I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 275

Trituri was quite surprised. He had handled quite a number of Spirit Stones, yet this was his first encounter with such a purely refined Fire Spirit Stone. It was a top-grade Spirit Stone that any Spirit Mage would kill to have in their hands.

‘...Where did he get that?’ Trituri wondered. Moreover, the Spirit Stone had been finely ground. The essence of the Spirit energy contained within it was mostly preserved.

‘A Spirit Stone of such a quality can be used not just as a fertilizer but also as a sophisticated alchemy ingredient.’

However, Trituri did not show his surprise on his face. Now that he had become a venerable master, he could not afford to show his surprise at everything his disciple did.

“That is a fairly decent Spirit Stone,” Trituri said. He pondered how he could inquire about where this Spirit Stone was from without compromising his dignity as a master. So, he asked Cha Jin-Hyeok as if it was nothing, “How did you acquire this?”

“Huh?”

“Of course, I am not asking because I don’t know. But as my disciple, you must be honest. I am asking because the method of acquisition must be transparent and honest. So, answer me.”

Jin-Hyeok replied like it was not a big deal, “I called upon the daughter of the Spirit King and asked her for a favor. She then asked her father, the Spirit King, who agreed to give me the Spirit Stone while saying it was a favor for his daughter. The Spirit King created the Spirit Stone without any effort.”

‘You summoned the daughter of the Spirit King? How? And the Spirit King himself created the Spirit Stone for you? Why?’ Despite his internal turmoil, Trituri desperately kept his expression neutral.

“What about the powder?” Trituri asked.

“I asked the jeweler I requested yesterday to grind it for me again.”

“Such skilled jewelers would be booked for years in advance. How did you manage to do it so quickly?”

Jin-Hyeok tilted his head. He wondered if Katrina was a skilled jeweler of that caliber. Also, Katrina had just agreed to do it on the spot when Jin-Hyeok promised to have dinner with him tonight.

“He didn’t look busy to me,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“...”

“Is there something lacking?”

“No, this is quite decent. Not unusable, by any means.”

“That’s a relief to hear.”

Anyway, the fertilizer made from the Spirit Stone was complete.

“Give only a small amount at first to check for any side effects, then gradually increase the amount from there.”

***

-“It tastes heavenly! I could eat this all day!”

Jin-Hyeok heartily laughed. He had never felt such a strong sense of mental bond with the Guardian Tree before. Seeing the Guardian Tree so happy, he could not help but feel happy too.

-“I will forgive you for feeding me the bugs.”

‘You will have to eat them often from now on.’

-“Ugh.”

‘But I will give you the Spirit Stones from time to time.’

The Guardian Tree seemed very reluctant to accept this, but it quickly agreed upon hearing that it would be given the Spirit Stone as the fertilizer.

Three days later, a significant change occurred in the Guardian Tree.

“Master, a fruit has formed on the Guardian Tree,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Is that so?”

‘But it’s not the season for the tree to bear fruit yet.’ Trituri was surprised yet again but pretended not to be. “I want you to let the fruit fall to the ground and rot naturally.”

“But it doesn’t seem like it’s going to rot, Master.”

Trituri frowned. ‘How could there be fruits that don’t rot in the world, you fool?’

He was about to scold Jin-Hyeok when he saw the photo Jin-Hyeok showed him and kept his mouth shut.

‘This is the fruit of the Golden Guardian Tree?’ He had never seen a fruit shaped like that before. ‘Even my grandfather never told me about it!’

The fruit of the Golden Guardian Tree on Earth was shaped like a hammer, and this fruit became a huge issue among Farmers.

“A hammer-shaped fruit has grown on the Golden Guardian Tree?”

“That’s impossible!”

“Well, do you think a sacred tree like the Golden Guardian Tree growing on a new Server like Earth makes sense?”

Farmers from across the universe visited Earth to witness this rare phenomenon. Alchemists also showed great interest.

“A hammer has grown on a tree!”

“I heard they used a fertilizer made from a mix of a Fire Spirit Stone created by the Spirit King of Fire and a Mineral Spirit Stone.”

“A non-living object born from a living organism? I have to see this for myself.”

Another group showed even greater interest in the fruit.

“A hammer has grown on the Golden Guardian Tree!”

“I am already looking forward to how it can be used as a material.”

That group was the Blacksmiths.

The one-eyed giant Blacksmith, Mulinus, was having his busiest days since settling on Earth. “Yes, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. A hammer did grow on the tree.”

Mulinus was bombarded with messages from other Blacksmiths. “I was already promised a few samples by Kim Chul-Soo. What? Why am I suddenly your best friend?”

Thieves from across the universe also showed interest in the Guardian Tree’s hammer. It was an unprecedented object, and anything first and rare was a high-priority target for them.

“Looks like I will have to steal it.”

“If we can steal it from the Guardian Tree’s territory, our reputation will soar!”

The universe’s Thieves were on the move, and Angel Girl Song Ha-Young reacted very sensitively.

“The Players who understand Thieves the most are other Thieves.” She clenched her fist. “I cannot allow something from my Server to be stolen right under my nose!”

The Players of the Black Rose Alliance were on high alert, protecting the fruit. As interest from various Servers converged in Seoul, shops around the city enjoyed an unexpected boom. Accommodations near the Guardian Tree, in particular, were almost impossible to book.

Some speculated that the economic value brought by the Guardian Tree’s fruit could reach into the trillions of won.

***

People from all walks of life showed interest in the Guardian Tree bearing a hammer-shaped fruit, but the person who showed the most interest was Jin-Hyeok.

‘I’ve drawn enough attention now.’

He had already recorded a short video. Perhaps due to the interest from people of various Jobs, his video quickly ranked as the number one trending video and reached one billion views in no time.

‘I am still thirsty for more!’ Jin-Hyeok needed something beyond this. ‘Trituri said to leave the fruit be, but...’

As he talked with Trituri, he had realized that even Trituri did not seem to know much about the fruit. Jin-Hyeok was grateful to Trituri for revealing that Control Bugs and Spirit Stones could be used as fertilizer, but expecting any further advice from him didn’t seem wise.

Pondering what content he could create next, Jin-Hyeok heard Miri talk to him.

-Could I perhaps try eating that?

‘You want to eat that?’

Jin-Hyeok felt a strong mental bond with Miri. Miri intensely desired that fruit, just as the Guardian Tree had desired the Spirit Stones.

‘Yes, please use me to break it open!’

Worried about potential side effects, Jin-Hyeok also sought advice from Katrina.

They had dinner together the previous evening. Nothing special happened, except for Katrina making a bizarre remark several times: “If you had been a bit weaker, I would have kidnapped you to my place.”

In fact, being kidnapped would have made for good content for Jin-Hyeok’s Eltube channel, but alas, no real attempt was made.

Anyway, Katrina and Mulinus came to Jin-Hyeok’s house together.

“The ceiling is too low here.” Mulinus, being a giant, had to bend over considerably while moving around in Jin-Hyeok’s home. He kept bumping into the lamps, exclaiming, “Ouch! Ouch!” and was scolded by Jin-Hyeok’s mother.

“Yo, sorry about that,” Mulinus said.

“That is not the way to talk to your elders!” Jin-Hyeok’s mother said. She thought Mulinus was a friend of Jin-Hyeok.

Taken aback, Mulinus scratched his head but then resolved himself. ‘Me? I’m a friend of Chul-Soo?’

Feeling a bit nervous, Mulinus asked, “Chul-Soo, are we friends?”

Jin-Hyeok had never really thought of Mulinus as a friend. He considered the latter more of a good business partner but was conscious of his mother’s perspective. Having a harmonious friendship seemed like something his mother would appreciate.

“Aren’t we friends by now?” Jin-Hyeok said.

“I’ve always thought of us as friends.” Mulinus cheered about this, straightened up, and immediately banged his head on the ceiling, creating a hole in the ceiling.

***

Katrina and Mulinus came to the same conclusion.

“Letting Miri eat the hammer-shaped fruit whole seems a bit too much. Just like how the Guardian Tree consumed the Spirit Stones, gradually increasing the amount seems a better choice.”

The method was fundamentally similar to how the Guardian Tree had consumed the Spirit Stone.

Katrina rolled up his sleeves. “Grinding the fruit of the Guardian Tree is a first for me.”

“Can you do it right now?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Of course.”

Trituri had said that jewelers of this caliber were booked for years in advance and that they were too proud to accept walk-in appointments. It seemed Trituri did not know anything after all.

‘Maybe it’s because he is from the old times.’

Jin-Hyeok braced himself once more. The era was changing rapidly. If one clung to old standards without adapting to the changes of the new era, they would fall behind like Trituri. It was necessary to always refresh one’s mindset and adopt standards fitting the new era.

‘The era’s standard where Streamers only do livestreaming should be discarded.’

Perhaps Streamers using swords, defending, growing trees, and enhancing were the standards of the new era. It was worth noting that Streamers trying their hands at various Jobs had been a thing for a long time. However, most of them would fall off around Level 100.

Anyway, Katrina successfully ground the fruit of the Guardian Tree, and Miri salivated.

-I will enjoy this.

After Miri consumed the fruit, a silver radiance burst from the weapon.

Flash!

Light as bright as the sun exploded in the room, and electricity in the Yeonhui-dong area momentarily went out. When the light faded away, Miri could be seen floating in the air.

Jin-Hyeok took Miri in his hands.

‘Oh.’

While he saw no significant changes in appearance, the item had gained a unique Skill.

“I have succeeded in a minor enhancement.”

[Unique Skill — Absolute Defense.]

Jin-Hyeok genuinely found it hard to understand why a weapon like Miri had developed a defensive Skill like Absolute Defense. However, as a Streamer, he thought he should explain it to his viewers.

“The Guardian Tree, Miri, and Phantom Swordswoman are all mentally connected to me and influence each other.”

The Phantom Swordswoman wielding a hammer was largely influenced by Miri, and the Guardian Tree insisting on defending by smashing the heads of monsters was influenced by the Phantom Swordswoman. The Guardian Tree’s strange way of speaking was also partly influenced by the Phantom Swordswoman.

‘I swear, everyone is becoming weird except for me.’

“And I have a Streamer-exclusive defensive Skill called Absolute Barrier. It seems all these variables have influenced each other, resulting in the creation of this type of Skill.”

All in all, the enhancement was a success. However, Mulinus was a bit confused. ‘Chul-Soo, you are missing one important thing!’

Katrina was the one who had ground the Guardian Tree’s fruit into enhancement material, and enhancing Miri was supposed to be the job of Mulinus, the master of enhancement and a Blacksmith.

Yet, Chul-Soo had successfully enhanced Miri by wielding the weapon himself. Artifacts with an Ego were the most difficult to enhance. Having an ego made these Ego Artifacts as hard to enhance as plucking stars from the sky.

‘But you did it by yourself!’ Mulinus thought.