Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 80

Ji-Cheok fed the elixir to Cheok-Liang.

Ding!

[The summoned beast has consumed the [Elixir of Heaviness].

[Absorbing the skill…]

[The difference between the class of the summoned beast and the class of the elixir is large. Absorption will take time.]

?It appears that it will take me a while to fully absorb it, Master. My level is too low.?

‘I guess so… I wanted to see the results right away, but I guess I have to wait.’

In any case, the stream had ended successfully, so all that was left was to decide the fate of the two villains.

“Cheok-Liang, what should I do with these two?”

Ji-Cheok was in a tent set up temporarily in front of the dungeon. Normally, Hunters would go home by car after the dungeon, but he asked for a temporary tent instead, solely because of the two sleeping beauties that were in the dungeon to kill him. In spite of the two killers causing him a not insignificant amount of rage, he had still streamed after the fight. Some would definitely say that Ji-Cheok was crazy, but the reason he was able to beat these two was his Likes, and he knew he had to grab Likes every chance he got. If Ji-Cheok couldn’t stream and receive Likes just because he was angry, he wouldn’t have been at the level he was.

?We could do this in public, or we could do this privately.?

“I know that much. I’m asking you which is better.”

?As you can see from the Likes you just received from the stream, doing it publicly is better in terms of collecting Likes. You can earn tens of thousands of Likes just by uploading one video. At this point, you have already surpassed five hundred thousand subscribers.?

Ji-Cheok knew about this. After the so-called ‘American Bastard’ [A/B] watched the stream, the number of subscribers had comfortably exceeded half a million. Ji-Cheok rubbed his chin for a bit to organize his thoughts.

When he had uploaded the video of himself clearing the level 40 limited special dungeon, the responses from the viewers had been huge. Headhunters from GOF had started to send him messages, and there was also a flood of recruitment messages from other companies. In addition to that, Ji-Cheok had just streamed another piece of viral content of him destroying a weapon. He started getting text messages from people he’d never heard of before. Thanks to that, he had to buy a separate Hunter phone just for his close friends and family.

?Your old videos are also getting more Likes, Master!?

‘Hm, are people trying to study me and figure out how I destroyed the weapon?’

?Maybe, but there are cases where viewers who subscribed purely due to [A/B] also watched your old videos.?

‘That’s good. So, right now, I have 220,000 Likes?’

?Yes, Master. You have used so many Likes, but it still came back up to 220,000.?

‘This is unreal. If my climb to fame continues, the number of viewers will increase and so will the number of Likes. But what if my popularity wanes? Hm…’

?Most GodTube Hunters believe that their popularity will always increase, but you are always worried about what might happen to ruin it, Master.?

‘If I was young, maybe it would’ve been different. If I became Awakened at a young age and just did a couple of part-time jobs, or if I became Awakened right after high school, I could’ve been more positive. But that’s not the case. I’ve seen too many Hunters fall from popularity, and some of them even fell to their death. In any case, I’ve decided what to do.’

“I think we should reveal it to the public,” Ji-Cheok said.

“Are you sure? That might not be such a good idea.”

A man replied to Ji-Cheok as he came into the tent. He was wearing a sharp suit, perfectly fitting for his machine-like facial expression. It was Jung Ji-Han.

“Director Jung, you’re here!”

“After what I’ve seen on your stream, I had to come. But now that I am here, I see that the item is not the problem. I didn’t expect these two to be caught here.”

Ji-Cheok knew Ji-Han was very busy. The latter had spent time buying all the remaining [Tachi of Heaviness] on the market and then come straight to the dungeon where Ji-Cheok was, and when he went back to work, there were still a ton of things for him to do.

“Do you know them?” Ji-Cheok asked.

He had a feeling that Ji-Han knew about the villains.

“Yes, we have a certain…relationship. The man is named Grant and the woman is Reina. Both are quite famous in the contract-killing industry. Especially after the two of them annihilated a party of five Hunters around level 80 by themselves.”

“Really?”

“Yes, because they are specialized in PvP combat. It makes me even more curious about how you defeated them.”

“I just ran them over with my bike.”

Ji-Han’s face showed a hint of shock, something completely out of character for him. It was funny for Ji-Cheok to see that this robot-like man could also get flustered.

“I can see that you are confused. I would be too. Who would have thought these Hunters would get wrecked like this just from being hit by a motorcycle?” Ji-Cheok said.

“No…Yes… I… am a little surprised, yes. You surprise me every time I see you. A motorcycle, you say…”

Ji-Han took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Ji-Cheok wondered how many hours this man slept in a day. He didn’t know for sure, but it certainly looked like Ji-Han was not getting enough sleep. Ji-Cheok suddenly had a peculiar feeling about his boss.

“Did I surprise you that often?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“From the moment you came to me saying you wanted to shoot a video with your bodycam, you surprised me every time,” Ji-Han replied.

“Ha, I guess you’re right.”

Ji-Cheok knew that it had been pretty crazy to just go to Ji-Han as a Hunter Assistant and ask him to shoot a video. At that time, Ji-Cheok had just been trying to get a few Likes.

“But can you give me a reason why you are telling me not to disclose this to the public?”

“It’s because you can use this as leverage against the government and get something out of it.”

“Come again?”

Ji-Cheok was confused as to why the government had to be involved.

“Government officials don’t like people revealing information about such criminals roaming around, not to mention that they even tried to assassinate Hunters on GodTube, who were spreading rumors. Rather, it would be better to take advantage of this situation and get something good out of it.”

Ji-Cheok was a little bit skeptical. He didn’t want to become enemies with the government officials.

“Ah, I see your point. So we’re trying to get something for us, for keeping quiet about this. Is that it?”

“On the surface, yes. Also, dealing with these two privately gives us a few more options as to what we can do with them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. These are international criminals and contract killers. They could be witnesses or evidence of countless crimes. They could be a clue to solving other countries’ crimes. Diplomatically, there are areas where there might be benefits for us. There is also plenty of information we can obtain when we handle it in secret.”

From Ji-Han’s explanation, it felt like he was going to torture them to collect information, but that was none of Ji-Cheok’s business.

“Alright, I will follow your orders, Director Jung,” Ji-Cheok said.

“Okay, I will take these two with me.”

“Yes. I wish you all the best.”

Ji-Cheok said goodbye to him and headed out of the tent.

“By the way, Ji-Cheok…”

As Ji-Cheok was leaving, Ji-Han stopped him with an abrupt question.

“I understand that you have a different type of shop other than the Hunter Store, but can you buy any type of items or skills from your shop?”

Ji-Cheok stumbled to a halt.

?Master, you need to concentrate.?

‘I know, Cheok-Liang.’

Ji-Cheok turned around. He didn’t know if he was the only one who felt that way, but Ji-Han was staring coldly at him, as if he knew something.

“What do you mean?”

“You have skills that you didn’t originally have, and you also use skills that are not related to your job. I can safely assume that you do not use the regular Hunter Store. I know a couple of jobs that fit the criteria. [Curator of the Babylonian Library] and [Mage Who Accepted the Piece of Omniscience] come to mind.”

‘I’ve never heard of jobs like that before. Just from the name, the jobs sound a lot better than mine. I’m just a shiny little GodTuber of [GodTube Influencer]. For some reason, comparing my jobs with what he said makes me feel a little small. Shiny★ little GodTuber as GodTube Influencer…’

“Based on your reaction, it seems like you don’t have anything to do with these jobs. I think you’ve acquired a new job of a kind I didn’t know about. Did you have this job from the beginning?”

“......”

?Master, you do not have to answer.?

‘I know that.’

“That’s a tricky question, director.”

For a moment, he said nothing. Then, he nodded.

“I understand that job secrecy is very important. I respect your decision not to tell me. Then, I’ll just take these two for now. After receiving compensation from the government, I will contact you separately.”

“Thank you for doing that.”

“Yes, I’ll see you around.”

As Ji-Han tapped his wristwatch, people came in from outside the tent and picked up the two villains, and carried them out. Ji-Han went out with them. After watching him leave, Ji-Cheok also left the tent.

‘I guess I have to be more vigilant.’

* * *

‘Grant and Reina… I can’t believe I have these good-for-nothing murderers in my hand…’

Ji-Han sat down in the back of the truck and looked around. Beside him were two murderers still asleep, wrapped in constraints.

Ji-Han put his palm on top of the man’s face. Then, on the back of his hand, an illusion-like image of a clock turning backward appeared and then disappeared.

Pop!

The muscular man, Grant, blinked a couple of times and looked at his surroundings.

“...I guess I failed,” he sighed.

“Long time no see,” Ji-Han said,

“Huh? Do I fucking know you? I’ve never seen you in my life.”

Grant smiled. He was perfectly calm, in spite of being caught; that calmness, however, quickly dissipated at Ji-Han’s next words.

“Grant Meyer, forty-two years old, Awakened at the age of twenty-one. Your first murder victim was your father. The name of the woman you loved is Amy. The murder of Amy by Billy the Drug Dealer made you the criminal you are today.”

“You little…”

There was anger in Grant’s eyes. Specifically, it was anger caused by the fact that a person he saw for the first time knew so much about him.

Ji-Han calmly continued as he stared at Grant.

“I have only one question. It’s strange that you\'re here at this point in time. You are supposed to be serving as a mercenary for the mafia.”

“Funny. Do you think I’m gonna tell ya anything? Just hand me over to the police!”

Ji-Han knew that Grant would not die if it was up to the Korean authorities, and he could easily be released on bail because a lawyer from America would come with the Hunter extradition clause and get him out. In turn, Grant knew for a fact that Ji-Han couldn’t do anything to him.

“Hey, I know we’re in Korea. I know my righ—AHH!”

But when Ji-Han’s black-gloved hand grabbed his shoulder, he screamed and twisted his body. The pain was truly terrible.

“I know that we’re in Korea. Right now, Korea is dominated by chaebols, and I am a member of one such chaebol family.”

Grant was panting from the pain.

“So why did you come all the way here?”

“Bo…Boss said it was an investor’s request. That’s it. That’s all I know.”

Ji-Han frowned and tapped his forehead at the same rhythm as the second hand of a clock. Oddly enough, it actually sounded like a clock ticking.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

That was the sound Grant heard.

Ji-Han stopped.

“Now I remember. There might be minor errors, but you must belong to the Grimoire, am I right?”

“Do you get off when you ask questions while knowing the answer?”

“...Alright, that’s enough from you,” Ji-Han sighed.

Then, he placed his hand on Grant’s forehead.

“Ha… See you in hell, my friend.”

Grant felt his time was about to end, and gave a final sarcastic farewell to his executioner. An illusion of a clock once more appeared on Grant’s forehead, and the hands of the clock moved with great speed.

“Your time was well received.”

When Ji-Han removed his hand, Grant was already dead.

“Su-Gi is trying to make allies with the Grimoire. Where did it go wrong?”

His eyes glowed gloomily, then he held his hand out to Reina as well.

Unlike Grant, Reina was eager to spill her secrets to Ji-Han, but at some point, she stopped talking altogether, as if she was under a spell. Seeing that she was no longer useful, Ji-Han sentenced another person to death.

“Since I lied to Ji-Cheok about the compensation… I have to prepare a fake compensation separately. I guess I just have to move a little bit faster.”

He looked down at the two dead bodies, his eyes lacking even a shred of sympathy.