Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 108

“Was that possible? Gramps, what do you think?”

Next to the sofa he was sitting on, a man who seemed to cosplay a classic movie butler was standing upright. He was wearing a very old-fashioned monocle, and his expression was dry.

The Bronze family had moved to the United States during World War II and reigned as the head of various stock market companies and banks. [A/B]’s mother, father, uncles, and aunts all worked in the stock market industry that made money by using people. Of course, even though the family had made their fortune by draining the lifeblood of other people, since they had done it for three whole generations, people called it a ‘prestigious family’.

Blood ties and norms were bound to be consolidated among the tightly intertwined financial industry. Adam Bronze had been one such good, rule-abiding child until his early teens, at which point he had become the black sheep of the family. One day, when a video of him walking around a Halloween party naked while high on weed hit social media platforms, the Bronze family had simply cast him out.

When he had awakened, and with a special ability to boot, his family had thought hard whether it was beneficial to let him in the family again. However, during the Gate Wave, when the things the Bronze Family had done to the people came back as karma and the Americans flocked to the stock market center with shotguns, Adam calmed them down with hundred dollar bills.

As a result, he was accepted as a member of the Bronze family again. The family also sent his butler, Oswald, along with a Family Tree with his name on it. Currently, most of the accidents that [A/B] caused were being handled by this butler. It was impossible to make the trouble stop with this bastard, but Oswald was there to try his best.

“Do not look away from what’s in front of you. If it happened, it means that it is possible,” the hook-nosed Oswald said.

“I don’t know who said it, but it’s fucking real, man!” Adam said.

“It’s what I have always said to Young Master.”

“Ah~ it was from our lovely butler. I agree with you. What’s the use of doubting what’s in front of you? The next step is to figure out why that’s possible.”

“That’s right, Young Master.”

As Adam snapped his fingers, the dark theater brightened. When he pulled the screen with his fingers, it turned into a hologram. The little Um Ji-Cheok was in front of Adam in 3D. In a way, it looked like something from a sci-fi movie, but with enough money, these technologies were common. It was a technology manufactured by Jungbi Co., Ltd. However, the hologram technology hurt his eyes when looking at it for a long time and it was easier for him to just use the big screen to watch the streams. That was why he didn’t really use the hologram often. It was the same as curved-screen smartphones being unpopular—there were always people who claimed that curved cell phones were the new high technology, and that they were an ‘early adapter,’ whatever that was.

“First, the [Wall Drive] has to be the key. I remember it was impossible to go from wall to wall by means of space movement, flying, or jumping. Well, at least from my memory of watching the Korean videos, it was impossible. Isn’t it the first time for a Hunter to try and run up like a spider on a bike like that?”

“From the data I’ve collected, yes, it is, Young Master.”

“Looks like you already investigated during his live stream. Nothing can get past you, gramps.”

He looked at the holographic Ji-Cheok riding the bike and climbing the watchtower over and over again. Adam examined the little Ji-Cheok as if he was an action toy.

“Okay, okay. This is fun. Do you think he’s going to get a new title from it?”

“Since it’s the first time, I think so, Young Master.”

Adam snapped his fingers. This was a habit of his when he became immersed in his thoughts. It was a habit that had gotten him expelled from the library a few times for being loud, and forced him to study in his dormitory. Fortunately, his family had paid the full tuition of his roommate, so the roommate decided to put up with his bizarre habit.

The man in the comical hoodie jumped up as if he had an epiphany.

“What, oh~... Even if I tried that dungeon, I wouldn’t get any rewards because my level is so high, right?”

“Could you not focus on that part, Young Master? You must focus on the other part.”

“Okay, Alfred~”

“...My name is Oswald, Young Master.”

Adam’s hoodie had a Joker picture on the front and a bat on the back. From the large hoodie that could only be sold at Comic Con, to slippers and clear horn-rimmed glasses, the party person that people saw him as on his Nstargram was gone. In this room, only the nerd was present.

“I know, I know. You are saying that the power of that [Blaze Walk] that burned all the Stone Ants is too powerful. That kind of mana power is impossible if he can enter that level limited dungeon…”

He suddenly started to write something in the air. Formula after formula appeared as his fingers moved.

“I want you to check my calculation.”

“All calculations are correct, Young Master.”

“Okay. Then, it means that he has at least an A-rank mana.”

“That is correct, Young Master. Without that level of efficiency, it would be difficult to get over the wall, given with that excessive firepower.”

“Well, let’s take a look at the possibility that he took a lot of elixirs to get up that wall. I wonder if he has a connection with China. Alfred, take a look at the latest elixir trafficking route. There are only a few elixirs that can make you that powerful in such a short period of time, so it will be easy to find.”

The butler’s eyes turned blue for a moment and returned to normal. The screen switched when Oswald hit the floor with his cane. A globe and a list of craftsmen who could make the elixirs came up on the screen.

“This is the trafficking route collected from each auction and family. I couldn’t find any elixirs being traded that could make Hunters that powerful in a short amount of time.”

“I can always rely on you, Alfred.”

“It’s Oswald, Young Master.”

“It doesn’t matter what your human name is, does it? Because you are contracted in the name of my family, and that’s why you came here to serve me.”

“Young Master, do not forget that there is power in the name.”

“You and your gnosticism. The elders of my family are clamoring for the Bronze family to unite because they think that the destruction of the world is coming soon. This is the result of those old farts raking up all the prophecies and mysticism around the world. I bet you that no matter how much information you gather about esoteric shit, Bi-Ga’s drones are far superior.”

Oswald walked slowly, then he took out a bottle of Coke from the ice bucket.

Cling.

In one fluid finger flick, the bottle cap flew in the air, spun at great speed, and landed on his hand. The bottle of Coke was politely passed onto Adam without a single drop wasted.

“Haha. After examining all the information, I have two hypotheses.”

“What are they, Young Master?”

“First, that guy is just a genius. That’s why he could increase his Mana rank very quickly. It’s technically possible. Out of these billions of people, there has to be at least one genius who could do this. Oh, I guess it’s not just Mana for him, but Mana and?Cultivation rank, but either way…”

Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap.

The sound was so loud that it could literally drive people crazy. He then continued talking.

“Second, this guy’s job is an overpowered job far beyond the usual Hunters’ jobs. I have evidence to prove this.”

He seemed excited as he quickly wrote down the formula in the air.

“This guy either levels up really slowly, or doesn’t level up at all. And he might be using that penalty to increase his stats, such as Mana. Right now, he is a cultivator, uses mana skills, uses strange summoning skills, and even has shadow ninja abilities.”

“There are no ninjas in Korea, Young Master. And in general, Koreans hate this confusion.”

“Okay, I will remember that.”

Oswald wondered if Adam would really remember that. He knew that the ‘human’ in front of him only remembered the things he was interested in. So as long as he was interested in Um Ji-Cheok, he would keep that in mind.

“The world is so unfair. He’s a cultivator genius with multiple abilities. He doesn’t level up, but still has something that can balance out this weakness. Don’t you think that’s too much?”

“The Young Master shouldn’t say things like that. You were also born at a different starting line from most other people. In Korea, they might call this ‘A remark that will get you a bamboo stick up your ass.’”

“Okay, I’ll remember this as well.”

He gestured to the holographic screen to go back to the big theater screen format.

“Alright! Turn on my favorite channels. Filter it with Korea as a region, and Hunter as a search term.”

Hundreds of channels showed up on the screen.

“Write it down at the same time.”

When he entered a command, the A.I took his command and wrote it down. The same donation and message appeared on all his favorite channels at the same time.

-[A/B] has donated 200,000 won.

[A/B]: If there is a video with Um Ji-Cheok in the future, record it and send it to me. If you do that, I will give you ten thousand won. Do it until I get tired of it.

It would be a ‘lucky day’ for the owners of small, unpopular channels.

“Now, let’s just sit back and observe. And then we must use every means to bring him in. Wouldn’t such a talented Hunter be a very good addition to our guild?”

Adam Bronze, also known as [A/B], started to giggle and laugh.

* * *

“Koreans sure love watching things burn..”

‘How did the video come out? I just burned a couple of years off of my fans’ life, I need the reaction to be great.’

?The reactions of the viewers are explosive. Next time, before you enter the Fortress of Hope, you can purchase a few more fire-type skills, and also purchase fire damage increasing skills to get an even better reaction.?

‘Oh, that's good advice. It felt refreshing to set fire to the wall and kill everything in the way. I guess [Blaze Walk] also knows what the Koreans love. If I leveled up normally with an ordinary job, I would be getting so much experience right now. I got Likes instead, which is fine, I guess. But it’s too bad. I can’t just follow other Hunters’ steps. I have to carve out my own path like this. Still, good thing there isn’t anyone to fight with over the loot, right, Cheok-Liang?’

?Yes, Master. Anything that has traces of fire can be determined as yours.?

‘Good. What kind of insane Hunter would believe in their mana power and turn the field of ants into a sea of fire? Good thing Yum Ra-Du wasn’t here, otherwise, it would be a bit confusing.’

[You and your team have defended the Fortress of Hope.]

[You have cleared the dungeon!]

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

[Team A Ranking: 1st Um Ji-Cheok, 2nd Kim Do-Geon, 3rd Hong Sung-Ki]

[Team B Ranking: 1st Um Ji-Cheok, 2nd Yoo Jeong-Hwang, 3rd Park Mak-Oon]

[Team C…

[Your quest rewards are being distributed.]

‘Wow, I can’t believe that worked.’

?Master! You just came in first place in both Team A and Team B!?

Not surprisingly, the chat went rampant as soon as the notification came out.

-Is that even possible? A Hunter becoming first in two teams?

-Does that mean he gets two first-place rewards?

?The Guardian’s Hope shield only appears the first time you get into the top three. After that, it’s replaced with Hunter Store Points.

?Shouldn't there be a new reward for being first place in two teams? The System usually doesn’t miss things like this.

1. The original word is “jwibulnori,” a Korean game in which participants create streaks of light/fire by swinging around cans filled with burning materials.