Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 154

Ji-Han nodded at his question.

“Yes, after the Tutorial, the human world will be destroyed. A few people have already sensed this. In that list, there is me and you from Korea, Rayne Seeker and [A/B] from the United States, and some old closed cult groups that have already accepted the apocalypse,” Ji-Han said.

?Rayne Seeker. She is one of the top ten Hunters in the United States. She is also known for her divination skills and she is a powerful Archmage. There is a rumor about her using her divination skills to learn magic spells of the future to become stronger.?

‘I’ve heard of her before. She is one of [A/B]’s teammates.’

It was unknown whether Raine Seeker was her real name or a pseudonym, but she was a famous prophet. However, only the top brass of [A/B]’s guild had any knowledge of what she was predicting.

Ji-Han snapped his fingers.

“In the face of the apocalypse, a small number of humans are pursuing the future in their own way. There are those who want to save the world, those who decided that the world cannot be saved and will try to escape to another world, and there are those who want to enjoy eternal life by offering their souls to the Gods responsible for the apocalypse. There are many ways.” Ji-Han said.

?It is like there is a way for each person, Master.?

‘Hm… I think I’m beginning to understand why the world was destroyed beyond restoration after the Tutorial. Did humans stab each other in the back even after the Tutorial?’

?That… is the worst possible outcome that we can think of.?

‘I really hoped that wouldn’t be the case. Is our world going to be a giant college group assignment that no one takes responsibility for?’

Ji-Han continued. “As for myself… even before you spoke to me, I had been planning to save the world from destruction.”

“Ah…”

Everything started to be a bit more clear for Ji-Cheok. He nodded.

“Although I did not speak to others or ask for help because of my restrictions, my current social position can get things done without having to go through a lot of ‘honest conversations’. That part helped,” Ji-Han said.

?He is a member of one of the chaebol families that control the entire country. In addition, now that we know his ability to get things done, there would be many things he has done with that much financial and political power.?

Cheok-Liang was right. If he knew about the future, he had far more options than the average person. Ji-Han continued.

“This is one of them. To prevent the future apocalypse, we need to be free from the eyes of the Gods. I don’t know if you know this…”

“Huh”

Ji-Han hesitated for a moment, then continued to speak.

“...Some of the Gods want our world to end. Some don’t care, and some want our world to be saved. After all, all Gods are living by their own law.”

Ji-Han’s tone was as usual, but he spoke slightly slower. For some reason, Ji-Cheok could feel a hint of rage in his words.

Of course, Ji-Cheok knew that just like how humans had different ways of life, so did the Gods. In every mythology, there were good Gods and evil Gods. In Greek mythology, for instance, there were stories that depicted adultery, children out of wedlock, love triangles, and murder, as if they were the plot of K-dramas.

“Of course, I am going to work with you, Mr. Um. I’ve already been doing that. But there is one thing you should know.”

“What is it?”

“There are going to be things that I cannot explain to you.”

“Because of the restrictions.”

“...”

Ji-Han looked at him without answering, but Ji-Cheok knew that was the answer.

“However, I want you to trust me. I want you to know that I am ultimately prioritizing you in the future. I know that’s how to save the world,” Ji-Han said.

“The future me? Not the current me?”

“...The current you is also very important. For the future to exist, the past needs to exist.”

His [Minor Intuition] whispered at his words, saying that there was something missing from what Ji-Han said. He didn’t know what it was, but at least he knew Ji-Han was on his side.

“Okay, I will believe you. There’s actually no point in not trusting you now,” Ji-Cheok said.

“Thank you.”

“So, when will the Tutorial end?”

“That is also one of my restrictions. But I can assure you that it is not too far off.”

At that moment, his ring finger was torn off.

Splat!

As his finger disappeared with a spray of blood, Ji-Cheok’s mind practically stopped. There was no trace of any skill being used.

Ji-Han sighed.

“Even a statement like this goes against the restriction. I’m glad though,” Ji-Han said.

Suddenly, an image of a number appeared in the air, and Ji-Cheok could hear the sound of gears clicking into place.?A moment later, the finger was back to normal.

“How did you do it?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“I can’t do it every time. It’s possible because of this place.”

Ji-Han mentioned the word ‘rewind,’ and that was all the explanation Ji-Cheok got.

“Well, uh… On a positive note, I now know what happens when you break the restrictions,” Ji-Cheok said.

“I’m glad you see this in a positive way. With this, our relationship can be better in the future.”

Ji-Cheok felt a bit weird when he heard Ji-Han talk about their relationship being better moments after violently losing a finger, but he just went with it. Ji-Cheok knew this guy was crazy. Of course, he was calmer than anyone else, more rational than anyone else, and lived by planning each minute more than anyone else. But that was not how ordinary people lived. Even now, regenerating his finger without any sign of pain or embarrassment…

‘It’s like he is missing something important as a human being….’

Ji-Cheok decided to not think deeply about it. There weren’t many sane Hunters anyway.

Ji-Han knew about the future, but he couldn’t tell Ji-Cheok in detail because that could involve another finger blown apart… or worse. Ji-Cheok didn’t dig deeper about it, either. He didn’t want to see another part of his boss explode.

?Just now… I did not feel any signs of mana or any skill. I did not even feel a smidge of divine power. It is obviously a high power that we cannot detect.?

‘I’ve felt this before, though in a different context.’

?Do you mean during the Trial of Despair, Master??

‘Yupp. When I saw the pitch-black darkness, this is what it felt like.’

It was the feeling he had when his eyes saw what was in front of him, but his other senses could not catch its existence. If he closed his eyes, it felt as if the thing simply did not exist.

Ji-Han raised his fingers and said, “First of all, we cannot stop the Tutorial from ending.”

“Hm?”

Suddenly, Ji-Han’s pinky finger broke. Despite the terrible pain, he calmly rewound it back to its original state without even a slight frown.

“Tutorial. It is a method of imparting knowledge and teaching the basics. It is how students are taught the specific fundamentals of their field,” Ji-Han said.

He recited the phrase as if he were reading off of a dictionary. This time, nothing on his body exploded.

‘Is it because it’s from a dictionary?’

“The Tutorial started a long time ago.”

Again, nothing happened to Ji-Han.

?It seems that only future information is restricted, since information from the past seems fine.?

‘But are we sure that this is the only restriction? I’m not so sure for now.’

“Are you talking about the Monster Wave Incident?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“Yes. When the countless Gates were opened, that was the beginning of the first Tutorial. It gave the human species time to understand the relationship between monsters and Gates in a changed environment and to figure out how people awakened.”

“...”

Ji-Cheok's parents passed away during the first Tutorial. For some reason, his fists trembled slightly.

“There’s no way of knowing what the people up there are thinking,” Ji-Cheok said.

“You can think of it like gardening. They don’t usually understand the pain of a single blade of grass. They just cut them to the specified length. If the grass cannot handle the pesticides and dies, the gardeners pull it out and throw it away.”

“But don’t gardeners want their trees to be green and healthy?”

“Right now, I think we’re not considered trees, or even bushes for that matter. The Tutorial can be seen as a process of finding out whether we’re weeds that need to be plucked out or grass that should be nurtured.”

‘Were my parents killed just for the sake of this?’

?Master, your Qi is deviating. You need to take a deep breath…?

‘I know, Cheok-Liang.’

He calmed his Qi and cleared his mind. As for now, let alone the ‘Gardners,’ Ji-Cheok couldn’t even fight off the tower-sized tentacle monsters that were much weaker. He had been proud of how strong he had become, but now, he understood that it was merely the pride of a strong ant.

“...I can see why you think we don’t have much time,” Ji-Cheok said.

“Yes. Since the Tutorial started a long time ago, the end of it is drawing near.”

‘Ha… I guess I took the last train of becoming Awakened then. I awakened just before the end of the Tutorial. My brother also became Awakened, even though he used the Awakening Stone.’

“Thankfully, we are currently in a phase where we can level up safely,” Ji-Han said.

A few controversial political news came to Ji-Cheok’s mind, but somehow they all felt like a distant story.

‘Will there even be a next election for us?’

“So what do you think we should do, Mr. Um?” Ji-Han said.

His question felt like he was trying to make Ji-Cheok answer for him since he couldn’t do it due to his restrictions.

“I didn’t find out much either. If I had to answer right now, I think we should destroy dungeons that are bound to increase in the future, drive out the monsters, and create a place for humanity to survive on its own.”

Ji-Han nodded.

“So you think we can’t go back to the old days.”

‘Of course. If you saw what I saw in that trial…. Even a monkey would know that we can’t go back to the old days.’

“Yes, that’s right,” Ji-Cheok said.

“Then we have to do something about it. There must be a way. How far are you willing to sacrifice for your survival?”

“Hm…”

It was a tough question. He was doubtful that he could live in the place where the [Despair] had shown him with just his younger brother.

‘I’m a greedy guy, So I would need food and clothing. And even if I could live by grilling giant tentacle steak, I couldn’t eat it without seasoning it with black pepper.’

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”

“That’s very vague, but surprisingly close to the answer.”

“Do you know of a way?”

Ji-Han shook his head.

“Not yet… I cannot tell you yet.”

“I see.”

Ji-Cheok was frustrated, but he didn’t want to see fireworks from Ji-Han’s fingers, so he thought they had made good enough progress for today.

‘At least Ji-Han had something in his mind.’

?Yes, Master. Besides, I do not think he can regenerate infinitely.?

Healers had to use mana to recover, and even they couldn't use their skills infinitely. Since this was a skill that reversed what had happened, Ji-Cheok was even more certain that it couldn’t be used without limit. If that were possible, there would be no reason for Ji-Han to live while planning every minute of his life.

“Okay, Mr. Um. This time, I am going to ask you an important question.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“I am assuming that your ability is to buy skills and learn them with no job restrictions. Is that correct?”

‘Hm… I guess he predicted this much about me. Well, I did show a lot of different skills from different jobs.’

“You’re right,” Ji-Cheok answered.

Ji-Han nodded, as if he had expected the answer, and followed up with another question.

“So can you buy skills anytime, anywhere, even right now?’

‘It seems that he doesn’t know how I can upgrade my skills with my Likes.’

?It still feels a little suspicious that he does not know that…?

“Yes, I can buy it right now,” Ji-Cheok said.

“Okay. That’s good.”

Ji-Han got up from his seat.

“I’m not very picky about the means and methods either. And there might be a time when I ask that from you too. When that happens, will you trust me?”

Ji-Han looked at him.

“I will trust you, but I will ask many questions while doing so. Okay?”

The cloud in the sky covered the moon and Ji-Han’s facial expression was not visible. But Ji-Cheok saw him nodding.

“Follow me,” Ji-Han said.

“What?”

“I will guide you through the first quest to save the world.”

‘Quest? ‘

Then Ji-Han walked off into the dark.

‘Should I follow him?’

?Yes, Master, but you need to brace yourself.?

‘Alright, let’s go!’