I Gave Up Being Stronger

The limitation of the Deceiver’s Mask was evident. While one could disguise their face and voice, one could not change their party’s structure and Playstyle. Thus, the Alliance managed to locate and track Chul-Soo’s party.

“Now!”

Just as Chul-Soo’s party finished clearing a Dungeon, looking nearly defeated and exhausted, the Alliance struck. Despite their fatigue, Chul-Soo’s party fought back with surprising resilience.

The Alliance’s Streamer, Choi Jae-Gyeom, who went by the Player name JG and channel name JG TV, passionately live-streamed the action.

“Despite being the so-called ace of the Korean Region, their reputation may have been exaggerated. We are overwhelming them! Oh, thank you for the donation!”

As the battle raged, members of Chul-Soo’s party found themselves surrounded. The leader of the Silver Spoon Alliance, Kang Seong-Wook, sneered, “Any last words?”

The idea to ask for the last words was Jae-Gyeom’s. Showing this climactic scene was sure to boost his views and popularity. For him, there was nothing more thrilling than the fall of the legendary Kim Chul-Soo’s party.

However, just when the end seemed near, the Assassins from Chul-Soo’s party made a surprising countermove. They broke through the encirclement and managed to escape.

“All of them got away! This is bad!” Seong-Wook said.

Jae-Gyeom approached Seong-Wook. Even though Seong-Wook was the leader in title, everyone knew that Jae-Gyeom was the real power behind the Silver Spoon Alliance. Switching to mute mode, Jae-Gyeom whispered furiously, “What were you thinking, letting them escape, you idiot?”

“...I’m sorry. We’ll catch them next time,” Seong-Wook replied.

“You better. You are getting paid for this after all.”

Jae-Gyeom’s instruction had been clear: Kill all the men, and capture all the women.

Switching off mute mode, Jae-Gyeom resumed his livestream.

“What a shame. Next time, we will show you a complete victory. As a bonus, I promise strip-show content. Oh, thank you for the donation! You like the twins? We will make sure to deliver! Ah yes, We will also unmask the Deceiver’s Masks. I’ve heard the girls are quite attractive! We will definitely show you! Their Healer is also said to be a beauty. Stay tuned!”

Lost in the thrill of his livestream, Jae-Gyeom’s face lit up with excitement.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

[You have entered the Heyri Art Valley Field.]

As soon as the notification appeared, a bolt whizzed through the air, aimed straight at Cha Jin-Hyeok’s forehead. The precision and skill spoke volumes; this attacker was no amateur Assassin.

‘An ambush?’

Facing an expert attacker was strangely thrilling.

‘But… wait.’

Jin-Hyeok activated his Broadcaster’s Barrier, and an odd realization hit him.

‘This isn’t an item-based attack.’

His initial excitement quickly turned to annoyance. Using a physical crossbow in this sacred Field rather than an item did not sit well with Jin-Hyeok.

It was worth noting that most attacks stemming from real-world physics, like the crossbow, barely registered on Broadcaster’s Barrier, except for nuclear bombs, which Jin-Hyeok had never experienced firsthand.

A large number of figures lay hidden around him, some were Players, and some weren’t. It looked like some wealthy individuals had hired people to serve as guards.

‘Isn’t this a strategy usually used by some rich kids?’

Using his Broadcaster’s Barrier to deflect minor attacks, he used Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance to pinpoint the enemies’ locations. After defeating a few, the tide turned in his favor.

“P-Please! I just did what I was told. Don’t kill me!” one of the guards pleaded.

“Even if you’re just the pawn, you don’t just shoot at someone with real crossbows simply because you were told.”

Had the target been anyone less adept, like Jin-Hyeok\'s sister, Cha Jin-Sol, she might have already met her doom. Jin-Hyeok still had the bolt that was shot at him earlier.

“Did you even consider that this could kill someone?”

“I-I didn’t think…”

“If you didn’t know, let me educate you.”

With that, Jin-Hyeok thrust the bolt into the man’s throat. The guard fell to the ground, lifeless.

“See how dangerous this is? And you say that you didn’t think about it.”

The guard’s excuse saying that he was just following orders was laughable.

“Only one left now.”

The last one, a Player, abandoned his weapon and started running away.

‘A combatant Player discarding his weapon? I can’t let this pass. Also, why is this Archer so slow?’

Jin-Hyeok didn’t know if he was fast, or the Archer was slow. Either way, he effortlessly caught up to the fleeing Player and quickly defeated him.

From a distance, the presence of many Players was felt. As Jin-Hyeok walked toward them, he heard someone talking nonsense.

“What a shame. Next time, we will show you a complete victory. As a bonus, I promise strip-show content. Oh, thank you for the donation! You like the twins? We will make sure to deliver! Ah yes, We will also unmask the Deceiver’s Masks. I’ve heard the girls are quite attractive! We will definitely show you! Their Healer is also said to be a beauty. Stay tuned!”

‘Strip-show content? This guy is spewing nonsense.’

Jin-Hyeok approached the guy who was talking.

[LV44/JG/Initially Awakened Streamer/Skills/Provocative Content]

Without hesitation, Jin-Hyeok swung his sword, slashing the Player beside the guy.

[LV52/Silver Spoon Theorist/2nd Demonic Swordsman/Skills/Faithful to Money]

This one seemed to be the strongest Player around.

“ARGH!”

Jin-Hyeok seized the opportunity and slashed across the man’s chest. Capitalizing on the momentary imbalance, Jin-Hyeok swiftly threw a dagger that landed squarely in the man’s heart.

‘I need to kill him cleanly.’

The number of enemies was overwhelming, at least thirty. If there were a powerful Ruler in their party that could maximize their strength, Jin-Hyeok would be the one dying, not them.

In a one-versus-many situation, momentum was vital. Jin-Hyeok needed to seize the initiative from the get-go, ensuring they could not fully harness their collective strength.

He then approached JG.

“Hey, repeat that. A strip-show? Did you really say that?” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Me?”

‘What was my name again? Ah, right.’

“My name is Boiling Comradeship.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen someone as skilled as you.”

JG was audacious, stepping forward without retreating, gazing at Jin-Hyeok with a mix of arrogance and curiosity.

“A signing bonus for one hundred million won, and a yearly salary of one billion won. This is my offer.”

“...Huh.”

“And I will forgive your rudeness, just this once.”

“Rudeness?”

“You don’t know who I am?”

“Hm…”

“Of course, that’s why you’re acting so foolish.”

“Who are you again?”

“I am Choi Jae-Gyeom.”

“Who the hell is Choi Jae-Gyeom?”

‘Ah, wait. I think I might know of him.’

Jin-Hyeok barely remembered because Jae-Gyeom died in the early stages, but he believed Jae-Gyeom was the third generation of a chaebol family. He was a Streamer who led a group called Silver Spoon Alliance. He mainly dealt with very stimulating and provocative content such as murder and rape.

‘How outrageous does his content have to be to have an Achievement called Provocative Content?’

If Jin-Hyeok remembered correctly, Kim Jeong-Hyeon would smash this guy’s head in the future. Jin-Hyeok remembered now that that guy’s name was Choi Jae-Gyeom.

“Do you now know who I am?” Jae-Gyeom asked.

“I think so?”

“It’s a good thing that you did.”

Suddenly, he became very arrogant.

“Let me say it again. A signing bonus of one hundred million won and an annual salary of one billion won.”

“Let’s do one billion won for the signing bonus, and an annual salary of ten billion won.”

“...What?”

“It means I’ll never take your offer, you bastard.”

Jin-Hyeok immediately cut the guy’s throat. He died instantly.

‘What?’

Jin-Hyeok didn’t think he would die so easily.

‘How can this happen, when he also has Broadcaster’s Barrier? He has the same kind of Broadcaster’s Barrier, but it doesn\'t do anything!’

It was shocking.

‘A magic attack this time?’

A magic attack flew toward Jin-Hyeok. It was a powerful fire magic.

“Die!”

A blazing fireball descended toward Jin-Hyeok as if shot from a catapult.

‘I could probably handle it with my Broadcaster’s Barrier.’

Jin-Hyeok realized again after looking at what happened to JG; the same Skill could have different powers depending on who used it.

The same went for items. In the end, relentless effort and repeated learning were the only ways to survive.

‘I must diligently practice using the Guardian Ring.’

[Guardian Ring (Exclusive to tank class) (Exclusive to the owner of the Rule Breaker)]

[The word 「Guardian」 means to protect and defend. This ring contains a strong will to protect and guard its owner, allowing the use of the Skill 「Star Shield」.]

Shar Shield was the name of the Skill of the item, i.e. the Item Skill. It was the top-contributing Skill that allowed Choi Gang-Byeok, the strongest Tank in Korea, to dominate the Server before his regression. It was a ridiculously overpowered Skill that neutralized all attacks for a very short time.

‘I remember the Skill as being able to completely neutralize all attacks from the same or lower Level.’

And Jin-Hyeok was a Streamer, which was a Job that was known for fast level-ups. It seemed like the Skill suited Jin-Hyeok more than Gang-Byeok.

Just before the fireball hit him, Jin-Hyeok heard the hopeful voice of a Mage.

“It worked!”

‘Worked my ass. I purposefully took the hit.’

[You have activated the Item Skill 「Star Shield」.]

A very thin barrier formed.

‘The duration of the barrier is only half a second? I remember it lasted about three seconds when Gang-Byeok used it. Still, half a second is still very good.’

Jin-Hyeok had Broadcaster’s Barrier, which could block most attacks. The real problems were the opponents’ ultimate attack and bombardment spells from numerous enemies. But now, Jin-Hyeok believed he could block them all if he used Star Shield effectively.

‘The cooldown on this skill is incredibly short, about one second.’

The fact that it didn’t consume any of his mental energy was very impressive. If used in conjunction with Broadcaster’s Barrier, it could produce incredible synergy. It would be hard to use both Skills one after the other, but if he couldn’t even learn how to do that, he wouldn’t consider himself a Player.”

‘Wow, so this is the power of the Guardian Ring! That bastard, Gang-Byeok… He was only strong because of this item! No wonder he was so obsessed with enhancing the Ring.’

Minor attacks followed, but using Star Shield along with Broadcaster’s Barrier, Jin-Hyeok could easily block them all.

He approached the Mage, who shot the fireball at him and slit his throat. The tides had already turned in his favor.

“Let’s see… So you are a Martial Artist.”

The enemy was Level 49. At a glance, he seemed like the guy who broke Jeong-Hyeon’s neck. He probably wasn’t alone; several had to have ganged up on Jeong-Hyeon.

‘I don’t even lay my hands on Jeong-Hyeon. How dare you hit him?’

As a gift, Jin-Hyeok also slit his throat.

“Usually, people run away at this point.”

However, these Players were fighting Jin-Hyeok with all their might. Thankfully, due to them shooting dozens of arrows and bullets at Jin-Hyeok, he was able to practice controlling Broadcaster’s Barrier and Star Shield without any issues.

“From the fact that they are not running away, it seems something scarier is preventing them, or someone is blackmailing them.”

It was better this way. Jin-Hyeok had no intention of sparing them anyway.

Fighting a battle half-heartedly was worse than not fighting at all. Jin-Hyeok had to show the enemies how strong he was and warn them, so they wouldn’t come back and bite him in the ass.

After wrapping everything up, Jin-Hyeok sat on a nearby bench.

[You have acquired the Achievement 「Blood-Soaked Slayer」.]

This was an Achievement a Player acquired when they killed a certain number of people within a specific time frame. From what Jin-Hyeok knew, the serial killer, Jeon Nam-Gil, also had a similar Achievement.

Jin-Hyeok didn’t really check the Achievement because it was not the type of Achievement he particularly liked.

‘Why isn’t my party coming? If they were beaten up that much, they should come back for revenge. It would be quite disappointing if they didn’t come back.’

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Cha Jin-Sol felt angry no matter how she thought about it.

“We can’t go home embarrassed like this. We need to take revenge. We were just exhausted. It’s not like we lacked skills, right?”

“Noona, take a look in the mirror. You are completely pale,” Mok Jae-Hyeon replied with a gloomy face.

Thanks to Jin-Sol, everyone recovered well, but Jin-Sol herself was on the verge of collapsing.

“Aren’t you guys upset that we lost to such losers?”

Everyone felt the same way. However, Seo Ji-Soo checked out a livestream on Eltube and saw something surprising.

“Wait, someone went there and fought them!”

And that someone took down the Alliance leader, who was also the Ruler of the Alliance. After that, he took down the Streamer of the Alliance, and the livestream ended.

“We have an exhausted Healer, and they don’t have a Ruler. Aren’t we at an advantage right now? They might be many, but honestly, their skills weren’t that impressive.”

“We… need to go… back… To restore… our honor…” Jeong-Hyeon said while standing up from his seat.

Everyone returned to Heyri Art Valley. Although Jae-Hyeon swore he would never return, he found himself with the party before he knew it.

When they arrived, they witnessed something astonishing.

The Seo sisters stood frozen in their tracks.

“Annihilation.”

“Really? They’re all dead?”

A voice could be heard from a distance.

“Hey! You’re just getting here now?”

The voice sounded familiar. Jin-Hyeok raised her head abruptly.

“Oppa?”

Jin-Hyeok approached his party.

“You’re telling me that you guys lost to these idiots?”

“T-That’s… But how did you get here?”

“Is that what’s important? The fact that you lost is.”

“We, well actually…”

“So, you did lose.”

“...Yeah.”

Jin-Hyeok let out a heavy sigh.

“With your skills, even if you guys were tired, you shouldn’t have lost to these idiots. If you fought efficiently, you would have surely won.”

“B-But…”

“Don’t make excuses. I fought them myself. I know what I’m talking about.”

Jin-Sol felt unfairly treated. Earlier, she and the other members fought with all their might. Jeong-Hyeon and Jae-Hyeon almost died.

“Whatever. I am still disappointed in you all, but what’s done is done,” Jin-Hyeok said.

He then changed the topic.

“Alright, each of you. Take your positions and pretend that you fought hard.”

“Huh?”

Jae-Hyeon tilted his head in confusion.

“Do you mean that we should act like we fought them and defeated them?”

“Yes. I’m going to start my livestream now.”

“But why? You did everything, right?”

“Do you think it makes sense for a Streamer to have killed them all?”

‘But you did do it though…’ Jae-Hyeon wanted to say that, but he decided not to.

“We need to show the world what happens when they mess with us. Do you actually think this is going to be the last time they’re going to attack us?”

Such incidents happened countless times in the early stages of Play. There was going to be a transition period when Players would incessantly kill other Players until order was established.

Jin-Hyeok uploaded a short clip.

“Our Kim Chul-Soo Alliance will not avoid battles that come our way, but if you do decide to attack us, you must be prepared to die.”

But then, a strange phenomenon began to unfold. Something resembling a magnet started forming in the sky, and before long, weapons like crossbows, guns, and knives began to be drawn toward it. Soon, even corpses started being pulled up, forming a giant mass.

It was clear that something ominous was forming.

A haunting wind started blowing, putting Jin-Hyeok’s party on edge. That damp wind was heavily laden with the scent of blood.

Jin-Hyeok looked up at the sky.

‘Could it be…’ Swallowing hard, Jin-Hyeok thought, ‘...another content for my channel?’