I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 70

After finishing his meditation, Cha Jin-Hyeok stood up and opened the Broadcaster’s Shop.

‘Let’s see…’

His current wealth amounted to around seven hundred million Dias. When he first received his first one hundred Dias, it was surreal, but he was now getting used to it. He was receiving much more donations than he anticipated. It seemed like Mystery Box’s concept was really catching on.

[Bahara’s Singing Bowl]

[A resonating bowl. It contains the energy of Bahara, aiding in meditation.

Duration: 1 minute

Price: 10,000,000 Dias]

It was a well-known fact that Bahara’s Singing Bowl had better effects than regular singing bowls. But the price difference was a whopping ten times.

‘I should buy it, right?’

With only the effect of the All-Clear in the Dungeon, it would be challenging to fully utilize the Unleashing Technique. If he touched the Genius Trait carelessly, it could lead to an explosive disaster.

If that happened, his mental world would be completely destroyed, and there was a high possibility he would become crippled. However, waiting until the Level requirement was reached on the Genius Trait would mean that poison would have already spread throughout it. The unlocked Genius Trait would undoubtedly cause a huge clash with his Almighty Jack of All Trades Trait.

‘This is so fucked up! What can I do?’

That was why Jin-Hyeok felt excited. Judging by how reluctant the System was to give this to him, it had to bring about a tremendous effect. There was no need to curse the System; it was just like the Dungeons. Easy to break meant the reward was nothing special, but difficult to break meant it brought a fantastic reward.

When Jin-Hyeok thought about it that way, it made him calm.

[You have purchased Bahara’s Singing Bowl.]

From his extensive experience in meditation, this was probably going to take a very long time.

[You have purchased Bahara’s Singing Bowl.]

[You have purchased Bahara’s Singing Bowl.]

Jin-Hyeok emptied his entire wealth and bought seventy Bahara’s Singing Bowls. Then, he went back home and waited for his sister, Cha Jin-Sol.

He thought about going to Paju to find her, but he did not want to risk the two of them missing each other, so he decided to wait instead.

‘She should be coming home soon.’

However, Jin-Hyeok was wrong.

Jin-Sol, who had gone on a monster hunt to the Heyri Art Valley in Paju, did not return until 5 a.m.

“What were you doing that made you come home so late?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Er, my gawd~ Were you waiting for me?”

It seemed like she was not in her right mind. It didn’t seem like she was drunk, but she appeared to be intoxicated by the monster hunting. It happened sometimes. But only those with the potential to become top-ranked Players showed such signs of intoxication.

‘Should I let her take a break for a while?’

Jin-Hyeok knew his sister would become more exhausted if she became a top-ranked Player.. He believed she did not have the potential to become one, but he was still concerned.

‘For now, let’s just focus on the matter at hand.’

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Luckily, it didn't take long for Jin-Sol to regain her composure. When they entered the third floor of the Sareoga Mart Dungeon, she seemed to be wide awake and lucid, or even more so than usual.

“Are we doing this secretly? There must be something more hidden, right? That’s it, isn’t it?” Jin-Sol asked.

Her eyes sparkled brightly. Her appearance reminded Jin-Hyeok of Angel Girl or Han Sae-Rin, making him feel weird. The madness of others might have been entertaining, but the madness of his family members was a bit unsettling.

“Take this.”

He handed her the seventy Bahara’s Singing Bowls.

“Time it precisely and use this Singing Bowl every one minute, no, every fifty-nine seconds.”

Honestly, Jin-Hyeok wanted to tell her to use it every sixty seconds, but he was afraid she might make a mistake.

“What is this for?”

“It’s a tool to help with my meditation.”

“You’re going to meditate now? Here?”

“Yeah. If you don’t use it accurately, my head might explode and I could die.”

Jin-Sol was surprised.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“I’m dead serious.”

“Are you crazy? I can’t do it. I won’t do it!”

“If it’s not you, there is no one else I can trust.”

Jin-Hyeok was literally trusting her with his life. Entrusting this to others would bring too much risk.

“I’m trusting you to do it,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Why?”

“You’re the person I trust the most.”

“Do you think that kind of sweet talk is gonna work?”

It seemed like it worked just fine.

“If you really don’t want to do it, I can ask someone else.”

“...”

Jin-Sol nodded in the end.

“Just one of these every fifty-nine seconds, right? If possible, every minute would be even better, right?”

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Jin-Hyeok took his seat and got ready.

Ding!

[Bahara’s Singing Bowl effect has been activated.]

He began meditating, just like before, becoming an observer of his inner universe. A small cosmos unfolded before his eyes, and many things started to become visible.

He approached the twinkling stars and reached out his hand.

‘This is the virus that consumes the Genius Trait.’

He focused his mind. If he used the Unleashing Technique recklessly, his head would explode.

‘This is interesting.’

This was even more thrilling than when he first encountered the Flying Toad. He cautiously touched the shining Genius Trait, and each time he did, his hand bounced off, nearly breaking his concentration.

Without the effect of the All-Clear and Bahara's Singing Bowl, his meditation would have been disrupted numerous times.

‘I need to use the Unleashing Technique after grasping and observing the Genius Trait as accurately as possible.’

Knowing the opponent and knowing oneself ensured victory in all battles. It was a universal truth. Jin-Hyeok had to examine and re-examine both the Trait and the bug-like creature that was in the middle of consuming it accurately.

He had no idea how much time had passed.

‘Now… I can draw the Genius Trait in my mind even without looking at it.’

This includes even the movements of the bug-like creature that was consuming the Trait from the inside. Jin-Hyeok had reached a level where he could visualize everything in his mind.

All preparations were complete.

‘I need to finish this in one go.’

Inside his conscious world, he took a deep breath. He could feel his heart racing.

‘Relax my body…’

Tension would cause the body to become stiff. This was an incredibly delicate and careful process, and any mistake would result in his head exploding.

‘Now!’

[You have used the Mystery 「Unleashing Technique」.]

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Sweat dripped down Jin-Sol’s forehead. Her body was already soaked in sweat, and she had exhausted most of the Bahara's Singing Bowls in her possession during this extreme state of tension.

‘Now, there is only one left,’ she thought.

She had used sixty-nine Bahara's Singing Bowls, trying her best to use them exactly once every minute, in order to give Jin-Hyeok as much time as possible under its effect.

It had been over an hour.

‘I’m not sure, but…’

It seemed like an intense battle was raging within Jin-Hyeok’s body. Just like Jin-Sol, he was also drenched in sweat.

‘Oppa, please…’

Images of Jin-Hyeok’s head exploding kept flashing in her mind. Her heartbeat increased, and fear overwhelmed her.

‘This is the last one.’

She used the last Bahara’s Singing Bowl. After a moment, a golden ray of mana began to emanate from Jin-Hyeok’s body.

He opened his eyes.

“Heal me.”

With those words, Jin-Hyeok lost consciousness.

“Oppa!”

Jin-Sol used her healing Skills on Jin-Hyeok, but ended up fainting herself.

A day passed, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that Jin-Hyeok was already awake.

“Oppa, are you okay?”

“How can you not be able to control your own healing Skills?”

“I asked if you were okay.”

“I’m fine, that’s why I’m scolding you right now.”

“...”

Jin-Sol bit her lip.

“If you ask me to do something like this again, I will be the one who is going to make your head explode.”

[#Do you know how worried I was? #I thought your head was going to explode! #Why was your head throbbing so much?!]

Jin-Sol continued to speak, “So, why did you do something like this? What did you risk your life for?”

“To gain something.”

“What is it?!”

“You don’t need to know. It would be exhausting if this became known to the world.”

“So, you’re going to keep it a secret from me too? You don’t trust me?”

“I do trust you.”

“Then why are you keeping it a secret from me?”

“There are crazy bastards out there who can pry open your mind and extract memories and information. It’s better not to know about this.”

“...”

Jin-Hyeok examined the changes in his body. Fortunately, using the Unleashing Technique was a complete success.

“Let’s go home and rest for a bit.”

For the next few days, it seemed like taking a break from livestreaming would be necessary.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

‘I am all out of energy.’

His entire body had been drained of energy. Jin-Hyeok lay down on the bed and opened the Traits window.

[Traits]

[1. Broadcaster’s Barrier]

[2. All-Rounder]

[3. Extra Life]

[4. Imperial Resilience]

Jin-Hyeok recalled the moment when the Unleashing Technique succeeded in unlocking the Genuis Trait.

[You have acquired the Trait 「Genius」.]

It was just like when the Almighty Jack of All Trades Trait had devoured the Sword Emperor Trait. This time, the Almighty Jack of All Trades Trait had consumed the Genius Trait. And there was a significant change.

[The Trait 「Almighty Jack of All Trades」 has been upgraded to 「All-Rounder」.]

The Almighty Jack of All Trades and All-Rounder were essentially the same.

[All-Rounder]

[An advanced Trait that surpasses the Almighty Jack of All Trades. It draws out all potential to its limit, emitting a unique brilliance.]

[Conditions for activation]

[1. Almighty Jack of All Trades]

[2. Assimilation of 「King」 or higher-Level Trait]

[3. Assimilation of 「Prodigy」 or higher-Level Trait]

This was not just a passive Trait that was applied to the body.

Some Traits held another set of Skills within them. These skills were called Inherent Trait Skills, or shortened to Inherent Skills.

[Inherent Trait Skills]

[1. Reach the Sky — Increases experience gained by 10%.]

[2. See the Future — Temporarily accelerates the revealing of Job Skills by 30 Levels.]

[3. Persevering Genius — Significantly reduces mental strength consumption when using all Traits and Skills.]

From Jin-Hyeok’s standpoint, each of these Skills seemed overpowered.

‘A ten percent increase in experience gain rate?’

As if he was not already a fast-leveling Streamer, adding an extra ten percent on top of that was surreal. In the future, a ring that added five percent to the experience gain rate would go for around thirty billion Dias. Jin-Hyeok had never seen an item that increased by ten percent, and if it even existed, it would likely be worth hundreds of billions of Dias, making them implausible.

‘And I can temporarily accelerate the revealing of the Job-specific Skills by thirty Levels?’

Jin-Hyeok confirmed that his own Skills from when he was the Sword King were inherent in his soul. If he could convert them from Latent Skills to his regular Skills, it meant he could use Skills much higher Level than his current self.

‘The downside is that those Skills would consume a lot of mental energy…’

If he used a Skill that was too high in Level, it would consume too much mental energy too quickly. However, Imperial Resilience and Persevering Genius would prevent that from happening.

‘If people found out about these Skills, it’s going to be devastating.’

These Skills were so overpowered that those who hunted other Players would do anything to obtain them. It was a good thing that Jin-Hyeok had Multiple Lives. As soon as he obtained the All-Rounder Trait, he changed the name back to Almighty Jack of All Trades as it was originally.

‘Once I surpass Level 200, I won’t be able to fully hide the Trait even with Multiple Lives. At that point, some truly terrifying and dangerous individuals will target me. That would put my family in danger too.’

Though he was delighted to gain such an ability, he regained his composure.

‘I must retire before reaching Level 200.’

If he continued to be active until then, his ability would be exposed. That would lead to the complete loss of his current happiness and tranquility. His everyday life might crumble once again.

‘Maybe I should quit Playing at Level 150, just to be sure.’

Without realizing it, his maximum Level before retiring had shifted from 100 to 150.

‘I must give my best and Play until Level 150. By then, I will have built a solid foundation for retirement.’

There were many ‘short-term’ Players that were famous for only a short period of time. The recently deceased Player, Shadow Man, was one of them.

‘Backstabber was just a nobody in the future that I was in, but here he was ranked first in the Qi-manipulating class.’

That provided Jin-Hyeok with a good excuse, the excuse of allowing Jin-Hyeok to be able to be an active Player until he reached Level 150. These short-term Players received some attention in the early stages but were soon forgotten. Jin-Hyeok thought it would be safe for him to gain that much fame.

‘Just to Level 150. If I become more ambitious, I won’t forgive myself.’

After taking a three-day break, Jin-Hyeok decided to return to livestreaming.

‘The integration between the SSP and Eltube is almost complete.’

This meant that people on Earth could now access the livestream of the Streamer Kim Chul-Soo through Eltube.

‘Huh? What the hell is this?’

Just before starting the livestream, Jin-Hyeok noticed something strange.