I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 170

Both Bong King and Mi-Na exclaimed in unison.

“How rude!”

“That’s offensive!”

However, the two of them were aware of it themselves. They did get along quite well. They were not sure about their personal rapport, but as Streamers, they had excellent synergy. Bong King was better at communicating and interacting with the viewers, while Mi-Na excelled in creating narrative and providing direction.

Soo-Jung, who had been a perfectly ordinary(?) civilian before her incident, shattered Bong King’s and Mi-Na’s mindsets.

“If you watch TV shows, you see multiple people hosting together, right? Is there really a need to insist on livestreaming alone?”

“...”

“...”

Bong King and Mi-Na were not yet ready to let go of their pride.

“No matter how good it is, I will not collaborate with that person. Besides, I am currently the top-ranked Streamer. Why would the first place need to join with the second place?”

“Hey, you only got to the top because I let you take all the credit for the recent content on finding that Mystery. Before that, I was in first place!”

“Who cares? I’m in first place now.”

“So this is what I get for helping you. You don’t even appreciate my help.”

“Blah blah blah. I can’t hear anything~”

Soo-Jung shook her head in disbelief. “Even Kim Chul-Soo is reflecting on his actions right now.”

Chul-Soo had almost killed Oliverne in a fit of anger without even thinking about his content, and he deeply regretted it.

“Even the infamous IntenseMan, or rather, OrderMan, is reflecting on himself right now.”

OrderMan was Chul-Soo’s new nickname. It was created because he was establishing order in the new civilization.

“...”

“...”

“Even he is reflecting and striving for improvement, and you two are here just arguing?”

“...”

“...”

“You know what is the right thing to do, yet you won’t do it because of your pride?”

Massaging her throbbing temple, Mi-Na replied, “Don’t hit me with facts. I don’t like it.”

“Really. How mean to attack with facts!”

***

A few days later, an interesting piece of news spread across the world. The top two Streamers of the Korean Region had joined hands for a new beginning.

Cha Jin-Hyeok also heard this news.

‘Oh? So this is happening?’

This had never happened before his regression. It was clear to Jin-Hyeok even before that if these two combined their strengths, they would create a considerable synergy.

‘They told the world that they would never join forces.’

Yet, they were doing the same thing right now.

Jin-Hyeok thought about how these two, who were once as incompatible as water and oil, had suddenly joined forces. There was only one answer.

‘Could it be to surpass me?’

At that thought, his heart began to race. Qualified challengers boldly stepping up to the plate was always exciting and enjoyable.

‘Shall I check out what they are doing?’

He examined the new Eltube channel that the alliance of Bong King and Mi-Na had created: BongMiNaTV.

‘Huh?’

An intriguing scene was unfolding.

***

Jin-Hyeok spent a good while checking out BongMiNaTV. As expected, there was quite a bit to learn from the collaboration of the top two powerhouses.

‘Are they on the Scanorbia Server?’

Before Jin-Hyeok’s regression, the Earth Server around this time had been in chaos, suffering from the attacks of Players from other Servers. The first Server formally connected to Earth had not been Scanorbia but the much more challenging Feypla Server. The Players from the Feypla Server outclassed the humans and had their way with them.

‘We were usually at the receiving end of this, but now we\'re the ones attacking other Servers.’

The Official Service had just started not too long ago. The growth of Earth’s Players was truly remarkable and filled Jin-Hyeok with pride. Also, they had not just barged into the other Server mindlessly.

‘They even secured a just cause by moving with the Players developed by the MK Foundation. That’s not all. What was his name? ... Phoo Pad Phong Curry? Something like that... He tried to massacre the Farmer-class Players from the MK Foundation. The two Streamers even have the cooperation of Khan, who is the leader of the locals.’

Invading a Server head-on without any humanitarian consideration was not something commendable. Invading another Server required at least a pretense of a just cause, and it was necessary to consider the perspective of all Servers involved.

Without a just cause, mindlessly invading a Server could turn all Players from other Servers into enemies, which would be the worst-case scenario. The best way to invade was to gain the help and support of the locals. With that, no one could point fingers at the invaders.

‘And the Players of the MK Foundation are quite skilled...’

With Lee Hyeon-Seong, the Anus Destroyer, at the forefront, Shin Yu-Ri was performing exceptionally. Of course, they were all still weaker than Jin-Hyeok.

‘All the elements are well-aligned and functioning smoothly.’

Many changes had taken place after Jin-Hyeok’s regression. The Black Rose Alliance and the Black Thorn Alliance, once adversaries, had combined forces to be called the Black and Black Alliance. The once mortal enemies, Song Ha-Young, also known as Angel Girl, and Pathfinder Han Sae-Rin, had become friends. Now, even Bong King and Mi-Na were joining hands. Earth Players, who would get beaten up by other Servers’ Players in Jin-Hyeok’s past life, were now invading other Servers and making their mark.

‘Well, I’m sure it’s not because of me.’

Regardless of the reason, these changes were quite encouraging.

‘Hm... I should send some donations.’

Being a Streamer himself, Jin-Hyeok realized how hard it was to produce content. Since BongMiNaTV had been giving him a great deal of pleasure, he wanted to give them a fitting reward.

[‘2Weak2Retire’ has donated 1,000,000 Dias.]

[“Anus Destroyer seems weaker than I thought, haha.”]

Seeing the one million Dias donation, Bong King suddenly shouted, “Woooaaahhh! Thank you, 2Weak2Retire! Thank you for the donation! It’s my first time seeing you on my channel, but I will take it as an encouragement to work harder! Thank you so much!”

Bong King’s reaction was genuine. He did not waste a single second. Jin-Hyeok had not donated for the sake of getting this reaction, but it felt good regardless.

‘So this is how you react to donations... I don’t think I can do that. Does that mean I’m not as intense as I thought I was? Hm...’

Countless viewers filled the chat.

-Holy shit! Someone donated for the first time, and it’s one million Dias?

-2Weak2Retire seems really rich, wow!

-A million Dias for donation... That’s insane!

-All hail 2Weak2Retire!

Rubbing his nose, Jin-Hyeok watched the flood of chat messages.

‘What am I feeling right now?’

He never thought of it before.

‘This... feels good?’

It was like a drug. He felt the urge to keep donating.

‘Let’s see... How much Dias do I have from donations?’

Jin-Hyeok hadn’t checked his Dias recently; he thought that if he found out he had too much, he would probably have to retire. However, it didn’t matter now. Since another version of him, Kim Pyeong-Beom, had retired, money wasn’t going to be an issue anymore. It did not make logical sense, but Jin-Hyeok decided not to sweat the small stuff.

‘How many zeros are there? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine...’

Playing on an inter-Server scale, Jin-Hyeok realized he had accumulated about seventy billion Dias. It was too much, even for him. Dismissing it simply because Pyeong-Beom had retired felt wrong, so he had to consider what to do with such a massive amount.

‘Wait a minute.’

He suddenly realized how desperate Bong King and Mi-Na were. They were like oil and water, yet they had combined their strength to surpass him.

‘They will need financial support if they want to surpass me, won’t they?’

It was not that he did not want to retire. And it was not because he was high on the chat’s fervor. He was simply setting an example for his juniors(?), as a senior(?), by nurturing them.

[‘2Weak2Retire’ has donated 10,000,000 Dias.]

[“Anus Destroyer is weak!”]

The chat exploded.

-LOL! You gotta listen to him, Anus Destroyer! He’s saying you need to strive harder! HAHA!

-Yes, Anus Destroyer is weak.

-If 2Weak2Retire says he’s weak, then he’s weak.

-The first donation was a million Dias, the second one was ten million Dias... How much is the third one going to be?

The viewers’ passionate responses continued nonstop. Jin-Hyeok wondered if a ten-million-Dias donation was really that significant, but since he hardly watched any other livestreams, he could not be sure.

[‘2Weak2Retire’ has donated 100,000,000 Dias.]

[“The weak Anus Destroyer.”]

Anus Destroyer’s nickname became the Weak Anus Destroyer.

It was a highly satisfying conclusion.

***

Kihael visited Jin-Hyeok’s house once again, and when he saw Jin-Hyeok’s face, he couldn’t help but ask, “What’s got you so excited?”

“What’s got you so pissed off?”

“You don’t understand the sorrow of us office workers.”

“Do you understand the sorrow of a Streamer like me?” Jin-Hyeok felt something strange all of a sudden. “You used to at least pretend to sneak around. What happened?”

Kihael had come to Jin-Hyeok in broad daylight, not even bothering to wear a hat. Kihael’s face was quite well-known around Seodaemun-gu, and likely, many people had seen him on his way.

“I can’t stand being a GM anymore. I hate it!”

From what he had told Jin-Hyeok, it sounded like he had reasons to be angry. The problem was the growing discrepancy between the Korean Region and other Regions on the Earth Server.

If teachers tried to adjust the difficulty level of a test to cater to all students, they were bound to be criticized. The GMs of the Korean Region had similarly tried to design an appropriate level and difficulty suitable for all Players. However, they had failed and were constantly getting crushed by the higher-ups, day in and day out.

“You said you are going to make sure I get a solid job at the MK Foundation, right?” Kihael asked.

‘That’s very different from what I said.’

“I said I would help you get a job at the MK Foundation if you got fired.”

“And that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. Get fired.” Kihael was implying that he was going to blatantly leak confidential information about the System. “You said that the MK Foundation is going to take full responsibility for any compensation, right?”

“Kihael, why aren’t you desperate?”

“...What?”

“If you were truly desperate and fervent, trying your best to do everything, and then ended up getting fired, of course, the MK Foundation would scout you under very favorable conditions.”

“...”

“But if you are just going to be half-hearted and sloppy because you got criticized, I’m not sure if I can help you.”

The MK Foundation did not need someone who wasn’t desperate.

“Do you have any idea how desperately I’m surviving?” Kihael said.

“Are you? Were there any occasions where you were on the brink of death?”

“...”

“Or any occasions where your internal organs nearly burst out?”

“...”

“Or any occasions where you couldn’t handle the exhaustion from overworking and collapsed for about three days straight?”

“...”

“Or at least any occasions where you were so busy working that you did not have time to eat and became malnourished?”

“...Is that your standard of being desperate?” Kihael asked.

“If you have time to eat, you’re not desperate enough.”

“...”

Listening to those words, Kihael had an epiphany. He glared at Jin-Hyeok with burning eyes, and Jin-Hyeok could feel a strong resolve and will.

“...Enough about that. Anyway, this time, a rather tricky one is going to show up. At the Han River,” Kihael said.

“The Han River?” Something clicked in Jin-Hyeok’s mind all of a sudden.

‘It’s the Swallowing Croaker Scenario!’