I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 126

“What do you mean by that?” Gang-Byeok asked.

“What?” Cha Jin-Hyeok replied.

“You just insulted me.”

“Insulted you?”

‘What did I say?’

Jin-Hyeok couldn’t remember what he had said to himself. As far as he remembered, “That’s not how you Play as a Tank” was just him talking in his mind.

“You said that’s not how you Play as a Tank,” Gang-Byeok said.

“...Oh!”

“Did you just say oh?”

“Can you... read my thoughts?”

‘Did Gang-Byeok have such a Skill?’’

“If you continue to insult me, I won’t hold back anymore.”

“You will regret saying that.”

Jin-Hyeok let out a deep sigh and then stepped forward. He relayed information to the viewers.

“The orbs of light explode upon contact, causing a big destruction. But if they don’t make any sort of contact, the explosion range is considerably small.”

If the orb of light didn’t hit any surface, the explosion wasn’t considered a wide-range attack.

“I don’t really understand why he would create a wall so big and allow the orbs of light to blow everything up.”

Of course, it was possible to defend against the orbs of light like that. However, the stamina consumption was tremendous, since Gang-Byeok was getting hit by things that could be easily avoided.

“I happen to have an ability similar to a Tank too. It’s a defensive ability called Phantom Swordswoman.”

Gang-Byeok wanted to ask Jin-Hyeok how his defensive ability was similar to his.

“It’s an ability to defend a localized area,” Jin-Hyeok said.

From above the ceiling, the high-ranking Spirit, Magnar, revealed itself. Magnar had a slightly larger form than the lizard-like Igrit. If Igrit resembled a common lizard, Magnar resembled a lizard capable of bipedal movement.

“Magnar, the high-ranking Spirit, is looking down at me. I suspect another attack is imminent.”

Just as expected, the orbs of light regenerated.

“I’m sure if I defend like Choi Gang-Byeok, I won’t be able to withstand many of the monster’s attacks and will be overwhelmed.”

There was no need to block everything. It was fine to let the non-fatal hits land. The party members here weren’t weak Players, after all.

Magnar swept its hand from left to right and six orbs of light appeared in mid-air.

“A total of six. I am not going to block two of them.”

Jin-Hyeok had already observed their flying trajectory earlier. Monsters around Level 100 did not have particularly complex attack patterns. Of course, this was by the standards of Jin-Hyeok, who had forgotten how weak he was when he was around their Levels in his past life.

“The important part is what to do with the other four.”

Jin-Hyeok sneaked a glance behind him. Gang-Byeok was preparing to block the orbs in his own way. Judging by his stance, Gang-Byeok seemed to be ready to block one of them on his own.

“So he’s not trying to block them all at once,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Every Play came down to footwork.

Jin-Hyeok moved to an appropriate position and activated Phantom Swordswoman.

“Activate Phantom Swordswoman.”

The Phantom Swordswoman surged into the sky, then she embraced one of the orbs.

Boom!

An explosion occurred.

“The Phantom Swordswoman managed to prevent the spread of the explosion effectively.”

Blood trickled from the corners of Jin-Hyeok’s mouth, but he didn’t mind.

‘Gang-Byeok, you can block like this too, can’t you?’

Instead of widely dispersing the Steel Wall used earlier, he just needed to focus on a narrow range and form it into a box shape.

“Now one of the orbs is gone. This way, the monster’s full attention is on me.”

Jin-Hyeok promptly hurled himself toward Magnar, who was floating in the air.

“I think I can block its attack with just my Broadcaster’s Barrier.”

Having taken a hit through the Phantom Swordswoman, Jin-Hyeok felt a bit more confident. As a Player, it was only natural to experience things first-hand.

Of the remaining five orbs, a whopping three were flying straight toward him. Jin-Hyeok tightly embraced Magnar. Although it could deploy orbs of light with a formidable explosive force, its physical strength was almost nonexistent.

“If I maintain Broadcaster’s Barrier at a relatively weak yet uniform level, I can even withstand the flames from a high-ranking Spirit. It’s akin to taking shallow, elongated breaths for an extended period.”

It was more exhausting to keep breathing shallowly for a long time than to let out one big breath. The same principle was applied to using Skills.

‘Sure, a lot of Players can’t do it, but you, Choi Gang-Byeok, you have to!’

Jin-Hyeok felt deeply betrayed.

‘Lee Hyeon-Seong! Choi Gang-Byeok! You guys can’t keep letting me down like this!’

Suddenly, one of the orbs flying toward Jin-Hyeok collided with Magnar, unable to overcome the inertia.

Boom!

The orb exploded along with Magnar.

“You can block such a powerful explosion with Star Shield.”

Jin-Hyeok started to fall to the ground, his body in tatters. He felt a bit woozy.

‘How can you guys not be able to do something that I can?’

Meanwhile, Gang-Byeok, who had successfully blocked one of the orbs, quickly ran over to catch the falling Jin-Hyeok.

“Healer!” Gang-Byeok shouted.

A healing spell was cast on Jin-Hyeok. The Healer of the party, Lim Jong-Min, was shocked.

‘Wait, my healing ability was this powerful?!’ Jong-Min thought.

To Jong-Min, Jin-Hyeok appeared nearly half-dead. It was a miracle that he was still alive, given how his entire body was melting. Despite the severe injuries, Jin-Hyeok recovered in no time. Jin-Hyeok quickly regained his senses.

“As you can see, the attack can be blocked this easily and simply.”

Though Jong-Min’s healing ability was maximized due to Jin-Hyeok’s All-Rounder, Jin-Hyeok didn’t see it that way.

‘Perhaps Magnar’s attacks are less lethal than I thought. That’s why I recovered so easily.’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

By his own strict standards, Jin-Hyeok could not consider himself to be exceptional.

“In the meantime, the damage-dealing Players, including Hyeon-Seong, are causing problems for Magnar with their fierce attacks.”

Jin-Hyeok stole a quick glance at Gang-Byeok. His body was shaking uncontrollably. Gang-Byeok had realized something thanks to Jin-Hyeok.

‘I have to discard what needs to be discarded and take the damage that I have to take. Even if it means sacrificing my own body...’ Gang-Byeok thought.

Though he knew it in his mind, it had been difficult to put into action. Seeing Jin-Hyeok demonstrate it made all the difference.

‘I didn’t know I could construct a cubic structure using my Steel Wall.’

And that was how he blocked one of the orbs.

Creating a smaller Steel Wall proved to be far more efficient than when he created the giant wall.

“Are you regretting your past actions?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“...”

“See? I told you you’d regret it.”

Gang-Byeok bit his lip.

‘So he wasn’t mocking me, but he was only trying to teach me.’

In essence, Gang-Byeok had made the outrageous mistake of warning his supposed mentor never to insult him.

“You’re feeling ashamed right now, right?”

“...”

“You should apologize to me.”

“I will apologize after we hunt down Magnar.”

Jin-Hyeok joined the party to kill Magnar.

‘Did I overdo it by acting like a big shot?’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

He felt as if he had overstepped due to his frustration. By Jin-Hyeok’s standards, his offensive capabilities were far less compared to Hyeon-Seong’s at Hyeon-Seong’s peak. Jin-Hyeok’s defensive abilities were also far inferior compared to Gang-Byeok’s at Gang-Byeok’s peak.

So, Jin-Hyeok decided to be a bit humble.

“At this stage, Job boundaries aren’t that clear, which is why I was able to do this,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Usually, at around Level 100, Job boundaries would become distinct. Jin-Hyeok had always thought and said so. Although he was vaguely aware that something was wrong with his standards, he didn’t actively admit it.

“I think this style of Play should be possible up to Level 150. It looks like Gang-Byeok has grown a little too. I’m glad I could help. It shouldn’t take long to kill the Magnar.”

It took roughly six hours.

Jin-Hyeok grinned widely.

“It really didn’t take long.”

[You have defeated 「Magnar」.]

“I wonder who is going to get the biggest reward.”

In most cases, the Player who dealt the most damage got the biggest reward.

“I doubt it’s going to be me.”

Even though Jin-Hyeok said that, he was secretly hoping for the biggest reward.

Bong King also chimed in, “It definitely won’t be Chul-Soo. How could a Streamer get the biggest reward?”

[You have acquired the Item 「Superior Spirit Stone of Fire」.]

The Item was given to Jin-Hyeok.

? ? ?

In a whirlpool of sarcastic donations, the chat roared with laughter.

[「TaylorSwag」 has donated 10,000 Dias.]

[“???[1]: I mean, it’s not like Chul-Soo is all that great. He was able to do that only because we took most of the energy out of Igrit.”]

[「EatShit」 has donated 10,000 Dias.]

[“???: Do you think you can maintain this solo performance? I personally don’t think it’s possible.”]

[「AngelinaJelly」 has donated 10,000 Dias.]

[“I bet Kim Chul-Soo can’t do something like this. ← He actually said this! LOL!]

The never-ending flood of donation alerts mocked Bong King as viewers were typing laughter emojis at him. With a theatrically aggrieved expression, Bong King offered all sorts of excuses.

“Hey, Chul-Soo only managed to do well because our Tank did a good job in the beginning!!! We were the ones that figured out how strong that monster was! That’s why Chul-Soo Played so well!”

Bong King became a self-appointed clown. His ears flushed crimson as he vented his frustration. Even Jin-Hyeok couldn’t help but admire his performance. The Bong King that Jin-Hyeok was seeing was a professional.

[「FiniteChallenge」 has donated 10,000 Dias.]

[“You’re pathetic, Bong King. LOL! Chul-Soo is not even a Tank. He is a Streamer. Haha!”]

“What do you mean pathetic? Our party’s damage was way higher!”

A torrent of donation alerts ensued.

[“Yet the reward item went to Chul-Soo.”]

[“Nope, you’re wrong.”]

“It’s just because of the unique system that acknowledges only Chul-Soo’s Solo Mode that his damage was the highest!”

[“Nope, you’re wrong.”]

[“The System never lies.”]

Pathetic Bong King. Shameful Bong King.

Countless taunts and laughing emojis filled the chat, as donations continued to pile up. Tears welled up in Bong King’s eyes.

‘The viewers are enjoying it!’

It was a moment of awe for him. He had never seen so many laughing LOLs and laughing emojis before.

‘KingGodGeneral Yumi was right.’

The viewers’ enjoyment was also Bong King’s joy. Tears of exhilarating happiness streamed down his face.

[“Dude, is that guy crying?”]

[“LOL Bong King? More like Cry King!”]

[“HAHAHA! Why are you crying?!!”]

To the viewers, it appeared as if Bong King was crying because it felt unfair to him. However, Jin-Hyeok, who was looking at him in the distance, understood Bong King.

‘This is why people should be humble. How could he even think of such an innovative concept? I know I wouldn’t have pulled that off. He is really a cool guy.’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Bong King had earned a special place in Jin-Hyeok’s heart. As Jin-Hyeok glanced at Hyeon-Seong and Gang-Byeok, he sighed.

‘You guys should learn something from Bong King!’

1. This is a meme in Korea where people don’t write the specific name of the person who actually said the phrase, just to mock them even more. For this instance ‘???’ would be Bong King. ?