Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 56

After god knew how long on the road, a huge grazing ranch in the suburbs emerged.

“Wow, grazing in these hard times, now that is what we call a luxury life.”

Usually, enterprise-type farming was adopted to make it easier for the drones, because it was difficult for drones to track and manage cattle if they were allowed to graze. In this crazy world, managing a grazing ranch required nothing short of a miracle.

“The smell of cow dung isn’t as bad as I thought.”

Ji-Cheok thought it was interesting. In addition, the number of drones seemed to be minimal.

Baah~

At the entrance of the ranch stood a huge ram with imposing horns. He shook his head at the brothers, as if to say hello.

“Huh?” When Ji-Cheok used the insight skill to check the ram, something interesting popped up.

[Smart and Strong Horned Ram]

[Gender: Male

A sheep raised by priest Seong Kwang himself. He is the head of the herd. He is powerful enough to defeat small monsters by himself and is very smart. If he is feeling good, he will let you shear his wool.

(Next Evolution: The Wise and Brave Golden Ram)]

‘Does that sheep evolve too?’

The way it looked, this ram was more of a spiritual creature rather than an ordinary animal.

Baaah~ Baaah!

The sheep tapped the bike with his horns.

Ji-Cheok didn’t understand what the ram was trying to say, so he summoned Cheok-Liang. Cheok-Liang listened to what the ram was saying.

?He is saying that there are pregnant cows on the ranch, so please be careful. Do not surprise the cows. Isn’t that right, Choco??

The ram nodded.

“His name is Choco?” Ji-Cheok asked.

?Yes. His full name is Choco the Snow, because his fur is white and his face is black. But everyone calls him Choco for short.?

‘Cute.’

The sheep’s fur looked really soft. Ji-Cheok put the bike back in its separate dimension and followed Choco, walking through the ranch. It was a large ranch, so the brothers had to walk for a while.

At the other end, Seong Kwang was waiting for them. Seong Kwang was playing a mandolin under a large tree. In front of him were sheep, cattle, and horses, all sitting around listening to the sound of the mandolin. The chickens sat on the tree and looked down at Seong Kwang. It might have been because of Seong Kwang’s dark skin, silver hair, and outstanding beauty, but the scene looked like something out of a movie.

“Heh, welcome to my ranch,” Seong Kwang said.

Seong Kwang stopped playing the mandolin and gave the brothers an exaggerated greeting.

“Wow, are you running the ranch by yourself?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“Yes, Sunshine Ranch is not only a ranch but also my temple,” Seong Kwang replied.

Ji-Cheok wondered what kind of god Seong Kwang worshiped.

Then, a muscular woman came down with a mountain of fodder on her back. It was Ji-Byeok.

“There is next to no profit from running this ranch. He is throwing all the money he earned as a Hunter into this ranch,” Ji-Byeok said, as if she had been listening to the conversation.

Baah~

The sheep and other animals rushed at the fodder brought in by Ji-Byeok.

“Guys, wait a second. You have to wait until I put it in the feeder….Fine,” Ji-Byeok said.

She stomped the ground with her feet, then walls rose from the ground and separated the animals.

Baah?~

It was surprising to Ji-Cheok that not a single animal was injured during the process.

?What amazing control she has, Master. It seems like she has grown more skilled than the last time we saw her.?

Ji-Cheok remembered that she used to slam her fist into the ground to summon a wall, but now it looked like the wall could be summoned with just a tap on the ground with her feet. Moreover, it wasn’t just one wall, but several. Ji-Cheok didn’t know how many she could summon, but this alone made a huge difference compared to the average tanker. It was also amazing to see that she was able to control the speed of summoning the walls so that the livestock would not get hurt.

Ji-Byeok started to give the animals their share of the fodder.

Baah~

Moo~

Oink, Oink.

Cluck, Cluck!

The animals were busy eating the fodder, with their heads stuck in their food. The fodder looked like it wasn’t ordinary fodder sold on the market—it smelled savory even for humans.

“All the animals here are smart and strong, to the point of being a little annoying,” Ji-Byeok said.

“That’s because they are priests of this temple,” Seong Kwang answered.

“Wait, so these animals are actually temple priests?” Ji-Byeok asked.

“Yes, they are. They all know how to protect themselves,” Seong Kwang answered calmly.

Ji-Cheok wouldn’t have believed Seong Kwang, but he had already observed Choco and what he was capable of. Since Ji-Cheok knew about Choco’s ability, it was not hard to believe him.

“It’s a great temple, with great priests,” Ji-Cheok said.

“Oh, you are the first person to trust me right away. No one believes me when I tell them about this!” Seong Kwang said.

‘That’s understandable since the animals just look like regular livestock.’

Seong Kwang circled around Ji-Cheok cheerfully with flushed cheeks.

“It’s going to take a while before Director Jung Ji-Han comes, so I’ll show you around the ranch,” Seong Kwang said as he took the lead.

Ji-Cheok followed him and observed the animals that were on his way.

[Big and Brave Cow]

[Gender: Female

A cow raised by the priest Seong Kwang himself. She follows humans very well. She can heal wounds by employing her weak divine power and is very brave even in front of enemies. When she feels good, she sometimes hands out her milk.]

This animal had no evolution message.

‘It seems that there are animals that evolve and animals that don’t.’?

Most of them were non-evolvable. It seemed like the probability of evolution was low.

[Loud and Fierce Chicken]

[Gender: Female

A chicken that was born on Seong Kwang’s ranch, and she announces the morning every day. When a monster is found, she cries loudly to alert all the animals. If she feels good, she will hand out her eggs.

(Next Evolution: Valiant Silk Fowl that lays golden eggs.)]

‘She can lay golden eggs? What is the price of gold these days?’

Ji-Cheok couldn’t resist his curiosity and finally asked Seong Kwang.

“Do these animals evolve too?”

“God takes care of these animals, so they are not comparable to ordinary animals, but I’ve never heard about them evolving.” Seong Kwang looked at Ji-Cheok as if he was crazy.

“Are you sure? I used my insight skill and it showed me that your animals can evolve.”

Ji-Cheok told Seong Kwang what he had observed with his skill, and Seong Kwang’s eyes widened.

“Are you sure? Is evolution really possible for these animals?” Seong Kwang asked.

“Yes. Yes. I don’t know the conditions…”

“This is great news! Maybe my ranch can escape the money deficit too!”

‘Hahaha, he said he didn’t care, but he was thinking about it a lot.’

This ranch was huge and high-grade. Drones only saw minimal use, and the fodder for the animals seemed to be quite expensive. It was absurd to expect a profit from a place like this.

“I have a question for you. Do you eat meat?” Ji-Cheok asked.

As soon as he asked the question, he realized the question might’ve offended Seong Kwang. Seong Kwang’s expression darkened at Ji-Cheok’s question.

“God made these animals. Livestock is very important to human civilization, so meat eating is also included in it. God just hates people leaving food behind.”

After saying that, Seong Kwang gave Ji-Cheok a thumbs up.

“In that sense, your GodTube mukbang videos made a big impression on me. You didn’t leave a single grain of rice,” Seong Kwang said.

[Zealot Seong Kwang is greatly impressed by you.]

[You have received 3 Likes!]

True to the title of a zealot, Seong Kwang seemed different from regular people, but he seemed to be a good person in general. This was not just because he gave Ji-Cheok Likes; Seong Kwang was also enjoying Ji-Cheok’s GodTube channel.

“Don’t forget to like and subscribe~”

“Yes. I am already doing that. I’m also making sure to hit Like on all the videos.”

Ji-Cheok thought that Seong Kwang was a good person.

Then, a rooster crowing resounded in the distance.

“I think Ji-Han is here,” Seong Kwang said.

* * *

Everyone gathered in the hut inside the ranch. It was a typical farmhouse hut, and the walls smelled of roasted dirt. Seong Kwang took out a plate of cheese, yogurt, and crackers from the refrigerator.

“It was made on the ranch. Would you like some?”

“Sounds good.”

At the table were Ji-Cheok, his younger brother, Seong Kwang, Ji-Byeok, and Ji-Han. All the parties were gathered except for one person.

“Byul Ha-Na, who’s in charge of scouting the dungeons, is she not coming today?” Ji-Byeok asked.

“Well, I got a call saying she arrived before me….” Ji-Han answered.

Ji-Byeok looked around, but all she could see were the party members around her.

?Master, I can feel a movement on top of the pillar.?

As Cheok-Liang whispered to Ji-Cheok, the latter looked up at the pillar.

“Jesus!”

A woman in black was clinging to the ceiling like a spider, looking down at Ji-Cheok. As soon as she made eye contact with him, she immediately got down.

Thud.

It was Byul Ha-Na.

“I have to train my ranger stealth tracking skill,” Ha-Na said.

Everyone was speechless at her words.

“...”

“Again, this is not practice for assassinations. I am training this skill because we have to track down monsters,” Ha-Na said.

“Next time, please tell me about this in advance. This is very rude,” Ji-Byeok said.

“But if I tell you ahead of time, it ruins the element of stealth.”

“There’s something called manners between teammates. How are we going to fight together, when you go rogue like this?”

“I think you need a teammate who is strong, rather than a teammate who is polite.”

There was always something that didn’t click between Ji-Byeok and Ha-Na.

?Whenever I think they might become friends, they start fighting again.?

Ha-Na going stealth was rude, but it was nothing serious. There was no need to talk about it. But Ji-Byeok was not the type of person who could put things like this behind her. To her, no matter how small, being rude was still rude.

“Also, isn’t it your fault to not notice me? I mean, Ji-Cheok noticed me,” Ha-Na said.

Ji-Byeok looked at Ji-Cheok.

‘Oh man, if I say something wrong here, the fight is gonna be bigger.’

Ji-Cheok chuckled.

“I was lucky enough to stumble upon the ceiling. I wouldn’t normally have known. Anyways, who loves eating crackers with cheese? This camembert cheese looks delicious,” Ji-Cheok said as he cut the cheese with his knife.

Ji-Cheok used his Sword Qi to cut the cheese, which made the cheese look more delicious. As Ji-Byeok and Ha-Na looked at the tasty cheese, Ji-Cheok quickly put it on crackers.

“Eat this, you two.”

When they bit the cracker, a message immediately popped up.

Ding!

[Hunter Ji-Byeok admires your cheese crackers.]

[You have received 1 Like!]

[Hunter Ha-Na is glad that she was hungry.]

[You have received 1 Like!]

The atmosphere had softened up.

‘Phew, That’s good.’

“Hyung, I want one too,” Mu-Cheok said.

At times like this, Ji-Cheok realized Mu-Cheok was still his little brother.

Ji-Cheok cut the cheese into big chunks, put it on crackers, and gave it to Mu-Cheok. The latter’s eyes shone as if they had seen a treasure.

‘This reminds me of the old days.’

These days, it was Mu-Cheok that did all the cooking, but back in the days when Mu-Cheok was a kid, it was Ji-Cheok who had cooked and fed his younger brother. Mu-Cheok always made that same face when Ji-Cheok gave him something delicious. At that time, the brothers didn't have much to eat.

“Can I get some of that too? After all, I am the leader of this party,” Ji-Han said.

‘I mean, you have hands don’t you?’

Ji-Cheok made cheese crackers for both Ji-Han and Seong Kwang.

“It’s such a luxury to use that Sword Qi only to cut cheese,” Ji-Han said.

“It tastes good though, right?”

“It sure does.”

“Hehehe, it tastes the best when we eat together,” Seong Kwang mumbled with his cheeks full of cheese.

“Then I’ll keep cutting it and putting it on the plate, you guys keep the meeting going,” Ji-Cheok said.

Ji-Cheok knew his hands would get busy, but it was better for the atmosphere of the team.

‘On top of that, I could get more Likes from doing this.’

?Master, you already have enough Likes…?

‘The more, the better, Cheok-Liang.’