I Gave Up Being Stronger

Acacia looked at Cha Jin-Hyeok with disbelief. “What did you say?”

Sword Prison was a tremendously powerful Skill, but it required a long and complex preparation. If Jin-Hyeok had not been just livestreaming earlier, she couldn’t have used it.

“Please activate the Sword Prison again. I will say it one more time, I was the one who broke your Skill.”

“...”

“Why can’t you believe it? It’s so frustrating.” Jin-Hyeok feigned an annoyed expression, which viewers recognized as part of his bad acting. However, Acacia was completely fooled.

“This time, I will prove my strength,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Acacia scoffed at his foolishness. ‘This works well for me.’

His naive behavior reminded her that he was indeed a rookie Player from a new Server. A seasoned Player would never have made such a foolish mistake.

‘Your arrogance and foolishness will hasten your demise, Chul-Soo.’ She was a prideful top-tier ranker, confident that she wouldn’t be fooled the same way twice. ‘I just need to keep my guard up against Lessefim and Katrina.’

She was certain she could kill Chul-Soo with another Sword Prison. But she hid her emotions and calmly said, “Let’s do that.”

Soon, Acacia pulled another greatsword out of her inventory and made the preparations to use Sword Prison. At this moment, her opponent was almost reverent as if he was respecting an adversary’s best effort.

Acacia admired that about him. ‘He’s foolish, but he understands honor.’

She decided to grant him an honorable death. Before she could use her Skill again, however, Jin-Hyeok flashed a grin.

“Just kidding.” He fiercely swung Miri.

Acacia was caught off guard, as Miri headed straight for her temple.

Boom!

A massive explosion ensued.

[You have successfully imitated the Skill 「Sword Prison」.]

Jin-Hyeok’s smile deepened. “The imitation is over.”

Acacia had not been expecting Jin-Hyeok to surprise attack. Despite that, she quickly moved back to dodge Miri, having already freed her legs from petrification.

‘What!’ Something strange happened. ‘That hammer can be extended?’

Essentially, the explosion had been a smokescreen. Using the sound of the blast and the smoke to momentarily blind Acacia, Jin-Hyeok extended Miri and hit her temple.

-Yesterday’s failures make today’s successes. Your temple is delicious. Thank you!

When fighting against Emperor Marco, Miri had learned that not all solutions lay in powerful wide-area attacks. Since then, it had constantly researched how to execute more precise and sophisticated attacks. The result was a technique that followed and relentlessly struck its opponent.

Jin-Hyeok was genuinely surprised. ‘Did that just happen?’

-Nothing is impossible in the IntenseMan Universe. I am a weapon that evolves.

In the IntenseMan Universe, even weapons strived for excellence. Jin-Hyeok was quite pleased with it. This was the time to demonstrate the culmination of the Intense Universe.

‘The strike was accurate.’

Next, Wood King Mok Jae-Hyeon extended vines from a tree. Normally, he would have been unable to execute such an attack at this moment, but Jin-Hyeok had already created an opening for him.

Kim Jeong-Hyeon then threw a powerful punch at Acacia. Acacia instinctively raised her arm to block the attack. She could have blocked the punch if she had a sword. However, her sword had been split in two when she had used it as a sacrificial weapon for Sword Prison.

Thud!

Jeong-Hyeon’s fist hit Acacia in the chest.

‘Such a trivial attack.’ Although these subsequent attacks had caught Acacia off-guard, they did not cause much damage. ‘These guys are nothing compared to Chul-Soo. I don’t need to panic.’

As long as Muenne did not interfere, Acacia could refocus and reorganize. Fortunately, it seemed like Muenne was not participating in the attack.

‘Then I shall take that Tree Mage first.’ Acacia feinted a stab with her broken greatsword at Jeong-Hyeon, then slipped through under his armpit. ‘I am going to kill you first, and then the big guy!’

Acacia envisioned an efficient and swift attacking path. She could kill even with a broken sword.

As her sword glowed with red mana, Jin-Hyeok’s voice rang out. “Activate Sword Prison.”

Shock filled Acacia’s eyes. Her Skill, Sword Prison, had enveloped her.

“It’s done,” Jin-Hyeok said.

The Sword Prison tightened, compressing around her.

‘Should I put a 19+ rating on the livestream?’ Jin-Hyeok wondered.

Sword Prison was a Skill that disintegrated its target, splattering blood everywhere.

‘It’ll be too graphic for my livestream…’

Jin-Hyeok was pleased to have successfully demonstrated the Sword Prison, but during his moment of contemplation, a breathless voice interrupted him.

“Stop!!”

It was the Sage of the Sword from the Pisat Family, Gridel.

***

Revered as the strongest Swordsman in the universe, Gridel was an old man known to all. Jin-Hyeok was pleased to see him.

“That old man must be Gridel, the Sage of the Sword.”

Gridel drew a white arc with his sword. He shattered the Golden Trace set up by Jin-Hyeok, leaving white threads in the air. Thousands of these threads, like spiderwebs, engulfed the Sword Prison, splitting it into six parts.

Jin-Hyeok was amazed. “Wow…”

Despite his amazement, Jin-Hyeok could not just stop there. Showing vulnerability now would invite countless weaker foes to attack him. He needed to prove the simple truth: ‘If you attack me, you come at me with your life on the line.’

“I can’t back down here.” Jin-Hyeok pulled several swords out of his inventory. They were not as good as Acacia’s greatsword, but sometimes, quantity trumped quality. “After all, there is strength in numbers.”

At times, quantity was more important than quality. Jin-Hyeok used the collection of swords from his inventory to revive the disintegrating Sword Prison.

Gridel was astonished. ‘Is he trying to revive the broken Sword Prison?’

Even Acacia, the true master of the Sword Prison, had not achieved such a feat. Furthermore, the idea of opening the Sword Prison with multiple swords was unheard of.

‘This guy… seems unaware of how absurd his actions are,’ Gridel thought. Opening the Sword Prison required immense concentration. Big moves came with big risks, potentially costing stamina, life, weapons, or even one’s physical integrity. ‘If he’s careless, he might sever all his mana circuits.’

Sword Prison was a delicate and dangerous Skill. That was why Acacia always used a well-crafted greatsword made by a superior Blacksmith whenever she executed it.

‘How strong is he?’ Gridel gritted his teeth. Normally, using the Sword Prison like this would leave one’s body in ruins, yet Jin-Hyeok seemed unaffected. Even Gridel had never seen such monstrous resilience. He quickly shouted, “I will pay the ransom for Acacia’s life. So, please spare her.”

Jin-Hyeok glanced at him. “Are you one of my subscribers?”

Gridel reluctantly nodded. He was not particularly fond of Jin-Hyeok’s livestreams but had subscribed to him during a recent emergency meeting.

Satisfied, Jin-Hyeok stopped the Sword Prison.

When Acacia saw this, she wanted to rather die.

‘He stopped it…’ Acacia had tried multiple times to stop an active Sword Prison but failed every time. One slight mistake could leave her terribly injured. ‘It’s too delicate and sensitive a task. But that guy…’

Jin-Hyeok could converse with Gridel and even livestream while stopping the Sword Prison. He was not delicately controlling his mana but just physically enduring it. Acacia, who had always been called a genius, realized she was not one. She had never believed that physical strength could overshadow Skills, but now she had to accept it.

“What will you pay for her life with?” Jin-Hyeok asked Gridel.

“The map you got from her is incomplete. That part of the map can get you only the female half of the sword she mentioned to you. That sword has a male half too, and the two halves can show their true value only when they are together.”

“Male and female?” Jin-Hyeok had heard of the concept before. “Are you talking about the dual swords of Pisat, the Knight of Justice?”

“Yes. It’s the treasure of the Pisat Family. Isn’t that enough for the ransom?”

Trapped inside the halted Sword Prison, Acacia shouted, “Master! I am okay! Let me die honorably.”

“Honorably, my ass! Do you think it’s honorable to be beaten by your Skill?”

“I have accepted my loss, Master. It was a complete defeat with no excuse.”

‘And… I want to die…’ She could not bring herself to say it out loud, but Gridel could read her thoughts.

“I know the despair of facing an insurmountable wall too well. The feeling when the pride of being a genius crumbles is truly dreadful. But remember, Acacia, you’re the sword of the Pisat Family, and without the family’s order, you cannot die. So, do not give up on your life. You are my sword, and our sword,” Gridel said.

Jin-Hyeok’s heart raced. It seemed like a very touching scene.

[*Insert solemn music here. Focus on Gridel’s expression.]

The despairing genius, wishing for death, was crying within the Sword Prison. The elder who cherished this genius pressed his lips together and consoled her in his own way, promising to hand over the Pisat Family’s treasure to save her.

‘This should be enough content for today,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Merely fighting and destroying things was not the only skill required to be a great Streamer. Diverse production was another.

Jin-Hyeok waved his hand, and the Sword Prison surrounding Acacia disappeared.

“If you’re like that, it’s hard for me to kill her, Sir.” Jin-Hyeok deliberately used this tone, as a sign of respect for Gridel, who had not hesitated to use the treasure of his family for a beloved apprentice.

The viewers were moved.

“I have killed everyone who has ever aimed for my life. That’s my principle,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“...”

“However, Sir Gridel, your great heart has broken my principle.” Jin-Hyeok tucked away his weapon. “Even though we met as enemies and will continue to be enemies, I show my respect to you.”

Jin-Hyeok approached Gridel and extended his hand. Gridel shook the hand while supporting Acacia and replied, “Thank you!”

“What will be the token of your promise?”

Cha Jin-Sol secretly smiled. ‘Token of promise? I can’t believe my brother is sugarcoating a blatant robbery like this.’

She turned away, worried that the camera would capture her smile.

‘This must be the grandest robbery of all time.’

Jin-Hyeok had secured two maps. Simultaneously, he received a new notification.