Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 98

“Long time no see, everyone. It looks like you all had a good rest, your mana is fully replenished, and there are no health problems,” Ji-Han said.

“How does he know that?” Ha-Na whispered.

“I do not know. Perhaps there is a device that automatically measures mana when we enter the room,” Ji-Byeok whispered back.

They couldn’t believe that he had taken his time to measure their mana and then still be exactly on time. All of the team members had the same thought at the same time.

‘Who is this guy?’

Ji-Han took out a pocket watch from his pocket, looked at the time, then put it back. Ji-Cheok wondered why he used a pocket watch in the era of smartwatches. He could have at least used his smartphone to look at the time. Then again, his pocket watch looked like an artifact.

“First, let’s talk about the compensation. In exchange for clearing the previous temple dungeon, quite a few rewards came in. First of all, Jungjin Co., Ltd., which means we, will receive a complete tax exemption for ten years. I recommend starting a business with this privilege. Since this is in accordance with the Hunter Special Act, your businesses also do not have to pay taxes.”

Crazy. On one hand, Ji-Cheok’s ego of a second-rate citizen was asking ‘Is this really okay?’ but on the other hand, the ego of the arrogant Hunter was shrugging. ‘Considering the price of my life, isn’t this kinda cheap?’

“But if something like this happens again, I’ll be called to help, right?”

“It will be different for each government, but they will make you work as much as the tax exemptions you have received. Hahaha, that must be good news for you, Mr. Um Ji-Cheok.”

?Master, his loyalty is questionable.?

‘What? Ji-Han is my boss, He doesn’t need to be loyal to me. I’m the one getting money from him. Anyway, the more difficult the dungeon, the better for becoming stronger. It is good news.’

“And in the case of Um Ji-Cheok, as everyone must have seen on GodTube, he has also received an additional reward for dealing with the Yeouido plant dungeon. It’s a top-tier Divine Medicine. This is a matter directly related to the strength of our team, so I am mentioning it here.”

?Di...Divine Medicine? Really??

Cheok-Liang was startled, while Ji-Cheok felt as if his heart was going to explode. His ego-of-a-second-rate-citizen, who thought that the tax exemption was too much, suddenly disappeared.

Ha-Na also looked dumbfounded.

“Divine Medicine? They gave him that? Our government?”

Her jaw dropped so far down that it looked dislocated.

‘How is she doing that? That’s pretty weird.’

Ji-Byeok burst out in shock and envy, just like Ha-Na. Only Seong Kwang stayed calm.

“In the end, things come only when they are connected to you. This is all thanks to your good deeds.”

Seong Kwang was talking like an old monk. Ji-Cheok was very suspicious of what kind of religious fanatic he was.

?Divine Medicine. It is still effective whether or not you are an Awakened, so it is a medicine that everyone wants. That means it is very expensive, and I heard that the richest people in the world get their hands on it before the Hunters.?

‘You are right. Among those rich people, there were even instances of people awakening after consuming the Divine Medicine, as if it was some kind of Awakening Stone. The price of even low-tier Divine Medicine starts at hundreds of millions of won, so this medicine is no joke.’

In the past, if he had been given some whatever Divine Medicine of unknown origin, Ji-Cheok would have first asked whether it complied with the Food Sanitation Act. The world sure had changed.

?Of particular note is that Divine Medicines permanently increase the power of cultivators. That is why in China, they even supplied Divine Medicines to cultivators.?

‘I remember that. It was during the Cultivation Boom in China. Now those cultivators switched to using skills, but back then, that’s what happened.’

Ji-Byeok started to talk as she opened the new beef jerky bag.

“The government seems to have highly valued Mr. Um Ji-Cheok. I guess since you level up very slowly, but your skills are already overwhelming, it’s natural for them to take better care of you.”

“Is Ji-Cheok going to be worth so much more now?” Ha-Na said.

Ha-Na seemed uneasy. Ji-Cheok understood why they felt anxious, since his team members didn’t know why he was so invested in GodTube. But he knew why he was this calm.

‘Because I already have the [Fragment of Illusion].’

[Fragment of Illusion]

[Class: A

Type: Accessories (Artifact)

A long time ago, a certain Transcender thought it would be nice to sculpt illusion.

And he did it.

When equipped, it increases the mana rank of the user by one.

*Mana rank cannot exceed A with this item.

User acquires skill [Illusion Creation] when equipped.

Illusion Creation: The user can create any illusions they want without consuming any mana. The illusion only affects vision and disappears when the user’s will is broken.

Ji-Cheok had already beaten the crap out of the last dungeon using this item, so he wasn’t that greedy about the Divine Medicine. It was probably better to give it to Mu-Cheok so that he could achieve the dream of extending his life.

“Becoming stronger is a blessing for all of us. Congratulations, Brother.”

Seong Kwang quietly drew his religious sign with his hand—everything he did was very suspicious—and Ji-Byeok also gave Ji-Cheok a thumbs-up.

[Hunter Byul Ha-Na admires your luck.]

[You have received 1 Like!]

[Zealot Seong Kwang admires your luck.]

[You have received 1 Like!]

[Hunter Jung Ji-Byeok admires your luck.]

[You have received 1 Like!]

‘These people are so nice!’

“Gosh… Thank you all. I just did what I had to do…”

Ji-Cheok could see why Ji-Han liked these people. They were not at all jealous of their teammate’s success. Anyone who lived in the human society knew that meeting someone who could genuinely celebrate with them was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. In the era where everyone was green with envy of everyone else, the odds of meeting a team like this were about as high as those of winning the lottery.

“There are more people in the world who don’t do what they should do. Mr. Um Ji-Cheok, you deserve this. I will give you the item after the meeting is over. First, let’s talk about the next dungeon,” Ji-Han said.

The blackboard behind him split in half horizontally, revealing a huge screen.

“There are no new level-limited dungeons in Korea, so we just have to move according to our schedule.”

That meant there wouldn’t be any bad surprises like last time.

“I understand. So which dungeon is our next target?”

On the screen it was written:

[Fortress of Hope (Defense Dungeon)]

A tall and huge castle appeared on the screen.

‘Huh? A Defense Dungeon already?’

“Hyung, isn’t that a dungeon with ‘conditions’ set?”

“Yeah, I went in there to collect loot a few times in the past.”

Ji-Cheok could even say that it was quite advantageous because he knew the ins and outs of that dungeon.

“Everyone should know a little bit about the Defense Dungeon. It is always asked on the Hunter Certification Exam,” Ji-Han said.

People knew about this not just because of the Hunter Certification Exam, but because this type of dungeon was very popular.

?It always tops the list of Hunter-related contents on GodTube.?

The [360° Video Shooting] skill that Ji-Cheok purchased could also be purchased by other Hunters at the Hunter Store, and they used it to create magnificent defense battles in this type of dungeon. This dungeon could even be the filming location for the next Lord of the Rings battle scenes.

“As shown in the video, the mission of the dungeon is for the Hunters to protect the fortress and there could be around one hundred Hunters at the same time. It’s not a dungeon with a level limit. But since there is no reward for high-level Hunters, this essentially means that there is an unwritten level limit.”

Ji-Han was right. Hunters risked their lives to clear dungeons. If they didn’t get compensation, there was no reason for them to enter the dungeon. If they were forced to clear a dungeon to prevent Dungeon Break, there was nothing they could do. But Defense Dungeons were so popular that Dungeon Breaks were highly unlikely.

?According to my search, it says that Hunters above level 56 cannot receive rewards. They don’t even gain experience. Because of that, it is said that Hunters between levels 45 and 55 are the average demographic in Defense Dungeons.?

A dungeon where as many as one hundred Hunters could enter at once. A dungeon where Hunters destroyed monsters from the walls of the fortress and tried to defend the fortress from being seized. Everyone was fascinated by its grandeur.

?High-level Hunters tend to quit GodTube, which means that GodTube videos on advanced dungeons are very rare. In that sense, the Fortress of Hope is the royal road to becoming a popular GodTuber. ?

‘But it will be difficult to stand out because there have already been so many different ways to clear the dungeon.’

?That is right, Master. If you enter the dungeon without any plans, it will just turn into the same fortress defense that everyone has already seen, not an ‘Um Ji-Cheok’s defense of [Fortress of Hope]’.?

‘AHHH!! Coming up with a plan is such a pain in the ass.’

?For now, let’s hear what Ji-Han thinks and change it according to Master’s style.?

‘Okay.’

“We are going to be split into two teams,” Ji-Han continued to speak.

“Huh? We’re going to divide the team into two and defend at the same time? Is that okay?”

“Yes. [Fortress of Hope] is a teamplay dungeon. Hunters are separated into four teams and placed at the east, west, north, and south in a square defense formation. Individual ranking is determined on a per-team basis. Therefore, it would be inefficient for the six of us to participate as a team. If we split into two teams, we can try to get the top ranks on two teams.”

?In a nutshell, it means that we have to be concerned about the individual rankings as well as team coordination.?

‘Yes. The best three Hunters in each team get additional special rewards. It is rare, but there were incidents where an entire team was annihilated due to not being vigilant and not cooperating as a team.’

?Their lives are at stake, how could they not be vigilant??

‘I know. I didn’t believe it either. But it still happens. Humans become selfish very easily, that’s why you see people littering cigarette butts when no one is looking. I’ve seen articles saying that weaker teams suffered fewer casualties. That’s because rewards were not their main interest, survival was. Even if the team is weaker, it’s okay, because everyone already knows the strategy and brings equipment.’

“Are we splitting into two teams to prevent trolls?” Ha-Na asked.

“Yes, I don’t think that is going to be the case for us, but there are cases where Hunters troll with a purpose or Hunters who have no social skills get into an accident.”

A troll was a Hunter who deliberately made mistakes, while a Hunter who accidentally made problems was called a ‘blue falcon’ Funnily enough, there were comparatively few trolls, and most of the problems were caused by blue falcons.

Surprisingly, most of the Hunters’ first collective activity was a Defense Dungeon. Freshmen Hunters usually grew up with the support of their guild before entering a Defense Dungeon. However, Ji-Cheok thought it would be great for them to realize the importance of cooperation before entering the Defense Dungeon.

‘There are many Hunters who grow up cuddled by their guild.’

?You mean those who awakened in middle school??

‘There are even kids who awakened in elementary school. They are exempt from school, so there is no chance for them to learn about living in a community.’

?I know that those Awakened are usually kid models, Master.?

‘Yes, people are always fond of the young. Even when it comes to pets, people tend to be more interested in puppies. That’s why there are so many Awakened kids models. These kid models would grow up to be idols for other kids, and sometimes they would hit their staff members because they didn’t like them.’

?Ah, I saw an article in a newspaper about a kid Hunter who wrote ‘asshole’ on his mother’s back.?

‘It might sound strange, but he is not even the worst one out there. At least he didn’t hit his parents. Surprisingly, there were even cases where kid Hunters almost killed their parents by using their skills. So it’s better to become Awakened after graduating from elementary school, at the very earliest. Personally, I think even middle school is too soon.’

?So it’s those kids that grow up and start entering Defense Dungeons.?

‘Correct. I think I might be the oldest one there. Even Ji-Han is younger than me.’

?In the worst case, the three of us might have to be prepared to do everything, Master.?

‘If it was a decent guild, I’m sure they would at least provide audiovisual education on this dungeon. The life of Hunters is a very bad thing emotionally for a child. But in this crazy world, they should at least get a proper education, right? Please…Please, let me be matched with a decent team.’

1. The Korean word used here is ????, which means, someone who fucks up consistently and sometimes consciously, forcing their teammates to clean up the mess.

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