I Gave Up Being Stronger

‘Isn’t that FreakKingTV?’

It was the first time Jin-Hyeok actually watched FreakKing’s livestream. That was because, before his regression and when he was an active Player, FreakKing was already dead.

From his recollection, FreaKing died at quite a low Level, around thirty or forty. The reason why Jin-Hyeok remembered him was one thing.

‘He was the first victim killed by Jeon Nam-Gil.’

FreakKing was a Streamer who mainly focused on bizarre or freaky content. Jin-Hyeok remembered him filming content like dissecting small monsters or torturing them.

Then one day, FreakKing suggested to Nam-Gil, “How about we kill one of the Players? That’s still considered Playing, right?” and ended up being murdered by him. That was the information Jin-Hyeok came across while gathering data on the serial killer.

‘They’re already Playing together.’

—Did you check the link that I sent you?

“Yes, I don’t really want to see it, though.”

In the livestream, Nam-Gil and FreakKing were torturing a cat-type small monster. FreakKing zoomed in on the struggling creature.

⌜The world has become a better place, guys!⌟

FreakKing seemed incredibly excited, shouting in such a high-pitched voice that it was annoying to listen to.

⌜It was freaking tough because of those animal rights and animal protection laws, but now, thanks to the monsters, the world of gore has opened! Can you guys see its pupils dilating? Oh my god! Thank you for the five thousand Dia donation! Thank you! Bing-Bong!⌟

FreakKing moved his hand as if he was begging while shaking his butt side to side.

⌜Now, this is for the donation! I will poke the monster’s eyes! Hahaha!⌟

He picked up an awl. Jin-Hyeok didn’t want to watch any further, so he turned the livestream off.

—I found him just as you said. So, can I have some free time now?

“Did you locate their position?”

—Well, I did… But…

“But what?”

—I’m a little busy right now.

“How can you be busy and still be on this call?”

Angel Girl still had not come to her senses. If she was talking on the phone, clearly, it meant that she was not busy. Jin-Hyeok didn’t know why she was lying.

—Well… It’s my sibling’s birthday…

“Do you want me to use the TIght-Fillet Spell?”

—It’s customary to celebrate a sibling’s birthday a little late.

Jin-Hyeok took a cab and arrived at Hongje-dong, which was in Seodaemun-gu. It was about a ten-minute drive from Yeonhui-dong, which was really close to Eunpyeong-gu, which was very close to where he used to live.

‘Come to think of it, it’s pretty obvious.’

Before the regression, Jin-Hyeok’s family lived in Eunpyeong-gu, and they were all killed by Nam-Gil. This meant that Jin-Hyeok\'s family was within Nam-Gil’s activity radius.

After waiting in front of the Hongje Station for a bit, Jin-Hyeok spotted Song Ha-Young looking around. Jin-Hyeok sent her a text.

[I am wearing a black hoodie, black cap, jeans, and black shoes. Height around 175 centimeters.]

Ha-Young approached Jin-Hyeok.

“Um… excuse me…”

It looked like she was here to buy something from him.

“See? I told you, you weren’t busy,” Jin-Hyeok said.

If she were really busy, she wouldn’t be here even if he used the Tight-Fillet Spell.

“If you were late, I would have acknowledged that you were busy.”

“Really? You would do that? And not use the spell?”

“Of course I would’ve used the spell.”

‘I would’ve acknowledged that you were busy, but using the spell is a different story.’

“Alright, let’s go over there,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“But why are we looking for them? It can’t be to rescue those small monsters, right?”

“Why the hell would I rescue them?”

No matter how small or cute the monsters might be, they were still monsters. Those born as monsters inherently held animosity toward humans. The small monsters they were torturing were still dangerous to children.

Monsters and humans could never coexist.

“Then why bother going after those scumbags?”

“Just because.”

After all, Jin-Hyeok did not even turn on his livestream. There was no need to worry about plausibility. Ha-Young seemed curious about something and kept asking questions.

“But how did you change your appearance so perfectly?”

“......”

“Was the Deceiver’s Mask that flawless?”

“Let’s just keep quiet and go.”

“Sounds like you’re going to use the Tight-Fillet Spell if I say one more word.”

Jin-Hyeok didn’t know if it was because she was a Thief, but she seemed to have accurately read his mind. Jin-Hyeok was already counting the words.

“So, now I can only say one more word, right?”

“Yeah, go ahead and try me.”

“I won’t do it now.”

Ha-Young was definitely perceptive.

They entered a narrow alley in Honje-dong.

“There.”

It was a dim alleyway with old buildings awaiting redevelopment, and among them was a dilapidated house with broken windows.

“They’re livestreaming from inside there.”

“Good. I’ll take it from here. Take this.”

Jin-Hyeok handed over one hundred thousand won.

“W-What’s this?”

“It’s your sibling’s birthday today, no?”

“I don’t need it.”

From the perspective of someone with a sibling, this was the least Jin-Hyeok could do.

‘But…’

Jin-Hyeok would’ve been disappointed if she had taken the money willingly. Fortunately, she attempted to pickpocket him.

[Angel Girl has used 「Sleight of Hand」.]

Inside Jin-Hyeok’s pocket was an envelope containing one million won. With his Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance, Jin-Hyeok saw exactly how her Skill was used. He decided to just let it slide because he thought it was a clever move.

“Thanks, I didn’t know you cared about me this much,” Ha-Young said.

“Yeah, make good use of the one million won.”

“...You knew?”

“If you didn’t even try, I would have been greatly disappointed.”

“Why would you be disappointed?”

“If a Thief does not attempt theft, it would be disappointing. What, you want me to praise them?”

Ha-Young shook her head.

“I can never understand you.”

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After coming out of the alley in Hongje-dong, Ha-Young was astounded.

“What just happened?”

Suddenly, she remembered what Jin-Hyeok said.

“Yeah, make good use of the one million won.”

There was a specific reason why he mentioned the amount.

“When did he take back the one hundred thousand won?”

The one hundred thousand won that Jin-Hyeok had initially given her was missing. In other words, while he simply gave Ha-Young the one million won by letting her steal it, he stole back the one hundred thousand won at the same time.

“I just lost a battle of theft against him?”

It didn’t seem like he had any thieving Skills, but Ha-Young still had no idea when he stole it.

“Damn it. This is gonna hurt my pride.”

She was careless, but she never expected to be deceived like this. Despite saying her pride was hurt, she smiled slyly.

‘Is he provoking me?’ Ha-Young thought.

“I’ll definitely strip you down to your panties,” Ha-Young vowed.

She hid in an abandoned house. Curious about what Jin-Hyeok was up to, she turned on FreakKingTV’s livestream. In the livestream, FreakKing was poking the eye of a monster while laughing maniacally. His eyes were soaked with considerable madness, and she swore she had seen those eyes somewhere before.

‘That’s the same eyes as Kim Chul-Soo!’

They were definitely the eyes of a lunatic. The body of the struggling monster finally went limp after resisting until its death.

In the livestream, FreakKing started to talk.

⌜Now it’s your turn, S-Mania.⌟

⌜I have no interest in dealing with a dead one.⌟

S-Mania (Jeon Nam-Gil) painted all the claws of the dead monster with red nail polish. It seemed to be some kind of ritual for S-Mania.

⌜Next time, it’d be nice if you hand them over while they are still alive.⌟

⌜I promise! Hehehe!⌟

FreakKing, who was taking a short break, continued to speak.

⌜But, you know, isn’t killing these small creatures getting a bit less fun now? The world has become so much better. How long are we going to keep fixating on the little guys?⌟

⌜Do you have any good ideas then?⌟

⌜Let’s kill people.⌟

⌜People?⌟

⌜We can kill other Players. There is no legal responsibility for what happens during Play.⌟

FreakKing got excited, wrapping his arms around himself

⌜How exhilarating would it be? They would beg for their lives, and we would cut off the tongues of those who plead for mercy—⌟

The livestream was suddenly cut off.

[According to the System settings, the age restriction has been automatically applied.]

[This livestream is not suitable for youth viewing.]

[Age verification is required.]

“Damn it!”

Ha-Young quickly completed the age verification and re-entered the livestream. The situation on the screen had taken a sudden turn.

⌜Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!⌟

Ha-Young doubted her own eyes. FreakKing was covered in his own blood for some reason.

⌜You crazy bastard!⌟

⌜Those eyes, I really like them.⌟

S-Mania was licking his lips while looking at FreakKing.

⌜How is it? How does it feel getting stabbed?⌟

S-Mania looked genuinely curious.

⌜Okay, stop fucking around, you crazy bastard. This is not funny!⌟

⌜Liar. You’re having fun. You can beg for your life if you want.⌟

S-Mania stabbed FreakKing in the chest

⌜ARGH!!⌟

Ha-Young frowned. It seemed like a total mess of a livestream, but when she looked at the chat, it was even more of a mess.

-Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!

-Kill up! Kill up! Kill up!

Hundreds of people in the chat were soaked in madness. The viewers who questioned what was happening or called it too extreme, even for a staged livestream were automatically banned by the settings FreakKing had prepared.

-Ban the trolls!

-Ban all the pretentious viewers!

The remaining viewers were all fans of FreakKing’s bizarre livestream.

-LOL LOL!!!!

-This staged content is particularly awesome!

FreakKing shouted for help.

⌜Please! H-Help me! Report this to the police! I’m begging you!⌟

[「Anonymous」 has donated 50,000 Dias.]

[「Anonymous」: Hey, FreakKing, remember to put the livestream on delay, so you don’t turn it off accidentally.]

⌜H-Help me!! ARGH!⌟

In the end, FreakKing was killed by S-Mania. However, the livestream didn’t end because the delay setting for the livestream was activated.

-That’s so damn funny! Hahaha!

-That was amazing! LOL!

-I’m laughing so hard right now!

-But did he really die?

-No way, for real? Did he die?

-Are you guys stupid? This is all acting. You are a true Streamer, FreakKing! LOL.

On the screen, S-Mania painted red nail polish on the fingers and toes of the deceased FreakKing. When the nail polish was almost finished, the screen went black and the livestream was cut off.

[Now, what should I watch? Recommend me some channels, you noobs.]

The viewer number quickly dried up.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Jin-Hyeok frowned.

“Why the hell do you use nail polish on the dead?”

Jin-Hyeok approached Nam-Gil closely, and Nam-Gil turned around. His mouth was covered in blood.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

Nam-Gil hurriedly shoved something into his mouth, like a dog not wanting to lose its snack.

“What the hell? Why would you eat another person’s heart?”

Actually, this was not an unusual case. Surprisingly, there were perverts who did such things quite often in Dungeons, a perfect place for people to go crazy. There was a higher probability than people might think of encountering such behavior.

Nam-Gil wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

“Who are you?”

“Would you know who I am if I said my name?”

“Today, I’m in a very good mood, so I would prefer it if you just go your way.”

This was true. According to Jin-Hyeok’s Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance, only one word was describing Nam-Gil.

[#Clarity]

Jin-Hyeok approached the dead FreakKing.

“I can somewhat understand eating the heart, but I can never understand why you’re putting nail polish on the dead man. Why the hell are you doing that?”

Jin-Hyeok had met numerous villains, but Nam-Gil was the only one with such a bizarre ritual.

‘Huh?’

Something was caught by Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance. A green mana line was emanating from FreakKing’s corpse. To be precise, from the tips of his fingers and toes.’

‘What is this?’

This feeling was familiar.

‘This feels like a Mystery.’

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Kihael, GM No.3 for Seodaemun-gu, was feeling good for the first time in a while.

‘No overtime today,’ Kihael thought.

The work to integrate Earth’s existing network with the SSP was nearly complete. Especially in Korea, where scientific civilization and internet infrastructure were well-developed, the integration of the SSP was smoother than expected.

“Uh, is it okay if I leave early toda—”

“Oh, wait for a second. An Administrator notification popped up. Just check that out for me, will you?”

‘Ah, I really don’t wanna do that.’

However, seeing Serchan’s twitching muscles, it was hard to refuse.

[The Mystery, 「Wishing Good Luck」, has been created.]

[Creation location: Hongje-dong, Seodaemun-gu.]

Kihael raised an eyebrow.

“Did you insert a Mystery by any chance?”

“What Mystery?”

“Wishing Good Luck? That’s the name of it.”

“Ah yes, that one! It’s probably the Mystery forcibly inserted by the higher-ups. I heard that it is going to be used for a Scenario, I dunno.”

“Is it an important Mystery?”

“Can you put up the screen with the Administrator’s Prerogative?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Then it must be important. What are the conditions for the Mystery creation?”

“Well, the Player must be below Level 50, and…”

The conditions were a bit weird.

“...They need to paint red nail polish on the fingers and toes of a corpse that has not been dead for more than ten minutes and eat the heart. There are some other minor conditions, but it seems they are mostly satisfied.”

“Someone satisfied those weird conditions?”

“I guess so.”

“Who in the hell… Open the screen and check.”

“I see two people on the screen. One is named S-Mania, and the other one is someone I’ve never seen before. Let’s see… His Player name is Asdfasdf.”

Although Asdfasdf was Kim Chul-Soo with a different identity, Kihael didn’t know that.

Kihael let out a relieved sigh, knowing it wasn’t Kim Chul-Soo.

“Fortunately, it’s not Kim Chul-Soo. It seems S-Mania has consumed the Mystery.”

Kihael was right.

Nam-Gil had absorbed the Mystery. A feeling of something pleasant filled his body.

[S-Mania has acquired the Mystery 「Wishing Good Luck」.]

Suddenly, the ceiling collapsed, and bundles of money poured down.

Jin-Hyeok smiled.

“Wow, it’s raining luck.”