I Gave Up Being Stronger

Cha Jin-Hyeok used Marlenvia’s Underground Warehouse Key to open the heavy iron door.

“Wow!” he softly exclaimed as he felt the damp air envelop him. “It’s like I’m underwater. If I weren’t Korean, I would probably find it hard to breathe in this thick, heavy air.”

-What does that mean?

-Are Koreans immune to fine dust or something?

-What’s fine dust?

-But wouldn’t the fine dust levels be low if the humidity is that high?

-Go away, science nerd.

“The passage is extremely narrow, and it feels like the path will swallow me whole. I will try moving forward. The ceiling is low, so I need to bend down,” he said as he walked toward the narrow space.

“The floor is slippery and wet. Sticky water is seeping through my shoes.”

Inside the underground warehouse, the silence was so profound that the viewers could hear only Jin-Hyeok’s voice and breathing.

-Wow, even his breathing sounds sexy.

-I am saving the audio of his breathing.

“There is a musty smell of mold and dirt here… but the place seems pretty normal otherwise.”

After exiting the narrow passage, he reached a small room. It was an old space filled with mold and dust.

“See? I told you there was nothing. Cough, cough!” Katrina had caught up to him. “I searched this area thoroughly, thinking there was something hidden, but I found nothing. It wasn’t just me. My ancestors and their ancestors also combed through the area in their times.”

Katrina walked closer to Jin-Hyeok and seductively said, “How about we switch to adult content now?”

“...”

‘Adult content?’ Those words reminded Jin-Hyeok that this was a secluded place. With the surroundings swallowing every sound, even their breathing appeared loud. ‘This can get good views for my channel.’

For a moment, he thought of filming adult content if he found nothing valuable, but he immediately shook his head. “Do I look like someone obsessed with views?”

“Huh?”

‘Isn’t adult content a continuation of fake marriage content?’ Jin-Hyeok remembered Wang Yu-Mi insisting that such type of content was off-limits. Cold sweat appeared on his back; he had nearly given in to the prospect of small gains, risking much bigger losses.

“There is definitely something here. I feel it,” he said.

But even Broadcaster’s Insight showed nothing. At this moment, Han Sae-Rin could help him.

‘She’s probably not watching my livestream right now.’

If she were, she would have relayed some tips through Yu-Mi.

Jin-Hyeok was disappointed.

‘Should I just go back?’

Clearing Dungeons in one go was rare. Continually attempting to find a path would eventually create one.

‘I should come back later…’

Just then, a very Korean thought crossed Jin-Hyeok’s mind.

‘This place is extremely humid. I can hardly breathe.’ If even Jin-Hyeok felt this way, then ordinary people would find it challenging to breathe here—it was not exactly like being underwater, but was close to it. ‘Yet, there is so much dust in the air!’

This situation was like having a lot of fine dust on a rainy day; it just didn’t make sense.

“Shall we try to clear out this damp humidity?”

***

Katrina shook her head. “The humidity here has been a nuisance for a long time. I have tried to get rid of it, but…”

[You have activated the Skill Summon Cute Elly, Ta-da!]

Elines—the daughter of the Spirit Kin of Fire, Alkinas—showed up at the scene.

“Hehe!” As always, Elines hugged Jin-Hyeok’s leg and rubbed her cheek against it, expressing her joy.

Taken aback at first, Katrina burst out laughing. ‘That’s right! I completely forgot that Chul-Soo can summon Spirits!’

He was not just any Spirit Mage; he could command the daughter of a Spirit King.

“Can you get rid of all this moisture?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“I will give it a try!” Elines clenched her tiny fists and strained herself, grunting with effort. Flames rippled over her body. Due to Jin-Hyeok, Elly had developed a keen interest in Earth’s culture, so she drew out her power through visualization. “Elly is a flame dryer!”

Being young, Elly lacked the power for massive destruction. However, she was still the daughter of a Spirit King.

‘The moisture in the air is drying up!’ Katrina was parched, as the air gradually became drier. Then, she noticed some inscriptions on the wall.

[המושל על עץ הזהב ירש את העולם……]

‘Was this here before?’ she wondered.

Jin-Hyeok grinned. “It seems we have discovered something.”

The inscriptions continued down the narrow passage Jin-Hyeok had walked through.

***

A few days later, Katrina visited Jin-Hyeok’s house. “Chul-Soo, you know who Yolin is, right?”

“She’s an MK Foundation employee. Her dream is to make money with as little effort as possible,” Jin-Hyeok answered. Suddenly, it occurred to him that Yolin, a work-life balance enthusiast, could get along well with Kihael.

‘I bet a matchmaking content featuring those two would rake in the views.’

Katrina laughed as if she found Jin-Hyeok’s reply absurd. “Okay. Well, if you are not worried about it, then it’s fine. Anyway, Yolin and I managed to decipher the inscriptions. Do you want me to tell you what they mean?”

“Just send it to me in text.”

“Will that do?”

“Yeah, I wouldn't want the viewers to get bored, right?”

“You always judge everything based on livestreaming and viewership, don’t you?”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Sure, let’s call it that.” Katrina continued with various explanations. She mentioned that Yolin and Lessefim had assisted her. “So, we need the alchemy of the Harkoen family here, which Lessefim agreed to help with… In the end, we may be able to create an ampoule where we can grow a unique golden tree. The inscriptions on the wall were the recipe to create the ampoule.”

Then, a notification came in.

[Universe-level Scenario 「Legacy of the Forsaken Queen」 is in progress.]

[You have completed a fragment of the Universe-level Scenario 「Legacy of the Forsaken Queen」.]

[You have activated the Quest 「He Who Controls the Golden Tree Shall Inherit the World」.]

Jin-Hyeok’s heart raced. ‘I had a feeling this might happen!’

Scenarios related to the Forsaken Queen mostly involved Garbinu, and inevitably, they were connected to the Seven Great Families. Since two of the families (three if Yolin was included) were linked, Jin-Hyeok had been pondering the possibility of this turning into a universe-level Scenario.

Jin-Hyeok said, “This golden tree likely refers to a Guardian Tree, right?”

“Perhaps?” Katrina said.

“Do you think you can make the ampoule?”

“It’s possible. However, it will require a tremendous amount of money. The materials required to make the ampoule are not ordinary.”

“So, you just need money?”

“Money and time. But I guess money may not be much of a problem for you.”

The real issue lay in obtaining the incredibly rare materials required even with money.

“The Blue Mermaid’s Scale is owned by a collector named Marseille… a severe hoarder. I am assuming he will never sell that,” Katrina said.

“Then we will just have to steal it.”

“Steal? Are you sure that will be okay?”

“If a Thief can’t steal that, then they are not much of a Thief, are they?”

‘Hm… that’s not quite what I meant,’ Katrina thought, but she just cleared her throat and replied, “Besides, there are still the Omaria Racoon’s Fur, the Beaked Whale’s Hair, and the Human-Face Spider’s Venom. Those are truly hard to find.”

***

Katrina laughed again, almost in disbelief. “Did you get everything? And in just four hours?”

Even four months would have been quick. Katrina had no idea how Jin-Hyeok was able to gather everything so swiftly. “No, seriously, I’m curious. How did you manage to get all this so fast?”

“I stole what could be stolen and bought what could be bought. And it’s all thanks to the Chul-Soo Landers,” Jin-Hyeok answered.

Chul-Soo Landers were scattered across the universe. According to Yu-Mi, the universe was assisting Chul-Soo.

‘I also got help from the Succubi, which was crucial,” Jin-Hyeok added.

“Ah, I see. I forgot about them.”

Katrina hadn’t considered the covert network of Succubi operating across all Servers; such feats were possible with their full support.

‘Just the Succubi or Chul-Soo Landers alone aren’t enough. This feat is possible only with the support of both,’ she thought.

Therefore, only Chul-Soo could pull this off.

Katrina chuckled. “I almost feel inadequate.”

She had all the materials she needed.

“But you do realize that all this combined is worth billions of Dias, right?” she said.

“Really?”

By now, Jin-Hyeok had lost interest in money. No matter how fast he spent his money, he gained it even faster. He had reached a point where he did not even know how much money was in his account.

‘I don’t think he’s worrying about me just running off with all these materials.’ Katrina smirked. ‘Yes! This is so like Chul-Soo!’

“Getting the materials was the hard part. The ampule won’t take long to create. I will work on it with Lessefim. Just wait a bit longer, okay?” Katrina said.

***

Several hours later, the door to Katrina’s laboratory opened. With a whoosh of hot air, Katrina emerged holding a small ampoule, sweat running down her body. “I finished it, Chul-Soo.”

“Wow!” Jin-Hyeok immediately inspected it with Broadcaster’s Insight.

[פושן מושל]

Although he did not know what it said, the item was marked in red.

‘When was the last time I saw something in red!’ he thought.

Items marked in red usually exceeded his current Level by quite some margin. Jin-Hyeok was exhilarated, though he tried not to show it.

“I think I deserve a kiss on the cheek after all this effort,” Katrina said.

“No.”

Such behavior would be detrimental to his livestream. No matter how minor the action, Jin-Hyeok was firmly committed to never harming his livestream.

Katrina shrugged. “You look sexy even when you reject me.”

She was not upset about being openly rejected. Instead, she was surprisingly pleased, which startled even herself.

“But… who the hell…?” Katrina’s gaze started to lose focus, and she instantly collapsed. “You…”

She had fainted. Jin-Hyeok tried to catch her, but he did not have the luxury to do so.

‘Player Hunter?’ he wondered, feeling tense for the first time in a while. ‘I can sense their presence, but…’

They were invisible. Even Broadcaster’s Insight could not pinpoint their location.

‘Hmm… they must be a universe-level ranker.’

Clearly, someone of immense power, potentially in the top ten of the universe’s rankings, was lurking here. Jin-Hyeok had never encountered someone of this caliber even during his days as the Sword King. He could feel a watchful gaze on him, biding its time.

‘Hold on. I should not get too excited.’ Getting overly excited could lead to mistakes. ‘I can’t see the opponent. Katrina was unable to react and collapse instantly, so they must possess stealth and agility of an extraordinary degree.’

Jin-Hyeok also felt a slight dizziness. The poison affecting him now had to be at least of the Snake King level, as he was immune to any venom below that.

‘No, this is beyond the Snake King’s level.’

Jin-Hyeok could tell this because Spilling Wind had activated on its own. He was lucky to have avoided the poison attack; otherwise, he could have suffered much more severe damage.

‘A Player Hunter using a venom above the Snake King’s level?’ Such individuals were exceedingly rare across the universe. ‘But this is Katrina’s laboratory.’

The laboratory was located within the mansion of the Goldium family, one of the Seven Great Families of Arvis. This mansion was overflowing with treasures and jewels and boasted ironclad security and vigilance. Even a universe-level Player Hunter would find it difficult to move in and out of this mansion like it was their house, let alone ambush and incapacitate one of the heirs.

‘They must have the Goldium family’s permission.’

If a Player Hunter with such capabilities had a special relationship with the Goldium family, that narrowed it down to only one Player.

‘Emperor Marco. Oh, this is going to be interesting.’

Jin-Hyeok grinned, excited at the chance of facing someone he would not even have dared to confront during his days as the Sword King.

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