I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 162

‘With Chul-Soo gone, you will be number one.’

‘Only if Chul-Soo is gone.’

The yearning for first place was the driving force behind Egan Paul at that moment. He turned on his livestream and wrote a title, almost instinctively.

[Let’s start the relocation of the Golden Guardian Tree.]

Numerous viewers logged on to Egan’s livestream.

-Did he just say he is going to relocate the Guardian Tree?

-Wait a minute, that’s our Server’s Named Lumberjack!

-A Named Lumberjack? Is that even real?

-Of course. You just don’t know. Every Job has its master.

-How Named is he?

-He’s not a top-tier Named Player, more like a rookie, but if he actually succeeds in felling the Guardian Tree, he will definitely rise to fame.

Some viewers recognized the visage of Rumbol, the Scenario Lumberjack.

-Wow, this livestream is going to be legendary!

-Right now, the Guardian Tree has focused all its energy on the southeast part of Seoul. It must be weakened.

-What a brilliant strategy. The invasion of the other areas was just a decoy.

Egan explained the current situation with considerable composure. He declared his intent to move this treasure, monopolized by Korea and Chul-Soo, to the great United States.

“I promise to research it further so that more people can enjoy freedom and peace.”

The viewers of his livestream were enthralled. Yet, Egan was not as thrilled. He still felt as though he were drifting in that foggy ocean.

‘I just want to create stimulating and excellent content for my viewers.’

He knew saying these things would excite the viewers, but this was not a narrative he had genuinely constructed. A realization dawned on him that someone was intervening with his consciousness, controlling him.

‘The Guardian Tree has protected Seoul well all this time.’

Thanks to the tree, Seoul was considered the safest city in the world, its real estate prices soaring far higher than New York. Seoul was a city where countless people could roam without worry. To cut down that Guardian Tree to relocate it somewhere else was an absurd idea.

‘I honestly don’t even know if it is possible.’

Egan wondered if this was the right thing to do and even contemplated how this livestream content could be unethical. However, the voices kept echoing in his mind.

‘You have to surpass Chul-Soo.’

‘You have to beat Chul-Soo.’

‘Do you want to be in second place forever?’

Egan knew very well that being anything but first was meaningless. Although the world of livestreaming was not a zero-sum game, it was undoubtedly structured so that the winner took all. He had no desire to be relegated to second place.

‘But this is not right.’

His last staged livestream had hurt no one. It was a deal that had left the United States, him, and the Scanorbian warriors all satisfied. However, this one was different. Nearly ten million citizens would lose their guarantee of safety.

‘Stop these pointless thoughts.’

‘Focus on the livestream.’

‘Look, the viewers are excited, aren’t they?’

Various thoughts and consciousness clashed within, unsettling Egan’s mind. His enthusiasm dipped, and the livestream was less smooth than usual. Meanwhile, Rumbol approached the Guardian Tree.

“Even as I get this close, it can’t stop me. How pitiful,” said Rumbol, raising his axe. “Prepare to be cut down. Take it as an honor. My name is Rumbol, the man who will be known as the Lumberjack of the Guardian Tree.”

Just then, lightning bolts began to fall from various points in the sky above Seoul.

Crack! Crack!

The sky turned a shade of purple, and a kind of massive, never-before-seen cloud formed over Seoul. Meteorologists marveled at the sight.

“A s-supercell!”

Various media outlets poured out information about the supercell.

-A supercell is a form of thunderstorm and a type of cumulonimbus cloud that...

-An exceedingly large thunderstorm...

-Significantly larger than independent thunderstorms...

It seemed as if a calamity had descended upon Seoul. A monstrous cloud, reaching heights of ten thousand meters and a width of a hundred thousand meters, seemed to have unleashed hell over Seoul’s airspace with its purple lightning and explosive updrafts.

-Typically, strong tornadoes occur around a supercell, but no tornado has been observed around this one.

-There are also no signs of explosive precipitation, which is one of the characteristics of a supercell.

-This is not a natural phenomenon.

Kang Mi-Na of MiNaTV shouted, “So, to sum it up, this is what the experts are saying. As you can see, dear viewers, this is astonishing. We have already seen it through Chul-Soo’s previous livestream, but it looks even more incredible in person!”

Nearby, Bong King could not stop talking either. “Guys! Look at that! A massive dragon covered in lightning is ascending from the sky!”

-Ascending means going up, LOL. Why are you calling something that’s descending as ascending?

-Who cares about the specifics, as long as you get the gist!

Bong King, focused on interacting with his viewers, deliberately used incorrect words to engage his viewers, while Mi-Na, who was more story-driven, concentrated on the supernatural spectacle orchestrated by the Thunder Dragon.

“The giant Thunder Dragon has wrapped itself around the Guardian Tree! Like a snake constricting its prey!” Mi-Na was captivated by the overwhelming grandeur of the Thunder Dragon. “It’s so beautiful...”

She zoomed in on the scene to capture the expression of Rumbol, who seemed to be visibly distressed. He looked to be hastily trying to make a phone call, but the powerful lightning emanating from various points in the sky interfered with the signal.

“Damn it! No one said anything about this!” he shouted.

Mi-Na zoomed in on Rumbol and maximized the sound to read his every move and word.

“They said that the Thunder Dragon would not get involved! Damn that Humphrey Millen!”

All of this was being broadcast in real-time through Mi-Na’s channel. It confirmed that Humphrey was behind all of this.

The Thunder Dragon spoke.

[“I am not getting involved, human. I am merely present here. You are free to do whatever you wish.”]

? ? ?

Rumbol bit his lip.

‘I can’t give up now.’

The Thunder Dragon had said that it would not directly intervene. So Rumbol drew his double axes.

‘This has been the goal of my lifetime.’

Cutting down a Guardian Tree was an unthinkable feat. Had Earth not been a unique environment, this opportunity might have been beyond his reach forever. This was his one and only chance.

‘I am going to cut it down.’

Rumbol approached the Golden Guardian Tree and took a deep breath.

‘Even if the Thunder Dragon wraps itself around the tree like armor, there have to be gaps somewhere.’

If he could accurately exploit those gaps, he could succeed in cutting down the Guardian Tree. Rumbol focused his mind, searched for the gaps, and found them.

‘Not yet.’

He needed a bit more time.

Meanwhile, the Guardian Tree let out a scream.

-“It stings! Please make this Thunder Dragon go away! It feels like I am rubbing against sandpaper!”

The Guardian Tree, back to using a child-like tone, pleaded with Cha Jin-Hyeok. It was unbearably painful.

‘I can’t help you right now. Just hang a bit longer. I will be there soon,’ Jin-Hyeok said telepathically.

-“And this Thunder Dragon is female, right? I don’t like females! I prefer males!’

‘Why are you worrying about gender right now? Do you rather want to be axed?’

-“Whether the Thunder Dragon is here or not, that guy will still cut me down! He is going to hack at me with that monstrous axe! Oh, he’s coming! He’s coming!”

‘I know.’

Jin-Hyeok was observing the situation through various livestreams—Egan Paul’s channel, Mi-Na’s channel, and Bong King’s channel.

Rumbol, who was deep in thought, suddenly opened his eyes wide and raised his axes. A violet aura flickered in his eyes, and the blades of his axes began to shine.

-“Do something! You’re my Planter after all!”

Soon enough, Rumbol swung his axes.

Whoosh~!

A powerful slashing sound resonated in the air. Mi-Na precisely captured what Rumbol was doing, even briefly applying slow motion to vividly capture the moment.

Thud!

Rumbol had precisely targeted the gap in the Guardian Tree enveloped by the Thunder Dragon.

Thud!

Thud!

The axe strikes continued. The more he swung, the stronger the violet aura in Rumbol’s eyes became, and his confidence soared.

‘I can do this,’ he thought.

As long as his axe swings continued, his weapons would become increasingly powerful. The more he persisted, the more he would evolve into an exceptional Lumberjack.

‘I will be recorded as the man who logged a Guardian Tree.’

With all his might, he swung his axes once more. At that moment...

Crack!

He felt as if something had pierced through him.

‘Huh?’

His vision darkened, and then he saw nothing at all.

‘What in the hell...?’

Rumbol could no longer move. He had died on the spot.

? ? ?

The first to muster courage was none other than Bong King.

‘I can’t fall behind MiNaTV.’

Today was Mi-Na’s day. On a day when the power of content was overwhelmingly strong, a Streamer who was focused on delivery rather than interaction had the advantage. So, Bong King had to take the plunge. He approached the Thunder Dragon. “What exactly is going on here, Mr. Thunder Dragon?”

[“Humans of Earth are fascinating. Are you not afraid of me?”]

“Could you please explain what just happened, Mr. Thunder Dragon?” While requesting an interview, Bong King also lightly poked Rumbol. “Hey, are you ok— Ack!”

Bong King also became unable to move. The residual energy remaining in Rumbol had paralyzed him.

‘I can’t lose consciousness,’ he thought, desperately struggling to remain alert. ‘Chul-Soo keeps livestreaming even if he faints! I can do it too!’

While he knew he could never be exactly like Chul-Soo, he had already become a Streamer with an incredible following. Yet, he still felt the need to follow in Chul-Soo’s footsteps, however distantly that may be. It was a matter of pride for Korea’s top-ranked Streamer.

‘Wait, why did she have to come now?’

The second-ranked Mi-Na also arrived at the scene. She outdid Bong King and succeeded in securing an interview with the Thunder Dragon, asking, “Didn’t you say that you were not going to directly get involved in the situation?”

[“I did not get involved. I merely wrapped myself around the Guardian Tree and took a break.”]

“But the Lumberjack died.”

[“It is likely due to his attack being deflected. I did nothing. It seems he died due to the deflection of my mana field while trying to cut down the Guardian Tree.”]

Not long after, Jin-Hyeok arrived at the Guardian Tree.

? ? ?

With Rumbol’s death, the situation seemed to have come to a temporary end.

While passing by Bong King, Jin-Hyeok whispered, “Well done, Bong King.”

Hearing those words, Bong King immediately closed his eyes. He had fainted while still standing, but a thin smile remained on his face, and his livestream did not disconnect.

-Did he just faint?

-He fainted, but the livestream is still going? LOL.

-I thought only Chul-Soo could do that, but Bong King can too?

Bong King had met Jin-Hyeok’s standards. Jin-Hyeok walked on, brushing past Mi-Na as well. “Mi-Na, you did well too.”

He had carefully watched the livestreams of both Mi-Na and Bong King on the way. They each had their unique style and had creatively showcased the same content. They were like skilled chefs producing different dishes from the same ingredients.

It was also impressive that neither had let the Thunder Dragon’s overwhelming presence overshadow their content and had managed to secure interviews with her. Their beautiful competition to outdo each other was quite striking.

“Hey.” Jin-Hyeok stood in front of Egan.

Many people had assumed that Egan was in the same boat as Rumbol and that Jin-Hyeok would give him a fitting retribution.

Sensing Rumbol’s demise, Egan too felt he was fated for the same.

‘I’m going to die too,’ he thought.

The Fall of Yeonhui-dong had ended in failure. A notification indicating the failure of the Scenario arrived, and Egan prepared for his end.

‘Let’s die with style. At least for this moment, I can be remembered as number one.’

Even if briefly, Egan wanted to be remembered as a Streamer who had surpassed Chul-Soo.

Jin-Hyeok raised his hand

Slap!

His palm fiercely struck Egan’s cheek. “Hey.”

Jin-Hyeok seemed incredibly angry.

‘Of course, he is angry. We tried to cut down the Golden Guardian Tree, the most precious treasure to him.’

Slap!

Another slap across the face.

Jin-Hyeok scoffed as he spoke. “Are you seriously calling yourself a top-ranked Streamer?”

‘What the hell is he talking about? I don’t think he is angry at what I thought about.’

“Why is your livestream so poor? Is this the best you can do with such content? You call yourself America’s number one? Where is your energy? What exactly are you thinking while livestreaming? Have you lost your mind?”