Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 168

“Hello everyone! Umji, Gumji! Don’t forget to like and subscribe to the Umji channel!~★”

People looked at him like he was crazy. Even the terrorists looked at him as if he was going insane. However, Ji-Cheok couldn’t help it. A true professional had to be ready at any moment. He was in an industry where if he complained and nitpicked about every minor thing every time he live-streamed, he would never succeed.

He went for the terrorists who were attacking other people first. Ji-Cheok could see the spider legs coming out of the terrorists’ backs, and noticed that those legs easily pierced through their opponents’ skills and barriers. These guys were definitely not normal thieves!

Boom!

Ji-Cheok ran at full speed using his footwork skill. One of the terrorists saw Ji-Cheok running toward them and swung his spider leg at him. The black limb stretched out in an instant, extending for several meters, and its pointy end thrust right at him.

Suddenly, Ji-Cheok realized that each terrorist had a different number of spider legs. The one that was attacking him only had one leg.

‘Is the number of legs related to their level? Is this guy a lower level than the rest?’

As he was thinking that, Mu-Cheok’s mana bullets hit the terrorist square.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

However, the enemy’s motions just stiffened for a moment, and there seemed to be no actual damage. Ji-Cheok knew there was no damage because the enemy kept attacking him without hesitation.

‘Does he have some defensive skills? Or is it some kind of skill that nullifies my attack?’

Ji-Cheok used [Soul Telekinesis] on the leg that was about to stab him.

.

“Stop it!”

Crunch.

Surprisingly, the spider leg broke free almost instantly from the telekinetic power of the [Soul Telekinesis] and came straight toward him.

‘Wow, I guess? Those legs are not just another limb, that’s for sure.’

Before he could figure out what kind of material the spider leg was made out of, the enemy’s attack was blocked by the Guardian of Hope.

Clang!

The leg bounced back, and in the meantime, Ji-Cheok used his Qi on his own legs to increase his speed. He leapt several meters in one step, crossed the swords he was holding, and slashed at the opponent.

“ARGHH!!”

The terrorist screamed, but something felt very strange to Ji-Cheok. It didn’t feel like cutting human flesh, but rather like cutting steel. There was blood coming out from the wound, but the inside was clearly different from whatever a human had on the inside, while the outer shell was the black chitin-like carapace.

‘Wait… are these bastards actually not human at all?’

Ji-Cheok’s mind went blank. Still, he had to say something to the viewers.

“Oh wow. I thought I had to call the police to deal with this, but who would’ve known that I actually had to call the exterminators from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry!”

The enemy attacked again. While he was talking to the viewers, his body was basically dodging the attacks by itself.

‘Compared to the tentacle monster, this guy is a snail.’

It seemed that the experience of being killed over and over again by the apocalyptic tentacle monster had made him stronger. Ji-Cheok approached the staggering opponent, raised his blazing sword like a torch and cut his throat.

Slice!

The severed head that rolled on the floor was not the head of a human, but of an insect. Well, more accurately, it looked like a human-insect hybrid.

‘What the hell is this?’

In the middle of all this debacle, Ji-Cheok kept talking nonsense to the viewers.

“Umji-CO will kill every last pest in your house! Please call right now and improve your living standards~”

Mu-Cheok shouted telepathically, ‘Hyung! You gotta focus! I don’t care if it’s SECO or Umji-CO. Are you crazy?’

‘Listen. I know you think I’m just saying weird shit to the viewers, but I’m concentrating in my own way!’

‘...’

Mu-Cheok looked at his brother as if he was a lunatic.

‘How are you going to survive in the GodTube world with such a weak mind?’

Ji-Cheok continued to speak to his brother telepathically to prove that he was not a lunatic.

‘Listen. I think these guys have some sort of skill that nullifies other skills. I think it’s those spider legs. Fortunately, my Sword Qi seemed to be working, so I’m going to try it on another one of them.’

A skill that disabled other skills…something like that was kryptonite to every Hunter in existence! Even high-level Hunters were bound to have a hard time dealing with these intruders. With that in mind, Mu-Cheok reluctantly nodded at Ji-Cheok’s analysis of the situation.

‘Okay, hyung. I’ll cover for you.’

With the enemy he had just killed, there were only seven left, one of whom was approaching the Heirloom Seal of the Realm on the podium. It was probably because Ji-Cheok had killed one of the terrorists, but all of the insect’s teammates were looking at him.

‘Good! Look at me!’

“It’s better for them to look at me instead of hurting the civilians! Wow, I feel like a star from all that attention.”

Ji-Cheok deliberately laughed and projected outward as much of his bloodlust as he could. Except for the terrorist approaching the podium, he saw all of them moving toward him.

‘Yes. Come to me!’

Boom!

With his [Wind and Cloud Steps], he sprinted toward the next target, and he could see that Reable was also moving quickly. He knew Reable was going to fight well on his own, so he didn’t pay much attention to him. Ji-Cheok didn’t have time to distract himself right now.

The second enemy also had one spider leg on his back. Perhaps because the enemy had seen what had happened to his teammate earlier, he didn’t mindlessly try to stab Ji-Cheok, but instead swung the spider leg horizontally.

“Wow, it looks like our spidey friend is a quick learner~ What’s your IQ? Please tell me~”

Cling!

The Guardian of Hope blocked the attack. The moment that the terrorist’s leg bounced back, leaving an opening, Ji-Cheok ran toward it. Just then, the enemy’s hands sparked with lightning.

“Crushing Lightning!”

As the enemy shouted, lightning struck Ji-Cheok’s body.

Boom!

Tssss.

“AAAHH!”

Ji-Cheok was hit square in the face. All the nerves in his body screamed, and he felt as if he had been stabbed by a bunch of hot skewers. His expensive suit was scorched, but it didn’t burn off completely, thanks to his Qi.

Even while in pain, he gathered more Qi and ran forward.

“Wow, our spidey friend can use lightning skills~ How did he know my favorite Pokemons are lightning types?”

?In addition to the spider legs, they also have other skills to assist them in combat. Be careful, Master, they are very strong.?

‘Eh. It’ll take much more than that to kill me!’

“Everyone! If you have a pest problem at your home, please call Umji-CO!”

Slice.

Ji-Cheok cut off the second enemy’s head with a single swing. When he looked around, he saw Reable killing the others. It was amazing to see him using in practice the Mana Body he had shown them during training; with a single hand, he grabbed a spider leg and tore it off its owner.

‘Who would think that he is a Necromancer? He’s more close to a top-tier close combat damage dealer.’

Reable wasn’t even using a weapon. He was just tearing them apart with his bare bands, as if breaking apart some chicken legs.

-Hyung! Look at the podium!

Looking at the podium, Ji-Cheok saw the terrorist standing close to it with his arm stretched, apparently about to use a skill. In front of the terrorist, there was one knight wearing heavy armor and holding a greatsword, who looked like the leader, and other knights holding swords and shields on both sides. Behind them were some other people that looked like priests and wizards. Ji-Cheok recalled seeing them appear with a flash of light a few moments before.

‘Did they teleport from somewhere?’

?No, Master! They are summoned soldiers!?

‘Were there jobs that could summon knights? Hmm… I think I heard there were some Hunters with that ability. Anyway, I shouldn’t worry about that now!’

“Activate [Soul Telekinesis]!”

Woong~

He used [Soul Telekinesis] instinctively, targeting the enemy near the podium from a distance. However, Ji-Cheok could feel that the enemy also used a similar type of ability.

Pya!

Ji-Cheok’s power and the enemy’s power blended together and somehow pulled down on the knights and wizards so that they couldn’t move.

‘The last one had lightning skills, and I guess this guy has telekinetic skills.’

Ji-Cheok couldn’t let this situation go to waste.

“The person in charge is not here, so I’m asking you. Is it okay if I livestream this? If that doesn’t work, I’ll just record a video I guess.”

Currently, he wasn’t livestreaming, but just recording. If Ji-Cheok happened to film someone die right in front of him, he couldn’t possibly show that on live camera. However, the only people that were moving around in the banquet hall right now were the terrorists, Ji-Cheok’s party, and that group of knights and wizards.

‘Where did other Hunters go?’

?They are either dead or have run away. The people on the floor are just agents for the auction house. The real top-tier Hunters are watching this on their screens. Even if they wear a mask, they run the risk of exposing their identity if they participate in the auction in person. It seems like they did not want that to happen.?

‘That’s fucked up. Hunters are public figures, so I can record them, but livestreaming is another matter, so I have to ask.’

Everyone in the fight seemed flabbergasted by his words.

“If you have the confidence to kill all of the terrorists, be my guest! You can record me!”

Ji-Cheok heard a woman shouting from under the heavy armor. He couldn’t see who she was because of the helmet. Of course, even though he didn’t know who she was, he could tell perfectly well that she was terribly strong.

‘I can feel that she’s a high-level Hunter.’

“Oh, thank you! Then I’ll continue recording!

Reable laughed like crazy.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Wow~ This is really fun. This is why I love the world before the end of the Tutorial!”

‘I really wish you would stop laughing while crushing the opponents’ heads… You Demon! I need to edit off so much stuff because of you!’

Tsss. Tsss.

Ji-Cheok’s telekinetic power was still fighting against the telekinetic power of the enemy.

?I shall step in.?

‘I trust you, Cheok-Liang!’

Cheok-Liang jumped up from the side and shapeshifted into his huge form. Then, while using [Wall Drive], he clung to the ceiling and ran!

Ji-Cheok also started to move forward, ever so slowly.

‘This is the secret ancient movement technique, [Small Steps]!’

This technique involved taking small steps forward, carefully treading the ground with one’s toes first, and it was a good technique to use while suppressing the opponent!

[Where did a human like you come from?] said the terrorist who was using telekinetic skills.

No…it merely felt like he was saying it. The enemy’s words and his will were transmitted not by sound, but by telepathy. However, Ji-Cheok also felt something intrinsically different from telepathy.

‘So this bastard is not human. Is he the same kind as Reable? Or maybe something else?’

Then, the enemy raised one hand and pointed to Cheok-Liang.

Woong.

Cheok-Liang fell from the ceiling and landed on the ground.

‘You bastard!’

Woong.

Ji-Cheok transferred some of his power of [Soul Telekinesis] to protect Cheok-Liang, who slowly stood up. Cheok-Liang also started to exert the power of [Soul Telekinesis], and Ji-Cheok could feel his Mana and Qi being drained. If his stats weren’t S-rank, he would have collapsed already. This meant that the opponent’s stats were also S-rank.

[You are strong…] the enemy said.

Both Cheok-Liang and Ji-Cheok moved forward slowly.

‘What are you going to do now?’

[I did not want to do this, but I am prepared to be cursed. I shall reveal my true self given by him. You shall all see it. Here comes your death and despair. I, the great Apostle of ■■■■, shall reap your lives and souls.]

The enemy’s back was torn apart and eight spider legs came out.

‘Wait, it’s not just spider legs,’?Ji-Cheok corrected himself.

The enemy’s back swelled up, and the lower body of a giant spider came out, with the upper body replaced by the enemy’s upper body.

‘What the hell is that? Was that monster in human form before? I can understand the ones with insect heads. They might have been cursed or changed with skills. But this transformation… Wait, is this even a transformation skill? I’ve heard of something like that happening, but I don’t know if this is actually that kind of skill… Anyway, one thing I know for sure is that this bastard was sent here by someone…’

“Wow~ Do you guys see it? This is the power of Umji-CO pest control. A boss spider already appeared!”

Ji-Cheok spoke calmly, but he could feel cold sweat dripping down his back.

‘So… I have to defeat that giant spider now.’

Perhaps this was the turning point for the future he had seen a while back.

‘Could that be the future that will happen if the enemy takes the Heirloom Seal of the Realm?’

1. This is a play on words on SESCO, which is a famous pest control company in Korea.