I Gave Up Being Stronger

Hearing those warm words, Kim Ysael cried miserably like a little child, her face turning red.

-I’m crying too. T_T

-Chul-Soo is so charming. T_T

-Why am I crying? T_T T_T

-So touching… T_T

The reactions to this scene were polarizing. Some viewers empathized with Ysael and cried together, but others found this baffling.

-I heard when you meet Chul-Soo, you cry. I have no idea why.

-They can cry that much?

-How is this touching?

-You guys are being overly emotional. Tsk tsk!

-How can you NOT cry at this? Are you guys psychopaths?

Ysael picked up her swords again. “Okay, I won’t disappoint you, Mr. Chul-Soo.”

Cha Jin-Hyeok unknowingly reached out and instinctively touched Ysael’s shoulder.

‘Why am I doing this?’ He froze for a moment, then naturally patted her shoulder. “I will cheer for you, Chul-Soo Land No.777—Kim Ysael.”

“Yes!”

Only after the situation had settled down to some extent did the referee stop Jin-Hyeok. Jin-Hyeok raised his hands and obediently left the arena. At that moment, his heart was pounding.

‘It’s a bit strange.’ He didn’t know why his heart was pounding. ‘Why do they like me so much?’

Both Kim Min-Ji and Ysael loved him. Jin-Hyeok felt strange emotions when he saw them. They weren’t romantic feelings, but something else.

‘They like me…’

Jin-Hyeok suddenly felt grateful for that feeling. He had always felt thankful toward his viewers, but today he felt it even more deeply.

‘Is this… what it means to be moved?’

***

Ysael and Unknown’s duel ended more uneventfully than expected. Contrary to people’s expectations that it would be a close match, Unknown brought his dagger to Ysael’s throat.

-Unknown seems to have become stronger!

-There was a comparison video showing his speed a while ago. He has become faster now.

-He’s growing constantly. Maybe he’s a genius, after all!

-What the hell are you talking about? I bet he made another oath or something.

Although she had lost, Ysael wasn’t in a bad mood. In fact, she was happy. She said, “Today was the best day of my life. It was an honor to be able to meet Mr. Chul-Soo. I will live every day cherishing today’s memory!”

When the interviewer asked if she had fully demonstrated her skills, Ysael replied, “I do not know. I couldn’t demonstrate my skills because my heart was pounding too much and my breathing was out of control. But I don’t think I lost because of that. Unknown… was much stronger than I thought.”

She was saying this deliberately.

‘If I say Unknown is much stronger than expected, more people would focus on Mr. Chul-Soo!’ Being a true Chul-Soo Lander, Ysael knew very well what Chul-Soo wanted. ‘Then, Mr. Chul-Soo will be happy!’

Returning to her accommodation, she hid under the blanket. She gently placed her hand on the shoulder Chul-Soo had touched earlier and closed her eyes. ‘I will never wash it.’

***

‘I am so grateful.’ Meeting people who liked him so much for no reason, Jin-Hyeok felt a ticklish sensation somewhere in his heart. Moreover, Ysael even did the interview perfectly.

Unknown, who was already renowned, had shown an overwhelming performance against Ysael; he had now become a strong contender for the championship title.

‘I’m the underdog now.’ Thanks to that, the fight was drawing a tremendous amount of attention from across the universe. ‘Many people want to see me getting crushed.’

There was a three-day break until the finals. Ordinary Swordsmen would devote themselves to thoroughly analyzing their opponents and managing their condition during this time. However, Jin-Hyeok was not a Swordsman, but an Eltuber.

“Shelby, can you open the door?” Jin-Hyeok said.

Ever since she had lost to Jin-Hyeok, Shelby had not moved a single step from her room. After a short statement in the loser’s interview, where she said she was going to retire, she had not shown her face to the media at all.

“I know you’re in there.”

“...”

There was no answer.

“I’m just going to open the door, okay?” Jin-Hyeok said. He placed his hand on the golden handle and turned it to the right. If it was locked, he would ask for Angel Girl’s help, but fortunately, it wasn’t. “Why is it so dark in here?”

There was no light inside the room. The windows were covered with blackout curtains, and the air was very stale as if the room had not been ventilated for a long time.

“Shelby,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Go away.” Shelby was sitting in front of the bed like a recluse. It seemed she had not washed or eaten for the past few days.

‘Damn!’ Jin-Hyeok turned off his camera. ‘I came to shoot some daily life content, but…’

He no longer wanted to make content out of Shelby’s current state. Even though he knew recording her would generate a lot of views, he strangely didn’t want to. This feeling was similar to the emotions he felt when he had decided against capturing the tears of Somfiad, the boy who had been used for a terrorist plot.

‘I keep getting this feeling.’

If he thought about only his channel, he would record what was happening. However, lately, he felt something was more important than view count—something that was difficult to define. Although he didn’t know exactly what it was yet, Jin-Hyeok stood in front of Shelby with complicated emotions.

“I heard you’re retiring,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“I told you to get out.”

Shelby instantly picked up her greatsword from the floor and swung it. Jin-Hyeok stepped back three steps at the sudden attack. The front of his shirt was cut off.

‘Wow, this could have been really good content for my channel,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Shelby threw the greatsword on the floor again and said, “Next time, I will really cut you.”

“Shelby, I want to talk to you about something.”

“I told you to get lost.”

Jin-Hyeok read Shelby’s mind with Broadcaster’s Insight. Her mind was a bit of a mess.

[#Get lost. #I want to be alone. #Don’t go. #Don’t leave me alone.]

‘Her mental state is shattered.’ Jin-Hyeok didn’t feel so good seeing her like that. ‘I can still visualize the scene where she spared my life before my regression.’

Back then, Shelby had been a wall. Jin-Hyeok had diligently devoted himself to training with Shelby as his goal, and thanks to that, he had grown considerably before his regression.

‘It’s too early for you to retire, Shelby.’

It seemed she had yet to even gain enlightenment. Jin-Hyeok wanted to see the Shelby he knew before his regression. He wanted to see the Shelby who had displayed domineering swordsmanship again.

“As you know, I’m an Eltuber, Shelby,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Are you trying to mock me?”

For a moment, Shelby became angry, thinking Jin-Hyeok was mocking a Swordsman who had lost even to an Eltuber. However, she soon fell into a deep sense of helplessness. She did not even have the energy to lift a finger, let alone get angry.

“You probably prided yourself on having a lot of experience, but I came to tell you that you were wrong. I have a lot of experience fighting Swordsmen. But what about you? Have you ever fought an Eltuber?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“...”

Jin-Hyeok believed in Shelby’s potential. He knew that although she was in a broken state now, with just a small push, she would quickly brush herself off and stand up again.

“In fact, you had much less experience compared to me.”

“Stop with the worthless consolation,” Shelby said.

“And I’m an Eltuber. I have a very special set of eyes, different from those of Swordsmen,” Jin-Hyeok said with a sprinkle of lies. “I can see your potential. With just a bit of enlightenment, you will eventually become a Swordsman several dimensions stronger. I guarantee it.”

“I don’t need a guarantee from an Eltuber…”

“Do you think I beat you with pure skill?”

“What?”

Jin-Hyeok had won with skill, but the important thing right now was to give Shelby hope again.

“To be honest, I also made the Sword’s Oath. It is difficult to say what it was about, though,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“...”

“So, I was half-cheating.”

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“Because I want you to return to the Shelby I know.” Jin-Hyeok recalled his meeting with Ysael today. He had felt pure and unconditional love, which was a new and moving emotion for him. “I liked that Shelby. I still do.”

“...”

[$He liked my appearance? #But we only met once. #What is he talking about?]

“The first time I saw you was on Marshmallow’s livestream. I do not remember exactly where, but it was a video of you protecting Marshmallow from a monster,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Oh.”

“After seeing that, I searched all the videos you appeared in. I was moved by your swordsmanship.”

Half of it was a lie, and the other half was true. Jin-Hyeok had suffered a painful defeat to Shelby before his regression, so he had examined videos featuring Shelby whenever he had time. The statement that her swordsmanship was moving was a lie. However, Shelby could not distinguish what was true and what was false in his words.

“I saw your achievements at Riman Hill. I saw you shattering the sword of that unlucky Kalitun. I also saw you capture the escaped prisoner Billy Mang.”

“...”

“Your skills resonated with me.”

“...”

“So, I was very excited and happy when I met you.”

“...”

“Come back. So that I can see your skills again.”

He decided to become Shelby’s fan for now because he learned how precious having a fan was and how much influence a person who truly liked another person could have on the other person.

***

Shelby reversed her retirement. She confessed that her spirit had been shattered by the unexpected defeat and added a determination to grow higher using this incident as a stepping stone.

⌜I have a friend who sincerely helped me. That friend gave me heartfelt consolation, and thanks to that consolation, I was able to gain the strength to stand up again. If I have the chance someday, I plan to repay that friend’s kindness with all my heart. Oh, and how do I join the Chul-Soo Land?⌟

Impressed by Shelby’s interview, Ysael decided to find her and tell her directly how to join Chul-Soo Land.

“It’s difficult to become a Chul-Soo Lander, Shelby. Applications are currently closed.” The two had crossed swords several times, but they were not particularly close. “Though, I don’t think not being an official Chul-Soo Lander means you can’t be a Chul-Soo Lander.”

They talked for quite a long time. Through the conversation, Ysael understood who the friend Shelby was talking about. Ysael was moved.

“There are just so many stories about Chul-Soo’s kindness! It’s just never-ending!” Ysael said.

“...”

“This is why I can’t help but love him!”

“...”

Seeing Shelby hesitate, Ysael laughed and said, “You thought I was being excessively chatty just now, didn’t you?”

“N-Not exactly…”

“You don’t really like Mr. Chul-Soo that much yet, right? You’re still grateful, though.”

“...”

“It’s usually like that at first. That’s the denial phase of becoming a fan.” Ysael laughed out loud. “After that phase passes, there will come a time when you will love, no, admire Mr. Chul-Soo. Let’s work hard together. Ah, right. But I have been curious about something for a while.”

They had fought each other before, and Ysael was slightly stronger.

“When you wield your greatsword, why do you repeatedly circulate the mana flow in your left arm twice,” Ysael asked.

“Well, that’s…”

The two Players who had no interaction at all before Jin-Hyeok’s regression began to interact.

A few days later, the sword fight between Jin-Hyeok and Unknown began.

It became the biggest topic in the history of the Sword Emperor Tournament; countless people across the universe focused on it. However, Unknown was different in this fight.

“I will kill you, Chul-Soo.” Instead of the dagger he had been using until now, Unknown came out wielding a black longsword.

The commentators and Eltubers were surprised.

“Wait, Unknown’s sword… could it be?!”

“The black blade surface that reflects the universe like a mirror! The sacred ink-colored energy rising through the entire blade! The elegant shape reminiscent of a black crescent moon! It seems that the weapon in Unknown’s hands is the Ink Sword Artedal! The legendary treasure spoken of only in legends has revealed its magnificence for all to see! The Ink Sword Artedal has descended into the present world!”

The arena was abuzz.