Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 48

Ji-Cheok got onto the bike, then gently infused mana to fuel it. Ji-Cheok could feel the quiet, yet deep tremor of the engine under his hips.

“Shall we catch up to Cheok-Liang?” Ji-Cheok said.

Cheok-Liang was already far away from Ji-Cheok. Several gnolls had sensed Cheok-Liang and came out of wherever they were hiding. Some others discovered Ji-Cheok, but they were still far away from him.

Bark!

These gnolls had a bite force enough to chew through railroad tracks, and they did not appear at all friendly toward Ji-Cheok. Ji-Cheok pulled the handlebars as he looked down at the gnolls.

Vroom!

The wheels spun at a high speed. In an instant, the [Mono Bike] shot forward like a bullet. The pressure of the wind hit Ji-Cheok as the surroundings passed him by in a flash. The road was very bumpy, but thanks to his driving skill, he managed to keep his balance. Ji-Cheok felt as if he became one with the wind that ran wildly. Just like that, Ji-Cheok approached the gnolls.

Bam!

Ji-Cheok ran over a gnoll’s head with his mana-infused front tire.

Screech!

As the mana-powered wheel spun, the gnoll was torn apart by the sheer force.

[Road Kill!]

[The proficiency level of the [Soul Driver] has increased by 2!]

[The Gods have shown interest in you.]

As Ji-Cheok had thought, the Gods always liked unexpected scenarios.

Ji-Cheok turned away from the gnoll’s corpse, or rather scattered pieces of flesh, and drew his dual swords with both hands. There were still many gnolls around him. Fortunately, the gnoll’s heads were located just at Ji-Cheok’s eye level.

Slash!

The dual swords intersected in an instant and cut off the gnolls’ heads left and right.

Ding!

[The bike has started to respond to the user’s will.]

[The bike has activated [Psychic Link Drive].]

Ji-Cheok had let go of the handlebars, but the [Mono Bike] kept moving according to Ji-Cheok’s will. Within moments, all the gnolls that were approaching Ji-Cheok had been annihilated.

The bike stopped moving, and so did the comments in the chat room. The viewers seemed to be shocked, and so was Ji-Cheok.

‘I can’t believe I was this strong.’

Ji-Cheok expected he would be able to perform well, because he had simulated everything with Cheok-Liang. In reality, however, it appeared that he had the potential to be far more destructive.

“Gnolls are a great source of protein,” Ji-Cheok said, still in shock.

Vrrrooom!

Ji-Cheok sprinted down the ridge on his [Mono Bike].

[You have received 1 Like from GodTube.]

[You have received 1 Like from GodTube.]

[You have received 1 Like from GodTube.]

[You have received 1 Like from GodTube.]

[You have received 1 Like from GodTube.]

‘...’

The Likes started to pour down like summer rain. The viewers, who had apparently been watching without doing anything, had now started to smash the Like button.

-Holy.Fucking.Shit.

-Am I dreaming? What was that?

-It looks like an arcane golem from that mana circuit, but I’ve never seen an arcane golem that looks like that.

-That is amazing.

-This is why you gotta watch GodTube live!!!!

-All hail the strongest Umji!!!乃

Ji-Cheok smiled softly at the viewers.

“You are watching UmJi Tube, a channel unlike any others. Don’t forget to Like and subscribe!”

[You have received 1 Like from GodTube.]

[You have received 1 Like from GodTube.]

[You have received 1 Like from GodTube.]

The Likes poured down once again.

* * *

Ji-Cheok had known nothing of the kind of anguish top-tier Hunters lived through, but he had longed to find out. He used to watch every video the Hunters had left behind—back in the day, Ji-Cheok would put on a blanket and look at videos over and over again on his phone. He would search for any videos related to top-tier Hunters, from videos in their rookie days to videos after they got famous. Now that he himself had awakened, the admiration he used to feel had turned into his own strength.

‘Every Hunter who climbed to the top-tier did a solo play at least once.’

It was dangerous to hunt alone, without a teammate. Many beginner Hunters died from solo plays. However, in order to reach the top tier, Hunters had to prove their individual prowess.

‘The party members that Ji-Han recommended are outstanding in terms of strength, but also when it comes to personality. If we just keep raiding dungeons together, nobody is going to notice me.’

Ji-Cheok knew that he had to show off his own abilities, by himself. The sooner, the better. And the more shocking, the better.

The bike ran like the wind and cut the gnolls apart. And that was not all—Ji-Cheok also had other methods.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Telekinetic Arrows! Ji-Cheok fired the arrows like a machine gun, one arrow after another planting itself into a gnoll’s head. And it did not end there; Ji-Cheok pulled out his [Monoblade] and activated [Mysterious Swords: White Night, Dark Night]. The length of the sword was also reinforced with the [Light Blade] skill.

Swing!

The gnolls’ bodies were cut apart like tofu. At the same time, Like notifications kept coming in.

‘Like notifications off.’

The notifications were distracting him so much that he had to turn them off.

-That’s crazy.

-Was there an arcane golem that looked like that?

Howl!

Feeling the danger, the gnolls started shouting, calling for their friends. The other gnolls rushed to the rescue, looking quite well-trained. One of the scary things about gnolls was that they could easily switch between bipedal and quadrupedal movement. Running on all fours, these gnolls could outrun any human in the mountains.

‘This is exactly what I wanted.’

“I’m glad there are many people watching my first bike test drive. It’s really nice,” Ji-Cheok said to the viewers.

-Umji! I know you are strong but is that going to be enough?

-Tell Cheok-Liang to come back. Let him help you!

-Oh no, Cheok-Liang is too far away.

“Why are you guys so scared? Don't you trust me? I mean, sure, my arcane golem does look a bit weird for a golem, doesn’t it?”

Ji-Cheok counted around thirty gnolls surrounding him. They were more than he had expected—it seemed like the gnolls’ base camp was somewhere around there.

Ji-Cheok twisted the throttle, and the [Mono Bike] responded with a roar.

[Umji_Swag] has donated 100 won.

[Umji_swag]: Ah, you are fucking amazing Umji.

“Hahaha, thank you. Now let me show you a new skill. Buy [Troll’s Body]!”

[Troll’s Body — 30,000 Likes]

[Class: Epic (Non-Upgradable, Rank B+)]

[The user gains the troll’s strength, stamina, and defense. The tough and hardened skin can even block a rifle bullet. The troll’s regenerative power also allows the user to heal wounds quickly.]

This skill was worth 30,000 Likes. When looking at just the description, it didn’t sound that great. Trolls were one of the monsters that Hunters had to kill in order to ascend to higher levels. Ji-Cheok himself was skeptical about the skill, because it didn’t give him any god-like powers and he didn’t know if it was worth 30,000 Likes. However, there was a good reason why Cheok-Liang recommended it. A few days before the live broadcast, Choek-Liang had explained it to Ji-Cheok.

?The troll’s defense, strength, and stamina are all B-Class. Master, all your current stats are C-Class, except for your strength, which is B-Class. This skill will forcibly adjust the stats to be B-Class all around. Most importantly, you’ll gain that regenerative power!?

The regenerative power of trolls was one of the biggest problems for Hunters. These trolls, who could recover even after getting their arms cut off, were a nightmare when Hunters went into a prolonged battle. That was why the blood of the trolls, which contained that regenerative power, was one of the essential ingredients for the advanced recovery potion.

?It’s like someone is continuously casting an A-Class recovery skill on you! Even better, the effect of this skill also stacks with the effect of the ring you acquired earlier, so your regenerative power and stamina will increase even more!?

However, the skill wasn't upgradable, which was why Ji-Cheok was doubtful regarding its price of 30,000 Likes. The viewers were thinking the same thing.

-UmJi, this is not the time to waste your points, especially when you don’t have a lot.

-Isn’t that skill like an emergency escape skill for the healers?

Ji-Cheok knew what the viewers were talking about. A Hunter investing a large number of points into a skill that had no growth potential meant that the Hunter would never increase their strength, defense, and stamina like that in their lifetime. Any normal Hunter aimed to become stronger than a troll one day, which would make this skill obsolete.

-He is crazy…

-Dude! You need to spend your points on combat skills!

-Run! Umji!

-How did he buy that skill though? Is he a warrior-type hunter?

-Hunter Umji has passed away due to stupidity.乃

-[Dog_that_barks_at_stupid_ppl] has donated 100 won.

[Dog_that_barks_at_stupid_ppl]: Woof! Woof! Woof!

There were quite a few sharp viewers. Some of them were starting to wonder how Ji-Cheok had been able to buy the [Troll’s Body] skill. However, that didn’t matter to Ji-Cheok. The most important thing for him was the number of Likes he was receiving. Ji-Cheok had turned off the Likes notification earlier, so he couldn’t hear it, but when he looked at the status window, the Likes were accumulating at a tremendous speed. Moreover, the effect of buying the skill was immediate. Ji-Cheok felt his physical abilities being upgraded to B-Class, and at the same time, his body felt energized, as if nothing could outlast him.

“You guys don’t believe in me. I feel so sad,” Ji-Cheok said as he pretended to cry and wiped away his fake tears.

The gnolls looked at each other, wondering what Ji-Cheok was doing. Soon, a gnoll that appeared to be the leader raised his weapon.

Bark! Bark! Bark!

With the leader’s command, the gnolls started to attack Ji-Cheok at once. At that moment, Ji-Cheok activated another skill.

“Mono Bike additional skill activated. [Mana Sync]!”

The chat went silent again after Ji-Cheok’s command.

-Mana Sync? Isn’t that a skill given to legendary swords like the Ego Sword?

-You can use that on an arcane golem?

-Holy crap. You can do that?

Instead of the chat response, the System voice rang in Ji-Cheok’s ears.

[The Bike has been synced with the user’s mana.]

[[Troll’s Body] has been transmitted to [Mono Bike].]

Blue light glowed on the surface of the bike as if it was covered in troll blood. Using one leg as a support, Ji-Cheok turned the bike 360 degrees like a whirlwind.

Bam! Bam!

It was the moment when a weapon was born. A destructive weapon with troll-class strength, stamina, defense, and—most importantly—regenerative power.

[The Gods have shown interest in you!]

[You have received 1,000 Likes!]

[You have received 1,000 Likes!]

[You have received 1,000 Likes!]

Ji-Cheok counted the System messages and realized three Gods were watching him. Even though the general Like notifications were turned off, the Gods’ Like notification was audible. Maybe it was because the Gods were giving Ji-Cheok 1,000 Likes each time.

‘As expected, showmanship is what makes a good broadcast.’

Ji-Cheok whirled his bike and cut the head of the gnoll leader with his [Light Blade].

Shriek!

The leader gnoll collapsed without even the slightest resistance. Ji-Cheok’s bike had the destructive and regenerative power of a troll, plus the speed and the weight of a machine.

Bark! Howl!

The gnolls called for more reinforcements.

“I enhanced the sword using my Light Blade skill, but the sword is still short.”

-You should carry a Ruyi Bang with you.

-Umji, would you like to learn a spear technique?

-Don’t be greedy for more, just rely on that bike to do everything. Hitting monsters with the bike is fucking epic.

“I can’t do that. I am the main character here!”

Even before gaining the power of the troll, Ji-Cheok’s strength had already been at that level. This was because Ji-Cheok used all the Likes on strength whenever he was in a hurry.

1. Sun Wukong’s weapon in the Chinese classic Journey to the West. It’s generally represented as an extremely strong and heavy staff that can change its length according to the user’s will.