I Gave Up Being Stronger

Mole Woman was confused. ‘Can people normally infer so much from just the keyword forgotten? Is it easier for Kim Chul-Soo because Eltubers like to let their imagination run wild? It’s impressive, but I can’t lose to him!’

“In that case, we need to find that divine object,” Cha Jin-Hyeok said.

“?!” Mole Woman felt like he had stolen her line. She had been about to say the exact same thing, but he was faster. A strange feeling welled up inside her.

‘It’s weird, but why do I feel like he’s trying to keep me in check, moly? I must be imagining things. Why would he need to do that to me? A Navigator?’

Then, a thought flashed through her mind.

“Isn’t that sword suspicious? The one inside which the Great Sword Spirit is sleeping.

Mole Woman was referring to the sword with the sleeping Sword Spirit, which was lying beneath the Principal of the Forgotten Magic School.

‘But it would have been destroyed and turned to dust by now, moly.’

“You might not have noticed, but I have a way, Mole Woman,” Jin-Hyeok quickly replied.

Mole Woman had a strange feeling that Jin-Hyeok was constantly competing with her.

“O holy Ancient Rock Giant! This weak servant who serves the Goddess Gaia wishes to return your divine weapon to you!”

[You have activated the Trait ⌜Time Reversal⌟.]

The Trait Time Reversal replicated artifacts that Miri had previously destroyed.

When Jin-Hyeok activated the Skill, Miri emanated a light, creating a halo of light. At that moment, Mole Woman realized that the world had momentarily turned gray.

‘Wait a minute! How can we have such a calm conversation? Weren’t we in the middle of an intense battle?’ Mole Woman thought. ‘Did… Did he use Omnipotent Director to pause the Dungeon’s time, moly?’

Swordsmanship skills were most suitable for a Swordsman. Naturally, they worked best when a person was wielding a sword. If one used a sword Skill while holding an axe, the Skill would either not work properly or become less effective. Similarly, an Eltuber’s Skills were the most effective when used by an Eltuber.

‘He stopped time so that we could talk with the Ancient Rock Giant!’

While Chul-Soo could stop time for only a moment when attacking enemies, it was different for conversations. Moreover, the Fourth Hell was a territory where the Guardian Tree’s power was stronger.

‘Yeah. There is no way a powerful Player like Chul-Soo would compete with me, moly.’

It would be too unreasonable to think that someone with such abilities would compete with her, a Player merely ranked first in the Korean Region rankings.

***

Garcia, the head of the Feyler Family, was the second-in-command of the Helen Empire. His influence, second only to the Pope’s, made him both the core and spiritual pillar of the Holy Empire.

Garcia watched Jin-Hyeok’s livestream with an expressionless face. “That’s the Rock Giant.”

“Yes. It’s surprising that this fallen priest, who only existed in records, has shown up,” Gerdock said. Gerdok was a leopard Beastkin and also Garcia’s aide. He carefully asked, “Surely, Chul-Soo won’t be able to materialize the Rock Giant’s mace, right?”

“Impossible,” Garcia replied.

The Ancient Rock Giant was one of the ancient priests who served Gaia, the Earth Goddess. Records stated that he had become obsessed with Gaia, sold his soul to a demon, and invaded Gaia’s domain. As punishment, he was sealed somewhere in Hell.

“Wasn’t it said that no one could stop the Ancient Rock Giant when he was wielding the mace and that the Mad God had to intervene?” Gerdok asked.

Even the great ancient heroes could not stop the fallen priest who had sold his soul to a demon.

“It’s just a legend,” Garcia replied.

Though this story was quite detailed for a legend, there was no way Chul-Soo could materialize the mace in that situation. Moreover, Time Reversal produced replicas of artifacts Miri had destroyed. At best, Chul-Soo could only copy the sword that was just broken.

“What a waste of time.”

The Ancient Rock Giant was strong, but the combination of Chul-Soo, Fyurel, and Kyle was enough to handle it. With excellent Navigators like Mole Woman and Lessefim there too, they would eventually find a way to defeat the monster.

Garcia was about to put down his phone when he froze.

‘What the…?’

[Mace of the Turbid Rock Giant]

Something quite different from a sword was floating in the air.

⌜Please take this, Great Rock Giant! I shall prove my faith!⌟

Chul-Soo was screaming on the screen.

“You fool!” Garcia shouted.

White light erupted from Garcia. The next instant, a sun rose in Garcia’s temple, causing numerous priests to tremble in fear. Chul-Soo was about to offer the mace to the Giant.

How he managed to do it was a secondary concern. With that mace in hand, the Ancient Rock Giant would become so powerful that only the Mad God could subdue it.

“You must not do thi—”

⌜Sike!⌟

[The Trait ⌜Persistent and Sticky Desire⌟ has been activated.]

A golden energy beam shot out of Miri and pierced the Rock Giant’s chest. Miri shouted in extreme excitement.

-I’m about to come!

Garcia’s anger subsided, but the situation had not improved.

‘This is not right,’ Garcia thought.

He wondered if he should dispatch his Order of Paladins for support. The Ancient Rock Giant was not just tough on the outside. Even its core was protected by multiple layers of special magic and barriers.

‘You have to defeat that monster with the first strike.’

If the core took a hit, it would become even more difficult to break. The Ancient Rock Giant would likely sacrifice its attacking power to increase its defense even further. With time, Chul-Soo’s group would be at a physical disadvantage, as the Rock Giant was a tireless being.

“Organize a rescue team,” Garcia commanded.

“Pardon? Is it for Lady Fyurel and Lessefim?”

“Chul-Soo is… also an honorary citizen of Arvis, is he not?”

Whether he liked it or not, Garcia had to do his duty as a Paladin. That was the honor of the Order of Paladins.

“Isn’t it too late?” Gerdok asked.

“Why you think it’s too late is when it’s the earliest.”

“We will depart right aw—”

Something shocking had appended. Faced with an unbelievable reality, Garcia dropped his phone.

***

Fyurel, who had been distracting the Ancient Rock Giant with intense flames, chuckled. “You are amazing, Chul-Soo.”

“What’s so amazing?” said Kang Eun-Woo, perhaps the only person who could casually ask Fyurel about this.

“You’re so cute, sweetie. It’s lovely how pure and innocent you are, unaware of these things.” Fyurel continued with a nasal tone, “That Giant has an incredibly tough shell. It has ridiculous resistance to both magical and physical attacks. Breaking the core that is under the protection of such a shell is no easy feat. But Chul-Soo pulled out an artifact that would make that Giant’s eyes roll, you know?”

Fyurel knew that the Giant’s chest gap widened slightly whenever it got excited. Kyle was aware of this too. However, the gap was so narrow that it was nearly impossible for someone to take advantage of and attack.

“So, while pretending to offer the mace, Chul-Soo widened the gap and thrust in a very thin beam of sword energy…, Wait, I think hammer energy makes more sense. Anyway, he seemed to have jabbed that into the gap.”

The hammer energy Jin-Hyeok shot was not ordinary. Since the impact point was smaller, the attack’s impact was greater. The hammer energy, thinner than a spider’s web, successfully penetrated the gap in the chest and struck the Giant’s core.

Raising his sword and watching the front, Kyle said, “Lady Fyurel, I would appreciate it if you could focus on the battle.”

“Shut up. Talking to my sweetie is more important to me.”

Kyle decided to give up on further conversation. He had long known that Fyurel was not in her right mind.

“Chul-Soo, your ability was outstanding,” Kyle said. While the attack could not be considered an honorable attack, it was certainly effective. The terrifying Rock Giant had stopped moving. “However, you must acknowledge the fundamental difference between technique and weapon structure. There are bound to be physical limitations due to that.”

Kyle believed that the ability Chul-Soo just demonstrated should have been used with a sword, not a hammer. Hammers were for smashing, while swords were for stabbing and slicing. If Chul-Soo had used the Mind Sword with this ability, he could have done much more damage against the Ancient Rock Giant.

‘It’s a shame, but I guess it can’t be helped,’ Kyle thought.

They had limited time to begin with, and using a technique with an extra step while fighting a strong opponent like that Giant was extremely challenging.

However, it was okay.

“Now, it’s time to show the hammer’s true ability,” Kyle said. When the opponent was in a groggy state like now, that was when the hammer’s true value would shine. “We need to get close and target that gap right now. If you can create just a small opening, I will finish it off.”

By this point, everyone except Kyle had already sensed something strange.

‘It’s too quiet.’

‘Hasn’t quite some time passed?’

‘It seems the monster might be dead, moly.’

“I just need a little bit of opening. My sword energy will complete—”

[You have defeated the Hidden Dungeon boss ⌜Ancient Rock Giant⌟.]

Thud!

The Giant had collapsed. Unable to repair its core, the Ancient Rock Giant crumbled.

Jin-Hyeok delivered his line for the livestream. “As expected, when it comes to smashing things, a hammer is perfect, isn’t it?”

***

Jin-Hyeok felt a bit regretful.

‘If I had known it would be like this, I would have taken out all the monsters in the Dungeon!’

Although he had defeated even the Hidden Dungeon boss, he didn’t get any All-Clear notification as he had expected. Fortunately, this had an effect on the next stage of the universe-level Scenario, but he did not reveal this on the livestream. After all, content needed to be paced properly.

-Ahhhh! Enough with the tease! Tell us!

-Please at least reveal the rewards before ending. T_T

-Chul-Soo, you devil!

Jin-Hyeok’s party was naturally transported outside instantly after they cleared the Dungeon. The moment their safety was secured, Mole Woman clung to Jin-Hyeok and asked, “But why did you say you couldn’t break the Rock Giant, moly?”

From Mole Woman’s perspective, Jin-Hyeok had seemed very relaxed. So, when she had asked, ‘Don’t you think you can break it?’ his reply: ‘No, I can’t’ had left her puzzled. After all, since he could use the Omnipotent Director Skill, he was in quite a comfortable situation.

“When did I say that?”

“You clearly said you can’t break it… Oh!” Mole Woman realized. Jin-Hyeok had not said he was unable to break it, but rather that he should not break it. He had definitely said that for the sake of giving a more diverse performance for his livestream.

‘But why do I feel like he’s subtly savoring victory against me, moly?’ Mole Woman vigorously shook her head. There was no way Chul-Soo, with his monstrous abilities, would consider her as a rival. ‘Stop being so self-conscious! Enough, moly!’