I Gave Up Being Stronger

Jin-Hyeok remembered Kang Mi-Na, who was a colleague and a Streamer herself, and the many times they had conversed about the VIP chat request function.

- You can just think of it as VIP viewers flaunting their money and shit. They get to burn through their cash to have a special conversation with you.

- So what’s in it for you, then?

- You can make some big bucks.

- Wait, isn’t that good for you then?

- Come on, haven’t you heard of high-risk, high-return? It’s a fucking shitshow ‘cause there are so many self-entitled brats. Once, there was this crazy-ass bastard who said he’d send down a controllable avatar so he could touch my boobs from afar.

Jin-Hyeok couldn’t remember too much because of all the swearing that their conversations were interspersed with, but one thing he did take away was that VIP chats were high risk, high return.

Despite the fact that Kang Mi-Na was generally repulsed by VIP chat requests, she would say in the same breath that attracting VIPs and capturing their attention was essential if one wanted to become a top Streamer. Mi-Na would curse them out every day—but the moment a VIP chat request came in, she would instantly put on her best capitalist, rainmaker smile when welcoming the viewer.

Sometimes, her two-sided personality frightened Jin-Hyeok.

‘I should turn this chat request down.’

Jin-Hyeok was not aiming to be a top Streamer—to say it again, his objective was third place.

He only needed to shoulder the level of risk that a third place would. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t recall a single mention by Mystery Box about doing any content related to VIPs—and that was the path he wanted to tread.

[You rejected the VIP chat request.]

Jin-Hyeok felt relieved. Out of sight, out of mind.

What he didn’t know was that rumors were spreading about an insane Streamer that not only refused to engage with the ordinary chat function, but turned down VIPs as well.

***

The interview with Mok Jae-Hyeon proved to be quite a success.

As Jin-Hyeok had correctly guessed, Mok Jae-Hyeon was semi-forced to come here.

“So what you’re saying is that after you were half-dragged all the way here, all your friends died and it’s just you who’s still here and alive, hiding away… Is that right?”

“...Yes.”

“I didn’t see any bodies outside, though.”

Mok Jae-Hyeon grabbed his head with his hands and squatted on the ground.

“They must have all been eaten.”

“No, that’s not possible. There aren’t any monsters here that eat humans. You said you’ve been here for three days, right?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Yes.”

“Did you know that it becomes regen time here at midnight?”

“Regen time?” Mok Jae-Hyeon asked.

“You come back to life even if you’re completely dead. They were probably able to get away some way or another after being revived.”

Mok Jae-Hyeon was quite shocked that the friends(?) who had come here with him had run away.

“Then, does that mean…”

“There definitely weren’t any requests for help to rescue you. From the looks of things, they abandoned you and bolted.”

The people who had forced Mok Jae-Hyeon to come with them seemed to have not spared him a single thought, completely wiping him from their minds.

Mok Jae-Hyeon clenched his fists.

Jin-Hyeok felt it was a little unfortunate, but there were many worse things that could happen to one in the world.

Mok Jae-Hyeon’s story didn’t really move him or anything.

“You said you are holding out here because of the Quest?”

“...Yeah.”

A quest to survive for seven days.

When this Quest was cleared, one would be rewarded with the ‘Extra Life’ Trait.

Jin-Hyeok was conversing with Mok Jae-Hyeon to figure out how he could trigger the Quest, when Mok Jae-Hyeon said something that instantly captured Jin-Hyeok’s attention.

“Well, actually... I can share it with you.”

“You can share the Quest?”

In the norms of the future, asking someone to share their Quest would become something that was considered unethical.

It was highly probable that the Quest would start all over if it was shared with another Player. With that in mind, even Jin-Hyeok—no matter how unconscientious he admittedly could be at times—would never ask someone to share their Quest.

Besides, he had some amount of pride in being a Player for the government with proper playing etiquette.

“If you share it with me, you’ll have to stake it out here for another seven days. It’s okay—it’d be immoral of me to ask that of you. Can you just share how I can get the Quest?”

“L-look, it’s fine. I can bear being here for seven more days. You came down here all alone and managed to stay alive. I-it’s because I’m so scared to be alone here. Can you just help me out a bit?”

“Hmm.”

“Please.”

Jin-Hyeok had come to Mok Jae-Hyeon wanting to know how to receive the Quest, but ironically Mok Jae-Hyeon was the one begging Jin-Hyeok for help.

This was a pretty good situation that Jin-Hyeok had found himself in.

“Then, please join me on my broadcast more often.”

“S-sure. I promise.”

Jin-Hyeok had just killed two birds with one stone—now he could receive the Quest, and have a potential guest for his streams.

‘It’s gonna be way better for my peace of mind to have someone with me who knows Wood Fortress.’

No matter how well Broadcaster’s Barrier protected him from the attacks of monsters, it left a little something to be desired in terms of peace of mind. If he even found a couple mosquitoes buzzing around his head when he slept to be annoying, it was going to be an irrefutable fact that being constantly harassed by these Wolf monsters would bother him no matter their harmlessness.

“Sounds good. That’s a deal, then.”

Mok Jae-Hyeon shared the Quest with Jin-Hyeok.

[The hidden Quest, 「Survive the Subway Platform」, has been shared with you.]

Jin-Hyeok cocked his head to the side as he read the details.

“What? Were there two conditions to clear this Quest?”

In the previous life, Mok Jae-Hyeon hadn’t revealed all the clear conditions. He had only revealed one clear condition, which was to stay alive for seven days.

──────────

[Conditions to Clear]

1) Survive for seven days in a valid Field, or

2) Slay all monsters in a valid Field.

──────────

“I’m allowed to kill all the monsters?”

This was very good news.

***

“Well, the thing is...”

After hearing Mok Jae-Hyeon out, it turned out things were not that simple.

The Gray Wolf regenerated quickly compared to most monsters. Mok Jae-Hyeon told him that if he killed three of them, five more would take their place—or something like that.

‘Fair enough, since the Wood Fortress Skill is better for defense than offense.’

As Jin-Hyeok recalled, Mok Jae-Hyeon would be able to extend branches from his Wood Fortress in the future, honing the Skill to be competent in both offense and defense—but that was the future, and it looked to be too much for the Mok Jae-Hyeon before him at present.

“Let’s just go out and fulfill the second condition right now, and get it over with.”

“N-no way.”

Mok Jae-Hyeon started to tremble again with fear.

“If we leave, the Wood Fortress will be deactivated.”

“Can’t you just re-cast it?”

“I can’t.”

Casting Skills consumed the Player’s Focus.

This ‘Focus’ was a rather ambiguous thing. Not only was it unquantifiable, but the aggregate amount that one had would change on a day-to-day basis depending on their condition and health.

In his previous life, Jin-Hyeok and his comrades underwent mental care through countless initiatives, such as hypnosis and psychotherapy. The one thing that had always been emphasized to them was the need to have an imperturbable mind.

At present, all that seemed like it would be way beyond Mok Jae-Hyeon’s understanding.

“Your Wood Fortress doesn’t need to be this massive.”

“...Sorry?”

Jin-Hyeok couldn’t understand why on earth Mok Jae-Hyeon had to cover the whole convenience store.

“You can make it so that it’s just about big enough to protect your body.”

“T-that’s true.”

“Right, let’s give that a go. You don’t have to cover the whole store this time—just imagine a smaller Wood Fortress that’s big enough to keep yourself protected.”

“I-is that possible?”

That question suggested Mok Jae-Hyeon had created this sprawling fortress instinctively, rather than with any deliberation.

“I reckon it would be way easier to do, actually.”

Concrete visualization was the most important quality a Player needed to possess, above all else, for Skills that created tangible matter. Visualizing a shape for protecting one’s own precious body would be much easier than the sprawling forms that Mok Jae-Hyeon had created.

“So, how about that? Do you think you can do it?”

“...”

“Oh, and if you think things are getting too dangerous, feel free to run to that escalator over there. I’ll guarantee you a safe path there at least.”

Jin-Hyeok figured that for Mok Jae-Hyeon, his survival was more important than clearing the Quest at present.

“Ah,” Jin-Hyeok added, “Now that I think about it, that’s not a bad idea at all. Do you want me to just help you escape first?”

“S-seriously?”

“Of course. I can definitely do at least that much for you.”

“...”

Mok Jae-Hyeon had a flicker of mistrust in his eyes as he looked at Jin-Hyeok, so Jin-Hyeok decided to tell him frankly.

“Then I can have the Quest reward for myself.”

“...Oh.”

Mok Jae-Hyeon had a look of realization on his face, followed by that of relief for some reason.

Jin-Hyeok was taken aback by the fact that Mok Jae-Hyeon wasn’t angry about this fact in the slightest.

“Then I’ll be in your care,” Mok Jae-Hyeon said.

With Jin-Hyeok’s protection, Mok Jae-Hyeon eventually arrived at the base of the escalator.

“I’ll be seeing you again,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Yeah!”

Mok Jae-Hyeon was happy even though his Quest had basically been taken.

It was a weird development, but Jin-Hyeok didn’t think much of it beyond that. Both of them were able to reap their own benefits at the end of the day, so it was no harm no foul for Mok Jae-Hyeon. Probably.

“But hyung...”

“Yes?”

“The escalator’s not activating.”

It was true.

‘What’s wrong with it?’

It was within the ordinary course of things for objects within Fields to break down or stop working. However, they were in a Tutorial Field—an area where such events were actually quite rare.

For something to break here could only mean that there had been some kind of massive change or update going on in the upper floor while they had been down here.

‘Was there ever a time that the escalator at the Seoul Station Field stopped working?’

Jin-Hyeok couldn’t recall any.

“Alright, that’s too bad then.”

“...I’m sorry?” Mok Jae-Hyeon asked.

As Jin-Hyeok had said, it was indeed too bad. After all, the dungeon was meant to be a place where anomalies outside one’s expectations happened all the time.

Mok Jae-Hyeon looked like he was about to burst into tears, but babysitting him wasn’t Jin-Hyeok’s responsibility.

“For now, I want you to create a Wood Fortress to protect just your own body.”

***

Suppressing the smile that was creeping up on his face, Jin-Hyeok began explaining his intentions to his viewers.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to spare all you watchers a seven-day-long process. I’m fine with completing the Quest by waiting seven days, but I would feel bad by making you suffer through such boring content. That’s why I’m just going to take the fighting way out—no can do, you know.”

That said, fighting and exterminating were two rather different things.

It would have been boring if Jin-Hyeok just had to fight the Gray Wolves and win, but his itch to win was perked up by the fact that the mission was to annihilate the monsters completely before they could regenerate.

Mok Jae-Hyeon trembled like a leaf as he watched Jin-Hyeok—who was, on the contrary, trying his best to control the absolute thrill he was feeling—jump into the fray of the wolf pack.

‘He’s insane…’

Mok Jae-Hyeon stared at Jin-Hyeok as he slaughtered the Gray Wolves with a mere dagger.

‘W-who exactly is he?’

One of the wolves began to bound away, whimpering.

Although it was swift, the man chasing it was even faster. He tracked it as if he already predicted where the wolf’s steps of retreat would go.

Shuk!

Jin-Hyeok stabbed the wolf straight on the top of its head. The wolf fell to the ground without so much as a cry.

‘H-how is he so strong? Isn’t he supposed to be a Streamer?’

The other Gray Wolves tried to assault Jin-Hyeok together, but their sharp teeth were not able to reach his skin. A thin, shimmering web seemed to be wrapped around his body.

‘O-only one left.’

Mok Jae-Hyeon was so shocked that he didn’t even realize his Wood Fortress was being subconsciously unraveled. He merely continued to stare at Jin-Hyeok, his mouth agape.

Yelp!

One final cry ripped through the air.

“Finished. Finally.”

Jin-Hyeok was drenched in blood, like a demon driven mad with bloodlust.

While Mok Jae-Hyeon remained frightened out of his wits, however, Jin-Hyeok had an expression of discontent.

‘That was fun, but… why am I already out of breath with something this small?’

The Gray Wolf’s speed of regeneration was quite fast—simply hunting them down one by one was not enough to beat this speed.

So Jin-Hyeok mapped the locations on the floor at which they regenerated and calculated a route that minimized the distance between each to create the most effective hunting route.

‘I guess there\'s no helping the limits of a Streamer.’

Indeed, Jin-Hyeok judged his fatigue to be stemming from the limitations of being a Streamer because, by his standards, there was no way he should have been out of breath with such a trivial amount of movement.

Had Jin-Hyeok still been a Swordsman, that sequence would have been significantly easier. This got him a little wistful.

[You have cleared the hidden Quest 「Survive the Subway Platform」.]

[You receive rewards for clearing the Quest.]

“I’ve cleared the hidden Quest, so all that’s left is the reward,” Jin-Hyeok said.

A small box suddenly appeared in front of Jin-Hyeok. When he touched the box, something popped out.

It was a Scroll.

[Extra Life]

‘The Tutorial really is so generous.’

Only a low-Level area such as this one would shower the Player with rewards.

When Jin-Hyeok tore up the Scroll—which said ‘Extra Life’ on it—the Trait that was imbued in it was absorbed by his body.

[You have acquired the Trait 「Extra Life」.]

A power that brought the dead back to life.

Although it differed from Player to Player depending on their Focus, the cooldown time of the Trait was known as being around one week.

“I’ve acquired the Extra Life. Now that I’ve cleared the Quest, I’m going to head for the escalator.”

Jin-Hyeok approached the escalator again, but it was still ‘out of service.’

‘Hmm, this is a little troublesome.’

Jin-Hyeok needed to find out why this was happening. Unlike Jin-Hyeok, who remained calm, Mok Jae-Hyeon was slowly beginning to lose his cool.

“W-we’re not going to be stuck here and die, are we?”

“There’s no need to think that far.”

Jin-Hyeok had never heard about someone getting stuck in the Tutorial Fields and dying. Out of all the Fields that existed and the new ones that would open in the future, the Tutorial Field would always be the safest and most generous Field by far.

“W-why aren’t you panicking at all, hyung?”

“Should I be panicking?” asked Jin-Hyeok.

“Isn’t it normal to panic in a situation like this?”

“I don’t find this situation to be particularly panicky…”

Would the stream be more interesting if he feigned panic just a little?

“Hey, hyung… you are human, right?”

“Of course I am. What are you getting at?”

“Y-… You did start playing at the same time, in the same way as me, right?”

“Yeah? Of course. We both underwent Initial Awakening, though there might be a difference of a few days between us.”

“But why…”

‘…do you have the stink of a long-time veteran?’ Was what Mok Jae-Hyeon wanted to ask, but the words did not leave his mouth.

“...and you are actually a Streamer, right?”

“Yes. I’m streaming right this moment.”

“...”

Jin-Hyeok just decided to go back to scanning his surroundings.

‘Why is the path to the first floor blocked off?’

First things first, he needed to find a clue that could shed some light on what was going on.

Jin-Hyeok was interrupted by a new notification.

[You have received a Surprise Mission.]

[Creator of the Surprise Mission: Wind Wanderer.]

This time, what was given to him was not a Quest, but a ‘Mission.’

Unlike Quests, which existed naturally and were given to Players based on their clearing of certain set of conditions. Missions were tasks that were created by viewers on their whim for a Streamer to complete. The completion of a Mission would be accompanied by a large donation.

Jin-Hyeok read the notification again.

[Creator of the Surprise Mission: Wind Wanderer.]

‘Is this the one and the same Wind Wanderer?’

Jin-Hyeok recognized this name.