Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 49

Ji-Cheok swung his sword. This time it wasn’t at a gnoll, but at a tree that was behind him.

Thump!

The giant tree fell with a crashing sound like it had been chopped down with an ax. Ji-Cheok cut off some branches and picked up the giant log.

“I think this is good enough to be used as a weapon,” Ji-Cheok said.

-Holy moly. By looking at that giant log, the Monoblade is planning its own retirement.

-Wasn’t that sword considered overpowered?

-Is that sword being pushed out by a log in its first broadcast?

-Are you really gonna swing that thing? Is that even possible?

“You guys don’t know how overpowered the [Troll’s Body] is. That’s why you shouldn’t just watch top-tier Hunters videos. A skill like this is really good for a newbie like me.”

Right then, arrows flew toward Ji-Cheok, and he swung the log around to block them. Some of the arrows couldn’t be stopped and hit the bike, but thanks to the [Troll’s Body], the arrows just bounced off. A troll’s skin was so tough that even rifles couldn’t shoot through it, so it was impossible for mere arrows to do anything to Ji-Cheok’s bike. Even the scratches they did cause slowly regenerated thanks to the skill.

“I guess I don’t need to go to a repair shop after this.”

-Wow, that’s a dream bike.

-[National_Car_Repair_Shop_Association] has donated 100 won.

[National_Car_Repair_Shop_Association]: What are we supposed to do for a living, if you use those kinds of skills?

“Hahaha, this is for Hunters only, so please let me off this once.”

With those words, Ji-Cheok got on the bike and quickly swung the log.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

More than ten gnolls flew in one blow.

“Wow, nice shot!”

More gnolls continued to rush in, non-stop. As Ji-Cheok rode down the mountain, he blasted away any gnolls that were in the way.

“Just as I thought, using logs is the best for smurfing.”

Ji-Cheok was excitedly killing the gnolls, but suddenly the chat started to buzz.

-Has it been ten…No, it’s been twenty minutes, right?

-Why is he not taking mana recovery potions?

-Forget about mana potions, how does he not get tired of swinging that giant log for twenty minutes? Are his arms made of steel?

-Isn’t Umji a low-level Hunter?

-Can you do that with just the Sliph’s Blessing?

This was all because of the second skill that Cheok-Liang had recommended. Ji-Cheok had bought this before the start of the battle.

[Blessing of Harmony — 40,000 Likes]

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

All stats +10. The user will receive extra endurance equal to the user’s strength.]

The explanation of the skill itself was very simple. All stats were increased, and Ji-Cheok received extra endurance equal to his strength. Ji-Cheok who initially had a B-Class strength would gain B-Class endurance. Essentially, Ji-Cheok would have double the endurance! It was a skill that only warrior-type Hunters could buy at the Hunter Store, and other types of Hunters couldn’t even buy at all.

‘Yet, it’s one of the skills that are treated like garbage by the warrior-type Hunters.’

The price of this skill was considered quite hefty, and the 10-point increase in all stats was rather inadequate compared to the price. There was no reason for Hunters to buy the skill, not unless they had points to waste and wanted to become a VIP at the Hunter Store. All in all, the Hunters acknowledged the additional endurance aspect of the skill, but considering the price, it was more worthwhile to just buy another buff. If this was back in the day, Ji-Cheok wouldn’t have even looked at the skill, but as things were, it offered him a very important benefit.

?Since it is possible for you to purchase skills through the Likes Shop regardless of their type, it is advantageous to purchase more than one passive skill, because their effects can stack.?

Normal Hunters could only purchase skills related to their job, and because of this, there was a fixed amount of skills they could buy. It was a different story for Ji-Cheok, however.

‘If this is true, I have something way too OP.’

Of course, the viewers were in the dark about this, which was not something bad. In fact, it was rather beneficial to spread the speculation that Ji-Cheok’s basic endurance was simply above his level. That way, it would confuse the enemies who tried to attack Ji-Cheok in the future.

-Why isn’t he getting tired? Why isn’t he taking potions?

-Wow… I am really curious.

The chat was filled with viewers that were dying of curiosity.

In the meantime, Ji-Cheok was still slaughtering gnolls that were in front of him. At that moment, Ji-Cheok could see the back of Cheok-Liang’s head between the trees.

?Master!?

Cheok-Liang barked and wagged his tail at Ji-Cheok.

“Cheok-Liang! Why did you slow down?” Ji-Cheok asked in his acting tone.

Cheok-Liang groaned and gesticulated like a Disney character. Ji-Cheok looked at Cheok-Liang and translated it for the viewers.

“It seems like Cheok-Liang has found the gnolls’ base camp.”

This was due to the [Detection] skill gained from his evolution. As if Cheok-Liang was agreeing with him, he flapped his front paws hard and signaled Ji-Cheok to follow him.

Woof!

“Oh, he says it’s a giant gnoll village! Apparently, there are other monsters too!” Ji-Cheok said to the viewers.

As if approving Ji-Cheok’s translation, Cheok-Liang gently shook his fluffy tail.

“A monster? A two-headed gnoll?”

-A two-headed gnoll?

-Isn’t that monster like over level 80?

-Jesus, Umji just cleared the level 20 dungeon!

-He is going to kill a level 80 boss monster by himself?

It seemed like Ji-Cheok was in for some fun for his first live broadcast.

* * *

The place where Cheok-Liang guided him was in front of a military base.

The first thing Ji-Cheok saw at the entrance was the words, [Self-Defense, Advanced Barracks]. It seemed that the paint was dry as a bone, as it looked like it had started to chip off. Ji-Cheok could also smell the rusty iron.

In front of the base, skulls with hair still attached were skewered on a stick.

‘Was this area also affected by the Monster Wave?’

When the dungeons had suddenly formed in the past, the firearms had done nothing against the monsters that were coming out of the dungeon. At that time, all soldiers could do was buy time while the civilians were evacuating. Even for that, those soldiers had sacrificed their lives.

-Oh, I’ve heard about this place. It’s called the White Eagle Division. This division alone evacuated three surrounding villages. There were a lot of casualties because the road was cut off because of the Monster Wave.

-Oh! A military geek entered the chat!

-[White_Eagle_Division] has donated 10,000 won.

[White_Eagle_Division]: My grandfather was able to evacuate thanks to the soldiers at that time. That’s how I know.

Humans were no longer apex predators in the world. The world survived thanks to the sacrifices of unknown people.

“I think the gnolls are using this empty military base as their stronghold,” Ji-Cheok said.

-What a headache. Gnolls don’t have the intelligence to make guns, but they sure can hold them and shoot them.

-Yupp the guns might not work on gnolls, but they sure work on humans.

-The real question is whether there are any bullets left.

-If this place has been empty since the Monster Wave, wouldn’t the guns not work?

-We can’t be sure of that.

The viewers became serious and started to worry about Ji-Cheok.

-Umji, can you not go? At least call for reinforcement.

-Fo real. If you go further than this, it doesn’t seem like an average GodTube live broadcast.

-After all, the mission was to go down the mountain, wasn’t it? Just jot down the coordinates for the gnolls’ stronghold and go down the mountain.

Some viewers were cautiously suggesting to go down the mountain. At that moment a new donation notification popped up.

-[U_Play_Like_Sh1t] has donated 10,000 won.

[U_Play_Like_Sh1t]: 10 million for videotaping the boss monster, and an extra 10 million if you can kill it.

-[Thrill_Mania] has donated 10,000 won.

[Thrill_Mania]: I’ll double that and give you 20 million. If you kill the boss it would be a total of 40 million.

‘I was planning on going in anyway, but you are giving me more money?’

-There are about 120 million won at stake! This is crazy!

-Umji! You gotta think! There’s no chance like this!

-Hell no! Do you wanna die trying to make 120 million? You already got 60 million just by going down the mountain!

-Who would ever go in there? Don’t even.

-Look at Cheok-Liang. He found a place for his master to die.

-If someone is that cute, he is allowed to kill his master.

-Umji don’t go! Umji don’t go! Umji don’t go!

“Well… I think you guys misunderstood something. I was thinking of going anyway. And thank you, bosses. Wait a minute, let’s see if GodTube can accept these credit cards…”

To prevent streamers from doing something difficult and not getting paid by the bosses, GodTube had always checked the card registered by the customer in advance. Soon, a message came from GodTube that it had been approved.

“They’ve been approved. Thank you, bosses!”

This made it clear that those two viewers wanted to kill Ji-Cheok in any way possible. Contrary to their expectations, it had been easy for Ji-Cheok to go down the mountain, so Ji-Cheok thought the two viewers were getting desperate—desperate to the point of betting double the amount of money.

“What do you think, Cheok-Liang? Do you think I can beat that monster?”

Woof!

?With your power, Master, anything is possible!?

Ji-Cheok handed over a piece of beef jerky, because he was proud of Cheok-Liang.

“Alright, let’s buff up some more.”

Ji-Cheok buffed Cheok-Liang with his skills and they both drank the buff potions made with Scrooge’s Alchemy.

-That’s a canteen, no matter how you look at it. Did he put potions in there? I don’t know if those potions can be commercially bought.

-I’ve been watching GodTube Live of Hunters for a few years, but Ji-Cheok moves very differently from everyone else.

Ji-Cheok was glad that they kept on wondering, because the more curious the viewers, the more they would watch Ji-Cheok’s videos. After getting some replenishment, Ji-Cheok got on his bike.

Vroom!

“We shall begin!” Ji-Cheok shouted as he deliberately revved up his engine to make noise.

The bike quickly entered the base. Two gnolls were guarding the entrance. Unlike before, these gnolls were armed.

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

They were actually shooting rifles at Ji-Cheok! Fortunately, the bullets hit the body of the bike and bounced off. The bullets didn’t work on Ji-Cheok, because his body was buffed with the [Troll’s Body]. Meanwhile, Cheok-Liang jumped up and bit the gnoll’s neck.

Chomp!

As Cheok-Liang was ripping one gnoll’s head off, Ji-Cheok’s sword struck the other one’s head.

[Double Kill!]

[The Gods have shown interest in you!]

[You have received 1,000 Likes!]

[You have received 1,000 Likes!]

There were a lot of Likes coming his way today, which made Ji-Cheok happy. He passed by the training ground, crushing a gnoll’s skull into pieces with a tire on the way, and then went straight into the barracks.

Grooowl! Grooowl!

The gnolls came out all at once. They seemed to be much stronger than the one Ji-Cheok had met on the training ground. All of a sudden, some gnolls that looked different from the normal ones also appeared. They were about a head taller than other gnolls and were more heavily armed. They were wearing chain armor and carrying axes.

Gnoll warriors! They were superior specimens, much more powerful than the common gnoll, especially considering the size difference.

Snort! Bark!

The gnoll warriors huffed and puffed and commanded something to the common gnolls. Unlike before, the gnolls formed a line and rushed toward Ji-Cheok in an orderly fashion.

“Activate [Blaze Walk].”

[The skill [Blaze Walk] has been activated!]

[[Mono Bike]’s [Mana Sync] has been activated.]

[The effect of the [Blaze Walk] has been applied to the [Mono Bike].]

Flames began to rise under the bike tires.

“Cheok-Liang you can activate the [Blaze Walk] too!”

[Summoned beast Cheok-Liang used [Unity].]

[The effect of the [Blaze Walk] has been applied to summoned beast Cheok-Liang.]

Flames also rose under Cheok-Liang’s paws. The [Unity] skill was different from the [Mono Bike]’s [Mana Sync].

[Unity: He can use the owner’s skills. Only the skills that work with a fennec body can be used, and they consume the owner’s mana.]

‘Thanks to Cheok-Liang, my mana is draining twice as fast.’

Ji-Cheok needed to finish the battle as soon as possible.

1. In the Korean internet world, viewers who donate a huge amount of money are often called “boss” by the streamers.