I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 385

‘I’m undoubtedly female!’ It was highly unlikely for a weapon to have a gender, but Miri considered herself female. Even though no one had taught her, she had always regarded herself as female from the beginning. ‘I don’t want to become big, black, and hard!’

Miri’s powerful will created a miracle. The activation condition window shattered and was replaced by a new one.

[Activation Condition: ....With Master.]

The window flickered, appearing and disappearing repeatedly.

‘B-But...!’

Miri’s will to change the activation condition was strong, but she also felt embarrassed to show what she truly wanted.

[Activation Condi]

[Activation Condition: ...Master]

Miri struggled. She wanted to erase the notification window somehow. If she had to reveal her true feelings, she preferred to do it in a fancy and romantic place. She did not want to show it without any preparations and semi-forcibly like this.

-Nooo!

However, in the end, she could not hide her instincts. Her instinct won over her reason.

[Activation Condition: Physical affection with Master.]

The weapon succeeded in actively changing the activation condition.

Since Cha Jin-Hyeok was not a Craftsman, he didn’t know how shocking this was. He was just satisfied that the new activation condition was easier to meet.

“Relphim, let’s do the sleeping content next time. I need to proceed with my main content,” Jin-Hyeok said. He decided to immediately showcase the results of this enhancement to the viewers.

***

Jin-Hyeok leaned against the Guardian Tree and borrowed its power to prevent people from approaching his surroundings. For a while, Jin-Hyeok gazed at Miri.

-W-Why are you looking at me like that?

“Look me in the eyes for a bit.”

Although a weapon did not have eyes, Jin-Hyeok could feel Miri’s gaze. Miri was averting his gaze.

-I’m looking at you...

Miri’s voice was much smaller than usual.

“Quickly.”

-I-I said I’m looking at you.

Jin-Hyeok smiled at Miri and tried his best to create an alluring gaze.

‘Relphim probably used a seduction technique on Miri.’ Jin-Hyeok was surprised that Relphim had used a seduction technique on a weapon. He could not help but admire that fresh change in perspective and wondered how intense one must be in seduction to seduce a weapon. It could be interesting to learn that kind of intensity.

-A-Are you trying to seduce me?

Jin-Hyeok nodded.

‘True masters of seduction seduce so subtly and naturally that the target doesn’t even notice they are being seduced, but that’s impossible for me and Miri.’ Due to their strong mental bond, he couldn’t easily use subtle seduction on Miri. So, he decided to blatantly use a seduction technique. ‘I should have done this from the start!’

He felt strangely good. As expected, he had to take it step by step from the easy things. Although he had an instinctive resistance to using seduction techniques on people, it wasn’t the case with Miri. In other words, it was like he was practicing lines with a doll in front of him, so he didn’t feel a strong aversion to the seduction technique at this moment.

“Miri,” Jin-Hyeok said.

‘How should I seduce a weapon? I guess I can start by calling her name.’ With the most affectionate and delicate hand movements, he grasped Miri’s handle. ‘What to do next?’

Seduction techniques were really difficult.

At that moment, a notification popped up.

[You have activated the Trait ?Time Reversal?.]

His seduction technique was successful.

***

Even before Jin-Hyeok decided to use the seduction technique, Miri was already in a state of extreme excitement. Miri was half out of her mind the moment she knew that her master was trying to seduce her. Even when Jin-Hyeok was walking to the Guardian Tree, when he was not using any seduction, Miri was already being seduced.

‘M-More!’ Miri thought. Jin-Hyeok did not do anything and just touched her. ‘T-Touch me a little more!’

Despite having a strong mental bond with Miri, Jin-Hyeok could not feel the weapon’s desire. Miri had learned how to hide her emotions. When Jin-Hyeok sat with his back against the Guardian Tree, Miri felt the intensity of his gaze.

‘Oh, no!’

Even their eyes meeting was enough to make her feel like she was about to faint. She had heard that humans would usually say that they were about to come in such situations. She did not know what that meant, but Miri felt the same at that moment.

“Look me in the eyes for a bit.”

‘Why does that voice sound so languid today?’ Miri thought.

Jin-Hyeok was speaking in his usual voice, but to Miri’s ears, it sounded languid and seductive. When she had felt their eyes met, Miri had the illusion that she was shrinking, as if someone was squeezing her. It was a stark contrast from before, when the activation condition was big, black, and hard, and she had grown grotesquely and pierced through the ceiling.

-Aaahhh!

Miri’s vision went hazy. She could not see anything, feeling like she was floating in the sky. The world seemed to be spinning, and it was like she could hear the sound of an angel’s trump ringing in her ears or thunder exploding!

-The world is c-colorful...!

Miri went limp. Although she wasn’t human, she imagined her appearance concretely like a human’s. In her inner universe, she was lying flat on her back, exhaling breathless breaths.

Jin-Hyeok was surprised. ‘This worked!’

When Miri reached the peak of excitement, she trembled and spat out something. It closely resembled the relic of the Pisat Family that Miri had once swallowed.

“Something is floating in the air,” Jin-Hyeok said. He reached out and picked up the object.

At that moment, he heard the voice of the Guardian Tree.

-“I’m a little envious!”XD

The leaves of the Guardian Tree turned pink.

-“I... also want to come!”

***

When Jin-Hyeok released his video, it led to a heated debate among numerous appraisers.

[Pisat’s Relic (Replica)]

[A sacred artifact left by Pisat, the Knight of Justice, one of Garbinu’s comrades.]

“What do you think? No matter how I look at it, it seems no different from the original.”

“Look at the engraved detail on the handle. It’s not something a mere replica can imitate.”

“To think that’s a replica... If I could appraise that, I would have no regrets.”

Numerous appraisers who could not hide their desire to directly touch the relic created (spewed out) by Miri came to Earth.

“If you just show it to me once, I will never forget your kindness for the rest of my life.”

Some appraisers made extravagant promises.

“I will conduct three free appraisals without asking any questions.”

“If you show us the Pisat’s Relic, we will treat you as a VIP of our appraisal association, Mr. Chul-Soo.”

They all had similar opinions about the replica.

“This is a perfect replica.”

“I have never thought that a replica could surpass the original. But my belief has been shattered today.”

As numerous appraisers said that this replica was no different than the original, the Pisat Family eventually dispatched their appraisers as well.

“It’s true.”

“The relic is perfectly preserved.”

Gridel, the Sage of the Sword, also came to Earth but missed Jin-Hyeok.

“He went to Choi Gap-Soo’s workshop,” Cha Jin-Sol informed him.

“Choi Gap-Soo?” Gridel asked.

“Oh, I guess you’re not subscribed to my brother’s channel. Gap-Soo is a member of the Trinity Club. I think his name was MoneyShower or something.”

“MoneyShower is running a workshop on Earth?”

Gap-Soo was one of the universe’s top ninety-nine individuals. Gridel was surprised that a member of the Trinity Club, a super VIP among SSP’s VIPs, was on Earth.

‘Is there something hidden on Earth that I do not know about?’ Gridel thought.

Jin-Sol tilted her head. “Why are you so surprised?”

“You’re the strange one. You do not seem very surprised that a Trinity Club member has settled in a barren Server like Earth.”

“There is another Trinity Club member here, you know.”

“Another one?”

“Yes, her name is Jang Michelle. You might know her as MoneyShot.”

“MoneyShot?” Gridel could not hide his surprise. “Two people with similar personalities have nested here?”

From what he heard, it did not seem like the Trinity Club members were here for a momentary amusement. Gap-Soo was diligently running his workshop, and Michelle seemed to be doing her best to manage the MK Foundation.

Jin-Sol tilted her head again. “Is that such a big deal?”

“Of course, it is. It’s difficult for ordinary people to even meet a Trinity Club member in their lifetime. Because there are only ninety-nine of them in the entire universe. The fact that two of them are in this small Server is like a miracle.”

Gridel got goosebumps on his arms.

‘Then, is Chul-Soo a project that the two Trinity Club members are deliberately working on?’ Gridel thought. If it was so, Chul-Soo’s strangely tremendous growth rate might make sense. If he was receiving support from not just one but two Trinity Club members, such a growth rate was possible.

Jin-Sol tilted her head for the third time and pointed at Gridel. “Aren’t you also a renowned ranker? You’re Gridel, the Sage of the Sword. The head of the Pisat Family is also here, so why is having Trinity Club members here such a big deal?” she said.

“...”

‘Now that I think of it...’ Gridel was at a loss for words. He even experienced a bit of a culture shock. Earth did feel a bit different from the other Servers.

‘Those other Servers treated me with utmost hospitality and gave me fantastic treatment even when I didn’t demand it, but...’ That was natural for Gridel. However, on Earth, he hadn’t experienced that naturalness. ‘I did receive quite a bit of attention, but people don’t seem to be very interested in me.’

Usually, there would be a huge crowd to meet the Sage of the Sword. The appearance of a renowned ranker of the universe was a tremendous event for ordinary people.

‘The Earth Server is very strange.’ The people of Earth did not seem to feel special about special things. They also seemed to accept the strange fact that there were two Trinity Club members on Earth as natural. ‘Even though I arrived here, Chul-Soo didn’t even welcome me. Moreover, that girl doesn’t find it strange. Also...’

Jin-Sol referred to Gridel without any title. He was not offended by it, but he was unfamiliar with this. Usually, people would be very formal with him and politely call him Sir Gridel.

‘This Server is strange...’ He sensed that Earth, especially the Korean Region, was not ordinary. ‘So, he’s in Choi Gap-Soo’s workshop...’

It had been a while since he had met a Trinity Club Member, so he was a bit excited. If things went well, he could receive some donations, and it could be a good opportunity.

‘What is this?’ When Gridel entered Cheongdam-dong, he felt a strange sensation. ‘There is an overwhelming presence here that makes the Trinity Club feel like dust! How can that be?’

Gridel’s expression hardened.

‘As expected, there is something hidden on Earth that I do not know about!’

***

Gap-Soo watched Jin-Hyeok’s video on replicating the relic in his workshop.

“Mad Go— Sorry, Ms. Min-Ji,” Gap-Soo casually asked.

“Huh? What’s up?” Min-Ji was sitting on the sofa, sucking on a lollipop and binge-watching videos featuring Jin-Hyeok’s face one by one.

“Is it okay for Chul-Soo to do that?”

“Do what?”

“This recent enhanceme—”

Min-Ji jumped up from her seat, covered her ears, and shouted, “Lalalalalalala! No spoilers! I haven’t watched the recent video yet! If you spoil it, I will kill you, old man!”

Her presence was scattered around because she shouted so seriously.

Startled, Gap-Soo thought, ‘Well, I guess it should be fine. There are hardly any Players on Earth who can properly sense her presence.’

“Ms. Min-Ji. There might be talk of balance collapse, so can you please listen to me a bit?” Gap-Soo said.

“Boring!” Min-Ji lay down sprawled, consistently maintaining a rebellious attitude like a teenager.

“It’s about Chul-Soo.”

“So, about this balance collapse.” Min-Ji’s expression turned serious. “That’s a concerning matter. Hurry up and tell me.”