I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 277

‘There are so many viewers on his side!’ Cha Jin-Hyeok found this situation hard to accept. ‘His content is not exactly mainstream.’

Each mission Corporation Alpha Male received was provocative in its own right. His latest video featured him assaulting an elderly man who was collecting recyclables. The video before that showed the Streamer scolding a high school student for smoking, and the one before that involved him pretending to stalk a woman who was walking home alone to scare her.

‘These are all ill-mannered content.’

Despite focusing on such content, Corporation Alpha Male had an astonishing number of viewers rooting for him. In other words, he was achieving this level of viewership with content that the general public didn’t typically find favorable.

‘I guess I still have a lot to learn.’

In contrast to Corporation Alpha Male, Jin-Hyeok took pride in producing content that was more standard and appealing to the general public.

‘I need to grow more.’

Corporation Alpha Male served as a driving force for Jin-Hyeok’s growth.

Corporation Alpha Male was also surprised. ‘I expected this content to be popular, but I didn’t expect this much attention!’

The mere appearance of Kim Chul-Soo seemed to increase the usual chat activity by about thirtyfold. The number of live viewers on Corporation Male Alpha’s stream had also increased by about tenfold.

‘If I defeat Chul-Soo, my channel is guaranteed to skyrocket!’

His heart pounded with excitement.

***

Whoosh!

The axe flew past Jin-Hyeok’s head.

‘Phew!’ Jin-Hyeok dodged the axe with relative ease and tilted his head. ‘But why are the reactions so odd?’

Whoosh!

He briefly sat down then stood up, avoiding the axe again.

-We overestimated Chul-Soo, haha! He seems so weak right now!

-Look at Chul-Soo losing his form, LOL

-He can’t do anything against a high-Level Streamer, can he?

-Turns out Chul-Soo’s weakness was other Streamers, LOL!

‘Hm...’ Jin-Hyeok became curious. ‘Why are the viewers reacting this way? Am I not dodging quite leisurely here? I am dodging while looking at my phone.’

Jin-Hyeok decided to look at it from a more objective perspective, from the point of view of a more general public.

‘Ah! Does it look like I am just frantically trying to avoid those attacks?’

While dodging the attacks from Corporation Alpha Male, Jin-Hyeok took a closer look at the livestream of Corporation Alpha Male, which provided some insights.

‘He has an editor for his livestream!’

This was something Jin-Hyeok had never seen before. Corporation Alpha Male’s livestream was being edited on the spot and broadcast almost in real-time. The livestream was cleverly produced to make it seem like Jin-Hyeok was desperately blocking and dodging the attacks.

‘Wow, I had no idea this was possible!’ Although there was a delay of about three to four seconds, it was still close enough to be considered a livestream. ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’

He felt he should share this discovery with his editor, Kang Chul. If others could do it, surely Kang Chul could too!

While reading the chat, Jin-Hyeok deduced another fact about Corporation Alpha Male.

‘He must be hiding a secret weapon!’ Jin-Hyeok knew this because the manager of Corporation Alpha Male’s channel was deleting certain comments in real-time to block the dissemination of information. ‘There really must be something!’

Jin-Hyeok felt more excited. ‘Please let him be strong!’

Jin-Hyeok hoped that Corporation Alpha Male, a Level-283 Player, wasn’t just a Level Grinder, silently wishing for a worthy opponent for Miri’s new skill, Absolute Defense.

***

Corporation Alpha Male was a Streamer with quite a core fanbase. Rather than being popular with the masses, he had a select group of fans. His main content revolved around fights and brawls, with his role as a Streamer being to knock out combatant-class Players. Of course, he never bothered with those of the same Level as him, only fighting Players at least fifty Levels under him.

‘Still, among Streamers, I am the strongest!’

No matter the Level difference, the limits of a Streamer were clear. Ordinary Streamers could not Play like he did. Corporation Alpha Male was quite proud of his instincts and innate combat power.

-He won’t stand a chance against Chul-Soo.

-But he is the strongest among Streamers, isn’t he?

-Nope, Chul-Soo is the strongest.

Corporation Alpha Male’s pride was deeply wounded. ‘I am the strongest Streamer!’

He had to prove that he was right. Conveniently, he possessed a Mystery capable of breaking Broadcaster’s Barrier—Broadcaster’s Nemesis.

“Chul-Soo’s strength comes from that absurd Broadcaster’s Barrier ability. What is that called now? Absolute Barrier? But it’s useless against me.” Corporation Alpha Male was confident. He was certain that with Broadcaster’s Nemesis, he could fight Chul-Soo on equal terms.

‘Let’s see who is the strongest!’

A mission was assigned to him just in time, worth thirty million Dias. Knocking Chul-Soo unconscious would yield ten million Dias, and killing him would add another twenty million Dias.

‘He’s dodging my attacks quite skillfully.’

Corporation Alpha Male was frustrated, yet very pleased. Chul-Soo’s reaction indicated that he was being complacent as he was looking at his phone while dodging the attacks.

‘I knew I couldn’t kill you with my ordinary attacks, Chul-Soo!’ These ordinary attacks were mere bait, to make Chul-Soo even more complacent. Being a Streamer himself, Corporation Alpha Male knew this all too well. ‘Throwing out this bait will surely make him lower his guard. Then my opportunity will come!’

Also, while throwing out these ordinary attacks, he could get in a lucky strike.

‘Now!’

Chul-Soo’s temple was in sight. About to reach it with his axe, Corporation Alpha Male mentally prepared himself. ‘Use Absolute Barrier!’

As expected, Chul-Soo activated Absolute Barrier.

‘Now is the time!’

[You have used the Mystery ?Broadcaster’s Nemesis?.]

“This is a Mystery that neutralizes Absolute Barrier. The moment for Broadcaster’s Nemesis to shine has finally co— Huh?”

***

Corporation Alpha Male felt something was off. ‘My attack was blocked?’

The sharply honed blade of his axe should have passed through Chul-Soo’s head.

‘Did my Mystery not activate?’ Corporation Alpha Male wondered, but he had used the Mystery at the precise time. ‘No, it’s alright. He is still full of openings!’

Having met Chul-Soo in person, he could not help but feel that Chul-Soo’s abilities were greatly overestimated. Because even now, Chul-Soo showed too many openings. Corporation Alpha Male could see a clear path from where he could aim at Chul-Soo’s head.

‘This time I will hit you for sure!’

[You have used the Mystery ?Broadcaster’s Nemesis?.]

Just then Chul-Soo said, “As expected, another attack is coming on. I will use Absolute Defense once again.”

Jin-Hyeok lifted Miri, attempting to use Miri’s Unique Skill. Absolute Defense was a defensive ability that activated when the opponent’s attack directly collided with Miri.

“The difference between Absolute Barrier and Absolute Defense is that Absolute Defense has a chance to inflict reflective damage. Especially, if the attack is aimed at my head, it will have a seventy percent chance of reflection.”

Clang!

Jin-Hyeok’s Miri and Corporation Alpha Male’s axe collided, sparkling flames in the air.

“ARGH!” Corporation Alpha Male dropped his axe and clutched his head, rolling on the ground. Blood streamed down from his head.

Jin-Hyeok smiled in satisfaction. “That is quite an impressive defensive ability.”

***

Jin-Hyeok made the details of Absolute Defense public.

[Absolute Defense]

[A Unique Skill that actively defends against attacks

*Reflects a portion of the attack damage with a 7% chance.

*For attacks aimed at the head, reflects the attack with a 70% chance.

*For attacks aimed at the back of the head, reflects the attack with a 99% chance.

*The Skill can be used twice within 24 hours.]

Corporation Alpha Male suffering with blood dripping from his head seemed like quite the appropriate scene.

“Even a 0.7% chance would be high, but to have a base chance of 7% is incredible,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Lying on the ground, Corporation Alpha Male was in agony, but he also was looking for an opportunity to strike. ‘Is Chul-Soo not going to kill me when I’m down?’

Chul-Soo was completely off guard. There would surely be an opportunity to strike him.

“Wang Yu-Mi, Kang Chul, let’s mark this as an editing point.” Jin-Hyeok ended the video recording. Then, he approached Corporation Alpha Male.

‘Oh yeah, Chul-Soo avoids content that is unfavorable to the general public!’ Corporation Alpha Male thought. It seemed like Chul-Soo did not want to record the cruel actions that were about to happen. Corporation Alpha Male had still not recovered from the previous damage. He needed to stall for time.

“Wait a moment...!”

Jin-Hyeok seemed unforgiving. He reached out his hand, and Corporation Alpha Male tightly closed his eyes, thinking this was the end.

‘...Huh?’

However, Jin-Hyeok helped Corporation Alpha Male to his feet.

Corporation Alpha Male asked with a grim expression, “Are you sparing me?”

“I stopped the recording.”

‘Was he not planning to kill me more brutally?’

“What do you mean?” Corporation Alpha Male asked.

“You can drop the act now.”

“...What?”

Jin-Hyeok patted Corporation Alpha Male on the shoulder. “Your acting seemed real.”

“...”

“Still, try to moderate the excessively wrongful content. It’s fine to be provocative, but what if kids watching you try to imitate your livestream?”

Corporation Alpha Male looked at Jin-Hyeok with a dumbfounded expression. Then, he sensed an opportunity.

‘He’s completely fooled!’

Quickly, Corporation Alpha Male put on a pleasant smile and scratched his head. “You’re right. I have indeed been contemplating on changing my concept lately...”

The atmosphere between them was warm and friendly, and after exchanging pleasantries, they parted ways.

***

Upon hearing the entire story, Cha Jin-Sol was hopping mad. “You just let him go?”

To Jin-Sol, Corporation Alpha Male seemed like the perfect enemy. It was not just a concept that led Corporation Alpha Male to attack Jin-Hyeok; he truly intended to kill Jin-Hyeok. Yet, inexplicably, Jin-Hyeok had let Corporation Alpha Male go.

“Do you really think that was just an act? It is not like you! You should have struck him down from behind!” Jin-Sol said.

Jin-Hyeok shook his head. It seemed the mindset of Streamers and that of regular Players was vastly different.

“If I were a combatant-class Player, maybe I would’ve killed him,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“What?”

“But the title of my content this time was Absolute Defense.” As long as he showcased the Absolute Defense Skill well, that was enough. “Imagine if I had finished him off, my content would be over.”

“Then what was your plan?”

“I need to build a narrative. He will definitely attack me again.”

That would be interesting because Corporation Alpha Male was a high-Level Player and his attacks were quite thrilling to watch. Plus, he had done a decent job of staging his attacks, making them seem gripping to the viewers.

“I showed mercy by letting him go, and if he betrays me and strikes me from behind, wouldn’t that be great content?” Jin-Hyeok said.

“...”

Jin-Hyeok mischievously grinned, delighted with the drama unfolding on his channel. “I saw that he has a Mystery that can neutralize my Absolute Barrier. What was it called again? Broadcaster’s Nemesis?”

“Are you actually going to let him hit you with that?”

“Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“You’re out of your mind.”

“Hearing that from someone who has truly lost their marbles doesn’t feel great,” Jin-Hyeok said.

It was ludicrous for Jin-Sol to say that. It seemed everyone else around him had gone mad.

After Jin-Sol stormed out of the room, Jin-Hyeok muttered to himself, “But... no matter how I think about it, I can’t forgive him.”

Some netizens claimed Corporation Alpha Male was the strongest among Streamers. Even in his interviews, he boasted about being the strongest Streamer.

‘How dare he claim the top spot?’

“He’s crossed the line. I can tolerate anything else, but this is too much.”