Thumbs Up, Level Up

“Here we go, I’m going to lay out my plan. Wait, before I do, you guys should eat some of this.”

From his inner jacket pocket, Ji-Cheok pulled out some jerky that he had made from the remains of the lizardmen he had killed. He hadn’t expected to use the lizardmen jerky made from leftover scraps with almost zero commercial value in this way. Although the increase in stamina and recovery was much lower compared to the emergency bandage or other potions, it was perfect for satisfying hunger.

As everyone’s faces brightened up, Ji-Cheok started to receive more Likes.

‘Yes, the way to a person’s heart really is through their stomach.’

All seventeen people were happily chewing on the jerky together with Ji-Cheok, except for La-Du, who was still lying unconscious. Ji-Cheok began to explain his strategy.

[Hunter Ji Seong-Yoon is amazed by your clear explanation of the strategy, while she munches on the food.]

[You have received 3 Likes.]

The lizardman jerky tasted a lot like beef.

* * *

[The skill [Eye of Observation] has reached full mastery.]

[It will evolve into the [Eye of Insight].]

[You can identify more objects in detail.]

[You can view some information about a monster’s attributes.]

[Eye of Insight]

[Class: Rare (Upgradable, Rank D)

You can identify objects and monsters. As the proficiency increases, the skill level increases and evolves into a higher skill.

Next evolution: Eye of Detection (Upgradable Type B).]

Ji-Cheok had managed to level up his Eye of Observation because he had activated it whenever he was examining the temple murals and stone statues. As he finally mastered the skill, the Eye of Insight now enabled him to identify some attributes of a monster.

[Giant Scaled Demon]

[Level: ???

Attribute: Water

Weakness: ???

It is waiting inside the temple for the opportunity to evolve and become stronger. If offered two Awakened as a sacrifice through the appropriate procedure, the [Giant Scaled Demon] can grow into [Giant Scaled Demon Baronet].]

‘Ah. That’s why the Scaled Demon hasn’t attacked us this whole time?’

Ji-Cheok didn’t understand what the description meant by ‘in accordance with the procedure,’ but he had a rough idea of what it meant.

Two people had to be sacrificed onto those spears at the hands of the other Hunters.The demon couldn’t attack first, for some reason.

He didn’t know if there were more conditions to be met, but those two conditions were obvious. If he was wrong up till now, half of them would have already been dead. Although the demon’s weakness and level were unknown, the fact that its attribute was water was valuable information.

‘If its elemental attribute is water, that means we have to attack it with wood or lightning.’

Simple physical attacks had limitations.

‘On top of that… sacrificing just two of us would allow us to clear the dungeon?’

The demon was pretending to have been in control of the entire dungeon system from the beginning, but it was just a monster.

‘That’s a good thing. ’

Ji-Cheok’s overworked brain quickly cooled down once he used his Eye of Insight.

He remembered what Mu-Cheok had once said: ‘Hyung, if it’s not written in black and white, don’t believe anything anyone tells you.’

That’s right, who could guarantee/who’s to say that their lives would be spared after the monster grows into a [Giant Scaled Demon Baronet]?

Bang Jin-Ah spoke after listening to Ji-Cheok’s plans.

“I think my brother and I can help you with that.”

The two then casted their blacksmithing and sewing skills to put a blitz buff on Ji-Cheok’s weapon.

“It should last for an hour,” Jin-Ah said.

“Thank you.”

“Nah, we leveled up all thanks to you, Mr. Um. We’re just repaying your kindness, so there’s no need to thank us.”

[Hunters Bang Jin-Ah and Bang Jin-Woo blush at your words.]

[You have received 6 Likes.]

They still gave a steady stream of Likes to Ji-Cheok. He then purchased a skill from the Likes Shop and placed a potion in his front pocket so that he could drink it anytime.

[Lizardman♥ Berserker↗Medicine]

[Class : B-

It will greatly increase all abilities while heavily using up stamina. Overusing this substance will cause death.

Duration of effect: 30 seconds.]

‘God, I hope I never have to drink this.’

Ji-Cheok stood in front of the demon, and it stared at him. It didn’t move, but Ji-Cheok could feel its glare.

“Get ready, everyone.”

Each examinee stood in the spot that they were assigned to, according to Ji-Cheok’s plan.

[Stupid…]

The demon clicked its tongue, but it still didn’t attack them.

‘As I expected…’

Ji-Cheok placed his hands on his own shadow and could already feel the goosebumps on his arm. He never thought he would say these very words… but he had to do it. Ji-Cheok activated the skill he just purchased from the Likes Shop.

“Black dragon of darkness that rules these shadows. Merge into my left arm!”

“...?”

The skill was unresponsive.

‘Ah, do I have to say the exact words from the skill book?’

Ji-Cheok swallowed his dignity and smirked like a weirdo.

“Hehehehehehe…” he crazily grinned.

[The low-level Dark Spirit has answered your call.]

‘... Ahh this is so embarrassing I want to die.’

The spirit wriggled and seeped into his arm.

[The Dark Spirit’s Call]

[Class: Rare (Upgradable, Rank F)

Spell: Black dragon of darkness, ruler of the shadows, merge into my left arm!

The deeper the darkness of the user’s mind, the higher the Dark Spirit’s level.

P.S. Only a blood-soaked smile will awaken the Dark Spirit. Worship them. Go crazy for them. The end is near.]

[Hunters Bang Jin-Ah, Bang Jin-Woo, Kim Tae-Ri and Lee Mi-Ri are truly impressed by your black dragon.]

[You have received 8 Likes.]

‘Yeah, of course, all humans have their own black dragon of darkness deep inside.’

A sudden moment of clarity hit Ji-Cheok as he went all out acting like a dumb chuuni kid[1], but all the strength he could muster was barely enough to summon the lowest-level Dark Spirit.

‘Then, what do I need to do to summon intermediate and advanced-level spirits…’

He was a bit lost, but soon appreciated the fact that he had at least summoned a spirit.

“Hurry and cover the demon’s eyes, Dark Spirit!” Ji-Cheok shouted.

“...”

Surprisingly, nothing happened, so Ji-Cheok yelled again while clenching his teeth.

“Eat away that demon’s vision with your darkness! Teach it what true darkness is!”

[The low-level Dark Spirit has cursed the demon incredibly fast!]

Ji-Cheok was physically cringing so hard that his fingers were twitching. At the same time, however, he received another six Likes from the Bang twins. Well… people had the right to their own preferences, weird as they were.

[Stupid human, time for you to have a taste of actual fear!]

Bzzzzzt!

The demon shot a beam of light from its eyes at Ji-Cheok, but Ji-Cheok’s Dark Spirit blocked the attack as its darkness covered the demon’s face.

‘Phew, I guess this means that its resistance to magic isn’t that great.’

When that examinee’s greatsword had simply gotten deflected by the demon, Ji-Cheok Ji-Cheok had not found it surprising, as the demon’s physical defense looked quite high. And when it had shot those beams, Ji-Cheok had become certain that Monster had a high magic offense level as well.

A balance existed in all dungeons. Even though it was tough to deal with high-level monsters that were also crafty and cunning, every boss monster had at least one weakness.

‘I don’t know exactly what level the lizardmen from earlier were, but since I was able to kill them…’

The dungeon’s level could be identified by assessing its regular monsters.

‘That’s why so many experts believe in the theory of dungeon administrators.’

Experts were claiming that dungeons never just formed naturally. They argued that someone was artificially balancing out things, but that ‘someone’ never revealed themself to the public.

The darkness of the Dark Spirit filled the demon’s vision, and it started flailing its arms, trying to hit Ji-Cheok. Unfortunately, just like normal lizardmen had the ability to sense their surroundings in the darkness, the demon was also able to attack quite accurately even though it couldn’t see anything.

Thud!

Ji-Cheok barely managed to avoid his attack by using the Wind and Cloud Steps.

‘Ah, shit… They should scrap this dungeon balance theory bullshit.’

It had been Ji-Cheok’s mistake to assume that the demon was slow due to how it had taken some time before shooting those beams earlier.

Looking at the claw prints indented into the wall, he could also tell that its physical attack power was pretty high too.

He used the provocation skill [Roar of the Wild].

“ROAAAAAAAR!”

A beastly roar echoed throughout the stone chamber.

[Giant Scaled Demon is focusing on you.]

[You have received 1 Like.]

The enemy’s malicious intentions seemed to be converted into Likes.

‘This System really is perfect for attention seekers!’

Ji-Cheok stood with his back against the wall, so that other hunters could attack the demon’s back as it approached Ji-Cheok.

“Shadow Stealer!” Ji-Cheok shouted.

[The Giant Scaled Demon’s movement speed and defense have decreased significantly.]

Ji-Cheok then used the stolen shadow to enhance himself .

[You are using the shadow you stole.]

[You have absorbed a part of the enemy’s movement speed and defense!]

The speed and defense Ji-Cheok gained were the significant amounts he had stolen from the demon. This was the same thing he had done to Shelton. Since the skill was percent-based, the stronger the opponent, the greater the amount of power he could steal.

The demon opened its mouth, and surprisingly, poisonous liquid poured out.

Blaaargh!

Fortunately, the movement speed that Ji-Cheok had stolen from the demon saved him, as he avoided the venom by a narrow margin. A black hole appeared near his feet, and it was horrible to imagine what would happen if someone got covered with this venom.

“EVERYONE! WE CAN DO THIS!”

All the Hunters bombarded the demon’s back with lightning and wood-type skills. These appeared to be the demon’s weaknesses indeed, as they inflicted more damage than expected. Sure enough, the steel-like scales began to crumble and fall off.

In the meantime, Ji-Cheok repeatedly used his Roar of the Wild to keep its aggro on him, while attacking and defending at the same time.

[But you are still… a novice that doesn’t know anything…]

Yes, it was a tedious and stressful situation. A Hunter’s individual attacks were just not enough, but if Ji-Cheok made one wrong move in this group setting, the remaining seventeen people could die, as he was responsible for tanking.

Then…

“Fuck! Get out of my way, you little midgets!”

Flame spheres rose in La-Du’s hands.

‘Ah, this bastard had to wake up now.’

The flame spheres grew bigger and burned like the sun.

“Look at my real firepower!”

La-Du poured everything into this one shot.

Baaaaaaaaaam!

La-Du’s flame burned the demon’s back.

‘The enemy’s attribute is water, so how much damage would it get from a fire attack…’

[You insect…!]

The demon reacted to the flame attack.

An Awakened healer spoke while treating Ji-Cheok.

“Its back is ripped up!!”

“There’s a red marble!” It was protruding from the demon’s back.

The Scaled Demon smacked La-Du.

Bam!

That single hit sent La-Du flying into the wall.

“Kwaaaaak!”

La-Du didn’t seem to have evasion skills. A healer shouted,

“That asshole is s…still alive!”

Ji-Cheok was impressed by how the healer managed to show concern about La-Du while cursing at him like a sailor.

“I’ll bandage this crazy fuck’s head!” The healer yelled, taking care of La-Du’s injury.

“Ah fuck, my last shot was super-good,” La-Du groaned.

The healer was surprisingly talented at cursing La-Du while healing him at the same time.

On the other side, the fight continued…

‘Red marble…?’

The red marble protruding from underneath the demon’s now-torn thick scales was quite suspicious.

Klang, klaaaang!

Everyone seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion, as they started directing their attacks at the marble. However, the attacks didn’t deal any damage to it. What came next was a huge problem.

[Die you bugs!]

“It’s shooting venom! Everyone, run!”

When someone attacked the marble, Ji-Cheok’s provocation skills didn’t work anymore. No matter how many times he used [Roar of the Wild], the demon would only go after whoever that struck the marble first. It was obvious what would happen next, which was also pretty serious.

‘Someone is bound to die if things keep going on like this!’

La-Du couldn’t avoid the attack, so there was only one option Ji-Cheok had.

‘Ah, I didn’t want to use this…’

[Lizardman♥ Berserker↗Medicine]

[Class : B-

It will greatly increase all abilities while heavily using up stamina. Overusing this substance will cause death.

Duration of effect: 30 seconds.]

When Ji-Cheok drank Berserker Medicine, his eyes turned red.

“Urgh...!”

[All your stats have increased up to 200 percent.]

[Your stamina has declined rapidly!]

[You will die in 30 seconds. Please cancel the effect within that time!]

The buff[2] activated, and his body scattered into an afterimage as he suddenly appeared above the demon’s neck.

He immediately gave a thought command.

‘Use all my Likes on Strength!’

[Your Strength will be upgraded to B-rank by using all your Likes. Are you sure?]

‘Do it!’

[Your Strength has become B-rank.]

[Your Strength has temporarily become S-rank because of the effect of Berserker Medicine.]

Ji-Cheok’s muscles grew bigger, and his whole body was full of energy. At the same time, he felt his speed considerably decline. He felt like a candle that was about to burn out.

He raised his White Night sword and Dark Night sword, then thrusted them vertically into the demon with the force of a falling meteor.

“DIE!!!”

1. Chuunibyou, a.k.a. “middle-school second-year syndrome”, an abnormal state of mind often found in early teenagers, which includes grandiose delusions, narcissism, belief that they have secret powers etc., and which translates into defiant, anti-social, and sometimes even violent behavior. ☜

2. The author uses the word “buff” here, even though this is actually the effect of a potion. ☜

Bubly's Thoughts

penguin’s thoughts: bruh this was c r i n g e