Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 123

Ji-Cheok took a deep breath. His blood flow started to accelerate. His body temperature immediately rose. His hair became silky and shiny and his skin became even smoother, resembling a white snowy field. His muscles looked more even, and the body that was originally healthy anyway became healthier still. Ji-Cheok started to breathe properly; he walked properly, and tread the paths of the world with a free mind. He began to see the world with clearer eyes and he could hear the world unhindered. He could feel the various passive effects stacking up in his body—it almost felt as if he was exploding with skills.

[You have acquired countless skills and obtained the title [The One with a Hundred Skills!]

[You have acquired the related skills!]

[All the related skills are integrated into one!]

[You have acquired the skill [Human]!]

“Huh?”

Ji-Cheok was expecting some kind of title to pop up. After the Gods appeared in the world, it was a well-known fact that certain achievements became titles, and those titles made Hunters stronger.

‘Does it mean that if I get a thousand skills, I’ll get [The One with a Thousand Skills]? Well, I’ll think about that when the time comes, but what is this [Human] skill?’

[The One with a Hundred Skills]

[Class: Unique

A title given to those who possess 100 or more skills.

Increases all skill effects by 5%.]

?Master! This is amazing!?

‘Wow… This is great! I didn’t know it had additional effects. This is going to be really helpful. I think I’ll continue to acquire skills even if it looks like I’m overdoing it. Now, let’s check out [Human].’

[Human]

[Class: Unique

An intelligent lifeform that advances forward with countless possibilities. You now breathe properly and walk properly. You can properly utilize all human functions.

*Optimized efficiency of all abilities for humans.]

“This… is a bit confusing…”

?Is it different from what you predicted, Master??

“Well, actually, I bought all the skills that were priced at 1 or 2 Likes because I remembered the [Breathing] skill from before. Isn’t breathing the basis of cultivation training?”

?Ah, understood Master. Breathing is fundamental for controlling and circulating your qi. So that is why you bought the skill.?

“Yupp. I thought that having a basic skill that helps with breathing would have a synergistic effect in cultivation training. In addition, I bought skills like [Sleeping] that would help me with recovery.”

‘But I didn’t know I would get a skill like this… A skill named [Human], and the description is very ambiguous.’

?Do you feel uncomfortable right now, Master??

“No, I feel good, maybe too good.”

?Then the skill does not seem like a bad thing, Master. It seems you have to fight in the dungeon once to precisely feel what the skill is like.?

“You’re right. There is no change in my status window either.”

Ji-Cheok wondered if he had to try a physical performance test. Anyway, over seven hundred skills had disappeared, leaving only one skill, [Human]. He was skeptical as to whether this one skill was worth more than seven hundred skills combined.

“Alright, let’s do that again.”

?Do you intend to buy more, Master??

“For now, I’m thinking of buying only passive skills.”

‘I already found out that if you purchase passive skills, their effects will overlap. So it’s worth it to buy them all.’

“Let’s try to set the spending limit to 200,000 Likes. Passive skills only. And skills that are priced less than 1,000 Likes.”

?Yes, Master. There are 51 skills priced at 5 Likes, 44 skills priced at 10 Likes, 38 skills priced at 20 Likes, 25 skills priced at 50 Likes, 19 skills priced at 100 Likes, 18 skills priced at 500 Likes, and 13 skills priced at 1,000 Likes. The total would be 26,605 Likes.?

‘That’s so cheap… All of them combined don’t even exceed 30,000 Likes.’

“Okay, buy them all.”

[You have acquired the related skills!]

[All the related skills are integrated into one!]

[You have acquired the skill [Immunity Passive]!]

[You have acquired the skill [All Stats Passive]!]

[You have acquired the skill [Skill Master Passive]!]

[Immunity Passive]

[Class: Legendary (Non-Upgradable)

A legendary skill that combines many immunity and resistance skills.

All types of damage received are reduced by 31%.

The rate increases when the user acquires additional resistance-type and immunity-type skills.]

[All Stats Passive]

[Class: Unique (Non-Upgradable)

A unique skill that combines many skills that increase the user’s stats.

All stats effects are increased by 28%.

The rate increases when the user acquires additional skills that increase stats.]

[Skill Master Passive]

[Class: Unique (Non-Upgradable)

A unique skill that combines many skills that buff other skills.

All skill effects are increased by 24%.

The rate increases when the user acquires additional skills that buff other skills.]

“I’ve heard about skills merging into one, but never on this scale…”

?Master is a special case. First of all, there are very few Hunters who possess as many skills as you, Master.?

“That’s true. I just didn’t know these skills could be compressed like this.”

When Ji-Cheok worked as a Hunter Assistant, he heard various stories about Hunters. When he worked next to Hunters, it was impossible to not hear them. Among the many stories, there were cases of skills merging into one. If Hunters acquired skills of similar types, sometimes, they were combined into better skills. Ji-Cheok thought that acquiring [Human] would be the end of it, but these combined skills were something else. The fact that they were passive skills was also a plus. Ji-Cheok felt quite strong, even though he only spent around 30,000 Likes.

“The team meeting is tomorrow, and the raid is the day after that, right? That means I don’t have any dungeon schedule for today and tomorrow.”

?That is correct, Master.?

“Good. Let’s go and try these skills—”

Ring, ring!

His phone rang. It was Mu-Cheok.

“Hey, what’s up?”

—Hyung, did you see what’s on GodTube right now?

“If you say it like that, how the hell am I supposed to know what’s going on?"

—That Yum Ra-Du bastard is talking shit about you! I saw how much of a garbage he was when he did the Hunter Exam with you, but he is still the garbage that I know.

“Huh? Ra-Du did what? Calm down, Mu-Cheok.”

After calming Mu-Cheok down, he spoke slowly about what was going on. Ji-Cheok hung up the phone, got on GodTube, and played the live stream that was trending.

?So you’re saying Hunter Um Ji-Cheok is a fraud??

?Yes! Everything he is doing right now is because of the help of the Jungha Group. Isn’t it obvious that his Mono Bike G was also provided by the Master Mechanic, Jung Bi-Ga? With an artifact like that, who wouldn’t be able to clear the [Fortress of Hope] alone??

The interview was streamed live and Yum Ra-Du was talking as if Ji-Cheok was a fraud and a liar in a very rough manner.

‘Who does he think he is?’

?He is on a famous GodTube channel called ‘Seen This Hunter?’ This channel invites Hunter and conducts interviews. It has 1.02 million subscribers and is famous for having many good contents.?

‘I know, I used to watch quite a lot of their videos when I was a Hunter Assistant.’

?So… Hunter Yum Ra-Du, you said you have something to tell Hunter Um Ji-Cheok. What is it??

?Can I talk to the camera??

?Of course!?

?Hey, Um Ji-Cheok! I know you’re lying through your teeth. If you want to dispute me, come and fight me one-on-one! Or are you scared??

?Wow… Those are some strong words.?

?If I don’t come out this strong, this fraud is going to keep hiding.?

‘I thought I shut him up at the exam, but I guess I was wrong. Did something happen to him to act this stupid again?’

?This little brat has no manners, Master.?

‘Well… When they become Hunters at a young age, this kind of thing happens. Everyone knows that the majority of Hunters have no manners. That’s why I am so popular compared to the average Hunter.’

That was why Ji-Cheok got Likes by doing simple things when he was dealing with reporters or meeting other people. If kids awakened with lesser abilities, like crafting, they could still live the same way as normal children. But if they awakened with powerful abilities, it was a different story.

‘Just look at all the kids that become Awakened when they are in middle or high school. They go straight to a special school for Hunters. What would they know about cleaning the classroom with their classmates? What would they know about attendance, or skipping classes with friends? Also, kids like Yum Ra-Du are born with a superiority complex because they come from a family of Hunters. Some of them don’t even finish middle school, and even if they do attend school, there are many cases where the kid is caught beating up their classmates.’

?How do you want to do this, Master??

“What can I do? I guess I just have to do whatever he wants. It’s good timing too. Perfect for my warm-up.”

?Then, we should stream it.?

‘Good stuff. Let’s go and put some manners into this guy.’

* * *

“Hello everyone! Umji Gumji! This is Um Ji-Cheok!”

He started his stream at home. He put his camera in a portrait angle so that the only thing the viewer could see was his face. He was wearing a hoodie and had messy hair to look urgent on purpose, but he put on a little bit of make-up before the stream.

“Today, I have to do an emergency stream. This time, it’s not a dungeon. And today’s content is going to be really short!”

-Umji~ Hi~ 乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃

-Hello~ Umji!!!! 乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃

-I missed you Umji~~ T_T Did you lose weight?? T_T

-What’s this? Why is he doing an emergency stream?

-Is it because of that Ra-Du bastard?

Viewers entered his stream one by one and messages were posted in the chat.

“Some of you already know! Hunter Yum Ra-Du challenged me. Come to think of it, when I took the Hunter Exam in the past, Hunter Yum Ra-Du was also with me, right?”

-That Ra-Du bastard was such a troll back then.

-Didn’t the Yum family spend money to erase all the news articles on that incident?

-It’s just a troll doing troll things.

“So!!! I’ll accept the challenge. Let’s go and fight him one-on-one! I have time right now. Actually, after tomorrow, I have to participate in the company dungeon raid, so I won’t have much time.”

-Our Umji, when did you get so arrogant? I love it! 乃乃乃乃乃

-Go get rid of him!

-I choose you, Umji-chu! Go fight Yum Ra-Du!

Some comments were cheering him on, but other comments started to fill up the chat.

-These Umji moms, how dare you compare him to our great Yum Ra-Du! I know you guys are delusional, but I didn’t know you would cover up a fraud like this LOL LOL

?Okay~ But your Hunter still attempted murder. ^^

-LOL! Only idiots would still support this fraud. Or is it frauds supporting each other~

?Okay~ Umji is going to beat him~ ^^

?The usernames are all newly created, Master. It seems that the fandom of Yum Ra-Du entered the chat fast. It looks like they were waiting for you to start your stream. Master! It seems that a fight broke out between the two fandoms somewhere we don’t know.?

‘I expected that. Ra-Du blatantly challenged me to a fight on GodTube. And it was me who revealed the real Ra-Du at the Hunter Exam. There is no way his fandom is fond of me. They would’ve waited for this day to cut my throat. But I don’t care.’

Ji-Cheok smiled at the camera.

‘One thing about GodTube, Cheok-Liang, is that being pretty comes first. You have to look good. That way, the haters will get even more pissed off. Anyways, Yum Ra-Du just burned the bridge between us. What am I supposed to do next? The only thing I should do is put on more make-up to look fearless. If I show any sign of being intimidated, I will get ripped apart by the haters’ comments. If that happens, even my fans will be discouraged. Of course, they would try their best to fight for me at first, but everyone knows that wouldn’t last for long. My relationship with my fans cannot be exchanged for money, so I have to try my best for them. Even if that makes me appear arrogant, I need to look confident and tough. This is how you endure hell, Cheok-Liang.’