I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 472

Kim Min-Ji, who had become an expanding universe, felt stifled. ‘You can just communicate with me.’

When Kim Chul-Soo had taken out Miri, Min-Ji brightened up. He only needed to commune with her as he had done with the Spirit Realm. Min-Ji’s universe had a far more solid identity compared to the Spirit Realm, but Chul-Soo had grown much stronger as well.

‘Please, destroy me.’ Min-Ji made a wish.

The universe that she had become was crying. She had no desire to devour Jin-Hyeok’s world, but this was beyond her will. Nothing could stop her anymore, as she had turned into the abyssal universe. Only one choice remained.

‘If I’m being destroyed, I want to be destroyed by Chul-Soo.’

She conveyed that will to Jin-Hyeok and the Guardian Tree by transforming it into the will of the universe.

-“Destroy me,” the universe’s will said.

Feeling her intent, Jin-Hyeok bit his lip. “Min-Ji, are you serious?”

He knew the answer without hearing the reply. It was clear to him through Broadcaster’s Insight.

-“Destroy me.”

Even if she was broken down into tiny fragments and fell into an eternal slumber, she didn’t care. It was far better for her to shatter than for Chul-Soo’s world to collapse.

‘You need to destroy me to survive, Chul-Soo,’ Min-Ji thought.

That was all she wanted—a world where Chul-Soo could be passionate, people found joy in his intensity, and they both envied and admired him. She desired a world where people were jealous of him and in which he understood the hearts of others.

For Min-Ji, just living in a world where Chul-Soo existed was enough, and if that world remained intact, if she could protect it, she would be satisfied. This was the depth of Min-Ji’s devotion. However, that very devotion became the reason Jin-Hyeok found it impossible to physically commune with her universe.

“Min-Ji, I can’t do that,” he said.

This was a universe that wanted to be destroyed—a universe that wished to protect Jin-Hyeok’s world. Yet, Jin-Hyeok could not bring himself to destroy it. He sensed that without Min-Ji’s universe, his own would lose its meaning.

Jin-Hyeok fully understood that without his fans, he was nothing. He had learned how precious and invaluable their unconditional love was. He couldn’t abandon that value, even if it meant saving only one of his many fans. Perhaps, this was what it meant to truly understand human emotions.

Jin-Hyeok took a deep breath and said, “You know my livestream concept, right?”

Originally, it was a first-person Play livestream with the motto of intensity and thrill. But somewhere along the line, the concept of his livestreams had become overwhelming power.

“I will now commence the overwhelming power concept once again,” Jin-Hyeok said.

In this abyssal universe, disconnected from his world, he began a livestream for an audience of one.

***

The only viewer of Jin-Hyeok’s livestream was Min-Ji’s universe.

“Hey, Min-Ji,” Jin-Hyeok said. She needed to understand what was going on a bit more precisely. “I am going to embrace you, like the Guardian Tree did.”

The universe was still expanding. It would grow larger and eventually devour Jin-Hyeok’s world.

‘Just as the Guardian Tree covered the rift and held back the escaping power of her universe...’ Jin-Hyeok thought. Even that had been an immense burden for the Guardian Tree, enough to almost break her mental connection with Jin-Hyeok. ‘I have to embrace all of Min-Ji.’

Jin-Hyeok intended to cover this entire universe with his Absolute Barrier, to suppress its devouring power. He didn’t know how immense this abyss was or whether containing her universe was even possible.

“Right now, I might not be able to embrace you,” Jin-Hyeok said to Min-Ji.

Min-Ji had probably grown too immense for him to hold and comfort. It wasn’t just a matter of size; it could be a difference in their very essence. No matter how many layers of Absolute Barrier he surrounded her with, they could shatter instantly.

“That’s why you have to keep watching my livestream.”

What Jin-Hyeok needed now was a viewer of a different level. There was only one viewer in this world, but that one viewer was also the entire world. The entire universe had become his audience.

[Viewer: 1]

Eltubers were Players who grew through livestreaming, Players who drew power from the number of viewers and how active their chat room was.

‘If I grow stronger, maybe I can embrace Min-Ji,’ he thought.

A long time had passed since he had directly communicated with his viewers through a livestream. Since the early days of his Play, he had rarely done live communication.

[⌜???⌟ donated ⌜???⌟]

It had been ages since he had received a message like this. It reminded him of his first livestream.

[You are able to communicate with viewers.]

[Chat/Donate is now allowed.]

Jin-Hyeok remembered how thrilled he had been when he had received his first donation. At that moment, he didn’t even have the time to consider what that donation truly meant. It was no different now.

‘I don’t know what Min-Ji gave me.’

It could very well be something harmful. He could become the first Eltuber killed by a universe. Still, Jin-Hyeok decided to trust that one viewer.

‘I suppose I need to use it.’

It wasn’t an artifact, so it had no discernible form. It was an invisible something. He felt like that thing was either inside his inventory or merely hovering around him. It was undoubtedly an extraordinary donation.

[Do you want to use ⌜???⌟?]

A green storm of mana engulfed Jin-Hyeok. It was an unknown power, something Broadcaster’s Insight couldn’t fathom. It was powerful enough to feel like a divine force.

[You have activated the Mystery ⌜Expanding Universe⌟.]

That one viewer had shared a part of her power with him. Jin-Hyeok’s eyes widened as he immediately deployed Absolute Barrier.

[You have activated the Trait ⌜Absolute Barrier⌟.]

The power of his Absolute Barrier began to envelop the entire universe.

‘I have to be faster than the rate at which her universe expands.’ Only then could he halt the expansion and quell the rampage. It seemed possible to some extent. ‘I think I can do it.’

***

Min-Ji felt as though Absolute Barrier had trapped her. It was a force that protected her, embodying the affection she sensed for Jin-Hyeok. As her heart calmed, she began to see a glimmer of hope.

‘Maybe...’ Perhaps she could live in the same world as Chul-Soo. She wondered if she could continue to enjoy his livestreams. However, it only took her a few minutes to realize that it was a false hope. ‘No!’

This seemed to be part of her mother’s plan all along.

‘So, Mother wasn’t trying to destroy Chul-Soo’s world.’

Being only a fragment of the God, Min-Ji had been unable to fully grasp the will of the God. Though she had witnessed the same things, she hadn’t understood her mother. It was as though a blind person had touched only the leg of an elephant, unaware of how big the animal was.

‘Mother’s goal was Chul-Soo from the beginning!’

It wasn’t the world’s destruction that her mother desired—it was Chul-Soo’s demise. The elaborate plan, set in motion to stop Min-Ji, would ultimately destroy Chul-Soo, thus restoring the order of the universe. This was the grand design orchestrated by the entire cosmos.

‘No!’

Chul-Soo had already closed his eyes, slipping into a deep, meditative trance. He was focusing all his strength on preventing her universe’s rampage.

‘No..., I’m mistaken.’ Upon further reflection, Min-Ji realized her mother didn’t want Chul-Soo to be destroyed. The plan was to imprison him in this eternal cage. The speed at which Absolute Barrier expanded mirrored the expansion of the abyssal universe. The two were now almost equal in speed, and as they continued to expand infinitely, Absolute Barrier and the universe would forever run parallel, never crossing paths.

‘Oh...’ Min-Ji’s consciousness began to blur. ‘I can be with Chul-Soo eternally?’

It didn’t seem unpleasant. She liked the idea of just the two of them existing alone in a world. Perhaps that was what the Mad God of Favoritism desired most.

‘I should resist, but...’

She knew that she had to return Chul-Soo’s world to as it was. Her mind understood, but her will refused to move. The mere thought of being with Chul-Soo forever left her feeling utterly powerless.

‘Forever... together...’

***

Jin-Hyeok had no idea how much time had passed. ‘What was I doing again?’

Little by little, his memories returned. He remembered why he had come to this universe and the moment he had used Absolute Barrier to stop the universe’s rampage.

‘I...’

It almost felt like he had been enjoying the situation where the entire universe was his only audience. He seemed to have been intoxicated by an overwhelming sense of euphoria far greater than anything he had felt from his universe. Then, something appeared in Jin-Hyeok’s consciousness.

[Viewer: 0]

At that moment, Jin-Hyeok snapped back to reality. The number 0 shocked him deeply. To him, the number was unbearably cruel.

‘I’m not intense enough!’ he thought.

When Jin-Hyeok awakened, Min-Ji, who had been in a deep trance with him, began to slowly regain her senses.

‘Chul-Soo?’ she thought.

The moment Min-Ji, who grew excited just at the sight of the first letter of Chul-Soo’s name, felt Jin-Hyeok’s consciousness, she instantly snapped back to awareness.

[Viewer: 1]

“Min-Ji, I think I made a mistake.” Jin-Hyeok had believed that physically communicating with Min-Ji was impossible and that he shouldn’t do it. “But hitting someone isn’t the only way to physically communicate.”

While using Miri provided him with a certain amount of satisfaction, Taming (Physical) had nothing to do with Miri.

“I don’t know how long we’ve been running parallel to each other, but...,” Jin-Hyeok said. The endlessly expanding universes would eventually reach infinity, and between infinities, no numerical superiority could be determined. Infinity and infinity were both the same. “We don’t need grand abilities right now.”

There was no need to wield Miri with full force anymore. He extended his hand forward.

[You have activated the Skill ⌜Taming (Physical)⌟.]

Jin-Hyeok reached out to her universe. “Take my hand.”

At first, nothing happened.

“It’s fine, just take my hand.” Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Still, there was no change.

“I can’t record any other content here than the one where I activate Absolute Barrier.”

This was something important for both Jin-Hyeok and Min-Ji.

“What you like is Chul-Soo the Eltuber, not Jin-Hyeok the person, right?”

Min-Ji wanted to say that she liked Jin-Hyeok too, but between Chul-Soo and Jin-Hyeok, she liked the Eltuber more.

“I will make a more enjoyable livestream. Let’s have more fun together.”

In the empty abyssal void, tiny particles began to gather, slowly forming the shape of a translucent person. It was the personification of the universe—Kim Min-Ji. In this world, where she had been utterly powerless, Min-Ji had finally cracked her shell and begun to grow.

“I can’t do anything on my own now,” Jin-Hyeok said. They would forever expand with each other, without ever intersecting. “You’re going to create this livestream with me.”

If Jin-Hyeok couldn’t grow stronger, the other party had to become weaker. If Min-Ji could muster just a bit more strength to control her rampage, Jin-Hyeok could fully embrace her.

“How does it feel to be part of the first viewer-participation livestream?” he smiled. The excitement of creating a livestream with the title of first thrilled him.

Facing his smile, Min-Ji began to glow brightly. She gasped as if something was being pulled out of her.

“This... this is cheating,” Min-Ji said breathlessly.

She could tell that this wasn’t a trivial technique like Taming (Physical).

It was an incredibly advanced form of seduction.