Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 77

Chapter 77

?Melee combatant has been incapacitated. He is not yet dead though, Master.?

Vroom!

Ji-Cheok drove his Mono Bike toward the other villain. Cheok-Liang, who had morphed into a large fox, was running beside him. Behind them, the man with a strange stag beetle-like helmet passed out.

‘Great. Now I just need to deal with that wizard with the staff.’

?About three hundred meters until the target!?

As Ji-Cheok accelerated with Cheok-Liang alongside him, he noticed the enemy using a spell. Her staff unleashed its magic, and the ground that Ji-CHeok was on suddenly became soft and turned into a mixture of mud and water.

?The area is turning into a swamp! Master, that wizard appears to be powerful.?

Ji-Cheok contemplated whether he should get off the bike or accelerate even more. Most Hunters would get out of their vehicle and find another way, but the Mono Bike was no ordinary motorcycle. Some of the Hunter Assistants, from the last dungeon, had given Ji-Cheok the clearest and most stable magic stone.

‘Let’s speed up even more!’

Vroom!!!

?The engine output is very stable, Master. The quality of the magic stones you have received from them are very good!?

‘It is, isn’t it? Also, I reinforced the tires with undead bone powder, so they are light and strong!’

Ji-Cheok would never have been able to get out of this swamp if it weren't for the help of others. This was all thanks to Ji-Cheok keeping a good relationship with others. Maybe that was the reason why the status window always shouted that receiving Likes was the answer. As the bike passed the swamp, the wizard seemed angry and immediately swung her staff again.

?The enemy used a different spell!!?

‘Well, this fucking sucks.’

Part of the swamp changed into tentacles and tried to hit Ji-Cheok. Cheok-Liang instantly changed back into his baby fennec form and leaped over the tentacles. Ji-Cheok sprinted through the tentacles at top speed, and then sliced off the last tentacle that was in his way.

‘This is all you got? It’s too easy!’

When he broke through the swarm and the tentacles, the wizard seemed perplexed. The distance between Ji-Cheok and the wizard was not even a hundred meters! Attacking a wizard this close without any tanks was like taking candy from a baby.

“Telekinetic Arrows! Soul Telekinesis!”

‘I also know a thing or two about magic.’

Ping~ Ping~

The moment Ji-Cheok got close enough, he shot the arrows toward the wizard. At the same time, the power of Soul Telekinesis flowed around his body.

“Alright, this is for the viewers. Now is the time to reveal the true power of Soul Telekinesis! Turn on the music!”

??Flashing telekinetic power wraps around me, and I pray that the skill would stop~??

?Master, is this for your video??

‘Yep. I started recording right away. Since they’re trying to kill me, I’m going to show the whole world who they are. Even though I can’t do live streams because they cut my connection with GodTube, I can still record videos just fine~’

The wizard immediately responded by generating lightning.

Flash!

The lightning moved like a snake and destroyed the Telekinetic Arrows! Then, the lightning targeted Ji-Cheok. However, the Soul Telekinesis barrier deflected the lightning as he drove toward the wizard.

? Alright, here we go!?Grinding on GodTube, everyone acknowledges my worth~ But I stay humble~??

?Master, just letting you know, you cannot play that song on your videos.?

Cheok-Liang’s expression was stone-cold as he warned Ji-Cheok.

Soon, the bewildered face of the wizard appeared in front of Ji-Cheok. Without hesitation, he crashed into the wizard with his Mono Bike.

Boom!

“ARGH!”

Cheok-Liang caught the falling wizard with his mouth. She looked unconscious.

?Master, I think she passed out. Since she is a wizard, I think she will die if left unattended.?

“Silph’s Recovery.”

Shiny fairies appeared and healed the unconscious wizard.

‘Remembering your skills that left me~ Until I break down, I will heal for you~’

?Master, please… Please stop singing that. I thought you wanted to get more Likes from the viewers! Stop singing right now!?

‘But I’m not gonna cry, yeah~’

* * *

‘Motherfu…’

Reina Hughey was left alone and looked at her opponent, feeling horror and shock at the same time. She had seen many crazy people in Harlem, a hellish place that combined capitalism, small government conservatism, and the second amendment, but this was the first time she was put face to face with such a maniac.

Reina had been raised in a place where the Joker and Squid Game costumes were banned but it was free to own a gun. It was also a place where pharmaceutical companies sold cannabis legally and were now pushing to legalize cocaine. The military companies were no better — they relaxed the gun regulations while legalizing assault rifles that could empty a thirty-round magazine in two seconds. All these companies, plus the fundamentalists who insisted on regulating contraceptives because their God hated contraception, had made Harlem into hell.

She didn’t know if she should feel lucky or not, but thanks to President Lincon and his brave fight against segregation, gangs of all races thrived harmoniously. Surprisingly, it was the Hispanics who had adapted well to this situation. Reina had inherited the ways to live and thrive from her South American parents, and she had seen enough madmen in her life.

Yet, she had never seen someone this crazy.

‘... Is he really using us as a performance to get more Likes?’

His flamboyant gestures, his impractical?gestures… He even brushed his hair and tidied himself up!

‘There is no way he thinks of me as a weakling. I am 20 levels above him! At least!’

She held up her staff and activated her skills.

“Memorize Spell Trigger! Activate Swamp Field! Activate Swamp Tentacle!”

If the spell Memorize was sold as a spell book, it would be worth around four million dollars. She had obtained this skill, worth around four billion won in Korean currency, purely by luck. Some of her spells normally had a long cast time, but she “memorized” them and could unleash them instantly. It was truly an overpowered skill! Moreover, the spells she cast now were particularly useful for stopping vehicles.

The ground in front of the motorcycle instantly turned into a swamp, following which tentacles came out of the swamp. She expected the bike to stop in its tracks right away.

“Hahaha!” Reina laughed.

Now, the only thing she needed to do was to keep pouring attack spells on this Korean samurai and she would win!

“Huh…?”

As if he had been waiting for this to happen, Ji-Cheok evaded the tentacles and accelerated toward Reina. A glowing sphere also appeared behind the bike, shooting out.

‘How is that bike moving on the swamp? And while evading my tentacles?’

Reina wondered if Ji-Cheok’s bike was amphibious. However, she didn’t panic… for a moment.

‘You are using your Telekinetic Arrows just as I expected! Then, eat this!’

The startled wizard cast the spell with the fastest activation time she had.

“Lightning Snake!”

From her staff, lightning bolted out like a snake. It blocked the arrows in an instant and pounced on the opponent.

A split second later, she saw Ji-Cheok mumbling something to the sky and giving the sky a thumbs-up. She knew right away that Ji-Cheok was gesturing for his video. The lightning was blocked by an invisible force surrounding Ji-Cheok’s body. Before Reina could do anything, the opponent was already in front of her.

‘I can’t sto—’

Reina got hit by the bike and flew to the sky.

* * *

[The Gods have shown interest in you!]

[You have received 1,100 Likes!]

[You have received 1,100 Likes!]

[You have received 1,100 Likes!]

[You have received 1,100 Likes!]

Ji-Cheok received Likes from a total of four Gods.

‘Wow… I couldn’t even open my channel, how did they find me? Was it possible because they are Gods?’

?I think they used the Favorite function, Master.?

‘...If I surpassed this human shell, would I be able to know about the world of the Gods?’

As of now, Ji-Cheok has no idea what kind of world the Gods lived in. But one thing was certain: since he got the Likes, he had to do the reaction. Plus, thanks to the title he had received last time, he could get 100 extra Likes from each God!

‘Now this is what I call free Likes!’

“With a heart of gratitude, here comes the reaction! Cheok-Liang, you ready?”

?Yes… Master…?

Cheok-Liang was on Ji-Cheok’s shoulder. As Ji-Cheok got on the bike, Cheok-Liang climbed onto his head. Then, they did a crane stance together, as if they were doing kung fu.

Howl~

As Cheok-Liang howled, more messages popped up.

[You have received 1,100 Likes!]

[You have received 3,300 Likes!]

[You have received 3,300 Likes!]

[You have received 3,300 Likes!]

It seemed like one God was mesmerized by Cheok-Liang’s performance. Indeed, whether it was a God or a human, nobody could contain themselves in front of his fur friend.

?Master… I may look like a fennec, but I am considered a deadly weap—?

‘Nope! Can’t hear you! Can’t hear you!’

After the performance, Ji-Cheok was sure that the VIPs were satisfied. Now, all that was left were these two villains who had collapsed and lost consciousness.

“Am I that strong? Or are they just weak?”

?After comparing with external information, their estimated level is 60-70. Master is just incredibly strong. Awakened with summoned vehicles are rare to begin with, and there is no Hunter in the world who could continuously enhance their summoning.?

“Wouldn’t Bi-Ga have an enhanced bike like this?’

?The information I have about her is only the tip of the iceberg, so we cannot know at this time.?

Ji-Cheok agreed with him. It was not like she had a job that required popularity. There was no way that she was ever going to start a GodTube channel and release her skill information.

“Also, I know that the bike was reinforced with my cultivation skills, but I really didn’t expect the enemies to pass out from one blow.”

?Human durability is not quite on par with that of monsters. But you have to remember, Master: tanks are different.?

“Wasn’t the first guy a tank?”

?The one with an axe is a melee dealer, not a true tank. Of course, tank or otherwise, rendering him unconscious in one blow is still a great achievement. From this, you can see that the ability of the Mono Bike is undeniably excellent.?

Cheok-Liang’s ears fluttered, showing that he was in deep thought.

?Hunters over level 80 are going to be very different from these villains.?

“Level 80, huh…”

Level 80 Hunters were still considered very strong. As far as he could remember, the world’s top Hunters were above level 120. Their main hunting grounds were dungeons at the high tier and above.

?Around ten percent of all active Hunters are level 80 or above. And only three percent of those are over level 100.?

Looking at Cheok-Liang’s statistics, ten percent seemed like a lot, but Ji-Cheok learned to not be fooled by the statistics. The number of active Hunters was excluding those who were in office work, production jobs, or just any Hunters that did not enter dungeons. That was why Hunters who went into dungeons and leveled up were considered ‘celebrities’ by ordinary people. Hunters who died or became paralyzed were also excluded from this statistic.

“Hm… Do you think that Hunters who are level 80 or above will come and attack us?”

?We can’t rule out the possibility, Master. Master’s growth is so rare that everyone around the world has taken an interest.?

‘I guess those goddamn Hunters are starting to become jealous of me.’

1. Parody of Rain by GANG, a very popular meme in Korea.

2. Another parody of the same song.