I Gave Up Being Stronger

Kyle could sense a barrier surrounding him. He had thought Chul-Soo had deployed the Absolute Barrier around only him because that was the best way the Swordsman could save as many people as possible.

However, he realized he was wrong.

‘It’s not protecting just me!’ Kyle thought. The Sword Emperor Unit’s men were vomiting, but they did not appear to be in danger. A few of them with high poison resistance had even recovered completely.

‘Did Chul-Soo cast Absolute Barrier on all of them? Then what about himself?’ Kyle looked at Chul-Soo but did not sense any trace of Absolute Barrier around him.

‘No way!’ He thought that Chul-Soo had sacrificed himself to protect the Sword Emperor Unit. ‘Damn it!’

Not many poisons could intoxicate warriors of the Sword Emperor Unit’s caliber just through the smoke. The poison had to be at least Snake King level. It could have been the legendary poison of the White Snake King, which was rumored to be in the imperial treasury. This led to only one conclusion.

‘They were trying to kill all of us!’

Kyle could not understand why the Imperial Palace would go to such lengths, but now was not the time to think. He had to think about their escape first.

“Secure an escape route first!” Kyle ordered.

Kyle summoned his sword energy to break the enemy’s barrier. He did not look back. That was his way of showing respect for Chul-Soo’s great sacrifice. Creating an escape route and retreating while saving as many lives as possible—that was how Kyle could truly honor Chul-Soo’s name.

‘I swear I will survive and…!’

The Imperial Palace was trying to eliminate Chul-Soo and the Sword Emperor Unit without conducting a proper investigation. What came next was obvious. The Imperial Palace would smear their names with false charges of treason.

‘I will fight for your honor, Chul-Soo!’

Kyle and the Sword Emperor Unit finally broke through the enemy’s barrier.

‘Oh no!” In his haste, Kyle had overlooked something crucial. As soon as they breached the barrier, the poisonous smoke began seeping through the main gate. ‘This can’t be happening!’

The diluted poison mist escaping outside would not be a major problem for the Sword Emperor Unit. The real problem was the ordinary citizens. Even a tiny amount could prove fatal to them.

“Damn it!” Kyle said. There was no time to be angry at the Imperial Palace for using such a vile poison. “You must all survive!”

“Captain?”

Kyle stood in front of the main gate, facing the inner palace. “You must live on and fight for my and Chul-Soo’s honor.”

Kyle raised his sword, summoning his sword energy. He intended to keep swinging his blade until his dying breath to prevent the poison mist from escaping outside.

“Captain!”

“I will stay with you, Captain!”

A few men stood beside Kyle. Others bit their lips, torn. They all knew what was best for Kyle and what would truly protect Chul-Soo’s honor. Those leaving saluted toward the hazy poison mist—a salute to Chul-Soo. Then they saluted Kyle.

“It was an honor to serve under you, Captain!”

***

Kyle soon noticed something strange.

‘Shouldn’t the poison have affected me by now?’ He was surprisingly fine—no, blatantly fine. ‘Is my poison resistance high?’

He was the captain of the Sword Emperor Unit, not the Poison King. His knowledge of poisons was limited, and he rarely encountered them. So, it was difficult for him to make an accurate assessment of this situation. However, it wasn’t just him—the two subordinates standing beside him were also fine.

“Are you two alright?” Kyle asked.

“I think so, Captain.”

“I’m fine too.”

They realized that Absolute Barrier was still active around them.

“Absolute Barrier is still functioning, Captain!”

Nothing was visible through the hazy poison mist. No voices could be heard either. They thought that no person could survive this mist.

“A defensive barrier that persists even after death,” Kyle said.

“...”

“Could Chul-Soo still be alive, Captain?”

They could not rule out the possibility. If he was still breathing, they had to find a way to retrieve him. Kyle took a step forward.

“You two stay here and guard this position.”

“But Captain!”

“Keep the poison fog from leaking out. We are the Sword Emperor Unit!”

After giving strict orders to his subordinates, Kyle walked through the poison mist. Though he had resolved himself for death, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t afraid. As a strong Swordsman, he had been far removed from death. Even for him, death was unfamiliar and frightening.

“I ended up lying to Ellie,” Kyle muttered. His daughter’s face flashed in his mind. He had told her he would be back home soon after this mission and promised to bring back loads of chocolate that she loved.

‘Hm?’ He heard a faint voice. ‘I can hear someone coughing!’

It was unmistakably Chul-Soo’s voice. Kyle rushed toward the source of the sound. “Kim Chul-Soo!”

Tears were streaming down Chul-Soo’s eyes. “My eyes…”

“You can’t see?”

“No, they sting.”

“?”

“It feels like spicy smoke got in my eyes.” Jin-Hyeok repeatedly rubbed his eyes with his uniform sleeve.

“Are you okay?” Kyle asked.

“My throat…”

“You can’t breathe?”

“It’s scratchy.”

“...”

“Ellie. Is that your daughter’s name?”

“Yes…”

“It’s a nice name.”

“What?”

“Summon Cute Elly, Ta-da!”

[You have activated the Skill ⌜Summon Cute Elly, Tada!⌟.]

Suddenly, a Spirit appeared, burning away the poison mist. It was Elines, the Spirit contracted to Jin-Hyeok. Elines also repeatedly coughed after being summoned and frantically waved. The poison mist that touched her hands burst into flames, emitting black smoke. Soon, the poison mist could no longer penetrate the surrounding areas.

“I hate you,” Elines said. Her pronunciation was very accurate now, and she looked like a middle school student, a far cry from the seven-year-old child she once resembled.

“Spirits these days sure grow up fast,” Jin-Hyeok remarked, looking at her with pride.

“You could summon me more often, you know.”

“Sorry. I have been too busy lately.”

“You still eat when you’re busy, don’t you?”

Kyle was startled by those words. This was exactly what his daughter Ellie always said to him.

“Elly, can you burn away all this poison mist?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

Kyle quickly interjected, “Chul-Soo, that’s too much to ask.”

Spirits typically drew power from their contractors to use their abilities. Great power always comes at a cost.

“This poison is likely that of the White Snake King, the king of kings among poisons. It’s the most vicious poison humans can obtain. Given the caliber of the Spirit you summoned, some purification should be possible. But there is too much of it. You will collapse before you can purify all this poison!”

However, Jin-Hyeok was not listening to Kyle. Instead, he was busy comforting Ellie. When Jin-Hyeok coughed, Ellie made a fuss. “Are you okay?!”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You could’ve just blocked this level of poison with your barrier! Why didn’t you?!”

Ellie was mentally connected to Jin-Hyeok and could fully sense his power. Jin-Hyeok had more than enough power left to use Absolute Barrier.

“I need to experience these things firsthand sometimes,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“You’re driving me crazy!” Ellie slapped Jin-Hyeok’s back with her hand, which was blazing with fire.

As Jin-Hyeok coughed repeatedly, Ellie bit her lip, seemingly deciding this wouldn’t do. “I will burn away all this pathetic poison!”

“Thank you, Ellie.”

“H-Hey! Chul-Soo! Spirit! Didn’t you hear what I…” Kyle yelled.

Suddenly, an enormous fireball appeared around them. It was as if the sun had descended upon the Imperial Palace. Dozens of fiery whirlwinds shot out from the fireball, swirling around.

Kyle looked around with a grim expression. ‘Holy shit!’

Each fiery whirlwind had destructive power comparable to a Spirit King’s flames. Kyle felt like he was standing at the scene of humanity’s end. He wondered how much mana the Spirit was drawing from her contractor. This would surely bring danger to Chul-Soo, her contractor.

“Chul-Soo! It’s too much to purify all this poison. Save your strength. The poison might not be the end of it!”

“I’m saving it.”

“?”

“Oh, and about that White Snake King. If you know more about it, could you explain?”

Kyle briefly explained about the White Snake King. “... So, if the Imperial Palace intended to kill us, they must have placed the White Snake King’s head somewhere.”

The White Snake King’s poison was extremely dangerous, but there was something even more perilous about it.

“Those exposed to the White Snake King’s poison turn to stone just by looking into its eyes,” Kyle continued to explain.

“Are you talking about red eyes?”

Kyle instinctively turned his gaze toward where Jin-Hyeok was pointing. At that moment, Kyle felt that something massive had collided with him and bounced off.

‘Could it be?’ Kyle realized that Absolute Barrier’s protection was still around him. “Did the barrier deflect a curse?”

“It seems so.”

“...”

There were various types of barriers. Some deflected physical force, some repelled magical power, some separated space, some distorted time, some blocked poison, and so on. Higher-grade barriers tended to specialize in one area. This was common knowledge.

“Chul-Soo, do you have multiple types of barriers?” Kyle asked.

“Nope.” Jin-Hyeok was slightly annoyed. “Watch my livestream. I have only one barrier—Absolute Barrier.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Kyle’s common sense crumbled. A single type of barrier had both blocked poison and deflected a curse simultaneously. And it wasn’t even a barrier from a professional Barrier Mage but one from an Eltuber. Then, he realized something astonishing. ‘He cast Absolute Barrier on me and my subordinates. But what about himself?’

Chul-Soo had not cast the Skill on himself. Kyle knew this because Chul-Soo had been coughing and choking from the poison earlier. This meant that Chul-Soo was enduring this situation with his bare body, without any barriers.

“Chul-Soo!!! You absolutely must not look into its ey—”

Jin-Hyeok strode over and picked up a massive snake head from a small pedestal. It was the White Snake King’s head.

“The eyes are incredibly red,” Jin-Hyeok observed. Recording this scene from the first-person perspective, he observed the White Snake King’s head in detail to show the viewers. “It seems this is the first public reveal…”

However, a problem had occurred.

“I will have to pause the livestream for a moment.”

***

Jin-Hyeok bit his lip.

‘Damn it!’

This was the biggest crisis of his Eltuber career.

-Viewers watching Chul-Soo’s livestream have been poisoned and are being rushed to hospitals.

-I hear there is chaos at the temple too!

-I can hear the sound of ambulances outside my home.

A significant number of viewers of Chul-Soo’s livestream had been poisoned. He had transmitted more than just a vivid sense of reality—he had inadvertently broadcast something far more dangerous. While getting poisoned through the screen was not as perilous as being poisoned firsthand, it was still plenty dangerous for ordinary viewers. Some lost their eyesight, while others complained of severe abdominal pain. However, an even bigger problem had occurred.

-People watching Chul-Soo’s livestream are turning to stone.

-My right arm turned to stone too, FFS!

└The Black Flame Dragon evolved to Stone Flame Dragon! Congrats!

└This is no joke. I can’t move my right arm!

-Yeah, no kidding. I wasn’t joking either, lol.

-What do we do about this?

Some viewers were not just poisoned—they were turning to stone.

-Please save my child!

-My mother has turned to stone. What should I do?

Jin-Hyeok bit his lip. Reaching Level 500 was not entirely a good thing. All his abilities had increased dramatically. He realized that he should have predicted that his livestreaming capabilities would also increase dramatically.

‘What should I do?’ Jin-Hyeok did not care if other people turned to stone, but it happening to his grateful viewers was a different story.

“Let’s retreat for now.”

The palace’s conspiracy was not important anymore. He decided to focus on resolving this crisis first.