Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 192

After a brief telepathic conversation with Cheok-Liang, Ji-Cheok glanced at Ji-Byeok and Ha-Na, then looked at Seong Kwang, who was quietly drinking his coffee.

“What about you, Seong Kwang? Where did you get that equipment from?”

Seong Kwang had been training for the entire time. Also, Ji-Cheok heard that Seong Kwang and Mu-Cheok split the [Great Purity Divine Pill], and because of that, Seong Kwang got Cultivation as his new stat. Both Mu-Cheok and Ji-Cheok had Mana and Cultivation combined into one single trait, but for Seong Kwang, Divine Power and Cultivation existed separately.

Seong Kwang’ Cultivation was C-rank, and Mu-Cheok’s Mana and Cultivation was A-rank. The reason why Mu-Cheok was two ranks higher was that he was wearing the [Fragment of Illusion].

“I got it from God through an offering ceremony.”

“I see…”

Ji-Cheok remembered that he had done an offering ceremony before, but he had presented the offering to the System itself rather than a God. He realized that it had been a while since the System had last asked for any offering.

As they were chatting, Ji-Han and Reable came back.

“Looks like everyone has had a good rest. Then, let us enter the dungeon.”

It was time.

* * *

When they crossed the Portal, which was the entrance to the dungeon, they were greeted with the familiar smell of stale air. It was like the smell of an old study room, or the smell of dust. Ji-Cheok knew that he would soon be able to feel the unique smell of this dungeon.

‘Hm… I guess this one is in a forest?’

“Are we only allowed to record today?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“Yes. The Philippine government asked us to refrain from doing livestreams,” Ji-Han answered.

“If they asked us first, it means that they’ve already figured out everything about us, right?”

“Yes. They are paying extra attention to you, Mr. Um Ji-Cheok. Well, I guess it would be harder to find a country that doesn’t.”

They entered the forest, and immediately discovered that it was not an ordinary forest. The trees grew sparsely, and there were no leaves, leaving branches bare. The bark of the trees was black, and they looked somewhat dry. The ground was also black and there was no grass at all.

However, these were not dead trees. They were obviously living plants, even though it didn’t feel like they were alive. In addition, there were quite a lot of fungi growing on the trees, and insects could be seen eating the fungi.

There was no life other than the black mushroom trees and the insects that were eating them. Even when Ji-Cheok used his upgraded Qi Sense, there was nothing in range.

Ji-Cheok had been briefed about this dungeon, but there had been no photos of what was inside. The only visuals they had of the dungeon were a number of 3D models created. In other words, all they had seen was the product of someone’s imagination, but after arriving at the dungeon, the real place was exactly the same as what Ji-Cheok had seen during the briefing. It meant that the information Ji-Han obtained was of good quality.

‘After all, he is a prophet, probably… This is great! Ji-Han said that he didn’t have divination skills, but let’s just assume that he has something similar. Anyway, since there are no monsters nearby, this seems to be a safe area. Which way should we go?’

“Activate Gaze of the Stars”

Ha-Na used her skill right away. The stars she produced soared high into the sky, appearing bright against the dark firmament. It was a skill that allowed her to explore the surroundings from above. In a way, her stars were like military satellites.

‘Wow, that’s such a good skill.’

This skill couldn’t be used in Enclosure Dungeons like the Temple of the Scaled Demon God, but in Field Dungeons like this, it was the best skill for scouting. The Gaze of the Stars not only allowed them to find the right path, but it also detected hostile monsters, and also detected dungeon Cores. And Ha-Na said that there was one more skill she obtained by destroying the high-level dungeon.

When Ji-Cheok praised her for how good her skill was, she just scratched her cheek as she blushed.

“It’s nothing. I can’t be as powerful as you, but I should be able to help the team in some way,” Ha-Na said.

When she said that, Ji-Byeok playfully poked her side.

“Ji-Cheok, you’ve become so famous that she’s feeling a lot of pressure. She said something about not falling behind,” Ji-Byeok said.

“No! It’s not like that!” Ha-Na said.

“She also said that Healers and Tanks are very scarce, but Scouts and Damage Dealers like her are easy to find.”

“Really?! I can’t believe you’re telling him this stuff!!!”

Ha-Na and Ji-Byeok were playfighting as if they were sisters.

Then, Ha-Na took out her huge bow.

“Alright, shall we begin?”

At her words, Seong Kwang and Mu-Cheok stepped forward.

“Oh, apostle of the great sheep! With thy fur, thou bringest warmth to mankind, and with thy flesh, thou satiatest hunger. I beg thee, give us thy strength!”

“Increase Power, Strengthen Power, Strengthen Archery”

The two immediately cast on her divine blessings that increased the weapon’s power and a number of Chronicle Words that amplified her power. Ji-Cheok also buffed her with a few skills, including [Penetration Boost], [Protection of the God of Archery], [Mass Increase], and [Inertia Increase].

Because of the excessive concentration of power, her entire body began to shine like an actual star. In that state, she raised her bow. She pulled the string of the great bow and the arrows were infused with her power.

In an instant, a spray of arrows blanketed the sky like a flock of angry birds.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of arrows became flashing meteors, passing through the sky and falling far, far away from them.

Boom! Boom!!

It was like watching an artillery battery carpet bombing the surroundings. The shower of arrows blasted apart every square meter of the area that it struck.

Before, Ha-Na had been more of a Support Hunter than a Damage Dealer, but now, it was safe to say that she was a long-range Damage Dealer with tremendous power.

‘Oh wow… All hail the goddess of the stars.’

She shot the arrows at a ridiculous speed, as if she hated seeing them in her hand. It was terrifying to see her carpet bombing areas that were about one kilometer away from them.

Finally, after a prolonged volley, she put down her bow.

“This place is dope! I’ve already leveled up!”

“I leveled up too.”

“Me too.”

Everyone made a fuss about their levels.

‘The team’s morale is great from the start.’

“Jung Ji-Byeok. Build a fortress!”

Ji-Han gave an order to Ji-Byeok.

“Got it.”

Her voice brimming with confidence, Ji-Byeok slammed her fists together. Then, she punched the ground full-power.

Rumble!

As far as Ji-Cheok remembered, this was supposed to make walls rise from the ground. However, his expectations were instantly betrayed.

The entire ground they were standing on started to rise!

‘Is this even possible? This is amazing!’

When the tremors stopped, the team found themselves looking at the ground from ten meters up. It was as if a cliff had suddenly appeared underneath them!

‘I guess she did mention something like that during the briefing, but it’s amazing to experience it firsthand!’

“Hunter Um Ji-Cheok. Enemies are coming. Can you get ready now? You are the heart of the mission,” Ji-Han said.

“Roger that,” Ji-Cheok nodded.

Ji-Cheok took out his potions and put up a little juggling show as he lined them up in front of the team.

Ji-Byeok whistled at his juggling.

“Wow~ Look at him go~”

“No wonder your face has been glowing lately. Did you practice taking out potions that way?”

Ji-Cheok laughed awkwardly at Ji-Byeok and Ha-Na’s comments.

“I didn’t practice, but ever since I became proficient in cultivation, I’ve been able to do small things like this.”

“Wow~ That juggling looks so hip~”

Before long, Ji-Cheok saw a group of monsters running toward them from the forest of black mushroom trees in the distance. There had to be hundreds of them.

“It’s going according to my plan. Let’s start the battle,” Ji-Han said.

Ji-Cheok nodded and decided to carry out what they had planned in advance. This was the reason why he was the heart of the mission. He was going to ride his Mono Bike G and set them on fire!

“Go!”

“Go, go, go!”

With the cheers of his team members, Ji-Cheok started to drive right away.

* * *

Ji-Cheok drove down the cliff on his Mono Bike G by using Wall Drive, conveniently putting up a wall of flames around it as he went. This wall of flames was generated by his usual [Cthugha’s Steps] and a new skill Ji-Cheok had learned to replace his Black Flaming Jacket, called [Blaze Dominion]. Just as the ‘fortress’ was enclosed by a circular flame barrier with a thickness of over twenty meters, the monsters drew close.

These monsters were the ones that had either withstood or avoided the carpet bombing of arrows shot by Ha-Na. They were hideous hybrids of plants and animals; some quadrupedal, some bipedal. Some of them were even seven-legged. They looked at the flame barrier and hesitated to go through. Then, they started to circle around the barrier. Of course, this made them perfect targets.

A meteor-like arrow landed among these strange creatures and exploded, killing dozens at once.

Boom!

“Kieeek!”

There were screams and explosions. In the meantime, Ji-Cheok drove his bike toward the monsters and Mu-Cheok also prepared to attack. His two pistols merged into one and then further combined with parts of Mu-Cheok’s techwear, becoming even bigger than his normal sniper rifle. The bullets fired from his new and upgraded weapon fully displayed the power and rate of fire of a Gatling gun attached to a tank.

Dududududududududu!

The baptism of bullets was sure to grant the monsters instant deliverance and a meeting with Jesus.

“Wow, that’s pretty amazing.”

In the meantime, Ji-Cheok drove around, chopping down monsters with his Qi-infused bike.

“Look at meee!!”

Ji-Byeok used her taunt skill. In an instant, the monsters that survived the attacks of Ha-Na, Mu-Cheok, and Ji-Cheok all started to move toward her. Their eyes glowed red, and they all started to throw themselves at the flame barrier. They were trying to walk through the barrier and climb the cliff!

“Kiieeeak!”

They screamed as they went through the flame barrier that was hot beyond imagination. Had they been living beings, the pain caused by these instant burns would have been terrifying.

Instead, they shook their bodies and just went berserk as Ji-Byeok’s taunt skill was dispelled by the sheer pain. However, it only took seconds for their formation to collapse, and there were still some monsters that were affected by her taunt skill. The monsters were entangled, as some were trying to cross the barrier while some were struggling not to.

Bullets and arrows rained down on them, and in the end, it wasn’t long before hundreds of monsters were all annihilated.

‘Byul Ha-Na… You already have the potential to be the?Star Seeker,’ Ji-Han thought.

Ji-Han, who did not participate in the battle, looked at Ha-Na putting her bow down. There was a hidden reason why he had recruited her. His plan was to recruit those who would be the most famous, most powerful, and most dedicated to humanity before the world ended. Ha-Na would later become the ‘Star Seeker’, a Hunter with overwhelming power, just like she was displaying now. Countless Demons, monsters, and fanatics would be killed by her arrows.

‘It’s the first time that Jung Ji-Byeok has become this strong by this point in time.’

Ji-Han’s gaze turned to Ji-Byeok. She was smiling proudly—she had just leveled up by killing hundreds of monsters.

“Um Ji-Cheok~ Did you kill all that monster by yourself ~? That’s a bit rude~ You should’ve left some for me!” Ji-Byeok said.

Like Ha-Na, she was also a hero who would play an important role in trying to save the world in the future. With one simple gesture of her hand, she could build a fortress to protect people. Because of this, she would be nicknamed [Guardian of the Wall]. She would be known as an absolute power that protected people.

Right now, she could only summon a small cliff, but later on, she would have enough power to create a huge mountain. And that mountain would become the last fortress of mankind.

Ji-Han had secured the strongest shield and the strongest bow.

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