I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 280

“Earth? Where’s that?”

Many still had never heard of the Earth Server.

“You know, the Kim Chul-Soo Server.”

“Ah...! Chul-Soo’s hometown?”

“That was Earth? I’ll have to remember that.”

When Earth was referred to as the Kim Chul-Soo Server, the number of people who recognized it began to increase.

“Chul-Soo is fortunate. Such Server-level benefits are rare.”

“Rare? Only five Servers in the entire universe have this benefit, including the Arvis Server!”

Players affiliated with the Earth Server gained a 20-Level increase simply for belonging to Earth. However, that was not the end.

“There is a country called Korea on the Earth Server.”

“Korea?”

“Yes, Kim Chul-Soo’s country.”

The name Korea became more well-known than Earth, recognized as Kim Chul-Soo’s country.

“The Players there get a 30-Level increase.”

“30? Really?”

A Server-level benefit of a 30-Level increase was enjoyed by only three Servers in the universe.

“And then there’s Seoul.”

“By any chance, is that Kim Chul-Soo’s city?”

“Yes, Chul-Soo’s city. The Players who Awakened there get a 40-Level increase.”

The 40-Level increase benefit was enjoyed by only two Servers in the entire universe.

“Wait, isn’t Earth a new Server?”

“That’s the surprising thing. What other Servers took hundreds of years to achieve or could not achieve even in hundreds of years, the Earth Server accomplished in less than a year.”

“Who could have possibly nurtured such an unbelievable Guardian Tree?”

“Don’t be shocked. A disciple of Trituri nurtured the Guardian Tree.”

“Don’t tell me the Arvis Server marked the Earth Server as its successor Server?”

The consensus was that an Arvis-born disciple of Trituri had nurtured the Guardian Tree on Earth.

“But it turns out Chul-Soo was Trituri’s disciple.”

“Eh? But Chul-Soo is a Streamer, isn’t he?”

Those hearing Chul-Soo’s name for the first time were puzzled. The idea of a Streamer nurturing a Guardian Tree was too foreign for them.

“Rumor has it that Chul-Soo possesses the Munchkin Trait.”

“No, that’s impossible! That’s a legendary Trait that only one person in the entire universe obtained, and even that’s just a legend.”

“But you know what the real shocker is?”

All these events were already astonishing, yet the most surprising part was still to come.

“Chul-Soo declined the Server-level benefit.”

Chul-Soo had given up the chance for a 50-Level increase.

***

Cha Jin-Hyeok turned on his livestream to communicate with his countless viewers. Today was a historic day. It was the first day of him just communicating with his subscribers, without any content on his Play.

-Wow, we can chat on his livestream?

-This is crazy!

-Chul-Soo is God!

It was the first time a chat window had been opened on Jin-Hyeok’s channel. The speed at which the viewers commented on the chat window made it impossible for even Jin-Hyeok to read all of them. Reluctantly, he had to set permissions to limit who could send messages in the chat window.

‘Normally, only those who donate a certain amount can chat...’

However, even with that restriction, there were so many comments that he could not smoothly communicate with his viewers. Therefore, he set a limit so that only the official fans, the first-generation Chul-Soo Landers, could chat on the channel.

[Chat Enabled List]

[001. Chul-Soo Land No.1

002. Chul-Soo Land No.2

.

.

.

100. Chul-Soo Land No. 100]

‘But, I do feel a bit proud.’

All one hundred members of Chul-Soo Land had gathered for the first communication livestream. It was touching that all members had joined, despite it being difficult to coordinate time.

‘And also...’

Jin-Hyeok added three SVIPs that everyone would agree with.

[101. MoneyShower

102. MoneyShot

103. Marshmallow]

Though only 103 people could chat, the number of comments made it feel like a hundred thousand people were posting the messages.

-Chul-Soo Land No.1: I can’t tell if this is a dream or for real. T_T Chul-Soo Oppa, take me in your arms, hehe!

Kim Min-Ji, who was usually shy in person, was very extroverted on the chat window.

-Chul-Soo Land No.2: Is this your first time directly talking with Chul-Soo, No.1? You must be so nervous, T_T.

Jin-Hyeok started the communication livestream and took this opportunity to tell people about something. “Personally, I think it would be better to decline the Server-level benefit.”

-Chul-Soo Land No.1: Yes, I will do that.

-Chul-Soo Land No.2: I already declined it.

-Chul-Soo Land No.1: Wow, you’re pretty fast. ^^

-Chul-Soo Land No.2: I believe true fans should know what Chul-Soo wants us to do. ^^

-Chul-Soo Land No.1: Wow~ You’re so smart! ^^

‘Smart enough for me to beat you up.’ Min-Ji gritted her teeth as she looked at her phone. She wanted to make things difficult for Chul-Soo Land No.2, but could not bring herself to do it. After all, that annoying No.2 was also a member of Chul-Soo Land.

Meanwhile, countless subscribers who could not join the chat started to wonder why they were being told to reject such a beneficial offer. Jin-Hyeok explained by playing a video of Kidibon, the captain of the guard in the small city of Dion.

“We cannot be a Level Grinder like him.” Jin-Hyeok’s stance was that it was better to gradually and slowly increase one’s Level, even if it took a bit longer. “There are things you can learn and experience at only lower Levels.”

If a Player leveled up too fast, their external abilities might increase, but they wouldn’t gain the truly necessary experiences.

“It’s like becoming an adult without learning anything as you age. So, rejecting this benefit is actually a way to become stronger. Becoming Level Grinders is not the right way to go.”

In fact, Jin-Hyeok had declined a 50-Level increase benefit. As his video spread across the Earth Server, a strange phenomenon unfolded.

[A worldwide ranking reversal phenomenon is occurring...]

The top rankers of Earth accepted Jin-Hyeok’s advice and declined the Server-level benefit. As a result, those who used to be ranked lower ended up having higher Levels than those who used to be ranked at the top.

“Humph, I don’t care at all, moly!” Korea’s top Navigator, Mole Man, saw his ranking drop to the 200s.

“I believe... in Chul-Soo... This humiliation... is to gain momentum... for bigger things...” The ranking of Martial King Kim Jeong-Hyeon dropped to 300s.

“Since it’s Chul-Soo’s words, it must be the right way. It’s a bit annoying, though...” The same was true for the Saint of Freedom, Cha Jin-Sol, as well as the Wood King, Mok Jae-Hyeon. This was a common phenomenon among many top rankers in the K-Force.

However, the global perspective revealed a peculiar observation.

[20% of Players from Korea have declined the Server-level benefit, causing shock...]

Even after Jin-Hyeok’s livestream, most people accepted the free level-up benefit. Globally, nearly ninety-nine percent of Players accepted the benefit. Only about one percent seemed to understand Jin-Hyeok’s advice. In contrast, twenty times that amount, or twenty percent, of Korean Players declined the level-up benefit.

Egan Paul sighed at this sight.

“Korea is...” It was hard for him to describe what he was seeing. “A country of madmen...!”

He fundamentally questioned if he could ever surpass Chul-Soo. His motivation, which used to be fiery, had changed recently.

‘Probably not, right? I don’t think so...’ To surpass Chul-Soo, one had to be especially mad among those madmen. Egan lacked confidence. ‘I should just maintain being number one in the United States...’

The insurmountable wall had dampened his desire for growth.

‘I will just accept the level-up benefit.’ Egan fully understood what Jin-Hyeok was talking about in his livestream. Egan knew that to reach higher, he should reject this benefit. ‘But what’s the use? I can’t beat Chul-Soo anyway...’

He thought it would not be bad to aim for modest success. Accepting the level-up benefit would make even a modest success easier to achieve. It was a somewhat bitter night for Egan.

***

-“I have become the greatest!”

The Guardian Tree’s boastfulness was not mere pretense. The name of the Guardian Tree had changed.

[Spirited Great Golden Guardian Tree]

The title Great was now officially recognized by the System.

-“I now have the capability to cover all of Korea, ahem!”

‘Wait, all of Korea?’ Jin-Hyeok felt a sense of crisis. ‘If it became this powerful, wouldn’t it rob Korean Players of their opportunity to grow?’

-“I can perfectly protect Korea and even bring the entire Earth under my influence! Did you see how I helped people level up?”

The Guardian Tree bragged about its greatness, shaking its branches and causing golden dust to flutter down like snowflakes. In any case, according to the Guardian Tree, it had acquired the power to protect the entire Earth. This was a disaster for the GMs.

A whirlwind of layoffs swept through the GMs managing Earth. The emergence of such an absurd Guardian Tree on Earth, which had been integrated as an official Server for less than a year, was a problem on a universal scale. Complaints about balance and fairness were endless. Controversies regarding the System’s fairness erupted.

Kihael, the former GM for Seodaemun-gu, visited Jin-Hyeok’s home, laughing hysterically. “Ah...Now I finally feel relieved! I got fired! Just like that, without any severance. Can you believe it?”

“...”

“Anyway, you’re going to get me a job at the MK Foundation, right? You remember what you promised me?”

“Yes.”

“Hahahaha! I am finally free from that madman!”

“Free from the madman? Who are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Serchan, my senior!”

Serchan, a passionate man, was the complete opposite of Kihael, who pursued work-life balance.

“What do you mean?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Huh?”

“I heard that Serchan got fired too.”

“And?”

“Wouldn’t it be a waste to just let go of someone who works as hard as Serchan?”

“So?”

“I heard Serchan gets along well with you.”

“Where is this going?” Kihael became incredibly anxious.

“The MK Foundation has decided to hire a bunch of the recently fired GMs. It is not easy to hire such high-quality personnel all at once, so it worked out well.”

“...”

“Serchan said he likes you and wants to work with you, so I told him to go for it.”

“Serchan came to you?” Kihael asked.

“He’s got spirit and passion. He came to me even before getting his termination notice.”

Indeed, people should have that kind of intensity. Jin-Hyeok liked that aspect of Serchan.

“No...! You never said anything about working with Serchan!”

“Well, I also never said I wouldn’t,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

The contract had merely stated that the MK Foundation would employ Kihael... That was it.

“AAAAHHHH!” Kihael cried his eyes out, but it was all in vain.