I Gave Up Being Stronger - Chapter 341

“Do any of you know what Marlenvia is?” Cha Jin-Hyeok asked the viewers.

The viewers erupted in laughter, flooding the chat with LOL emojis.

-Wow, he even has the energy to chat! LOL

-This livestream is insane! LOL

-He’s casually chatting with his viewers after taking down the toughest Player in Hell, LOL!

Jin-Hyeok had gone from intensely fighting during the duel to casually conversing with his viewers. No other Streamer could integrate these two types of content so seamlessly.

-Wow, Chul-Soo can do both!

-LOL, He’s indeed a legendary talent.

-How’s that talent? It’s all because of his hard work.

From the hundreds of thousands of incoming messages, Wang Yu-Mi skillfully extracted the information Jin-Hyeok needed.

“Min-Ji, are you organizing the data?” Yu-Mi asked.

“Of course.” Min-Ji, who had aided Han Sae-Rin in Master Kaynamar’s Artificial Dungeon, was now sitting next to Yu-Mi, wearing round glasses. She muttered to herself, “I’m not helping just Chul-Soo; I’m helping Yu-Mi too.”

Min-Ji selected several crucial pieces of information and organized them for Yu-Mi, who compiled and relayed them to Jin-Hyeok.

[Kaymanar. Marlenvia. They both seem like people’s names, probably Arvis!]

Impressed, Jin-Hyeok said, “Thank you, everyone. I have learned that Kaymanar and Marlenvia are people’s names. It’s amazing how much information we can gain if we work together!”

Jin-Hyeok read aloud the usernames of the important contributors to this information. “Thank you, BurningStir-fry, Lolcat, Born2bPretty, MoneyIsLife, and CuteCat. I appreciate you guys.”

His acknowledgments further fueled the viewers’ excitement.

-I am so jealous of them!

-Please say my username too!

-Say my name!

-What about me… T_T

Jin-Hyeok felt a bit embarrassed. ‘Is saying their names such a big deal?’

He was overwhelmed by the affection, and his heart pounded with joy.

‘I need to work hard for them.’

***

Even though Sae-Rin also tried to harness the power of the viewers’ collective intelligence, she didn’t find any more meaningful results. But this didn’t bother Jin-Hyeok.

Sae-Rin looked slightly worried. “What should we do? We didn’t get any significant information.”

“What do you mean?” Jin-Hyeok replied. “My interactions with the viewers went incredibly well. It was just like any other daily content, and we didn’t lose many viewers. We can even use it as a trailer for our next content. Everything went well!”

“Oh right,” Sae-Rin murmured, shaking her head. ‘I keep forgetting he’s a Streamer.’

She was overlooking this again and again, and this wasn’t ideal. If she failed to understand the hearts of her close comrades, she could not call herself a capable Ruler.

‘I lack a lot. I need to work harder,’ she thought.

In contrast to Sae-Rin’s critical evaluation of herself, people were paying growing attention to her abilities.

[Shocking Abilities of a Barrier Mage.]

At one point, she dominated the top trending searches on Nerver, the largest online community in the universe.

[1. Han Sae-Rin.

2. Ruler’s Barrier Skill.

3. Barrier Mage.

4. Barrier Mage Ranking.

5. Barrier.

.

.

.

18. Dual Class]

Though this was not an official ranking, but a user-generated universe ranking system, it was updated regularly.

“Did you hear? The Barrier Mage rankings have changed.

“What? Those rankings rarely change.”

Barrier Mages relied more on mental and experiential strength than physical prowess. Physical strength waned with age, but Barrier Mages often hired assistants for that. Thus, most exceptional Barrier Mages who were placed in the top 100 of the universe rankings were usually over seventy years old.

“Sae-Rin made it into the top ten.”

“Who’s that?”

“You don’t know her? Man, you’re out of the loop.”

Many were surprised.

“She’s not just a Barrier Mage; she’s also a Ruler.”

“That’s why her rank is causing so much commotion. How can a Ruler’s barrier skills be this powerful?”

Various online communities debated whether this was possible or not.

[Is this something to argue about? You can see in videos how powerful she is.]

└Yeah, but those videos are all rigged.

└If Rulers could do that, all of them would be dominating their respective Servers, LOL!

└Don’t you know that what you see on livestreams is not always true?

Two opinions prevailed regarding this matter: one said that livestreams were staged and just means of entertainment and the other asserted that such feats were impossible to achieve through a staged live stream.

[The Players involved in Chul-Soo’s livestream are all top-tier rankers. Do you think they would agree to a staged livestream? Even when a Mythic Mystery is right in front of their eyes?]

└Exactly. Some things are more important to rankers than money. You fools think money is everything, LOL.

└If Cier saw this, he would be so confused.

└What if Chul-Soo gave them fifty billion Dias each?

Sae-Rin, who generally paid little attention to anything other than Chul-Soo’s livestreams, was unaware of her newfound status as a universe-level Barrier Mage.

***

Jin-Hyeok found clues about Marlenvia in an unexpected place.

“Boss! I think I can finally earn my keep,” exclaimed Yolin, as she arrived at Jin-Hyeok’s house. Yolin had been working at Swampland No.1’s office and had always wanted a cushy job. Yet here she was, appearing exhilarated, with a slight pink hue all over her face.

She started to talk faster. “Lately, I have been getting some flak for not working as much.”

Under the leadership of Wang Yu-Mi, the MK Foundation was nurturing Historians. Yolin had been appointed the head of the Historian Nurturing Project. However, exploring history was a hobby for her, which made it difficult for her to produce significant results. Consequently, she was somewhat disfavored at the MK Foundation.

“People say I just read books while everyone else works hard,” she added. Apparently harboring some pent-up frustration, Yolin vented her feelings in a rush and then said, “Kaymanar and Marlenvia. If you look at these names separately, they mean nothing.”

She then took a quill and ink out of her bag.

“What are these?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Special paper and ink. People use these Artifacts in Arvis to write secure documents. They are not used much anymore because they are too easy to decipher, but about a hundred years ago, they were quite common.”

She wrote Kaymanar on the paper. “This is the common language of the Arvis Server.”

Yolin then took out another type of ink, dipped the quill into it, and wrote Marlenvia over Kaymanar. Suddenly, new letters appeared.

[Goldiramum]

“Goldiramum, sounds familiar, doesn’t it?” Yolin said. Her cheeks were still tinged in a pink hue. It seemed she was happy to be talking about history. Before Jin-Hyeok could respond, she eagerly continued, “It’s similar to the name of Garbinu’s companion, the Shining Jeweler Goldium, right? Hundreds of years ago, siblings often had similar names. That’s why when you study history, you find many confusing names, which even history professors…”

Yolin paused, realizing she was getting sidetracked.

“Anyway, Goldiramum was the fourth among the Goldium siblings. He wasn’t a prominent figure in history, so there is hardly any recorded history about him.” Yolin then pulled out a very worn parchment book. “Here, you can see the family tree of the Goldium family. You’ll find the name Goldiramum in there.”

Jin-Hyeok was baffled. ‘I have no idea what any of this says.’

The parchment paper had so many similar names, such as Goldium, Goldiramum, Goldimamum, Goldihamum, and Goldijamum. It also had labels like the first son of someone, the second son of another, and the third daughter of another. All this text seemed like a continuous string of meaningless wordplay or incantations.

“Even the Artificial Dungeon had the word ‘Master’ in front of it, right? I think the Goldium family might have some clues left,” Yolin giggled. “And I know that someone in the Goldium family is more enthusiastic about supporting you than anyone else, right, Boss?”

Yolin was referring to Katrina, who had transformed into a woman with Jin-Hyeok’s help.

***

Things were going smoothly.

“Goldiramum’s Underground Warehouse? Yeah, I know it well,” Katrina said, her expression slightly grimacing. “It’s not a very pleasant term.”

“Why?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Goldiramum’s Underground Warehouse is one of the inheritances passed down through generations. It’s like trash, discarded to the children deemed useless.”

The warehouse was located in a cave behind the family’s mountain. It barely opened, and even if it was forcefully opened, one wouldn’t find anything there. A place of no real significance, it was maintained only because of its historical importance.

“Can we visit it?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Of course, we can go if you want,” Katrina replied with a wink, leading the way.

Jin-Hyeok admired her from behind. ‘She seems even more robust.’

Every time he saw her, he was impressed by her physique. Although becoming a woman had slimmer her overall lines, her muscles were still exceptional in size. Her sturdy physique had a different kind of beauty to it.

Katrina mischievously smiled. “So, it’s just the two of us going to the mountain, into a secluded area?”

“That’s right.”

“Too bad. If you were a bit weaker, I might have taken advantage of you.”

Jin-Hyeok’s mood improved. ‘She’s good at drawing attention.’

He wished she would provoke him a bit more.

As if she had read his mind, Katrina said, “Be careful, if you lose your strength, I might pounce on you. Is that okay?”

Jin-Hyeok grinned. This could work as a provocative thumbnail for his video.

‘And the recording is going well,’ he thought.

He stood in front of a vine-covered cave.

“Goldiramum’s Underground Warehouse is inside this cave. There are too many vines… Did you bring a machete or something?” Katrina asked.

“No.” Jin-Hyeok pulled out Miri.

‘What’s he going to do with a hammer?’ Katrina thought. However, before she could ask him, Jin-Hyeok swung Miri, swiftly cutting the vines blocking the cave entrance. It was like the vines had been put through a shredder.

“Incredible.” She was a Craftswoman who judged tools like no other. “I have never seen a crazy guy use a blunt weapon like that. So sexy.”

Katrina subtly moved closer and said, “Could you rip my clothes off like th… Where are you going? Don’t leave me behind, Oppa! The inside of the cave is complicated. We need to go together!”

Katrina quickly realized her concerns were unnecessary. “Isn’t this your first time coming here?”

“It is,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

“So, why do you charge forward without hesitation? We just passed five crossroads.”

“Well, I think I kind of know which way to go.”

Even if he was wrong, it did not matter. He could always turn back.

“Have you memorized the route?”

“I didn’t. I just know it.”

To Jin-Hyeok, this was nothing remarkable. Even without considering the powerful abilities of Mole Woman or Lessefim, a Ruler like Sae-Rin would easily remember the routes of this cave.

“Why wouldn’t a Streamer be able to do what a Ruler can?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“I see.”

Jin-Hyeok easily found a passage leading underground. “It looks like a well. It’s very similar to the Artificial Dungeon of Kaymanar we cleared a few days ago. The underground warehouse is said to be inside.”

Jin-Hyeok jumped down without hesitation and managed to land safely. The space was enclosed with rocky walls. A damp and musty air filled the area, and a rusted iron door stood before them.

The Streamer took out a key from his inventory. “We’ve come a long way. Let’s try opening the door.”