I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 145

‘Billions of Dias per day?’

This had to be a scheme by the System. Its intent to rush him into retirement was clear. Jin-Hyeok wondered why else would it offer billions of Dias a day to a mere Player like him.

‘This won’t do.’

Jin-Hyeok was resolute about his initial intentions. He had managed to come this far precisely because he had never forgotten his noble goal of just aiming for third place.

‘Receiving that much amount of Dias every day is a shortcut to becoming complacent.’

Realizing that drastic measures were needed, Jin-Hyeok immediately headed for Choi Gap-Soo’s workshop.

As he entered the workshop, Lilia the Succubus greeted him warmly. “Your performance has been quite remarkable lately.”

“Even better than Egan Paul’s?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“...Huh?”

‘Why do I keep thinking like this? I should be aiming for the third palace, but I keep finding myself unconsciously considering the first-place Player as my rival.’

“Thanks for the compliment,” Jin Hyeok said.

“Shall I take you inside? I will notify the chairman.”

“Before that... I’d like to get a phone number.”

“My number?” Peach blossoms burst into full bloom around the Succubus. The surrounding mana seemed to be reacting to Lilia’s mana, creating a floral mana pattern.

‘What sort of seducing technique is this? Yeah, that’s not going to work on me.’

The entire city of Seoul had become the Golden Guardian Tree’s domain, and within the tree’s domain, Jin-Hyeok received its protective buffs. The buffs could block any attack at or below Level 200, whether physical or mental.

“I haven’t activated a phone on Earth yet... but I will do it right away. I’ll give you the number,” Lilia said, her face slightly flushed.

With her bright smile, she looked as lovely as one would expect a Succubus to be. Jin-Hyeok guessed he was getting a bit more relaxed, being able to appreciate such things now.

“Huh? I saw Michelle Jang using a cell phone the other day. What are you talking about?” he suddenly said.

“Huh?” The peach blossoms around Lilia wilted instantaneously.

“You want Michelle’s number and not mine?”

“Why would I want yours?”

‘Do Succubuses also practice the art of seduction via cell phones these days? If that is the case, I wouldn’t mind getting seduced by her, just to check it out.’

This would be a good opportunity to see how much his resistance had increased. After all, it was always good to experience various kinds of attacks.

“Let me know when you get a phone. You can call me from time to time,” he said.

“Really?”

“Yeah, feel free to seduce me all you want.”

‘I can’t wait to face a genuine attack from a Succubus.’

Suddenly, the peach blossoms bloomed again. It meant Lilia’s mana flow was fluctuating. She was probably excited about being able to freely test her new seduction skills.

“Can I ask why you are looking for me?”

‘Whoa, that surprised me.’

A magic circle appeared in mid-air, and Michelle emerged from it.

“What was that just now?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“What do you mean? It’s a standard personal portal.”

‘So it’s something like a private jet.’

Before his regression, Jin-Hyeok had only heard rumors that such things existed, but judging by Michelle’s attitude, it seemed like common technology for the members of the Trinity Club.

“I have something important to discuss,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“With me? And not Gap-Soo?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.” Michelle smiled broadly, though a somewhat terrifying gleam shone in her eyes. “Looks like I won today.”

? ? ?

They were in a trendy coffee shop in Cheongdam-dong, yet not a soul was in sight. It was the work of Lilia’s mental abilities.

“Your abilities are more exceptional than I thought, Succubus. You’ve improved a lot,” Michelle said.

“Thank you.”

Lilia did seem to be growing at a relatively rapid pace. Being next to the Trinity Club member Gap-Soo had probably accelerated her growth.

“But why are you here, old man?” Michelle asked.

Gap-Soo was sitting there with a gloomy expression. Even at a glance, he looked disgruntled. “You two got to know each other because of me. It would be unfair to leave me out of the conversation.”

“We don’t really have any business with you...”

“Are you ignoring me because I am old?”

‘Yikes, better be careful when he says that.’

That phrase meant Gap-Soo was genuinely in a bad mood. Jin-Hyeok could not afford to upset his esteemed viewer too much. So, he said, “I was just worried that we might take up too much of your time for no reason.”

“I have time to spare anyway. Hmph!” Gap-Soo seemed to relax a little, allowing Jin-Hyeok to start the conversation with Michelle.

When Michelle heard Jin-Hyeok’s proposal, her eyes widened. “...So you want to create a foundation that actively nurtures and trains Players?”

“Yes.”

This would be one of the charitable endeavors Michelle, a Korean-American entrepreneur, would undertake in the future.

“And the foundation’s operating costs will be covered by the ten percent of the revenue generated from the warp portals?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you want to do this?”

“I would like the Earth Server to be competitive.”

While part of the reason was the System’s scheme, Jin-Hyeok wasn’t lying. The Earth Server had to become strong so that Players from other Servers could not act recklessly here. If you want peace, you must prepare for war; It was a sad but true statement.

‘Jin-Sol is also unnecessarily getting stronger.’

She was growing faster than he had expected. Her compatibility with the Blood Priest Job was excellent, and she was enjoying the Play a lot. So, it had become awkward for Jin-Hyeok to tell her to stop Playing. Instead, it might be more appropriate to transform the Earth Server into a safer one.

“The Kim Chul-Soo I know is not the most philanthropic,” Michelle said.

“The more outstanding Players there are, the more varied content I can create,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

“Hmm. That’s true. But why are you asking me to chair the foundation?”

“Receiving billions of Dias per day is a huge amount by normal standards.”

“Really?”

For a member of the Trinity Club, it was nothing. They were rich individuals as per the standard of the whole universe, and not just the Earth.

“The amount is so big that I might go insane if I keep it.”

“And you think that I won’t, right?”

“There’s that reason, and... I thought you would like it, Michelle.”

Michelle, who was an entrepreneur of Korean descent to the public, operated several non-profit organizations in the United States.

“Isn’t the point of the Trinity Club VIPs getting access to the Players’ Fields that they can experience the joy of Playing for themselves?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

Perhaps it was because he had honed his Diplomacy Skill in the past, but he seemed to speak better now than he did when he was a Swordsman.

‘Or maybe it’s just my imagination.’

“I provide the content, and I want to offer special opportunities to special VIPs,” Jin-Hyeok said.

These words amused Michelle, her smile somewhat resembling that of a victor as she looked at Gap-Soo.

Bang!

Gap-Soo slammed the table. “Hey, what about me?”

“...Huh?”

“If you are offering special opportunities to special VIPs, why am I left out? I am your number one cumulative sponsor! And by a margin!”

“By a margin? Did you not see my donation yesterday? It’s a small margin. Where do you get off acting high and mighty, Gap-Soo?” Michelle flared up.

Jin-Hyeok tried to calmly mediate. “I thought you were not particularly interested in a foundation for Player development, old man.”

Gap-Soo rolled up his sleeves and stood up. “I want you to create content that allows me to participate in active Play right away. I may not care about other things, but I can’t bear to lose to MoneyShot. My pride will not allow it.”

It seemed like Jin-Hyeok had ended up hiring two employees who were too eager to work for him.

And for free, at that.

? ? ?

“Fine. I will be the chairman of the foundation,” Michelle said.

There could be no one more reliable and safer(?) to take this role.

“Hm... Chairman of the Choi Gap-Soo franchise business... It’s not bad,” Gap-Soo said.

Gap-Soo had ambitiously decided to expand his workshop business. He planned to form an active partnership with the foundation Michelle was creating. First, Gap-Soo would boost the foundation’s recognition by crafting and enhancing weapons for the Alliance members that Jin-Hyeok’s original party members led. Later, the business would branch out into franchises.

“It’s quite exciting to Play this proactively after a long time. Huhu,” Gap-Soo said.

“You’re going to give our Players enhancements at a discount, right?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Who do you think I am?” Gap-Soo scowled, his mood seemingly sour today. “Every business starts with investment. If you skimp on investment, you can’t succeed. Are you telling me to skimp?”

His tone was harsh, but the meaning behind it was warm.

“Enhancements for up to second-tier Alliance members are free! Don’t you dare to even think about paying me!” Gap-Soo said.

Alliances led by Jin-Hyeok’s original party members, including Jin-Sol, were considered first-tier Alliances. The second-tier Alliances were those directly collaborating with Jin-Hyeok and the members of the Alliances led by the original party members.

So, in essence, the KSM Alliance led by Mok Jae-Hyeon would be first-tier, and the Black Rose Alliance and the Black Thorn Alliance would be second-tier.

“This is going to be fun, huhu.”

“I am intrigued for the first time in a while too!”

Seeing the two of them filled with such energy made Jin-Hyeok happy. Even though the two of them were working for free, they looked so happy doing it. This was why people liked to say that one must try doing a job they love.

‘Guess I will have to spend all my money. I can’t retire now. What a pity! Hehe.’

Jin-Hyeok had to put his retirement on hold.

‘So this is well taken care of...’

Jin-Hyeok’s phone started ringing incessantly, and strangers began showing up at his home.

“Our chairman would like to buy the power of the Guardian Tree...”

The power they were talking about was the one that provided Players protection from attacks below Level 200 in the domain of the Guardian Tree. Numerous people were coming to Jin-Hyeok to buy this power.

“Please, I just need a couple of minutes of your time.”

“Our chairman also would like to...”

Jin-Hyeok did not know how there were so many chairmen, nor how they had gotten his phone number. It was infuriating, to say the least.

“It’s not for sale.”

‘They keep offering astronomical sums of money. Are they mad? Or perhaps they are Thieves?’

“I told you, I am not selling it!”

After Jin-Hyeok warned the first person who kept pestering him that he would cut off their tongue, things finally quieted down. Life was surprisingly shallow. People would not listen unless he went to such extremes. This was something he had experienced since his days as a government official.

‘I really need a secretary to handle these trivial matters.’

That way, he could avoid all these annoying tasks.

Feeling utterly exhausted, Jin-Hyeok was about to take a quick break when he suddenly got up to his feet. The overwhelming fatigue instantly evaporated.

‘That’s right! There was that option!’

He immediately picked up his phone and made a call. “Yes, we should meet.”

About thirty minutes later, two people came to see him. One was Lee Hyeon-Seong, who had recently gained some fame and even a nickname as the Anus Destroyer, and the other was Maria, also known as Mother.

“Good to see you, Kim Chul-Soo,” Hyeon-Seong said.

“Have you finally become stronger?”

“I am still training. I am nothing compared to you.”

Hyeon-Seong’s modesty, unlike how he always insisted that they were rivals before Jin-Hyeok’s regression, was rather appealing.

“I would like to speak privately with Maria,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Well, I’m here to protect her...”

“You? How are you going to do that?”

“...”

“Maria is much stronger than you. Who is protecting whom here? I guess you’re still not grasping the situation, huh? I was just starting to like your humility.”

Hyeon-Seong tended to go off track just when he was about to become likable.

Maria shrugged. “Alright, let’s talk privately for a moment.”

"My sword can cut anuses!” the furious Hyeon-Seong shouted, but he was ultimately kicked out of Jin-Hyeok’s house.

Left alone with Maria, Jin-Hyeok got straight to the point. “Maria, your goal was to enhance the abilities and standards of Korean Server Players, right?”

“Yes, that’s right, but why...”

Jin-Hyeok informed her about the discussion he had with Michelle and Gap-Soo. Not one to show much emotion usually, Maria stared at him with a stunned expression for a long while.

“You can’t be serious. Two members of the Trinity Club are helping you out that enthusiastically?” she asked.

“It’s more like they are enjoying what they find interesting, so it appears as though they are actively assisting me.” Jin-Hyeok lately felt that his mind had become incredibly sharp, almost as if he could be a Ruler.

“Think about it. How much can the government really help you? What’s the annual budget?” he asked.

“...”

“I can potentially allocate billions of Dias to you per day. Well, not yet, but soon.”

“That day won’t be too far off, I assume.”

Many government agencies struggled with limited budgets, including Maria’s, even though she had a relatively larger allocation. Maria was keen to squeeze out more funding; she would wake up from sleep if someone so much as mentioned the word budget.

“Our goals align. Ultimately, we aim for the effective nurturing of strong Players.”

“...”

“Think carefully about what would be better: the National Intelligence Service or my side.”

Clearly, Jin-Hyeok needed to start headhunting capable Players from the NIS. Most people there said they would quit if they could, so recruiting Players from among them would not be too difficult. Jin-Hyeok already had Wang Yu-Mi, and going after Ahn Ji-Won from the support team did not seem like a bad idea.

“And while you are at it, you could serve as my secretary.” Jin-Hyeok snuck this into the conversation as well.

“I can’t give you an answer right now.”

It did not matter. Jin-Hyeok could see Maria was already on board. She could become the head of a Player-development agency with a potential daily budget in the billions, supported by two members of the Trinity Club. Maria would not miss this opportunity. Moreover, Jin-Hyeok would get the most competent secretary he knew.

‘Isn’t this a fabulous trade for both parties? Wait... what’s going on? Am I actually good at this?’

Jin-Hyeok had now recruited two unpaid workers from the Trinity Club and a Level-200 administrator with exceptional practical administrative skills.

‘Maybe I do have a talent for being a Ruler.’