I Gave Up Being Stronger

Cha Jin-Hyeok’s livestream drew enthusiastic responses from his viewers.

-Thinking only of efficiency, you would have to set revenge aside.

-That’s so cool!

-Ah, so this is what they call romance.

Memphis clenched his teeth. ‘Kim Chul-Soo is a just man. He shows mercy to those who fight valiantly. He is going to forgive a king who risked his life to prevent war. So, if I fight my hardest…!’

However, he had misunderstood Jin-Hyeok.

Jin-Hyeok whispered, “Miri, go ahead and run wild.”

Just before Miri was about to collide with Memphis with all its might, Jin-Hyeok felt alive. While an ordinary person might think ‘Ah, I guess combat is my true calling,’ Jin-Hyeok’s thoughts were far from ordinary.

‘Ah, I guess livestreaming is my true calling.’

Perhaps sensing Jin-Hyeok’s extreme excitement, the defensive Mystery Phantom Swordswoman materialized before him. ‘Huh?’

However, Jin-Hyeok had not summoned the Mystery.

“For my master, I shall wield the bloody hammer…,” the Phantom Swordswoman said. Just as Miri had done, the Phantom Swordswoman was also developing a clearer sense of self. With Jin-Hyeok as a medium, both Miri and the Phantom Swordswoman were spiritually connected. “...and I will bind the enemy’s feet.”

-Then I will smash the back of their heads. It will be a beautiful melody. Let’s sing a refined duet.

Miri and the Phantom Swordswoman seemed to feel a strange resonance of souls.

Jin-Hyeok smiled. ‘They are so intense. I can’t just stand by idly.’

“Here we go!” Jin-Hyeok said.

His battle with Memphis began again.

And the outcome was quite anticlimactic.

***

-Wait, but was the Phantom Swordswoman always like this?

It was a well-known fact among viewers that Jin-Hyeok’s Phantom Swordswoman was somewhat unconventional. The viewers had reached an implicit understanding that, as a more aggressive type of defensive Mystery, she launched attacks fiercer than that of any offensive Mystery. However, today’s Phantom Swordswoman was different than usual.

-Did she just bind Memphis?

-I think so.

Green magic rings formed around Memphis’s wrists and ankles. The rings were engraved with unintelligible characters and tightened around his limbs like ancient shackles. It was a high-level binding skill executed by the defensive Mystery. Some viewers explained it very simply.

-Well, she is a defensive Mystery, after all.

-True.

The viewers understood that if she was an intense defensive Mystery, it made sense she would attack and even employ binding skills. This had become a kind of meme.

-Only in the IntenseMan Universe is everything possible.

-LOL. I can’t believe that’s a defensive Mystery!!

-You go, girl!

-This is what real defense looks like.

The public digested these phenomena as a type of meme, but experts had a different view.

Encyclopedia analyzed this phenomenon.

‘The Mystery is evolving!’ Encyclopedia thought. This was a new theory. The prevailing opinion was that unlike Skills, Mysteries did not grow on their own. ‘Chul-Soo is proving that Mysteries can evolve too!’

He had been pondering this hypothesis for a long time. However, those who used Mysteries tended to not actively disclose information about their Mysteries, which made research on Mysteries realistically challenging.

‘Chul-Soo must have known about the evolution of Mysteries for a long time. And he is now showing it at just the right time. It is an advanced form of a defensive Mystery!’

Encyclopedia was shocked and in awe. He wondered just how much more Chul-Soo had up his sleeves.

‘Wait!’ Encyclopedia was startled while watching the livestream. ‘Isn’t Chul-Soo’s combat concept about smashing the back of his opponent’s head?’

Although he thought the same thing would happen again, his prediction was spectacularly off. From the first-person perspective, Chul-Soo’s livestream showed Memphis’s shocked expression.

‘He swung his hammer!’

However, the attack was not aimed at the temple or the back of the head.

‘Wait…’

The hammer was aiming for the forehead.

Encyclopedia’s expression became serious. The same was true for Marshmallow, who was watching the video alongside his friend. Marshmallow’s reaction was a bit more serious. He could not believe Chul-Soo was targeting the forehead instead of the back of the head.

“W-What’s going on?” Chul-Soo Land No.1000 started to worry about Chul-Soo.

***

‘An opening!’ Jin-Hyeok thought. The defensive Mystery Phantom Swordswoman created an opening for him. He had to make a decision. ‘Miri, I am sorry.’

Targeting the forehead instead of the back of the head was the most efficient move under the circumstances. Missing such an obvious vulnerability would have been undesirable. No matter how well staged it was, missing such an opening would be perfect fodder for accusations of a rigged livestream.

‘It’s going to be hard to cater to your preferences this time, Miri.’ Jin-Hyeok decided not to waste the opportunity intensely created by Phantom Swordswoman. He swung Miri toward Memphis’s forehead. There was no particular response from Miri.

‘Huh?’ Jin-Hyeok was confused. There should have been a thwack sound, but… ‘I didn’t hear any sound!’

About two seconds later, he heard the thwack sound. He also definitely felt something break.

‘What?’

Memphis screamed a beat too late and collapsed.

‘Instant Death?’

Unexpectedly, it was Instant Death. A closer inspection revealed that the back of Memphis’s head was shattered. It was odd since Jin-Hyeok had hit the forehead not the back of Memphis’s head.

‘Did I hide my strength again?’ Jin-Hyeok masked his bewilderment. Looking down at Memphis, he spoke calmly. Even though he was clueless, he maintained his composure on the outside.

“As I stand victorious, the air around me crackles with the sheer force of my will. This power, this extraordinary ability of mine, transcends space itself.” Jin-Hyeok tried to say whatever came to his mind, and he was quite pleased with the cool line. Pointing at Memphis with Miri, he continued, “It is the ultimate mastery over the very dimensions that bind us.”

Miri also felt a considerable sense of fulfillment.

-Thanks for the food.

Just as the Phantom Swordswoman continued to evolve, Miri, the Rule Breaker, was also continuously evolving.

***

All Rulers of the Five Hells, except for the Fourth Hell, had died. This resulted in significant division and a period of chaos. Numerous factions claiming to be the new kings of these Hells emerged, leading to conflicts both large and small. Still, experts unanimously stated:

[This level of chaos is within predictable limits, and strangely, there have been unusually peaceful days.]

Although conflicts continued to arise, many viewed them as trivial, mere inevitable consequences of the Rulers’ deaths.

Hell Man expressed gratitude to Jin-Hyeok. “Your strategy was formidable.”

Jin-Hyeok had introduced advanced civilization to Hell and, through the Guardian Tree, rapidly improved the quality of life for the residents of Hell. This created a gap between the Fourth Hell, which directly benefited from these actions, and the other Hells, which could only watch this. The residents of Hell were forced to face reality.

“The speed at which Hell is improving is beyond imagination, and because of that, people are starting to support you,” Hell Man added.

The usage rate of SSP among the residents of Hell was very low. They had neither the technology to utilize it properly, nor any particular interest in it. However, the overwhelming force that Chul-Soo had displayed thrilled them.

The residents of Hell tended to prefer the evil strong over the benign weak, but Chul-Soo was an anomaly—a benevolent strong. Curiosity about him skyrocketed, and accordingly, the usage of SSP increased rapidly on Hell.

“Earth. Particularly, the productivity of the Korean Region is astonishing.”

“That’s true. I was surprised myself.”

Particularly, American Company A and Korean Company S were enjoying an unexpected boon, as a new market had opened in Hell. The stocks of these companies and related firms soared. The CEOs of both companies thanked Jin-Hyeok.

-Wow! Chul-Soo pulled it off again!

-Wasn’t this his intention all along? He is the Intense Man of Justice, after all.

A new market had been pioneered. It was expected to create countless jobs on Earth, leading to significant economic benefits.

-They have expanded from the plant business right into the mobile phone business, LOL.

-Are there still people who deny the Chul-Soo Effect?

-But doesn’t this mean that the S Company will easily surpass the A Company?

With the emergence of Hell as a new market, there was a seismic shift in the smartphone market globally. People around the world were astounded.

-Koreans are known to be tough, but this is something else.

-Their productivity is unbelievable.

-The factories in Korea operate 24/7.

-Isn’t that a violation of human rights?

Recently, Korea had achieved the highest and longest working hours among OECD countries.

-This is not a violation of human rights; it’s sheer oppression.

-But I heard the average salary in Korea is around five hundred thousand dollars.

-Five hundred thousand?? Not fifty thousand?

Since the emergence of Chul-Soo, Korea had been experiencing its greatest boom ever, thanks to ventures like the Scanorbia Server and Hell’s plant projects.

-But I can't live like that even for five hundred thousand dollars.

-Neither can I. That’s not living. They’re working like robots!

However, the majority of Koreans thought differently.

-This is so much better than before.

-We used to work this hard for just fifty thousand dollars before.

Korea was the Server most affected by Chul-Soo. Its values had been significantly contaminated(?).

-This isn’t even that intense.

-We are not risking our lives or anything…

-Foreigners just have too low standards for intensity.

Hell’s development was equally impressive.

Jin-Hyeok was directly experiencing it. ‘This feels pretty good!’

Whenever he met people, they thanked him. They told him they would live as intensely as him or that he was their role model. Hearing such compliments turned out to be more pleasant than expected.

‘Feeling good is nice… but I can’t stop here.’

His ultimate goal of conquering Hell was to become its ruler. Though undeveloped, Hell was much larger than Earth, with its Players having Levels higher than those of Earth’s Players. Becoming its ruler would bring him closer to becoming the strongest Player.

‘But I am still not confident.’

An increase in smartphone use and his popular livestreams had greatly boosted his support in Hell, but he still had doubts. Many still opposed Chul-Soo, especially those among the high noblemen who sought the throne. Also, some residents of Hell were skeptical of Jin-Hyeok even now, since he was from another Server.

‘It wasn’t easy even on Earth, which was much more favorable to me.’

Rushing forward could backfire.

‘It’s best to make a big move at once.’

To do that, he needed to create a stronger impact, something that would make all residents of Hell vote in favor. He sought advice from Han Sae-Rin regarding this.

“I was just thinking about discussing this with you,” Sae-Rin replied. She had been traveling through Hell, gathering information and devising strategies. “The thing about Hell is, to put it negatively, there are a lot of ignorant folks, or to put it positively, it’s a Server with quite a bit of romance. They prefer strong villains over benign weaklings. Many unconditionally worship power. Simply put, the strong rule. Did you know that your support is highest in the First Hell, not the Fourth?”

“The First Hell? Not the Fourth?” Jin-Hyeok said, surprised.

“Yeah. It’s a bit unusual. They liked you best even though you killed their king. What was it again that you said? The ultimate mastery over the very dimensions that bind us? I think they got hooked on that.”

Jin-Hyeok smirked. He felt proud of his well-crafted livestream commentary.

“So how about this? Why not do one-on-one duel content again? There is a Player known as the strongest in Hell, famous for his strength,” Sae-Rin proposed.

“The strongest in Hell?”

“He is originally from Arvis, where he was a top-tier ranker. His name is Cier, and he is a Martial Artist.”

“Cier…?” Jin-Hyeok’s heart pounded.

“The problem is, can you overwhelm him enough to stir the hearts of Hell’s residents… Can you do it? If it’s too difficult, we can think of another way.”

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