Thumbs Up, Level Up Chapter 187

While Ji-Cheok was staring at Reable, Cheok-Liang said,

«Master! Do not be captivated by his food. I will cook you some nice mapo tofu later!»

‘Wait, that’s not really why I’m staring at him. Also, curry and mapo tofu are two completely different dishes! I don’t even know anymore. Maybe this is the aftereffect of destroying three consecutive dungeons. It’s not like I over-consumed my Stamina or Mana, but my body feels heavy for some reason.’

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out what the problem was. After a while, he decided to take a shower. He took off the equipment, put it in the dedicated equipment box, and then went straight to the bathroom. He took a long shower and dried himself with magic.

When he came out, there were three bowls of curry on the table. One was his, one was for Reable, but he didn’t know whom the last one was for.

“Summoned beasts also have taste buds. Besides, Mr. Um Ji-Cheok’s summoned beast is highly intelligent, right? He should be able to enjoy the meal,” Reable said.

‘Hm… This God… Do you think he noticed I’m having a telepathic conversation with you?’

«Well, he is a God, so I cannot say he did not, but you should pretend to not know anything, Master.»

‘You’re right.’

Ji-Cheok sat down. The smell of garlic and curry resurrected his appetite.

“Enjoy your meal, Mr. Um. Did you know that you are the first person I cooked for?”

“Uh… I didn’t know curry was that fancy of a dish.”

“Of course! Curry is good for your health. It tastes good too.”

“That’s true, but… Well, thank you for the food.”

Ji-Cheok grabbed his spoon and took a bite.

‘What?’

A clip from a famous classic animation, Chuka Ichiban[1], flashed through his mind.

‘This… Tastes so good!’

“It’s delicious! I’m serious. This is amazing.”

The unique aroma of the curry stimulated his appetite, and the spicy garlic taste was the cherry on top. In addition, the meat was perfectly seared, which gave it a smoky flavor and locked in all the delicious meat juices!

“Huhuhu, it’s good, right? Of course, it is! My special recipe, ham and meat curry with plenty of garlic, is the best!”

Reable appeared to be rather proud of himself. Seeing him with his arms crossed and acting snobby, Ji-Cheok almost snorted, but he had to admit that Reable’s dish was worthy.

‘I’ll admit it. This dish is unbelievable.’

He realized while eating that from the moment he had become Awakened, he had been living a pretty busy life. He never had time to relax, and he never took a break. Especially after going through the Dungeon of Despair, he had been driving himself like a locomotive on the run…

He didn’t know it was this difficult. He was just tired. It was funny that he realized this while eating a bowl of curry.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Ji-Cheok thanked Reable. He didn’t know why this Demon was suddenly being kind, but he was grateful anyway.

When he was full, he suddenly felt drowsy. Watching Reable clear and wash the dishes made him even more sleepy. He rested his chin on his hand for a moment and closed his eyes.

Yawn~

‘I’ll just close my eyes for a minute… Then I’ll go to my room and sleep…’

* * *

“Hahahaha! My special curry dish always does its job. Don’t you think, summoned beast?”

The Demon-like God in the form of a perfectly handsome man smiled and looked to the side. From the table, a little fennec was glaring at him.

«What have you done?»

“Oh? I hope you won’t think badly of me for this. It was purely from my good intentions. I didn’t expect much, but he is like a precious gemstone that I’ve been looking for a long time. I just want to take good care of him.”

«You fool…»

“The human mind is very fragile. The System only protects him against physical shocks to a certain extent, it cannot protect him from mental exhaustion~”

«…Humans are difficult.»

“Yes, they are. It is also important to loosen up his tired mind. A Divine Spirit like yourself wouldn’t know, since you lived with and served only superhumans in the past.”

Cheok-Liang couldn’t say anything. This just confirmed that Reable knew quite a lot about him.

“What I did for him today is just an act of kindness. However, those who have received it must make me happy by showing corresponding actions. Otherwise, we are going to have a hard time.”

Reable used his telekinetic power to lift Ji-Cheok, who was sleeping with his chin resting on his hand, up from the table. Then, he moved Ji-Cheok to his bedroom and let him sleep.

“Because of that spider God, there will be a grand event soon. When that time comes, I do hope you can entertain me.”

Then, he closed the door.

Naturally, Um Ji-Cheok couldn’t hear anything Reable said.

* * *

“Ah.”

Ji-Cheok opened his eyes and checked the time. The clock on the wall showed 5:32 AM. He had slept incredibly well.

«How was your sleep, Master?»

“Oh, good morning… It’s been a long time since I slept this well.”

«Reable seemed to have put something in that curry. Even the System couldn’t detect it.»

“I guess he really is a God. I’ve been punked.”

«But it seems like it was just his way to show his goodwill. Your complexion has definitely improved.»

“Oh really? No wonder… I feel great!”

«He also said something… The System only protects against physical shocks to a certain extent, and it cannot prevent mental exhaustion.»

“Reable said that…”

Even since Ji-Cheok started training in cultivation, he didn’t have much time to sleep. By controlling his breath and circulating his Qi, he could relieve his physical fatigue easily and also conveniently accumulate Qi while doing so. In other words, it was possible for him to recover from fatigue and train his Qi at the same time. In order to save time, he had always been doing that.

‘Then, if I have time, I would train in the [Training Space of the God of War].’

Then, he would check his skills, go to dungeons, and do his livestream to earn Likes. Ji-Cheok hadn’t even noticed that his mental fatigue was accumulating.

“Still, I feel refreshed after sleeping, so I’m okay now. What’s the schedule for today?”

Ji-Cheok got up from his seat. Things that happened yesterday should be left behind. He just wanted to start working again.

«First of all, we need to find items that will increase your production rate within the budget. The other day, I told you about the [Crystal of Compensation], which is an item worth about one hundred million won. But I have found a better way.»

“What? Really?”

Ji-Cheok started putting on his clothes.

«Yes, Master. If you make it yourself, you can make a greater item at a cheaper price.»

“I see. That’s a good idea. I have a couple of crafting skills. So what should I make?”

«It’s this.»

Cheok-Liang showed him what he had found.

[Fortitude of the Summoned]

[Class: B-

Type: Accessories

An accessory that can be equipped by any type of summoned being. It reduces the amount of mana that they draw from the summoner.

Function: Reduces mana consumption of skills used by summoned beings by 50%.]

[Handicraft of the Summoned]

[Class: B-

Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Type: Accessories

An accessory that can be equipped by any type of summoned being. It increases the production rate of everything they produce.

Function: 100% increase in anything that summoned beings produce and/or summon.]

«Skills used by summoned beings often consume the summoner’s mana. This is an item that reduces it.»

‘Oh wow. I didn’t know this kind of item existed.’

«Yes, Master. In the item market, they are traded for about one billion won, but if you craft them yourself, you can make them for about fifty million won.»

Both of these items looked like rings. However, the ability of these items was a force to be reckoned with.

‘No wonder it is a B- item. The [Bronze Maitreya in Meditation] I got as a trophy the other day was a B+ item.’

“But, Cheok-Liang,”

«Yes, Master.»

“I understand the reduction in mana consumption, but what is this one hundred percent increase in what a summoned being produces and summons? Are there many Hunters with unique summoning skills like me?”

«There are almost none, Master. The reason why that one is popular is this…»

Cheok-Liang opened GodTube and showed it to him. There was a summoned beast in the form of a plant. The summoned beast had a flower bud as its mouth, and it looked like a monster from a mobile game. When it spit a seed out of its mouth, the seed grew instantly and became a small bud minion.

«This is a multiplication-type summoned beast. Since there is no consumption of mana for proliferation, in times of large fights, Hunters can create a large number of these summoned beasts.»

‘Hm~ So this item is used for that kind of thing.’

“That looks really convenient. Should I use it?

«It may be useful in certain situations, but currently, I think it is ineffective for you, Master.»

“Then just forget about it. So, I just have to buy ingredients and make the items now, right?”

«Yes, Master.»

“Alright, let’s go.”

It was time for him to do some shopping. He prepared to leave the house, but then, he stopped in his tracks.

Ding-dong!

* * *

“I’m Adam Bronze. I’m sure you recognize me.”

‘Oh Fxxking America!’[2]

Ji-Cheok’s hands were trembling. He had no idea why this guy was even in Korea, much less why he was knocking on Ji-Cheok’s door without having contacted him in advance.

From all the American dramas he watched in the past, he thought of Americans as very sociable people. They would always throw parties, and they would always go to their neighbors’ houses and give them their leftover lasagna. In modern Korea, they had stopped giving out rice cakes after they moved[3], and they would never even think about throwing a party.

‘Anyway, since it’s their national culture, the fact that they came unannounced… nah, it’s complete bullshit. He just came here with his arrogant CEO mindset.’

This prince, who was toying with the American financial world in the palm of his hand and clearing dungeons as if he was running an oil business, was sitting on Ji-Cheok’s couch. He looked at Ji-Cheok and introduced himself with a confident attitude.

‘I guess if you read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao never recruited talents by begging them. However, Liu Bei had to try three times to recruit Zhuge Liang, and that’s because he was poor.’

“My name is Oswald. I am the butler and the secretary of Mr. Adam Bronze. Pleased to meet you.”

Behind Adam, there was an old gentleman who looked like a stereotypical butler.

‘Hm… Do you think there’s a Butler job for Hunters?’

«There could be, Master. The world of the System is endless. Do you want me to look for such a job?»

‘Nah, don’t bother. I’m good.’

“Nice to meet you, too. I’m Um Ji-Cheok.”

“Enough with the formalities. We’ve had a couple of conversations online, so it’s not like we don’t know each other,” Adam said.

‘Wow~ This guy really is overly friendly.’

Ji-Cheok wanted to ask ‘do you know what online friends are?’ but he held back.

“Hm… Then, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Why are you here?”

“I just came to see the man called Um Ji-Cheok in person.”

“I’m sure that’s not the only reason.”

“Isn’t it obvious what I’m gonna ask after that? I’m here to recruit you.”

In other words, one of the largest and strongest guilds in the world was here to recruit Ji-Cheok.

‘Have I grown to the point where the head of such a large guild would come and offer me a job like this?’

«Of course, Master. Destroying dungeons is not an easy task. That is especially true for low-level level-restricted dungeons.»

‘I guess… That’s one of the hardest parts of destroying dungeons.’

“Oh, I must give you a gift first. This is a reward for your foolish act of releasing information about the dungeon destruction for the benefit of mankind.”

Adam threw something on the table.

1. Chuka Ichiban is a Japanese cooking manga series from the 90s. This particular scene is a well-known meme in Korea when eating something delicious (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wL_jAEHBHk) kinda like the Food Wars foodgasms but without all the fan service. ☜

2. This is rendered as such from the original. ☜

3. Back in the day when Koreans moved to a new house, it was customary to give out rice cakes as a form of thank you for having them as a neighbor. But in the past 10 years, that tradition has disappeared. ☜