I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 254

[You have acquired the Scenario-related Artifact ?In Search of Lost History?.]

To someone else, this item could have been of no use, but once it came into the hands of Jin-Hyeok, who was undergoing the universe-level Scenario, it was designated as a Scenario-related Artifact.

‘The greatest queen, Veselity?’

Suddenly, his heart raced, and with eyes narrowed in focus, he read through the book, though it contained no significant information.

‘What is this?’

In summary, the book mentioned that Queen Veselity was the most beautiful and magnificent in the world, no, in the universe. The book also wanted to tell the world that they must not forget her. It was filled with the same message just worded differently throughout the book.

‘I don’t know how the writer could fill an entire book with the same message just by changing the words.’

At first glance, it did not seem particularly informative, but Jin-Hyeok decided to keep it for now. Since it was an artifact related to the universe-level Scenario, it surely had to be useful later.

At that moment, Song Ha-Young came to her senses and said with a groan, “What just happened...?”

The back of her head was slightly throbbing from the pain. It felt like she had been hit with a blunt object.

“Was I poisoned....? I’m sorry it seems I failed to look for a trap,” she said with a genuinely apologetic expression.

“...You should be more careful.”

Ha-Young’s face turned slightly red. She felt embarrassed, thinking she had greatly disappointed Jin-Hyeok. “Yeah, sorry. I guess I was careless.”

Fainting due to a trap was a very shameful incident for a Thief.

“Hey, but why are you holding Miri?” she asked.

“Ah... Well, since you fainted, I wanted to protect you.”

Ha-Young felt so embarrassed.

‘What kind of a Thief falls for a trap? But... I don’t... hate that he was protecting me.’

She found the sight of Jin-Hyeok standing there while holding Miri very reassuring.

***

Wang Yu-Mi and Joseph waited for Jin-Hyeok on the couch of his house, along with Kang Eun-Woo. As soon as Jin-Hyeok arrived, Yu-Mi abruptly stood up and clapped twice.

“Your performance is out of the world these days.” Yu-Mi was talking about Jin-Hyeok’s performance in the Haeundae Dungeon, the Regional War, the All-Out War, and the fight against Swampland No.2, to top it off. “The donations received from videos about these four topics amount to about thirty billion Dias.”

Yu-Mi was in charge of the recent expenditure management. As Jin-Hyeok gathered more money than he could spend, he realized the surplus of money did not really mean much to him. Yu-Mi also did not spare her help when saying, “It’s my role to ensure Kim Chul-Soo can focus solely on his livestreaming!”

“Ah, as I mentioned before, Joseph seems to handle financial management well. So, he has taken the primary responsibility! Do you have any financial feedback to offer?” Yu-Mi continued.

Most of the thirty billion Dias in donations were being reinvested into the MK Foundation. Recently, the foundation had been putting quite a lot of effort into nurturing Players of unpopular Jobs.

“Not really... Ah! There is one thing,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Yes, you can tell me!” Yu-Mi took out a small notebook and pen from her bag.

“Let’s cultivate some Historians.”

“Historians?”

“They can be students or researchers. You can cultivate new Players or support existing Players. Anything is fine. Since they are Players with an unpopular Job, I think we should fully support and nurture them.”

“Ah, a nation that has forgotten its history has no future! That’s a good marketing point right there!”

“...?”

“That’s very touching. This is a great idea! It will be a marketing strategy that touches a common sentiment of the entire universe! I think Jang Michelle will like the idea.” Suddenly, as if she had remembered something, Yu-Mi took out an envelope of cash. “Oh, and this is like pocket money for you.”

Inside the envelope was a check worth two billion Dias.

“You didn’t take your mission reward, so she said to give it to you in person,” Yu-Mi said.

“Who is she?”

“Michelle.”

‘Wait, what mission? Had I ever received a mission that was worth two billion Dias?’

“It’s about that tiara of the abandoned princess you wore,” Yu-Mi said.

“...Oh, right,” Jin-Hyeok remembered wearing it because Eun-Woo had made such a fuss about taking pictures.

“There was a mission that if you wore it, you would get two billion Dias.”

“Was there?” It was a mission that Jin-Hyeok did not remember.

‘Should I take this money?’

He was a bit hesitant about accepting the mission reward, having not remembered receiving the mission in the first place. Then, Eun-Woo, who had been silently observing this, spoke up. “And about these photos...”

Eun-Woo was talking about the photos that captured the moment when the queen’s ash-colored corpse had been revitalized.

“I am not going to be lonely, knowing there will be someone to remember my last. Remember, I was your queen, and you are the last subject to come in contact with me. You shall have all that is mine.”

It was the moment when the curse had been lifted, and the queen had reached her hand out to Jin-Hyeok. Eun-Woo had captured all of that solemnity with his camera.

“I was planning to sell them to KimKnowItAllTV’s VIPs for ten billion Dias each.”

“Hm...” Jin-Hyeok shook his head. “It’s not a bad idea, but it doesn’t seem like a good idea either.”

Even if mad people were willing to pay ten billion Dias for these photos, it would be excessive profiteering.

‘If I were a merchant, I would have already calculated how much money I can make off of the photos, but...’

Jin-Hyeok was not a Merchant but a Streamer—a Job that grew with public interest and love. To him, some values were far more important than money.

“Instead of making it a limited edition, how about distributing them moderately among the Chul-Soo Landers as gifts?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

Joseph’s bulky trapezius and pectoral muscles twitched. He clenched his fist. “What a magnificent choice!”

Joseph was deeply impressed. Even if the photos were sold to only ten people for ten billion Dias each, that would be one hundred Dias in profit. Chul-Soo was showing his affection for his fans by forgoing one hundred billion Dias. Joseph said, “You are definitely going to be a star!”

Jin-Hyeok shrugged. Such words would not have pleased him in the past, but now they felt quite good. He wondered if becoming a star would allow him to even surpass Marshmallow someday. The old vow of just aiming for third place was now forgotten.

“I know the name of Chul-Soo Land No.1. She would be happy if I wrote her name on the photo, right?” Jin-Hyeok said. He wrote ‘Thank you, Min-Ji’ on a photo and added his autograph.

Joseph interpreted it as a very strategic plan. ‘Kim Min-Ji is a girl of mysterious and tremendous ability. This must be an expression of intent to thoroughly win her over! What a thoroughly calculated and rational approach!’

However, Jin-Hyeok’s thoughts were simpler. ‘I need to take good care of my fans. They’re truly grateful people.’

After signing the photo, Jin-Hyeok asked, “Does anyone know the name of Chul-Soo Land No.2?”

“Ah, I know the name. It’s Eun-Woo.” Eun-Woo raised his hand high.

“Eun-Woo? That’s a pretty name.” Jin-Hyeok wrote ‘Thank you, Eun-Woo’ without any suspicion, completely unaware that this Eun-Woo was the Eun-Woo standing before him.

“Are you planning to write everyone’s name?” Eun-Woo asked.

‘Ah, that would decrease the rarity of the photos,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

“Well from No.3 and onwards, I don’t know their names.”

“Then I guess it can’t be helped then.” Eun-Woo smiled unusually broadly.

***

Jin-Hyeok had a long conversation with Yu-Mi. He had demonstrated overwhelming abilities through recent content, and now the discussion was about how to structure his next videos.

“It would be great if we could proceed with the universe-level Scenario, but since it is on such a large scale, I think it would be better to progress a bit slowly,” Yu-Mi said.

Given the scenario’s immense scale, Yu-Mi argued that it would be better to go with recorded content rather than livestreaming, and Jin-Hyeok agreed with her.

“Anyway, it seems I have to go to Arvis Server,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Are you going to capture Swampland No.1?”

“Yeah, I have to .”

In the end, his main target was not No.2 or No.3, but No.1. Knowing No.1 was hiding somewhere in the Arvis Server, Jin-Hyeok had to track him down and conclusively tie up loose ends.

“Ah, hold on.” Jin-Hyeok thought of a brilliant idea. He scolded himself for not thinking about it sooner. “Simple revenge content is a bit repetitive, don’t you think?”

Jin-Hyeok had already taken revenge on Swampland No.3 and No.2. Taking revenge on No.1 in the same pattern felt a bit stale.

“Then, what do you want to do?” Yu-Mi asked.

“Until now, I have been in a position where I am targeted by Player Hunters.” That was the case during his Sword King days and even after his regression. He had always been closer to being a defender, not an attacker. “But can’t I also become a Player Hunter?”

“...” Yu-Mi adjusted her round glasses. “If that’s the case, you would become Earth’s first Player Hunter, wouldn’t you?”

“Probably.” Being the first in anything always carried a buzz. “Also, it just so happens that Miri partially possesses the Authority of Swallowing.”

‘Just being attacked by Player Hunters is thrilling, but how thrilling would it be if I were the one attacking... wait, no that’s not right.’

Jin-Hyeok quickly came to his senses and spoke logically. “It seems like it would make for good content. Let’s go with the content of being a counter-Player Hunter.”

“That is such a brilliant idea! It would instill great fear in the Player Hunters if they knew their abilities could get stolen now. Wow, to think you would become a Player Hunter...! You’re a genius.”

Jin-Hyeok did not plan to initiate hunting Players. However, if other Player Hunters targeted him first, he would counter by becoming a Player Hunter himself and retaliating. This content seemed much richer than simple revenge, and it had a just cause. His first opponent was going to be Swampland No.1

“The problem is... currently, there is no way to enter the Arvis Server,” Jin-Hyeok said.

The Arvis Server was the strongest Server in the universe, and not just anyone could enter it at will. Entering it involved a rigorous screening process, and even then, one could not stay inside it for too long. One had to meet various criteria to reside in the Server, and there wasn’t even a warp portal connecting Earth to Arvis.

‘I will have to find a way.’

***

“Hey, Marshmallow,” Encyclopedia said.

“What?”

“Why don’t you stop sulking and propose a collaboration livestreaming with Chul-Soo?”

“When have I ever sulked?” Marshmallow denied it. “He is just a mere rising star, and I am the universe’s top Streamer for the second generation. Why would I sulk over collaborating with him?”

“You were sulking.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“You seemed pretty anxious.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Right then, Chul-Soo posted an announcement on his Eltube channel. As soon as the announcement was up, both Marshmallow’s and Encyclopedia’s phones alerted them. They checked the announcement simultaneously.

“Hey, look, Chul-Soo is going to do a Player Hunter content,” Encyclopedia said.

“That guy’s insane. He is still a newbie. It hasn’t been that long since the Earth Sever opened, and he is thinking about becoming a Player Hunter? It’s too soon. He is going to overdo it.”

Although Marshmallow’s tone was rough, his eyes were already sparkling. He looked very much forward to Chul-Soo’s next videos.

“But I think Chul-Soo said that he doesn’t have a way to get to the Arvis Server,” Encyclopedia added.

“So?”

“You could give him an invitation, couldn’t you?”

“...”

“He would be really grateful if you gave him one.”

“Fine, but this is not a proposal to do a collaboration livestreaming. I’m just, you know, helping out a junior Streamer, since he is in a tough spot. I have never really been the one to propose a collaboration first.” Marshmallow’s face slightly reddened.

“Of course. But what if, after receiving the invitation, he asks if he can collaborate with you?”

“W-Well, if that happens, I might consider it.”

Encyclopedia grinned slyly. Marshmallow already had numerous officials in the Arvis Server in his pockets. Getting Chul-Soo inside the Server would not be a difficult task.

“Then, I’m going to send the invitation, okay? Considering it will be an inter-dimensional delivery, it’s going to be somewhat complicated. Since it’s going to be a hassle for you, I’m going to send it for you,” Encyclopedia said.

“...What are you talking about?” Marshmallow had already turned on his phone. He already had the hard-to-earn SVIP title from KimKnowItAllTV. “I can just send it in here.”

For someone who had claimed he was not excited about it, Marshmallow’s actions were exceptionally prompt and precise.