I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 459

‘An omniverse-level Achievement?’ Cha Jin-Hyeok was surprised.

[Pioneer of the Spirit Realm]

[There is no record in the universe of a life form from another dimension pioneering the Spirit Realm. This will be a new era for humanity and the foundation of a new civilization.

Achievement Effect: Dimension Synchronization]

He hadn’t expected to receive such a grand Achievement for merely having a physical conversation with the Spirit Realm.

‘So, this is the new era for humanity and the foundation for a new civilization?’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

It seemed a bit exaggerated, but it wasn’t bad content-wise. His being the first one in the universe to acquire this Achievement made for great content for his channel.

[Due to this being the first omniverse-level Achievement, the ⌜Quill of Records⌟ has been activated.]

A white quill appeared in mid-air. It was a sacred object unaffected by the Spirit Realm’s fire.

‘Am I supposed to hold this?’ When he grasped the quill, it began to move on its own.

[The ⌜Quill of Records⌟ records the great footsteps of ⌜Kim Chul-Soo⌟.]

The quill inscribed letters in mid-air. The content was written in Korean, Jin-Hyeok’s native language.

[The ⌜Quill of Records⌟ will record objective situations as close to fact as possible.]

The Quill of Records was a sacred object of the universe that accurately recorded how to acquire omniverse-level Achievements. It was the universe’s will to record these great footsteps and pass them on to future generations.

Lessefim and Mole Woman watched the quill’s movements and vividly felt that will.

“What on earth are those characters?” Lessefim asked.

“You don’t know Korean, moly?” Mole Woman was startled. “How can you not study the native language of Chul-Soo? You’re not qualified to be a Chul-Soo Lander, moly.”

“Can you please translate for me, Mole Woman?”

“See? I’m the Navigator more suited for livestreaming, moly!”

Lessefim didn’t want to admit that, but she was curious about the glorious content the Quill of Records was writing. So, she had to concede. “Fine. You seem to be the more suitable Navigator for livestreaming. For now.”

“Hehehe.”

Although she appeared very composed on the outside, Mole Woman was quite nervous. Feeling the universe’s will with her whole body, she felt like she were standing at the threshold of a new civilization. She wondered what great content the Quill of Records would write and what transcendent message would be passed onto future generations.

“The Quill of Records will accurately record how Chul-Soo achieved this feat. This is the perfect strategy passed down to future generations, so future Players should cherish it.” Mole Woman steadied her trembling heart and began to read. This was just the introduction. Mole Woman and Lessefim gulped.

Mole Woman continued, “Chul-Soo entered the Fire Spirit Realm. Chul-Soo endured the flames of the Spirit Realm. Chul-Soo interacted with the Spirit Realm. The interaction was successful. The Achievement was gained.”

Lessefim waited for Mole Woman to continue, her eyes sparkling. But even after a long time, Mole Woman didn’t say anything else.

“What? Why did you stop reading?” Lessefim asked.

“That’s... the end?”

“What?” Lessefim couldn’t help but doubt Mole Woman. “Are you serious?”

“Of course, I’m serious. That’s it.” Mole Woman unconsciously muttered to herself, “What kind of great strategy is that, moly?”

The strategy was similar to the joke about how to put an elephant in a refrigerator—open the refrigerator door, put the elephant in, and close the refrigerator door.

As the closest witnesses to the Quill of Records, Mole Woman and Lessefim could feel the universe’s will.

‘Hold on, the universe is feeling proud of itself!’

‘It’s praising itself!’

The Quill of Records, seemingly pleased with the record it had written, floated in the air, dancing here and there before disappearing in a flash of light.

***

Homepage Master Kang Eun-Woo covered her mouth with her hand.

“Yu-Mi! Look at this!” Eun-Woo shouted. She was a Player who had the authority to take videos and photos of Jin-Hyeok even when she wasn’t with him. “Chul-Soo has turned into fire.”

Chul-Soo had become a person made of flames.

Wang Yu-Mi adjusted her round glasses. “I see... This is going to be so popular.”

Chul-Soo was nearly translucent, but the silhouette was enough to evoke slightly erotic imaginations.

“Stop acting unprofessional, Eun-Woo! Stop looking at Chul-Soo from a fan’s point of view. You’re his Homepage Master!” Yu-Mi quickly touched her glasses, changing the lenses to an opaque color. She too couldn’t take her eyes off the fiery Jin-Hyeok. “Eun-Woo, get a grip. You’re the Homepage Master! You shouldn’t succumb to his seduction technique.”

Yu-Mi struck Eun-Woo’s head hard with a palm tree staff that had an awakening effect, with the pain effect applied.

Thwack!

Only then did Eun-Woo come to her senses. “Ah, I’m sorry!”

“Receiving the Intimate Miracle twice might have been a mistake, Eun-Woo.”

A couple of months ago, Eun-Woo had received the Intimate Miracle from Hassan, enhancing her abilities while maintaining her previous gender. However, as time passed, Eun-Woo felt her abilities were lacking. Jin-Hyeok’s growth rate was so much faster than hers that it became difficult for her to properly capture his image. So, she sought Hassan again.

“Can I receive the Intimate Miracle again?”

“What? I still have some left, but... I don’t think it will have much effect on you.”

“What if I change my gender completely?”

“W-Well, that might have an effect, but didn’t you say you couldn’t turn into a woman because you were afraid of what other Chul-Soo Landers would say about you?”

“Something more important has come up now. With my current skills, I can’t fully capture Chul-Soo.”

In the end, Eun-Woo had received the Intimate Miracle once more and transformed into a woman.

“The side effects of the Intimate Miracle seem serious. I will need to carry this staff for a while,” Yu-Mi said.

“That would be helpful. Thank you!”

“How about asking Hassan to turn you back into a man? You can receive the miracle again, right?”

“I already looked into it, but it’s impossible.”

“Why? Did he say that your abilities will weaken?”

“He said he used all of the miracles. Oh right, and he said that the 77th person to receive the miracle was not human...”

“Not human?”

“He said it was a Spirit.”

Yu-Mi tilted her head. “Do Spirits have genders?”

“Apparently so. It seems they just decide for themselves. Hassan said the Spirit changed from a female form to a male form,” Eun-Woo said. She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but when she thought about it again, something clicked. “Hassan must have done it because the Spirit is deeply related to Chul-Soo, right?”

Hassan didn’t grant Intimate Miracles unless it was for Chul-Soo Landers. He had vowed to use the precious 77 Miracles for only Chul-Soo Landers, if possible.

“Could it be...?”

“No way...!”

Yu-Mi and Eun-Woo thought about which Spirit was deeply related to Chul-Soo—a Spirit that changed from female to male form. They seemed to know who it was.

“Elines?”

“Elines?”

***

Mole Woman gained a deep realization. What she had thought earlier was correct.

“So, overwhelming physical prowess is the answer to everything after all.”

That was the strategy—overwhelming physical prowess that could withstand the flames of the Spirit Realm and even beat it.

“But, Chul-Soo, you look kind of sexy as fire, moly.”

Just then, Lessefim shouted, “Chul-Soo! Southwest, twenty-seven degrees! I need you to swing Miri in that direction! I don’t want you to communicate with anything. Just use pure physical force!”

This would allow the path to be opened, a path that could lead to the king of this Spirit Realm, Alkinas, or a being equivalent to Alkinas. With her eyes closed, Lessefim chanted in her mind incessantly.

‘Now!’

Even with her eyes closed, she could tell that Chul-Soo had swung Miri. She could feel the path opening with the unique sense that only Navigators possessed. Lessefim continued with her eyes still closed, “Now a path will appear where the flames part and non-hostile flames burn. It won’t be visible to the naked eye, but Chul-Soo, I know you’ll be able to feel it.”

Lessefim didn’t particularly advise Mole Woman. A Navigator of Mole Woman’s caliber should be able to feel it too.

“Don’t look with your eyes. Feel with your heart. You will surely see the path,” Lessefim said.

She took the first step. She walked out of the space created by Omnipotent Director.

‘It’s not hot anymore!’

The path wasn’t very wide, just enough for one person to barely pass through. It was like an invisible passage of fire.

“What are you doing, moly!” Mole Woman tapped Lessefim’s shoulder, and Lessefim almost yelled at her.

This small path could disappear at any moment. It was like a candle flame, something that could flicker and vanish with even the slightest breeze or variable.

“Mole Woman, you need to concentrate. With your skills, you should be able to feel it too,” Lessefim said.

“No, I’m not talking about that. Open your eyes, moly.” n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“If I open my eyes, I won’t be able to see...” Feeling something strange, Lessefim opened her eyes. A wide path, about twelve lanes across, had opened up. It was just an ordinary path untouched by the flames.

“What’s going on?” Lessefim said, confused.

Mole Woman patted her shoulder. “Chul-Soo opened the path, moly.”

***

The path was similar to a large aquarium. The only difference was that it was filled with flames instead of water and fish.

“Do we just walk along this path?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Yes,” Lessefim answered. She wondered if Chul-Soo even needed a Navigator, but she sincerely asked, “Shall I lead the way?”

“That would be good.”

‘It’s not really about needing a Navigator’s abilities; it just looks better for his livestream.’ Lessefim sighed. She could understand why that annoying Mole Woman was acting so confidently. From the beginning, Chul-Soo never needed help from Navigators.

‘Just being a Navigator is not enough.’ She had been putting it off, but now she made a decision. ‘I need to become a human female too!’

She thought that she should ask Hassan for the Intimate Miracle. The form of a human female would suit the livestream much better than a male form. At least to compete with Mole Woman, she needed to become a human female.

Jin-Hyeok and the Navigators walked for a long time.

‘With no sense of time, I can’t tell how long we’ve been walking,’ Lessefim thought.

It felt like falling into an area with an unknown sense of space-time, but she wasn't particularly scared. Being with Chul-Soo, she didn’t feel much of a sense of crisis. Instead, she focused on Chul-Soo’s muttering. She was ready to jump in to enrich the audio for the livestream if necessary. However, Mole Woman was a bit quicker.

“Oh, really, moly? You can enter the Trinity Club if you achieve an omniverse-level Achievement?” Mole Woman said.

Trinity Club members were the VIPs of the System, with only 999 members in the entire universe.

“Does that mean one of my friends is now a Trinity Club member, moly?” Mole Woman hugged Chul-Soo tightly and shed tears of joy.

Jin-Hyeok, who had turned into a fire person, was about to push her away, worried she could burn to death, but was startled.

‘She’s fine?’ He had turned into fire, but it was a type of fire that wouldn’t harm anyone. This was an incredibly strange sensation for Jin-Hyeok.

“Does that mean one of the Trinity Club members has been kicked out, moly?”

“No, the number of Trinity Club members has increased by one. It seems I’m the 1000th Trinity Club member,” Jin-Hyeok replied.

“Do a lot of things change if one becomes a Trinity Club member, moly?”

“Yup.”

“What kind of changes, moly? Tell me in detail, moly!”

Mole Woman’s large eyes were filled with curiosity. It was a perfect shot for his thumbnail. But then, the surroundings suddenly darkened.

‘Hm? The flames became dark!’ Jin-Hyeok observed.

Being in harmony with the Spirit Realm now, Jin-Hyeok could feel the terrible loneliness and solitude from the atmosphere. This black, burning world was another world within the Spirit Realm. In this world of invisible flames, he could sense a small mass of black flame. It was a flame crouched down and crying. Jin-Hyeok could tell as soon as he saw that flame.

“Elines?”