Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 261

Ji-Cheok had been running on fumes. A normal person would have been exhausted way sooner, and even a God like him was a little tired. Thankfully, his mental tolerance had grown quite a bit as a result of becoming a God.

?Whatever you consider ‘a little tiresome’ would be hard for a normal person to endure.?

The rooftop of the penthouse was now empty, turned into a well-kept garden with the branches of the World Tree overhead providing shade. Ji-Cheok lay on the sunbed on the roof, chatting with Cheok-Liang.

“I guess you are right.”

?Yes, Master. If you gave the mental fatigue of a God to an ordinary person, they would burn out instantly, perhaps even die from it…?

“That’s a horrible thing to say.”

‘But I agree. For the past couple of months, I refused to take breaks and I cultivated every single day. Eventually, I wanted to train so much that I created avatars to maximize efficiency! Isn’t that crazy? Then I started to raid dungeons with my avatars… and sometimes I would destroy dungeons myself… Now that I think about it, the first dungeon I cleared in the Arctic was a five-star dungeon, but it was a little weird, right?’

?It was probably a somewhat improved four-star dungeon, because they had to open them in a hurry.?

“Yeah, the monsters were not that strong. The boss monster was, but… not strong enough for the whole place to be considered a true five-star dungeon.”

?Yes, Master. There were a lot of them, but we were able to take care of them. If it had been a five-star dungeon, we would have had beings like the one-eyed giants that appeared in New Jersey.?

“Yes. And this is just my intuition, but there is probably going to be a five-star dungeon in Antarctica.”

?I would assume that would be their last stand, Master.?

“Or maybe a final showdown. By the way, are the guys almost here?”

?Yes, Master. The whole team is on their way, and one just arrived.?

“I know., I didn’t think he would be the first to get here but…”:

The one that Ji-Cheok sensed was the one who had signed a contract with him at the urging of Ji-Han…

“It’s a-me! I’m the first one here~”

The avatar of the Demon God, Reable was here first.

“Yo! Yoyoyo! Yoyoyoyo~ This is great!”

‘This guy… Where the hell did he learn to act like that? Surely it’s not in his nature…? How could he be so careless when he is a God? Especially a God that deals with the Undead…. No way!’

?Master, it might be a bit of a stretch to say this, but… even beings of higher ranks are not without their foibles.?

‘Hm… Maybe you’re right. I’m not exactly a stern person either.’

“What’s so great?”

“Well, lil’ Mr. Umji is becoming a great God! As a daddy God, I can’t help but feel so proud! You’re growing up so fast!”

“What?! You’re not my dad! You didn’t raise me!”

“Well, I taught you Mana Body and other things, and I helped you with stuff, didn’t I?”

“What the hell does that have to do with parenting?!”

‘This goddamn Demon…’

“Eh, whatever. Just tell me, Reable, who the hell are you?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“Why ask me that all of a sudden?”

“Because even right now, I can’t tell who you are.”

After becoming a God, his Eye of Insight skill had surpassed any human skill. In addition, his Minor Intuition skill had also been upgraded to Divine Intuition. And right now, a chill ran down his spine at the sight of Reable.

He had been a mystery before, and he was also a mystery now. Something unimaginable was inside this person named Reable.

Ji-Cheok’s gut told him that the man was dangerous. It whispered to him that there was something inside Reable that could destroy this planet once and for all.

“Hm… I never thought you could grow this far~ What a pleasant miscalculation.”

“So what’s the answer?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“It’s a secret~”

“Don’t talk like you are some kind of old anime character!”

“Hahaha!”

Reable held his stomach and laughed hysterically. He giggled happily, remembering the now-defunct anime.

“That anime was so fun to watch. But I’m sure people have already forgotten about it.”

Ji-Cheok could only sigh at the sight of him.

“Don’t worry. I’m under a contract with you. Isn’t that what Mephistopheles said all those years ago?

Then, Reable cleared his throat, took a solemn posture, and spoke in a theatrical tone, as if he was on a grand opera stage.

“I’ll be your servant here, and I’ll not stop or rest, at your decree. When we’re together on the other side…you’ll do the same for me.”

“Does that mean I’m Faust? Ah, moment, stay a while! You are so lovely! OK, now are you going to drag me to Hell?”

“Oh wow, you know the story? Not many people in this world are familiar with Goethe’s Faust.”

“I’ve seen it,” Ji-Cheok replied.

‘Yeah, I guess I did see it. Huh.’

“Of course, that’s a little different from our contract,” Reable said.

“Yes, you are right. You were to grant me my wish, and in return, you were to earn the right to stay in this world.”

“It was more of a forced contract, you know? You can also say it was a fraudulent contract that caused me huge losses, but… I like it now.”

He cleared his throat again and his sweet voice spoke in a theatrical tone.

“I want people to survive and not die even after the Tutorial ends.”

It was exactly what Ji-Cheok had said while signing the contract.

“Beings like me have a good memory, that’s why we are looking for it,” Reable said.

“What the hell are you looking for?”

“Huhuhu. You will find out later.”

He walked over to Ji-Cheok and patted him on the head.

“So try and become even more powerful, young God~”

“I will grow so fast you will be surprised,” Ji-Cheok said.

“I hope so.”

Reable stepped back and pulled something out of the shadows.

His shadow was different from Ji-Cheok’s—it was not exactly a shadow element skill, but rather the subdimension belonging to a master Necromancer.

The object he pulled out was a sunbed. A moment later, he was lying next to Ji-Cheok.

‘Fine. Have it your way. I guess there’s nothing I can do.’

?He is still very dangerous, Master.?

‘I know…’

?Also, the team is almost here.?

‘Realy? I’d better get ready.’

? ? ?

In the living room, Ji-Cheok greeted his little brother.

“Are you sure you are okay in there? I know the time goes differently, but still…” Ji-Cheok asked.

“It’s okay hyung. You’ve been through worse than this.”

“I think you guys are going through way worse stuff than me…”

Within a few days, the team members had been leveling up like crazy. Mu-Cheok was now level 145. It was no exaggeration to say that he was a top-tier Hunter. At the very least, he was definitely among the top fifty Hunters in the world.

“Ji-Han told us that there would be a final battle soon, and if I wanted to do anything about it, I had to be strong,” Mu-Cheok said.

“I should tell Ji-Han to slow down a bit…”

“No, don’t. I’m doing this because I want to.”

“If you say so…”

Mu-Cheok was rebelling against his older brother, but there was nothing Ji-Cheok could do to a grown man.

“Just don’t die.”

‘It’s not like it’s hard to reattach a limb if it gets blown off.’

Ji-Cheok swallowed those words.

“Am I the first one here?” Mu-Cheok asked.

“No, he was here first.”

Ji-Cheok pointed at the rooftop to indicate Reable, who was lying on his sunbed, sound asleep. At least, it looked like he was sleeping.

“He’s on the roof?”

“Yup. Chilling, sleeping.”

“Where the hell was he? He did not even go with us to the dungeons.”

“I don’t know, but don’t worry. It’s all under control.”

Mu-Cheok frowned slightly at his words, then sighed.

‘I know how you feel, little brother,’

“Only if you say so… So, what’s up? I’ve been meaning to get back into the dungeon after a couple of days off.”

“I will tell you when everyone gets here. We need to do this together anyway, and they are almost here.”

“How can you tell they’re here?”

“Because of my skills.”

As they were talking, Ji-Cheok’s doorbell rang. Mu-Cheok had come early, but everyone else arrived together.

“Long time no see!”

“Wow! It’s been too long!”

“Brother Ji-Cheok, it has been a while.”

They all said the same thing.

‘I guess it’s understandable, it’s only been a few days for me, but it’s been a year or two for these guys. They’re hardcore!’

?I do not think that is something you can say when you spend twenty-four hours a day practicing cultivation in the Training Space of the God of War…?

‘No that’s completely different! For me, it’s like a 1+1 promotion sale where a day becomes two, but for them, one day is like a year! If I go into that dungeon one hundred times, that’s one hundred years!’

“I’m only a few days older… but I guess it’s been a long time. Come on in, everyone. Sit down please.”

Everyone sat down at the long table in the living room. They had all given up their Hunter gear for casual clothing, except for Seong Kwang, who was wearing his priestly robes.

“You all know that I have become a God, right? I didn’t know much about it, but I recently found out something interesting. That’s why I called you all to come.”

Everyone was quiet, waiting for him to finish.

‘This is a bit embarrassing…’

“Well, first of all, since I am a God, I can appoint apostles, up to five at the moment.”

“Wow! How did I not think of that? Of course, you can appoint apostles because you are a God!”

Ha-Na’s eyes twinkled with admiration.

“Oh, so you called us here to make us your apostles and give us skills or something?”

“Exactly.”

“Whoaaaa…”

“Wait, so what happens to Seong Kwang?” Ji-Byeok asked as Seong Kwang’s eyes widened.

“Seong Kwag is already a Priest, so I can’t make him my apostle. However, I found a loophole that could allow me to give him a skill.”

“Hyung, doesn’t that mean all of us don’t have to become apostles either?”

“That would be inefficient. It takes at least three times as much energy to bestow a skill on a random person compared to my apostles. If it is just Seong Kwang, it’s okay, but I can’t do it to the entire team.”

As much as he was bursting at the seams with Likes, he needed to make them his apostles. It was not like he had enough Likes to build the dimensional barrier in one go.

He had to be frugal.

“So I’m going to make you my apostles. What do you think?”

“Of course, I’ll do it!” Ha-Na said while leaping to her feet. As usual, she was hyped up.

‘And the others?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“We should be the ones asking you that. Thank you so much, Um Ji-Cheok.”

Ji-Byeok politely thanked him.

‘And Mu-Cheok always does what I say.’

However, Seong Kwang raised his hand to ask a question.

“But, Brother Ji-Cheok. We have each been chosen by our own Gods… Is it okay for us to become your apostle?”

“It’s okay. I don’t know about Hunters who have special jobs like Priests, but for normal Hunters, it’s okay. I’ve seen it happen.”

It was the same thing in novels, where the protagonist was suddenly approached by a bunch of Gods who tried to persuade the protagonist to become their apostle.

‘Switching Gods is pretty common. And right now, I can give them so much more than other Gods.’

1. This is probably a reference to Xellos, a character from the anime Slayers.

2. The parts in italic are actual Faust quotes, from Part I Scene IV.

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