I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 115

In the moment when the silver thread was flying toward Cha Jin-Hyeok’s neck, he felt an illusion as if time had come to a halt. It happened sometimes, this phenomenon where in the heat of battle, engrossed in a relentless fight, time seemed to slow, as if he and his surroundings were operating on a slower timeline. It felt like entering a completely different space-time, a domain where the sense of reality became detached. Google seaʀᴄh ɴovelFɪre.net

It was a phenomenon that high-Level Players would later refer to as entering the Transcendent Realm.

‘This is such good content for my Eltube channel.’

He even thought of an awe-inspiring title for the hypothetical video.

[SSS-Tier Queen Ant Conceals Her True Power.]

He felt like if he uploaded a video with this title, he would gain at least a thousand subscribers. Lately, his knack for crafting titles seemed to be becoming more and more exceptional. Unfortunately, as he was not Kim Chul-Soo but Kim Pyeong-Beom at this moment, he couldn’t possibly upload such a video.

In an instant, the Queen Ant’s silver thread made contact with his neck. Simultaneously, he deactivated the All-Clear Achievement effect.

‘This is a guaranteed instant death.’

Swoosh!

He felt a brutal sensation as if his neck was truly being severed. Just experiencing this sensation would be enough to deal severe mental damage to most Players.

This was one of the reasons why one should not try to become a Level Grinder.

[This attack qualifies as an instant death attack.]

[The effect 「Reflection +1」 has been applied.]

Although the sensation of his neck being cut chilled him to the marrow, he was glad the Berklev Necklace played its role.

‘It won’t work on the Queen Ant anyway.’

It was an already failed method of attack. He never thought it would succeed.

‘I just need a brief opening.’

The Queen Ant was fundamentally fearful by nature. Those who were fearful tended to be cautious, reacting sensitively even to minor changes or attacks.

‘It was just like this in the previous fight.’

When Jin-Hyeok first battled the Queen Ant, he fully utilized the effects of the Berklev Necklace. Although he didn’t count how many times he had used the item, he believed the Berklev Necklace had reflected the instant death attacks at least five times. Each time, he noticed the Queen Ant would only flinch ever so slightly. However, that flinch was all Jin-Hyeok needed right now.

‘The opportunity only comes once.’

[You have activated the Skill 「Time-Lapse Recording」.]

Jin-Hyeok used Time-Lapse Recording to widen that brief opening.

‘My movement feels light.’

In a blink, he closed the distance between him and the Queen Ant.

[You have activated the Skill 「One With the Sword」.]

Once again, he entered the Transcendent Realm. All his senses focused intently on the Queen Ant, filling this Realm entirely with her presence. She seemed dozens of times larger than her original size, a sensation of becoming one with the sword enveloped him. It was a mysterious euphoria that could not be explained to those who had not experienced it.

“Ah, whatever! Take this! Hmph!” the Guardian Tree said.

Once again, the All-Clear mark surfaced on his right hand. The All-Clear Achievement effect, which Jin-Hyeok had momentarily deactivated for the Reflection +1 effect, was reactivated. Then, a notification popped up.

[The Golden Guardian Tree has manifested its power.]

[The Golden Guardian Tree has manifested the power 「What is the Best Defense」.]

A formidable mana surged into Jin-Hyeok. It felt as if the Golden Guardian Tree was lending him immense strength. As Jin-Hyeok delved deeper into the Transcendent Realm, his senses expanded even further, and he began to perceive the world around him.

The posture of the Queen Ant.

The bloodlust directed at him.

The direction of the wind.

The firmness of the ground he stepped upon.

Everything around him transformed into a series of data transmitted to him.

‘The best defense is offense.’

To put it simply, it was a buff from the Guardian Tree. This mana harbored a strange bloodlust within. The mist that had enveloped the Golden Guardian Tree expanded rapidly, engulfing the entire area of Yeonhui-dong.

[The Will of the Sacred Tree 「Bakurudnaima」 assists you.]

The mist that had covered the area deepened, and the humidity escalated in a flash.

‘The scent of trees?’

Jin-Hyeok could smell the refreshing smell that one could experience when entering a lush forest. It felt as though he had stepped into a pine forest. Jin-Hyeok’s Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance captured the surroundings and saw what was going on.

[World of Phytoncides]

[The Sacred Tree 「Bakurudnaima」 has been harassed by the Red-Eyed Ants for a long time. To protect itself from the Ants, it produced a massive amount of phytoncides. Oh, Sacred Tree. Return the ancient pain to the enemy.]

Through the thick mist, Jin-Hyeok could hear Kang Mi-Na’s voice.

“It smells of phytoncides! Mi-Na trivia time! Phytoncides refer to the volatile organic compounds deliberately produced by plants to fend off bacteria, fungi, and pests that threaten their survival, and have lethal efficacy.”

Jin-Hyeok could feel that this World of Phytoncides had temporarily weakened the Queen Ant’s abilities. The mist, denser than water, restrained the Queen Ant’s mobility.

‘Now.’

[You have activated the Inherent Skill 「See the Future」.]

[You have temporarily accelerated the revealing of Job Skills by 30 Levels.]

Right now, Jin-Hyeok was Level 92. He also temporarily gained 20 Levels due to the back of the Mythic-Grade Card, bringing him to Level 112. By adding 30 Levels with See the Future, he was now at Level 142. Although it was still significantly lower than the Queen Ant’s Level, it didn’t matter.

[You have activated the Skill 「Perish Together」.]

It was a Skill acquired at Level 140 for the swordsman class. It maximized destructive power at the cost of one’s life, boasting the strongest attack power under Level 200. When used in conjunction with One With the Sword, its ability was amplified, and incidentally, only around ten Players in Korea were able to use One with the Sword and Perish Together at the same time.

‘It’s been so long since I’ve felt this sensation!’

Utilizing the Perish Together Skill meant putting his own life on the line. It was a Skill normally used in areas with resurrection settings or in PvP Zones. It wasn’t a favored Skill among Players due to the immense mental strain it imposed after use, but Jin-Hyeok was one of the few who favored using the Skill.

‘Time for my attack.’

At that moment, the Transcendent Realm shattered, and all sensations returned to their original state. Jin-Hyeok’s shoulders were trembling uncontrollably.

‘I’ve stabbed her.’

Time resumed its normal flow. The GreatSword of La’kan had properly pierced the Queen Ant’s chest.

[The Trait 「Extra Life」 has been applied.]

Barf!

Due to the aftermath of using Perish Together, Jin-Hyeok involuntarily retched.

‘I need to kill her now.’

A battle could end with a single choice, with a single slash of a blade. Standing on top of the Queen Ant, Jin-Hyeok repeatedly struck her with his Greatsword of La’kan.

‘Her protective barrier is completely gone.’

Thud!

The Queen Ant screamed and flailed violently. Her sharp claws grazed his body.

‘It stings.’

Blood oozed from various parts of his body. However, there were no fatal injuries. In contrast, the condition of the Queen Ant was far from okay.

‘The effect of phytoncides is quite remarkable.’

The phytoncides were causing the Queen Ant’s wounds to fester as if they were poisonous.

‘The phytoncides are granting me a detoxifying effect too.’;

They were neutralizing the Queen Ant’s poison.

“You’re right!”

The Guardian Tree’s voice rang in his ears.

“The best defense is indeed offense. Now I know!”

The voice seemed slightly altered, and when Jin-Hyeok glanced back, he noticed the leaves of the Guardian Tree had taken a slight purple hue. Originally entirely golden, now it harbored a mysterious purple tone. It looked even more unique and better.

‘But I thought you disliked anyone dying in your domain.’

“Since the best defense is offense, it seems unavoidable.”

Jin-Hyeok stabbed his Greatsword of La’kan into the Queen’s chest once more.

Thud!

[You have defeated the Queen Ant 「Arloa P. Demiras」.]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have reached Level 93.]

‘Wait, I only leveled up once for defeating her? I guess as a Streamer, I should stick to livestreaming.’

That was the only way to level up efficiently. Doing this was highly inefficient.

‘And there’s no reward?’

Jin-Hyeok killed the boss monster in a Scenario of this magnitude, and there was no reward.

He smirked as he realized the hidden meaning behind this.

Meanwhile, Mi-Na seemed extremely delighted.

“H-He did it! He just solo killed the Queen Ant! A miracle has happened!”

? ? ?

A huge number of viewers flocked to MiNaTV. She did not miss the opportunity to capture every aspect of Kim Chul-Soo, who was in the form of Kim Pyeong-Beom, on screen.

‘I’ve gone up by three levels!’ Mi-Na thought.

She had leveled up a whopping three times. Donations poured in from all over the world.

‘The concurrent viewer count is an astonishing five hundred thousand!’

For some unknown reason, the viewer limit had disappeared. Nevertheless, achieving a concurrent viewer count of five hundred thousand was a first for her. All of this felt like a dream.

‘This is insane. Truly insane.’

And this dream was very emotional for her.

“October 10, 2022. I wish today could be the starting date of me and Pyeong-Beom’s relationship!”

Half a million viewers—she could not predict when would be the next time she’ll come even remotely close to having such an amount of viewers, if ever again.

“I will attempt to interview Kim Pyeong-Beom!”

However, Pyeong-Beom had already vanished. As he had always done, he disappeared once again, leaving no trace.

“Sadly, I couldn’t get to do an interview. Instead, let’s thoroughly examine the Queen Ant’s corpse!”

The whole world was enveloped in a festive atmosphere. Numerous videos related to this event were produced, and festivals erupted both online and offline. Humanity, having learned that they could achieve great things, would continue to advance today.

-K&K. The lessons learned from the heroes.

-K&K

The names of Kim Chul-Soo and Kim Pyeong-Beom rose to unprecedented heights. They topped trending search rankings on online websites worldwide. The Eltube number of views of channels reveling in national pride soared.

[12 Ways the Two Korean Players Prevented Humanity’s Catastrophe.]

[Top 3 Reasons Why Foreign Players Admire Korean Players.]

[Why Top-Ranked Players Worldwide Are Horrified and Causing a Stir About Korean Players.]

[The Definitive Reason Why Korean Players are Receiving Unprecedented Praise All Over The World.]

Meanwhile, Jin-Hyeok was very pleased with the reactions on the Korean Region Minor Gallery.

[The accomplishment of defeating the Queen Ant by the cooperative work of Kim Chul-Soo and Kim Pyeong-Beom cannot be attributed to mere luck. Through meticulous calculation and collaboration, they prevented a catastrophe. Firstly... Secondly... Thirdly... They navigated through numerous variable calculations... And thus, they eventually managed to hunt down the Queen Ant. The Queen Ant’s estimated Level was in the late 100s. Even if, through various allocations, the two managed to elevate the Level of one of them to around Level 140, it was still a difficult monster to kill. However, Chul-Soo and Pyeong-Beom eventually showed a miracle that made the impossible possible. Today, I witnessed a miracle.]

[Written by; Encyclopedia]

Numerous comments were posted on the analysis article by the Named user Encyclopedia.

┗Wow, so much calculation went into those few seconds!

┗I just thought it was endless stabbing, and that’s it.

┗It really is true that you see as much as you know. I didn’t realize so much calculation went into it. Thanks for the analysis article.

┗They are simply radiant. We should call them Radiant Chul-Soo and Radiant Pyeong-Beom.

┗Just radiant? How dare you! They’re Gods!

┗All hail God Chul-Soo and God Pyeong-Beom!

Encyclopedia fairly accurately analyzed how Jin-Hyeok was able to confront the Queen Ant, and even inferred the Level of him and the Queen Ant rather precisely. Encyclopedia was indeed very smart.

“Maybe I’m becoming too famous.”

If Jin-Hyeok was a promising young soccer player from an island nation before, now it seemed like he was a promising player from a prestigious soccer club.

“I want to become more famo—”

Almost revealing his true intentions, Jin-Hyeok shook his head. Becoming too famous without sufficient power could be problematic. Although he was not sure for how long he could do this, it was indeed wiser for him to only show the power-related side of him when using the identity of Kim Pyeong-Beom.

‘I am a Streamer, after all. I should be safe for the time being.’

According to the global treaty, Streamers were protected. The Job of being a Streamer itself would serve as a primary institutional barrier protecting him and his surroundings.

‘Let’s just enjoy until Level 150.’

Having experienced the vicinity of Level 140, he was certain. Up to Level 150, he could achieve accomplishments beyond those of his past life. He was confident that his current self was stronger than his past self at this stage in time. The fact that there was a possibility that, in the future, he could become even stronger than he was in his past life, made his heart flutter as if falling in love for the first time.

‘I should stop looking now.’

The reactions from countries worldwide were so heated that he could not take his eyes off them, but with superhuman patience, he closed various websites from the screen.

‘It will pile up more if I wait a bit, right?’

Everything tasted better if eaten in one sitting after starving. It would be even better if, in between, there were a lot of trending posts.

He hoped the name Kim Chul-Soo spread even more.

Lying on his bed, he reviewed the Record Journal.

[Planter’s Record Journal (Bound)]

[A journal that automatically records the birth and growth of the Golden Guardian Tree.

•2022/7/26: Seed was sown.

•2022/7/29: The Young Golden Guardian Tree has grown.]

.

.

*2022/10/10: Successfully connected with the Planter, learning that both the Will to Protect and Will to Kill can coexist through 「What is the Best Defense」.]

It sort of felt like writing a childcare diary. Jin-Hyeok was proud to see the Guardian Tree learning and growing so well. It seemed the Golden Guardian Tree was connected to the Planter’s mind, heavily influenced by his values and thoughts. Seeing the highlighted bolded text, it seemed like he was doing a good job. He had a feeling that he needed to continue putting efforts into proper upbringing.

‘Oh, I almost forgot.’

Heading to Cha Jin-Sol’s room, he found her still lying down, sleeping. Jin-Hyeok kind of felt sorry for her, so he revealed his neck and moved closer to his sister. Jin-Sol flailed her arms around like someone lost in a dream before biting into his neck and drinking his blood.

‘The color seems to have returned to her face.’

He believed she should wake up in a few hours.

‘I really want to turn on my livestream.’

The withdrawal symptom of not being able to livestream was worse than he expected. In the public eye, Jin-Hyeok was still critically injured, so turning his livestream on was somewhat challenging.

‘But there is always a way.’

Jin-Hyeok headed to Cheongdam-dong. He met with two people who knew his true identity. Choi Gap-Soo and Jang Michelle were sitting on the sofa, anticipating his arrival.

“Oh! If it isn’t the hero of humanity, Kim Pyeong-Beom, Kim Chul-Soo, and Cha Jin-Hyeok!”

Their eyes were sparkling. It seemed like they wanted something from Jin-Hyeok. And he knew exactly what it was.

“I have brought a video exclusively for both of you. It’s a super rare collector’s edition video from a first-person perspective.”