I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 196

Lilia could not believe what had happened to the workshop.

‘What’s going on...?’

It was almost like a ruin left in the wake of a war. Various artifacts and materials were scattered around, and all sorts of potions and alchemical ingredients were out of place.

“An explosion happened while I was researching alchemy, and I almost died. I had failed in mixing the most basic ingredients,” Choi Gap-Soo said.

“Are you alright? You are not someone who makes such careless mistakes.”

“Eh, it’s been over a hundred years since I gathered basic ingredients myself. I have always left it to secretaries or assistants, haven't I? And recently, you have been doing all that for me.” Gap-Soo sighed and shook his head.

He continued, “The workshop is a mess without you. I tried hiring others, but they were no help. I need you, after all. I will increase your salary tenfold if you continue working for me. How about it?”

“...”

“Why? Is ten times not enough? Then I will make it twenty.”

Lilia knew why Gap-Soo was acting like this. He would not just throw around offers of tenfold or even twentyfold increases to keep someone from leaving him. Gap-Soo was generous with money on things he valued but frugal on things he deemed worthless.

“I’m assuming you know about my situation,” Lilia said.

“Not everything, but I have a rough idea.” Gap-Soo did not ask for details. He believed everyone had their own problems to deal with. “I too had a relationship with a Succubus when I was young.”

“...Thank you for your offer.”

“It’s nothing. You can take a couple more days off if you want.”

“Thank you.” Lilia returned to her room and sat cross-legged. She closed her eyes and fell asleep. Then she rummaged through people’s dreams, eventually finding the person she was looking for.

-“Mr. Kim Chul-Soo, this is a dream. But don’t worry. It is true that I have feelings for you, but I don’t intend to seduce you this way.”

She conveyed the message through the dream.

-“Thank you for avenging my sister’s death. But my revenge is not over yet. Makendra did not act alone. The Black Alliance has been investing a lot in the Earth Sever. They might try to eliminate you. Since I care for you and intend to carry out my revenge, I want to bring down the Black Alliance. I will help you, as a Succubus. According to the Succubi network, the Black Alliance’s leader is meeting with Egan Paul in America.”

***

Around the same time, Sephia and Grandel, the leaders of the Black Alliance, met with Egan Paul.

Grandel initiated the conversation. “You’re Egan Paul, the top Streamer on the official Earth Server ranking, aren’t you?”

“Yes, that’s me. And who might you be?” Egan was nervous. No one from the Avengers Army could stop these two. If they had decided to, they could annihilate the Avengers Army at any moment. They were undoubtedly a powerful force from another Server.

“Then you would know about Chul-Soo, right?”

Egan’s eyes widened. “Yes, I do know him.”

“Let me tell you something. If you have a competitor, you need to mercilessly crush them. That is the world we live in.” Grandel chuckled. “I will tell you how to crush Chul-Soo.”

After hearing everything, Egan gulped and asked with feigned fear, “If you have that much power, wouldn’t it be better to do it yourself?”

“There are too many complications for me to get directly involved.”

***

After parting ways with Sephia and Grandel, Egan sat down with a stern face. The groveling, fearful demeanor he had shown in front of them was nowhere to be seen.

‘What to do now...’

Egan wanted to surpass Cha Jin-Hyeok. He was confident that one day, he would become a greater Streamer than Jin-Hyeok.

‘It has to be me who crushes Chul-Soo.’

Him being the one who crushed Chul-Soo was very important to him. Egan wanted to stand above Chul-Soo as a Streamer against a Streamer. That was his new goal.

‘Soon, Chul-Soo is going to face a crisis...’

Currently, Chul-Soo was receiving help from a ranker from another Server. There was no immediate way to contact him, and even if there was, it was better not to do that for now.

‘They said they were affiliated with the Black Alliance...’

Although Grandel had not revealed much, Egan could infer a lot from their conversation.

‘So, they are a mid-sized alliance that is neither a superpower alliance that can do anything at will nor a small-sized alliance that acts recklessly without considering others. They always have to be cautious.’

That was why it seemed Grandel wanted to use Egan as a scapegoat instead of taking direct action. Sephia and Grandel had talked about swallowing Chul-Soo too, but Egan just assumed it was their euphemism.

He made a phone call. “Hey, Joseph. It’s been a while. Let’s have a drink. No, no special reason. Just friends enjoying a drink. How about it, bro?”

‘Just friends enjoying a drink?’ Joseph knew something had to be going on. He was certain of it.

***

“Everyone close to me is either part of the Avengers Army or affiliated with their support teams. I want to share a personal connection with them, but it always ends up in business talk, which is no fun,” Egan ranted.

Joseph casually shrugged and sipped his wine a bit.

‘He is indirectly letting someone know that I am not part of the Avengers Army,’ Joseph inferred. ‘He must be under surveillance.’

Joseph naturally clinked glasses with Egan and continued the conversation.

With his face flushed, Egan pretended to be slightly drunk and said, “Nowadays, I don’t have any secrets. Whatever I try to hide, journalist Players somehow find out. Detective-type Players dig it up, and even confidential documents get stolen by Thieves.”

It seemed Egan had a secret to share. They spent most of their time reminiscing about old times like when they got stuck in a pit they dug at the beach and had to be rescued by the firefighters or arguing about who was the better fighter in their youth.

After parting with Egan, Joseph spoke with Wang Yu-Mi. He had administrative rights to Yu-Mi’s channel and conversed with her through administrator chat.

-It seems like Egan wants to convey something to Jin-Hyeok. He appears to be under strict surveillance.

-Really? Does that mean we need him to pass on the information secretly? I know just the right person for the job.

Yu-Mi went to Gap-Soo’s workshop in Cheongdam-dong. Although getting an appointment there was usually hard, Yu-Mi had a good relationship with Jin-Hyeok. So, she could visit the workshop without one.

“What? You didn’t come to see me?” Gap-Soo said.

“No, I think we need Lilia’s help.”

After a conversation, Lilia nodded. “I will enter Egan’s dream and talk to him.”

Lilia entered Egan’s dream and conversed with him. It was a very business-like and public conversation about the schemes of the Black Alliance’s leaders, Sephia and Grandel.

“Mmmm...” Egan, who was sleeping, half-opened his eyes, still not fully sober. “So... beautiful...”

Lilia’s face flickered in his mind. He was intoxicated by the dream for a while before slapping his cheek to come back to his senses.

“Huh?” Egan looked puzzled. “I was sure that I just dreamt of something.”

It felt like a dream where he had met a gorgeous woman, but he could not remember it well. He tried to recall the dream, feeling somewhat disappointed.

“What was that dream abo... What? What the hell is this?” He was surprised to find that he had a wet dream after a long time.

***

[Faster Than Anyone]

[You have set a new universal record in the 180-200 Level range.

The holder of this great record will receive a special buff for 24 hours.

Achievement effect: When this buff is activated, experience points gained are increased by 120% for 24 hours.

Note, this Achievement effect is one-time only.]

After registering the Achievement in the Hall of Fame and observing it, Jin-Hyeok heard Zoro’s voice.

“Like I promised, I helped you level up to 200. The rate of leveling up in the Buffalo Temple slows down drastically after Level 200. So, this is where we end—”

“Hold on.”

“Why?”

“Check out my Achievement effect. Turn on my livestream right now.”

True to being Jin-Hyeok’s subscriber, Zoro skillfully tuned into his livestream. “That’s an incredible Achievement effect. An increase of 120% is unheard of.”

“Help me out for just another twenty-four hours.”

“That’s a bit shameless. Don’t you think?” Zoro said.

“What do you mean? You should obviously help me.”

“Huh?”

“If I get stronger, won’t it be more fun for you? Isn’t your reason for helping me is to have a more enjoyable fight with me?”

“That’s true.”

“Then, since it’s come to this, help me level up for another twenty-four hours. I will make it more interesting for you,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“...Okay.”

To make the most out of the Achievement effect, they decided to take a short break.

“Alright, Let’s meet again in eight hours.”

“Sounds good.”

Rest and meditation were essential for ensuring optimal conditions and efficiency.

‘I guess I’ll sleep first.’

A Succubus appeared in Jin-Hyeok’s dream. He almost attacked her instinctively, but he recognized the face and held back.

‘She’s appearing in my dream now? Is she actually trying to seduce me?’

The Lilia in the dream world was far more beautiful than the Lilia he had seen in the real world, possessing a more enchanting peach fragrance. Jin-Hyeok’s heart started pounding.

‘Is she going to use her seduction technique?’

He felt like he needed to build up more immunity to such attacks to be at ease. Considering how long the Succubus had waited, she probably had prepared a lot. He was looking forward to seeing how meticulously she would attempt to seduce him.

‘Huh?’

However, it did not seem like she was trying to seduce him. Instead, she was passing on information she had gotten from Egan.

‘Is this some kind of a new seduction technique?’

Jin-Hyeok was not sure what to make of it.

“Zoro is going to attack you,” Lilia said in the dream.

“I know that.” Jin-Hyeok kept his guard up as they conversed. Every time Lilia spoke, the sweet scent of peaches seemed to fill his mouth.

“You knew?”

“I think he is after my Rule Breaker.”

“You knew that too?” Lilia’s eyes widened in surprise. Her usual calm and composed demeanor made this reaction seem quite unusual and a bit cute.

‘Wow... I was right. This IS a new seduction technique.’

Jin-Hyeok quickly snapped out of it. The growing fondness he felt for Lilia indicated that this was a new seduction technique—where she pretended not to seduce him while actually doing so.

“It’s not going to stop at stealing your Rule Breaker. Sephia and Grandel of the Black Alliance are also making a move.”

“Oh, right, the artificially created Siamese twins?”

Lilia was visibly startled.

‘He is always intensely Playing...’ she thought. It wasn’t just direct Play; he was involved in intense battles in every unseen aspect. That was probably how he had climbed to his current position.

‘But even with such intensity, getting information about Sephia in the Earth Server shouldn’t have been easy.’

As she was trying to take over Lucia’s role, Lilia became curious about how Jin-Hyeok had acquired such information. “How did you come to know this?”

Chul-Soo’s answer was simple. “Isn’t that common knowledge?”

“It shouldn’t have been easy to gather such information on Earth.”

“Sephia is pretty famous.” His expression suggested that this was common knowledge to everyone.

Lilia tried to put it in perspective for him. “What do you think the most famous country on Earth is? The United States, right?”

“Where are you going with this? But yes, I think so.”

“Do you know any well-known but mid-sized company in the United States?”

“No, why?”

“See? It’s normal not to know.”

Chul-Soo had no idea about the name of a mid-sized company owner in another Region on the same Server, but he knew the exact details about a mid-sized alliance leader from a different Server. Additionally, he was acting like this was common sense. It seemed learning anything from Chul-Soo would be difficult. His skills could not be explained by sheer intensity alone.

“Grandel, the brain behind it all, has crafted a scheme. They are going to use Egan,” Lilia said.

“Egan?”

The mention of Egan made Jin-Hyeok’s heart beat faster. Currently, Egan’s subscriber count was 450 million, higher than Jin-Hyeok’s. Of course, this number was likely exaggerated.

‘Egan is like a mountain I have been unable to climb despite all my efforts,’ Jin-Hyeok thought. He did not quite understand. Egan was inferior to him in terms of content quality, quantity, and intensity, yet had more subscribers and views.

‘Numbers don’t lie.’

Jin-Hyeok was unaware that numbers could indeed be misleading. Nevertheless, the mention of Egan made his eyes sparkle, and Lilia felt both happy and sad at this.

‘He is much happier about Egan than me,’ she thought.

Though she knew it, it was still hurtful. Hiding her disappointment, she continued, “I think the Black Alliance is going to give a mission to Zoro through Egan. Not just to steal the Rule Breaker but to assassinate you.”