I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 287

Cha Jin-Hyeok and Han Sae-Rin were camping in an unnamed forest. As they sat in front of a campfire, taking a break, a man approached them.

“You must be Kim Chul-Soo,” the man said.

“And who might you be?”

“My name is Hyde. I am the chamberlain of Lady Harkoen.”

Sae-Rin tensed up slightly, while Jin-Hyeok became intrigued.

“How did you find me in this vast Arvis Server?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“I started tracking you as soon as you entered our Server.”

“You followed me? I didn’t feel your presence at all.”

“There are many ways to track someone without directly tailing them.”

“Oh, really?” Both Jin-Hyeok and Sae-Rin were shaken by this revelation.

‘I’ve never heard of such methods. Truly fitting for the strongest Server in the universe.’

That someone could be tracked without direct surveillance was a significant discovery for them.

‘Could I possibly learn to do such things with enough effort?’ Sae-Rin thought.

While an ordinary Ruler might not have been so stimulated by this revelation, Sae-Rin was, thinking that she needed to put in more effort.

Hyde continued, “Harkoen... She has gone mad. The clear and pure child she was in her youth is no longer present.”

“...”

“I miss her pure soul. I loved her very much.”

Jin-Hyeok sensed something odd. He felt a unique kind of madness in Hyde that one could only sense from a lunatic.

“So, you’re saying you will pass on all the information to me, as long as I agree to hand over Harkoen to you?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

Hyde revealed Harkoen’s plan. Jin-Hyeok learned that Harkoen was the one who had helped Corporation Alpha Male escape, with the intention of using him to hunt down Jin-Hyeok.

“So, is she some kind of Human Hunter?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“No, she is an Alchemist.”

Jin-Hyeok was puzzled. ‘Why would an Alchemist hunt people?’

But then again, in a world where Rulers tracked people and Navigators worked as Miners, anything was possible.

“Harkoen was such a lovable and kind child, who loved alchemy dearly.”

“So, what you’re saying is that you will cooperate with me, help me catch Corporation Alpha Male, and let me have all of Harkoen’s assets and research materials, right?”

“Yes. I will turn that child into a doll and keep her forever. Just as she once was, pure and innocent.”

“...”

“The child looks so lovely when she is asleep.”

‘This guy is definitely insane.’

“How did you end up so crazy?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“It’s not me who is crazy; it’s Harkoen.”

To Jin-Hyeok, it certainly seemed like Hyde was the mad one, but he did not say it out loud.

‘I am the interviewer, after all.’

Being able to listen well and draw out an interviewee’s story was also a skill.

“So, you’re saying Harkoen is crazy?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“She slapped me. Me, who has loved and raised her with all my heart since she was little. We must stop her madness.”

Jin-Hyeok clicked his tongue and asked, “Can I livestream this?”

“Are you seriously asking that?”

“Well, I know I can. Sorry for the pointless question.”

The livestream would be stimulating; it was excellent content for his channel.

Hyde suddenly stood up. “No, of course, you can’t! What are you thinking? If this gets out, Harkoen will see the livestream and prepare for it! It’s foolish to complicate the situation!”

“That’s not a problem.” Jin-Hyeok was already inspired by Sae-Rin.

“Have you started recording?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not doing a livestream?”

“Going live would give away our location. It would be giving too much information to the enemy.”

“Ah, so stream sniping could be an issue?”

“Exactly.”

“Wouldn’t that make it more intense and better?”

“Then we might have a problem,” Jin-Hyeok smirked, appearing exhilarated. “Actually, I have been livestreaming since you first arrived. My viewers are loving it.”

As the livestream turned out to be a hit, Jin-Hyeok grinned, while Hyde was speechless.

‘I knew this guy was crazy about livestreaming, but I didn’t know he would be this crazy.’ Hyde thought.

***

“I must have been branded a traitor by now.” Hyde did not particularly express anger. He spoke with as much calmness as he could muster. “I will lay low for now. Let’s meet again later so that I can pass on more information.”

After Hyde disappeared, Sae-Rin said, “I think this guy is lying.”

“Huh?”

“He seems to be playing a double agent.”

Jin-Hyeok felt as if he had been struck on the head. He had used Broadcaster’s Insight to read Hyde’s true intentions earlier.

[#How dare she slap me? #How could she? #We must stop her madness. #She is most lovely when she is asleep.]

But then it occurred to him. ‘He could have deceived my Broadcaster’s Insight!’

It was certainly possible.

‘Especially since my ability has been made public.’

This meant that his opponents could tailor their approach to target him.

“Thank you! I almost fell for it.”

“It’s nothing.” Sae-Rin chuckled, taking pleasure in Jin-Hyeok’s embarrassment. “I actually think it’s a good thing.”

“What is?”

“People tend to miss out on other things when they are engrossed in something, right? The fact that you almost got tricked by Hyde means you were truly sincere about your livestreaming.”

“...”

“If you had been skeptical of Hyde like me, I would have been disappointed. It would have meant you weren’t immersed in your livestream.”

“...”

Jin-Hyeok smirked once more. ‘I thought being keenly aware was what mattered... but it’s actually the opposite.’

He had learned something valuable. Jin-Hyeok thought once again how much of a great companion Sae-Rin was.

***

That dawn, Jin-Hyeok suddenly woke up. “Wow!”

A note was placed beside his bed. He immediately started recording.

“A person came here and placed a note. I think it was a Thief. I barely felt their presence. If it had been an Assassin, I might not have been able to respond in time.”

Of course, Assassins typically had a more noticeable presence than Thieves. Moreover, their presence would become more noticeable at the moment of attack, making them easier to detect, but he did not bother mentioning that detail.

“This is a note from Corporation Alpha Male.”

[Let’s meet in the metropolis of Muren within the Helen Empire. I did not give it my all in our last battle. I too needed a narrative. Let us have our final showdown there.]

“Corporation Alpha Male is taunting me, saying he went easy on me last time.” After revealing the note through his livestream, Jin-Hyeok continued, “I guess there is no need for me to track him anymore. As soon as the sun rises, I will head straight to Muren.”

***

Lessefim wrestled with her dilemma over and over again. “But what kind of secondary Job should I develop?”

The question was quite perplexing.

“If I start something from scratch... I don’t think Chul-Soo will choose me.”

She thought she at least needed to have a navigating ability similar to that of the Ruler Han Sae-Rin. Of course, she did possess such an ability.

“Ah... I really don’t want to do this.”

Since her childhood, her parents had forced a dream upon her: becoming an Alchemist. Alchemy was known to be a profession that required a significant amount of money, reputed to be a noble Job. It was typically chosen by the high nobility of Arvis, who had no worries about their future. It was also a career recommended to their children.

“No! I won’t do it! It’s so boring! I hate it!”

“Oh, dear, there is no Job more suited for a noble’s daughter than this. Listen to your father, Lessefim.”

“That’s right, Lessefim, you will thank us later.”

As a child, Lessefim was forced to learn alchemy. After going through an intense period of adolescence, she ultimately chose the path of a Navigator, deliberately choosing a Job considered to be less noble. Even now, just hearing the word alchemy made her shudder.

‘But... besides alchemy, what immediate secondary Job can I develop?’

She was confident that given enough time and investment, she could acquire other Jobs besides Alchemist. The thought process was something like, ‘If that woman (Han Sae-Rin) could do it, why can’t I? There is no way I can’t.’

However, Lessefim lacked the time for such endeavors.

‘I need a Job that can get me chosen right now, immediately!’

In the end, she went back to her home after a long time. “I’ve become interested in alchemy. I will start studying it.”

“Our daughter has finally matured! Indeed, there is nothing like alchemy for the nobility.”

“You have finally realized the need for refinement? You have made a great decision! We love you, Lessefim!”

Her parents were overjoyed.

***

Sae-Rin proved to be an exceptional Navigator. Despite being on unfamiliar roads, she devised the optimal route to lead Jin-Hyeok.

“You could have just stayed a Navigator, you know?” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Is that supposed to be an insult?”

“No, I said that because you are so good at it.”

“How is that different from telling you to wield a sword instead of a hammer?”

“Aha!” Jin-Hyeok nodded, getting her point.

If someone told him, ‘You are good with a sword, why bother with a hammer? Hammer is so lame!’ he would probably be annoyed. After all, his talent lay with the hammer, not the sword.

“I’m sorry,” Jin-Hyeok apologized.

“No, it’s okay. I know what you meant.”

The duo entered the outskirts of Helen Empire. Thanks to Jin-Hyeok having honorary citizenship of Arvis, they could easily use the warp portals here.

Sae-Rin was constantly amazed. “Wow! It’s so well connected. No motion sickness at all! And it’s cheap too.”

She was gaining a lot of inspiration from her travels to new places. “It would be great if Earth had such a well-organized warp portal network. It would be much more advantageous for various explorations!”

‘But wait, can’t we create something like this? If Arvis can do it, why can’t we?’ As Sae-Rin pondered a vague future for the Earth Server, she and Jin-Hyeok arrived in Muren, a metropolis within the Helen Empire.

Amid news of the upcoming clash between Corporation Alpha Male and Jin-Hyeok, the grand square was filled with throngs of people.

“I am selling tickets to the fighting arena! Get your tickets!”

“VIP seats for sale!”

Some quick thinkers had already secured spots near the arena in the square. Many Streamers had also gathered to livestream the event.

“This time, the gender ratio of the audience is a bit different. The female audience seems to overwhelmingly dominate their counterpart.”

“Usually, among the female audience, such events attract a younger demographic, so it is interesting to see a wide distribution of age groups.”

“Signs declaring love for Chul-Soo can be seen everywhere!”

Meanwhile, the captain of Muren’s guard was having a headache. ‘All this fuss over a Streamer! Especially over a Streamer from a third-rate Server, not even from Arvis! How could this even attract such a crowd?’

The city’s guard was mobilized to maintain order, but it was proving insufficient. They had urgently requested reinforcements from neighboring cities.

“Ma’am! I have something to report!” one of the guards shouted.

“Don’t call me ma’am when we’re working! I told you thousands of times!”

“Now is not the time to nitpick about titles. The south gate has been breached. People are going mad to see Chul-Soo. They are scaling the walls with fire in their eyes!”

Captain Muenne grabbed her helmet. “I will handle it myself.”

She had to protect the city from the crazed fans proclaiming their love for Chul-Soo. Donning her helmet, she quickly climbed atop a Wyvern. “Let’s go!”

“M-Ma’am! Please be careful! I know you care about this city and your sense of duty, but...”

As the Wyvern screeched and soared into the sky, her lieutenant’s voice faded away. To reach the south gate, she had to fly over the grand square.

‘There are so many people at the grand square!’

It looked impossibly crowded. In her six years as the city’s guard, she had never seen such a turnout.

‘Huh?’

Something strange caught her eyes. Among the vast crowd, one person stood out unmistakably. It was a mystery how he could be so conspicuous. Moreover, she was flying at great speed on a Wyvern, and even from the air, she noticed that particularly handsome individual.

A new Chul-Soo Lander had been born.