Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 7

The middle-aged couple showed up on the screen. Ji-Cheok remembered how persistent they had been as they tried to hand him some bills.

“We wanted to show him how thankful we were, but he wouldn’t accept anything we offered,” the husband said.

“We tried to at least give him some money, but he declined that too… He kept saying that he was fine and refused everything.”

“Of course, we’re so grateful. He saved so many lives, even though he didn’t know any of us.” The couple was visibly touched by Ji-Cheok’s kindness.

Ji-Cheok never imagined that the people he helped would go out of their way to share what had happened.

The broadcast then showed the same location where he had blocked off the Gate, but this time it was cleared. The dungeon was destroyed and right there was a face that Ji-Cheok knew all too well: Jung Ji-Han. He was the grandson of the Jungha Group chairman, Jung Man-Deuk, and also the one who had given Ji-Cheok the bodycam.

‘He was capable of doing all this?’

Jung Ji-Han had on the typical skin-tight bodysuit that all Hunters wore. He stepped out and Ji-Cheok noticed that he wasn’t wearing his glasses.

‘Of course, all of Jung Man-Deuk’s children are known to be Awakened.’

It was highly likely that if both parents were Awakened, then their children would be too.

When people first found out about this, they’d often think about how the Soviet eugenics experiments forced people into marriage and childbirth. In real life, though, it was a lot subtler than that.

“Find the perfect spouse with Jyu-Oh! Married life is chemistry and Jyu-Oh’s scientists are Nobel prize winners!”

It was like how doctors married other doctors, lawyers married other lawyers, and the children of one chaebol will marry another chaebol. People wanted to marry someone in the same ‘class’. Hardworking and successful people married those who were like them, and their kids naturally had a high chance to also be hardworking and successful. They weren’t just inheriting wealth; they were inheriting power and ability.

Back in the day, the SSS-Rank Hunter Jung Man-Deuk had married the most famous American Hunter of the century. Two high-level SSS-Rank Hunters were married to each other. The wealth they amassed together was so enormous, the media treated their coverage like a royal wedding. The couple gave birth to kids that followed in their footsteps and married powerful and hardworking people as well. Those genetics had been passed onto the third generation. At this point, it would be strange if their grandchildren didn’t grow up to be the same kind of people.

A reporter politely interviewed the third-generation chaebol, Jung Ji-Han.

“That was a fairly intense dungeon. I didn't anticipate that I’d go through anything like this for my first battle,” he commented as if on cue.

‘Yup, this is why people say he’s a robot.’

Jung Ji-Han seemed slightly annoyed and didn’t really care about being interviewed. The media still praised him, however, even when he had that cold look on his face.

“Yes, it would have been terrible if the horde of monsters had come out of the gates. Thank goodness for the hero that blocked the gate and kept fighting for time until we arrived,” Jung Ji-Han acknowledged.

“There’s a rumor… is it true that he’s one of your company’s employees?” the reporter asked.

It seemed to Ji-Cheok that the reporter had already put the pieces together and figured out Ji-Cheok’s identity and even the relationship he had with Jung Ji-Han. Jung Ji-Han scrunched his eyebrows, seemingly lost in thought, and then responded again.

“Yes, he is an outstanding and respectable individual. His work ethic is worthy of being admired.”

Since he had defeated the dungeon, Jung Ji-Han could have used that opportunity to bring attention to himself, but instead, he didn’t stop praising Ji-Cheok. It was only when Jung Ji-Han started praising Ji-Cheok that his cold expression disappeared, and the reporter paid more attention to his words.

‘What’s this guy aiming for?’

Ji-Cheok seemed to have transformed into a mixture of brave citizen + hero + workplace saint, something that wouldn’t ever exist in reality.

* * *

His GodTube video had racked up 3.5 million views and 200,000 subscribers. The number of Likes underneath the video showed a whopping 87,000.

Ji-Cheok was swimming in Likes.

‘But that’s weird, why are my Likes so much fewer than the number of views?’

He looked at the numbers again and quickly figured out the reason. It appeared that he received more Likes per person from people who were thankful for his heroic acts than from his GodTube viewers. The GodTube viewers could only click the video Like button once, and one Like on GodTube counted as one Like in the System. The formula went like this:

[Likes received directly + Viewers clicking the Like button on a Godtube video = The total amount of Likes.]

Not every person who saw the video clicked the Like button, but with so many viewers, it didn’t matter. Eventually, each of his videos would rake in a massive number of Likes. Ji-Cheok found it so ridiculous, he couldn’t help but laugh. Was this what it was like to be a GodTube influencer? It was crazy!

‘This doesn’t feel real at all.’

Ji-Cheok finished organizing his thoughts and turned on his phone. There was a never-ending list of missed calls from people he didn’t know that piled onto a mountain of notifications. Texts all started off with 'Hi, I’m Producer Kim from XXX News Station.’ How the heck did these people even get ahold of his number? Was this what they had to do to make it as a producer?

Ji-Cheok had become a celebrity literally overnight.

- I’m the one that comes out of the gray building at the 12min 20s mark. I got so scared and asked my Awakened boss to do something, but he just ran up to the evacuation room and locked the door. I was watching the scene with my senior accountant, who was working overtime with me. We prayed that person wouldn’t get fucked up because that meant we would get fucked up, too.?

?The frick… your boss is such a jackass.

?Can’t you report your boss to the Employment and Labor Administration?

?Does he actually fight as well as in the video?

?Maybe it’s just me, but I think he fought much better in real life than in the video. He didn’t even flinch.

- Wow, this guy is talented at crushing goblin skulls.

- He just became an Awakened, right? He’s so skilled :0

- Koreans with special abilities, sheesh. Add ‘random’ to the video title and it’ll instantly make them sound like a total fake.?

? Random scientist

? Random soldier

.

? Random citizen

? Random experienced n00b

- He’s really good at fighting, even though he doesn't have many skills. Seeing that he uses the Hunter store, he must have a guardian angel that supports him.

- Yes, he must have a good patron, because nothing else can explain this. But I heard it’s rare to have one as soon as you become an Awakened.?

- I can’t see what he purchased from the store through the video. Is it just me?

?Yea. Experts say that outsiders can’t see what the Awakened buy, and the shop also won’t appear in photos, due to a dimensional interference phenomenon.

- Whoa, he’s so good. He’s tanking, attacking, and healing by himself. Guilds will fight for him.

- He’s just as cool as I am!

?Shut up.

- I’m more amazed that the guy filmed this and uploaded it to GodTube. How the fuck can someone just so happen to have a body cam and film something like this? Something’s weird.?

?It’s not like a Gate can be opened with money. This guy must have wanted to take the first video after being Awakened.?

?What the hell are you trying to say? Thanks to him, my mom came back safely. I’ll kill you if you talk shit about him, you punk!!!!!?

?I can’t speak my mind?

?Even if he saved you, you would still ask him to do more things for you, you fucker.

There were very few malicious comments; most of the netizens were talking about how deeply they were moved by Ji-Cheok’s actions and bravery.

- He’s so hot.

- He’s good-looking and even talented at fighting.

- Well, I’m more handsome than him, but his face is not bad.

?Shut up.

?Go fuck yourself.

- I’m one of the paramedics in that scene, and he was such an amazing person. He fought without fear and saved many lives. He was probably scared since he’s just a freshman Awakened, but he stood firm until the end. I remember that there were some other low-ranked Awakened around, and they were sorry that they couldn’t fight together as their ability wasn’t enough for that battle. Fighting monsters is simply that scary, and it must have been a difficult choice. I’m just so grateful for him.

*I don’t intend to disparage those Hunters who gave up fighting monsters in that situation.

? Thank you for letting us know.

? Thanks for the information.

? Why were the low-ranked Awakened hiding behind this guy? They could’ve helped with something, even if they didn’t attack. Where are my taxes going??

? This guy’s crazy. Real-life isn’t a game, and there are so many people who can’t actually fight even though they’re trained for combat.?

Ji-Cheok thought that it made sense. Before he started working as a Hunter Assistant, he had also believed that the Awakened were the best fighters and were fearless. That was because the media only showed this one side of them. In fact, newly-Awakened Hunters like Ji-Cheok were pretty much ordinary people. Like anyone else, they got hurt when they fought, and they got scared when they bled. They were human too, and they felt fear.

It was a rare occurrence these days, but many of them had died in the past when they were forced to fight the monsters.

‘Let’s see who called…’

Ji-Cheok scrolled down his call history and finally came upon a familiar number. It was the number of Jung Ji-Han — the person he had seen not too long ago praising him on TV. Immediately, Ji-Cheok called the number and someone picked it up before the third ring.

“Hello?”

“Ah, I’m so sorry for not picking up your call earlier, Team Leader, I was sleeping,” Ji-Cheok said.

He heard a low-pitched laughter at the end.

“Sorry? No, I need to be thanking you. And you’re up just in time, I’m right in front of your house.”

“Huh?” Ji-Cheok was confused.

Both on the phone and by the door, Ji-Cheok could hear the loud ‘ding-dong’.

* * *

Ji-Cheok opened the front door in a frenzy and was greeted by his team leader.

“I’m so sorry, you’ve come to my place and I have nothing ready for guests! This is what it’s like living in the men’s dorm.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I brought you something.” Jung Ji-Han had come prepared. He pulled a large bottle of juice out of this rare salamander bag. The glass bottle was bigger than the bag itself, but of course that such a high-grade bag could handle some stretching. The cursive letters on the bottle didn’t look like English, and it seemed to be some sort of expensive import brand.

While Ji-Cheok was pouring out the juice, he glanced at Jung Ji-Han and wondered what the latter was thinking about his narrow dorm room.

‘How embarrassing…’

Jung Ji-Han had been living like a boujee for his entire life, so he probably thought that Ji-Cheok’s dorm was shabby and crappy. Even so, for some reason, he still looked at Ji-Cheok with admiration.

“I always knew that you lived your life with great integrity.”

‘Um… yeah, as you can see, my room has just the bare essentials. Seems like that means I “live with integrity”. Yeah, sure. Okay. Totally.’

Ji-Cheok laughed.

“No way. I can’t accept such praise.”

[Person with abilities, Jung Ji-Han admires your character.]

[You have received 1 Like.]

The system labeled Jung Ji-Han differently from the citizens Ji-Cheok had previously saved. Was it because he was some sort of important character? Or were there other conditions too? There was no way to know. But there was actually something that Ji-Cheok knew for sure: the system messages never lied. As such, it surprised him that Jung Ji-Han was looking at him in such a good light.

“By the way, I also found out by watching the broadcast that you are an Awakened,” Ji-Cheok pointed out to Jung Ji-Han.

Jung Ji-Han nodded slightly. “Yeah, I didn’t share it with the world until now I guess.”

As a chaebol, Ji-Han was one of the very few people in the country with such high status. It seemed like there were a lot of things he had to be worried about, even within his own class.

“The reason why I came here in such a hurry is to make you an offer.”

“Yes?” Ji-Cheok was interested.

“Right now, you’re a Hunter Assistant and you only work part-time. Since you’ve Awakened, isn’t it time you started working as a Hunter? Sign a contract with me.” Jung Ji-Han directly stated his offer.

He threw a fast one with no strings attached. This was the first time in Ji-Cheok’s life that he’d heard of something like this actually happening. He’d only catch stories of SSS-Rank Hunters in passing. Big companies would indeed go out of their way and proactively scout these Hunters to work for them. However, wasn’t it rare for rookies to get such an offer? Ji-Cheok was caught off-guard. He was a little dazed as he found himself becoming the main character of one such story.

His heart was pounding loudly, as if it was about to leap out of his chest.

1. Jyu-Oh is a parody of a Korean matchmaker company advertisement, this company specializes in matching people by calculating their class, status, physical attributes etc.