I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 209

Jang Michelle was well aware of the name Mad God of Favoritism.

“I greet you, Fragment of the God.”

At the beginning of the universe, The First Will gave birth to the world. It was said that when The First Will commanded light to exist, light was born. The First Will separated light and darkness into day and night, morning and evening. People called it the Creator or God.

However, after creating the universe, The First Will fell into a deep slumber, handing over the operation of the universe to sentient beings. No one knew when The First Will would awaken or influence the universe’s order directly again.

‘She is one of the small fragments that fell from the sleeping God...’

The First Will was mighty enough to give birth to a universe, and even the tiny fragments that fell from it held immense power. These fragments quietly observed the world according to the God’s will.

However, like how different humans had different personalities, these fragments were very different from each other. The Mad God of Favoritism was one of those more actively involved in the world. Specifically, she liked to mess around with subjects of her obsession. Some fragments of The Great Will referred to her as the crazy bitch with her head in the clouds.

“Do you know me?” the Mad God of Favoritism asked.

“Of course. It is my first time seeing you in person, though,” Michelle answered.

“My name is No.1.” The Mad God of Favoritism smiled contentedly.

“What does that mean?”

“I am Chul-Soo Land’s member number one.”

Both Choi Gap-Soo and Michelle realized it at the same time.

‘Ah, this crazy God is obsessed with Kim Chul-Soo.’

Instead of the dumbfounded Michelle, the experienced Gap-Soo calmly replied, “However, this is the world of humans. That name is quite peculiar.”

“I like this name.”

“Using such a name might prevent you from seeing Chul-Soo for long.”

“Why?” No.1 flinched.

“I am aware that you have woken up after a long sleep. Before that...”

Gap-Soo talked about an incident from the early days, when the Mad God of Favoritism had been obsessed with Garbinu, the first-generation idol of the universe and the sexiest Demon King ever known. She was not just a fan, but a crazy fan. Worthy of the title Mad God.

‘This crazy woman had volunteered as the first member of the Demon King’s army.’

For the Demon King, she had gone to great lengths. With her help, Garbinu had become the first Demon emperor of the Arvis Server.

“I’ve forgotten about Garbinu. Turns out, he was a complete playboy with a messy personal life. I don’t know why I was so crazily devoted to him.”

“Ahem. Anyway, don’t you remember what happened back then?” Gap-Soo asked.

“I do remember. My mom dragged me away and made me shave my head, damn it! Then she gave me sleeping pills. It was two thousand years ago, but I still remember it vividly,” she said, clenching her fist.

Fragments of the God existed in various forms. If a fragment like the Mad God of Favoritism became excessively fixated on something or someone, other fragments could find it objectionable. If the Mad God of Favoritism interfered with the human world too much, another God would suppress and seal her away. Ultimately, these fragments were parts of the God, and they moved according to The First Will.

“If you act too noticeably, your mother will eventually intervene. Gods dislike excessive interference in the human world, don’t they? It might not end just with a shaved head and sleeping pills this time,” Gap-Soo said.

“Ugh.”

“No.1 is too conspicuous. Try using a simple name, like Min-Ji, or...” Gap-Soo cautiously glanced around. Remembering the galactic-scale devastation caused by No.1 from the Demon King’s army, Gap-Soo thought of something else. “...Maybe ask Chul-Soo to give you a new name?”

“Great idea!”

“And he is actually on his way here.”

“R-Really?” The Mad God of Favoritism suddenly stood up and started acting like a meerkat, her face turning bright red. “You should have told me that earlier!”

Soon, her entire body turned red.

Whoosh!

She burst into flames and disappeared. The laptop she had been holding also burned up and fell to the ground.

“Phew. Lilia, please clean up the mess. Since it’s divine fire, be sure to wear protective gloves,” Gap-Soo said.

“So, the Mad God of Favoritism does exist. I had only heard of her in legends, but seeing her firsthand is something else,” Michelle said, sighing in relief.

Gap-Soo seized the opportunity to lecture Michelle about how kids these days did not think about learning, that they did not believe what adults said, and that this was why they needed to learn from the wisdom of elders.

“Enough, old man. I feel like blood will come out of my ears.”

“See? You can’t even endure an adult’s nagging for a minute!”

“I endured it for eight minutes and twenty-two seconds.”

“You should be open to receiving the elders’ wisdom. This is all for your good...”

“So, why did the Mad God of Favoritism come here? It doesn’t seem like she came to see Chul-Soo...”

Considering her current state, it seemed unlikely she would ever meet Chul-Soo.

“Come to see Chul-Soo? Absolutely not. Even when she was No.1 of the Demon King’s army, she could not look the Demon King in the eye.”

“Then why...?”

“Hm...” Gap-Soo came to a conclusion. “Maybe she wanted to spread the word that she is No.1?”

“...”

“After all, we are competing for the number 1 and number 2 fan spots of Chul-Soo.” Gap-Soo sighed. “It seems like she came to just tell us that she is the No.1”

“...Do Gods move for such reasons?”

“I don’t know much about Gods. That’s the nature of this crazy bi—no, this Mad God.”

***

“Hm... Something feels a bit off today,” Jin-Hyeok said. He sensed an auspicious energy in the workshop that he had never felt before.

“I just sprayed some perfume.” Gap-Soo chuckled.

“Perfume?”

‘What kind of perfume would give off this feeling?’

“Anyway, you said you wanted to ask me something?” Gap-Soo said.

“Yes. It has not been disclosed on the livestream, but do you know about HM?”

“HM?” The old man looked puzzled, but Michelle seemed to know.

“Of course. HM is short for Homepage Master. But what about Homepage Master?” Michelle asked.

“Well, I just got one for my channel.”

“Then I can expect high-quality videos and some fan cam. How exciting! What Level is your HM?” Michelle clapped her hands in excitement.

“He is not even 100 yet.”

“Tell him to level up quickly. Then you can render fan cams in 3D!” Michelle looked very pleased.

“But do you know about the Job rankings people use?”

“You mean like 1-Star Jobs, 2-Star Jobs, and so on?”

“Yes. Normally, people say 9-Star Jobs are the best. Did you know that?” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Of course. That classification is not used on just the Earth Server. Most Servers use the same method, and the classifications are quite similar. But why?” Michelle engaged Jin-Hyeok in an extremely interesting conversation.

In contrast, Gap-Soo seemed a bit upset. “You guys are hitting it off, and I’m just an old man in the back room.”

‘This is your fault, old man. You don’t even know what HM stands for. How can I have a conversation with someone who knows nothing?’

“I see 9-Star Jobs in red,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“That’s the universal standard.”

“Do you know what comes after that?”

Michelle, who had been confidently carrying on the conversation, hesitated. “I don’t really know. MoneyShower would know more about that...”

Then she looked at Gap-Soo, who turned his head with a snort. It looked like he was saying he wouldn’t tell them anything, but Jin-Hyeok knew better. Just a few encouraging words, and the old man would undoubtedly start showing off due to his itching to boast.

“Could I seek some advice from the wise elder?” Jin-Hyeok asked Gap-Soo.

“Hmph! You were treating me like a lonely old man a minute ago.”

“This is an exclusive video that won’t be released on the livestream, only shared with my channel’s two top VIPs.”

Gap-Soo seemed very interested as his eyes turned toward Jin-Hyeok.

“It’s an unreleased video. No one has seen it yet,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“... Let’s see it then.”

Jin-Hyeok showed them the incidents that had occurred with Eun-Woo. “This is a collector’s unreleased edition. It’s yours.”

“Ahem...” Gap-Soo began talking excitedly, clearly delighted.

***

Gap-Soo talked for about two hours, mixing self-praise with nagging. “One thing is for sure. Jobs beyond 9 Stars definitely exist.”

“So, ultimately, you don’t know about rainbow-colored Jobs,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“What? When did I say I don’t know?”

“Then, is a rainbow-colored Job a 10-Star Job?”

“T-That...”

“So, you don’t know.”

“No, that’s not it!”

“When what is it?”

“Didn’t I tell you? In the end, the highest rank, the ultimate one, regresses to having the black color.”

According to Gap-Soo, the colors yellow, green, orange, and red indicated 6-Star, 7-Star, 8-Star, and 9-Star Jobs, respectively. However, beyond that, the unknown transcended to black. After all, if one mixed all the colors, one would get the black color.

“Kind of like the Munchkin Trait.”

Gap-Soo had told him that the Munchkin Trait was marked as black, which puzzled Jin-Hyeok.

‘But Munchkin is not a Job. It’s a Trait.’

It seemed like Gap-Soo was a bit inconsistent. The information seemed jumbled and not entirely clear.

‘But again, I can’t be sure.’

What happened to Eun-Woo had provided Jin-Hyeok with a big hint. In Eun-Woo’s situation, a Trait had transformed into a Job. Jin-Hyeok had seen it himself—if a Trait and a Player were perfectly compatible, the Trait could become a Job in itself.

‘So, can my Munchkin Trait also become a Job? Nah, that seems highly unlikely. Munchkin as a Job would be ridiculous and way too overpowered.’

If Munchkin and Jin-Hyeok were such a perfect match, the Trait would have become a Job long ago.

Jin-Hyeok asked again, “So, combining all colors results in black, and that’s the highest rank? Is that what you are saying?”

“That’s right!”

“What about the rainbow color then?”

“...”

“You don’t know.”

“I do know! Having many colors, wouldn’t that be one rank just before black?”

“That’s a guess, right?”

“Ah! We have two things we want to ask you.” Gap-Soo was definitely deflecting the question. “It’s very important, so you need to answer seriously.”

“What is it?”

“Listen. The Infinite Chaotic Hammer Destruction Technique. What do you feel about that name?”

“Hm... The Infinite Chaotic Hammer Destruction Technique. It’s a cool name,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

“Exactly, right?” Gap-Soo said.

Michelle interrupted the conversation. “Stop leading the witness. We should be fair. How about the name ‘The Graceful and Complete Hammer,’ Mr. Chul-Soo?”

“...”

When Jin-Hyeok paused, Gap-Soo grinned slyly. Jin-Hyeok had a guess.

‘Oh, they had a bet of some sort.’

Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance immediately captured the state of their intense emotions.

[#I know Chul-Soo’s style better. #Two hundred billion Dias are mine!]

[#Chul-Soo has grown. #Time to pay up the one hundred billion Dias!]

‘Wow! Could it be that Gap-Soo bet one hundred billion and Michelle bet two hundred billion? Then the answer is simple.’

“Of course, the Graceful and Complete Hammer sounds better.”