I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 120

A Scenario Dungeon, as the name implied, was a Dungeon with a Scenario. Numerous Quests merged to form a single story within the Dungeon. Naturally, for a Dungeon to be a Scenario Dungeon, it had to be of a certain scale and quality.

‘This fact was not revealed in my previous life.’

As always, there were only two possible answers as to why that was the case—it was either because the Players, who had acquired this Scenario, all died without being able to reveal the information; or because the rewards they obtained from it was so exceedingly rare and good that they thoroughly concealed its content.

Suddenly, Jin-Hyeok remembered what Han Sae-Rin used to complain about in his past life.

“I really don’t understand why the name of this Dungeon is New World,” Sae-Rin said.

Back in Jin-Hyeok’s Swordsman days, he couldn’t understand why Sae-Rin was discontented. He just assumed it was because she was inherently a person with a lot of anger in her heart.

“There’s no coherence to the name! No coherence at all!”

Of course, eventually, some minimum coherence was established.

Upon clearing the New World, the Player was granted the qualification to move to a different Server. To be precise, it was called the New World License, a certificate with an expiration date. Although slightly varying depending upon the quality of the clear, they usually received one valid for two years.

“No, that’s still not enough! Think about it carefully. It’s a Dungeon that announces the official launch, which is very important. And the name is New World, at that. Do you really think the System gave it such a grand name just to issue a license? Hey, if that thing above your neck isn’t just a decoration, put some thought into it!”

Naturally, Jin-Hyeok didn’t engage in such thoughts. That was the role of a Navigator or a Ruler, and Jin-Hyeok’s role in his previous life was to wield a sword skillfully.

Anyway, it seemed a Scenario that he wasn’t aware of was hidden here.

“As you all probably noticed, the first to defeat the monster in the Solo Mode seems to be the condition for activating the Scenario.”

Jin-Hyeok’s heart raced. He was ecstatic about how he was about to challenge the unknown, and in Solo Mode at that.

[You have acquired the 「Fragment of the Madman’s Memories」.]

It was an item that he had never managed to acquire before. An orb-shaped item was transmitted to his inventory.

[Fragment of the Madman’s Memories]

As he took out the item and held it in his hand, an illusion unfolded before him.

“We were happy.”

It was a forest bathed in the warm rays of the sun. Small huts were huddled together, presenting a peaceful sight as it merged with the sound of chirping birds and the laughter of playing children. An old man was sitting on a small bench in front of one of the huts, watching the children with a contented smile.

“It was a dazzling and beautiful time...”

But then someone dressed in a white gown appeared. It was a man with blond hair wearing glasses.

‘Huh?’

It was a face Jin-Hyeok knew.

‘Dr. Jonprich?’

Dr. Jonprich’s right hand was made of machinery. That hand was known as the All-Purpose Hand, a hand that could transform into various machines such as a saw, a knife, or even an axe. Holding a leather bag in his left hand, Dr. Jonprich visited this small village with a gentle smile on his face.

“Before that despicable bioterrorist, Jonprich, showed up, that is.”

Afterward, a horrifying scene unfolded. On a rainy day, Dr. Jonprich poisoned all the villagers, knocking them out, before conducting all sorts of biological experiments on them. He severed limbs to attach them elsewhere, artificially created conjoined twins, and even experimented with combining them with other creatures or monsters, creating grotesque beings.

“All I remember is resisting that man.”

The old man had been fused with a spider-like monster. Locked behind iron bars, he continued to transform grotesquely due to various drugs and experiments. The world darkened, leaving only his voice echoing.

“Ah, please return my happy days to me.”

The illusion ended there. With a clang, the Fragment of the Madman’s Memories shattered. It turned into a red powder that softly fell, scattering in the wind.

“So, the monsters that are here were originally humans. It seems like that’s the setting for the Dungeon.”

The important thing was that this monster was related to Dr. Jonprich. He was a globally famous celebrity, especially in the United States, where he enjoyed immense popularity. Although his background was not disclosed, his exceptional surgical skills led him to heal many people whom others had given up on, earning him the nickname of Godly Doctor.

‘So he was originally a bioterrorist? And has connections with the New World?’

It was an interesting fact. Sae-Rin, who had always claimed that something more was hidden in this Dungeon, seemed to have been right all this time. Yet, Jin-Hyeok discovered another interesting fact.

“The red powder seems to be moving in one direction.”

The red powder flew somewhere as if it possessed its own will.

The powder reached the corpse of the Madman of the Wilderness. It seemed to be circling around the right shoulder, and soon it was absorbed into the right arm.

Thump!

The Madman’s right arm fell off.

[Madman\'s Right Arm]

‘So this is now an Item.’

[An elastic arm created by grafting a tree that grew roots and blossomed in the lava. It has the properties of being hard, tough, and resistant to heat.

Equipment Restriction: Exclusive to navigator-class Players.]

“This Item seems to be exclusive to Navigators, but that doesn’t really matter to me.”

Jin-Hyeok used the Rule Breaker to remove the restriction of being exclusive to Navigators.

“I’m going to try to wear the Item.”

‘Oh, this is fascinating.’

“My arm has become extremely long.”

Moreover, if he wanted, he could stretch it even further with ease.

“It kind of feels like a rubber band.”

Jin-Hyeok swung his right arm around to test it. It didn’t really feel like it was his own arm, but it moved relatively well.

“It seems like this Item was made from a very special tree called the Lava Tree. I think I know why it was given to me at this stage.”

Jin-Hyeok immediately retraced his steps and headed toward the Lava Valley.

“I think I can use this to retrieve the Magma Fruit.”

Using Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance, he precisely located where the Maga Fruit was. He immediately reached out with his right arm.

“It’s quite hot.”

Just because he could endure the heat did not mean that it wasn’t hot. It felt like his flesh was melting. However, that didn’t matter. The important thing was the fact that he could obtain it himself without the help of Navigators or Thieves.

“The fish are rushing toward me and biting, but it’s useless.”

This was the arm that had effortlessly blocked Jin-Hyeok’s sword. Such clumsy bites from those fish had no significant effect on him.

“I got the Magma Fruit.”

He retrieved the Magma Fruit that was submerged in the lava. The lava dripped down his arm.

Tsss...

The lava that dripped down on the ground solidified.

“I’ve successfully acquired the Magma Fruit. Let’s ride this momentum and head straight to the Burning Fortress.”

Once again, Jin-Hyeok entered the barren wilderness.

[You have entered the Field 「Wilderness of the Test Subjects」.]

The Field that revealed itself looked quite different from what he originally knew.

“...This is not going to be easy.”

Monsters of strange shapes loomed everywhere. There was a monster that looked like several humans joined together, like a centipede; a monster with a human upper body and a lower body of a snake; and even one with a lion’s face and a sheep’s body.

‘There are many monsters I’m seeing for the first time.’

They were artificially created monstrous beings. Most were around Level 70 to 80.

“I will try fighting them first.”

After slashing a couple of monsters, he noticed something peculiar.

“It seems like the monsters don’t die even when slashed.”

Even when beheaded, the monsters still moved. It seemed like they weren’t alive in the first place, but instead controlled or manipulated by something else.

“This is going to be hard. My stamina is also decreasing.”

A monster horde of this scale naturally brought a surge of tension. However, Jin-Hyeok already knew how to kill these creatures. It was somewhat similar to the Madman of the Wilderness. There would be something like black orbs somewhere in their bodies, and all Jin-Hyeok had to do was either shatter them or expel them from their bodies.

‘I should fight fiercely, and maybe die at some point.’

Dying a few times would probably make this livestream more enjoyable.

“It would be good to retreat and contemplate a strategy, but...”

That seemed like a slightly pride-hurting choice.

“...This time, I will fight to the death. This is going to be fun.”

Instead of considering stamina management or efficient combat strategies, Jin-Hyeok decided to simply surrender to his instincts. He swung his sword like a madman. Before he knew it, he was almost out of breath, and his head was feeling dizzy. He felt as heavy as a waterlogged sponge. He couldn’t even tell how much time had passed. Like how one hour felt like ten minutes when deeply engrossed in a game, his sense of time became dulled. He couldn’t even remember how he fought.

‘Huh? Why are there no attacks coming toward me?’

“...I guess I didn’t die.”

Jin-Hyeok had intended to die but seemed to have accidentally killed all the monsters. He couldn’t remember much, but the monster corpses were piled up like mountains around him. Dark fluids and green blood from those monsters formed puddles here and there, transforming the arid ground into something resembling a marsh.

“I was so lost in a trance that I didn’t even realize I had activated my defensive Mystery.”

It seemed he had ventured into the Trance Realm, beyond the Transcendent Realm. It was a realm where, in extreme situations, one discarded oneself to bring out instincts solely for battle.

‘I can’t believe I just experienced this,’

Jin-Hyeok could not believe that he had just experienced the Trance Realm, something that a Player would generally experience only at Levels over 200. It was an unimaginable situation. His body felt tingly, as if electrical currents were flowing through it.

“I can’t believe there are five Phantom Swordswomen...!”

Jin-Hyeok could properly control only about one Phantom Swordswoman with his own will. However, in the Trance Realm, he managed to wield as many as five Phantom Swordswomen.

“Honestly, I don’t remember much. But that’s okay.”

Jin-Hyeok found himself speaking faster without realizing it. In his previous life, during his Swordsman days, he worked tirelessly to observe himself entering the Trance Realm, because the Trance Realm brought out another level of skill from within Jin-Hyeok that he didn’t know about.

“There should be recorded footage of me fighting the monsters!”

Jin-Hyeok could view and study himself immersed in the Trance Realm from a more objective point of view. Without realizing it, he clenched his fist tightly, exhilarated.

“I can, become, even, stronger...”

He had reached Level 95 without even realizing it. Everything was perfect.

[You have acquired the Achievement 「One Who Breaks Artificiality」.]

Suppressing his pounding heart, he went on his way, heading toward the Burning Fortress perched on a cliff.

[You have entered the Field 「Burning Fortress」.]

???

Bong King of BonjourTV had been feeling a serious sense of crisis recently. It was because Kang Mi-Na, whom he considered to be perennially ranked second, had been maintaining the first place for several days now.

‘I can’t lose to MiNaTV!’

It was something Bong King’s pride couldn’t allow. He wanted to become the best Streamer in Korea, excluding Kim Chul-Soo.

‘Kim Chul-Soo is in a league of his own anyways.’

From Bong King’s perspective, Chul-Soo was someone who was untouchable. He never considered Chul-Soo to be his competitor. His true competitor was MiNaTV.

‘Wait, she’s not the only competitor.’

If MiNaTV was a rival in a traditional sense, KimKnowItAllTV was a rapidly rising rival. It was overwhelming enough with just MiNaTV, and now KimKnowItAllTV had entered the scene.

‘It can’t just let this go on.’

Bong King planned new content for his channel.

[Kim Chul-Soo’s New World Strategy. Can a party of ordinary Players replicate the God-like Player’s strategy?]

Bong King rallied the top-tier Players he was already acquainted with to try Chul-Soo’s strategy for the New World. His livestream received quite a lot of positive responses.

“Ordinary Players can do it too! We successfully killed the Desert Tortoise very easily! Indeed thanks to the number one Player in the swordsman class, Lee Hyeon-Seong! He is truly remarkable!”

-Ultraman: Calling Lee Hyeon-Seong an ordinary Player? That’s quite a novel bullshit. LOL

-???: No, you.

-ChulSooIsGod: Anyone who is not Kim Chul-Soo qualifies as ordinary.

Bong King was quite thrilled with the fairly positive reactions.

‘This is good!’

After killing the Desert Tortoise, they reached the Lava Valley.

“Fortunately, we also have an excellent Thief with us?”

The Thief used the Thief-exclusive Skill and successfully extracted the Magma Fruit from the lava.

“We did this even better than Chul-Soo! The next stop is the barren wilderness! Thanks to Chul-Soo, we’ve figured out the weak point. I will show you how Chul-Soo did it.”

Hyeon-Seong, who was Level 88, attempted the same strategy as Chul-Soo.

‘Ugh!’ Hyeon-Seong thought.

He deliberately offered his head to the Madman of the Wilderness, but it felt like his head was getting crushed. The pain was much more severe than anticipated.

The mouth of the Madman of the Wilderness was excessively confined, dangerous, and filled with a foul smell.

‘I... I need to find the tongue!’

Even Hyeon-Seong momentarily panicked.

‘I found it.’

Eventually, he managed to rip off the tongue in the same manner as Chul-Soo. However, he felt no joy.

‘If my party members had not diverted the monster’s attention with their attacks, I could not have done it. If I had been alone, my head would have been smashed.’

Hyeon-Seong ended up realizing the gap that separated him from Chul-Soo. Not caring about Hyeon-Seong’s emotions, Bong King continued the livestream with excitement.

“Lee Hyeon-Seong! He has done it! Technically, he didn’t do it alone, but it was close! From now on, I shall refer to Hyeon-Seong as the Sword King!”

Hyeon-Seong couldn’t hear what Bong King was saying.

‘Kim Chul-Soo... How far have you climbed...?’

He felt loneliness amidst the noisy crowd. Bong King maintained high tension, speaking quickly, “Oh! We have also entered a Scenario! I will reveal the name of the Scenario!”

[Glory to the One Following the Lonely Footsteps__]

“I’ve never seen this before. The letters at the back are blank. Hm... Following the lonely footsteps, huh. It seems to imply following the footsteps of Chul-Soo, who is clearing the Dungeon in Solo Mode, but we need to progress further to understand it fully!”

Bong King puffed out his chest and shouted loudly.

“This is great content for my Eltube channel. Don’t you guys agree?”

Unbeknownst to Jin-Hyeok, a new Scenario had unfolded.