Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 64

He looked humanoid. His head was oval and transparent, just like an empty glass, and a glowing obelisk was floating inside. He wore a black robe, and his one hand was pure white and beautiful, while the other hand was just bare bones.

[Come forth…Mortals…I am calling you…]

As the God finished speaking and reached out his hand, intense pain spread throughout Ji-Cheok’s body.

“AAARGH!!!”

‘It feels like my whole body is burning!’

Zoom—

‘What the hell is this?!’

Ji-Cheok’s energy was slowly drawn out of his body, absorbed by [He_who_denies_death]. Ji-Cheok had no idea how the God was doing it, but he knew that if it wasn’t stopped, he was going to die.

“Mono Blade!”

Ji-Cheok’s skill activated. However, the moment he was about to charge forward, Ji-Han was already one step ahead.

Ji-Han’s movement was several times faster than Ji-Cheok’s, as if he was fast-forwarding his own time. His sword cut the air between them and the God.

Slash!

‘Holy shit…What is that?’

A black line appeared in the air as if space itself was split along the trajectory of the sword. Space opened up, revealing an abyssal void of nothingness.

Right then, the energy flowing out of Ji-Cheok’s body suddenly stopped. The pain was also gone, and Ji-Cheok realized that Ji-Han had canceled the God’s skill!

‘He stopped a God’s skill? How is that even possible?’

[Mortals…How dare you cut through the dimensions…]

As [He_who_denies_death] raised his voice as if surprised, Ji-Cheok heard a voice from somewhere. It wasn’t a human voice, but a different voice in his head.

[Found system errors]

[Forced interference by a God]

[Found signs of time manipulation]

[Unfortunate… But… We shall meet once again…]

Crumble.

His form started to distort, as if a big invisible hand was squeezing it. The huge obelisk behind them was also crushed and crumbled down. Then, it turned into light and disappeared.

“Hm… Well, that was sort of anticlimactic…” Ji-Cheok said.

Ji-Cheok wondered why the God, who felt like the very personification of fear and awe, had suddenly just up and gone.

“Whew…You did well, Ji-Cheok,” Ji-Han said.

“Did you know that this was going to happen?”

“Yes. A God is definitely a powerful being, but the System was created by many Gods, ‘tied’ to each other.”

‘Ah ha…’

“The Gods cannot exercise their power directly over us in the absence of certain conditions… Do you remember learning about this?” Ji-Han asked.

“Yes. It’s something you learn during the Hunter Exam. But I never thought I would experience it first hand…”

Ji-Cheok was still having a hard time calming down. If he had made a mistake, he could’ve been forced to become an apostle and be used like a slave.

Flash!

The world returned to its true color as Ji-Cheok was in thought. His teammates started to move. The gray world ended, and the colorful world returned.

“Wow~ This dungeon is definitely dangerous, but the rewards are worth it.”

“You said it.”

Ha-Na and Ji-Byeok were chatting about the rewards. They had no idea what had happened to Ji-Han and Ji-Cheok.

Ji-Han put his index finger up to his lips.

Shhh.

Ji-Cheok nodded. He knew it was not worth it to tell the others what happened.

[You have cleared the dungeon!]

[The rewards will be distributed according to the level of contribution.]

[You will receive additional rewards because [He_who_denies_death] was caught cheating.]

(This message can only be seen by Hunter Jung Ji-Han and Hunter Um Ji-Cheok.)

[You have cleared this dungeon for the first time!]

[You have received additional rewards!]

[You have cleared the hidden quest.]

[Your hidden quest rewards are being distributed.]

[You have received your hidden request rewards.]

[1st place is Um Ji-Cheok with contribution points of 3,421,450 points!]

[You have received the 1st place reward [Random Unique Skillbook]!]

[You have received the 1st place reward [Random Unique Skillbook]!]

[You have received the 1st place reward [Random Unique Item Box]!]

[You have received 1,000 Likes!]

[You have received 1,000 Likes!]

[You have received 1,000 Likes!]

… …

Ji-Cheok was staring at the myriad of messages.

‘What is this? Did we clear the dungeon just because the God came out?’

“Wow… Do you think the boss monster died in the explosion earlier?”

As Seong Kwang pondered what was going on, Mu-Cheok’s expression was suspicious.

“Did the boss monster come out of its room?” Mu-Cheok asked.

Ji-Cheok was also curious.

“I guess? Since this is an irregular dungeon, it wouldn’t surprise me if that happened,” Ji-Han said.

“I see…”

Mu-Cheok seemed to not understand it entirely, but he still nodded.

Ji-Cheok thought differently. He believed that it had something to do with the appearance of the God, or maybe the God had appeared because the boss monster had died from the explosion.

Woong.

A black Gate opened up. Now that the dungeon was cleared, the Gate would remain open for a while. During that time, the Hunter Assistants would come in and collect all the remaining items.

“Good job, everyone,” Ji-Han said.

He stepped in front of the Gate.

“Right then, shall we go out now?”

* * *

-How long has it been? I think it’s been over three hours….

-You don’t think he died there, do you?

-Do you think Um Ji-Cheok is invincible? This dungeon is a place where many Hunters died. He probably died with them.

?Are you a fucking spy? Which group are you from? Fucking bastard.

?Dude, it’s common sense. If Ji-Cheok’s broadcasting skills were suddenly turned off, then that means this dungeon is no joke, right? How can Ji-Cheok survive that kind of dungeon? Maybe Jung Ji-Han can come back with some broken bones because he is from a chaebol family.

?Nope~ Ji-Cheok will always survive.

-My baby Umji is alive! Don’t feed the internet trolls.

-Yeah~ I hope the internet trolls get hemorrhoids.

-Um Ji-Cheok. 乃 I hope you are alive. 乃 It’s okay if you don’t clear the dungeon. 乃

Ji-Cheok’s stream had gone offline ever since he went into the dungeon. Gumji, Ji-Cheok’s Fanclub, gathered in Ji-Cheok’s channel to pray for his safe return.

-Umji will come back. 乃

-Of course, he will come back as handsome as ever. 乃

-Umji is going to carry the whole team on his back. I know of it. He is the best. 乃

-I know a thing or two about physiognomy, and Umji has a face of longevity. Look at his philtrum. It is so long. 乃

-Look at his cheekbone too. You know he is gonna live till one hundred years. 乃

Nescient physiognomy started to come about in the comments. This was not something unusual. The fans didn’t know if the bastard they were stanning would die today or tomorrow. During this torturous process of waiting for their stan, every fan had to have something they believed in, even if it was as absurd as physiognomy.

-I’m gonna start doing my 108 bows.

-I’m gonna start praying under the cold waterfalls.

-I’ve already made a Jesa table for Ji-Cheok.

?Shut up internet troll~ I hope you live long and languish. 乃

Waiting for someone with the promise of their return was a total bitch. However, this was very common for fans who stanned Hunters for a very long time. The fans would think about their Hunters’ funeral, but they still would write comments about them coming back alive, just to make themselves feel better.

It sounded crazy, but that was the life of a fan. They knew that being a fan of a Hunter could be short and intense, but even knowing that, they were still drawn to their stan.

-Hey! What is that?

The black gate that was steady started to shake and rattle.

-Umji!!!

-No way… Does that mean…?

-Noooooo!

Suddenly, a shoe popped out of the portal. Of course, it was Um Ji-Cheok.

-He is alive!!!

-What did I tell you? What did I tell you about his cheekbones!

-Strongest Umji 乃

-Strongest Umji 乃

-Strongest Umji 乃

The chat was the epitome of chaos.

* * *

Shutter! Shutter!

When Ji-Cheok came out of the dungeon, dark and gloomy enough for his eyesight to have deteriorated, he was welcomed by the endless flashes of cameras. There were dozens of reporters with cameras, taking pictures of Ji-Cheok that didn’t take his cornea health into consideration. Ji-Cheok was astonished at how much things had changed in such a short amount of time.

[You have received 1 Likes!]

[You have received 1 Likes!]

[You have received 1 Likes!]

[You have received 1 Likes!]

[You have received 1 Likes!]

[You have received 1 Likes!]

[You have received 1 Likes!]

[You have received…]

Ji-Cheok was amazed at the number of Likes coming his way.

Swoosh!

Even with his superhuman sight, Ji-Cheok couldn’t follow the number of Likes that he was receiving. He couldn’t believe it. As Ji-Cheok was wondering if he was on live right now, new chats had popped up.

[You have been connected to your GodTube live stream.]

-Umji!!!!!

-You’re alive!! Our baby Umji!!!!

-Is my baby Umji okay??

The viewers of Ji-Cheok’s channel, who were the ones giving Likes to Ji-Cheok, blew apart the chat room with their comments. Subsequently, the chat room also started to fill up with Likes. Ji-Cheok felt like he was in the heaven of Likes.

“Hey! They are out! What are you doing? Turn the camera that way!”

“Are all of them alive? Everyone came back?”

Ji-Cheok could hear the reporters vividly in his ears. He applauded their professionalism.

‘Hunter Jung Ji-Han! Can you answer some questions?”

“What was it like inside the dungeon?

“I see that all your teammates came out alive, how did you do it? Do you have any secrets regarding that?”

The passionate reporters were struggling to break through the tapes laid by the police and the military.

“Please move back! Private Kim, Don’t let go of the tapes!”

“Please move back, or you will be detained for obstruction of justice!”

Ji-Cheok had no idea the outside would be this chaotic. The teammates who were taking pictures together looked happy and laughing. Ji-Cheok guessed they were happy to become more popular. From the crowd, Ji-Han’s secretary came running like a horse.

“Director! Welcome back! Are there any injured personnel?”

“No, secretary Kim. Have you prepared the things that I’ve asked you to?”

“Yes, sir. I’ve rented out the whole thing.”

“Then bring in the Hunter Assistants into the dungeon. There will be a lot of loot to grab.”

“So…You have cleared the dungeon.”

“Of course.”

The eyes of the secretary were shining with admiration for his director. Ji-Cheok wanted to do something about the reporters, but he also had to take care of his viewers in his chat.

?Master, You can leave the reporters for Ji-Han to deal with. It would be wise to take care of those who follow Master first.?

‘Yes, I agree.’

Ji-Cheok turned away from Ji-Han and looked toward his camera for his viewers.

“Hello viewers! It’s nice to see you again. Thanks to your prayers, we were all able to clear the dungeon safely and come out. Look at me, do you see any injuries?”

Bark! Bark!

Cheok-Liang also made a fox noise.

-I told you… Our Umji-pooh has a long philtrum, so he is going to live a long life!!! 乃乃乃乃

-Look at his jawline, that is a jaw of longevity right there! 乃乃乃乃乃

-Hey Ji-Cheok’s Hunter Agency, never put him in this kind of dungeon again… Or else… 乃乃乃

-I’m reporting from Cheok-Liang's fan club. Is our Cheok-Liang okay?

-Look how skinny my baby has gotten. Seems like he lost like 200 pounds. Please someone feed him some meat!

1. If your philtrum (the vertical indentation between your nose and your mouth} is long, it is said in the Eastern physiognomy that you will live a longer life.

2. A Jesa table is a banquet for the dead ancestors served on their death anniversary.