I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 272

Observing Elines smiling so brightly, Lessefim momentarily felt a bit sour. ‘What’s going on?’

A transcendental aura was palpable around Elines. It was unrelated to her cute appearance or atmosphere, nor was it connected to her current strength. Every living being possessed its unique aura, but the vibe emanating from this adorable girl was far from ordinary.

“Who is that kid?” Lessefim asked.

“That’s Elly, a Spirit I have a contract with.” Jin-Hyeok frowned. “You really haven’t watched my livestreams, have you?”

“I didn’t have time.” Lessefim flinched for a moment.

‘Wait... why am I making excuses about not watching his livestreams?’

The name Elly was somewhat familiar.

“Elly... Hm, that name rings a bell,” Lessefim said.

“I think she’s quite famous, being the Spirit King’s daughter and all that. Her real name is Elines.”

“...Ah! You mean the daughter of that overly doting Spirit King, Alkinas?” Lessefim stopped in her tracks.

‘She is Alkinas’s daughter? Out of all the Spirit Kings...’

The universe harbored numerous Spirit realms, some of them being Named realms. Alkinas was considered a Named Spirit King, possessing enough power to burn down an entire Server if he wished, showcasing his formidable strength.

Lessefim was genuinely confused. ‘Come to think of it, I naturally thought of Chul-Soo as a combatant-class Player.’

She had thought of Chul-Soo as a combatant-class Player, then a Tamer. Now, she learned that he had a contract with the Spirit King’s daughter. She wondered if he was genuinely talented as a Spirit Mage.

“It would have been impossible without Alkinas’s approval...”

“Of course, Alkinas gave his permission.”

“...” Lessefim suddenly straightened her shoulder and, putting on an air of arrogance, said, “It seems you do have the qualifications to be my disciple.”

“Your disciple?”

“It might even lead to marriage.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“...Huh?”

“But now is not the time.”

There was much to be done. Jin-Hyeok had to progress with the universe-level Scenario related to Veselity, find the Control Bug factory, and enhance the Guardian Tree through it.

‘It would be nice to put on a show with Lessefim, but...’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Lately, there had been a lot of this content in short video forms. Jin-Hyeok liked videos with the fake-marriage concept, as this concept was gaining popularity online, but he was too busy at the moment.

“Let’s just do it later,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“I didn’t expect you to agree...”

“Huh?”

“So, you had some feelings too?”

“More than just some.”

“...” For some reason, Lessefim’s ears turned a tad red.

***

The Saina Archipelago was made up of numerous islands, filled with lifeless factories. The place where Jin-Hyeok was walking was no different. Gray container buildings were lined up, and human presence was rare.

“So, this is the H District of Area I. It seems to be around here...” Jin-Hyeok found and opened the door to a factory managed by the Swampland Crew. As soon as the door was opened, a rather humid air rushed out. He could smell a mix of leaves and dirt.

‘...Can this be used for my livestream?’

It did not seem suitable for the livestream, but he still commented on what he saw. “Looks like the workers here have little to no will to work. They all seem to be moving because of Control Bugs.”

The factory workers here were doing their assigned tasks like programmed AIs. They hardly reacted to external stimuli. They were practically living dolls.

“These people are mass-producing Control Bugs here.”

Lessefim looked around the factory with a frown. A quick look suggested that the managers had already fled, leaving only the workers behind. “It’s unbelievable that such unethical workplaces exist in Arvis.”

“Then let’s do an interview.”

“Hey, all these guys lack reason. We can’t do interv—”

Thwack!

[You have activated the Skill ?Taming (Physical)?.]

Jin-Hyeok hit the back of a worker’s head, and the worker fell forward.

“I have become quite accustomed to taming Control Bugs by now.”

The tamed Control Bug was still alive and well. Jin-Hyeok could strengthen the mental bond with a Control Bug without having to swallow it and, through this, read the worker’s memories more concretely.

‘Wow... wait a minute, have I grown again?’ He was pleased that he had grown once more. Of course, it was ambiguous to see this growth as that of a Streamer, but growth was growth nonetheless. Such tangible growth always made him happy.

The fallen worker twitched several times before collapsing to the ground. Lessefim asked carefully, wondering if reading memories through Control Bugs could even be considered an interview. “But... aren’t these people victims?”

“Eh, I thought so too, but it turns out not.”

The majority of the workers here were heinous criminals. Their Achievements were no laughing matter.

“Most of them have the Ten Kills Achievement,” Jin-Hyeok said.

The most benevolent person here was a serial killer. All sorts of vicious criminals were gathered here.

Lessefim raised a fairly valid question. “How did they manage to pick out these criminals to work here?” It would have been much easier for the Swampland Crew to secretly bring in people like homeless people if they wanted to not get noticed. Lessefim felt somewhat ominous. “Do you think they brought them from prisons...?”

“You’re really smart, Lessefim.”

“I was right?” She made a startled expression.

Drawing labor from prisons to work happened more often than she thought, but turning criminals into working dolls by feeding them Control Bugs was not a common occurrence. It was a practice that seemed unethical and immoral, something that might have been done a hundred years ago.

“They are all taken from prisons.” Jin-Hyeok tamed the Control Bugs and read their memories. The memory of each Control Bug was not completely intact, but as he tamed several of them, the pieces started to fit together. He tilted his head. “Do you think a small crew like the Swampland Crew could have done this all on their own?”

“Absolutely not. How could they manage to take criminals out of prisons?”

Jin-Hyeok smirked. The more he dug, the more there was for him to uncover.

***

Yolin was very cooperative. “Yes, Boss. Just leave it to me.”

Jin-Hyeok entrusted Yolin with the management of the factory. There was not much to do; her role was merely to stay at the factory and contact Jin-Hyeok if anything odd happened. Still, with a serious expression, Yolin confirmed one thing. “So, I’m an official employee of the MK Foundation, right?”

“Yes, you will receive the employment documents soon. The chairman herself said she would send them to you.”

[#Finally! #Dream job! #Loyal to the bone.]

Yolin was ecstatic to be employed by a foundation run by a member of the Trinity Club. Moreover, there was not much work to do. She could just sit and diligently read her books.

“Are you really going to expense the book purchases?” Yolin asked.

“Yes, of course. You are also free to study as much as you want about you-know-who.”

“Hehehe.” Madness glinted in Yolin’s eyes again.

While Jin-Hyeok was someone who guarded against such madness, he found Yolin’s current madness quite to his liking. It seemed like with her cheap(?) help, he could follow the traces of Veselity rather quickly.

‘And then there’s that,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

[#Hidden Gem]

Every time Yolin became overly happy and let her guard down, the words Hidden Gem would appear, which thrilled Jin-Hyeok.

‘With that look in her eyes, Yolin will do her best to keep her job.’

Currently, she might be just a Hidden Gem, but if someone tried to harm her job, she would surely not hide her power anymore. For some reason, Yolin had an almost unparalleled obsession with a job that paid regularly and guaranteed a work-life balance.

“Ah, and this is the salary paid in advance,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“I will dedicate my life to the company! My devoted love for the company, infinite glory to the boss!”

[#Hidden Gem]

The bold letters appeared and disappeared.

***

Wang Yu-Mi let out a sigh of relief. “Fake marriage content is absolutely not okay.”

“But, it’s pretty popular in short videos...”

“That’s because they are not you, Chul-Soo!” Yu-Mi adjusted her round glasses. Beyond the round glasses, the madness that Jin-Hyeok was wary of flickered again.

‘Why is everyone around me like this?’

He decided to be a bit tense since it seemed like everyone around him had that look in their eyes, excluding himself. Immersing in such madness would prevent him from thinking in a more universal and common-sense manner. Being in a Job that dealt with the public, he felt he had to remain sensible and ordinary.

“You must remain as everyone’s idol, everyone’s Chul-Soo. The moment you engage in a fake marriage content with someone,” Yu-Mi adjusted her glasses again and continued in a grim voice, “...someone will die. It’s probably going to be Lessefim.”

“What do you mean someone will die?”

“There is a cardinal rule among Chul-Soo Landers. Never try to monopolize Chul-Soo!”

“...”

“The moment someone tries to keep you all to themselves, they become the enemy of Chul-Soo Landers. There is no Chul-Soo Lander kind enough to overlook such a felony!”

Jin-Hyeok wanted to argue, but he did not bother to add more problems. Currently, Yu-Mi was in a somewhat crazy state. Talking normally did not work well with someone who had lost their mind.

“If that happens, Chul-Soo Land No.1 will go crazy. And you know what she is capable of,” Yu-Mi said.

Although it was a bit hard for Jin-Hyeok to understand, he decided to just accept Yu-Mi’s advice since she was always right. Besides, he did not have the leisure to proceed with fake marriage content anyway.

“So, what should we disclose and what should we keep hidden? It’s probably better to hide anything related to the Control Bugs factory, right?” Yu-Mi said.

“I think that’s a good idea. The video should discuss more about receiving good information from Trituri and using it to further nurture our Guardian Tree.”

“So, I guess the Reverse Player Hunter content was a success?” she asked.

“It seems so. I have become much better at handling Control Bugs.”

Jin-Hyeok realized that the Swampland Crew was like a tree that never stopped giving. They allowed Jin-Hyeok to practice handling Control Bugs, enlightened him on different taming methods, taught him how to obtain Control Bugs, and even shared their know-how on handling Control Bugs.

“I think the video should be about how the Reverse Player Hunter content was successful, but the opponent’s abilities were too insignificant and unethical to be disclosed!” Yu-Mi said.

Though she was a bit insane, Yu-Mi was easy to work with because if Jin-Hyeok said one thing, she understood ten.

The thought of another epic video unfolding through Yu-Mi and Kang Cheol made him feel good.

After a few days, Jin-Hyeok started a new livestream with new content.

“I am going to grow the Golden Guardian Tree.”

Currently, the Guardian Tree was struggling.

-“No! I don’t want to! Absolutely not!”

“I have specially brought over custom-made fertilizer, learned from the great Farmer of Arvis, Trituri.”

-“I hate bugs! I absolutely hate bugs! I don’t want to eat that to grow!”

Jin-Hyeok stood in front of the Golden Guardian Tree. The trunk and branches of the Golden Guardian Tree trembled violently, causing golden powder to flutter around like petals.

“Wow, look at that! You’re truly worthy of being called a sacred tree.”

The trembling of the Guardian Tree made it almost seem like the tree was dancing.

“I heard that Chul-Soo is mentally connected to the Guardian Tree.”

“I think the tree is feeling what Chul-Soo is feeling.”

“It must be really happy, dancing like that.”

Many people crowded into Yeonhui Crossroads. The police were sweating profusely due to the sudden influx of people.

-“I won’t eat it! I won’t! I won’t! Please! I hate bugs!”

The golden powder fluttered even more intensely, and Jin-Hyeok smirked.

‘You shouldn’t be a picky eater. Behave now. Open wide~’