Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 184

Chapter 184

“Young Master, isn’t it rather important that Hunter Um Ji-Cheok has all of those abilities?”

“Yeah, that’s true. His value is going to skyrocket. We can deal with higher-level dungeons ourselves, it’s the low-level dungeons that are going to be hard.”

“Yes. If things are the way he says, then he is currently the only Hunter who can destroy low-level dungeons.

While the two were watching him, Ji-Cheok finally destroyed the dungeon Core.

Then, the dungeon actually disappeared.

A Regenerative Dungeon that everybody thought couldn’t be destroyed was disappearing right before their eyes.

“Wow… This is going to change everything.”

“I will prepare the plane, Young Master.”

“You want me to go see him in person?”

“Wouldn’t that be better?”

“Of course! That’s why you’re my butler, Alfred!”

“It’s Oswald, Young Master.”

* * *

In the past, this was where Despair had tested him by giving him an additional quest. However, seeing how he was quite literally wrecking the place and Despair was nowhere to be seen, it appeared that this guy wanted nothing to do with Ji-Cheok anymore.

After destroying the dungeon and coming out, the Portal disappeared and countless items fell from the air, gathering into a pile on the ground.

Thud! Thud!

‘Wow, it’s raining items. I guess this is what happens when a dungeon is destroyed. It’s easier than having Hunter Assistants go inside and retrieve the items.’

Ji-Cheok looked at the chat.

-Wow he just destroyed that dungeon!

-He had really done it!! LOL

-Umji is the greatest! I love you, Umji!

-Reason why Umji is the best: He puts on a hamster costume and puts on a show for an hour. He never complains that it’s hot in the costume and if the fans say he looks cute he even shows us a motorcycle trick.

-This is the world’s first live dungeon destruction, right?

?There is a record of one dungeon destruction test using a nuclear bomb… But we don’t really know how that test went.

?Except for that, this is the first.

?The national status is rising… I feel so proud of Korea.

?National status X Um Ji-Cheok’s worth O

-Is this for real? I can’t believe this is happening! What’s going on?

?Are you okay? You seemed tired.

? If you’re tired, try Tylenol!

?Stop it, you idiots!

The chat had exploded with comments. But it wasn’t just the chat window that was chaotic. When he went out of the dungeon, reporters were lined up to interview him. The government officials were shocked at how many reporters were there, and the support team from Jungjin felt proud to be associated with Um Ji-Cheok.

‘Now I feel kinda embarrassed for wearing this hamster costume. I want to do a cool hero pose, but I can’t balance my head because the costume’s head is so big on me. People will just make fun of me!’

Contrary to his embarrassment, Cheok-Liang was calm.

?By the way, I did not expect that the dungeon Core would turn into a boss monster.?

‘I was surprised by that too. That thing spammed mind attacks like there was no tomorrow. No wonder it’s a dungeon created by Despair.’

?According to my measurements, it was five times more powerful than a regular boss monster. Ordinary people’s minds would have been irreversibly damaged just by looking at it, and even Hunters would have gone mad if they did not have any special mental protection ability.?

‘Why do you think it came out?’

?It must be because of the power of the God who created the dungeon, Master.?

‘I get that. The God probably didn’t want the thing he worked so hard on to break. That’s why the God set up guardians in the dungeon. Still… A hidden boss… That was too much.’

?Yes, Master. But… You need to focus on the work that is in front of you.?

‘You are right. Reporters are watching me like hyenas that were starved for ten days. Since my viewers are more important than reporters, let’s first say our goodbyes to the viewers and end the livestream.’

?That is a good idea, Master.?

“Hey everyone! Did you enjoy my livestream today? If you enjoyed it, please click those Like and subscribe buttons, and stay tuned for our latest updates! Umji! Gumji!”

‘Wow, it’s really hard to put my thumbs up in this costume. I had a hard time in the dungeon too because my sword kept slipping.’

-Umji~ I’m so high on national pride right now, I’m on the verge of overdosing.

?So weak, haiyaa! Waiter! Can we have one more round of national pride, please?

? Make that three!

-Our little Umji has grown so much!

?I feel so proud!

Hey Umji! Can you get rid of the dungeon in front of my house? My house price dropped because of it!

?What? Me too! Me too!

?22222

? 333333

‘The reaction of the viewers is also great. I’m surprised they’re also worried about their housing price.’

“Then, see you tomorrow morning for our regular pilates class!”

‘Being sincere and blasting out content is my strong suit. Hunters who just finished clearing dungeons usually collapse and have to rest. It would be impossible for them to host a morning pilates class like me! I’m so proud of myself~’

With this, Ji-Cheok ended his livestream.

As soon as he finished, reporters flocked around him.

“Hunter Um Ji-Cheok! You destroyed the dungeon, can you please tell us what you’re thinking right now?”

“Hunter Um Ji-Cheok~! Some are questioning why you have released the dungeon destruction information so indiscriminately. What do you think about that?”

“It is said that many agents from other countries are heading to Korea…”

Ji-Cheok was wrong. They were not a bunch of hyenas starving for ten days. They were a school of piranha that hadn’t had anything to eat for a month. He had not expected that they would be this?desperate.

Fortunately for him, his support team members and government officials started to push them away. In particular, Mr. Lee, one of his Hunter Assistants, shouted the loudest.

“Hey! Why are you guys clinging like this to a Hunter who just came out of a dungeon? Give him some time to rest!”

“He’s right! And there are items scattered around here, we need to take care of them. Hey, you there! Don’t even think?about touching that!”

Ji-Cheok didn’t know they would block them like a strong barricade. But he didn’t want to be rude, so he had to contain the situation.

“I will only take three questions!”

It was not polite to just leave like this, and it was necessary for his own public relations.

“Kim Seo-Gi from R Daily. You publicly revealed the information on dungeon destruction through a livestream on GodTube. Do you have any reason for doing that?”

“It is for the peace of mankind. Even at this moment, there are many people who are suffering because of the dungeons,” Ji-Cheok answered.

“Oooh!”

Although the reporters looked impressed at first, Ji-Cheok could see it clearly written on their faces that they were thinking something like ‘is this bastard running for an election?’.

They were right. No ordinary person could say things like this to a reporter unless they were a politician or something, but Ji-Cheok wasn’t even a social activist. Just as expected, some reporters started to look at Ji-Cheok as if he was crazy.

‘Yeah, I know I’m crazy. Who in the world wouldn’t sell this information to a company or the government for profit? But I just released it for free. But what do these people know about the world after the Tutorial? If I hadn’t seen it, I might’ve made a different choice.’

Ji-Cheok realized he had to dial it down for these reporters who didn’t believe him.

“Well, of course, there’s also this little bonus of making me extra famous and getting me a mountain of Likes.”

“Ah~”

It was only then that he saw reporters nodding as if they understood. They were staring at him with their eyes saying ‘yup, it’s true that this guy is crazy about GodTube.’?

‘Well, you're right about that part. I am crazy about GodTube.’

“Please Like and subscribe to my channel” ” Ji-Cheok said.

The reporters nodded their heads and started taking pictures.

‘It seemed a little too serious for a newspaper article. I’m glad I added that part.’

“Alright, next question.”

“This is reporter Park Min-Jae of A Media! Agents from all over the world, including the United States, are said to be coming here soon. If the conditions are right, are you willing to go overseas?”

“Absolutely not. I might go after taking care of domestic dungeons, but I am not considering it now. Next question!”

“This is Channel Q’s reporter Park Seon! You said you are going to take care of the domestic dungeons first. What do you mean?”

“I think it should be clear enough, no?”

‘Hmm, maybe I should amp it up a little.’

“I plan on destroying all domestic white elephant dungeons, particularly those dungeons that cannot be cleared and put us in danger of a Break. Of course, I am going to talk with our government about preserving the dungeons that are necessary to obtain resources and that aren’t too dangerous.”

Everyone seemed surprised.

“Is that… possible?”

“Yes, I believe it’s possible. Thank you for the questions, everyone, that will be all for today!”

Ji-Cheok left right away. He heard reporters calling him from behind, but he ignored them. It would take ages to answer all the questions.

?Master, the number of Likes is rising explosively!?

‘That’s good news. Do you think we will get more followers from this?’

?An additional two hundred thousand people have already started to follow you. Congratulations, Master. You are now a Million GodTuber!!?

A Million GodTuber was what they called a streamer with one million subscribers.

‘So I finally got one million subscribers…’

But there was still a long way to go. There were many skills to buy, and many skills to rank up. Ji-Cheok was still hungry for Likes.

‘Come to think of it, when will the Gold Button be delivered? They said they would send it if my number of subscribers exceeded one million. When I get it, I should do an unboxing video! #Letsgo!’

* * *

[A superstar Hunter appears in Korea that shocks the United States, makes China jealous, and makes Japan cry!]

[The Real Patriot] had uploaded his daily dose of nationalism. Then, numerous of his apostles rose from their tombs and began to sing the hymns of nationalism to his newly uploaded video.

‘Waiter, another bowl of national pride topped with extra patriotism~’

[The legacy of Hwanguk has risen! A Hunter with the potential to revive the Hwanguk Kingdom that ruled the world has appeared!]

[The world’s first dungeon destruction! It was a Korean who did it!]

Nationalist GodTube videos were uploaded from everywhere. All of their content was just highlights of Ji-Cheok destroying the dungeon and their reaction to them.

As a descendant of Hwanguk, Ji-Cheok was the legitimate successor of the Sumerian civilization and a proud pure-blooded son of Korea, where people cured cancer with kimchi. Even if Goebbels was reincarnated, he would not be able to best [The Real Patriot].

Anyway, as dungeons that ignored Warding Stones appeared and every country was suffering from them, destroying a Regenerative Dungeon for the first time in the world was indeed something worth feeling proud about.

People drank alcohol when they were mentally exhausted, and people drank a glass of nationalism when their self-esteem was exhausted.

A World First.

Because of that sweet title, it was only natural that the ratings of these types of videos were rising steadily!

And that wasn’t all.

Ji-Cheok’s GodTube channel also exploded, exceeding one million subscribers in an instant, and increased to 1.5 million within a few days. At this rate, it was certain that he would become a mega GodTuber with millions of followers in a few months. With his fast-growing channel, it had become a situation where the Korean government had to step in.

The battle in the potion industry was in the end a battle between private companies, a capitalist scuffle, but being able to destroy dungeons was something directly related to national security.

Thus, a short while later, Ji-Cheok found himself sitting right in front of a government official in the meeting room at Jungjin.

He was from the Department of Dungeons. Officially, they were the Department of Multi-Dimensional Dungeon Management, but people just called them the much less flattering name ‘Department of Dungeons.’

Almost everything related to dungeons was managed by this department. They gave out Hunter licenses and managed items from dungeons. That was why there were always articles with headlines containing words such as ‘discordance’, ‘bad-blood’, ‘rebellion’, and ‘extreme anger’ when it came to the relationship between the Department of Dungeons and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Even on the rare occasions when they were on good terms, headlines described them in terms such as ‘reluctant roommates’.

1. Hwanguk is the first mythical state of Korea claimed to have existed according to Hwandan Gogi, a compilation of texts on ancient Korean history.

2. According to the Hwandan Gogi, the Sumer civilization was created by the Koreans. The theory has long since been discarded by the academic world, but some conspiracy theorists still believe it.

3. Joseph Goebbels was the chief propagandist of the German Nazi Party. He was known for his public speaking skills and his virulent antisemitism.