I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 28

The party entered the Golden Golem Castle. As expected from the name 'castle,' the Field was quite grand. The ceiling was very high, and the floor was covered with a red carpet. There were ivory marble walls and glittering golden chandeliers.

‘Hm..’

In the distance, Cha Jin-Hyeok could see a staircase that split into two, diverging far away from each other and ascending upward. There was a statue of a Golden Golem sitting at the central point where the staircase split into two.

Mok Jae-Hyeon gulped nervously.

“Hyung… This place is perfect for getting assassinated…”

“How so?”

No matter how Jin-Hyeok looked at it, it was not a good environment for assassins. It was so quiet that even the slightest noise would be noticed, and the space itself was so bright it was difficult for assassins who relied on hiding in the darkness and shadows to operate in.

“Well, there is a big pillar, and also..”

“Can’t you see that huge space around it? It’s like an open field!”

Even though their Levels were low, Jin-Hyeok could not believe they were saying such ridiculous things.

‘I want to know which area in this place would be a good hiding spot for an Assassin to operate. I don’t know how much lower my standards have to be.’

“What… should we do…?” Kim Jeong-Hyeon asked.

‘Good. He is being more productive with those questions.’

“There do not seem to be any monsters around. If you enter a Dungeon and there is no monster like this, it means two things. One, this is a safe zone where Players can take refuge, or two, this is a Farming Field."

“What’s a Farming Field?” Cha Jin-Sol asked while scratching her head.

“It’s a Field where you loot stuff.”

“Oh, so that’s why it's called a Farming Field. Now I understand.”

Jin-Hyeok was about to die from frustration. He tried to speak as calmly as possible.

“Do you see those stairs over there?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Yes.”

“If we go that way, it probably leads to the second floor, right? I believe that is where the real beginning of the Golden Golem Castle is. I also believe that we might need something to get it started. I think we are supposed to find that on the first floor.”

“To help us on the second floor?”

“Yes. Look carefully at every corner of this place. There might be something useful.”

“Got it." Jin-Sol nodded. “But how do you know all this so well?” she asked.

“This is just basic knowledge…”

“...This is basic?”

Jin-Sol had a look of realization on her face as if she had learned something new. The team thoroughly searched the first floor but found no significant discoveries. Since Jin-Hyeok didn’t want his livestream to be a silent video, he conducted some interviews while trying to find something.

‘Is it getting boring?’

Even he felt a bit bored. There was no tension and no rush of adrenaline. If he felt this way, the viewers would be bored out of their minds. He did not want to go up to the second floor right away, but for the sake of his livestream, he decided to go up.

“Shall we go up to the second floor?” Jin-Hyeok smiled.

He could not help but laugh unintentionally.

“The stairs leading to the second floor split into two paths.”

In reality, it would not matter which of the two paths they choose, but this was a Dungeon. The difficulty level and the progress might vary depending on the staircase chosen.

“Which way should we go?” Jin-Sol asked.

Then, the entire team looked at Jin-Hyeok at once.

‘Wait, I’m not a navigator. I’m just a Streamer. Why are they relying on me so much?’

For the record, the area of expertise that he was least confident in was navigation.

‘I think we need to find a proper navigator.’

“Maybe the left one?” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Why?”

“I dunno.”

“Huh?”

Jin-Sol looked confused.

“I thought you would have a good reason, Oppa.”

“I am not an explorer or a navigator. I’m just a Streamer…”

‘Well, that’s true, but…”

’There is no way to determine the difficulty of the two paths. There is no point in overthinking it; there is no right answer. It is better to just go for it.’

“Let’s go.”

Jin-Hyeok let Jae-Hyeon take the lead, and he stayed at the back.

[You are now entering the second floor of the Golden Golem Castle.]

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The second floor had a similar structure to the first floor. It felt even larger, a vast empty space. And in the distance, he saw a huge statue.

[After five seconds, the Golden Golem will start to move.]

He could tell as soon as he saw it. That statue was going to transform into the Golden Golem.

“It looks quite massive.”

[Golden Golem has come to life.]

[The Raid of Golden Golem will now begin.]

[LV45/Golden Golem/Skill]

‘Oh, it’s Level 45. And the name is marked red.’

“That monster is dangerous!”

Jin-Hyeok’s heart started racing. He glanced back.

‘The stairs are still there..’

This meant that there was still an escape route. This might reduce the difficulty, but it seemed to be the nature of low-Level Dungeons.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Golden Golem, now completely covered in golden light, charged toward them. It felt like a wild boar rushing in. It was faster than any other Golem.

Jae-Hyeon was taken aback.

“Why… why is that thing so fast?”

Jae-Hyeon quickly unleashed his Wood Fortress Skill. The Skill covered his body. His Skill usage was much better than before, thanks to his dedicated training.

“Very efficient Skill usage. He’s improved a lot.”

He used to use his Skill so foolishly, like covering the entire convenience store, but now he forced more on covering only his own body. By selectively concentrating his mana on the parts that needed the most protection, it was more efficient.

“To be honest, if he concentrates his mana even more on the areas that are under attack, he could increase the efficiency even more. But I guess his skills and vision have not reached that level yet,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Hyung! I’m in trouble. Don’t say things like that!”

Although Jae-Hyeon was concealed by the Wood Fortress and could not be seen, his voice sounded quite frustrated. At that moment, the Golden Golem’s fist struck him once again.

Crack!

The Wood Fortress was nearly shattered. The monster’s power was quite strong.

“Hyung! Please!”

His voice was filled with vulnerability and frustration.

Among all professions, Tanks had the highest mortality rate. Especially when encountering monsters for the first time, the Tanks’ death rate would reach nearly twenty percent.

If Jae-Hyeon was having a conversation like this, it meant he wasn’t in a critical situation yet, which seemed very promising.

“Oppa, what should I do? Should I attack now?” asked Seo Ji-Soo, who was in stealth mode.

“I need you to get out of stealth mode first.”

Ji-Soo had a puzzled expression, but she listened to Jin-Hyeok’s words well. As her stealth was released, he could feel the Golden Golem twitching.

“I guess Jae-Hyeon couldn’t fully taunt the monster.”

The Tank, Jae-Hyeon, seemed too focused on defending himself, rather than taunting the monster. With things as they were, it would be difficult to have a successful raid.

“Do not attack yet,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Then should I just stand by?”

“Jeong-Hyeon, I need you to go hit that Golem. Be prepared to take a hit as well. Try to avoid its attack if possible, but if you do get hit, try not to get hit on your vital areas as much as you can.”

Jeong-Hyeon nodded with a determined expression.

Suddenly, the Golden Golem swung its fist downward.

Boom!

The Wood Fortress was completely shattered, and Jae-Hyeon hastily rolled away. There was quite a lot of blood coming out of his nose.

“ARGH!”

He quickly crouched down.

Whoosh!

The monster’s fist passed by above Jae-Hyeon’s head, from left to right.

“Did you see its attack pattern?” Jin-Hyeok asked Jeong-Hyeon.

“Yes.”

“When you see it do that, jump up and take the hit. Try to fly toward the staircase behind you.”

“...Understood.”

As soon as Jeong-Hyeon joined the fight, the Golden Golem immediately attacked him.

Meanwhile, Jae-Hyeon crawled back in relief.

“Th… That was crazy! I almost died for real.”

“That’s the role of a Tank.”

If he could come back in one piece and speak like this, it meant he did not come close to death. He was just overly dramatic.

On the other hand, it seemed like Jeong-Hyeon could hold his ground against the Golden Golem for about a minute, but that seemed to be his limit. He was on the verge of getting destroyed by that monster.

“Ah, it looks like dealing with the Golden Golem is too much for the team right now. We are going to retreat for now.”

They could not kill it with their current power.

“Seo sisters, I need you guys to go down to the first floor.”

“What about you, Oppa?”

“I am going to record you guys going down and then follow you.”

“Got it.”

Ji-Soo glanced at him, her expression either dissatisfied or worried, then nodded. Judging by her tone, it seemed like she was never going to listen to Jin-Hyeok, but strangely enough, she did.

“Jin-Sol, give Jeong-Hyeon some healing boosts and quickly retreat with him.”

“Are you going to join us?”

“I will soon.”

The Blood Priest’s healing boost had a significant effect, instantly restoring Jeong-Hyeon’s breathing. However, Jae-Hyeon was still standing behind him.

“Hey, why are you still here?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Well… You didn’t tell me to go down…”

‘Ah, right. I forgot about him.’

Since the Wood Fortress was currently not available, it would be a better choice for him to retreat with the rest of the team. Come to think of it, expecting that level of teamwork between them was difficult. Jin-Hyeok should have given him more specific instructions.

‘I guess It’s my fault, then.’

Back in the day, Jin-Hyeok, too, was just a Field operator who followed the Ruler’s orders. In fact, he had not paid much attention to his team because he hadn’t had much experience acting as a leader. He was more comfortable with throwing himself into the battle rather than playing the role of a Ruler.

“Don’t tell me you forgot about me…” Jae-Hyeon said.

“...”

“Please tell me that’s not true.”

“Just go down, you idiot.”

Among the team members, Jae-Hyeon was the most cowardly, but he listened to the orders well. He did not retreat until Jin-Hyeok told him to, and as soon as he did, he went down immediately. If a Player could not make an active and excellent play, it was much better to have them listen to the orders.

Boom!

Jin-Hyeok heard a loud sound. Jeong-Hyeon crossed his arms in an X shape and blocked the Golden Golem’s first. Just like Jin-Hyeok said, he deliberately lifted his body slightly and took the blow.

His body flew up like a baseball hit by a bat.

“I expected this of Jeong-Hyeon. He is doing well in carrying out what I demanded.”

Jeong-Hyeon flew toward the stairs. With that level of impact, his arms were probably damaged and a few of his ribs had to have been broken. Still, his head was unharmed, and he did not die.

Today’s raid was quite peaceful.

“Jeong-Hyeon, you too, go to the first floor.”

After that, Jin-Hyeok leisurely walked toward the first floor. Although the monster ran fiercely toward him, there was still a considerable distance between them. There was no need to run, so as he was walking backward, he filmed the monster running toward him. As he got the close-up shot of the monster, it seemed like a pretty good shot, capturing the body of the Golden Golem.

‘Wow, it’s coming closer.’

The momentum was impressive. If he were to get hit by its attack head-on, it would be truly devastating.

‘Avoiding such incredible attack would be so thrillin—No, I shouldn’t.’

“That monster is quite something.”

[Would you like to enter the first floor?]

Jin-Hyeok waited a little longer. It was not to enjoy the thrill a little longer. He wanted to capture the Golden Golem up close as much as possible. It was part of his role as a Streamer.

‘I think this will do.’

The tip of the monster’s first grazed his nose. There were no visible injuries, but he could definitely feel the power.

“If that hit, it would have buried my cheekbones.”

Still, since it did not hit, it did not matter. It was always fun to avoid attacks by the skin of his teeth.

“With this level of destruction, the Broadcaster’s Barrier wouldn’t last long. There is a reason why this monster’s name was marked in red.”

Having fully experienced the power of the Golden Golem, he descended to the first floor.

His heart was pounding.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Sweat dripped down Jin-Sol’s forehead.

“Pant… Pant…”

Jeong-Hyeon’s injury was worse than expected, so it took quite an effort to heal him.

His face was pale.

“Oppa, I feel dizzy…”

“Blood Priests are usually like that.”

Since Jin-Sol didn’t have any blood-sucking Skills yet, there were not many ways to supply blood from external sources. Thanks to the Traits, Enhanced Human and Enhanced Revival, she was able to use the abilities of a Blood Priest to some extent, so one could say that luck was on her side.

“Oppa, aren’t you worried about me?”

“You said you wanted to do this, didn’t you?”

If she had said she didn’t want to do it, Jin-Hyeok wouldn’t have made her do it. However, Jin-Hyeok wanted to teach her how to be a Blood Priest in a more enjoyable way. For that to happen, she needed to experience and reach her own limits. Still, Jin-Hyeok had lowered his standards considerably, so he decided to provide some assistance.

“Here, take this.”

Jin-Hyeok took out the blood transfusion packs he had prepared in advance.

“Blood? BLOOD?”

“Yes.”

“Where did you get this?”

“I bought it at the Broadcaster’s Shop. Drink it.”

These packs were ridiculously expensive. Each pack cost three million Dias. There was no other way to put it—this was an unparalleled monopoly.

‘Later on, if she learns a blood-sucking Skill, I’ll let her take my blood instead.’

“You want me to drink this?”

Jin-Sol’s face turned pale. She looked like she was never going to drink it, no matter what.

“If you don’t drink it, you will pass out from anemia.”

“...”

“Drink it, now.”

She hesitated for a while. Then she noticed something.

“But, Oppa, what happened to the entrance?”

“You’re just realizing it now?”

Upon hearing that, Jae-Hyeon hurriedly turned his head and looked back at the way they entered.

“Hyung! The entrance really disappeared!”

Although Jin-Hyeok was the last one to arrive on the first floor, he already knew. Also, it was only natural for the entrance to disappear.

‘We should be thankful that we have a safe zone for the Dungeon, and now they want to freely enter and exit the Dungeon too? That’s some wishful thinking.’

Jin-Sol, who realized the seriousness of the situation, closed her eyes tightly and quickly drank the blood from one of the transfusion packs.

“Ugh!”

She gagged several times, but her complexion returned. She would probably get used to it. After all, being a Blood Priest required this kind of hardship.

With all the injuries healed, Jeong-Hyeon asked with a serious expression.

“Do you think… we can get out of here alive?”

Everyone seemed worried.

‘How strange… Am I the only one excited?’