I Gave Up Being Stronger

Cha Jin-Hyeok realized something.

‘I know this is technically Dual-Play content, but it’s actually not! I have an almost infinite number of teammates!’

Knowing he could receive help from other Players outside his current party made him feel refreshed. It was as if calling his content Solo or Dual Play no longer mattered.

‘Is this what it feels like to Play with the viewers?’

This small revelation brought him immense joy akin to the thrill that Park Terse had experienced in Co-Op Play.

‘To top it all off, I can use this unique method only because I am a Streamer!’

Jin-Hyeok became even more excited about future Plays. He could now confidently respond to previous criticisms about whether his actions in the Banyan Tree Dungeon could be considered Solo Play. It could be ambiguous for a regular Player, but he was a Streamer. Hence, he could assertively claim that it was a Solo Play.

He subtly smiled as sunlight filtered through the Sacred Tree leaves and shone on his face. ‘I feel reborn.’

Kang Eun-Woo, who had captured the moment, was satisfied. He felt that this masterpiece would electrify countless Chul-Soo Landers.

[No.1: So, is Chul-Soo stuck in that Dungeon?]

[No.2: No.1, you need to trust Chul-Soo!]

[No.33: My boyfriend is a high-Level Navigator. Should I ask him to go there?]

[No.107: I’m probably better suited for this. I specialize in Dungeon clears.]

[No.109: I think I know who No.107 is.]

The Chul-Soo Landers numbered 100 and above were usually the more skilled Players since they had to go through fierce competition or use slightly illegal methods to become Chul-Soo Landers.

As the nine hundred high-Level Players contemplated going to the Hell Server for Chul-Soo, Chul-Soo Land Administrator Eun-Woo calmed them down.

[No.2: Chill out, everyone. I know how much you love Chul-Soo, but you need to know when to restrain yourself.]

[No.121: How are we supposed to calm down while watching this? What if Chul-Soo gets hurt?]

[No.133: Don’t say something so horrible!]

[No.204: Take that back. It’s bad luck.]

Eun-Woo sighed deeply. The Chul-Soo Landers had immense chatting firepower. In situations like this, nothing could calm them down like a beautiful photo of Chul-Soo.

[Picture]

[No.2: Look at this picture and calm down. Give me a minute to speak.]

The one thousand Chul-Soo Landers fell silent all at once. It was nearly miraculous how quiet Chul-Soopia became.

Eun-Woo continued the conversation.

[No.2: I know you all mean well, but you might interfere with Chul-Soo’s Play if you try to help him. What if you mess up his content by meddling unnecessarily? We Chul-Soo Landers don’t want to be that kind of toxic fans, do we?]

***

Mole Woman was confident. Terse had tamed this Dungeon’s boss monster.

“The Dungeon’s backbone has been extracted, moly,” Mole Woman said. Such a feat usually made it easier to find or create an exit. “Escaping this Dungeon might actually be its clear condition, moly.”

True to her reputation as an excellent Navigator, she continued voicing her professional insights. “How you exit this Dungeon is just as important as defeating its boss monster. That’s why it has such a vast Field in the first place. It is meant to test if you still have enough stamina to find the right way out of it after battling the Sacred Tree and a huge number of monsters, moly.”

She had fully understood the nature of this Dungeon. Now, all they had to do was find the path that would lead them to a complete Dungeon clear.

‘This is the duty of a top-ranked Navigator!’ Mole Woman thought. Smiling, she walked over to Jin-Hyeok. “You might be unfamiliar with this situation, but don’t be afraid, moly. I am with you.”

Mole Woman took off her safety helmet and put on green goggles. The goggles shone brightly, almost as if green beams were shooting out of them.

“Just give me a bit of time, and I will lead you straight to the right pat—huh?” Mole Woman tilted her head. Right after, her jaw dropped. “Wait… a path has formed!”

Almost in disbelief, she muttered, “One swing of the hammer and a path appeared, moly…”

***

The Phantom Swordswoman had inspired Jin-Hyeok. When she had struck the ground earlier, he felt the very foundation of the Dungeon tremble. While Mole Woman was busy showing off her expertise, he continued his livestream.

“Taming the boss monster seems to have significantly weakened the structural integrity of the Dungeon,” he said. It was as if the core that constituted the Dungeon had all but disappeared. “This blockade preventing our escape is just a setting; maybe we should try breaking it.”

-What if breaking it causes the Dungeon to collapse?

-Yu-Mi, please tell Chul-Soo that destroying the Dungeon can get them all killed!

-They might get trapped in a dimensional rift and become lost in the universe!

Yu-Mi rapidly relayed the viewers’ comments, but Jin-Hyeok pretended not to see the messages.

‘They’re saying the Dungeon might collapse… That would be quite intense!’ Jin-Hyeok thought. He then shook his head. ‘I got this.’

He appreciated the viewers’ concerns and worries, but paying too much attention to them could stall the content. Hence, he decided to trust his instincts and the insights he had on the spot. Their advice was not entirely unhelpful, though.

‘I shouldn’t just recklessly smash it.’

He had to be careful not to unleash his full power while trying to break the Dungeon’s settings.

‘Miri, are you ready?’

-Of course. Where is the back of the Dungeon’s head?

Miri sounded excited to try a delicacy that it had never tasted before.

‘Don’t forget. You’re a Rule Breaker, not a head breaker.’

-Ah, right—I mean, sure, I knew that.

Miri’s awkward reply made it obvious that it had forgotten its primary role.

‘As a Rule Breaker, you are going to destroy the settings preventing us from escaping this Dungeon.’

Slightly exhilarated, Miri exhaled deeply.

-Got it!

‘Don’t worry, you won’t have to do it alone. I’ll imbue you with the power of Unleashing Technique.’

-Okay.

Miri sounded a bit disappointed, likely because it did not want to share its delicacy with the Unleashing Technique.

A green aura enveloped Miri. The powers of the Unleashing Technique were engraved on it.

‘Let’s do this, Miri! Activate Unleashing Technique!’

Jin-Hyeok swung his hammer.

Bang!

A crack formed in the air.

Bang!

-Look for the back of the Dungeon’s head!

Bang!

After three hammer strikes, a gate was created, and the Dungeon was cleared.

***

[You have cleared the Dungeon ⌜Mount Kelibergh⌟.]

Jin-Hyeok had been quietly hoping for an All-Clear. Unfortunately, he received no such notification.

‘Not getting an All-Clear notification after everything I’ve done is quite disappointing. I must have missed something.’

[You have acquired ⌜Kelibergh Mining Rights⌟ as a clear reward.]

[You have acquired an ⌜All-Purpose Shovel⌟ as a clear reward.]

[You have acquired an ⌜All-Purpose Bag⌟ as a clear reward.]

“I received the Kelibergh Mining Rights, an All-Purpose Shovel, and an All-Purpose Bag as clear rewards.”

[You have leveled up.]

[You have reached Level 269.]

“I’ve also leveled up to 269..”

Terse’s eyes widened. “Hey, Chul-Soo, did the Dungeon reward you with a Level-up?”

Even for a fast-leveling Streamer, gaining a Level from clearing a single Dungeon was unusual.

Terse continued, “I’m only in the 230s, yet I didn’t level up!”

Jin-Hyeok shook his head. “It wouldn’t make sense for a Dungeon to hand out levels as clear rewards.”

“Exactly, so how did you…?”

Jin-Hyeok shrugged. The Dungeon clear had nothing to do with his level increase.

“The people of the Earth Server pooled their strength for me,” he explained.

“Ah, I see.”

The next day, an inter-Server alliance was formed. Although it had not been named yet, it ventured into the Hell Server.

Jin-Hyeok was quite pleased with its members.

‘We have Lessefim, who has Carvington’s knowledge…’

Lessefim had been diligently analyzing and studying the legacy of Harkoen, the descendant of Carvington, the Alchemist of Creation. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she now possessed Carvington’s legacy.

‘Katrina, the descendant of the Shining Jeweler Goldium…’

Katrina and Neilson, the child prodigy accompanying her, were really friendly toward Jin-Hyeok. Moreover, two of his comrades, each continuing one of the Seven Great Families’ legacies, had also joined them.

‘... and Mok Jae-Hyeon and Trituri.’

Their group had enough expertise to study the ecosystem of Mount Kelibergh.

“Chul-Soo, did you bring the Dungeon rewards?” Lessefim said.

“You mean the Kelibergh Mining Rights, All-Purpose Shovel, and All-Purpose Bag?” Jin-Hyeok replied.

“Yes. We need those. The Dungeon has a special setting that prevents us from transporting its soil outside without the mining rights.”

“Really?”

“You just thought about destroying that setting, didn’t you?”

“...”

“I mean, that’s a rational thought, but I would prefer it if you didn’t. Destroying a setting can start a chain reaction with other connected settings. Who knows what kind of butterfly effect that might trigger.”

Jin-Hyeok tilted his head. “Didn’t I destroy a setting to open the gate for the Dungeon clear?”

“Yeah. You were lucky nothing happened to you.”

“What if I hadn’t been lucky?”

“I wouldn’t know. If I knew everything that would happen inside a Dungeon, I would be a God, not a Navigator, wouldn’t I?”

Jin-Hyeok nodded. “Fair enough.”

“Still, try to avoid doing that in the future.”

Lessefim then glanced at Mole Woman. As one of the top-ranked Players of the Arvis Server, she saw Mole Woman as a fierce competitor. “If you had taken me, you wouldn’t have had to resort to something so reckless.”

“What do you mean by that, moly?” Mole Woman asked.

“Chul-Soo had to do that because you weren’t good or intense enough,” Lessefim answered.

“T-That’s…” Mole Woman stammered. Although momentarily flustered, she quickly recovered. “Does it matter? In the end, Chul-Soo chose to take me with him to the Dungeon, moly. You may be more skilled, but my talent is more suited for his livestreams, moly!”

“No, he only chose you because you’re pretty!”

Lessefim felt like she was winning the argument. Being chosen just for their looks would hurt any Navigator’s pride.

However, influenced by Jin-Hyeok, Mole Woman just smirked. “It’s not my fault that I’m this pretty, moly. If you want Chul-Soo to choose you, then go polish your beauty, moly!”

“How can you say something so shameless? Aren’t you embarrassed as a Navigator?” Lessefim said.

“Hmph! If you want to appear on his livestream, at least put some makeup on! I am not just a Navigator; I am a Navigator who specializes in streaming, moly!”

“There is no such thing as a Navigator who specializes in streaming!”

“That’s why you’re only ranked fifth, moly!”

“You sure you want to keep running your mouth?!”

Jin-Hyeok heartily laughed as he watched the argument between a top-ranked Player of the new Server Earth and a top-ranked Player of the traditional powerhouse Arvis.

’This would make for killer views if I turn it into a short video!’

Just as he expected, the video was a hit. Jin-Hyeok was overjoyed.

Deciding to drop the topic, Lessefim used the Kelibergh Mining Rights, the shovel, and the bag to collect samples from Mount Kelibergh and study its environment.

Neilson, now a disciple of Katrina, was the first to notice a peculiarity.

“Master… this might be…”

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