Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 120

“You told me, ‘Don’t worry and focus on your studies,’” Mu-Cheok said.

‘Oh, it’s nothing special.’

It was something that was said hundreds of times on K-drama.

“What about it? That’s why you did so great on your SAT and you got into a good university. You were very successful,” Ji-Cheok said.

“Yeah, I know. But it cost you your life, hyung. Also, I had to take a leave of absence because I couldn’t pay my tuition once.”

.

“I’m still sorry about that.”

“No… That’s not what I mean, hyung!”

Mu-Cheok scratched his head and continued to talk.

“I mean, I don’t want to live like that anymore. I can help you earn money! I can help at least once when you’re in danger! You are a cultivator, so I can support you with my pistols from a distance!”

“What does that have anything to do with you being an enhanced human?”

Mu-Cheok hesitated for a moment but eventually revealed the truth.

“......Since hyung is always away, I have a feeling that the next time I see you, you might be in a body bag… That’s it.”

Mu-Cheok sighed then continued talking.

“Anyway, I worried about it a lot. I also didn’t want to miss the opportunity to work with the best of the world’s three Master Mechanics.”

“...What are you saying?”

“I just want to make money with you! Is that so bad?”

Mu-Cheok stormed back to his room.

Bang!

He slammed the door.

‘He seems really angry.’

Normally, Ji-Cheok would be angry at his brother for disrespecting him, but this time, he was speechless.

‘What does he mean when he says he wants to make money with me…’

* * *

Money made people miserable. If people had enough money, they didn’t know the importance of it. It was only when they were in poverty that they realized the significance of money.

When Mu-Cheok was young, both of his parents passed away. They died on their way to work, killed by monsters, when a Gate opened during the Monster Wave. Not just his parents, but many people died that day. From the perspective of the bereaved family, even if they wanted to do something, the whole world was in chaos. The city hall was destroyed and many public officials died. The server room, where a lot of data was stored, was also blown apart. The funny thing was, those people whose data had been handwritten on paper and whose documents had not burned were the only people that could receive welfare.

In a world that had been turned upside down, Ji-Cheok would always tell his brother,

“You only think about your studies, Mu-Cheok. The rest will be taken care of by me.”

Back then, Mu-Cheok had no idea what his brother meant. When Mu-Cheok came to his senses, he was now living in a house where the bathroom was outside the house. Then, he had to go to the bathroom in the park, because his next home didn’t have one at all. The brothers went back and forth from the court, to see if they could receive any compensation, but they had no luck. Ji-Cheok brought rice home instead of his salary, and that was their main meal.

Still, Mu-Cheok thought it was worth living because the world was even crazier back then. The brothers were not the only ones starting life at the bottom. Suffering was something relative to one’s perception of normality. Everyone starved together, winter was hard for everyone, and people died from gas leaks all over the neighborhood. Mu-Cheok didn’t think it was difficult to live that way at a time when everyone lived the same way.

Then, they moved to a nicer house. It was still small, but there was a toilet in the house and hot water.

“Ah, this? It’s a little cut from the blade. Don’t worry, don’t worry.”

“Yeah my finger just got cut off, it’s no big deal. Don’t worry. These days, the company’s healers can treat this in an instant. See? It’s already being attached.”

“Sorry, sorry. I smell really bad today. It’s like this even after I wash myself at work.”

The phrases ‘Don’t worry’, ‘I’m okay’, and ‘You don’t need to worry about me’ lost their meaning to Mu-Cheok as they started to accumulate.

The internet never made people happy. Because the internet made Mu-Cheok realize that the everyday life that he thought was normal because he lived in the same surrounding all his life, was actually the life of poor people. Even on Nstagram posts, it was filled with rappers’ new drips, whether it was Louis Vuitton or the limited Dior Air Max, children holding hands with their parents in a fancy house advertising the ‘new English education,’ or ads about how bad children could be turned into good students with the right curriculum.

In a world where elementary school students studied abroad just to learn English, in a world where students were sent to Europe just to learn about world history, Mu-Cheok longed to become Awakened. But as he got older, he knew the only thing he could do was to study. He knew luck was not on his side, which was true. He had not awakened by himself, not until the very end. Even his older brother had taken a long time to awaken.

“Wow, my brother is so smart! I can’t believe you got such a high mark by only studying the textbooks and free resources! I knew you were smart! Very different from your older brother. Haha.”

“I hope you don’t forget about me when you become successful in the future!”

Mu-Cheok got accepted into the best law school in Korea. To get into med school in those days, one had to compete with Awakened Healers and Alchemists who had abilities to make potions. And the modern world had become so strange that practicing law ensured a brighter future than finishing medical school. In this world, the function of the law slowly changed; as the rich got richer and the poor got poorer, the rich wanted to break the law and commit fraud for their personal gain. Law, therefore, had become a very lucrative profession. There was always a shortage of lawyers, so if a student could just get into a law school, especially a well-known law school, then that alone would change their future. It became even more so when the world started to revolve around Hunters.

If they did well in school, it was easier to get loans, and they could do something with their lives. Of course, with all of this, they still couldn’t compete with kids born with silver spoons in their mouths, because they lived in a world where in order to get into a top law firm, one’s parents had to have a connection with the firm.

In the meantime, Ji-Cheok had his finger cut off once and rushed to the hospital to have it sewn back on. Then, his toe was cut off and went back to the hospital to sew that back on. To this day, his toenail wouldn’t grow back. However, with the help of 3D printing, he had replaced it with a fake toenail. Even after the accidents, Ji-Cheok put socks on his clawless feet and went back to work, telling Mu-Cheok to not worry. To go to more dungeons, Ji-Cheok applied for a dormitory room to earn more money. The dormitory application was accepted.

“It’s going to be okay.”

That was what Ji-Cheok said to Mu-Cheok at that time. It was also the phrase he said to Mu-Cheok when he got his finger and toe cut off. Mu-Cheok always felt so shitty after hearing those words.

“Ah, I forgot to tell him that I just wanted to give back all the things he gave me.”

Mu-Cheok lay on the bed and closed his eyes, thinking about the conversation he just had with his brother.

“I’ll just do it tomorrow.”

Many thoughts surrounded him.

‘It’s gonna be okay. Worry? Don’t worry, hyung. I’ll figure it out myself.’

“If I give it back the same way, I’m sure he will think the same.”

* * *

‘What? You want to make money together?’

Ji-Cheok thought it was not funny. He thought he had raised his brother well enough, but he had never known that Mu-Cheok was so invested in making money after awakening.

Sigh.

He was very confused. The only reason Mu-Cheok had become Awakened was that his brother had done it first, and he wanted to follow in his older brother’s footsteps.

‘Money? Well, okay. A-Class Hunters earn much more than lawyers, but I never told him to transform his body. Ah… Bi-Ga… What should I do with her…? In conclusion, Mu-Cheok was not forced to do this, but he did it to make more money… I just hope it’s like getting a tattoo and has no major effect on his body.’

?Master! According to recent academic articles, it was confirmed that the survival rate of Hunters who had undergone human transformation was 12.3% higher than that of those who did not. The transformation received from Master Mechanic is called ‘Tuning’, and the number of Hunters who received ‘Tuning’ is…?

‘Cheok-Liang… Are you saying that to comfort me? Anyway, it has already happened, so the only thing I can do is to think about the future.’

Ji-Cheok decided to do things on his to-do list in his spare time. He put the [Very Small Branch of the World Tree] into a disrespectfully cheap pot that he had gotten for 2,890 won and sacrificed the [Heart of the Lowest-level Demon]. Then, something happened to the branch.

[Let’s grow the World Tree!]

[Difficulty: ???

Are you the one who supplied nutrients to the [Very Small Branch of the World Tree]?

The [Very Small Branch of the World Tree] is very hungry!

Let’s make the branch full and allow it to take root!

Reward: Leaves of the World Tree

Additional Rewards: ???

*Elf’s Growth Accelerant (Fulfilled)

*Heart of the Lowest-level Demon. (Fulfilled)

*Tears of a Fairy. (Not Fulfilled)

*Two conditions were met and the Branch started to take root.

*With a growth promoter, and enough time, it will bloom without [Tears of a Fairy].

*Blooming time: 8,760 hours left.]

Roots began to sprout from the branches and settled in the flowerpot.

“I don’t think I can pull this out and carry it with me anymore. It was really good for recovering mana in dungeons, that’s a shame.”

?That is not the important part, Master. It is saying that the branch can bloom even without the [Tears of a Fairy]!?

‘Yeah, I saw that. But 8,760 hours… That’s a year! Wouldn't it be better to go find a Fairy than wait for it to bloom on its own? Koreans are like that. Who has time to wait for a year?’

?But, Master. Didn’t it say that you have to make the Fairy laugh or cry? I do not know if that is possible. A story that might be sad for us, but be just an amusing story for the Fairy.?

Rustle.

“Huh?”

As Cheok-Liang and Ji-Cheok were discussing what to do about the [Tears of a Fairy], something weird happened to the [Very Small Branch of the World Tree] that had taken root. It started to squirt out a fragrant grass smell like an air freshener. And then rows of System messages popped up.

[The [Very Small Branch of the World Tree] has taken root.]

[The [Very Small Branch of the World Tree] is evolving into the [Weak and Imperfect Young World Tree.]]

[The [Weak and Imperfect Young World Tree] recognized Um Ji-Cheok as its gardener.]

[It designated the 100 meters surrounding it as a ‘Sacred Site’.]

[In the Sacred Site, the mana recovery rate is increased by 150%.]

[It removes all low-level debuffs within the Sacred Site.]

[Dungeon appearances within the Sacred Site are prohibited.]

[You have earned the title [Gardner of the Young World Tree].]

[Gardener of the Young World Tree]

[Class: Legendary

A title given to a gardener who cultivates a Young World Tree.

Let it grow into a great adult World Tree!

*Neutral plant-type monsters become non-hostile.

*You are able to talk to plant-type intelligent beings.

*You gain resistance against the power of evil.]

‘Wow… I am speechless… It prohibits dungeons from being created? Are you saying this has the same effect as Warding Stones?’

?It is different, Master. It is more powerful than the Warding Stone because the description text of the Warding Stone is different. Look.?

Cheok-Liang immediately showed him the description of the Warding Stone.

[Warding Stone]

[Class: B

Type: Decorations (Artifact)

A magical piece that activates the barrier.

?Interferes with and impedes the appearance of dungeons in the area within a 1-kilometer radius.]

‘So the Warding Stone says things like ‘interfere’ and ‘impede’, while the Young World Tree I have uses the phrase ‘prohibited from appearing’. You’re right. It’s completely different.’

“So, in other words, the radius of one hundred meters from my house is a safe zone, right? Wow… That’s amazing.”

?To be precise, it is one hundred meters from this Young World Tree. Of course, you cannot obtain something great just from a one hundred meter radius, but if you grow it properly, it should be able to cover at least several kilometers.?

‘That’s still amazing. If I buy the lands around me, I am going to be so rich!’

“For now, I think I can put it in my Shadow Pouch and take it out when I have to. But I guess I can’t do that once it grows bigger.”

?Yes, Master. However, looking at the current rewards, I believe the next rewards are going to be huge.?

‘You think so too?’