I Gave Up Being Stronger

The captain of the Sword Emperor Unit, Kyle, visited a small cabin within the Pisat Family compound. When he pushed, the wooden door swung open with a creak. This sparsely decorated space was the private retreat of the head of the Pisat Family, Gridel, a place where he could clear his mind and organize his thoughts.

‘He has been meditating for quite a while.’ Kyle patiently waited, careful not to disturb Gridel’s meditation.

After some time, Gridel opened his eyes. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“It’s fine. I’m off duty today.”

“Would you like some tea?”

“That would be nice.”

Gridel brewed some herbal tea and handed it to Kyle. The two of them spent considerable time conversing with each other.

After finishing his tea, Kyle set down the cup and asked, “So, you’re saying you didn’t give Chul-Soo the privileges he should have received?”

“That’s right.”

Typically, the Pisat family imparted teachings about certain concepts to winners of the Sword Emperor Tournament, who could enter the Cliff of Singing Swords to train.

“You didn’t teach him anything about Sword Spirits?” Kyle asked.

“Correct.”

The Cliff of Singing Swords was not just a place where swords made noise. The swords there could deeply communicate with Players, sometimes manifesting in human form. The Pisat Family called these manifestations Sword Spirits. Training with Sword Spirits could dramatically improve one’s skills.

“I was just curious. Can Chul-Soo summon a Sword Spirit without any knowledge or information about them?” Gridel said.

“When I was young, you told me that it’s impossible to summon them with a human body, and even in a special case, there is no way to do it in just four weeks. It should be impossible even for Chul-Soo, right?”

“That’s right. It’s impossible for someone with a human body.”

‘But what if Chul-Soo isn’t an ordinary human? What if he is a divine incarnation?’ Gridel wondered if Chul-Soo could successfully summon a Sword Spirit and complete his training.

“As you know, a spring can become a river, but sand cannot become spring. It’s easy to go from one to one hundred, but very difficult to create something from nothing,” Gridel said. He had given Chul-Soo no extra information about the Cliff of Singing Swords. “If Chul-Soo is truly a divine incarnation, he should be able to create something from nothing.”

For a long time, the core members of the Pisat Family had trained at the Cliff of Singing Swords. Those who trained there without having information about the place could never summon Sword Spirit, a fact proven historically and statistically.

Kyle frowned as if something did not sit right with him. “I hope Chul-Soo becomes even stronger.”

“Why?”

“Then it will be more satisfying when I defeat him.”

“You might be the one getting beaten instead.”

“Should a Swordsman fear that?” Kyle was well aware of Chul-Soo’s strength, but it made him want to fight the Streamer even more.

Knowing Kyle’s personality, Gridel nodded. “If, and it’s a big if, our common sense is shattered… If what has been proven impossible historically and statistically becomes possible, we must fully cooperate with Chul-Soo. He would truly be a divine incarnation.”

“There is a small problem, though,” Kyle said.

“A problem?”

“Chul-Soo is very tightly bound to his weapon, Miri. Such a strong connection with one’s weapon is rare. That’s why… it might be harder for him to summon a Sword Spirit from the cliff’s swords. Miri would likely interfere with all her might.”

“If he can summon a Sword Spirit despite that… Chul-Soo might just be a God,” Gridel said with a serious expression.

“Couldn’t the Anus Destroyer guy, who went with Chul-Soo, summon one instead?”

Once Hyeon-Seong understood the concept, it would be easy for him to summon a Sword Spirit.

“With his current skills, that would be difficult. Don’t you think so?”

According to their assessment of Lee Hyeon-Seong’s current abilities, this task would be impossible for him.

***

Cha Jin-Hyeok noticed a strange phenomenon. A mirage-like haze was rising from the sword lying on the ground.

-I’m going to devour you whole.

The sword’s gaze was fixed on the area around Hyeon-Seong’s bottom.

‘It’s acting similar to Miri,’ Jin-Hyeok thought. This sword’s actions resembled how Miri fixated on the opponent’s temples or the back of their head.

Jin-Hyeok frowned slightly. As a man, it was not a particularly pleasant sensation.

Hyeon-Seong, now back to his senses, appeared to be trying to communicate with the sword continuously.

Jin-Hyeok constantly provoked Hyeon-Seong, saying things like, “What kind of Swordsman can’t even communicate with a sword?” “You are so weak it makes me yawn,” or “And you call yourself Anus Destroyer? What a waste of a title!”

This served as a fierce motivation for Hyeon-Seong. It awakened his extreme potential and became the driving force for his growth.

“Oh, that sword has transformed into a human form! I didn’t know this was possible,” Jin-Hyeok commented, habitually using his livestream voice. ‘Now that I think of it, I don’t have to use my livestreaming voice if I am not actually livestreaming, right?’

This could be an extension of his hobby rather than work. When livestreaming, he had to put his soul into the performance, but that was not necessary now. He could just speak as thoughts came to him, following his instincts. This realization made him feel lighter as if he was truly enjoying a hobby.

“That sword reminds me of the old Katrina. Broad shoulders, massive pectorals, cannonball-like abs. The sword is shirtless at the moment… A sword changing into a human form, how fascinating,” Jin-Hyeok said.

This form was what Kyle and Gridel called a Sword Spirit. Jin-Hyeok examined the Sword Spirit using Broadcaster’s Insight.

[#Boy_♡ #Let me see your back.]

The moment Jin-Hyeok’s eyes met with the Sword Spirit’s, Miri started yelling.

-How dare that bastard…!

Just as Hyeon-Seong had been possessed by that sword, a similar phenomenon occurred with Jin-Hyeok. The Cliff of Singing Swords was a space that amplified the will of weapons. Miri’s will and thoughts began to invade Jin-Hyeok’s mental world. Jin-Hyeok suddenly found himself overcome by an uncontrollable impulse.

‘I want to break that Sword Spirit.’

Jin-Hyeok rationally knew that this was not his impulse but Miri’s. Miri, now back in her original hammer form, was consumed by an intense desire to destroy that sword. And Jin-Hyeok was also inflamed by that desire.

Unable to suppress the urge, Jin-Hyeok jumped forward. The Sword Spirit picked up its original sword and swung it toward Jin-Hyeok.

Boom!

The sound of Miri colliding with the sword echoed, followed by a shockwave. The space that had been filled with songs of the swords fell silent. The shockwave had pushed away all the sound.

-I will crush you, you back-obsessed pervert!

Miri screamed.

Jin-Hyeok’s eyes were bloodshot. Giving in to Miri’s impulses, he felt a kind of liberation. He thought it might be good to occasionally surrender his body to Miri and let her desires run wild.

Boom! Bam! Boom!

The Sword Spirit’s sword and Miri collided dozens of times.

-You’re not even big, black, or hard!

The moment Miri was about to deliver the final blow, an unknown force protected the sword. A faint green barrier appeared around the sword, blocking Miri. The Sword Spirit vanished, and the sword itself floated up, ascending in the direction where it had originally been embedded.

“The sword escaped. It’s like this cliff is protecting the sword,” Jin-Hyeok said. He felt a strange sensation. “This does not seem like magic, nor does it feel like Mystery. It’s a protective will I have never felt before… Though I think I felt something similar when I met Kim Min-Ji.”

‘Could this be a special space set up by the genius hacker?’ Jin-Hyeok, unable to conceive of divine intervention, made a rational judgment. “It also feels a bit like a glitchy space.”

Jin-Hyeok made a mental note to ask Min-Ji later if hackers of her caliber could create such a glitchy space.

***

As he had surrendered himself to Miri, Jin-Hyeok was in a state of semi-delirium. He did not even realize that Hyeon-Seong had fought alongside him.

“Oh… you fought with me?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Yes,” Hyeon-Seong replied, feeling frustrated. He thought they had cooperated against a sudden unknown monster (the Sword Spirit) and achieved a great result. Yet, Jin-Hyeok, the main participant, barely remembered if Hyeon-Seong had been there or not.

Jin-Hyeok patted Hyeon-Seong on the shoulder and said, “Sorry, you were so weak I barely noticed you.”

“...”

“Your presence was too faint.”

“Am I really that weak?”

“Don’t be too disappointed. You will get stronger someday.”

“Yes. I will.”

“Though I don’t know when that will be.”

“You!” Hyeon-Seong’s eyes were filled with fierce bloodlust. He began climbing the cliff again as if he had completely overcome his fear of heights. Once more, he reached for the sword from earlier.

Similar situations repeated several times. Hyeon-Seong would lose consciousness and fall, Jin-Hyeok would block the sword, and the Sword Spirit would appear and fight. Miri would try to destroy the word, gritting her imaginary teeth, but at the last moment, an unknown force would protect the sword and return it to its original place.

These repetitions became faster and more efficient. Throughout this process, Hyeon-Seong was gaining insights.

‘Good. I won’t be overwhelmed by the sword anymore.’ Hyeon-Seong learned how to communicate with the sword and gently coax out its will. ‘I’ve got it.’

After dozens of attempts, he succeeded in grasping the sword and coming down to the ground. He even became capable of summoning the Sword Spirit. His coordination with Jin-Hyeok improved, and as he fought with the Sword Spirit, Hyeon-Seong could feel himself becoming stronger.

‘This sword is mentally connected to me.’

Because of this, it seemed to act as if it could read Hyeon-Seong’s thoughts. Attacks came from unexpected directions, and the moment he let his guard down, the sword would aim for his backside. If it had aimed for his abdomen or neck instead, Hyeon-Seong would have been stabbed hundreds of times. Thanks to these experiences, his skills were improving rapidly.

‘I’m getting stronger…!’

Jin-Hyeok marveled at Hyeon-Seong’s growth, having witnessed it from up close. ‘He really is getting stronger quickly.’

It was befitting of someone who had reached the realm of the Mind Sword in just two weeks. Jin-Hyeok had to acknowledge Hyeon-Seong’s potential.

“You’re still weaker than me, though,” Jin-Hyeok muttered.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. Come here for a moment.” Jin-Hyeok stood behind Hyeon-Seong, who was highly wary of him. It was an instinctive reaction he had developed over the past few days of having his back targeted by the Sword Spirit.

“What are you trying to do?” Hyeon-Seong asked.

“I’m going to perform a ritual to acknowledge you a bit more.”

“A ritual of acknowledgment?” To Hyeon-Seong, Jin-Hyeok appeared extremely solemn.

‘What is he planning to do?’ Hyeon-Seong wondered.