I Gave Up Being Stronger

Cha Jin-Hyeok swung Miri, which was shimmering with a golden haze.

Unknown inwardly ridiculed Jin-Hyeok. ‘Such a simple attack won’t do anyth—’

However, Unknown couldn’t move. His movements had become excessively slow because he had become the subject of Time-Lapse Recording. ‘What? The Skill should be capable of slowing down only his livestream? It can even slow down the subject? This isn’t the ability of an Eltuber, but a Debuffer.’

Unknown was confused, but there was no way to avoid it. He could only watch Miri. Just like the Ink Sword Artedal, Miri left a golden glowing afterimage in the air.

Flash!

Miri attacked Unknown, and Jin-Hyeok softly recited, “Boom. The head falls to the ground.”

Boom!

The ground shook with the explosion. Hazy dust rose, and stone fragments scattered everywhere. Soon, the dust began to clear, and Jin-Hyeok, standing on his feet, gradually became visible.

“The old ink-colored sword has fallen…” Jin-Hyeok’s gaze landed on the ground. Unknown was buried upside down in the ground. “...announcing the birth of a new king.”

Marshmallow transmitted this scene live and made countless viewers go wild.

-Wow… that looked insanely cool!

-His lines are so corny, but he makes them sound so cool!

-Chul-Soo is the embodiment of corniness!

Now, Jin-Hyeok could say cool lines even without being particularly conscious of it. It had become so familiar to him that it was almost natural. As he uttered the lines without any awkwardness, the viewers didn’t exactly think of it as that cringe.

-He’s elevating cringe to the realm of art, LOL!

-Our star Player!

-Wow, he’s so awesome.

-Chul-Soo is the Cringe Master!

Today’s video coined a new term—Cringe Master.

Jin-Hyeok slowly walked toward Unknown. Then he pulled Unknown's body out of the ground as though he were pulling out a radish.

-Is he dead?

-Come on, there is no way someone would kill another in the Sword Emperor Tournament.

The spectators in the arena felt quite different from the online viewers.

“Kyaaah!”

“Oh my god!!”

Many spectators screamed because there was nothing left above Unknown’s shoulders.

“This is the price of your viciousness,” Jin-Hyeok said. He looked at the limp corpse without any emotions in his eyes and turned his back.

Prince Deliark of Swedeen, who was watching from the VIP seats in the distance, grinned. “He still doesn’t know anything. The unique ability of the Ink Sword Artedal is more than just destroying barriers.”

Strange things began to happen.

***

Black energy rippled from the Ink Sword Artedal in Unknown’s right hand and enveloped him.

The moment Jin-Hyeok felt a sharp bloodlust, Unknown had already reached right behind Jin-Hyeok’s back.

‘He’s faster than before!’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Shink!

Jin-Hyeok used Absolute Barrier to protect his neck, but Artedal stabbed his thigh. The sword was deeply embedded in his thigh. Before Jin-Hyeok knew it, Unknown’s head had been completely restored.

The spectators were abuzz.

“What is going on right now?”

“How did he survive?”

-Unknown became much faster!

-It seems like he also had his stamina restored!

Unknown pulled out the sword in Jin-Hyeok’s thigh, and blood spurted out. Jin-Hyeok pressed the wound with his left hand to stop the bleeding, but it was not enough.

“Today will be recorded as the day the self-proclaimed king was born, but also the day he dies.” Unknown looked at Jin-Hyeok with a leisurely smile. He spat on the floor and added, “How arrogant for a mere Eltuber.”

Jin-Hyeok didn’t say much.

“Does it hurt? You’re not saying anything,” Unknown said.

“...”

It wasn’t that Jin-Hyeok was confused and flustered. He was just focused on Artedal.

‘I think I can see it now.’ Jin-Hyeok could not observe the sword before, but now it had revealed its ability. If he looked a bit closely, he would be able to see it. ‘It doesn’t seem like Unknown recovered; it’s a totally different concept.’

Jin-Hyeok concentrated even more on Artedal, straining his eyes. He could not move even as he watched Unknown raise Artedal.

Feeling disappointed, Unknown said, “Were you this pathetic? Your spirit has collapsed from just this little injury?”

‘Did Sandyem and Helam depart from this world and leave me behind just because of this measly bastard? Just because of one Eltuber? There is no focus in Chul-Soo’s eyes. He’s completely out of his mind.’ Unknown observed a moment of silence for Sandyem and Helam, who had ascended to heaven. ‘I have avenged you.’

Meanwhile, thanks to Unknown’s carelessness, Jin-Hyeok was finally able to buy time and read the sword. Life returned to his eyes.

“Turns out that the secret of the Ink Sword Artedal is Time Reversal. It seems to be an ability that can set a desired point in time and have the sword’s owner continuously return to that state of the body. Ah, should I call this illegal or a loophole?” Jin-Hyeok said.

The System did not recognize regression. Time Reversal was, so to speak, an ability close to regression, and it was uncertain whether the System would recognize it.

‘The GMs must be freaking out right now,’ Jin-Hyeok thought. He knew the GMs would be thinking if they needed to retrieve that item or not or deciding if they should acknowledge the ability or not. Of course, none of this mattered to Jin-Hyeok.

‘It’s likely that Unknown set the point in time right before fighting me’

The more time passed, the more disadvantageous it was for Jin-Hyeok because every time Unknown’s stamina ran low, Unknown would use Time Reversal to return to the optimal state of his body.

‘But can he use that infinitely?’ No matter how legendary of a treasure Artedal was, there was no way Unknown could use that kind of unique power over and over again. ‘Probably not.’

Jin-Hyeok raised Miri. The blood flowing from his thigh had stopped. A corner of Unknown’s mouth went up.

“Yes, I would have been sad if this was all you got,” Unknown said. Killing a rookie who had lost his mind would not be considered righteous in avenging his fallen comrades. And Unknown was very confident. ‘He is already battered.’

Now it was a race against time, and time would undoubtedly be on his side.

***

Jin-Hyeok simply thought, ‘If it doesn’t work once, I will just have to kill him multiple times.’

Time Reversal would not be infinite anyway. Although he could not know what the limiting conditions were, he thought that if he kept killing Unknown, there would come a time when regeneration would no longer be possible.

“Boom! The head falls to the ground.”

“Boom! The head falls to the ground again.”

“Boom! The head falls to the ground for the seventh time.”

Jin-Hyeok had killed Unknown seven times in a row. He used the same production method as before. Some viewers even ask if this was a rerun.

‘It’s pretty tough,’ Jin-Hyeok thought. While Unknown kept returning to his best condition through Time Reversal, Jin-Hyeok became more and more exhausted.

However, it wasn’t only Jin-Hyeok who was tired.

-Huff, huff… I want to rest a little now. It hurts because it’s too thick and hard.

Even Miri, who had been very excited, saying she wanted to mingle bodies, seemed to be gradually getting fed up.

-I want to stop now. It’s too hard. It hurts so much.

Jin-Hyeok realized something.

‘I’m not being overwhelmed just by a difference in skill.’ After continuously experiencing it, he realized one thing. ‘That guy is wearing top-grade artifacts all over his body.’

Apart from having Artedal, Unknown was covered in special artifacts all over his body, not just Artedal. He was stacked with overpowered gears.

“It seems like the end is in sight, Chul-Soo,” Unknown said as he smiled. “Are you too exhausted to use your infamous Omnipotent Director?”

“...”

Jin-Hyeok was indeed exhausted, but not to the extent that he was unable to use the Omnipotent Director. However, it was highly likely that Unknown had prepared a counter to the Omnipotent Director, so Jin-Hyeok could not easily use it.

‘I don’t know what kind of item he’s wearing,’ Jin-Hyeok thought. Moreover, Unknown seemed to have taken numerous measures to prevent Jin-Hyeok from reading what the items were. If Jin-Hyeok had the time and energy to do so, it would have been a different story. However, it was nearly impossible to grasp all of Unknown’s artifacts right now.

“I can hear you trying to think of a plan, Chul-Soo.”

‘Should I make the Sword’s Oath with Miri here?’ Jin-Hyeok thought for a moment. But it was uncertain whether Unknown would give him a chance to do so. ‘This is a crisis.’

It was a real crisis, not a produced one. However, Jin-Hyeok wasn’t very afraid.

‘My viewers are going to love this. I can’t wait to see many people view my video.’

***

Kim Min-Ji, who had been watching Chul-Soo through Marshmallow’s video, shed tears. “It’s so touching…”

“What’s touching?” Marshmallow asked.

“Chul-Soo’s face.”

Even Choi Gap-Soo, a fan of Chul-Soo, could not understand what Min-Ji was talking about.

“His relationship with Shelby and Kim Ysael is so good too,” Min-Ji said.

“Is that so?” Gap-Soo replied.

“Look at the warm and kind words of consolation he offers to Ysael. Ysael just received the universe as a gift.”

“...”

Min-Ji, who was deeply engrossed in the livestream, shouted, “What the hell is the referee doing? Chul-Soo won already!”

“It seems the referee missed the timing to intervene, but he was probably bribed. Judging by how he is acting so obviously, I think the empire is behind the bribery,” Gap-Soo said.

Min-Ji fumed for a while and then jumped up. “This is so infuriating! No, how can this happen? If it’s going to be like this, why are there referees and organizers in the first place?”

Gap-Soo chuckled at the fanatical appearance of the Mad God of Favoritism, who looked like she would go there right now and cause a scene. “If you go there right now and are forced into hibernation again, you will not be able to watch Chul-Soo’s livestreams in the future. Are you okay with that?”

The words that she would not be able to watch Chul-Soo’s livestreams were a special remedy for Min-Ji to calm down.

“Then what should I do? They are so blatantly going against Chul-Soo, and…” Everything was clearly visible to the eyes of the Mad God of Favoritism. “Unknown is just strong because of his artifacts!”

“Well, having good artifacts isn’t really against the rules,” Gap-Soo replied.

“I know it’s not against the rules. Then I can open my weapon storage for Chul-Soo, right?” Min-Ji fumed and made a hand seal in the air.

Looking at the golden gate that appeared in the air, Gap-Soo exclaimed. ‘That’s the Divine Gate that leads to God’s treasure vault!’

It was said that all kinds of treasures in the world were slumbering inside.

Min-Ji took out her cell phone and dialed a number. “I called in to give you a tip. I know of an excellent place to steal a lot of items from.”

The person on the other end of the call was Angel Girl Song Ha-Young.

“They can’t put me to sleep if I get robbed, right?” Min-Ji said with a brazen expression.

“You want to get robbed?” Gap-Soo said.

“From now on, that gate leads to your treasure vault, got it?”

“Uh… so that’s my vault? And I am destined to have my vault robbed?”

“Yeah, it can’t be helped since the world’s greatest Thief has come. This isn’t my fault, okay?”

Ha-Young, who had entered Gap-Soo’s workshop, looked at the golden gate with a surprised expression. Even at a glance, she could feel that extraordinary artifacts were in there.

“So, this is Gap-Soo’s treasure vault?” Ha-Young asked.

“T-That’s right,” Gap-Soo said.

“And you want me to steal whatever I can from here?”

“Yes…”

“And I can do whatever with them?”

“It seems so…”

“What do you mean by it seems so?”

“Ahem! I mean yes, you can!” Gap-Soo coughed and avoided eye contact with Ha-Young.

“You’re not going to make a big deal out of it, right?” Ha-Young said, wondering what kind of fool in the world would give their treasure vault to a Thief.

“I won’t hold it against you.”

“...”

When Ha-Young looked at Gap-Soo with suspicious eyes, he spoke as if he were making an excuse. “Well, this is the perfect opportunity for you to rob the treasure vault of a God, no, a Trinity Club member. Even that alone would be a good opportunity for a Thief. Why are you hesitating so much?”

“Hmm… that’s true.” Ha-Young smiled brightly. “Then, I will rob it!”

As Ha-Young opened the Divine Gate of the Mad God of Favoritism, golden light gushed out and engulfed her.