I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 167

The screen showed the Player Taekwon V, Kim Doo-Hwan, bloodied and his wrists shackled with chains.

“What is this? Are they filming a movie or something?” Jin-Hyeok asked Cha Jin-Sol.

“It’s not a movie. It’s for real.”

He found the situation incomprehensible. “It must be some kind of performance.”

“It’s not!”

After suffering a crushing defeat at Jin-Hyeok’s hands, Doo-Hwan seemed to have had an epiphany and had been honing his skills in the field of performance. Jin-Hyeok had found this extremely satisfying.

Doo-Hwan was an entertainer-class Player[1] whom Jin-Hyeok had admired even before his regression, someone who had integrated Taekwondo into his Play to create flashy and beautiful techniques, standing at a pinnacle different from that Jin-Hyeok stood on. Doo-Hwan was known as the Hwarang of the Ashen Cherry Blossom, an impressive nickname in Jin-Hyeok’s opinion.

“If this is not a performance, then what is it?”

Doo-Hwan’s comrades were also beaten to a pulp and scattered across the floor.

“Hold on. I need to see when the video first starts. Rewind it for me,” Jin-Hyeok asked.

On the screen, a man with a red beard, Oliverne, laughed.

?Behold. This is the true face of fake martial arts. These are the kinds of trash who are even worse than the fools supporting the HARD movement.?

Jin-Hyeok scowled again.

‘Comparing the HARD movement with entertainer-class Players? What kind of nonsense is this?’

?This trash will be executed at noon tomorrow.?

‘What? A combatant-class Player is about to execute entertainer-class Players? By what right?’

“You know that Taekwon V is closely associated with the Black Thorn Alliance, right?” Jin-Sol asked.

“I know. He is best friends with Kwak Do-Hyeong.”

“And the Black Thorn Alliance is very close to us too. They are under your command.”

“Under my command?” Jin-Hyeok said.

‘I don’t remember saying yes to that.’

“Yeah, the K-Force. I know you didn’t create it, but everybody in the world knows that you are its leader,” Jin-Sol replied.

She did not seem intent on making Jin-Hyeok understand. It was as if she just wanted him to silently accept the position of the leader of the K-Force.

Jin-Hyeok was not a Ruler, nor did he have the capability of one—it was a bit embarrassing that they would even suggest this to him.

‘Maybe I should lure Han Sae-Rin later to take the leader position instead of me.’

Jin-Hyeok shook his head in disbelief. “You don’t know me at all.”

Since he had come to this realization just minutes ago, it was not strange that Jin-Sol was unaware.

“Kim Pyeong-Beom has retired,” he said.

“Retired? Pyeong-Beom?”

“Yes, Pyeong-Beom is someone who knows how to keep his promises to himself.”

? ? ?

Jin-Sol had misunderstood her brother. She thought Jin-Hyeok would consider saving a non-combatant-class Player pointless and unnecessary.

‘But it’s Taekwon V,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

He was a Player who set the hearts of many men ablaze, possessing a brilliance that Jin-Hyeok could not exhibit and a talent too great just to be left to die here.

‘I’m just a little glad that it’s Oliverne. Now I can teach him a lesson.’

Before Jin-Hyeok’s regression, Oliverne had always been somewhere between being a villain and being a hero. He was too ambiguous to be labeled as a clear-cut villain, yet he did too many insane things to be considered a hero. Hence, he was known as the Berserker.

While combatant-class Players being obsessed with strength was a common sight, Oliverne had a particular fixation. He relished duels with strong Players.

‘He is a guy who isn’t satisfied until he has utterly smashed his opponents.’

Oliverne acted as if he bore a personal grudge against his opponents, completely crushing them.

‘We nearly came to blows a few times.’

Before his regression, Jin-Hyeok had wanted to fight Oliverne, but was held back by the higher-ups. Every time, Oliverne would mock him and say, “The Sword King of Korea is but a cowardly, immature brat.”

Just thinking about the past ground Jin-Hyeok’s gears. Back then, Jin-Hyeok had been a government official, so he could not freely engage in a fight with Oliverne.

“I am always ready. I await you on this throne for your pathetic sword to challenge me,”

Oliverne had provoked him multiple times, and Jin-Hyeok had no choice but to remain silent. People thought he was afraid and that he had fled with his tail between his legs. Eventually, the System’s online community, like Nerver, rated the American Berserker higher than Korea’s Sword King. Jin-Hyeok did not usually remember community reactions well, but those comments were still vivid in his mind.

-Shouldn’t a top-tier Player like Cha Jin-Hyeok be able to duel at will?

‘But I couldn’t.’

Jin-Hyeok desperately needed national support to become stronger, so he had no choice but to follow the government’s directives.

-He’s just silent because he is scared, LOL.

-The Sword King got cold feet? Haha!

Jin-Hyeok felt like he could finally address that past frustration.

“Right now, I am a non-combatant-class Player, aren’t I?” Jin-Hyeok started to hum happy tunes. “If a non-combatant-class Player like me defeats the Berserker...”

That would naturally imply that the Jin-Hyeok before regression, who was a combatant-class Player, was stronger than the Berserker. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a flawless logical proposition.

? ? ?

At Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, located in the Pacific Ocean, chaos erupted within the US Space Force Space Operations Command.

“Something is approaching fast!”

An unidentified flying object, not discernible to even America’s latest radar technology, appeared on their screens. As soon as it was detected, all radar equipment went dead.

“What’s going on?!”

Emergency sirens rang throughout the base. Although the exact cause was unknown, it was suspected to be an EMP attack. The Air Force issued an emergency alert and immediately went into a combat-ready stance. However, the alarm ended as quickly and absurdly as it had begun.

Commander Leopold firmly pressed his temples and said, “So you\'re telling me, it was Kim Chul-Soo who flew over, and not a stealth fighter?”

“...Yes, that is correct, Sir.”

“Our strategic assets couldn’t detect that, and we found out only because of Chul-Soo’s livestream? He just flew across the Pacific by himself? Is that what you are telling me?”

“He was not just flying, Sir. He used a mysterious mount called the Thunder Dragon.”

“So you’re saying he flew across the airspace that our military is supposed to be guarding...”

“...Yes, Sir.”

“I’m going to lose my mind.”

For Commander Leopold, who held the responsibility of guarding the American airspace, the situation was nothing but sigh-inducing.

Meanwhile, the Player who had inadvertently caused chaos at Anderson Air Force Base set foot on the US mainland.

“Much faster and more comfortable than a commercial plane, am I right?” Jin-Hyeok said.

Blegh!

Mok Jae-Hyeon vomited as soon as he touched down at the beach.

Jin-Hyeok shook his head in disappointment. “How are you going to lead the KSM Alliance if you\'re this weak?”

Jae-Hyeon couldn’t answer and retched for a long time.

“Jin-Sol, are you okay?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Not really... but I can bear it.” Jin-Sol was feeling a bit better than Jae-Hyeon but was considerably disappointed in herself.

‘I should be able to cure motion sickness if I am to be called a true Healer. What if it were my brother?’

She thought that by her brother’s standards, even motion sickness should be curable.

‘I still have much to learn.’

She reflected on her frailty for not being able to cure motion sickness and climbed back onto the Thunder Dragon.

Meanwhile, Jin-Hyeok continued the livestream. “Oliverne. You think you’re good at fighting?”

After all the flack he had gotten from people before his regression, challenging Oliverne to a fight made him feel a lot better.

“If you are as strong as you claim to be, why not try to fight me, a non-combatant-class Player?” Jin-Hyeok sighed with a look of incredulity. “How pitiful must a person be to drag an entertainer-class Player into such nonsense? Aren’t you ashamed as a combatant-class Player?”

Not long after the livestream aired, Egan Paul started his livestream. An interview with Oliverne the Berserker was underway.

?Kim Chul-Soo, I saw your pathetic provocation.?

Oliverne heartily laughed for a while.

?I heard that you are a non-combatant-class Player who forgot his place and just happened to catch the public’s attention by pure luck.?

The Berserker garnered a significant response on Egan’s livestream.

?You are to deceive me with such bizarre Play??

Oliverne claimed that most Streamers’ Plays were staged, and he was not fooled by fakes. He also expressed his disgust for phonies like Chul-Soo.

?You were just lucky all this time, thanks to your precious Guardian Tree. How dare you challenge me??

Oliverne described Chul-Soo as a bubble.[2] He mocked Chul-Soo, saying that Chul-Soo got stronger only because of the Guardian Tree in Seoul and the special privileges he gained during the Server connection.

?Luck doesn’t last forever, kid.?

The phrase “You are a bubble” instantaneously became a meme.

?And I am the king who will burst that bubble.?

? ? ?

Just in case he needed help, Jin-Hyeok had brought Jin-Sol and Jae-Hyeon along, but thankfully, things were going smoothly. Oliverne announced he would have a one-on-one duel with Chul-Soo, and they agreed to meet in a nearly deserted plain in Texas, on the American Server.

“Oppa, are you really sure about this one-on-one duel?”

‘Oh, wow! Even my sister doesn’t believe in me.’

“Do you also think I am an overrated Player who is riding on the coattails of the Guardian Tree’s power?”

“N-No! How could I think that? It’s just that I am worried about you, that’s all.”

At least Jae-Hyeon seemed to have a better grasp of Jin-Hyeok. He said to Jin-Sol, “You shouldn’t worry about Hyung. Are you really worrying about him right now?”

“I’m not worried about Player Chul-Soo at all.”

“Then?’

“It’s Cha Jin-Hyeok that I am worried about!” Jin-Sol had gotten better with the cheesy talks.

Jin-Hyeok rubbed his nose. Hearing Jin-Sol say things like that was a bit embarrassing, but he did not exactly dislike it.

Anyway, Jin-Hyeok headed to the location Oliverne had mentioned.

‘Heh heh heh.’

Before he knew it, his subscriber count had reached 350 million. The number was growing exponentially, and the live viewer count had reached a whopping one million. It seemed that this content was receiving more attention than he had thought.

Soon after, a flock of Wyverns appeared in the sky. They were flying in with a roar akin to that of eagles, all tamed by Players.

Jin-Hyeok urgently spoke to the Thunder Dragon. “Atanna, it’s time for you to go back and focus on your son. Thank you for everything.”

Having the Thunder Dragon beside him would have made for a more spectacular scene, but Jin-Hyeok had to tell her to go back. Wyverns inherently feared Thunder Dragons and could not even spread their wings properly in front of one.

If he had not let the Thunder Dragon go, the Wyverns would have fallen from the sky.

‘I should avoid livestreaming their shoddy appearance.’

Jin-Hyeok temporarily stopped the livestream. For good content, enemies needed to appear strong to heighten the tension. Jin-Hyeok could not present such sloppy content to his viewers. However, Oliverne misunderstood his intentions.

?It appears that even your vaunted Thunder Dragon loses its luster in front of an army of forty Steel Wyverns. A mount that cannot attack cannot be considered a good mount.?

Jin-Hyeok was so astonished by the Berserker’s ignorance that he was at a loss for words. Even if there were four hundred million Wyverns here and not forty, they would have still crumbled and squirmed in front of a Thunder Dragon.

Soon, the Wyvern army landed on the ground.

‘Is that Park Terse?’

Jin-Hyeok wondered who could command so many Wyverns at once, and it turned out to be Terse. For some reason, Terse was currently with the Avengers Army.

In any case, Oliverne jumped off from the largest Wyvern.

Thump!

With a loud noise, Oliverne landed. It had been a while since Jin-Hyeok had met him; he was as big as ever but much younger than the Oliverne Jin-Hyeok remembered.

Oliverne approached Jin-Hyeok and whispered, “Your king has descended.”

Jin-Hyeok saw plenty of opportunities to strike him, but didn’t take them. It took a superhuman patience to suppress his instincts as a Swordsman. Jin-Hyeok had flown all the way to the United States, so he had to produce at least a minimal amount of content.

‘But was he always this full of openings?’

That did not seem likely; something felt a bit off. When Jin-Hyeok reflected on it, a few things started to look somewhat suspicious.

1. Previously translated as performance-type Player ?

2. In Korea, calling someone a bubble means that they are overrated. I would’ve translated it as such, but then there is an English meme in this chapter, calling the main character a bubble, so I left it like this. ?