I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 467

After easily resolving the discord between those two friends, Cha Jin-Hyeok immediately headed to the Arvis Server. At the warp portal, Marshmallow was waiting to greet him.

“It’s not like I wanted to see you or anything, Chul-Soo,” Marshmallow said.

“But after hearing what I have to say, you might change your mind,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

When Marshmallow heard about the Final Abyss, his head swelled up enormously. It looked as though his head could pop if pricked with a small needle. He clutched his chest, clearly in agony.

“Ugh! Why did you come looking for me, Chul-Soo?!”

The Final Abyss—the end of the world—was an exciting topic. Just hearing about it made his heart pound. If they could turn it into content, the view count would undoubtedly skyrocket. However, uploading something of this magnitude without the consent of the parties involved was against the unspoken rules of decency. Yet, Marshmallow was briefly tempted.

‘Shouldn’t a truly intense Eltuber post it without permission?’ Marshmallow thought.

A true Eltuber would upload it and deal with the consequences later. That was the true meaning of being an intense Eltuber. Marshmallow considered stealing the content from Chul-Soo but restrained himself, displaying the self-control befitting a top-ranked Eltuber.

“Chul-Soo, are you here to just taunt me?”

“Hm?”

“Or are you just bragging?”

“If it came across that way, I apologize. That was not my intention.”

“Then why come to me and share this jackpot of a content idea?”

“Because you’re the most experienced and capable Eltuber in this field.”

Marshmallow’s head turned into a question mark. He couldn’t quite grasp what Chul-Soo was saying. Encyclopedia, who was hidden in Marshmallow’s backpack, suddenly popped out with a “Boing!”—a sound effect voiced by Encyclopedia himself.

“Chul-Soo is seeking advice from a skilled senior Eltuber as a junior Eltuber, Marshmallow,” Encyclopedia explained.

“Chul-Soo is asking me?” Momentarily stunned, Marshmallow soon regained his composure. A deep sense of pride welled up inside his chest. He wondered if this was proof that Chul-Soo recognized him as the superior ranker. Jin-Hyeok always had a sharp eye for such things.

“I’m not admitting that your skills as an Eltuber are superior, Marshmallow,” Jin-Hyeok said. A healthy respect for a competitor in the same Job was important, but that was separate from actually acknowledging their abilities as greater. “I just want to hear your thoughts, as someone with more experience. You have dealt with more content and events than I have, and as such, you have a certain expertise that I lack...”

“You’re talking too much, Chul-Soo. Just admit that I seem more impressive, and I will share my wisdom with you.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Jin-Hyeok said, “You do seem impressive. That’s a fact.”

“Haha! I knew it!”

“Especially to have reached such heights with such a frail body.”

Marshmallow was momentarily confused. ‘Why am I feeling insulted right now?’

It was natural for cows to eat grass. No one mocked a cow for eating something like grass. Similarly, it was natural for Eltubers to be weak, and mocking an Eltuber for being weak was absurd. That was just common sense. Yet, that common sense seemed to be shifting bit by bit.

Ever since Chul-Soo’s arrival, this strange notion that a great Eltuber must also be strong had started to spread. Though Marshmallow firmly believed it was nonsense, it seemed that, subconsciously, this was affecting him as well.

“Anyway, since you admitted that I’m the greater one, I shall grant you my wisdom,” Marshmallow said.

“That’s not exactly—”

“How about trying to communicate with the Abyss?”

***

In the end, Marshmallow’s advice wasn’t very helpful. If the Final Abyss was indeed a calamity with the potential to end the world or reset it entirely, then trying to communicate with it would be nearly impossible.

‘If I didn’t know Kim Min-Ji, I might have thought I could communicate with the Final Abyss...,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

He had gained the ability to see through Elines’s essence just by looking at her and could read the Trinity Club members’ innermost thoughts, but understanding Min-Ji was still difficult. In fact, the stronger he grew, the more distant she seemed.

‘What if the Final Abyss is something greater and more powerful than Min-Ji?’

Jin-Hyeok doubted that he could use Taming (Physical) on it in that case. Even if he tried, it would probably fail.

As Jin-Hyeok’s conversation with Marshmallow was wrapping up, Encyclopedia flipped his pages with a loud fluttering sound and said, “You fool!”

“Why am I a fool?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Where is the guarantee that the Final Abyss will open when you reach Level 600?”

Jin-Hyeok shrugged. Encyclopedia was right; there was no guarantee that reaching Level 600 would open the Final Abyss.

“Everything you’re saying is just speculation, Chul-Soo! If it were me, I would make a different choice.”

“What choice?”

“I’d level up as much as possible within the given time.”

It was an idea Jin-Hyeok hadn’t considered.

“Think about it, Chul-Soo. Even if you stopped livestreaming, you would reach Level 600 soon enough. But that wouldn’t be enough time to fully understand and prepare for what the Final Abyss is. Don’t you agree?” Encyclopedia added.

“Maybe.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better to grow physically strong enough to be able to communicate with the Final Abyss?” Encyclopedia was referencing something that Jin-Hyeok had revealed before: once a human surpassed Level 500, a singularity had occurred. “If the impact was that significant at Level 500, then what about Level 600? Or even 700? You could become even stronger.”

Marshmallow slapped Encyclopedia’s cover and said, “Chul-Soo doesn’t want to get any stronger, you dumb online debater!”

“You’re wrong! Chul-Soo does want to get stronger.”

“He’s already the strongest. How could he get stronger?”

“By surpassing himself. He wants to be stronger than he was yesterday, and tomorrow, he will want to be stronger than he was today! The strongest in the universe!”

Marshmallow was too stunned to retort.

“That path is right here, the end of the world! I would watch the hell out of a livestream that showcased content like that. Do you think the view count is going to stop at billions? Nonsense! Hundreds of billions, maybe even trillions of viewers might tune in. It could break the Eltuber universal record.

“Your level-up speed would be incredibly fast. On top of that, many Spirit Kings, other than the Spirit King of Fire, are already sending you love calls, Chul-Soo. You know you can become the owner of countless Spirit Realms, not just the Spirit Realm of Fire, right?”

Thump, thump!

Jin-Hyeok’s heart pounded, but he tried to hide his excitement. “I’m not particularly interested in being the strongest.”

“Chul-Soo, you’re already the strongest. Only you can surpass yourself.”

“...”

“Are you saying you’re not tempted by the idea of being stronger than the strongest you ever were yesterday?”

“...”

“Be honest. You already know the answer.”

Jin-Hyeok tried his best to ignore the excitement bubbling within him and offered a rational counterargument. “Let’s say I do what you suggest. But what if the Final Abyss isn’t about the end? What if it’s not the reset I imagined?”

“What a foolish question, Chul-Soo.” Encyclopedia clicked his tongue in disappointment. “Then, you’re screwed.”

“...”

“That’s the burden you must bear to become the strongest Eltuber. How can you possibly surpass yesterday’s version of yourself without taking such risks?” n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“You’re right....” Jin-Hyeok finally nodded.

No matter how many times he vowed to regain his initial mindset, it was always difficult. Unless someone like Encyclopedia pointed it out, he would keep forgetting. Maintaining one’s initial mindset was fundamental for a Player.

“I guess I have no choice,” Jin-Hyeok said. “I must choose the path to grow stronger, remain intense, and regain my initial mindset.”

He hadn’t particularly wanted to become stronger, but it seemed there was no other choice.

“Think carefully, Chul-Soo. This could cause immense chaos across the world. You must have learned something from the recent Spirit Mage incident.” Marshmallow stepped in.

“Learned something?” Jin-Hyeok replied.

“Yes, your insignificant action made all the Spirit Mages in the universe enraged. Their abilities are nothing to scoff at. The influence of their association is also incredibly strong. I heard you had quite a tough time.”

“Oh, it was nothing.”

“I envy your mental fortitude. But you should be more cautious. They are close friends with many rankers and will make it their mission to hinder and harass you.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You won’t be! You still don’t understand their influence! Sure, you’re already the strongest Eltuber in the world, but simply being the strongest doesn’t mean you can easily navigate this harsh world, especially Gergan. Do you even know how he became the head of the association and how he contracted with Ifrit? Do you realize how intense he is?”

“He came to me and apologized. He begged, and I forgave him. It’s all in the past.”

Marshmallow was a little taken aback but continued, “Anyway, your actions could cause a storm in the universe. Are you prepared to deal with the aftermath?”

“Hm...” Jin-Hyeok saw how Marshmallow’s face turned red as he passionately continued his argument, veins bulging in his neck. Jin-Hyeok could guess why Marshmallow was making such a fuss. “If you want to do a collaboration livestream, just say so, Marshmallow.”

***

Bong King and Kang Mi-Na from BongMiNaTV smiled with satisfaction.

“The upward trend of the view count is tremendous.”

“We’ve definitely widened the gap between us and the third place.”

They, too, had received Miracles from Hassan, which drastically increased their stats. Now they were feeling guilty. They wanted to surpass the current first place!

“Completely taking the number one spot is going to be impossible,” Mi-Na said.

“Yeah, that’s impossible,” Bong King agreed.

After all, the number one rank belonged to Chul-Soo. Surpassing him was no easy feat.

“But maybe we can surpass him just for a few seconds.”

“We might be able to beat him in terms of trending videos.”

Right now, Jin-Hyeok was on a break from livestreaming. This was their chance. Just then, a stroke of luck came their way. They both had the same thought.

‘Today, we might be able to beat Chul-Soo!’