I Gave Up Being Stronger

Kim Min-Ji clenched her fists, her face brimming with excitement.

“As expected, Chul-Soo knows everything!”

He had not even lived for fifty years, let alone one hundred, yet Chul-Soo knew more than Dragan the Gluttony.

Choi Gap-Soo, who had been engrossed in the livestream, suddenly came to his senses. “Is Garbinu really sealed within the Vengeful Stone, waiting?”

“Who knows?”

“Aren’t you the person who knows Garbinu best in the universe?”

“I stopped being his fan years ago! What are you talking about?”

The Mad God of Favoritism was a capricious God who showed obsessive devotion while being a fan but lost all interest after leaving the fandom.

“By the way, Ms. Min-Ji, may I ask you one thing?” Though Gap-Soo usually solved most things on his own, this time, he could not contain his curiosity.

“Dragan the Gluttony. I know he’s one of the Demon Lords that has existed since ancient times.”

“Hmm… I don’t know about that, but I do know he’s one of the Four Infernal Kings.”

“Pardon?”

Min-Ji frowned, crossed her arms, and plopped down. The old memories suddenly soured her mood. “Back then, such naming conventions were popular, like the Four Heavenly Kings or Fantastic Four. Anyway, we were crazy about Garbinu… We worshipped the Demons around him, calling them the Four Internal Kings.”

“Is that so?”

“Ugh, it’s embarrassing. They looked handsome to us back then.”

Gap-Soo flinched. He couldn’t imagine that people considered that writhing, giant slime form to be handsome. ‘Was Dragan in a different form back then?’

“To think that thing was called the Squishy Prince.”

Dragan’s nickname back then was Squishy Prince Dragan of the Four Infernal Kings.

“Was he in that form back then too?” Gap-Soo asked.

“Yes.”

“And you thought he was handsome?”

“Beauty standards were a bit strange back then. I know it’s strange, but if you look at me like I’m weird, I’ll kill you.”

Gap-Soo was certain. It wasn’t that the beauty standards were strange back then; rather, Min-Ji and the ‘we’ she referred to—that fan group—must have collectively lost their minds.

Gap-Soo cleared his throat and asked again, “Why didn’t the Squishy Prince’s ability work on Chul-Soo?”

“Are you really asking because you don’t know?”

“Yes, I don’t. The Demon clearly ate him.” Gap-Soo had only one guess. “Is it really because Chul-Soo’s soul is an unparalleled mass of corruption?”

“Say that one more time, and I will sew your lips shut.” Min-Ji glared at Gap-Soo.

“...”

She could tolerate insults to anything else, but not those directed at Chul-Soo.

“I apologize. It was a mistake.”

“Good. Be careful.”

“Then please tell me. How was Chul-Soo able to survive?”

“I don’t feel like telling you now.”

Gap-Soo’s curiosity was resolved more easily than expected. It just so happened that Kim Ysael, Chul-Soo Land No.777, had the same question.

When Ysael asked her the same thing, Min-Ji tilted her head. “Huh? Ysael, you don’t know either?”

“No, I’m sorry.” Ysael felt ashamed. This was embarrassing for a Chul-Soo Lander.

Min-Ji frowned. She needed to know if Ysael was worthy of bearing the weighty responsibility of being Chul-Soo Land No.777. She asked. “What’s Chul-Soo’s current Level?”

“It’s 499.”

“What about the estimated experience points?”

“It’s 98.224 percent.”

Gap-Soo was a bit dumbfounded. Memorizing Chul-Soo’s Level was one thing, but calculating the estimated experience points was something else. That was not something the System publicly revealed.

Min-Ji’s strict test was not over yet.

“How long until Chul-Soo reaches Level 500?”

“It’s 42 minutes and 39 seconds, assuming Chul-Soo does not start livestreaming,” Ysael answered.

“Do you think he will turn on his livestream or not?”

“I think he will.”

At that moment, all three of their phones rang. It was a notification that Jin-Hyeok had started livestreaming.

[Level 500]

“Since he started livestreaming, how long until he levels up?”

“Four minutes and 33 seconds.”

“Correct.”

Only then did Min-Ji’s expression soften, and she said in a kind voice, “You asked why Dragan’s ability didn’t work, right?”

“Yes.”

“It’s because his Level is too high.”

There came a point when Levels ceased to be important. That usually happened in the mid-to-late 300s or early 400s. From that point on, factors other than Level were much more crucial—fine control abilities, personal sense, and the ability to utilize one’s skills effectively.

However, beyond that lay another realm: the late 400s. It was a realm that even the currently top-ranked Players had yet to reach.

“Extremely advanced Levels overwhelm techniques, after all,” Min-Ji said.

***

Jin-Hyeok was exhilarated. ‘I guess I’m about to be the first Level-500 Player, huh.’

Since he was the owner of Earth and the entirety of the Hell Server, his experience points were accumulating in real-time even at this very moment.

‘It’s fortunate that I’m an Eltuber.’

While Players from other Jobs typically faced greater restrictions as their Levels increased, this was not the case for Eltubers.[1] There was a reason it was considered the most advantageous Job for leveling up. The only challenge was that the required experience points for leveling up were higher, but there were no special prohibitions, special Quests to clear, or Achievements to unlock.

“I think I will reach Level 500 soon,” Jin-Hyeok told the viewers. His heart raced. Waiting with anticipation, he wondered if reaching Level 500 would grant him another incredibly useful Skill.

[You have leveled up.]

[Currently Level: 500]

“I have reached Level 500!”

-Congrats! Congrats! Congrats!

-Wow, I can’t believe I’m witnessing a Player reaching Level 500. LOL.

-Level 500 is insane!

The number of viewers on his livestream surpassed a staggering 2.5 billion.

-This is freaking awesome! Level 500!

-From what I know, even the top rankers in Arvis are only in the early 400s.

Jin-Hyeok felt a bit dejected. ‘It feels like the System is slacking off a bit.’

Jin-Hyeok had not received anything special for both progressing the universe-level Scenario and reaching Level 500. He had expected something beyond the Omnipotent Director to emerge.

‘No, I shouldn’t think like this.’ He had to strive not to lose his original mindset. ‘The viewer count has surpassed 2.5 billion.’

It had just broken through the 2.6 billion mark and was approaching the 2.7 billion mark. This incredible viewer count was the true achievement and trophy for an Eltuber. It was fine even if he received no good rewards for both of those feats. This number itself was the reward.

‘The number of likes also surpassed 2.4 billion!’

He had gained 2.4 billion likes in less than thirty minutes of starting the livestream. It was a universal record.

“Thank you all for your congratulations! It’s all thanks to the Chul-Soo Landers.”

***

Ysael did not miss the fleeting look of disappointment that crossed Chul-Soo’s face. “Chul-Soo seems a bit disappointed.”

“He does look that way,” Min-Ji replied, biting her thumbnail with a dead-serious expression. She made a face as if a galactic war had just broken out and anxiously muttered, “He shouldn’t be disappointed…”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, he just reached Level 500, after all.”

The reason the System did not give any Skills or additional rewards for reaching Level 500 was simple. There was no need to.

Feeling an urgency, Min-Ji said, “Yo, old man, can you make a big donation to Chul-Soo? With a message, I mean.”

“I could, but…”

Clearly, Chul-Soo wouldn’t notice any donation in this situation. Billions of people across the universe were continuously making donations of various amounts. The Seoul GMs were in a state of emergency because of that; the System was on the verge of crashing due to traffic overload.

“We need to let Chul-Soo know that he shouldn’t be disappointed. He needs to know that reaching Level 500 in itself is the reward,” Min-Ji said.

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t he realize it on his own if we just leave it be?” Gap-Soo said.

“But he’s disappointed right now!”

“Then I will try calling him. If you want to tell him directly…”

Mad God of Favoritism Min-Ji melted with a splat. The liquefied Min-Ji murmured in a small voice, “I… I can’t talk to Chul-Soo on the phone. It’s too embarrassing…”

***

The Demon King had been trapped in the Vengeful Stone for over a hundred years. Garbinu sensed that the time had finally come. ‘A pure vessel has appeared.’

It was a pure mass of corruption born with the qualities of a Demon King. The moment that being revealed itself in the Demon Realm, Garbinu opened his eyes.

‘That one’s corruption will be the fuse.’

That pure corruption was the force that would unite the Demon Realm. The Demon Realm, now shattered like glass shards, would begin to coalesce into one. This was the plan that Garbinu had set in motion hundreds of years ago—for the world that reacted to that pure mass of corruption to become one.

Dragan the Gluttony.

Meichel the Greed.

Serviel the Lust.

Kadiva the Sloth.

The four Demon Lords led by the Demon King would undoubtedly appear before the Vengeful Stone.

Soon, Meichel, Serviel, and Kadiva knelt before the Vengeful Stone.

“Dragan is late,” Garbinu said.

It was within expectations. Dragan was the greediest of the Demon Lords. Having sensed that the Demon Realm would unify soon, he was likely gorging himself by devouring other Demons.

“The time has come,” Garbinu announced.

“We have waited for this day.”

“O Demon King.”

“Now, the world will be at the Demon King’s feet.”

The Guardian Tree that Garbinu had planted hundreds of years ago had definitely grown large by now. As the master of the Guardian Tree, Garbinu could sense the intense aura of the Guardian Tree emanating from beyond dimensions.

“Even I did not expect it to be this strong. I can feel the intense aura of the Guardian Tree from beyond dimensions,” Garbinu said.

“Glory to the Demon King.”

“Glory to the Demon King.”

“Glory to the Demon King.”

“Soon, my new vessel will arrive here, for this world is calling to him.”

The new vessel, containing pure corruption, would be sensing this anomaly on its own—like a butterfly drawn to a flower. The Demon King’s vessel would open a door toward this palace, toward this Vengeful Stone.

At last, a new dimensional gate opened in the dark sky above.

“Dragan the Gluttony?”

“He’s late.”

“Lazy bastard.”

Dragan appeared, and following him was the vessel containing pure corruption.

“You’re late, but well done.” Garbinu discovered the pure mass of corruption. “Dragan, your plan was truly excellent.”

Judging by the lack of injuries on Dragan, Garbinu could tell that Dragan had persuaded that corruption well. Moreover, that corruption showed no signs of resistance. Dragan had deceived the corruption well.

Dragan roared, “What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Huhu… It’s alright, Dragan. The preparations are already complete. I commend your plan. Come this way. After I claim that vessel, I promise you a new world.”

“You senile old madman! Stop spouting such nonsense!”

Jin-Hyeok’s eyes narrowed. “Is this true? Were you deceiving me?”

1. The author now also considers Eltubers as a Job title. ☜

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