I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 202

Cha Jin-Hyeok sensed that he had come to a crucial crossroads.

‘I’ve already revealed my face... and everyone knows my house is in Yeonhui-dong.’

Many things were bound to become inconvenient.

“At least I have you, Guardian Tree. I’m lucky for that.”

-“Do not forget, Master. The best defense is a good offense. Hehehe.”

The Guardian Tree had changed a bit compared to how it had been before Jin-Hyeok’s regression, but Jin-Hyeok thought it was a desirable change.

-“Today, I smashed two hundred cell phones. Destruction is pure bliss!”

Only authorized persons could use cell phones within a one-hundred-meter radius of Jin-Hyeok’s house. It was not just cell phones; all electronic devices were prohibited. If someone approached the restricted area with an electronic device, the Guardian Tree’s barrier would destroy the device. Some had criticized this as an overreach of power, but faced with the substantial power of Chul-Soo Land, they had to bite their tongue.

-How much stalking must have happened for our kind Chul-Soo to set up such a barrier?

-Please, let’s keep our fandom within the bounds of fandom.

-Protect our Chul-Soo at all costs!

Public opinion instantly swayed in favor of Chul-Soo Land. Even politicians could not openly criticize Kim Chul-Soo, as they were conscious of their votes.

Before Jin-Hyeok’s regression, his fan club was called the Mommy, short for Moon Army; this club was more intense and had a significantly larger fanbase than Chul-Soo Land.

-“But shouldn’t we call that fiery little one? What was her name? Elly? Ally? She might get sulky.”

‘Ah, right.’

Jin-Hyeok wanted to maintain a good relationship with Elly. It wasn’t so much out of necessity, but rather because he felt like it.

‘But there is no reason for me to summon her. Should I just call her? That seems a bit odd.’

The concept of meeting someone without any particular reason had not yet settled in his mind. So, he sought a reason.

“I should look for content for my Eltube channel.”

-“Oh! If it’s a massacre, I welcome it! And if it could happen near here, that’d be nice. I’d be able to join in!”

Jin-Hyeok did not respond to the Guardian Tree. He used to find its words quite annoying, but now, he seemed to have gotten used to it. Though no one was listening, he explained as if he were justifying himself, “The recent content has been quite provocative and intense.”

Of course, there was no answer since no one was near him.

“The content I have planned for later is also pretty provocative.”

The battle with Sephia and Grandel of the Black Alliance was sure to be intense and provocative.

“Too much intense content in a row can actually cause viewer fatigue.”

-“To whom are you speaking?”

“Balancing intense content with calm, everyday content is essential for a good Streamer, isn’t it? Of course, too much calm content can become boring.”

-“Are you ignoring me right now? I’m feeling so lonely.”

“I need content that is not too provocative nor too calm. Maintaining that fine line is important.

-“My pride is hurt! I guess I will have to smash some monster heads!”

Jin-Hyeok still had not noticed the Guardian Tree’s corruption(?). He was busy making excuses. “I should practice filming everyday content by summoning Elly.”

Like a duck on water, calm on the surface but fiercely paddling underneath, Jin-Hyeok was busy looking for a justification for his content. “Finding joy in calm, everyday content is twice as tough as extracting fun from intense, provocative content.”

It seemed he would need a lot of practice. That meant calling Elly more often.

***

To become a great Streamer, one had to encompass a variety of domains. Having hurriedly pursued growth until now, Jin-Hyeok felt he now had to look around and learn from the surroundings.

[This is a restricted video.]

Jin-Hyeok was unable to connect to the Arvis Server, so access to livestreams of Arvis’s Streamers was impossible. It was somewhat disappointing not to be able to watch the videos of Marshmallow, who was the master of everyday content and the most famous Streamer in the entire universe.

Jin-Hyeok knew there were ways to bypass the Server settings and adjustments, but he was not sure of exactly how to do that.

‘I’m still lacking as a Player.’

A Streamer should know how to bypass a Server’s restrictions to access that Server’s content. He had hit another wall as a Streamer.

‘I’m sure Yu-Mi knows how to do it.’

He was about to call her when she called him first.

—Jin-Hyeok! I found their location!

“Location? Whose?”

—The leaders of the Black Alliance! They should be in China, but I think...

Before telling their exact location, Yu-Mi shared her thoughts about this, which was similar to Jin-Hyeok’s. She suggested postponing the battle with Sephia and Grandel, concerned that a continuous stream of intense content could heighten viewer fatigue.

‘Wow...!’

Chills ran down Jin-Hyeok’s arms for the first time in a while.

‘I’ve grown too! I really have!’

His heart raced, and his speech quickened without realizing it. “So, I was thinking of filming some everyday content with Elly.”

—Oh, that’s a great idea! I was going to suggest that!

Yu-Mi, true to form, provided more detailed insights.

—Elly has a bit of a cute side, right? She looks like a child on the outside. Showing your kind and warm side to such a harmless and cute target will increase your charm by ten million times! Since you are not particularly kind to anyone else, if you show kindness to only one target, and if that target is a harmless child, it will definitely increase the viewers’ immersion and give them vicarious satisfaction!

Jin-Hyeok couldn’t help but put on a sly smile.

‘Then, I guess it’s okay for me to be nice to Elly.’

Yu-Mi had given him the best reason to be kind to Elly. Although he wasn’t sure why, he felt at ease and eager to summon Elly.

“But first, I think I need to study. I want to watch some videos of Marshmallow from the Arvis Server.”

—Oh, isn’t he the most famous Streamer in the universe?

“Yes, do you know how to access his videos? I can’t seem to get past the Server restriction.”

—I don’t know the specifics, but I think I can find out. I will call you back in thirty minutes!

True to her words, she did teach him how to bypass the restrictions thirty minutes later.

***

Marshmallow stood at the pinnacle of everyday vloggers as an Eltuber. He was known as a sentimental Eltuber, though Jin-Hyeok was not quite sure what that meant. Marshmallow preferred the term Eltuber over Streamer because he seldom did livestreams. Roasted Marshmallow, his alternative character, handled livestreaming instead.

‘I should watch some of his videos.’

Marshmallow’s videos typically had lengthy titles.

[(Subtitle) Why Outings with Spirits are Joyful │ Warmer Times Together │ Pure Fun]

[(Subtitle) A Week in a Garden with Sunlight, Forest, and Spirits │ Record of the Spirit Realm │ Daily Life Vlog]

[(Subtitle) Playing Dolls with Spirits │ How to Braid Hair │ Dressing Up in Pretty Clothes │ Apple Pie │ Chocolate Milk.]

Quite a few of the videos were related to Spirits. The view counts were typically in the billions. Seeing those staggering numbers ignited a competitive fire within Jin-Hyeok.

‘The videos themselves don’t seem particularly special.’

They lacked extraordinary visual flair or intense excitement. Jin-Hyeok could not quite grasp the sentiment people talked about. He thought he still had a long way to go, assuming that there had to be some profound intensity in the videos.

‘He’s just doing ordinary activities like camping and going to the beach.’

Even after watching half a dozen videos, Jin-Hyeok could not find anything that he could learn immediately. Perhaps, Marshmallow’s sentimental videos were too sophisticated for his current level. However, as luck would have it, Marshmallow, who rarely did livestreams, started one at that moment.

‘Viewers are flocking by the millions.’

Jin-Hyeok tried to watch the stream.

[Access Denied.]

[You are automatically entering the Storyteller’s Relay Room.]

Just like how Jin-Hyeok had Yu-Mi as his Storyteller, Marshmallow had his own Storyteller too. Nearly a billion people had already joined the Relay Room.

‘Wait, it’s just him eating! A billion viewers for a mukbang? Is that even possible?’

Jin-Hyeok was astonished. Moreover, it was one billion viewers in the Relay Room, not Marshmallow’s actual livestream. Direct communication with the Streamer was not possible in the Relay Room.

‘Wow...’

Jin-Hyeok was shocked.

‘So, to enter the actual livestream, one must donate a substantial amount to the Storyteller in the Relay Room.’

Jin-Hyeok had no idea how much that would be. The amount wasn’t posted anywhere either.

‘Most of the viewers are in the Relay Room. The livestream is limited to just one hundred people.’

Experiencing Marshmallow’s livestream for the first time, Jin-Hyeok could not recover from the shock.

‘Wait, this means that the ones in the main livestream are...’

They had to be the VIPs of the Trinity Club. Jin-Hyeok had two VIPs who sponsored him. Even that made his donation levels incomparable to other Streamers. Yet, Marshmallow had one hundred VIPs supporting him.

‘So, he put most of the viewers in the Relay Room and just communicates with only the hundred people in his livestream.’

It felt like a glimpse into his own future as a Streamer.

‘Those one hundred people are Marshmallow’s royal supporters.’

It was like a slap to the face.

‘It’s not about his content, but about the persona.’

The chosen one hundred VIPs seemed to cherish Marshmallow. Jin-Hyeok saw messages like ‘This is why I’m a Marshmallow fan!’

‘Being loved for the persona...’

Jin-Hyeok had always thought that content alone was enough, but Marshmallow’s livestream seemed to offer something more.

‘For Marshmallow, he is the intense content. Just by eating some food, he can attract a billion viewers in no time...’

Jin-Hyeok now understood why Yu-Mi always insisted that he needed to create his own persona. Marshmallow’s livestream was a profound revelation for him. Marshmallow had become his new mentor, and a new competitive drive to surpass him someday was ignited within Jin-Hyeok.

‘I remember there was a Player who was content being in third place.’

That Chul-Soo was gone. Now, Jin-Hyeok’s goal was Marshmallow.

‘Ah, but first, I need to surpass Egan Paul.’

Jin-Hyeok felt the need to attract people with more varied content. He was not sure how much it would help, but he planned to show his face more often. Anyway, he decided to summon Elly and film some therapeutic everyday content. He was trying his hand at sentimental vlogging, unsure of the outcome.

Only trying would tell.