Thumbs Up, Level Up

Um Ji-Cheok had places to go, and Um Ji-Cheok kept going!

Riding his bike through the sky, Ji-Cheok looked like something completely out of this world.

When he destroyed the first dungeon, everyone cheered.

When he entered the second dungeon, they wondered how he had enough mana.

When he destroyed the third dungeon, they started to talk about how Ji-Cheok had to have the ability to restore mana or absorb mana.

And when he destroyed the fourth and fifth dungeons, there were foreigners coming in huge numbers into his livestream.

It felt strange. Ji-Cheok suddenly appeared in the news not only in Korea, but overseas as well. And they were not streamers on GodTube, but actual TV networks!

Ji-Cheok cleansed the Manaforming Forest by burning it to ashes and destroyed five dungeons inside the Manaforming Forest in one day. No wonder people were excited that it was broadcasted on live television. It was safe to say that the entire world’s attention was focused on him. And rightfully so.

The attention was not limited to the good guys, however. His enemies were also keeping an eye on him. In particular, he had the full attention of a certain shady organization in the United States.

“I heard that this guy easily caught James Kim.”

“But he was a champion of a God… Could he have been set up?”

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“Um Ji-Cheok’s amount of mana is abnormal. Even assuming he is favored by a God, that kind of mana is impossible.”

“It is likely that he possesses a powerful Relic or Artifact.”

There were six people sitting around a round table. These people—known as the Council of Six—were the ones who oversaw the Golden Horizon.

They gazed out into the hall with somber expressions. Each one a powerful champion or apostle of a God, they sought to control the world. Some called them the Shadow Kings, a popular appearance in conspiracy theories.

These people knew that the end of the world was indeed near, and they were already working on a plan to escape the planet.

Something called Project Ark, just as recorded in the Bible.

Their purpose was to build an ark for their own survival

“The destruction of the dungeons must be an act to delay the end of the world. If so, he may have joined forces with [A/B].”

“I believe they’ve already met.”

“We don’t know what they talked about, but it’s cause for alarm.”

“Still. It wouldn’t be very classy for us to go out and do it ourselves…”

“We can move the GOF.”

The round table quickly exchanged opinions and came to a conclusion.

Guardian of Freedom, or GOF, was the largest and most powerful organization in the United States, with the U.S. government behind it and a huge budget.

At least, that was what people knew. What they didn’t know was that GOF was also within the Golden Horizon’s sphere of influence.

Essentially, the number one and number three forces in the United States were one and the same. The only actual competitor was [A/B].

“We will take care of Ji-Cheok with that.”

The Golden Horizon leaders had decided to take action and remove the threat of Ji-Cheok.

However, they made this decision because they did not know about the movements of other secret societies.

What they didn’t realize was that they would soon reverse this decision.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

‘My ears are burning. I feel like someone is trying to kill me.’

«Now that you are a God, it may not be just a feeling, Master.»

‘You might be right. That means someone really is trying to kill me. Well, that’s fine. There have already been plenty of people who tried to kill me. I don’t think I need to worry.’

“Let’s see…”

The area he had burned and reduced to ashes was roughly twice the size of Yeouido[1]. He flew over the cleared area and looked down.

‘Wow, I can’t believe there were five dungeons in such a small area. No wonder it became Manaformed.’

He looked up again and saw another Manaforming Forest in the distance.

‘I’m sure there are many more dungeons in that area. I think I need to pick up the pace. I need to get rid of all the unpopular dungeons in Korea. Then I will wipe out the dungeons in bad geographical locations after getting sponsorships from the government and whatever companies are willing to pay. After that, I will use the money to build a dimensional barrier and destroy dungeons up north while I’m at it. By the way… I should clear some dungeons with my team members…’

«Is it to level up your team members, Master?»

‘Yupp.’

«You do not need to worry about that, Master.»

‘Huh? Why?’

«Because your team members are going into dungeons at least once a day right now.»

‘Oh? They are?’

«Yes, Master. They have been doing it without notifying you so that you would not be bothered. They are even splitting up and doing it in pairs.»

‘Really? When did they become that strong and assertive?’

«It is probably because you revealed your plan to them, Master. Besides, although their cultivation knowledge is shallow, their Qi is pure and powerful thanks to the elixirs you gave them. In fact, there are not many Hunters who can match them even at level 120.»

‘Hm… Maybe you’re right.’

«And soon enough, Team Beta and Gamma at Jungjin will be like them. Then, we are going to proceed with the mergers and acquisitions.»

‘You mean the SL Group, right?’

«Yes, Master. We are going to take everything they own through mergers and acquisitions, and we are going to use their Hunterse to clear out the northern dungeons. Of course, that is just the tip of the iceberg. According to Ji-Han’s roadmap and the plan we have devised, in three months’ time, we will be simultaneously building the dimensional barrier and the mana-burning facility.»

‘That’s going to cost a lot of money.’

«You are making enough money to cover the cost, Master. The problem is that we do not have enough time.»

‘Yeah, that’s the bigger problem. What I’m doing right now will only delay the end of the Tutorial by a few months. Should I just make the World Tree blossom?’

«The World Tree has the ability to act as a dimensional barrier, but we do not know how to grow it, do we? Remember, it costs ten billion Likes to acquire the knowledge to make the World Tree fully blossom. If the knowledge costs ten billion Likes, I believe the actual cost to make the World Tree grow is going to be much more than that.»

‘Yeah, that’s also a problem.’

Mere knowledge of the full growth process of the World Tree was worth ten billion Likes. That was insane.

Ji-Cheok could build a dimensional barrier for a hundred billion.

‘Ten percent of that, ten billion, to acquire just the knowledge? I can’t even imagine what would happen after that.’

“Huh….”

Ji-Cheok let out a sigh and grabbed the handlebars of his Mono Bike G. He had ended his livestream earlier, but he wasn’t done.

He needed to destroy more dungeons. Because if there was one thing that was nice about being a God, it was he could never get tired.

Simply put, he didn’t need to sleep; the fatigue took care of itself, and he could recover his mana just by drinking potions or using Likes. In fact, he didn’t even need to drink potions because he could recover so much naturally.

Ji-Byeok, who was an expert in the physical realm, had once said that no matter how skilled a Hunter was, if they overworked their body, it was going to bite them in the ass later.

However, for Ji-Cheok, he didn’t need to worry about that anymore. He had to destroy these dungeons and he had to do it now. Yesterday, if possible.

“Come on~ Stop doing that to yourself~”

Ji-Cheok suddenly heard a voice beside him, and he turned his head in shock.

There stood Reable, mounted on something that looked remarkably similar to the demonic monster he had seen in the Namsan Tower dungeon.

“Don’t try to do it too fast or you might be burned out~”

“How did you get here without me noticing?”

“Mr. Umji, your senses are certainly excellent, but they are too focused on cultivation. There are many ways to trick your perception~”

“I see. Then I will have to find ways to reveal your little tricks.”

“That’s a good attitude, but you can’t be in a hurry.”

“Didn’t you just tell me not to try to go too fast? Do I look like I was in a hurry?”

“Of course! The mana around you is fluctuating depending on how you are feeling. A veteran like me can half-guess what you are thinking just from that!”

‘That’s amazing. Can Gods do that?’

«It might be Reable’s specialty, Master.»

‘I thought he was a necromancer-type God! How does he have the ability to guess what others are feeling?’

«He sure is a man of mystery, Master.»

“Ji-Han asked me to help you, so I came here~ But it looks like I don’t have much to do.”

“That’s because Ji-Han is a worrywart. Or maybe he saw a future where I was going to be attacked.”

“That’s unlikely. The future has already changed from what he saw, and he doesn’t know what the future holds anymore.”

“How do you know what?”

Reable smirked at Ji-Cheok’s question.

“Well. Maybe I’m a devil that catches on fast~”

‘Is he being serious or just joking? Which is it?’

“Anyway, why don’t we call it a day, Ji-Cheok? You’re going too fast!”

“You said that before… Why does it matter? Is this a problem for you?”

“Sure is. You’ve just became a God, and if you are this impatient, you are going to get into all kinds of trouble~”

‘Hm… I don’t know what the problem is. But this devil has a contract with me. The contract itself is trustworthy, so his words are also trustworthy.’

“Okay then, I’ll go home for toda—”

«Master! Breaking news!»

Cheok-Liang’s tone was urgent.

‘What? What is it?’

«Look at this!»

Flash!

A video appeared in front of Ji-Cheok and Reable. It was from Godube.

It was playing in front of Ji-Cheok’s very eyes, but it was so shocking that he was doubting his own eyesight.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

In a city in New Jersey, a Portal suddenly appeared out of thin air in a heavily populated neighborhood.

At first, the Portal was a tiny dot that no one noticed, but soon it grew larger and larger, transforming into a giant oval tens of meters across.

It was a Dungeon Break!

Just like the Goblin dungeon that Ji-Cheok had destroyed a while back, a dungeon had suddenly appeared here.

In a bad case of Dungeon Break, a dungeon that spawned out of nowhere could spit out a ton of monsters in a massively populated area. This was precisely the case here.

Thud. Thud.

From the entrance to the massive dungeon, some things befitting its size burst forth.

They stood over a dozen meters tall. Their figures and heads were humanoid, but they had a single large horn protruding through their hair.

They were shirtless, showing off their immensely muscular upper bodies, and only a pair of shorts made from the hide of an unknown beast covered their hips and legs.

People that knew the ins and outs of dungeon monsters, or even the slightest interest in mythology, recognized them instantly: they were Cyclops.

Cyclops were powerful monsters, on the level of a dungeon boss. It took dozens of Hunters over level 100 to defeat even one.

And there wasn’t just one of them.

1. The size of Yeouido is around 8.4 square kilometers. ☜