I Gave Up Being Stronger

Miri had greatly expanded in size, but soon, it gradually shrank back to its original form and size.

‘Huh?’

Cha Jin-Hyeok heard a voice.

“Please handle me roughly.” It was a voice close to a human’s.

When he glanced behind, he saw a translucent ghost-like figure floating and embracing his neck. “Are you Miri?”

“Yes.”

It seemed like Miri’s will had not only blossomed but also materialized.

‘It has been a long time since I saw such a thing.’

A weapon’s will could materialize if maximum resonance existed between the weapon and its master. Before his regression, Jin-Hyeok had experienced this a few times during his Sword King days.

“Oppa, what are you doing?” Cha Jin-Sol asked.

“Nothing, nothing at all.”

Only the master of the materialized weapon could see this form. If one were to make a comparison, Miri resembled a materialized Phantom Swordswoman. She seemed to have been greatly influenced by the Phantom Swordswoman, appearing like a younger version of the worn-out and fallen angel.

While talking with Jin-Hyeok, Miri kept expanding and shrinking in size.

‘It feels like she can’t control her size properly.’

Putting aside the physical manifestation of the will, the weapon’s size kept fluctuating unevenly, like a balloon.

Suddenly, Jin-Hyeok realized something. “Where is the Ectorial?”

“I swallowed it.” Miri embraced Jin-Hyeok’s neck harder. “Was I not supposed to do that?”

Through the bond between their souls, Jin-Hyeok could feel that Miri was feeling sorry. However, since he could not tell her to spit out the Ectorial and their bond had deepened, he did not scold her.

“No, I was just curious,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

‘But how did that happen?’

Even he found it difficult to think of a reason Miri would swallow the Ectorial.

In the meantime, the Ruler of the Avengers Army, Hickson, stepped forward. “Kim Chul-Soo, can you give us a chance too?”

“A chance?”

At Hickson’s flick of a finger, the Avengers Army’s damage-dealing Player, Holyholy, stepped forward. Holyholy was a Player of the Holy Knight class, wielding the dazzling Radiant Mace and known for powerful attacks.

“My name is Holyholy.” He raised the gleaming mace, which looked extremely powerful due to its size.

‘I don’t think you can break the wall.’ Jin-Hyeok almost said it out loud.

He knew that because he had Broadcaster’s Insight. Although Holyholy’s offensive power seemed formidable, it was insufficient to break the wall.

However, Jin-Hyeok had learned things from the Avengers Army. He knew how to dramatize and glorify even the most trivial things.

“I trust you, Radiant Holy Knight,” Jin-Hyeok said as he reached out his right hand.

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity.” Holyholy shook the hand.

***

Mole Man nervously bit his nails. ‘Does Sae-Rin think I have not thought of a way to break this wall, moly?’

He had been considering how to demolish the wall since he first saw it. However, upon inspecting the site, he realized it was impossible. The wall was too large and solid.

‘She’s only ranked second, and yet she has the audacity to teach me things without seeing it in person!’

He was certain that even the hefty mace of the Holy Knight Holyholy would not be able to break that wall.

That turned out to be true.

“Huff… Huff…” Holyholy exerted all his strength to pound the wall, but it did not budge.

Meanwhile, Mole Man continued to desperately search for a way to destroy the wall.

‘There is no time!’

Only about ten minutes were remaining. They did not have enough time to break through the wall, climb up the stairs, and do something on the fifth floor.

Just then, Jin-Hyeok stepped forward. “You’ve done enough, Holyholy. Thank you.”

Jin-Hyeok lifted Miri. He stood in front of the thick wall and pretended to concentrate, looking serious and sublime.

‘Hm… What’s the cooler name, True Swing or Wall Shatter.’

Eventually, he made his choice. “Activate True Wall Shatter.”

Miri rapidly expanded, and Jin-Hyeok struck the wall with the enormous hammer. At that moment, he felt a thrilling sensation.

‘This is it!’

Miri created a crack in the wall at the spot it struck, with a loud splitting sound, and golden light leaked through the crevices.

Holyholy gazed at the scene in awe. It seemed as if Chul-Soo were telling him that this was true radiance.

Holyholy unconsciously murmured, “A… Radiant Streamer…!”

Jin-Hyeok had broken the wall in a single strike. He had destroyed it by concentrating on his breathing and focusing on his strength.

Soon, the rest of the wall crumbled and fell.

***

In Arvis, the universe’s strongest Server, Marshmallow, the top Streamer in the universe and a cosmic-class ranker, was watching Chul-Soo’s livestream. His heart was pounding with excitement.

‘Wow.!

To Marshmallow, Chul-Soo seemed to be improving every day.

‘He handed over the opportunity to that nobody! With only twenty minutes left!’

He knew why Chul-Soo had done that.

‘Chul-Soo knew that guy could not do it.’

The Radiant Holy Knight, with all his might, could not achieve what Chul-Soo had with just one attack. Chul-Soo had produced a dramatic scene.

-LOL, he destroyed that wall with just one hit!

-Streamer Chul-Soo’s damage is insane! LOL

-No way! Our Radiant Holy Knight made it possible by weakening the wall first!

-Wall: Please, no more! T_T

Marshmallow chuckled. He could see Chul-Soo’s skills improving day by day.

“No, this isn’t just about the damage.”

“Holy! You scared me! When did you get here?” Marshmallow yelled.

“Not that long ago.”

Marshmallow was surprised that he was so startled. Even though he was comfortable in his home and the newcomer was his close friend Encyclopedia, he could not believe that he had not sensed the latter’s presence at all.

“You were so engrossed in Chul-Soo’s livestream that you didn’t even notice me coming here,” Encyclopedia said.

‘Was I that absorbed in Chul-Soo’s livestream?’ Marshmallow thought.

As he hid his true feelings, he asked Encyclopedia, “If it’s not about the damage, then what is it about?”

“Breaking that wall requires a special power. That wall can’t be broken by just anyone. It is a wall that can be broken only with a weapon made of a special material.”

“You seem to know a lot about it.”

“Yet, Chul-Soo used Rule Breaker to destroy that wall, which means…” Encyclopedia showed his friend one of Chul-Soo’s past videos on his phone.

[Ectorial]

“I think the Rule Breaker consumed it,” Encyclopedia said.

“Wait, Rule Breakers can consume other weapons?”

“It is likely that some of the powers of Sephia and Grandel were transferred to the weapon.”

“...Wow, I had no idea that was possible.”

“There is no other explanation.”

Encyclopedia’s detailed explanation made Chul-Soo’s Play even more intriguing.

“But isn’t there very little time left?” Marshmallow asked.

“That’s what adds to the tension.”

“...So, he staged all this.” Marshmallow’s expression became more serious.

In contrast, Encyclopedia looked even more excited. “Perhaps a universe-level Scenario is about to begin.”

***

Jin-Hyeok and his party arrived on the fifth floor. Structurally, it was almost identical to the fourth floor—dark and resembling a temple with many pillars. In the distance, on a particularly dark spot on the stairs lay a coffin.

‘Is that the coffin where Woongi slept?’

They climbed the stairs and opened the coffin lid.

‘This is…!’

Unexpectedly, it had two corpses inside. Some Players from the Avengers Army began to weep.

“Smith!”

“Wilson!”

They were the corpses of the Players who had died at the hands of the White Jade Armor Knight during the Avengers Army’s expedition. Thanks to the effects of the coffin, the bodies were well preserved. Mok Jae-Hyeon, like before, crafted coffins for them, and the Players from the Avengers Army paid their respects to their fallen comrades.

Meanwhile, Mole Man diligently explored the surroundings. “Hey, Black Panther, did you find something, moly?”

“There must be some secret to that coffin.”

“I think so too, moly.”

Black Panther said, “Obviously, that coffin is used for storing bodies.”

“Obviously, moly.”

“Maybe we need to put the right corpse in the coffin to perfectly clear this Dungeon?” Black Panther recalled the past events. “Maybe the coffin is for the one thought to be the Dungeon boss but wasn’t, whom the Dungeon boss devotedly served, and the true owner of the Abandoned Temple—the Forsaken Queen. Even though Chul-Soo had killed her, she had only turned into an ashen figure and did not disappear. Maybe that coffin is meant for the queen, the owner of the fourth floor.”

This meant they would have to go back to the fourth floor and bring up the queen’s body. As Black Panther thought about this, his tail stiffened with resolve.

‘Yes! Her body did not disappear after death! That’s the key point!’ Black Panther thought.

However, the problem was the time. Only about two minutes were left on the timer. Even hurrying down the stairs to fetch the body in the remaining time was tough. Moreover, if the wall that they had earlier destroyed had regenerated, it would add to the problem. They would have to say goodbye to the All-Clear.

‘Huh?’

Black Panther noticed something slightly odd about Mole Man.

‘It looks like… he is slightly stalling...?’

Black Panther had a strange feeling about it.

When only one minute was left, Mole Man took out a coffin from his inventory.

‘Wait, that is…!’

It was the coffin containing the queen’s body. The shape and style of the coffin made it seem like the Wood King had prepared it beforehand.

“Good thing I prepared in advance,” Mole Man said.

While the rest of the party had been busy with how to destroy the wall, Mole Man had asked Mok Jae-Hyeon and Kim Jeong-Hyeon to collect the queen’s body.

Mole Man walked away from Black Panther and toward Chul-Soo. Black Panther blankly stared at his back.

‘When did he prepare that?’

A slight sense of self-reproach washed over him.

‘But why did he stall?’

It seemed like Mole Man had intentionally waited till the last minute, to allow Chul-Soo to create a more dramatic scene. The absurd part was that Chul-Soo seemed to already know this and acted very naturally.

‘Was I the only one who didn’t know?’ Black Panther felt bitter. ‘These crazy guys… How on earth…?’

Leaving the stunned Black Panther behind, Mole Man said, “This is the queen’s body.”

“The queen finally found her place.” Chul-Soo carefully lifted the queen and placed her into the coffin. His expression was of utmost reverence. Everyone from the Avengers Army stood solemnly, their mouths sealed shut.

The ashen figure of the queen began to regain its color. The curse faded away, and the queen transformed beautifully and said, “Thank you for giving me eternal rest, my subject.”

“I just did what I had to do, Your Majesty.” In his mind, Jin-Hyeok was saying ‘Skip! Skip!’ but he did not show it outwardly.

The queen gently smiled. “I was forsaken but not forgotten. Loyal subjects like you have not forgotten me.”

She raised her arm and touched Jin-Hyeok’s cheek.

Kang Eun-Woo’s heart pounded at the sight. ‘Such a magnificent scene…’

Eun-Woo could not believe his eyes— the queen, having broken the curse and meeting her final rest, and Chul-Soo, reverently facing her.

‘Every shot I take is an amazing one.’

He realized each photo was going to be worth billions.

The revitalized appearance of the queen gradually faded. “I am not going to be lonely, knowing there will be someone to remember my last. Remember, I was your queen, and you are the last subject to come in contact with me. You shall have all that is mine.”

Golden light sparkled above the fading queen’s head, slowly rising and shattering above Jin-Hyeok’s head. It was like falling stardust.

‘Huh?’

[The Forsaken Queen, Veselity, has chosen you.]

[The right of inheritance is bound to the Player ⌜Kim Chul-Soo⌟.]

Jin-Hyeok was ecstatic about the inheritance but did not show it. He held the queen’s hand on his cheek, closed his eyes, and maintained a reverent posture. He did so for fear of revealing his greedy eyes, but his appearance seemed quite sublime, moving some of the Avengers Army to tears.

When the light dust almost disappeared, and the queen completely vanished, Jin-Hyeok received a new notification.

[The Universe-level Scenario ⌜Legacy of the Forsaken Queen⌟ has begun.]

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