I Gave Up Being Stronger

Cha Jin-Hyeok looked across the alley and saw a small figure crawling on all fours. He was not particularly surprised, but Seo Ji-Soo seemed shocked. She clung to his left arm, and Seo Ji-Ah lightly grabbed his right elbow.

“I don’t think Assassins should be this scared…” Jin-Hyeok thought the sisters could be pretending to be scared to try and attack him again, but they did not.

Since he showed such an opening, the sisters should have stabbed him. They should have used something like a wooden sword or a finger to let him know that he had an opening. An Assassin’s job also included discovering the weaknesses of their colleagues and informing them about those.

It was strange that Jin-Hyeok was not angry even though the sisters had not fulfilled their roles as Assassins.

Anyway, it seemed like Jin-Hyeok was more lenient on them.

“Great job, Kim Chul-Soo. Quite surprising. I know there was quite a Level difference between you two.” The newcomer was none other than Gollum.

“Why are you crawling on all fours?”

“To make a dramatic entrance.”

“I see.” Jin-Hyeok reflected on himself for asking such a needless question. It seemed he still had a long way to go to understand how to be stylish while Playing.

“You didn’t use the Mythic-Grade Card, right?” Gollum asked.

“No, I didn’t.” Jin-Hyeok had intended to fight one-on-one with Kayn if his tricks did not work. He could have lost, but there was also a chance that he could have won.

Gollum giggled. “But did you know that guy was affiliated with the Black Alliance?”

“The Black Alliance? Kayn??” It was news to Jin-Hyeok. Even when he had fought Kayn before his regression, the latter had never revealed that.

“Did you kill him without knowing that?”

“Of course, I didn’t know.”

“I see. I thought you killed him because he was a member of the Black Alliance.” Gollum seemed to be aware that Jin-Hyeok was in conflict with the Black Alliance.

“Are you one of my subscribers?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

Gollum didn’t answer the question and instead said, “I don’t know what it was, but it seems like this guy was doing something quite important in the area.”

Jin-Hyeok realized Gollum had just given him some important information. Whatever Kayn had been doing was likely related to Picasso’s brush. So, he asked, “Do you know where this guy was staying?”

“Of course. He was staying at an inn that Lucia operates. Room 302.”

Jin-Hyeok handed Gollum a leather pouch containing five hundred million Dias. “This is for the information.”

“...Tsk. It’s cheap.”

When dealing with a miser like Gollum, it was best to spend generously. Being stingy would only backfire. Gollum was poor not because he was unable to earn money, but because he spent too much. Since Jin-Hyeok earned a lot, giving a small amount to Gollum was almost worse than giving nothing.

“This amount isn’t enough to satisfy me,” Gollum said.

“I thought it was a decent amount for just information.”

The gap in their Levels was significant, but Jin-Hyeok could still see Gollum’s status.

[#Nice.]

Jin-Hyeok immediately went back to Lucia’s bar.

“Oh, it’s you again.” Lucia had definitely sensed the smell of blood on him, but she didn’t say much about it.

“I need the key to Room 302.”

“That’s not possible.”

“What do I need to make it possible?”

“Well~ Do you have an ID or something?”

“Here.” Jin-Hyeok took out the ID he had taken from Kayn. It was a bit stained with blood, but they both pretended not to notice that.

“Here’s the key.”

[#VIPs are Gods.]

Jin-Hyeok had never received such treatment during his time as a government official. Money seemed to be a wonder in many ways.

Jin-Hyeok wondered if this was why everyone talked about financial freedom. He thought he should be nicer to Choi Gap-Soo and Jang Michelle.

He used to think that if he earned too much money, he would have to retire earlier than planned. He had even set up a foundation to spend his Dias because he was afraid of earning too much money. But he now realized that had been a naive thought.

Of course, it could be a bit different since he was a Streamer, but in general, that would be the case.

Jin-Hyeok guessed he did not need such naive thoughts about earning a small amount of money anymore.

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

Jin-Hyeok thoroughly searched Room 302. He checked under the desk and the bed and inside the closet for anything significant but did not find anything noteworthy.

If a mana barrier had been placed in this room or something had been hidden with a Skill, it would have been easier to find clues, but that did not seem to be the case.

He tried using the Pure Luck Skill, but there was no significant response. He just felt a strong conviction that something was present in the room.

Meanwhile, Ji-Ah stood near the door, observing him.

She had sensed a little of his disappointment when Gollum had appeared earlier.

At the very least, she should have poked him with her finger to show that he had a vulnerability. She felt unbearable shame for not fulfilling her duty as an Assassin.

She thought that since there were no intruders here at the moment, this was a good opportunity to demonstrate her skills as an Assassin.

As she observed him, she found a suitable spot.

Using her unique Skill as a Shadow Assassin, Shadow Movement, she merged into the shadow of the desk’s leg. When Jin-Hyeok came close, she attacked the sole of his foot with a mock knife.

“Whoa!” Caught off guard while searching for clues, Jin-Hyeok quickly lifted his foot and struck the floor with his sword, the Greatsword of La’kan. Had it been Kwak Do-Hyeon or Kaylin, he would have used the blade, but since his opponent was Ji-Ah, he used the flat of the blade.

The wooden floor broke. The Shadow Movement Skill was disrupted, revealing Ji-Ah.

“It was still a good attempt,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“I will… try harder next time.” Ji-Ah seemed inexplicably frustrated. Her eyes were fixed on Jin-Hyeok’s sword.

Sensing her gaze, he realized something.

Though it had been unintentional, he felt a bit sorry.

At that moment, Ji-Soo found something. “Hey, Oppa. There’s something written under the floor!”

They weren’t any special words written on paper or with a special artifact. They were just some words written under the floor with a marker.

Jin-Hyeok asked the sisters, “Can you guys neatly cut along the grains of the floorboards? I think something is written on the back. It’s a bit difficult for me to do.”

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

The Seo sisters felt alive.

They were not sure how long they could do it, but at least for now, they were helping Jin-Hyeok. They meticulously and reverently removed the floorboards, revealing the words written underneath.

[Hadyon and Guardian Dungeon]

[Ermeasia Constellation Dungeon]

.

.

.

[Girzail’s Carpenter Dungeon]

Most of the entries were crossed out, with only three Dungeons names left.

[Saint of Hexayle Dungeon]ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt

[Bridge of Agony Dungeon]

[Zermin Dergo Dungeon]

The next morning, Jin-Hyeok gifted Lucia fifty million Dias. “We tore up the floorboards. This is for the restoration costs.”

“Twenty million Dias should be sufficient for the repair.”

“Then, could you return the extra thirty million Dias?” he asked.

“However, I can’t just ignore your generosity and kindness, so I will gladly accept it.”

Jin-Hyeok secretly hoped Lucia would use her seduction Skill, but that did not happen. Lucia seemed to be a businesswoman who knew how to separate personal and professional matters.

“That’s a bit disappointing,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Pardon?”

“I was hoping you would actively seduce me.”

“Why would I do that?”

“I wanted to try fighting against various seduction skills.”

Lucia realized something.

Noticing the madness flickering in his eyes, she began to understand why her sister was fascinated by him.

Jin-Hyeok met with Gollum and started exploring the three Dungeons one by one.

“This is the Saint of Hexayle Dungeon.”

Most Dungeons existed along waterways, and conditions such as how to board the yacht, how many people boarded it, and the order and method of boarding had to be fulfilled for the Dungeon entrance to activate.

[You have cleared the Dungeon ⌜Saint of Hexayle⌟.]

With Gollum’s help, Jin-Hyeok cleared the Saint of Hexayle Dungeon. It was a Dungeon with a storyline involving rescuing a saint captured by gargoyles, but it was not particularly difficult.

[You have cleared the Dungeon ⌜Zermin Dergo⌟.]

Jin-Hyeok cleared two Dungeons back to back in just one day, taking about eighteen hours to do so.

“It would be nice if you could pay me a daily wage,” Gollum said.

“Sure thing.” Jin-Hyeok handed over nine billion Dias.

“Have you found the Bridge of Agony Dungeon?”

“Well, I think I might find it by tomorrow.”

After deciding to rest, Jin-Hyeok and the Seo sisters started eating a late dinner at Lucia’s bar.

“Oppa, is something bothering you? Ji-Soo asked.

“It’s not exactly that…” he replied. Nothing seemed extraordinary about Gollum’s style of Play. “I’ve cleared two Dungeons, but not a single Hidden Achievement or Items appeared.”

“Now that you mention it, there weren’t any, were there?”

Usually, clearing a Dungeon would yield at least one Hidden Item, and a proper clearance would often lead to an Achievement.

Lucia poured Jin-Hyeok a glass of wine. “Isn’t it quite normal not to find any Hidden Items while clearing just two Dungeons?”

“How can that be normal?”

Lucia realized that Jin-Hyeok was being serious. This was not a pretense or a joke.

“I can understand that acquiring an All-Clear needs a lot of luck, but how can there be no Hidden Items at all?” Jin-Hyeok said.

The interesting thing was that Ji-Ah and Ji-Soo were both nodding. This left Lucia a bit bewildered.

Although there had been a recent universal interest in the Earth Server and the Korean Region, Lucia had not paid much attention to that. However, seeing their attitudes, she felt she should perhaps be more interested.

“Do you usually find at least one Hidden Item or Achievement in each Dungeon you clear?”

“That is usually the case.”

Of course, that was not supposed to be the case. The word ‘Hidden’ in ‘Hidden Item’ wasn’t meaningless. Jin-Hyeok’s standards were unusual, and Lucia’s interest in the Korean Region grew.

The next day, Jin-Hyeok and his group met with Gollum again and wandered around Giethoorn.

“It’s not easy to find a Dungeon named the Bridge of Agony…” Gollum muttered, slightly embarrassed.

“Can I share my opinion now?” Jin-Hyeok had been holding back his words, respecting the Navigator. Four hours had passed since they started Playing, so he felt he had a reason to speak up.

“Look at that bridge over there,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Gollum shifted his gaze. It was a bridge that opened upwards when boats passed through. “What about it?”

“Don’t you find it strange that so many Spirits are gathering there?”

“You can sense Spirits?”

“Can’t you?” Jin-Hyeok looked at Gollum as if the latter was the one being absurd.

Gollum coughed and fumbled his words. “Well… this is just my alternative character, so…”

“So what?”

“I’m only Level 138.”

“And?”

Gollum’s face turned red. “I haven’t learned the Skill to sense Spirits yet.”

“I don’t have such a Skill either.”

“...”

“Wait, you can’t sense Spirits without skill?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

Gollum wondered if Jin-Hyeok was trying to insult him and scrutinized his expression. However, the Navigator sensed no ill intent in Jin-Hyeok’s demeanor.

That was even more humiliating. Having suffered a blow to his pride, which was more precious than money, Gollum declared, “I won’t take today’s pay.”