I Gave Up Being Stronger

“You’ve been… hiding your strength?” Ilina felt surreal.

‘Was he hiding his strength even in such a situation? How could it be possible?’ Despite witnessing Cha Jin-Hyeok’s true power in person, Ilina found it hard to accept. ‘However, compared to the idea that he received a sudden enlightenment, it seems more plausible that he was always strong.’

Suddenly, Ilina remembered what Shin Yu-Ri had said before.

“It isn’t enlightenment; it’s most likely his raw physical ability…”

Ilina had dismissed those words back then.

‘I was the only one desperate.’ Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she exhaled cigarette smoke to hide it.

“You must have been laughing at me behind my back, Sir Chul-Soo,” Ilina said.

“Not at all.” Jin-Hyeok nonchalantly shrugged. “Thanks to your stellar performance, countless viewers were engrossed in the livestream. It was all thanks to you, Ilina.”

“Performance?” Ilina was confused. ‘Did I put up a performance? And a stellar one at that?’

Quick to notice what was going on, Han Sae-Rin interjected. “Thanks to your active cooperation with the livestream, Ilina, everything is proceeding as we hoped. Let’s regroup and move on to the next step. Our actions have created a slightly difficult situation for both us and the Magic Investigation Team.”

Leading environmental activist Nictman and numerous environmental groups were protesting against Chul-Soo, producing provocative and emotional videos to garner support on various online community platforms and social media. For the three major empires, who were unavoidably conscious of public opinion, this was quite burdensome.

“I will go back to base camp and monitor the situation,” Ilina said.

“Wait, did Sir Vilsmark give you any heads-up?” Sae-Rin asked.

Ilina had not talked to Vilsmark about this.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Sae-Rin’s eyes. ‘I thought a Ruler like Vilsmark would’ve anticipated this.’

Even she, a novice Ruler of a new Server, had anticipated this crisis. So, Vilsmark missing it was bitterly disappointing.

‘He probably decided it wasn’t worth his time!’

If Vilsmark had been here, he would have put more effort and passion into it.

‘I wanted to feel just how strong I am compared to Vilsmark. It’s a pity!’

***

Sae-Rin said, “Nictman and Helam were classmates at the same academy. We will start with that.”

-Yeah, Nictman and Helam are friends. So what?

-They can be classmates. That doesn’t change anything.

-That’s a baseless accusation. Chul-Soo’s actions are still horrific.

“Even with this, it’s hard for us to refute the activists’ claims. After all, part of a mountain was blown up. Anyone who values the environment can see how vile this act is,” Sae-Rin continued. Instead of refuting the claims, she had chosen to attack the claimant. “We’re going to paint Nictman as the bad guy.”

This wasn’t something Ilina strongly agreed with.

“Of course, you might not like it, Ilina,” Sae-Rin said. She leaned close to the Mage and whispered, “I don’t care if you find this agreeable or not. You secretly tried to kill Chul-Soo. I know all about it, even if Chul-Soo doesn’t.”

Without any retort, Ilina simply exhaled a puff of smoke. She felt guilty as she crossed her legs and sat down. “I might not like it, but I can’t argue against it. Please continue with the briefing, Sae-Rin.”

“Thank you. So, Nictman has seven brothers. Two are in jail for assault, and another is on the run for fraud.”

“Are you suggesting guilt by association?”

“Normally, that would be the answer.”

The plan that Sae-Rin was discussing with the group was being executed in real time with Kim Min-Ji’s and Song Ha-Young’s help.

-They are going too far. How can they attack him over his family?

-Dragging the family is a bit cowardly, IMO.

-Wow, this is crossing the line even for Chul-Soo.

-Surely, Chul-Soo wouldn’t be so blatantly obvious.

“But one of the brothers is also involved in illegal activities, such as capturing bears alive and extracting their bile through tubes,” Sae-Rin said.

-I mean, Nictman’s brothers are indeed trash…

-How can an environmental activist’s brother do this?

-There is no way Nictman is unaware of this.

-His family does this, and he’s an environmental activist? Hypocrite much?

Ilina sighed, puffing smoke. “This will not be enough to take down Nictman, Sae-Rin.”

“Nictman is a famous environmental activist and has received massive donations from environment lovers. However, we have found evidence that some of this money was funneled to bile traders through a dummy account.”

-This two-faced bastard.

-Nictman just used donations to fund bear hunting.

“Nictman also bought gold bars, jewelry, and watches with the donation money and gave them out to bile traders so that other people can’t trace the money.”

Nictman immediately responded that these were just malicious rumors and that he would sue the people spreading this information for defamation.

“Nictman lives off his image, so naturally, he’ll get rid of the evidence,” Sae-Rin said.

“...”

“Then we will take the opportunity to steal his belongings. After all, Nictman won’t be able to claim any of it as his own! Then all those jewels and precious items will belong to us! Hahaha!”

Ilina felt something was off about how the conversation had veered toward theft.

‘And why is Chul-Soo admiring this?’ Ilina thought. Their goal was to weaken Nictman’s position to strengthen Chul-Soo. ‘Was theft their real intention? That doesn’t seem right.’

“Nictman will be furious. Losing everything you have secretly gathered all your life by cautiously using dummy accounts… Wow, if I were him, I wouldn’t be able to sleep.” Even imagining it made Ilina a bit dizzy. “If your goal is to torment Nictman, then this is the way to go, but I doubt it will make the public rally behind Sir Chul-Soo.”

“Tsk. Tsk.” Sae-Rin flicked her index finger. “Ilina, you’re surprisingly naive. You can spread propaganda with just one sentence. Refuting propaganda requires countless hours and documents, and by the time preparations are done, people already make up their minds.”

“...”

“With our plan, Nictman won’t be able to think straight. He will struggle to make rational decisions and expose more vulnerabilities.”

As Sae-Rin chuckled, Ilina felt a trace of fear.

Sae-Rin continued, “Even if he doesn’t expose any vulnerabilities, it does not matter. His lifetime of treasures will be ours, all ours! Isn’t that amazing? Hahahah!”

“...”

“If we donate these treasures, we can also boost Chul-Soo’s image. The more I think about it, the better it gets. Oh, and our Homepage Master, Kang Eun-Woo, will be the one capturing the scene of Angel Girl stealing the items. It would be great if we could get Nictman or his brother on camera, but it’s fine even if we don’t.” Sae-Rin sounded almost deranged.

***

Kang Eun-Woo shifted the target for his Omniscient Observer to Song Ha-Young. He captured photographs of Ha-Young engaged in the theft. Disguised as Nictman, Ha-Young used a group of well-trained Wyverns to move the treasures.

-Wait, is that Ha-Young disguised as Nictman?

-No, I think that’s the real Nictman.

-Yeah, it looks like him.

Despite her disguise, Ha-Young could not deceive Eun-Woo’s keen eye. He even used his Skill to see through disguises with insightful clarity.

-Wait, that’s Angel Girl? She stole all this?

-The Black Rose Alliance pulled off a big one, haha!

-Look at all those gold bars!

-Wait, now that I think about it, isn’t Nictman a hypocrite? Isn’t he supposed to be an environmental activist?

-So, he was in cahoots with his brothers after all.

-And he has the nerve to criticize Chul-Soo?

-I thought he was a good activist. Turns out he’s the worst human being in the universe!

Ha-Young was delighted with her haul. “Chul-Soo, thank you for allowing me to be a righteous Thief today. It feels so good to liberate unclaimed goods!”

***

Nictman lost his reputation and entire fortune overnight. He directed his resentment toward Helam. Inside the Ruler-exclusive communication Skill, Nictman almost howled at him. “This is all your fault!”

“I’m sorry.”

“How are you going to take responsibility?”

“Calm down. The one who orchestrated all this is Chul-Soo. It was his wicked scheme that pushed you to ruin. Your enemy isn’t me. It’s Chul-Soo.”

“Shut up! I wouldn’t have had any issues with Chul-Soo if you had not involved me in this.” Nictman growled and glared at Helam. “You need to restore at least half of what I lost.”

“Once we eliminate Chul-Soo and regain our freedom of Hell, I will compensate you accordingly. So, please, you need to calm do—”

Nictman slammed his fist on the desk. Even his hologram in precisely rendered space made a loud bang.

“Calm down, my ass!” Nictman ended the call. ‘I better reveal everything and try to recover at least part of my fortune.’

His career as an environmental activist was over. People wouldn’t stop attacking him. Now, his only option was to hand over information about Helam and beg Chul-Soo for mercy. So, he headed to Hell.

***

“Do you think Nictman might come to us eventually? I think he will if he has even a bit of sense to seek a way out for himself,” Jin-Hyeok was conversing with his viewers.

Not long after, Nictman appeared in the Galui Rocky Mountains. Upon meeting Jin-Hyeok, he immediately fell to his knees. “I’m truly sorry, Sir Chul-Soo. I have committed a sin worthy of death.”

“Wait a moment. I’m going to turn on my livestream. Do you consent to appearing on my livestream?”

Nictman firmly resolved himself and nodded. At this point, the lesser evil was his best option. ‘If I can recover any of my fortune, I might be able to make a comeback.’

“Of course. It’s an honor to appear on Sir Chul-Soo’s livestream,” Nictman said.

Jin-Hyeok began interviewing Nictman. The number of viewers on his livestream quickly surpassed one billion.

“So, why don’t we have a relaxed chat while we walk?” Jin-Hyeok started the conversation.

Nictman had no choice but to comply. He engaged in a long conversation with Jin-Hyeok as they walked.

“You’re saying that you were just carrying out Helam’s orders. And Helam is the leader of the Freedom Alliance of Hell. I feel sorry for you,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Yes.”

“But why are you so submissive? Regardless of the orders, the truth remains that I have caused environmental damage around here.”

This incident had been a learning experience for Jin-Hyeok. He had realized the importance of considering the impact of excessive force on the environment. He used to think, ‘As long as it’s fun for the viewers, nothing else matters.’ But he had changed his mind due to Wang Yu-Mi’s advice.

“Many viewers are uncomfortable with your attack. You might not listen to environmental activists, but you should at least consider the viewers’ feedback, Mr. Chul-Soo!”

“I am truly sorry. I have committed a sin worthy of death,” Nictman repeated himself.

“No, Mr. Nictman, you were just doing your job.”

A glimmer of hope sparked in Nictman’s eyes. It seemed that Chul-Soo did not hate him as much as he had thought. He said, “So—”

Jin-Hyeok cut him off. “However, the Thief was also just doing her job.”

Nictman felt darkness closing in; the last thread of hope was slipping away.

“I… I can disclose Helam’s location…”

Jin-Hyeok’s eyes narrowed. This was the moment he was waiting for.

‘Hm… It’s about time for a surprise attack.’ He had intentionally shown a relaxed demeanor while walking, making it seem like an easy opportunity for an attack. His surroundings were filled with rocks that could serve as cover for an attacker ready for an assault at any moment. He knew Helam would try his best to keep Nictman from speaking.

“I know Helam’s location, Sir Chul-Soo. I have records of Ruler-exclusive communications with him, so if you use a skilled Navigator, you can pinpoint his location,” Nictman said.

Unfortunately for Jin-Hyeok, the surprise attack did not happen.

‘That’s disappointing.’

Jin-Hyeok was getting impatient. If his enemies had not attacked even when he had shown such vulnerability, it meant that Helam also didn’t have much freedom. This also suggested that the Special Task Force of the Helen Empire and the Sword Emperors Unit of the Swedeen Empire were effectively tracking him.

‘Isn’t Helam a bigger fish than Sandyem? I really want to catch Helam now.’ Jin-Hyeok wanted to catch Sandyem as quickly as possible and move on to Helam.

‘I’m sure there’s a way.’

As Jin-Hyeok contemplated it, a solution seemed almost within reach.