I Gave Up Being Stronger

Cha Jin-Hyeok encountered a Spirit in the form of a being made of fire, just like himself. The Spirit, who appeared too large to be called a boy but too youthful to be considered a young man, was none other than Elines.

When Elines saw Jin-Hyeok, he immediately burst into tears with a loud wail before quickly turning his back. The black flames around him flared up as if they were gaining vigor, but Elines tried hard to hide this.

“Elly, why are you so down?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

Although Elines had changed from a female to a male form, it wasn’t particularly important. After all, Spirits originally had no concept of gender.

“Don’t come any closer!” Elines said.

A threatening flame rose and blocked Jin-Hyeok’s path. While it was extremely dangerous for Lessefim and Mole Woman, it posed no threat to Jin-Hyeok. The flame, shaped like a spear, pierced through Jin-Hyeok’s chest, but he remained unaffected.

“Why are you acting like this?” Jin-Hyeok said.

Elines’s state was far from normal. A deep, dark abyss could be sensed within him.

“...away,” Elines muttered.

A whip of black fire lashed out toward Jin-Hyeok. Not feeling particularly threatened, Jin-Hyeok didn’t bother to dodge. The fire whip passed through him and struck the surroundings, forcing Lessefim and Mole Woman to desperately evade it.

“He’s too strong, moly!”

“This is too dangerous!”

Had it not been for Absolute Barrier, they would have melted. They felt a chill run down their spine.

Jin-Hyeok realized Elines’s condition wasn’t normal and had to ponder it for a moment. ‘Elly seems to be corrupted by something…’

He could use Miri to snap Elines out of it, but he wondered if that was truly the best course of action. Just as he couldn’t bring himself to hit Julius, he felt reluctant to physically communicate with the Spirit who had looked up to him like he were its father.

‘I should try talking first,’ he thought.

“...don’t,” Elines mumbled.

“Elly, calm down and talk to me slowly.”

As Jin-Hyeok approached him, Elines shouted at him to stay away. A curtain of black fire spread out, but Jin-Hyeok easily passed through it and walked toward Elines. The Spirit got up and tried to run away, but Jin-Hyeok was faster. Catching up to Elines without difficulty, he placed a hand on the Spirit’s shoulder.

“Tell me, Elly. Why have you become like this?”

Elines resisted a few more times, conjuring whips of black fire, but it was futile. Jin-Hyeok effortlessly nullified all of Elines’s attacks. Watching the situation from afar, Lessefim grew slightly angry.

“Wait a minute, this is…” Upon closer inspection, Lessefim realized Elines’s attacks were contrived. They looked fierce on the surface, but there was no killing intent behind the attacks aimed at Jin-Hyeok. “He’s being vicious to only us!”

“This is not fair, moly!”

For once, Lessefim and Mole Woman found themselves in agreement.

“We should teach that kid a lesson later,” Lessefim said.

“Yeah, I’m counting on you, moly.”

“I thought we were going to do it together…?”

“I’m afraid of that Spirit Prince, moly. I bet he’s going through puberty. That’s why he’s so aggressive.”

***

Jin-Hyeok gently patted Elines’s head and softly said, “That’s why I came to see you, Elly.”

“Go away,” Elines replied.

“Do you really want me to leave?”

“...”

Despite Elines’s gruff response, Jin-Hyeok felt a slight sense of satisfaction. He could see Elines’s form, which had been close to that of a teenager, gradually shrinking. It seemed his inflated will was diminishing, returning him to his original state.

Jin-Hyeok could now hear Elines’s youthful voice.

“You said you would call me often…,” Elines said, almost crying.

“I was originally planning to call you from the Dragon’s Nest.” Jin-Hyeok was about to add that the Fire Dragon had suggested that opening the Spirit Gate was a better alternative, but he held his tongue, feeling it would be like throwing Julius under the bus.

Elines slowly turned around, his large eyes brimming with tears.

“I was so lonely!” he cried out. He threw himself into Jin-Hyeok’s arms and sobbed for a long time. After a while, his emotions settled, and the black flames returned to their original red color.

Lessefim finally approached the Spirit, intending to scold the cheeky little brat, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

‘Interfere and I’ll kill you,’ Elines told the two Navigators telepathically.

Elines seemed deadly serious. Lessefim, who briefly made eye contact with the Spirit, froze in place.

‘What kind of child has eyes like that?!’ She cleared her throat and took a few steps back. ‘That detestable princess…, no, prince!’

While Elines appeared like an innocent child in Jin-Hyeok’s arms, he was, in fact, a very dangerous and deadly Spirit. He seemed slightly unhinged.

Mole Woman approached Lessefim. “Weren’t you going to scold him, moly?”

“They seemed to be having a serious conversation…”

“A serious conversation?”

“It looks like that Spirit King’s daughter has become a prince.”

“Huh?”

“I mean that child has changed his gender. Just like you, former Mole Man.”

***

Elines had received the Intimate Miracle to become more like Jin-Hyeok.

“Aren’t Spirits originally genderless?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Usually, yes… but it’s become fixed now,” Elines replied.

Jin-Hyeok nodded. In truth, it didn’t matter much to him whether Elines took a male or female form since Elines now appeared as a pure and clean ball of fire. He had somehow become able to read someone’s essence without using Broadcaster’s Insight.

“Anyway, you shouldn’t do this in the future. The other Spirits were very worried.” Jin-Hyeok gently admonished Elines.

“I’m sorry…” Elines apologized.

The surrounding flames, now red, flickered as if they were dancing.

At that moment, Alkinas’s voice came from some distance. “Elines! Open the door!”

Alkinas, the king of Fire Spirits, had the power to roam anywhere in the Fire Spirit Realm, but it seemed he couldn’t intrude into his daughter’s (now son’s) domain at will.

“I was wrong, Elly! Please forgive me!” Alkinas shouted, unable to approach Elines.

Jin-Hyeok tilted his head. “What did your dad do wrong?”

“That’s…” Flames around Elines flared up again. Though Jin-Hyeok wasn’t sure of the details, it seemed that merely recalling the past made the Spirit furious. “My dad told me not to even think about that guy. He said that guy was a really bad person.”

“If by that guy you mean…,” Jin-Hyeok could easily guess that that guy referred to himself. “From your father’s perspective, it seems like something he might say.”

“I don’t care! How dare he call you that guy! I will never forgive him,” Elines said.

Elines burst into flames. Judging by the occasional black flames among them, it seemed that Elines was going through puberty. His strong will to never forgive his father and his desire not to reconcile was evident.

“This won’t be easy.” Lessefim sighed.

“You’re right, moly. He’s going through puberty now, moly.”

It would likely take a very long time for the father and child to mend their relationship. However, Chul-Soo’s magic subdued Elines’s aggressiveness in just three seconds.

“You should get along with your dad,” Jin-Hyeok gently said.

“Okay,” Elines replied.

“Promise?”

“Yes, I promise!”

Just as Elines decided to reconcile with his father, an urgent voice rang out.

“I’ll beat that guy to a pulp and bring him before you, Elly! I promise! Huh? Elly? Oh, the door opened… Huh? You?” The massive fireball that had just appeared roared, “Kim Chul-Soo, you devil!”

***

Alkinas was shocked. ‘This is Kim Chul-Soo?’

It was surprising enough that a being from another dimension was present in the Spirit Realm, but it was even more astonishing that this being took the form of a Fire Spirit.

“Were you a Spirit, Chul-Soo?” Alkinas asked.

“I synchronized with this Realm,” Jin-Hyeok explained.

“...”

Jin-Hyeok pointed out something important. “You said you’d beat me to a pulp, didn’t you?”

“...”

“Should I take this as a challenge to a duel?”

A duel with the Spirit King in the Spirit Realm was an incredibly exciting prospect. If he posted the fight on his channel, the view count would surely skyrocket.

‘But…, I probably shouldn’t, right?’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

A duel with Elines’s father would undoubtedly be bad for the young Spirit’s emotional state.

“Hmph, crush him!” Elines suddenly exclaimed.

Alkinas was momentarily elated, thinking his son was cheering for him, but quickly fell into despair. Elines’s gaze was fixed on Jin-Hyeok.

Alkinas felt all strength leave his body. “Chul-Soo, it seems I can’t fight you after all. I need an explanation. How did you become a Fire Spirit?”

Jin-Hyeok briefly explained everything that had happened.

Alkinas nodded. “I see. It’s amazing. You have become an even purer and more powerful Fire Spirit than me, the king of this world.”

“Have I become that strong…?” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Yes, I can feel it. The power of fire that surpasses mine.”

“...”

Jin-Hyeok had become much stronger while he had been slightly off guard. He felt a bit sad but didn’t show it. Whether or not Alkinas understood Jin-Hyeok’s feelings, he continued, “It seems the king of the Fire Spirit Realm has to change.”

[#Finally, #I can retire!]

Being the king of the Spirit Realm wasn’t all that grand. The purest and strongest fire was simply crowned as king. All the title meant was being called to handle various incidents and clean up messes. In fact, there was nothing good about it.

[#I don’t have to defeat those Fire Monsters anymore. #It’s over.]

“What are you talking about? I’m not qualified to be king,” Jin-Hyeok immediately responded.

“This is a world where the strongest fire becomes king. You have become the strongest fire, so according to this world’s law, you should become ki—Ack!”

Jin-Hyeok deactivated his Dimensional Synchronization. Seeing him return to his original human form, Alkinas involuntarily cried out in shock. In that form, Jin-Hyeok wouldn’t be able to survive in this harsh Spirit Realm. If this person were to burn to death, Elines’s despair would be unimaginable.

“Chul-Soo! Are you alri—huh?”

Surprisingly, Chul-Soo was completely fine. This being from another dimension was withstanding the fires of the Spirit Realm with just his physical abilities.

“Are you really okay?” Alkinas double-checked.

“It’s a bit hot,” Jin-Hyeok casually replied.

Alkinas, who had lived for countless ages, felt a sense of wonder at this strange being in front of him. He did not know such a being could exist in this world.

“Wow, I sure lived long enough to see everything,” Alkinas said. He wondered how Chul-Soo could be so unaffected by the flames and what kind of Spirit power or magic was protecting him. He wanted to know what mysterious force made this possible. The Spirit King of Fire had many questions.

“How is this possible? Is it a mysterious power I don’t know about? What kind of miraculous technique are you using?” Alkinas asked.

Mole Woman answered on Jin-Hyeok’s behalf, “It’s his physical prowess, moly.”

“What?” Alkinas took quite a while to comprehend those words.