I Gave Up Being Stronger
Chapter 229

Egan Paul fearfully stepped back. “W-Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Stay right there. Do not move.”

Egan felt an inexplicable fear.

‘Wait… could it be…?’

It seemed like Kim Chul-Soo had seen right through him and figured out his bluff.

“Have you been lying to me?” Cha Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Well, that’s…” Egan did not know whether Chul-Soo was testing him or if he really knew the truth.

‘This is crazy.’

Egan had thought he would get caught someday. He had even planned to reveal it to Kim Chul-Soo, who was being treated as the number two Streamer because of these lies. After all, in Egan’s opinion, the true number one Streamer on Earth was Chul-Soo.

There was a big difference between confessing and being caught. Egan became anxious. He was about to hurriedly explain everything, but Jin-Hyeok spoke first.

“Everything is exaggerated, isn’t it? Your Level, your subscriber count, the view count, even the number of likes.”

“...I will explain everything. I did not mean to lie to you.”

Jin-Hyeok smirked.

Egan broke out in a cold sweat.

‘That smile…!’

It was undoubtedly the expression Chul-Soo wore when he was about to smash the back of an enemy’s head with his hammer—the moment when Chul-Soo’s smile was the brightest, which amplified the madness in his eyes.

Unwittingly, Egan stepped back a few paces.

“You’re more of a small fry than I thought!” Chul-Soo said. However, he did not seem too upset or think he had been tricked. He just appeared to be amused and surprised that Egan’s achievements were lower than he thought.

‘What is he thinking?’

Most people would have been furious.

‘Because of my deception, Chul-Soo was greatly undervalued. He received undue criticism and ridicule.’

Some viewers, especially those in the United States, believed that Chul-Soo would never surpass Egan.

‘He should be fuming right now.’

Chul-Soo continued, “I was always curious. I believed I was stronger than you, yet I always had fewer likes and subscribers. I really pondered why I was at a lower Level than you.”

“...”

“But it was all because of your deception! Wow, so you’re just a nobody who has not even hit one billion subscribers yet!”

“...”

“Thanks to you, I realize I am on the right path.”

Egan got confused. ‘He’s calling me a nobody? Is he mocking me?’

It did not seem like that. Moreover, he knew that Chul-Soo was not good at beating around the bush.

‘Is he being genuine?…?’

Finally, Egan understood Jin-Hyeok’s true feelings. Jin-Hyeok was genuinely happy. He had no interest in the fact that Egan had deceived him.

“Look, you just found out that I lied to you,” Egan said.

“So?”

“I intended to tell you someday.”

“Why?”

Egan was perplexed by Jin-Hyeok’s sparkling eyes. “Why…? Do you mean it is okay to deceive you?”

“What’s wrong with deceiving?” Jin-Hyeok tilted his head. He felt that the people around him were beginning to act a bit strange, Egan being one of them. “It’s the gullible people that are at fault.”

“...Are you saying being a scammer is okay?”

“What are you talking about? Those guys need their heads smas— no, need to be punished.”

“But you just said deceiving is not bad and being deceived is…”

“Egan, were you always this thickheaded?” Jin-Hyeok felt that it was okay for a Player to use deception in their Play. That was all part of the Play. However, it was never okay for a non-Player to scam anyone in general matters.

“Anyway, I am glad you are a Hakko. That’s good news.”

“...Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Egan wondered if the Automatic Translation Orb was broken. He felt strangely off.

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

“A knight clad in white jade armor appeared inside the Dungeon. The knight was wearing a helmet, and I am not completely sure, but it seemed likely to be a female. She was formidable. All of us together could not defeat her even with our full strength.” Egan showed the recorded video to Jin-Hyeok. “And… she uses a hammer.”

“That’s interesting.”

Her main weapon was a hammer similar in size to Miri.

“In the end, we had to sacrifice four of our party members to barely escape. It was a complete failure,” Egan added.

“Why would you call that a failure?”

“...Huh?”

“Who clears a Dungeon on their first try?”

Egan was speechless once again. ‘Is that really something you should be saying right now?’

However, Jin-Hyeok’s face was too serious for Egan to say that out loud.

‘It does not seem like he is mocking me, but…’

Jin-Hyeok continued, “Normally, you have to fail numerous times to have a slight chance of clearing a Dungeon.”

“....Is that so?”

“And many Players are unable to clear a Dungeon even after all that.”

Egan felt like he had been hit on the head. His ideal Streamer had always been Chul-Soo. Chul-Soo almost always cleared Dungeons by himself and that too on his first try.

“But why do you even want to clear this Dungeon?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“...I did not intend to encroach on your territory.”

Jin-Hyeok frowned. He felt he understood a bit more about Egan.

‘I can never resonate with those thoughts. Encroach on what territory?’ Jin-Hyeok thought. Nobody owned a Dungeon. Anyone could challenge any Dungeon from any Region.

‘His standards and my standards just don’t align.’

Jin-Hyeok did not dislike Egan as a person, but becoming close friends with him seemed a bit difficult. He asked, “I don’t care about any of that. Why did you take on the challenge?”

“I was inspired by another Player…”

“Inspired my ass. Be more specific.” As a fellow Streamer, Jin-Hyeok wanted to ask what was going on in Egan’s head that led him to make such a reckless choice. He was curious as to what insights and judgments lay behind his choice.

“If it’s not about me encroaching on your territory, why are you so persistently digging into it?”

“Well, using an Unexplored Dungeon as content is a bit odd, isn’t it?”

“...Odd?”

“It’s just not worth it.”

“...Not worth it?”

“Yes. Who is crazy enough to use an Unexplored Dungeon as content?”

Egan was speechless again.

‘Isn’t the content for your next video about clearing the Haeundae Dungeon?’ Egan thought. Sᴇaʀᴄh the NʘvᴇlFirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“...You’re right. It was not worth it,” Egan replied.

“The guy who inspired you is definitely a scammer.”

“...”

“I can’t believe that guy inspired you to clear an Unexplored Dungeon. He’s crazy. Anyway, thanks for the video.” Jin-Hyeok took the video from Egan.

‘A knight wearing white jade armor…’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

The difficulty of the Haeundae Dungeon changed depending on the number of entrants. The difficulty significantly decreased with a single entrant.

‘But…’

As Jin-Hyeok watched the video, he kept thinking about one thing.

‘Why are they getting hit by the knight’s attack?’

The knight in white jade armor was quite fast.

‘But she is way slower than Swampland No.3!’

Moreover, the way she swung the hammer was threatening, but it did not seem lethal.

‘Right here. I think he could have survived the attack aimed at the shoulder.’

Sure, the shoulder could have gotten crushed, but that was not a huge problem. If a Tank had taken the hammer blow on the shoulder, it would have created a big opening for the knight and an opportunity for the Avengers Army.

‘And there were many opportunities like that.’

After replaying the video several times, Jin-Hyeok asked, “Don’t you think you were being overly greedy?”

“Yeah, I admit it,” Egan replied. He knew that the Haeundae Dungeon was excessively difficult for the Avengers Army.

However, before Egan could elaborate, Jin-Hyeok explained, “You were too greedy to get content for your channel.”

“...?”

“You tried too hard to create a sense of crisis and ended up ruining everything.”

“No, I…”

“I know, I know. You did your best.”

‘I didn’t care for the content! I fought as desperately as I could! Don’t you see I cut off the livestream?’

Egan felt somewhat wronged.

“But it is still useful information for me. In that sense…” Jin-Hyeok had originally planned to clear the Dungeon by himself. But after seeing the knight in the white jade armor in the video, he had changed his mind. “...Do you want to team up?”

“Team up?” Egan’s head told him to say now because it was too dangerous, but his heart argued, ‘It’s a collaboration with Chul-Soo. Such opportunities are rare.’

“Let’s clear the Haeundae Dungeon together. But with the same total number of members as last time. I can call my guys if we need more members.”

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

The collaboration between Chul-Soo and Egan was set.

[The collaboration of the official and unofficial number one ranked Streamers on the Earth Server… This is amazing!]

└Wow, what a combination! The Avengers Army with Chul-Soo!

└It’s not just Chul-Soo. They say that the Saint of Freedom, the Wood King, the Martial King, and even the Anus Destroyer are joining the expedition.

└Why is Anus Destroyer on that list? He is not strong enough.

└No, no. Anus Destroyer is underrated because of the name, but actually, he is the official number one ranked Swordsman in the Korean Region.

└Really? Anus Destroyer is number one? LOL, I had no idea! This is too funny!

[The Haeundae Dungeon must be really dangerous.]

└If IntenseMan, the king of order and truth, is getting personally involved, does that mean a Dungeon Break is imminent?

└He always steps in when there is danger.

└Korea is lucky to have Chul-Soo.

The news of Chul-Soo and Egan’s collaboration heated up the entire Earth Server. KimKnowItAllTV and Kang Eun-Woo became busier than usual.

Wang Yu-Mi, in her own way, assigned roles to the members of the K-Force participating in this expedition. “Our livestream goal is to showcase Chul-Soo’s overwhelming power. This time, I need you all to stay in the background as much as possible to highlight Chul-Soo. Got it?”

Cha Jin-Sol, Mok Jae-Hyeon, Kim Jeong-Hyeon, Lee Hyeon-Seong—the four Players who were joining the Haeundae Dungeon expedition nodded. However, Hyeon-Seong was not entirely happy with what Yu-Mi had told them. He still felt a strong sense of competition and a desire to win against Jin-Hyeok.

‘This time I will cooperate. But the reason I am cooperating is to surpass you later, Chul-Soo,’ Hyeon-Seong thought.

His eyes sparkled with determination. This expedition was meant for Chul-Soo to take the leading role. That would allow Hyeon-Seong to observe Chul-Soo more closely and accurately. He was determined not to miss a single step, attack, or even breath of Chul-Soo.

Next, Yu-Mi called Eun-Woo. “What’s Chul-Soo doing right now?”

—He just finished taking a shower.

“Oh! Then he hasn’t dried his hair yet, right?”

—No, not yet.

“Quick! Put Chul-Soo on the line.”

—Pardon me?

“Hurry!

Yu-Mi then had a phone conversation with Jin-Hyeok, placing a special request.

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