I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 276

[Unique Skill — Absolute Defense]

Soon, a crack appeared in the Skill window, and the Unique Skill shattered entirely.

Cha Jin-Hyeok let out a deep sigh and said to his viewers, “Uh oh, the Skill has disappeared!”

The acquisition of the Unique Skill was canceled.

‘What a waste. I can’t believe the Skill disappeared before I could use it even once. What did I do wrong?’

Jin-Hyeok was disappointed, but he did not show it. “Ah... what a disappointment. The enhancement failed.”

Mulinus stood before Jin-Hyeok, who was expressing his deep regret, and said, “Look here, friend.”

“You don’t have to console me. Enhancement is all about failure. It’s all good as long as the item does not get destroyed.”

“No, that’s not what I was going to do...” Mulinus gulped. For a Blacksmith, making such a proposal was an utterly preposterous idea. “How about you try to grind the fruit yourself?”

“Huh?” Katrina flared up. “Are you saying it was my fault, Mulinus?”

“No, that’s not what I’m trying to say...” Mulinus explained what everyone else had missed, and only then did Katrina gasp in realization.

As his majestic pectoral muscles trembled, Katrina said, “Now that I think about it, Chul-Soo did the enhancement all by himself!”

An enhancement could fail because of two things: either the material was faulty or the enhancement method was incorrect.

‘If the enhancement method was wrong, Mulinus would have offered to do it himself,’ Katrina thought. However, Mulinus had pointed out that the issue was not with the enhancement method but with the material. This meant that Chul-Soo’s enhancement was accurate. ‘What if Chul-Soo handles the material from the start?’

Perhaps this time, they could succeed in the enhancement.

***

Jin-Hyeok picked up Miri and began to pound the Guardian Tree’s fruit.

“That’s right! Good! It’s important to control your strength properly to break it uniformly, Oppa! Wow, are you sure this is your first time doing it? Why are you so good at this?” Katrina actively conversed with Jin-Hyeok.

Jin-Hyeok felt inexplicably happy. “It seems like I have a bit of a talent for this.”

Jin-Hyeok was feeling the power of the Munchkin Trait. The task of grinding the fruit into powder suited him more than he had thought.

Time flew by.

“But are you really going to try the enhancement again with this? If this goes wrong, the artifact could be destroyed,” Katrina said.

“Enhancement is all about failing.”

Jin-Hyeok did not consider an enhancement without any failure as a proper enhancement. Moreover, Miri strongly desired it.

-Please, give it to me. I need more!

“Since I am not doing a normal enhancement but one with the help of the Authority of Swallowing from Miri, it is going to be much safer than regular enhancement.”

Nevertheless, Jin-Hyeok could not help but feel nervous. He painstakingly ground the fruit of the Guardian Tree with Miri.

“You look sexy when you’re focused!”

He was so concentrated that he did not hear a word Katrina was saying. Soon, Jin-Hyeok succeeded in turning the fruit of the Guardian Tree into powder, and he could feel Miri’s thirst.

-I will devour it!

‘Alright.’

Once again, he mentioned to Miri that eating it could be a bit dangerous.

-Life is too short to pass up on good food.

Jin-Hyeok lifted Miri, who was adamant. “I will give it a proper hit.”

***

As Jin-Hyeok struck down on the fruit powder using Miri, a flash of light erupted. A silvery radiance filled the surroundings, and Miri vibrated intensely.

-It, is, delicious!

Miri levitated into the air by itself. Emitting a glow, it twisted left and right. After a little while, the light faded.

[Unique Skill — Absolute Defense]

The Unique Skill was recreated.

“The same ability has appeared again. It seems we might have to watch a little longer to see if the Skill will break again this time...”

Some time passed, and the Skill did not break.

‘Please...!’

Jin-Hyeok’s heart raced. After a bit more time had passed, he could be certain.

“Success! It’s a success!”

***

Numerous experts analyzed this extraordinary phenomenon.

“No matter how you look at it, it’s hard to see Chul-Soo as a better Blacksmith than Mulinus or a better jeweler than Katrina, right?”

“It just doesn’t make sense.”

Technically, Jin-Hyeok was not superior to them. This was the conclusion after experts analyzed the scenes of Chul-Soo grinding the fruit. He was clearly lacking in many areas.

“But how did this happen?”

“How did he do that?”

While many expressed skepticism toward this inconceivable result, Chul-Soo Landers thought differently.

“In the Chul-Soo Universe, if you’re intense, everything comes true!”

“If it didn’t work, it means you weren’t intense enough!”

Many people were armed with infinite faith and trust and Chul-Soo. They tried to tell others not to doubt but believe that everything could be achieved with the proper intensity. This was also true for Kim Min-Ji, Chul-Soo Land No.1.

She was busy leaving comments in various online communities.

[Dreams Come True by Intense Man.]

Unable to contain his curiosity, Choi Gap-Soo asked, “So, you really didn’t interfere with the enhancement?”

“How many times do I have to say it? If you’re intense, everything comes true!”

“But still, it makes no sense! As someone who runs a workshop myself, it’s a bit hard to believe that Chul-Soo did it all by himself.”

“Has anything that Chul-Soo has done so far made sense?”

“...” Gap-Soo flinched.

Min-Ji smugly waggled her index finger. “You’re just a non-believer. Do not doubt Mr. Chul-Soo. If you approach anything with the right intensity, dreams do come true.”

“So, you‘re really saying there was no interference?”

“Of course not. I’m trying not to draw much attention.”

‘If the Mad God of Fanaticism was not involved, how did he do it?’ Gap-Soo wondered.

Encyclopedia posted his analysis.

[As many experts have pointed out, Chul-Soo was not technically skilled in the enhancement. This means the compatibility between this enhancement and Chul-Soo must have been extraordinary.]

Encyclopedia highlighted the strong mental bond between the Guardian Tree, Chul-Soo, and Miri. He suggested that the enhancement was possible because of the deep mental bond, which seemed to be the most plausible explanation.

Eventually, Gap-Soo called Jin-Hyeok. “How did you do it? Just tell me honestly.”

—I was just intense.

“No, I’m not talking about your concept. Just tell me.”

—I’m telling you the truth. I was really intense.

“Really?”

—Yes.

From Jin-Hyeok’s point of view, it was a bit awkward. He had just done it with the same intensity as always, but this time, there seemed to be much more skepticism than usual.

‘I managed to defeat the captain of the guards of the Arvis Server by being intense. I also succeeded in taming the Thunder Dragon. Wouldn’t these two incidents be less believable than the enhancement?’

Yet, people seemed particularly surprised this time. This excitement added to Jin-Hyeok’s thrill.

‘People seem to like the enhancement and crafting content more. And it seems harder for them to believe.’

Realizing the limitless potential of this content made Jin-Hyeok very happy.

Gap-Soo heartily laughed. “Being intense makes everything possible... Well, that’s been the concept of yours since the beginning of the channel.”

After hanging up the phone, Gap-Soo muttered to himself, “Am I sponsoring a monster...?”

The more Gap-Soo watched Chul-Soo’s livestream, the more he felt something was going awry. In his top-tier multimedia room, watching Chul-Soo’s livestream from the beginning for the twelfth time, he chuckled to himself. “I love it!”

***

Returning home, Jin-Hyeok thought, ‘When should I debut this Unique Skill?’

He was itching to share it on Eltube. Presenting this Skill at the right moment with the proper staging seemed like it could produce high-quality content.

‘The mediocre Assassins already left. When would the real Assassins appear?’

With the Guardian Tree using its power again to protect its territory, any more Assassins showing up would be unlikely.

‘Still, some Assassins must be targeting me at this point.’

Various Players were taking an interest in Jin-Hyeok, not just the Streamers. Succeeding in an assassination under all the attention would undoubtedly bring high prestige.

‘Should I roam around Arvis for a while?’

But then again, he was now an honorary citizen of Arvis, which made things too safe. Even though his status in Arvis was valid for ten years, he could enjoy nearly the same rights as a citizen, and Assassins tended not to mess with the citizens of Arvis unless they were under exceptional circumstances.

‘I need to go somewhere beyond the reach of the Guardian Tree’s power. Then I think the Assassins might attack me. I hope a strong one shows up!’

Then he thought, ‘It’s not that I am looking forward to assassination attacks. I am just excited about the possibility of using my newly acquired Skill at the perfect moment from a content perspective.’

He reassured himself that he was perfectly normal.

‘Won’t a Named Assassin appear?’

***

Several days had passed, but the Assassins had yet to reveal themselves. It was somewhat disappointing for Jin-Hyeok.

‘It must be because I am a Streamer.’

He believed it was because of the Streamer Protection Treaty. It seemed there was reluctance to attack a Streamer at a time when public interest was so focused on them. There was no such thing during his Sword King days, and Jin-Hyeok was genuinely disappointed.

‘Huh?’

Someone approached him. From their walk and aura, it was clear they were not an Assassin, but the hostility directed his way was real.

[LV283/Corporation Alpha Male/Mission Streamer/17 Missions Success in a Row]

‘Mission Streamer?’

Jin-Hyeok was aware of this Job. Some Streamers actively took on and completed missions. Jin-Hyeok felt an unexpected sense of welcome.

‘He doesn’t seem like he’s from the Earth Server.’

Muttering to himself, Corporation Alpha Male seemed to be livestreaming as he approached Jin-Hyeok. “Didn’t I tell you guys I would take down Chul-Soo today?”

In his hand was a large axe. He strode up and immediately swung the axe toward Jin-Hyeok. Jin-Hyeok leaned back and dodged the attack.

“Oh, thanks for the advance payment. I will make sure to complete the mission!” he said.

“Are you livestreaming right now?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Yes.”

“Am I your mission target?”

“Why do you wanna know? Idiot!” Corporation Alpha Male swung his axe fiercely again. The attack was quite sharp for one coming from a Streamer.

Excited, Jin-Hyeok also started a livestream. Naturally, the title of the livestream was Absolute Defense.

Jin-Hyeok asked the opponent, “Streamers wield axes now?”

“There is one swinging a hammer around. So what?”

Jin-Hyeok repeatedly dodged the axe swings from Corporation Alpha Male. Given his opponent’s Level, the movements were large and flashy, making them easy to evade.

‘These attacks are just for showing off.’

The attacks were so sloppy that it was hard to get hit by them even if Jin-Hyeok tried. Falling for such attacks would make it seem like a staged livestream. Jin-Hyeok continued to evade the attacks while pulling out his phone.

‘Let’s see...’

Whoosh!

The axe whizzed past Jin-Hyeok’s head as he searched for Corporation Alpha Male on his phone.

Whoosh!

The axe fell where Jin-Hyeok had been standing, embedding itself in the ground.

“A Mission Streamer with about five hundred million subscribers is vigorously attacking me. It seems the Streamer Protection Treaty does not apply between Streamers.”

However, as Jin-Hyeok checked Corporation Alpha Male’s chat room, it seemed that was not entirely the case. Many comments suggested that the Streamer Protection Treaty should still be valid, even among Streamers.

-Is this a paid actor? LOL, just kill him man.

-Missions involving beating people up are the best!

-Kill him!

-Chul-Soo seems weaker than I thought.

‘Huh?’

The chat was surprisingly active, leaving Jin-Hyeok slightly astonished. This phenomenon started to inspire him with new ideas.