I Gave Up Being Stronger

He felt sorry for the intern GM who came with Hagon. The intern’s face was full of panic, not knowing what to do.

‘Since she doesn’t have any healing Skills, she won’t be able to treat him.’

However, Jin-Hyeok still told her to try to treat the GM anyway. The trial was going to start soon, and he wanted to appeal that he did his best to provide the best medical aid for Hagon.

Jin-Hyeok opened the lid of a healing potion and poured it over Hagon’s head. Jin-Hyeok knew it would only partially heal Hagon’s injuries as Hagon was suffering from the Reflection\'s effect, and it wouldn’t be of much use.

As expected, Hagon ended up dying.

[A GM has been killed.]

Jin-Hyeok’s surroundings started to darken. A black barrier seemed to rise from the ground and covered the area around him.

The Field had changed.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been here.’

This place was the Judgment Room, which automatically activated when someone committed a significant crime.

Three people dressed in legal robes appeared in the sky. Overall, the Field looked like a courtroom, but next to him were beings in the form of small dinosaurs from the Dragonian Race. They were born at Level 140.

[You cannot have weapons.]

[You cannot use Skills.]

[You cannot use Traits.]

[You cannot use Mysteries.]

With all of Jin-Hyeok’s abilities restricted, it was challenging to determine the exact Level of these Dragonians, but Jin-Hyeok didn’t really care. As long as he did not engage in any violent actions, they would not bother him either.

The judge sitting in the middle spoke, “The GM has been murdered. Do you acknowledge this?”

The judge was an AI implemented by the System.

“It was not intentional, but I do acknowledge it,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Murdering a GM is a serious crime.”

Many Players who came here on the charge of killing a GM received unjust punishment.

Those ‘judges’ were AIs working for the System. Their sole purpose was the stability of the System, and the deprivation of Players’ rights was not much of a concern in the process.

“I request a witness. There was a Streamer who was recording everything at the scene.”

“Your request has been granted.”

Shortly after, an invitation was sent to Kang Mi-Na.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Mi-Na had a strong intuition that this was a great opportunity for her.

‘I will reveal the video of the Flying Toad later,’ she thought.

She was bound by the contract anyway. She could only upload it with Kim Pyeong-Beom’s permission.

‘I’ll just sneakily show my viewers the aftermath first.’

She deliberately framed the shot to show half of the Flying Toad’s corpse.

‘And what happens afterward is not within the scope of our contract.’

She started her livestream.

[Shocking aftermath of a hunt! And a suspicious behavior of the GM that followed. Is this just a coincidence?]

Viewers flocked in faster than usual. The fact that she partially exposed the Flying Toad’s corpse quickly became trending. With her initial strategy of securing the viewers’ attention, she angled the camera to avoid fully revealing the corpse. As a result, among the viewers, debates arose about whether the Flying Toad was truly dead or not. However, with Hagon’s appearance afterward, the truth of the Flying Toad’s death was revealed and became an established fact.

-Was he trying to take away the Major Achievement?

-LOL I would be so pissed off if I were Pyeong-Beom.

-Even if this is an Open Beta Server, isn’t that too much? Do they have no dignity? Haha.

Mi-Na silently celebrated her clever move. The chat was much more active than usual.

‘The SSP is really amazing.’

People from each Server used different languages, but all of it was automatically translated, and it sounded very natural.

This was called the Transcendental Translation, which was one of the System settings that provided the best translations to the viewers.

-Wait a minute, Hagon died?

-Are you serious?

-A GM died?

When Hagon met his demise, Mi-Na’s livestream reached its maximum viewership, which was the first time it had happened.

-What an idiot! Hahaha!

-I bet my life that Hagon got his job because of his dad!

After that, Mi-Na almost screamed.

‘What the hell? Why did Pyeong-Beom disappear?’

A strange black barrier appeared, and Pyeong-Beom vanished.

-Looks like he was moved to the Judgment Room.

-He’s done for! LOL

-Bye~

The number of viewers started to drop rapidly.

“Wait a moment!” Mi-Na said urgently. “I’ve received an invitation.”

[The first-ever journey into the Judgment Room! Let’s see what’s in there.]

The viewer count surged again.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“It was an accident. I did nothing but only received attacks from Hagon. I will submit evidence regarding that,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Mi-Na submitted the video. The video was displayed on the screen, and three judges examined it. Jin-Hyeok continued to speak.

“After the incident, I made efforts to remedy the situation. I believed that the GMs had the basic healing Skills, so I asked another GM who was nearby to provide treatment.”

What Jin-Hyeok said was captured in the video. One of the judges questioned the intern GM, Marie.

“Is everything Kim Pyeong-Beom said true?”

“Y-Yes… It is all true,” Marie replied.

In the end, Jin-Hyeok was declared innocent with strong evidence. However, from the judges’ perspectives, it was not a particularly enjoyable outcome. For them, the stability of the System was the top priority, and punishing the Player who killed a GM would have been better for them.

However, Jin-Hyeok presented such irrefutable evidence that they had no choice.

“Does the witness have any objections?”

“...No, sir.”

Hagon’s colleague, Marie, did not seem to have any issues with the ruling either.

Everything went smoothly for Jin-Hyeok.

“We will render a verdict. The incident was initially set as the First Step of the Yeosu Scenario. If the Scenario had gone as planned, it would have been a significant and impressive Scenario. However, it went terribly wrong, and it became evident that the managing GM lacked the necessary abilities and was negligent in their duties. Therefore, the System orders the abandonment of the Yeosu Scenario.”

The intern GM, Marie, looked pleased for some reason.

“Furthermore, we will grant the final reward of this Scenario to Kim Pyeong-Beom, the Player who was unfairly deprived of a Major Achievement in this incident. Considering that Player Kim Pyeong-Beom was almost killed under the unjust tyranny of a GM, we deem this reward to be just.”

Jin-Hyeok gulped.

‘Really?’ he thought.

If he successfully completed the Yeosu Scenario, he would ultimately obtain the Genius Trait. Alongside the Sword Emperor Trait, this was the Trait that elevated Jin-Hyeok to be a top-ranked Player in his previous life.

‘They’re really giving it to me?’

He was delighted, but at the same time, he felt suspicious.

‘They are being too kind.’

Of course, the judges were fair since they were a part of the System’s AI. If presented with good evidence, they would render a corresponding verdict.

‘But in the end, they are not on my side.’

They were not on anyone’s side. Their priority was the smooth functioning of the System.

“Do you agree?” one of the judges asked.

“Yes, I agree.”

“However, please be aware that this reward needs to consider the current Level of the Earth Server,” the judge who was sitting on the left said.

This time, the judge sitting on the right spoke, “Hence, I recommend setting a Level requirement of 110 for acquiring the Genius Trait.”

The judge in the middle closed his eyes, seeming to ponder for a moment before speaking, “The verdict was confirmed. This case will… Therefore… Recognizing the necessity of the Level requirement… A probationary period will be required… Therefore… We will… Accordingly…”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He struck the gravel.

[The verdict of the Judgment Room has been confirmed.]

[You have acquired the final reward of the Yeosu Scenario, the Trait 「Genius」.]

[However, the acquisition of the Genius Trait is deferred until Level 110.]

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Mi-Na tightly held onto Jin-Hyeok\'s wrist.

“Hey, do you want to date me?” she asked.

“Are you crazy?”

He never expected to hear such words from Mi-Na.

Before regression, she was his comrade and was like a brother to him. Hearing this from his former party member gave him the chills.

“Then, how about a kiss?”

She stepped forward and tried to hug him.

He knew the reason why she was acting like this. She possessed a Trait that could bind her and another person’s souls through a kiss. Supposedly, it allowed her to track the subject.

It did not necessarily have to be a kiss; the more intimate the physical contact, the stronger the effect was.

“Get lost, seriously,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Then, how about we sleep together?”

Jin-Hyeok was genuinely creeped out. He was outraged that Mi-Na was seducing him. Seeing his former party member, whom he shared life-and-death moments with before his regression, doing this to him made him want to throw up.

“Okay, I will compromise. How about just giving me your number?”

Mi-Na’s eyes showed desperation. It seemed like she would do anything to not let him slip away, which actually made him feel somewhat pleased.

‘Good. This is the way you should Play.’

“It will be hard to see each other for a while,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Why? Are you thinking about quitting Playing just because you killed a GM?”

“...What?”

“Is it because you’re feeling guilty about killing a GM?”

“...”

Jin-Hyeok did not say anything, but she suddenly raised her voice. She was so desperate that she was even making outrageous assumptions.

“Hey! It’s okay! Players kill people when they’re Playing. It’s not like you massacred three thousand people. Why are you acting all timid like this? If a Swordsman doesn’t kill people, can we really call him a Swordsman? Get a grip.”

“The fact that you drew that conclusion from my short answer astounds me.”

She subtly stopped using honorifics with him, but he didn’t really pay attention.

Anyway, she seemed to be growing well on her own.

“I’m not going to let go. No, I can’t let go. Give me your number. Play with me! If not, I’m just going to kill myself,” Mi-Na said.

‘Kill yourself? You? And not be able to Play?’

She was lying through her teeth.

“Still, it was nice meeting you,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“I won’t let you go!”

Thwack!

Jin-Hyeok hit her neck and knocked her unconscious. Her body slumped.

‘I don’t see any real danger nearby…’

Jin-Hyeok looked around to see if there was any immediate threat that could harm Mi-Na when he left. Just to be sure, he concealed himself nearby to observe her waking up. Even after regaining consciousness, her eyes still flickered with madness.

“I need to sleep with that bastard.”

She muttered to herself repeatedly. From her expression, she seemed more resolute than when they entered the Banyan Tree Dungeon.

“I’m definitely going to find him. I am going to find him, and sleep with him.”

‘...Should I just kill her now?’

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

When he returned home, the Cha Jin-Hyeok avatar he had summoned was still sleeping peacefully on the bed. He had left the livestream on while his avatar was sleeping, so he had the perfect alibi.

‘But why are so many people watching this? It’s just me sleeping.’

Moreover, it was in first-person view, so there was nothing particularly interesting to see, yet thousands of people were watching it.

Looking at the massive donations coming in, it was a world full of surprises, even for Jin-Hyeok.

He sat on the bed and started meditating.

‘Something’s off.’

They gave him the Genius Trait way too easily. Even if this was an Open Beta Server and was still on a low-Level stage, Jin-Hyeok wondered why they would just hand over the Trait for the Scenario like that. There had to be some tricks behind all this.

‘And there’s the Level requirement.’

Jin-Hyeok closed his eyes and observed his inner self—his Skills, Traits, and Mysteries. Not a lot of Players could do this. They would always complain that they could not do this, but to Jin-Hyeok, they were not just trying hard enough. Players who had gone back and forth between life and death would naturally come to realize this observation technique.

Those who could not do this meant they had not experienced such intense Play. All the top rankers he had encountered could do this.

‘Genius Trait… Hm…’

Inside his inner universe, bright lights were shining.

‘That must be the Genius Trait.’

Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be sealed with chains.

‘So it unlocks when I reach the Level requirement.’

Jin-Hyeok could not figure out exactly what kind of trick the System set up. Thus, he decided to wake up.

‘This is not working.’

He felt like there was no answer here. He immediately headed to the Sareoga Mart Dungeon. It was only a ten-minute walk from here.

[You have entered the Sareoga Mart Dungeon.]

‘Ah, even the air is different.’

This was the Dungeon where Jin-Hyeok achieved an All-Clear, and because of that, his abilities skyrocketed when he was inside the Dungeon. He activated the Hidden Stage, which was on the third floor, and sat in the corridor.

Here, he would not be disturbed by other Players. He closed his eyes and started meditating.

‘I… see something.’

The bright stars in his inner universe.

Inside one of those stars, he saw something nibbling away at it.

‘Huh?’

With his enhanced Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance, he closely examined the light emitted by the Genius Trait. He saw a small bug-like being devouring the Genius Trait. His Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance interpreted it and told Jin-Hyeok what it was.

‘Holy shit. This could’ve been bad.’

Nobody should ever underestimate the System. If Jin-Hyeok were just a newbie, he would have fallen for it.