Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 157

“Aren’t Necromancers popular with any Hunter party? I heard that they are considered a rare job because they can immediately make dead monsters into your allies~”

Reable started waving his arms again like a paper doll. It was clear to Ji-Cheok that this guy had been observing the Earth intently, just as he had thought. However, Ji-Cheok couldn’t help but let out a sigh when he saw the mess in front of him. He wasn’t bluffing; he was genuinely discouraged.

‘Can this crazy dude really help us?’

Ji-Cheok sighed.

“...How am I supposed to use this footage for my GodTube channel?”

“Excuse me?”

‘This guy doesn’t understand it at all.’

“This is too gruesome to be on GodTube. And the fact that the face of the corpses is just openly displayed like this is not good! I can’t use this footage!”

Ji-Cheok could feel his number of Likes and subscribers would drop like crazy if he posted this on his channel.

Reable, on the other hand, was bewildered.

“Wait, I can make it better. Look, look! I can even make them do the Zero Two Dance!”

“Kieek! Kieeeak?!”

Following his order, the Zombies actually started dancing right away. This was completely different from the refreshing and sunshine-esque concept that Ji-Cheok was pushing for.

“If I put ribbons on their head, they’ll be even cuter,” Reable said.

‘Shut up! Stop insulting my GodTube channel with these rotting corpses! It took me ages to gather this many subscribers. I will not let you get rid of them!’

“How about this? Can you make them into Skeletons? I think it might be better for my viewers to just see white bones,” Ji-Cheok said.

Reable thought for a bit and said, “If I burn them, I think it will work out somehow. But I need you to make me a separate workshop for that.”

?I think that is going to cost extra money, Master.?

“Why are you being like this? Why do you hate these cute Zombies so much? Necromancer is a very popular job! It is an all-rounded job that can deal damage, tank, support, and even put curses on the enemies!” Reable said as if he didn’t understand.

“...It just doesn’t fit with the concept of my channel, so I’m gonna reject your offer.”

“I see. So you want something smooth?”

“I just need the faces of the corpses to be unrecognizable.”

“Wow, you’re one picky friend. But I will listen to you. So that settles it! No wonder Jung Ji-Han introduced you to me. You’re a little crazy!”

‘Kind of feels weird to be called crazy by this guy of all people…’

Reable smiled.

Ji-Cheok had no idea how or why Reable had gotten this interested in him… but he had seen too many corpses already. Besides, Ji-Cheok was not the kind of person who thought about the human rights of criminals.

‘I should talk to my brother when I get back.’

Reable stowed all the corpses underground.

“Let’s go for now,” Ji-Cheok said.

He summoned his Mono Bike G.

“Oh wow. With this vehicle, I bet I can feel the air of this beta-test world even better~”

Ji-Cheok let him sit in the back and drove through the woods. Reable’s eyes were sparkling as he looked at the scenery.

* * *

“Hello~ I’m Jung Reable. It’s nice to meet you~”

“Hello, I’m Um Mu-Cheok.”

When Ji-Cheok brought Reable to his home, Mu-Cheok was there.

‘Come to think of it, if Mu-Cheok knew about Reable’s true identity, he might be frightened.’

Reable held out his hand as soon as he saw Mu-Cheok, and Mu-Cheok shook his hand with a very solemn expression. Even though Reable was considered one of the ‘higher beings,’ just like the Gods, he seemed to know how to introduce himself in the human world. He imitated human behaviors well, but precisely because of that, Ji-Cheok felt a sense of alienation from him, as if he were a little too knowledgeable of human behavior. Mu-Cheok pulled his brother to the side.

“Hyung, who is this man?”

He whispered so that only Ji-Cheok could hear.

‘I should summarize the situation first before I tell him what’s going on. If I tell him here, I bet he’s going to hit me and tell me that I’m crazy.’

“He’s going to stay at our place for a while. I\'ll explain it to you after I show him around the house,” Ji-Cheok said.

“What? You should’ve told me beforehand…”

“I couldn’t. It was an emergency. Really… Let’s talk a little later.”

Mu-Cheok sighed as Ji-Cheok spoke in a serious tone.

“He’s kind of handsome. Are you going to use him for your stream?” Mu-Cheok asked.

Mu-Cheok was right. If Reable kept his mouth shut, he was handsome. But when he started talking…

When Ji-Cheok looked back at Reable, he saw the latter fiddling around the wall next to the door for some reason.

“Oh! Are you done talking?” Reable said.

“Yes, you can come in. Please take off your shoes.”

Reable took off his shoes and went in. Ji-Cheok led him to the guest room. Even though nobody used it, the guest room still had a wardrobe and a bed. Since the house was so big, the Um brothers hadn’t bothered to renovate everything, since there were rooms they never really used. The previous owner had used this room as a guest room, so Ji-Cheok had left it as was.

“Oh wow, this is a nice room. Electricity and technology… It wouldn’t have been easy to build a civilization like this without any magic or witchcraft. There’s a good smell to it,” Reable said.

‘I didn’t know you could smell electricity.’

As Reable was settling into life in another dimension, Ji-Cheok decided to let him enjoy it.

“Alright, you should take some break,” Ji-Cheok told Reable as he closed the door.

When he came out to the living room, Mu-Cheok was looking at him with a disapproving expression while crossing his arms.

“Hyung, please explain what’s going on,” Mu-Cheok said.

“Wait a minute… I need to organize my thoughts.”

It was not easy to summarize the whole situation.

‘I’d rather just take my memories and show them to him. Is that possible? Last time, I transferred my memories to Cheok-Liang telepathically’

?Telepathy alone is not enough, Master. It was possible with me, but… How about purchasing a Class 2 spell? ?

‘Is there one?’

?There is, Master. It is a magic spell one level above the Class 1 Telepathy skill. It is called Improved Telepathy. With this skill, you can send not only simple conversations, but also videos or your feelings to other people.?

‘That sounds perfect, let’s buy that right now.’

[Class 2 Spell — Improved Telepathy — 5,000 Likes]

Ji-Cheok bought a new magic spell, and the instructions came straight into his mind.

‘What? I can’t use this if the other person is far away from me.’

?Sending videos and emotions of your memories from a distance is a Class 3 magic spell. You can only use this spell when the person is near you, Master.?

‘I guess there is nothing I can do.’

“You done?” Mu-Cheok asked.

He was kind enough to wait until Ji-Cheok bought the skill.

“Yes. It’s a bit difficult to tell you with words so I’m just gonna show you my memories.”

?Master, you have to send a small amount of your memories. If you send too much, your brother’s spirit may be damaged.?

‘Damaged?’

?The memory of the destruction of the world is information that could drive even a sane person crazy. It would be difficult for a person who has a strong mental barrier. But since you have to send it, you need to cut it.?

‘Ah, I understand now. You mean I should send only the essential parts?’

“What do you mean when you say ‘show you my memories’?” Mu-Cheok asked.

“I just got a new skill. Show me your forehead.”

Mu-Cheok obediently showed him his forehead and Ji-Cheok put his forehead on his brother’s.

“Activate Improved Telepathy.”

Ji-Cheok sent only a small amount of memories to him about meeting [Despair], the devastation of the future, and visiting Reable with Jung Ji-Han. After a few moments, Mu-Cheok’s eyes lost focus. Then, he grabbed his sweating head and frowned.

“What… What the…”

‘Damn it! I only sent a small amount but he’s panicking!’

?Master, hurry! Use your Guardian of Hope!?

Ji-Cheok immediately took out his Guardian of Hope from his [Shadow Pouch]. Only under the calming light of Hope did Mu-Cheok’s complexion return to normal. He took a deep breath.

‘I didn’t know it was this bad…’

?That is because of your near-invulnerable mental immunity. You have to be careful when dealing with others.?

“Jesus… I almost went insane… Hyung! Are you crazy? You almost killed me!” Mu-Cheok yelled.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that would happen…”

Ji-Cheok had no idea that his brother would be this mentally devastated. He knew Mu-Cheok had the right to be this angry.

As Ji-Cheok was apologizing, Mu-Cheok stood up.

“Mu-Cheok, I’m really sorr— Ouch!”

Slap!

Mu-Cheok slapped him on the back.

‘That hurts, you bastard! You even put some mana into that slap!’

“Why would you go into a place like that, you stupid idiot! Do you want to die? Do you want to leave your younger brother all alone?”

‘Oh you’re mad about that…’

“I mean… I didn’t mean to go to that place… It just happened so quickly…”

“Just don’t go to dungeons alone from now on! Who knows what’s gonna happen to you next? Pull yourself together! Don’t you understand? You almost died!! Fuck…”

When Ji-Cheok looked at him, he could see tears welling up in his eyes. It wasn’t a lot, so Mu-Cheok rubbed his eyes to wipe them.

“If you die… I don’t know what I’m going to do… I really…”

“I’m not going to die, don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry?! Are you fucking serious?!”

“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna die like that. You can stop crying now.”

Mu-Cheok sighed.

“Alright. Calm down and sit down. We should talk.” Ji-Cheok said.

It was fortunate that the World Tree was in the living room. The tree also had the effect of calming people down.

He sat down, lowered his head, and sighed again. After he calmed down, he looked at Ji-Cheok.

“Okay. I understand that it wasn’t your intention to go in there, but you need to think about your family! Or I’m gonna lock you up from now on.” Mu-Cheok said.

“Hey if you lock me up, who’s going to save the world? That?would literally kill everyone.”

“If you die, I’m going to die with you.”

“Shut up! The survivors should go on with their lives!”

‘This guy is still a kid.’

“Still, you shouldn’t come forth like that. Just let Jung Ji-Han save the world. From your memories, it seems like he’s already been doing a lot of stuff behind the scenes. He even has divination skills… No wonder he’s so full of himself.”

“He’s not full of himself. He’s really trying to save the world. You shouldn’t think of him like that. And I have to join forces with him. That goes for you too.”

There was nothing more stupid than sitting at the back while the world was about to be destroyed. After the Tutorial ended, the world wouldn’t turn into a complete hell right away, at least not in the way that [Despair] had shown him, but over time, it would eventually become exactly that kind of hell. Ji-Cheok knew he had to stop it somehow, but the problem was that he still didn’t know how. Ji-Han seemed to know; unfortunately, he couldn’t tell Ji-Cheok everything because of the restrictions.

“For that reason, Reable is going to live with us starting today,” Ji-Cheok said.

There was nothing he could do. Mu-Cheok also nodded in agreement.

“Okay, I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.”

“Anyway, is everything okay with you? You weren’t home when I left,” Ji-Cheok asked.

“I made some adjustments to my body. I am also desperately trying to be of help.”

“You’re the one who should take things easy!”

“You’re one to talk.”

“Ha… I guess I can’t disagree with you on that one.”

“Well, since we’re so far into this shit, let’s try our best to save the world. I’m gonna do my best on my end.”

Mu-Cheok stood up.

“Where are you going?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“I need to sleep. I just came back.”

“But it’s already morning.”

The clock was showing 6:30 AM.

“I still need sleep whether it’s morning or not.”

Mu-Cheok went into his room.

‘I guess I need some rest too…’

1. In case you’re interested