I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 292

Hearing a soft sound, Cha Jin-Hyeok felt Harkoen’s soft lips on his cheek.

‘Did she just kiss me?’

For Jin-Hyeok, this kind of physical affection was shockingly out of place, especially since this was not romance content. Only that would warrant such intimacy.

‘This is disgusting.’

He was utterly displeased as if he had been forced into this content against his will. It then struck him that Wang Yu-Mi had expressly stated that anything to do with romance or simulated romance content was off-limits. In that regard, Harkoen was nothing short of an Assassin—a saboteur of content! She was unforgivable, but still, he held his tongue.

‘A professional Streamer has to endure all kinds of stuff.’

Such trials and tribulations were part and parcel of the Job.

Suddenly, Hyde appeared. Emerging from behind Harkoen, he swiftly rendered her unconscious by choking her.

“Chul-Soo, are you alright?”

Jin-Hyeok tilted his head. ‘He just knocked her out. What is he scheming?’

“As promised, everything belonging to her family is now yours. I only need Harkoen.” Hyde moved closer to Jin-Hyeok and flinched. “You already knew.”

Up close, Hyde realized that Jin-Hyeok was not brainwashed, and, furthermore, he was recording the entire situation. “How are you recording this?”

Jin-Hyeok was furious.

‘I had to kiss her foot and endure her kissing my cheek, trying to bide my time!’

He had planned to expose Harkoen at the very moment she attempted to turn him into a doll. He wanted to start his livestream at the right moment like a dramatic reveal, but Hyde’s intervention disrupted his plan.

“I guess I have no choice then. I have to start the livestream now.”

If the best plan failed, he had to go for the second best. He began the livestream.

“I received this notification,” Jin-Hyeok said to his viewers as he shared the earlier notifications on the screen.

[Communication status is unstable.]

[Connection with the System is unstable, and recording is not possible.]

“So, how am I able to livestream?”

***

Watching Jin-Hyeok proceed with the livestream with such ease, Hyde was engulfed in deep internal conflict. ‘Should I just stab him now? Should I kill him by surprise? Or should I leave him be for a while?’

Killing Jin-Hyeok now could potentially defuse the situation.

‘But... I need to find out how he managed to bypass the livestreaming restriction.’

Lady Harkoen, although not much of a fighter, was a master of alchemy. She excelled in creating various potions and medicines using her alchemy, giving them significant effects. The livestreaming restriction was also her creation. Essentially, it was an anti-Streamer-specific potion spread across various spaces to activate a barrier.

The Lumina Mineral Powder given to Chul-Soo in advance was supposed to amplify this effect. With this setup, even if Chul-Soo was an exceptional Streamer, his livestream should have failed.

‘I will just find out how he did it, then kill him.’

Jin-Hyeok explained, “Han Sae-Rin is an excellent Player. She is a colleague who teaches me a lot of things and always provides me with inspiration.”

Hyde focused on Jin-Hyeok’s words. He wanted to hear the secret Jin-Hyeok had closely guarded. After hearing it, he would immediately stab Jin-Hyeok.

‘What is the secret, Chul-Soo?’

Jin-Hyeok revealed the astonishing secret. “Sae-Rin taught me how to do it. What kind of a Ruler would you be if you can’t even do that much?”

***

Before walking into Harkoen’s trap, Sae-Rin had told Jin-Hyeok, “What is the most lethal thing to a Streamer? Obviously, it’s preventing them from livestreaming. Worse, stopping them from recording altogether.”

She emphasized the need for a countermeasure.

“A Ruler’s job is to place Players in the right positions and maximize their abilities to achieve the best results, right?” Her explanation was long and tedious, but the conclusion was simple. “I can help you keep your livestream going. This is a Ruler-exclusive Skill, so it should be much better than a Navigator’s ability.”

While she was still an excellent Navigator, Sae-Rin’s standards were not ordinary.

Jin-Hyeok asked, “There is a Ruler-exclusive Skill that helps Streamers?”

This was new to Jin-Hyeok. Rulers usually focused on maximizing the abilities of combatant-class Players. A Ruler who enhanced the capabilities of Streamers was rare.

‘A Ruler maximizing a Streamer's abilities? That sounds like a bad choice,’ Jin-Hyeok thought. However, considering how smart Sae-Rin was, he decided to trust her and listen.

“Of course. What kind of Ruler would I be if I couldn’t even do that?”

“I see.”

“Anyway, there are some restrictions. You and I cannot be more than thirty meters apart. I can assist only one Streamer at a time, and it does consume a significant amount of my stamina.” Sae-Rin was not entirely satisfied with this.

“Ideally, a Ruler should be able to assist you from over one hundred meters away and help dozens of Streamers at once. Although my skills are far from perfect and still lacking, I can assist you for now. Oh, and do you have the Lumina Mineral Powder that Hyde gave you? Just in case, I will hold onto it.”

With that, Sae-Rin foiled everything Harkoen and Hyde had prepared.

***

Hyde was flabbergasted. He was expecting an extraordinary secret, but Jin-Hyeok’s explanation turned out to be disarmingly simple.

“Sae-Rin taught me how to do it. What kind of a Ruler would you be if you can’t even do that much?”

There was no elaborate or detailed explanation. It was simply that Sae-Rin had helped him.

‘A Ruler maximizing a Streamer’s abilities?’

In theory, it was certainly possible. The range of buffs Rulers could provide was vast, after all. However, no Ruler had ever been known to invest such care into a Streamer. Enhancing a Streamer’s abilities was just not worth the effort.

‘His livestream captured Harkoen’s collection of dolls.’

A flood of viewers was swarming Yu-Mi’s livestream, which was titled Harkoen’s Collection.

-Holy shit! Is this real?

-Those look like dolls made from real people!

-This is happening in our Server?

-I thought it was just a ridiculous rumor... This is Year 4200. What the hell is going on?!

Even Arvis citizens who typically did not watch livestreams from Streamers of other Servers were tuning in.

-That woman is crazy!

-I can’t believe this is real! How can a noble family of Arvis do such a thing? I am so embarrassed I just want to drink bleach and die.

Then, viewers defending Harkoen started pouring in. Mid-livestream, Yu-Mi sensed the involvement of some kind of external force.

-Tsk tsk. Look at the quality of this staged livestream, lol!

-My friend is close with Lady Harkoen, and I can guarantee that this is fake.

-I know Chul-Soo loves livestreaming, but this is ridiculous! It’s clearly staged!

The narrative that Chul-Soo’s livestream was fabricated began to gain traction. A sudden influx of viewers pointed out the supposed inconsistencies in Harkoen’s appearance, alleged that the dolls were sophisticated CGIs, and claimed Hyde’s expression clearly indicated hired acting.

-I mean, would a noble family of Arvis stoop to such levels?

-Why would Chul-Soo make up such a livestream? How is he going to handle the aftermath?

-Harkoen is known for her benevolence. The amount of her yearly donations is similar to the revenues of some companies!

Those viewers cited Harkoen’s lack of response to the myriad slanders as evidence of her innocence.

-Poor, kind-hearted Harkoen. T_T

-It’s an unchanging truth in the Server: too much kindness is taken for granted.

-This livestream crossed the line.

-Chul-Soo should formally apologize and go back to his Server. I knew he was overstepping his bounds. It was only a matter of time before he caused a major incident like this.

Yu-Mi, adjusting her round glasses, remarked, “These folks just recently joined Eltube, right?”

“Yeah.” Kim Min-Ji nodded. She was sitting in front of the monitor beside Yu-Mi with a lollipop in her mouth.

Yu-Mi double-checked. “No.1, you are not actively intervening or joining in of your own accord, but merely answering my inquiries passively, right?”

“Right!”

“Their recent join dates and their little to no activity history screams that these accounts are burner accounts. It reeks of foul play,” Yu Mi said.

“Should I plant malware on all of them?”

“That would mean that you have to actively intervene. You said that you can’t do that, right?”

Yu-Mi’s eyes sparkled with determination. Although she didn’t really know who Min-Ji was, she had already calculated how to utilize Min-Ji for maximum efficiency.

Min-Ji’s face flushed with anger. “Ah, I’m so furious! I wish I could set fire to their homes!”

“Don’t worry.” Yu-Mi firmly grasped Min-Ji’s hands. “Justice always prevails.”

“What do you mean?”

“At first, these burner accounts might have the upper hand. However, they move only for money, which makes them sort of like temporary workers. Their firepower cannot surpass that of fans. Money can’t buy genuine love!”

Proving Yu-Mi’s words, numerous viewers began pouring out various pieces of evidence.

[Summary of Harkoen’s facial features. Why Harkoen in the livestream is real.]

[101 reasons why the dolls in the livestream aren’t CGI.]

[Analysis of Hyde’s expressions using Kenshia analytical techniques.]

-LOL, look at these burner accounts trying to manipulate the narrative!

-Who do they think we are? Why are they trying to sway public opinion so blatantly?

-These types tend to be burner accounts. Hey, show your real username!

The burner account brigade had unwittingly provoked sleeping Chul-Soo Landers. Chul-Soo Landers from across the universe swarmed Yu-Mi’s channel, unleashing tremendous firepower across various online communities.

Min-Ji clenched and unclenched her fists in excitement. “You guys are doing great!”

Chul-Soo Landers were making a significant impact, causing some Servers to experience service disruption due to the sudden traffic influx.

“Given the situation, I think I can intervene just a bit, right?” Min-Ji asked.

“I think you can do it without being noticed.”

Thus, an environment was created where Min-Ji, who was considered the leader of the Chul-Soo Landers, could also step forward in a relatively active manner.

***

Hyde did not overthink it. ‘I’m going to kill him.’

No matter how much evidence was manipulated, if a Streamer of Chul-Soo’s caliber showed too much of this place on his livestream, Harkoen could not avoid the backlash. This incident had to be covered up, and killing Chul-Soo was the only option.

‘Harkoen, you are too delicate a child. I will bear the sins for you.’

Casting aside numerous thoughts, Hyde swung his favored scythe.

Slash!

The sharp blade cleaved through something.

Squirt!

Blood spurted out. It was Jin-Hyeok’s blood.

‘I was sure I had taken precautions...’ Jin-Hyeok thought. Blood gushed from his side. It was a horrific scene, but he remained calm.

“Blood is pouring out fro—”

It was hard for him to smoothly continue his livestream. Hyde was too fast for him to properly describe to his viewers what was going on.

Jin-Hyeok’s pride was deeply wounded. The problem was not just that he had allowed the ambush; it was that he could not properly carry on with the livestream.

‘I should be able to livestream even in such extreme situations!’

Unfortunately, he realized he was not skilled enough for that.

Hyde rushed in, not giving him a chance to properly use Absolute Barrier.

‘I can’t predict his attack timing.’

The effectiveness of Absolute Barrier was maximized when its timing matched the attack, but Hyde’s attack was difficult to read. Stripped of rhythm and pace, Jin-Hyeok knew Hyde had the upper hand in this fight.

Hyde then crouched and suddenly disappeared from view.

‘Where is he?’

The skill gap between the two of them was too wide. This was the prowess expected of a chamberlain from a noble family of Arvis.

‘Huh?’

For the first time in a while, Jin-Hyeok felt a tingling sensation at the back of his neck. It was a sensation one felt only when death was very close. Before his regression, he had felt it often, but not so much after his regression. This sensation now ran down his neck, along the spine, to the tips of his does.

His intuition was screaming a warning. ‘I am going to die.’

Hyde was too fast.

‘Is he behind me?’

Jin-Hyeok tried to activate Absolute Barrier to protect his neck.

‘Wait, he is in front?’

Suddenly, Hyde appeared in front of him, his scythe hurtling toward Jin-Hyeok’s neck.