Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 176

‘Cheok-Liang, look at these titles. They’re all incredible!’

?It just shows how difficult that dungeon was, Master.?

‘You’re right. Yesterday was not an ordinary day.

?Master, I think the next step should be checking the dungeon rewards.?

Ji-Cheok pressed on the three dungeon reward messages. Chests appeared in front of him one by one.

‘Hm… Should I do an unboxing video for these?’

?There have been quite a few deaths, so it is better not to post unboxing videos. As for the video that I uploaded while you were sleeping, I edited it to make it appear a bit more serious.?

‘Then wouldn’t my comments not suit the theme of the video?’

?I have edited it quite well, so the reaction of the viewers is positive. You do not have to worry.?

‘Yeah, the reaction was pretty good. It’s all thanks to your editing.

?Thank you, Master.?

‘Then, I won’t shoot an unboxing video. Let’s just open these right away.’

Ji-Cheok opened the chests.

The first chest contained the reward for the dungeon-clearing quest—a rectangular piece of something that looked like gold-plated paper. This was the [Legendary Skill Exchange Voucher].

“Wow! This is crazy!”

Cheok-Liang also seemed dumbfounded.

?Master! This is why it is worth it to increase your Luck stats!?

‘You\'re right. That Luck stats don’t even appear on my Stats window.’

Ji-Cheok was glad that he had increased his Luck stats. He couldn’t believe that he had obtained another Legendary skill this easily.

‘Wow, Cheok-Liang. Has any other Hunter ever mentioned the Luck stat?’

?No, there is no one, Master. There may be other Hunters who know about their Luck just like you, but they are certainly not sharing that information with other people.?

Even Ji-Cheok couldn’t increase his Luck level by using Likes directly. He required… a stroke of luck in order to do that.

‘Whether it’s a title or an item, if it increases Luck, I need to buy all of them from now on.’

?Yes, Master! Considering its rarity, it will definitely be beneficial.?

The second chest that he opened was the additional, unnamed reward for the same quest.

With a brilliant flash of light, a ring came out of the chest. Ji-Cheok didn’t have to use the [Eye of Insight], as the item information appeared on its own.

[Ring of Gluttony]

[Class: S-

Type: Accessories (Artifact)

A ring containing the essence of a God from another dimension.

It has the power to permanently increase Strength and Stamina proportionally to the amount of food that the user eats.

It was originally a divine object of the God, but now, it is completely separated from its master. Only its power remains.

Function: Permanently increases Strength the more the user eats.

Function: Permanently increases your Stamina the more the user eats.

Function: Wearer incurs the wrath of [Eight_legged_wanderer]]

?Are you going to put it on, Master??

‘Well, it seems that I have already crossed the point of no return with that God. It’s not like I can ask them for forgiveness or anything. So let’s just put this on!’

He quickly put on the ring. This was an Artifact with practically unlimited potential.

While thinking that he should eat more in the future, he opened the third chest.

‘Wow~ This reward is for destroying the dungeon. I was looking forward to this~’

Ji-Cheok now knew one of the ways to destroy a dungeon. He just needed to destroy the Core of the dungeon! For that to happen, Ji-Cheok needed the World Tree’s ability to eliminate dungeons. However, if the World Tree grew further, it would no longer fit in his Shadow Pouch… He needed to do more research on how to move the World Tree around without resorting to his shadows.

He thought about the information regarding destroying dungeons that he had been trying to buy for a long time.

‘Would I be able to learn more about it if I bought it for ten million Likes?’

“But already know parts of the information, I don’t want to spend ten million Likes for that.”

Pat!

Another brilliant light shone, and this time something rather unusual appeared.

[World Essence]

[Class: S-

Type: Elixir (Artifact)

A reward given by the world to those who defend it.

Those who consume it can gain a fraction of a world’s power.

Function: Increases any stat by one rank. The rank cannot exceed S.]

‘Uh… This is some overpowered Artifact! So, if I use this on something of an A-rank, it becomes S-rank, right? I am this powerful because my Mana and Cultivation are S-rank… Wait, does that say ‘any rank’? Holy shit. That means I can increase the rank of my [Heaven and Earth Chaotic Divine Art]. Currently, it’s C-rank, and it costs about five million Likes for me to increase it to B-rank. That’s why I had given up trying to upgrade it. ’

Right now, Ji-Cheok had 8.21 million Likes. If he increased his cultivation art to B-rank with his Likes, then used the World Essence, he could raise it to A-rank! This meant that he could upgrade to a higher realm in a matter of seconds.

‘This… is something else. With this, I can grow so fast.’

?Master! If that is the case, wouldn’t it be better to upgrade the [Heaven and Earth Chaotic Divine Art] up to A-rank with your Likes, then use the World Essence to reach the S rank??

‘But, we don’t have enough time. It’s going to take so long to gather that many Likes.’

?At the current rate, it seems possible within a month…?

‘You don’t know that. It’s five million Likes from C-rank to B-rank. Who knows, the System might ask for fifty million Likes for upgrading from B-rank to A-rank.’

?Mmm… You are right, Master. But precisely by that logic, wouldn’t the System ask for a couple hundred million Likes for going from A-rank to S-rank? I think using Likes up to A-rank is more efficient.?

‘I know that. But the question is how much time humanity has left. If we exceed that time…’

?That is also true, Master.?

‘Of course, I’m not deciding right now… I haven’t checked the rest of my rewards yet.’

Anyway, increasing any stat by one rank was a priceless reward. Also, since this item was transferable, it was even more valuable. It was not S- for nothing.

‘I can’t believe I have this in my hand…’

?So, for our next thing, which Legendary skill would you like to get??

‘Hm… I dunno. Which Legendary skill do you think I should get?’

In the case of cultivation, he thought that it would be better to reach the next level and acquire new skills by training rather than just using the Skill Voucher. Then, he thought about the skills that he had used to particularly great effect in the recent days. Among all his skills, he had profited most from the [Soul Telekinesis] and his craftsman skills.

His potion production was so large that it had shaken the industry and even invited assassins to his factory. In turn, the [Soul Telekinesis] had good compatibility with his cultivation skills and was very powerful. It was also a very effective auxiliary skill for when he was riding the Mono Bike G.

‘Crafting skills or combat skills…’

He thought about it for a while and finally made his decision.

‘I choose a crafting-type skill. I’m going to destroy everyone in the potion industry. I’m going to cut off the heads of the hydra directly and deal with the guys who sent assassins to kill me.’

It was possibly wiser to raise the rank of [Heaven and Earth Chaotic Divine Art] with the World Essence and his Likes and find a compatible Legendary skill. However, he thought that it was more urgent to teach a good lesson to the people from the potion industry who had sent assassins after him twice.

‘Ah… Just thinking about it makes my blood boil.’

?The time has come for you to conquer the potion industry, Master. I like it. I will start short-selling their stocks right away.?

‘This is why you’re my advisor, Cheok-Liang. If we are going to destroy them anyway, might as well make money from it.’

?In that sense, Master. I recommend that you acquire this Legendary skill.?

[King of Production]

[Class: Legendary (Non-upgradable)

A very long time ago, there was a Dwarf king.

He prayed to their God that the Dwarves become the most prosperous race in the world. Their God answered their prayers and bestowed blessings upon them.

This is the mighty blessing that made the legendary Dwarf king into a Great Emperor.

Function: Increases productivity in all branches by 500%.

Function: Increases all types of industrial production of all friendly factions by 100%.]

The description was very simple. Essentially, he could use one unit’s worth of materials to produce five units. It wasn’t just a small percentage; his productivity would literally multiply! In addition, it was a passive skill that did not consume extra mana. It was not upgradeable, but that did not matter, considering how overpowered it was anyway.

“Wow… It’s literally a Legendary skill made for running a factory!”

He could increase his industrial output five times!

‘How much is this in Likes?’

?If you were to purchase this with Likes, it would cost you thirty million.?

Ji-Cheok couldn’t breathe for a moment, and his eyes almost popped out.

‘No… No way! That’s insane! How the hell is it more expensive than the information regarding dungeon destruction?! I mean, five times the production rate is great, but…that expensive? Then, shouldn’t it be an?Infinity?skill?rather than a Legendary one?’

Legendary skills were extremely rare anyway, but skills belonging to the next class, Infinity, were so rare that only a few were known to exist in the entire world. Ji-Cheok thought that the skill he just acquired was good enough to be classified as an Infinity skill.

?I do not know the exact standard for the skills… But this skill is indeed a Legendary one. In fact, there are many Legendary skills that require more Likes than this one. In particular, the skills that require a specific rank of a specific preexisting skill tend to be very expensive.?

‘Like that Archangel’s Serenade thing? You have to have a musical skill S-rank or higher to learn that.’

?Yes, Master.?

‘Ha… The world is full of surprises, or should I say the world of Likes is full of surprises.’

“I will use the Legendary Skill Exchange Voucher to purchase the [King of the Production Industry].”

The light shined on Ji-Cheok and he felt the skill attaching his mind. Now he could make 5 times the potions!

“Alright, now I have to make a choice.”

?Yes, Master. If you collect 1.78 million more Likes like this, you will be able to obtain the information about the dungeon destruction.?

‘Or I could increase the rank of [Heaven and Earth Chaotic Divine Art] instead of getting the information.’

?The information on the dungeon destruction is ten million—Wait!?

“What? What’s going on?

?Master, look! Look at this!?

[Information on Dungeon Destruction]

[Class: S

10,000,000 Likes

*Can be purchased for 5,000,000 Likes by acquiring part of the information on dungeon destruction.]

‘W…What?! I can buy it with five million Likes?! That’s fifty percent off!’

?This is the same as when you got the [Heaven Martial Body]. It seems like you get a discount if you meet certain conditions for acquiring skills.?

‘That’s right. The original price for the [Heaven Martial Body] was beyond imagination. I got a discount because I had the [Human] skill. Will I finally be able to know the whole story of our world? I’ve worked so hard to get this…and now I can… It feels kinda weird because it’s so much faster than I expected.’’

?Master, are you crying??

“Don’t be stupid, who would cry over this?”

Ji-Cheok quickly wiped his eyes and let out a hollow laughter.

“Buy this now!”

Pop!

The information came out.

[Information on Dungeon Destruction]

[Hello~ Mortals~ ~?(?ˊ?ˋ)??

To destroy a dungeon, you have to go through two steps to destroy the dungeon’s Core.(?????ロ????)????

So, what do you think is the first of these two steps?

It is obtaining the ability to neutralize the ‘Indestructible’ function! (╯?▽?)╯

Most of the dungeon Cores have an ‘Indestructible’ feature that needs to be bypassed.

It seems like Mr. Um Ji-Cheok already has that ability!

Congratulations on obtaining the title [Destroyer of the Divine Statue]. You have successfully passed the first step! (≧?≦)/

Now, you just have to go through the second step.

The second step is to have the ability to find the Core of the dungeon! ?(??????)?

Even if you have the ability to destroy the Core of the dungeon, it’s meaningless if you can’t find it, right?

You need to find it, but how?

You can find that out in [How_to_detect_dungeon_core.txt]~ へ(゜?、°)へ

Shortcut→ Click!]

“You… MOTHER!!! FUCKERS!!!!! YOU GOT NO SENSE OF DECENCY?? AAAHHHHH!!!”

1. The author actually uses the word ????, which is a transliteration of “infinity”.