Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 68

“Ahhhh!”

It was like lightning flashing through Ji-Cheok’s brain.

There was an uncontrollable force flowing from the tip of his toes all the way up to the tip of his tongue. The force that started from Ji-Cheok’s core and spread through his entire body was almost like Sword Qi flowing through the sword.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The best Ji-Cheok could do right now was hang on tightly to his consciousness and try not to faint.

‘I can’t waste time here!’

[[Beginner Skill: Steady Heart] has been activated.]

This skill that could only be activated during battle had now activated itself. Perhaps the skill recognized that Ji-Cheok’s current state was close to his combat state. It was hard to come to his senses because of the pain, but he realized that something was changing inside his body. He could barely control the force flowing through his body.

‘Can I use this state to force my body and strengthen it further?’

Ji-Cheok wondered if he could compress this force into his core while the skill was transferring from the System to his body.

Huff… Huff…

Ji-Cheok sat cross-legged, adjusting his breath and circulating his qi. Nobody had told him to do this, but Ji-Cheok just let his body flow with its instinct. Ji-Cheok’s willpower, which had been stretched to its limit, endured this long process.

This was similar to hiking at night with just a cellphone light. It would be hard to even see anything under one’s feet, much less what lay at the top of the mountain, and the battery could run out before getting to the top. However, one could do nothing but trudge ahead while praying for the GPS to work.

‘How long has it been?’

Drip.

A thick liquid flowed out from his pores. Ji-Cheok could feel it, but he didn’t have time to open his eyes and check it out. He continued to meditate. While enduring the fearsome pain, the only thing Ji-Cheok could do was focus and patiently repeat the same cycle of breathing in and out.

Suddenly, a message popped up.

[The [Heaven and Earth Chaotic Essence] has combined the skills [Heaven and Earth Divine Arts], [Heaven and Earth Sword Art], [Heaven and Earth Divine Steps], [Heaven and Earth Iron Stance], and [Heaven and Earth Sword Qi] together.]

[Heaven and Earth Chaotic Divine Art] has been activated.]

“Whew.”

?Congratulations, Master!?

The thrilled voice of Cheok-Liang echoed in Ji-Cheok’s ears. As he slowly opened his eyes, a terrible stench caught his attention. The bed was covered with black filth, and when he got up, it caused the sheets to stick to his skin. In front of the opened window, Mu-Cheok’s worried face caught Ji-Cheok’s eyes. Mu-Cheok had probably opened the window to ventilate while Ji-Cheok was meditating.

“Are you okay, hyung?”

“I’m surprised you didn’t wake me up.”

“Your summoned beast told me not to touch you, so I was just watching.”

“Well, you know how in martial arts movies, they sometimes meditate to clean their body and aura? This is kind of like that. It’s like detoxing your arteries, it’s apparently really good for your health.”

Normally, Ji-Cheok wouldn’t have known what had happened to his body, but the force of the newly obtained [Heaven and Earth Chaotic Essence] had forcibly engraved that information into Ji-Cheok’s brain, so he had a very clear idea of the process.

‘My body wasn’t trained enough to contain the force that flowed into it, but in the end, that force succeeded in changing my body.’

Ji-Cheok was lucky that [Beginner Skill: Steady Heart] had activated at the right time. People would be shocked if they learned that he was still able to use these beginner skills, but they were truly a godsend at times.

“You gotta tell me before you do this kind of thing. I almost had a heart attack,” Mu-Cheok said.

Ji-Cheok realized how surprised Mu-Cheok had been when he had opened the door and seen his brother meditating and sweating out tar-like fluids.

“Sorry, I didn’t know it was going to be like this,” Ji-Cheok said.

“Just tell me before you do anything from now on,”

“Well… I will do that in the future. Anyway, I need to clean up first, look at this mess.”

The color of his sweat aside, Ji-Cheok also smelled like food waste that had been aged for one hundred days in the sewers.

‘This is all the waste in my body? How could anyone live like this?’

“Yeah, go ahead and wash up. You smell like shit,” Mu-Cheok said.

The door-sized giant got up and left. It was almost a miracle that Mu-Cheok had been able to endure this smell and watch over Ji-Cheok.

* * *

The hotel body wash was made by the Alchemist Guild and was considered the finest body wash. The body wash was made to clean up the monsters’ body fluids and smell of flesh after hunting. Even with this body wash, Ji-Cheok had to scrub himself five times and also wash his hair with a special shampoo. He was finally clean.

‘Wow, this is awful.’

Come to think of it, Ji-Cheok’s state was nothing to be surprised of. In Ji-Cheok’s circumstances, most of his meals were instant, factory-made food rather than organic and nutritious one. Also, Ji-Cheok had to deal with monster corpses in dungeons rather than climbing famous mountains to meditate for good health, so it was natural for Ji-Cheok to accumulate waste in his body.

After washing the gunk off his body, Ji-Cheok looked in the mirror to reveal his flawless, clear skin. He thought his skin resembled the skin of celebrities when they put a photo filter on their already immaculate skin.

“Wow…”

Ji-Cheok couldn’t believe how gorgeous his skin looked. Back in the day, Ji-Cheok had seen some clips on GodTube about ball-jointed dolls being one of the most expensive hobbies. It was not the kind of doll people played with when they were kids, but the kind that was priced at millions of won. Some dolls that were sold at auctions by overseas enthusiasts were priced at millions of dollars. The dolls of that level had to have great skin, and Ji-Cheok thought his current skin could match those expensive dolls. That wasn’t the end. Ji-Cheok’s body had become more firm and flexible, and his muscles had been optimized for best use of cultivation skills. No one could pinpoint what had changed on the outside, but anyone could tell that Ji-Cheok’s aura had changed.

When Ji-Cheok came out, wearing a bathrobe, the bed was already neatly cleaned. It seemed like the hotel staff had come and cleaned it up in the meantime.

‘Oh my, I’m so sorry for that staff. They must’ve thought that I was a rude customer.’

“I think the staff was familiar with Hunter-related accidents. He just incinerated the bedding with his skills on the spot,” Mu-Cheok said as if he read Ji-Cheok’s thoughts.

“I guess putting that in the laundry was a no-go.”

“There is a reason why this hotel is so expensive. It’s a hotel regulation that all bedding used by Hunters must be incinerated. What would happen if the previous guest was some Hunter who handled poison in his room?” Mu-Cheok said.

‘I guess you are right.’

“Can you smell anything now? Is it all clean?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“All clean. And something about you has definitely changed.”

“Did I get taller?”

Mu-Cheok sighed as Ji-Cheok was making light of the situation.

“I thought you were poisoned or something, hyung. I don’t know what I would’ve done to you if Cheok-Liang didn’t stop me. Of course, in the back of my head, I knew I shouldn’t be touching you,” Mu-Cheok said.

“It was that bad?”

“It looked like something from a horror movie… Black sweat dripping from all over your body… Let’s not talk about it. I’m afraid it will come out in my dreams.”

Ji-Cheok’s broadcasting skill was running, so he planned to have that checked out later.

?Master, how about purchasing some magic skills with your Likes this time? There are quite a few useful skills, and they don’t cost that many Likes.?

‘Oh, really?’

Cheok-Liang spoke in a voice that only Ji-Cheok could hear. In fact, it was impossible for others to eavesdrop on Ji-Cheok’s conversation with Cheok-Liang, because he always transformed into his spiritual form before he said anything important to Ji-Cheok.

“What did Cheok-Liang say?” Mu-Cheok asked.

He seemed to have noticed that Ji-Cheok was talking to Cheok-Liang.

‘Mu-Cheok is so perceptive.’

“He wants me to learn magic skills,” Ji-Cheok replied.

“Hyung, your ability is so overpowered. Buying and learning all these skills without the help of the Gods…”

“Hahaha, I think the Gods are giving me benefits because I do live streaming.”

“Wizards can fend for themselves pretty much anywhere. At the very least, they are considered middle-class Awakened, so they are welcome wherever they go.”

Ji-Cheok couldn’t tell if that was an insult or a compliment.

“In particular, Gods dealing with magic have a lot of skills because they prioritize gathering knowledge. So naturally, there are a lot of wizard-specific skills in the Hunter Store. They are very versatile.”

“But I heard the skills are expensive…I wonder what the prices are in my Likes Shop.”

“I’m gonna go make some coffee, you stay here and figure it out.”

“Okay.”

“Do you want an americano?”

“Single shot, please.”

“As always.”

Mu-Cheok nodded and left the bedroom. After confirming that the door was closed, Ji-Cheok talked loudly to Cheok-Liang.

“Cheok-Liang, could you recommend some for me?”

?Searching, Master.?

After a while, Cheok-Liang summarized the information gathered.

?As the System has been upgraded, new skills are on sale.?

Ji-Cheok didn’t know what that meant, so he kept listening.

[Magic Class System—Class 1—5,000 Likes]

[Class 1 Lifestyle Magic Spellbook—Create Water, Insulate, Clean, Preserve—2,000 Likes]

[High-speed Spell Cast—10,000 Likes]

[Dual Spell Cast—100,000 Likes]

[Silent Spell Cast—3,000 Likes]

‘Wow, the belly button is bigger than the stomach.’

Ji-Cheok couldn’t understand why he needed things like [High-speed Spell Cast], or [Dual Spell Cast], or [Silent Spell Cast] when all he wanted was the lifestyle magic. Also, he couldn’t believe that the [Dual Spell Cast] cost 100,000 Likes! He couldn’t believe the System would rip him off like this.

?Since you are not omnipotent, having many skills will certainly help you, Master. In particular, since you have acquired alchemy and arcane golem skills, it will be of great help if you could use your magic skills properly. I recommend you buy it, since you have plenty of Likes.?

‘Isn’t the [Dual Spell Cast] a little bit expensive? It’s 100,000 Likes…’

Ji-Cheok couldn’t get 100,000 Likes from one GodTube video. Many viewers would just ‘view’ the video and not click the Like button.

?Indeed, but I think it is better to buy it now. Being able to dual cast will practically double the power of your spells. There are also no problems on the financial side; currently, you have around 200,000 Likes.?

Ji-Cheok was just sad to spend a lot of Likes that he had gathered with his blood and sweat. But there was definitely some truth to what Cheok-Liang said. Ji-Cheok collected the Likes to survive, and if acquiring these magic skills would increase his chance of survival, then it was worth it.

?Also, the casting speed will be improved as you have succeeded in adjusting your breath and circulating your qi using the [Beginner’s Skill: Steady Heart].?

‘Yeah, I was lucky. How could I have known that a beginner skill could be used in that situation?’

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!?

The notification sound rang five times, and five skills appeared. To be precise, by adding up the four skills and the four lifestyle magic skills in the [Class 1 Lifestyle Magic Spellbook], there were a total of eight skills.

?These are the additional magic skills that I recommend.?

[Class 1 Spell: Mana Shield—1,500 Likes]

[Class 1 Spell: Strength Boost—1,500 Likes]

[Class 1 Spell: Mana Boost—1,500 Likes]

[Class 1 Spell: Jump Boost—1,500 Likes]

[Class 1 Spell: Area Lubrication—1,500 Likes]

[Class 1 Spell: Telekinesis —1,500 Likes]

[Class 1 Spell: Low-level Illusion—1,500 Likes]

[Class 1 Spell: Spell Detection—1,500 Likes]

All Class 1 spells cost 1,500 Likes. Ji-Cheok thought it was expensive. In addition, it was a prerequisite to learn the skill [Class Magic System].

‘Come to think of it, didn’t I ignore the Class and activate a magic skill last time?’

Ji-Cheok wondered why he had to learn this skill.

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