I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 291

Despite receiving the notification that livestreaming and recording were impossible in this place, Cha Jin-Hyeok remained calm. He just silently stared at Harkoen.

Dressed in a garishly bright red dress that made her pale skin dramatically stand out, Harkoen was descending the stairs, her face half-hidden by a feather fan. The moment Jin-Hyeok caught sight of her sparkling red eyes above the fan, he felt his heart flutter uncontrollably. ‘Those are the eyes of a mad person!’

Lately, he had been trying to avoid the gazes of crazy people, fearing he could be drawn into their madness. Yet, when he was confronted with such pure insanity, his instincts stirred. ‘It’s been a while since I saw such intense eyes.’

Her eyes were filled with an indescribable yearning and obsession, which appeared to bind Jin-Hyeok with invisible ropes. Whisperings filled his head just as before.

[Oh, my beautiful master, allow me to kiss your feet.]

[Oh, my beautiful master, allow me to kiss your feet.]

Countless voices in Jin-Hyeok’s head seemed to whisper endlessly, causing a throbbing headache.

‘I think this house is specially designed…’

The house appeared to be a dreadful space for Streamers. It also enhanced the effects of brainwashing.

“Oh, my beautiful master, allow me to kiss your feet.” Jin-Hyeok allowed his body to move as it wished, surrendering to his instincts.

‘Wow, this is a very interesting feeling.’

He felt like a marionette, moving toward Harkoen without exerting any effort and kneeling before her. Harkoen’s red shoes caught his eye, but it was her slender ankles that truly captured his attention.

‘I think I can just slice off her ankles right now. Hm…’ The thought of slicing through those ankles seemed almost too timely and tempting. ‘Should I?’

Jin-Hyeok momentarily hesitated, realizing his mistake. ‘I guess a leopard never changes its spots.’

Clearly, he was not in his right mind, likely influenced by the brainwashing.

‘I should have considered smashing the ankles!’

Caught in old habits and recognizing his clear mistake, he debated whether to slice those ankles or not.

Miri’s voice then echoed in his mind.

-I’m disappointed, but I also understand where you’re coming from. Everyone makes mistakes.

‘I’m sorry, Miri.’

Despite his regret, Jin-Hyeok faced another dilemma. ‘But this is a bit…’

Kneeling and kissing Harkoen’s foot seemed distasteful. He was already kneeling before her; all that remained was to lean forward and kiss.

“My muse, my Kim Chul-Soo, I gladly permit you to kiss my foot.”

Jin-Hyeok steeled his resolve. ‘I have forgotten how to be intense lately.’

Today was riddled with mistakes. From considering whether to slice her ankles or not to debating about kissing her foot, he had made a series of grave errors.

‘If I am hesitating over this, I do not deserve to be a Streamer!’

A true Streamer should be willing to sacrifice their life for their livestream; that was the essence of being a Streamer.

‘I can’t believe I’m hesitating over this!’

He felt as if he was losing his initial resolve. Then, he heard Harkoen speak.

“Of course, your body won’t necessarily obey your will.”

Jin-Hyeok subtly ceased his movements.

‘Wow, that was lucky.’

Harkoen interpreted the moment of his hesitation about the kiss as paralysis. Had he not hesitated and immediately gone for the kiss, he could have been exposed for not being truly paralyzed.

Jin-Hyeok decided not to move any further, pretending to have succumbed to a crippling paralysis spell.

***

Before willingly walking into Harkoen’s trap, Jin-Hyeok had a brief conversation with Lessefim. To be precise, Lessefim had stealthily slipped into Jin-Hyeok’s room while he was asleep.

“I thought I was dealing with a skilled Assassin for a moment there… You’re not here to assassinate me, are you?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Why do you sound disappointed?”

“What do you mean? Who in the world would be disappointed by something like that?”

“…”

Despite seeing Jin-Hyeok’s slight disappointment, Lessefim told him, “I respect your decision to choose Han Sae-Rin over me. But remember one thing. My secondary Job is that of an Alchemist. If you ever need the help of an Alchemist, feel free to call on me.”

“…”

Jin-Hyeok could not help but ponder something. ‘Hm… Mole Man and Sae-Rin were also very keen on leveling up their secondary Job.’

Initially, he thought that perhaps everyone else was mad, but it seemed that was not the case. The era felt distinctly different from before his regression.

‘Am I the one not keeping up with the times? Am I too caught up in the common sense of my previous life, unable to adapt to new changes? Am I falling behind the trends? Am I… less intense?’

***

Upon examining the powder Hyde had given Jin-Hyeok, Lessefim asked with a puzzled look, “Hyde gave this to you? This is Lumina Mineral Powder, and not just any kind—it’s incredibly refined, with absolutely no impurities.”

“You recognize this?”

“Yes, it’s extremely rare.”

Jin-Hyeok did not consider the very logical thought that ‘if it’s so rare, how do you know what this is?’

“Being this pure, it has a specific use,” Lessefim said.

“What is that?”

“It reacts with Levina Mineral Powder to paralyze a person’s nerves.”

“Like a poison?”

“Similar to poison, but not exactly. This falls under the realm of alchemy, and it’s more affected by mental resistance than by poison resistance.”

Lessefim explained to him about Levina and Lumina Mineral Powder. She talked non-stop for about three minutes about the chemical reaction that occurred when their molecular formulas interacted and how this chemical reaction affected the human nervous system.

“What’s interesting is that even if someone becomes affected by it, they won’t feel their body becoming paralyzed at all.”

“Really?”

“Yes. That’s why people affected by these powders look so peaceful. They don’t realize their bodies are paralyzed.”

Jin-Hyeok was honestly a bit amazed.

‘She said she was a beginner…’

Lessefim had described herself as a beginner-level Alchemist, but to Jin-Hyeok, she was anything but a beginner.

‘What’s wrong with her standards?’

If other people were here, they would have said that Jin-Hyeok’s standards were weirder, but there was no one else here to comment.

***

Having successfully deceived Harkoen, Jin-Hyeok stopped in his kneeling position.

‘I need to maintain a peaceful expression as if I’m truly affected by the powders.’

He was perplexed by the rapid beating of his heart, not knowing what Harkoen could do next. He had to be careful not to show too much excitement, lest his act be discovered.

‘I wonder how Sae-Rin is doing.’

After learning about the Levina and Lumina Mineral Powder, Sae-Rin had devised a sophisticated plan as a Ruler.

“The most likely scenario is that Harkoen will try to take you directly. Normally, she would not show herself, but Harkoen is not just any kind of crazy. If she were only moderately mad, she would not have brought things this far. The fact that things have gotten to this point means she is completely insane.”

Sae-Rin had a keen understanding of the mindset of a mad person.

“I just hope she does not decide to kill me in an attempt to destroy evidence.”

During that conversation, Jin-Hyeok wanted to say that the normal thing for Sae-Rin to do was to not follow him into the trap, but such a universally valid conversation did not happen. He thought putting one’s life on the line was only natural for creating a great Play. Jin-Hyeok was about to commend Sae-Rin for her fierceness when she said,

“But I can’t miss out on seeing Chul-Soo’s Play firsthand.”

Though the reasoning seemed a bit odd, Sae-Rin’s prediction was almost spot on.

“If she doesn’t kill me, she will probably try to take me with her. I am quite attractive, aren’t I?”

“What does appearance have to do with anything?”

“That woman, she is obsessed with looks.”

Though Jin-Hyeok was not entirely convinced by Sae-Rin’s reasoning, things turned out as she had said.

“Put that girl in a crate,” Harkoen said.

Masked men appeared, bound Sae-Rin, and placed her in a large crate. Then, Harkoen snapped her fingers, and ghosts appeared. Four ghosts held a grand palanquin, floating in the air.

“Now, my beautiful muse, let us promise eternity to each other.”

Two more ghosts appeared and slowly lifted Jin-Hyeok. Worrying his act could be discovered, Jin-Hyeok nervously entrusted himself to the ghosts.

Creak! Creak!

The ghosts made strange noises as they seated Jin-Hyeok atop the palanquin. The two ghosts then knelt in front of Harkoen, giving their backs to her. Harkoen used the ghosts’ backs as stairs and sat beside Jin-Hyeok. Her eyes were filled with love for him.

“How can you be so beautiful?”

Jin-Hyeok was admiring something entirely different. ‘A palanquin, of all things. Such a romantic mode of transportation.’

It seemed even cooler than his Thunder Dragon. Today was another day of learning something new.

***

‘This is fascinating,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

The palanquin, driven by the ghosts, moved in bizarre ways. Just when it seemed to be moving forward, it would also move backward, and even as it moved straight, the world appeared upside down. Even though it was clearly going up the stairs, there were moments when it felt like he was going down the stairs. Everything around him was chaotic.

‘And there are warp portals, too.’

The area was enveloped with barriers. It seemed they were heading toward a space secured by double, triple, or even quadruple layers of protection.

After quite some time, they finally reached Harkoen’s secret space. Before them was a corridor with red carpets laid out. On both sides of it, magic lamps glowed softly, and beneath them, a line of nude dolls was arranged.

The moment Jin-Hyeok saw the dolls, he sensed something. ‘These aren’t actually dolls, are they?’

They weren’t dolls but humans.

‘So the rumors were true.’

It was said that Harkoen did not collect dolls but people. Rumors had it that half of the missing people were hidden in Harkoen’s mansion. Witnessing the reality, Jin-Hyeok could not help but be shocked.

‘Harkoen…’ Jin-Hyeok nearly looked toward Harkoen. ‘To think you collected people as dolls… You are pretty intense, aren’t you?’

He was somewhat impressed. It was surprising enough to create such peaceful-looking dolls, but to have done this without any intervention was something else. He wondered how intense she had to be to make this possible. Jin-Hyeok genuinely thought such intensity deserved applause.

“My beautiful Chul-Soo, with you by my side, those worthless things can be burned. Your room is over there.” Harkoen pointed with her fingers.

Creak! Creak!

The ghost palanquin continued to move forward. Various nameplates were affixed to the doors.

[Butler]

[Beastkin]

[Nude]

[Beauty]

Finally, they arrived in front of a room with a nameplate that said Treasure.

“This is the room prepared for you, my Chul-Soo. Inside, I will calm you and make you eternally mine.” Harkoen lightly kissed Jin-Hyeok on the cheek.