I Gave Up Being Stronger

Kyle, who was more curious than Mole Woman, asked Cha Jin-Hyeok, “Your destructive power was beyond imagination. I was impressed.”

“Thanks,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

“But with such power, you could’ve attacked the outer part of the Ancient Rock Giant, instead of going for the core.” Kyle thought it would have been more efficient that way. Gradually destroying the outer part and eventually attacking the core seemed like a logical approach.

Earlier, if Kim Chul-Soo had failed to destroy the core in one shot, no one knew what would have happened. Fortunately, the result had turned out to be favorable for them, but the process was not necessarily ideal.

“Of course, it can be frightening. I understand the despair of seeing your strongest attack fail to reach the enem—”

“Then I would not have been able to destroy it in one shot.” Jin-Hyeok cut him off.

“What?”

“If you’re going to destroy something, it’s best to do it in style.”

Even for someone like Jin-Hyeok, looking cool while fighting the Ancient Rock Giant was hard. The Ancient Rock Giant was that strong.

“With Homepage Master nearby, I needed to make sure I get good photos too,” Jin-Hyeok added. If he fought too seriously, he would make it difficult for the Homepage Master to capture good footage.

Jin-Hyeok then nodded as if he understood what Kyle was trying to say. “I get why you’re frustrated, Kyle.”

“...”

“But I wish you would understand my Job a bit more.”

“...”

“Anyone can just destroy things. Where’s the fun in that?”

Kyle flinched. His goal had always been simple destruction. So, he felt as if he was being sucked into the vast emptiness of space. Suddenly, looking at Kim Chul-Soo made him dizzy.

“Was it the same during the Sword Emperor Tournament?” Kyle asked.

“Of course, I fought with style then as well.”

Fighting efficiently for a goal and fighting while paying attention to style were two entirely different concepts.

‘Have I… created a monster?’ Kyle felt like he had encountered an unfathomable abyss. The sudden realization hit him hard. ‘Who was I trying to fight…?’

“You win,” Kyle conceded.

He decided it was best not to fight Chul-Soo. What he had wanted was an honorable duel with a strong opponent, not to become a sacrifice for Chul-Soo’s quest for style.

“Oh, right. So, when are we having our duel?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

‘Is he pretending he didn’t hear me?’ Kyle was taken aback.

***

Samuel Maier, the head of the Maier Family and a skilled Assassin, was shocked.

‘Already? How is that possible?’

As a seasoned Assassin with vast experience under his belt, he could usually estimate how long a Dungeon raid would take. While his predictions were not always spot-on, they were rarely far off the mark.

‘That Ancient Rock Giant… With its formidable presence…’

An average party would take over a week to defeat it. However, given the strength of Chul-Soo’s party, Samuel had estimated it would take them about three days. He had been preparing for an effective ambush that would take place right after they cleared the Dungeon, when their guard would be at its lowest. However, they had already cleared the Dungeon.

He was faced with a dilemma.

‘I’m not ready yet. Should I attack them, or should I abandon the mission?’

Samuel had always carried out assassinations under perfect conditions. Attacking now was essentially a suicide mission, especially since he had to eliminate not just one Player, but Chul-Soo’s entire party. His mission was to kill all intruders in the Pangea Temple, including the Dungeon Destroyer, who had not yet escaped.

‘This is when they are most likely to let their guard down!’

Even if he could not kill them all, he had to try. As the head of the Maier Family, he had to carry out his duty. He considered who to ambush first for maximum effect.

‘The Mad Sorceress? The captain of the Sword Emperor Unit?’

Normally, he would have targeted one of those two. However, having studied Chul-Soo extensively, he thought differently.

‘I need to target Chul-Soo!’ Suddenly, he froze. ‘Did Chul-Soo just look at me?’

It was just for a moment, but he was certain. Somehow, he felt like Chul-Soo was inviting the ambush, as if saying, ‘Look, I am off guard. Come at me!’

Cold sweat ran down Samuel’s back.

‘Chul-Soo’s guard hasn’t dropped at all!’ He bit his lip hard. ‘I need to attack but…’

He could not bring himself to move. The assassination had failed before it even began.

***

Jin-Hyeok clicked his tongue in disappointment.

“What’s wrong, moly?” Mole Woman asked.

“It’s nothing,” Jin-Hyeok replied. He had expected the Assassin to attack. ‘I shouldn’t have made eye contact.’

Jin-Hyeok realized his mistake was failing to control his emotions when he thought about how exciting it would be if someone of that skill level ambushed them here. He needed to have concealed his excitement.

‘Come back stronger, Samuel Maier,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Through Broadcaster’s Insight, he knew that Shevian and Samuel were from the Maier Family. After confirming with Wang Yu-Mi, he learned that they were the first vassal family serving the legendary Assassin family, the Kyen Family. They were quite renowned even in Arvis.

‘If Samuel makes it back alive, he will raise Shevian to be a formidable opponent.’

While Samuel currently had the edge in skill and experience, Shevian had more potential. If those two continued to train, they would undoubtedly become formidable punching bags for Jin-Hyeok. Even if a punching bag was powerful, it was still just a punching bag, but Jin-Hyeok decided to let Samuel live. It was like a fisherman releasing a young fish to grow.

‘Hehehe.’ Jin-Hyeok hoped those Assassins would grow quickly and come back to ambush him.

***

A few minutes earlier, the Dungeon Destroyer, Dist, gulped. ‘To think such a powerful monster was lurking here.’

The Ancient Rock Giant was a terrifying creature. Dist had fled the moment he saw it. His goal was to collapse the Dungeon, not to raid the Dungeon boss.

‘This works out well.’

If he had not seen it with his eyes, he would not have understood. He had witnessed the Dungeon boss firsthand. Having felt its presence and strength directly, he thought he could take his time with the preliminary work for destroying the Dungeon.

‘This changes everything!’

He wanted a definitive destruction, not just the collapse of the Dungeon, but the absence of any survivors.

‘My achievement today will go down in history.’

It wasn’t just the Ancient Rock Giant here; Chul-Soo, Kyle, Fyurel, Lessefim, and other people were also present in the Dungeon. Some top-ranked Players in the universe were Playing here. If he could bury them all, it would be an achievement far greater than any Dungeon Destroyer had ever accomplished.

‘Today, I will become great.’

It would be hard to do anything more significant than this. Dist decided to put everything on the line today.

‘I am going to make the Oath.’

Dist made an Oath with the dynamites he created using mana. In exchange for imposing restrictions, he would create more powerful explosions.

‘Pangea Temple… I will pour everything out here. I don’t care if I lose all my powers.’

Additionally, he needed time to gather his firepower.

‘I think the preparation will take about a week, but…’ Nothing in the world was certain. He realized a week was too long. ‘Maybe three days?’

Even that was uncertain. Chul-Soo possessed far greater power than he had expected.

‘I can’t take more than one day. I need to control all the variables. One day is enough.’

Three days would have been safer, but just in case, he decided to gather his firepower for a time limit of twenty-four hours. He transformed into the shape of a large dynamite. The plan was now in motion.

‘In twenty-four hours, the greatest collapse in history will occu—huh?’

The Ancient Rock Giant had been defeated.

‘No!!’

The bundles of dynamite he had placed throughout the Dungeon disintegrated into dust. As much as Dungeon Destroyers had the dangerous ability to collapse Dungeons, they also bore great risks. If a Dungeon was completely cleared before it could be destroyed, the Dungeon Destroyer would be unable to escape. They would be bound to the Dungeon, becoming a phantom of that place.

‘What the fuck!’

Dist, who had dreamed of achieving greatness, now found himself facing an inescapable fate.

***

After an uncertain amount of time had passed, Dist heard a strange voice.

“Hello?”

“?”

‘Did the Dungeon collapse? Am I dead?’ Dist thought.

“I’m trying to do an interview.”

“!!!” Dist snapped to attention.

Chul-Soo and Mole Woman were standing before him.

“God hasn’t abandoned me at all!” Dist yelled. He thought he had been hallucinating until now. Then he started to laugh hysterically. “Hahahaha!”

‘Of course, there is no way the Dungeon could have been cleared already!’ Dist thought.

“Are you okay to do an interview?”

“So, you ended up running away, Chul-Soo.”

“Yeah, the Ancient Rock Giant was too strong for me,” Jin-Hyeok answered shamelessly.

“I knew it. The Ancient Rock Giant is too powerful. You will need to strengthen your party before attempting to defeat it. It will probably take a long time.”

“You were preparing to destroy the Dungeon, right?”

“?” Dist gulped. Dungeon Destroyers had nothing to gain from being known to the world.

‘I shouldn’t panic. He can only discern my name and Job through Broadcaster’s Insight. However, that must be it. He should not be able to uncover any more information.’

“It seems like you have made a special Oath. Is that right?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

Dist was speechless.

‘Well… since he knows about the Sword’s Oath, it’s reasonable that he knows about other Oaths too…’ Dist maintained his composure and remained silent.

“Ah, you created explosive-type artifacts with mana and made an Oath with them,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Dist’s eyes wavered. ‘How did he know all this? No, he is just fishing for information!’

If Chul-Soo had known, he would have been focused on disarming the dynamites. Dist concluded that Chul-Soo was engaging in psychological warfare.

“Wow, you are really serious about explosions. You have bet all your power on this one explosion!” Jin-Hyeok said.

Dist bit his lip. It would all be over in twenty-four hours anyway. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, “How did you know…?”

“Oh, so it was true!”

“?”

Even Jin-Hyeok could not see through everything. He had just made a guess based on the ominous energy leaking from the now-disintegrated dynamites.

“Why did you go to such lengths?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“You bastards!!”

Jin-Hyeok lowered his voice and whispered, “Think carefully. I’m the only one who can save you now. The Ancient Rock Giant is dead, and this Dungeon has been cleared.”

“...”

“And Mole Woman is excellent at digging.”

Jin-Hyeok was essentially threatening Dist that he was going to bury him deep in the ground. Dist was about to become not just a phantom in the Dungeon, but a phantom buried in the Dungeon’s earth, suffering eternal torment.

After a moment, Dist accepted reality. Revealing information about his client was shameful, but he had no desire to become a Dungeon phantom. He had to survive first.

“The Three Sister Prophets hired me. They asked me to kill you.”

Jin-Hyeok stopped his livestream. Then he grinned. “Thanks for the information. Take care!”

“H-Hey! Chul-Soo! Didn’t you say you would save me?”

“I said I’m the only one who can save you, not that I would save you.”

Mole Woman tilted her head. “He’s disrupting the order of Play, moly. Shouldn’t we kill him?”

“I was thinking he might turn into something like a Dungeon boss if we left him like this,” Jin-Hyeok replied. Defeating a Dungeon boss with a backstory, not just an ordinary one, would create a buzz for his livestream. “In the end, the narrative is what matters.”

“I see! I have learned something again today, moly.”

Jin-Hyeok left the Dungeon with Mole Woman and told her about the Pangea Temple's clear rewards.

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