I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 118

Cha Jin-Hyeok valued and emphasized the basics more than anyone else. In his time as the Swordsman, he believed that striking one more time with the sword was more important than leveling up.

‘One must not forget the basics.’

This was a principle that still applied even now as a Streamer.

A Streamer produced high-quality content for the viewers. The viewers, in return, provided attention and support to the Streamer, and the Streamer reciprocated with gratitude by offering even better content.

‘A Streamer doesn’t exist without their viewers.’

Recently, Jin-Hyeok felt a deep sense of gratitude toward the viewers. As a Streamer, he obviously had to show reactions of appreciation for the support. That was the basics of being a Streamer.

‘Up until now, I was so engrossed in my own greed that I forgot about the basics.’

He reflected deeply. When money became too plentiful, he felt like he had to retire earlier. It seemed like the lingering vestiges of his conscience made him deliberately avoid the donation window. However, he decided to return to his original principles and basics.

‘But what should I do if the viewers donated too much money?’

With a trembling heart, Jin-Hyeok opened the donation window. And he began to express his gratitude one by one.

“Thank you for the thousand Dias donation, StrongArm. Thank you for the three thousand Dias donation, MorningStar. Thank you, PinkPooPoo, for the two thousand Dias donation.”

It was said that famous Streamers even had their very own signature reactions when they received donations, but Jin-Hyeok didn’t have anything prepared. There was still a long way to go for him as a Streamer.

Jin-Hyeok once again realized his incompetence.

‘I should feel bad for my viewers.’

The face of Shin Yu-Ri, who always said that she would reflect, came to mind. If Yu-Ri was improving by constantly self-reflecting, then he couldn’t afford to forget the basics.

‘I don’t think I need to read them all, but...’

This was the way Jin-Hyeok was reflecting. At least for this time, he felt he had to diligently read each and every donation.

“Thank you, Victim'sPerspective, for the three thousand Dias donation... Thank you... Thank you... Thank you... Thank you... Thank you... Thank you...”

Quite a long time had passed. Cherishing and memorizing each word, and calling out the viewers’ names with care, it had already become dark outside. Jin-Hyeok discovered quite an astonishing fact.

‘There’s no end to this!’’

Jin-Hyeok knew the reason why.

‘Are donations accumulating faster than the speed I can read them?’

The content he was currently providing was not particularly interesting. He just earnestly and wholeheartedly reacted to the donations, though calling it a reaction seemed too grandiose. Yet, strangely, the donations were pouring in abundantly.

‘This can’t go on.’

Jin-Hyeok did his best, but he realized that it was impossible to catch up with the speed of the donations coming in. In the end, he had to close the donation window.

Meanwhile, at the playground for the viewers watching Jin-Hyeok’s livestream, Wang Yu-Mi of KimKnowItAllTV was once again showcasing the fervor of IntenseMan.

“He is really fiercely continuing his battle with himself! IntenseMan is intense even today! It seems he hasn’t realized yet that the speed of donations is faster than his reactions to the donations. I’m curious about the expression he will have when he realizes it!” Yu-Mi said.

The chat window of the KimKnowItAllTV channel was filled with LOLs. The viewers were forming up to make the intense Kim Chul-Soo even more intense.

-I’m gonna donate also.

-Oh, you too? Me too!

-Everyone! Donate away!

Yu-Mi continued to subtly influence the situation, not letting her excitement show.

“I will try donating too. Will he call out my name too? Ah, I hope he does.”

The demand from those who wished to garner attention from famous Streamers was always there. There were quite a few viewers who desperately wanted to have their usernames called out by Kim Chul-Soo, who was famous for not doing so, and Yu-Mi stimulated their desires. The donations didn’t stop coming. When Chul-Soo’s donation reaction surpassed eight hours, the Korean Region Minor Gallery also started to become chaotic with the topic.

[Seems like Chul-Soo’s livestream has failed. LOL. His livestream is utterly boring haha.]

┗His donation just surpassed 1.2 billion Dias.

┗You’re calling a 1.2 billion Dia in a single livestream a failure? Haha.

[But why is he so intense? Is it really necessary to be that intense?]

┗That’s because he is IntenseMan! LOL

┗He’s never been this intense before!

┗You can say his Sincere Intense Mode Season 2 has been activated. HAHA!

IntenseMan referred to Kim Chul-Soo, who thought he was intense, but in reality, wasn’t intense at all. However, it was different this time, as IntenseMan was genuinely intense.

[I’m with him on this. I’m still young, so I should also be intense! ^.~ LOL.]

┗You sound so old...

┗Let’s goooo!!

It took a few more hours after Jin-Hyeok closed the donations for his reactions to finally finish. Jin-Hyeok felt like he had finally completed a long-procrastinated assignment, but he wasn’t entirely happy. There was nothing to be happy about. After all, he only did what he was supposed to do.

‘I need to create my very own signature donation reactions.’

He couldn’t be a real Streamer who didn’t adhere to the basics of a Streamer. It was immensely distressing for him that all he could do was read the usernames and express his gratitude.

‘Kang Mi-Na and Wang Yu-Mi manage to make their reactions incredibly fun while naturally carrying on the conversation.’

While watching the emergence of KingGodGeneral Yumi, Jin-Hyeok thought he could communicate with his viewers better than her. However, he repented for being greedy, wanting to communicate with viewers and livestream at the same time.

‘I’m just a beginner...’

He was glad to leave the communication to Yu-Mi.

“Now, I will really venture into the New World. For a smoother Play and to focus on the Dungeon, I will temporarily close the donation window.”

? ? ?

The elevator door opened.

[You have entered the Dungeon 「New World」.]

As he took a few steps forward, a new world, both literally and figuratively, unfolded before him. It was the square of a village, with a background reminiscent of medieval Europe.

[You have entered 「Azov Village」.]

‘It’s been a long time.’

The village was quite extensive. Looking from the warp portal situated at a relatively high point, the red roofs stretched out in the distance. It was large enough to be called a city.

‘I have finally entered a proper Dungeon.’

A Dungeon had to be of this scale to be deemed a proper Dungeon. There should be many NPCs, a variety of Quests within the Dungeon, and diverse clear routes. Only then would Play be enjoyable.

“It seems like I have been transferred to a separate space because I’m in Solo Mode.”

For reference, if a Player proceeded in the general mode, they could meet other Players.

“I will go down the stairs.”

As he descended the stairs, an NPC approached and started a conversation.

“Are you a new adventurer?”

“Yes.”

“Is this your first time in Azov Village? If so, I can tell you a few things.”

Options appeared. He had a choice between exchanging pleasantries and engaging in a conversation, and just ignoring the NPC altogether.

“I know that quite a lot of strategies for this Dungeon are already known to the public, so I am going to choose to ignore it.”

Numerous Players had already tried to clear this Dungeon. While no one was successful, the route up to the mid-boss monster had been pioneered.

“I’ve done my research by watching several videos. I will quickly skip the initial parts that everyone else has already gone through.”

The Dungeon had the village at its center, flanked by routes leading to the west and east. To the west lay the Burning Fortress, and to the east, the Eastern Ancient Castle Town.

‘Normally, it would be easier to start with clearing the Eastern Ancient Castle Town.’

For some unknown reason, other Players were starting with the Burning Fortress. Come to think of it, he seemed to have done the same in his past life.

‘Clearing that in one go is impossible anyway.’

Jin-Hyeok knew he might die several times and perhaps even fail to clear it. For now, he decided to move according to the strategies disclosed by others that had cleared it.

He arrived at the western gate of Azov Village. A guard dressed in worn-out armor stood there.

“Hi, Adventurer, are you planning to venture west?”

“Yes. There are rumors that treasure might be hidden in the Burning Fortress.”

“Then could you do me a favor?”

[You have received the Quest 「Request of the Western Gate Guard」.]

This was a mandatory Quest to accept. This guard asked for a favor to retrieve one of the Thermal Flowers, which only grew in the Burning Fortress. To properly harvest the Flowers, a special vase given by this guard was needed. That bottle would be valuable later, but it seemed like no one had Played up to that point yet. No one had even found the Thermal Flowers to begin with.

“I will definitely find the Thermal Flowers for you,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Please do.”

Having accepted the Quest, he headed toward the west.

[You have entered the western region 「Barren Plains」.]

To make an accurate comparison with his past self, he applied the effects of the Mythic-Grade Card.

“The air is quite dry. The ground is crumbly, and the plants are withered. Over there, there seems to be a creature resembling a Galapagos giant tortoise. It’s about two meters tall, weighing roughly seven hundred kilograms. It’s walking over here cutely.”

Thump. Thump.

For an animal, it was quite large, but for a monster, it was rather adorable in its size.

“I heard the monster has extremely high defensive stats and can be very tricky to fight against since it hides inside its shell if necessary.”

[LV70/Desert Tortoise/Skills]

It was Level 70. Jin-Hyeok raised his weapon, Greatsword of La’kan.

“I will test the waters first.”

Instead of using any Skills, he tried to pierce the monster with normal attacks.

Swoosh!

‘Huh?’

The Greatsword of La’kan had pierced through the body of the monster.

‘It pierced through more easily than I thought.’

The surprised Desert Tortoise flipped its body and hid within its shell.

“They say it becomes very easy to kill when it resorts to this pose.”

The underbelly of the monster was relatively weak in terms of defense.

[You have activated the Skill 「Sharper Spirit」.]

This was a basic Skill acquired at Level 50. Since it was a basic Skill, the preparatory motion was minimal and it consumed significantly less mental energy.

“It’s hard to cut through in one go.”

He had to break through the protective barrier. However, the structure of the barrier was very uniform, making it easy to find the point to strike.

“I will try slashing at it around seven times.”

Jin-Hyeok slashed at it seven times.

The protective barrier completely disappeared.

“I think I can just stab the monster now.”

Jin-Hyeok climbed atop the Tortoise.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

With a thrilling sensation in his hand, dark green blood splashed up.

“It’s pretty easy.”

He was more exhilarated than he should be.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He continued to stab it.

‘It’s certain. It’s easier than my past life.’

Of course, even when he first entered this Dungeon in his past life, this monster wasn't one that could be considered difficult. It was primarily because there was a significant Level difference between him and the monster. However, comparing the Cha Jin-Hyeok who was a Swordsman of around Level 110 back then to the Cha Jin-Hyeok of right now, it seemed like the current Jin-Hyeok was stronger.

‘Alright, let’s not get too excited.’

This monster was too weak to be considered the benchmark. Also, the current Jin-Hyeok had much more experience than the past.

‘It might not be that my abilities have improved, but that I’ve accumulated more experience.’

He suppressed his excitement as much as possible.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

[You have killed a 「Desert Tortoise」.]

Thud! Thud! Thud1

[You have acquired 「Piece of the Desert Tortoise’s Shell」.]

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Completely suppressing his excitement, he leapt off the Tortoise.

“This is how you should kill this monster.”

Jin-Hyeok was slightly taken aback.

‘Did I portray the killing as being too easy?’

But on second thought, it seemed unnecessary to make every encounter intense. If things were portrayed in the same pattern every time, the viewers might get bored.

‘I should change the concept a little for this content.’

Being intense should fundamentally underlie the narrative. If IntenseMan was not intense, it wouldn’t be right.

He killed a few more Desert Tortoises, even though he didn’t really need to.

“So you stab it like this.”

He taught the viewers who might be struggling against such minor monsters.

“Then you flip it over like this.”

Swoosh. Swoosh.

Jin-Hyeok swung his Greatsword.

“This is how it’s done. Easy, right?”

Jin-Hyeok thought surely there would not be any Player unable to do it after being taught to this extent. Even so, he fervently showed the viewers, giving consideration to those who might be slightly inferior.

After killing a total of seventeen Tortoises, he continued to move forward. There were monsters resembling cacti and scorpions here and here, but he ignored them as they were unrelated to clearing the Dungeon.

“Those monsters might stab you from the back like this, but you can just ignore them. No need to waste energy unnecessarily, right?”

Using Broadcaster’s Barrier, he blocked several spike attacks and tail attacks. The cacti and scorpions eventually grew tired and distanced themselves.

“For now, I will set up a save point here.”

‘My word, a Dungeon where you can save? How considerate of them.’

Such a Player-friendly setting should be utilized wisely.

“It’s getting increasingly hot.”

The sight of the crimson land began to unfold before him. A clear demarcation from the Barren Plains was apparent.

“There’s flowing lava up ahead.”

[Lava Valley]

“It seems like I have to cross that.”

Crossing it in itself wouldn’t be a big problem. He just had to run across swiftly. He might get a bit burned, but probably would not die. However, death was a given in unfortunate situations.

“The issue isn’t the lava, but the Lava Fish that jump out of it.”

The lava alone wasn’t the problem, and the Lava Fish alone weren’t the problem either—the trouble began when the two were combined. He had seen it many times in videos.

“Players tend to freeze up the moment a Lava Fish bites their leg, which often results in them falling into the lava.” ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ (f)ir(e).nᴇt

Those fortunate could simply cross the Lava Valley. Those unlucky got engulfed and burned to death in the lava.

“I’ll give it a try as well.”

He took a running leap. It could be considered unfortunate, but a Lava Fish bit his leg as soon as he landed on the lava.

“I got bitten, but it’s fine.”

Jin-Hyeok just kept running, and he soon reached the other side.

“If you don’t flinch even when bitten, you can safely get across.”

The monster had such tremendous biting force that quite a bit of flesh was torn away.

“When injured, you get affected much more easily by the heat of the lava, inducing a state of thermal injury.”

Consequently, the wound became mushy, and the skin melted away, revealing the bones in his ankle. It was a minor injury.

Jin-Hyeok smirked slightly.

“The difficulty seems rather low compared to the notoriety of the New World, doesn’t it?” he asked his viewers.

It felt significantly easier than the New World he remembered from his previous life.

‘Or maybe It’s just my perception.’