I Gave Up Being Stronger

It was nine in the morning.

Omur, GM No. 1 of Gangnam-gu, was at the Alchemist’s workshop in Cheongdam-dong. It was part of his routine to find the VIP of VIPs, the Trinity Club member, Choi Gap-Soo, to say hello and have a chat.

Gap-Soo was quite fond of cracking jokes and making small talk. It was not just him, but most of the Trinity Club VIPs were like that.

Having accomplished so much, and with so much time on their hands, they were bound to get bored.

‘I’ll just have a quick chat with him today.’

Gap-Soo was one of the easier VIPs to deal with. He did not make ridiculous claims or get hysterical. As long as Omur made small talk, he did not bother the managers too much. Gap-Soo loved to talk, so as long as Omur listened to him, Omur was fine.

“I bragged to my friends about this!” Gap-Soo said.

“What did you brag about?”

It was not too hard to figure out how to deal with the VIPs. All Omur had to do was repeat back to them what they had said and give them the occasional admiring glance or smile. Couple that with three easy sentences and it was good to go.

That’s amazing!

You’re amazing!

These three were perfect. Omur knew it would be the same today.

“You know, that kid on the new Server. The one who has the nerve to ignore all the VIPs’ requests to talk to him and not communicate with his viewer at all.”

“Oh, you mean Chul-Soo?”

New Servers, especially those in Open Beta, had a hard time getting noticed. The content would be still too new and limited. However, there was one Player who was getting a lot of attention.

“Yeah, Chul-Soo. I think he has a nickname or something.”

“I believe some people call him the Bulldozer because he does whatever the hell he wants.”

“Yeah, him. Anyway, he sent me an invitation.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Omur pretended to be surprised, but he actually wasn’t. Sending out invitations was no big deal.

“Now my name is going to be plastered on the top of the livestream!”

“That’s a big deal.”

“It is. I wonder how jealous the other guys at the Trinity Club will be. Hahaha!”

Omur still did not understand. Why was getting the invitation from Chul-Soo so important and what would the VIPs from the Trinity Club be jealous about?

“It’s amazing!”

Omur did not understand with his heart, but he could understand it with his capitalist mindset. Capitalism had a mysterious knack for making even the most mysterious things understandable and agreeable.

“Nah~ You don’t look that surprised, Omur.”

“Well, aren’t the VIPs of Trinity Club already accomplished individuals who have achieved everything? So they don’t covet or envy each other’s possessions…”

“No need to sugarcoat that we are all the same.”

Gap-Soo was right on the money. The Trinity Club was a gathering of the most successful people on all the Servers, but inside the Inner Circle, everyone was similarly successful.

They were all equally great.

“I’ve heard rumors that you are all quite competitive in small, mundane things, rather than big, grandiose things. It’s a small way to enjoy the flow of life…”

“You can just say that we are childish.”

A cold sweat ran down Omur’s back. He could never say that Gap-Soo was childish, at least not in his own words.

“Anyway, I made a big bet with some guys about who is going to be the first to get on Chul-Soo’s livestream, who is going to be the first name to be called out, and who is going to get their message shown on his livestream,” Gap-Soo said.

“Oh, is that right?”

“Yes. And in the end, I won! Haha! I was the first one to do that!”

Gap-Soo seemed genuinely happy. Omur still understood his words only in his head. It was difficult to fully understand their world and their lifestyle.

They were extraterrestrial beings who had spent hundreds of millions and even billions of won for such minuscule things.

‘Let’s just shut up and pretend to understand.’

This was about a world that had nothing to do with Omur.

“Huhuhu. The livestream is about to start.”

“You seem to be in a very good mood, sir.”

This was his chance.

“I will go about my business. Have a good day, sir.”

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

[MoneyShower: It’s finally happening!]

Gap-Soo sent his first message. This alone was a huge success.

‘I win, you bastards!’

He had made a bet of ten billion Dias for this. Within the group of five that he was part of and usually hung out with, his win would've meant he made a whopping forty billion Dias.

However, he did not care about the money. It was more about pride than the forty billion Dias. The terms of the bet were to have a casual chat for at least thirty seconds.

But then something crazy happened. Jin-Hyeok had turned off the livestream as soon as he started.

Gap-Soo’s friends contacted him through the SSP terminal.

[The bet is still not over.]

[I can’t call that a win.]

[It’s more like a draw.]

He only saw a glimpse of the messages, but he knew what they said and who sent them.

Gap-Soo angrily lay down on his couch.

Lilia cautiously approached and placed a cup of hot tea on the table.

“Kim Chul-Soo is coming to see you in person,” Lilia said.

“I see. Let’s see what he has got to say.”

Gap-Soo went to meet with Chul-Soo in a very unpleasant mood.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The reason for Cha Jin-Hyeok’s visit was simple.

“I know it was an accident, but it still doesn’t seem right, so I am here to give you another invitation,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Have a seat. Tell me what happened,” Gap-Soo said.

“I think there is a force out there that is intentionally sabotaging my Play.”

“Who do you think it is?”

“I’m not sure. I can’t even see their Levels with my abilities, so they are probably someone far more transcendent than me.”

“There’s a guy like that on the Open Beta Server?”

Gap-Soo's mood became even more unpleasant. Who could be that powerful, trampling on his precious Playtime and pride?

“Omur!” Gap-Soo immediately called for the GM he was in contact with.

Less than three seconds later, Omur appeared through the warp.

Jin-Hyeok stared at Omur in disbelief.

‘What? He came here in less than three seconds?!’

GMs were always overworked and working overtime. They were very busy.

Jin-Hyeok had never seen a GM, who had to have accumulated quite a bit of seniority, show up in three seconds.

‘That’s crazy.’

“Do you know anything about this?” Gap-Soo asked Omur.

“I…”

Gap-Soo’s eyes narrowed.

“Tell me now!”

“It’s classified, so I am not authorized to talk about it…”

Gap-Soo frowned, and the GM tensed up. It was always scarier when someone who did not normally get angry got angry.

“So it’s hard with your authorization?”

Gap-Soo’s voice got a little louder.

“Then get me the regional manager, no, bring in the Servel-level manager!”

It looked like a Karen was demanding to see a manager at a retail store.

Jin-Hyeok had never seen anything like this.

“Uh, well…”

Omur’s face became contemplative. He wondered why something like this was happening when he was so close to retirement.

“The Server-level manager, what’s his name?”

“I… It’s Director Chersi.”

“Oh, that kid is already a Director?”

“Give me a minute and I will let you know if he is available, sir.”

“You have five minutes!’

Omur stormed out.

Less than five minutes later, he reappeared.

“I can’t tell you exactly why, but Director Chersi told me that it won’t happen again to Player Kim Chul-Soo.”

“Oh, you’re saying that it’s not gonna happen again, so I should just shut up and be quiet? Is that what Chersi told you to say?”

Jin-Hyeok drank the citrus tea Lilia poured for him. The tea served by the Succubus smelled wonderful.

‘Wow, the old man is pretty angry.’

Jin-Hyeok knew the old man did not get angry very often, but when he did, there was nothing that could stop him. If something like that had already happened, it was best to tell him the reasons and lie flat until he calmed down.

‘If you do that, the old man is going to calm down. I guess Omur hasn’t figured that out yet.’

“Gi… give me a minute, sir.”

“This is the last time I’m going to give you time. My time is precious.”

Eventually, Omur returned like a dead man walking. Then, he began to confess.

“So… it turns out…”

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The confession was quite a surprise to Jin-Hyeok.

‘So the System is selecting and developing Players themselves?’

It was not at the national level, but at the System level. That meant that Jin-Hyeok was a Sword King who was selected and developed at the System level.

‘Oh… No wonder I was so strong.’

As he listened to Omur, he learned more details.

‘I see. They must have tried to kidnap my party.’

It seemed like they were trying to kidnap his party members with 9-Star Jobs, like Mok Jae-Hyeon and Kim Jeong-Hyeon, and develop them.

Since this was done on a System level, they were able to identify his party members.

‘So that’s what happened!’

Now, it was clear to Jin-Hyeok. Kidnapping low-Level prospects and raising them was a very efficient and excellent way of developing Players.

Before his regression, Jin-Hyeok had volunteered, but he wouldn’t have minded being kidnapped either.

“...So, we will set Chul-Soo and his party members as exclusions, ensuring that they are not forcefully dragged into this project…”

“And if you try to ruin my fun again, next time, I will call that Chersi myself.”

“Yes, sir. I will keep that in mind.”

Now Jin-Hyeok knew what was going on. There was no doubt that Lee Hyeon-Seong had been kidnapped. There was no way he would volunteer to work there when he used to complain so much about not wanting to become a public servant.

Jin-Hyeok wondered if he was brainwashed or something.

‘Wait, what if Hyeon-Seong takes over my old role?’

Jin-Hyeok was the strongest one. He was overwhelmingly powerful, and the other Players were just mediocre. Now that Jin-Hyeok thought about it, there might have been one or two times when he lost his first place, but for the most part, he was the top-ranked Player.

‘Hm… Maybe it’s more than once or twice… But what if Hyeon-Seong is intensively developed at the System level and becomes more powerful? Would he be stronger than me? I don’t like the thought of that.’

Jin-Hyeok was already annoyed about how much Hyeon-Seong would brag about being the strongest.

‘No. I shouldn’t think like that.’

Swordsmen were bound to be stronger than Streamers. There was no reason for him to feel bad.

‘Get a grip, Jin-Hyeok.’

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Jin-Hyeok was on his way home.

“Hey!”

He got in the cab alone, but then a voice came from the seat next to him. The taxi driver screamed in surprise.

It was Kihael, No. 3 GM of Seodaemun-gu.

“I need to talk to you for a minute,” Kihael said.

He looked very angry.

“I thought we were done talking,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“That’s what you think.”

“Just letting you know, I’m livestreaming right now.”

As soon as Jin-Hyeok told Kihael that he was livestreaming, Kihael's expression suddenly softened. Jin-Hyeok didn’t know why Kihael would pretend to be angry when Kihael was going to go along with Jin-Hyeok anyway.

When looking at things like this, Kihael was definitely a rookie. He lacked experience and expertise.

“As the Administrator of Seodaemun-gu, I would like to talk to you a little bit more about what’s going on.”

“Wait, I need to create a title for the livestream.”

[The divine Swordsman in the infamous public service announcement is actually a result of a System project?! Find out the shocking story.]

Jin-Hyeok wanted to have a simpler title, but he was so distracted by Kihael that he just wrote whatever came to mind.

‘I shouldn’t have titled it this way.’

“Remember the Administrator you saw?”

“When you say Administrator, you mean…”

“Yes. Team Manager Maria.”

As far as Jin-Hyeok could recall, no Administrator ever referred to Maria as a team manager.

“She would like to see you for a minute.”

Jin-Hyeok had returned to the world with all the future knowledge, but now a completely unfamiliar world was unfolding before him.

An unknown world was approaching.

‘Ah, I’m getting excited again… I hate this feeling.’

“Can’t you see I’m busy with my livestream? And I thought this information was confidential. Is it okay if I show it on my channel?”

“It’s okay. It’s been cleared for release from the Secret.”

“Okay. What about the time and place?”

“She said it’s at your convenience.”

“Then tell her I’ll see her at the Sareoga Mart Dungeon.”

“When?”

“Right now.”

Jin-Hyeok agreed to meet with Maria.

Soon enough, he was at the Sareoga Mart Dungeon.

[You have entered 「Sareoga Mart Dungeon」.]

Upon entering, he applied his Achievements.

[You have applied the Achievement 「All-Clear (Sareoga Mart Dungeon)」.]

[You will no longer be attacked by the monsters in the Sareoga Mart Dungeon.]

[All of your stats have increased exponentially.]

A line engraved with ‘All-Clear’ appeared on his right wrist. Thanks to the effect of the All-Clear Achievement, the Dungeon’s monsters, the Fist Monkeys, paid no attention to him.

‘What is she going to say to me?’

A magic circle formed on the floor. A white glow emanated from it, and a figure emerged from it.

It was a face all too familiar to Jin-Hyeok.

It was ‘Mother’ Maria.

“Nice to meet you, Player Kim Chul-Soo,” she said.