I Gave Up Being Stronger

The timing was perfect.

-Wow! Lessefim appeared at just the right time.

-Mole Woman looks furious.

Jin-Hyeok broadly smiled. “I have such great comrades.”

As soon as he touched the rope, he automatically rose and soon disappeared from view.

“Take me with you too, moly!” Mole Woman yelled.

A note had fallen to the ground.

Jin-Hyeok had easily reached the top with Lessefim’s help. Luckily, the Mystery was still there.

‘That’s slightly disappointing.’

He was expecting his competitors to have burst open the door by now and surge in like a tidal wave, heightening the tension.

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, the giant door exploded. Shards of the blasted iron door flew in all directions, and Jin-Hyeok jumped forward to protect Lessefim and Han Sae-Rin. He extended his right hand and created an oval-shaped Absolute Barrier, shielding both of them.

-Wow, that was so cool!

-Chul-Soo, please take me!

-He protects everyone! I am falling in love!

Of course, he didn’t have to do anything special to use his right hand to deploy Absolute Barrier, but the act looked impressive from the outside.

‘That was good timing.’ The newcomers were mostly universe-level rankers. A moment’s distraction could cost him the Mystery. ‘I wish it were a bit more intense, but…’

Still, he felt that the footage could be edited into something quite decent.

“I can’t let them take the Mystery,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Some rankers yelled, “No!” while others cast attack spells at him. Nevertheless, Jin-Hyeok managed to touch the Mystery. Green mana erupted the next second, but he immediately absorbed it.

[You have acquired the Mystery Spilling Wind.]

Jin-Hyeok had acquired the Mystery that used to belong to Cier, the strongest Player in Hell, before his regression. However, he could not just end the livestream here.

“Ah…”

“Damn it!”

He captured the disappointed expressions of the rankers who had just missed the Mystery. Then he looked at each of them.

“I was so close!”

Jin-Hyeok didn’t let his guard down entirely. ‘Some of them must be Player Hunters.’

He thought someone would sneak up on him from behind. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, none attempted that. They were all rankers; they couldn’t act rashly. Moreover, Chul-Soo was a Streamer.

‘Is he really protected under the Streamer Protection Treaty?’

‘We don’t have any just cause to attack him right now.’

In a one-on-one fight, rankers didn’t need to uphold the Streamer Protection Treaty. But with dozens of rankers gathered here, they couldn’t attack Jin-Hyeok without violating the treaty.

In the meantime, as Jin-Hyeok had cleared the Artificial Dungeon, the rankers who had missed the Mystery started to disperse.

‘How come no one is attacking me?’ Jin-Hyeok hid his disappointment and continued, “I think many of the viewers want me to fight Cier.”

He genuinely wanted to fight Cier.

‘Is this considered cheating?’ he had this thought, but it quickly went away. A real duel between a Streamer and the strongest Martial Artist in Hell would surely rack up views.

***

Cier’s reaction to Jin-Hyeok’s proposal now was not much different from the one he had before Jin-Hyeok’s regression.

“How could I dare to fight you?” Cier said.

Although Cier’s expressions and demeanor had changed from what they were before Jin-Hyeok’s regression, he refused the fight even now.

“I will give you fifty billion Dias regardless of the outcome. If you beat me, I will give you an additional fifty billion,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Pick up your weapon, you bastard!”

Jin-Hyeok grinned. ‘Wow, he’s even cursing!’

He was pleased that Cier had correctly understood his concept.

Eventually, the battle between the strongest Streamer and the strongest Player on the Hell Server began.

“I will end you quickly, Chul-Soo. Today is your unluckiest day,” Cier said.

[#Is this line good enough? #Is he satisfied? #I hope he gives me extra money for my cool line!]

Cier was fast.

-I can’t see him properly!

-What a phenomenal agility.

Jin-Hyeok was somewhat taken aback. ‘He is too fast!’

The Streamer’s biggest issue was not that he was having trouble tracking Cier but that his viewers wouldn’t be able to see the fight. To the average viewer, it would just look like flashes of light and loud noises.

‘But… if I wasn’t thinking about my livestream, I think I can beat him.’

Although Cier was incredibly fast, dodging his attacks was possible. Jin-Hyeok deftly avoided a punch aimed at his face and responded to the subsequent flurry of strikes.

[You have used the Mystery Spilling Wind.]

Jin-Hyeok became much lighter. He flicked away a punch aimed at his stomach and changed its trajectory. Moreover, he could even see the following kick.

‘Wow, this is amazing!’

Jin-Hyeok almost forgot to comment on his livestream.

‘The synergy between Spilling Wind and Broadcaster’s Insight is also quite good.’

He felt as though he was several steps ahead of his opponent. Cier felt similarly.

‘Is he anticipating my attacks? It seems he knows where my next attack will go before I do.’ Cier had not expected such exceptional dodging abilities from a Streamer. ‘I guess I have to go all out too.’

Jin-Hyeok soon snapped back to reality. Being too engrossed in the fight and forgetting its essence was not the way of a Streamer. If he let this fight go on like this, the livestream would turn into an uninteresting educational show for the average viewer.

‘It needs to look cool.’

[You have used the Skill Time-Lapse Recording.]

Only after slowing down Cier could Jin-Hyeok create a tense battle scene.

However, Cier misunderstood the situation. ‘He seems to be struggling with my speed.’

Cier was a Martial Artist who perfectly cornered his opponents by properly managing his physical abilities. He typically did not go full speed, as using too much energy could exhaust him too quickly. However, this time, his instincts were telling him differently.

‘I should step it up now.’

[You have used the Skill High Gear.]

This Skill explosively drew out all of Cier’s physical abilities in a burst.

That was when he saw a hammer swinging toward his head.

‘An attack in plain sight!’ Cier closed the distance between them. ‘I should obscure his vision with my right fist while feigning to aim for the jaw. Then I should punch in the gut with my left.’

His attack path and timing were perfect. ‘This is it!’

However, that was not it. As he was about to hit Jin-Hyeok, he heard Jin-Hyeok’s voice. “You’re too slow.”

Jin-Hyeok was already a few steps away, and Cier’s left hand sliced through thin air. Before Cier realized it, Jin-Hyeok had already swung at his left fist.

Thwack!

Cier felt severe pain in his left arm, as though it was shattered.

‘What is this?’ Cier was a Martial Artist known for his evasion, but he also prided himself on his physical durability. ‘It’s like a cannon hit me!’

***

While fighting Cier, Jin-Hyeok had felt something was off.

‘Am I faster than him?’ Although Jin-Hyeok was receiving the Guardian Tree’s help, he was still surprised. ‘I am just a Streamer, and he is a Martial Artist!’

He got the feeling that he possessed better evasion skills than Cier, who was known as the master of evasion.

‘Am I imagining things?’

At first, he thought he was, but the more they fought, the stranger he felt.

‘No, I am definitely dodging better than him.’

Especially during the moments when the Mystery Spilling Wind was active, he achieved a one hundred percent evasion rate. It was not just about dodging.

‘I can clearly see the optimal path to evade his attacks.’

It was a form of learning, akin to a tutor pointing out the correct answer.

Over time, Jin-Hyeok realized, ‘Yup, I dodge better than him.’

At least under the auspices of the Guardian Tree, that was true. After this realization, Jin-Hyeok preemptively swung Miri. He aimed to crush Cier’s ribs but ended up hitting his left arm instead.

‘I broke his left arm.’

Jin-Hyeok felt a sudden sense of crisis. The successful attack was also an opportunity for his opponent.

‘My right side is exposed.’

Spilling Wind was warning him that his right side was vulnerable, and Cier would surely target it.

‘Tsk. It looks like I can’t dodge this one.’

While Jin-Hyeok wanted to completely avoid the attack, realistically, that was nearly impossible. If he could not dodge, he would have to block. So, he used Absolute Barrier.

‘Why isn’t he striking? That was the perfect opportunity!’

Cier was backing off to catch his breath. Jin-Hyeok realized, ‘Ah… the damage to his left arm must have been too severe.’

Jin-Hyeok had not expected that a fighter of Cier’s caliber would make such a misjudgment. It was not like Jin-Hyeok had attacked Cier’s weak points, nor had the arm been completely pulverized.

For Jin-Hyeok, this was a rather fortunate situation.

‘The best defense is a good offense!’

The viewers unleashed a barrage of comments.

-Wait, Chul-Soo is dominating!

-He’s playing with Cier!

-I know he has the Guardian Tree’s help and the Time-Lapse Recording Skill, but… he is just overwhelming him!

Speculations of Chul-Soo’s balancing issue surfaced again.

-A Streamer from a new Server overpowering a mediocre Server’s strongest Player? Tsk tsk.

-The Earth’s GMs should just resign.

-This is a disaster, LOL!

-Even computer games would not be this unbalanced. This is too much!

Some comments provided justifications.

-That’s the power of a Mythic Mystery for ya.

-Cier can’t even touch him, LOL!

-You are witnessing the prowess of a Mythic Mystery.

However, the more astute viewers knew what was going on.

-Could you fly a fighter jet if I asked you to right now?

-What are you talking about?

-The more powerful a Mystery is, the longer Players need to master it. You guys don’t know shit because y’all are a bunch of nobodies.

These viewers pointed out a stunning fact.

-If that Mystery is that powerful, then Chul-Soo should be even more flustered than Cier. Even with exceptional talent, handling such a powerful Mystery instantly is just not feasible.

Which meant the Mystery was not as powerful as assumed.

-Chul-Soo is just overpowering Cier with his skills.

Many experts also interpreted it this way, but some made terrifying claims.

-What if it’s both?

-Both? What are you talking about?

-What if Chul-Soo can handle such a Mystery proficiently on the first try and still overpower Cier with his physical abilities?

Initially, this opinion was ridiculed, but the opinions started to change.

-Wait… it seems plausible.

-Could it really be both?

-That’s crazy! If that’s possible, they might as well shut down the Server, LOL!

The viewers realized a crucial fact.

-Guys, Chul-Soo also has Absolute Barrier. Can Cier’s attack even break through it?

They didn’t know if Cier’s attack could even hurt Chul-Soo, let alone reach him.

-You know he hasn’t even used his defensive Mystery, right?

-I miss her.

-Holy shit! Mind = blown

Jin-Hyeok dominated Cier. While Spilling Wind had made it easy for him, he could have won even without it. This experience further solidified his understanding of himself.

‘I have completely surpassed my former self,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

A sense of elation filled him, as he realized he had become a stronger Player. He did not just stop after defeating Cier as he could not end the content there.

“I must find out what the Marlenvia’s Underground Warehouse Key is used for before ending the livestream.”

-Holy shit! He’s still livestreaming?

-Shouldn’t he be tired after that battle? Or at least pretend to be?

-Cier is exhausted right now. LOL

-Chul-Soo crushed him with stamina too!

That was when Cier retired from being a Player.

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