I Gave Up Being Stronger

The idea of dueling with Mage King Seido piqued Cha Jin-Hyeok’s interest.

‘It’s not a bad idea, but what about the content after that?’ he thought.

Mage King Seido was like the final boss in the Arvis Server. He was the symbol of the Mazique Empire and a ranker among rankers. Considered the greatest battle Mage in history, he was known as the grandmaster who had elevated magic, an art inherently disadvantageous in one-on-one combat, to the realm of art.

If Jin-Hyeok fought someone like this, creating more compelling content after the fight would become challenging. Any subsequent fight would seem lackluster in comparison.

“Think about it realistically, Chul-Soo. Honestly, besides the Mage King, do you think there is anyone who could fight you and come on top?” Han Sae-Rin asked.

“There might be. You never know.”

The world was vast, and there were many strong individuals in it. Jin-Hyeok was not a Player who specialized in combat; he was just an Eltuber who livestreamed. Though they could be difficult to find, strong Players were surely out there. They did not necessarily have to be human. Many places or trials could evoke thrilling tension.

“No, there aren’t,” Sae-Rin said.

“That seems like a hasty judgment.”

“Chul-Soo, you need to face reality. The world does not revolve around what you want to believe. If you asked who is the strongest Player in the world, who do you think people would choose?”

“Hmm…” Jin-Hyeok thought for a second.

Too many candidates came to his mind. There were many formidable Players across numerous fields, such as martial arts, swordsmanship, magic, and assassination. Even beyond the rankers in Arvis, countless strong individuals existed in the universe.

“Generally, people name the strongest Swordsman when they want to name the strongest Player,” Sae-Rin said.

“But…”

“I know what you want to say. Depending on the compatibility of sword styles, Swordsmen might show weakness against Spearmen. But that’s beside the point. The important thing is that the public perceives the strongest Swordsman as the strongest Player. So, who do they consider the current strongest Player?”

Jin-Hyeok thought of the current strongest Swordsman. That narrowed down the candidates considerably: Gridel, the Sage of the Sword, or Kyle, the emperor of the Swedeen Empire.

“Usually, people pick the winner of that year’s Sword Emperor Tournament. Who won this year’s tournament?” Sae-Rin asked.

“...”

“In people’s eyes, you have already reached the level of the strongest Player across the universe. Besides the Mage King, how many opponents do you think viewers would feel thrilled about in a duel with you?”

Jin-Hyeok knew there weren’t many. He realized Sae-Rin was telling him that it did not matter much if he focused on the duel now.

‘She is right, but…’

Jin-Hyeok felt a bit disheartened, sensing that his lifespan as an Eltuber was shortening.

Seeing his expression, Sae-Rin softened her approach. “But don’t worry. There is always a solution.”

“Are you suggesting I change my livestreaming style to communicating with the viewers?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“No, you’re not particularly talented in that area.”

Jin-Hyeok was pleased by this sharp criticism. Listening to the advice of a Ruler who accurately assessed his abilities and limitations was a joyful thing.

“Then, what should I do?” he asked.

“You can grow old. Fortunately, you’re a non-combatant Player, right? You will weaken over time. Statistics show that non-combatant Players start to decline rapidly after turning thirty.”

***

Jin-Hyeok decided to duel with the Mage King. However, simply fighting him without any buildup would not be very entertaining.

‘I need to get the viewers’ attention first,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Livestreams needed a setup. He had to draw people’s attention and raise their interest in the duel. As the winner of the Sword Emperor Tournament, Jin-Hyeok livestreamed a message stating that magic was an inferior discipline in combat.

This livestream began to spread widely.

-Look at the arrogance of the Sword Emperor Tournament’s winner! Haha!

-But when Chul-Soo says it, it somehow sounds right.

-Well, what he said was essentially true until the Mage King appeared.

-Except for the Mage King, battle Mages cannot beat Swordsmen. Everyone knows that. LOL!

While some battle Mages were angry, their voices were not very loud. People generally responded with the opinion that everything Chul-Soo said sounded plausible, which resulted in the viewers ignoring the Battle Mages.

‘This isn’t what I thought would happen!’ Jin-Hyeok wanted the bait to engulf online communities, but the heat was lacking. ‘By this time, a few battle Mages should have been angered enough to come looking for me.’

Jin-Hyeok needed a setup of dueling and defeating specialized battle Mages. He intended to build up a narrative and eventually fight the Mage King. However, not a single battle Mage came looking for him.

“What the hell is going on?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

Among all types of Mages, Battle Mages were known for their strong pride. Combat was a niche in magic. Swinging a sword for a year was far more advantageous in combat than studying a fireball spell for ten years. In such an environment, battle Mages, who persevered in honing combat magic, naturally had strong pride.

“I thought for sure dozens would come and try to kill me.”

Wang Yu-Mi adjusted her round glasses. She had prepared scenarios anticipating dozens of challengers, but she would have to scrap them now.

“Maybe you’re just too strong, Chul-Soo,” she said.

“Yu-Mi, do you think that too?”

“Of course!” She sighed heavily. “We might be reaching the limit of combat content soon. Don’t worry. I will find another breakthrough to revitalize the channel!”

Yu-Mi confidently thumped her chest, but it didn’t shake off Jin-Hyeok’s anxiety. In such situations, Yu-Mi was usually the type to already have thought of breakthroughs and countermeasures, asking Jin-Hyeok to choose from her options rather than saying to trust her to find another solution.

As they continued their serious discussion, Cha Jin-Sol burst in, out of breath.

“Oppa! Oppa! Oppa!” she yelled.

“Did you find great content for my channel?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“I just heard that the Mage King has fallen!”

“What?” For a moment, he felt like the sky was falling. Jin-Hyeok had no idea how to proceed with the content now.

“Oppa, I need your blood.”

“Why?”

“A potion made from your blood, infused with the Herb of Immortality, might save him, right?”

The Herb of Immortality had not shown such dramatic effects on Jin-Hyeok. However, it had greatly affected Park Terse and Sae-Rin, who were nearby. Both of them had gained a 30-Level increase. For those in their mid-300s, where leveling up was notoriously difficult, a 30-Level increase was nothing short of a miracle. And this was just from inhaling the residual energy of the Herb of Immortality.

“Do you mind if I draw a bit extra?” Jin-Sol asked.

“Go ahead.”

Jin-Sol snapped her fingers, and a syringe as large as a cannon appeared.

“I’m going in!”

Thunk!

Jin-Sol inserted the giant syringe into her brother.

***

People often had a common misconception regarding high-Level Players. They thought that high-ranking Players who had reached incredible Levels were less likely to be exposed to great dangers.

However, the higher one’s Level was, the more likely one was to face greater dangers. The quality and quantity of risks a Level 1 Player had to take were completely different from those taken by a Level 400 Player. While a Level 1 Player needed to hunt only a few small rabbits to reach Level 2, a Level 400 Player had to overcome unimaginable hardships and adversities to reach Level 401.

As a result, the mortality rate among top-ranking Players was much higher than that among ordinary Players. Mage King Seido was no exception.

‘I will reach the ultimate realm.’ Seido had been one of those greatly inspired by Chul-Soo. Over five years had passed since he was first called the strongest Player in Arvis. During that time, he had been in a state of constant self-examination. ‘Is this the limit of battle magic?

Seido realized that Jobs could indeed have innate limitations. Swordsmanship was suited for cutting, and archery was suited for long-range attacks. Magic was beneficial for human civilization and boasted tremendous firepower in large wars, but it had clear limitations in small-scale, one-on-one combat.

In his youth, Seido had thought he could overcome all limitations with effort and determination. However, as he surpassed Level 400 and his Skills began to stagnate, he unconsciously started to define his limits. Then, one day, he learned about Chul-Soo.

‘A non-combatant Eltuber?’

Eltubers, once known as Streamers, were not suited for combat. The entire universe had created the Eltuber Protection Treaty to safeguard them for a reason.

Yet, this innately disadvantageous Eltuber had entered the Sword Emperor Tournament and emerged victorious. He even defeated Garbinu with ease. Seeing this, Seido realized something.

‘Innate limitations do not exist!’

The human potential for growth was limitless. So, Seido entered indefinite meditation. Within the vast universe that unfolded inside him, he began a journey to surpass the limitations. He gained some insights.

‘I need to discard all the mana that I have accumulated in my heart.’

Mages created Circles in their heart to store mana. When using magic, they would draw power from these Circles as a source of energy. This was common knowledge among Mages. However, Seido was trying to discard these Circles.

‘I must break free from the Circles to surpass my limits.’

He decided not to let the specific method of Circles constrain himself. Instead, he resolved to use the infinite mana spread throughout nature. This world, this universe, everything could become his Circle.

As he meditated, his Circles began to break one by one. Indescribable mental anguish followed, but he endured with superhuman willpower. Finally, he succeeded in destroying all eight Circles. His abundant mana disappeared, and a sense of powerlessness that made him feel like he could collapse at any moment dominated his body.

‘I need to accept this feeling.’

He decided to accept nature into his body. However, it was nearly impossible for a mere human body to accept nature. He eventually experienced a mana overload and collapsed.

His body was beyond repair, torn to shreds, and the high Priests of the Holy Empire of Helen and healing specialist Mages from Mazique were barely able to keep him alive. At that moment, Jin-Sol, the Saint of Freedom, appeared.

“I’ve brought the Chul-Soo Potion!” she shouted.

The high Priests and healing Mages frowned simultaneously.

“We’re well aware of the effects of the Chul-Soo Potion.”

“But we don’t think our abilities are inferior to the Chul-Soo Potion.”

Some even showed subtle hostility.

“Aren’t you the blood relative of Chul-Soo, who publicly disrespected magic?”

“How dare someone like you come here?!”

Jin-Sol quickly replied, “That’s why I’m here. My brother needs to fight the Mage King no matter what. And this is not an ordinary Chul-Soo Potion.”

“Even if it’s not a Chul-Soo Potion but a Chul-Soo’s Grandfather Potion, what doesn’t work will never work!”

“What if it’s a potion with the Herb of Immortality?”

“Sigh! Have you come all this way just to mock us? How rude!”

At that moment, the phone of the person who had just shouted rang. It was an alert for Chul-Soo’s livestream.

[Herb of Immortality]

Several other people’s phones rang too, including those who had been angry at Chul-Soo for disrespecting magic.

“I-It’s not like I’m a subscriber or anything…”

“I’m not following Chul-Soo’s channel because I’m his fan.”

Jin-Sol knew the alert that just rang was for subscribers only.

This livestream was incredible. It detailed how Chul-Soo had obtained the Herb of Immortality and absorbed it. It even showed Jin-Sol extracting his blood with a giant syringe to make the Chul-Soo Potion.

“See?” Jin-Sol said.