I Gave Up Being Stronger

“Here’s a cashier’s check. You’re welcome to check it."

It was a cashier’s check for ten billion won, as promised.

“It looks good. Please send my regards,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Jin-Hyeok had just come into possession of ten billion won. It seemed like he might finally be able to realize his long-held dream.

“Wait, why are all the real estate companies closed??

By his standards, Jin-Hyeok could not understand why the companies were closed on Sundays.

‘How can they all take a break just because it’s the weekend?’

Jin-Hyeok just thought there were no real estate agents who wanted to become the best. Fortunately, he met with the agent who brokered his current house, and the contract was quickly finalized. He decided to purchase a building at the Yeonhui Intersection, the very spot where the Guardian Seed was sprouting, albeit at a slightly inflated price.

“I won’t sell it even for seven billion won. Stop bothering me,” the building owner said.

“How about eight billion?”

When the building owner said he would not sell for seven billion won, Jin-Hyeok offered one billion won more, and the building owner agreed. The owner said something about how he had never seen such a young man with that much money, but honestly, Jin-Hyeok was so intoxicated with the joy of fulfilling his long-held dream that he hardly recalled the conversation.

When Jin-Hyeok was asked about his occupation, he said he was a Streamer.

‘It used to be a bit embarrassing, telling people that I am a Streamer…’

It wasn’t that Jin-Hyeok disliked being a Streamer, but his pride as a Swordsman was overwhelming. He had accomplished a lot as a Swordsman, but as a Streamer, there was so much left undone. It had been a bit embarrassing to introduce himself as a Streamer, but now, it didn’t feel shameful at all.

That dawn, Jin-Hyeok went back to the Yeonhui Intersection.

[53:33:31]

‘I can’t believe I’ve achieved my dream. And I’m not even Level 100 yet.’

Becoming the building owner where the Guardian Tree grew was his dream. Now that he had fulfilled this dream, he felt incredibly happy.

‘Wait a minute… Does that mean I have to retire now?’

He raced toward this day since his regression. Now he had a home where he could live happily with his family, and he even owned this building. Becoming the building owner in Yeonhui-dong and retiring quietly, almost invisibly, while living happily—that was Jin-Hyeok’s goal, his ideal.

‘Huh…?’

Although the dream of his had now become a reality, he somehow did not feel particularly joyous. Standing there, he recalled the vows and promises he made to himself.

‘I must not live the life I once did.’

It was indeed thrilling and entertaining, but that was the perspective of a madman. From the viewpoint of a sane person, it was a life fraught with excessive danger and uncertainty.

‘I shouldn’t live like that…’

Jin-Hyeok had prepared the foundation to live differently.

‘But why am I not happy?’

Somehow, life suddenly felt dull, even empty, to the point that it made him depressed.

‘Hm…’

He sensed something peculiar. The rustling and shuffling movement gave him the feeling of Assassins nearby.

‘Activate Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance.’

Looking around, he saw Assassins hastily moving near the building he had purchased.

‘Oh?’

It seemed like they were installing something in the building.

‘Bombs?’

Some were real bombs, while others were items.

‘Oh?’

Apparently, they wanted to demolish the building he had bought. He was not sure, but it looked like a warning sent to him by the Shinil Group.

‘This is amazing!’

If that building got destroyed, he would have to rebuild another one. To do that, he would need construction fees. If he was going to build a new one, he might as well make it the most magnificent building in the area. That would require a lot of money.

‘I guess I don’t have to retire.’

He felt like he would get in the way of the bombing if he stayed there.

‘What if they couldn’t detonate it because they were scared of me? Hahaha.’

Jin-Hyeok hummed a tune as he turned away to make an exit. A moment later, a massive explosion resounded.

Boom! Boom!

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After concluding a contract with Cha Jin-Hyeok, Lee Deok-Gyu returned home, wrapping his head in deep thought.

‘He bought it for a billion won more than the market price in this area,’ Deok-Gyu thought.

Deok-gyu wondered why Jin-Hyeok would do that.

‘Could it be that the young man had some kind of secret information?’

His mind became tangled. From Jin-Hyeok’s point of view, he just quickly threw out an offer of eight billion won to get the building as soon as possible, but this had instead confused Deok-Gyu’s mind.

‘Should I cancel the contract?’

In truth, the Yeonhui-dong building was a minor asset in his portfolio. Though it was merely a small-scale building not exceeding ten billion won, what mattered was not the size. What mattered to him was his pride as an investor. He had never once made a loss in his investments. His assets had grown on the basis of his meticulous calculations and analysis, one of the driving forces of his life.

‘No matter how I think about it, there is no reason for him to buy it for one billion won more.’

This had to mean that Jin-Hyeok bought the place with the certainty that it would yield more profits later on.

‘I can’t let this happen.’

Deok-Gyu had already received a down payment of eight hundred million won. Yet, he felt a strong urge that he should cancel the contract.

‘Even if I have to pay back double the down payment, I must cancel the contract.’

Deok-Gyu refused to make a losing investment, especially when it came to being duped by a kid. But then he saw the shocking news.

‘Wait, the building collapsed?’

It was dawn, and fortunately, there were no casualties. Although the cause was suspected to be an explosion, the exact reason remained unknown.

‘It had completely crumbled!’

Things had become complicated. The contract had been made, but it was not yet complete. Deok-Gyu had offered the land and the building, and now that building was destroyed. This was an unprecedented situation, and he didn’t know what to do.

The next day, as he met with Jin-Hyeok, Deok-Gyu hesitantly spoke, “Um… About our contract…”

It seemed that Deok-Gyu had to force the contract through, no matter what. Only by selling it somehow could he minimize his loss.

“Well, I guess I have no choice but to honor the contract. Since I decided to buy it, I decided to just go with it,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Strangely, Jin-Hyeok seemed to be in a very good mood.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The news continually reported the explosion incident at the Yeonhui-dong building. Ik-Hwan lightly stroked his chin and smiled faintly.

‘Surely the warning is clear enough,’ Ik-Hwan thought.

The war had already started. No one could back down now. He no longer underestimated Jin-Hyeok.

‘I was caught off guard in our first encounter.’

Who would have expected someone to send a pair of Assassins into the Chairman’s office? But now Ik-Hwan meticulously prepared for everything. Given the situation, he was sure Jin-Hyeok was a dead man.

‘Let’s slowly corner him to his demise.’

He gathered information about Jin-Hyeok and ordered research institutes in various fields to analyze and research how to neutralize and suppress Jin-Hyeok.

“Cha Jin-Hyeok doesn’t seem to care much about the collapsed building, sir.”

“Of course. He probably already knows it’s me,” Ik-Hwan said.

A true warrior would not be bothered with such trifles. It looked like Jin-Hyeok had accepted the war in his mind.

“Any other movements?”

“None so far, sir.”

“Do you think he’s scared? He didn’t seem like the type to be scared, though…”

“He is livestreaming with his party as usual. There aren’t any unusual movements. The Assassins are with him too.”

Then it seemed Jin-Hyeok had no intentions of infiltrating Ik-Hwan’s side.

“Do you think all of this makes any sense?” Ik-Hwan said while laughing.

“Pardon, sir?”

“A building he had just bought collapsed yesterday. It’s like a toy you wanted so badly has broken right in front of your eyes. Even children cry and throw tantrums when their toys break.”

However, Jin-Hyeok’s behavior was too far beyond reason. He acted as if the building’s collapse meant nothing, merely continuing his Play as usual.

Ik-Hwan could only think of one answer.

“He’s bluffing. He’s showing that he cannot be shaken by such matters. But that show of strength is evidence that he’s actually shaken. He’s still too young, overestimating himself.”

The reporter remained silent. He had just watched Chul-Soo’s Play on Eltube.

‘Chul-Soo seemed to be enjoying his Play too much to be considered shaken…’ the reporter thought.

The reporter thought it was because his view differed from the Chairman’s. Of course, that thought was wrong. Jin-Hyeok was genuinely enjoying livestreaming.

“Let’s move onto the next challenge!” Jin-Hyeok said.

People often indulge in hobbies to clear their minds. For Jin-Hyeok, livestreaming was just that. Suddenly, he forgot everything else and focused solely on his livestream.

Thus, the seventy-two-hour timer of the Guardian Tree finally started racing toward zero.

‘It’s somehow been seventy-two hours already.’

At first, Jin-Hyeok thought he would die of boredom, feeling as if time wouldn’t pass.

‘Just like I thought, having hobbies can have good effects on people’s minds.’

Jin-Hyeok waited at the Yeonhui Intersection for the Guardian Tree to grow. Soon, the ground began to shake. The golden light seeping from the earth deepened.

‘Huh?’

Something began to protrude bit by bit from the ground.

‘It’s growing!’

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Jin-Hyeok began recording right away. Livestreaming was the most vivid and enjoyable, but there were some precautions to take. Jin-Hyeok always conducted his livestreams from a first-person perspective, and it was possible that he could be revealed as the Planter of the Guardian Tree. If that were to be discovered, his other identity, Boiling Comradeship, would also be exposed. Keeping it a secret forever would be difficult, but for now, he had decided that recording was the best way to go.

“Something is growing!”

A tree trunk shot up in an instant.

“It grew at an incredible speed!”

It was the Guardian Tree, shining in golden light. In less than three minutes, it grew to a size almost equal to the surrounding street trees, with its branches extending out. Golden and green leaves sprouted abundantly. It was a mini-version of the giant Golden Guardian Tree Jin-Hyeok had seen in the Guardian Tree Dungeon.

[Young Golden Guardian Tree]

“Brilliant colorful dust is falling on the ground. It looks mystical and magnificent.”

Jin-Hyeok received a notification that the safe zone setting was still effective. However, that was not all.

[The protection of the Golden Guardian Tree is bestowed upon the Planter 「Kim Chul-Soo」.]

“Ah, unfortunately, this part won’t make it to the video.”

Editing for his video would require quite a bit of work.

‘Anyway, what’s this protection of the Golden Guardian Tree?’

[Within the Golden Guardian Tree’s domain, the Planter is set to 「Non-Attackable」.]

[This encompasses attacks from all living and non-living beings such as monsters, NPCs, and Players, that are below Level 150.]

‘Non-Attackable?’

Jin-Hyeok had never seen this setting before.

[You have acquired the Planter’s Record Journal.]

A small book slowly fell from the Young Golden Guardian Tree.

[Planter’s Record Journal]

[A journal that automatically records the birth and growth of the Golden Guardian Tree.

•2022/7/26: Seed was sown.

•2022/7/29: The Young Golden Guardian Tree has grown.]

Wondering what this was, Jin-Hyeok opened the journal. Several pieces of information were transferred into his mind.

‘Huh?’

It was not just this. The Planter’s Record Journal also allowed the Planter to name up to ten co-growers who could help raise the Guardian Tree. These ten people would also receive the protection of the Guardian Tree, just like the Planter.

Jin-Hyeok wrote down the names of all his family members for now. The setting was applied to his mom, dad, and Cha Jin-Sol.

‘Wow, I can’t believe this works.’

At least around Yeonhui-dong, it seemed that his family would not be attacked. Although there was no need for this uninteresting setting to apply to Jin-Hyeok as well, it was not a big issue since he could simply go outside Yeonhui-dong if he wanted to be attacked.

‘And my party members.’

Seo Ji-Ah.

Seo Ji-Soo.

Mok Jae-Hyeon.

Kim Jeong-Hyeon.

Jin-Hyeok wrote down their names as well. As the magnificent tree grew here, people began to flock.

“Wow, a lot of people are coming to see the Guardian Tree.”

Among them, he could sense the presence of the Assassins who had blown up his building a few days ago.

[You have activated Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance.]

The Assassins were distributed here and here. Some were on top of buildings, and others were hiding behind windows, aiming to snipe Jin-Hyeok. About dozens seemed to have found their hiding spots, attempting to surround Jin-Hyeok.

Amid this slight commotion, someone whispered in his ear.

“Follow me quietly.”

“...”

“You are already surrounded.”

The voice was chillingly stern. Jin-Hyeok could feel bloodlust around him. They seemed to have prepared quite thoroughly this time.

From their seamless movements, they appeared to have even recruited a fairly competent Ruler.

“I’ll say it one more time. Follow me quietly.”

“Is it not allowed to follow noisily? I need to record videos.”

Jin-Hyeok smiled mischievously. Truthfully, in the past seventy-two hours, although Jin-Hyeok had personally found it enjoyable, he didn’t think it was a great Play from a livestream perspective.

From the viewer’s standpoint, it was probably just another mediocre livestream. Jin-Hyeok was about to think about other content to film, but thanks to the Assassins, he had found the content he was looking for.

‘Sweet.’