I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 479

Cha Jin-Hyeok had decided to go back to his roots and start livestreaming again, actively engaging with his viewers this time.

“Hello, nice to meet you all. My name is Charles Kim. It’s my first livestream today, and I’m really nervous.”

Jin-Hyeok wasn’t lying; he truly was nervous. It was as if he had returned to his beginnings after his regression. With a professional demeanor, he maintained the most charming smile he could muster throughout the livestream.

‘Just like I did with Min-Ji,’ he thought. A single experience had led to significant growth. Although it wasn’t intentional, using his seduction technique on Min-Ji’s universe had made him a master of persuasion. ‘I need to smile well and listen well.’

Since he believed he lacked any special talent for communicating with the viewers, he worked even harder. At first, he thought this approach was the right one.

‘Hmm... am I doing it right?’ he thought.

He deeply felt the absence of Wang Yu-Mi. She used to review all his footage through delayed broadcasts before releasing them. After all, they couldn’t risk viewers getting tainted or suffering hallucinations while watching.

‘Controlling my seduction technique is harder than I thought. It feels like I’m seducing the viewers too much.’

In the field of seduction techniques, Jin-Hyeok was still a novice, but he had incredible power. It was like a child holding the switch to a nuclear warhead.

By the second day of his livestreaming, his viewer count had already surpassed ten thousand. The chat was flooded with hearts, making normal communication nearly impossible. On the third day, the viewership reached sixty thousand. By the fourth day, it hit 140,000, and by the fifth day, 290,000.

It was a new record in the Alteon Saga universe. Jin-Hyeok had woken up to find himself suddenly a star.

“Hm, I don’t think you’re becoming popular just because you’re handsome,” Min-Ji said. As a devoted fan, she had made a firm resolution that while she was with Chul-Soo, she would be the only one to take care of him. She resolved to intensely support him behind the scenes. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Do you remember the cave where we livestreamed from the day before yesterday?” she asked.

“Oh, the one with the beautiful purple quartz?”

That cave had been a great backdrop for his communication livestream. It almost felt like he was a travel vlogger. The purple quartz sparkled, and deep within the cave, a soft turquoise mist wafted out, giving it a majestic aura.

“It turns out that area is restricted,” Min-Ji said.

“Huh? Restricted?”

“This world also has settings. They seem to be stricter here than those in our universe. The area we went to yesterday is marked as an off-limits zone, but it looks like you just bypassed that setting.”

“I did?” Jin-Hyeok hadn’t even used Miri or done anything special to break any settings. He had just walked in.

“We needed someone to explain more details, so I brought in a specialist. He’s a very famous Adventurer here. Should I let him in?” Min-Ji asked.

***

Jin-Hyeok was staying in a luxurious inn in a mid-sized city called Soriom. The first-floor lobby suddenly became abuzz.

“It’s Gairan Kim!”

“Hey, that’s Gairan!”

Gairan Kim was a renowned Adventurer. He was also a master Swordsman and a hero admired by many.

“What is Gairan doing here?”

“Did an incredibly powerful monster appear?”

“That can’t be. The strongest monsters around here are just lycanthropes!”

Although lycanthropes were indeed strong, they weren’t worth Gairan’s attention.

“Maybe a top-level criminal is hiding out here?”

“For Gairan to move, it must be something serious...”

In contrast to their expectations, Gairan wasn’t there to hunt high-level monsters or capture a criminal.

“Hey, are you Charles Kim?” Clad in silver armor, Gairan stepped into Jin-Hyeok’s room. The knight’s face was fully covered by a shining silver helmet. Without any pleasantries, he sat down and asked bluntly, “How did you enter the Pontoleon Cave?”

His tone was slightly rude, causing Min-Ji to clench her fists.

‘Should I just smack him in the back of the head? No, I need to calm down. Charles is only a Level 10 beginner Eltuber,’ Min-Ji thought.

Jin-Hyeok answered casually, as if it was no big deal, “I just walked in.”

“That area has a no-entry setting.”

“Well, many things in this world defy common sense. I simply walked in. That’s all.”

“So, you don’t plan on revealing the secret, huh,” Gairan continued. “After you entered the Pontoleon Cave, we sent an exploration team there.”

“Did you now?” Jin-Hyeok felt proud. He thought it might be a good idea to start a travel segment for his livestream.

‘If this world has many undiscovered regions, maybe being a travel Eltuber wouldn’t be so bad?’

Unaware of Jin-Hyeok’s thoughts, Gairan remained extremely serious. “Do you know what happened next?”

“Were they impressed by the scenery?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

Gairan clenched his fists. Though his stance was menacing, he didn’t take any direct action. “The purple quartz you admired turned into a monster. It attacked the exploration team.”

“What...?” Jin-Hyeok tilted his head. “Are you sure it was the same place I went to?”

“Yes, Pontoleon Cave, without a doubt. The Explorers tried to flee immediately, but even that was difficult. A white mist seeped out of the cave’s depths and trapped their feet. Out of twelve people, only one made it out.”

Gairan said that he had immediately dispatched a rescue team.

“Was anyone killed?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“No, but four of them are in critical condition, beyond recovery. Even the Priests shook their heads.”

“Oh, that’s fortunate then.” Jin-Hyeok shrugged and handed over four Chul-Soo Potions. “They will recover after drinking these.”

“Are you mocking me?!” Gairan leaped to his feet. These were comrades that even the highest-ranking Priests had given up on. He was furious that Charles could joke so lightly about their injuries.

“They will indeed recover. If your comrades are nearby, heal them first and then come back. I will be here,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Glowing eyes stared at Jin-Hyeok from inside the helmet. “If you’re lying, I will never forgive you, Charles.”

***

“Please forgive my rudeness,” Gairan knelt before Jin-Hyeok.

“No, it’s fine. Your comrades were seriously injured, so it’s understandable you weren’t in your right mind,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

Jin-Hyeok was a bit proud. He felt like he had truly learned to understand people’s emotions. In the past, he wouldn’t have been so forgiving. Now that he understood human emotions better, he could forgive Gairan.

Gairan, still on his knees, continued, “When we first sent the exploration team, we discovered something astonishing.”

“Astonishing?”

“The restrictions at the entrance were torn apart like paper. It was as if someone had slashed through them. Though it wasn’t visible to the naked eye, the Navigators all agreed on it.”

Jin-Hyeok understood what was going on. He hadn’t felt a thing when he entered the cave, but that was because his physical abilities were so overwhelming. It was similar to how ordinary people would not feel air resistance when they were walking. To him, the restriction settings placed on Pontoleon Cave were no different from air resistance.

“We suspect an extremely powerful mage-type boss monster is hidden deep within the cave,” Gairan said.

“Ah...”

“Do you happen to know anything?”

“Well, there was something in there, but...”

He had indeed sensed something deep inside the cave. Like how Min-Ji used to hide behind a wall in the early days, whatever it was had remained hidden, so Jin-Hyeok hadn’t paid much attention.

“I just thought it was shy,” Jin-Hyeok added.

Gairan was shocked. ‘This person is insane.’

The Pontoleon Cave was an auspicious place, with a being possessing powerful magic hiding there. He could not believe anyone would think that the monster was just shy. Clearly, the man in front of him was not in his right mind.

“Are you from the Celestial Realm?” Gairan asked.

“Celestial Realm?” Jin-Hyeok tilted his head. “Hm. What’s that? I’m not familiar with that place.”

“Well, I’ve heard that those from the Celestial Realm are not allowed to say they’re from there.”

Gairan became convinced that Jin-Hyeok had descended from the Celestial Realm—a place beyond human limits, where beings close to Gods gathered. Some even called it the world of Gods, though many people dismissed it as a mere legend.

“I’m honored to meet someone from the Celestial Realm, Charles,” Gairan said.

An idea suddenly flashed through Jin-Hyeok’s mind. ‘Since things have turned out this way, should I go with a Celestial Realm theme for my livestream?’

Jin-Hyeok realized something. Ordinary livestreams or interactions were not his forte. A cave he entered just because it looked pretty turned out to be a restricted area, the sparkling quartz he admired was a monster, and the creature he thought was shy was a dangerous Dungeon boss. With such a cultural gap, it seemed difficult to run a normal livestream.

‘Maybe it would be better to take on a Celestial Realm persona for my livestreams?’

It seemed like a solid concept for his future livestreams.

***

The Celestial Realm concept turned out to be an incredible success. The number of live viewers had already reached millions—an unprecedented record.

‘I didn’t expect to become famous this quickly...’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Still, it was quite fun. It was a bit therapeutic for him, and he even found himself briefly forgetting his usual anxieties like ‘the universe where Earth belongs needs to grow stronger soon.’

He wondered if Earth would get stronger when he woke up tomorrow or if such a day would even come. As these thoughts raced through his mind and he settled into bed, a voice suddenly broke the silence.

“You fool! What is your true identity?!”

When Jin-Hyeok opened his eyes, there stood an old man with white hair, holding a staff. Startled, Jin-Hyeok quickly sat up. ‘I didn’t even sense him coming into my room!’

For the first time in a while, he used Broadcaster’s Insight on someone.

“Oh, Broadcaster’s Insight doesn’t work on you,” Jin-Hyeok said.

An extremely powerful setting protected the man.

-Should I break through his setting from behind?

Miri was making a fuss, but Jin-Hyeok shook his head. There was no need to go that far, as the old man didn’t seem overtly hostile. Besides, here, he wasn’t the powerful Kim Chul-Soo at Level [-] but the Level 40 Charles Kim.

The old man, with a raspy voice, continued, “With such power, why haven’t you entered the Celestial Realm?”

“I don’t know how to get there,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

“You fool! After living for at least hundreds of years, have you not even acquired that much wisdom?”

“Does the Celestial Realm really exist?”

“This is the first time I’ve seen someone with such strength ask such a ridiculous question.” The old man let out a long sigh. After pondering something for a moment, he pulled out an object from his robes. “Take this. It’s a leaf compass that will show you the way to the Celestial Realm.”

The moment Jin-Hyeok saw it, he could tell it was no ordinary artifact.

“Do not wait too long. Your existence is a disaster for this world,” the old man said.

“I’m just Charles, a humble Streamer.”

“You still don’t realize, do you? You ignorant fool.” The old man clicked his tongue. “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.”

If a Celestial Realm indeed existed, Jin-Hyeok would definitely visit it. The content he could create there would be top-tier.

“Do not entertain such foolish thoughts. If you enter the Celestial Realm, all your powers will be sealed,” the old man said as if he had read Jin-Hyeok’s mind.

“I see...”

The reason to go to the Celestial Realm had disappeared. Such a forced plotline would’ve worked in the past, but these days, it would only cause public outrage.

“In any case, thank you for the compass,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Indeed. See you in the Celestial Realm.” Satisfied with Jin-Hyeok’s relatively polite attitude, the old man smiled and disappeared. “Remember, my name is Gergonde.”

“What a jerk!” Min-Ji said. She had been holding herself back as Jin-Hyeok had asked, but she finally couldn’t resist.

“You held back well, Min-Ji,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Hehe.” Her fiery anger melted away like snow.

“Who do you think that old man was?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Hmm, maybe a fragment of the God?” Min-Ji stipulated.

“So, that would make him your sibling, right?”

“No! Absolutely not! Not even close!”

Though the old man’s true identity remained unclear, Jin-Hyeok was happy that he had acquired the leaf compass.

He thought about using it for content to find the Celestial Realm, but unfortunately, he never found the entrance.

Then, half a year passed.