I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 220

‘If I do that, too many people would die or get hurt.’

An army of completely healthy Mountain Madmen would have been too risky. Jin-Hyeok could escape from such an army on his Thunder Dragon, but a single mistake could bring chaos to not just Gangwon-do but all of Korea.

‘It is a bit disappointing, but there has to be a line that I should not cross.’

He felt he had significantly evolved. Now, he could think like ordinary people, realizing what social appropriateness meant.

Jin-Hyeok pointed at another Mountain Madman with the Rule Breaker. “You are already dead.”

That Mountain Madman also vomited blood and collapsed. Jin-Hyeok had already figured out which ones were in the worst condition through Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance.

‘I just need to time it right.’

He also changed the livestream title.

[Undercover Genius]

As the Mountain Madmen collapsed one by one, Grandel roared, “What trickery is this?!”

“The Mountain Madmen have a chronic heart condition, right?”

“You can’t mean...!” Grandel, being quite intelligent, quickly caught on to what was going on. “You deliberately created tension and bought time...!”

“Yes. I was waiting for you to summon the army of the Mountain Madmen with their chronic condition uncured.”

Jin-Hyeok had put on a good show, keeping Grandel’s focus on him, and Angel Girl had played her part very well.

“This is called teamwork,” Jin-Hyeok said. Soloing had a unique flavor, but so did teamwork. The exhilaration from a seamless collaboration between team members was priceless.

“Bleed and kneel.”

‘This is the level difference between you and me.’ [1]

Jin-Hyeok wanted to pay homage to a cool phrase he had heard somewhere, but the timing was off as all the Mountain Madman around him had already collapsed. Another Mountain Madman followed suit, vomiting blood. The timing seemed perfect. Some Mountain Madmen charged at Jin-Hyeok, but they were too weakened to effectively breach his Broadcaster’s Barrer.

‘But it’s still hard to fight against sheer numbers.’

Due to their sheer numbers, some Mountain Madmen managed to attack him from blind spots. Jin-Hyeok could not block all of them, which resulted in a torn shoulder and possibly a ruptured thigh muscle. His ankle seemed broken too. Still, he was in pretty good shape.

Dodging through the Mountain Madmen’s attacks, Jin-Hyeok moved toward Grandel. The livestream captured Grandel’s expression of horror. This was the charm of the Undercover Genius concept.

‘Hm.. They are timing their attacks well.’

Jin-Hyeok could afford to take a direct hit from a Mountain Madman.

‘I will just take the hit.’

Cha Jin-Sol would arrive soon, so Jin-Hyeok decided to take the hit. Dodging everything would make approaching Grandel harder. The best defense was offense, after all.

“Activate the Song of the Black Tiger.”

This Skill, which he had learned from Zoro, seemed more suited for a hammer than for a sword. Releasing the energy with the hammer felt much more natural. The Song of the Black Tiger was also visually stunning. Seven black tigers appeared, rushing toward Grandel.

“Instant Kill,” Jin-Hyeok swung the Rule Breaker at Grandel’s head.

Thwack!

A beautiful melody played.

‘Oh?’

Grandel’s body melted away, like the finely crafted Paper Soldier Jin-Hyeok had seen before.

“It seems like he was not the real Grandel. A very intricately made Paper Soldier, I must say. The real Grandel must be hiding somewhere else.” Jin-Hyeok smirked. “For my Act Two, please check out BongMiNaTV!”

***

Bong King and Kang Mi-Na had combined their strengths to run a channel called BongMiNaTV. The union of these two, who used to compete for the first and second place in the official Korean Region rankings, maintained the first place in Korea by an overwhelming distance.

The two were running as fast as they could, deep in the mountains.

Pant... Pant...

Huff... Huff...

Eventually, they found a shabby hut.

“We have managed to follow them somehow.”

“Indeed.”

The ones they were chasing with all their might were the Seo sisters. Tracking the movements of the Shadow Rulers with the bodies of Streamers was almost impossible. It was only thanks to the Seo sisters’ consideration that Bong King and Mi-Na could follow them this far.

The sisters spoke simultaneously.

“Bind, shadows.”

“Bind, shadows.”

Dozens of black magic circles formed around the shabby hut, and strands of black mana energy stretched out and enveloped the hut. It seemed like some kind of barrier.

Then Seo Ji-Ah opened the door of the hut. “We’ve found him.”

Hiding inside the hut was Grandel. His eyes widened in shock. “H-How did you find this place?!”

Seo Ji-Soo smirked. “They say a clever rabbit digs multiple burrows.”

Grandel had exposed too much of his strength. At the altar, he had used his shadow power in conjunction with the Authority of Swallowing and even put forward a finely crafted Paper Soldier as his double.

“But IntenseMan was just cleverer than you,” Ji-Soo continued. She looked like she was about to lunge at Grandel to stab him at any moment, but Ji-Ah stepped forward and blocked her.

She glanced at Bong King and Mi-Na and said, “Traces remain when you wield the power of shadows.”

Bong King and Mi-Na took the hint. Ji-Ah’s lines were an explanation for the viewers.

“Shadow Rulers can detect that power,” Ji-Ah continued.

Meanwhile, Grandel tried to muster his magic power to escape.

“Shadow Rulers control all shadows. Trying to run is useless,” Ji-Ah said.

“Y-You maniacs!”

Ji-Ah drew her dagger. “Kim Chul-Soo sent us here.”

“Unnie, can we kill him now?” Ji-Soo asked.

Ji-Ah nodded.

Grandel, who dreamed of ruling the world with Chul-Soo’s face, died on the spot. It was a pathetic end to a pathetic man.

***

A surge of new users flooded into the Korean Region Minor Gallery.

[What is an Undercover Genius?]

└It refers to someone who hides or conceals their true strength or capabilities, often appearing socially awkward or nerdy on the surface.

└Does that mean Chul-Soo hid his power?

└Seems like it. I was anxiously watching lol.

The early tension in the livestream proved very effective. Chul-Soo’s videos had captivated numerous viewers.

[But why hide his power in the beginning when he could have just destroyed Grandel?]

└Probably looking ahead to the future.

└What future?

└Didn’t you see the greed in Grandel’s eyes? He would have summoned the Mountain Madmen army eventually. Better to make him summon them now and root them out.

└Wouldn’t it have been easier to just kill Grandel from the start?

└LOL, is Chul-Soo a philanthropist? He’s gotta milk it for the Eltube views, smh.

└If this keeps up, people will start thinking it’s normal for Chul-Soo to stop Grandel.

└Honestly, Chul-Soo could have just moved to another Server with his family. He would probably be welcomed in the Arvis Server.

Chul-Soo defeating the Black Alliance became a popular issue in the universe. The app Chul-Soo Verse, created by Wang Yu-Mi for all the members of Chul-Soo Land worldwide, was also becoming more famous. It was a group chat-style app, and millions of fans had already joined it. However, only the official first-generation Chul-Soo Landers could chat directly on it.

-ChulSooLand_1: Chul-Soo is so cool. But how could he do all that when he is only Level 204?

The outcome of the battle was shocking to many. Essentially, Jin-Hyeok had just raised his Rule Breaker, and the Mountain Madmen had collapsed. Many events had led up to that, but that was the general feel of the battle.

-ChulSooLand_2: He is not Level 204. He is 205 now. He leveled up recently. ^^

ChulSooLand_1 was the Mad God of Favoritism, who had changed her name to Kim Min-Ji for the Earth Server. She trembled and bit her nails. Madness flickered in her eyes. “Ugh, do you think you know about Chul-Soo more than me?”

ChulSooLand_1, Min-Ji, and ChulSooLand_2, Kang Eun-Woo, conversed very amicably, at least on the outside.

-ChulSooLand_1: Wow really? I did not know that he was Level 205. His leveling is so fast. Classic Chul-Soo.

-ChulSooLand_2: ??

-ChulSooLand_1: So, he used the Mythic-Grade Card to become Level 225 and defeated the Mountain Madmen, right?

-ChulSooLand_2: It was not just brute force. He secretly deployed Angel Girl to steal their key ingredient, the heart. The Undercover Genius concept was just a smokescreen! Isn’t that cool?

‘Who is this ChulSooLand_2?’ Min-Ji thought as she bit her lip.

The things ChulSooLand_2 said had not been shown to the public yet. Yu-Mi had livestreamed the fight under the title ‘Disturb From East, Strike From West’, but she had not revealed details like stealing the heart as a key ingredient.

-ChulSooLand_1: Of course. Chul-Soo is the coolest! But how did you know about the stealing of the heart?

-ChulSooLand_2: That’s a secret. ??

Dozens of Chul-Soo Landers learned something new from Eun-Woo. They were thrilled to learn another secret of Chul-Soo. However, Min-Ji felt differently. ‘Who is this guy?’

Jealousy flared in her.

‘How could someone know such details in advance? Why is he acting so close to Chul-Soo? Should I hack this guy and reveal his identity? Is he stalking Chul-Soo? How sinister! No... I can’t do that...’

The guy was ChulSooLand_2 after all. They were fans admiring the same person, so there were ethics to upload.

“Anyway, Chul-Soo swept away the Mountain Madmen army at Level 225, right?” She thought about the fight, stroking her chin. “He showed too much. He is too cool! Just watching him is enjoyable, exciting, and beautiful. But...”

She stood up. “It’s not just me who sees him like that, right?”

She was thrilled just thinking about Chul-Soo, and her heart pounded. Such an experience had been rare. True treasures shone on their own. She knew other fans beside her would have noticed Chul-Soo’s brilliance. No doubt, Player Hunters eyeing Chul-Soo and his abilities would start moving. He was too beautiful to be left alone.

“I will protect my Chul-Soo, no matter what.”

***

The Black Alliance had collapsed. The Black Rose and Black Thorn Alliance, also known as the Black and Black Alliance, absorbed the Black Alliance’s power and emerged as a universal alliance. The Earth Server was growing much faster compared to how it had before Jin-Hyeok’s regression.

The MK Foundation recruited Hwa Ta.

“I was moved by Chul-Soo’s beliefs and his sense of justice. I will dedicate my life to practicing medicine at the MK Foundation.”

After the Doctor Player officially debuted, numerous people visited the MK Foundation’s medical center, and Hwa Ta tirelessly treated patients day and night.

“Thank you so much. I am really grateful, Doctor.”

“Thank you, Doc. I owe you my life.”

“How can I ever repay this kindness?”

Hwa Ta was enveloped in a strange emotion. ‘This feeling... is not bad at all!’

He had always thought money was everything, but now he was questioning that belief before shaking his head vehemently. ‘No... Money is still the best.’

He was cooperating with Chul-Soo only because of that damn Golden Headband. That was the only reason. He convinced himself of that.

As the Doctor Player’s reputation grew, so did the praise for Chul-Soo.

-Wow... a universal alliance and now a Doctor Player too...

-There is no place untouched by Chul-Soo’s influence.

-Of course. He is the IntenseMan, embodying beauty, passion, order, justice, protection, and harmony.

The Korean Region was recording more dazzling growth and development than any other Region.

1. This is a really famous quote from a Korean webtoon called Noblesse. ☜