I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 40

Mok Jae-Hyeon unleashed the Wood Fortress but with a twist. Normally, his Wood Fortress was a vine that wrapped around the object it protected. This time, however, it was a vine with roots. The roots were deeply embedded above, below, and to the sides of the walls.

‘He used it with his Planting Skill.’

The deeply rooted Wood Fortress protected him and Cha Jin-Hyeok.

‘There is no need to protect me, but okay.’

Jin-Hyeok knew from the very beginning that the attack of the enemy had a designated target. The moment the timer reached zero, Jin-Hyeok realized that he was not the target. He felt at ease, but it seemed Jae-Hyeon still insisted on protecting him, despite it being unnecessary.

‘It seems like Jae-Hyeon still lacks the ability to read battles.’

Still, Jin-Hyeok could not say anything because this was a matter of experience and instinct. Given enough time, he knew Jae-Hyeon would get better.

Something jutted out of the deep pit and curled up around Jae-Hyeon’s Wood Fortress, tugging at it, but it wouldn’t budge. Soon, the whip-like thing went back into the hole, and Jae-Hyeon gasped for air after canceling his Skill.

“Whew… I lived…”

Jin-Hyeok went on with his Play.

“The biggest threat to Players right now is getting caught by that whip-like thing. So let me ask our Tank a question. What do you do if you are scared of getting caught?”

“...Pardon me?”

The other party members approached him. They asked him if he was okay, which was a needless question. Jin-Hyeok did not understand why they were worried when it was obvious that he was perfectly fine.

Cha Jin-Sol came up to Jin-Hyeok and asked, “So what should we do if we are scared of getting caught?”

“You just make sure you don’t get caught.”

“...”

Jin-Sol seemed to be upset for some reason. Jin-Hyeok did not know why she was like that when he gave her the right answer.

Jae-Hyeon even proved it brilliantly.

‘No.’

Honestly, it was not that great. He felt like Jae-Hyeon could have just put two roots on the ceiling and the ground. It was a waste to put roots on the sides. That was why Jae-Hyeon looked so tired—he used up all his mental and physical energy.

Combat was supposed to be about maximizing efficiency with minimum effort. The allocation of mental and physical strength was also a skill.

“So I’ve been observing continuously.”

Jin-Hyeok thought he could tell the viewers the secret of this place since he had spent enough time exploring.

“This whole place feels like the mouth of a very large animal.”

At the edges of where they were, the rocks, i.e. the stalactites and stalagmites protruding from above and below, were shaped like teeth.

“The sticky liquid on this floor feels a bit like saliva. And the occasional red whip-like thing feels like its tongue.”

Jin-Hyeok walked forward toward the deep pit. The width was not wide, but it was extremely deep, and he couldn’t see anything inside.

“If we consider this to be its throat, that must mean that this hole is its esophagus.”

Jin-Hyeok looked toward Jae-Hyeon.

“I wonder if there is a stomach-like digestive system further down.”

That was what people usually called the gut.

“The gut is usually a weak point. Couldn’t the clue to clearing this Dungeon be in there?”

That was a no-brainer. Anyone would think this hole was suspicious.

“Then let’s start exploring. Jae-Hyeon, step forward.”

He thought Jae-Hyeon would be happy to find the hidden clues. Strangely, Jae-Hyeon looked like he was about to cry.

‘I guess those are tears of joy.’

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Jin-Hyeok assured Jae-Hyeon, “There is no way its tongue would go backward and stab you while you are in its throat. You are going to be safe in there.”

“......”

Jin-Hyeok was speaking the truth. Once inside this hole, at least they would not be attacked by the tongue. If unlucky, they might be attacked by the strong acid that melted entire bodies, but that was unlikely. It was much less likely than getting into a car accident on the road.

It was a safe bet.

“Here is the rope.”

He handed Jae-Hyeon the rope he had purchased earlier. Jae-Hyeon tied it to a nearby rock and started to go down.

Eventually, a few Players came over, interested. As long as they stayed out of his way, Jin-Hyeok let them do whatever they wanted.

“Do you want me to go down?”

“Just go down already.”

“Am I really going down?”

“Yes!”

It looked like Jae-Hyeon was about to go bungee jumping. Jin-Hyeok knew his viewers would hate this slow progression of content.

He gave Jae-Hyeon a quick shove.

“AHH!!!”

‘Wait, you’re supposed to use your foot and slowly go down. I didn’t want you to fall so hard and defenseless.’

The rope was not that long, so Jae-Hyeon would not fall all the way down to where the stomach acid was.

“Do you see anything special?”

It was interesting that when Jae-Hyeon went down the throat, the timer that they could see stopped. It meant that the tongue would not attack when someone was inside its throat.

There was nothing of this sort back in Jin-Hyeok's previous life. It had become a very Player-friendly Dungeon.

“I… I don’t know! It’s dark. I can’t see anything.”

“Try touching stuff around you.”

“It feels gross!”

“What do you mean gross?”

“It’s slimy and wet!”

Jin-Hyeok honestly thought Jae-Hyeon would find something in there.

‘He should be hanging in just the right place.’

This place was indeed shaped like a throat. About ten meters down, there was an unusually weak spot. That was where the shortcut was that allowed Players to clear the Golden Toad Dungeon faster. Jin-Hyeok even made sure the rope was just the right length.

‘I really hoped he found the spot by accident. Maybe it’s too much to ask since he is not a Navigator. Ugh, this is so frustrating! No, I can’t have that kind of mindset.’

As a Streamer, he was supposed to be capturing their Play and making it as fun as possible for the viewers, but deep down, he kept getting frustrated.

‘If I was there, I would’ve found it in a heartbeat.’

Jin-Hyeok had a Trait called Almighty Jack of All Trades that specialized in low to mid-Level areas. This was where he could excel.

“Just come back up for now.”

Kim Jeong-Hyeon tugged on the rope. Jae-Hyeon didn’t really do much, but he was still huffing and puffing. As he climbed up, the timer started again.

“You really didn’t find anything?”

“No, it was just slimy walls.”

“Okay. I see.”

Jin-Hyeok tried to stay in character as a Streamer. It was not very appealing for a Streamer to take such a forefront position. Furthermore, as a Streamer, he knew he could not do that in the future.

‘But I am retiring, right?’

He could definitely retire after clearing the Golden Toad Dungeon a few times. Now that he had time to think about it, he would not mind Playing it himself.

‘Maybe I’ll do that for a little bit.’

This was not about rationalizing.

“It’s fascinating how you can go into a place that suspicious and not find anything.”

“...”

Jae-Hyeon looked somewhat resentful. It was as if his expression was shouting, ‘Then why don’t you go instead!’

Jin-Hyeok tied the rope around his own body.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve done a strategy like this.’

The thought of personally following the strategy made him excited.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Joseph watched Kim Chul-Soo’s first-person Play on the SSP-connected Eltube. He swallowed nervously.

‘He’s going in.’

Jin-Hyeok was about to go into that deep and dark place. The first-person perspective made it even more intense. It felt as if he himself was throwing his body toward the deep abyss.

The screen became extremely dark.

Chul-Soo felt around the walls and finally spoke.

“Hm… There’s something suspicious about this part. There is an unusually rough section.”

The advantage of the first-person perspective was that it conveyed some sense of touch.

‘What do you mean rough?’ Joseph thought as he touched his palm. ‘I’m not sure what he is talking about.’

After hearing Jin-Hyeok, it kind of felt like it was rough, but if Joseph was the one looking for it, he did not think he could find the exact spot. He would have to have a very strong sense to find it.

“That looks suspicious, so I am going to stab it,” Jin-Hyeok said from the screen.

Joseph’s eyes widened. Who in the right mind would stab something because it looked suspicious?

Stab.

Jin-Hyeok stabbed the wall, and the whole screen shook. To Joseph's horror, Joseph could hear the screams of the Players above Jin-Hyeok.

In fact, even Joseph, who was watching from the screen, was surprised. It looked like an earthquake had just happened. However, Chul-Soo, who should have been impacted the most by the tremors, looked so calm while just hanging on by a single rope.

“Oh, we’ve got a response! I’ll stab it again.”

After several stabs, a greenish ooze began to come out. It ran down the wall and made a hissing sound while white smoke rose from the area it passed.

“I don’t know what that is, but I feel like I shouldn’t be touching it.”

It was a strong acid that could dissolve even the bones. Chul-Soo waited a moment for the green liquid to stop oozing out.

“I am going to poke it again because I think I can see some light from the inside.”

Chul-Soo poked the wall several times again. Soon, he let out a sigh.

“Oh, a door appeared. We’re lucky.”

He said he was lucky, but he knew exactly what he was doing.

He rocked back and forth in the air to gain momentum and then threw himself inward. Soon, he untied the rope that bound him and walked along the narrow passage.

“Let’s walk toward the light.”

After walking for a while, he came to a large room.

[You have entered the Hidden Field 「The Gold Vault of the Golden Toad」.]

Flash!

Light burst forth.

This meant that he had moved to another Field.

“Wow! There is a lot of gold!”

The gold bars were piled up inside.

“Some of this I can take, and some of it I cannot. Wow! I will make a lot of money selling the gold. This is great!”

Chul-Soo began to pack the gold bars into his inventory. Somehow, it was so easy for him to distinguish which bars he could take and which he couldn’t. He was looting them so efficiently.

“Today is my lucky day.”

When Chul-Soo had picked up all the gold, the pile of gold coins on one side of him crumbled.

“That looks suspicious.”

Joseph wanted to say that the more suspicious one was Chul-Soo. Normally, the sudden collapse of gold coins of that size in a windless Dungeon would raise a red flag. However, there was no sign of hesitation on Chul-Soo’s part.

How could he have luck on his side every time?

‘It seems like I had no idea who Chul-Soo is or what he is capable of,’ Joseph thought.

Still, he thought he knew more about Chul-Soo than anyone else on Earth, but he was wrong. The calmness of Chul-Soo could only be shown by the strongest of the strong. Otherwise, he could not explain any of Chul-Soo’s behavior.

“Wow, there is a door.”

[You are about to enter the boss room in the Golden Toad Dungeon.]

[Do you wish to enter?]

‘No.’

Jin-Hyeok walked back to where he had started, tied the rope back on, and climbed back up.

“Guys. I found the exit. Let’s go down.”

Hearing his words, Jin-Hyeok’s party all arrived at the room where the gold bars were.

Jin-Sol scratched her head.

“Didn’t you say you found the exit?”

“Oh, did I say that? I meant a boss room, not an exit.”

“...”

It was a minor slip of the tongue.

“It will become an exit once we clear the boss room,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“But people don’t usually refer to boss rooms as exits.”

“They don’t?”

A few Players who were not part of Jin-Hyeok’s party but had the courage to follow him decided to join his party. When they saw the gold bars that could not be looted, their mouths watered with regret.

There were four of them, and one of them was a woman.

“Can we join you guys?” she said.

Jin-Hyeok looked at the woman who just spoke.

[LV37/Angel Girl/Great Rogue/Skill/Hundred Theft]

Jin-Hyeok chuckled when he saw her.

‘Oh, wow! Fancy meeting her here. This is great.’