I Gave Up Being Stronger

She was very tall and slender. Even without seeing her face, Cha Jin-Hyeok knew she was beautiful.

‘Don’t make eye contact,’ he thought to himself.

‘Look at my face. Look at my face.’

It was like someone was whispering in his ear. At the same time, the desire to see her face was stirring. It meant that the temptation had already begun.

She was a Succubus.

The Demons of Dreams were very dangerous to both men and women. They were said to be able to seduce anyone they set their minds to, especially young men and women. Those who would fall prey to their beauty and seduction suffered unspeakable side effects. The mildest was hair loss, while the most severe side effect was death.

It was commonly expressed as having one’s virility drained away.

‘She is obviously at a much higher Level than I am.’

Normally, the Demons of Dreams Jin-Hyeok met had a minimum Level of 1000. They started at Level 70 when they were born. There had to have been at least a hundred of them who approached him before.

Jin-Hyeok still shuddered just thinking about it. It was a hundred times easier to fight with swords. They were so tiring.

“I have brought the Dias you ordered.”

Normally, Choi Gap-Soo could have just given Jin-Hyeok the Dias via donation. But the fact that Gap-Soo took her on as his secretary was a clear indication of his intentions. Jin-Hyeok did not know what Gap-Soo was trying to get out of him, but Gap-Soo probably ordered the Succubus to seduce him.

“Thank you. I want you to take the Dias yourself, Jin-Hyeok,” the old man said.

“...”

Jin-Hyeok stood up from his seat. The smell of sweet peaches lingered in his nostrils.

It was the Scent of Seduction. It was one of many seduction Skills that the Succubus had.

He moved closer to her.

“You are very tall, and you have a handsome face,” the Succubus said to him.

Even though they were some distance apart, he could feel her breath on him. It felt like a touch. If he was at a higher Level, this seduction would be nothing. He was supposed to be immune to pretty girls, but with such a large Level difference, her seduction Skill seemed to be working.

‘This is hurting my pride. I can’t believe her Skill is working.’

“My name is Lilia. What’s yours?”

Her voice sounded sweet. If someone asked him how a voice could be sweet, he would have no answer, but it really did feel that way.

“Is there a reason we have to share our names with each other?”

“Oh my, how cold you are.”

“...”

“You are charming. It is making me curious about you.”

“I just need to get paid.”

“How about you get something better than money?”

She took a step closer to him.

‘Wow… I’m getting goosebumps… Even in B-rated trashy movies, they wouldn’t use such corny lines.’

Due to their innate seductive power, Succubi didn’t pay much attention to their lines or flirtatious remarks. What was really embarrassing was that he was being swayed by such corny lines.

‘The good news is that these Demons of Dreams are a very proud race.’

That was why they did not seduce just anyone. At least, they would try to seduce those who were on their Level.

And right now, in the eyes of this Succubus, he was nothing more than a low-Leveled Player.

‘She is only engaging in seductions that are within my own Level and that I can handle.’

Otherwise, Jin-Hyeok would have already fallen under her spell, and he would be a slave of her seduction. The good news was that he was aware of the temptation.

‘The moment you recognize that the seduction is not genuine, the effectiveness of said seduction is decreased.’

He thought it was the combination of all these factors that kept him from being seduced. He could not believe he was barely able to do this.

No matter how he thought about it, it hurt his pride.

He accepted the leather pouch from the Succubus and turned to walk away.

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After Jin-Hyeok left, Alchemist Choi Gap-Soo laughed hysterically.

“Are you planning on breaking the contract with me?” he asked.

“...”

“Of course, I am not ignorant of the pride and dignity of the Demons of the Dreams. But aren’t contracts meant to be honored?”

“I…”

Lilia sighed and sat cross-legged on the couch. She was wearing a tight leather suit, leaving her shoulders and arms exposed. Her shoulders and arms were tinged with a peachy color.

“I wasn’t messing around,” Lilia said.

“What does that mean?”

“I mean that I did my best to seduce him.”

Gap-Soo started to laugh again.

“Good. I guess you need to say that if you want to fully fulfill your end of the bargain. Yes, yes. I understand.”

“...”

“I will just have to take your word that you did your best and failed to seduce a newbie Level 39 Player.”

Lilia felt it was a little unfair. She had indeed done her best. However, she did not repeat herself by saying that she did her best. Fully admitting that would have been too much of a blow to her ego.

‘How can a Level 39 Player, and from an Open Beta Server at that, have that kind of mental strength?’

It was like he was surrounded by layers of mental barriers. The Demons of Dreams were a race with the ability to penetrate the minds of their opponents very deeply, and naturally, she tried very hard to penetrate the mind of Jin-Hyeok.

‘It didn’t feel like he blocked it with a Skill.’

There was no way the Skill of a Level 39 Streamer could resist her seduction. Either he had the mind of a sage, or he was a eunuch, or he was just a madman who could not be seduced.

She couldn’t figure out why.

“Well, it’s okay. You don’t have to seduce him right away. You have until the end of the Open Beta. Make sure you seduce him by then.”

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Suddenly, the building, which had been a luxurious retail store until now, had a new sign that read \'Alchemist Choi Gap-Soo’s Workshop.\'

‘What the hell is that old man up to?”

Jin-Hyeok didn’t really ask because he was in a hurry to get away from the place. It would have taken an astronomical amount of Dias to control such an egoistic Succubus like that, and he could not figure out why the old man would go to such lengths.

As he was thinking that, he realized that his mental strength was very different from before.

‘Wow… my mental strength is not what it used to be.’

He was sure that if his old teammates saw him like this, they would have laughed and made fun of him.

‘How could I be so defenseless against the temptations of a Succubus?’

In reality, he and his old teammates were not immune to mental attacks. They all had Traits like Mental Barrier or Imperial Resilience. For reference, Imperial Resilience was the higher-ranked Trait, and back in his previous life, Jin-Hyeok had the Mental Barrier Trait.

‘If I wasn’t careful, I was about to be seduced by her…’

He had decided to get the Mental Barrier Trait.

‘Hm… Would it be okay for me to obtain the Mental Barrier Trait?’

If a Player obtained the Mental Barrier Trait first, they could not obtain Imperial Resilience Trait in the future. The two Traits conflicted with each other. Obviously, it would be far better to get the Imperial Resilience Trait, but he could not get it at his current Level.

‘Well, I’m going to retire soon, so I think the Mental Barrier Trait is going to be good enough.’

He managed to get by with the Trait until Level 240. Come to think of it, if he had the Imperial Resilience Trait, he might have been able to withstand the curse of the Empress of Hell.

‘Damn it. Why am I thinking about that?’

The Banyan Tree Dungeon would be challenged by a new Sword King of this timeline. Jin-Hyeok decided to get the Mental Barrier Trait since he would be subjected to various mental attacks in the foreseeable future.

‘And it’s a perfect Trait for a Player aiming to become third-place.’

Imperial Resilience would be too good of a Trait. The Mental Barrier Trait was perfect.

Jin-Hyeok hurriedly called Seo Ji-Soo.

“Hey, what are you doing? Are you free right now?”

—Hey, I’m with my sister right now. What’s up?

“Do you have a minute?”

—Why?

“I need to see you for a second.”

After a few moments of silence, Ji-Soo replied.

—Just the two of us?

“What? No, the three of us.”

—Of course, I thought so too. I was just testing you, hahaha!

She laughed for a while, but Jin-Hyeok was not sure what was so funny.

‘She seems to have a unique laugh trigger…’

To obtain the Mental Barrier Trait, he had to go to Malaysia, and he needed the help of the twins. Only the Seo sisters could activate the entrance to the Petronas Twin Tower Dungeon.

The three of them met at a coffee shop in Yongsan-gu. Ji-Soo asked him with a surprised look on her face.

“What? You want us to go on vacation with you?”

“No, not a vacation, a raid.”

“Uh… Well… Still, you want to go abroad, right? Just the two of us?”

There had to be something wrong with her hearing. Or maybe she was just tired from all the training she had been doing lately.

‘How can she think that ‘us’ means just the two of us?\'

“No, the three of us…” Jin-Hyeok corrected her.

“...”

“What?”

“Well, there are still a lot of Dungeons to clear in Korea. And a man and two women going abroad… Why are we already traveling abroad together? I don’t think we are that close.”

“Really? I thought we were close enough.”

“Re…really?”

In the not-too-distant future, Players would team up with a stranger to go on an expedition abroad. They would trust each other with their lives, even though they had only just met, and they would go on missions or raids together.

That was the world to come.

Ji-Soo’s earlobes flushed slightly.

“I didn’t realize you thought so much of us…” she said.

“Well, I don’t wanna say so much, but…”

“Now I know you a little better.”

‘What the hell is she talking about?’

“So you are saying you want to go abroad with us so badly that you will cover the cost of the plane tickets and accommodation?”

Since this was for his own needs, he didn’t disagree with her. It was only fair for him to pay for the expenses.

“You always act so bitch—no, sorry. You always act so distant and not very warm-hearted…”

Jin-Hyeok thought he heard her say ‘bitchy,’ but he didn’t bother to point it out.

“Are you being tsundere?” Ji-Soo asked.

Jin-Hyeok could not comprehend what the hell she was saying.

‘She is definitely not normal.’

“So, are you coming with me?”

“Okay, we will think about it.”

That evening, she called him and said, “We will make an exception for you. If you are showing such dedication, then why not? We will go with you.”

Jin-Hyeok did not recall showing such remarkable dedication, but he was grateful that they perceived it that way and expressed their gratitude.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Oppa, I’m coming with you,” Cha Jin-Sol said.

“You too?”

“Yes. I’ll pay for my own expenses.”

“Hm…”

Money was not the problem. However, Jin-Sol’s Enhanced Human and Enhanced Revival Traits would clash with other Traits. They were probably going to clash with the Mental Barrier Trait, too.

“No, I need you to stay here.”

“Nope. I’m coming with you. I’ve always wanted to go on a trip to Malaysia when I quit my job.”

“This is not a trip.”

It seemed like his party members did not understand the world very well yet. It was very frustrating for him, but he decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and let them figure it out over time.

“You said it was something really good written in that Future Diary, right? Then wouldn’t it be good for me too? I want to get it as well.”

“Don’t be so greedy. You have already obtained two Traits recently. If you are too greedy, you will lose everything.”

“I don’t care. I’m going with you. Don’t go on a raid without me.”

Jin-Sol was so stubborn, so he said yes. When he thought about it, he realized that it would be good for the other team members to get the Mental Barrier Trait as well.

‘After all, we have to play together until I become a building owner in Yeonhui-dong.’

Since it turned out this way, he decided to also bring Mok Jae-Hyeon and Kim Jeong-Hyeon along with him.

They arrived at Incheon Airport to leave for Malaysia. The Seo sisters were waiting for them at the airport. Ji-Soo was wearing a pretty dress that was overly colorful for the raid.

‘She shouldn’t be wearing a dress like that. That’s going to get in the way.’

He didn’t know why she was wearing that straw hat.

“I thought it was just the three of us going?” Ji-Soo said while frowning.

“Well, we’re all going together now.”

“Then you should have told me beforehand.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course!”

‘But why do I get the feeling that she’s mad at me?’

For whatever reason, it was always nice to have more people for a raid. He had always had problems with his party being understaffed, not overstaffed.

That could happen if teammates were not good enough, but that wasn’t the problem for Jin-Hyeok’s team. In fact, his team consisted of the Martial King, the Blood Priest, and the Wood King.

She should be thanking him, but for some reason, she seemed mad at him.

‘I thought she would be excited. I guess I was wrong.’

He would have bowed a hundred times in gratitude if his higher-ups had organized a team this strong without his knowledge while he was in the middle of a mission.

“But you still appreciate it, right?” Jin-Hyeok said.

“...”

Ji-Soo barely spoke to him until they arrived in Malaysia. He thought she was too shy to say thank you.

‘I didn’t know she was this shy.’

After around seven hours, they arrived at the airport in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.