I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 217

Dark energy emanated from the altar, looking like arms made of darkness.

‘It feels similar to the Seo sisters’ abilities.’

It appeared as though the shadow had formed several tendril-like arms and intended to attack Cha Jin-Hyeok. However, the arms lacked the finesse of the Seo sisters’ abilities and felt more ominous.

‘Activate Broadcaster’s Barrier.’

Jin-Hyeok defended in a way befitting a Streamer. The dark energy could not penetrate his Broadcaster’s Barrier and instead covered the barrier and wriggled around it like seaweed. It looked like a black octopus trying to grasp something.

Suddenly, having regained consciousness, Grandel swung his hammer at Jin-Hyeok with a bewildered look.

‘Wait, a hammer?’ Jin-Hyeok was surprised.

Grandel seemed eager to break Jin-Hyeok’s barrier, which Jin-Hyeok sensed instantly.

‘Such amateurish hammering.’

Jin-Hyeok could tell a lot just from Grandel’s stance and swing. It was a disrespect to the sacred hammer. If Jin-Hyeok were a hammer expert, he would not have forgiven Grandel, but he was just a Streamer.

‘I should weaken Broadcaster’s Barrier to add some tension.’

He weakened the part of the barrier that Grandel was hitting, and the barrier started to crack. Grandel repeatedly hammered it, eventually shattering the barrier. The black arms still writhed around the altar. Grandel’s triumphant expression and the broken barrier seemed the perfect point for another edit.

Panting, Grandel asked Jin-Hyeok, “What is the name of that Skill?”

“This Skill?”

‘What is this? A clever trick? I know that some people don’t watch my livestream, but how can an advisor of a mid-sized Alliance fighting me not know of my abilities? It’s obviously called Broadcaster’s Barri—’

“Don’t say it’s Broadcaster’s Barrier,” Grandel said.

“...”

“A Streamer’s Broadcaster’s Barrier cannot have such defensive power.”

Jin-Hyeok was momentarily speechless.

‘Is he being serious right now? My Broadcaster’s Barrier is special, but not that much. It’s much less sturdy than Mok Jae-Hyeon’s Wood Fortress.’

“This is a miscalculation on my part. I thought I could swallow you here.”

Jin-Hyeok wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead and said, “That was close. I thought I was going to be devoured.”

“I thought so too. But your barrier is surprisingly strong.” Grandel smirked, clearly hiding something more. “But this too is within my expectations.”

It seemed Grandel had abandoned his plan to consume Jin-Hyeok with the help of the altar. The dark energy no longer flickered.

‘Ah, that was a good visual effect. It’s a shame that it’s gone. But why does he seem a bit flustered?’

***

Grandel had known Kim Chul-Soo would find this place. After all, the Streamer had a capable companion, Pathfinder—though Grandel had yet to learn that she had newly Awakened as a Ruler.

‘It will take Chul-Soo at least an hour to get here.’

This was Grandel’s mistake. Chul-Soo had arrived much earlier than Grandel expected. Chul-Soo didn’t show much emotion upon finding the place, and neither did Pathfinder, whose standards were based on Chul-Soo’s.

Sae-Rin did not consider herself an exceptional Navigator. If she had been a naturally gifted Navigator, she would not have been competing with Mole Man for first place. She thought that not being overwhelmingly better than Mole Man meant she did not possess extraordinary talent. That was why she didn’t think she had achieved anything particularly remarkable.

Grandel was flustered.

‘The Swallowing Altar is not complete yet...’

This meant that he could not unleash his full power. Moreover, Chul-Soo’s hidden power (Broadcaster’s Barrier) was stronger than he had expected, which prevented Grandel from properly devouring the Streamer.

‘It would have been best to swallow Chul-Soo here, but my plan’s already messed up.’

Nevertheless, this was still within Grandel’s expectations. He had a contingency plan for such a situation. His voice changed slightly. “I wanted to fight you anyway.”

Grandel pulled out a greatsword from his inventory. This greatsword belonged to one of the Players he had swallowed before. It seemed like Grandel and the Player had switched personalities. “My name is Jansen... I was a Streamer... before.”

A Streamer wielding a greatsword. Jin-Hyeok’s eyes sparkled. It seemed like perfect content for creating a buzz.

Sae-Rin shouted, “He is trying to buy time! You know that, right?”

Jin-Hyeok nodded, feeling excited. It reminded him of the times he had Played together with Sae-Rin before his regression.

‘If she wanted to keep that information a secret, she would have whispered into my ears using one of her Ruler Skills.’

The message was intended for Grandel to hear.

Jin-Hyeok started fighting Grandel, who was wielding the greatsword.

‘Ah... this is disappointing.’

Creating a tense battle scene in this fight was proving hard. It seemed like handing Grandel an overwhelming defeat would be better for his content.

“Yo, that’s not how you use a sword,” Jin-Hyeok said as he drew his Greatsword of La’kan. He felt sorry for the Rule Breaker, but the sword fit the fight more. As Jin-Hyeok swung his Greatsword of La’kan, Jansen (Grandel) used Broadcaster’s Barrier.

‘Huh?’

The barrier was too weak.

‘I almost cut his throat.’

The personality handling the fight was the Swordsman Streamer Jansen, but the body was still Grandel’s. Had Jin-Hyeok not adjusted his power, he could have easily cut Grandel’s throat; Grandel was much weaker than expected. Thanks to Jin-Hyeok’s restraint, Grandel’s Broadcaster’s Barrier did not break.

“Die!” Jansen swung the sword, and Jin-Hyeok blocked it with his Broadcaster’s Barrier.

At that moment, Jin-Hyeok realized something. “You are not Grandel, are you?”

‘Of course, even Grandel can’t be this weak.’

It seemed like Grandel had placed his puppet here.

‘I can feel it.’

It was a sophisticatedly made puppet, likely an evolved form of the Paper Soldiers of Paper Sorcerer Makendra.

“Well done! But it’s already too late!” a voice replied from beneath the altar.

A green magic circle appeared below the altar, and unknown hieroglyphic mana characters floated around the altar.

“High Magic. Activate Spatial Separation.”

A green light began to cover the altar. Soon, it formed a cube, enveloping the entire altar.

‘It’s getting harder to breathe.’

Jin-Hyeok felt an unknown sense of crisis and quickly moved away. The Paper Puppet claiming to be Jansen melted away.

“That cube seems to be a different dimension created by Grandel.”

The real Grandel showed up, sitting at the center of the altar. “I admit, you are far more skilled than I expected.”

‘...But I was holding back.’ Jin-Hyeok could not bring himself to say that out loud.

“Now, I have one more reason to swallow you.” Grandel wore a confident expression.

Jin-Hyeok briefly contemplated breaking into the cube. His Rule Breaker could do it, but he shook his head.

‘If I do that, it would not be any different from my previous livestreams.’

Thankfully, Grandel provided further explanation with even more confidence. “As your friend said, I was buying time.”

Sae-Rin’s shout had made Grandel slightly complacent. As though he had another plan, Grandel said, “I needed to buy some time because you arrived faster than I thought.”

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‘What is he saying? We arrived too quickly? Is this some kind of a trap?’

“If I could have swallowed you here, it would have been ideal, but I have given up on that plan. After using Jansen to buy more time, I used my great magic spell, Spatial Separation,” Grandel said.

‘Good. He is creating good content for me.’

The more he talked, the better. Jin-Hyeok wanted him to keep talking.

“This is a dimensional displacement magic spell that separates your space and this space completely! It is a high-level spell beyond your current Level. Setting it up takes time and effort, but its effects are exceptional.”

“...Is that what the Mage you swallowed taught you?”

“Yes.”

‘This is disappointing.’

Jin-Hyeok partly acknowledged Grandel’s intelligence. However, no matter how smart Grandel was, if he kept stagnating in one place, he was bound to rot, like uncirculated water.

Jin-Hyeok left a note on the video being recorded.

[*Failed self-objectification. Lived too long as Sephia and Grandel.]

Jin-Hyeok genuinely wanted to tell Grandel his true thoughts.

‘Do you really think a Mage weak enough to be swallowed by you would be a notable Archmage? A competent Archmage would not be defeated by the likes of you.’

However, Jin-Hyeok pretended to be tense. “Hm... It does feel like the dimensions are separated.”

He then started his livestream.

[Great Magic]

Viewers flocked in instantly. The KimKnowItAllTV chat room was so overwhelming that it was hard to read all the comments. Even with settings adjusted to allow only the VIPs to chat, it was still overwhelming. Raising the standard of the VIP entry seemed a necessity now.

-Is that the culprit of the Gangwon-do incident?

-Our great Chul-Soo is shining again.

-I think he went alone to face danger and catch the bad guy. He is the GOAT.

-It’s like he is doing what the government is supposed to be doing right now. I used to think that Chul-Soo was just showing off, but for this, I have to be on his side.

Wang Yu-Mi and Kang Chul timely uploaded a video they had prepared earlier. It showed that Jin-Hyeok had anticipated that Sephia and Grandel were the Cult Leaders and that Grandel would swallow Sephia.

-Wow, did he predict all this?

-No way! They must have manipulated the video to make it look like he predicted it.

However, video experts commented that the video was not edited.

-No way! Is Chul-Soo a God? How could he predict and act on everything that’s going on?

-ChulSooIsGod would be so confused right now.

-The great Chul-Soo knew everything!

-But it seems like he is struggling right now.

-Even if he knows everything, a defeat is unavoidable against a powerful opponent.

Yu-Mi sent the reactions to Jin-Hyeok through a secret message.

‘Everything is going according to the plan,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

[The tension is being maintained at a fairly good level. Keep doing what you’re doing.]

Too much tension could lead to criticism for being frustrating.

[The consensus is that ‘Although Grandel is a dangerous opponent, with Chul-Soo’s abilities, there is hope!’ This is the best expectation to instill in the viewers. The progress seems very smooth and good.]

During his Sword King days, Jin-Hyeok had never received such praise from Yu-Mi.

‘I was right. The sword doesn’t suit me,’ he thought, feeling proud.

“Soon, my army will descend.”

“You mean the army of Mountain Madmen?”

“Yes. Even your powerful Thunder Dragon won’t be able to stop them!” Grandel confidently continued, “Your Thunder Dragon is powerful, but it has a fatal weakness: it can’t attack first. My army will never attack your Thunder Dragon. In thirty minutes, my army will descend!”

Jin-Hyeok frowned. Grandel had bought some time with the conversation, but the livestream felt a bit loose.

‘Let’s make it look like I am desperate.’

Jin-Hyeok lifted the Rule Breaker, which pleasantly resonated in his hand.

‘Please, Rule Breaker, don’t hit too hard.’

“Then I have to break the cube,” Jin-Hyeok said.

‘Don’t break it, please.’

Jin-Hyeok attacked the cube with the hammer, becoming one with the weapon. Grandel appeared relaxed on the outside but was tense on the inside. Of all things, Chul-Soo’s weapon was the Rule Breaker. Although its target right now was dimensional separation, the Rule Breaker could nullify the magic itself.

‘Thank god!’ Grandel thought.

Fortunately, it seemed Chul-Soo did not have that capability yet. Chul-Soo attacked the cube desperately, or so it looked.

“Your attack cannot surpass my great magic!” Grandel had mentioned it would take thirty minutes for the army of Mountain Madmen to appear, but that was also a trap. He only needed seven minutes.

‘This bastard firmly believes it’s going to take thirty minutes! He won’t have time to prepare.’

Grandel finally completed the summoning magic. Dozens of black summoning gates appeared in the sky.

“Welcome, my army! Join me willingly and enjoy eternal life!”

However, what Grandel could not see was Jin-Hyeok’s sly smile.

For Chul-Soo, this was the climax of his production. He changed the livestream title.

[A Twist.]

The former Navigator Pathfinder was now making her official debut as the Absolute Ruler Han Sae-Rin.