I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 241

Woongi harbored some doubts. ‘What am I doing?’

Every time such thoughts crossed his mind, Cha Jin-Hyeok would say, “You are creating memories with the queen. These photos will last forever.”

‘Memories with the queen, huh?’

Just thinking about it seemed quite wonderful, but something was a little bit off. Taking pictures with the queen felt somewhat irreverent. The Homepage Master kept making bizarre requests and even said, “Smile. You look cute when you smile.”

‘I am not cute, teddy!’ Woongi wanted to say that, but he could not say it out loud for some reason. He just smiled awkwardly. ‘Why... am I listening to him?’

Jin-Hyeok slyly grinned. ‘He is really susceptible to brainwashing skills, isn’t he?’

For Jin-Hyeok, this was a fascinating phenomenon. If Eun-Woo’s instructions had been a perfect mental attack, Woongi would have instinctively defended against them. After all, there was a significant Level difference between Woongi and Eun-Woo.

‘But it’s a bit ambiguous to say that Eun-Woo’s instructions are actually mental attacks.’

Eun-Woo’s instructions were too weak to be called attacks, yet they were effective enough for Woongi to listen to him. Moreover, as Eun-Woo was a Homepage Master, his Skills did not contain any bloodlust or hostility. They were instead filled with pure passion to capture the perfect shot. Thus, Woongi’s inner self did not resist Eun-Woo’s brainwashing attempts.

‘He’s really falling for it,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Woongi followed Eun-Woo’s instructions very well. Just when it seemed Woongi was coming to his senses, Eun-Woo would show a few photos he had taken, and Woongi would again strike a pose with a silly grin.

Eun-Woo’s enthusiasm grew even more. “Now, how about placing your finger on your cheek? Like this. It would look so cute!”

“I am not cute, teddy. I still have my dignity, teddy.” Although Woongi said that, his right hand was already touching his cheek.

“You look so cute! Very nice.”

‘I can’t believe I am doing this, teddy!’ Woongi tried to regain his senses, but the photos had already been taken.

At this moment, Han Sae-Rin and Mole Man, along with the others, entered the area. Jin-Hyeok smirked. ‘They have arrived at just the right time.’

***

As soon as Shin Yu-Ri stepped onto the fourth floor, she felt something as though it were the pull of fate.

‘Ah...!’

Her eyes were drawn to a statue of a woman sitting in a chair far off in the distance. More precisely, the tiara placed atop the statue’s head had captivated Yu-Ri’s gaze. Yu-Ri walked toward the tiara as if it was calling out to her.

“Who are you people, teddy?!” Woongi blocked Yu-Ri’s path.

Jin-Hyeok said, “Are you stupid?”

“I am not stupid, teddy!’

“Can’t you read the emotions in the woman’s eyes?”

“Teddy?”

A [???] symbol appeared above Woongi’s head. Woongi was just a bodyguard and not a mind-reader; he found it difficult to discern others’ inner feelings or emotions hidden in their gazes. However, admitting that felt like conceding to being a fool, so Woongi could not just bring himself to say it.

“The emotions in her eyes are admiration and awe,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“T-Teddy?”

At that moment, Yu-Ri knelt in front of the queen. Like how babies naturally learned to breathe without being taught, it was an utterly natural and instinctive act for Yu-Ri.

“See? I told you,” Jin-Hyeok continued.

“So, she is also a good person, teddy.”

Yu-Ri remained on her knees, staring at the queen’s face for a long while. She appeared like a woman fallen in love.

-I’m so envious.

‘Of what?’

-Of that face in love. She has undoubtedly fallen in love at first sight with the artifact of destiny. The kind of love where sparks fly in front of your eyes, your heart pounds as if it is going to burst, and it feels like only you and the artifact exist in the entire world.

Jin-Hyeok could sense Miri’s emotions. It genuinely envied that tiara.

-I want to be looked at with such love too. To achieve that, I must become an even better match for my master.

Unbeknownst to Jin-Hyeok, Miri burned with a desire to become a better match for its master and make him look at it like how Yu-Ri was looking at the tiara. Golden energy emanating from Miri leaked out of Jin-Hyeok’s inventory and reached out toward another item, Ectorial.

Part of the Ectorial corroded, and Miri shimmered. All of this happened within the inventory and went unnoticed by Jin-Hyeok.

***

For a while, Yu-Ri blankly gazed at the queen, before slowly opening her mouth. “I need something sacred for the ritual. Can I borrow a cloth to clean the tiara?”

At her request, Mole Man presented the handkerchief he had obtained from the second floor. “Is this what you need, moly?”

“Thank you.”

Then Sae-Rin stepped forward. “Shouldn’t you wear this first?”

Sae-Rin offered Yu-Ri the pair of white cotton gloves she had found on the first floor. Yu-Ri put on the gloves before taking the handkerchief from Mole Man and gently cleaned the queen’s tiara.

Sae-Rin had provided the gloves, and Mole Man the handkerchief. Naturally, everyone’s gaze turned toward Black Panther. People were questioning him with their eyes, ‘What have you brought, Black Panther?’

‘Damn it!’ Black Panther thought. Being outdone by Mole Man was one thing, but being overshadowed by Sae-Rin was unbearable. ‘I can’t lose!’

Even now, secrets surely lay hidden within this Dungeon. Despite his depleted strength, Black Panther released his magic with all his might, not caring about conserving energy. It was a boldness not seen in the Black Panther of the past.

‘I feel an unusual energy!’

It was a subtle flow of energy that Sae-Rin and Mole Man had yet to notice. An exchange of mana was taking place between Yu-Ri and Woongi, and only Black Panther seemed to be aware of it.

‘Yes. This will lead to some change!’

It was invisible to the eye, imperceptible to most. Only those with an animal-like intuition could sense this special phenomenon. Confident in his insight, Black Panther focused on Yu-Ri and Woongi. At that moment, the tiara, which had become greyish, sparkled again.

Yu-Ri unconsciously murmured, “Beautiful...”

It felt as if the tiara was pleading to be worn, and she indeed placed the tiara on her head. The next moment, silver energy flowed in the tiara.

Then, as though he was enchanted, Woongi approached Yu-Ri and sniffed her.

“Who are you, teddy?” It was like a huge bear sniffing its prey. Woongi muttered as if he was in a trance, “I smell something familiar, teddy...”

Tears filled his large eyes. “You’re lying!”

A [!!!] symbol appeared above his head. Woongi raised his hand. “How dare you impersonate my queen?! I will kill you, teddy!”

Then he burst into tears again, saying, “I can’t kill you, teddy... Waaah! I smell something nostalgic, teddy...!”

One moment, he expressed his anger. “Hmph! You must be a fake, teddy!”

The next, he suddenly hugged Shin Yu-Ri, crying uncontrollably. “I’ve missed you, teddy.”

He seemed like someone with multiple personalities.

Black Panther realized something. ‘It’s my turn to step in.’

The Navigator of the Avengers Army believed he was the only one who had grasped the reason behind Woongi’s erratic behavior. There was something tangled and knotted between the exchange of mana between Yu-Ri and Woongi. Unraveling it was crucial for ensuring a normal interaction between these two.

‘This is a task only I can accomplish!’

Before Black Panther could act, however, someone else moved first. It was Park Terse, a Tamer who had gained fame by taming the Swallowing Croaker and making it docile.

“Woongi is in a state of confusion. He needs to be tamed. The mana connecting these two is twisted. It needs to be untangled,” Terse said. He hurriedly ran forward, and Black Panther was momentarily stunned.

‘Wait... someone else noticed it too?’

Black Panther thought he was the only one who had figured it out, but it seemed the Tamer had already understood what was going on.

Terse placed a hand on Woongi’s back and spoke in a very gentle voice. “It’s okay. You can calm down. No one will hurt you.”

Meanwhile, Woongi continued to alternate between being threatening and embracing Yu-Ri, crying and laughing.

Jin-Hyeok also realized something. ‘Ah, so this is how Woongi became Yu-Ri’s bodyguard before my regression.’

Jin-Hyeok realized that Woongi seemed to have gone through a similar process before the regression. However, that had probably happened at a much later stage in Woongi’s life. Jin-Hyeok believed that at the time, the situation that Woongi and Yu-Ri had met in was more developed than the current one.

‘At the current state, it is difficult for Woongi to be subservient to Yu-Ri.’

Yu-Ri, when she wore the tiara, and Woongi were fated partners, but the timing was off. If this had happened a few years or even months later, it would have been highly likely that Woongi would have sworn loyalty to Yu-Ri without any problem.

Terse kept stroking Woongi’s back. “Relax your mind and trust me. I can help you, Woongi.”

Terse was trying to soothe Woongi’s mind with his taming Skill, but it seemed challenging, especially because he wasn’t trying to actually tame Woongi but aiding Yu-Ri.

‘My abilities are not enough!’ Terse thought. He realized his ability was insufficient.

Woongi, who kept fluctuating between two types of personalities, eventually swung his right hand, scratching Yu-Ri. Fortunately, Yu-Ri’s defensive Mystery, Iron Dome, blocked his attack once.

Mok Jae-Hyeon and Kim Jeong-Hyeon tried to evacuate Yu-Ri, but she shook her head. “No, I will not run away.”

Yu-Ri was resolute. Just how Woongi felt a pull of fate toward her, she seemed to feel the same toward him. Yu-Ri was seeing visions shown by the tiara, a vision of her past when she had lost her beloved husband and a vision of the abandoned princess Veselity, who had been cursed, turned into a horrific monster and abandoned by others.

Yu-Ri started to hear hallucinations.

-Your past was the same as mine.

Tears streamed down her face as she continued to hear the voice.

-Please, free Woongi from the shackles that are tied to me.

At that moment, Jin-Hyeok intervened. He held Miri in his hand, and Terse gasped. “Chul-Soo! What are you thinking of doing right now?”

“I’m trying to help with the taming.”

Jin-Hyeok also had an excellent taming Skill, called Taming (Physical).

Terse was well aware of it. “Please, please stop!”

“I respect your taming method.” Jin-Hyeok also believed that a gentle and caring approach was the right way. However, in some cases, a radical method was necessary. “But we don’t have much time. He is going crazy.”

Woongi’s eyes were turning slightly red.

“I am not going to hit him for fun. Please understand,” Jin-Hyeok said to Terse.

“Give me five minutes! Please! I can calm him down and communicate with him!”

‘Wait for five minutes? Ah, I can’t wait that long,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

“Taming involving violence is not taming at all! It’s rather—” Terse could not finish his sentence.

[You have used the Skill ?Taming (Physical)?.]