I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 184

Cha Jin-Hyeok and Gollum were fiercely competing.

Seo Ji-Soo whispered, “I don’t think this is considered soothing or therapeutic...”

“...”

This Dungeon was supposed to be therapeutic and soothing. Jin-Hyeok himself had mentioned it was therapeutic.

“Is that... really therapeutic though?”

At this rate, one would wonder why Jin-Hyeok had even bothered to bring along a Navigator, as he was so earnest in exploring the Dungeon himself.

“Gollum’s eyes are about to pop out,” Ji-Soo continued.

It was not just Jin-Hyeok. Both he and Gollum were busily scurrying around, conscious of each other, trying to find one more clue than the other.

“Why are a Streamer and a Navigator even competing to begin with? And how is it that the Streamer is actually neck and neck with the Navigator?”

It even seemed that the Streamer had a slight edge in this competition. The Streamer, Jin-Hyeok, had been the one to discover that the area had some relation to Spirits and that the child on the bridge changed every two minutes and eighteen seconds.

Seo Ji-Ah, who had been silent, also spoke up. “I guess what is considered therapeutic differs for everyone.”

However, even she found it hard to understand Jin-Hyeok and Gollum.

Amid this, Jin-Hyeok got a good idea and used his Skill. “Summon Cute Elly, Ta-da!”

His voice was loud enough to be heard across the entire field.

“Did he say the activation phrase so that Gollum could hear from far away?” Ji-Ah asked with a deep sigh.

“...Yes,” Ji-Soo replied.

“Is it because he wants fair competition? Kind of like, ‘I am going to use Spirits, just letting you know?’”

“...Probably.”

Not to be outdone, Gollum also shouted the name of his Skill. Jin-Hyeok and Gollum were smiling.

“Hey, where are you going?” Ji-Soo asked.

Ji-Ah was walking toward the rainbow bridge.

Watching her sister’s back, Ji-Soo said, “If you want to play Rock Paper Scissors, just say it. Still, it’s cute.”

“...”

In the endless competition between the Streamer and the Navigator, the peaceful sound of Rock Paper Scissors echoed.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!”

***

According to Gollum’s judgment, this place was somehow related to Spirit power.

‘That guy has the upper hand,’ he thought.

Despite being a Streamer, Kim Chul-Soo was also a Spirit Mage and possessed the ability to control Spirits. Yet, he seemed to have enough conscience not to use Spirits.

‘One ghost is floating above the river and has exceptionally strong Spirit power.’

In his highly concentrated state, Gollum could discern a lot.

‘Is it being somewhat ostracized among the ghosts?’

As Chul-Soo had said, the child on the rainbow bridge would change precisely every two minutes and eighteen seconds. This rule had been constant so far. But then, Chul-Soo was summoning a Spirit.

‘Coward!’

It seemed that the nature of this Dungeon had put Gollum at a disadvantage. However, Chul-Soo appeared to be struggling with some issues.

‘Serves him right!’

Whatever the problem was, Gollum did not care. Every minute and second were precious now. He had to discover the Dungeon’s secret first.

Meanwhile, the two Assassins seemed happy, enjoying a peaceful game of Rock Paper Scissors.

“Rock, paper, scissors!”

“Rock, paper, scissors!”

“Rock, paper, scissors!”

Chul-Soo was still conversing with the summoned Spirit, and Gollum realized something new.

‘Winning at Rock Paper Scissors is also a condition!’

The child ghost on the rainbow bridge kept winning. In other words, Ji-Ah kept losing.

“Hey, try to do better.”

“...” Ji-Ah’s face turned red with embarrassment. Even her usually calm eyes showed obsession and a competitive spirit.

“I won again! Hehe!” the child shouted.

Thanks to Ji-Ah’s exceptional(?) skills in Rock Paper Scissors, Gollum could now understand what was going on.

‘If a ghost keeps winning at the game, it doesn’t switch to another!’

Gollum observed the Seo sisters closely. Ji-Ah demonstrated Rock Paper Scissors skills with a near-zero percent win rate, and Ji-Soo was no different, though her win rate was slightly higher.

“Okay, I’m going to win again! Rock, paper, scissors! Ugh, so annoying!!!”

Gollum discovered a pattern.

‘The ghosts... they are not peacefully waiting for their turn.’

This place was an arena of endless competition, and the same applied to the ghosts.

‘They are also fiercely fighting to enjoy their turn at Rock Paper Scissors!’

There was no order or peace. It was a world of fierce survival of the fittest.

‘But...’

The ghost with the strongest Spirit power was unable to properly join in this competition. That was why Gollum had felt that this ghost was being ostracized by the others.

‘It’s being rejected.’

There had to be a reason the Dungeon was set up this way.

‘Then, the key is to bring out this outcast ghost to the Rock Paper Scissors arena.’

Gollum had to find a way to do this before Chul-Soo. Although this was his alternative character, he could not afford to lose to Chul-Soo.

‘I will find a way! Before you do!’

***

“Summon Cute Elly, Ta-da!”

From within the Spirit Gate, Elines revealed herself. However, she seemed a bit different than usual. With a pouty face and arms crossed, she would not even make eye contact with Jin-Hyeok.

“Elly?”

“...”

“Elly, what’s wrong?”

“...”

Elly remained silent for a long time before abruptly turning her head away. “Elly is upset!”

Jin-Hyeok, who had no experience in childcare, faced a crisis of sorts. He could not figure out why Elly claimed to be upset.

‘There was no discomfort when I summoned her...’

Spirits could refuse their summoner’s call, and if the summoning failed, it would cause considerable discomfort to the summoner. In severe cases, it could lead to nausea and vomiting multiple times. However, Jin-Hyeok had sensed no such feeling when summoning Elly.

‘The Spirit Gate is sparkling so brightly. Doesn’t that mean Elly was waiting for this summoning? She must have been excited about it, so why is she acting like this?’

Then, Jin-Hyeok realized something.

‘Ah, I haven’t summoned her for too long.’

Elly was at an age of rapid growth. Full of curiosity and energy, she needed to gain a variety of experiences and training. However, it seemed Jin-Hyeok had left her in the peaceful Spirit Realm for too long.

“I’m sorry, Elly.”

Indeed, a Fire Spirit of her age should be creating objects like fire arrows to shoot at monsters like Centaurs. Jin-Hyeok had been thoughtless. He resolved to summon Elly next time in a place where powerful monsters appeared.

Elly’s face turned red at Jin-Hyeok’s apology. “Hmph! Elly is still upset!”

“I will definitely summon you next time.”

“Elly doesn’t trust you. Elly was lonely!” Although she said that, her expression gradually became better.

After looking at her, Jin-Hyeok became a bit more confident that she was about to forgive him. He said, “You are not alone. Let’s Play together next time.”

“...Play?”

“Yes, let’s try some intense Play in a Hidden Dungeon.”

Elly did not quite understand the concept of a Hidden Dungeon, but it seemed like a good idea. All she wanted was to spend time with Jin-Hyeok. She wanted to ask if she could Play every day, but she felt that it would annoy him, so she chose different words out of a bit of fear.

“Often?”

“Yes, often.”

Elly did not really understand what a Hidden Dungeon or intense Play meant, but the fact that she could meet her summoner more often made her heart lighten. Small, colorful flames burst with a pop above her head.

“Elly, do you see the many ghosts floating above the water?”

“Yes, I see them”

“Anything unusual?”

Elly put her little finger to her chin, pondering it, and then noticed something.

“There is a kid with Spirit power there.” Elly instinctively felt it upon seeing that ghost. “It’s being bullied by the others.”

“Bullied?”

“The other ghosts are creep-blocking[1] it! ”

“Do you even know what creep-blocking means?”

“Yes! It means blocking the way!”

‘What in the world is Alkinas teaching his kid?’ For a moment, Jin-Hyeok was startled. ‘I feel like I’m turning into her parent.’

This was the first time he had felt this way while Playing, and the feeling was unfamiliar. Just looking at Elly made his heart soften, a feeling hard for Jin-Hyeok to understand. He figured out the reason this was happening.

‘Parenting content is popular these days.’

Videos involving parenting content had been popular and in solid demand for a long time. As a Streamer, this was an opportunity for him to expand his content scope.

‘So that’s why I’m feeling this way!’

It was because he had discovered another opportunity as a Streamer. Yes, that was why he felt this way.

“I want to help that ghost...” Elly said.

“You want to help?”

“Friends should get along. Bullying is bad. It’s not okay.”

Jin-Hyeok felt immensely proud of Elly. It seemed the child was growing up well. Without him noticing it, his voice became more tender. “So, what should we do?”

Being a Spirit, Elly was very sensitive to the surrounding energy. So, she noticed Jin-Hyeok’s tenderness, which made her feel much better and more spirited.

“Elly will help!” she said.

“You think you can help it?”

“Of course! Easy-peasy!”

“...” Jin-Hyeok found it hard to guess what era Elly was from just from her words.

***

‘While you were talking with the Spirit, I explored hundreds of methods,’ Gollum thought.

He had devised numerous hypotheses and run simulations in his mind.

‘Seventeen types of wildflowers are growing in this field.’

Out of these seventeen types, four showed a unique reaction to ghosts. Mixing these in the right amount and sequence and crushing them in a mortar would produce a special liquid.

‘And then, using the principle of single-volume mana amplification theory to amplify it...’ Gollum’s calculations were already complete. ‘...and then by liquefying the gas and then evenly spraying it with this specially made sprayer, the ghosts’ true forms will be revealed.’

He approached Jin-Hyeok. This was a task that required immense capability as a Navigator, and he was confident that a Streamer merely pretending to be a Navigator could not mimic it.

“...so, if we draw the mana circuit like this... it will look like this... and then we can use physical force. In other words, we can create a foundation to lead that ghost with exceptional Spirit power to the Rock Paper Scissors arena,” Gollum said to Jin-Hyeok.

“What the hell are you talking about?” It all seemed gibberish to Jin-Hyeok. He said, “Just bring it over.”

Right beside Elly, the ghost was holding her hand, tears streaming from its eyes.

‘He caught a ghost?’

Golem was at a loss for words.

“Why are you not saying anything?”

“So, the principle of single-volume mana amplification...”

“Isn’t just bringing the ghost here easier?”

“...” An indescribable sense of defeat engulfed Gollum. “To capture a being with such Spirit power by hand, one must also have extraordinary Spirit pow—”

“You mean a being like the daughter of the Spirit King, right?”

“...You made a contract with the daughter of the Spirit King?”

“There’s a video of the contract on my channel. Feel free to watch it. Don’t forget to like and subscribe.”

At that moment, Elly shouted, “You guys are bad! Friends should play nicely together!”

The ghosts scattered in fear.

On the rainbow bridge, the game of Rock Paper Scissors was in full swing.

“Rock, paper, scissors! Yay! I won! How do you like my Rock Paper Scissors skill?” Ji-Soo said.

Just then, two minutes and eighteen seconds had passed. The ghost beside Elly slapped her hand away and quickly flew to sit on the rainbow bridge.

“Ow!” Elly’s hand turned red.

Jin-Hyeok felt a surge of irritation but suppressed it with superhuman patience. This was part of the Play, and it was natural to get injured while Playing. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay, hehe.” Elly rubbed her hand while watching the ghost fly away to play Rock Paper Scissors with fond eyes.

This time, Ji-Ah stepped forward, and Ji-Soo cheered her on with a serious expression. “Unnie! You can do it!”

“Of course.”

With a very serious attitude, Ji-Ah played Rock Paper Scissors and ended up losing seven times in a row. Meanwhile, Gollum and Jin-Hyeok simultaneously realized something.

“Ji-Ah! Keep losing!”

“Hey, Assassin! You have to keep losing!”

“I said it 0.02 seconds faster.”

“...”

‘That’s because your phrase was three words shorter! You said four words, and I said seven!’ Gollum thought. However, he did not argue over it. Arguing would have been akin to admitting defeat.

Meanwhile, the ghost that won seven times in a row had grown a bit bigger.

“Rock, paper, scissors!”

After the ghost won twelve consecutive times, a black mist began to rise from behind it. The ghost had grown to a size comparable to Ji-Ah’s.

“329 matches, 328 losses. Rock, paper, scissors!” Ji-Ah murmured.

After seventeen consecutive wins, the ghost began to materialize more distinctly. Horns appeared on its head.

After twenty-one consecutive victories, the ghost fully materialized, and black wings appeared on its back. Its eyes had turned blood red.

“338 matches, 337 losses... Rock, paper scissors!”

“Rock, paper, scissors.” The ghost’s voice had also become much deeper, and the rainbow bridge of seven colors had turned black.

Incidentally, Ji-Ah, who was solely focused on the game, did not notice any of these changes.

1. Creep-blocking is a gaming term when a player physically blocks their creeps’ path to achieve a specific goal. In this context, the term is being used as slang for simply blocking someone’s path, which is what the ghosts are essentially doing. ☜