Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 161

“Sure, I can tell you about the Tutorial. I don’t have any restrictions on that, unlike Mr. Jung Ji-Han. But I don’t know if it’s okay to just give you such valuable information,” Reable said.

“So you’re saying the information is not free,” Ji-Cheok said.

Reable grinned slyly.

“The Demon never works for free.”

“Isn’t that a breach of our contract?”

Just then, sparks flew from Reable’s body. The limousine van seat under him was singed, and his clothes were burnt.

‘No… Those clothes are expensive…’

Ji-Cheok’s kindness really stopped on the surface—he cared about the clothes more than the Demon wearing them.

The sparks finally stopped.

“Ouch! That really hurts! This is why nobody should make comprehensive contracts.”

“What was that?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“That’s what I get for trying to go against the contract. If I don’t faithfully fulfill the contract, this thing will activate. Why do you think contracts are considered absolute? They really have that much power, that’s why.”

‘I see.”

“So Reable, can you tell us when the Tutorial ends?”

Mu-Cheok spoke instead of his older brother. He also stopped using honorifics toward Reable. In other words, Mu-Cheok was not going to treat him as a human being.

‘Is that wrong? I mean, he’s not human, after all…’

Ji-Cheok wondered if it was okay to treat a former God like this. But Reable didn’t care that much.

“Hm… This is very high-level information, but I guess I have to tell you. To start, I don’t know exactly when it’s going to end,” Reable said.

At that moment, the muzzle of Mu-Cheok’s pistol clicked as it touched Reable’s temple.

“Hyung, I don’t think this guy will do anything good for us. The bastard is dangerous and there is no benefit to having him by our side. He’s useless.”

“Hey, hold on! Don’t kill him. Don’t!” Ji-Cheok said.

“Okay~ I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you. I really mean it, there is no fixed schedule for the Tutorial to end,” Reable said.

“Then what needs to happen in order for it to end?”

“Do you know that freshwater fish cannot live in the sea?”

“Uh… Yes, I know that.”

“It’s like that. The environment of Earth is not suitable for beings from other dimensions. The biggest difference is mana.”

“Wait, hold on…” Mu-Cheok said as if he had realized something.

“What’s up?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“In order to raise saltwater fish, you need a fish tank with seawater.”

“Yes, I know that.”

“Then, what do you think would happen if beings who used to live in a place with a lot of mana come to a place with little to no mana? Can saltwater fish live properly in freshwater? Of course, there are a few species that can travel between sea and freshwater, but most will die if they leave their natural environment.”

‘I think I get it.’

“So when the concentration of Earth’s mana is high enough… That’s when the Tutorial ends,” Ji-Cheok said.

“Hahaha! Wow, how did you get the answer with just this much information? I will give you a reward for that. The reward will be given at the moment that the world ends,” Reable said.

“Then… Is there a way for us to stop it?”

As Ji-Cheok was talking to himself, Reable interrupted his thoughts.

“There is a way! It’s not impossible, just…almost impossible.”

“How can we stop it?”

“You can get rid of the mana in the world altogether. You can reduce the mana of the world by making all humans use less mana overall, and only use mana when a Dungeon Break occurs, or when hunting monsters. Other than that, prohibit the use of mana! Even things like power plants that run on mana should be stopped. Basically, the production and use of all mana-powered items should be completely stopped. See? It’s easy,” Reable said.

‘Wait, I think I’ve heard this kind of problem before.’

It was impossible. There was no way that people’s desires could be controlled… The current world had been adapting to the use of mana since billions of people had died during the first Wave. It was impossible to make people return to the old days.

“Isn’t it funny? People cling to mana as their lifeline, and they have no idea that at the end of the line, there is a noose slowly closing around their throats.”

“If humanity is going to perish anyway, why the fuck are they calling it a Tutorial?? What is the meaning behind that? I don’t get it!!”

“Hyung… Calm down.”

Ji-Cheok shouted in anger, and Mu-Cheok grabbed his shoulder, trying to calm him down. Reable was looking at the scene with a strange smile.

“I’m sorry,” Ji-Cheok said to his brother.

“No, it’s okay. I’m pissed off too.”

“It is natural for the two of you to be this angry. Because you don’t know anything. Huhuhuhu. Actually ■■ was done with ■■, so the Earth is… Oh wait, I guess those words are censored. That’s a shame.”

Ji-Cheok couldn’t hear that part of the sentence.

‘Damn the restriction!’

“So to sum up, when the concentration of mana reaches saturation, the Tutorial ends! And the dungeons will just keep appearing, growing, and then growing some more~ When that happens, the Warding Stones will be ineffective. Oh, of course, that doesn’t mean humanity is doomed. If you are prepared enough and united, you will survive!” Reable said.

“And if we can’t?”

“Then, that’s the end of the world.”

Reablele raised his palms and closed them together. It had to mean that humanity was going to get crushed as if it was between his two palms.

“By the way, Mr. Um Ji-Cheok.”

“Yes.”

“I know all we did today was for the purpose of evaluating me, but now you know that I’m strong, right?”

“...That is indisputable.”

Reable could create and control the Undead that crushed strong Hunters level 80 and higher. And that was not all. The Life Drain skill was also surprisingly powerful, and in addition to that, the guys who had come to kill Ji-Cheok had become Reable’s corpse underlings.

“So, I’ve also evaluated you, from my point of view as a God,” Reable said.

‘I guess it’s not an evaluation from another human, but from the perspective of a God.’

?His advice might be very useful, Master.?

‘You’re right.’

“Both of you are really talented. Actually, it is true that humans on Earth are the weakest in all dimensions and there are many Gods that are betting the Earth is going to be the first to perish,” Reable said.

?Now we know that Gods gamble too.?

‘Wow, do Gods have casinos? And are we the pawns in their little games? I can’t believe that Gods would gamble on our deaths.’

“While this is a science-based planet, it is not so technologically advanced, and that’s not good. Also, the human body is naturally weak, and they don’t live over one hundred years on average. Above all, the worst part is that when you enter your thirties, your body starts to break down. After that, you’re just waiting for your death,” Reable said.

?It is how your body is made, so there is nothing you can do about it. You cannot compare with races like Elves, Dwarves, and High Orcs.?

Ji-Cheok wasn’t even mad. He didn’t know if a Creator had made them this way or if it was a matter of evolution, but either way, there was nothing he could do about it.

Reable continued to talk.

“It’s amazing that you two have grown this much stronger in this short amount of time. However, I know from watching you that there was no one to teach you the proper ways. And learning from experience is simply not going to cut it. It’s like you are relying on the power of the System to balance it out.”

“It seems like other dimensions have teachers,” Ji-Cheok said.

“There is a planet where cultivation is the foundation, and a strong cultivator from that planet can move mountains and evaporate rivers. There was an epic war between clans, but in the end, they finished the Tutorial safely. Another magic-based planet solved their difficult problems by building several mage towers. Although both planets belong to the human race, their planetary environment was full of Mana and Qi from the get-go. Well, since both of those are essentially the same, I’m just gonna combine them and say Mana from now on.”

“Then, their Tutorial period must have been shorter than ours,” Ji-Cheok said.

“It was, but they figured it out much more quickly.”

‘Is there really nothing we can do?’

As Reable waved his finger, Mu-Cheok clicked his tongue and asked,

“So, what are you trying to say?”

“I should teach you~” Reable said with exaggeration.

“I will teach you how to fight more effectively and how to become stronger. The System won’t stop people from learning through effort—after all, Mr. Um Ji-Cheok, your brother has managed to learn cultivation, hasn’t he?”

Ji-Cheok had never said anything to Reable about his brother learning cultivation. It was easy to find out about Ji-Cheok just from a quick search on GodTube, but there was no way for him to know that Mu-Cheok also cultivated. The fact that Reable already knew that meant his abilities were far superior to what Ji-Cheok had expected.

“Good. I will let you teach us.”

“Hyung!” Mu-Cheok shouted, looking at him with a wary eye. However, Ji-Cheok knew that if he was taught by Reable, there would be nothing but benefits for him.

Reable laughed.

“In order to become stronger, you can’t care about the means or methods. Surely that is enough to be called a ‘Fragment of Chaos’.”

[You have received 1 Like.]

Even the System could not tell him what kind of being this guy was. It was probably because the System’s filter was clogged up by Reable’s chain of causality. But that didn’t matter to Ji-Cheok.

“How amazing~ Even though I am an unidentified Demon-type God, you want me to teach you!”

He looked at Ji-Cheok with curiosity. It felt as if his red eyes were looking deep into Ji-Cheok’s pupils, but he kept his mouth shut. Ji-Cheok didn’t know what Reable wanted so much that he had thrown away everything and fallen to this Earth. It had to be an obsession bordering on madness.

‘I know it’s going to be dangerous.’

But Ji-Cheok had no intention of helplessly accepting the inevitable end.

“You put your hand in even though you know the fire is hot. That’s what’s so interesting about you. Others would either run away or freeze in shock, but you are neither.”

Reable spun around.

“Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to teach you Necromancer skills~ Unless you buy a skill book from the System, that’s going to take a really long time. I will only teach you the basics. The rest is up to you.”

“The basics?”

This time, it was Mu-Cheok who asked the question.

“Yes, I am going to teach you how to use mana more precisely and efficiently, what actions to prioritize in battles, and so on. Don’t bother with your little Intuition skill, this is way above its pay grade.”

?That is correct. How did he…?

He was right. Ji-Cheok had begun to realize that the experience he had as a Hunter Assistant and his [Minor Intuition] had reached a limit.

‘If my goal was to lead a normal life as a Hunter, I wouldn’t have to worry about this.’

However, it started to get tough as he dealt with stronger enemies.

“You can certainly build your power based on your skills, but if you learn how to use those skills properly, that will make you much stronger. You two have the potential for it,” Reable said.

“...”

“Hyung, what are you going to do?”

Mu-Cheok eagerly awaited his reply.

* * *

As soon as they returned home, the brothers collapsed and fell asleep.

It was normal that they were this tired. Clearing a dungeon was tiring enough, and this time they had also encountered assassins. Even worse, after fighting them, the brothers had to watch their death…and what came after it.

They had to accept that this would continue to happen as long as Ji-Cheok was fighting with foreign pharmaceutical companies, and Reable knew that they had to be tougher in order to survive. However, it was easier said than done. Thankfully, Ji-Cheok was able to endure it thanks to his long experience of recovering the dead bodies of Hunters.

Reable sat in the living room and talked to himself.

“I think the younger brother is the strange one.”

Mu-Cheok was not an ordinary human being. He was the kind of typical elite Korean, and it was strange that such a person could adapt to killing so quickly. In a way, he was even calmer than his older brother. And when Reable had asked him about that, Mu-Cheok had replied, ‘Is there a need to sympathize with the guys who came to kill my brother?’

‘Maybe he is more closely related to this side than to humans…’

Vrrrrrrr

A vibrating sound echoed in his pocket. When he took out his phone and answered it, he heard a voice.

—How was it?

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