Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 92

Ji-Cheok received the Unique Skill Voucher, a tree branch, and a Warding Stone.

“Show me the description.”

Cheok-Liang used his skill to identify the branch and immediately popped up a System window.

[A Very Small Branch of the World Tree]

[Class: ?

Type: Ingredient/Decoration

It is a very small branch of the World Tree. When used as a decoration, it purifies the surroundings and generates high-purity mana.

+100% mana regeneration on a 10-meter radius.

Removes weak debuffs on a 10-meter radius.]

‘Oh my god! This is unexpected! I would never have imagined getting such an item from the dungeon. Sorry, I’m just dumbfounded as to how great this is. I don’t even know where to use this.’

?Also, with the Warding Stone, I think this dungeon raid was a success, Master!?

‘You’re right. The Warding Stone is something that prevents dungeons from forming inside the city. So with this one, I think it is possible to keep the surrounding area safe. Of course, recently, there have been incidents where new dungeons were forming in spite of the Warding Stones. But that doesn’t mean that we should stop using Warding Stones altogether. We should reinforce them. The Stones are our only hope for now.’’

With new dungeons forming around the world, every country was accepting their fate as they tried their best to get their hands on as many Warding Stones as they could. This resulted in the price of Warding Stones skyrocketing.

‘But I don’t know… I heard that dungeons that ignored the Warding Stones were mostly Single-Shot Dungeons. I’m not one hundred percent sure, but that’s the estimate.’

?How come human research is full of estimation??

‘Well, we still don’t know why dungeons appear or why the Awakened… awaken.’

?Still, I think the branch will be of great help to Master’s younger brother.?

“You think so too, right?”

?Yes, Master. With the branch, it will halve the mana regeneration time. And if that is possible, hunting dungeons twice a week instead of just once also becomes possible. Technically, that means becoming stronger twice as fast as others.?

‘That’s great news. Basically, our growth rate is now doubled. This is amazing!’

?However, there will be people who are going to try their best to steal this precious treasure.?

“I know.”

?That is why I think it is time to buy this.?

Cheok-Liang showed him something from the System window.

“Hm… I used most of my Likes before entering the dungeon, and you want me to use my Likes again?”

?Yes, Master. You have gathered many Likes in that short period of time.?

“But wouldn’t it be better to save up till we reach ten million Likes?”

Collecting ten million Likes would allow Ji-Cheok to completely annihilate the Regenerative Dungeons, or better yet, he could find his answers to the secrets of this dungeon phenomenon.

‘Wouldn’t that be the most important thing for us right now?’

?However, it will take a long time to collect ten million Likes. Besides, if your growth rate slows down in order to collect these ten million Likes, it is going to be harder for you to handle the future crisis. I think it is better for you to…?

“Better for me to do what?”

Cheok-Liang opened his little mouth with a serious and firm expression.

?I recommend that you get even stronger and earn ten million Likes in one video.?

“In one video? Is it even possible to earn ten million Likes in one video?”

Ji-Cheok was skeptical.

?Yes, Master. In fact, some of the top-ranked GodTubers have already done it.?

“I guess the world is vast, and there are many great people in it… I am so jealous.”

Ji-Cheok wished those Likes here his.

?Master’s channel growth is also terrifying right now. It is increasing as we speak, and even today’s video has already surpassed 300,000 Likes. If you add up the accumulated Likes, you currently have 410,000. If you edit and upload the highlights, the number is going to be even higher.?

Ji-Cheok was surprised to find out that he now had more Likes than before he had entered the dungeon, especially since he had used so many Likes in order to prepare for the dungeon.

“That is some terrifying growth indeed.”

?That is because people believe you are the symbol of hope. Just look at what you did today, Master. It was something no one else could or would have done.?

“I mean if you say it like that… I just did it because it was what I had to do.”

‘The world is going to end soon, so you can’t just suck on your thumb and watch the world burn. It’s human nature to do something like this in a time of crisis. Some people would stock up on cup ramen, but I go in and try to save the world.’

“Ah, maybe that’s because people don’t know that the world is going to end.”

Ji-Cheok wondered if that was the reason why people thought he was great.

?You are not wrong, Master. But I think it may be because of the rarity.?

“What rarity? Entering a level-limited dungeon without restrictions?”

?And also the entertaining show that you put on while doing it.?

‘Hm… I guess you’re not wrong. However, there is one problem. Even if it is an elite dungeon, it is still a low-level dungeon. I thought it would be easy for me to clear it, but the reality was a wee bit different. Is this also because the ‘tutorial’ is starting to come to an end?’

?It is said that there is no ‘unbreakable dungeon’ and that still seems to be the case, Master. But to clear all the dungeons, humanity must unite. Let’s take the recent dungeon as an example. If humanity united as one and collected the best Hunters at level 20 or lower from each country and shared the information they had, it would have been possible to clear it in two or three attempts.?

‘Hm… Uniting mankind, sharing information, and attacking with a unified mind. There was this ending of a classic sci-fi novel in which humanity evolved into a unified psyche and left Earth, but usually, that’s the end of humanity. If you look at the robot cartoons that came out after that, you know what I mean.’

The moment humans were united as one and lived with one purpose and one mind, they were not humans anymore. If there were billions of people in the world, that means there were billions of ‘No’ in the world. Everybody was different, and everybody had their own problems. From the moment they were born, they were born with different personalities, different bodies, and different environments. It was in human nature to leech off of their parents when they were young, and leach off of their company when they got old. It would be impossible to unite humanity with one purpose, even if that was the only way for them to survive.

“What about other dimensional races? Did they unite to save themselves?”

?Based on the high-level skills posted in the Likes Shop, the fantasy dimension with Elves and Dwarves seems to have survived and advanced to the next stage, and the beastfolk dimension and arcane engineering dimension also seem to have survived the tutorial stage safely.?

‘The Elves and the Dwarves formed an alliance? Did they reconcile at the last minute or something?’

?All of them have a superior life expectancy and have been dealing with mana since birth. So it is assumed that, even if the Hunters were the same level as the Elves and the Dwarves, our power would be much lower than theirs.?

‘I guess there is no need for an explanation for the beastfolk dimension, since they’re werewolves and vampires. The arcane engineering dimension must already have technology on the level of SF movies. Only Earth is at a disadvantage. Humans can only live to be one hundred years old. The only thing we could brag about is that we’ve landed on the moon a couple of times and that we are planning on launching a rocket to Mars.’

?That is why unity is important, Master. In the case of the insect-type races, looking at the skill book sold by the Overmind, it seems that they won by uniting everyone’s will.?

‘Like the ants? But humans are not ants. Everybody has their own world that they live in, and we will live our whole life pushing the outside world away until we die.’

?Well if unity is not an option, then…?

Cheok-Liang couldn’t finish his sentence, but Ji-Cheok knew what he was about to say.

‘Honestly, how can a single human like me know the strengths of mankind? I don’t even know what kind of weapon humanity has that can be used against other races.’

?Master, can I tell you one thing??

“Hmm?”

?Humans can only live up to a hundred years, and even a piece of paper can make them bleed and a wound like that lasts a week. And they cannot produce plenty of offspring at once, like other races.?

‘Well, I know that much. That’s why we can’t even do anything about the tutorial even though it is coming to an end now.’

?That is why the emotions of humans may be more intense.?

“Huh. Could you elaborate?”

?Humans live in a struggle, with their survival threatened at every moment of their lives. It takes a long time for them to start bipedal walking, and they have to fall over a hundred times to actually master it. After all, humans have bodies that are bound to crave, rage, mourn, and rejoice incessantly in their given lifespan.?

‘Ah, that’s what you mean by emotions. Is it that important? The world is such a big place.’

?Those emotions are what allows you to receive Likes, Master. If a machine pressed the Like button on GodTube, it would not be transferred to you.?

Cheok-Liang was right. Ji-Cheok had experimented in the past and pressing the Like button using macro recorders didn’t work. It was only possible if someone clicked on it as they felt a certain emotion after watching the video. The emotion didn’t have to be grand, just a simple ‘haha’ was enough. But with a machine without any emotions, this was not possible. In addition, for his live streams, he could get Likes even from the viewers who were touched by his performance, without them physically pressing the Like button.

?Pain is what inspires humanity to survive. Agony is what makes them crave survival. Humanity can never be united, but a single piece of music can move them for generations.?

Cheok-Liang showed him a baby listening to Mozart’s music on GodTube. The title was ‘Classical music boosts intelligence in children.’ Ji-Cheok didn’t know if the baby got any smarter, but he was definitely smiling in the video.

‘Hm… In a way, GodTube is the true weapon of mankind.’

?Well… Broadly speaking, there are some similarities. You can search for what you want, see it instantly, and drain your emotions quickly. Maybe even crave it.?

‘You’re right. I need to gamble on people’s cravings. In the end, if I want to save the world, I must become a Super GodTuber.’

It seemed funny, but he knew exactly what to do.

?An old sage once said that there is a microcosm within a person and that each human heart contains a small God.?

Ji-Cheok still had half of his mana and qi left. He also had the branch from the World Tree. He would be able to fully recover before dawn was over. That meant that Ji-Cheok could ‘process’ more dungeons than other Hunters. And if more people craved him in the process, then…

‘Well, I guess the answer for saving the world revolves around my pore management. I heard that the plant monster I killed is good for my pores. I need to make kimchi with this thing, and I need to make it now!’

Splash!

It was always cold when he left the bathtub, but he knew he had to endure it. He couldn’t lie here forever. Ji-Cheok suddenly became curious if the world outside the tutorial was like this.

* * *

“Hyung, I’m home.”

Mu-Cheok came back home as Ji-Cheok was sorting out his thoughts. He was pretty busy these days. After returning from the [Temple of He_who_denies_death], he had been going back and forth from somewhere. Ji-Cheok didn’t know why, but his brother had also stopped holding him back from going to dungeons alone. Of course, Mu-Cheok didn’t like it, but he didn’t openly oppose it. Ji-Cheok wondered if his brother had started to believe in him.

“Hey, welcome…back?”

An eerie, alien sensation caught Ji-Cheok’s attention.

‘I feel like something changed about Mu-Cheok.’

?That is because Master has reached transcendence. Because your stats increased, you are now able to perceive things that you could not recognize in the past.?

‘Oh, I see. I’m guessing this is the effect of Qi Sense. It wasn’t just about finding nearby enemies like radar. I can even vaguely sense the opponent’s power. Do the heroes of martial arts movies always live with this feeling? I feel kind of proud of myself.’

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