I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 153

Chapter 153

Waiting in the forest, Cha Jin-Hyeok felt the tension drop a notch. Sensing that the livestream was becoming a bit tedious, he even considered ending it.

‘I need to think. Is this really the best I can do?’

Skipping the dull moments was a decent enough strategy, but he wondered if there was something even better to captivate the viewers.

‘It would be nice if something unexpected happened.’

For instance, if a powerful monster came flying from the sky, a mysterious portal appeared out of nowhere, or a lost NPC appeared and asked for help, such situations would have been amazing for his livestream.

Jin-Hyeok snapped back to reality.

‘I can’t always rely on external factors!’

He was a Streamer and a content creator. While unplanned events spicing up his planned content would be nice, waiting for external events to make his livestream interesting was not the way to go. Kang Mi-Na would have scolded him if she knew what he was thinking.

Jin-Hyeok had a lot to learn.

‘Hm...’

At that moment, an idea popped into his head.

“To obtain a mount, I would need a Skill related to Taming.”

By around Level 150, Players could subdue a small Wyvern without any specialized Skills. It was similar to how people tamed horses or interacted with dogs.

‘But having the Skill would be better than not having one at all.’

It would be revealed in the future that most people had at least one Skill related to Taming. Not everyone was a professional Tamer, but everyone had some sort of innate abilities related to Taming. This was also a defining feature of the Earth Server.

‘I’m sure I have one too.’

Jin-Hyeok had experienced many mounts before his regression. He started with small Wyverns, moved to medium, and then to the large ones. The bigger they got, the more comfortable the ride became.

‘I’m fairly certain...’

Jin-Hyeok closed his eyes and began to meditate. Meditating on-stream could be risky if an unexpected variable came into play, but that would also make for good content.

‘Let’s find my talent.’

Exploring the small universe within him, he found a twinkling star. Such quick discoveries were rare, but the Munchkin Trait had probably helped him this time.

Keeping his concentration, he slowly opened his mouth.

“I am going to use the Unleashing Technique.”

‘Oh, it worked.’

Jin-Hyeok was now able to speak while meditating. It created a slight disturbance in his inner universe, but it was still a significant leap forward.

‘I’ve grown again.’

The old Jin-Hyeok could not even twitch while meditating. And now, here he was, meditating and livestreaming simultaneously. He had once again surpassed his past self.

[You have activated the Mystery ?Unleashing Technique?.]

Jin-Hyeok did it.

[You have activated the Latent Skill ?Taming (Physical)?.]

[You have acquired the Skill ?Taming (Physical)?.]

? ? ?

Kim Chul-Soo’s Play was nothing short of a spectacle. Before his Play, the trending topic in the Korean Region Minor Gallery had been Egan Paul’s stream, but Chul-Soo had triumphantly snatched back his place on the list. The trending topic now was ‘Is it possible to livestream while meditating?’

-Hey guys, is that such a big deal?

?Even on the Arvis Server, one of the strongest Servers in the universe, no Streamer has succeeded in doing that.

?What Chul-Soo just did is supposed to be impossible.

?Looks like Chul-Soo is the only one who can do this in the entire universe!

-If you break your concentration while meditating, the death rate is said to be 72%.

?72%? What the hell are you talking about? Stop spreading fake news.

?? Here’s the source. eltube.com/...

High-Level Players, in particular, were extremely cautious about doing anything else while meditating. As one’s Level increased, so did the concentration required for meditation and fortifying their inner universe. Breaking that state led to severe consequences, with a staggering seventy-two percent chance of death.

-There is also a 20% chance of becoming a cripple.

?Chul-Soo seems to be doing just fine though.

?Well, Chul-Soo is...

Various opinions converged into one conclusion on the Korean Region Minor Gallery, a buzzing online forum.

-Chul-Soo is insane.

?He would not hesitate to kill himself for the sake of his livestream, LOL.

?This is how intense IntenseMan should be. LMAO

?I don’t know why calling him crazy triggers him, though. LOOL

?He is not insane. He is IntenseMan!!

Many users erupted into laughter upon seeing Chul-Soo unlock the Taming (Physical) Skill. The situation amused even Choi Gap-Soo, who was engrossed in the livestream.

“Hahaha! To think he would discover and unlock such a Skill!” Gap-Soo said.

“Chairman, is that really something to laugh about?” Lilia felt a sense of unease. She wished Gap-Soo would take things more seriously.

“Every Skill is useful if you use it right.”

“And...?”

“There is almost no Player who uses that Skill well.”

Taming (Physical) was like a double-edged sword.

Gap-Soo explained, “It’s a disciplinary Skill that forces monsters to obey you by inflicting severe pain on them. But use it too much, and the monster dies; too little, and it rebels. It’s all about finding that sweet spot, especially when dealing with volatile monsters. And how many Players do you think can do that?”

Lilia bit her lip.

‘You can do it!’

Rooting for Chul-Soo, she took to the Korean Region Minor Gallery to give the users ridiculing Chul-Soo a piece of her mind.

[Do you all even know what you are talking about? Chul-Soo has always been this intense, and he always finds a way. All your ridicule will only tire your fingers. Why mock someone who has acquired such a great Skill? May you all trip and fall into poop.]

[Written by: ChulSoosGF486]

Her distinct writing style, not quite in tune with the forum’s tone, drew attention, catapulting her to fame as one of the KRMG’s Named users.

? ? ?

Jin-Hyeok was no expert in Taming Skills, and he had no idea how valuable the Taming (Physical) Skill could be. Only hands-on experience would tell.

‘Is Sae-Rin still not here?’

Being new to this Field, Sae-Rin was taking longer than expected to return.

‘But...’

Jin-Hyeok felt something approaching him.

‘Killing intent?’

That was not an accurate description. The sensation felt oddly familiar, but he could not describe it.

‘It’s... more like madness.’

It felt like something insane was coming toward him. Perhaps the visceral memories from before his regression were the reason he could recognize this feeling.

‘But... why does it feel so familiar?’

It felt like an energy he had encountered before. His gaze shifted toward the rustling bushes in the distance. A shadowy figure was sprinting toward him through the trees.

“It looks like a four-legged monster.”

The distance was still too great to get a clear look, but the presence was unmistakable.

“However, I do not sense the typical aura of monste—”

The four-legged creature entered his field of vision. However, it was not a monster—it was a human.

‘Ah...!’

Jin-Hyeok’s memory flashed, and he remembered who Five Crystals was before his regression.

‘She was the villain who wanted to eat me!’

Jin-Hyeok had killed countless villains who had tried to attack him during his time as a Swordsman, so remembering them all was hard. However, the dark energy swirling around the four-legged human sprinting at him jogged his memory.

‘Back then, I just thought she was another villain and killed her.’

The memory of the villain swinging her crimson nails toward his heart resurfaced. She had been quite ferocious, but far too weak than the others after him.

“I... want to eat...” she growled as if she were some kind of wolf, crawling toward him on all fours. Her body had swelled up, indicating that she had drunk a lot of blood.

“Hm... It’s Five Crystals, one of the Players I met earlier. She appears to be infected by something strange. I will use Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance to get a more accurate read. Oh, and since Five Crystals is too long of a name, I am just going to call her Gluttony.”

Jin-Hyeok felt significantly different from his Swordsman days, and this lifted his spirits. Back then, he would have cut her throat without a second thought. He was contemplating the situation more carefully, even considering how to make good content for his Eltube channel.

“I don’t see any parasites inside her.”

Whoosh!

Gluttony’s attack scratched Jin-Hyeok’s face. As her nails had made slight contact with his skin, he felt a tingling sensation.

“Her attacks are quite strong!” Jin-Hyeok had deliberately taken that hit. Those red nails flying toward his face looked pretty gruesome, which provided good content. “Her movements are quite slow and predictable. It feels like she is relying on instinct as she lacks combat abilities since she is just a Streamer. But something feels off.”

Through Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance, he noticed something peculiar.

‘That does not look like true madness.’

Her state was different from the madness that Sae-Rin and Mi-Ni exhibited. It felt like someone had forcibly injected this madness into her.

“It’s neither a parasite nor magic. The problem seems to be within Gluttony herself. Yikes!”

Jin-Hyeok bent down to dodge Gluttony’s nail attack. Having learned from before, Gluttony twisted her waist and swung her nails at him again. While her earlier attacks were single, isolated moves, this time, she unleashed two, then three consecutive swipes.

Jin-Hyeok was grateful for the extra effort. “She is learning while attacking.”

She was becoming more streamlined in her movements, likely influenced by observing Jin-Hyeok.

“It seems like she is learning how to move by watching me.”

A villain growing this quickly while fighting him was rather exciting. Jin-Hyeok hoped that she would grow strong enough to become a real challenge. “However, there must be a limit to what she can do as a Streamer. Streamers are inherently weak.”

Gluttony’s attacks were becoming more ferocious, and Jin-Hyeok intermittently used Broadcaster’s Barrier to block them. He counterattacked when he could, but she used her Broadcaster’s Barrier to defend against his greatsword as well. Her learning speed was impressive.

“She is even showing brawler-like movements now.”

While Jin-Hyeok was momentarily distracted by the livestream, Gluttony lunged at him. He had expected another nail attack, but this time she did something different—she bit his arm.

“A bite attack?”

For a moment, he contemplated using the Star Shield. With it, he could completely block the attack.

‘But losing a bit of flesh would not hurt that much, would it? It would make good footage, too.’

Instead of using the Star Shield, he activated Time-Lapse Recording, capturing Gluttony in great detail at 0.8x speed.

“Her teeth have elongated like hooks. Even if I try to shake my arm free, they don’t come off easily. It’s like I am snagged on a fishing hook.”

He kicked Gluttony hard in the abdomen.

Thud.

Sent flying, she crashed into a rock, but a sizable chunk of Jin-Hyeok’s flesh was also torn away.

“My arm is in shreds. It’s quite painful.” Jin-Hyeok smiled. He had been worried that the tension would drop without Sae-Rin. However, Gluttony’s appearance was like a blessed rain after a drought.

‘But dragging this on too long could become tedious.’

Jin-Hyeok calculated the best way to perform and conclude this event in his mind.

“Tasty... Your blood...” Gluttony’s tongue elongated as she licked up the blood spattered on her face. It was a bizarre but exhilaratingly provocative sight. “I want... more. Give me more...!”

Her red eyes were glued to him, flickering with artificial madness.

“Ah, I see it now. Her Mystery was forcefully activated.” Jin-Hyeok’s mood suddenly soured.

‘Why is she acting like she is truly mad when she is not?’

Gluttony roared as she ripped open the front of her shirt. “KIIIEEEAAAK”

Beastly fur sprouted from her chest, and she bulked up, taking on a bear-like shape. Her elongated, red nails looked extremely impressive.

“Huh? There’s a second phase!”

‘Wait a minute. I hope my voice sounded sufficiently shaky just now.’

He had grown a lot lately, so it probably had.