Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 209

After canceling the Mono Bike G, Ji-Cheok plummeted from the sky, falling like a meteor. His aim was to eliminate the Cultist boss in one blow by pouring out all the Augmented Qi he could muster, combined with the combat instincts of the [Heaven and Earth Chaotic Divine Art].

However, his opponent narrowly avoided it. The enemy was clearly wounded, but not dead. Instead, the two headless necks and the chest wound had already stopped bleeding. Something that looked like plant vines grew out of the wounds, sealing them and stanching the hemorrhage.

‘This guy’s recovery and regenerative power are amazing. I suppose I have to be thankful that those heads aren’t growing back…’

“Reable! Take care of the rest!”

“Orders received!”

Ji-Cheok could feel Reable bounce off his back. At the same time, he ordered Cheok-Liang to attack.

?Your wish is my command, Master!?

Cheok-Liang lunged at the enemy, still in his tiny fennec state and not his gigantic form.

‘Wait, why is he…’

Just as Ji-Cheok was about to shout in surprise, Cheok-Liang’s small body clung to the giant enemy. He was using Wall Drive and Cthugha’s Steps!

Cheok-Liang ran around the enemy’s body, setting it on fire. It was the same tactic Ji-Cheok had used in the past when he was facing off against the fake World Tree giant!

“AAAAAARRRGHHH!”

Cthugha’s Steps also had mental effects, not to mention that being burned alive like this was a terrible form of torture even by itself. The enemy was clearly in tremendous pain.

Seeing that, Ji-Cheok pulled out the [Guardian of Hope] from his Shadow Pouch and simultaneously sent out a shadow. The shadow spread to the enemy’s feet. Ji-Cheok wrapped it around him, immobilizing him, and used his Soul Telekinesis to reinforce the fetters.

The several-meter-long behemoth was instantly frozen like a statue. He struggled to move, but it was not possible!

Of course, Ji-Cheok was struggling as well. A vein was clearly about to pop on his forehead, and his head was throbbing from the sheer focus. However, Ji-Cheok still walked forward. He infused more Qi into the sword and strengthened the Augmented Qi.

?Master! You are using too much mana! You will be depleted in less than one minute!?

‘I know, Cheok-Liang. Don’t worry, it won’t take that long.’

“You… Do you know what you are doing? God… God is always with us! When God comes into the world, He will save the world!” Kain screamed.

“You’re full of shit.”

“Stop this now! If you serve Him, you will be in Heaven—”

[You have received a [God Request].]

[Kain’s survival — 10,000,000 Likes]

The request did not specify the name of the requester. It appeared that the monster in front of Ji-Cheok was named Kain, but he couldn’t care less about that name. All Ji-Cheok could see were the dead bodies at his feet.

He wondered how many people this Kain had killed.

‘Did his God, who is trying to spend ten million Likes, make him do it?’

One thing was certain: this outcome was a result of Kain’s own choice.

With a heartless swing of his Augmented Sword Qi, Ji-Cheok cut off Kain’s head.

Thud!

With all the heads now rolling on the ground, Ji-Cheok raised his swords one final time.

Slash!

He cut the body in half vertically, then he deactivated all his skills.

Thud!

As the shadow disappeared and the telekinetic power of Soul Telekinesis dissipated, the giant split in half and fell to the ground.

[You have received 1,200 Likes.]

[You have received 1,200 Likes.]

[You have received 1,200 Likes.]

[You have received 1,200 Likes.]

[You have received 1,200 Likes.]

[You have received 1,200 Likes.]

It seemed that the Gods appreciated the show quite a bit, and since Ji-Cheok now received a twenty percent bonus for Likes received from Gods, he was getting two hundred extra Likes on top of the usual thousand.

Ji-Cheok turned away from the messages and saw Reable backing up the Undead and taking down the other Cultists. They didn’t run away even when they saw their leader killed.

‘Cultists… They’re living up to that name, that’s for sure.’

?Anyway, we need to talk about your mana recovery. Please consider learning the [Cosmic Absorbing Power] and the [Northern Darkness Divine Art].?

‘Cosmic Absorbing Power? Northern Darkness Divine Art?’

?After cross-referencing information, it turns out that you can use the Cosmic Absorbing Power and the Northern Darkness Divine Art with the [Heaven and Earth Chaotic Divine Art] by taking advantage the Grace Shop.?

‘Did you find all that while fighting?’

?Yes, Master. Consuming this much mana means that your safety is in question, and since you are reckless at times, shouldn’t I, as your advisor, try to make up for it??

‘“Cosmic Absorbing Power” sounds pretty self-explanatory, but what is the Northern Darkness Divine Art?’

?It is said that the Cosmic Absorbing Power is in fact derived from the Northern Darkness Divine Art, which absorbs the energy of others and prevents the different types of Qi from colliding with each other.?

‘And you want me to learn both of them?

?Technically speaking, you should not be able to do this, at least not if you want to learn the actual techniques via cultivation… But with the help of the System and some Graces from Gods, it is possible.?

‘It… sounds like I’m taking advantage of a bug in a game. Anyway, that can wait.’

Ji-Cheok grabbed a mana recovery potion from his Shadow Pouch, gulped it down like water, and ran toward the rampaging Reable. It was time to take out the rest of the Cultists and end this battle.

* * *

After Um Ji-Cheok and Reable set out for their guerilla warfare, Ji-Han led the rest of the team to a settlement occupied by a group of Cannibals. Unlike the now-ruined fortress, this one was a simple town that appeared to have been built by a different race. The buildings were made of wood and stone, and the town looked like it could have housed thousands of people.

However, the whole place was now occupied by a group of Cannibals, and the monsters that were supposed to be residing in the town were nowhere to be seen. There were a bunch of survivors of the Cannibal faction in the town, and when they saw Ji-Han and the team, they attacked them, clearly underestimating the team’s power due to their numbers. Of course, they were all taken out by Ji-Han’s team.

And just as their battle was ending, a huge explosion reverberated in the distance.

“Wow… That Reable guy is so strong!” shouted Ha-Na in admiration as she stood over a corpse with her eyes closed. She was observing what was happening in the distance with her [Guidance of the Stars] skill.

“Ha-Na, show us too! I want to see it!”

Mu-Cheok came and stood next to Ha-Na and grilled her to show him. Ha-Na reached out her hand and a video appeared in front of them, as if on a virtual monitor. Everyone, including Ji-Han, Ji-Byeok, Seong Kwang, and Mu-Cheok, could see what Ha-Na had observed.

It was the immense power of the corpse explosions. The sight of hundreds of enemies being swept away in a single blast had everyone in awe. On top of that, the video also showed Ji-Cheok’s ridiculous offensive abilities.

Of course, both Ha-Na and Mu-Cheok were also capable of wiping out hundreds of monsters with their powerful abilities. However, the monsters in the video weren’t just ordinary monsters— each one had been a high-level Hunter to begin with, and they had only grown stronger during their time in this dungeon. Yet, Reable’s corpse explosion was something that even these powerful monsters couldn’t withstand.

Only twenty-four of them actually survived, but only one of them was unharmed. This just showcased the tremendous power of Reable’s abilities.

With that in mind, Ji-Cheok’s subsequent performance was even more impressive. The Augmented Qi that they had already witnessed was one thing, but using shadows and telekinesis to immobilize such a gigantic monster was phenomenal.

“Um Ji-Cheok has gotten really strong… I can hardly keep up with him…”

“We just have to try harder!”

Ha-Na grumbled in disbelief, while Ji-Byeok flexed her muscles, motivated.

“We are just getting started, but they’re really fast over there.”

“We just have to do our best!”

Seeing Seong Kwang’s motivation, Ji-Han thought to himself, ‘I knew that Reable was an incarnation of the Evil God, but I didn’t realize he could wield such power at this point. Moreover, the growth of Ji-Cheok is beyond my imagination. Maybe?this is the timeline…’

As he stopped his train of thought, Ji-Han clapped his hands.

“Alright then! Let’s enter the mini dungeon.”

“Yes, sir!”

With a cheer, the team opened the dungeon’s entrance.

* * *

“So… This is what happens when you use too much strength…”

After killing the rest of the Cultists, Ji-Cheok’s body was shaking. He had recovered his Mana and Cultivation by drinking potions, but the trembling still didn’t stop.

“Excessive use of mana puts a strain on the body, and you’re only as strong as you are because you have mastered so many skills. Otherwise, something in your body would have long gone boom~” Reable said.

“It’s a good thing that I didn’t neglect my external cultivation.”

The [Heaven and Earth Chaotic Divine Art] also contained external techniques.

To put it simply, external cultivation was a kind of cultivation that made the body strong. Even if someone was hit by a bullet, their skin would not be pierced, and in the later stages, they would be able to use their bare hands to defend against Sword Qi or even Augmented Qi.

In short, it was like having the body of Superman but without the weakness of kryptonite.

Of course, Ji-Cheok hadn’t reached the level of [Diamond Body] yet. With his current abilities, he thought that he had a fifth or so of Superman’s defense. Still, it was enough to get by.

“With the amount of energy that you have available, you should be able to use Ultimate Destruction Magic. I guess cultivation isn’t something to be looked down on~”

‘What? Were you looking down on cultivation till now?’

?Well, he is a Necromancer God. And Gods are, by nature, those who have delved deeply into a single kind of power, so it is understandable that most of them would look down on cultivation.?

‘Speaking of which, how many cultivation-related Gods are there?’

?There are several, Master… But there is only one who can be called the strongest.?

‘Who is that?’

?It is the God of War, Master. The owner of the Training Space of the God of War.?

‘Ah… Of course. He introduced himself as the source of all cultivation or something like that.’

?There are many other Gods associated with cultivation such as, [He_who_preaches_the_sound_of_the_sword], [Archer_who_pierced_the_sun], and [Spear_that_cuts_through_space], but… it is certain that God of War is above them all.?

‘Well, it’s all thanks to the God of War that I am this powerful. If I had just learned the skills, I probably would not be as strong as I am now. I also would not have been able to pass on my cultivation skills to Mu-Cheok and Seong Kwang.’

?Certainly, Master.?

“By the way… That’s a good one. Do you mind if I take it?” Reable said.

“No, go ahead.”

Reable grinned at Ji-Cheok’s permission and grabbed the corpse of the one that was called Kain. It was bizarre to watch it disappear into the ground.

‘Come to think of it… my Chain Link skill doesn’t seem to be working because of the distance. I can’t reach them telepathically.’

“Reable, do you know what our teammates are doing?”

“It looks like they have entered the mini-dungeon.”

“I see… I thought you might know…”

Reable smirked at his comment.

“Anyway, since we are alone, can I ask you a question?”

“Hm… An interview when we are surrounded by corpses~ How did you know I like that~?”

“I'm not exactly doing it for you, Reable. Jeez…”

Ji-Cheok pulled two chairs out of his Shadow Pouch. He put one in front of Reable and sat on the other.

‘Ouch. Everything hurts! But that’s for later. I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.’

1. Both of these techniques are taken from novels written by Jin Yong, one of the forefathers of classic wuxia. The Cosmic Absorbing Power belongs to Ren Wuxing and Linghu Chong from The Smiling Proud Wanderer, while the Northern Darkness Divine Art is one of Duan Yu’s skills in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.