I Gave Up Being Stronger

‘How can his firepower nullify our calculations?’ Ilina realized the severity of the situation, though she struggled to comprehend it. ‘How can he exceed our expectations to this extent?’

Her mind became a whirlwind of thoughts.

‘Can I also execute an attack as destructive as this?’ She shook her head in denial. As she let out a deep sigh, her expression twisted.

“This should be impossible,” she muttered. She was the commander of the Magic Investigation Team, yet this attack made her think, ‘Could even Sir Alphonso, the Knight Commander, achieve this?’

She wasn’t one hundred percent sure. This situation made Ilina's headache worse.

‘That bastard will mock me over this.’ She imagined Alphonso’s voice taunting her like a hallucination.

“What? You’re weaker than a Streamer and his colleague? Wow, is that even possible? Ilina, you’re just full of surprises! Haha!”

Ignoring these thoughts, Ilina kept puffing on her cigarette. She had witnessed the overwhelming power of Chul-Soo and Shin Yu-Ri, and now, it was time to think about the next steps.

Suddenly, Deputy Commander Melkin cautiously said, “Commander?”

“Sir Vilsmark had mentioned something to us… He said this might happen…”

“The old man said that?”

“Yes… He had said that Chul-Soo could demonstrate firepower far beyond our expectancy…”

Then, it dawned on her. She had dismissed Vilsmark’s words before.

“In the rarest of cases, Chul-Soo might show extreme firepower. It’s highly unlikely, but life is unpredictable.”

Ilina had not taken his words to heart, thinking this wasn’t possible.

“So, keep a toxic magic formula hidden just in case. You have enough manpower to spare a few for this operation.”

Ilina had not agreed with him. Anticipating her reluctance, Vilsmark had instructed Melkin and two other Mages to prepare the trap without Ilina.

“This means you followed the old man’s instructions behind my back,” Ilina surmised.

“I’m sorry.”

“Let’s postpone the blame later. So, what kind of trick did he set up?”

“Well, it’s a trap that reacts to extreme firepower and heat.” Melkin pointed toward the rocky mountain. Boiling red magma was flowing down its side.

‘Lava?’ Ilina thought.

Melkin softly continued, “We set it up to erupt if Chul-Soo used a certain level of destructive power, to annihilate him. Since it uses Chul-Soo’s firepower as the trigger, it won’t look artificial.”

***

Ilina flung her cigarette to the ground—an indication of the gravity of the situation.

‘Commander just threw away her cigarette?’

‘Something big is going to happen.’

She commanded the Magic Investigation Team, “Everyone, drop all your gear and lighten yourselves. This area is about to be covered by lava, like an avalanche. The ones proficient in flight magic should carry those who aren’t. Remember, warping is forbidden.”

Magic spells or significant natural disasters could create strong magical fields that inhibited the manifestation of magic. Minor spells could still work in such a situation, but complex magic spells like warping could become perilous, potentially trapping someone in a dimensional rift.

Melkin shouted, “Hey! Orlan! Make sure to carry Mayer with you!”

Mayer, who was about to mention that he was proficient in flight magic, quickly grasped Melkin’s intent. ‘He wants us to appear understaffed.’

If they did not feign to be understaffed, they would have to help Chul-Soo escape too.

“Ascend as high as possible. The moment the lava’s heat touches you, you will melt!” Melkin shouted.

A team member oblivious to the plan asked, “What about those two?”

“Saving our team members is the highest priority. Civilians come second, and all else is third.” Ilina effectively declared that saving Chul-Soo and Yu-Ri was not a priority.

“Everyone, ascend!”

“Ascend!”

The Mages took flight, soaring toward the sky.

***

The members of the Magic Investigation Team hastily retreated, leaving only Ilina at the scene, suspended high in the sky with Melkin in tow. She was distinctly displeased. “It feels like we just got lucky.”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve informed you earlier.”

“What’s done is done. At least, Chul-Soo will die here.” Discontent with the situation, Ilina retrieved a cigarette from her inventory and lit it. She was skeptical about the necessity of going to such lengths to eliminate Chul-Soo.

‘He, too, is an honorary citizen of Arvis…’

She found it difficult to understand why they could not simply offer Chul-Soo citizenship instead of resorting to such drastic measures.

‘I hold no personal grudge against you, Chul-Soo.’

The lava, which had been slowly moving, was now pouring down like a flood. It had engulfed the Magic Investigation Team’s base camp, with Chul-Soo appearing to be next. Ilina recalled something Chul-Soo had said.

“The Magic Investigation Team’s attacks seem weaker than expected. You say it’s because of the precise calculations, but I don’t understand why those calculations are needed in the first place.”

Ilina muttered to herself, “This is why.”

Blindly unleashing destructive power was never a solution. Competent Mages anticipated the variables that could arise from their attacks, incorporating them into their calculations.

“We knew that if we attacked with as much power as Chul-Soo did, this would happen. That was why we did not unleash such destructive power,” Ilina said. It was not just about who had the most destructive power; a much more sophisticated realm of tactics was involved in such situations. “If it were me, I would’ve at least retained enough energy to summon the Thunder Dragon and escape.”

She felt somewhat bitter. If Chul-Soo had a bit more experience, perhaps he would not have resorted to such reckless actions.

‘A hero yet to fully bloom is about to perish today. Why does this era begrudge the emergence of a new hero?’ Ilina thought.

“Commander, are you going to stay here? You could get caught in a thermal storm!”

“I will guard this place.”

This was Ilina’s final tribute to Chul-Soo, a star that would extinguish before it ever truly shone.

‘There should be at least one person who fully remembers his last moment.’

***

“All the Mages have fled,” Yu-Ri said.

“Yes, I know,” Jin-Hyeok responded, feeling quite satisfied. “They have abandoned their belongings and even their base camp and are hastily using flight magic, evacuating while carrying their team members who don’t know how to fly.”

The urgency of their actions created the perfect tension for the viewers.

“The lava is rushing in, like a dam has burst. The heat emanating from the lava is insane. It’s like I’m inside a boiling pot. Viewers watching this in first-person perspective, please be careful.”

Jin-Hyeok was ecstatic. This situation made him feel like he were an ordinary man facing a natural disaster. The approaching lava made him feel significantly small, yet allowed him to create an immense sense of dread for his livestream.

‘I can just summon the Thunder Dragon to make things easier, but…’

Contrary to Ilina’s deductions, Jin-Hyeok was not overly fatigued. He could summon the Thunder Dragon to escape anytime.

‘But that would not be stylish.’

Jin-Hyeok did not care about efficiency. What mattered to him was providing his viewers with unyielding fun.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Jin-Hyeok told Yu-Ri. He then picked her up, and she involuntarily let out a brief cry.

“Eek!” Yu-Ri screamed.

“I’m sorry. As you can see, this is the only way to save you.”

“Oh, no. It’s okay… it’s okay.” Yu-Ri’s face turned beet red.

-Wait a minute! There’s romance in the air.

-Is he flirting with her?

-They’re just trying to survive. How is that flirting?

-Well, even when he’s just breathing, it looks like flirting.

Holding Yu-Ri, Jin-Hyeok thought about what would look the coolest. Finally, he decided on something and walked toward the lava, still carrying her.

***

Ilina frowned. ‘What’s he doing?’

She had expected him to at least pretend to flee. ‘He’s walking toward the lava?’

Chul-Soo’s recklessness was beyond comprehension.

‘Or is it that he doesn’t want to show weakness?’

Perhaps he had resigned himself to his fate, determined not to appear vulnerable in his final moments.

‘And he isn’t blaming anyone for this.’

He was walking toward death with a composed demeanor, not resorting to any despicable tactic and focusing on his duties.

‘Damn it!’ Ilina bit her lip. “Get lost.”

“Pardon?” Melkin said.

She casually tossed Melkin aside. Startled, Melkin quickly used his flight magic to distance himself, while Ilina rapidly descended.

‘I don’t care what anyone says. He’s a citizen of Arvis.’

An honorary citizen was still a citizen. As the commander of the Magic Investigation Team, she could not just watch an Arvis citizen die.

“Chul-So—”

She was about to shout at him to take her hand when she suddenly stopped mid-air.

‘What the hell?’

***

Jin-Hyeok’s heart pounded. ‘The energy emitted by the lava is so intimidating.’

He felt like he was becoming dust in the presence of grand nature. Instead of being frightened, he found livestreaming this spectacular scene in first-person thrilling. The livestream conveyed a bit of that tension to the viewers.

-Wow, what’s with all the tension?

-If we’re feeling this much tension, then…

-Please… Chul-Soo! Come back alive!

-You need to escape!

-Thank you for watching Chul-Soo’s livestream, everyone. I guess this is the end.

Although viewers felt varying levels of tension, the suspense was palpable.

Jin-Hyeok readied his right hand.

‘It’s always good to use my right hand for any stylish scenes.’

Holding Yu-Ri in his arms, he recreated the line he had first mimicked when he had used her powers.

“I feel a great power surging in my right hand.”

Editor Kang Chul immediately found the corresponding clip and edited it into a split-screen.

“I feel a great power surging in my right hand.”

Jin-Hyeok extended his right hand toward the approaching disaster.

[You have activated the Trait Absolute Barrier.]

He believed he could handle the incoming lava with Absolute Barrier.

‘I need to make this Absolute Barrier as pointy as possible in the front so that it can split the incoming lava as far away as possible.’

Like a prince who had once parted the Red Sea, he imagined splitting the approaching lava tide and felt a sense of thrill run over him.

‘I might be the first one to do this in the universe.’

Jin-Hyeok gulped. When he thought of how cool this would look, his heart thumped. But then, he sensed Ilina descending from the sky.

‘Why’s she doing this all of a sudden? She had been so helpful until now.’

At some point, he noticed her cigarette had dropped to the ground and that she had an urgent expression on her face.

‘Is she trying to save me?’ His mood suddenly soured. ‘No, this is crossing a line.’