I Gave Up Being Stronger

Cha Jin-Hyeok had been waiting for this moment.

‘I’ll take the servant’s attack!’

As an intense Streamer, he knew he had to endure non-fatal attacks, especially since this content’s theme was not about being overwhelming.

The blade of the axe burrowed into Jin-Hyeok’s back. The impact made it feel like a club had struck him rather than an axe, and a powerful explosion erupted inside him. His innards vibrated intensely.

“Ugh!” Unable to hold back, Jin-Hyeok vomited.

‘Is that blood?’ He spat out sticky clumps of blood. ‘It feels like my guts are shattered.’

The color of the blood was a dark, crimson red, resembling that of someone on the verge of death. However, this was just a result of a dye used for a more dramatic effect.

Jin-Hyeok quickly wiped the blood from his mouth.

“That was a powerful attack.” The blood continued to drip from his face. “It seems like the servant poured all his energy into that one attack, without thinking about the aftermath.”

Jin-Hyeok’s words appeared to be true, as the former elder was frozen in place, trembling as if he could not believe Jin-Hyeok was still alive.

“I will conduct an interview with him,” Jin-Hyeok said, wiping his mouth again and approaching the elder. “Did you use a special ability on me?”

The elder grimaced. ‘Is he joking right now?’

It did not seem like that. Chul-Soo looked serious.

‘This is better for me,’ the elder thought. He had been confined in an underground prison for a long time and aged significantly, which left him very weak. He could unleash a devastating attack once, but could not sustain it. ‘I need to buy some time to recover my strength.’

After quickly calculating, the elder replied, “Yes.”

“Could you explain what kind of attack it was?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“The technique I used is called the Asura Axe Art. It’s a Skill where I channel powerful mana into my axe to shatter the opponent’s guts.”

At that moment, Jin-Hyeok paused the livestream briefly and whispered very quietly, “Hey, cut the crap.”

Jin-Hyeok was serious about his livestreams and had no patience for those who disrespected them. He continued to whisper, “You used Conversion Strike. Stop lying.”

“...”

“If you are honest, I might let you live this time.”

“...”

The editor, Kang Chul, edited the scene. Jin-Hyeok then changed his tone and expression again. “Wow, Asura Axe Art! That’s an impressive Skill! But wasn’t there something else?”

The elder was truly at a loss for words. ‘What… is wrong with this guy?’

He seemed like a type of madman the elder had never met before.

‘I have to tell him everything. He already knows everything.’

Being honest and begging for his life seemed a better choice in this situation.

“I… also used a Mystery called Conversion Strike,” the elder said.

“What is Conversion Strike?”

The elder briefly explained the Skill, and Jin-Hyeok smiled.

“It seems like Conversion Strike is an attack that converts the opponent’s defensive power into an equally powerful attack, delivering a fatal blow.” Jin-Hyeok simplified it for the viewers.

“But how are you still alive?”

The elder had heard that Chul-Soo possessed a universe-level defensive power.

“Oh, your attack was so fast that I could not use my Absolute Barrier,” Jin-Hyeok said.

The fight had been livestreamed from a first-person point of view and edited to 1.2x speed to make the elder’s attack appear more dynamic and thrilling. The editor, Kang Chul, and Jin-Hyeok were in perfect sync.

The elder wanted to shout, ‘Lies!’

Then, he realized. ‘He took my attack on purpose!’

It was something utterly beyond his comprehension.

‘But why? Why did he intentionally get hit by my attack?’

The more they talked, the more confused the elder became.

***

Jin-Hyeok’s livestream became a massive sensation across the universe.

-Wow, isn’t that guy a ranker from the Hell Server?

-Hell might lack modern conveniences, but its residents are fairly strong.

-I know he is old, but his abilities are that of a ranker! Albeit, he can use it for only like ten seconds.

The scene where Jin-Hyeok was hit by Conversion Strike became [The Most Rewatched Moment].

-It does look painful.

-He took that hit without activating Absolute Barrier?

-If that were me, my spine would have shattered.

-Even a competent Tank would have crossed the River of Styx if hit directly like that.

Jin-Hyeok felt extremely proud of the viewers’ reactions. He had indeed done well to take the hit.

‘I even received a lot of donations out of concern for my injuries…’

Moreover, the replay video was filled with warm comments.

-Get well soon, Mr. Chul-Soo. T_T

-Don’t get hurt, Chul-Soo. It breaks my heart…T_T

-I hope you recover quickly!

Jin-Hyeok genuinely found more joy in reading these warm comments than in receiving donations. Amidst them, he found a comment that particularly resonated with him.

-Hey, you know your livestream comes before your health, right? ;)

Jin-Hyeok could not help but laugh. “Such a healthy mindset.”

“Healthy mindset, my ass!” Cha Jin-Sol placed her hand on Jin-Hyeok’s back. She had been pouring healing energy into him for a long while, and beads of sweat had formed on her forehead and nape. “If that bastard had hit you a bit harder, you’d be the one crossing the River of Styx, you crazy bastard.”

“Hey, don’t speak so harshly to your brother.”

Jin-Sol smacked him hard on the back. “This time, you were actually close to being killed. Don’t you know that?”

“Did you see the view counts?”

“Who the hell takes that kind of attack without any defensive spells? Especially in the spine!” Jin-Sol knew what had actually happened. “You twisted your body a bit on purpose to take the hit on your spine, didn’t you?”

“Could you tell? Did it look too much like a staged livestream?”

“That’s not my point, you idiot! Why would you take such a risk?”

“I felt that I could survive the attack.”

“You felt it? You felt you could survive? Are you freaking serious?” Jin-Sol smacked him on the back once again.

It seemed like completely healing him would take more than three days. However, Jin-Hyeok was just beaming with pride, happy with how well the video had turned out.

“God, I wish I could kill you right now,” Jin-Sol said. After doing her best to heal him, she casually asked while wiping the sweat dripping down her face, “So…? How many views did you get? How many likes?”

***

Three days later, Jin-Hyeok turned on his livestream. “I have learned a lot from my previous fight.”

The idea that the higher your defensive power was, the more critical hits one could invite was a revelation. Had he deployed his Absolute Barrier unknowingly, things could have turned out much worse.

“I think I need to consider ways to enhance my self-healing abilities.”

Being exposed to attacks was a common occurrence in Play, and sometimes, for the sake of the livestream, he had to take hits. While taking hits was inevitable, he wanted to find a way to recover quickly without relying on Jin-Sol’s help.

-Haha! Normally, don’t Players just say that they will try to get hit less, rather than enhancing their self-healing abilities?

-Not getting hit is not an option for him. Haha! Classic IntenseMan!

-What about enhancing Absolute Barrier?

-There is a Skill that uses the Player’s defensive power against them. Didn’t you see his last livestream?

-Why not use an Absolute Barrier that can neutralize that? Isn’t that the typical way of thinking?

Jin-Hyeok had considered these options. However, he was not particularly keen on implementing them.

‘Absolute Barrier is already too strong.’

Enhancing this Skill further could make it difficult to create a sense of crisis in his livestreams. He wanted to be a Player who Played exceptionally well, which meant he had to produce good content. Therefore, strengthening Absolute Barrier any further was not an option.

-I think I know a way to enhance Absolute Barrier.

-I know someone who can fortify defense barriers.

-This method is legit. Please pass it to Wang Yu-Mi. The way to enhance Absolute Barrier is…

‘Enhancing my defensive skills is not the right move. I should either enhance my healing abilities, or it would be great to have a doge skill that looks cool.’

Dodge skills naturally reduced the tension compared to blocking. Simply dodging was meaningless; he needed to dodge in a flashy, spectacular way. His old belief in being as concise and efficient as possible had not completely vanished.

“I will soon visit Filiak, who has been detained.”

As promised, the former elder had been spared and sent away, while Muenne had completely subdued Filiak and imprisoned him in a dungeon.

“I am curious if Filiak still insists that he can’t cooperate with us.”

If Filiak still refused to cooperate, then Jin-Hyeok would have to resort to sacred measures that made anything possible—endless violence.

‘Or should I brainwash him?’ Jin-Hyeok thought. The abilities of Hell Man and the Control Bugs could allow him to completely brainwash and subjugate Filiak.

‘No, that’s not right.’

The overall theme of this content was a peaceful merger. It was best to refrain from actions that could provoke a backlash from the residents of Hell.

“Muenne said she would try to persuade Filiak. I will go and see how much she has managed to convince him.”

***

Three days earlier, after imprisoning Filiak, Muenne spoke with a grave expression. “There was a time when my convictions were everything to me, Filiak.”

“Just kill me.”

“But those convictions became meaningless when they met a greater truth. I hope you will also face that light.”

“I do not understand what the hell you’re talking about. Kim Chul-Soo is nothing but an invader. No sweet words can break my noble spirit!”

Muenne sat outside the cell where Filiak was. “I respect your convictions.”

“Just leave me the hell alone.”

Muenne then played a video on the prison wall. “This is a livestream from the universe-level ranker Marshmallow.”

“I am not interested!” Filiak was about to dismiss her but could not bring himself to. It was a video of the Third Hell, the very place they were in. The title of Marshmallow’s video was ‘Exploring the Changing Third Hell.’ In the video, Marshmallow was interviewing the residents of Third Hell.

⌜How has life changed since the integration with the Fourth Hell? Has it improved?⌟

⌜Yes. I never imagined such a paradise. Being able to shower in warm water every day is an unexpected blessing!⌟

The content of the interviews was similar.

⌜We also hope to get hot water soon. This is amazing!⌟

Filiak clenched his eyes shut. “I don’t want to see it.”

“You should see it even if you don’t want to. This is reality.”

He closed his eyes but could not block out the sounds. The laughter of children reached his ears.

⌜Fear me! Feel the wrath of the Hammer of Order and Justice!⌟

⌜No! The hammer is mine!⌟

Hearing the children's bickering voices, Filiak unwittingly opened his eyes a little. The children in the video were playing and laughing cheerfully.

⌜Who wants to play the IntenseMan game? Come here!⌟

⌜I want to be IntenseMan!⌟

⌜No! You can play as the Hell King.⌟

⌜No way! Hell King is the bad guy!⌟

Marshmallow handed out sweet chocolates to a few children and then snagged an interview.

⌜What do I want to be when I grow up? Hm…⌟

The children shouted in unison.

⌜I want to be IntenseMan!⌟

⌜I want to be a Streamer!⌟

Most of the children were screaming that they wanted to be IntenseMan or a Streamer.

Muenne said, “The children have dreams now, Filiak.”

“...”

“Isn’t this the vision of Hell you dreamed of? Was it more beautiful living under the tyranny of King Beckant, or is it now?”

Filiak was forced to ponder the question for a long time.

While he abstained from eating and drinking, deeply contemplating, Jin-Hyeok came to visit him. “How are you doing? Did you change your mind?”

After a long silence, Filiak replied, “Give me a week.”

“A week?”

“ I want to experience the changes in the world for myself.”

‘Do the children really have dreams now? Do Hell's residents prefer the present? Which Hell is the one I need to protect?’ Filiak wondered.

“You can do that,” Jin-Hyeok agreed. He unbound Filiak’s hands and feet.

After Filiak left, Muenne expressed her concerns with a worried look. “I am worried that he might betray you.”

“If he does, that’s even better.”

“...”

Jin-Hyeok unconsciously licked his lips. “The theme of teaching those who betray me always has good popularity among the viewers.”

A week passed, and Filiak returned to Jin-Hyeok of his own accord.

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