Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 118

A horde of horned Goblins appeared from all directions, shouting. There were four Hobgoblins and countless Goblins, all armed and apparently very motivated to kill the brothers. Of course, before they could get close, Mu-Cheok took care of them.

“[Rapidfire]! [Acceleration]!”

The two words merged into Mu-Cheok. Then, his dual pistols began to spit out bullets at a terrifying rate. His weapons had basically transcended the concept of pistols to become machine guns instead. In an instant, the Goblins collapsed, peppered with bullet holes, but the Hobgoblins rushed forward with flames coming out of them.

“Activate [Roar of the Wild]! I’ll taunt them!” Ji-Cheok shouted.

He took out his dual swords and activated his taunt skill. Then, the monsters angrily ran toward him. In the meantime, many bullets hit the Hobgoblins, but these monsters protected by a strange flame did not fall down, even though they were covered in blood and their armor was broken. The Hobgoblin that first reached Ji-Cheok slashed down on him with its thick sword. It was a quick and powerful blow, but it looked clumsy from the viewpoint of a Hunter who cultivated.

‘That’s not how you use a sword.’

Cling!

He struck the side of Hobgoblin's sword with his Dark Sword, deflecting it to the side and blocking the attack. He then gently stabbed the Hobgoblin in the throat with his Light Sword. The Sword Qi blade extended to pierce all the way through the neck of the monster, then returned to its original length, moving as quickly as a vicious snake.

[The Imp is startled by your attack!]

[You have received 1 Like!]

‘Finally, I’m getting Likes from monsters. If the monsters’ levels or Intelligence stats are too low, the enemy never gives me Likes.’

After dealing with one Hobgoblin, Ji-Cheok ran toward the second one. This one was holding a massive war hammer with both hands, and the hammer flashed red as if the Hobgoblin had used a skill on its weapon. It also had flames coming out of his body, and its blood was dripping all over, but its fighting spirit didn’t seem to be broken. However, it seemed that this monster also didn’t have any idea of how to use his weapon. It just randomly swung its hammer around, so Ji-Cheok easily avoided the blows by using the [Heaven and Earth Divine Steps].

Boom!

The hammer hit the ground.

‘Hey man. If you swing your hammer like that, I can see so many openings I can use to hurt you.’

Slash!

Ji-Cheok cut the monster’s head almost all the way off with a single blow. As Ji-Cheok left the second Hobgoblin to bleed out to death, he stumbled upon the other two, rushing in from his left and right.

‘Why are all Hobgoblins the same? You guys should do some sword training. You shouldn’t just run at me with brute force.’

One had a spear, and the other had a knife. However, their attacks were also weak. He smoothly avoided them, and then he cut most of the way through their necks, just like he had done with the last one. Then, Ji-Cheok looked back and noticed that Mu-Cheok had stopped firing his pistols and was looking back at him. Goblin corpses piled up everywhere, and not a single one was alive any longer.

[The Imp is very surprised by your teamwork!]

[You have received 3 Likes!]

“Wow hyung, you’re really strong. I thought I was watching an action movie or something,” Mu-Cheok said.

“That’s because skills aren’t everything, brother. Especially for cultivators. There’s a reason why we’re called Hunter-killers.”

Many people believed that cultivators were strong in one-on-one combat, and Ji-Cheok knew this to be true. Cultivation itself was not something that got stronger just by acquiring skills, so cultivators paid far more attention to the small details than normal skill users. This was the reason why Ji-Cheok could kill these Hobgoblins so easily.

“So… I guess Phase One of the boss room seems to be over.”

Ji-Cheok looked up at the stone statue, and there was the Imp, fuming.

“AHH! You are all garbage! How dare you make me handle this on my own!”

Ji-Cheok could see the Imp’s body being covered in flames, and the flames rushed toward its head.

“Activate [Roar of the Wild]!”

Ji-Cheok activated his taunt skill. The Imp turned its attention to him.

“You annoying human! DIE!”

Roar!

The monster threw its demonic flames, but it was not as fast as a bullet.

Ji-Cheok used [Heaven and Earth Divine Steps] to step back. This was no regular backstep, but a foot technique that blended the subtle movement of muscles with Qi to step back ten meters in an instant, as if he was sliding along the ground.

BAAM!

Ji-Cheok watched the flame fall and explode on the spot where he had stood, and when he looked back at the Imp, he saw it flying in the air.

“Die! Die! Diiie!!!”

‘Wow. it’s flying pretty well with those wings.’

The Imp flew through the sky, throwing flames at him one after the other, but Ji-Cheok continued to dodge its attacks by sliding across the room as if he were skating. In the meantime, Mu-Cheok retreated to the back and Ji-Cheok saw him using his skills.

“[Observation], [Penetration], [Acceleration], [Amplification].”

Every time Mu-Cheok said a word, a flash of light seeped into him. It looked like he was preparing for a special attack. Ji-Cheok knew that he had to stall for some time to let Mu-Cheok do his thing.

‘Try to finish your preparation while I’m stalling for time. You need to kill him with that skill.’

Seeing Mu-Cheok nod, Ji-Cheok thrust the sword in his left hand into the ground.

“Activate [Soul Telekinesis]!”

A thick liquid formed on his empty left hand, then flowed into an elongated shape.

‘This is the ectoplasm of the [Soul Telekinesis]!’

It didn’t have magical powers, but it contained psychic power, so it was actually classified as a semi-magical object. The ectoplasm formed into a chain in an instant, and it was thrown deliberately slowly, without exerting its full power.

Shoong!

“Kikikieek”

The chain missed the monster as the Imp avoided it with ease.

‘Oh, really? Then what if I add some Qi to it and use it at full power? Surprise, motherfucker!!’

Shooong!!

“Kiek?!”

The ectoplasmic chain swam across the air as if it was alive. Unlike before, it moved like a lightning bolt, wrapped around the Imp and tightened down like a snake catching its prey.

Ding!

[The Imp is startled by your meticulous attack!]

[You have received 1 Like!]

“Kieeak! You really make me angry!”

Boom!

The Imp exploded. The ectoplasmic chain was broken, and the Imp’s body suddenly swelled up.

‘Huh? There was a Phase Three?’

Its wings became longer and its body even more muscular. The Imp was originally three heads tall, but now it was about six heads tall.

“DIE!”

.

The monster took a nosedive at Ji-Cheok, with flames in its hands. Ji-Cheok quickly pulled out the sword he had driven into the ground and wrapped his Sword Qi around it.

Clang!

Its two hands and his dual swords collided in mid-air. Its ugly face was in front of Ji-Cheok.

‘You bastard… You’re not the kind of demon that only uses magic! This monster is strong!’

“Hmph!”

In an instant, the Imp crossed its hands and tried to stab him with its nails. It seemed that the flames around it had some kind of magical effect. Even after colliding with his swords, the flames were still soaring. Also, now that Ji-Cheok looked closer, he realized that the wings were simply there for the looks. The monster was just floating in the air, ignoring the laws of physics! It looked like it was one of its skills.

“Kiiek!”

The Imp raised its leg straight up and tried to kick him. Ji-Cheok dodged sideways and tried to stab it. The monster turned around and dodged in turn, while slamming its hand down toward his head.

‘Huh, this guy is faster than I thought.’

He managed to avoid it with his Divine Steps, but his shoulder was cut. The wound burned from the heat.

‘That thing is sharp! Is it because of its nails? And its attacks have the fire attribute! There’s only one thing I can do…’

“Mono Blade!”

He unleashed the merged dual swords and immediately used the [Heaven and Earth Slash].

The name of this skill sounded grand, but essentially, it just meant a dual-sword diagonal cut.

“Kieek!”

Its flame was simply erased from existence and its hands were cut off. As soon as its blood started to drip, it spread its wings wide and leaped away. It looked like it was trying to run away.

‘It’s too late now! You lost the moment you got taunted by my skill!’

“[Divine Penetration]!”

At one side of the room, Mu-Cheok’s two pistols suddenly merged into one and turned into an anti-materiel sniper rifle!

‘Wait, I didn’t know his pistols could transform into such a weapon!’

Lightning flashed from the gun barrel.

Booom!!

The bullets ripped off the Imp’s wings with a roaring sound.

“Kieeek!!”

Thud.

The monster collapsed on the floor. Ji-Cheok wondered whether the Imps lost their ability to fly while ignoring the laws of physics if one of their wings was destroyed.

Both of the monster’s arms were severed and one of the wings was blown away. However, shockingly, the bleeding in both arms of the powerful boss stopped immediately, and his wounds started to regenerate.

‘Wow… It’s like a troll…’

Approaching quickly, Ji-Cheok brought his sword to its throat. The Imp was just staring at him with an angry face. It almost felt like Ji-Cheok was the villain in this situation.

“Hyung, did you catch him?” Mu-Cheok asked.

“I did~ You did a good job! Nice shot.”

“It’s all thanks to you taking all the damage.”

“Wow… You’ve matured well, brother.”

‘Who needs black cows or white cows, when I have Moo-Cheok to do the job~? If I upload this battle on GodTube, I think I’m going to get even more Likes!’

“So, Imp, shall we make a deal?”

Ji-Cheok thrust the blade in and offered the demon a deal.

“I don’t know who the villain is…” Mu-Cheok said.

‘Quiet, Moo-Cheok, you be quiet.’

* * *

In the end, Ji-Cheok obtained a heart from the demon. When he threatened the Imp with his sword and said, ‘Do you want to be sealed or give me your heart?’, the Imp gave away its heart without any resistance.

Ji-Cheok learned one thing from this. It was said that even when a demon died, it returned to the Demon Realm, but did not disappear from the world. However, if the Imp was sealed, it would not be able to return to the Demon Realm and it would be trapped here forever. It said that it was better to sacrifice its heart and return to the Demon Realm. Apparently, its strength was weakened if it lacked a heart, but that was still better than being sealed without any hope of release.

‘It’s so different from the way I acquired the [Demonic Essence].’

Ji-Cheok couldn’t believe that the information from the Likes Shop was actually useful! He was still sour from getting scammed, but he knew that this was enough. Even though he had cleared the hidden dungeon, he couldn’t get loot from the dungeon. When the brothers left the dungeon and the assistant team entered, they said that it was just a normal goblin dungeon. Ji-Cheok assumed that the hidden dungeon disappeared before the team could get to it. Still, with the [Heart of the Lowest-Level Demon] and the hidden quest rewards, he was satisfied. In addition to the basic reward of one Rare Skill Voucher, he had also gotten one Unique Skill Voucher!

‘The rewards from hidden dungeons are so good!’

With that in mind, they finally returned home.

Ji-Cheok was sitting on the sofa in the living room, with his arms crossed. Of course, he had washed himself thoroughly, used the self-massage skill to recover from fatigue, and put all the equipment in the equipment locker.

“Whew…Now I feel relaxed.”

Ji-Cheok saw his brother coming out of the shower in a T-shirt and shorts.

“Yo,” Ji-Cheok said.

“What.”

“Come and sit here for a second.”

“Ah, what is it again?”

“If I tell you to sit down, just sit down. I am your hyung!”

“I’m so tired, though. I may have used almost no mana, but my physical strength is a different story. Do you think it’s easy to sit on the back of the bike for that long? My thighs are killing me right now.”

“I will not take this kind of bullshit from a Hunter that’s over level 30! Come sit down and lemme have a look.”

“Alright, fine.”

Mu-Cheok trudged over and sat down in front of him.

‘He does look tired.’

Ji-Cheok put his hand in front of him.

“Give me your hand,” Ji-Cheok said.

“I’m not your dog!”

“I’m going to use my massage skill on you, so just give me your freaking hand.”

“Oh, that? If that’s the case, here you go. Thanks.”

1. This is a common way of gauging a person’s body proportion, especially for artists when doing figure drawing. The ideal proportion would be 8 heads tall and 3 heads wide.