I Gave Up Being Stronger

The Mole Squad had an unusual trait. Although they looked relatively cute, their eyes shone with a green light. They constantly murmured something as if they were under a spell.

From a great distance above, Cha Jin-Hyeok managed to catch their whispers.

⌜Violence… redeems… all things.⌟

⌜Violence… redeems… all things.⌟

Marshmallow was surprised that Chul-Soo’s equipment could amplify the sound so clearly from such a distance.

Meanwhile, the Mole Squad, each of them carrying a tool, headed toward the roots of the Sacred Tree. Spotting them, Mole Woman smirked in approval.

“I really like these guys.” She, too, pulled out a large pickaxe from her inventory. “But I bet I can dig better than them. Let’s see what you can do, my cute friends!”

“Violence… redeems… all things!”

With Mole Woman also donning a yellow safety helmet, it almost seemed as if she was leading the Mole Squad, like she was the queen mole and her little moles were uniting their strengths.

Feeling a strange mix of rivalry and excitement toward Mole Woman, Terse also discovered the joys of teamwork. ‘This is what you call a true team Play! Marvelous!’

Mole Woman and the Mole Squad raised their tools and enthusiastically echoed, “Violence! Redeems! All things!”

Mole Woman’s vigorous pickaxe swings devastated the mutated Sacred Tree’s roots.

Jin-Hyeok watched their efforts with satisfaction, even though the situation was far from perfect. He said, “Small monsters are flooding through the tunnel dug by Mole Woman.”

Woooo!

A low-frequency sound resounded, as though it was the scream of the Sacred Tree. The tree’s trunk appeared to be trembling in agony, desperate to eliminate Mole Woman and her squad.

“They are too busy with their pickaxes to fend off the monsters.”

-Isn’t it too dangerous for them?

-I told you. It was risky to provoke the Sacred Tree like this.

Self-proclaimed arboriculture experts had warned that Mole Woman and her squad’s method was exceedingly dangerous.

-It triggers a defensive mechanism of the Sacred Tree, which makes things much more dangerous!

-There is also a chance that poison will spray from the roots

-The way to overcome this would be…

Despite public opinion, Jin-Hyeok came up with a unique solution. “It seems like we are lacking enough violence.”

Jin-Hyeok was restless as the tree had stirred numerous monsters, causing chaos.

‘Now is a good time for me to use the Babylon Cannon, but…’ A better idea struck him. ‘No, I have something even better than the Babylon Cannon.’

Jin-Hyeok decided to deploy his defensive Mystery.

***

The Phantom Swordswoman was a gift from the Sacred Tree, Bakurudnaima, embodying the tree’s seven-thousand-year-old wish before being bestowed upon Kim Chul-Soo.

‘If that tree is related to Bakurudnaima, it will surely react to the Phantom Swordswoman. The tree might feel like a child getting scolded by its mother,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

The Phantom Swordswoman materialized as a fallen angel wielding a massive hammer, soaring at an unprecedented speed. Jin-Hyeok’s screen maneuvering skills had also significantly improved.

-The speed of the Phantom Swordswoman is dazzling, yet my eyes are not tired at all!

-I should be getting dizzy, but I’m not.

-Wow, this is why everyone says he is the best Streamer in the world.

The viewers praised the production and the livestreaming techniques that were not even related to the content. Receiving this feedback in real-time, Jin-Hyeok was thrilled. He felt like he was truly being recognized as a Streamer.

“Ascend, Phantom Swordswoman,” Jin-Hyeok said.

While the most efficient method would have been a straightforward hammer swing, Jin-Hyeok opted for a more dramatic approach. He intentionally added golden effects around the Phantom Swordswoman, making it as though she was shooting out beams of light.

His heart raced with excitement. It was time to unleash his version of the Black Flame Dragon, as instructed by Wang Yu-Mi.

“O fallen angel with the hammer of justice, fly seven circles and play the requiem.”

‘Good. That sounded cool.’

Jin-Hyeok was immensely satisfied with the line he delivered. A sense of fullness filled him deeply as if he was satiated without eating.

The Phantom Swordswoman, like the Golden Guardian Tree, swirled golden dust as she flew.

One circle.

Two circles.

Flying around the mutated Sacred Tree, she left trails of afterimages.

-What kind of attack is that?

-I have no idea. But it looks insanely flashy.

-It looks like she is purifying the mutated Sacred Tree.

-Does it make sense for a fallen angel to purify something?

Seven trails of afterimages surrounded the tree, resembling holy shackles made of golden lines.

“Show precisely what it means to protect!” Jin-Hyeok said.

The Phantom Swordswoman ascended higher, and the hammer grew even more massive.

-What’s with that big-ass hammer?

-That thing will crack a skull from just a slight hit.

-I still can’t believe that thing is a defensive Mystery.

Just as the hammer, now larger than the Sacred tree itself, was about to strike,

“It looks like they have finally succeeded in taming it.”

Boom!

The hammer of the Phantom Swordswoman struck not the Sacred Tree, but the ground next to it. The tunnels dug by Mole Woman collapsed, and the monsters inside were annihilated.

-Wait, what about Mole Woman and Terse?

-Mole Woman might be okay, but I’m sure Terse can’t survive that, right?

Viewers expressed reasonable concerns, but these were unfounded. Mole Woman had scooped up Terse and propelled them both to the surface.

-OMG! She took Terse into her arms! He is so lucky!

-I am so jealous!

Teres had successfully tamed the mutated Sacred Tree, and the monsters scattered. The Phantom Swordswoman, with her enchanting appearance, flew around, smashing the heads of any monster that dared to approach the group.

Her face smeared in soot, Mole Woman beamed and flashed a victory sign with her fingers. “Violence really is the best, isn’t it, moly?”

***

Terse shivered, but not from the close brush with death or having been cradled to safety by Mole Woman, who was touted as the beauty of the century. Those details paled in comparison to his real triumph.

‘I have tamed the tree!’

He had managed to tame a boss monster from an Unexplored Dungeon on a Server stronger than Earth. It was a monumental feat for him.

At that moment of success, he had briefly shared the Sacred Tree’s vision, becoming one with it. He felt how scared the Sacred Tree was, seeing through the eyes of the Sacred Tree as the golden, frenzied angel swung a colossal hammer that seemed poised to utterly shatter it. The terror that the tree felt as the massive hammer descended was palpable to Terse. It was then he realized something crucial.

‘My violence was insufficient.’

Taming such a formidable boss monster required an unimaginable level of force. The hammer blows of the Phantom Swordswoman contained a degree of violence beyond the ordinary, reducing the mighty tree’s mental state to that of a terrified child.

‘The Phantom Swordswoman reduced an opponent to a child and instilled such fear… That is an unexpected and brilliant form of violence.’

Enlightened by this experience, Terse vowed to grow even stronger. He shared the insights he had gained from the taming with Chul-Soo. “Chul-Soo, Bakubaku has been living in trauma for a long time.”

“Bakubaku?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Yes. That’s the name of this lovely tree.” Terse, who had named the mutated Sacred Tree, gently stroked its trunk. “Bakubaku told me that its mother tree, Bakurudnaima, has suffered long from harassment.”

“Yeah, it was gnawed on by swarms of Red-Eyed Ants,” Jin-Hyeok said.

And then the Queen Ant appeared.

“It seems like that memory adversely affected Bakubaku too, much like how a child abused in youth might mistreat their children later.” Tears welled up in Terse’s eyes as he empathized with Bakubaku. “Such trauma twisted its personality, making it grow like a mutant.”

“Hm…” Jin-Hyeok stroked his chin as Terse stood in front of Bakubaku with his arms spread wide.

“It would be nice if you could forgive this one, Chul-Soo.”

“Well, it’s not really about forgiveness and whatnot.” Jin-Hyeok had already extracted all the content he needed. He did not have any thoughts of killing Bakubaku. “But shouldn’t we be getting the Dungeon clear notification by now?”

“Actually, I have been wondering about that myself, moly.”

The Dungeon boss monster was completely subdued, but the notification for clearing the Dungeon had not sounded yet.

“I feel like we are missing something.” Jin-Hyeok glanced toward Bakubaku. “You are not hiding anything, are you?”

Just then, Bakubaku’s trunk trembled, and black leaves fell to the ground.

Terse responded on its behalf. “It is saying it’s not hiding anything. I can vouch for that.”

“Hm…”

‘Then what is it? What are we missing?’ As Jin-Hyeok pondered it, a message arrived from Yu-Mi.

[You have received a message from ⌜KingGodGeneral Yumi⌟]

[Lessefim, Mok Jae-Hyeon: Perhaps we should focus on the soil rather than the tree!]

***

Jae-Hyeon knelt before Lessefim. “Please accept me as your disciple. I may not be as talented in alchemy as Neilson is, but I can excel in other areas.”

“You? Why would I? Aren’t you a Tank?” Lessefim asked.

Jae-Hyeon shared thoughts he had long harbored.

“You are right. I am a reasonably good Tank.” He had a 9-Star rating on his Job, which was considered extraordinary by conventional standards. He was considered quite competent by the Chul-Soo Universe’s metrics. “However, ultimately, I want to be of real help to Jin-Hyeok, sorry, Chul-Soo. As a Tank, I can’t truly be of help to him.”

“Hm… I get what you’re saying.”

“I think I have finally figured out my true path.”

“And what path is that?”

“To properly cultivate and develop the Guardian Tree. However, I realize this is not something I can do alone.” Jae-Hyeon was one of Jin-Hyeok’s closest associates, deeply familiar with his past Play and future strategies. “I need to follow in the footsteps of Garbinu, and for that, alchemy is essential. I believe alchemy will eventually be necessary to evolve the Guardian Tree.”

“But everyone knows about that. Even Chul-Soo knows that.”

“That’s why I think I have much more talent as a Botanist than a Tank. If I learn alchemy from you, the synergy could be incredible.”

Lessefim thought about the proposition for a while before responding. “It’s a bit much for me to become your teacher. First off, you don’t know much about alchemy, and I am not well-versed in botany.”

“But…!”

“So, let’s just collaborate. You have a connection with Trituri, right?”

“I already regard him as my master.”

“Alright, you, Trituri, Katrina, Neilson, and I should join forces and conduct research together.”

This marked the beginning of a universal research alliance. Thus, the research ignited, and time had passed.

Watching Jin-Hyeok’s livestream, Jae-Hyeon seemed to realize something. “Master, can the Sacred Tree be so mutated simply because of trauma?”

“I doubt it’s that simple,” Trituri said. He was enjoying life as a nobleman in Harkoen’s grand mansion. He was also engrossed in Jin-Hyeok’s livestream.

“The environment must have had a significant impact, right?” Jae-Hyeon asked. It seemed that investigating the soil of Mount Kelibergh was necessary.

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