I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 154

-WalnutPrince: Ah~ He is intense as always~

As usual, the Chul-Soo Verse was exceptionally intense. The viewers on KimKnowItAllTV thoroughly enjoyed and empathized with Kim Chul-Soo’s intensity. On the screen, Chul-Soo spoke.

?Whew, I have a moment to breathe. I will heal my wounds with a potion.?

-AngelinaJelly: What’s he doing?

-FreakOut: He should just attack that weird-looking monster!

-WalnutPrince: The way he pretends it’s urgent is hilarious. LOL!

Five Crystals, who seemed to have entered the second phase, had many weak points. She looked like an easy target, but Chul-Soo was not attacking her.

-DonkeySaint: But it does seem like he is quite injured, haha.

-StrongGuy: Right? He is so calm about it that the injury seems minor. LOL.

-WalnutPrince: Isn’t that beyond just pretending...?

Chul-Soo disinfected his wounds with a potion.

-OppaDoIt: Why is he disinfecting his wounds? It obviously looks like he is trying to waste time.

The viewers might have wanted IntenseMan’s raw intensity, but they quickly called him out on his overly staged intensity.

Yu-Mi sent Jin-Hyeok a secret message: ‘It might be good to tone down the fake intensity >_<.’ Cha Jin-Hyeok immediately took the feedback, quickly healing his wounds.

Standing firmly on his feet, he looked at the wailing Five Crystals and said, “We are in the Scanorbia Server, the land of warriors. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I will act as a warrior should. Attacking while transforming would not be warrior-like.”

Jin-Hyeok unconsciously smirked. Although he had just stated a plausible reason for not attacking, his heart was pounding.

‘This is again good content for my Eltube channel. Acing according to the culture and style of each Server... It’s a good concept to have. And Five Crystals even entered the second phase.’

Jin-Hyeok was excited to witness her second phase, something he had not encountered before his regression.

“Attacking an enemy during their transformation lacks style,” he said to the viewers.

-???: Really? Is there actually a pervert who attacks during transformation?

The viewers of KimKnowItAllTV truly lived up to their name—they knew Jin-Hyeok quite well. They instantly flooded the Korean Region Minor Gallery, investigating Chul-Soo’s past behavior and posting screenshots as evidence.

“I’ve always wondered, wouldn’t the perfect time to attack be during a transformation?”

The current Chul-Soo and the Chul-Soo who had faced off against Jonprich were starkly different. Back then, he had said that attacking during a transformation was a good strategy; now, he said it lacked style.

[What the hell?! LOL, this guy can’t make up his mind! Seriously? Is Chul-Soo really that impressive? He changes his standards whenever he wants LOL.]

[Written by: NoOverpackagingPlz]

Joseph, named NoOverpackagingPlz on the Gallery, did not stop there. He created a meme from what Chul-Soo had said earlier and uploaded it.

-“However, there must be a limit to what she can do as a Streamer. Streamers are inherently weak.”

[What is this nonsense? He is even admitting that Streamers are inherently weak! He just called himself the weakest man on Earth, LOL!]

┗Nope, that’s you.

┗He is weak by IntenseMan’s standards. By the standards of average top-ranked Players, he is really strong.

┗Even a Level 999 with SSS-Rank would be weak by IntenseMan’s standards.

Joseph’s post again rallied many users. And most of them did not seem to mind Chul-Soo’s fluctuating standards.

-After all, the me from yesterday and today are different. Haha!

┗Agreed. Just yesterday, I decided to go on a diet, but right now, I’m eating fried chicken. LOL

┗Is there anyone who actually consistently lives by their own standards?

Oddly enough, Chul-Soo’s inconsistency appealed to most users.

[He is so down to earth! How can a person be so charming? Even Chul-Soo’s inconsistency is so adorable! Kim Chul-Soo is the best! Awesome! ^,~?❤?❤]

┗This noona has to be over sixty, with the way she talks.

┗Seems like she is well over 60, LOL. You should just call her ma’am and not noona!

┗Her concept is on point! LOL.

The user ChulSoosGF486, who was Lilia, became so famous that her posts started to appear in bold font.

? ? ?

Gluttony’s second phase seemed to be stronger than before.

“She has become faster and much stronger,” Jin-Hyeok said.

However, Jin-Hyeok was still disappointed. Given her lengthy transformation time, he had expected something more special, but nothing of the sort seemed to have happened.

‘Why isn’t she getting any stronger?’

He felt like he were facing an ordinary martial arts class Player of around Level 100. He even used Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance to search for any unique Skills Gluttony might possess, but there wasn’t anything remarkable.

‘This is no fun.’

Jin-Hyeok contemplated ending the fight, but it looked like Han Sae-Rin would not be returning anytime soon. In the meantime, he had to think of an appropriate narrative for his viewers.

“Guess it wouldn’t hurt to practice Taming.”

Taming generally did not work on entities with high intelligence. Moreover, using Taming Skills on a human was, ethically and morally, somewhat frowned upon.

‘But it’s hard to see her as a human in her current form.’

Gluttony looked similar to a bear, but her posture resembled that of a feline creature. She was more like a monster, with incredibly long and sharp teeth and nails.

“I will try to fight for real this time.”

Players often referred to this as serious mode. Anyway, Jin-Hyeok engaged with Gluttony, raising the stakes in their fight.

After a while, Gluttony lay on the floor, spitting blood. Her chest was riddled with sword cuts, and every spot on her arms or legs had wounds on them.

“Those wounds are not going to kill her.”

The injuries were not too severe. They looked gruesome, but they weren’t serious enough to impede her movement. The look in her eyes was also very much full of life.

“If I use the blade, it might be fatal for her, so I will hit her with the blunt side of the sword...”

However, that felt like disrespecting the sword. A sword was meant for slashing and stabbing, not for hitting. Even though Jin-Hyeok was no longer a Swordsman, he had to show a basic level of respect that one should have for the weapon.

“I have a better item for this.”

The Rule Breaker.

“I am going to use this hammer.”

Shaped like a hammer, Rule Breaker was optimal for striking Gluttony.

“Kiiiiaaak!” Gluttony growled in defiance.

“Still got some fight in you, I see.”

[You have activated the Skill 「Taming (Physical)」.]

[「Taming (Physical)」 has failed.]

Thump!

Rule Breaker landed squarely on Gluttony’s forehead. There was a sound of something breaking, but she still seemed to be okay.

“See, if she were seriously injured, she would have not been able to see clearly, but she is looking straight at me.”

A trickle of blood flowed down her face but it was fine. That also fell under minor injuries.

“Activate Star Shield.” Jin-Hyeok effortlessly blocked Five Crystals’s claw attack. When using Taming (Physical), subduing one’s target both physically and mentally was essential. So Jin-Hyeok decided that it would be better to suppress her completely.

“The back of her head seems to be a weak point.” He struck her there.

Thump!

The sound was considerably louder this time, and it seemed like the blow had done its job. Gluttony fell, foaming at the mouth and trembling.

“Finally, it looks like we’re getting somewhere.”

She shuddered as she lay on the ground, finally subdued.

“I think that’s enough damage for now.” Though not critical by any means, Jin-Hyeok assumed this would be enough to tame her.

[You have activated the Skill 「Taming (Physical)」.]

[「Taming (Physical)」 has failed.]

Jin-Hyeok was about to say, ‘Looks like more beating is in order,’ but stopped himself, opting to maintain his dignity as a Streamer.

“I think a more physical approach is required.” Although he thought he was still weak, he believed he was more sensitive to death than anyone else. She didn’t look like she was on the verge of death just yet. He wagered that beating her near death should make Taming (Physical) more effective.

“Kiiiiaaak!” Gluttony let out an inhuman scream. It sounded like the final gasp of a dying animal, confirming that Jin-Hyeok had pushed her to her limit.

[You have activated the Skill 「Taming (Physical)」.]

[「Taming (Physical)」 has succeeded.]

Jin-Hyeok realized something peculiar at that moment.

‘Wait, I didn’t tame Gluttony... It’s something else!!’

Gluttony was displaying fake madness; clearly, she had been under the control of someone or something else. Jin-Hyeok saw the true entity that had been behind this fake madness reveal itself.

Blegh.

Gluttony spat out something. It appeared to be a red object at first. But a closer look revealed that it was a green object that looked red only because of the blood.

“It seems to be a Mystery.”

[Fanatical Obsession]

Jin-Hyeok could not hide his excitement over this discovery. A chill flowed through his brain and down his spinal cord.

“I think by using the Taming Skill, I made her spit out her Mystery!”

In a few incidents, Players spat out their Mysteries after being knocked unconscious. Jin-Hyeok assumed this was a similar situation.

‘Wait, can this work on other people? Please... let that be true...! That would be amazing! Hm... Come to think of it... Does this make me similar to the Players who hunt the Awakened?’

These Players hunted the Awakened and stole their abilities. What Jin-Hyeok had done seemed fairly similar, but he thought more experimentation would be necessary.

Trembling with excitement, he continued with his livestream. “That is a Mystery, likely a form of power that eats at the body and soul.”

Before he knew it, Gluttony started to regain her original appearance. He sprayed a healing potion all over her, poured more into her mouth, and covered her with a blanket he bought from the Broadcaster’s Shop. His actions were not out of pity, but were rather a reward for enhancing his livestream and offering him a new hope.

‘It seems a faint connection still exists between her and the Mystery...’

This Fanatical Obsession seemed to have its own will. It appeared as if the Mystery desperately wanted to enter Gluttony’s body.

“It’s fascinating to feel something like this. Seems like the taming process was a success.”

Having conjured excellent content, Jin-Hyeok was quite satisfied with today’s livestream. Just as he thought it was a good time to wrap up and take a break, he chanced upon an extraordinary stroke of luck.

Crack!

Lighting descended from the sky.

‘This seems familiar.’

Jin-Hyeok found the energy quite familiar, akin to the lightning energy used by the Thunder Dragon that Park Terse had tamed.

“This doesn’t look like natural lightning.”

Lightning surged around him.

Crack! Crack!

Yellow bolts descended on the ground, yet miraculously, they did not set the trees ablaze or damage the forest. The densely grown branches swayed as if they were under some invisible influence. Then, a space opened up suddenly, revealing the blue sky.

“Look there!”

In the center of the blue sky, a dragon wreathed in golden electrical currents became visible. Compared to the dragons Jin-Hyeok had seen and knew of, this one was considerably smaller and seemed less imposing.

[LV132/Thunder Dragon/Baby of the Central Forest/Prince]

Jin-Hyeok realized that Terse had indeed tamed a Thunder Dragon in Scanorbia. Furthermore, right now, that dragon was just Level 132.

‘Ah...’

Jin-Hyeok had a hunch about why the dragon had revealed itself. Its eyes, emitting a green glow, were fixed on the Fanatical Obsession Mystery. Although the Mystery didn’t show any changes, Jin-Hyeok felt that it was trembling as if it had met its predator.It seemed desperate to hide within Gluttony, whom Jin-Hyeok had subdued earlier.

Jin-Hyeok grabbed the Mystery and absorbed it.

[You have acquired the Mystery 「Fanatical Obsession」.]

Jin-Hyeok had extracted an untamed Mystery from another being. Since he had tamed and absorbed this Mystery, he was confident he could call upon it to activate it.

The Thunder Dragon seemed enraged at his actions.

‘Damn! It’s so bright my eyes hurt.’

When he used Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance, his eyes tingled uncomfortably.

[The Thunder Dragon has activated the Skill 「Thunder Dragon Roar」.]

The surrounding trees withdrew as if they were living beings, making crackling sounds. What was once a dense forest had now transformed into a small barren area.

Krooooah~!

The young Thunder Dragon roared, and dark clouds gathered in the sky. A fierce and powerful aura loomed, eliciting a small grin from Jin-Hyeok. He sheathed Rule Breaker and took out his primary weapon, the Greatsword of La’kan.

“I am going to have a conversation with the Thunder Dragon.”