I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 279

Corporation Alpha Male swung his axe and exclaimed, “My Mystery is a Stacking Mystery!”

A Stacking Mystery was a Mystery whose effects stacked upon one another.

[You have activated the Mystery ?Broadcaster’s Nemesis?.]

‘If it stacks like this…!’

Corporation Alpha Male was confident that he could completely dismantle the Absolute Barrier that Chul-Soo was so proud of.

“Is this all you’ve got?” Cha Jin-Hyeok was starting to get a bit angry. Turning his Absolute Barrier into the weaker Broadcaster’s Barrier was a decent move. That was why he had high expectations for Corporation Alpha Male.

Nevertheless, suppressing his anger, Jin-Hyeok said, “Just because it’s Broadcaster’s Barrier, it isn’t any less capable of blocking your attacks.”

Jin-Hyeok skillfully utilized Broadcaster’s Barrier to easily block Corporation Alpha Male’s axe.

Corporation Alpha Male gritted his teeth. ‘How is that a Broadcaster’s Barrier?’

After attacking Jin-Hyeok a bit more, he realized that it was not an ordinary Broadcaster’s Barrier. What Jin-Hyeok was using seemed more fitting to be called a defensive barrier used by professional Tankers.

Thwack!

Jin-Hyeok swung Miri and struck Corporation Alpha Male’s wrist hard.

“Argh!” The axe fell out of Corporation Alpha Male’s hands.

Jin-Hyeok said with a slightly trembling voice, “You said your Mystery is called Broadcaster’s Nemesis.”

That was the part he had been looking forward to. Jin-Hyeok had expected something as powerful as the EMP he had experienced in the All-Out War. That would have been truly fatal for a Streamer.

“But why…!” Jin-Hyeok unconsciously showed his true emotions. “Why does your Mystery only weaken my Absolute Barrier? That’s it?!”

“…”

Without his axe, Corporation Alpha Male took a few steps back.

Jin-Hyeok’s momentum was ferocious. “I thought your Mystery would be a truly lethal one. I had high expectations!”

Jin-Hyeok expected something like an ability that stopped his livestream or that used loud sounds to hinder his livestream, but this Mystery only weakened Absolute Barrier.

‘I had hoped to experience something similar to the EMP again!’ Jin-Hyeok wanted to use this as a measure to see if he had grown, but it all felt wasted.

“What kind of standard is that?”

‘This won’t do. You need to be taught a lesson.’

***

“Damn it…!” Corporation Alpha Male felt like he had hit a wall. Fighting Chul-Soo, who seemed more serious than before, felt more like fighting an impenetrable wall than a person. “I-It was all a concept. Let’s stop fighting now.”

“If you were going to play a concept, you should have prepared more intensely.” Jin-Hyeok would have considered letting it slide if Corporation Alpha Male had indeed come prepared with something like the EMP. After all, going through such an experience could have also allowed Jin-Hyeok to grow.

“I-I will come prepared more intensely next time,” Corporation Alpha Male said.

“No, you are not intense enough.”

If Corporation Alpha Male had been intense, he would not have come here like this.

Miri laughed heartily.

-Thank you for the food!

Miri charged toward Corporation Alpha Male’s head.

‘Huh?’

Boom!

Instead of hitting Corporation Alpha Male’s head, Miri smashed the innocent floor. The concrete floor was shattered to pieces.

‘Where did he go?’

Jin-Hyeok looked around. Even with Broadcaster’s Insight, he could not see where Corporation Alpha Male had gone.

“He is great at running away. I didn’t know he had this kind of ability.” 𝒻𝘦𝓌𝑜𝓋𝘦.𝘰

Jin-Hyeok could not help but reflect on himself. If he had studied his opponent a bit more intensely, he could have known about this ability. Then, he could have prevented him from running away in the first place.

“It seems I was not intense enough either.” Speaking regretfully, Jin-Hyeok smiled after ending his livestream.

***

The one who had helped Corporation Alpha Male escape was none other than Lady Harkoen. More precisely, it was Albero, the Chief Mage of the Harkoen family.

“I have brought the man you requested, Ma’am,” Albero said.

Lady Harkoen covered her entire face with her fan. She despised anything that was not beautiful. “Such a repulsive creature.”

“Shall I kill him?”

“No, we’ve poured hundreds of billions of Dias into bringing him here. We should at least get our money’s worth.” Lady Harkoen, still hiding her face with her fan, approached Corporation Alpha Male, who was lying on the ground. “Do you wish to take revenge on Kim Chul-Soo?”

“…” Corporation Alpha Male was still not fully conscious, only his eyes weakly moved to look toward Lady Harkoen.

“No, let me rephrase the question. Do you want to become the strongest Streamer in the universe?”

Corporation Alpha Male nodded.

“If I help you, you will be able to hunt down Chul-Soo. How about it? Will you make a deal with me? I only ask for one thing. Bring Chul-Soo to me, alive by any means necessary. Then, I will make you the strongest Streamer in the world.”

***

As soon as Jin-Hyeok’s video was released, various online communities were ablaze with activity.

-Wow, so all videos of Corporation Alpha Male were staged?

-They made it look like he was overpowering Chul-Soo, but that was all fake?

-Even Enstagram influencers’ selfies are not that deceptive, LOL!

The difference between Jin-Hyeok’s video and Corporation Alpha Male’s video was stark.

-Were Chul-Soo’s scenes in Corporation Alpha Male’s stream manipulated?

-That’s why Chul-Soo posted the full video too, LOL!

-If Corporation Alpha Male is innocent, he should post his full video too!

After desperately fleeing from Jin-Hyeok, Corporation Alpha Male had not shown himself.

-He’s gone into hiding, LOL!

-He got thrashed and dove under haha!

However, some interpreted the situation quite seriously.

-Still, among Streamers, Corporation Alpha Male was considered the strongest.

-And Chul-Soo crushed him so easily.

Undeniably, a new strongest Streamer was in the making.

-But think about it, Chul-Soo is from the Earth Server. Earth is still considered a new Server.

-Wait, you’re right!

-It hasn’t even been a year since Earth became an official Server!

This reminded everyone of something they had forgotten.

-Wow, I thought Chul-Soo was a veteran Player because he looked so strong in the Arvis Server.

-His growth rate is too unrealistic. It doesn’t feel real.

Some even exclaimed:

-Isn’t he not just the strongest among Streamers, but the strongest across all Jobs?

However, these claims were dismissed as absurd.

-LOL, are you serious? You guys are overpraising him.

-They’re saying that because they have not seen the top combatant-class Players.

-Are you guys dumb? How can a Streamer be the strongest in terms of overall combat power? Idiots!

-It’s like they’ve been shot in the head, lol!

While Chul-Soo was indeed exceptionally strong for a Streamer, the prevailing view was that Streamers had their limits.

-But things might change over time. You never know.

-The average lifespan of humans on Earth isn’t even 100 years.

-Ah, then it might be tough.

Jin-Hyeok also searched for ‘Kim Chul-Soo’ on the Korean Region Minor Gallery and found sentiments similar to those in other online communities.

[Without a doubt, Chul-Soo is the top Streamer.]

He liked posts similar to this.

[I think Chul-Soo’s abilities are just strong against Corporation Alpha Male. We need more verification if we want to call Chul-Soo the strongest Streamer.]

He disliked posts similar to this.

‘But most people think I am the strongest.’

While browsing, he found some parts hard to agree with.

‘Of course, I would not stand a chance against the top combatant-class rankers.’

He acknowledged that. However, he was confident he would not lose to most rankers.

[Even a mid-200-Level combatant Player from Arvis would crush Chul-Soo, I bet my right hand on it.]

Jin-Hyeok realized many people were just hate-commenting without even watching his livestreams. He had won against a captain of the guard of Arvis, albeit that was just a captain of a small city in Arvis. Jin-Hyeok could not believe people still thought he was weak and found it frustrating.

‘But… this can also turn into great content for my Eltube channel.’

He could not stop thinking about the comments that said he was strong for a Streamer and that he was the strongest among Streamers. He wanted to replace the word Streamer with something else. He wanted to be called the strongest among Players.

‘Can I really become that?’ The thought made his heart race. Jin-Hyeok’s expression became serious. ‘It’s not just about wanting to become stronger.’

It was something much more than that.

‘Becoming stronger than a combatant-class Player as a Streamer… That would be content with tremendous impact.’

This was purely a Streamer’s ambition. It was okay to be ambitious as a Streamer. He had found his justification.

‘I have to become the strongest.’

Now, he felt no guilt whatsoever.

***

Trituri was slightly infuriated. “Utter nonsense!”

The idea that a Guardian Tree wanted to smash people’s heads and to think of head-smashing as genuine defense was beyond his comprehension.

‘I must prevent my disciple from harboring such perverse thoughts. Guiding the disciple on the right path is the master’s mission!’

Trituri was intoxicated with being a master to a Player lately. The feeling was indescribable when the local Farmers would ask him if he truly taught Chul-Soo.

“The Guardian Tree does not possess such attributes, so do not even entertain such doubts,” Trituri said to Jin-Hyeok.

“But could there not be occasions when the Guardian Tree goes berserk?”

“The Guardian Tree is a sacred tree. It cannot be tainted.”

“Sacred trees cannot be tainted?”

“Of course. For that to happen, there would have to be a source of contamination so fanatic that it can defile the Guardian Tree. Such a thing does not exist in the world.”

Yet, Trituri had seen monsters with their heads smashed in all over Seoul. They were horribly mangled.

“Hm…”

‘It can’t be…’

For some reason, sweat dripped down his back.

That dawn, Trituri secretly sought out the Guardian Tree. This was not his first time doing so.

-“Hehehe, I do like this old man!”

The Guardian Tree trembled as it recognized Trituri, scattering vile golden dust.

“Guardian Tree… you recognize me.” Trituri finally felt alive. He was confident that he was in complete communion with the Guardian Tree. With a tender voice, he stroked the trunk of the Guardian Tree and murmured, “Yes, yes, that’s right. Good. I have never seen a Guardian Tree as kind, upright, and righteous as you.”

-“Hurry up and bring out the fertilizer, you old man!”

The Guardian Tree had no interest in any emotional connection with Trituri. It was fixated only on the fertilizer that Trituri brought secretly at dawn.

“There isn’t much left now.” It was soil containing microbes left by his grandfather. Invisible to the naked eye, these microbes were filled with the essence of Spirits. To the untrained eye, it looked just like ordinary soil, so Trituri called it Spirit Soil.

‘This is the last of the Spirit Soil!’

Though this Spirit Soil was now irreplaceable in the universe, Trituri was not saddened. As long as the Guardian Tree was happy, that was all that mattered. He carefully dug the earth and sprinkled the Spirit Soil on the Guardian Tree. Instantly, the Guardian Tree’s trunk began to flash with golden light.

Trituri heartily laughed at the sight. ‘The Guardian Tree is responding to my dedication!’

It lit up the darkened city as if day had returned.

‘But wait… I think this is beyond mere connection…?’ The ground started to tremble. ‘W-What’s going on?’

Suddenly, the Guardian Tree’s branches extended outward, and its trunk grew immensely. The trunk expanded so rapidly that it flung Trituri away. “Whoa!”

He flew a good distance and rolled across the ground. Yet, he felt no pain. After all, he was witnessing the miraculous growth of the Guardian Tree.

“The Guardian Tree… has reached the clouds…?”

It was not just a tree anymore; it resembled a towering mountain. Even after craning his neck to look up, he could not see the top of the Guardian Tree. The golden light seeping from the Guardian Tree tinted the night clouds gold, dimming the moonlight.

‘I-I’ve never seen a Guardian Tree grow this large…’

At that moment, all Earth Server’s Players received a ringing alert. It was a global notification audible to all Players associated with Earth.