I Gave Up Being Stronger

The young Thunder Dragon was a disappointment.

Cha Jin-Hyeok felt that the Level-132 dragon had capabilities under Level 100. While its innate power and abilities corresponded to those of a creature at Level 132, the dragon seemed unable to harness any of those. The reason for this could be that the dragon was still a baby.

The sparkling effects were somewhat cool, which made Cha Jin-Hyeok put up with its attacks. However, even that was becoming tedious.

Jin-Hyeok never had the chance to properly fight with a Thunder Dragon before. The ones he had met were usually accompanied by Park Terse and never fought with him.

He let himself get hit by the Thunder Dragon’s thunderbolt.

The attack—said to consume an enormous amount of stamina, but possessing unparalleled destructive power among elemental attacks—felt like a slightly strong static shock. It was a bit uncomfortable, but he felt no strain on his body. Jin-Hyeok even wondered if he had such a high resistance to electrical attacks. That hadn’t been the case even back in his Sword King days.

“I think I need to meditate and do some inner exploration,” Jin-Hyeok said to the viewers.

The only way to know for sure would be meditation and self-exploration.

Ever since he had consumed the Phoenix Heart, he had gained complete immunity to fire.

While he needed to research this further, the crucial point was that he had significant resistance to electrical attacks.

Suddenly, he heard a voice.

[“Give it!!!”]

It was a shrill voice.

“Oh, you can talk?”

[“Give it to me now!!!”]

While precise communication seemed difficult, the young Thunder Dragon was ardently expressing its desires.

It was well known that if a subject’s attention was somewhere else, it could not properly hear the Tamer’s voice. Jin-Hyeok was no expert Tamer like Park Terse, but he decided to give it a shot.

He took a deep breath and then exhaled. The Fanatical Obsession Mystery within him tried to cling on like glue, but its efforts did not matter much. It could have been due to the Taming (Physical) Skill, but his control over the tamed Mystery was excellent.

The green pattern materialized in the air.

[Fanatical Obsession]

“Hey, do you want to eat this?”

[“Give it!”]

As someone who aimed to be a versatile Streamer and who was obligated to provide a variety of content to his viewers, Jin-Hyeok needed to seize this moment.

[The Story of How an SSS-Tier Young Thunder Dragon, Consumed by Hostility, was Moved and Amazed by the Goodwill of a Player from the Earth Server.]

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

-LOL! I don’t think this can be considered nationalism! It’s more like Earth-ism!

-Haha! You’re right. I think I’m getting drunk on this Earth-ism! Oh waiter~ Another bottle of Earth-ism, please!

On the screen, the young Thunder Dragon curiously examined the green pattern before it, then greedily licked it.

[“Tasty!”]

The dragon grabbed the pattern and sucked on it as if it were candy.

-LOL. I didn’t know dragons did mukbangs![1]

-But it’s kinda cute! I find reptiles adorable.

While users from the Earth Server were engrossed in this spectacle, long-time users from other Servers expressed concern.

-If a baby Thunder Dragon is there, its mother must be near too.

-Yupp. He needs to be careful. If you get caught by the mother Thunder Dragon, you’re toast.

Wang Yu-mi collected this information and secretly messaged Jin-Hyeok.

Jin-Hyeok contemplated his options.

There was no chance of him defeating the mother Thunder Dragon.

The thought of losing the precious Mystery—which had not really been precious before but had suddenly become so—seemed concerning. The cost-benefit ratio was not to Jin-Hyeok’s liking.

Just then, a new figure emerged on the scene.ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ Noᴠᴇꜰɪre.nᴇt

“I have come to lend my strength, moly!”

Prompted by Pathfinder’s taunt, Mole Man hastily appeared before Jin-Hyeok. With an excited expression, he said, “So, you want to know where the small Wyvern's nest is, moly?”

“...”

“No need to reject my favor! I ask for nothing in return, moly. I simply wish to wholeheartedly assist you, Kim Chul-Soo!”

“You want to help me?”

“Yes, moly!”

Jin-Hyeok made a request to the passionately enthusiastic Mole Man. “If you’re here to help, could you take that lady back to the Earth Server for treatment?”

“That crazy woman, you mean?”

“She is not crazy anymore. She was just temporarily crazy due to the Mystery.”

If Mole Man had not appeared, Jin-Hyeok would not have cared too much. However, since Mole Man was here, Jin-Hyeok decided to show a bit of consideration.

In retrospect, although Five Crystals had charged at Jin-Hyeok, she was not a villain who had harmed others. The prospect of killing her without much thought bothered Jin-Hyeok a little.

-This is the generosity of the Earth Server’s best Player!

-The true top dog is always generous to the underdog.

-He is so cool! Please take me, Oppa! I love you!

Mole Man seemed somewhat displeased.

“But…”

“You said you wanted to help me.”

“W-Well, that’s correct, moly”

“Show the dignity of being the top-ranked Player, then.”

“Top-ranked?” Mole Man checked his ranking. Just like thirty minutes ago, he was still the top-ranked Player. “That’s right, I am number one, moly! So, Chul-Soo, let me ask you a question. Who do you think is the best Navigator in Korea?”

“Numbers do not lie. Look at the ranking. You are number one.”

“So, can I call myself the Navigator recognized as number one by Kim Chul-Soo, moly?”

“You are number one, Mole Man.”

“Hehehe.” With a brisk stride, Mole Man picked up the fallen Five Crystals. He then waved at Jin-Hyeok, though, in his mind, he was waving at Jin-Hyeok’s viewers and Han Sae-Rin.

“I am the true top-ranked Player, moly!” He formed a V with his fingers. “Pathfinder is second, moly!”

Mole Man left the area laughing heartily. Not long after, it began to rain.

Jin-Hyeok felt chills running down his spine. He looked at the sky through Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance, and his eyes began to hurt

It felt like something had exploded, like a light bulb bursting due to an overload.

A clap of thunder rang out.

Jin-Hyeok knew what this feeling was.

He felt the aura coming from a considerable distance, yet he was already having trouble breathing. The air around him seemed heavy, as if it was crushing him. The clouds formed a whirlpool-like pattern, and then a huge storm cloud appeared. Hundreds of bolts of lightning flashed in the sky.

“The density of the mana around me seems to be increasing. It feels like I have fallen underwater.”

Possibly due to his nervous system being on high alert, his body became stiff. Jin-Hyeok raised his hand. “My hand is trembling against my will. I can feel only one thing right now: something overpowering is approaching, something I can’t face with my current strength.”

He looked at the sky again with Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance but saw nothing.

Jin-Hyeok felt a heavy, oppressive sensation as if he were sinking into the dark depths of the ocean. Then, a voice like thunder echoed in his head.

[‘What have you done to my son?!”]

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

A few minutes ago, the Great Leader of Scanorbia, Khan, knelt before someone and bowed his head. “I apologize, my lord.”

Due to Scanorbia being connected to the Earth Server, Khan should have found many Mysteries, but he did not. Or rather, he had chosen not to. He had made a deal with Streamer Egan Paul and the United States government, securing food and resources for the hungry citizens of Scanorbia.

[“I spared you because you are useful, Khan.”]

“I am aware.”

[“Prove me that you are useful.”]

“I will find high-quality Mysteries in abundance. Just grant me more time.”

The Thunder Dragon before Khan, Atanna, was a significant reason behind Khan’s rise to power in Scanorbia. Atanna was the true ruler of Scanorbia.

At that moment, Atanna felt that something was off.

She always maintained a mental link with her son Aton, the young Thunder Dragon. Aton was still weak—by her standards—and required much protection. Atanna sensed that her offspring, who was playing in the Central Forest of Scanorbia, was being tainted by something strange.

With one of her claws, she gripped Khan tightly.

“M-My Lord! I don’t taste that good.”

Atanna flapped her gigantic wings. Electrical energy flickered, causing whirlwinds to swirl around.

[“Do you carry any herbs that induce vomiting?”]

“I-I have some that humans use, my lord.”

[“That will do.”]

The massive Atanna soared into the sky. Khan swallowed hard and looked down.

Atanna flew toward the Central Forest at a speed that seemed faster than light. From a distance, she sensed her son and the impurities around him.

The one around her son was not a Scanorbian; he seemed to be a human from Earth, which had been recently connected to her Server.

[“What have you done to my son?!”]

She spat out the words in a lash of fury but immediately regretted it. She could feel that she had released too much draconic energy. It would be difficult for a mere human to withstand such immense presence.

Khan, whom she had gripped in her claw, had already fainted. But then, a strange voice reached her ears.

“The Thunder Dragon has appeared! It’s enormously huge! I think it’s the one that caused those gigantic thunderclouds!”

The human seemed to have lost all sense of fear and was babbling nonstop.

“It’s so overwhelming that it’s hard to breathe. My whole body is tingling even though the electrical energy did not hit me. It’s like I have plunged into a sea made of electrical energy! How can something be so overwhelming? If the end of the world had a feeling, this would be exactly that!”

It was a truly strange event. Atanna observed that the human before her looked excited, rather than frightened.

1. Mukbang is a type of livestream in which the streamer, or the host, consumes various quantities of food while interacting with the audience. It is very popular in Korea. ☜