I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 84

It seemed like Cha Jin-Hyeok needed help from the GMs. When the System Guardian appeared and attacked him, Kihael said at the time, “As for the compensation related to this incident, we will discuss it at a later time.”

If Kihael was apologetic, he should have spoken up first to discuss what the compensation was going to be and how it would proceed. However, it seemed Kihael wasn’t apologetic enough, so Jin-Hyeok decided to call him instead.

‘If I ask him how to transform this Core into a sword, he would show me the ways, right?’

Jin-Hyeok pondered for a moment. It was fine to call the GM and learn about the crafting process, but it would also be good to provide some plausibility about how he obtained the Core in the first place. He also needed to persuade his viewers.

‘It seems like no matter what I do, I am always thinking about my viewers first.’

He felt accomplished as a Streamer.

Jin-Hyeok called Han Sae-Rin.

“Holy… What kind of place is this?”

Sae-Rin, who was visiting his house for the first time, was amazed and asked for a tour of the house.

“You have a house in downtown Seoul? Were you born with a silver spoon?” Sae-Rin asked.

“That’s not important right now.”

“Then what is?”

“I’m thinking about giving a narrative to the whole situation. What do you think?”

“A narrative?”

Jin-Hyeok knew who Sae-Rin was. If he were to describe her, she always pretended not to be an attention seeker, yet she was.

“So here’s the thing. Saying that I acquired this item ultimately means I hunted down Swordmaster La’kan. But I don’t really want to tell people that I actively participated in the hunt,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“So?”

“I was thinking about saying that you, our great Navigator, acquired the Core with your secret ability.”

“But that’s lying.”

“You don’t like my plan?”

“It’s not like I dislike it, but I’m just a bit reluctant. Do you really need to hide that you were involved?”

“I just think it’s better this way. For my conscience. I don’t think this can affect you in a bad way.”

“My value can be overestimated. Underestimating my value is disheartening, but overestimating could put me in danger.”

“But Mole Man is going to see this too.”

“The narrative sounds good.”

Sae-Rin agreed immediately. She confirmed once again.

“I found a way to clear the Dungeon through my secret abilities, and I did my best as a Navigator. That’s the narrative, correct? And to avoid exposing my full power, you had to turn off the livestream. That’s what you’re going to say on your livestream, right?”

Sae-Rin’s body trembled with joy.

“And Mole Man is definitely going to see this.”

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

A few days ago, Mole Man had been monitoring Han Sae-Rin through Eltube. Coincidentally, she was with Kim Chul-Soo.

“Pathfinder…! Even though she dropped to third place in the rankings, this woman still makes me anxious!”

It was hard to explain, but it was like she was hunching over momentarily to get more momentum to soar into the sky.

“There is no reason for me to be anxious…”

Mole Man had no interest in the Player was currently ranked second. His only interest was Sae-Rin.

“Huh?”

Kim Chul-Soo’s party was in the process of clearing an unknown Dungeon called the Tomb of the Greatsword of La’kan. They had tried several times but failed. After that, Chul-Soo’s livestream was turned off for a while, and a surprising fact was revealed a few days later.

⌜...As a result, I was able to obtain the Core of the Greatsword of La’kan. According to the information I obtained during the acquisition, it is possible to restore this Core into the Greatsword through proper crafting. However, I haven’t found the method yet. Anyway, I want to express my deep gratitude to the best Navigator, Pathfinder, who helped me clear the Dungeon.⌟

Mole Man’s body trembled. He quickly checked the Ranking Board.

[Navigator Class]

[1. Pathfinder (LV57)]

[2. Mole Man (LV56)]

“No!”

In no time, Pathfinder had reclaimed the first place.

“What secret abilities and strategies did she use?”

Mole Man had watched the videos that had been released so far multiple times, but he could not see how she did it. As a Navigator, he couldn’t figure out how they cleared that Dungeon.

There were limitations to learning from the videos. He had to go see it for himself.

“Where is that Dungeon, moly?”

He couldn’t let himself fall behind like this. Analyzing the videos had given him a rough idea of the location. He clenched his fist tightly.

“If Pathfinder could do it, Mole Man can do it too, moly!”

On an afternoon of his day off, he began to search for the Tomb of the Greatsword of La’kan.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After the livestream, Jin-Hyeok used the GM Call.

‘I knew this was going to happen.’

None of the GMs answered his call. The expected wait time was eight hours, which meant the GMs were extremely busy. Eight hours was a precious time, and Jin-Hyeok could not stand waiting.

He headed straight to Cheongdam-dong. The Succubus, Lilia, welcomed him.

“I heard you did something amazing recently,” Lilia said.

The sweet scent of peaches lingered. She was trying to seduce Jin-Hyeok again. Every time she did this, Jin-Hyeok realized how fortunate he was to have Broadcaster’s Barrier and Imperial Resilience. Lilia approached him while shaking her head.

“I think I might have failed in seducing you again,” she said.

“Why would you seduce me in the first place?”

“My boss said he would offer a big reward if I succeeded. Like some kind of a bounty.”

“Is it okay that you’re telling me all this?”

“Well, it seems like I can’t seduce you with my Skills, so why not.”

Jin-Hyeok had no idea what she was talking about. Lilia took another step closer to him. She sneakily put her arm into his without him realizing. Her movement was quite discreet and swift.

“It might not work with my Skills, but I was wondering if I could seduce you with my heart. I really like you, you know,” Lilia said.

“...”

“Succubus is naturally drawn to strong men.”

She just put her arm in Jin-Hyeok’s arm without him knowing. This meant that if she really wanted to, she could have easily stabbed him without him knowing.

‘How can someone that powerful call me a strong man? Does she not realize how nonsensical she sounds?’

She looked at him with a beautiful smile. Unintentionally, Jin-Hyeok saw how pretty she was.

‘She’s dangerous.’

Jin-Hyeok had encountered many instances of honey trapping before. If he was not careful from the beginning and didn’t fend them off, he might end up in a troublesome situation later.

Jin-Hyeok drew out a dagger.

“I’m gonna count to three. And you’re going to let go of my arm, or I am going to stab you.”

Lilia smiled mischievously and moved away to the side.

“Did you just think about how pretty I am?”

“Well, I can’t deny that you are pretty.”

Jin-Hyeok couldn’t disagree with her on that one. He hadn’t seen the honey-trapping strategy being used by people who couldn't be described as, at the very least, attractive. In fact, the more beautiful they were, the more dangerous they could be.

“But you’re still pushing me away like this?” Lilia said.

She murmured things like “Aside from being sexy, what do you do for a living?”, and so on. Thanks to that, Jin-Hyeok could regain his composure. It seemed like she didn’t get rid of her corny pick-up lines.

“I guess it’s okay for now,” Lilia said.

She smiled playfully and kept sneaking a peek at him.

‘If you want to look at my face, then just look. Why are you sneaking peeks?’

“For now, I will guide you to the Chairman.”

Lilia took the lead and started to walk in a graceful manner, or at least, that was how she perceived it.

‘Why is she moving her butt like that? It’s annoying.’

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“You did something amazing recently,” Choi Gap-Soo said.

That was his name for the Korean Region. His real username was MoneyShower.

“Did you watch it?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“I saw that you obtained the Core of the Greatsword of La’kan. Are you here to show it to me?”

Gap-Soo seemed oddly satisfied. He genuinely looked quite pleased. It felt like he had become a viewer who received special treatment from a Streamer.

“Yes, do you want to see it?”

“So this is how you manage your viewers now! Hahaha!”

Gap-Soo was very content. With just this, he had something to brag about to his friend, MoneyShot.

Jin-Hyeok, acting as if he had suddenly remembered something, asked Gap-Soo, “Oh, by the way, can I use the GM Call to Seodaemun-gu?”

“GM Call to Seodaemun-gu? But we’re in Gangnam-gu.”

Normally, to use the GM Call to Seodaemun-gu, a Player had to be in Seodaemun-gu.

“I’m sure you can make it happen,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“I know it’s possible, but why should I do that? That is a form of abusing my privileges.”

“I’m not asking you to abuse your privileges. I’m doing this so that I can invite you to my livestream which is limited to one viewer.”

A System message was sent to Gap-Soo.

[You have received an invitation for the livestream 「Regarding the Restoration of the Greatsword of La’kan」.]

[Viewers: 0/1]

Within ten seconds, Kihael appeared in front of them.

“Hello, GM Kihael, I was almost killed by the System Guardian. Do you remember?” Jin-Hyeok said.

“...Are you livestreaming right now?”

“There is only one viewer.”

Kihael could roughly sense what was going on. This livestream was solely for Gap-Soo. Seeing Gap-Soo watching Eltube with such a proud expression, there was no doubt about it.”

‘Damn it!’ Kihael thought.

He didn’t know what was different between watching with his own eyes and watching through a livestream. He couldn’t really understand Gap-Soo. In any case, Gap-Soo was wearing a very satisfied expression.

“You said we would discuss the compensation later, but you haven’t said anything for days, so I had to use the GM Call,” Jin-Hyeok said.

‘This bastard used one of the members of the Trinity Club for the GM Call? And it was a call from Gangnam-gu to Seodaemun-gu?’

Kihael wanted to question Jin-Hyeok, but couldn’t. Gap-Soo looked too happy for Kihael to even think about disrupting the atmosphere of the room.

“...I’m sorry. I was too injured to do anything,” Kihael said.

“Let’s cut to the chase. I obtained this recently. I’m not sure if you saw it through my livestream or not.”

Jin-Hyeok presented the Core of the Greatsword of La’kan. Kihael’s face twitched.

‘He obtained that? How?’

Kihael had monitored until the third attempt. Eventually, he concluded that Jin-Hyeok’s party could not clear the Dungeon with their current abilities and turned off the screen.

But now suddenly, Jin-Hyeok was presenting this Core in front of him.

“You can find the details in my videos. I’ve uploaded all the content.”

“...”

Kihael couldn’t press further. Jin-Hyeok was saying that there were videos on Eltube that could support his plausibility. There was nothing more for Kihael to say.

“I’m not asking for much. How can I craft this into a sword?”

“...”

“I’m not even asking you to do it for me. Just tell me how to do it. Considering you tried to kill me by mistake, I think we can agree on this compensation.”

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After receiving the information for Kihael, Jin-Hyeok headed to Jongno-gu. Right now, Jin-Hyeok was doing a special livestream just for the old man, Choi Gap-Soo.

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner. Of course, I should have talked to Blacksmith Mulinus about this.”

Even though there was only one viewer, Jin-Hyeok received ten million Dias in donations. Gap-Soo said something about how it was nice to see a Player manipulate a GM that well to get what he wanted.

One-eye giant, Mulinus, who enhanced the Berklev Necklace, was already on good terms with Jin-Hyeok.

“I was wondering why you didn’t come to visit me,” Mulinus said.

“Did you see my livestream?”

“Of course I did. You’ve been using the Berklev Necklace quite effectively. Well done."

Mulinus looked quite pleased. There was a sense of fulfillment for the Blacksmith when items he enhanced were used well.

Anyway, the rapport between Jin-Hyeok and Mulinus was still holding strong.

“The method to restore the Greatsword of La’kan? Yeah, I know it.”

“Then let me make a formal request.”

“First, one hundred million Dias.”

“What?”

‘Why is it so expensive?’

“I didn’t set the price. It’s the standard price set by the System.”

“The System has set prices?”

“Yes.”

There was only one reason why the System would do that. This item had a connection with a Scenario that the System itself created.

“And you will need a lot of gold. Go see Katrina. He should have a considerable amount of gold bars left from when you sold them.”

Thankfully, Katrina was quite friendly toward Jin-Hyeok as a merchant, and Jin-Hyeok managed to obtain the gold bars at a reasonable price. He said he would sell them even cheaper if Jin-Hyeok gave him a kiss, so he just bought them at the standard price.

“There is no problem crafting the Greatsword, but there might be an issue for you,” Mulinus said.

“What kind of issue?”

“The Greatsword of La’kan contains a bit of ego. So it’s going to be a weapon that will choose its owner.”

The Greatsword of La’kan from before the regression had acknowledged Jin-Hyeok as its owner without any problem.

“Come tomorrow. I can craft it pretty easily.”

A day later, Mulinus did indeed restore the Greatsword of La’kan.

“Take it. I wonder if the sword will acknowledge a mere Level 60 Player as its owner,” Mulinus said.

Jin-Hyeok turned on the livestream.

[The sword is about to choose its owner.]

When Jin-Hyeok gripped the Greatsword of La’kan, he almost dropped it.

Tsss! Crack!

Intense sparks flew from the sword’s hilt. The resistance was so strong that even Jin-Hyeok’s shoulder tingled.

“The flesh from my palm is being torn off, and blood is coming out.”

It was true that blood was dripping down from Jin-Hyeok’s hand. He had received significant burns up to his forearm.

“The pain is considerable.”

“How can you say that with that nonchalant face?” Mulinus asked.

“How should I subdue it? Do you have any tips, Mulinus?”

“I wouldn’t know. But seriously, it looks really dangerous. The burn has reached your shoulder!”

“Well, I guess I need to think of a way to handle this.”

“Hey! Your flesh is melting! It’s getting all gooey!”

When Playing, various things would happen. Jin-Hyeok did not understand why Mulinus was making such a big deal.

“Just put it down for now! Let’s think about it together!”

“Oh, I just thought of a great idea.”

Jin-Hyeok decided to give it a try. Watching Jin-Hyeok, Mulinus flinched.

“...What did you just do? How did you manage to subdue it in one go? Oh, wait, are you okay? Your arm is all mangled!”