I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 480

-Is Charles really not from the Celestial Realm?

-With that level of performance, maybe he is...

Due to Charles Kim’s abilities, some believed that he was from the Celestial Realm or perhaps even a divine being.

-Who even believes in that kind of stuff these days? LOL

-It’s just a persona; it’s literally stated in his channel. What’s up with these people? Tsk tsk.

Others were convinced that Charles’s livestreams were merely part of his persona.

-Even if it’s just a persona... How is it possible for him to tame Dekimax, the Lich Boss of Pontoleon Cave? Not even top-level Tamers could do it.

-He must have made a deal with Dekimax, duh.

-How do you make a deal with a Dungeon boss? If it were that simple, Tamers would’ve done it already.

-There are so many unique Jobs out there. Why are you limiting the possibilities? This is why you’re stuck where you are. Smh!

Whether Charles was from the Celestial Realm or not had become a hot topic for many. If one were to break it down, those who believed he was from the Celestial Realm were in the minority.

-Isn’t it said that Celestial Beings can’t even mention the Celestial Realms?

-Nah, it’s more like they just can’t say they’re from the Celestial Realm. That’s all.

-How do we even know this kind of stuff?

Rumors from ages ago had it that Celestial Beings couldn’t mention the Celestial Realm or reveal their true origin.

-But no one has ever returned from the Celestial Realm, so how do we know this?

-Who said no one has? Haven’t you read the history books?

Historical texts had records of people who had supposedly departed from the Celestial Realm.

-Oh, you mean like 2,000 years ago? That’s just a legend.

-Nope, it’s not. It’s real.

-LOL, can’t believe some people still buy into that.

Regardless, the influence of Charles’s livestreams continued to grow, and Cha Jin-Hyeok found himself grappling with deeper concerns.

‘The Celestial Realm persona is working, but...’ From the livestreaming perspective, it was a satisfying outcome for him. Although it wasn’t the same as growing on Earth, he could feel himself steadily progressing here. Most notably, his ability to communicate with the viewers and his use of seduction techniques had significantly improved.

‘But my seduction technique works a little too well here.’

Whether it was a coincidence or not, something similar to Chul-Soo Land had emerged in this universe too. This one was far more radical and extreme than the Chul-Soo Land of his original world. The news reaching Jin-Hyeok was far from pleasant.

“A Chul-Soo Lander collapsed from lovesickness and was rushed to the ER...”

Even worse incidents happened. In one of them, someone had stabbed their friend in a fight over whether Charles was truly a Celestial Being. Furthermore, random street violence had occurred after a passerby was attacked for allegedly insulting Charles. As it turned out, the person had not even insulted Charles; they had just said, “I don’t think Charles is that handsome...”

As a result, the number of radical fans had exponentially increased, forcing Jin-Hyeok to reflect on his livestreams. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

‘I didn’t expect such huge side effects from using the seduction technique...’

Even if these weren’t extreme crimes, there were countless reports of strained relationships between teenagers and their parents due to their obsession with Charles’s livestreams. Many cases also involved people neglecting their families and children because they were so consumed by his content. In essence, Charles Kim was now a significant influence on society.

‘This isn’t the kind of livestreaming I wanted...’

While the livestreams were fun, if their impact was negative, Jin-Hyeok couldn’t call himself a true Streamer. That was his belief.

‘It feels like my determination is headed in the wrong direction.’

Ultimately, Jin-Hyeok decided to have an honest conversation with Kim Min-Ji.

“I didn’t realize you were playing such a huge role, Min-Ji,” he said.

“Well, I don’t know about that...” Min-Ji had grown a bit more shameless by now. “Could you give me a kiss?”

However, she still wasn’t bold enough. Before Jin-Hyeok could even respond, she turned red and waved her hands frantically. “I was joking! Haha. But why are you complimenting me?”

“I’m talking about the Chul-Soo Land cardinal rule from my original universe. When you were Chul-Soo Land No.1, there were some rules, and the side effects didn’t seem as severe as they are here.”

Min-Ji had played a significant role in the management of Chul-Soo Land. She had been the steadying force that minimized its negative effects.

Min-Ji blushed at the praise. She wanted to respond more confidently, but her heart was racing too fast to speak.

“I think I need to seriously start searching for the Celestial Realm,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Huh? Why?”

“I need to make people forget me.” As he had learned, if he entered the Celestial Realm, people would naturally forget about him. “There are too many negative side effects happening because of him. And it’s all from my livestreaming.”

“But you haven’t done anything wrong, Charles!”

“It’s not that I haven’t done anything wrong. I overused my seduction technique.”

Though it wasn’t intentional, many families had been destroyed because of his livestreams. The weight on his shoulders was undeniable.

“You’ve brought happiness to so many people, though! The positive impact far outweighs the negative! Many people found hope in life because of you! Some have even been cured of incurable diseases! Some were even thinking of ending their lives but decided to keep going after watching your videos! Your livestreams are so valuable, Chul-Soo!” Min-Ji said.

Jin-Hyeok smiled softly. Min-Ji’s passionate defense lifted his spirits.

“Not Chul-Soo, Charles Kim.” Jin-Hyeok corrected her.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I got excited... Charles Kim. My bad...”

“In any case, if I do find the Celestial Realm, it will make for great content. It’s a win-win.”

“I respect whatever you decide. You are the light and the way. But what if I had a more efficient solution?”

***

For six months, Jin-Hyeok searched for the entrance to the Celestial Realm, but he couldn’t find it. Whether he could locate it soon remained uncertain. What he needed now was a solution that could yield immediate results.

“I think we can obtain the oblivion-type Mystery. There are a few Dungeons in the Arvis Server where there’s a chance of acquiring it,” Min-Ji said.

“I see,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

“If we use it in conjunction with God of Luck, we might be able to get it in one try.”

“And you’re saying I should livestream it, right?”

She wanted him to use the oblivion-type Mystery on the viewers through his livestream. Since poison and corruption could be transmitted via the livestream, there was no reason the power of oblivion couldn’t be shared in the same way.

‘Should I give it a try?’ Jin-Hyeok wondered.

This could be the immediate solution he was looking for. Jin-Hyeok quickly returned to Earth, momentarily ignoring the Guardian Tree, who was calling out for affection, and headed to Arvis.

“Hey, Guardian Tree. Are you hopping between Servers now?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

Leafy, now wearing a neatly arranged hanbok, had followed him. “Wherever you go, I must follow, dear husband.”

“And who’s protecting Earth?”

“I’ve scattered plenty of seeds, and the saplings are growing. They should be enough to cover Earth.”

Jin-Hyeok frowned. His recent guilt over using his seduction technique excessively made Leafy’s behavior feel a bit uncomfortable.

“Just do what makes you comfortable. And stop talking to me all lovey-dovey.”

It was strange hearing her suddenly drop the formal and medieval-ish tone she used to cling to.

“The older generations from the Korean Region prefer this tone of voice. I’ve become a modest and demure Leafy. I’m comfortable like this, dear husband.”

“And stop calling him your husband!” Min-Ji shouted.

Leafy snorted in amusement. “You, the number one offender who doesn’t follow the cardinal rule of Chul-Soo Land, dare meddle in my affairs? Min-Ji, you have no right to lecture me, you vile woman!”

“What did I even do...”

“You’ve been monopolizing our husband in that strange world! You wicked woman!”

Unable to respond to that, Min-Ji decided to simply ignore Leafy.

***

[You have acquired the Mystery ⌜Wail of the Forgotten Wraith⌟.]

Jin-Hyeok obtained a relatively high-tier Mystery among those related to oblivion. Without delay, he returned to the world of Alteon Saga and began an active communication livestream.

[You have activated the Mystery ⌜Wail of the Forgotten Wraith⌟.]

The number of live viewers rapidly decreased. People were beginning to forget Charles.

‘It seems like the stronger their mental resistance is, the better they resist the Mystery,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

In that sense, things were progressing well. After all, people with strong mental fortitude were less likely to suffer from the Chul-Soo Land side effects.

‘But I need to make them forget me as much as possible.’

To maintain the essence of his livestream, Jin-Hyeok used the Mystery more intensely than ever, continuing to broadcast for three straight days. By the end of the third day, only a few hundred viewers remained.

‘This should be enough.’ He felt a sense of relief. ‘I’ve learned a lot from this.’

He realized that overusing his charm could lead to disastrous consequences. Mindless livestreaming could bring more misery than joy to people. He resolved to return to livestreaming with a stronger sense of purpose and philosophy.

‘When is this universe going to get stronger?’

The Archive had opened the Great Player Era on Earth. Many Players were growing rapidly, and Earth was catching up to, or even surpassing, Arvis as a Server. The Level of Players was increasing exponentially, and the ecosystem was changing. However, Jin-Hyeok was so overwhelmingly strong that he didn’t feel it much.

To an ocean, the difference between a stream and a river was negligible.

‘Can it even grow stronger...?’

***

In the solitude of his room, Jin-Hyeok had a sudden realization. “One day, I will end up all alone.”

When he had seen his parents again after a long time, they had aged considerably. Although the Chul-Soo Potion had restored some of their youth, it wasn’t an elixir of immortality.

‘Even Jin-Sol...’

The reality of eventually having to part with his family, who had always been there for him, suddenly hit him hard.

‘I will live for an eternity, close to it.’

Being too strong came with this burden.

‘My family. My comrades. My friends, who care about me. And all the Chul-Soo Landers in the universe...’

They would all age. He would have to say goodbye to them in a few decades or a few centuries. Eventually, he would be left alone. As one Chul-Soo Lander disappeared, a new one would be born, but that wouldn’t fully alleviate the sense of loss. The birth of new Chul-Soo Landers also meant more inevitable farewells.

‘Time is moving too slowly for me.’

He could feel that the time of all the worlds around him was racing much faster than his own. To exaggerate, what felt like a minute for him felt like a year for others. If a few hours passed, everyone would die and disappear, and he alone would remain, unchanged.

As he thought of this, an instinctual sense of loneliness and fear surged within him. Perhaps it would have been better if he hadn’t learned to understand human emotions at all. Suddenly, the words of Gergonde, the Celestial Being, came to mind.

“After living for hundreds of years, you still can’t let go of your attachment to the mortal world. Keep that compass safe. One day, you will head to the Celestial Realm on your own.”

It was a kind of realization. When Jin-Hyeok became utterly alone, when everything turned to nothingness—at that point, he would have to go to the Celestial Realm. It was the understanding that he would need to find others in a similar situation and live among them.

[You have activated ⌜Gerdonde’s Compass⌟.]

The compass began spinning and pointed in a specific direction. What the needle aimed at was none other than the door leading to his living room. That door had now become the entrance to the Celestial Realm.

***

After much contemplation, Jin-Hyeok made a decision. ‘This won’t work.’

He raised Miri and shattered the door leading to the Celestial Realm. He could hear someone shouting, “You madman!” beyond the door, but he chose to ignore it.

“I need to truly become stronger.”

He had already made his parents younger by using the abilities of Level [-]. While he didn’t know what came after Level [-], he was certain that leveling up more would eventually reveal the next stage.

“I will need to retrieve the Archive.”

He knew he could face some backlash, but fortunately, he had the oblivion-type Mystery. He would erase the existence of the Archive as much as possible and focus on becoming even stronger.

‘First, I need to become the owner of this universe.’

Slowly building influence wasn’t enough anymore. He needed to become the outright owner of every Server. The only problem was that there was only one of him.

‘Wait, can’t I just livestream this?’

If he conducted the procedure of becoming the owner through his livestream, he could execute it simultaneously across the entire universe. Once he became the owner of all Servers, the next step was to claim every Server in the world that the God had created, Alteon Saga. By becoming stronger than anyone else and creating a true, immortal Chul-Soo Potion, he would solve everything!

[Munchkin Returned]

Jin-Hyeok started his livestream.

“There will be a slight change in the direction of my livestream,” Jin-Hyeok told the viewers. His usual first-person adventure, which was full of suspense, wasn’t bad, but now was the time for something different. “The new concept of this livestream is my Trait, Munchkin.

He decided to solidify the concept. The goal was to become stronger than anyone else and eventually create a far more superior Chul-Soo Potion. He was planning to slow down time for the people around him.

‘Perhaps my choice is wrong,’ Jin-Hyeok thought. It could be arrogance. No matter how hard he pushed, it could all end up being futile. ‘The more I push, the more meaningless it might feel.’

The more effort he poured in, the more painful it could become—loneliness, isolation, and boredom so profound it could gnaw away at him. He could be heading toward inevitable suffering.

‘Which is why...’

He had to become even stronger. Jin-Hyeok livestreamed every day, sometimes directly interacting with his viewers, continuing his intense broadcasts. Through the livestream, he conducted polls and became the owner of countless Servers.

Then one day...

[You have reached the limit of the ⌜Quill of Records⌟.]

[You can no longer record in the Archive.]

A notification appeared, signaling a small hiccup in Jin-Hyeok’s plan to devour immense experience points from the Archive all at once. Yet, Jin-Hyeok grinned.

“Miri, you can do it, right?”

-Leave it to me!

Miri giggled as well. The will of the world, trying to block Chul-Soo’s growth, was about to meet its match.

-Silly settings. Let’s just break them!

Jin-Hyeok gripped Miri tightly.

-Harder! Squeeze me harder! More!

Using all his might, he struck down with Miri in hand. Before Jin-Hyeok, the Archive began to glow with golden light. At the same time, he heard a voice.

“Please! Please stop getting stronger!”

It was someone’s desperate cry. At that moment, Min-Ji, now a rebellious teenager, showed up and laughed gleefully.

“Mother, are you crying?!”

The end.