I Gave Up Being Stronger

Park Terse broke out in a cold sweat. ‘Those eyes look murderous.’

He was extremely sensitive to the emotions of creatures he tried to bond with, so he immediately realized how hostile the Golden Bear was toward him.

‘This isn’t how it’s supposed to be…’

Terse was fundamentally a Tamer who valued bonding. He was the type of person who respected others’ wishes if they disliked him. However, the mythical nature of the Golden Bear stirred his greed.

‘I should greet it just one more time!’

He decided that if the bear still refused, he would give up. Infusing his voice with a charm spell, he said, “My name is Park Terse. I would like to be your friend.”

To the Golden Bear, this sounded ridiculous. A creature that it could melt into molten iron with just the slightest touch of its paw dared to call himself a friend of it. This was presumptuous. The bear quickly turned away, fearing that if their eyes met for too long, it could accidentally blow off Terse’s head.

“I guess there is no other way,” Terse muttered as he pulled out a club from his inventory.

Jin-Hyeok was startled at the sight. ‘Terse with a club? Is he planning to attack the Golden Bear with that? Terse, the animal lover? The man who values bonding with monsters above all else?’

After a long moment of hesitation, Terse trembled and dropped the club to the ground.

“Ugh!” He cried, wiping tears from his eyes with his forearm.

‘What am I doing?’ Terse realized he had been heavily influenced by Kim Chul-Soo’s Taming (Physical). For a moment, he had even considered beating the monster into submission.

‘I’m garbage.’ Terse berated himself.

Watching Terse’s self-reproach, Jin-Hyeok felt envious. ‘He is really struggling.’

Such emotional ups and downs made for entertaining livestreams. Constant moments of catharsis would be less entertaining without moments of hardships in between. Terse had suffered enough and tried his best. He could be distressed enough to even consider attempting suicide.

‘If he fails here, it will just end up being frustrating to watch for the viewers,’ Jin-Hyeok thought. As an Eltuber, he could not just stand by.

He approached the Golden Bear.

“I need you to get along with him,” Jin-Hyeok said simply. He did not bother using the Taming (Physical) Skill. The Golden Bear was an intelligent monster capable of communication. Jin-Hyeok thought this much would be sufficient for it to understand. “Now, go shake hands.”

The Golden Bear hesitantly approached Terse and stood on its hind legs in front of him. Its massive frame dwarfed Terse, looking as if it could swallow him whole. Then, it extended its front paw toward Terse.

“Are you… accepting me as a friend?” Terse asked, feeling moved. He had finally succeeded in taming the Golden Bear. “I have done it at last! Hahaha! Hahaha!”

Han Sae-Rin was a little puzzled. ‘Isn’t it Chul-Soo who did most of the taming, just without using a Skill?’

However, seeing Terse’s joy and Jin-Hyeok’s satisfied smile, she felt there was something in their world she did not quite understand.

Terse excitedly said, “Sae-Rin, Chul-Soo, did you see? I succeeded in taming it!”

“Congratulations, Terse,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Y-Yeah… Congratulations. That’s impressive, I guess,” Sae-Rin added.

“I have promised it to bring a fruit basket as a gift next time we meet!” Terse clenched his fist. Apparently, he had also promised to bring some delicious buttered bread that humans ate. “This is a token of our friendship!”

Sae-Rin thought that it sounded less like a friendship and more like Terse had become the bear’s errand boy.

***

Having successfully recorded Earth’s first Golden Bear taming content, Jin-Hyeok said, “Could you ask the Golden Bear if it’s the king of this forest?”

“Of course! Bear, are you the king of this forest?” Terse asked.

The Golden Bear discreetly glanced at Jin-Hyeok. It wondered if it could even call itself the king when such a powerful entity was present here too. The bear was quite perceptive.

“It says yes. It claims to be the true king of this forest.” Terse translated for the creature.

“Then could you ask if it can give us a ride?”

Terse frowned. Riding on the back of a friend he had just bonded with seemed inappropriate. “Isn’t that too cruel and barbaric for the bear?”

“You rode on the back of the Thunder Dragon just fine,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

Terse fell silent. He realized Jin-Hyeok was right.

“Are you a species discriminator?” Jin-Hyeok prodded.

“N-No! Of course not!” Terse stammered.

This was a sensitive issue. Jin-Hyeok smiled with satisfaction. The term species discriminator alone would surely attract attention.

“I will ask the Golden Bear,” Terse said.

The Golden Bear was frustrated. There was no need to ask. If that true king desired, it could even dance on its head.

“Bear, could you give us a ride?” Terse asked.

The bear wanted to smack the fool who kept calling himself a friend of it, but it refrained, fearing for its life.

“It says yes. Apparently, it enjoys carrying others!” Terse said.

Jin-Hyeok’s group climbed onto the Golden Bear’s back.

Sae-Rin was amazed. ‘It’s so soft! I bled profusely earlier when I touched its fur.’

Now it felt soft and fluffy. If she were to exaggerate a bit, it was like the bed of a luxury hotel.

After traveling for several hours on the bear’s back, they arrived at a well-paved road.

“The fog stops here,” Sae-Rin said.

Starting from the road, the fog was mysteriously blocked, as if an invisible force was pushing it away. Jin-Hyeok’s group dismounted from the Golden Bear’s back.

“Thank you, Bear. Huh? You’re going to kill me if I don’t bring fruit baskets and buttered bread for you? Haha! You’re good at making jokes too!” Terse heartily laughed. “But I will definitely bring you fruit baskets and buttered bread. I promise. Thank you so much. We had such a comfortable journey thanks to you. Now, go back to the forest and enjoy your free life again!”

The Golden Bear still did not leave. It fidgeted, cautiously watching Jin-Hyeok, but Terse misunderstood it.

“Hey, I don’t want to part with you either!” he exclaimed. Terse hugged the Golden Bear’s front paw. The bear instinctively swung its paw, shaking off Terse. Terse flew quite high before falling with a loud thud.

The Golden Bear shuddered. It beat its chest and then pointed at the unconscious Terse in the distance, mumbling something.

“Ah, I see. It wasn’t intentional?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

The Golden Bear frantically nodded.

“I understand. You were just moving instinctively. But try to get along with Terse as much as possible. Got it?”

After all, they could not let Earth’s first Golden Bear taming end in failure. Jin-Hyeok did not want to deal with accusations of staging content.

The Golden Bear nodded again.

“Alright, you can go now. See you next time,” Jin-Hyeok said.

After receiving Jin-Hyeok’s permission, the Golden Bear quickly fled into the depths of the forest.

***

The artificially constructed road was wide and pleasant enough for several horse-drawn carriages with eight horses each to pass through comfortably.

As the group walked along this road, Sae-Rin asked, “So, could you understand what the Golden Bear was saying?”

“Well, not perfectly,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

“Not perfectly?”

“What I understood was a bit different from what Terse understood.”

“How so?”

“Well, what I heard was not a fruit basket but a fruit orchard and not buttered bread but honey pot… I must have misunderstood.”

Sae-Rin was certain that Terse was wrong and Jin-Hyeok was right. Jin-Hyeok’s interpretation was likely much closer to the truth.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you just announced that you tamed the Golden Bear?” Sae-Rin asked.

“But I didn’t use any Skills,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

He was already worried about becoming too strong and did not want people to misunderstand that he had perfected taming as well. Moreover, he was not keen on rumors spreading that he had successfully tamed a Golden Bear without even using taming Skills.

“Anyone watching the video would think you tamed it,” Sae-Rin said.

“That’s a misunderstanding.”

“Alright, let’s go with that. But you will need to edit it well. It does look like you did it.”

Jin-Hyeok sighed softly and said, “Fortunately, my editor is quite skilled.”

He poured some of Chul-Soo Potion into the unconscious Terse’s mouth.

***

‘They are here.’

A penguin Beastkin stood in front of the main gate of the Kyen Family mansion. In his right hand, he held a wooden staff made of a palm tree, with a jewel emitting an auspicious green light embedded at its tip. His name was Dakan.

The de facto ruler of the Kyen Family in place of the frequently absent Sara Kyen, Dakan was a Mage who had served the family as the head butler since the time of the previous patriarch. He was a master of brainwashing and mental magic.

‘The family head told me to let them in, but…’

However, he could not do that. Only those who had received unanimous approval from the heads of the Seven Great Families could enter the Kyen mansion. Dakan could not allow intruders to enter the family estate.

‘I will do my duty!’

Many Adventurers had come to the Kyen Family over the years. They were quite skilled, but none could overcome the mental magic of Dakan, the Penguin Mage.

‘Anyone who passes through the Forest of Mist, no matter how strong they may be, is bound to become mentally exhausted.’

There was a reason it was called nature’s perfect labyrinth. Unless one knew the special path known only to members of the Kyen Family, they would become mentally worn out. In such a state, Dakan’s mental magic was incredibly effective.

Dakan swung his palm tree staff.

“Welcome!” his voice boomed. “Where do you intend to go?”

It was a magic incantation disguised as a greeting. Invisible mana emitted from the palm tree staff enveloped the three people. This was Dakan’s pride, the Mind Control magic.

“I…,” Sae-Rin shouted. “I am going to the Mole’s Nest!”

Those affected by the Mind Control magic would state their desired utopia or hometown as their destination. Then they would set off on another journey toward that destination. It was already difficult to pass through the Forest of Mist in a sane state of mind, but Adventurers under Mind Control mostly lost their lives after going back.

“Yes! Go to the Mole’s Nest!” Dakan shouted. He did not know where the Mole’s Nest was, but it did not matter. All he needed to do was to set a clear destination. “Now! Where do you intend to go?”

“I…,” Terse also shouted. “I’m going to the Unicorn Meadow!”

“Yes! Go to the Unicorn Meadow!”

Now only one remained. Compared to other Adventurers, this one seemed quite ordinary. The previous two had seemed like accomplished Adventurers, but the tall one in the middle (Kim Chul-Soo) did not look like much.

‘Isn’t that Kim Chul-Soo?’ Dakan thought. He wondered if the rumors had been exaggerated. Still, he could not let his guard down. Summoning his mana, he used Mind Control. Now, Chul-Soo’s name was about to fade into the annals of history.

“Now! Where do you intend to go?” Dakan asked.

Jin-Hyeok stood in front of Dakan. “I brought this sword. Its name is Gogeom. It says it’s a key. Apparently, something is hidden in the Kyen Family mansion.”

“?”

“You can find out more accurately if you watch my livestreams.”

Only then did Dakan sense something amiss. ‘What’s going on?’

All three of them were walking toward the mansion instead of turning toward the Forest of Mist. Suddenly, a thunderous voice rang in Dakan’s ears.

-Damn penguin! How dare you not recognize the true master and behave so shamelessly?! You deserve to be eaten by the polar bears!