Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 116

After a while, Ji-Cheok could see the blood starting to drain out of the Hobgoblin’s body. It flowed into the circle, and the circle began to glow with an increasingly evil aura. It reminded Ji-Cheok of a low-budget horror movie that he had watched when he was a kid. A gloomy aura filled the room, and finally, the light turned into mist-like particles and headed toward the Gate. Eventually, the Gate changed color to dark purple.

‘Good. It happened exactly like the information said. That color looks like something from a demon’s castle. The Gate itself is telling me not to do it.’

“So, it was true…” Mu-Cheok said.

“Of course it’s true. When did I ever lie to you? This information cost me 150,000 Likes; it better be true.”

Even though Ji-Cheok had been pretty much scammed in the process, he was not going to tell his brother that.

“Can’t you buy some decent Unique skills with that amount of Likes?”

Ji-Cheok remembered that he told his brother about the general price of skills with respect to the Likes. And it seemed like Mu-Cheok remembered.

“That’s true. I used that many Likes just for a piece of information.”

That number of Likes couldn’t even get him the real [Heart of the Lowest Demon], just the information on how to get it.

‘I still can’t sleep at night if I think about how I got scammed. Out of all the places to get scammed, I got scammed by the Likes Shop. Do they even have morals?’

?Master, you need to focus.?

‘Hm… That’s not easy, because I am still angry.’

“Let’s go!” Ji-Cheok said.

“Okay~”

The two brothers walked into the eerie Portal without fear.

* * *

Ding!

[You have received a quest.]

[Crypt of the Little Demons]

[Difficulty: One-star Dungeon — Intermediate

Not all demons are powerful and transcendent!

Escape the lair of the lowest-level little demons called Imps!

If you earn 100 Likes during the quest, you will receive an additional bonus reward.

Reward: Rare Skill Voucher

Additional Reward: ???]

Ji-Cheok finished checking the quest that had just popped up and looked around. The environment itself was no different from the Goblin dungeon. There was the usual mix of rock and soil in the underground cave, with visible traces of Gobleng. However, he knew from here on it was a different place from the previous Goblin dungeon. This was a dungeon of Imps, the lowest-level demons. According to the information he got, this place was occupied by Imps, who were the masters of the Goblins. Since it was a hidden dungeon, there was no further information.

“Kiiek! Kiiek!”

“Wow, a monster alrea— Huh??”

When Mu-Cheok saw the monster, he was surprised. And so was Ji-Cheok. The monster that appeared in front of them was different from what they had imagined.

‘I thought this was an Imp dungeon.’

“That’s just a Goblin with a horn.”

“Yeah, you don’t say.”

The monster had a small horn on its head, wore a rag for armor, and held a damaged spear. If not for the horn, it wouldn’t have been any different from normal Goblins.

“Hm… If what you said was right, this is the Imp dungeon, right? So maybe that monster is some kind of a minion for the Imps?” Mu-Cheok asked.

“Maybe.”

“What do you mean, maybe?”

While saying that, Mu-Cheok aimed his gun and shot at the Goblin-looking monster that was walking toward them from the other side of the cave.

Bang!

The horned Goblin’s head tilted back and it fell backward. However, the brothers’ expressions suddenly became serious. Mu-Cheok's bullet, powered by his skill, actually couldn’t make a hole in the monster’s head.

“Kiiieeek!”

The fallen monster jumped up. It was covered by the blood coming from its forehead, but it was neither dead nor seriously injured. Suddenly, other horned Goblins showed themselves from behind it. Ji-Cheok counted at least ten.

“Activate [Eye of Insight].”

[DemonicGoblin]

[Level: 35

Attribute: Earth

Weakness: None

A Goblin that has evolved to become similar to a demon by obtaining the blood of the demon.

They are beings created by the lowest-level demons to be used by their families, and by sharing the demon’s blood, they have also gained mana power.]

“Ahh! There was no such information!”

?I am appalled by the scammer-like behavior of the Likes Shop!?

“Is there a problem?”

In response to his brother’s question, Ji-Cheok ordered him quickly.

“Shoot them while managing your mana! Summon Mono Bike G!”

“Kiieek. Keeirik!”

The Demonic Goblins kept coming out from inside the cave. And they started running toward the brothers.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!?

Mu-Cheok took out his dual pistols and continued to fire. Because they were automatic pistols, bullets were simply raining down on the monsters. On top of that, he had also activated his main skill, [Double Shot], which—as the name implied—allowed him to shoot two bullets at once from each gun! It was not a passive skill like Ji-Cheok’s [Double Strike], so it required mana, but it was still efficient to shoot four mana bullets at once.

“Kieek!”

The Goblins got baptized by the bullet rain and fell down. However, as Ji-Cheok looked closely, he noticed that the bullets had not actually penetrated the monsters, even though they were wounded.

‘Do they have some kind of bodies of steel? Even I would have a hole in my head if I got hit by one of Mu-Cheok’s bullets!’

“Hyung, what exactly are those guys?”

“Just get on!”

As Ji-Cheok got on the Mono Bike G, Mu-Cheok got on behind him while keeping the rain of metal falling. The footrest for the back seat gripped Mu-Cheok’s feet tightly and held them in place. Ji-Cheok had realized how useful the footrest was from watching how Ji-Byeok used it in their last dungeon together, so he had further reinforced it.

Then, Ji-Cheok immediately used [Mana Shield] and [Mana Boost], which were two Class 1 magic skills, and stepped on the gas.

“Here we go!”

Vroom!!

With his [Wall Drive] skill, he drove on the wall next to him, passing the Goblins that seemed to be swearing at them, and came back down onto the ground. Then, Ji-Cheok immediately used his next skills.

“Activate [Cthugha’s Steps] and [Blaze Walk].”

Two flames rose behind the bike. As he sprinted away with the flames burning behind him, the Demonic Goblins chased after them, throwing themselves, just like the Ants from [Fortress of Hope], into the flames Ji-Cheok had created.

‘Holy shit. These monsters are crazy!’

“Hyung! They’re not burning! I think they’re immune to flame!”

“What?”

‘That’s just great. How are they immune to fire, when they are just Goblins? Is it because they are the underlings of the Imps? I know that Imps are fire-type demons. Maybe that’s why. Anyway, no matter how immune they are to my fire, they still can’t keep up with the speed of my Mono Bike G. They will end up just cursing at us while looking at the back of my bike.’

?But if you do not kill them, Master, you cannot clear the dungeon.?

‘I know. I have to go back and deal with those monsters!’

Screech!

Ji-Cheok lifted the front wheel and rotated the bike, then drove toward the Goblins. He canceled [Blaze Walk] and [Cthugha’s Steps], and just as the flames were gone, he found himself right in front of the Goblins. He applied Sword Qi onto his blades, used [Double Strike] to create another two Sword Qi blades, and dove head-first straight into the monster crowd!

BAAM!

“Keeieek!!!”

Several Goblins were blasted away by the impact. After passing through the monster group, Ji-Cheok reached the other side, stopped his Mono Bike G, and looked back. But what he saw was totally different from the [Fortress of Hope] carnage. The Goblins were not remotely torn apart. They had severe wounds and they looked like they had broken bones, but they were far from being dismembered.

‘How did these bastards survive my Sword Qi…? Their toughness is amazing….’

“Kieekcha! Kieerik!”

“Kiiikuka!! Kieek!”

The survivors shouted something and ran away. Soon, they disappeared into the darkness, where they could not be reached by Ji-Cheok’s summoned light.

“This is going to be more difficult than I thought…” Ji-Cheok said.

“I know. So they didn’t get torn apart by your Sword Qi?” Mu-Cheok asked.

“No, they didn’t… I wounded them, but they weren’t dead.”

“These guys are insanely tough!”

“I know. Can level 35 monsters be this tough?”

“They’re level 35?”

“Yes. Let me explain…”

Ji-Cheok explained what he had learned with his [Eye of Insight] earlier.

“If they’re this strong when they are level 35… It must be because of the effect of the Demon’s blood,” Mu-Cheok said.

“I also think that’s the only explanation.”

“That means the Imps will be stronger than these Goblins.”

‘Wow… Are we going to die?’

“But Imps are fire-type monsters, aren’t they? So I can understand why they are immune to fire…. But why are they impervious to cuts?” Mu-Cheok asked.

“Dunno,” Ji-Cheok replied.

Mu-Cheok shrugged.

“Anyway, hyung.”

“What?”

“How many monsters do you think there are?”

“I can’t be sure…”

?Master, Goblin dungeons have plenty of monsters by default. Since they have a high fertility rate and are weak compared to other monsters at their level, their main strategy is to outnumber their opponents.?

‘If that’s the case, it’s only going to be more difficult, since this is a hidden dungeon AND a Goblin dungeon.’

“I think it’s going to be as crowded as a large supermarket on Lunar New Year’s Eve. Especially the butcher’s corner,” Ji-Cheok said.

“Hm… I wonder if I have enough mana to fight them.”

‘It must be harder for Mu-Cheok, since he has less mana than me.’

“I brought mana potions, so don’t worry.”

“Then, is it okay if I use my other skills?”

“Yeah. And also, do you have enough bullets?”

“I have a new skill that creates bullets for me. It’s a passive skill too.”

“That’s one overpowered passive…”

‘So it’s a passive skill that ignores the laws of physics? You can make unlimited bullets? Then, can we start a business selling bullets?’

Ji-Cheok had all sorts of thoughts, but he didn’t say anything. Anyway, skills themselves were given by God and in front of the power of the Gods, the laws of human physics seemed to be optional.

“How many mana potions did you bring?” Mu-Cheok asked.

“Twelve.”

“I hope that’s enough…”

“Just on the off chance that the worst-case scenario happens, let’s prepare ourselves before going in. Hold on. Unsummon Mono Bike G!”

The bike turned into particles of light and shifted into another dimension. Then, Ji-Cheok opened up the Likes Shop.

‘Cheok-Liang, show me cheap buff skills that are in the 5,000 Likes range.’

?Ah, quantity over quality. Understood, Master.?

In an instant, Cheok-Liang showed him the skills.

[[Increase Penetration—3,000 Likes] — Increases penetration by 5-50% randomly.]

[[Projectile Damage Aura—4,500 Likes] — Increases projectile damage by 5-15% randomly.]

[Protection of the God of Archery—5,000 Likes] — Increases ranged attack damage by 5-15% randomly.]

‘Wow~ Skills with random effects. I guess I should’ve expected this from cheap skills. But his main weapon is his pistols anyway. He’s not using a sword that he needs to swing at monsters one by one. It’s more advantageous for him to get cheap buff skills like these. Cheok-Liang, keep showing me these skills. Anything that can help my little brother is good.’

[[Mass Increase—5,000 Likes] — Increases the mass of an object by 50%.]

[[Inertial Force Increase—5,000 Likes] — Increases an object’s inertia by 20%.]

[Class Magic System - Class 2— 20,000 Likes]

[Class 2 Fire-type Spell Boost—5,000 Likes]

[Class 2 Thunder-type Spell Boost—5,000 Likes]

[Class 2 Wind-type Spell Boost—5,000 Likes]

[Class 2 Poison-type Spell Boost—5,000 Likes]

[Class 2 Ice-type Spell Boost—5,000 Likes]

“Purchase them all,” Ji-Cheok said.

The skill books appeared in front of him and disappeared with the light. All of the skills were instantly registered, and the time it took for the knowledge to be engraved in his head was only about a second.

‘I keep saying it, but skills are overpowered. They’re way easier to master compared to cultivation, where I have to run around on electric chains while avoiding blazing iron balls.’

Mu-Cheok looked at him with a very curious face.

“Come here. I need you to stand here,” Ji-Cheok said.