I Gave Up Being Stronger

Her demeanor.

Everything about Shin Yu-Ri resonated deeply with Cha Jin-Hyeok, leaving an impression that could not be ignored.

A descending pillar of light, seemingly aimed toward him, struck the ground right in front of him.

‘She is only Level 45, and her Skill is this powerful.’

Some might call her a half-completed Player, but her single-strike destructive power was top-notch.

‘She almost killed it!’

Only half of the monster’s body managed to emerge from the ground.

[LV55/Red-Eyed Deputy Commander Ant/Skills]

It was a monster that was more than ten levels higher than the average Red-Eyed Ant. It was significantly larger too.

It was roughly about fifty centimeters, and its teeth attached to its jaw were as sharp as blades. Jin-Hyeok unsheathed his dagger and finished off the nearly dead Red-Eyed Deputy Commander Ant.

[You have defeated a Red-Eyed Deputy Commander Ant.]

Then, as Jin-Hyeok looked up in the distance, Waiting Wife was biting her lip.

[#Could have killed it in one strike. #I’m still lacking. #I need to be better.]

More than just resonating deeply within him, Waiting Wife’s attitude was inspiring. Today was her first real battle. She wasn’t even in perfect mental condition. Yet, she had anticipated the enemy that would spring forth before Jin-Hyeok and proactively attacked the area.

‘Normally, that attack shoots in a straight line, but she managed to curve it.’

Any Player with artillery skills could do it, but this was a different matter. It was her first time casting the Skill. This could only be described as a God-given talent.

But what inspired Jin-Hyeok more was Waiting Wife’s mindset.

‘She could easily be pleased with this minor success, but instead, she is whipping herself to do better.’

Players, especially the low-level ones, or those who had not been Playing for long, tend to be elated even by small successes, thus it was reassuring to see that Yu-Ri was setting her first foundations well.

Jin-Hyeok moved slowly, and cautiously, so as not to provoke the lesser Ants and climbed the Sacred Tree. He hid his joy and excitement, opting to educate this Player to become a better one.

“Your instincts were good. However, accurately assessing and judging your allies’ abilities is also one of the important virtues of a Player.”

“Please teach me more.”

“Did you think I didn’t know there was a Deputy Commander Ant there?”

“...Ah, I see.”

“It was more efficient for me to kill that one. It was stronger, but it was alone. Your role was to annihilate those weaker ones that come in groups. How long is your Skill\'s cooldown?”

“About five minutes.”

‘Wow, that’s long. Being able to attack only once every five minutes… Depending on the situation, she really could be considered a half-completed Player.’

“That one attack wasted us five minutes,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“I will do better.”

She could\'ve easily taken a hit to her pride, but she was ready to learn to become stronger. Teaching such a quick learner always made Jin-Hyeok enthusiastic about passing on even more knowledge.

“We’re nearly at the five-minute mark. This time, we will move as we agreed upon.”

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

Jin-Hyeok and Yu-Ri divvied up roles and battled against the Red-Eyed Ants. Jin-Hyeok took out the occasional Deputy Commander Ant that revealed itself, while the remaining lesser Ants melted under Yu-Ri’s artillery fire.

As time passed, Yu-Ri astonishingly gained three levels.

‘My cooldown has been reduced by a whole thirty seconds!’ Yu-Ri thought.

She saw hope. The higher her Level, the shorter the cooldowns. Every now and then, Jin-Hyeok climbed onto the Sacred Tree and offered Yu-Ri various pieces of advice, and each time, she felt a deep gratitude bubbling up from her heart.

For his part, Jin-Hyeok was enjoying himself as well. He was broadcasting for an audience of one, but the viewer’s reaction was excellent and impressive.

“If the Deputy Commander Ants have appeared, what do you think comes next?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Is there a Commander Ant?”

“Exactly. Now, look at those Ants sloppily submerged in the honey and slurping it up. What do you feel?”

“Hm…”

Yu-Ri desperately wanted to give the right answer. Her brain was racing.

“They don’t seem intelligent enough to act in a coordinated group,” Yu-Ri said.

“That’s correct!”

“...Ah!”

Yu-Ri had an epiphany.

“Then that means something is commanding these lesser Ants, and that must be the Commander Ant, right?” Yu-Ri said.

“Yes. That’s my assessment.”

“So, a Commander Ant would be a monster with significantly greater intelligence?”

Jin-Hyeok, who was proud of her answer, nodded, giving her time to continue.

Yu-Ri suppressed her elation and spoke calmly, “The Deputy Commander Ant wasn’t enticed by the honey and tried to ambush Master instead. It was smarter than the lesser Ants.”

Before Jin-Hyeok knew it, Yu-Ri was addressing him as her Master, and Jin-Hyeok seemed to naturally accept this title.

“So the Commander Ant would be an even more intelligent monster.”

She had accurately grasped what Jin-Hyeok was trying to teach her.

“In that case, I will cease my attacks when the Commander Ant shows up. Such an intelligent being would definitely identify me as a threat and attack me if I took any action. However, if Master successfully hunts down the Commander Ant, the organized lesser Ant Army will fall into disarray, which should improve our situation,” Yu-Ri said.

Jin-Hyeok couldn’t help but clap. It was an incredibly satisfying answer.

“Exactly. Managing and adjusting the aggro well is another important virtue you should have, Waiting Wife. It’s not all about strong attacks.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

And the situation unfolded just as Jin-Hyeok and Yu-Ri had anticipated.

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

Jin-Hyeok sensed something lurking beneath his feet. Depending on its depth, the entity would sometimes appear and sometimes vanish from his Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance. As the monster approached, it came into full view of Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance

[LV65/Red-Eyed Commander Ant/Skills]

‘It’s approximately one meter below the ground.’

Given the scale of the Ant Army, Jin-Hyeok assumed there would be at least five Commander Ants.

‘Here it comes.’

He subtly shifted himself backward.

‘Moving further back would be safer, but…’

He deliberately moved only a slight distance.

‘Activate Broadcaster’s Barrier.’

By now, using Broadcaster\'s Barrier had become second nature to him. He had tried to minimize its use while getting accustomed to the ability, but things were different now. He could operate Broadcaster\'s Barrier exactly when needed and in just the right amount.

He felt a sharp energy surge up from the ground, and he blocked it at the right time.

‘I can feel it.’

He had a sense of the monster’s capabilities now. The size of the Commander Ant that had revealed itself began to grow. Underground, its size had been similar to that of Deputy Commander Ant, but as it emerged onto the surface, it was almost as tall as Jin-Hyeok. It stood on two legs, like a human, but a pair of scale-like wings were attached to its back.

‘It can use its eight eyes for some minor hypnosis.’

The monster possessed psychic abilities that could make its enemies disoriented or slow. However, Jin-Hyeok, who bore Imperial Resilience, was not affected in the slightest.

‘Flying monster is a bit annoying, but…’

Fortunately, a drizzling rain began to fall. Monsters with scale-like wings like this one could not fly properly when it rained.

“Then it will attack me with its front legs that look like swords,” Jin-Hyeok smirked. These days, he found joy in many things, but he always loved sword-versus-sword combat the most.

“I will stick to what I love the most.”

He swung his Greatsword of La’kan. As he did so, he thought about what catchphrase would suit the moment if it were an actual livestream.

“You are already dead.”

As Jin-Hyeok had discussed, Yu-Ri did not attack the Commander Ant, and just when it died, she targeted the Worker Ants.

Roughly six hours later, Jin-Hyeok had managed to kill seven Commander Ants.

‘It’s done.’

The Worker Ants began to scatter. Originally around Level 45, the Worker Ants became mere garbage monsters of around Level 15 due to the -30 Levels penalty. The glow faded from their eight radiant red eyes. It meant that all the Commander Ants were gone.

“We were lucky. Thanks to the rain, killing them was much easier,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“I couldn’t even see your sword properly. Your movements were too fast,” Yu-Ri replied, visibly excited.

Seeing her reaction, Jin-Hyeok cleared his throat. Such reactions always pleased him.

“Anyone could do this much,” he said modestly.

“The world of Play is truly astonishing!”

“Anyway, all the Commander Ants are dead now. Let’s move toward the root passage. There should be a gate leading to the roots among the places the monsters were digging through.”

At the very location where he had killed the last Commander Ant, a gate had formed approximately three meters underground.

[Roots of the Sacred Tree]

“Let’s go in.”

“Okay.”

Although the gate was three meters below them, Jin-Hyeok simply hurled himself toward the gate, and Yu-Ri, who was Playing for the first time today, also threw herself in without hesitation.

[You have entered the Field 「Roots of the Sacred Tree」.]

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

This place felt like a cave, with long winding passages split off in multiple directions. Embedded throughout the roots were luminescent stones that seemed to glow. It was the sap leaking from the Roots of the Sacred Tree, in a solidified and glowing state.

Jin-Hyeok took the first step forward. Just then, an odd notification popped up.

[You are entering a fragment of the Scenario 「Collapsed Reverence」.]

‘A Scenario? Here? And the name of the Scenario is Collapsed Reverence?’

Several clues floated into Jin-Hyeok’s head.

‘The mere existence of a Scenario isn’t common, and with a name like this… it must be related to the Revered One Scenario.’

Jin-Hyeok knew of the 4th Seoul Scenario, named the Revered One, which was for those invading Earth. He knew there was a counterpart Scenario for the defenders, but he had no idea what it was called.

‘There is a high chance that it’s called the Collapsed Reverence.’

Thinking about it, the pieces seemed to fit together like a puzzle.

‘It seems like Yu-Ri had once progressed through the Collapsed Reverence Scenario as the defender.’

Since she had been a legendary villain, she had not particularly fought against the invaders. That was why Scenarios like the Revered One or the Collapsed Reverence weren’t widely known.

‘Yu-Ri must have acquired the abilities of the defenders here.’

Specifically, the defensive Mystery called the Iron Dome.

It was a sufficiently plausible story. Jin-Hyeok felt like he was finally piecing together the timeline of his previous life.

‘Thanks to Yu-Ri turning evil, we have a hell of a time fighting against those from other Servers.’

His vision seemed to become more clear. No wonder things had felt so tough not long after the Open Beta service.

Back then, Jin-Hyeok had briefly succumbed to self-loathing, thinking his rate of growth was too slow, but there was no need for that. Yu-Ri, who should have been a stronger defender on their side, had turned into a villain. It was no wonder Jin-Hyeok struggled before his regression.

‘That’s right. I was never weak back then.’

As to confirm his theory, a choice notification popped up.

[1. Enter the fragment of the Scenario 「Collapsed Reverence」.]

[2. Refuse to enter the fragment of the Scenario 「Collapsed Reverence」.]

Upon clicking the choices, several explanations followed. To put it simply, it was familiar information. This Scenario came with immense responsibility and risk, and those who were either not chosen or unqualified would face the judgment of the Sacred Tree and so forth. There was also a mention that their route would differ based on the choice.

Jin-Hyeok turned to Yu-Ri and asked, “Yu-Ri, you can see the choices too, right?”

“Yes, I can see them.”

“You’re seeing the same thing as me, right?”

“Yes.”

“What would you like to choose?”

“Option one.

“Why?”

“Because it says it comes with greater risks and heavier responsibilities.”

“Is that more appealing to you? Isn’t that usually a bad thing?”

“Hm.. you might be right, but for some reason, option one feels right. I…I might be the odd one…”

Yu-Ri seemed a bit flustered. However, Jin-Hyeok didn’t think this was a matter to be flustered about. After all, this is how everyone should be Playing. There were many Players who could learn from Yu-Ri, such as Mok Jae-Hyeon.

“No, you’re perfectly normal,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

Yu-Ri looked genuinely relieved at his words. With a sigh of relief, she cautiously asked him another question, “Do you happen to know what they mean by the special qualifications and conditions required here?”

“Not precisely, but if this Scenario is related to what I think it is… I feel like I’ve already met some of the conditions.”

Truth be told, matters like this were typically in the realm of Navigators, so even Jin-Hyeok didn’t know the exact details, but this time, he had a hunch.

He felt like he would know for sure if he just went with his decision. So, he immediately chose option one.

A voice, likely that of the Sacred Tree, resounded. It said something about following the will and qualifications. Jin-Hyeok listened carefully, just in case there was important information, but there was nothing particularly useful. The most crucial part was at the end.

“How can this be? Why do I sense the Will to Protect from you?”

The voice was so loud that his head began to ring.

“Prove your worth to me. Show me that my seven thousand years of waiting, enduring humiliation from those vile ants, was not in vain.”

The entire passage quivered.

[You have received the Hidden Quest 「Seven-Thousand-Year Wish of the Sacred Tree Bakurudnaima」.]

‘Huh? This is exciting.’