I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 5

The King of Dwarves, Gargar, was around Level 35.

The strongest monster in the Seoul Station Tutorial Field was supposed to be the ‘Red Boa,’ with an average Level of 25. Yet a Level 35 monster had suddenly appeared.

Gargar was of a higher Level than any monster that could possibly appear in Bupyeong Station Dungeon, which had been dubbed as the most grueling Tutorial Dungeon.

‘It’s a strong one!’

Gargar didn’t come out right away, as if the Tutorial Field was giving them some leniency.

[You are about to enter the Field of a boss monster.]

[The revival feature does not apply to this Field.]

Jin-Hyeok was transported to a dark space.

He couldn’t tell exactly how big it was, but the space seemed quite wide. This large opening was surrounded by several tens of circular pillars that were planted all along the wall.

‘A magic circle?’

Indeed, there was a magic circle drawn on the floor.

It seemed that Gargar was going to be summoned from this circle.

“Guys, listen. There‘s no way you can beat the monster that’s about to come out.”

“H-how do you know?”

“‘Cause of my Broadcaster’s Truesight. It tells me a lot of things.”

“W-what should we do then?”

“Focus completely on defense, no matter what. Just try to block its attack once. I’ll take care of the rest somehow.”

The strength of a Nine-Man Monarch was still pretty formidable at their present point in time—though who knew how strong it would be in the future.

“If you use Nine-Man Bulwark, you should be able to withstand one blow. Just hang in there for one attack, and leave the rest to me.”

The ground began to rumble.

The tip of a helmet began to emerge from the magic circle.

Jin-Hyeok knew Gargar was much bigger than an ordinary Dwarf.

[LV35/Gargar/Skills]

Its name was marked in red, which meant that this monster was dangerous to fight at Jin-Hyeok’s current Level.

“When I raise my right hand, just shout out loud. Got it?”

“What about you, hyung?”

“No time to explain.”

Jin-Hyeok briskly moved into action, his movements were extremely light.

While he enjoyed hunting monsters head-on, that was not to say that using his head to devise a strategy wasn’t fun in its own way.

‘Broadcaster’s Shop.’

Jin-Hyeok opened the exclusive store for Streamers. The prices were exorbitant, but the upside was that there was quite a wide range of different things that one could purchase.

‘Crazy expensive.’

──────────

[Broadcaster’s Store]

* Rope (12m) - 500,000 Dias

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[Would you like to purchase Rope (12m)?]

So far, Jin-Hyeok had received a total of 700,000 Dias from donations.

There was no time to decide whether he really wanted to spend his money on the rope or not. Gargar had already emerged up to its torso, so he quickly bought it.

[Would you like to purchase Paralyzing Pills (Black)?]

Just like that, the remaining 200,000 of the 700,000 Dias Jin-Hyeok had received were spent on the ‘Paralyzing Pills (Black).’

‘Damn, I’m getting kinda nervous.’

What was good was that in this low-Level period where the strengths—and weaknesses—of different Jobs were yet to emerge, Jin-Hyeok could still fight properly and freely to his heart’s content. Plus, he had already faced Gargar in his previous life.

Besides, people don’t even see you as a Player until you reach Level 30. I should be fine if I fight it a little more aggressively, right?’

In fact, those under Level 30 were generally considered ‘Tutorial-grade’ Players, absolute beginners that hadn’t even yet reached the point where they could be called low-Level Players. No matter how brilliantly he fought at this stage, it would only be considered child's play—no one would begin to pay him attention merely based on that.

‘If I don't fight properly here, I’m actually going to die anyway. I have to fight for real.’

The lower half of Gargar's body emerged, accompanied by what looked like the wisps of a shimmery heat haze.

‘It got such an intimidating entrance for a low-tier mob—I’ll give it that, at least.’

This was just like how Krillin[1] seemed so strong when he made his first appearance.

Gargar began to stomp around. The King of Dwarves boasted a humongous frame that towered over two meters, and it clutched a crudely fashioned steel ax in its right hand.

‘Now.’ 𝒇𝒓𝓮𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝒐𝓿𝓮𝓵.𝒄𝒐𝙢

Jin-Hyeok raised his right hand high.

‘Get its attention with your shouts!’

The boys needed to shout out loud to lure Gargar.

‘Hmm… they aren’t making a sound.’

Jin-Hyeok raised his right hand again just in case they didn’t see it, but the kids didn’t make any sort of shout.

***

In the eyes of the high schoolers, before Gargar had completely emerged, Jin-Hyeok had been doing something quite a distance away from them.

Whatever he was doing, they couldn’t see it properly.

Kang Nam-Il, the Nine-Man Monarch, talked quietly with his friends.

“There’s no doubt that this hyung’s gonna use us as bait and make a run for it.”

“Yo, no way. As if…”

“Then why is he so far away from us? What is he even doing right now? That bastard said it himself—there’s no way we can beat this creature with our own strength.”

“H-he told us to block one attack.”

“No, we need to go to where he is. The exit has to be there. That hyung must know something we don’t!”

Kang Nam-Il had a hard time trusting Jin-Hyeok.

And so he didn’t do as Jin-Hyeok had asked.

“He said the Dwarves are sensitive to sounds. So isn’t it weird that he asked us to make sounds?”

“That… That’s true.”

“We should move soundlessly, as quietly and carefully as possible. We should be fine as long as we don’t make any sounds.”

“Hey, hey… wouldn’t it still be better for us to just do as he says?”

“Bullshit. I’m the Ruler here. Just listen to me.”

Detached far away from the high schoolers, Jin-Hyeok continued to stream indifferently.

“It seems the boys no longer have trust in me. From the looks of it, I think the fact that I didn’t have time to explain my position properly to them may have played a large part. That’s a real shame.”

But this, too, was their choice to make at the end of the day, as far as Jin-Hyeok was concerned.

Gargar was not the same as the run-of-the-mill Dwarves—it was also sensitive to movement.

‘And if it catches you moving…’

You were screwed.

Even if the nine of them had set up a position where they solely poured all their energy and focus into defense, they would have been able to block were one to two strikes at the very most. Even so, if they had just fended off one attack from Gargar, Jin-Hyeok had been planning to do the rest.

Gargar rushed towards the high schoolers who had drawn nearby.

“RAH!”

With a roar, its ax came swinging down.

“AHHHHH!”

The result was more of a slaughter than a battle.

None of the boys were able to properly gather themselves to defend against Gargar’s ax.

Six of them were killed in an instant.

“Now there’s three of them left,” Jin-Hyeok commentated for his viewers.

Gargar was significantly faster than an ordinary Dwarf, and didn’t give the high schoolers a chance to run.

Kang Nam-Il, the Nine-Man Monarch, fell onto his backside.

‘S-s-shit.’

Crushed by fear, he scrambled backward desperately until his back was against the wall. He was faced with an overwhelming monster that didn’t seem to possess a single weakness.

‘N-no…!’

There was nothing he could do.

Gargar jumped towards Kang Nam-Il.

“HEY, you bastard! Over here!”

That was when Jin-Hyeok let out a sudden shout.

THUMP!

Gargar’s ax landed straight into the wall beside Kang Nam-Il.

Kang Nam-Il trembled with fear as he began to cry. Completely overtaken by the fear of death, there was not a thing he could do as he stayed frozen in place.

“Here!”

Grrr?

“I said over here!”

Gargar turned to where the sound emanated from. And just like that, it immediately began charging toward Jin-Hyeok.

Jin-Hyeok was honestly a little surprised.

‘Was that all it took to draw its aggro?’

He found it a bit odd, but he didn’t have the luxury of pondering the question further.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The ground shook.

***

Kang Nam-Il tried to stand up.

‘I don’t want to die.’

He wanted to live no matter what it took. The terror he had just felt was something he never wanted to experience again.

But it was right then that Kang Nam-Il saw the monster—that had been charging toward Cha Jin-Hyeok with each stomp shaking the very earth—come to an abrupt stop, wobbling before it fell right over.

‘W-wait, is that a…?’

Nam-Il noticed something on the floor—a rope had been installed.

Gargar had tripped on the rope and fallen over.

‘Huh?’

As soon as Gargar fell down, Jin-Hyeok soared like a swallow.

‘W-what?’

Jin-Hyeok leaped straight at the falling Gargar, and tossed something straight into the monster’s mouth.

Then, twisting his body like a gymnast in mid-air, he vaulted right over Gargar and landed straight on its back.

Kang Nam-Il couldn’t stop looking at Jin-Hyeok, staring at him as if in a trance.

‘How… How can he possibly move like that?’

Try as he may to apply his logic and common sense as a completely ordinary human to what he had just seen, Kim Nam-Il couldn’t fully comprehend what he had witnessed.

Jin-Hyeok had to be from the special forces, or a professional gymnast. Whatever it was, there was no doubt in Nam-Il’s mind that this man had undergone a tremendous amount of training in some manner.

‘And why isn’t that monster moving?’

Indeed, Gargar strangely seemed unable to move.

Though Kang Nam-Il was not aware of it, this was the effect of the Paralyzing Pills.

Meanwhile, Jin-Hyeok clutched a sharp dagger with both hands while he inhaled and exhaled deeply.

His eyes were planted on Gargar’s back. More precisely, they were focused on the big spot that covered the middle of the monster’s back.

As Jin-Hyeok calmed his fluttering heart, he talked steadily to his audience.

“That spot we see there is heaving up and down, like a chest that’s breathing.”

There would be a moment when that spot opened up.

Jin-Hyeok was aiming for that moment.

“This looks like the timing we’ve been waiting for. I’ll try stabbing it.”

With that, Jin-Hyeok thrust his dagger deep. His motions were natural and seamless.

Shuk!

Sickly green blood splashed onto Jin-Hyeok’s face.

‘Wow, that’s right… this is how it feels.’

This was definitely the sensation of a critical shot.

It was admittedly a sensation of enjoyment that he hadn’t felt for long, and that he welcomed like an old friend.

Jin-Hyeok quickly turned down those emotions. He was a Streamer now.

“I will finish the job properly.”

Jin-Hyeok approached the nape of Gargar, who was spread out cold on the floor, and stabbed at the area several times.

Shuk! Shuk! Shuk!

Every time he stabbed, the green blood splashed everywhere wildly. Although Gargar had already ceased to show any signs of movement, Jin-Hyeok did not stop.

He would have seemed like the devil incarnate to a bystander.

[You have slain 「Gargar」.]

[You have unlocked the Achievement 「Fall of the Little King」.]

Jin-Hyeok stood up at last.

He was drenched in blood, but he was smiling brightly.

***

Jin-Hyeok approached Kang Nam-Il, who was still trembling with fear.

“Why didn’t you do as I asked?”

“W-w-well… I told my friends that we should do as you say, but they…!”

Kang Nam-Il suddenly kneeled on the floor and began begging.

“P-please, spare me.”

“I didn’t say I would kill you, now did I?”

Jin-Hyeok found the whole situation to be rather weird.

He had indeed never said he would kill Kang Nam-Il. On top of that, he was live and on air right now, and he most certainly didn’t have some twisted hobby of killing people.

The boys made a regretful choice, but the truth was that it was well within Jin-Hyeok’s expectations.

“I’d be an idiot if I couldn’t tell that you wouldn’t listen to me, considering how you guys were bickering and being so disorganized.”

That was why Jin-Hyeok had actually made his move under the assumption that the boys wouldn’t do as he asked. The boys had no duty to follow his orders—after all, they didn’t have the tight bonds that long-time comrades did.

It occurred to Jin-Hyeok that it could have been better for him to point out in advance to the boys that he suspected they wouldn't listen to him.

Then again, he hadn’t had the time to explain anything properly, so it was what it was.

Jin-Hyeok had acted for his own benefit, and so had the boys. Each of them were simply responsible for living with the consequences of their own actions.

Jin-Hyeok’s train of thought was broken and he began to feel a little awkward when the other two boys that had survived came kneeling before him, begging profusely.

“All in all, trying to hang in there with Nine-Man Bulwark would have given us the best chances. I’m sure you guys noticed it as well, but that monster has a pretty long delay in between its attacks.”

“…There was a delay?”

Anyone who had maintained just a bit of focus would have noticed a detail like that, but it seemed the boys had been too terrified to see it. And now, they also seemed to be in a state of great shock from losing their friends.

However, all of that really didn’t matter that much to Jin-Hyeok.

He was maintaining conversation with the boys, but it was more being used as a vehicle to inform his thousands of viewers. It was a way to satisfy the need to enlighten his viewers on how he discerned the monster’s weaknesses, and why he had chosen to combat the monster in the way he did.

“During that delay, I saw that the black spot on its back kept opening and closing.”

“I-it was?”

“Yup. Anyone can notice things like that when they try to keep even just a bit of their wits about them in battle.”

“A-anyone can notice that?”

Detector class Players went beyond this, and were able to pinpoint much more subtle weaknesses of a monster in far greater detail. Other than the actual location of the weakness itself, they could even analyze fine details such as which weapons made out of what material should be used, how deep the blow should be, and how much power should be behind a blow to impart maximum damage.

“I deduced the spot was the weak point. Then I set up to create an optimal situation for attacking that weakness. While Gargar was a boss monster, the fact of the matter is that it was just another kind of Dwarf, and it was probably going to be big since it was a ‘King.’ Accounting for this, I bought a rope in advance and installed it with the plan of tripping it over. After you guys had blocked one of Gargar’s attacks, I was going to lure it into the trap and begin my attack.”

The process turned out a little differently, but the result was fortunately still pretty good.

“In the end, I was lucky to be able to slay Gargar.”

“Right… you were… lucky.”

The boys still seemed to be despondent and out of their minds.

Nonetheless, Jin-Hyeok thought this explanation would give the viewers a good enough understanding of what happened, in addition to his thought process.

‘Now then, let’s have a look at this Achievement.’

However, the Achievement Jin-Hyeok had received was upgraded as his fight with Gargar was classified as a solo battle.

[The 「Fall of the Little King」 Achievement is upgraded to the 「Lord of the Tutorial」 Achievement.]

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[Lord of the Tutorial]

You have slain Gargar, the Lord of the Seoul Station Tutorial Field.

You receive the Lord’s effect.

You may select one of your Traits/Skills to be activated at all times.

However, this effect can only be applied inside Tutorial Fields.

──────────

Jin-Hyeok was a little disconcerted.

‘I’ll be in the first place for sure at this rate, not third place.’

Yet at the same time, thinking about the prospect made him happy.

‘I have to look out for this wicked mind.’

Regardless, Jin-Hyeok was greatly satisfied with the effect itself.

[Would you like to apply the 「Lord of the Tutorial」Achievement effect?]

Jin-Hyeok immediately applied the Achievement effect to the ‘Broadcaster’s Barrier.’

As soon as he did so, Broadcaster’s Barrier activated.

[The Achievement effect is applied. 「Broadcaster’s Barrier」will always be activated.]

This was like a shield that would always be covering him. Now he wasn’t going to find himself hurt or injured in the Tutorial Fields, at the least.

‘Okay, now I really need to slow down and take a breather…’

It was admittedly a bit of a shame to stop now.

It would have been fun if the Red Boa, the strongest monsters around these parts, popped up to him out of nowhere—or if a skilled assassin tried to attack him.

‘Shit. Pull yourself together, Cha Jin-Hyeok.’

With all that had happened, Jin-Hyeok was thinking about descending further down into the station.

If he went down there right now, he could have a shot at getting an ‘Extra Life’—the thing that was the whole reason he came here in the first place.

‘But still, I think I need to slow down…’

[「Lord of the Tutorial」, please use the escalator to enter the subway platform.]

[If you refuse to enter the subway platform, your Achievement will be withdrawn.]

Oh, well.

He had to go down to the subway platform now.

After all, he really had no choice.

1. A character from Dragon Ball. ☜