I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 462

The Spirit King Alkinas had accumulated layers of experience over countless years. That was why he found it difficult to accept such a radical phenomenon.

In contrast, Elines seemed satisfied, overjoyed that he could see Kim Chul-Soo’s taming in person. He was also thoroughly enjoying the shocked expression on his father’s face, which was usually solemn.

“What in the world,” Alkinas said.

“The Fire Monsters are telling me that they were hungry,” Cha Jin-Hyeok explained.

Spirits were beings without physical bodies. Those monsters weren’t feeling physical hunger, but rather thirst for the soul.

“Wait, Chul-Soo, are you saying that you’re communicating with the Fire Monsters?”

“That’s right. A skilled Tamer can communicate with their tamed subjects as much as they want.”

“...”

Jin-Hyeok misunderstood Alkinas’s silence and offered a justification. “I know, I’m not a skilled Tamer. That’s why it’s a bit difficult for me to communicate as precisely as Park Terse can.”

If Terse could hear this, he would have corrected Jin-Hyeok and said, ‘What do you mean? You communicate much more precisely than I do.’

In fact, Miri muttered the same thing.

-You communicate much better than that Terse guy...

Jin-Hyeok, who wasn’t a Tamer, pretended not to hear Miri’s words.

“Anyway, to answer your question, yes, I can communicate with the Fire Monsters. They say their hunger has been resolved through this emotional communion with me.”

“I see,” Alkinas replied.

“They say they’re going to return to being pure fire now.”

“It appears so...”

Jin-Hyeok grinned and waved goodbye. The Fire Monsters and their king expressed their gratitude with a few moos, before returning to a form of pure fire.

Alkinas was speechless. He found it difficult to accept the reality before his eyes, but there was nothing he could do. After all, he had witnessed this phenomenon firsthand. “I never thought this would be possible.”

“That’s the whole concept of Chul-Soo! Nobody thinks anything Chul-Soo does is possible!” Elines said. He was incredibly proud of Chul-Soo. It was as if he wanted to say, ‘See? This is Chul-Soo for ya!’

Jin-Hyeok found his behavior cute, but he still needed to correct what needed to be corrected. “Elly, your words aren’t entirely wrong, but the foundation of my channel is...”

“I know! It’s attention-grabbing content based on a first-person perspective! But I explained it in a way that’s easy for Dad to understand.”

“I see.” Jin-Hyeok grinned, while Alkinas wore an expression as if he had lost the world.

“Chul-Soo, you’re a hero of the Spirit Realm. You possess the qualities of a king. However, you’re also my enemy,” Alkinas said.

Jin-Hyeok wondered if Alkinas still planned on tempting him into becoming the Spirit King. Although Jin-Hyeok had started to learn about human emotions, he had yet to understand those of a father. So, he decided to be cautious for now and said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t become the Spirit King because I’m human.”

***

The Spirit Gate that Alkinas opened connected directly to the Earth Server.

Upon arriving on Earth, Lessefim immediately sought Hassan. “Hassan, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it, Lady Lessefim?”

“Turn me back into a female!”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking for your Intimate Miracle!”

Lessefim, the squirrel Beastkin, crossed her arms and tapped her foot. She was determined and even willing to bite Hassan’s head off with her hard front teeth if he didn’t give her what she wanted.

Hassan could sense this.

“It seems you have already received a miracle once... is that correct?”[1] Hassan asked.

“Yes, I received a miracle from a fake Hassan.”

“Ah...!”

Some Players in the universe were known as Fake Hassans. Among them, a few genuinely possessed powers almost identical to Hassan’s. Some even advertised that they had higher Levels and superior powers compared to Hassan, and in some cases, they even produced greater effects.

“I was tricked by that fraud,” Lessefim said.

It wasn’t exactly a fraud. Lessefim had received an Intimate Miracle from Belchun, a Monk in the Arvis Server.

“You were tricked by a fraud?” Hassan said.

“But this is partly your fault too.”

More accurately, Mole Woman was the one largely to blame. Lessefim had become impatient due to her competition with Mole Woman, who had grown rapidly after receiving the Intimate Miracle.

“Yeah, because of you, I got impatient and made a mistake. I received a miracle from a guy named Belchun in Arvis, you know?”

Monk Belchun was known as a ranker with skills comparable to or even surpassing Hassan’s. Some who received Intimate Miracles from Belchun had become much stronger after changing genders. It just hadn’t worked for Lessefim. An ability that had a great synergy with one Player could have none with another. The best miracle for someone else was just an insignificant gender change for Lessefim.

“I received nothing but a slight increase in strength. That damn Monk. I won’t let him off easy next time we meet!” Lessefim said.

‘Wait! If a ranker of your Level noticed an increase in your strength, doesn’t that mean it wasn’t a scam? What kind of effect were you expecting from the miracle...?’ Hassan wanted to say this but held back, fearing he might get his head bitten off. “I understand your story, Lady Lessefim. I’d like to help but...”

Unfortunately, Hassan had already used up his 77 Intimate Miracles. He had now lost all his power.

“That’s not a problem,” Lessefim said.

“You say that, but I don’t think I can get my powers back.”

Lessefim shook her head. “Can’t Chul-Soo adjust your settings?”

Hassan’s eyes widened. He had been feeling powerless after losing his ability. “B-But is that possible?”

“Of course it is. What do you take Chul-Soo for? He will precisely break just the settings that limit you from performing your miracle only 77 times.”

Hassan’s face lit up. He genuinely believed that Chul-Soo could do this. Feeling better, he held out his pinky finger. “If I regain my power, I will definitely turn you back into a female!”

“Is that a promise?” Lessefim’s brown tail stood straight up in excitement.

“But, Lady Lessefim, the effect might not be as good as you think.”

“That’s impossible. You’re the one Chul-Soo chose, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know about being chosen. All I’m saying is that the increase in ability might not be noticeable...”

“Huh? Who said anything about increasing abilities?” Lessefim shook her head, unable to understand him. “I want you to make me more beautiful, sexier, prettier! Like Mole Woman!” n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

‘Ah... so that’s what she wants.’ Hassan went silent for a moment before speaking again. “Lady Lessefim, it might be a bit presumptuous, but may I offer some advice?”

“Advice? What kind of advice?”

“You are cute enough, Lady Lessefim.”

“If you start talking like my fans, I will sock you one. I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a kid,” she said with a frown.

Hassan didn’t waver. Since he had recently lost all his power and deeply immersed himself in Chul-Soo’s livestreams, he had a strong conviction and foresight. “If you compete in the same genre as Lady Mole Woman, you will never win. Even Lady Yu-Mi agrees with me.”

“...”

“But you’re much, much, much, much cuter than Lady Mole Woman.” Hassan’s eyes sparkled. “You’re a squirrel Beastkin. I know squirrel Beastkins are very rare in the universe. And people love that a cute squirrel like you is so powerful. I’ve liked all the videos featuring you, Lady Lessefim. There are a lot of people like me.”

In the past, Lessefim would have shouted that she wasn’t cute, but she was different now.

“R-Really? There are many people like you?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“Does that mean I’m becoming a suitable Navigator for Chul-Soo’s channel?”

“Yes. Since you’re incredibly cute, if you make cuteness your main weapon, you can capture the attention of people of all ages and genders. To be honest, Lady Mole Woman...” Hassan hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should say what he was about to say, but eventually said, “Well, she tends to get a lot of mixed reactions.”

“Mixed reactions? How so?”

“Her fandom is mainly composed of young men. But this group lacks firepower, both in terms of views and number of likes. Plus, because she flaunts her body too much and overtly appeals to her looks, quite a few people dislike her. Cuteness is different. It knows no bounds of age or gender. So, if you compete with cuteness, I think you can become a much better Navigator.”

“Is that so...”

After Lessefim nodded with a determined expression and left the room, Wang Yu-Mi came to Hassan.

“I said what you told me to say,” Hassan said.

“How did she react?”

“She looked like she had an epiphany.”

Yu-Mi adjusted her round glasses and chuckled. She had wanted to push Lessefim as the cute character for a long time. It was just that Lessefim herself hated the concept. Now, it seemed the Navigator was starting to realize her true charm through Hassan’s words.

“Looks like another charming character will emerge! Well done, Hassan!”

***

“No matter how I look at it, you possess the qualities of a Spirit King,” Alkinas said.

The perceptive and emotionally sensitive Elines could easily read Jin-Hyeok’s mind. He stepped in to speak on his behalf. “I think it’s truly inconsiderate to force the position of Spirit King on a human, Dad.”

“No, Elines! Chul-Soo is the inconsiderate one!”

Smashing the Spirit Realm—though Chul-Soo claimed it was more of a communication—and taming Fire Monsters were things beyond Alkinas’s comprehension.

Seeing his father’s true feelings slip out involuntarily, Elines sighed. “How uncool.”

Alkinas was deeply hurt by his child’s dagger-like words.

Jin-Hyeok sensed something and asked, “What are the benefits of becoming the Spirit King?”

“You can become an even purer fire,” Alkinas answered.

“Oh, how appealing. And?”

“You must mediate when Fire Spirits fight each other.”

“By giving them some of my fire?”

“That’s right.”

“Oh, how noble. What else?”

“You have to defeat Fire Monsters when they appear.”

“Oh, how splendid. Anything more?”

“You’re given the privilege of patrolling daily to ensure the flames are stable.”

“Oh, that sounds quite tiring.”

“You’re right. It’s incredibly exhaust—Oops.” Alkinas hastily conjured flames to cover his mouth, but it was too late.

“That’s right. Dad always said he was tired. That’s why he rarely played with me,” Elines added.

“Elines, that’s unfair. When you asked to play...” Alkinas could always play with his child if the latter asked to do so in the Spirit Realm. But Elines insisted on going on outings to Earth. Even for the Spirit King, opening Spirit Gates to travel between dimensions at will was an extremely difficult task. Moreover, Elines’s reason for wanting to go to Earth was so obvious that Alkinas found it unpleasant.

“So, it’s indeed tiring,” Jin-Hyeok interjected.

“W-Well, it’s more like...”

“You were lying to me?”

“No, I was telling the truth.”

At that moment, Elines chimed in. “Then how about being the owner of the Spirit Realm instead?”

1. Apparently, Lessefim was a male for a while. The author didn’t mention this in previous chapters, but she was a male for quite a while. As for the pronouns, I am going to follow the author and keep the she/her pronoun for Lessefim. ☜