I Gave Up Being Stronger

Omur, GM No. 1 in Gangnam-gu, was nearing his retirement age. Looking very much like an Earthling, he was recently transferred to the new server, Earth. If he could successfully manage the Open Beta service, he would be able to relax with a generous severance package.

He only had six more months to go.

‘I just need to be careful for the next six months.’

As long as he did not get into any accident, in six months, his second life would begin.

His youthful ambition was now gone. He spent his days hoping that he would just stay out of trouble.

Suddenly, his administrator's notification rang loudly.

‘Ugh. What now?’

The System had a VIP system. If a person purchased a VIP package, they were eligible for VIP status. After that, if they spent more than one hundred million Dias in a year, they became White Tier. If they spent more than five hundred million Dias, they became Yellow Tier. They would become Blue Tier if they spent more than one billion Dias, and Red Tier if they spent more than two billion Dias.

At Red Tier, they would be able to join any server they wanted as a Player.

‘Wait, a VIP from the Trinity Club is coming to Earth?’

Unlike the other tiers of VIPs, Trinity Club didn’t have a VIP pricing threshold. It was an exclusive group, available only to the top ninety-nine people in the entire universe.

‘Why would anyone want to play on this crappy Open Beta server?’

The person who announced their intentions to visit Earth was codenamed ‘MoneyShower.’ For the record, the Trinity status was renewed once a year. No matter how many Dias they spent in the year before last, if they did not make the top ninety-nine in the previous year, they would lose their Trinity status.

MoneyShower was by far the top name, having made the Trinity list seven times in the last ten years.

‘What fun is there to be had in such a barren server that has just opened?’

Omur, Administrator 1 of Gangnam-gu, was not too happy about the visit of MoneyShower to his district. It was very difficult to please VIPs. Even the slightest mistake was unacceptable. It was not uncommon for a VIP’s slightest complaint to make the Administrators be fired.

Even though his last months as an Administrator was about to be tiresome, he still put on a professional smile on his face.

“I am honored to have you here, sir. I will do my best to help you. How would you like to change your name and your status for the new server?”

“Oh, I can do that?”

"Yes, sir. Your ‘second identity’ can be activated right away on the Seoul Field.”

“That’s great news. But isn’t that a ‘Mystery’?”

“That’s okay, sir. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Sure, this would create some hassles for the GM, but Omur did not care. For now, the most important thing was to keep the VIP satisfied.

And that was how Alchemist Choi Gap-Soo, age 38, was born.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Cha Jin-Hyeok received a message.

[You have received an SVIP message.]

‘Wow, so this is the epitome of capitalism.’

Jin-Hyeok’s role model for livestreaming was Mystery Box, and Jin-Hyeok emulated Mystery Box's streaming approach. Mystery Box was completely non-communicative and did well because not interacting with the viewers worked as a concept. Jin-Hyeok tried to do the same thing, but this VIP’s message was so embedded in capitalism that he could not ignore it.

[I would love to meet with you, and if you are up for it, please come to where I am.]

At the bottom was an address.

[XX-XXX, Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea.]

“Cheongdam-dong?”

Jin-Hyeok knew where this was. Back in his past life, Grandpa Gap-Soo used to have an Alchemist’s workshop in Cheongdam-dong, where he made many potions and artifacts.

‘Wow, I had no idea that the old man was actually a big shot who has been watching my livestreams and is sending me an SVIP message right now during the Open Beta.’

Jin-Hyeok wanted to go there as soon as possible, but he resisted the urge and thought for a moment.

‘The life I am aiming for doesn’t include meeting a tycoon like him…’

He was just trying to live a normal life with his family as a small building owner in Yeonhui-dong.

‘Isn’t it too much to just meet someone like him?’

Jin-Hyeok thought about it rationally. He felt like that was the least he could do.

He wanted to meet Gap-Soo as a Streamer.

[I will pay you one hundred million Dias immediately if you come to meet me.]

Now there was one more reason to see him.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Jin-Hyeok was a bit stunned.

‘Oh, so this is now a luxury retail store…’

He looked at the sign. It said that the store in front of him was just a high-end luxury retail store. It used to be an Alchemist’s workshop back in his past life. The fact that the old man bought this building and turned it into his workshop meant that he was really rich.

There was a man at the entrance. He looked about the age of Jin-Hyeok's father, and he was dressed like an ancient Greek.

‘Is that the Administrator?’

Jin-Hyeok didn’t recognize him, so Jin-Hyeok guessed the man was one of the first Administrators of the Earth Server.

[?/?/?/?]

Jin-Hyeok couldn’t identify the man even after using his skill. The man had to have been an old-timer.

“Are you Streamer Kim Chul-Soo?”

“Yes, I am.”

“The Alchemist is waiting for you.”

“But who are you?”

“My name is Omur. I am Administrator 1 of Gangnam-gu.”

“Ah…!”

Omur of Gangnam-gu.

Jin-Hyeok did not recognize his face, but he had heard his name before. He had heard Omur had retired with a big smile on his face after getting rich back in Jin-Hyeok’s past life.

“Mr. Choi Gap-Soo is on the second floor.”

‘My god. I have never had an Administrator come out and greet me like that in my past life.’

“Are you here?”

There he was, sitting on a couch that looked too extravagant. His face was the same as Jin-Hyeok remembered. In fact, he didn't seem to look any younger now compared to his future self that Jin-Hyeok met in Jin-Hyeok's previous life, like he didn't age at all between now and then.

‘I’m a little glad to see him again.’

“Are you Choi Gap-Soo, the Alchemist?”

“Yes, this is him.”

“Are you a human?”

“In a way.”

“I heard you are an SVIP. What is that?”

Jin-Hyeok could feel Omur, the Administrator, fidgeting next to him. It looked like it was an incredibly stressful atmosphere for Omur.

“I just have to spend a lot of money. Come, have a seat. Would you like something to drink?”

“I’ll have a glass of iced Americano.”

Two very clean and well-groomed employees, one male and one female, brought out coffee and tea. Based on Jin-Hyeok's recollection, this building had none of these luxurious things in his past life—it was just filled with wannabe Alchemists.

‘I guess in this timeline, the old man seems to be quite enjoying this bourgeois concept.’

“Why did you want to see me?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Because I have never seen such an unusual Streamer as you. I was curious to know what you look like.”

Apparently, there was a very complicated process to send an SVIP message to a Streamer. Something about Trinity Club or whatnot. On top of that, Gap-Soo said he needed to spend about three billion Dias to buy the right to send a forced message. And about three hundred million of that was paid to the Streamer as a donation.

“...So you wasted over three billion Dias to send a single message?”

“Is that really that surprising?”

“...”

Jin-Hyeok had always known that the old man was a generous spender, but he didn’t realize Gap-Soo was this generous. The Gap-Soo in this timeline had deeper pockets than the one he remembered.

‘I guess he was more accustomed to Earth in my previous life.’

Jin-Hyeok thought that the current Gap-Soo was still a little less acclimatized to Earth. There was a chance that Gap-Soo didn’t know just how large a sum three billion Dias were to humans.

“A rich man spares no expense for things he considers valuable,” Gap-Soo said.

“Am I that valuable to you, old man?”

Without thinking, Jin-Hyeok called him ‘old man.’

Administrator Omur nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Hey, who do you think you are, calling people whatever you want!”

“It’s fine. Old man, huh? I like it. You can call me that from now on.”

Omur, who had been yelling at Jin-Hyeok, quickly calmed down and stood with his hands clasped politely together. Looking at that, Jin-Hyeok felt more pity than anger. The way Omur flinched at every word, every gesture, it was like he was worrying about even the slightest mistake.

‘He must be close to his retirement.’

“What was it about my livestream that was so captivating to you?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

Gap-Soo had always been famous for being a sucker. If only Jin-Hyeok could get along with him, it seemed like he could easily achieve his goals. By understanding the things that the old man liked and providing him with valuable content, Jin-Hyeok might quickly become a building owner in Yeonhui-dong.

Then he could truly retire.

“Let me ask you one thing first. How can you be so calm and collected in the face of all that?” Gap-Soo asked.

“Huh?”

“I mean, how are you able to explain things to your viewers without getting flustered in the middle of all that?”

“Because there was not much to panic about.”

There was no need to pretend to be flustered or act surprised. It would be obvious to the viewers and his reactions wouldn’t be genuine. That was why Jin-Hyeok was just behaving naturally.

“You looked like a regressor,” Gap-Soo said.

“I proved that I am not a regressor in a previous video.”

“Oh, you have already done that? I must have missed it.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s much of a big deal.”

“Wow, that’s pretty brave of you.”

After a while, this was how it was—nothing could scare him after everything he had seen. For the record, Jin-Hyeok was the most sensitive one of his old teammates.

“Then who did you learn the commentary technique from?”

“Commentary technique?”

Jin-Hyeok did not recall learning anything like that.

“You explained each Player’s movement in relation to the current situation in a concise, to-the-point manner. Even a child could understand what was going on. You were like a seasoned veteran.”

Jin-Hyeok felt good after hearing that. It was the insight of a professional audience.

However, he didn’t show how excited he was.

“The calm and composed commentary technique blended well with your style. It was also impressive to see you even exert your power when necessary, although I doubt you can do it later on. Did you really not have a mentor?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Then that must mean your talent and insight is full of potential! Hahaha!”

“I don’t particularly think it’s anything remarkable.”

If Jin-Hyeok was the king of insight, then his former teammate, Streamer Kang Mi-Na, would be the super king of insight. In the realm of livestreaming, he was nothing compared to her.

“Heh, how humble.”

He was not being humble, he was just telling the truth. Still, the old man was impressed. Gap-Soo said a bunch of things about Jin-Hyeok's livestream that, taken together, meant that he liked it.

For Jin-Hyeok, that was a good thing.

“I have never had a Streamer inspire me so much in an Open Beta server. I have never seen a stream with so much anticipation and humility, and I loved it!”

‘I don’t think I am that good… I’m a little embarrassed.’

He loved getting praised for his swordsmanship, but it was always a bit embarrassing to be praised for his streaming skills. Mi-Na would be laughing at him if she was here.

“I am going to keep an eye on you. Is there anything you want to tell me?” Gap-Soo said.

“There is.”

As far as he could tell, the old man was in a very good mood. It seemed like Jin-Hyeok managed to scratch the itch. This was his chance.

“You said you were an Alchemist, right?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Yes, I am. I am thinking of practicing Alchemy on Earth.”

“Do you need a High Bronze Mana Stone by any chance?”

“Hm…”

For some reason, the response was lukewarm, but Jin-Hyeok understood why. The Mana Stones were hard to come by on the Earth Server, which was still in its infancy, but there were plenty of them on the other Servers. It was an item that Gap-Soo could buy as much as he wanted.

“I’ve gotten the Achievement for clearing the Hidden Stage. You saw the livestream, right?”

“...”

"This High Bronze Mana Stone is the first one to be obtained from the Earth Server in Open Beta. That’s quite valuable, don’t you think?”

Gap-Soo’s eyes flickered at the rarity of the Mana Stone. As always, he lived and breathed rarity.

“This is the only one of its kind on Earth.”

“How much will you sell it for?” Gap-Soo asked.

“I’m sure you know its value better than I do.”

The old man didn’t think too long.

“Two hundred million Dias.”

“I’ll take it as you don’t want to buy it.”

To be honest, Jin-Hyeok was a little scared that the old man could see through his bluff. But then again, Gap-Soo had bought it for seven hundred million Dias in the previous life.

Gap-Soo suddenly burst out laughing.

“Hahahaha! You can recognize and appreciate the value of rarity! I like that.”

Once again, Jin-Hyeok seemed to have pinpointed what the old man wanted.

“Here, do you think this will work?”

Gap-Soo scribbled a number on a piece of paper and handed it to Jin-Hyeok.

‘Let’s see how many zeros there are… One, two, three, four… Five hundred million Dias?’

Jin-Hyeok was about to earn five hundred million Dias in one fell swoop. It was less than the seven hundred million he got in his past life, but he decided not to be greedy.

After all, he had to make a good impression on his first trade.

For his glorious retirement and his happy life.

Gap-Soo also handed over the one hundred million Dias he said he would give Jin-Hyeok if Jin-Hyeok visited him. Yesterday’s SVIP message also came with a donation of three hundred million Dias, so, in total, Jin-Hyeok had earned nine hundred million Dias yesterday and today combined.

‘Wow, that’s much more money than I expected in this short period of time.’

Jin-Hyeok started to believe that he could be a building owner in no time.

“I will repay you with good quality content, old man.”

“You better! Hahaha!”

‘But it won’t be long before I retire.’

Jin-Hyeok honestly thought up until this point that he would retire when he had the money to buy a building in Yeonhui-dong.

“Can you give me a little hint as to what your next livestream is going to be about?” Gap-Soo asked.

“Yes, but this time only.”

“You’re not going to tell me in the future?”

‘Of course not. My livestream is going to be gone soon.’

However, for now, Jin-Hyeok put on his capitalist smile and convinced the customer.

“It’s no fun if I keep spoiling it.”

“That’s true.”

Fortunately, the customer was convinced.

“Okay, so what’s next?”

“Well, I have a quick, everyday episode and one main episode. Which one would you like to listen to first?”