I Gave Up Being Stronger

During his reign as the Sword King, Cha Jin-Hyeok often found it hard to remember non-combatant-class Players. Even among combatant-class Players, only those ranked first or second in their field could barely make a mark in his memory. So, it was somewhat inevitable that he did not remember much about non-combatant-class Players.

However, he did remember a few Players, who were truly exceptional cases. One of them was a Player from Thailand.

‘God Finger Hassan… He should be Awakened by now.’

God Finger Hassan was a Player who had burst onto the scene like a comet, heating all of Thailand before suddenly disappearing. Though he had been active for just over two years, he had become the most famous Player in Thailand.

‘He was called the god of gender transformation.’

Hassan exclusively selected Players to undergo gender transformation, and his Skill was deemed not of human but divine origin, earning him the nickname God Finger.

‘He was also known for granting permanent buff effects, not just eliminating the side effects associated with the transformation.’

Jin-Hyeok had a moment of thought. ‘If one can receive permanent buff effects just by changing genders, should I consider it too?’

However, he quickly shook his head. ‘I still have a long way to go.’

His feelings about this transformation were the same as those about the seduction technique. A truly intense Streamer would not hesitate to use seduction techniques or undergo gender transformation. Yet, Jin-Hyeok was not ready to accept gender transformation.

‘I still lack so much.’

He had not even fully embraced the approach of using his looks to his advantage, let alone advance to the next level. One could not run without learning to walk properly first. It was excessive greed. Yet, he kept making excuses, feeling somewhat less intense.

‘I have lived as a man for so long, and a male body is much more familiar to me. No matter how exceptional the gender transformation can be, it’s useless if it’s not familiar.’ Jin-Hyeok managed to rationalize his thoughts. ‘Yeah, gender transformation does not seem right!’

With a sigh of relief, Jin-Hyeok unknowingly let out a breath.

Nonetheless, recalling God Finger Hassan, he suggested to Katrina, “I know a Player who can provide you a transformation to an excellent female physique with no side effects.”

“I have already checked out everyone who can do that. They all rejected me,” Katrina said in a drunken voice.

“You wouldn’t know him because he is not well-known.”

“Who is this person?” Katrina, thoroughly intoxicated, collapsed then and there, falling asleep on the spot.

***

The next day, Katrina leaped to her feet in outrage. “How could you even consider entrusting me to some unknown Player? Just because it’s not your body, you don’t have the right to be so reckless!”

The thought of undergoing gender transformation at the hands of a Player from Earth, a fairly new Server, and one without even a name to their credit, was beyond imagination for Katrina. “I’m upset. If you weren’t so good-looking, I would have punched you in the face.”

Jin-Hyeok found Katrina’s reaction perfectly reasonable. ‘I need to explain about Hassan.’

Hassan’s fame had taken off after a famous Thai actress had confessed to having undergone a gender transformation performed by him.

‘Until then, everyone thought she was naturally a woman.’

No one even suspected she was transgender. At that time, people commented:

-Aren’t there a lot of trans people in Thailand?

-She is so pretty. I was shocked to find out she was trans.

-It’s pretty common there. Though, it’s rare to find someone as beautiful as her.

However, when the actress’s past photos were released, everyone was astonished.

-How could that face come from this?

-This is not surgery; this is creation!

-Hassan is a god!

It was not an exaggeration to say the actress had been reborn.

-But aside from the looks, how did her height increase?

-Her height increased?

From being 162 centimeters as a man, the actress had grown to 168 centimeters after the transformation.

-Even the entire skeletal structure changed… How is that possible?

Medical experts at the time declared it a medically impossible phenomenon. That was how Hassan gained his fame as God Finger. It was later revealed that Hassan was an Irregular.

‘He was a very special Irregular. He didn’t even have Levels.’

Hassan had no Levels but possessed something called 77 Intimate Miracles. With this, he could perform gender transformation on 77 Players.

‘And importantly, the earlier a miracle was, the more potent was its effect.’

The first miracle was more effective than the seventy-seventh.

‘But I have no way to convince Katrina.’ Logical explanations were out of the question. ‘Should I stake my life on it?’

Jin-Hyeok considered this but shook his head. Staking his life did not seem to be a suitable commitment for this situation.

“I will put my Eltube channel on the line.” It felt more like the level of commitment needed for this matter. “If the miracle does not happen, I will delete my channel and never set foot in the livestreaming world again.”

“...”

‘Did I persuade her?’ Jin-Hyeok looked at Katrina, who was silent for a while.

“How about this?” Katrina replied.

“I’m listening.”

“If the gender transformation goes wrong, or if there is any problem, you will take responsibility for me.”

“What do you mean exactly?”

Katrina hesitated for a long time. Jin-Hyeok could not help but feel nervous.

‘I have staked my livestreaming career, what could be worse than that?’ The thought that there could be something worse weighed heavily on him as he awaited Katrina’s response.

Finally, Katrina said. “Marry me.”

“...”

When Jin-Hyeok did not respond, Katrina snorted as if she had expected such a reaction. “Why? You can’t do that?”

“No, it’s not that…” Jin-Hyeok was perplexed. ‘Marrying her is the easier choice. Why is she asking me to do the easier one?’

***

Angel Girl Song Ha-Young could not help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. “So, he is roughly around twenty-five and probably male. His Player name or his real name is Hassan, and he lives somewhere in Thailand…”

Then, she looked at the paper in her hand. The drawing was so crudely done that calling it a sketch was almost embarrassing. It depicted a human face with eyes, a nose, and a mouth. However, there was one small distinct feature.

“The only feature that I can see is a small mole under the nose,” Ha-Young said.

“Yup.”

“So, you’re telling me to find this person in Thailand with such scant clues? And within a week? Even when you’re not sure about the gender or the name? Is that it?”

“Exactly.”

“And you’re looking at me as if you are wondering why this would be a problem?”

“Well, is there a problem?”

Faced with such an innocently posed question, Ha-Young nearly sighed without realizing it.

‘How am I supposed to find someone with so little to go on? Does he even realize Thailand is about five times the size of Korea?’

[#What on earth does he think of me?]

Reading Ha-Young’s thoughts with Broadcaster’s Insight, Jin-Hyeok unwittingly responded, “I think of you as Angel Girl Song Ha Young.”

That single sentence snapped Ha-Young back to reality. ‘Right, I am Angel Girl Song Ha-Young.’

She had once located Giethoorn in the Netherlands with a drawing far worse than this. This task seemed somewhat less daunting.

“You’re right. I am Angel Girl Song Ha-Young.” A sense of pride welled up within her. “So, from your perspective, it’s only natural for me to find this person, right?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Because I am your highly trusted comrade, Angel Girl Song Ha-Young.”

Jin-Hyeok nodded. This was not just to flatter her. He truly believed in Ha-Young and thought that if she put her mind to it, she could definitely find Hassan.

Ha-Young mumbled as if she had an epiphany. “If I can’t find Hassan, it would mean I wasn’t intense enough.”

Then, she found Hassan in just three days.

***

“Finding him was surprisingly easy,” Ha-Young said.

Unexpectedly, Hassan was quite a well-known figure in Thailand, as he had been boasting about his exceptional gender transformation abilities all over town. Locally, he seemed to be treated somewhat like a madman.

Jin-Hyeok nodded and asked, “But he hasn’t performed any procedure on anyone yet?”

“Seems like it.”

“Good, then let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“Thailand.”

“Why there?” Ha-Young looked puzzled. ‘Does he still not fully trust how intense I am?’

Still, with a puzzled look, she said, “I brought him here.”

“You brought him here?”

“Wasn’t that what you meant?”

Jin-Hyeok had asked her to find him, not to bring him here. Nevertheless, it turned out to be a good outcome.

“But why is he wrapped in a black cloth?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“If you’re an intense Thief, you shouldn’t just steal objects, right?”

“Wait, did you kidnap him?”

“What are you talking about? I stole him.”

“What’s the difference between kidnapping and stealing?”

“Well, kidnapping is forcibly taking someone against their will, and stealing is sneakily taking them.”

“You can sneakily take a person?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Jin-Hyeok unveiled the black cloth. It was Hassan as he remembered.

Hassan lay there, with his eyes appearing unfocused. He was also drooling, which did not look like a good sign.

“He’s going to wake up in about twelve hours. No side effects,” Ha-Young said.

“Wait, did you use a Skill called Be Quiet by any chance?”

“Oh! When did you do your homework on me, Chul-Soo? Did Kwak Do-Hyeong tell you?”

Be Quiet was a Skill Jin-Hyeok was well familiar with, having been on the receiving end of it multiple times from Ha-Young before his regression.

‘But she normally used that Skill on alarms and barriers to disable and neutralize them and not on people…’

Ha-Young nonchalantly continued, “To be an intense Thief, you need to have at least one paralysis Skill like this.”

“Fair enough.”

***

After twelve hours, Hassan regained consciousness. “Ahhh!!!’

Realizing he had been kidnapped, he tried to flee, screaming, but Ha-Young was a meticulous Thief. She had already activated her Skill. Golden orb-like objects wrapped around Hassan’s wrists and ankles, resembling the form of the Golden Headband that had caused her so much pain. Hassan could no longer move.

“Losing what you have stolen is a disgrace to a Thief,” Ha-Young said. She had also prepared the translation orb in advance. Thanks to Ha-Young’s thorough preparation, Jin-Hyeok could easily converse with Hassan.

“Please to meet you. I am Kim Chul-Soo, a Streamer and an Eltuber,” Jin-Hyeok introduced himself.

Hassan widened his eyes and sighed. He chose not to question the situation further. “So, it’s come to this. Even Chul-Soo is in on it?”

“...”

“Figures. You are a Streamer, after all.” Hassan wore a self-mocking expression, then helplessly sprawled. “Do whatever you want with me.”

He almost looked like someone who had given up on life.

Puzzled, Jin-Hyeok tilted his head as Hassan began to cry.

“This isn’t the life I wanted,” Hassan said.

“Is being kidnapped that much of an injustice to you?”

“Yes, at first, it was shameful. But now, I have gotten used to it. Do whatever you want.”

When Jin-Hyeok remained silent, Hassan slightly struggled to sit up. “Fine, I will take off my clothes myself.”

For some reason, Hassan ripped off his shirt. Jin-Hyeok frowned; Hassan’s upper body was covered in scars, scars that appeared to be quite recent.

‘What?’ Jin-Hyeok used Broadcaster’s Insight and found something. ‘Why do I feel traces of a Streamer?’

Traces of a Streamer using Skills were present on Hassan’s scarred body.

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