He looked humanoid. His head was oval and transparent, just like an empty glass, and a glowing obelisk was floating inside. He wore a black robe, and his one hand was pure white and beautiful, while the other hand was just bare bones.
[Come forthā¦Mortalsā¦I am calling youā¦]
As the God finished speaking and reached out his hand, intense pain spread throughout Ji-Cheokās body.
āAAARGH!!!ā
āIt feels like my whole body is burning!ā
Zoomā
āWhat the hell is this?!ā
Ji-Cheokās energy was slowly drawn out of his body, absorbed by [He_who_denies_death]. Ji-Cheok had no idea how the God was doing it, but he knew that if it wasnāt stopped, he was going to die.
āMono Blade!ā
Ji-Cheokās skill activated. However, the moment he was about to charge forward, Ji-Han was already one step ahead.
Ji-Hanās movement was several times faster than Ji-Cheokās, as if he was fast-forwarding his own time. His sword cut the air between them and the God.
Slash!
āHoly shitā¦What is that?ā
A black line appeared in the air as if space itself was split along the trajectory of the sword. Space opened up, revealing an abyssal void of nothingness.
Right then, the energy flowing out of Ji-Cheokās body suddenly stopped. The pain was also gone, and Ji-Cheok realized that Ji-Han had canceled the Godās skill!
āHe stopped a Godās skill? How is that even possible?ā
We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google.
[Mortalsā¦How dare you cut through the dimensionsā¦]
As [He_who_denies_death] raised his voice as if surprised, Ji-Cheok heard a voice from somewhere. It wasnāt a human voice, but a different voice in his head.
[Found system errors]
[Forced interference by a God]
[Found signs of time manipulation]
[Unfortunateā¦ Butā¦ We shall meet once againā¦]
Crumble.
His form started to distort, as if a big invisible hand was squeezing it. The huge obelisk behind them was also crushed and crumbled down. Then, it turned into light and disappeared.
āHmā¦ Well, that was sort of anticlimacticā¦ā Ji-Cheok said.
Ji-Cheok wondered why the God, who felt like the very personification of fear and awe, had suddenly just up and gone.
āWhewā¦You did well, Ji-Cheok,ā Ji-Han said.
āDid you know that this was going to happen?ā
āYes. A God is definitely a powerful being, but the System was created by many Gods, ātiedā to each other.ā
āAh haā¦ā
āThe Gods cannot exercise their power directly over us in the absence of certain conditionsā¦ Do you remember learning about this?ā Ji-Han asked.
āYes. Itās something you learn during the Hunter Exam. But I never thought I would experience it first handā¦ā
Ji-Cheok was still having a hard time calming down. If he had made a mistake, he couldāve been forced to become an apostle and be used like a slave.
Flash!
The world returned to its true color as Ji-Cheok was in thought. His teammates started to move. The gray world ended, and the colorful world returned.
āWow~ This dungeon is definitely dangerous, but the rewards are worth it.ā
āYou said it.ā
Ha-Na and Ji-Byeok were chatting about the rewards. They had no idea what had happened to Ji-Han and Ji-Cheok.
Ji-Han put his index finger up to his lips.
Shhh.
Ji-Cheok nodded. He knew it was not worth it to tell the others what happened.
[You have cleared the dungeon!]
[The rewards will be distributed according to the level of contribution.]
[You will receive additional rewards because [He_who_denies_death] was caught cheating.]
(This message can only be seen by Hunter Jung Ji-Han and Hunter Um Ji-Cheok.)
[You have cleared this dungeon for the first time!]
[You have received additional rewards!]
[You have cleared the hidden quest.]
[Your hidden quest rewards are being distributed.]
[You have received your hidden request rewards.]
[1st place is Um Ji-Cheok with contribution points of 3,421,450 points!]
[You have received the 1st place reward [Random Unique Skillbook]!]
[You have received the 1st place reward [Random Unique Skillbook]!]
[You have received the 1st place reward [Random Unique Item Box]!]
[You have received 1,000 Likes!]
[You have received 1,000 Likes!]
[You have received 1,000 Likes!]
ā¦ ā¦
Ji-Cheok was staring at the myriad of messages.
āWhat is this? Did we clear the dungeon just because the God came out?ā
āWowā¦ Do you think the boss monster died in the explosion earlier?ā
As Seong Kwang pondered what was going on, Mu-Cheokās expression was suspicious.
āDid the boss monster come out of its room?ā Mu-Cheok asked.
Ji-Cheok was also curious.
āI guess? Since this is an irregular dungeon, it wouldnāt surprise me if that happened,ā Ji-Han said.
āI seeā¦ā
Mu-Cheok seemed to not understand it entirely, but he still nodded.
Ji-Cheok thought differently. He believed that it had something to do with the appearance of the God, or maybe the God had appeared because the boss monster had died from the explosion.
Woong.
A black Gate opened up. Now that the dungeon was cleared, the Gate would remain open for a while. During that time, the Hunter Assistants would come in and collect all the remaining items.
āGood job, everyone,ā Ji-Han said.
He stepped in front of the Gate.
āRight then, shall we go out now?ā
* * *
-How long has it been? I think itās been over three hoursā¦.
-You donāt think he died there, do you?
-Do you think Um Ji-Cheok is invincible? This dungeon is a place where many Hunters died. He probably died with them.
ā³Are you a fucking spy? Which group are you from? Fucking bastard.
ā³Dude, itās common sense. If Ji-Cheokās broadcasting skills were suddenly turned off, then that means this dungeon is no joke, right? How can Ji-Cheok survive that kind of dungeon? Maybe Jung Ji-Han can come back with some broken bones because he is from a chaebol family.
ā³Nope~ Ji-Cheok will always survive.
-My baby Umji is alive! Donāt feed the internet trolls.
-Yeah~ I hope the internet trolls get hemorrhoids.
-Um Ji-Cheok. ä¹ I hope you are alive. ä¹ Itās okay if you donāt clear the dungeon. ä¹
Ji-Cheokās stream had gone offline ever since he went into the dungeon. Gumji, Ji-Cheokās Fanclub, gathered in Ji-Cheokās channel to pray for his safe return.
-Umji will come back. ä¹
-Of course, he will come back as handsome as ever. ä¹
-Umji is going to carry the whole team on his back. I know of it. He is the best. ä¹
-I know a thing or two about physiognomy, and Umji has a face of longevity. Look at his philtrum. It is so long.[1] ä¹
-Look at his cheekbone too. You know he is gonna live till one hundred years. ä¹
Nescient physiognomy started to come about in the comments. This was not something unusual. The fans didnāt know if the bastard they were stanning would die today or tomorrow. During this torturous process of waiting for their stan, every fan had to have something they believed in, even if it was as absurd as physiognomy.
-Iām gonna start doing my 108 bows.
-Iām gonna start praying under the cold waterfalls.
-Iāve already made a Jesa table for Ji-Cheok.[2]
ā³Shut up internet troll~ I hope you live long and languish. ä¹
Waiting for someone with the promise of their return was a total bitch. However, this was very common for fans who stanned Hunters for a very long time. The fans would think about their Huntersā funeral, but they still would write comments about them coming back alive, just to make themselves feel better.
It sounded crazy, but that was the life of a fan. They knew that being a fan of a Hunter could be short and intense, but even knowing that, they were still drawn to their stan.
-Hey! What is that?
The black gate that was steady started to shake and rattle.
-Umji!!!
-No wayā¦ Does that meanā¦?
-Noooooo!
Suddenly, a shoe popped out of the portal. Of course, it was Um Ji-Cheok.
-He is alive!!!
-What did I tell you? What did I tell you about his cheekbones!
-Strongest Umji ä¹
-Strongest Umji ä¹
-Strongest Umji ä¹
The chat was the epitome of chaos.
* * *
Shutter! Shutter!
When Ji-Cheok came out of the dungeon, dark and gloomy enough for his eyesight to have deteriorated, he was welcomed by the endless flashes of cameras. There were dozens of reporters with cameras, taking pictures of Ji-Cheok that didnāt take his cornea health into consideration. Ji-Cheok was astonished at how much things had changed in such a short amount of time.
[You have received 1 Likes!]
[You have received 1 Likes!]
[You have received 1 Likes!]
[You have received 1 Likes!]
[You have received 1 Likes!]
[You have received 1 Likes!]
[You have received 1 Likes!]
[You have receivedā¦]
Ji-Cheok was amazed at the number of Likes coming his way.
Swoosh!
Even with his superhuman sight, Ji-Cheok couldnāt follow the number of Likes that he was receiving. He couldnāt believe it. As Ji-Cheok was wondering if he was on live right now, new chats had popped up.
[You have been connected to your GodTube live stream.]
-Umji!!!!!
-Youāre alive!! Our baby Umji!!!!
-Is my baby Umji okay??
The viewers of Ji-Cheokās channel, who were the ones giving Likes to Ji-Cheok, blew apart the chat room with their comments. Subsequently, the chat room also started to fill up with Likes. Ji-Cheok felt like he was in the heaven of Likes.
āHey! They are out! What are you doing? Turn the camera that way!ā
āAre all of them alive? Everyone came back?ā
Ji-Cheok could hear the reporters vividly in his ears. He applauded their professionalism.
āHunter Jung Ji-Han! Can you answer some questions?ā
āWhat was it like inside the dungeon?
āI see that all your teammates came out alive, how did you do it? Do you have any secrets regarding that?ā
The passionate reporters were struggling to break through the tapes laid by the police and the military.
āPlease move back! Private Kim, Donāt let go of the tapes!ā
āPlease move back, or you will be detained for obstruction of justice!ā
Ji-Cheok had no idea the outside would be this chaotic. The teammates who were taking pictures together looked happy and laughing. Ji-Cheok guessed they were happy to become more popular. From the crowd, Ji-Hanās secretary came running like a horse.
āDirector! Welcome back! Are there any injured personnel?ā
āNo, secretary Kim. Have you prepared the things that Iāve asked you to?ā
āYes, sir. Iāve rented out the whole thing.ā
āThen bring in the Hunter Assistants into the dungeon. There will be a lot of loot to grab.ā
āSoā¦You have cleared the dungeon.ā
āOf course.ā
The eyes of the secretary were shining with admiration for his director. Ji-Cheok wanted to do something about the reporters, but he also had to take care of his viewers in his chat.
Ā«Master, You can leave the reporters for Ji-Han to deal with. It would be wise to take care of those who follow Master first.Ā»
āYes, I agree.ā
Ji-Cheok turned away from Ji-Han and looked toward his camera for his viewers.
āHello viewers! Itās nice to see you again. Thanks to your prayers, we were all able to clear the dungeon safely and come out. Look at me, do you see any injuries?ā
Bark! Bark!
Cheok-Liang also made a fox noise.
-I told youā¦ Our Umji-pooh has a long philtrum, so he is going to live a long life!!! ä¹ä¹ä¹ä¹
-Look at his jawline, that is a jaw of longevity right there! ä¹ä¹ä¹ä¹ä¹
-Hey Ji-Cheokās Hunter Agency, never put him in this kind of dungeon againā¦ Or elseā¦ ä¹ä¹ä¹
-Iām reporting from Cheok-Liang's fan club. Is our Cheok-Liang okay?
-Look how skinny my baby has gotten. Seems like he lost like 200 pounds. Please someone feed him some meat!
1. If your philtrum (the vertical indentation between your nose and your mouth} is long, it is said in the Eastern physiognomy that you will live a longer life. ā
2. A Jesa table is a banquet for the dead ancestors served on their death anniversary. ā