I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 262

The video Kim Chul-Soo passed on to Marshmallow contained the full story of the incident. It showed how Liling was infected by the Control Bug; Swampland No.1 speaking through Liling; the guard captain, Kidibon, attempting to kill Liling, an innocent citizen; and how the guards wrongfully arrested Chul-Soo afterward.

-Control Bug? Isn’t that like an illegal parasite?

The act of inserting parasites into an innocent person stirred public outrage against Swampland No.1. They could not forgive such inhumane methods.

-But what about the scar left on Liling’s stomach?

[The scar on Liling’s stomach is presumed to be from an ability known as the Black Hole. We have to wait for the guards’ findings, but I’m ninety-nine percent certain. The Black Hole ability is a general term for a power that sacrifices the host to absorb life forms around it. Swampland No.1 infected Liling with a Control Bug, then used the Black Hole ability to harm Chul-Soo. It is believed that Chul-Soo forcibly stopped the ability before it was activated. This was a wise decision.]

[Written by: Encyclopedia.]

-Jesus, that’s horrific!

-There are still people using such inhumane methods while Playing?

-He deserves the death penalty.

Chul-Soo’s actions were justified. The video sent by Kim Min-Ji revealed that Chul-Soo had prior experience handling Control Bugs.

-So, Chul-Soo hurt Liling to remove the Control Bug.

-He loves his fans so much... How heartbroken must he have been while hurting his fan?

Soon, it was also confirmed that the guard captain, Kidibon, had ordered Liling to be killed. In contrast, Chul-Soo gained a justification for trying to save an innocent citizen from the unjust guards. With the public opinion boiling, Chul-Soo was acknowledged to have used self-defense and was thus released from detention.

Meanwhile, the office of Swampland No.1 closed down, and the Player Hunter vanished.

-But I’m doubtful that Swampland No.1 could’ve done this all by himself.

-I can believe that he used a Control Bug by himself, but can he order the guards like that?

-According to Marshmallow, it seems like someone higher up is involved.

-Who would that be?

Some netizens went as far as to point fingers at Lady Harkoen. The shocking news that a first-class citizen had been infected with a Control Bug and that the guards had attempted to kill a citizen only added more fuel to the fire.

***

‘The attention I’m getting is tremendous,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

When he first arrived in Arvis, hardly any people recognized him, but now, the situation had changed a bit.

‘Still not as much as on Earth, but...’

The number of people who recognized him had significantly increased. He was not sure if it was due to these people’s pride in their Server, but not many approached him directly. However, the sneaky glances he received had increased quite a lot.

‘To think I could attract attention this quickly.’

Jin-Hyeok felt very pleased. The trailer for his content had been properly aired, and the storyline was being completed.

[0.1 Declaration of War]

He had declared war on Swampland No.1, fair and square.

[02. The Trap]

Swampland No.1 had resorted to cunning tricks to push Chul-Soo into a crisis.

[03. Crisis]

When he was arrested, Chul-Soo had faced a crisis, but soon, many people stepped up to help him. He decided to emphasize this part.

‘If I portray many people coming together to face the crisis, it would move my viewers.’

In fact, Jin-Hyeok was genuinely moved. He had learned that it was a pretty good feeling to see so many people working together for his sake.

Anyway, the video was already completed up to this point. Now, he just needed the magic touch of his editor to make the video even more fantastic.

“And now...”

[04. Pursuit]

It was time to chase Swampland No.1. After the Pursuit, the next part would either be Revenge or Reverse Player Hunting.

‘How do I find someone who has hidden so thoroughly?’

Jin-Hyeok wanted to proceed quickly when there was so much interest in him at the moment. His eyes sparkled.

***

“I don’t care about someone like Chul-Soo,” Marshmallow muttered to himself, as always.

Encyclopedia had gotten used to it by now. “You’re right. There is no way a popular Streamer like you would be a fan of Chul-Soo.”

“Exactly.”

“I think some people are misunderstanding you as a fan of Chul-Soo, but that’s wrong right?”

“Of course! I can understand if Chul-Soo is a fan of me, but the other way around? I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

Having proven his innocence(?), Marshmallow met Jin-Hyeok and said, “Hey, how are you going to find Swampland No.1? Do you know how vast Arvis is? It’s dozens of times bigger than Earth. Do you have any tracking-related skills? Do you want me to introduce you to a tracking expert? They might not be the top rank, but I can introduce someone around the fifth rank.”

“...Oh.”

‘A tracking expert in Arvis. And fifth rank at that...’ Jin-Hyeok felt it could be quite helpful to meet such a Player.

‘But why is he so eager to help me?’

Although Jin-Hyeok knew about Marshmallow’s affiliation with Chul-Soo Land, he still found it hard to trust the Arvis Streamer. Jin-Hyeok also had the thought, ‘A famous Streamer like Marshmallow would not be a fan of a rookie like me, right?’

This thought made him even more cautious.

‘The moment you let your guard down completely is when you’re most vulnerable.’

The more dangerous an enemy was, the kinder and more caring they would appear at first. Jin-Hyeok decided to keep a minimum level of suspicion.

After Chul-Soo had left, Encyclopedia asked Marshmallow, “You’re not helping Chul-Soo because you like him, right?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why are you so eager to help him? It’s not like you’re great friends with Lessefim.”

Lessefim was a Navigator and a tracking expert ranked fifth in the Arvis Server.

“T-That’s because...!” Marshmallow stuttered.

“Aha! You want to bestow a favor on Chul-Soo!”

“Huh?”

“This is an excellent way to prove the greatness of a senior Streamer.”

“T-That’s right!” Marshmallow nodded. “This is an act to prove the greatness of a senior.”

***

Navigator Lessefim, ranked fifth in the Arvis Server, was slightly angered. ‘Who does he think he is?’

She was not particularly fond of Marshmallow to begin with. She had once appeared on the latter’s livestream, where the Streamer had focused more on her appearance than her abilities as a Navigator, which was a considerable insult to Lessefim.

Thanks to Marshmallow’s livestream, she had acquired the somewhat embarrassing nickname Levely (Lessefim + Lovely), which was quite shameful for a ranker.

However, she happened to see Jin-Hyeok’s recent video. It was a fan-cam shot in third person perspective, uploaded by an anonymous Homepage Master.

[The Shocking Face of Kim Chul-Soo, Once Framed as a Murderer.]

“Damn the algorithm!” She was not interested in the video but ended up clicking on it by mistake. Chul-Soo’s face appeared, and she could not help but watch the entire video, captivated.

Just then, Marshmallow called her.

—Hey, Lessefim, I have no intention of insulting you, but...

Marshmallow was well aware of how Lessefim felt about him. He had apologized to her several times for the previous incident. It was not intentional of him to make her look adorable. It was just that Lessefim, being a squirrel beastkin, was so cute and lovely that people naturally felt that way. The huge gap between her impressive rank and her appearance had made a significant impact on people’s image of her.

Anyway, Marshmallow had to be cautious in how he treated Lessefim. Asking her to directly help Chul-Soo could make her feel insulted.

“I’ll help.

—Of course, I am planning on paying yo— Wait, what did you say?

“I said I’ll help.”

—Really? Why?

Marshmallow was the one taken aback. Although he had boasted to Chul-Soo that he was going to introduce a skillful tracking expert to him, this had its own difficulties.

“For justice.”

—Huh? Then what about the compensation...?

“It’s not right to talk about compensation for a just cause.”

After ending the call, she searched for Chul-Soo’s official Enstagram account and looked through all the photos from start to finish.

‘Oh my god!’

Seeing a photo of Homepage Master Kang Eun-Woo and Chul-Soo together, she covered her mouth in shock.

‘This is it. This is the place.’

She had found the place where she needed to settle for life.

***

Lessefim was quite short, as she was a squirrel beastkin. She was around one meter tall. Despite her small stature, she was one of the top-ranked Players with incredibly swift and agile movements.

Upon seeing her, Jin-Hyeok could not help but feel a bit thrilled. ‘Her footsteps make no sound at all!’

Just by watching her move, he could tell that this woman was a top-ranked Player.

[LV3??/?/?/?]

He could only see that the first digit was three, unable to discern the exact Level. She was a universe-level top-ranked Player he had never encountered even during his time as the Sword King.

“I am helping you for the honor of the Arvis Server,” she said.

“Thanks.”

Lessefim flinched for a moment, ‘I should be annoyed right now...’

A rookie Player was speaking informally to her. If her direct juniors had done that, she would have scolded them severely. Despite her nickname being Levely, Lessefim was a strict and intimidating senior.

‘Why am I not annoyed?’

Instead, she felt pleased. She was not sure why she felt like this.

“I have already found traces of Swampland No.1 If he is still in Arvis, I can find him within a week.”

“That’s the confidence of a ranker.” Jin-Hyeok smiled broadly. Just the way she confidently spoke appeared incredibly beautiful to him. He was always inspired by individuals serious about their Play.

“W-Why are you smiling like that?” Lessefim frowned. “Do you also think I’m cute?”

Marshmallow, who had arranged the meeting, tensed up a bit.

‘Chul-Soo! That’s a trap! Lessefim hates being called cute! She is a Navigator full of pride as a ranker! If you have any common sense, you would not say such a thing!’ Marshmallow looked around nervously. However, the thing he feared the most happened.

“I think you’re incredibly cute,” Chul-Soo said.

‘Kim Chul-Soo! She is a top-ranked Player in Arvis! Those who call her cute got their noses flattened!’

Just as Marshmallow was about to intervene to defuse the situation,

“Yeah, everyone does say that,” Lessefim said.

She had a very different demeanor currently, compared to that of the usual prickly and meticulous Lessefim.

Lessefim herself seemed surprised by her reaction, twitching before she spoke with feigned solemnity. “But if you underestimate or belittle me because I’m cute, you will be in for a big surprise.”

“I would never.” Jin-Hyeok was overly cautious of things and people who were pretty and cute. The prettier and cuter someone was, the more dangerous they were. “Honestly, you’re more beautiful than cute.”

“...What?” Lessefim’s ears perked up. With her Navigator’s intuition, she instinctively knew that Jin-Hyeok was telling the truth.

‘He’s serious!’ The corner of her mouth curled up into a smile.

“Well, I hear that often too.”

‘Who in their right mind calls you beautiful?!’ Marshmallow wanted to shout it out but decided to remain silent. ‘Let’s just see what happens...’

That was how Lessefim joined the party. A week passed by soon, and as she had boldly claimed, they were able to find a place presumed to be the hideout of Swampland No.1.

It was an ancient castle made long ago. This palace, resembling a historic site, was protected by a powerful magical barrier.

As Lessefim touched the semi-transparent dome, a crackle of lightning flashed. “This barrier was created recently. Being able to secretly construct and maintain a barrier of this magnitude, Swampland No.1 must have a powerful backer. If it were me, I might have killed Swampland No.1 to cut off any trails that lead to me, but...”

However, the fact that Swampland No.1 was still alive felt somewhat suspicious. It seemed the one behind Swampland No.1 had a different goal in mind by using the Player Hunter as bait.

“Let’s look into how to dismantle the barrier first. This will probably take some time as well.”