Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 136

“Right now I have 4.52 million Likes… So let’s use 2.26 million Likes. Now, this is the hard part.”

All of the skills Ji-Cheok had learned so far were useful. By using the skills that strengthened the fire-type skills, he could deal with most of the small monsters just by using [Blaze Walk] and [Cthugha’s Steps]. He used these skills when he massacred the Stone Ants, burned the boss monster in the World Tree dungeon, and grilled those Ghouls. However, the problem was that it was not very useful against monsters with strong resistance. He had felt that when his skills had failed to produce any significant effect on the giant Ghoul monster.

?Master, that might be a matter of intensity of the flames. What if we increased the temperature??

“What? You want to increase more from here?”

‘I already acquired so many skills regarding strengthening the fire-type skills.’

?We can acquire stronger skills. For example, there are skills like this.?

[Class 3 Spell — Flame Barrier — 20,000 Likes]

[Class 4 Spell — Flame Diffusion — 100,000 Likes]

[Class 5 Spell — Heat Zone — 1,000,000 Likes.]

‘So you want to see the end of this. Cheok-Liang is becoming more and more Korean these days. Koreans always need to finish it if they start something. It looks like Korean blood is flowing within Cheok-Liang.’

“Wait, so starting from Class 5 Spells, they cost 1,000,000 Likes? The price increase is just too much!”

‘I can buy a Legendary skill with one million Likes… Are Class 5 Spells comparable to Legendary skills? What’s going on?’

?After searching for information on the Class 5 Spells, I can say that they are comparable, Master. Let’s watch the video of a high-level Wizard who uses the spell, [Heat Zone].?

Cheok-Liang showed him a video of a Latino Wizard flying through the sky. As the Wizard swung his staff, a terrifying flame engulfed the area hundreds of meters below him. Monsters within that range were instantly incinerated, and then the ground and the rocks followed. Everything in the dungeon was obliterated from the heat.

‘Wow…’

?Your Mana rank needs to be A-rank in order to acquire a Class 5 Spell, but this is not a problem for you right now, since your Mana rank is higher than that.?

“Hm… Magic spells… I need to think about it. It’s good to have a final blow of some kind.”

‘Should I learn magic spells or just stick to cultivation? But cultivation isn’t all about learning skills.’

The reason cultivators were classified as unpopular in the Hunters’ world was that cultivation required massive amounts of hard training.

‘Proficiency and aptitude… The cultivation needs to be embodied. In fact, I reached the Realm of Sword Threads because I got so angry at Yum Ra-Du… Training… Hm… Wait!’

“Cheok-Liang, Is there something that helps with training?”

?Something to help with the training… Are you trying to increase your efficiency in cultivation training??

“Yes. My main focus is cultivation anyway.”

He often used his Mono Bike G to run over monsters, but his foundation was still cultivation.

?I will take a look, Master.?

Cheok-Liang wagged his tail.

?I found a couple, Master. But… Wow! I never imagined that something like this would be possible!?

“What is it?”

?I will show you, Master.?

[Heaven Martial Body — 5,000,000 Likes.]

[A body optimized for learning cultivation. A body that goes beyond the so-called Martial Physique and into Immortal Physique. The user learns all cultivation skills quickly, accurately, and at a tremendous growth rate.

*Can be purchased for 1,000,000 Likes if the user has the [Human] skill.

‘What… is this? Heaven Martial Body? I know this from cultivation novels. Simply put, it means a body with an exuberant amount of cultivation talent. It is already incredible that such a thing exists as a skill, and I didn’t know that [Human] was actually the lesser version of the [Heaven Martial Body]... Walking correctly and breathing correctly… Thanks to that simple stuff, I’m getting such a good price on this skill!’

“I should buy this…”

?And I also recommend that you buy this too.?

“Hm? What is that?”

[Training Space of the God of War]

[A space dedicated to training created by the God of War in cooperation with the God of Time. While the user trains inside, time stops outside.

The user can only use this skill once a day. The usage period is up to 48 hours]

?The ability to buy time like this certainly challenges belief, Master.?

‘What kind of overpowered skill is this?’

Since the skill didn’t make a person stronger right away, normal Hunters would have considered it a waste of precious points. However, for cultivators, training was integral to growth. Also, this skill harmonized well with the [Heaven Martial Body]. The [Heaven Martial Body] would give Ji-Cheok the foundation required, and [Training Space for the God of War] would buy him the time he needed for his training.

‘With these two skills, I bet I can get stronger even faster.’

After contemplating for a while, he used [Minor Intuition].

‘Cheok-Liang, I just bought the two skills with the approval from [Minor Intuition]. Wow, I can literally feel my two million Likes getting sucked out of me.’

Right then, Ji-Cheok felt that something had changed inside him.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.?

His heart started to beat like crazy. His Qi circulated around the Microcosmic Orbit, then moved on to complete a Macrocosmic Orbit. The Qi spread through all his meridians, circulating from the tips of his feet to the top of his head. Then, it went back to his Dantian. Amid that intense wave of Qi, Ji-Cheok sat cross-legged, breathed from his abdomen, put his tongue at the roof of his mouth, and exhaled slowly. Immense power flowed through his whole body, almost as if it was about to spill out, and eventually became one with him.

This made him enter something like a trance, walking the boundary between dream and realization. Along that boundary, he looked over all the cultivation skills that he had been training and using. He remembered his past struggles as he experienced them once more. And then… he was enlightened.

‘I… I still didn’t fully understand cultivation. Then, I need to…’

Thud!

There was a sound of something exploding. At the same time, Ji-Cheok opened his eyes.

“Whoah…”

The sound had come out from inside his body—the Qi circulation had caused a small explosion. It didn’t feel like Cultivation Deviation. Ji-Cheok instinctively knew that the explosion had occurred because the change in his body had stopped.

‘Ah… That’s too bad. If only I had stayed in that state for a little longer… I would have realized something more.’

?Master! Congratulations on your peerless attainments!?

Sometimes Cheok-Liang talked like someone from a cultivation novel or a Chinese historical drama. But it suited Ji-Cheok, since he was a cultivator.

“Hm… I feel like something changed—What the hell is this?”

A black, viscous liquid was all over his body. He left like had lost a bit of weight, and a tremendous stench stung his nose.

?This is the process of regenerating the bones and cleansing the marrow, also known as Metamorphosis. These are the waste and impurities in your body, Master. Last time, the Metamorphosis was incomplete, but now, it has reached perfection.?

“So, all of this came from inside my body?”

?Yes, Master.?

“I’m shocked. How can a person be this dirty?”

It looked as if he had taken a dive in a wastewater treatment pool.

“Activate [Clean]”

He used the Class 1 Magic Spell [Clean]. It was a low-class charm, but when it came to cleaning, it certainly did its job. The stench disappeared in an instant, and the residue on his body was also removed.

“Activate [Clean], Activate [Clean], Activate [Clean]”

He cleared all the bad smells and dirt around him by using the spell consecutively.

‘Whew… That smell was terrible.’

?Master, please check your stats.?

[Um Ji-Cheok]

[Job: GodTube influencer

Level: 1

Stamina: A

Strength: A

Agility: B

Mana & Cultivation: S

Charm: A

Intelligence: B

Class: Little Star Godtuber.

Overall review: Since your debut, your popularity has grown steadily. Collect Likes to become stronger and more famous!

“Holy… What happened? Why are my stats like this?”

The last time he checked, his Stamina had been B-rank, Strength B-rank, Agility C-rank, Mana & Cultivation A-rank, Charm B-rank, and Intelligence D-rank. Now, all of his stats had gone up at least one rank, and his Intelligence had even risen by two whole ranks!

‘Is this the power of Metamorphosis?!’

?Since you have acquired the [Heaven Martial Body] and undergone Metamorphosis, it is only natural for your stats to increase like this. Now, your cultivation efficiency will be greatly improved, Master.?

“I really hope that’s true.”

?Try using it right away, Master.?

“You mean the [Training Space of the God of War]?”

?Yes, Master.?

“Okay Let’s try—”

Ding-dong!

Ji-Cheok was about to enter the training space when he heard the doorbell ring. Mu-Cheok had gone out to see Bi-Ga in the morning to have his body adjusted, so it wasn’t him.

‘I’m not expecting anyone right now… Did Mu-Cheok order something online?’

Ji-Cheok opened the door and went outside to see an unexpected person standing there.

“Uh… director, what are you doing here? Oh wait, that’s not right. Welcome, director. Please come in.”

It was Ji-Han who was standing at the door.

* * *

Ji-Han had a colder expression than usual. He was sipping and drinking the hot cocoa that Ji-Cheok had made for him.

—A cup of hot cocoa, please.

This was what he had replied when Ji-Cheok asked him if he would like something to drink.

‘I mean, is it normal to come to someone else’s house and ask for a cup of hot cocoa? Don’t they usually ask for a cup of tea or something? How many people have cocoa powder in their house?’

Of course, Ji-Cheok always had cocoa powder at home because he liked sweet things. It was because he used to drink it often during his days as a Hunter Assistant, which was the epitome of physical labor. He had to drink something high in calories when he was tired.

Anyway, Ji-Han was calmly sipping the hot cocoa that Ji-Cheok had made. He had even put some marshmallows in it, and he savored it slowly, sip by sip. If someone else saw this, they would’ve thought that the hot cocoa was made by a Michelin-starred chef.

“It’s tasty as usual.”

That was the first thing Ji-Han said after drinking it for a while.

“Hahaha. I’m really good at making hot cocoa. I learned how to make a perfect cup while working as a Hunter Assistant.”

Ji-Han nodded and held out his empty cup.

“One more, please.”

“Ah… No problem.”

‘This guy… I didn’t know he liked hot cocoa this much. From his appearance, he looks like he would only drink iced americano, and he seems like he wouldn’t even use a straw, just drink it from the mug. I guess he has a childish palate.’

Ji-Cheok made another cup of hot cocoa for him. After sipping the second cup, he finally brought up why he was here.

“I heard that you deal with the Ghouls and the Abomination. The video of you defeating the Abomination was impressive in particular,” Ji-Cheok said.

‘That was definitely gross to look at. And the GodTube A.I. didn’t blur this video for some reason.’

Ji-Cheok assumed that the GodTube thought of the Abomination as a normal monster. However, from the Kids’ GodTube accounts, it was said that the Abomination looked like a giant rolling teddy bear. He wondered if that was true.

“You watched my video, even though you’re busy. I want to say thank you for liking my vid—”

“But I’m more impressed by your current condition. Metamorphosis, I thought that would only be possible in two years,” Ji-Han said.

That statement gave Ji-Cheok goosebumps.

‘How does he know? Does he have a skill like the [Eye of Insight] that I have?’

“You shouldn’t be too surprised. Just like your eyes are special, mine are also just a little special.”

Ji-Han tapped his finger under his eye.

‘Ah, I see. I guess it’s not that strange for someone in his position to have such skills.’