I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 224

Jin-Hyeok decided not to show any signs that he was aware of this Assassin. By displaying how vulnerable he was, he would entice the attacker to make a move. After all, an Assassin’s cover was most compromised when they were about to attack.

‘I’m ready.’

He calmly waited, but the Assassin did not show up.

‘I was sure that an Assassin was looking at me.’

He had rarely felt such a powerful gaze. As a competent Player, Jin-Hyeok was able to tell just from the gaze that it was an Assassin with extreme skills.

‘How strange. I felt like they would pounce at me any moment.’

Jin-Hyeok slowly opened his mouth. “Thank you all. I will see you in the next video!”

He was still a bit confused. After returning home and taking a rest, he saw things differently.

‘Was that gaze not from an Assassin but from Kim Min-Ji?’

Min-Ji certainly had the capability. Given the circumstances, the probability that it was Min-Ji rather than an Assassin seemed higher. This thought further complicated his mind.

‘Why didn’t she attack?’

Given how intense that gaze was, Jin-Hyeok had been sure she would attack him.

‘The only reason that I can think of for Min-Ji to look at me like that is that she wanted to attack me. But then again, someone with her abilities would not need to resort to such an ambush... If it was her, why would she disappear like that and secretly watch me?’

Jin-Hyeok tilted his head in confusion.

‘I have no idea... Anyway, it seems like Jin-Sol has gone out to Play as well.’

The house was quiet. Jin-Hyeok decided to put aside his thoughts about Min-Ji for the time being. Thinking more about her was not going to provide any answers.

He sat on the sofa and took out the Rule Breaker. “I’m sorry. I’ve been neglecting you.”

Jin-Hyeok had promised to name it but had never gotten the chance to. He placed a soft cloth on the coffee table and set the Rule Breaker on it. The weapon’s elegance was captivating. He gulped hard. It was like a Swordsman going crazy over a fine sword.

“It’s so beautiful.” He was lost in thought, admiring the Rule Breaker. “What should I name you?”

Suddenly, a golden magic circle appeared right beside Jin-Hyeok, and a girl emerged from it.

“I don’t have a name either!” It was the materialized Golden Guardian Tree.

Just as Jin-Hyeok could feel the emotions of the Guardian Tree, the Guardian Tree could feel his emotions. Knowing exactly how Jin-Hyeok had felt earlier, the Guardian Tree had appeared this time without the bizarre makeup from before and wearing ordinary sneakers.

Jin-Hyeok could vividly sense the Guardian Tree’s feelings.

‘She seems upset.’

Her large eyes were brimming with tears.

“Why haven’t you given me a name?” she said.

Tears fell, drop by drop. She wiped her eyes with her mace-like right hand, but that was not enough. Tears continued to flow down her cheeks, turning into golden, sparkling crystals upon touching the air.

‘Huh?’

[Guardian Tree’s Pure Gold]

This was a material artifact traded at a much higher price than ordinary gold. It was a precious material, sought after by high-ranking Engineers, available only in minute quantities.

‘But...’

A closer inspection with Broadcaster’s Insight revealed a more accurate name.

[Yggdrasil’s Pistil]

[?]

***

Yggdrasil was the name of the Guardian Tree that resided on Planet Arvis thousands of years ago. It was considered the mother of Planet Arvis and had created all the other Guardian Trees in the universe. The people of Arvis called Yggdrasil the World Tree.

Jin-Hyeok picked up the crystals that had fallen to the ground.

‘These tears are pistils!’

Not being a botanist and unsure about the details, he searched various websites on his phone.

‘So, stamens and pistils meet to create seeds and reproduce. If these are pistils, could stamens be found somewhere else? Does that mean that I can plant Yggdrasil on Earth?’

He collected the tears and put them in his inventory for the time being.

The Guardian Tree bit her lip tightly, seemingly upset at Jin-Hyeok’s actions. “I’m crying right now!”

“Yes, please. Just cry a little more.”

Unfortunately(?), although she continued to cry, no more pistils fell. Only ordinary tears dripped down. It was then that Jin-Hyeok came to his senses.

‘Huh?’ He could feel the Guardian Tree’s emotions. She was genuinely upset. ‘Ah, this feels terrible.’

He noticed only then that the Guardian Tree was crying. Until now, Jin-Hyeok had regarded her more as a tree than a sentient being. However, looking at her now, he could tell she was undoubtedly human.

“You always adore the Rule Breaker!” she said.

“...”

“You always carry around only the Rule Breaker!”

“...”

“You never gave me a name!”

“...”

“You are a bad person! I hate you!” In her rampage, the Guardian Tree threw cute punches at Jin-Hyeok, and as expected, it did not hurt a bit. Since she was the Guardian Tree, she seemed incapable of attacking her master.

‘I know it doesn’t hurt physically, but why does my heart ache?’

Feeling a twinge in his heart, he put his hands under the Guardian Tree’s armpits and lifted her to sit next to him. “I will give you a name.”

The Guardian Tree did not want to reply. She tried her best to keep her mouth shut. However, she was also feeling Jin-Hyeok’s emotions.

‘Master is upset right now,’ she thought.

Clearly, Jin-Hyeok was in distress. Therefore, she could not help but speak. “Really?”

“Yes. Do you have a name in mind?”

“Black Flame Dragon!” she replied.

“Black Flame Dragon?”

“You don’t like it?’

“It sounds cool, but...” Jin-Hyeok was not sure if the name Black Flame Dragon suited the Guardian Tree. A name being cool did not mean it fit well everywhere. Everyone had a name that suited them.

“If I name you Black Flame Dragon, my viewers might confuse you with the Thunder Dragon. Since you will also appear in my livestreams in the future, it would be better to have a name that suits your character,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Me? I am going to appear in your livestreams?” The Guardian Tree’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You said you were upset because I always take the Rule Breaker around but not you.”

“I-I am not that upset...” The Guardian Tree blushed and looked down. She felt unqualified as a Guardian Tree for being angry at her master.

“Since you are a Guardian Tree, how about I name you Suho?[1] That sounds pretty cool, right?”

“It sounds like a boy’s name...”

In the Guardian Tree’s standard, the name Black Flame Dragon was fine because it was gender-neutral, but Suho was not.

“I am a tree with a mission to assist my master,” she continued. She also could not ignore what the viewers wanted, so she slightly modified Suho to better fit her style. “How about changing Suho a bit and naming me Seo-Hyo? This name seems good!”

‘Seo-Hyo? That sounds a bit weak...’ Jin-Hyeok was about to say that, but seeing the Guardian Tree’s sparkling eyes, he could not bring himself to say it. The Guardian Tree was very excited.

“Alright. From now on, your name will be Seo-Hyo,” he said. He thought he could make a video later on the content of ‘How Suho became Seo-Hyo.’

The Guardian Tree, now Seo-Hyo, stuck out her tongue at the Rule Breaker and said, “I got my name first! I am number one!”

The Rule Breaker vibrated as if it were replying.

***

Jin-Hyeok named the Guardian Tree Seo-Hyo and the Rule Breaker Miri.

“The Rule Breaker seems to like this name,” Jin-Hyeok said as he was filming.

[*The Rule Breaker has a bit of consciousness. Include a link to the previous video for reference.]

When he had first acquired the Rule Breaker, it resisted him. He had nearly failed but, ultimately, managed to subdue it by applying the effect of the All-Clear Hope Rising From the Ruins.

“I can definitely feel that it likes the nam—”

-I like the name Miri.

Suddenly, Jin-Hyeok heard a remarkably graceful and calm voice. He realized that this was the voice of the Rule Breaker.

-I really like that it is a name derived from Muhri.[2]

Jin-Hyeok was aware of the Rule Breaker’s intense desire. He was not genuinely sure if it was his desire or that of the Rule Breaker, but in any case, the weapon wanted to smash the back of his enemies’ heads. That was why he had derived the name Miri from the word Muhri.

Seo-Hyo suddenly stood up. “Don’t talk to my master! You are just number two! How dare you engage in conversation when you have just acquired your name! It’s too soon!”

Seo-Hyo stood with her hands on her hips, looking quite assertive. She was definitely still a child.

‘I guess she is very possessive of me,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

She looked like a daughter saying, ‘He is my dad!’ Seo-Hyo definitely had her cute aspects, but Jin-Hyeok needed to be careful with this emotion. Cute things had to always be handled with care. Since they were deeply connected mentally, he knew she would understand him.

-Jealousy is a wasteful and useless emotion, Seo-Hyo.

Although the weapon wasn’t audible, Seo-Hyo could hear it.

“I am not jealous, okay? I am number one, so number two has to listen to me!”

Miri chuckled. Although Seo-Hyo felt intense emotions toward Miri, Miri seemed to have no particular feelings toward Seo-Hyo. Instead, Miri conveyed strong emotions toward Jin-Hyeok.

-Master.

Its voice was excited yet restrained, hiding a subtle madness in its calmness.

-I want to smash heads. Find me an enemy.

It seemed they would make excellent partners.

Seo-Hyo, slightly displeased with their conversation, muttered to herself, “Just as I thought. The best defense is offense. I need to become a weapon, not armor. I must be a weapon. Only as a weapon can I continue to be together with my master.”

She continued to murmur the same thing, biting her fingernail.

***

Before heading to Busan, Jin-Hyeok discussed his upcoming content with Wang Yu-Mi.

“You should bring Eun-Woo with you,” Yu-Mi said.

“I need to do this by myself. I told you.”

“That has been taken care of. Eun-Woo’s Skills can still let you Solo Clear the Dungeon while he’s with you.” Yu-Mi shared an interesting piece of information.

“So, Eun-Woo won’t be recognized as a Player?”

“No. He would be like a ghost, and you can treat him like he doesn’t exist.”

The name of the Skill was unique. It was called Homepage Master’s Passion, and it possessed a fascinating ability. This too made for great Eltube content.

“If Broadcaster’s Barrier is a defensive Skill that protects Streamers, then Homepage Master’s Passion is more of an evasion Skill that protects Homepage Masters.”

With this Skill, Homepage Masters did not need other defensive Skills. They would become a complete ghost, immune to any attack. In Dungeons, they would not even be counted as a Player.

‘Wow... I had no idea that could be possible.’

However, there were a few restrictions on this Skill.

“Of course, a Homepage Master must be filled with passion for the subject of their filming,” Yu-Mi explained. This meant that Kang Eun-Woo could use this Skill only in Jin-Hyeok’s presence.

She continued, “There is a prerequisite of having over ten thousand passionate photographs of the subject, three thousand hours of filming time, and over one hundred million followers on the fan account. Eun-Woo has already cleared that. He’s pretty amazing, isn’t he?”

Eun-Woo blushed and smiled shyly. He was now able to join Jin-Hyeok in the Haeundae Dungeon.

Knowing what the viewers wanted, Jin-Hyeok decided to travel by train again.

‘Hm...’

However, a very minor problem arose.

1. Suho, or ??, is Korean for the word ‘Guardian’. ☜

2. Muhri, or ??, is Korean for head. So, I’m assuming it’s related to smashing heads lol. ☜