I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 180

The Seo sisters had undoubtedly been waiting for an opportunity to attack Cha Jin-Hyeok.

‘Oh, nice.’

A thin silver thread appeared on Seo Ji-Ah’s wrist as she kept holding Jin-Hyeok’s clothes. She had used one of her Skills. The silver thread quickly wrapped around his entire arm.

‘Her binding ability is quite impressive.’

The Skill seemed to be more powerful with direct contact. Simultaneously, Seo Ji-Soo, who was embracing him, bit his chest.

‘Poison?’

Jin-Hyeok had anticipated this. Ji-Soo had hidden a potent poison in her teeth.

‘Using teeth instead of weapons is also a refreshing approach.’

Thanks to the Phoenix Heart, the poison had no effect on him, but a typical Player would have been in serious trouble.

‘I knew it. I should always be wary of Players crying and trying to hug me.’

Jin-Hyeok had faced this assassination technique frequently before his regression. Typically, it involved deceiving with the appearance of a beautiful person of the opposite sex; however, his opponents would also often use a cute child or an animal for this technique, which was why Jin-Hyeok needed to constantly be vigilant.

‘I’ve been tricked too many times to fall for it again.’

The Seo sisters definitely knew about his resistance to poison, so this seemed like just a practice run.

“Good. This would have worked on most.”

The act of hiding poison in the teeth and biting him was not particularly impressive. However, the setup before that was exceptionally well done.

“Did you also learn acting skills? Looking at you...” Jin-Hyeok could not quite describe the pain he had felt earlier. “It really made me sad. I felt a spontaneous desire to hug you.”

The sisters seemed embarrassed by the praise and did not say a word.

“...”

“...”

Feeling happy, Jin-Hyeok smiled. “Keep improving. You two can become great Assassins. This is kind of like a seduction technique. Depending on how it’s used, it can be really lethal. Anyway, well done.”

Seduction techniques were what Jin-Hyeok disliked and guarded against the most before his regression. Just thinking about them brought back a series of dreadful memories.

‘Seduction techniques are too dangerous and powerful.’

The group then looked around the village, and Jin-Hyeok headed to a small wine bar. The wine bar was operated by a woman who appeared to be in her late thirties.

‘Huh?’

The woman looked human, but neither she nor the patrons were human. The woman, presumably the owner, smiled with her eyes and asked, “How did humans come in here?”

A delightful scent filled the space. It smelled like sweet peaches.

[The Skill 「Deadly Charm」 has been used.]

‘...Huh? Another seduction Skill? This is exciting.’

Jin-Hyeok now had a chance to practice how to defend against seduction techniques.

***

Lucia narrowed her eyes.

‘My Deadly Charm was completely nullified!’

It was a moment where the Succubus’s pride had been wounded, but she did not show it and merely smiled. “You are amazing, Mr. Cha Jin-Hyeok.”

“...”

“How can you be so unaffected? At the very least, you should feel a bit of excitement, like those two people beside you,” she added.

Jin-Hyeok glanced sideways and saw both Ji-Soo’s and Ji-Ah’s cheeks slightly flushed.

‘Wow, did they really fall for the charm skill?’

The temptation of a Succubus knew no bounds of age or gender. The saying that a seasoned Succubus could tempt anyone was not baseless.

Jin-Hyeok asked Lucia, “Did you put your charm Skills on them too?”

“No, I didn’t. It’s just that when you broke my charm, some of its effects scattered around.”

Jin-Hyeok frowned. “So, what you’re saying is that they were affected by the charm even though it did not hit them directly?”

He looked back and forth between the Seo sisters. They avoided his gaze, looking guilty.

“But that’s still quite impressive. Just a slightly faster heartbeat and some blushing... That’s not bad,” Lucia said.

“...”

“You shouldn’t worry too much, Mr. Cha Jin-Hyeok. They were affected by the charm because of you.”

The potency of a mental Skill varied greatly depending on many factors, such as the atmosphere at the moment of its activation, the situation, the people present, and the psychological state of the target. Lucia could easily discern the Seo sisters’ state of mind.

‘Those two are very fond of Jin-Hyeok, which created many vulnerabilities in their minds,’ Lucia thought.

However, Jin-Hyeok seemed oblivious to this. He even appeared quite disappointed in them, which Lucia found somewhat amusing.

“I had no idea Mr. Cha Jin-Hyeok was this oblivious,” she said.

“What are you talking about?” Jin-Hyeok wanted to say that he was very well aware of his surroundings, but he did not say it out loud. Boasting about oneself was something only a novice Player would do.

“My sister seems to be in difficult unrequited love. Ah, her name is Lilia. You know her, right?” Lucia said.

“Ah, so that’s why you smelled familiar.”

“People usually just say that we look alike.”

“Now that you mention it, you do look similar.”

Lucia burst out laughing. “Do you even remember Lilia’s face?”

“I can tell her apart when I see her.”

“And if you just try to remember her face?

“Who in their right minds would want to remember a Succubus’s face?”

No sane Player would do such a thing. That was Jin-Hyeok’s perspective, and in fact, most Players did not remember a Succubus's face. According to Jin-Hyeok, anyone who remembered a Succubus’s face was a crazy, madly obsessed Player who had succumbed to a seduction technique.

Stroking her chin, Lucia curiously asked, “How can this be? Have you had a terrible experience with seduction techniques or something? From what I have researched, there was no record of that about you. Do you have something like Imperial Resilience?”

Jin-Hyeok almost flinched for a moment, but Lucia continued, “Wait, no. Even with Imperial Resilience, this would be impossible. I just can’t figure out who you are.”

“...”

“Are you perhaps an alternate character from somewhere like Planet Arvis?”

***

Finding Lucia’s bar had been a great discovery for Jin-Hyeok as well. Succubi bars typically operated as places for exchanging information. There, one could obtain many Quests and share information. Therefore, such establishments were often referred to as Taverns of Exchange.

While this concept had not been fully introduced on Earth, it was quite common in other Servers.

‘I didn’t expect Succubi to establish such a place so soon on Earth,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

He wanted to find the Great Navigator Golumberum, who hailed from the Planet Arvis. Jin-Hyeok believed that if he Played diligently, he would eventually meet the Navigator, but him stumbling upon a Succubus’s bar had made this task much easier. Of course, he would first need to gain the favor of the owner of the bar.

“Give me a drink. The most expensive one,” he said.

The best way to win a bar owner’s heart was, after all, to spend lavishly in their establishment.

“Hoho, you’re generous. Our drinks are quite pricey. Are you okay with that?”

Jin-Hyeok nonchalantly shrugged to indicate it was fine, and Lucia showed him her favor. He thought about buying some drinks and then getting down to business for the information.

‘But it’s a bit disappointing.’

Neither the Seo sisters nor Lucia had used their full potential in their attacks, not embedding true bloodlust. This made the whole situation somewhat lacking in the thrilling tension he was accustomed to. He wondered if the reason Lucia went easy on him was that she was Lilia’s sister, but that did not seem to be the case.

“Do you think I care about what my sister thinks? Nope. For us, two sisters liking the same man is nothing special.”

The Seo sisters seemed shocked.

“Oh my! We Succubi are very different from humans, kids.”

‘It sounds like Lucia is trying to teach them weird things... Should I leave them be?’

Even Ji-Ah, who was usually expressionless and reticent, widened her eyes in surprise and asked, “Is that really true?”

Lucia provided a lot of insight into the nature of Succubi.

“Whether I seduce Jin-Hyeok or not, Lilia wouldn’t care. The concepts of monogamy or polygamy do not exist for us. We are a race that craves free love and passionate physical relationships.”

She explained that under the guise of free love and passionate physical relationships, Succubi engaged in all sorts of relationships that were incomprehensible by human standards.

“I even dated Lilia when we were younger,” Lucia said.

“Y-You dated your sister?”

“That reaction is a bit rude, I think. We are not humans. We are Succubi. We would prefer not to be judged by your standards.”

“I’m sorry!”

The Seo sisters gulped, intently listening to the Succubus.

Jin-Hyeok felt like he should stop Lucia, but Lucia winked at him and said, “Sisters liking the same man is a very common and ordinary thing for us. It’s also very common for them to be in a relationship with the same man.”

The Seo sisters nodded as if these words had hypnotized them, as though they too liked the same man.

“I know some septuplets Succubi who were in a relationship with the same female.”

“S-Septuplets? Were they all male?”

“Nope. Some of them were male and some were female. They were siblings.”

The Seo sisters seemed quite confused but eventually accepted the idea, thinking, ‘Well, different species, different norms.’

Lucia seemed to enjoy her time with the sisters due to their rich reactions.

“Hm... I prefer females over males. It’s more fun to seduce them. I like the cute ones,” Lucia said.

Ji-Soo, who was tipsy from the alcohol, pointed at herself and cautiously asked, “S-So... Do you intend to seduce me too?”

Jin-Hyeok shook his head in disbelief. “You’re talking nonsense.”

“Why?”

“If you were Lucia’s type, you would have already been seduced. The fact that she has not seduced you yet means you are not her type. What are you worried about being seduced for?”

“W-Why? I can be her type. You never know!”

Jin-Hyeok didn’t understand why Ji-Soo was getting defensive over a simple truth. “Do you want to be seduced?”

“No, but...”

Lucia smiled broadly. “Ji-Soo. You are attractive enough. It’s just that you are not my type, so be confident. Humans as a species are not typically my type. Well, they weren’t until I met Jin-Hyeok here.”

She looked at Jin-Hyeok with a slightly seductive gaze, and he began to feel a bit flustered.

‘Oh, is she finally going to seduce me properly?’

He wished to face a more aggressive, even dangerous seduction technique. After his regression, he had not experienced a proper seduction technique. It was important to practice and prepare in advance to defend well in real-life situations.

“I thought Lilia was exaggerating when she kept saying how handsome you were. I thought she was completely blinded by love, exaggerating your beauty,” Lucia said.

“...”

“But it turns out, it wasn’t an exaggeration. It was an understatement.”

“How did she describe me?”

“She said your hair is like flowing black silk. Your neatly extended eyebrows and obsidian-like eyes are as deep as the night sky. Your lips are red like autumn leaves...”

“That’s enough.” Jin-Hyeok already knew Lilia’s sensibilities were pretty tacky, but he didn’t expect her expressions to be so cliché. He thought Lilia needed to be more intense.

‘I mean, how can she not put in more effort when trying to seduce me?’

Nevertheless, Lucia showed quite a bit of fondness toward him. After all, he had spent a whopping twelve million Dias in her establishment in just one night.

‘Money does solve most of the problems.’

Back in his days as a government official, he was always cautious because of the budget. He remembered how uncomfortable he had felt when Ahn Ji-Won from the support team had earnestly pleaded with him to cut back on the budget.

“Could I possibly get a list of Navigators operating in this area?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“A list of Navigators?”

“Yes. I plan to Play in this area for a while.”

“Just a moment.” Lucia reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a scroll. “Would you like to take a look?”

Jin-Hyeok was a bit disappointed that she did not make a more active attempt at seducing him.

‘Let’s see.’

He examined the list.

‘There he is, on the top of the list.’

The Great Navigator Golumberum. Jin-Hyeok also knew his Player name for his alternative character.

‘It’s Gollum.’

Before his regression, the Paper Sorcerer Makendra had found Picasso’s Brush with Gollum’s help.

“This guy, Gollum. Can you introduce me to him?”

“Ah, Gollum. I see.” Lucia crossed her arms with a somewhat troubled expression. “He’s refused all requests so far. I have tried introducing Adventurers to him a few times, but he always complains...”

“Why? He doesn’t like working with Adventurers?”

“I’m not sure. He seems uninterested in money. They even offered him seven hundred million Dias, but he still refused.”

Jin-Hyeok knew why Gollum reacted that way. “Just ask him to meet me.”

“He’ll probably make a big fuss again. There are many other competent Navigators on the list. How about them?”

“I’ll pay one hundred million Dias just for the introduction.”

“I will bring him right away.” Lucia grinned and disappeared somewhere.

A few hours later, she returned with someone.

‘That’s Gollum!’

It was none other than Golumberum, a renowned Player from Planet Arvis.

‘Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Jin-Hyeok’s heart began to race.