I Gave Up Being Stronger

Cha Jin-Hyeok felt something was off about the upgraded Rule Breaker.

The Rule Breaker he remembered was second to none in terms of flamboyance. It was not called the most stylish sword in the universe without reason.

Of course, this hammer was also a masterpiece, filled with meticulous details. Made of shiny black iron, it looked extremely heavy and solid at a glance, but was as light as a feather, making it perfect for swinging. Moreover, it was intricately engraved with patterns, exuding an air of luxury.

If Zoro’s Rule Breaker from before Jin-Hyeok’s regression was called the most stylish sword in the universe, this hammer could be called the most luxurious hammer in the universe.

Zoro continued with a triumphant expression, “The Rule Breaker is a weapon that chooses its master and manifests in the form most suitable for them.”

“So, this is the most suitable weapon for me?” Jin-Hyeok examined the Rule Breaker in his hands, scrutinizing every aspect of it. It certainly looked expensive. However, something still seemed off.

Jin-Hyeok was a little confused. Before his regression, he had started as a Swordsman and eventually ascended to the throne of the Sword King.

Being a Sword King was not bad, but it was not a unique title. After all, he was the Sword King of the Korean Region, and quite a few other Players were called Sword Kings in different Regions. Since each Server had numerous Regions, the number of Sword Kings was so high that it was a common epithet. Every Server had at least ten of them.

Jin-Hyeok had first felt this strange emotion when he had first met Gollum, the alternative character of the Great Navigator Golumberum from the Arvis Server. Such a top ranker was less intense than Jin-Hyeok.

Conversely, before his regression, despite his intense efforts, he was never called the Great Sword King. In the grand schof the universe, many Players were stronger than him. It was like being first in class but only thirtieth in the country.

Jin-Hyeok had always thought his greatest talent lay in the sword, but he now started to wonder if it lay somewhere else.

The weapon felt surprisingly natural in his hand, and he enjoyed using it to strike his enemies. Recently, he had even chosen the Rule Breaker over a sword under the guise of a livestream.

His thoughts trailed on. His increasingly strong mental bond with the Guardian Tree, who kept shouting, “I’ve smashed their heads!” could be related to his true aptitude.

It felt like a revelation, and he felt a thrill. He now understood why despite all his efforts, he had reached the top of only his class and not that of the country.

If he had realized this during his days as a Swordsman, he would have been depressed rather than happy. All his hard work would have been in vain. However, it was different now. He was a Streamer. A Streamer swinging a hammer would not be strange.

“Zoro, I have a favor to ask,” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“What is it?”

“Let’s have a duel.”

“When? Now?” Zoro’s eyes were full of competitive spirit. He had a smug smile on his face.

“I need to test out the upgraded Rule Breaker,” Jin Hyeok replied.

“That’s what I like to hear.”

“We are in the territory of the Guardian Tree. Is that okay?”

“What Swordsman would fuss over such trivial matters?”

Jin-Hyeok went out to the yard and began to duel with Zoro, and he finally realized after a while.

Zoro lay beaten and exhausted on the ground. “You win…”

Jin-Hyeok looked at the Rule Breaker, unable to hide his excitement. The black iron brilliantly shone in the sunlight, showcasing its splendid form.

“You’ve becstronger…”

“It’s probably because I found a weapon more suited to my hand. Plus, the Guardian Tree’s blessing helped out.” Jin-Hyeok was grinning continuously.

Zoro lay on the ground, still watching Jin-Hyeok, seemingly wanting to say something.

“If you have something to say, just say it,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Did you… not feel something?”

“What do you mean?” Jin-Hyeok reflected on their duel. In the past, he always meditated and reviewed the fight immediately after a duel, but he seemed to have beccomplacent.

Jin-Hyeok needed to reflect deeply. He crossed his legs and meditated briefly.

Something was missing. Amidst the thrilling sensation in his hands, something tiny was missing. He could not quite put his finger on it, but it felt a bit empty as if the Rule Breaker was too light.

“I can see that you have realized something,” Zoro said.

“How long did I meditate?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“About four hours.”

“The one who refined this Rule Breaker is a master craftsman of the Arvis Server, Professor Daleyaman. He said whoever holds this weapon and realizes something will reach the pinnacle. I don’t know what that something is,” Zoro said while extending his hand, “but it was a pleasure to meet a true warrior. Let’s meet again.”

Externally, Zoro seemed calm, but Jin-Hyeok felt a strange sensation. Zoro seemed to want to say something more.

[#Should I say it? #Should I? #Or not?]

“Just say it,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“...What?”

“You want to say something. Since I accepted this from you, I will answer almost anything.”

“...” Zoro hesitated, seemingly struggling to speak, then finally opened his mouth. “...When is the Elly video being posted?”

“What?”

“I think I’ve rewatched the video of you two making that pact about three hundred times…” Zoro was not prophetic; he was just an Elly fan.

“Something amazing is going to be uploaded. Just wait.”

“Something… amazing?”

Jin-Hyeok lowered his voice and briefly spoiled the video just for him. “She is going to dive into a campfire.”

“D-Diving into a campfire?” Zoro’s eyes widened as if they could pop out. He seemed to be imagining the cute scene. “And then? What happens after the dive?”

“She dances with the flames.”

“D-Dancing with the flames?”

Jin-Hyeok was about to stop there but decided to properly repay the Swordsman for the Rule Breaker. “And then she gets tired, leans on my shoulder, and dozes off. The video is going to be calm and therapeutic in nature.”

“...”

“I will contact you before uploading it. Just for you.”

Zoro’s dual swords dropped to the ground. His expression was filled with immense gratitude. “Thank you, friend.”

It seemed like there was a solid demand for sentimental content. Jin-Hyeok felt proud, thinking he had done proper market research.

***

Recently, Jin-Hyeok’s peers kept dodging questions with excuses about ‘Number one this and that’, so he asked Wang Yu-Mi.

“Ah, that?” She straightened her back after adjusting her round glasses.

It was the exact look she had when she was about to push something important onto him. Thankfully, she had not been pushing anything about the Moon King or such lately, but sometimes, Jin-Hyeok found her intimidating. After all, she always ended up making the right decisions.

“One day, you will naturally cto know what that is, but for now, it’s better if you remain unaware, Jin-Hy—no, Chul-Soo. Try not to pry into it.”

Switching to his Player nmeant that the matter was more related to Play than his daily life.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because I think Chul-Soo Land will go crazier if you don’t know anything about it.”

Jin-Hyeok knew about Chul-Soo Land, his fan club. Yu-Mi was managing it, so he had not paid it much attention, but she did not want him to get too involved with it.

“For now, we will go with a mysterious concept. Chul-Soo, you are intensely dedicated, but you have unexpectedly naive aspects, which have becyour charming point. People are going insane!”

She showed him sexamples, confident Jin-Hyeok wouldn’t understand.

-But Chul-Soo seems unaware of his popularity. So cute… T_T

-Seems he doesn’t know much about Chul-Soo Land either. We should protect Chul-Soo!

-Kim Chul-Soo, the bright-eyed madman. I love him!

-KingGodGeneral Yumi said she is going to manage Chul-Soo Land. There is a rumor that she is extremely cautious to not let Chul-Soo neglect his Play over external matters.

-Our unrequited love hurts, but for Chul-Soo’s intensity, what can’t we endure? T_T Let Chul-Soo do whatever he wants. I love you, Chul-Soo!

-Guys, look at how cute our Chul-Soo is. Watch it ten times!

Yu-Mi summarized it for Jin-Hyeok. “Simply put, the fans are in unrequited love with you. It’s rare for fans to love a Streamer this much when the Streamer doesn’t show their love back to the fans… But you’ve done it! It is not just about looks; it’s a combination of your achievements and intense personality.”

“Hm…” Jin-Hyeok thought of a word while listening to Yu-Mi. “So… I’m somewhat like a Play-tainer.”

“Huh?” Yu-Mi’s eyes widened. “That’s the word I thought of a few days ago! As expected of Jin-Hyeok! You are so smart!”

Play-tainer was a combination of the words ‘Player’ and ‘entertainer’. Even though Jin-Hyeok was engrossed in his Play, he knew about slang such as Play-tainer. All competent Players would eventually achieve stardom, comparable to or even surpassing that of celebrities, and use their fto act like entertainers.

Kang Eun-Woo was also known as the Beauty King. If Jin-Hyeok was considered the top Swordsman in the Korean Region before his regression, Eun-Woo was among the top ten Play-tainers in the universe. He was universally recognized as an ideal type and the first Player to establish the concept of a Play-tainer on Earth.

While the Weak Anus Destroyer Lee Hyeon-Seong and Zoro had shown themselves, Jin-Hyeok had no idea what Eun-Woo was up to. He had received a lot of help from Eun-Woo before his regression.

For the moment, Jin-Hyeok needed to focus more on training with the Rule Breaker, fully integrating this weapon as his own. The more he swung it, the more refreshing it felt, yet he felt a lingering sense of emptiness. Unraveling this could lead to obtaining a weapon perfect for him.

He asked Song Ha-Young to look into Eun-Woo. A few days later, she brought back sunbelievable news.

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