I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 392

-A Server notification popped up?

-Whoa, for real? There is a Server notification?

A Server notification was an alert that the System automatically transmitted for events significant enough to impact the entire Server. This meant that a matter of utmost importance had taken place.

-What’s the notification about?

-The Cliff of Singing Swords has been deleted, lol!

-Huh? How did that happen?

-No idea. But there is a 5000% chance it’s because of Kim Chul-Soo.

Although people did not have the exact details, they deduced that this incident was likely connected to Cha Jin-Hyeok.

-Isn’t that a sacred ground of the Pisat Family?

-Yeah, that’s right. Only specially selected Swordsmen from the Pisat Family or winners of the Sword Emperor Tournament can train there. They say you come out several times stronger than when you went in.

-Whoa! Then isn’t Chul-Soo screwed?

The situation was quite different from when Jin-Hyeok had destroyed their relics. It could be excused since he had already gained ownership of those relics by that time.

-He forced his way into the sacred ground and blew it up?

-Did he go there to create new content for his channel?

-Then his content is going to be next level.

-If he did it on purpose, he’s insane. Even if it was an accident, he’s still nuts.

People thought the Pisat Family would not sit idly.

Muenne even grabbed her spear and rushed out to help Jin-Hyeok. ‘Sir Chul-Soo!’

She arrived at the Pisat Family estate in haste, clutching her spear, and shouted at the gatekeeper, “Step aside! I have an urgent appointment with Sir Chul-Soo.”

“Lady Muenne, even you cannot enter the grounds without a visitor’s pass.”

The gatekeeper was perplexed. He had briefly served as Muenne’s subordinate in the past. He knew her temperament well and was acutely aware that she was a stickler for principles.

“You need to get a visitor’s pass, Lady Muenne!”

“Our old friendship is the only reason you’re alive right now. Step aside while I am asking nicely.”

“Lady Muenne, please calm down. This isn’t like you!”

“I’m going to count to three.”

While Muenne caused a commotion at the main gate, the Pisat Family made an official statement.

[The Pisat Family will not hold Sir Kim Chul-Soo responsible in any way.]

At that moment, Muenne’s phone buzzed loudly as she received a notification. It was an emergency alert set to ring even in silent mode.

The alert made even the gatekeeper tense up.

‘For such an urgent alert to ring for a ranker of Lady Muenne’s caliber…’

The gatekeeper believed a crisis of unimaginable scale was about to happen.

However, after checking her phone, Muenne relaxed her grip on the spear.

[I have made peace with the Pisat Family.]

It was not an emergency disaster alert, but a livestream notification from Chul-Soo. Not wanting to miss even a second of Chul-Soo’s livestream, Muenne stowed away her spear, leaned against the wall, and focused on her phone.

‘Sir Gridel is protecting Chul-Soo?’ Muenne thought. Surprisingly, the Pisat Family was being extremely favorable toward Jin-Hyeok.

-Huh?

-I heard a rumor that Chul-Soo showered them with hundreds of trillions of Dias to stop them.

-Hundreds of trillions? Damn, so you can screw up their sacred ground and just throw money at them?

-The Pisat Family turned out to be pushovers, lol.

-They forgave the destruction of their sacred ground for money? They are truly the lowest of the low.

Even Jin-Hyeok was dumbfounded.

“Are you not going to ask for compensation?” Jin-Hyeok wondered if they might be saying nice things to his face but planning to stab him in the back later. ‘Wait, that might be even better!’

It would certainly draw attention. Jin-Hyeok’s heart thumped; he thought that this could set up the perfect content for his channel.

“You’re the one who showed me the video. How could I demand compensation from you when all the swords chose that fate of their own accord?” Gridel said.

Jin-Hyeok was momentarily speechless.

‘I thought there would be a big confrontation… Is he a more upright person than I expected?’

It did not seem like Gridel had any intention of backstabbing him. Jin-Hyeok felt a bit sorry for thinking that lowly of Gridel.

‘Was I too focused on my channel?’

Jin-Hyeok wondered if he had been overly fixated on the livestream potential when dealing with this elderly person. Firmly believing himself to be a thoroughly sensible and sane person, Jin-Hyeok felt slightly remorseful.

Gridel continued, “I and the Pisat Family have decided to entrust our future to you, Sir Chul-Soo.”

“Even… the future?”

There was strong conviction in Gridel’s eyes. He thought, ‘The swords embedded in the cliff were all sacred treasures. According to the records, they were said to be imbued with divine power. Those swords reacting to Chul-Soo in such a way… proves without a doubt that he’s the incarnation of a God!’

Gridel decided to stake the future of his family on this divine being. Jin-Hyeok read Gridel’s inner thoughts. The sentiment was so intense that he could discern it without any difficulties.

[#Entrusting the future.]

‘I don’t know why he’s acting like this, but…’ Jin-Hyeok put on a serious expression. Though he did not fully understand, he played along. Given the situation, it was important to act accordingly.

“It seems you have seen something hidden within me,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Y-Yes, that’s right!” Gridel’s heart began to pound. He was certain that Jin-Hyeok was giving him some kind of clue. ‘He did not directly say he was the incarnation of a God. But it’s as good as hearing it!’

Jin-Hyeok continued, “I intend to go to the place where the Great Sword Spirit sleeps.”

“By the Great Sword Spirit, you mean…”

“The swords embedded in the cliff told me. They said I must meet the Great Sword Spirit.”

Of course, this had not happened, but Gridel fell for it. The only fact Jin-Hyeok knew came from the Scenario notification.

(7) The One Who Silenced the Swords’ Song, Shall Meet the Great Sword Spirit

You who have silenced the swords’ song through ???. Your efforts and achievements shall shine forever. As the swords’ song finally flows to one place and sings a requiem, that place shall be where the Great Sword Spirit sleeps.]

“The Great Sword Spirit is sleeping somewhere. Since you’re the Sage of the Sword, I thought you might know where that is,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Gridel trembled slightly. It felt like he was hearing voices telling him, ‘Will you entrust the future to me? Can you trust me? If so, show me your faith and trust.’

‘Chul-Soo, no, Sir Chul-Soo must already know everything!’ Gridel thought. For such a person to deliberately ask him this question, it was undoubtedly a test of Gridel’s faith. ‘Yes. I need to pass this test splendidly!’

Acting as the examinee, Gridel diligently submitted his answer. “Sir Chul-Soo. The Great Sword Spirit sleeps in a place you know very well and are familiar with, but…”

Gridel resolved to tell Chul-Soo, the incarnation and will of God, everything he knew. If he could gain Chul-Soo’s trust through this, that would surely be the best outcome.

“First, I’m amazed at the miracle you performed,” Gridel said.

“By miracle, you mean…”

“You destroyed 722 out of the 723 swords stuck in the cliff.” The remaining one was left for Hyeon-Seong the Anus Destroyer. “Which 722 swords needed to be destroyed and which one wasn’t… Even I, the head of the Pisat Family, could not distinguish that. The fact that you accurately selected and left that one sword must have been due to your skill.”

Cold sweat ran down Jin-Hyeok’s back. ‘I-I was lucky!’

This was why skipping Scenarios was dangerous; one could miss valuable clues. It seemed he should have carefully progressed through milestones (5) and (6) to obtain information about the final sword that must not be destroyed. This time was truly fortunate.

“You couldn’t have done this with just luck,” Gridel said.

“You’re right. It can’t be called luck.”

Gridel’s eyes were full of conviction. “You did not even use the God of Luck Mystery. It means you had that much confidence. Your abilities are beyond what I can imagine.”

“...”

To Gridel, this was another way of expressing, ‘I know this much about you, oh divine one!’

‘He’s just a generous old man.’ Jin-Hyeok was somewhat moved by this pure(?) goodwill. It felt like Gridel had belatedly joined the Chul-Soo Land. ‘I should get along well with the Pisat Family.’

With a newfound love for Gridel, Jin-Hyeok asked, “So, where does the Great Sword Spirit sleep?”

‘This must be the final test! If I answer this well, we can truly participate in the divine plan!’

Gridel thought. “As you know very well, that place is Hell.”

After saying that, Gridel had an epiphany. Chul-Soo’s efforts to unify Hell and root the Guardian Trees were definitely preparations for this day.

‘Sir Chul-Soo, you had a plan all along! No wonder. It now makes sense why you made such an enormous investment to become the owner of that barren Server, which had nothing to offer except military power.’

Gridel began to understand Chul-Soo’s grand plan.

***

Kyle, the captain of the Sword Emperor Unit, yelled, “I begged you to keep him there!”

“How dare I attempt to detain him? He has departed for Hell to awaken the Great Sword Spirit,” Gridel said.

Kyle swallowed his anger, seething for a while.

‘I wanted to fight Chul-Soo after he trained at the Cliff of Singing Swords!’ Kyle’s eyes were filled with desire. Eager to cross swords with Chul-Soo as soon as possible, he had submitted a leave request to the Sword Emperor Headquarters but was refused.

“Hmph, fuck it,” Kyle said. ‘I’ll fight Chul-Soo no matter what.’

He went AWOL and headed straight for the Fourth Hell.

⁕⁕⁕

Jin-Hyeok chuckled as he entrusted his body to the warp portal.

‘The Pangea Temple in the Fourth Hell, huh.’

It was the Fourth Hell’s most notorious Unexplored Dungeon. Jin-Hyeok had to progress the universe-level Scenario and clear an Unexplored Dungeon. The sound of viewers flooding in was already ringing in his mind. He even asked Wang Yu-Mi to gather information about the Pangea Temple and made preparations by watching videos of other Players’ failed attempts.

‘These videos don’t help me that much.’

Jin-Hyeok pondered whether he should form an expedition party or go solo. After thinking briefly, he made his decision.

“As an Eltuber, the obvious answer is Solo Play,” Jin-Hyeok said.

This was a truth he had realized after uploading numerous videos. Playing solo was far more buzzworthy than forming an expedition party for Co-op Play. The difference in views, likes and comments was overwhelming.

-An Eltuber doing Solo Play? That is a ridiculously mismatched combination, lol!

-Uh… I didn’t feel anything strange about it. I must be going crazy, LOL!

-He’s destroying the Player ecosystem! Haha! Other Eltubers are going nuts because of him.

-Guys, Solo Play is possible for only Chul-Soo. Please stop demanding Solo Plays on other channels.

-Eltubers are unable to do Solo Plays. Chul-Soo can do it because he’s Chul-Soo.

Even for a Solo Play, a Navigator was necessary. Including a Navigator was still considered Solo Play.

“Hoho. As expected, I have been chosen, moly.”

With the appearance of Mole Woman, viewers began showering likes.

-Wow, she’s so pretty!

-How can she be so pretty?

-I can’t keep my eyes off her.

-Her beauty is overwhelming.

Mole Woman, who had transitioned to a woman, crossed her arms. She had worn form-fitting leather clothes, which emphasized certain parts of her body, and that moment was registered as the [☆Most Replayed Scene☆].

‘Huh? Is she more interesting than me?’ Jin-Hyeok thought. This was the moment he felt a strong sense of rivalry toward Mole Woman.