Thumbs Up, Level Up

Chapter 211

“Am I still inexperienced?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“You are extremely inexperienced. Your use of Augmented Qi is quite formidable, but other than that, you suck.”

‘Well, that hurts…’

“Still, even though your training time was short, you managed to achieve this level… It’s great. I’ll give you that.”

“Thank you so much!”

‘I was praised! I was recognized by the God of War!’

“So, why did you ask me to teach you?”

“I want to ask you one thing, and I also want to know if I can learn that.”

“Hm… Knowing your current situation, I think I know what you are about to ask me… But tell me anyway.”

“Can I break the link that keeps those people bound to the dungeon?”

The God of War’s lips twisted at Ji-Cheok’s words.

“Hehehe… I expected this, but… You never cease to amaze me! Do you even know what that is?”

“I am asking you because I can imagine what it is.”

‘A sword that cuts through anything. A sword that cuts through time and space.’

Ji-Cheok wondered if that could cut through the invisible shackles and bindings chaining the Tama to the dungeon. He thought that the God of War might know the answer.

“There is something called the Mind Sword. It is a sword of the mind, and it has practical power, meaning you can cut someone down with your mind alone.”

‘The Mind Sword! I’ve read about that in novels! But I don’t know of any Hunters who have done it.’

“Mind Sword is often considered similar to telekinesis, but it is actually completely different. It’s in a different realm, both in principle and effect. Do you know why that is?”

‘The telekinesis and Mind Sword are different? They’re in a different realm? Wait, come to think of it… Telekinesis is a physical force exerted by thought itself. Actually, my Soul Telekinesis is a skill that also creates ectoplasm in addition to telekinesis.’

Ectoplasm was a materialized form of telekinetic energy. It dissipated after a period of time, but it had a definite physical existence. Telekinesis itself was an effect of willpower and thought, and it came from the brain, but it was an ability that dealt directly with energy, like mana and cultivation.

‘But Mind Sword is different? How? Why is it in a different realm from other mental abilities?’

“Huhuhu… You’ve no idea, do you?”

“Nope.”

“Well, the Mind Sword produces results immediately. That’s why it’s completely different.”

‘Huh?’

“So you are saying… the moment you think of something, it happens?” Ji-Cheok asked.

Telekinesis was an ability of the brain, but it had to reach the opponent in order to exert physical force. In other words, there was a progression—a thought had to be formed, then the energy had to cover the whole distance between the caster and the target. But from the God of War’s explanation, it seemed that there was no such thing from the Mind Sword. Ji-Cheok was surprised.

“That’s right. It works like some kind of law. There is no delay, no process, nothing in-between.”

“Wait… How is that… It’s like an ability of a God….”

“Keuk. You’ve noticed, haven’t you? You’re correct. The Mind Sword is a miracle that humans can perform. However, it is a power limited to cultivation. Ah, do not be mistaken. It is not a miracle that I can bestow upon you. It is like proof for the cultivators or martial artists that they have reached the top level.”

“And its source of power is…”

“That is me.”

The God of War.

The word suddenly struck a chord with Ji-Cheok. Indeed, the God of War was the source of all that was martial!

“Martial arts are not just for humans. There are many many races, all training in martial arts. However, at a certain point, they all reach a point where they are no longer practicing martial arts of the body, but the martial arts of the soul.”

‘Martial arts of the soul!’

“In Earth terms, it’s like being a quasi-Immortal. It’s a level that allows you to practice and use techniques that are physically impossible, such as Mind Sword. The problem is that what you are looking for is only available at the next level of the Mind Sword.

‘The next level of the Mind Sword?’

“You can cut anything with the Mind Sword, but how are you going to cut through something you cannot see or even perceive with your mind? And even if you do become aware of something you weren’t aware of, do you have the ability to cut through it? Not even the Mind Sword is omnipotent, you know?”

‘I see…”

“So that is why we call the next level of the Mind Sword the [Mind Origin Sword Realm]. It means that the boundaries of your sword originate in your mind. When you reach this level, you can do anything you want, but there are great barriers to getting there.”

“What kind of barriers?”

“That you must become a deity, a God. If you have the ability to wield the Mind Origin Sword, you can even slay Gods. You can’t possibly think about killing a God when you are just a mere mortal.”

‘This is a kind of chicken or egg dilemma. A mortal needs to be able to use the Mind Origin Sword to kill a God, but in order to reach the Mind Origin Sword Realm, they need to become a God first. Whatever, I really don’t care about the contradiction. The problem is that I can’t use it right now.’

“If you can reach the Mind Origin Sword Realm, you can cut through intangible things. You can even cut through things like fate and contracts. Unfortunately, I don’t see you being able to use the Mind Origin Sword anytime soon. However, with the System’s help, you’ve acquired the [Heaven Martial Body] and [True Human], so maybe you could use it someday…”

‘It’s certainly encouraging that I can use it someday…’

“Alright, enough talking. Let’s first lay the foundations for you to reach the Mind Origin Sword Realm.”

“Please.”

Ji-Cheok started the training.

* * *

“Hyung, what are you doing?”

The team members were back in the tunnel, and Ji-Cheok was just laying on a bed like a day-old squid.

“Oh... you guys are back.”

“So tell me, why are you like that?”

“I was in the Training Space of the God of War. I didn’t know I could use it here, but I gave it a go and it worked.”

“That’s crazy. What kind of person would go train in the middle of dungeon hunting?”

“I didn’t go to train, I just wanted to check something out. So here I am now.”

Ji-Cheok thought about the Mind Sword, and the Mind Origin Sword Realm, which was the next step. Since he had to reach the level of Mind Sword first, he was taught by the God of War how to do that. And the training was quite harsh… His brain was a bit overloaded. The God of War told him that to reach the level of the Mind Sword, his brain had to be developed first.

—The brain is the vessel of the human spirit and is the most highly developed organ. It is the place where the spirit is cultivated, and it is also the device that strengthens the thoughts.

The God of War taught Ji-Cheok some training methods and forced him to write them down.

As a result, after less than twenty-four hours of teaching and training, to Ji-Cheok’s surprise, he was able to wield the Formless Sword, which was just one step below the Mind Sword.

—It’s all thanks to your Heaven Martial Body and the effect of True Human! Damn, this is great!

The God of War wished him luck, chuckled a little, and disappeared.

This was why Ji-Cheok was so tired. He couldn’t get rid of the physical fatigue even after controlling his breath and circulating his Qi. Thus, he had just given up and was now lying on the bed after having recovered his Qi.

“Are you okay?” Mu-Cheok asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry. Hmph.’

Ji-Cheok stood up from the bed and looked at Mu-Cheok. His little brother was covered in dust and blood.

“Use Clean.”

Ji-Cheok cleaned his brother up with a quick spell. Then, he saw his team members sitting near the entrance of the tunnel.

Ji-Cheok walked over to his team.

“I see you all made it back safely.”

“I wouldn’t exactly say that. Ji-Byeok lost an arm,” Ha-Na grumbled.

Her clothes were also filthy. Ji-Cheok stopped in place when Ha-Na told him about what happened.

“Really? Is she okay?”

His eyes were drawn to Ji-Byeok. She was dirty, too. It wasn’t just mud, she was also covered in blood and even bits of flesh. This was not out of the ordinary, though. When Hunters fought, they were always covered in dirt, and it was normal for them to get blood and other things on them as well.

“I’m okay, thanks to our very own Seong Kwang!”

Ji-Byeok raised her arm, her impressive biceps looking just as strong as usual.

‘Well, just from the looks of it, it doesn’t seem like she got her arm chopped off.’

“Let me clean you up first.”

Ji-Cheok used his Clean spell again. He loved the fact he could clean everyone with ease.

Swoop.

The whole team was squeaky clean in an instant.

“Ji-Cheok~ Can you take out the bathtub again? I want to take a relaxing bath…”

“Ha-Na, if you get used to this, it’s going to be a big problem. What are you going to do later, when Ji-Cheok is not with us?”

“I’ll buy a subspace pouch later with my own money and carry it around.”

While listening to Ha-Na and Ji-Byeok’s conversation, Ji-Cheok obediently took out the bathtub and the curtain. While he filled the tub with water, he listened to their stories about the boss of the mini dungeon, and what they had obtained from there. From their stories, the monsters sounded strong.

There was the dungeon boss monster called [High Priestess of the Twisted God], and she summoned a bunch of plant monsters in human form as soon as she appeared. These monsters, Ends and Dryads, were all strong enough to face level 100 Hunters.

The boss herself stood back and only fired debuffs and curse spells from a distance. The spells broke through Ji-Byeok’s skills, in spite of her Tanking prowess, and severed her arm. However, Seong Kwang did a great job of holding onto the severed arm and reattaching it.

‘Everyone is getting stronger.’

After that, everyone took a bath and started eating snacks. Now, it was Ji-Cheok’s turn to tell the story of what happened to him. He talked about how they had dealt with the Cultists and how well Reable had done.

Everyone nodded as they listened. They already knew how strong Reable’s abilities were, but the way Reable utilized his skills was beyond imagination.

“I know I’ve said it a bunch of times before, but I’ve never seen a Necromancer this powerful.”

“Well, not a lot of Hunters are Necromancers, are they? It’s an unpopular job.”

When the story was almost over, Ji-Han spoke up.

“So all the threats in this dungeon are gone, which is a good thing.”

“I guess so, since we did manage to kill all the monsters in the dungeon’s inner field.”

“Good. Then, the preparations for the dungeon destruction are now complete.”

Everyone nodded at Ji-Han’s declaration.

“Now, we have two more mini dungeons to clear, and then the final dungeon will open. Once we’ve taken care of that, we will find the dungeon Core. Once we destroy the dungeon Core, our mission is over. But I don’t think Mr. Um Ji-Cheok wants that to happen, right?”

“Right.”

Ji-Cheok was still trying to figure out how to save the Tama people.

“But we cannot wait for you. We do not have much time left.”

Time was something that passed by equally for everyone. Ji-Han was probably referring to the time until the end of the world.

“After we secure Southeast Asia, we will need to go to other parts of the world. That is why I will stick to my plan, and you, Um Ji-Cheok, should stick to your plan.”

“That means…”

“I am saying we will keep splitting into two teams until the final dungeon opens. Please find a way to save them until then.”

‘Ji-Han is giving me a hard time limit. Well… I guess I can’t stay inside the dungeon for thousands of years trying to find the way.’

Ji-Cheok nodded.

“Then we will rest for the day, and we’ll be back in action tomorrow. That will be all for today.”

1. The raws say East Asia, but they are in the Philippines.