only think of one answer to the question. To know about the Unleashing Technique Mystery, Cha Jin-Hyeok had to be a regressor.

‘If that guy is a regressor…’

Then Serchan could kill him. There might be a little disturbance in the world, but Serchan could restore the original trajectory of the Yeosu Scenario by portraying the dead Flying Toad as a male and introducing a new female Flying Toad that was waiting for the male. That could work.

When Serchan thought of this solution, it suddenly seemed like there was still hope.

Jin-Hyeok could see Serchan’s status messages with his Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance.

[...#A Ray of Hope. #Please let him be a regressor. #This is the happiest ending.]

‘Wow, I can see all this?’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

The status messages that were not visible when Serchan was surprised earlier were now visible. This meant that Serchan was experiencing intense emotions that broke through the Level difference.

‘I guess he is hoping that I’m a regressor.’

That had to be the reason why Jin-Hyeok could see Serchan’s emotions as a status message like this.

Jin-Hyeok smirked. He provoked Serchan once again.

“Unleashing Technique. Either this or I will not cooperate.”

“You…”

Serchan put on a serious expression.

“What?”

“Are you a regressor?”

Jin-Hyeok intentionally acted like he was surprised, and Serchan started to be drawn into his acting. Under normal circumstances, Serchan would not have fallen for such acting, but he was too desperate.

In psychological warfare, the one in a hurry was bound to lose.

‘He’s a regressor!’ Serchan thought.

If it was any other day, Serchan would have taken some time to learn more about Kim Chul-Soo and verify if he had gone through regressor validation. However, Serchan did not have that luxury at the moment.

“R-Regressor? What is that?”

“It’s useless to act surprised.”

The only thought dominating Serchan’s mind was that he had to return the Yeosu Scenario to its original state.

[The GM forced Quest, 「Room of Truth」, has been activated.]

‘Haha. He must really be in a hurry,’ Jin-Hyeok thought while chuckling.

Serchan had activated a forced Quest called the Room of Truth. Forced Quests posed risks even to the GMs. If they engaged with innocent Players and the Players raised formal complaints, it could be exhausting and challenging for the GM.

‘This will appear very negatively in his performance reviews… This is the worst outcome for the passionate Mr. Serchan.’

The Room of Truth was created. It looked exactly like the place where he had met Kihael before. A purple Truth Crystal appeared.

Serchan immediately asked a question.

“Are you a regressor?”

Jin-Hyeok could sense the anger in Serchan\'s questioning. Serchan was ready to execute Jin-Hyeok immediately if he got the answer he wanted. Despite feeling a strange excitement from Serchan’s anger, Jin-Hyeok knew this was not the right time for that. He pretended to regain his memory.

“Oh, that’s what you were talking about,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Answer me.”

“Here, look at this first.”

Jin-Hyeok handed over the Certificate of Authenticity.

“Certificate of Authenticity…? Matter that was determined… Kim Chul-Soo and their unrealistically fast adjustment to present circumstances, with a related matter of regression… Huh…?”

Serchan’s face turned pale.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

[The conditions for creating the 「Room of Truth」 are not valid.]

[The 「Room of Truth」 will be automatically closed.]

The Room of Truth followed the principle of non bis in idem, which was a legal doctrine to the effect that no legal action could be instituted twice for the same cause of action.

If this was a trial, Jin-Hyeok was the defendant who was once again standing before the judge for the same charge. This was because he had been forced into a Quest against his will.

“Wow, this is really unfair,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“...”

“I’m innocent, so why am I being tormented with the same thing over and over again?”

“...”

[...#My life is over. #Will there be a way out of this? #What about my promotion?]

Jin-Hyeok smiled. He was not Serchan’s enemy, and he did not intend to trample on Serchan’s life and goals. Before regression, they had been quite friendly with each other.

“Unleashing Technique. If it’s too difficult to give it to me directly, at least tell me how to obtain it.”

"W-Well…”

“If you don’t tell me anything, I can’t cooperate with you under any circumstances.”

What Serchan was asking from Jin-Hyeok was the return of the Major Achievement. Jin-Hyeok had acquired it due to an error in the System, and if he returned it, the Scenario could return to its original state. However, this was something Jin-Hyeok had to agree to. And in ordinary circumstances, no one would agree to this. Who in their right mind would return a Major Achievement just like that?

“Not to mention, you just tried to kill me, without any good reason,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“...”

“I will file a formal complaint for the forced Quest.”

Eventually, Serchan raised the white flag.

“I can give you the location and rough information. But that is all I can provide,” Serchan said.

“That will do.”

Jin-Hyeok was confident that he could obtain the Mystery that Kwak Chan-Yeong could. Since Chan-Yeong obtained it during the early stages of Play, if Jin-Hyeok could find it, he should be able to obtain it too.

“Alright, I think we have a deal,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“The location is Nak An Historic Village. To obtain the Mystery, you will need proof indicating that you have defeated a boss-level monster.”

“I see.”

Jin-Hyeok could hear the gears turning in Serchan’s head. Serchan would probably take every measure available to ensure that Jin-Hyeok could not hunt another boss-level monster for a while.

That did not matter to Jin-Hyeok.

“Okay. Then I will return the Major Achievement.”

Jin-Hyeok did not need a useless Achievement like this, with no actual effect. In the end, Serchan got the Major Achievement back.

“What happened today needs to remain strictly confidential, understand?” Serchan said.

“I promise.”

Jin-Hyeok did not want today’s events to be known to other people anyway. There was no plausible explanation he could provide for knowing about the Unleashing Technique Mystery.

‘Alright, then. Shall I go get the Unleashing Technique?’

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Jin-Hyeok arrived at Nak An Historic Village. This place was a folk village consisting of an old castle wall and choga.[1] This place was also a habitat for low-Level monsters like Big Paw Rabbits and monsters close to Level 20 like the Gray Wolves.

Jin-Hyeok could see some Players hunting those monsters.

‘This is a peaceful place,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Jin-Hyeok had no idea how Chan-Yeong had obtained the Unleashing Technique here. He maximized the sensitivity of his Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance and looked around the surroundings. There might be hidden clues that he could discover.

‘I feel like I have become a Navigator.’

Jin-Hyeok wondered if as his Broadcaster\'s Clairvoyance developed, it would become similar to the abilities of a Navigator.

‘Nah, that’s unlikely.’

Jin-Hyeok reminded himself that there were no Mary Sue Players in the future world. The reason he could do this was probably because he was a low-Level Player. As Levels increased and the boundaries between Jobs became clearer, Streamers would never be able to replace Navigators.

‘I should stop thinking about useless stuff and start searching.’

Jin-Hyeok walked along the castle path, which could be considered the highest point in the area.

‘Wait.’

His Broadcaster\'s Clairvoyance caught something.

‘That choga looks a bit peculiar.’

A green aura was faintly emanating from the choga, as if something was hidden inside.

‘No… That can’t be right.’

Jin-Hyeok thought there probably was not anything really hidden there. Nevertheless, since he had no clues, he decided to go in that direction. As he got closer, he noticed a green aura that could not be seen by the naked eye, growing stronger and stronger. He arrived in front of the choga. It now appeared as if it were an actual monster.

[Suspicious Choga]

It even had the underline so he could check more detailed information about it.

‘I can’t believe I can see this.’

[Suspicious Choga]

[Strange mana is swirling around. This choga is suspicious for some unknown reason.]

‘No way…’

He decided to enter. As soon as he stepped into the yard, a Giant with two heads suddenly swung a club at him. Its whole body was red.

‘Huh?’

That was a Level 70 monster called a Two-Headed Giant. However, Jin-Hyeok was not particularly surprised.

‘Wait a minute. That’s just an illusion!’

Through the Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance, it was clear that this monster was just an illusion. Since he possessed the Imperial Resilience, such illusions had no effect on him whatsoever.

‘This Imperial Resilience is really handy.’

With a casual wave of his hand, the Two-Headed Giant dispersed like smoke. Several more Giants appeared afterward, but it was meaningless. He knew they were all fake.

Jin-Hyeok opened the door of the choga.

“Hm…”

There was a blanket that was haphazardly spread out inside. He noticed a two-compartment drawer made out of mother-of-pearl. A green light was emanating from inside the drawer.

‘There is no way…’

He opened the drawer. The first compartment was empty. The second compartment would not open.

[The drawer will not open.]

[A special condition is required.]

This was the original notification, but when viewed through the Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance, it was underlined.

[A special condition is required.]

[Special Condition]

[Proof of defeating a boss-level monster is required.]

‘Can conditions be easily identified like this?’

Jin-Hyeok took out the Golden Horn from his inventory. It was something he obtained from killing a boss monster, the Golden Horned Toad.

‘So how does this work?’

He pondered for a moment. He thought about what Han Sae-Rin would have done.

‘Hm...’

If Sae-Rin, his old team’s Navigator, were here, she would have probably already obtained the Mystery and left to enjoy a nice lunch.

‘Well, since the first compartment is empty…’

There was definitely a reason why it was a two-compartment drawer. So Jin-Hyeok simply put the Golden Horn into the first compartment and closed it.

[Condition satisfied.]

[Would you like to use the 「Golden Horn」 to unlock the 「Locked Drawer」?]

‘No… really? There’s no way it’s this easy.’

[You have unlocked the 「Locked Drawer」.]

Light burst out all of a sudden. It was only visible to him, but a green pillar of light shot up into the sky.

[You have acquired the Mystery「Unleashing Technique」.]

‘... I actually obtained it.’

Rather than being happy, he felt slightly bewildered.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

‘Is this really the Unleashing Technique?’

Jin-Hyeok thought he should try using it to find out.

[You used the 「Unleashing Technique」.]

It was hard to describe. It felt like an unknown energy was permeating his body and his subconsciousness. Green light emanated from his body.

[You have unlocked the Hidden Skill 「Sharp Spirit」.]

[You have acquired the Skill 「Sharp Spirit」.]

It actually worked. Jin-Hyeok wanted this to happen, but he did not expect it to be this easy.

[You have unlocked the Hidden Skill 「Sharper Spirit」.]

[You have acquired the Skill 「Sharper Spirit」.]

The Hidden Skills that could only be used under extreme tension and in an Awakened state had now become Skills themselves. The unknown energy continued to envelop his body. He felt as if there were giant eyes scanning him

‘It feels like something is about to happen, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.’

The Hidden Skills were easily unlocked since they were experiences he had already gone through with this body. However, within his subconscious, there was a vague feeling that something was about to happen but could not quite manifest. It was an inexplicable itch, and Jin-Hyeok could not pinpoint where it was coming from.

‘Let’s try this.’

He sat down on the floor in a cross-legged position. He had practiced meditation a lot for his mental health, and through meditation, he had gained many insights. Some Traits were Awakened through meditation.

‘It’s been a while.’

Inhale and exhale.

Jin-Hyeok focused his breath and observed his body from a third-person perspective. Calmly, within his mental world, his body became its own universe. At the far end of the universe, there was a bright shining light somewhere. He threw a string of consciousness toward that direction. The light seemed close, yet out of reach.

‘This is hard.’

It felt like he was swimming toward somewhere. However, he was too exhausted to move any further.

‘Huh?’

But there was a force assisting him. It was probably the Imperial Resilience. It enabled him to keep swimming without giving up.

He could not tell how much time had passed.

‘The light…’

It felt like he could reach out and touch the light.

‘Did I touch it?’

He successfully touched the light with his hand.

Flash!

There was a bright light, just like when he acquired the Mystery. His once-dark universe was now filled with light. A sense of satisfaction washed over him as if he had finally gotten what he had been searching for.

‘This feeling… Could it be…?’

Somehow, it felt familiar. The Unleashing Technique had discovered something within his subconsciousness.

[You have unlocked the Trait「Sword Emperor」.]

Suddenly, his head throbbed with intense pain.

‘I have to endure it.’

He focused on preventing himself from losing consciousness. The Imperial Resilience aided him, and the countless hardships and obstacles from his past experiences helped him withstand this agony. Eventually, a notification popped up.

[You have acquired the Trait 「Sword Emperor」.]

‘Wait, I just obtained the Sword Emperor Trait.’

However, an even more surprising notification followed.

1. Choga directly translates into ‘house made of grass’ and is one of two traditional nature-friendly house types in Korea. It was the main kind of housing for the working class in Korea from prehistoric times until the mid 20th century. The main building materials are straw, wood, and soil. ☜