I Gave Up Being Stronger

“We have earned two types of rewards this time,” Cha Jin-Hyeok said.

Mole Woman emphatically clapped, nodded, and crossed her arms.

“Two types, you say?” she prodded, slyly glancing at Lessefim.

Lessefim had been tracking Samuel, an act Mole Woman regarded with utter disdain.

‘Look here! I’m the more suitable Navigator for livestreaming, moly!’ Mole Woman said in her mind.

“Tell us right now!” Mole Woman pestered Jin-Hyeok, her impatience palpable.

Jin-Hyeok felt satisfied with Mole Woman’s enthusiasm but was slightly disappointed in Lessefim. He did not understand why Lessefim was bothered to track an escaped Assassin. If she could hype up his livestream with eager reactions like Mole Woman’s, it would be far more helpful than searching for a future punching bag. It seemed Lessefim had not grasped what truly mattered yet.

“First, there is the Dungeon clear reward,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Mole Woman audibly gulped. Her expression of desperation, which seemed to channel the viewers' anticipation, led to a surge in likes.

The phenomenon of viewership and likes skyrocketing whenever Mole Woman appeared on camera persisted. Feeling a subtle sense of competition, Jin-Hyeok continued, “It’s the Ancient Rock Giant’s Priestly Robe.”

[(Tainted) Ancient Rock Giant’s Priestly Robe]

“Oh my! It’s enormous, moly!”

Jin-Hyeok had pulled out a white priestly robe from his inventory. Though its sleeves had burned away, the remaining parts were still incredibly large. With just a glance, one couldn’t tell if it was a robe or a massive piece of fabric. It sprawled out like a vast white carpet.

“If we cut this up, we can make some excellent pieces of armor,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Indeed. I bet you have started to realize the importance of items now, Chul-Soo!”

Jin-Hyeok nodded.

***

‘That little rat!’ Lessefim had completely lost track of Samuel Maier. If she had focused solely on pursuing Samuel, she could have found him, but she did not have that kind of free time. Mole Woman’s presence was too distracting for her.

‘Should I have clung to Chul-Soo like Mole Woman did?’ Lessefim wondered, still unsure whether her decision of tracking the escaped Assassin instead of reacting beside Chul-Soo had been right. She had initially thought pursuing the Assassin was more important for a Navigator.

‘I was wrong!’ She realized that as Mole Woman continued to embody the perfect Navigator for livestreaming next to Chul-Soo.

“Hey, Sir Kyle,” Lessefim called out.

“?”

“Could you cut up my clothes a bit?”

“Your clothes?”

“Yeah. Cut them up so they don’t violate the censorship guidelines. It would be great if bloodstains were visible.”

“The honorable captain of the Sword Emperor Unit does not harm the innocent…”

“I heard Karina dreams of becoming a Navigator…”

Karina was Kyle’s daughter. Now fifteen years old, Karina wanted to become a Navigator. Kyle had been trying to find her the best mentor possible, but it was not an easy task. Most decent Navigators did not meet Kyle’s standards, and the truly top-tier ones were too busy with their work. They were not the type to be swayed by money in the first place.

“The knight’s sword is never used for personal reaso—”

“I caught a glimpse last time, and Karina’s potential is extraordinary. She seems to have tremendous talent, especially in tracking. If she finds the right mentor, she will be able to pursue her dreams to the fullest.”

Kyle made up his mind. He would not be swayed by such eloquence! He was the captain of the Swedeen’s Sword Emperor Unit, an honorable Swordsman.

“Kyle, I think it’s very honorable and beautiful for a father to use his sword for his daughter. It’s the most honorable and beautiful thing in the world, in fact,” Lessefim said.

“Do you really think so?”

“Of course!”

‘Is that so? Does this make me an honorable Swordsman? I suppose I have no choice,’

After confirming that Jin-Hyeok’s livestream didn’t capture this, Lessefim limped over to Jin-Hyeok.

“I lost him… ugh!”She looked as if she had barely made it back after an intense battle. Approaching Jin-Hyeok, she collapsed in front of him. “I’m sorry. I lost him.”

Jin-Hyeok clenched his fists. He muttered gravely, his voice filled with rage, “You cowardly Assassin! How dare you attack a Navigator?!”

Jin-Hyeok picked up Lessefim in a princess carry. She closed her eyes and let her arms dangle, pretending to be unconscious.

“I will never forgive you, Samuel Maier! You did well, Lessefim. I swear I will avenge you,” Jin-Hyeok said.

With her eyes closed, Lessefim smiled. ‘This is the prowess of a Navigator, Mole Woman!’

***

The other reward that Jin-Hyeok had received for clearing this Dungeon was the progression of the universe-level Scenario.

.

.

.

[(9) Legacy of the Great Sword Spirit

The Great Sword Spirit has finally acknowledged you through ???. He will give you everything he has protected, for you are worthy to grasp the Sword Fragment. Take the Sword Fragment. It will fulfill your needs.

(10) Dear wanderer, much time has passed. How do you feel, having faced the truth that slumbered within the Sword Fragment? Ah, corrupted believer. The sacrilegious armor you boasted of has pierced your heart instead. The era of false peace draws to a close, and now we shall march toward the truth.]

When Jin-Hyeok revealed the rewards, lt led to mixed opinions. Some viewers found it refreshing that he didn’t skip a step.

-He didn’t skip and went sequentially to stage (10) lol. I thought he would skip again this time.

-Skipping too much is not good either. You miss out on all the information.

-The question marks in stage (9) were probably an important clue.

Some found the incredibly fast progression of the universe-level Scenario strange.

-Does a universe-level Scenario usually progress this fast?

-No, absolutely not. Even a Server-level Scenario takes several years or more.

Some viewers found clues within the text.

-Stage (10) says much time has passed.

-Isn’t 40 minutes enough to be considered a long time? /s

-A long time, lmao!

-Wow, it really took a long time! ^^

One thing was certain: Jin-Hyeok’s Scenario progression was incredibly fast.

-Isn’t it too fast?

-If it’s too fast, you might get indigestion…

-They say that this is a characteristic of the Korean Region. That kind of speed is normal there.

Slightly exaggerated rumors began to spread.

-I guess if you compete in that kind of environment, you do get strong really fast.

-Arvis is too peaceful, in comparison.

-No wonder monsters like Kim Chul-Soo emerge from that Region.

While things generally moved faster in the Korean Region compared to how it was in other Regions and Servers, it was not quite to Jin-Hyeok’s standard. However, Players from numerous Servers could not directly visit Korea, and not many were willing to go out of their way to verify the rumors. As a result, strange rumors about the Korean Region spread quickly.

-Shouldn’t we do things like the Korean Region?

-That’s crazy talk. We will all die if we do that.

-But those who survive will become strong.

Although these people were a minority, the opinion that they should grow like the Korean Region slowly began to gain traction in Arvis.

***

Cha Jin-Sol, who had been anxiously waiting while biting her nails, jumped up as soon as Jin-Hyeok arrived.

“Oppa!” She grabbed his wrist, dragged him over, and sat him down on the sofa. “Alright, so tell me everything.”

In the meantime, Jin-Hyeok started recording. After all, anything in daily life could become content. Moreover, videos featuring Jin-Sol tended to get quite a high view count, with comments asking for more of her always occupying the top spot.

-Please increase the frequency of the Saint of Freedom’s appearances T_T.

Although having his younger sister constantly pestering him without a break was annoying, he had no choice but to welcome a guest who boosted his view count.

Jin-Hyeok kindly answered, “What do you want to talk about?”

“How did you restore it?”

Jin-Sol was also a member of Chul-Soo Land. She was genuinely curious about how her brother had managed to restore the Ancient Rock Giant’s mace.

‘Jeez! Ask questions in a way the viewers can understand!’ Jin-Hyeok almost let out a sigh, thinking Jin-Sol still had a long way to go compared to Mole Woman and Lessefim. “So, you’re asking me how I restored a mace when what Miri destroyed was a sword. Is that right?”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s it. I’m dying of curiosity.” Jin-Sol gulped.

Just then, Katrina arrived as well. As a skilled Craftsman, she was also curious about what had happened in this incident. Katrina and Jin-Sol stared at Jin-Hyeok with similar expressions. Katrina’s thoughts on this issue were much deeper.

‘Did he increase the absolute value of Miri’s Time Reversal Trait to infinity? Is that how he reverted it to its original form? No, that’s nearly impossible. Powers that manipulate time have severe limitations and consume too much mana… Then, did he penetrate the essence of the sword with Broadcaster’s Insight? In the end, that weapon was essentially a mace in the form of a sword. With his eyes, Chul-Soo could have seen through the conversion-type Skill put on that mace.’

Katrina wondered what kind of technical answer would emerge. As a Craftsman, she wondered if she might hear a novel idea she had never considered before. For once, her heart pounded with excitement.

At last, Jin-Hyeok opened his mouth. “I got used to it.”

“?”

“?”

The two made similar expressions again.

“I said I got used to it.”

“...”

“...”

They both widened their eyes similarly, looked at each other, blinked their big eyes, and then looked back at Jin-Hyeok.

Jin-Hyeok nodded. ‘Both of them have such rich reactions.’

He thought the two of them probably were not asking because they truly did not know. Seeing how the people around him helped with his channel like this, he felt fortunate to have quite a bit of people’s favor.

“When you repeat the same task many times, you naturally get used to it,” Jin-Hyeok continued.

“That’s… true.”

“He has a point.”

“So, I got used to it. It helped that Miri was also in the form of a blunt weapon.”

Katrina was genuinely at a loss for words, while Jin-Sol, who had relatively little knowledge of such things, nodded in admiration.

“Aha! So that’s how it worked!” Jin-Sol said.

Katrina wanted to tell her that if that was how it worked, countless restoration experts throughout the universe would have starved to death.