Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 84

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.?

Certain abilities could contaminate people’s minds. Beyond the feelings of exaltation, hopelessness, or depression, they destroyed the very essence of a human being.

Behind the man’s head, illusionary gears were spinning like a halo. Unknown numbers appeared and disappeared between the gears, and some of the gears were spinning at different speeds. With this bizarre illusion behind him, one that would make anyone dizzy just by looking at it, the young man stepped forward.

Step.

A stream of blood was flowing underneath his expensive shoes. Hundreds of corpses were scattered around him, and the surroundings looked like an abandoned factory.

Click.

He was holding a jackknife the size of the palm of his hand, its blade shining against the gloomy background. The blade was so small that it was embarrassing to even call it a self-defense weapon. He put the weapon back in his pocket and picked up his glasses that fell on the floor. The lenses were stained with blood, but he simply wiped it clean in one motion. He put on his glasses and canceled his ability.

The bizarrely wriggling gears disappeared in an instant.

Step.

He walked as if he didn’t care about the pool of blood beneath his shoes. After all, he was the one who had created this pool of blood, and he had come too far to be scared by a mere mountain of corpses.

He looked around, then stepped toward a certain place in the factory. There, a cube made of platinum was floating above the ground, as if it had forgotten that gravity was a thing. It appeared almost holy—though, with the bloody background, some would have considered it quite unholy.

“I’m glad that there is still a Golden Cube left here at this point in time.”

The cube was large enough to fit a human head inside, and it was decorated with geometric patterns. Light was pouring out of it, a visible manifestation of the powerful mana it was emitting.

When he picked up the cube and poured his mana into it, the corners of the cube began to crack. It opened on its own and became like an image of the cube—the three-dimensional object had turned into a two-dimensional drawing.

What finally appeared inside was a red gem. Its surface resembled fresh human blood, and the inside looked like solidified old drops of blood. This abominable-looking gem turned out to be the source of the light coming out of the cube.

“Now that the [Shining Trapezohedron] has been recovered here, I guess one disaster has been prevented.”

Some of these gems attracted people and led them to madness, which was what had happened to the people who had gathered in this abandoned factory. At first, the people had been drawn by the temptation of becoming Awakened, but gradually, they had become weak to the power of the gem. Later, they would start repeating gibberish and would want to summon Gods from another world.

Humans still had a long way to go. Humanity was still just like a polar bear on an iceberg, they were not even aware that the world was collapsing.

The man grabbed the ominous gem.

Woong.

A strange sound echoed in the factory. The sound resembled the pulse of a baby’s heart. It conveyed the voice of another dimension. It felt like the gem was telling him to go back to where it came from.

He felt strangely nostalgic. He was feeling homesick about a place he’d never been to before. If he went crazy here, he would become a new Golden Cube, like the shell that shifted from three-dimensional to two-dimensional. The platinum shell, which looked as if it contained infinite sacredness, but also blasphemous madness, was made from the bones, flesh, and mana of the Awakened who could not overcome this madness.

Crack!

This time, he did not activate his bizarre gear system, but the red gem turned into particles of light and merged into the back of his hand. Soon after, the object he called the ‘Golden Cube’ also turned into particles and was absorbed into the back of his hand.

“Whew, I can never get used to this.”

The madness from another dimension was like enlightenment. Nobody could deny what they already knew, and their knowledge would just keep accumulating. It would have been nice for the people to meet the Gods in human form, but many humans had gone crazy from coming into contact with Gods under different and unexpected forms.

This alone did not make the madness of [Backward Walkers] any better. It was not just a hormonal imbalance in the brain—it was enlightenment. Some knowledge would hurt people just by acquiring it. It would alter their minds, and they would never be the same as before.

After all that was done, Ji-Han turned his back toward the abandoned factory without any regrets.

Buzz~

He picked up his vibrating phone.

[Um Ji-Cheok-104]

He answered the phone right away with his business voice.

“Yes, this is Ji-Han.”

It was a tone that was moderately light, moderately easygoing, and moderately distanced, like a G note on a piano keyboard. He held his phone between his ear and his shoulder and continued talking in his business voice while wiping the blood off his hands.

—Hello, director. Are you at work right now?

“Yes, I had some business to take care of outside the city. What’s going on?”

Ji-Han used his skill to put a barrier around the disaster from before. He cut off the oxygen supply and put a Flame Stone inside the barrier.

—Did you see the level-limited dungeon in Yeouido?

“Yes, I am aware of that. It looks like it will Break in a while…”

Inside the enclosed barrier, the Flame Stone burned by itself as it consumed the surrounding oxygen.

—Sigh…

He could hear Ji-Cheok sighing over the phone. He seemed hesitant to say anything. Ji-Han knew about the Yeouido incident.

‘After the monsters came out from that dungeon, the whole district became uninhabitable. Even after containing the Dungeon Break of the dungeon with plant-type monsters, plants from another dimension multiplied exponentially around the district. People had to give up the district altogether after that.?

The media is now going to tell people not to worry, and that they are going to ‘manage’ it, as always. And people will actually believe them. The so-called experts will also come out and say that it’s just another tumor, and that if there’s a suitable Hunter at level 20 or lower, it’s just a matter of waiting for that Hunter to clear the area. But this is merely the innocence of a butterfly that does not know how deep the ocean is. If we wait any longer after that, level 20 elite plant-type monsters will plant their seeds, take root, and spit out level 20 and 40 elite plant-type monsters. The cracks in the Warding Stone will get bigger and bigger, and finally, humans will— ’

As Ji-Han was sliding down the rabbit hole of past memories, Ji-Cheok started talking again.

—First of all, please don’t be surprised and just listen to me.

“Okay, talk to me.”

Ji-Han had nothing to be surprised about anymore. He believed that things happened for a reason, and the destruction of the world that was inevitable was just coming closer. It just meant that the tutorial was about to end for the next stage.

—Uh… I’m not level 20 yet… So… I was wondering if I could go in there by myself.

“...”

Ji-Han was stunned. He couldn’t even form a simple sentence to reply.

‘He’s not level 20 yet?!’

He looked at his phone.

[Um Ji-Cheok-104]

Finally, Ji-Han started to talk.

“Where are you right now?”

—I was just about to leave my house. I was thinking of going straight to the dungeon.

“Oh, I see. Okay, I’ll be there too. It will take me about thirty minutes, so if you could just wait for me there, that would be great.”

—Huh? Uh… You don’t have to come…

“No, I insist. I need to have a serious conversation with you.”

—I mean, if you insist… I’ll be waiting.

“Yes, see you there.”

Ji-Han hung up the phone.

“You always exceed my expectations… Always…”

He snapped his fingers.

Snap!

Right then, the barrier was lifted and the Flame Stone exploded just as it touched the air.

BOOM!!!

He walked out without looking back.

Step. Step. Step.?

.

Three steps, and he disappeared like a cloud of smoke.

‘Is the 104th one different from before?’

Ji-Han wondered if it was the influence of the enlightenment that made the burnt corpses look like the corpses of past Ji-Cheoks. Just like any projector had its limits, just like any film that broke after repeated play, the [Rewind] was now approaching its limit. In the end, Ji-Han knew one thing.

Ji-Cheok was the only ‘singularity’.

* * *

Ji-Cheok wanted to enter the dungeon as soon as possible, so he waited for Ji-Han with his gear on. He expected the director to arrive in thirty minutes, but his doorbell rang after just fifteen.

Of course, Cheok-Liang was wrapped around Ji-Cheok’s neck. Since he was a summoned beast, Ji-Cheok could barely feel him on his neck.

“Welcome,” Ji-Cheok said.

Ji-Han was dressed in a neat suit, as always. For some reason, Ji-Cheok could feel a faint smell of blood as he was walking by. Was he mistaken?

In any case, blood or not, there were more important things on his mind.

“I guess Mu-Cheok is not home?” Ji-Han asked.

“Yes, he has his things to do.”

Ji-Cheok knew his brother had gone out to train. Namely, he had gone out to feed the [Script of Chaos] countless old books. At any rate, Ji-Cheok was glad that Mu-Cheok was not home. Otherwise, he would have been nagged crazy right now.

“I see. Anyway, it seems like you have a quick temper. After all, there must be a day or two left until the Dungeon Break happens, right?” Ji-Han said.

“Well, I just thought there was no need to wait. I can handle this dungeon on my own, and there could be casualties if I waited, so…”

Ji-Han didn’t answer, but just smiled.

‘I could never understand what he’s thinking about.’

“Do you want something to eat?” Ji-Cheok asked.

He sat him down in the living room and pulled out some orange juice from the fridge. As he poured some from Ji-Han, the latter sat down next to him.

“First of all, I am telling you this because you seem very eager, but this kind of work cannot be done in such a hurry,” Ji-Han said.

“Is it because of my interests?”

“That’s one thing… But the fact that you are below level 20 can be controversial.”

‘Wow, straight to the point. Okay.’

“So I have to ask. What is your actual level?” Ji-Han asked.

‘Shit…’

?Master, you need to clarify this to some extent.?

‘I know.’

“I am going to use this.”

Ji-Han pulled something out of his sleeves. It was made of old-fashioned parchment, and each side had a magical pattern on it.

Just from a glance, Ji-Cheok knew that this was something special. The text inside was in Korean. The Occult and Hunminjeongeum, the East and the West were in harmony on this mysterious parchment.

“What is this?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“It’s an Oath Contract. It’s a cursed magical item,” Ji-Han replied.

“Excuse me?”

‘Why would you take out a cursed thing in someone’s living room? I should tell him to spit out the orange juice I gave him.’

“This is an item made by the God of Covenants, and it must be used when two parties sign a contract. I am going to write down a condition here that says ‘unless Mr. Um Ji-Cheok gives me permission, I will bring this secret with me to my grave,’” Ji-Han said.

“What happens if you break it?”

“I would be forced to keep that promise.”

“Forced?”

“Yes. I won’t be able to say it or even mention it at all. Even if I wanted to say it, I wouldn’t be able to speak. If I try to force myself even further, my soul will be destroyed.”

“That’s amazing, but pretty scary.”

‘The God of Covenants… He is something else.’

1. Yes, it’s made of platinum and called ‘Golden Cube.’

2. The native script of the Korean language, precursor to Hangul.

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