I Gave Up Being Stronger

‘I should tap his left shoulder, divert his attention, and attack his stomach. He’ll twist to dodge my blade, exposing the right side of his neck.’ Cha Jin-Hyeok felt like the next part of the fight was slowly playing out in his mind. He could vividly predict his opponent’s movements. ‘Was he this easy to read?’

No matter how much information and experience he had about Neil, Jin-Hyeok could not believe it could be this easy. He instantly thought, ‘Is it a trap?’

People naturally believed what they wanted to believe and saw what they wanted to see. Jin-Hyeok’s desire for there to be a trap made Neil’s movements appear like preparation for one. ‘Right. That’s how a top-tier Swordsman should be! But you can’t fool me!’

Neil and Jin-Hyeok continued their exchange for dozens of attacks. The whip-like curving sword rushed toward Jin-Hyeok at strange angles, and he calmly blocked the attacks, closed the distance, and counterattacked, repeating this pattern of sword fighting.

-Holyshit, this is amazing!

-Unbelievable! How is this the swordsmanship of an Eltuber?

-I can’t even breathe.

-Guys, I’m going to turn off the screen for a bit. I’m about to wet myself.

Some people watching the first-person perspective of the livestream even turned off their screens. The pressure and intensity of the sword fight unfolding in first-person view were too overwhelming for ordinary viewers. The reason was that Jin-Hyeok, who was engrossed in the duel, failed to control the tension he was transmitting through the livestream.

On the surface, the two contestants seemed evenly matched. However, Neil had different thoughts. ‘Something is off.’

He felt like he were fighting a ghost, as though he were cutting through water.

‘I can barely control my breathing, while he doesn’t even look one bit fatigued.’

Contrary to how it looked from the outside, the person dominating this sword fight was Jin-Hyeok.

‘It’s like he’s toying with me in the palm of his hand!’ But something else also bothered Neil. ‘Why does he hesitate when there is an opening instead of attacking?’

Chul-Soo’s hesitation was so brief that it was hardly noticeable, but it was thanks to those fleeting instants that Neil had been able to maintain the stalemate and fight until now.

Jin-Hyeok grew more puzzled as the battle continued.

‘Huh? He’s moving exactly as I predicted!’ Jin-Hyeok’s predictions were clearer now than how they been at the start of the fight. He had been cautious all this time, thinking it could be a trap to lure him in, but he had a feeling that there was no need for that.

‘Maybe even this is a trap. Did he do this to make me let my guard down?’

Miri was also feeling regretful.

-You could’ve stabbed the back of his head just now!

-You could’ve pierced deep!

-Why aren’t you stabbing him?

As time passed, Jin-Hyeok realized something.

‘This is not a trap.’

This was a clear difference in skill. Being strong was relative. Someone who was an immense powerhouse before one person could be weak before another.

‘What should I do?’

Jin-Hyeok was engulfed in serious contemplation.

***

‘It seems Neil went easy on me before my regression,’ Jin-Hyeok thought. As a naive(?) Sword King, he had thought he had beaten Neil. Indeed, people only saw as much as they knew. ‘Neil must have already reached the realm of the Mind Sword at that time.’

No matter how physically exhausted Neil was, he definitely had enough strength to defeat Jin-Hyeok’s past self. Nevertheless, Neil had let Jin-Hyeok win. Perhaps it was because Jin-Hyeok was not a real rival for Neil back then. Like an uncle playing with his nephew, Neil had pretended to fight intensely and let him win.

‘Now, I’m in the same position.’ Jin-Hyeok felt a bit sorry for Neil. ‘Neil must have treated me that way out of pure goodwill.’

However, Jin-Hyeok was different. Even at this critical moment, he had to worry about how to make the livestream better.

‘The production can go only one of two ways. I must either overwhelmingly dominate Neil or fight intensely and gain a dramatic win.’

Jin-Hyeok could go with either the munchkin content or the growth content.

‘I’m sorry, Neil.’ The sword fight was only just beginning. ‘It’s important to develop expectations. A prodigy and a rookie. To show that I have the qualities to perform well in this sword fight, I will have to dominate my opponent.’

This could hurt Neil’s pride, but Jin-Hyeok couldn’t help it.

“Watch closely, Neil,” Jin-Hyeok said, as his momentum changed. He officially declared the appearance of his alternate character. “It’s Swordsman Chul-Soo’s time to shine.”

Swordsman Chul-Soo’s time had arrived.

***

Neil was dumbfounded. ‘Swordsman Chul-Soo?’

He thought it was roughly a corny line Chul-Soo had said for his livestream.

‘Damn, my body is too stiff.’

Neil had a strong sense of duty. An obsession that a Swordsman could not lose against an Eltuber had taken hold of him. Because of that pressure, his body became dull and his breathing quickly became ragged.

‘H-He’s fast!’ Neil could not properly read Chul-Soo’s movements. ‘Left? No, right! Above? Is he above me? No!’

When he barely managed to block the attacks, Miri flashed before his eyes, disappearing and reappearing repeatedly. While Chul-Soo seemed to be moving slowly and leisurely, it was chaotic from the perspective of the one being attacked. Neil felt like he was fighting multiple Chul-Soos.

‘Where are you?!’ Neil shouted inwardly.

At that moment, Miri’s blade touched his neck.

Waaaaaah!!

Cheers filled the arena. Commenters jumped from their seats and shouted, spitting saliva.

“I… I can’t believe it!”

“Chul-Soo dominated Neil with just swordsmanship!”

The screen played a scene of Chul-Soo saying, “The prelude is over.”

“Then does that mean Chul-Soo was holding back?

“It seems that way!”

“He was doing his best from our perspective.”

“One’s best can be someone else’s warm-up. It looked like his best to me, but Chul-Soo seems to think of it as a warm-up!”

The first round was Chul-Soo’s overwhelming victory.

***

After the first round, Jin-Hyeok had tea with Marshmallow. As steam billowed from his head, Marshmallow arrogantly raised his chin and sat with his legs crossed.

“So, you want to ask me for a favor?” Marshmallow said.

“I want you to broadcast me.”

‘I was going to do it even if you didn’t ask me. These days, just having the name Kim Chul-Soo in the title guarantees views. The viewers eat it up like crazy.’ Marshmallow did not say that out loud.

“Like an exclusive livestream?” Marshmallow asked.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But you’re already livestreaming yourself. And they’re getting quite good reviews.”

“Our analysis is a bit different.”

In terms of swordsmanship, Jin-Hyeok had achieved a perfect victory. If he were a Swordsman, he would have been overjoyed. However, his essence was being an Eltuber.

“People who like these hardcore videos are not sparing any praise for the last livestream, but…”

“It doesn’t suit the taste of the general public? Is that what you wanted to say?” Marshmallow said.

“Yeah. The pressure and the tension seem to be too intense. The number of real-time viewers was only 1.2 billion.”

‘Still, 1.2 billion viewers is more than what I have, though.’ Marshmallow did not say this either. Sword fights were content that people either loved or hated. There was no in-between. As it was a fight between people, only those who liked it watched it. That was why the absolute number of viewers for this content was inevitably lower than that for general Play.

“That’s pretty low,” Marshmallow said.

“I think it’s still a bit difficult for me to be good at both swordsmanship and livestreaming at the same time.

Marshmallow nodded. ‘He’s right. Multitasking is a bit challenging.’

If another Player had been able to operate the Mind Sword like Jin-Hyeok and livestream at Jin-Hyeok’s level, Marshmallow would have probably foamed at the mouth. He only knew the Mind Sword realm was a realm where outstanding Swordsmen changed the form of their swords with their will to showcase various abilities. So, he had no understanding of how difficult it was to do these two things together. The problem was that Jin-Hyeok was the only person in the current universe who could do this.

Marshmallow gave him sincere advice as an Eltuber. “Your screen was a bit shaky and messy. The liveliness that you conveyed through the screen was also too excessive. It’s good to have some tension, but too much is going to hinder your livestream.”

“That’s why I’m asking you to record me. Just me.”

Marshmallow nodded and grinned. “So, you’re requesting my help. If you beg so earnestly, I have no choice but to oblige. Hahaha!”

The official Chul-Soo Lander No.1000 Marshmallow was intoxicated by the fact that Chul-Soo needed him. Not realizing that his marshmallow-shaped head had turned into a heart shape, he said with a solemn expression, “So, what’s your content going to be? Your intensity? Your growth? Your madness for the sword? Proving your ability as a Swordsman? Or how you’re going to overcome technique with your physical prowess?”

Jin-Hyeok felt that the conversation with Marshmallow was quite beneficial in many ways. In the midst of that, Marshmallow pointed out something that Jin-Hyeok had never thought of.

“Or is it the sweet reward that will follow later?” Marshmallow said.

“...”

When Jin-Hyeok did not answer, Marshmallow frowned heavily. His marshmallow-shaped head turned into [!!!].

“Are you saying you didn’t think of a reward? Are you crazy?” Marshmallow yelled.

“...”

“You’re doing this kind of content without planning a reward? I could just hit you right now! Do you think the viewers just want to see you suffering? No! Of course, they want to see that too! You’re handsome even just by standing still, so they will praise you no matter wha—no, that’s not the point. Anyway, do you think it makes sense to run content without a plan for a reward? If there is only the beginning and middle with no end, who will watch your livestream, you idiot?”

Jin-Hyeok just silently accepted Marshmallow’s verbal abuse. Marshmallow was right about everything.

‘I really haven’t come to my senses,’ Jin-Hyeok thought. He really seemed to like swords. Jin-Hyeok was just excited about participating in the Sword Emperor Tournament and happy about being the first Eltuber to participate in it. He had neglected to consider what would follow if he achieved good results in the tournament. It was partly because Cha Jin-Sol had applied for the tournament on his behalf, so he had not paid attention to it.

“Do you even know what the reward for winning the Sword Emperor Tournament is?” Marshmallow asked.

“...”

“If you don’t know that, how can you call yourself an Eltuber? You need to know the destination to sail toward it. Ah, I’m getting pissed off.”

“I’m sorry.”

“The reward for winning the Sword Emperor Tournament is the right to train at the Pisat Family’s sacred ground, Cliff of Singing Swords. It is an opportunity countless Swordsmen across the universe dream of.”

“The Cliff of Singing Swords?”

Jin-Hyeok felt that it was refreshing to learn about things he did not know during his Sword King days.

“Yeah, they say if you train there, you will become several levels stronger. The previous Sword Emperor Tournament winner, Kyle, was like that too.”

“...”

“Maybe as an Eltuber, you might discover something new there.”

***

Jin-Hyeok’s participation in the Sword Emperor Tournament sparked an intense sensation. It was shocking in many ways that an Eltuber had displayed overwhelming swordsmanship against a professional Swordsman. Jin-Hyeok was the most popular rookie in the Sword Emperor Tournament.

“The Unknown Player has done it again! He achieved victory in just ten bouts against Melik, one of the favorites!”

“Even Melik can’t understand what’s going on!”

A Swordsman from Hell who revealed his name as Unknown showcased remarkable skills in the Sword Emperor Tournament and defeated Melik, a strong contender for the title.

This was a huge upset and began to attract attention, rivaling Jin-Hyeok’s.

In the winner’s interview, Unknown directly mentioned Jin-Hyeok. “I came here to kill Kim Chul-Soo.”

The Sword Emperor Tournament was a festival for Swordsmen. Any talk of ideology, beliefs, religion, or politics was strictly prohibited. Perhaps because of that, he briefly added a single sentence without any particular reason.

“I’m from Hell.”