Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 90

Boom! Boom!

Rocks were flying everywhere and the wind brushed past his cheeks. Debris flew around too, lightly scratching Ji-Cheok’s cheeks. He moved to a safe distance on his Mono Bike G and then made a rough turn, using the rear wheel brake. What he saw was a huge tree giant that had dug itself up from the ground. The monster was about the size of a small building.

‘How am I supposed to kill this guy?’

KAAAAAACK!!!

Its cry was so loud that Ji-Cheok felt it in his guts.

-Is that monster called Mutated World Tree Branch?

-These giant boss monsters usually come out in three-star dungeons, why is there one in a one-star dungeon?

-Run away, Umji!!!

-RUN!!!!!!

‘The chat seems to be noisy, but I sort of expected this to happen. People can clear a video game in one try, but even that requires countless hours of practice. We don’t have a second chance like that when it comes to human life. It’s weird that I don’t feel scared. Probably because of the [Beginner’s Skill: Steady Heart]. Or maybe it is because I believe that I can beat this monster? This guy is really slow too. What do you think, Cheok-Liang?’

?You have good eyes, Master. It is probably because the level of the dungeon is low, so the speed of the monster is also lowered. But it is definitely intimidating. The sheer size of the monster can be considered a terrifying weapon. I wonder if it is possible to defeat it with a team of Hunters who are level 20 or less.?

‘I think it would be possible if all the best low-level Hunters in the world gathered and made a team. But even then, since they are the best low-level Hunters, they are bound to level up quickly and not be able to enter these low-level limited dungeons, which means that the Dungeon Break would be unavoidable, right?’

?If Master did not exist, yes.?

‘It sure would have been. But it will never happen on my watch. When I first got my Hunter job, I was skeptical about it. But it seems like there was something that only I could do as a GodTube Influencer. Now that I’ve earned some Likes, let’s go defeat that big monster. Shall I go a little bit more dramatic this time? I’m going to increase my mana with the Likes I currently have.’

His original Mana and Cultivation ranks were both C, but with the [Fragment of Illusion], the rank was bumped up to B.

[Fragment of Illusion]

[Class: A

Type: Accessories (Artifact)

A long time ago, a certain Transcender thought it would be nice to sculpt illusion.

And he did it.

When equipped, it increases the mana rank of the user by one.

*Mana rank cannot exceed A with this item.

User acquires skill [Illusion Creation] when equipped.

Illusion Creation: The user can create any illusions they want without consuming any mana. The illusion only affects vision and disappears when the user’s will is broken.]

‘Let’s use some Likes!’

[Would you like to rank up your Mana&Cultivation to C+ by using 10,000 Likes? (Yes/ No)]

[Would you like to rank up your Mana&Cultivation to B by using 100,000 Likes? (Yes/No)]

Ji-Cheok used 110,000 Likes in an instant. With this, his Mana and Cultivation rank increased by two, and with the help of his accessory, the rank was even bumped up to A!

Woong~

Only professional wizards had A-rank Mana! Even better, the notification said ‘Mana and?

Cultivation’. Ji-Cheok wondered how many cultivation users had ever reached A-Rank.

A mysterious light covered him, and his hair moved unrealistically, as if it were in the water. He appeared as if the law of gravity did not apply to the space surrounding him. He wondered if this phenomenon was something that occurred with everyone when their mana increased in an instant.

-What the hell is going on?

-There’s a light glowing around Umji!

-Isn’t this a phenomenon that occurs when the mage-type Hunters use their mana?

-What? Are you a wizard, Umji?

-There’s no way! We saw him use twin swords! We saw him use cultivation skills!

-That looks so pretty, Umji!! 乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃

-I wish you would just run away… But if you are not gonna listen to me, you must win! 乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃乃

‘Alright, since I’m full of energy, let’s go!’

“Activate Rapid Acceleration!”

Vroom!!!

Mono Bike G shot out like a bullet, and if Ji-Cheok’s sense of time wasn’t mistaken, it reached the maximum speed of six hundred kilometers per hour in an instant. He could hear the engine screaming for help. He reached the tree giant, which was quite far away, in mere seconds.

“Hey there, I believe we’ve met before.”

The tree giant reacted immediately and swung its gigantic arms at Ji-Cheok, but it was too slow for him.

Boom!!

‘Ouch, I felt it in my guts again. If that thing so much as grazes me, I’m screwed. I have to keep a safe distance.’

He turned his bike and accelerated again.

“Activate Blaze Walk!”

[The item skill [Blaze Walk] of [Black Flaming Jacket] has been activated.]

[The skill [Mana Sync] of [Mono Bike G] has been activated.]

[[Mono Bike G] is now synced with the users’ skills!]

Blazing fire soared from under the tires of Mono Bike G. The flames produced by the rear wheel followed the trajectory Ji-Cheok rode along, creating a wall of flames. Perhaps it was because of his new A-Rank Mana and Cultivation stats, but the flame was so huge that it could not be compared to the previous times he used the skill.

?Wow, Master! The flames are terrifying!?

Thump.

He landed on the giant tree’s ‘leg’, and this time he synced another skill to his bike.

‘Activate Wall Drive.’

Vroooom!!

He rode the motorcycle up the monster’s leg, passed the monster’s waist in an instant, and drove up to its back. The tree giant burned as a vine of fire was engraved on its body like ivy on a wall.

KAAAAAACK!!

The monster let out a monstrous scream.

‘But my bike is faster~’

No matter how hard the monster tried, it could not catch him.

Crack. Crack.

Whip!

As it was losing stamina from the flames, hundreds of vines protruded from its body like tentacles! The vines were trying to tie him up.

?Just as expected, Master!?

‘I know! These boss monsters always have a second phase.’

“That’s why I prepared this! Voilà! Soul Telekinesis!”

The power of Soul Telekinesis spread under the wheels of the bike.

Vroom!!

The Mono Bike G ran up toward the sky! Ji-Cheok had an enormous amount of mana from his A-rank mana stats. He simply used that mana to build a highway to heaven with [Soul Telekinesis] and drove on it using [Wall Drive]! He dodged the tentacles and soared!

Below him, the monster was burning vigorously. The flames were starting to spread all over its body; even worse, they were not natural flames, but man-made flames produced by Ji-Cheok’s skill, so they couldn’t be put out easily unless it killed Ji-Cheok or literally summoned the rain.

‘However, my friend, you are a tree monster, not a water monster, right? I was thinking of just letting you burn, but I can’t let that happen. If my stream isn’t entertaining, that means fewer Likes for me.’?

When Ji-Cheok felt he was high enough into the sky, Mono Bike G immediately made a U-turn!

Shooong!

Like a blazing meteor, Ji-Cheok started his descent to the ground riding down the vertical wall made with Soul Telekinesis. As he approached the burning and twitching tree giant, he activated all the skills he had at the same time: his Monoblade, the Sword Qi of [Heaven and Earth Chaotic Divine Art], and his various double strike skills. Lastly, he synced all of the skills to Mono Bike G!

[You have reached the top speed.]

[[Acceleration] is now activated.]

That was one of the good things about the Mono Bike.

Acceleration: The higher the speed, the greater the skill damage. (up to 300%)

In addition, [Mana Sync] was still activated, and the damage increased even more. With this, Ji-Cheok became one with Mono Bike G.

‘Okay, here we go! Sword and Self as One—no, wait, Bike and Self as One!!”

The chat was peppered with comments asking what the hell Ji-Cheok was talking about.

‘I’m more surprised that some of the viewers are typing faster than I am talking! They’re like Awakened typists. Now, split in half, you giant monster!’

Ji-Cheok, the bike, and all the activated sub-skills of [Soul Telekinesis] and Mono Bike G amplified [Mana Sync], and finally, Ji-Cheok and the bike became one giant sword.

‘But wait, there’s more! Two blades are always better than one! Here comes the limited time sale, BOGO of my sword!’

BOOM!

CRAAAAACK!!

“Hmph!”

Ji-Cheok loved the feeling of an otherwise impenetrable boss monster being sliced like tofu. Just before hitting the ground, he used [Soul Telekinesis], twisting his body and rotating Mono Bike G around to disperse the force of impact. He landed safely on the ground.

Bam!

Roooaaarrrr~!!

Oddly enough, the tree giant was split into four instead of two. It was because of the effect of the trusty double strike with one hundred percent chance that was activated! The tree giant that split in four directions staggered as it burned. Eventually, the four giant pieces of firewood fell on the ground.

[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!]

[You have received…..

The Likes from the Gods flooded his notifications!

[You have received 1 Like!]

[You have received 11 Likes!]

[You have received 1 Like!]

[You have received 6 Likes!]

……

Even the Likes from ordinary viewers started to stack up. Ji-Cheok realized that not only he was receiving Likes from viewers clicking the like button on GodTube, but he was also getting them from people who were deeply impressed from watching the live stream.

‘This is why I love doing live streams. Of course, edited videos are a better investment, if you think about the long-term.’

?That was an amazing performance, Master!?

Cheok-Liang jumped on his shoulder and cheered his Master.

‘I’m glad… I can’t even lift a finger right now.’

Ji-Cheok had to pull out all the stops, from [Soul Telekinesis], [Mana Sync], [Heaven and Earth Chaotic Divine Art], [Mono Bike G], to [Monoblade]. He had even used the [Double Strike] as his finishing move! The mighty blow that used all of these skills was what made Ji-Cheok able to kill that giant monster, the likes of which only appeared in three-star dungeons.

“Wow, I feel so exhausted.”

Ji-Cheok was not faking it for his stream. He felt like he had just run a full marathon. He had to use his remaining strength to just stay conscious. He didn’t want the viewers to see his body trembling with exhaustion, so he sat on the ground.

‘Wouldn’t it look cool to have the energy to spare, even after all that?’

[You have cleared the dungeon!]

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

[1st place is Um Ji-Cheok with 6,671 points.]

[You have cleared the quest.]

[Your quest rewards are being distributed.]

[You have cleared the hidden quest.]

[Your hidden quest rewards are being distributed.]

A box appeared in front of him.

‘Last time, the distribution took ages, but this time, I got the rewards right away.’

When he put his hand on the box, the box disappeared with the light and gave him three items. One was a Unique Skill Voucher. The other was a branch about fifty centimeters long, and the last one was a Warding Stone—something that, just like the final boss, could only be found in three-star dungeons normally.

‘I got…this?’

-You have successfully completed the mission of [U_Play_Like_Sh1t].

-You have received 100 million won as the mission reward.

-Umji, you did it!!

-I think I just came a little…

-Holy… He is literally in a different genre from the other Hunters. You should add #Horror on your GodTube tags.

?For sure… Maybe add #SF_Racer on there too.

?I think the title of his channel should be ‘Umji’s adventure on mysterious and weird dungeons.’

-By the way, doesn’t that branch look unusual? My spidey sense is tingling.

?Found another chuuni.

-I’m sorry, but isn’t that donation guy really funny? LOL LOL LOL. In the end, it only benefited Umji!

?#preach.

‘The viewers seem to be happy, except for one.’

1.