Mu-Cheok handed a red ginseng pack[1]Ā to Ji-Cheok. The TV showed the moment Ji-Cheok collapsed with the boss monster, and he thought of how it must have terrified his family.
āYes, although I might be a hero to others, Iām family to them.ā
Ji-Cheok imagined that he would also lose his mind if he ever saw Mu-Cheok drop down like that while fighting. He sucked the ginseng out of the pack in hope that it would help him get well even a little faster, but he still frowned at the taste.
āThis is so bitter!ā
He couldnāt drink the [Lizardmanā„ BerserkerāMedicine] every single time, as the side effects were unbearable.
āA strong skillā¦ I need to find one overpowering skill, even if that means I have to lose a large number of points.ā
Ji-Cheok instinctively checked how many Likes he had.
āOneā¦ tenā¦ hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousandā¦ A hundred thousand?!ā
He remembered mass spending all his Likes on his Strength before dropping unconscious. But to think that he had received over a hundred thousand Likes while he was unconscious?
[Silphās Recovery] was 4,200 Likes. Light had constantly floated around and healed Ji-Cheok and his team members, preventing them from dying time and time again. This meant that he could technically purchase twenty-three of these skills!
āA hundred thousand Likes for going through a dungeon once?ā
Although this dungeon trip had almost ended in disaster, it still showed how many Likes Ji-Cheok could earn for clearing a 1-Star[2]Ā dungeon once.
āIād say itāll be pretty profitable if I get even a quarter of this in future dungeons.ā
On top of that, he still had his upgraded Strength.
āI should use the leftover Likes to increase my stats after buying a skill.ā
Ji-Cheokās mana had now grown to a point where he could overuse it and have no problems. Other than that, he had many stats to upgrade, such as Strength, Agility, Intelligence and Charm.
āHow in the world did I make a hundred thousand Likes? How popular did that video get?ā
He took out his phone and went on the web. As he accessed GodTube, he found the videoāright there, among the trending list on the homepage.
āIs it the algorithm making this recommendation? Orā¦ā
The videoās title was quite eye-catching.
[ä¹ Umji! The strongest of them all! He can do whatever he wants! The worldās first ever! 1-Star Growing Dungeon Cleared! (summary ver)ä¹]
Mu-Cheokās earlobes turned red as Ji-Cheok stared at him.
āTitles like this are popular these days.ā
On top of that, his t-shirt saidā¦
[ä¹ā„Umji, Strongest of Them Allā„ä¹]
āYeah sureā¦ The naming convention for this title must be popular on GodTube, and this type of phrasing seems to be popular on T-shirts. DoesĀ Mu-Cheok really think that Iām the strongestā¦?ā
It was nice that Mu-Cheok admired his older brother, but Ji-Cheok cringed so hard he wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear. When Ji-Cheok clicked on the video, light-hearted music started playing as it played an edited summary of Ji-Cheok's entire recording. The video started off with the scene where La-Du betrayed Ji-Cheok and the twins and abandoned them.
āHe seems less like a bitch than in real life.ā
Ji-Cheok thought La-Du wasnāt as good-looking as he was, but admitted that some aspects of him were charming. The video also contained unedited scenes when La-Du swore at them. It was likely Mu-Cheokās doing, and it had probably pissed him off while he edited it.
āIt feels more real after hearing La-Duās swearing.ā
The video continued with the bewildered faces of the Bang twins cross-cut with La-Du leaving the site. It then focused on Ji-Cheok giving the twins several buffs and locating the secret passage. Discovering and destroying the secret passageway allowed the group to quickly shorten the distance to the center of the dungeon, and they proceeded to their fight with more lizardmen! The clip also showed how Ji-Cheok had used alchemy to process the butchered remains of the lizardmen he had fought, as well as the jerky the group had made from them. He had to fight more and more lizardmen, and then he encountered the boss monster. Then, La-Du had stepped up to answer the boss monsterās question, and people had been put off by his proposal of sacrificing the two weakest people. The music then stopped.
[Iāll do the tanking and stay at the front. If we die, Iāll be the first one. Is that enough for you?]
The video showed peopleās expressions when they had heard what Ji-Cheok had said. Then, when La-Du tried to brute-force things and take the lead, it showed how Ji-Cheok smacked the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.
Finally, the video reached its climax with the battle against the boss monster.
āAh, this is embarrassing.ā Ji-Cheok turned it off as he felt awkward watching himself, but Mu-Cheok spoke calmly.
āThat summary video was a hit, Hyung. The original video also got really popular.ā
Mu-Cheok then removed something out of a boxāit was a GodTube āSilver Buttonā. When a channel had surpassed a certain number of subscribers, the GodTube headquarters would award this silver plaque. Ji-Cheok noticed that it was quite heavy.
āAt this rate, weāll get the āGold Buttonā, too!ā Mu-Cheok said.
The power Ji-Cheok gained from receiving a hundred thousand Likes amazed him. The channel had three hundred fifty thousand subscribers. They had not uploaded that many videos, but the number of subscribers kept quickly increasing.
Mu-Cheok continued.
āAh, Iāve also applied for a commercial ad, and apart from that, many companies are contacting us for advertisement partnerships.ā
āYour editingā¦ itās so well done.ā
āNah, Hyung. Itās all you, itās because of your great work. It was difficult to cut scenes out while I was editing because every single moment was a gem to keep. I hope the world recognizes you for the work you do.ā
āMu-Cheokā¦ I think a hundred thousand Likes mean that Iām getting enough recognition already.ā
Mu-Cheok resumed speaking, āNo, Hyung. The clipās narration is perfect, and it shows the soft human side of you. Also, Koreans love supporting you more because youāve become internationally famous. Theyāre proud that you are the first Hunter in the world to clear an [Expanded Dungeon]. Thereās a higher chance for you to receive more Likes.ā
Ji-Cheok noticed the flaming āä¹ā on Mu-Cheokās pupils as his brother burned with ambition to get him Likes.
āMu-Cheok! Seems like youāre more serious about Likes than I am!ā
āHyungā¦ you couldāve died. You need to earn more Likes to make sure that doesnāt happen again! Who cares if others spread rumors that your face is the only thing that attracts Likes or that people are supporting you because youāve reached international fame? My brother says that he needs Likes, and thatās all that matters!ā
āYā¦yes.ā
Mu-Cheokās words made Ji-Cheok take a hard look at himself. Come to think of it, he hadnāt seemed to be serious about Likes. He felt like he had almost been careless as he had thought he was earning enough Likes.
āSo, the next video weāre posting will be about the opening ceremony of you receiving your āsilver button.ā Weāll film here in this hospital room. Weāll also upload a video of you appreciating your fansā tributes.ā
Ji-Cheok imagined a huge Likes fire burning on the back of Mu-Cheok.
āAlso, Iāll be training hard starting from tomorrow. You wonāt be able to see me for a while, so be prepared.ā
āWhat? You are an A-Rank. How much stronger are you going to get?ā
āWhat do you mean, how much? Iām going to be strong enough to help you and not let you get into this kind of danger again.ā
He was such a devoted younger brother. Mu-Cheok continued, āI need a Hunter License, too, to enter the dungeon with you.ā
* * *
The medical staff came in to examine Ji-Cheokās state and explained that he would need one more day to recuperate and then would get discharged. Meanwhile, Mu-Cheok left to prepare for their silver button opening ceremony video. Even though he had mentioned that acting naturally was the latest video, there were a lot of preparations being made as it was more difficult to direct than filming on a set.
It was tough. Mu-Cheok seemed to have studied a lot to help out his older brother, but Ji-Cheok was still hesitant in chasing after this many Likes.
āLetās look at the reactions to the video first.ā
Ji-Cheok sorted the GodTube comments in order of recommendation and read them all.
- ä¹Umji! Gomji is here for you!ä¹
ā³ I heard hardcore fans are banding together to support him, and I guess thatās true?
ā³ Isnāt the size of your group still too fucking small to be recognized as official supporters?
ā³ Heās become so popular by riding that good-natured and kind life.
ā³ ä¹I pray for you to get better, Umjiä¹
ā³ ä¹Umji, Donāt be sickä¹
ā³ My parents have now become fans of him.
The fan clubās comments had been organized from the best at the top, and there were many comments in foreign languages as he gained more fans abroad. Since Ji-Cheok couldnāt understand what they were saying, he filtered it to Korean instead of using automatic translation.
- This Hyung is freaking good at fighting. His skill has become fancier than before, I canāt take my eyes off.
- I thought La-Du would get the top spot, but this Hyung did everything.
- La-Duās parents seem to be nice and donate a lot, but whatās wrong with their kid?
ā³ La-Duās supporters are mourning.
ā³ Hey, La-Du and Ji-Cheok donāt have official supporters yet. Both of them arenāt major Hunters yet.
ā³ Wow, you must be so proud to be some major Hunterās fan. Ahem!
Of course, some comments were defending La-Du.
- Iām not saying that La-Duās nice, but wouldnāt it have been weirdĀ notĀ to cut off ties with the auxiliaries? What did those two do until the end of the clip? Enchant? That couldāve been done by other Hunters.
There were people who agreed with the comment.
- Thatās right. The others didnāt do much besides eating lizard jerky.
- Yeah. La-Du couldnāt help himself but do it to survive. Also, arenāt there people that survived because they decided to join their team later on?
Of course, there were some who refuted these.
- But there were too many injured people in La-Duās group.
- I agree. According to the interview, other team members forced La-Du to make a deal with them before they saved him, so he barely managed to survive.
- Ji-Cheok should have just listened to the flamethrower. This jerk is just doing whatever he wants.
ā³ La-Du had ripped off the back skin of the boss monster at the end. Without him, they wouldnāt have been able to clear the dungeon.
ā³ Umji couldāve done that by himself. He was busy tanking alone to protect his fellows.
ā³ Wasnāt it thanks to Umji in the first place? He both debuffed the monster and attracted its aggro.
- What the hell. La-Du was the one who told people to kill two of his teammates in the first place. Why are so many people trying to defend him? Is there anything to defend?
There were many Likes and Dislikes between comments commending or defending La-Du. The only official videos of the dungeon were films Ji-Cheok took and the Hunter examineesā interviews due to Dungeon Growing. This caused more dispute as these videos were taken from his perspective.
āWell, La-Du was an ass.ā
The second dungeon contribution was usually called āassistā and earned its own recognition. It was rare for the public to have arguments like this.
āLa-Du seems to have many fans.ā
The Yum couple was quite a famous Hunter couple in Korea. They had done a lot of good things, made large contributions to society, and cleared countless dungeons. Therefore, compliments about them were everywhere in the media, and it was only natural for the Yum couple supporters to root for their son, too. However, they likely wouldnāt have expected that their son would have such a miserable personality, completely different from the picture-perfect couple.
āHeās different in person than on camera.ā
Famous Hunters and celebrities were similar in this aspect. No matter how they behaved in front of the camera, they always had some family circumstances they were hiding.
- Dear Mr. Um Ji-Cheok.
You supported us so much, and so I am leaving a comment to show my gratitude as there was no way to contact you. The two of us were able to come back alive thanks to you. You protected us more than whatās shown in the clip and struggled through so many wounds. The video doesnāt do your injuries justice, you have gone through so muchā¦
My sister is still concerned about your injuries, I hope you get well soon with a good potion. Without you, we would have lost many people on this journey.
Thank you so much for defeating the last boss and not letting us turn into murderers. Weād really love to contact you, so please send us your email address at least.
Sincerely, the Bang twins.
ā³ Letās not curse the auxiliary class people outā¦ They may be helpless, but they seem super-niceā¦
āYes. Iām glad things ended well.ā
Ji-Cheok was glad that he had stayed strong with his decision and hadnāt been swayed by La-Duās words. If he had hesitated even for a bit, everyone wouldnāt have treated him like this now.
1. Red ginseng extract packages operate similarly to jelly packs. However, they are more viscous and can be either consumed straight up or poured into a cup with waterĀ ā