Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 196

“Wow… This is great,” Reable said while grinning.

“What’s so great about it?”

“A lot of Hunters died here, especially because of those obstacles. Those are not just ordinary obstacles, they are used to bind souls. The reason they have them here is to prevent respawns.”

“Prevent respawns?”

The word respawn was used to describe monsters reappearing.

‘I didn’t know we could stop monsters from reappearing. How is that possible? Don’t they reappear anyway after a reset?’

“Dungeons are reset when you clear them, of course, and they also reset when a Dungeon Break occurs. Then, what do you think will happen if they do not reset?” asked Reable with a smile.

Ji-Cheok had no idea what he was talking about.

‘A dungeon before and after a reset? I’ve never thought about it.’

“There is an ecosystem inside dungeons, and if it is destroyed, the monsters inside it will respawn. But there is a condition for the respawn to happen.”

“Is that the soul?”

“Bingo! A soul bound to the dungeon is what allows the monsters to respawn~ But if they’re captured, for instance using a wall like that, they won’t be able to respawn… That’s pretty smart, don’t you think?”

Reable kept smiling and continued to talk.

“The captured souls will continue to suffer, but that’s none of my business.”

Everyone seemed to turn pale at Reable’s words.

‘So you’re saying that all those skulls on the wooden walls are devices that trap and torture souls? And that’s to prevent respawning? But why would they want to do that?’

“Mr. Jung Ji-Han~ Are we really going up there? It looks pretty challenging, I hope we don’t run into anything dangerous~”

Sarcastic tone aside, Reable’s playful question actually posed a valid point. This fortress seemed significantly more difficult to assault than the other three cities in the dungeon.

‘Could this place be where the boss monster is?’

“Mr. Um Ji-Cheok.”

“Yes, what do you need?”

“Could you purchase the [Megaphone] skill? Or the [Lion’s Roar] skill might be better. Also, please purchase a skill called the [Charm of Trust].”

?[Megaphone] is an active skill that amplifies the voice. As it goes up in rank, it also offers some additional effects. It is a skill that is mainly used by Hunters who are public speakers. It is very cheap, only one hundred Likes.?

Cheok-Liang quickly searched for the skills Ji-Han had just told him about.

?The [Lion’s Roar]… It is a skill that gives buffs to allies and removes debuffs. It is a sonic-type attack that has an evil-crushing effect and can strike down the Undead or Demons. Since it is a very high-level skill, the price starts at 100,000 Likes.?

‘One hundred thousand Likes?! Oh…wait, never mind. I would have worried about that price a while ago, but right now….’

?The name of the skill, ‘Lion’s Roar,’ is a term originating in Buddhism. That is why it is classified as a cultivation skill. It is used by most sects around the world.?

‘Like the Shaolin Temple and places like that?’

?Yes, Master. In fact, some cultivators are said to be learning this skill.?

‘I didn’t even know this skill existed. Hm… If we’re going to purchase a skill, we might as well buy a more expensive skill, right? How many Likes do I have right now?’

?You have earned 1.2 million Likes in the last few days, so we have some room to splurge.?

‘So every day I earn hundreds of thousands of Likes… Is it because I started to become famous overseas? Anyway, buy the [Lion’s Roar] and upgrade it to B-rank. How much does that cost?’

?It will cost you 800,000 Likes in total to purchase and increase the rank.?

‘What about that [Charm of Trust] skill?’

?It says it makes the opponent trust the skill user more easily… It is an odd skill. It seems to be a mental interference skill. It cost 100,000 Likes.?

‘Hm… So right now I have 1.2 million Likes, right? Can we get both the [Lion’s Roar] and the [Charm of Trust] up to B-rank?’

?We can do B-rank for [Lion’s Roar] and C-rank for [Charm of Trust].?

‘Then let’s do that.’

?Yes, Master.?

Ji-Cheok purchased the skills. He started to realize why Ji-Han had asked him to buy these. He wanted to talk to those in the fortress… That had to be the reason.

“I bought the [Lion’s Roar] and the [Charm of Trust]. So, should I just shout at the fortress?”

The other members looked very confused.

‘What is with you all? Can’t you see what’s going on from just looking at the [Charm of Trust] skill? This is the love and peace strategy! There is no need to come all the way here and huddle together only to stab each other in the gut, right?’

“Yes, just talk to them and tell them you want to make an alliance,” Ji-Han said.

“Alright. Then everyone, watch out for your ears.’

Ji-Cheok took a deep breath and activated his [Lion’s Roar] skill.

The Charm of Trust was a passive skill, so he didn’t need to activate it.

‘Here we go!’

“HEY EVERYOOOOOONE!!! LET’S HAVE A TAAALK!!!! WE WANT TO MAKE AN ALLIANCE WITH YOOOOOU!! WHO IS IN CHARGE HERE???”

His voice echoed everywhere.

[You have used the skill [Lion’s Roar].]

[You have removed all intermediate debuffs.]

[All stats have been increased by 15%.]

As Ji-Cheok was appreciating the effects of the skill, he noticed that Reable was wrapped in pure black, darkness all over his body.

‘What the hell are you doing?’

“Reable?”

“Ah~ Don’t worry about me~ I’m just protecting my weak body from the Lion’s Roar~”

“...Why don’t you just directly tell the whole world that you’re an evil being? You should just endure it.”

‘Well, it was my choice to sign a contract with him. I should do my best to endure that too.’

“Wow~ That’s such a harsh thing to say! Even Satan would cry if he heard that~ You’re good, Mr. Um Ji-Cheok. I’m glad I chose you.”

Ji-Cheok’s teammates looked at both of them, dumbfounded, but Ji-Cheok ignored it.

‘It’s okay to scold him from time to time. By the way, I don’t think these guys are going to respo—never mind. Something’s coming.’

A ball of light flew toward them at great speed, landing right in front of them. The person in front of him was a person whose Charm rank was quite high, just like Ji-Cheok. She looked Filipina, and she had deer-like antlers on her head. Her eyes also glowed green. In addition, her knees had reverse joints, and she had goat’s hooves as her feet.

Overall, she looked like Pan from Greek mythology, and her one arm was entwined with vine stems. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt made of tree vines and short shorts. Her skin still appeared human-like. She had a staff in her hand, probably because she had a Wizard-type job.

‘Hm… Let’s use my Eye of Insight.’

[Bernade Itum]

[Age: 42

Gender: Female

Level: 104

Race: [Twisted and Mutated Entity]

Occupation: Druid Wizard

She is a Druid, the priest and sage of the forest, and has learned the apex of magic. With her incomparable wisdom and knowledge, she became a great being who protected the forest with her power.

However, she has now become a mutant from a human due to the Fragment of the Twisted God. As her race has changed, she has acquired additional attributes and abilities.

Attribute: Since she has become a monster in the [Forest of the Twisted God], she cannot leave the dungeon except during a Dungeon Break.

Attribute: Regeneration

Attribute: Recovery by Eating.]

She was level 104! Among all the Hunters that Ji-Cheok had seen so far, she was the highest-level one.

“Are you a foreigner who came to clear the dungeon?”

“I am Jung Ji-Han of the Jungha Group from Korea.”

Ji-Han stepped forward.

‘That’s our director! Now, Ji-Han will take care of everything.’

Ji-Cheok stepped back.

“Jungha Group…”

She looked at Ji-Han with strange eyes, as if she knew the Jungha Group.

‘Is she using detection skills, just like me?’

“Is a Korean conglomerate trying to do business in the Philippines? However, the matter here cannot be solved by you. And it is none of your business. I will teach you how to clear this dungeon normally, so you should leave.”

“I refuse your offer.”

“How dare you…”

“I already know what is going on inside.”

“Ha! Do you really think you know what this hell is like?!”

Mana flowed from her body. The mana was something Ji-Cheok had only felt when fighting the minions of Despair.

‘... She is really strong.’

“You know nothing

. I am saying this for your own safety: You. Must. Leave. Otherwise, all of you will—”

“HAHAHAHA”

Suddenly, Ji-Cheok heard a loud laughter coming from afar. When he turned his head in the direction of the laughter, he saw a group of people coming toward them. He could hear the laughter from quite a distance, so he wondered if that person also had skills like Lion’s Roar or Megaphone.

There were ten of them and they were all riding monstrous beasts.

“You must leave now! I will stop them! Just go!”

Bernarde’s face was full of worry. The enemies coming from the distance didn’t seem to be random mobs. However, Ji-Han seemed to have a different idea.

“Um Mu-Cheok, Byul Ha-Na, Reable. I need you three to handle it. Those are our enemies,” Ji-Han said firmly.

Ha-Na nodded and raised her bow. Mu-Cheok also drew out his pistols without saying anything.

Their attack commenced at a tremendous speed. Among the enemies, there were lizard-like and dog-like beings with five or six asymmetrical legs. They were riding what appeared to be beast-plant hybrids.

Suddenly, the land in front of the enemies exploded. Actually, it wasn’t that the ground literally exploded, but rather that corpses came out from the ground like cannonballs! Some of the corpses looked like Hunters, and there were [Twisted Mutants] that they hunted. They all popped out as the Undead.

‘There are so many of them!’

Hundreds of the Undead jumped out and crushed the enemies. They formed a mountain of Undead beings around the enemies.

“What the hell is this?”

Boom!

However, the mountain of Undead exploded and flew in all directions. There was a giant 2.5 meters tall holding a giant hammer with the hammer handle reaching two meters and the hammer head as big as a human head. Unlike his other companions, he didn’t have any horns or hair on his head.

Rather, he had an extra mouth on the upper left side of his head, as well as sporting three arms. Moreover, he also had a mouth large enough to fit a human head on his abdomen, and a tail resembling a plant stem.

‘Isn’t that totally a Chimera? Besides, he has some kind of Aura covering his body.’

?Aura! I think he is a master-level Hunter.?

‘I think so too. It seems that he is as strong as he looks.’

“You bastards… How dare you attack without warning! DIEEE!!”

The giant leaped toward them with explosive force. Even though the distance from them was about one hundred meters, the moment he yelled ‘Die!’, he had already approached within striking distance.

But all that awaited him was a merciless attack.

Dududududu!

Pi-pi-ping!

Ha-Na’s arrows and Mu-Cheok’s mana bullets rained down on the giant while he was still in the air.

“ARGH!!”

Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions blasted away the incoming giant like a battery of anti-aircraft artillery. In the meantime, the Undead that had been flung away earlier quickly came running and attacked the enemies once more. There were no casualties yet, but they were definitely injured. Seeing how they were holding up against the attack of that many Undead, they were clearly very strong.

‘Then….’

“Activate Mana Body and Improved Telepathy.”

Roar!

Ji-Cheok covered himself in mana and spread his Qi throughout his body. It felt like his power instantly doubled or even tripled! At the same time, he sent out his thoughts telepathically.

‘I’ll take care of the giant. Please take care of the other enemies. Mu-Cheok, you too.’

1. This is actually a misperception. What most people see as the back knees of unguligrades (e.g. cows, goats, or horses) are in fact their ankles, while the back knees are much higher and often not noticeable. Goat knees point forward, just like human knees.