Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 115

Without realizing it, Ji-Cheok cursed the Likes Shop.

‘These bastards would do anything to get more Likes. Are they for real? Is this really happening? Stupid System… I want to beat—”?

?You…you should calm down, Master.?

‘Calm down? Does it look like I can calm down? Wait a minute… Please don’t tell me…’

[How_to_get_the_Tears_of_a_Fairy.hwp]

[You can get the Tears of a Fairy by making the fairy laugh or cry~ ( ??????????? ) But even among fairies, there are many species! Did you know that fairies have different types of emotions from humans? (゜▽゜;) There are those who only think about hiring a fairy to squeeze out their tears, but if you do that, the only outcome is getting cursed by the fairy, so be careful~ To get the Tears of a Fairy, you obviously have to find the fairies. The method to do that is included in [How_to_Encounter_a_Fairy.hwp] o(*'▽'*)/☆?’

Shortcut → Click!]

‘Why do these descriptions sound like they’re from a blog? If the information is this limited, it should be free! Why are they selling it for Likes?’

“I wanna kill them… Really…”

?This is definitely very immoral, Master.?

‘This is what you get when one shop has a monopoly over others. Don’t they have any competitors? Why do I have to be the victim and spend so many Likes just because there are no alternative shops to buy this information?’

And Ji-Cheok had to buy it from the Likes Shop. Otherwise, there were no other solutions to know where to obtain these two ingredients. He had no choice but to buy these two pieces of information by spending the Likes that he had gathered with his blood and tears. He wondered about the prices for the information on encountering method. So he clicked on the shortcut.

[Are you sure you want to pay an additional 50,000 Likes?]

‘AHHHHHHH!!! Is the System fucking with me???’

After cursing the System for a bit, Ji-Cheok started to think more clearly.

‘Okay. It’s foolish of me to believe that the System, who is monopolizing the fucking world, can operate transparently with ethically sound…’

Ji-Cheok sighed.

'Form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not differ from form. That which is form is emptiness, that which is emptiness is?form…’

After reciting the Heart Sutra three times in his mind, his blood pressure slowly returned to normal.

“Ha… Purchase them, please.”

‘Take my Likes, you filthy animals.’

Ji-Cheok finally got what he wanted from the information he bought.

[How_to_Encounter_a_Demon.hwp]

[Many mortals are looking for ways to meet with demons. I will show you how to do that below.

First! You can summon a demon! ?( ? )?

You can contact and summon a demon using summoning magic. It’s not a big deal if it’s a low-level demon, but it gets dangerous if the demon is at the pre-intermediate level or higher, so you have to be careful. If done wrong, it can destroy the summoner and the entire surrounding city. It can destroy the human world~

Second! You can meet a demon summoned in a dungeon of the Gods!

In the case of dungeons created by the Gods, sometimes there are dungeons with the function of summoning and holding demons. If you go to such a place, you can meet the demon. But the demon will try to torture and kill you! (*~▽~)

Third! You can use Search Magic!

You can use Search Magic to search for demons, detect the demons around you, and communicate with them. However, the number of demons roaming the world is extremely small, so the probability is not high~ '?'?]

‘Hahaha, is that it? I guess it’s a little better than before. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s useful. For any other blog posts on the internet, I don’t need to spend any Likes, only a little bit of money for electricity.’

Just as the Heart Sutra passages that calmed him down were about to lose effect, a System message popped up.

[You have acquired the location of a dungeon where demons exist.]

[The location of [Crypt of the Little Demons] dungeon has been automatically acquired.]

All of a sudden, information started popping up in his head.

‘Wow~ Thank God. I was starting to wonder which God was scamming me in the Likes Shop. I guess they don’t just tell you but stuff the information into your head. But I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I chose not to pay the 50,000 Likes.’

What was left now was [Tears of a Fairy]. Ji-Cheok spent the same amount of Likes for the method. And just like before, they stuffed the location of the [Small Forest where the Fairies Live] dungeon into his head.

“By the way, this is a hidden dungeon.”

According to the information jammed in his memory, it seemed that Ji-Cheok had to go to a dungeon and find the hidden elements, then he could enter the demon dungeon and the fairy dungeon. Ji-Cheok felt that it was a bit difficult to go alone, but it was also weird to go with his teammates. He thought the best way was to drag Mu-Cheok with him.

This was one of the good things about having a younger brother, labor without pay.

‘This is his chance to pay back all the allowance I gave him.’

According to the information, both dungeons were one-star and seemed to be intermediate-level, so Mu-Cheok could level up and get rewards. It would be like killing two birds with one stone.

?A one-star dungeon with intermediate-level difficulty… It is definitely suitable to go with Master’s brother. Isn’t your brother’s level still in the 30s??

“That’s right. His abilities are so overpowered that he is strong compared to other Hunters in his level. That’s why he’s a good match for our team, but his actual level was 32 when he cleared [Fortress of Hope].”

‘Mu-Cheok… He can become much stronger in the future. I should use him more.’

?Master, we should first listen to your brother’s decision first…?

‘Ah, it seems like you don’t know. In Korea, the recipient of the allowance becomes a worker without pay for the giver. And in case of emergency, the recipient’s human rights are revoked!’

?Ohh!! I had no idea such a law existed!?

‘This is a strict precept of Confucianism. Even if our world changed to the extent that Goblins plowed the field and orcs herded cattle, nothing would change in that aspect. That’s Confucianism.’

* * *

“Huh? Yes, my mana is fully charged right now, but wouldn’t Ji-Han have a problem with it?”

It was strange to talk like he was a phone that was being charged, but that was what a Hunter's life was like. There was even a lightning charger called the [Small Branch of the World Tree] to support the analogy.

‘My brother, you don’t have any rights. In a Confucian country like Korea, people who have been living with allowances do not have human rights.’

Those who opposed this system were called 'wildfires', fires that were fierce and uncontrollable. The moment when a person was branded as a wildfire, they would be persecuted by the elders of their family, including their father, mother, aunts, and uncles, during the Lunar New Year and Chuseok.

“Didn’t you see that Ji-Han gave us a support team? That’s his way of telling us to do whatever we want. Besides, this dungeon isn’t even that difficult,” Ji-Cheok said.

“He always treats you like a sunfish that is about to die, but whenever it comes to dungeons, he sends you to those places without even thinking twice,” Mu-Cheok said.

‘That’s what’s so good about him, you idiot. I need to stream. If Ji-Han gets in the way of my stream, I have to leave his company, because that would mean that I can’t work with him. Now that I have some shares in the company and am practically a joint director with Ji-Han, there is no way for him to stop me anyway.’

Although Ji-Cheok was the co-representative of Jungjin Company, he let Ji-Han do all the menial work.

‘Why would I leave this cushy job? I’m about to cry just thinking about it. Anyway…’

[Underground City of Goblins] was a one-star dungeon. It was mainly raided by level 10 to 20 Hunters, and it was known as a dungeon for beginner Hunters with no level limits. It was the brothers’ first time entering this dungeon, but they didn’t feel nervous, since it was not that difficult.

The name ‘Underground City’ seemed grandiose, but in reality, it was like an artificially carved house in a rock cave with a winding path.

It was an underground cave, though, so it was pitch black. That was no problem to the brothers, because Ji-Cheok had four bright lights floating around them. He had bought a Class 1 magic spell, [Sphere of Light]. He bought one because it only cost 500 Likes which was a lot of bang for their buck. Even the skill description said this,

[Prevent accidents under your feet with only 500 Likes!]

‘I don’t know if it’s just me, but these days, the cheaper the skill, the more friendly it seems on their promotional texts.’

“By the way, this is my first visit to the Goblin Dungeon, and it’s just as rumored. Look at that shiny thing over there,” Ji-Cheok said.

“That’s Gobleng.”

It was an ability of the Goblin race. Gobleng referred to the ability to transform rocks and metals, and the Goblins used this ability to make weapons and decorate their hideouts.

“It’s interesting, but are you sure? Can we enter the dungeon called [Crypt of the Little Demons] from here?” Mu-Cheok asked.

“I’m sure. I bought it at the Likes Shop.”

“If you say so. The System doesn’t lie.”

‘The System doesn’t lie, but it sure scams its customers~’

Ji-Cheok wanted to tell the story of how he had gotten robbed of 50,000 Likes, but decided against it in the end. It was because Mu-Cheok had pulled out his gun and fired like a lightning bolt.

Bang! Bang!

Far away, in the darkness, there was a faint cry, followed by the sound of a Goblin dying.

“It seems like the Goblins don’t give me any experience,” Mu-Cheok said.

“You can see that?”

No matter how many [Spheres of Light] were used, walking through this dungeon was basically carrying a flashlight while hiking at night. He couldn’t believe Mu-Cheok could shoot and kill a Goblin that was so far away in the dark.

“I bought some buff skills for my shooting.”

‘Huh, His eyesight far surpasses that of ordinary humans. It’s hard to find someone with such eyesight even in shooting-type Hunters.’

“This is a dungeon where Hunters enter between levels 10 and 20. If you could gain experience with your level here, you could just max it out by smurfing in low-level dungeons,” Ji-Cheok said. “I guess that would be unfair.”

“Alright now, we’re almost at the boss room. Let’s kill the boss and enter the hidden room.”

Dungeons were definitely dangerous places for ordinary Hunters, but neither Ji-Cheok nor his brother were ordinary Hunters anymore. They had abilities worthy of being called superhuman, so these low-level dungeons weren’t threatening in the slightest. The brothers easily killed the Goblins and entered the boss room, which was also not all that much of a threat.

It was a slightly bigger underground cave, about ten meters high and thirty meters in diameter. The walls were solid rock, seemingly polished using the Goblins’ ability, Gobleng. As they entered, they found the chieftain of the Goblins, the Hobgoblin, waiting for them.

ROAR!!

It was about two meters tall, it had a slender and muscular body, and it was holding a thick club. The club looked as if it was made from a shin bone, but in any case, it was definitely not a human shin—there was no way a human could get that big. The boss even had an ominous aura surrounding it.

Bang!

But this menacing boss became quiet after one bullet to the head. To be precise, it was a magic bullet powered by Mu-Cheok’s skill. With a hole in its forehead, the boss just collapsed.

[You have cleared the dungeon!]

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

[1st place is Um Mu-Cheok with 0 Points due to the level gap.]

[2nd place is Um Ji-Cheok with 0 points.]

[Your quest rewards are being distributed.]

[There are no quest rewards.]

“Oh? It's the first time I’ve seen the System not give rewards because of the level gap. That’s pretty cool. But why do you have 0 points?” Mu-Cheok said.

“Because I didn’t do anything. I just walked behind you. Alright then.”

‘Why would I look for an ox to do the chores when I have Moo-Cheok with me?”

A Portal was created behind the Hobgoblin. It was an all-clear Portal, so the moment they stepped out, the air of the outside world would welcome them. But this time, they had no intention of leaving.

Ji-Cheok went to the Hobgoblin's corpse, picked up the bone club it was holding, smeared its blood on it, and drew a circle around the Hobgoblin’s corpse. Then, he drove the bone club into the floor inside the circle.

They were ready to go. They just had to wait.

“Hyung, this feels like a real cult ritual.”

“We’re going to the demon’s den with it, so I guess you can say that.”

1. This is a passage from the Heart Sutra, arguably the most widely-known sutra of Mahayana Buddhism. It was first recited by Avalokite?vara, a.k.a. the Thousand-Armed Gwaneum referenced in chapter 101. Believers recite it on every opportunity, such as when trying not to flip shit.

2. This is a word play on a Korean term, ???(bulhyoja), which means “unfilial son”. The “un-” part is pronounced the same as “fire” (“bul”), though it's written with a different hanja. So fire-[obedient son] essentially means a disobedient son.

3. Chuseok is Korean Thanksgiving.