I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 150

Jin-Hyeok told himself that he could do it and that the Unleashing Technique shredded all limitations.

‘Is it impossible? Is today the day I ultimately fail?’

Suddenly, fear struck in his heart, and his focus wavered for a minute. Then the image of Egan Paul appeared before him—the Egan Paul who always prided himself on being a step ahead of Kim Chul-Soo. Although Egan feigned modesty to the public, Jin-Hyeok could clearly see Egan Paul’s true self.

‘Egan Paul!!!’

At that moment, a minor explosion occurred in Jin-Hyeok’s universe, like a big bang. It created a small crack in his cosmos, and for a moment, something seemed to be visible through that crack.

‘Now’s the time.’

At times, anger could be a strong motivation or nourishment. Jin-Hyeok felt that the happenings before him worked on a similar principle. A unique force had caused an explosion in his mental world, providing immense power and drive to his Unleashing Technique.

[The special constraint has been destroyed (Unlocked).]

Jin-Hyeok knew he could do it; he just had been foolishly holding back all this time. He felt as if millennia of pent-up stress had just melted away.

‘This is why people should live as they are meant to.’

He picked up the phone and called Wang Yu-Mi.

Even though it was three in the morning, she rushed to his place immediately and asked, “What is it? What’s going on?”

“Yu-Mi, this is confidential. You cannot tell anyone about this.” Cha Jin-Hyeok shared the information exclusively with the Storyteller. “So, this is a secret. It’s about my Almighty Jack of All Trades Trait.”

“Ah, yes! The Almighty Jack of All Trades Trait.”

‘How would Yu-Mi use this information to help me? Surely, she will think of a way I can’t even imagine. Would it ensure Egan never surpasses me again?’

“It has been upgraded to a special Trait called All-Rounder. Thought you should know before we proceed with the content.”

“Hm... Okay.” Yu-Mi exaggeratedly wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “Thank you for trusting me! This kind of trust is a first for me.”

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

After sending Yu-Mi back, Jin-Hyeok stayed up all night with eyes wide open, looking at his lovely Trait throughout the dawn.

[Munchkin][1]

‘Who would have known such a Trait existed? If I play this out well, I don’t need to retire! No, that’s not right. I am a Player who never loses sight of the basics, always remaining true to my aim.’

Jin-Hyeok decided not to harbor the weak mentality of possibly not retiring. He believed the reason he could become this strong was his challenging mindset that he was going to retire at Level 150.

‘This Trait is only activated in other Servers.’

On Earth, it was simply applied as the All-Rounder Trait, so there would not be many changes to his character on Earth. Jin-Hyeok once again reassured himself.

‘I need to retire at Level 150, so I should enjoy it to the fullest until then. But... now that I think about it, Level 150 seems kind of low.’

Jin-Hyeok always stuck to the basics and had never lost track of his goal, but there was nothing wrong with raising the bar a little more.

‘Maybe just until Level 175?’

Yes, 175. The number seemed pretty, and Jin-Hyeok liked it.

‘It’s just a difference of 25, so it should be okay, right?’

? ? ?

The next day at noon, Jin-Hyeok met with Pathfinder, Han Sae-Rin, in front of Seoul Station.

“Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”

Jin-Hyeok could feel she had become much more modest than she was in his previous life. She was not the type to throw such cringeworthy lines at him, so this made him oddly embarrassed.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said.

“I intend to show you this time.”

“Show me what??”

“That I am superior to Mole Man.”

Without realizing it, Jin-Hyeok found himself smiling warmly. Indeed, one grew best when they had a rival. Sae-Rin seemed to have grown faster than he remembered, which lifted his spirits.

“What do you think?” Sae-Rin asked.

“Huh?”

“Between me and Mole Man, who do you think is a better Navigator?”

“Numbers don’t lie.”

“... Numbers?”

“I am talking about the Ranking Board.”

Mole Man and Pathfinder had always been neck and neck, alternating between the first and second spots in the Ranking Board. Unfortunately, Mole Man was currently ranked first. Sae-Rin bit her lip and flared up with determination. It was quite a sight to behold.

“Let’s head out, IntenseMan.”

The warp portal to Scanorbia was located within the Tutorial Dungeon at Seoul Station.

[Would you like to use the warp portal heading to the 「Scanorbia」 Server?]

[Pioneer’s Privilege exempts you from the usage fee.]

“It might get dizzying, so I will pause the livestream for a moment.” With that plausible excuse, Jin-Hyeok paused the livestream momentarily. It would be a bit troublesome if his Munchkin Trait were exposed.

[The Pioneer has proceeded with the Server Teleportation.]

[Pioneer’s Privilege has been applied.]

The updated setting values automatically appeared before his eyes.

[Trait: Munchkin]

? ? ?

Jin-Hyeok arrived at the Scanorbia Server.

‘The Server of warriors... It’s been a while.’

He took a deep breath. The air felt much clearer here. The warp portal of this place was right in the middle of a vast forest, and he could see quite a few Players from Earth.

“It seems like we’ve entered an ancient forest. The bushes are dense, and the tree trunks are thick. There are many old trees, giving this place a feeling of an aged land.”

“Should I proceed as planned? No changes, right?” Sae-Rin asked.

“Just a moment.” Jin-Hyeok tapped Sae-Rin’s shoulder. Rushing could ruin things sometimes.

“The foliage is so dense that the sky is hardly visible. Still, the sunlight filtering through the green leaves is refreshing.” As a Streamer in first-person perspective, he had a duty to convey the experience of this palace vividly to his viewers. “I can also hear sounds of unknown animals, somewhat like monkeys, from various places. There is also the sound of many birds.”

Just then, a bird perched on a branch flapped its wings and took off. It was a red bird, as big as an eagle, but with a beak so large it resembled a pelican.

“A bird that I have never seen before has just flown by... and, oh, it seems to have bitten a Player’s head.”

That bird’s name was Large Beaked Muncher. It tended to bite anything that fits in its mouth. Although it was not a monster, it was considered to be around Level 30.

“ARGH!”

Blood trickled from the bitten Player’s head, but that was the end of it. He did not have any major injuries, and the surrounding area seemed quite peaceful other than that.

“Let’s get moving then.”

At that moment, Jin-Hyeok heard whispers and murmurs. A few Players even approached him.

“Are you really Kim Chul-Soo?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Oh my God!”

A man who looked to be in his mid-20s jumped in excitement. “It is truly an honor to meet my idol, especially here.”

A woman, appearing to be in her early 30s, could not take her eyes off Jin-Hyeok. For a moment, Jin-Hyeok wondered if she might be an Assassin, but fortunately, she was not.

[...#World’s number one Streamer. #So cool. #I hope I can be like him someday.]

She was also a Streamer, one of the Initially Awakened Streamers, with a Level in the 90s.

Jin-Hyeok felt a surge of pride.

‘It seems I have become quite respected among other Streamers.’

Being admired by Players with the same Job was indeed gratifying. While his heart swelled with pride, he tried his best not to show it.

‘Wait, her Player Name is Five Crystals?’

The name sounded familiar. When he saw her face, he felt like they had met before his regression, but he could not quite recall her.

“Pathfinder, did you do what I asked you to?” Jin-Hyeok said in a serious voice.

“What’s wrong with your voice?”

“Why?”

“No, never mind.”

[...#Why is he acting so serious all of a sudden?]

“Anyways, I have paved the shortest route. There will be monsters along the way. Are you planning to hunt them?” Sae Rin asked.

“No.”

“Got it. I will guide you in a route that avoids contact with monsters as much as possible.” Sae-Rin took the lead and started walking. A significant number of Earth Players began to follow them.

[...#If I follow Chul-Soo, #Perhaps I can get some rewards.]

[...#Let’s try to get anything I can.]

Most of them were pitiful Players.

[...#He is the world’s top-ranked Player. #I must see him in person. #Let’s emulate my ideal Player.]

Though, some were admirably driven, Five Crystals being one of them. Because of her attitude toward Play, as well as her demeanor toward him, Jin-Hyeok found her quite likable. Of course, it was not just because she had acknowledged him as the world’s top-tier Player.

Definitely not.

“There are occasional monster ambushes along the way. Insect-type monsters seem particularly dangerous. They often hide in trees and suddenly shoot venom.”

Due to these intermittent monster attacks, some Players died on the way, and Jin-Hyeok even had to save a few. He did not save them out of goodwill, but because he wanted to experience the venom, rumored to be quite potent.

“I guess it is true I have acquired complete immunity to poison up to Snake King-Grade. I don’t feel a thing.” Jin-Hyeok would have loved it if there were monsters with even stronger venom, but it was quite disappointing that there did not seem to be any.

“T-Thank you.”

“It’s dangerous from here on out, so you should turn back.”

Before he realized it, no Player was following them. Sae-Rin was moving incredibly fast, and more powerful monsters had begun to appear, which had likely deterred the other Players.

‘Hmm... But Five Crystals seems to be following us from a distance.’

She seemed to be diligently following them, using Jin-Hyeok’s livestream as a guide. He found it quite admirable that she was one of his viewers.

Sae-Rin, who was cutting down vines with a big sword, suddenly seemed to recall something. She asked, “Why did you save that girl earlier?”

“A girl?”

“You never cared about Players dying. Why did you save her?”

Jin-Hyeok did not remember that it was a girl. When he recalled the incident, it seemed like the person he had saved was Five Crystals.

“Are you the type of person who is kinder to women than men?” Sae-Rin asked.

“No way.” Jin-Hyeok couldn’t help but reflect on himself.

‘Did I show such a pitiful side of me to my old comrade?’

Perhaps Sae-Rin was warning him in her own way.

“Did it seem that way to you?” he asked.

“Well, she was pretty good-looking.”

“Was she?”

In fact, Jin-Hyeok did not remember her face at all.

“I just wanted to feel how strong the venom was. That’s it.”

“I see.” Sae-Rin, who had been eying him with suspicion, quickly accepted his explanation and smiled. She had to have missed the explanation when Jin-Hyeok said it in his livestream earlier. Thankfully, she did not seem too disappointed in him.

“But you could have just gotten hit by the venom and not saved her,” she added.

“Isn’t it better to save someone if possible?”

“I guess. There is no need to force it, but saving someone incidentally isn’t bad.”

Jin-Hyeok had not saved Five Crystals just because she had acknowledged him as the world’s top-tier Player. Definitely not. However, he wondered if Sae-Rin was this cold-hearted before his regression.

‘Maybe she is growing faster than she did before my regression. Maybe this is just my imagination.’

Sae-Rin seemed to be swinging harder to cut down those vines. Jin-Hyeok was happy that she seemed to be in a better mood.

Suddenly, they encountered a massive lizard-type monster.

“Watch out!” Jin-Hyeok tightly grabbed Sae-Rin and jumped up onto a tree.

‘Oh, I feel light.’

It was because of the Munchkin Trait. From what he could sense, it felt like his Level had increased by 30. He felt as light as a feather, so hopping around the tree branches while holding Sae-Rin was not that difficult.

“There is a large hump on the monster’s tail. It is swinging the hump with a considerable force. The tail stretches out like a rubber band and whips, making a more precise attack than expected,” Jin-Hyeok explained to the viewers.

[LV77/Hump-Tailed Lizard/Tail Swing]

Its Level was only 77, yet that attack had almost hit Sae-Rin’s head.

‘But Sae-Rin would not just let such an attack hit her, right?’

The Hump-Tailed Lizard was quite adept at hiding, but not enough to go unnoticed by Sae-Rin.

‘Was she caught off guard?’

If she had been caught off guard or made a mistake, that was a bit disappointing

Jin-Hyeok asked, “Why did you allow such an attack to almost hit you?”

In his embrace, Sae-Rin raised her head to look straight into his eyes. “Because I wanted this to happen.”

1. Munchkin is a gamer who disrupts the game\'s progress by solving everything alone, instead of following the rules and cooperating with other characters. ?