Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 232

Chapter 232

“ROOOOOOOOOARRR!”

A roar pulsing with mana resounded throughout the forest, and a creature that had to be at least twelve meters tall burst out from among the trees.

It had two horns on its head that looked a bit small for its size, and its shoulders were studded with gems of various shapes and sizes. The flames had not yet reached the area where it was, but it seemed to have heard the commotion.

?That’s an Ogre Lord.?

Ogres were giant, muscular monsters, well-known as dungeon bosses. As for the Ogre Lord, it was the biggest and the most powerful of all Ogre subspecies. While the average Ogre was about six meters tall, the Ogre Lord was twice as big. An average Ogre looked like a toddler compared to the Ogre Lord.

Its size was not all it had going for it, either. The gems embedded in its shoulders were actually Magic Stones, and the two horns on its head were also Magic Stones. Their power made the Ogre Lord a formidable foe that required a raid party level 100 or higher to defeat.

If that thing came near the South Korean border, it would be a nationwide emergency.

The Ogre Lord glared at him, recognizing him as its enemy.

‘Hm… Let’s take care of this guy while we’re at it. Cheok-Liang! Steer the bike for me!’

?Yes, Master!?

Cheok-Liang maneuvered the bike with Soul Telekinesis and raced toward the Ogre Lord. Meanwhile, Ji-Cheok released his grip on the handlebars and drew his swords.

He sharpened his mind and channeled his Qi to activate the Mind Sword. The distance between him and the Ogre Lord closed very quickly. The monster raised its hand, poised to strike him down.

At that moment, Cheok-Liang accelerated to the maximum. Ji-Cheok dodged the creature’s slashing palm and passed by under its arm. At the same time, he used the Mind Sword.

Flash!

Past the Ogre Lord, the swords sliced through space and time, cutting through flesh and soul all the same. The Ogre Lord roared in pain and then collapsed as its upper and lower body separated below the sternum.

Thud.

Its roar died down, its upper body just jerking on the ground.

Ji-Cheok turned the bike around and stopped it right beside its head. A few moments later, the light faded from its eyes.

It was dead.

He tucked the creature’s body into his Shadow Pouch. He could get about 100 billion won by selling the corpse.

‘I need to make money however I can. Now, then…’

Ji-Cheok looked at the Manaformed area that was burning to ashes at breakneck pace. There were Portals flashing every one or two kilometers. The Portals were like lighthouses, attracting Hunters like him.

The Manaforming Forest was gone and only the Portals to the dungeons remained.

“Activate Shadow Pouch.”

Powered by endless, mighty mana, his shadow widened in an instant. A transcendent scene unfolded as the shadow sucked in the bodies of monsters that had fallen before the fire burned them completely.

With all the corpses stowed away in his Shadow Pouch, he turned the handlebars of his bike toward one of the dungeons.

Vroom!

He also confirmed that his livestream was still on. The reason he wasn’t talking on his livestream was that he wanted to speed-run through this area and finish everything as fast as he could.

‘Let the dungeon destruction begin! Five dungeons in a row today! Let’s go!!’

? ? ?

-Umji, he is a God! He is a God, I say!

-Umji looks more beautiful than ever! I love you!

-Look! He is wiping out the area that even our government gave up on!

-Oh waiter~ Another bowl of nationalism~ No, make that two! Wait, just gimme the whole pot!

Ji-Cheok had been livestreaming from the moment he took to the skies on his Mono Bike G, and rode straight into the Manaformed area. Including Ji-Cheok’s fans, those who wanted to spy on him, and the casual viewers who simply enjoyed his videos, the number of viewers grew at a frightening rate.

What Ji-Cheok did next was to burn down the Manaformed area!

The tactic of burning things down to the ground to sterilize the Manaformed area was one that many countries had tried before, and all had failed. This was because the plants in the Manaforming Forest were alien species, so they didn’t burn like ordinary plants, and the forest itself put out the fires as if it was alive.

In addition, the monsters would rush to the forest if there was a certain amount of fire, so countries had to give up on trying to cleanse these Manaformed areas.

However, Ji-Cheok was doing something no other countries dared to do. Nobody knew exactly what kind of skills he used, but he managed to burn a sizable swath of the Manaforming Forest to the ground, also burning the monsters within to a crisp.

He did all that in a matter of hours. The viewers watching his livestream were going wild.

-Burn everything! Uhyo- Koitsu! Omoshiroi WWWW

?We have a Japanese viewer! But your excitement. This body understands.

?Stop being so chunni, you bastards!

-I thought Umji was a cultivator! Is his job some kind of Lord of Flames or something?

?Umji was always a multi-skilled Hunter. I don’t know exactly what his job is, but he uses all kinds of abilities.

?He might be the first Hunter with an unlimited amount of skills!

?I thought that was just a rumor.

?But look at him, he’s doing it.

-Look at that fucking forest just burning. The Manaforming forest is turning to ash…

-A good wildfire… I love it.

?Haha, good wildfire… That’s fucked up, but I agree.

Then, the Ogre Lord appeared.

-Holy shit! Umji is fucked! What’s he going to do with that?

-Ogre Lord! That’s the monster we can barely keep out, even with our top-tier security!

-Do I have to evacuate? I live in Paju!

-Fuck! Paju is fucked!

-I need to change my underwear thanks to Umji.

-Wait… Look at that… How is that possible? What am I looking at?

-Umji is a God! Umji is a God!

?O, Umji! Give us today our daily bread and deliver us from evil!

-Mom~ I’m gonna be a Gumji from now on~

When the Ogre Lord appeared, those who knew how dangerous that monster was went on a rampage, starting to hate on Ji-Cheok for disturbing it. However, when he slayed the Ogre, the crowd erupted like a supervolcano.

He was the superstar!

And what followed was no less shocking. Ji-Cheok’s shadow stretched out across the vast expanse of land, consuming the monsters’ bodies. Everyone was mesmerized by the sight.

-His shadow skills were that powerful?

.

-It’s like a scene from a movie.

-I’m also a Hunter with shadow abilities, but I can’t do that. You need to be plugged into a literal Mana factory to have enough energy for that.

-Is he actually a God?

However, little did they know that their astonishment was just beginning.

? ? ?

“Kieeeeak!”

The creatures looked like a cross between an insect and a reptile. They were about the size of a medium dog, and they were coming at Ji-Cheik in seemingly endless numbers.

He appeared to be in some kind of damp cave. The space was wide enough to fit five people standing in single file, and it was about five meters high. The monsters climbed up the cave walls, swarming Ji-Cheok from all directions.

Though only the size of a Collie, these insect-like creatures had carapaces as hard as metal. They were difficult to kill or even wound with normal attacks. Ji-Cheok had seen them a few times outside the dungeon—fortunately, roasted in their own shell by his flames.

Crunch! Crush!

He moved forward as he killed the monsters in droves. He wrapped Sword Qi around the entire Mono Bike G and spun it around, turning the entire thing into a massive blender. He had done this many times before, so it was nothing new.

Behind the wheels of his motorcycle, flames burned fiercely. They spread, turning the cave into a sea of fire.

Boom!

A huge beast burst through the wall.

?That looks like a Tunneler.?

‘Tunnelers’ were what Hunters called the kind of monsters that dug caves and underground passages in dungeons. This particular one appeared to be a mid-level boss.

However, that meant absolutely nothing to Ji-Cheok.

Vroom!

Boom!

Ji-Cheok did not even slow down a little as he punched a hole in its torso.

“Why so weak?”

Just like that, smashing through walls and slaughtering most of the monsters along his path without pausing in the slightest, he eventually reached the boss room. The room was the size of three football fields, and a massive Queen awaited inside, surrounded by four Tunnelers and hundreds of normal monsters.

‘No wonder this dungeon hasn’t been cleared. Too bad she’s no match for me.’

Ji-Cheok drew his swords and activated the Mind Sword.

Woong!

The Queen slammed down on him with a fairly powerful telekinesis. At the same time, the four Tunnelers charged at him, along with a few regular monsters.

Ji-Cheok instantly neutralized the Queen’s telekinetic power with his own Soul Telekinesis. He scanned the area with his Mind Sword and started to attack the monsters.

Slash!

The four giant Tunnelers were cut into pieces instantly, and the very speed of their charge caused the pieces to scatter in all directions. Everything that was within his Mind Sword’s area of effect was simply diced in a fraction of a second, and an instant later, the Mind Sword had already cut through the Queen as well.

Woong.

Sensing the danger, the Queen had tried to neutralize his Mind Sword, but she had been unable to stop it completely. A long, gaping wound had opened up on her torso, oozing fluid.

“Kiieeek!”

Hearing the Queen’s scream, Ji-Cheok raised his mental sword again.

‘Heaven and Earth Chaotic Sword Art. Heaven and Earth Rupture.’

Ji-Cheok actually used the Mind Sword to unleash a sword technique belonging to his cultivation art.

The Queen’s telekinetic shields were dissipated by the blow, and she was cut in twain before she even knew what had happened. But this was not the end.

Ji-Cheok spread his Qi Sense wide and found the dungeon Core.

‘Oh… I can feel it inside this room. Lucky me.’

The problem with dungeon Cores was that their location was completely random. If he was unlucky, he had to scour enormous dungeons to find the Core.

‘Alright, time to destroy the dungeon Core!’

Once again, Ji-Cheok used his Mind Sword to cut through the dungeon Core’s hiding place.

Clang!

With the sound of steel grinding against steel, the glowing Core of the dungeon appeared.

“Ugh.”

As soon as he saw the dungeon Core, Ji-Cheok instinctively moved back in disgust.

‘What the hell, that thing looks like a brain!’

It was a pulsating gemstone that looked very much like a human brain.

‘Who the hell would make a dungeon Core like that?’

Woong!

“Huh?”

Boom!

Suddenly, a powerful telekinetic force knocked him off his feet and slammed him onto the ground. It felt as if a hundred-ton weight was pressing down on him!

‘This dungeon Core looks like a brain and uses telekinesis?!’

Woong!!

Ji-Cheok also amplified the power of his Soul Telekinesis and tried to push back. But… the Core’s power was still stronger!

?It is an enemy that specializes in telekinesis, Master!?

‘If that’s the case… Mind Sword — Heaven and Earth Sky Cleaver!’

Boom!

The dungeon Core instantly split in half. Its telekinetic power was definitely impressive, but it was not enough to block the Mind Sword.

With the Core destroyed and scattered on the ground, the dungeon also began to collapse.

Crack!

The dimension cracked open, and Ji-Cheok was back in his world. Everything that used to be in the dungeon rained down around him, and he opened up his Shadow Pouch, generously accepting the presents. Then, he used Soul Telekinesis to pull his motorcycle back to him and got on it.

He was still streaming live.

‘Alright, that’s one dungeon down. To the next dungeon! Let’s go!’