I Gave Up Being Stronger

“Watch out! A massive stone pillar is crashing down toward us!” Cha Jin-Hyeok shouted.

An enormous pillar pierced through the temple’s ceiling and hit the ground with a thunderous boom. It burrowed deep into the earth, right beside the place where the coffin of the Principal of the Magic School had been.

“I can feel a strange mana enveloping the stone pillar.”

Dust billowed up, and an eerie silence fell over the temple. Jin-Hyeok captured this situation in his livestream as if it were straight out of a thriller movie.

“Look, the pillar…” Jin-Hyeok said. The pillar instantly transformed into a colossal being. “It’s a Giant!”

With each step the Giant took, the ground trembled.

[“I clearly instructed that magic was to be forbidden.”]

A commanding voice echoed throughout the space, its power overwhelming everyone.

The Ancient Rock Giant was clad in pristine white priestly robes adorned with a yellow cross on its chest. Its appearance alone suggested that it was connected to the universe-level Scenario.

The Giant bellowed.

[“Which insolent wretch dares defy my orders and use magic?”]

The Ancient Rock Giant swept its gaze over the tiny life forms at its feet, its eyes glowing ominous blue.

[“Who’s the defiant one? Confess, foolish children! I shall mercifully spare the rest for one miserable life.”]

Jin-Hyeok was elated at the Giant’s overwhelming presence. Just its presence here created tension. He wondered how he could make his livestream even more thrilling in this situation.

“It’s those guys over there, moly!” Mole Woman pointed at the Cyril Alliance Assassins hiding behind a pillar.

The Ancient Rock Giant turned its head, making a grinding sound of stone turning against stone.

“They must have combined their powers to cast a joint spell, moly! Look, they are still using invisibility magic to hide, moly!”

[“I shall save you all from evil!”]

Its eyes flashed green as it murmured an ancient magical incantation.

[“ümeq ötüllükler ke-mizle”]

The Giant materialized a massive stone spear in the air and hurtled it through the air at a terrifying speed. The rocky projectile pierced through the pillar and impaled one of the Cyril Alliance Assassins hiding behind it.

“ARGH!!” The Assassin died instantly.

The Giant’s abilities were not limited to offensive magic. The spear that had skewered the Assassin sprouted arms and legs, transforming into the Ancient Rock Giant. The Giant had instantly switched its position.

Jin-Hyeok remained focused on his livestream. “It seems to be a type of teleportation magic.”

“That bastard! The Giant didn’t fall for it, moly!” Mole Woman immediately informed Jin-Hyeok about it.

The Ancient Rock Giant had not been fooled by her lies. It had accurately identified who had ignited this powerful flame. By attacking the Assassins, it was simply eliminating minor variables before confronting the true enemy.

Jin-Hyeok found this slightly bewildering. ‘Wouldn’t it be weirder if the monster fell for such obvious lies?’

Anyone could see that Fyurel had caused this inferno. Even now, intense flames were flickering above her.

Mole Woman tilted her head. “Male entities usually fall for my lies pretty easily… Maybe the monster is not a male?”

Regardless of her confusion, Mole Woman had been observing the Ancient Rock Giant’s movements and noticed something. “Its core seems to be hidden deep in the right chest area, moly.”

Every time the Ancient Rock Giant swung its massive fist, a minute amount of mana leaked out of that place.

“We can probably defeat it by destroying the core, but it hardly shows any opening, moly.”

The Giant’s skin appeared too tough to break from the outside. At Level 400, with the added benefits of being a hidden boss monster, this Dungeon boss was indeed a formidable opponent.

“Still, don’t you think you can break it, moly?” Mole Woman asked Chul-Soo.

“No, I can’t.”

“Oh… I see.”

Mole Woman wondered why she had thought Chul-Soo could break it; she needed to reflect on herself.

***

Samuel Maier, the only survivor among the Assassins, barely managed to escape.

‘Kim Chul-Soo…!’ Samuel used to believe he knew a great deal about Chul-Soo, but he was wrong. Chul-Soo had been playing him like a fiddle all along. He could have never expected that Chul-Soo would use a Dungeon boss to eliminate the Assassins sent to kill him. ‘He could’ve dealt with me directly if he wanted to.’

At first, he thought Chul-Soo had been just mocking him with his actions. But upon further reflection, Samuel understood it differently.

‘It was all for the sake of his livestream’s diversity.’ Such dedication to one’s Job was rare. As an experienced Assassin, Samuel admired Jin-Hyeok’s passion and intensity. ‘He is worth emulating.’

He found Chul-Soo’s dedication almost beautiful in a way. Nevertheless, he still had to kill the Streamer.

‘How should I do it?’ He contemplated it. After facing such a powerful ancient monster, even Chul-Soo would struggle to return safely. Moreover, the Dungeon Destroyer was preparing to make the Dungeon collapse. ‘For now, I will retreat and wait for the next opportunity.’

As the head of the Maier Family and an Assassin who had never failed, Samuel resolved to plan a more meticulous attack.

***

“Ancient Rock Giant!” Jin-Hyeok said,

The Giant slowly turned around, its fists dripping with blood.

[“Who dares call my name?”]

“It is I, O Ancient Rock Giant.” Jin-Hyeok raised his hand.

[“State your family name, given name, and religious order.”]

“My name is Mitra of the Feyler Family. I serve Gaia, the Goddess of Earth.”

Even Mole Woman stared at Jin-Hyeok for his brazen response. ‘His livestreaming skills have improved even more, moly!’

[“You have a fine faith, young one. I, too, once adored the Goddess Gaia.”]

As Jin-Hyeok conversed with the Ancient Rock Giant, Fyurel began gathering mana. Casting a powerful spell required time and concentration. Fyurel intended to melt the Ancient Rock Giant entirely. Of course, expending such mana would leave her incapacitated for days, but that did not matter to her.

‘Burn eternally, Phoenix!’ Fyurel internally cast her spell.

As Fyurel completed the spell, seven phoenixes emerged from the magic circle.

Jin-Hyeok’s heart raced. ‘Those are phoenixes…!’

Those were the legendary phoenixes, firebirds that could regenerate endlessly and were impervious to any attack. This spell was the most difficult to execute among fire-based summoning spells, but it also boasted the most firepower.

“The eternal phoenixes have revealed themselves to burn another life! This is my first time seeing a phoenix!” Jin-Hyeok said.

Jin-Hyeok’s excitement was transmitted directly to the viewers.

-Wait, so phoenixes never die?

-But didn’t Chul-Soo eat the Phoenix Heart?

-That’s something a phoenix gives as a gift to someone it likes.

A Phoenix Heart was a heart-shaped flame that a phoenix would give to its friends as a gift. People just called it a Phoenix Heart, but in reality, phoenixes did not have hearts.

Eating just one of those Phoenix Hearts could grant someone immunity to all poisons below the Snake King level, showcasing its incredible power.

However, the Ancient Rock Giant did not seem particularly surprised.

[“How dare you! You are capable of nothing but burning things!”]

The Giant crossed its arms in an X-shape to block the Phoenixes’ attack. The birds collided with its arms and scattered in all directions. Part of the Ancient Rock Giant’s priestly robes and arms melted, but nearby stones flew in to regenerate him. Even Jin-Hyeok could not help but marvel at the sight.

“The monster seems to have tremendous magic resistance. Perhaps there is a magic resistance buff on those priestly robes,” Jin-Hyeok said.

The sleeves of the Giant’s robe had melted. If Fyurel could summon the phoenixes again, the attack could be somewhat successful, but Fyurel was not in an ideal condition. She had poured everything into this spell, so she needed to rest.

This demonstrated the strengths and weaknesses of Mages in battle. They boasted overwhelming firepower but faced significant risks if they failed.

Meanwhile, the captain of the Sword Emperor Unit, Kyle, approached the monster and swung his sword. A loud clang echoed, and sparks flew. Kyle’s expression darkened. His attack had failed to penetrate the Ancient Rock Giant.

The Ancient Rock Giant levitated dozens of small rocks, each the size of a watermelon, and launched them at Kyle. Even Kyle struggled to fend off the barrage.

“It seems the monster’s resistance to physical attacks is even stronger than its magic resistance. It’s truly powerful,” Jin-Hyeok commented, his heart pounding with excitement.

***

The Ancient Rock Giant could not completely dominate Fyurel and Kyle. As powerful as the Giant was, the combination of Fyurel and Kyle was equally formidable.

Intense flames erupted; enormous stone spears as large as houses flew through the air; and Kyle’s swords, capable of cutting even diamonds, glimmered. After several rounds of storm-like combat, a brief lull settled in.

“While the Ancient Rock Giant is undoubtedly a strong Dungeon boss, something is oddly awkward about it,” Jin-Hyeok said. This strange sense of discomfort had kept Jin-Hyeok from joining the battle.

Mole Woman was surprised. She had been feeling something similar but could not pinpoint what it was. While she hesitated to speak, Jin-Hyeok had voiced it first.

‘He probably just noticed the awkwardness, right?’ she thought. ‘Surely, he could not have figured it out faster than me, a Navigator. Or at least, he shouldn’t have.’

“It’s particularly awkward when it swings its fists. Mole Woman, what do you think?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“I, I thought so too, moly!”

“Why do we sense this awkwardness from such a powerful boss monster?”

Unable to admit her ignorance, Mole Woman offered the first thing that came to mind. “Maybe fists aren’t its specialty, moly?”

“Wow!”

‘As expected of Mole Woman!’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Feeling Jin-Hyeok’s gaze, Mole Woman discreetly averted her eyes. Since she couldn’t confess that she had just made something up, she felt a twinge of guilt.

“A closer analysis of its movements tells me that the Ancient Rock Giant was originally a priest who wielded a large, blunt weapon. It appears to have lost that weapon now,” Jin-Hyeok said seriously. “As we can tell from the name of the Dungeon boss room, it wasn’t simply closed off from society.”

If it had been, the keyword forgotten would not have appeared in the name of the boss room.

“The Dungeon’s boss room is called The Principal’s Office of the Forgotten Magic School. It seems the temple forced this magic school to be forgotten. In other words, I suspect it was closer to a sealing rather than a closure. And the Ancient Rock Giant’s weapon—a divine object—was likely used in that sealing. Mole Woman, is this what you were going to say?”

‘M-Moly?’ She was so flustered that she missed a crucial fact: while someone else was having a battle with the Ancient Rock Giant, they were having a surprisingly calm conversation.

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