Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 113

Chapter 113

The heretic flame of Cthugha and the flames of [Blaze Walk] burned along Ji-Cheok’s tracks, incinerating the Ants that were in the way. However, since the flame wall was built in a hurry, there were a lot of Ants walking over the corpses of their fellows to get past the walls of flames.

‘I can feel the troubles of pest control authorities.’

?Master! There are Ants climbing the wall!?

Since this was Ji-Cheok’s last wall, the Ants that had already come near the wall before he arrived now also started to crawl up the wall.

“Alright, it’s time for our plan B, Cheok-Liang. Go!!”

?Yes, Master.?

Cheok-Liang ran toward the Ants. The Ants attacked Cheok-Liang, but with agility belying his huge body, he dodged their attacks and ran ahead of them. On the field, Cheok-Liang kept making flame walls.

Vroom!

Ji-Cheok drove to the wall as well. As he saw that the Ants were about midway up the wall, Ji-Cheok also clung to the fortress wall with [Wall Drive]. Then, he drew a half circle above the Ants with his bike.

Roar!

The walls of the fortress started to burn. These were the real walls, walls of flame! The Ants that were climbing the wall saw the flame barrier that Ji-Cheok had made, hesitated, but still climbed forward in the end. And as a result, the Ants cried out in the heat and fell down to the ground.

Ji-Cheok ran over the Ants with his bike and sliced up the Ants that were still alive, while also lighting up the walls with his flames. Finally, he successfully made the wall and the ground into a sea of fire.

Kieek!

Crack! Tssss…

‘Wow, these Ants can be a good natural firestarter.’

Just by being exposed to the flames for a few seconds, the Ants turned bright red and then immediately collapsed onto the ground. Eventually, all the Ants were roasted by the flames.

Kiiieeek…

The last Ant fell and the Portal closed in the distance.

‘I did it! I actually did it! I can’t believe it!’

-Everybody, make some noise!!!! ???????????????????

-Umji!!!!!!! ???????????????????????

-He has done it, everyone! A perfect clear, all by himself!

-Umji… T_T I’m glad you’re not hurt T_T

‘It seems like the viewers are also happy.’

?It’s all thanks to the titles that you have accumulated over time. Also, the power of the stacking effect of your skills was also amazing, Master!?

Cheok-Liang was as excited as the viewers. It was natural for Ants to explode like popcorn when his buff skills, fire-type buff skills, the flame from [Cthugha’s Step], and the firepower of [Blaze Walk] were all combined. In addition, all these skills together did not even consume all of his mana, due to many of them having a mana consumption reduction effect. In the end, even though he had annihilated the Ants from all four walls, he had only used half of his mana.

‘Wow, I think I might have just created a masterpiece. There is nothing that attracts people’s attention more than fire. That’s why every time a Chinese chef shakes the wok on the TV, they turn on the sound effect of ‘Fire!’.’

?I think it would be best to buy all the cheap skills. The passive effects will become more powerful as you stack them.?

‘That is a good idea, Cheok-Liang. But first, let’s end today’s stream.’

“Everyone!! I did it!! Ahhhh!!”

-That’s amazing, Umji!

-When did our Umji-pooh become so great? I’m just crying right now.

-I doubt that ‘That Hunter’ can do this by themself. Weren’t they watching his stream yesterday?

-I heard ‘That Hunter’ entered a dungeon, so I don’t think they’re watching the stream right now.

The chat was cheering Ji-Cheok, and mentions of ‘That Hunter’ were also present. But it didn’t matter to Ji-Cheok right now. He couldn’t wait to see the result of being in first place in all four teams while clearing the dungeon all by himself.

‘Show me, System!’

[You and your team have successfully defended the Fortress of Hope.]

[You have cleared the dungeon!]

[The rewards will be distributed according to the level of contribution.]

[Team A Ranking: 1st Um Ji-Cheok]

[Team B Ranking: 1st Um Ji-Cheok]

[Team C Ranking: 1st Um Ji-Cheok]

[Team D Ranking: 1st Um Ji-Cheok]

[You have cleared the hidden quest.]

[Your hidden quest rewards are being distributed.]

-(A gif of a guy shaking a wine glass.)

-(A gif of a guy entering a burning room with boxes of pizza.)

-There are no second places at all? Seriously? What just happened?

-I… I didn’t know this was possible.

[You have received 1 Like.]

[You have received 1,100 Likes.]

[You have received 1 Like.]

[You have received 1 Like.]

[You have received 1,100 Likes.]

‘It looks like the viewers are also looking forward to it. The Likes are coming in like crazy. And it’s not just Likes from the viewers. The Gods are also giving me so much!’

?I am certain that those great Gods have never seen something like this before, Master!?

‘I guess. So… What is the reward?’

A box came down in front of him, and he reached for it. The box disappeared with a flash, leaving only a brilliant light behind. It was a lump of energy that was the same as the [Essense of Hope] that he had received before.

[Heart of Hope]

[Class: A+

Type: Concept

The essence created by gathering hope from many worlds eventually became the Heart of Hope.

Wherever you are, there is always hope.]

‘What… the hell is this?’

-Didn’t he get this yesterday?

-The one that came out yesterday was an essence, and the class was also B+.

-Is that going to merge with the shield again?

“Everyone! What kind of item is this? I’m very curious. There isn’t any sign of the shield coming out from the shadow like last time…”

‘Cheok-Liang, how the hell do you use this?’

?I do not know, Master. It is a kind of a ‘Concept’ item. What is this…?

Just then,

[The Gods have shown interest in you!]

[The Gods have shown interest in you!]

[The Gods have shown…

Ji-Cheok had no idea what was going on. He couldn’t figure out why the Gods had shown interest in him.

‘If you’re going to show an interest in me, why can’t you give me more Likes before showing interest in me?’

That was how scary Likes were. Rather than feeling fear in this kind of situation, Ji-Cheok only thought about earning Likes from the Gods. Eventually, the number of the message grew exponentially, and in an instant, the number went up to a hundred, then jumped up to a couple of hundred.

?Master, what is—?

The world stopped. Cheok-Liang froze as he was about to speak up, and the whole world turned black and white.

‘Oh, this. I remember this. I’ve experienced this before. It’s the advent of a [God]. This is what happened when [He_who_denies_death] appeared before me. So what’s going on? What the hell is going to happen to me? Is this what happens when you defend the [Fortress of Hope] all by yourself?’

[Hope is watching you.]

However, only the message appeared and nothing else happened.

‘This is the second time I’ve met a [God]. Wow… I really don’t know what these guys are thinking. Besides, the message was always in ‘honorifics’, but not this time.’

[Hope decided to keep watching you.]

[A_mortal_watched_by_Hope]

[Class: Legendary

[A title given when the God of Hope watches over a mortal.

Wherever you are, there is always hope.

[Immunity to negative mental influences.]

Like a flower blooming, the title filled his field of vision. Eventually, all the messages, even the one that was right in front of him, disappeared. The world began to return to normal.

‘Hope… Hope… Did the God of Hope descend directly in front of me? This title sounds like a great one. Immune to all negative mental influences.’

In addition to this, if the power of his items, titles, and skills was combined, he thought that it might be possible to protect himself even if the [God] tried to manipulate his mind. But then, he wondered…who was this ‘God of Hope’?

‘There is Pandora from Greek mythology, though she just opened the box. Maybe she is the God of Hope? Is there such a God in Norse mythology? Or maybe in Egypt?’

?Master, I think it would be wise to find information about how to use this reward through the Likes Shop… Master??

Cheok-Liang noticed that Ji-Cheok had changed somehow. In other words, the moment that the world had stopped, Cheok-Liang had also stopped.

‘This is crazy… Something happened to me. I’ll tell you later, Cheok-Liang. Right now, I have to get back to my stream.’

Also… There was something he knew instinctively right after the God of Hope had descended. As if Ji-Cheok had known what [Heart of Hope] was for a long time, the knowledge of it was ingrained in his memory. It appeared to be another reward left by the God of Hope.

“Right now, I don’t know what kind of reward this is, but I’ll just take it!”

He said he didn’t know to the viewers, but he already knew what it was. He reached out toward the [Heart of Hope].

‘I now know that if I touch this, the [Heart of Hope] is going to become my heart.’

Woong.

The light shined brightly. Hope welled up from the deepest bottom of his heart, filling it up. It became one with his hope, and he became a person with a heart of hope. This was how he felt, and he also received a skill.

[Heart of Hope]

[Class: Legendary

Wherever you are, there is always hope.]

The effect of Indomitability is always activated.]

Indomitability. Anyone who had played any RPG game knew what this was. No matter how much damage a player received, if they had 1 HP remaining, the Indomitability would allow the player to survive the fatal hit. But in reality, humans were not game characters. Humans were made of flesh and blood, not pixels. The heart had to keep beating, and the brain needed a constant supply of blood. Humans could not regenerate damaged lungs unless they had supreme healing spells. Even if it was not that extreme, humans died from losing too much blood, or from poisoning. Some died from hypothermia, and some died just from the shock from the burns.

‘So what happens if humans used this skill? Whatever happens, the skill will activate and they will stay afloat. In short… they will not fall. Even if they are fatally wounded, they will never break, not until they are completely dead. It’s a strange way to say things, but there are no words to explain it any further. This is Indomitability. It’s a power worthy of hope.’

?Master! There are only a few people in the world who have Indomitability!?

‘I know, Cheok-Liang. I know that a person’s power is greatly increased just by being indomitable.’

-I guess this kind of skill is the result of rampaging the Fortress of Hope all by yourself.

-Wow… I don’t think even ‘That Hunter’ has Indomitability.

-I heard that the Titan Man from the United States has a skill with that effect. Hence his name.

-It’s a little disappointing, though. That’s a really good skill for a tank to have…

-Our Umji can be a tank. Didn’t you see his taunt skills?

?I second this. Umji used his taunt skills before.

?What does that mean? Can he deal, tank, and heal all by himself?

?Umji is a dealer. ???

?Umji is a support. ???

?Umji is a healer. ???

?You guys should stop.

“Something great came out of today, everyone! Wow… Am I worthy enough to take this? The Heart of Hope… This is very hopeful.”

-Did he just make a dad joke…?

-He’s such a boomer…

‘I’m sorry! I can’t think straight! Thank you, xiexie, grazie!”

“Today’s stream ends here! Everyone, I will see you next time!”

-Umji’s running away! ?????????????

-Don’t run away, stream some more~ ???????????????

Ji-Cheok ignored the cries from the chat and ended his stream immediately. At the same time, a Portal opened.

[You have cleared the dungeon.]

The outside world was waiting for him.

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