I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 73

“Can we trust that person? Seo Ji-Soo asked Cha Jin-Hyeok.

“He does seem suspicious.”

Honestly, Mole Man’s appearance looked suspicious to anyone. His Player name was Mole Man, but he seemed more like a Raccoon Man. He was wearing a raccoon-like costume.

It was quite strange; it looked like an animal costume, but in reality, it just looked like he was covered in dirty rags. And, weirdly, his frown paws(?) were like the paws of a mole.

“I think he might be a cross between a raccoon and a mole. I’m not sure if we can trust him.”

Of course, Jin-Hyeok firmly believed in the abilities of Mole Man. He would become one of the leading Navigators in Korea.

“I am not some kind of a weird person,” Mole Man said while waving his paws.

He waved his chubby front paws, and the claws were quite sharp. Jin-Hyeok wondered if moles did have paws that sharp.

Anyway, thanks to Jin-Hyeok’s party members raising doubts and asking whether they could trust Mole Man, Jin-Hyeok’s livestream was smoothly progressing. When various opinions arose, it allowed for a more dynamic production for the livestream.

“We don’t have time to care about that right now! We’re falling behind!” Cha Jin-Sol raised her voice a little.

Upon hearing her words, Ji-Soo’s gaze wavered.

“Oppa, do you trust him?” Seo Ji-Ah asked.

“I think we can trust that person’s skills.”

“Then I’ll trust him too.”

Although Ji-Ah did not express it outwardly, she also didn’t want to lose to Han Sae-Rin’s party. Jin-Hyeok’s party members had an intense competitive spirit. He felt proud.

“Kim Jeong-Hyeon, what do you think?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“I… think it's high-risk… high-return situation. If we are expected to lose in the standard way… then… we need to use another approach…”

“You could’ve just said that you agree. You didn’t need to say an entire paragraph to explain it.”

“I will… try to fix it.”

However, Mok Jae-Hyeon didn’t seem pleased.

“Hyung, our goal was to test out your new item.”

“That’s right.”

“But suddenly Playing with a Navigator who just joined our party without any plan feels too abrupt.”

Ji-Soo lightly hit the back of Jae-Hyeon’s head.

“Hey, Dungeons are naturally unexpected places.”

“Y-You also said that you find that person suspicious!”

“Upon second glance, I think he looks kind of cute.”

Upon hearing the word cute, Mole Man shifted his gaze and scratched his cheek with his index finger.

Jin-Hyeok remembered that Mole Man was weak to being called cute. He seemed like a guy with a screw loose somewhere in his head.

“I guess our party’s opinion has come together.”

“H-Hyung! I didn’t agree yet…”

Even if Jae-Hyeon didn’t agree, Jin-Hyeok knew Jae-Hyeon was happy. Jin-Hyeok prided himself on having become quite perceptive lately. He did not need to check using Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance.

Jin-Hyeok was sure that Jae-Hyeon was also happy that Mole Man joined their party. Jae-Hyeon just wanted to be that person who said no when everyone else shouted yes.

“Sounds good. Mole Man, let’s Play together,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“H-Hyung!” Jae-Hyeon shouted.

They unanimously decided to team up with Mole Man.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Mole Man was definitely not normal.

“Make way for Mole Man! Holy moly!”

Once they started to Play, Mole Man kept saying “Holy, Moly.” Jin-Hyeok remembered Mole Man saying that even before his regression. It didn’t make sense back then, and it still didn’t make sense now. Jin-Hyeok had no idea what concept Mole Man was going for.

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“Sprinkle, Moly!”

Mole Man skillfully avoided the wraps of the Decayed Mummies and sprayed blue paint on the bodies of specific Decayed Mummies. Jin-Hyeok continued to livestream.

“Mole Man uses a spray-like item to write numbers on the monsters. He marked them from one to seven with the blue spray.”

It seemed like the other party members didn’t quite understand what Mole Man was doing.

“It seems like he is probably writing down the order they should be killed.”

Jin-Hyeok knew this strategy. By exterminating all the Decayed Mummies in the Gangnam Shinsegae Department Store, he could obtain the keys for each floor. It was a slow but sure-fire strategy.

However, if they kill specific Decayed Mummies in a certain order, they could generate the keys without having to kill all the monsters.

“Now we are going to try and kill them in that order.”

Hearing Jin-Hyeok’s words, the party members dispersed on their own. They showed a certain level of active movement without Jin-Hyeok having to point out everything.

‘It’s a bit disappointing, though…’

Back when Jin-Hyeok played the role of a Ruler, it was truly enjoyable. But he realized he needed someone much stronger than him to take on that role now. For now, he had entrusted everything to the party.

“Now there is only one monster left.”

Jin-Hyeok admired the party members. He thought some of them might die a few times. But it seemed they trained hard in Paju. It was either that or they were unleashing superhuman strength driven by a sense of responsibility.

“We succeeded in killing the seventh monster.”

Meanwhile, Mole Man flapped his strange outfit and started running somewhere.

“Shoong~”

“Seeing how Mole Man is saying onomatopoeic words out loud, it is making me question if he is normal or not.”

Mole Man, who had disappeared somewhere, came running back with a key in his right hand.

“I found the key, moly!”

The key worked like an aggro for the monsters. All of the Decayed Mummies on this floor started rushing toward them at once.

“Everyone, run to the escalator, moly! I am going to give the key to the strongest person in the party, moly!”

Jin-Hyeok reached out his hand to grab the key, but Mole Man passed by him and handed the key to Jeong-Hyeon.

‘Huh? He passed me and gave the key to Jeong Hyeon?’

“What are you doing? Run, moly!”

Mole Man grabbed Jin-Hyeok’s shirt, telling him to run.

“We need to run fast, moly! Those angry Decayed Mummies are much faster than the regular ones, moly.”

“Don’t grab me. It’s making the camera shaky.”

“I know the livestream is important to you, moly. But your life comes first, moly.”

Mole Man ignored what Jin-Hyeok was saying and kept pulling him.

If Jin-Hyeok had filmed the Decayed Mummies rushing toward him like in those zombie movies, it would have been a much better clip for his Eltube channel. But it got ruined because of him. If Mole Man were the enemy, Jin-Hyeok would have already cut off that hand, but he was still an ally.

‘I’ll just talk to him later.’

“We got on the escalator. The Decayed Mummies are not chasing us anymore. The escalator to the third floor is quite long, and it will take some time. I think we need some time to reorganize, so I am going to take a short break from the livestream.”

“Hey, Mole Man. Come here for a second,” Jin-Hyeok said while clenching his fist.

After putting the livestream on pause, it seemed like right now was not part of Mole Man’s Playing time. His tone had returned to normal.

“Haha! You can say thank you later. I also consider protecting Streamers as one of the Navigators’ duties,” Mole Man said.

He continued to speak with arrogance.

“It took a total of 2 hours, 49 minutes, and 33 seconds to clear the second floor. Let me see… Pathfinder’s team took 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 4 seconds. There was supposed to be about an hour’s difference, but now we have reduced it to within thirty minutes… Huh? Why do you look angry?”

‘How dare you ruin my livestream. You’ve just crossed the line.’

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The Korean Region Minor Gallery, or the KRMG for short, was flooded with users at the moment. They were gathered there to communicate since any form of communication was impossible on Jin-Hyeok’s livestream.

-Han Sae-Rin is officially ranked first in the navigator-class Ranking Board. And her start was much faster. You can say that Chul-Soo had already lost.

┗Didn’t you see that Chul-Soo reduced the time by almost thirty minutes after clearing the second floor?

┗Well, on the second floor, there are only Decayed Mummies, which are much weaker. If you watch MiNaTV, you can see that there are actual Mummies starting on the third floor. Even if it was possible to kill the monster that fast and clear the second floor, that method would not work on the third floor. The time gap that had been reduced on the second floor will surely widen again. Even if Chul-Soo’s party was doing.

┗Does anyone know what the hell this guy is saying? LOL

┗I’ve never seen someone write an entire essay on here.

┗I can’t believe this guy couldn’t finish his essay due to the word limit. HAHA

The users were almost certain that Sae-Rin’s party would win.

-In the clearing strategies of both parties, there are inherent limitations. As many of you may already know, the motif of the Gangnam Shinsegae Department Store Dungeon in the Earth Server has already appeared on numerous Servers… and… Many people believe that Kim Chul-Soo’s party is using the standard strategy, while Pathfinder’s party is using the shortcut strategy. In conclusion, it is inevitable that Pathfinder’s team is going to be the faster party to clear the Dungeon.

Written by: Encyclopedia

┗Wow! The almighty Encyclopedia has arrived.

┗I actually was rooting for Chul-Soo’s team, but it seems like there is no way they could win.

Some of the users felt this was unfair.

┗What the hell? That guy’s post is so much longer than mine! Why isn’t he getting ridiculed? We’re literally talking about the same thing.

┗Even your complaining is boring. How is that possible?

┗You’re just a nobody, but that guy is the almighty Encyclopedia, you understand?

Meanwhile, Sae-Rin was determined.

She had to be the first one, no matter what.

‘I need to find a faster route.’

On the third floor, there were regular Mummies instead of Decayed Mummies. They were much faster than the Decayed Mummies, and each of their attacks was deadly.

“We need to minimize the fights.”

As they progressed, there were unavoidable sacrifices that had to be made.

“Let’s break through by sacrificing one Tank. Who is willing to do it?”

“I have a Skill called Death Immunity.”

“Good.”

A Tank from her party stepped forward and sacrificed himself. The Mummies rushed toward the Tank and tore him apart while he was still alive.

“ARGH!!”

No matter how used to death the Tank was, the pain was still there. MiNaTV’s Kang Mi-Na quickly put a 19+ age restriction on her livestream.

‘Wow, that’s really brutal.’

If she had just broadcasted it without the restriction, the video would have definitely been demonetized. Sae-Rin lightly tapped Mi-Na’s back.

“Follow me. Unless you want to be eaten by the Mummies.”

“Wait, he sacrificed himself for us; we should at least capture his moment for a bit longer.”

The party proceeded to the fourth floor. Sae-Rin checked the timer while on the escalator.

‘3 hours and 8 minutes.’

It did not matter that Mole Man joined the other party. Sae-Rin was confident that they could not catch up with her.

‘We won!’

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“I… I’m so sorry.”

Some people only listened to orders when they were beaten up. Mole Man was exactly that. Even after receiving multiple explanations, Mole Man still did not listen, or at least not until he received a few punches from Jin-Hyeok, and then he immediately became submissive.

‘Ah, damn it. I can’t believe that I couldn’t film that perfect angle before. What a waste.’

“If you ruin my livestream one more time, I will cut off one of your hands.”

“Of course… I’m sorry.”

“Jin-Sol, I need you to heal that guy. He looks too beaten up. It’s not good to go on the livestream in that state.”

“Oh, okay.”

When Jin-Sol’s hand touched Mole Man, his face returned to normal. All of this happened in just about thirty seconds since they got on the escalator.

“Oppa, why haven’t you started the livestream?”

“It will probably go in the same way as before anyway.”

Jin-Hyeok shifted his gaze to Mole Man.

“How many floors do you think there are here?”

“According to my preliminary research, I estimate there will be five floors, moly.”

‘Man that ‘moly’ thing is really pissing me off.’

However, Jin-Hyeok was a teammate who respected other party members’ Play style, so he decided to let it go.

‘Still, he is really talented. There’s no doubt about that.’

Just like Mole Man said, this Dungeon went up to the fifth floor. If they took the shortcut route, the Dungeon would be acknowledged as cleared as soon as they exited the fifth floor. However, if they followed the standard route, they needed to defeat the hidden boss in order to be recognized as having cleared the Dungeon.

“The approach will be the same, I guess. Mole Man, you will mark the monsters with your spray again?”

“It’s called Mole Man’s Holy Moly Guacamole Spray, moly.”

“...”

“I will know for sure when we reach the third floor, moly.”

‘Sigh. How much of his ridiculous concept will I have to tolerate?’

They arrived at the third floor.

“I was right. It should be the same as the second floor, moly.”

Jin-Hyeok still had not started the livestream. There was no one on the third floor.

He drew his sword.

“I will fight alongside you,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Really?”

“Are you actually going to?”

The expressions on his party members’ faces brightened.

“Yes. But don’t get me wrong. It’s just that this is a truly unavoidable situation and that’s why I am fighting with you.”

Everyone enthusiastically agreed with Jin-Hyeok. The determination not to lose to Sae-Rin’s party was shared by all. Looking at Jae-Hyeon, who was also smiling, Jin-Hyeok knew he was right.

“You’ve gone crazy, moly. A Streamer wielding a sword. The world is coming to an end, moly,” Mole Man muttered to himself.

‘Hehe. I feel thrilled. But wait… Didn’t I say that I would only do this on the weekends?’

Come to think of it, there was no need to restrict himself to only the weekends. Streaming was his main job, and as long as he gave his best during the livestream, it should be enough.

‘It’s not like I’m just playing around, right?’

Jin-Hyeok swung his sword with all his might. This was truly an unavoidable situation where he had to wield the sword himself. Jin-Hyeok, too, did not want to lose to Sae-Rin’s party.

Slash!

He beheaded one of the Mummies. Luckily, it went down with one swing. The feeling in his hands was exhilarating.

“The key! I found the key, moly!”

They headed to the fourth floor.

The fourth floor did not have a significantly different difficulty level. There were just more of the same monsters.

‘I want to take down a few more of them.’

However, the sheer number of them swarming in made it impossible to keep slashing. No matter how strong Jin-Hyeok was, it was a bit embarrassing that he could not defeat them all by himself.

“I found another key, moly!”

They arrived at the fifth floor. There was nothing on the fifth floor.

“I’m going to change my clothes. Hold on.”

Jin-Hyeok had brought new clothes with him, just in case. He thought he should always look tidy on the screen. Even though it was a first-person perspective, it might be a bit off-putting for the viewers if Jin-Heok had blood stains on his sleeves.

There were no monsters on the fifth floor. He restarted the livestream.

“Progression on the third and fourth floors was the same, so there was not much to show you. We have reached the fifth floor. Looking around, there are no monsters on this floor. It’s rather calm.”

Instead, there was a large coffin placed ahead. It was tied with thick iron chains and secured with four locks, and something inside was shaking violently.

“I can feel something dangerous coming from that coffin,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Mole Man plopped down on the ground.

“We are in trouble, moly…”