Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 151

Now was not the time to be lazy. Ji-Cheok needed to meet Jung Ji-Han right away. He was about to call him, but Cheok-Liang stopped him.

?How about we think about it for just one more day, Master??

“One more day?”

?Yes, Master. There are too many unknowns about Ji-Han’s purpose, and…?

Ji-Cheok noticed that his hands started shaking again,

?It seems you are still tired from the Trial. How about taking a rest for today??

“...”

Ji-Cheok thought about it.

“Okay. I’ll take a break today and think about it.”

?That is a wise choice, Master.?

“Then I will go and train.”

?Huh??

Cheok-Liang looked confused.

“When you need to clear your mind, doing something physical helps you get rid of it.”

?Uh… I do not know if that can be considered taking a rest, Master.?

“Well, for gym rats, going to the gym and lifting weights is their take on resting. Did you not know this?”

Cheok-Liang looked even more confused.

‘I didn’t know a fennec could make a face like that.’

“Alright, I’ll be back. Summon [Training Space of the God of War].”

Flash!

He was immediately transferred to the [Training Space of the God of War].”

As he said to Cheok-Liang, he wanted to move his body to clear his mind, but there was another reason as well. He still remembered how he fought when he was doing the Trial. If he trained with that in mind, he realized that he could get even stronger.

Ji-Cheok took a deep breath.

“God of War! I want more intense training! Can you let the enemies come out?” Ji-Cheok shouted.

This was the training space created by the God of War himself. It was a training space that could help anyone get stronger. It wasn’t particularly strange to ask for enemies to come out for a brawl.

‘I can’t do that? Then, I’ll find another way.’

However, the one who answered Ji-Cheok’s call was not the God of War.

[Upgrade Coupon for the Training Space of the God of War — 1,000,000 Likes]

[A space dedicated to training created by the God of War in cooperation with the God of Time. While the user trains inside, time stops outside.

The user must pay extra Likes to upgrade the training space.

*User manual must be purchased separately.]

‘One million Likes?? You bastards are going to be fried in hell!’

“You’re thinking of getting paid for this??”

‘Wow… These bastards are hustling Likes from me! How is this worth one million?! The price is the same as the actual training space!’

“Holy shit… They’re really something…”

This was shocking enough to make his trembling from the Trial of Despair stop.

‘Look at my hands! They’re not shaking anymore! That’s how ridiculous this is. Anyone would be pissed off from being scammed like this. And I have to purchase the manual separately? Go to hell!’

“God, I hate how they have a monopoly on this shit.”

After his angry rant, he let out a sigh. Although the System was selling the DLC of the training space at a ridiculous price, he still thought it would be worth the price.

“Alright, let’s buy this shit. I’ll spend one million Likes! Also, Give me the user manual!”

After purchasing the upgrade of the [Training Space of the God of War], his surroundings suddenly started to change.

RUMBLE!

The area of the training space gradually widened. The training ground, which had originally been a few hundred meters in size, had now expanded to the point where he could hardly see the end.

‘This shouldn’t be it… How much is the user manual? Give it to me now!’

[The User Manual for the First Upgrade of the Training Space of the God of War — 100,000 Likes.]

[A manual for the upgraded Training Space of the God of War.]

‘100,000 Likes?? Are you freaking kidding me? These guys are actually insane… They’re sucking all the Likes out of me!’

“Damn it… Purchase it now.”

He knew that he couldn’t fully utilize the training ground without the manual, and he couldn’t even get a refund.

A thin booklet appeared in front of him. He grabbed it and opened it.

[User Manual of the Training Space of the God of War]

[You can train inside the training space for 48 hours. (??ワ?)

You don’t feel hungry inside the training space! ?( ? ?? )?

You don’t feel sleepy inside the training space! (*^▽^*)

Inside the training space, you can summon imaginary enemies. But you can only summon enemies that you have met in person! ( ????? )

Still, it’s okay because you won’t die inside the training space. (≧?≦)?

Also, any injuries can be healed inside the training space. ?(???)?

Don’t forget that you can summon tools and mechanical devices for training just by imagining it! \\ \\ \\?(?????)?/ / / ]

“...At least the emoji are really cute? …So it’s a full hundred thousand for not even one page? You could’ve just told me this, you bastards!!!”

He had expected something like this to happen, but it was pretty surprising that the familiar blog-ish style was used here too. He didn’t know who had written this shit, but they had to be doing business with the God of War. In this world of monopolized deception, he realized how crazy the Gods were about getting Likes.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do. These bastards had just managed to get 1,100,000 Likes from him, and he didn’t have a lot remaining. He had to get his Likes’ worth.

First, he decided to put this thin 100,000 Likes worth of paper into the [Shadow Pouch] and started doing as written in the manual.

‘I’ll just have to imagine the enemies I’ve met.’

It was not hard to choose which enemy to think about. His fingertips started to tremble again just by imagining it.

“Kieeeeeee!!”

“Kiiiiaaaeek!”

It was the hideous tentacled monster that [Despair] had shown him. It was as tall as an apartment block, and each of its tentacles was as thick as a house.

He felt like he was going to lose his mind from the overwhelming fear. He wondered if it would be easier to just let his mind go. However, even if he wanted to go insane, he couldn’t.

“I guess it’s worth my Likes.”

‘I knew the God of War could do this much.’

“Alright, let’s get some training done.”

He grabbed the handlebars of the Mono Bike G.

‘#Letsgo!’

Just then, the tentacles attacked him.

Boom!

He quickly avoided them with his movement technique and thought about his time in the Trial. He watched its movements with his eyes, and he realized instinctively how to avoid them.

‘Now this is what I call real training.’

* * *

Pant. Pant.

He had used and abused all of his Qi. Every single one of his muscles was twitching. These were signs that he had squeezed out every last bit of his strength, but he ignored the fatigue.

Slash!

He swung his sword and rolled on the ground to run from the monster. He was slowly getting used to this training space. Just like that third-rate blog-like manual explained, he was never going to die in the training space. Even when he got injured, he was healed instantly. This was the [Training Space of the God of War], the training space that had cost him millions of Likes. It would have been strange for him to die during training. However, he still had to suffer pain and use his mana. He also had to endure the fatigue accumulation.

As he sat down in exhaustion, the monster was nowhere to be seen. If he stopped fighting and wished for the monster to disappear, the monster disappeared.

‘At least I got some results.’

He still couldn’t defeat it, but he was now able to overcome his fear with his will. He swung his Sword Qi to test something. Then, the Sword Qi flew out in a crescent moon shape.

BOOM!

That wasn’t it. It was possible for him to use his Sword Threads more precisely than before, and he could also vaporize his Qi within the body to generate instant explosive power. He had become able to do this after fake-dying thirty times to the tower-sized monster.

‘After learning the Inner Technique properly, my growth rate has increased significantly. I can clearly see it when I’m training.’

He was surprised.

‘I mean, it’s all because of the [Heaven Martial Body], but I really didn’t know my growth rate would increase this much. This is amazing.’

“I think it’s time for me to go back.”

When he left the [Training Space of the God of War], he found Cheok-Liang looking at him with the same weird facial expression.

?Master??

“I’m back.”

?I can see that. You feel different. How was your…rest??

“It was okay.”

After enduring so much pain, he got some hope. He knew that he had to do something to survive.

Life was always like this. In every textbook in Korea, there was a picture demonstrating against the Japanese with the Taegukgi for the March 1st Movement. Everyone in the picture looked determined and courageous, and their hope was visible—white, pure, strong, and resolute. However, all those people weren’t protesting because they could see the future and were one hundred percent sure of the liberation of their country. They just hated their living conditions and knew that nothing would change if they didn’t do anything. That was their reason.

Ji-Cheok didn’t even have to go that far back.

‘It’s like looking for another job instead of committing suicide, and it’s like going bankrupt because of debt and looking for a rehabilitation application. I just need to do something.’

?I know you are joking, but I am worried that you are being too harsh on yourself, Master.?

Ji-Cheok ignored Cheok-Liang.

“The [Heaven Martial Body] is amazing. I think I can do anything with this.”

?That… is good news, Master.?

Cheok-Liang was still worried about him.

“And I’ve been thinking about it.”

?About what, Master??

“We don’t need to waste time. Let’s talk to Jung Ji-Han right away.”

It had been just a moment for Cheok-Liang, but for Ji-Cheok, almost two days had passed. He had been in the training space for two days trying to kill the monster like a madman.

Cheok-Liang thought for a bit.

?I think your gaze has changed a little, Master.?

“Are you relieved now?”

Just like Ji-Cheok had done before, Cheok-Liang ignored him.

?Whatever floats your boat, Master.?

‘I guess he’s still worried about me.’

* * *

‘Since this is urgent, should I call him? I guess it’s a bit rude to call him this late, so I’ll just text him. If he doesn’t reply, I’ll just finish the other stuff on my to-do list.’

Ji-Cheok: Hello, Director Jung Ji-Han. Sorry for the late text. I have an important matter to talk about. If you see this, please reply back.

Surprisingly, as soon as he sent it, the text was marked ‘read,’ and the reply came right away.

‘What the hell? Was he looking at his phone and not sleeping?’

Ji-Han: I’m at the Imjin River, I have some work to do here. What’s going on?

‘Imjin River? At this hour? Isn’t that where the military base is?’

Ji-Cheok: There is something I want to talk about in person. May I visit you there?

Ji-Han: Okay. I will send you the address.

‘He doesn’t even ask any follow-up questions and just gives me the address. Why is he at the Imjin River at three in the morning?’

?That area is deserted. I wonder if it is too dangerous…?

‘I mean, I’m sure he’s not there to organize paperwork or hold a general meeting of shareholders. I would be surprised if he’s there doing something normal. I mean, it’s not like Ji-Han is known for being normal. I guess we’ll find out when we get there.’

Ji-Cheok got up, washed himself with magic, and put on some clothes. It was time for his Mono Bike G to hit the road.

1. Korean National Flag.

2. This was a protest movement by Korean people and students calling for independence from Japan, and protesting forced assimilation into the Japanese way of Life. It happened on March 1st, 1919.