I Gave Up Being Stronger

Cha Jin-Sol’s eyes widened. “Wait, this is the Thunder Dragon?”

The individual in front of her was not a creature but a woman.

“Oh, you didn’t summon me as a ride this time,” the Thunder Dragon said.

“Even your voice is so beautiful! How?” Jin-Sol giggled. “I do have a thing for beautiful people.”

Jin-Sol had met a beautiful Succubus named Relphim a few days ago, but Relphim was not to her taste. Relphim was provocatively bold and dangerously alluring, the kind of woman who seemed to emit a dangerous aura. The Thunder Dragon had a completely different vibe. Moreover, her golden hair flowed down to her waist, rippling like waves.

“She’s a goddess.” Jin-Sol marveled at the Thunder Dragon in pure admiration, struck by her almost outwardly aura. “Such flawless skin, a pert nose, and a sharp jawline… Who knew such cliche descriptions could feel so fresh!”

Thanks to Jin-Sol’s endless chatter, Cha Jin-Hyeok did not need to say a word. He was delighted to see his sister’s growth. ‘You have improved your broadcasting skills, Jin-Sol.’

“She’s so dazzling and elegant that she can make me blind.” Jin-Sol’s praise was a bit too much.

-This is art.

-Her visuals are shocking. Beautifully traditional yet trendy and somewhat androgynous. It only adds to the mystique. Absolutely gorgeous.

-She’s breathtakingly beautiful. Even though I’m a woman, she is totally my type.

The accolades for the Thunder Dragon flowed endlessly.

“Enough with the praises,” the Thunder Dragon said, seemingly uninterested in Jin-Sol’s excessive compliments. However, being the dragon’s master, Jin-Hyeok could see beneath her cool expression and ascertain her true thoughts.

[#More. #More. #More.]

‘She looks so dignified on the outside. Being able to hide her true feelings like that is a gift,’ Jin-Hyeok thought. She was indeed the Thunder Dragon of an Eltuber. She meticulously managed her every expression, and he found this rather endearing.

“Dragons are known to pursue beauty,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“We are a race pursuing aesthetics,” Thunder Dragon replied.

“Why haven’t you shown your beauty before?” Jin-Hyeok’s eyes sparkled even more brightly than Jin-Sol’s ‘I love everything pretty’ gaze.

The Thunder Dragon frowned. “Are you also a frivolous one, drawn only to outer beauty?”

“Huh?”

“I have no intention of pursuing a romantic relationship with you. As you know, I’m quite busy taking care of my child.”

-What if you weren’t?

-I will take care of the kids. Please marry me!

-She is so pretty! Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty!

“I’m with you on that. I don’t have such intentions either,” Jin-Hyeok replied. He could not betray the Chul-Soo Landers.

“What?” The Thunder Dragon was shocked. Even though she was mentally linked to Jin-Hyeok, she was unable to understand it. ‘How can he remain so indifferent to my beauty? Did he not feel anything when he first saw me?’

Then it slowly dawned on her. ‘Was it not just because of my beauty… but because I made for good content for his Eltube channel?’

The Thunder Dragon unconsciously clenched her fist. She had no intention of pursuing a romantic relationship with Jin-Hyeok, but his blunt refusal was a blow to her pride.

Jin-Hyeok smirked. ‘This is perfect for my livestream.’

***

Jin-Hyeok enjoyed featuring beautiful guests on his livestream. Attractive guests led to a higher number of likes and viewers.

“Yes, now that my level has increased and I can use the Guardian Tree’s power, many of the Thunder Dragon’s restrictions have been lifted. Thanks to that, the Thunder Dragon can use her unique ability, Polymorph, to assume this form.”

The Thunder Dragon was beginning to transcend its mere role as a mount.

“We can find the type of lightning energy you’re talking about. However, I need to experience it directly first,” the Thunder Dragon said.

“Leave that to me.”

[You have activated the Skill Omnipotent Director.]

The world around them turned to shades of gray. In this space, Jin-Hyeok used a Skill called Load to play a video. While Load was a basic Skill available to all Streamers, when used along with Omnipotent Director, it became something else entirely.

Even the Thunder Dragon was impressed. “It perfectly recreates the situation from that time.”

The Skill flawlessly reproduced the scene of the ambush from the warp portal. Everything was the same as then—the atmosphere, temperature, humidity, and other sensory details. The Thunder Dragon closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After a moment, her eyes flickered with a blue light.

“This should be enough. I think I can track them now.”

***

Jin-Hyeok once again rode the Thunder Dragon, who had turned back to its dragon form, soaring through the sky.

-Wait, the dragon form also looks sexy. LOL!

-Those sleek scales!

-I didn’t know I had a thing for reptiles.

-Sis Dragon~ I’m in love!

-Sister, take me with you. T_T

The Thunder Dragon, merely revealing its human form, had skyrocketed its popularity.

‘Creating content while moving from one place to another is always a bit challenging,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

That was why Jin-Hyeok often skipped parts where he was traveling, but thanks to the Thunder Dragon’s Polymorph ability, livestreaming had become much easier. There was no need for him to fill the audio as the viewers themselves interacted and fired off various jokes.

‘Being beautiful is the best.’

Jin-Hyeok could finally relax a bit about the livestream during traveling.

After flying for some time, the Thunder Dragon said, “I sense it somewhere around here.”

From up high, they could see a massive rocky mountain on the ground.

-Is that Galui Rocky Mountain?

-Wow, I heard that place is tough.

-What’s Galui Rock Mountain?

Galui Rocky Mountain was a natural maze located in the Fourth Hell.

-There are hundreds of thousands of caves there. Terrorists have long used it as a hideout.

-Until 100 years ago, it was the hideout for a notorious terrorist group called Alkin.

-Alkin? Aren’t they infamous for being dangerous and brutal?

Alkin was a terrorist group that used to operate against numerous high-ranking Servers. They would take rankers’ families hostage and demand huge randoms. Galui Rocky Mountain was their hideout. Many rankers had tried to conquer Alkin here but had repeatedly failed. Hence, people also called this place the rankers’ graveyard.

-There is no way Chul-Soo will find them there.

-If his enemies decide to hide inside, he’ll never find them.

-Maybe he has a way?

-Even Chul-Soo’s grandfather would not make it there. History has proven it.

As opinions were divided on whether Jin-Hyeok could find Sandyem in Galui Rocky Mountain, someone brought up a poignant observation.

-But we are forgetting an important fact.

-An important fact?

-He found Sandyem faster than the three empires’ alliance. And without any Navigator’s help.

-Oh… you’re right!

-Wow! I guess I’m too used to the Chul-Soo Universe. LOL

-When you think about it, this doesn’t make sense at all!

The viewers had just realized the strangeness of the situation.

-I can’t believe he can do this.

***

The Special Task Force of the Helen Empire, the Magic Investigation Team of the Mazique Empire, and the Sword Emperor Unit of the Swedeen Empire were all formidable forces. Temporarily leading these units was none other than Special Task Force commander Vilsmark.

Vilsmark had been a great hero in Arvis for the past sixty years, solving countless complex and unsolved cases; no case under his command had gone unresolved. The leaders of the Magic Investigation Team and the Sword Emperor Unit had also passed their command to Vilsmark out of respect for him.

“We need to find their hideout first. They used an old man and the lie that he could make Blood Priestess more powerful as a diversion. So, they are likely hiding somewhere in the Fourth Hell, with the highest probability of the location being Galui Rocky Mountain, Homel Cave, or Shamambi Islands.”

In the middle of the leaders’ meeting, someone burst in. “Commander! Chul-Soo has pinpointed the location of Sandyem!”

“What?”

“Please, check his livestream.”

Commander Vilsmark was flabbergasted. “He found this place without a Navigator?”

Chu-Soo was not an expert in Hell’s geography, nor was he a Ruler with special insights; he merely summoned his Thunder Dragon and followed the energy of the lightning. Vilsmark felt an emotion similar to what the viewers felt. ‘How is this possible?’

Vilsmark continued without showing much emotion, “This is a matter of pride for our three empires.”

This issue was famous across the universe, and he wanted the three empires to resolve it. Ilina, the leader of the Magic Investigation Team, tapped her long smoking pipe and stood up, exhaling a puff of smoke. “Let’s move. We need to capture Sandyem before Chul-Soo does.”

However, Vilsmark shook his head. “We can’t focus solely on Sandyem. Our ultimate target is Helam, the leader of the Freedom Alliance of Hell. He might try to sacrifice Sandyem and escape himself.”

“We can’t just sit back and watch Chul-Soo catch Sandyem,” Ilina said.

“Ilina, I need you to lead the Magic Investigation Team to Galui Rocky Mountain. It would be good if you could collaborate with Chul-Soo. The Special Task Force and the Sword Emperor Unit will track down Helam.”

“Why? Are you trying to leave me the small fry while you go after the big fish?”

Vilsmark shook his head again. “Only the Magic Investigation Team can move there immediately. The Special Task Force and Sword Emperor Unit do not have that capability. We can’t give the impression that we lost to him. Only you can do this, Ilina. Please.”

***

Dozens of green magic circles appeared in the air. Unsummoning the Thunder Dragon and descending to the ground, Jin-Hyeok examined the magic circles. “It feels like a significant number of powerful Mages have teleported here.”

These Players were none other than the members of the Magic Investigation Team of the Mazique Empire. Most of the Mages wore robes, making it hard to see their faces, but all had a sun-shaped badge on their chests.

A woman with striking red hair came out of the crowd. “Pleased to meet you. My name is Ilina. I am the commander of the Magic Investigation Team.”

Ilina had her hair pinned up with a silver hairpin, and her skin was so pale it was almost ghostly. She held a long smoking pipe in her right hand, which emitted white smoke, and her outfit was slashed at the side, revealing her bare legs.

‘Ilina is here too?’ Jin-Hyeok thought. ‘Lucky me!’

He had almost shouted that. After having Relphim and the Thunder Dragon on his livestream, he was not getting the chance to have Ilina too. This delighted him. Splitting the thumbnail into three parts featuring these beautiful women would guarantee views. He even thought of a video title.

[The Beautiful Trio]

It was cheesy and cliche but sure to attract all kinds of attention—from those drawn to beauty to those who criticized the superficial focus of modern media.

‘Hm… maybe the title needs to be more provocative.’

A better title came to mind.

[SSS-Tier Beautiful Trio]

‘Perfect. I’m so good at this.’

Pleased with himself, Jin-Hyeok smiled.