I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 130

In a world where alliances reigned supreme, the KSM Alliance stood out as a testament to a new direction. WIth the illustrious full name of ‘Kim Chul-Soo Ssibal Mok Jae-Hyeon Alliance,’ it was an alliance formed by Mok Jae-Hyeon due to his frustration with his previous affiliated alliance in regard to their overly cautious Plays that prioritized safety.

Known by various names such as the K-Division or K-Alliance, it was a faction under Kim Chul-Soo’s command and had recently been enjoying a surge in popularity. Mok Jae-Hyeon, the leader of the KSM Alliance, skillfully utilized his favorite defensive Skill, Wood Fortress, to block the relentless assaults from a bird-type monster.

The monster’s attacks were razor-sharp and it was as swift as a giant eagle. However, that was based on ordinary standards.

‘This is too easy!’ Jae-Hyeon thought.

Let’s put it this way. When someone was going at a speed of one hundred kilometers per hour, they would naturally be considered as going pretty fast, right? However, if the very same person was used to going at a speed of one hundred and fifty kilometers per hour, and they suddenly had to drop their speed down to one hundred kilometers per hour, it would naturally feel slow. To the person, at least.

Jae-Hyeon was experiencing such a phenomenon.

‘Such weak attacks...’

Before Jin-Hyeok’s regression, his training partner was always Choi Gang-Byeok. After his regression, Jin-Hyeok’s training partner was always Mok Jae-Hyeon. Having been trained against Jin-Hyeok, Jae-Hyeon’s eyes widened.

‘Compared to Jin-Hyeok...’

With thoughts of Jin-Hyeok’s attacks in his mind, Jae-Hyeon parried the bird-type monster’s talon assault.

‘...This is nothing!’

Jae-Hyeon was tinged with a hint of madness. He could feel himself spiraling, a state he could not deny, especially given what his party members were saying lately—that he was becoming influenced by Jin-Hyeok. It was a confusing mix of emotions, one he both enjoyed and disliked.

Jin-Hyeok’s voice seemed to echo in his ears.

“Why are you wasting such good physical attributes?’

Though Jin-Hyeok was physically fighting the bird-type monster, in Jae-Hyeon’s mental world, his real opponent was the Cha Jin-Hyeok in his mind. In this inner universe, the sharp talons and the beak of the monster had suddenly transformed into Jin-Hyeok’s sword.

“YAAAH!”

? ? ?

Jin-Hyeok chuckled softly. The buoyancy of his mood nearly made him draw his sword at that instant, but he exercised extreme restraint and quickly spoke, “I will talk about soccer as an example. Some players excel at dribbling, some have a wide field of vision, some have an exceptional shooting ability, and some have a knack for positioning.”

Yet, if one excelled in certain areas, there were bound to be shortcomings as well.

“Jonprich’s defensive ability seems to be incredibly poor.”

The wooden arm created from the lava was undoubtedly durable and strong—far more resilient than the wood conjured by Jae-Hyeon’s Skills. However, its application was inferior in comparison. Jin-Hyeok spat out the words he had already said to Jae-Hyeon several times before, “I don’t understand why he would use such impressive physical attributes so ineffectively.”

Without a second thought, Jin-Hyeok lunged at Jonprich.

‘It’s a shame I had to prevent his second phase...’

Had Jin-Hyeok been the Swordsman Cha Jin-Hyeok, he might have allowed the second phase to commence. However, Jin-Hyeok’s perspective widened as he became a Streamer, and he embraced the bigger picture now.

‘Somewhere out there, I bet Bong King and the other Players are up to something.’

In this Scenario, Jin-Hyeok was the one who was leading, while Bong King’s team were mere followers. Their relationship was both cooperative and competitive.

‘I can’t lose to them.’

Strong opponents would continue to emerge, but defeat was everlasting.

[You have activated the Skill 「One With the Sword」.]

[You have activated the Skill 「Sharper Spirit」.]

By simultaneously activating two Skills, Jin-Hyeok maximized their effects. A different kind of excitement and thrill washed over him, distinct from his days as a Swordsman.

‘I like this.’

These days, Jin-Hyeok was tasting a new world of exhilaration. He was learning that there was a joy beyond just fighting strong opponents.

“Before the second phase, Jonprich seems to be in an incredibly vulnerable state.”

Digging into the opponent’s weaknesses and striking accurately, even quelling them before they could fully display their Skills—this too provided endless delight and excitement for Jin-Hyeok.

“If I just target these weak points and strike them, I can penetrate the wooden fortress formed by his wooden arm. Let’s give it a try.”

Inside, Jin-Hyeok found Jonprich in the midst of a transformation. A viscous green liquid oozed without pause, making him look like a human-shaped larva. Jin-Hyeok grinned devilishly and lunged toward Jonproch.

‘Now!’

“I will try and slash hi—”

‘Wait a minute.’

Jin-Hyeok barely stopped his sword in time.

“It seems like I got carried away by the Surprise Mission.”

He almost embarrassed himself as a Streamer.

‘A normal Streamer would not be this sloppy on a livestream.’

After catching his breath, Jin-Hyeok carefully examined Jonprich, who was still in the midst of transforming. He approached him to ask him something.

[You have activated the Skill 「Exclusive In-Depth Interview」.]

“What are you doing right now?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

No reply came, of course. Not that Jin-Hyeok actually wanted one.

‘I need to rescue the Spirit King of Fire’s daughter.’

Fighting Jonprich led to this realization that Jonprich was not just a spider with a big belly.

‘It seems like the Spirit King of Fire’s daughter is trapped inside that belly.’

He sensed an odd Spirit energy near Jonprich’s stomach. It seemed like the Spirit King of Fire’s daughter was sealed in there. While brainstorming ways to rescue her, Jin-Hyeok did his best to keep the viewers entertained.

“Mr. Jonprich, may I kill you?”

If he killed Jonprich outright, he might also kill the Spirit King of Fire’s daughter. He needed to cut open the belly to rescue her, but even he wasn’t confident about that.

‘If it’s just killing, I can do it easily, but...’

However, saving someone was a different story. With his sword, the Greatsword of La’kan, Jin-Hyeok sliced several strands of the sticky green filament. Groaning in what seemed like agony, the unconscious Jonprich writhed.

“It looks like Jonprich is absorbing nutrients from these filaments.”

He decided to stop this source first. Jin-Hyeok swung his sword wildly.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Relentlessly, he cut through the regenerating green filaments. A fair amount of time passed.

Jonprich, who failed to transform, finally spoke, “J-Just... kill... me...”

Entranced by the invigorating feel of the battle, Jin-Hyeok could not hear him. He continued to sever the regenerating green filaments with relentless determination.

? ? ?

‘Should I give up on rescuing the Spirit King of Fire’s daughter?’

Jin-Hyeok had already wasted much time. It took quite a while before he could hear Jonprich’s whimper of, ‘Just end it, kill me,’ which had completely dampened Jin-Hyeok’s enthusiasm.

The fun was gone.

‘Is it too greedy to save the Spirit King of Fire’s daughter as well?’

Killing Jonprich alone would secure him the Phoenix Heart. To wish for more in such a situation felt like greed, but he was the only one who had advanced up to this point in the Scenario of the New World, so a little greed seemed justifiable.

‘As time goes by, it seems Jonprich is suffering more.’

There was no enjoyment in repeatedly slashing a monster that had lost his will to fight. Jonprich had by now shriveled in size. The Level of the fallen monster that failed to transform plummeted to around Level 50.

‘The content will become too boring at this rate.’

This could not go on. Jin-Hyeok had to just kill Jonprich.

Just as he made up his mind, Mu-Jin the Navigator hurriedly ran up to him. By the way, the fortress made of wooden arms had long since shriveled.

“Hey! I think I have discovered something!” Mu-Jin said, his face flushed with color. “I feel like I’ve figured out why this place is called the New World!”

“Huh?”

“This palace is set as Jonprich’s laboratory. Jonprich conducted experiments on cutting and merging things that were originally separate. In the process, the power of the Spirits was needed.”

Mu-Jin had proceeded with the New World in a different way from Jin-Hyeok and had obtained many clues in his own way.

“Spirits are entities that roam the various corners of the universe without constraints. They move to other Servers through a special ritual called summoning. The existence of Spirit Summoners on Earth, which was not yet connected to other worlds, is proof of that.”

“...Hmm.”

Jin-Hyeok had never thought about it that way. He was intrigued as well.

“The power that links the worlds. Jonprich used and studied that power. He created rifts between dimensions through that power.”

In some ambiguous space, neither of this dimension nor that, there existed a place called the rift between dimensions.

“It seems that Jonprich forcibly conducted experiments to artificially create a rift in dimensions within his own belly,” Mu-Jin said.

“Why??”

“I’m not certain, but if the connected dimensions get severed, it generates an immense explosive force that damages both dimensions.”

Jin-Hyeok nodded.

‘That’s actually true.’

It was a fact that would come to light in the future. In his past life, there were indeed some villainous Alliances who had committed acts of terrorism by deliberately severing dimensional passages.

“I think Jonprich thought that he could rule the world if he could control that power. Could you possibly permit me some time to dissect his belly?” Mu-Jin asked.

“Are you sure?”

Mu-Jin’s expression was incredibly earnest.

“However, Jonprich must not die,” Mu-Jin said.

“Hmm...”

Jin-Hyeok, having already lost interest, was casually severing the green filaments that were supplying energy to Jonprich.

“And I shouldn’t give him enough time to fully recover as well, right?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Yes, that would be great.”

“I suppose there’s no choice.”

Although Jin-Hyeok was uninterested, it seemed like he had to continue this monotonous, repetitive labor.

“Just... kill... me...!” Jonprich wailed.

Jin-Hyeok found himself somewhat empathetic toward Jonprich’s agony.

‘Neither alive nor dead... Being in between is always the hardest.’

Jin-Hyeok knew that feeling all too well, so he was exceptionally good at regulating Jonprich’s current state.

‘If I cut off any more here, he will die.’

Thus, Jin-Hyeok deliberately supplied some energy.

‘If I give him more energy, he is going to fully recover.’

Jin-Hyeok severed just enough of the green filaments so that Jonprich would stay in the current state. His delicate balancing was nothing short of extraordinary.

Mu-Jin was sweating bullets as he worked on dissecting Jonprich’s bloated abdomen.

“Just... one more step and we’re done...!”

Before he knew it, Mu-Jin’s whole body was covered in a thick, green, groovy liquid. A foul odor, indescribable in its potency, radiated from him. Yet, unfazed, he looked at Jin-Hyeok with eyes filled with an unquenchable thirst.

“We just need one more piece. For that... I need your assistance, Mr. Kim Chul-Soo,” Mu-Jin said.

“My assistance?”

“Yes, I need the lost research journal that Jonprich...”

Mu-Jin hesitated. Through Chul-Soo’s livestream, he knew that Chul-Soo had acquired the Fragment of Jonprich’s Lost Research Journal. Asking for it felt audacious.

“Oh, this?” Jin-Hyeok said.

He held out the Journal without any conditions attached.

“You’re giving this to me just like that?”

“Yes, if it will help you dissect the abdomen effectively.”

Jonprich mumbled, “I... can hear you... You wretched beings...!” but Jin-Hyeok paid him no mind.

“However, if anything good comes out of that belly, it’s mine, alright?”

“Of course.”

The Kim Mu-Jin, before and after entering the New World, were entirely different beings. He had turned into someone who found great satisfaction in accomplishing things that nobody else had. The sheer act was pleasurable; the rewards that followed were immaterial. Jin-Hyeok admired Kim Mu-Jin.

‘As expected, he’s amazing.’

Mu-Jin felt exhilarated under Jin-Hyeok’s approving gaze.

Meanwhile, Bong King watched the two of them and gulped.

‘...I hope it wasn’t a mistake to change my livestream concept...’

There was no doubt that Jin-Hyeok was not just crazy, but the kind of crazy that drove everyone around him mad. Bong King was doing his livestream with the concept of belittling and ridiculing such a madman, and it was working to some extent. However, now, he found himself increasingly anxious, feeling like he had fallen into the trap of KingGodGeneral Yumi.

Still, Bong King did not let it show and continued his livestream enthusiastically.

“Jonprich’s abdomen has split open! Brilliant rays of light are seeping out! And there are numerous flames of various colors erupting! These are Spirit Fires, made up of tremendous Spirit power!”

The surrounding atmosphere grew extremely hot in an instant.

It was hotter than the Burning Fortress.

Mu-Jin quickly shouted, “We need a medium to channel this overflowing Spirit power back into the Spirit Dimension!”

Then he turned to Lee Hyeon-Seong.

“I need you to stab his anus,” Mu-Jin requested.

“...Anus?”

“Yes, deeply.”

“How deep?”

“Deeper than what Chul-Soo would have done.”

Hyeon-Seong’s competitive spirit flared up. He was to pierce deeper than what Chul-Soo would have done.

Gritting his teeth, Hyeon-Seong muttered, “Then I shall pierce it, without question, deeply.”

‘Watch me, Kim Chul-Soo!’ Hyeon-Seong thought, his eyes filled with madness.

Lying helplessly on his back, Jonprich, neither dead nor alive, mumbled, “Please... save me... from the world of madmen...”

Thud!

Emboldened by Jin-Hyeok’s stylish (?) line of ‘My sword shatters artifice,’ Hyeon-Seong muttered to himself, “My sword will shatter your anus.”