Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 150

Turning [Small Despairs] into [Small Hopes]... This was not even mentioned in the quest. He had just been thrown into the fray without any knowledge. The God had definitely thought that it was virtually impossible for Ji-Cheok to give them hope, as he had neither mind control skills, nor any speech skills in particular.

‘But the God didn’t know the true nature of humans.’

Even in Auschwitz, humans had hope. Even in the Gulag, humans had hope. In the Japanese colonial period, Koreans had to change their last names and were on the verge of starvation, but even then, they still had hope.

It was not because they believed that tomorrow was going to be better than today. How could they think like that when there were people dying around them? In order to keep their sense of living in this fucking reality, they burned themselves to leave a legacy and resisted the oppressors.

Taking from the experience of someone who had hit rock bottom, hope was resistance. Resistance, desire for survival, and a human instinct. It was easier to take away someone’s hope by putting a billion won in their bank account rather than frying them in boiling oil.

But the Gods didn’t know that. And Ji-Cheok was a typical rebellious Korean guy.

?Master… Your hands…?

“It’s going to be okay, don’t worry.”

?How about taking a deep breath, Master??

“I’ve been doing that, but it’s easier said than done.”

‘I said I was rebellious. I didn’t say that I wouldn’t get PTSD. I can’t help it. I’m still a human.’

Ji-Cheok sighed.

?Can you tell me what you witnessed??

“I’m trying to, but somehow it’s hard to find words to describe what I saw.”

?It is understandable, since you are in shock. How about this… you have mastered a telepathy skill, so why don’t you use it to recall the past??

“I can send you videos through my telepathy skill?”

?It may be difficult with an ordinary person, but I am considered one of your skills and a divine spirit. It should be possible to send videos through your telepathy skill, since I am connected to you as a spiritual body. However, your experience is so traumatic that I wonder if you can endure it…?

“I’ll survive. It would be good for you to know.”

He crumpled up the beer can, then took a deep breath and recalled the day’s events—the world after the ‘Tutorial’.

“...”

A few moments later, Cheok-Liang let out a groan.

“What do you think? Did you receive it?”

?Wait… What is this…??

His tail stood up stiffly, and he let out a painful sigh.

?Master… How did you not go insane there? How could this be real…?

“I know right? It’s probably because of my skills and titles.”

?…Even though your mental barrier is strong, that experience is difficult for a normal person to endure. Even for a divine spirit like myself, this is hard to watch…?

Cheok-Liang shook his body. Ji-Cheok saw fear on his face.

?It feels as if I just saw the fear of the abyss. No, wait… Those were actually beings from the abyss. This must be the end of the world. Wow… So this is the Trial of Despair. No matter how high your level is, this would make anyone insane.?

“The quest window didn’t even open.”

?That should also be the doing of [Despair]. This is a trial full of malice. I think the God wanted to see more than just you failing the quest.?

“Yeah, I know. That was the hardest part.

He had also felt the strong ill will of the God. It was different from other quests.

‘For the quests in the past, it was geared toward solving the task by clearing dungeons or killing monsters, but this… I can’t even call this a quest…’

?First of all, Master overcame this. So it is something to celebrate.?

“Cheok-Liang.”

?You should take a break, Master… Don’t do any training today, just take a break.?

Cheok-Liang’s eyes were filled with worry and pity. Ji-Cheok felt sorry and ashamed for making this bean-sized fennec worry.

“Don’t worry about me. There’s still a long way to go. Do you think I can prevent things that happen after the Tutorial?”

‘Maybe it would have been better if I didn’t know about this.’

Once he found out about it, there was no turning back.

?I am sure that Master can do it.?

‘I’ll try. What is there to lose? Death is my only other option.’

?Can I get a sip of that, Master??

‘Can spirits drink alcohol?’

?I can eat lunch boxes, why not beer??

Agreeing with him, Ji-Cheok opened another can of beer and poured it into a cup. Cheok-Liang started to drink.

?Wow~ I can see why humans like this, Master.?

“Hahaha. That’s good.”

Ji-Cheok made a toast.

Cling.

He laughed a little. Then, he suddenly realized that his hands had stopped shaking.

Cheok-Liang casually drank his beer in a sassy pose.

‘This little guy sure is a fox.’

He was thankful for Cheok-Liang.

That day, he tossed and turned as he was unable to fall asleep. On a whim, he searched ‘Um Ji-Cheok’ on social media. He knew that he wasn’t supposed to be doing this, but he was so stressed out that he wanted to see anything he could about himself.

-I tried his curry recipe and it was amazing. I’m giving it a thumbs-up!

-The curry tasted like a hundred-year-old traditional dish. Thumbs-up, this is amazing!

-Thumbs-up from me too!

“Wait, this is it? I was worried for nothing. I was expecting something completely different.”

There was nothing about him. The only thing he could find actually related to him was something completely irrelevant.

-I am selling Um Ji-Cheok photocard. This version is the limited edition that came with his charity mug cup. Please DM me for the price. It’s not a scam. No refund.

He had to scroll all the way down to find this. When he clicked the account, the username was [Sales_Only_Account]. Looking at their posts, it seemed that they also sold Mu-Cheok’s photocard.

-I am selling Um Mu-Cheok’s photocard. This version is after he cleared the hidden dungeon.

All of this user’s posts were about selling things.

‘I heard that the company gave out souvenirs or goods every time you cleared a dungeon, but I guess they gave you a photocard as well.’

Occasionally, the company sold edited photos from the streams as a raffle-style event. Apparently, there were actually people who wanted this. Ji-Cheok patiently scrolled down the search results, but since his name was Um Ji-Cheok, most of the results were pictures of a thumb. He searched for bad comments about him or his fandom, but even those were hard to find. At least cat photos were always cute.

‘Hm… Mu-Cheok overreacted for no reason.’

He scrolled some more, then turned the PC off.

* * *

At three in the morning, he woke up.

‘Is it because I fell asleep early in the evening?’

It was still dark outside. He had woken up at a very questionable time, but he had still slept a lot. When he had come out of the bath yesterday, the sun hadn’t set just yet.

?Master, did you sleep well??

“Yeah, that was a good sleep. Where’s Mu-Cheok?”

?Your brother hasn't come home yet. Maybe he is staying over somewhere else.?

“I mean… He is not a kid anymore.”

Ji-Cheok wondered if this was what parents felt when they had kids.

Mu-Cheok was his younger brother, and he had lived like a model student for his entire life. He was the type of guy who didn’t take interest in anything else and just focused on his studies. At one point, his teacher told Ji-Cheok that he was studying too much.

—Hahaha, are you crazy? Hyung, you’re taking care of me. How can I focus on something else other than my studies?

Ji-Cheok remembered he was smiling but his eyes were serious.

‘Maybe he found some time in his life. He should make new friends and even start dating… No, I will not let that happen. Even I didn’t get the chance to date anybody, I can’t let my younger brother date before me! You can’t date until I date first! The world is about to end, how dare he find his love?’

“Alright… Then…”

He headed straight to the training room. Instead of heading to the [Training Space of the God of War], he just sat there, took a deep breath, and circulated his Qi. He was receiving the blessing of the World Tree, in addition to the effects of his Double Core, the Arcane Circle, and his internal techniques. As expected, his Qi recovered at a terrifying speed. While in that state, he talked to Cheok-Liang.

“For us to stop what we saw yesterday, we need to train even harder.”

?Yes, Master. Definitely. However, I do not think that now is the time to choose the best way to stop it. We need to try everything. Now I know why Jung Ji-Han has been planning every minute of his time.?

“Yeah, it was shocking. So if we just let the world go about, that’s going to be our future, right?”

?The future is not fixed, Master. That is why the prophecies of those with foresight are not perfect.?

‘That’s kinda weird.’

“Then what is the purpose of prophecy? That’s so strange. You can see the future, but that future is not fixed… That just means that those skills are useless, isn’t it?”

‘Why do those skills exist in the first place then?’

?That is not quite true, Master. To accurately describe the power of foresight skills… they can choose the future with the highest probability among the various possible timelines.?

“Oh, so it’s like that?”

?Yes, Master. The future may change.?

Cheok-Liang continued to talk.

?For example, when you are hungry and think you need to eat, you might have a choice of ramen, fried spam eggs, or frozen dumplings. A prophet will read your personal information with their unique skills and figure out which future has the highest probability to occur.?

“So… They’re inaccurate, right?”

?In a way, yes. Many variables can influence the situation. Nevertheless, their skills are certainly strong. To be able to know information about the future, even if it is not perfect, is still very good. At least, information regarding natural disasters is rarely wrong.?

“And you can use that for anything, like buying stocks or real estate.”

?The ways to use the skill are endless, Master.?

‘My skills are pretty useless outside the Hunters’ world…’

“I see. That means Ji-Han is able to have a clearer foresight than my [Minor Intuition]. I think I should have a talk with him…”

Cheok-Liang nodded.

?Yes, Master. Your biggest supporter is indeed Jung Ji-Han.?

‘I’ve seen the end of the world. There is no need for me to cover all the means and methods. But there’s one thing that’s a bit odd to me.’

?What is it, Master??

‘You said that humanity will survive the apocalypse. Although we would no longer be the ruler of the Earth.’

Cheok-Liang nodded again.

?There are few theories regarding that…?

Cheok-Liang laid down some theories for Ji-Cheok.

First, the humans that could leave Earth would leave when the Tutorial ended. Among the Awakened, those who had a God as their Patron or had a skill that allowed them to move to another dimension would be able to leave.

Second, after the tutorial, the Earth would become worse than expected. Fundamentally, it was possible for humans to continue living on earth, but humans couldn’t get along even to save their own lives, and what Ji-Cheok had just witnessed was the result of that.

“Both are possible, though.”

?…I just hope it is not the latter.?

‘The second theory is highly likely! Even with climate change, I heard that the governments ruined it like college students ruining their group assignments! Now that the dungeons have appeared, people are not talking about it anymore, but in the end, climate change is still a big problem in our lives.’

?I see snow falling in the middle of summer, but I do not know if it is because of climate change or because of dungeons. Still, carbon emissions have definitely decreased.?

‘That’s because a lot of people died.’

1. Remember that his name literally means “thumbs-up,” so when he googles himself, that’s what he finds.