I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 127

Cha Jin-Hyeok was not only impressed by Bong King. He also marveled at the healing prowess of the Healer, Lim Jong-Min, who had treated him well. Though in fairness, this was largely because Jin-Hyeok responded exceptionally well to healing Skills. Jin-Hyeok was equally in awe of their Navigator, Kim Mu-Jin.

“During that time, Mu-Jin had discovered a hidden space behind the bookshelf. Truly remarkable skills,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Without causing any disruption to the Players fighting the monster, the Navigator, Kim Mu-Jin, managed to find a secret space behind the bookshelf and opened it.

“It seems that various conditions needed to be met to open this hidden space, and he managed to satisfy them all by himself. Their Navigator is indeed remarkable.”

In truth, Mu-Jin had been able to locate this space because he had reviewed footage from Jin-Hyeok’s livestream. Still, Mu-Jin felt somewhat flustered by Jin-Hyeok’s praise.

‘I...I’m remarkable?’ Mu-Jin thought.

He had seen firsthand how Swordsman Lee Hyeon-Seong and Tank Choi Gang-Byeok had been thoroughly trounced by Jin-Hyeok.

‘Both Lee Hyeon-Seong and Choi Gang-Byeok got humiliated by him, but I got praised?’

Mu-Jin felt elated, a feeling neither he nor Jin-Hyeok understood. Mu-Jin was unaware that Jin-Hyeok’s standards were erratic. To be fair, Jin-Hyeok didn’t know it either.

When it came to Jin-Hyeok's rival, Lee Hyeon-Seong, and Jin-Hyeok's former comrade, Choi Gang-Byeok, Jin-Hyeok had unknowingly set the standards for them to be exceedingly high. An accomplishment that would've appeared extraordinary when achieved by others felt mundane when done by them.

Unfortunately, even Jin-Hyeok himself was unaware of this cognitive dissonance of his.

As a side note, he was most strict with himself. If he had been a bit more forgiving toward himself, he wouldn’t have thought, ‘I’m just a Streamer; I can’t possibly go beyond Level 150.’

Meanwhile, Mu-Jin, his face flushed from Jin-Hyeok’s praise, cautiously approached Jin-Hyeok and asked, “Do... you want to be the first to go in?”

[...#It would be an honor for Chul-Soo to go in first.]

Mu-Jin wanted to dedicate the first glory he had discovered to Chul-Soo.

If Han Sae-Rin or Mok Jae-Hyeon had said the same thing, Jin-Hyeok would have definitely replied, ‘Why would a Streamer go in first? Do you still lack common sense?’ However, the current Jin-Hyeok just nodded.

“If the Navigator has chosen so, I must follow.”

Chul-Soo’s simple acknowledgment made Mu-Jin’s heart race. After all, it essentially meant that Chul-Soo respected him as a Navigator.

Mu-Jin’s heart swelled with emotion again.

‘I can become the greatest Navigator!’

Today, he was finally able to confirm his limitless potential for growth. Leaving an emotionally touched Mu-Jin behind, Jin-Hyeok moved toward the secret place.

[You have discovered the 「Suspicious Secret Passage」.]

[You are the first to discover the 「Suspicious Secret Passage」.]

Jin-Hyeok was the first to find the passage.

[The Hidden Achievement 「Encounter with the Footsteps Follower」 is still activated.]

[The New World Scenario, 「Walking Alone, and Together in a New Place」, is still in progress.]

The New World Scenario, Hidden Achievement, and the fact that Jin-Hyeok was the first to discover the passage merged, and Jin-Hyeok was given a Scenario Item.

[You have acquired the Scenario Item 「Fragment of Jonprich’s Lost Research Journal」.]

[As a Scenario reward, the Field 「Suspicious Secret Passage」 has been changed to 「Jonprich’s Secret Passage」.]

Jin-Hyeok began to feel excited.

“It feels like I have taken one step closer to Jonprich.”

His pace quickened. Enraptured, he walked along Jonprich’s Secret Passage. Soon enough, light began to appear in the distance.

“There is light up ahead.”

Following the light, Jin-Hyeok quickly moved and eventually emerged outside.

[You have entered the Field 「Jonprich’s Hideout (formerly, Eastern Ancient Castle Town)」.]

His heart pounded. It was the first time he had entered the Eastern Ancient Castle Town in this manner.

‘Huh?’

Jin-Hyeok tilted his head in confusion.

‘Why is no one following me?’

A few minutes later, only Mu-Jin, the Navigator, came running, gasping for breath.

“Please... Wait for us...!”

? ? ?

The Players finally arrived at Jonprich’s Hideout much later.

“We are in the Eastern Ancient Castle Town. I’ve seen a lot of videos of other Players in this Field, but this is the first time I have entered since it’s been changed to Jonprich’s Hideout.”

Both Jin-Hyeok and Bong King were excited. Bong King spoke, spitting as he talked.

“See? What did I tell you guys?! Didn’t I say I would show something super cool? This is a world-first, Jonprich’s Hideout!”

-TaylorSwag: Yeah, all thanks to Kim Chul-Soo.

-FiniteChallenge: Yeah, the super cool part is all Kim Chul-Soo.

Inside the fortress walls, a ruined village was visible.

“Monsters appearing here have changed a lot. Their Levels are in the 90s, similar to the barren wilderness. Creepy Chimeras are roaming around.”

If the Chimeras in the barren wilderness had diverse forms, the ones here seemed to be made based on humans. Jin-Hyeok continued his livestream while staying out of the fight.

“Why aren’t you participating in the battle, Mr. Kim Chul-Soo?” Bong King asked.

“That’s because I am a Streamer.”

-FiniteChallenge: ???

-MapOfWhat:?

-OutsiderMan: ?????????

Many question marks filled Bong King’s chat. Most people had forgotten that Chul-Soo was a Streamer. Bong King quickly understood Chul-Soo’s intentions.

“This is too boring for you right?”

“...”

“Am I right?”

Jin-Hyeok denied it, “I’m just focused on my livestreaming. The party’s cooperative Play is excellent.”

Bong King wanted to say, ‘After humiliating Hyeon-Seong and Gang-Byeok, you say our teamwork is excellent?’

It was clear that the Level 90 monsters here were too boring for Chul-Soo to personally engage in battle.

However, Jin-Hyeok thought differently.

‘It is a bit boring, but...’

Killing easy monsters had its own charm. Though it was less thrilling, it helped reinforce what he had learned in intense battles. Yet Jin-Hyeok chose to stick by Bong King’s side because he recognized Bong King as an excellent Streamer.

“I feel like I can learn a lot from you, Bong King.”

Jin-Hyeok wanted to see firsthand how Bong King interacted with his viewers. He wanted to see how a livestream should be properly conducted and if there was anything he could learn from Bong King.

Bong King was momentarily flustered but hid it with a grin.

“You hear that, guys?”

Many question marks appeared in the chat again.

“Can you repeat that, Mr. Kim Chul-Soo?” Bong King asked again.

“I said it feels like I can learn a lot from you, Bong King.”

Bong King wore a triumphant expression.

“See, guys? Even the almighty Chul-Soo wants to learn from me!”

Though Bong King was showing off to his viewers, he was actually sweating bullets. Unlike Mu-Jin, who simply accepted Chul-Soo’s praise, Bong King had a more skeptical personality.

‘What is Chul-Soo up to? He can’t seriously think he can learn something from me, can he?’ Bong King thought.

That seemed unlikely. In his mind, Chul-Soo was an extraordinary Player.

“Let me teach you a thing or two, haha!” Bong King said, sweating slightly.

? ? ?

Quite some time had passed. This place also had a resurrection setting, so numerous Players had died and came back to life multiple times. The Ruler, Kang Min-Hyeok, felt that something had changed significantly.

‘Everyone... is not afraid of dying at all.’

The atmosphere of the entire party had changed considerably since meeting Chul-Soo.

‘No one even cares about getting their heads cracked open.'

If they could efficiently kill the monsters, then losing an arm or a leg was practically expected. The standard for dangerous Play had changed in an instant. Everyone had become bold. Even Min-Hyeok’s own standards were being shaken.

‘This way... is actually more efficient.’

There was a chance that someone might lose their mind and become critically exhausted. However, if only looking at the efficiency, this was remarkable.

‘We would have avoided this kind of risk before...’

Min-Hyeok would not have given such commands or directions under normal circumstances. However, something shocking kept catching his eye.

‘Surprisingly, everyone seems to be fine!’

It was well known that continuously dying was dangerous, yet that had become irrelevant. All the Players that entered the New World with Bong King were top-tier Players. Min-Hyeok’s standards were gradually changing.

‘So... I guess Rankers can afford to die...?’

It seemed that safety could be slightly less of a priority.

‘Somehow, this feels like the new norm.’

Finally, they had killed all the continuously spawning monsters. They also managed to kill a monster that looked like several humans stitched together into a serpent, which was called Jonprich’s Toy.

[You have defeated 「Jonprich’s Toy」.]

After that, no more monsters appeared. The Field was silent.

The crows’ caw resonated the silent Field from time to time, but no other changes were detected.

Min-Hyeok approached Jin-Hyeok.

“All the monsters have been defeated. It seems like we can’t progress any further.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“...Huh?”

Min-Hyeok tilted his head in confusion.

‘Oh, right. Chul-Soo is a Streamer.’

Such discussions should be had with their Navigator, Mu-Jin. He had unintentionally sought advice from Chul-Soo, the Streamer.

“I apologize,” Min-Hyeok said.

“There’s nothing to apologize to me for. But you should apologize to the Navigator, shouldn’t you?”

Just then, Mu-Jin came running up, sweating.

“I’ve found something strange.”

Mu-Jin had been searching through the ruined houses for clues. Among them, he had found a house with a large well, from which a mist-like smoke was continuously rising.

Jin-Hyeok smirked.

‘So, what I saw earlier was correct,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Jin-Hyeok had actually noticed it earlier when he had climbed the wall of the fortress. It was similar to when he had found the Unleashing Technique in Nak An Historic Village.

However, he did not expose it on the livestream. Even in livestreams, pacing was necessary. Rushing the content could tire out the viewers.

Jin-Hyeok and Bong King’s party followed Mu-Jin to the well.

“That’s a really suspicious well. How did you find this?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

If Han Sae-Rin had been here, Jin-Hyeok would have scolded her about why it took her so long to discover the well. However, Mu-Jin was met with boundless generosity.

“I cut off limbs from various monsters and threw them into this well. With my Skills as a Navigator, I could hear constant murmurs of hunger. At first, there was no reaction, but after cooking the meat with the Spirit Fire and throwing it in, the mist began to rise.”

Mu-Jin was filled with emotions while looking at Jin-Hyeok, who was listening attentively. Mu-Jin had validated his own talent and shattered his own limitations.

“I employed some interpretive skills and found a thin barrier of sorts spread over this well,” Mu-Jin said.

He took out some unidentified powder and blew it toward the well. A name floated in the air.

[Last Line of Defense]

“It feels faintly imbued with Spirit energy. It seems like a barrier made using Spirit power. However, I am not sure how to break this barrier.”

“I think I can handle that,” Jin-Hyeok said.

He stepped in front of the well, pulling out the Rule Breaker. It was not necessarily needed for this task, but he felt that using a hammer-shaped Item would make for a better visual for his livestream.

‘What should my cool line be?’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Depending on how he staged the same task, the outcome could be different. Jin-Hyeok came up with a line that was uniquely cool for him.

“My sword shatters artifice.”

Jin-Hyeok raised the hammer high and struck down. The applied Achievement was the One Who Breaks Artificiality.

[One Who Breaks Artificiality]

[Break down all that is artificial. Judgment will befall upon all actions that defy the laws of the New World. On that day, everything will shatter.

Achievement Effect: Amplifies the ability to destroy all things artificial. (This effect is limited to the New World.)]

BongKingTV’s viewers expressed reasonable doubts.

-A sword?

-Did he just say sword?

-Not a hammer?

However, the viewers came to a conclusion.

-If Kim Chul-Soo says it’s a sword and not a hammer, that thing is now a sword. No matter what.

Jin-Hyeok used the Unleashing Technique with the activated Achievement. When the barrier clashed with the Rule Breaker, red flames erupted. From Jin-Hyeok’s perspective, it was quite a satisfying visual effect.

‘I broke it.’

Jin-Hyeok spoke swiftly.

“The destruction of the Last Line of Defense means that even Jonprich doesn’t have many moves left. He will likely become desperate. From here on, it’s a race against time.”

Jin-Hyeok promptly threw himself into the dark well.

“I will go after him.”

Bong King looked down into the well that Jin-Hyeok had just plunged into.

“Fuck! I have acrophobia! I can’t even see the bottom of the well! How the hell am I supposed to jump?! This is crazy! I’m not a coward! Chul-Soo is the crazy one! Normally, you would die if you fell from here! How could he jump without knowing what was down there?! Even the Navigator hasn’t figured it out yet! He’s insane! I’m not gonna jump! No, I can’t jump!”

Bong king looked at Min-Hyeok, who he believed was a relatively sane person.

“Ruler, what should we do? Surely, there is another way without this reckless approach...”

However, Min-Hyeok was about to dive as well.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?” Min-Hyeok asked.

Beside him was the Navigator, Mu-Jin.

Bong King mumbled with a face of utter despair, “...Everyone is going insane...”