I Gave Up Being Stronger

A while ago, Erin, the successor of the HARD movement, had a clandestine meeting with her benefactor, who secretly supported and assisted the cause. Though the man wore the Deceiver’s Mask that concealed his true identity, Erin knew who he was.

This benefactor was none other than Humphrey Millen, a gracious individual who had realized the righteousness of the HARD movement early on and generously supported it.

Erin and Humphrey engaged in a heartfelt conversation.

“For a long time, only Seoul has enjoyed a peace that others could not,” Humphrey said. “This has caused significant chaos and inflicted greater damage on other cities. I blame this forced peace on Kim Chul-Soo.”

“I agree.” Erin nodded.

Humphrey prodded Erin a bit further. “Erin, I understand how pure and beautiful your spirit is.”

“Thank you for seeing me that way.”

“Would you go to Korea to further spread the righteousness of the HARD movement and prove that Chul-Soo is wrong? I will cover your expenses.”

“Of course! It’s what I have been hoping for!”

Thus, Erin boarded a plane to Korea. Once in her seat, she clasped her hands and prayed.

It would be the best situation for Erin if some children lost their parents in the ensuing crisis. That would be a perfect illustration to show the world just how meaningless Chul-Soo’s faux peace was. Erin pulled up a map of Seoul on her phone and studied it intently.

Only then could she teach people what was right and just.

Upon arriving at the airport, Erin headed straight to Nowon-gu.

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

Kihael was monitoring the invaders in Gimpo-si.

Serchan let out a hearty laugh and patted him on the back. “Kihael, you have grown enough to even monitor areas outside our jurisdiction now.”

“...Well, this is a Scenario where even a Scenarist is involved…”

“With that much passion, I think I can give you more work now. I’m glad you’re growing.”

“...” Kihael felt the urge to punch Serchan in the face but had to restrain himself due to the imposing muscles of the man.

However, it seemed that even Serchan was quite interested in this matter. “What’s the current situation?”

“A battle erupted on the Olympic Highway, which connects Gimpo-si to Seoul. But the Earth Players are holding up much better than expected.”

“Really? Aren’t the Invaders’ Levels higher than them?”

“Yes. On average, about 15 Levels higher. Although some might be keeping their personal information private and manipulating their Levels, there’s no doubt that in terms of raw power, the invaders have the upper hand.”

“And yet the Earth Players are holding up? How?”

“I suspect… it’s Kim Chul-Soo’s influence.”

The Korean Region was the one most affected by Kim Chul-Soo. Players native to the Korean Region seemed to be adopting his style of Play more and more.

“So you’re saying that there are no Level Grinders? But that wouldn’t be enough, right? There isn’t a central alliance in the Korean Region yet,” Serchan said.

“Officially, there isn’t any, but there is the K-Force.”

“The K-Force? What’s that?”

Kihael sighed deeply. It was unfathomable that someone so obsessed with work would not know about the K-Force. “How can you, as a GM in Seoul, not know about the K-Force?”

“...”

“You need to do some studying, Serchan.”

“...I’m sorry. Please tell me more about this K-Force.”

“Do you know about Chul-Soo’s original party and its members?”

“I don't watch a lot of livestreams, so I don’t know.”

“Well, Loser, Babyshark, Unnie Shadow, Dongsaeng Shadow, Flaming Fist, and some more are the original members of Chul-Soo’s party. They are the central axis of the current Korean Region. Korea actually has some other Alliances that don’t like them, but….”

Kihael tilted his head in confusion. This was something even he found a bit puzzling. “But strangely enough, when fighting against invaders, all of them, even those belonging to the Alliances that hate Chul-Soo’s original party members, unite as if they are part of one team. Just a few days ago, they were at each other’s throats.”

Yet, when facing the invaders, they were suddenly tightly knit. Displaying unparalleled teamwork, they repelled the invaders. This was a phenomenon difficult to find in other Servers.

“The Earth Players are not backing down even when they are up against stronger opponents with higher Levels. Moreover, the Healer Alliance led by Babyshark, also known as the Saint of Freedom, is displaying extraordinary power. If we don’t do something about this Healer Alliance, completing the Fall of Yeonhui-dong Scenario will be difficult.”

Meanwhile, Encyclopedia was analyzing this event in depth.

[This seems less like a characteristic of the Earth Server and more like a unique feature of the Korean Region. It’s fascinating that they tear each other apart on normal days, but show such strong unity in the face of external threats.]

[Written by: Encyclopedia]

Once again, the Korean Region, just a small Region in a new Server, began drawing attention.

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

Gimpo-si was well covered by other Players, and Yongsan-gu was protected by the Golden Guardian Tree. The problem was the northeastern part of Seoul, Nowon-gu.

“It’s been a while, so I am a bit nervous, Master.”

“No need to be nervous. Today’s content is going to be just myself,” Jin-Hyeok said.

He had learned much from Egan Paul.

The staged livestream had enthralled many people. Even after the livestream had been exposed as fake, Egan still had an overflowing number of loyal followers. His subscriber and real-time viewer counts had increased even more after the staged livestream.

-Isn’t a bit of performance mandatory for Streamers?

-It says right at the beginning of the video that it’s staged, so what’s the big deal?

Over time, more and more people took Egan’s side.

-We should protect our lovely Egan!

-Will you guys take responsibility if he stops livestreaming because of haters like you?

Egan’s followers were protecting him with unconditional love. Jin-Hyeok took great inspiration from this. He learned things like livestreaming with a bit of exaggeration and deception, such as telling his viewers that he was going solo even though he was not planning to.

Jin-Hyeok had brought Nemesis Artillery Shin Yu-Ri along with him. Before his regression, she had once been the strongest villain in Korean history. Now, she was a Player affiliated with the MK Foundation. She had been affiliated with the National Intelligence Service a while ago, but had changed her allegiance to stay by Maria’s side.

Jin-Hyeok continued his livestream with a serious expression and tone. He invoked the activation phrase of the Mythic-Grade Card, “To Stand at the Summit of that Path.”

He added another sentence just to sound cool. “Those who fall and crumble, unable to reach the summit, will sing a song of despair as they face the unreachable summit.”

The first sentence was the real activation phrase, and the second was just something he had made up for the livestream, but it didn’t really matter.

Then, he spoke with fitting flair. “Grant me great power to my right hand once more!”

Jin-Hyeok materialized flames wrapped around his right hand. The flames boasted no lethality but were impressive, nonetheless. As they flickered, a mechanical object manifested around his right hand with smooth mechanical sounds.

He calmly continued the livestream. “Do you guys think those who invaded Seoul were desperate?”

Had they been desperate, they would not have charged in so recklessly.

“Sometimes, I wonder, why do people live so thoughtlessly?”

His viewers on KimKnowItAllTV cheered.

-LOL! Live so thoughtlessly? Is he talking about himself?

-Says the guy who always lives without a plan.

-???: The one who lives the most recklessly but acts like he doesn’t.

Although it was a controversial statement, many empathized with it and laughed. Jin-Hyeok’s words transcended into both a joke and a charm point, a quality of his character, IntenseMan.

“If it were me, I would have studied my opponent more intensely, tirelessly searching for their weaknesses. I would have devised every method possible for maximum efficiency. If I found no weaknesses, I would not have recklessly charged in.”

-Kim Chul-Soo (2X years old.)/IntenseMan: Doesn’t run away even when the angry Spirit King appears.

-Kim Chul-Soo (2X years old)/IntenseMan: Tries to fight the Thunder Dragon. (Almost died)

-LOL, isn’t he the most reckless one in the world? Why is he pretending he’s not?

-Didn’t he eat the Phoenix Heart in one bite? Haha. What a guy!

-He’s so hypocritical.

Jin-Hyeok, who wasn’t aware of his own recklessness, was deadly serious. “If they had previewed our videos on the battle against the Queen Ant, they would not have done something like this.”

Jin-Hyeok was sincere. He had seen many similar Players during his Swords King days—those who boasted of their effort but lacked understanding of Dungeons or monsters. They were like moths to a flame, not conducting any research on their opponents.

But from Jin-Hyeok’s perspective, they had not. They lacked desperation.

Among the forces and Assassins targeting Jin-Hyeok, some Players were stronger than him. However, they had all failed. He thought it was because they were not desperate enough.

“I have grown a lot. My Level has increased, too. I have become desperate and intensely strong. But it seems they have not. Those who are not intense cannot overcome those who are.”

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

Hiding in a building, Erin recorded a voice message as she observed the situation. “Judging the desperation of others so carelessly, such arrogance is unbearable! We are all desperate in our lives, doing our best to live. Yet Chul-Soo judges the world by his standards and belittles our desperation! This is why we must continue the HARD movement.”

In Erin’s eyes, Chul-Soo was unbearably arrogant. She wondered how he could measure and cut down other people’s desperation by his standards. Just because they were not doing something his way, it did not mean that they were not desperate.

However, it was a valid point from Jin-Hyeok’s perspective.

If it were him, he would not have made the foolish move of using a Scenarist.

Jin-Hyeok had not publicly disclosed this information. He always disclosed only seventy percent of any information about himself.

Even though Jin-Hyeok had not revealed the fact that his Mythic-Grade Card abilities shone the most when a Scenario was in play, anyone truly desperate would have taken that into account. That was his standard.

For now, disclosing that information was not necessary.

Jin-Hyeok continued with the livestream. “A mighty force is stirring in my right hand.”

The sensation he felt right now was very different from the one he had felt when he had used the duplicating ability at Level 92. Mana began to fill Jin-Hyeok’s right hand.

However, that did not matter to him. Thanks to his Mythic-Grade Card, he had already received a 20-Level boost, and this was the territory of the Golden Guardian Tree.

A cannon began to take shape in Jin-Hyeok’s right hand, its mechanical parts locking together with clanking noises. This astonished many viewers, who likened it to the transformation of a Transformer. Jin-Hyeok was quite pleased with his performance.

The cannon forming in his right hand grew larger. The Artillery of Nemesis quickly advanced to the Tier-2 phase.

Just when it seemed the mechanical cannon would spread from his right arm to the rest of his body, it transformed into a spherical shape and burst out of him. The cannon had separated—a phenomenon Jin-Hyeok was witnessing for the first time.

He spoke anyway, pretending to know what was happening. “Scatter, Iron Powder.”

The cannon soon disintegrated into fine particles, swirling around like petals floating in the spring breeze. The particles filled the area around him, displaying a dazzling effect.

The Korean Region Minor Gallery and the chat window for KimKnowItAllTV were both abuzz.

-Does anyone know what is going on?

-Looks like heavy metal poisoning, LOL.

Even the famous Encyclopedia was silent.

-At least, it looks insanely cool. He looks like a robot that’s transforming.

-IntenseMan! He knows exactly what his male audience wants!

-Shush, accept the cool lines Chul-Soo said with passion, you fools!

Moreover, NoOverpackagingPlz had not appeared in chat this time.

-Seems like even NoOverpackagingPlz is not picking a fight this time, LOL!

-If NoOverpackagingPlz is truly a man, he shouldn’t nitpick about that swirling Iron Power. Haha!

-Even NoOverpackagingPlz must have been overwhelmed by the majestic scene.

Meanwhile, Jin-Hyeok, who had put on a spectacular display for the Chul-Soo Verse, focused on his transformation.

The cannon had revealed a form completely different from the one that had appeared during his battle with the Queen Ant or even the Tier-3 form Yu-Ri used during her villain days.Follow current s on NovelEnglish.net

Jin-Hyeok almost drooled unconsciously.