I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 57
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Episode 57.
The gaze of the Labor Dispatch Office’s Manager and Jung Han-sung met. And immediately after.
“It is an honor to meet you! I am Jack, the Manager of the Labor Dispatch Office! I look forward to working with you!”
Jack, the Manager, greeted him with a resonant voice and bowed at a ninety-degree angle. His demeanor was exceptionally courteous and respectful.
“Yes. Jack. It’s good to meet you.”
Jung Han-sung spoke to him politely at first.
Jack’s appearance clearly suggested he was well into his fifties.
But the moment Jack heard Jung Han-sung’s formal tone, he was startled and responded.
“No, no! Please, speak comfortably! I am merely a Manager!”
“Oh, is that so?”
Jung Han-sung awkwardly switched to a casual tone, then caught himself and spoke again.
“Ahem, yes. So as Manager, you’ll be overseeing this office going forward?”
“Yes! If you wish, we could replace me with another Manager, but if you entrust this to me, I will do my utmost to serve you without any inconvenience!”
Jack spoke with eyes gleaming so brightly it was almost overwhelming.
At his demeanor, Jung Han-sung felt a sudden curiosity and asked.
“Say, how exactly did you come to hold this Manager position? Where are you from?”
These were questions I hadn’t managed to ask the wandering merchant earlier.
Where did these people come from? Was there a separate place in the Unclaimed Territory where such people gathered?
To this question laden with curiosity, Jack answered simply.
“Broadly speaking, we belong to the same organization as the wandering merchants, but more specifically, there is a separate guild that handles personnel.”
“Ah, so there’s a large organization, and beneath it are the Wandering Merchant Guild and the Labor Dispatch Guild as separate entities?”
“Exactly. The organization we belong to is called the Central Trading Company. It is a massive trading house directly managed by a merchant deity belonging to the Pantheon and guaranteed by The Tower itself.”
“I see. So something like that exists.”
Jung Han-sung stroked his chin.
It didn’t seem as though these people simply materialized out of nowhere, but their organization was far more systematic than I had anticipated.
However, Jack’s explanation was far from over.
“But what you’re truly curious about isn’t that, is it? You want to know where we merchants and managers originally came from.”
“Ah, yes. Where you all lived before, things like that.”
What Jack said was interesting, but what Jung Han-sung was truly curious about was exactly as Jack had stated.
Where did these people come from?
Jack resolved this curiosity simply.
“It varies from person to person.”
“It varies from person to person?”
“Yes. Some are climbers, while others were born and raised within The Tower. Among them, some were born in the Neutral Zone, and others were born here in the Unclaimed Territory.”
“I see….”
Jung Han-sung nodded slowly.
Now that I thought about it, the Neutral Zone had quite a number of people aside from climbers.
Korean climbers typically call them NPCs, but they are undoubtedly living beings.
‘Among them, are there even children of climbers?’
When I thought about it, there were likely quite a few climbers who had decided to make The Tower their permanent home.
I had no major complaints about my life on Earth—or rather, in Korea—but surely others could harbor dissatisfaction.
“Good. Thank you for answering.”
I was about to ask more, but decided to wrap up my questions here for now.
There was something else I was more curious about at the moment.
“Now I’d like to check the list of people I can hire.”
Specifically, who I could employ.
Jack immediately grinned at my request and pulled something from his pocket.
“Yes! You can check it right here!”
I was wondering if he’d snap his fingers like a Wandering Merchant to summon a list, but instead Jack held out a mirror to me.
“Once you look at it, the list will appear.”
“Ah, I see it.”
Just as Jack said, when I looked into the mirror, text began scrolling across its surface.
[Hans (Woodcutter) ☆]
[Gilbert (Woodcutter) ☆]
[Mog (Miner) ☆]
[Dylan (Shepherd) ☆]
[Lila (Herbalist) ★]
[Logan (Carpenter) ★]
“Hmm.”
I stroked my chin thoughtfully.
The first thing that caught my eye was the stars displayed next to each name and occupation.
“What do these stars mean?”
“Ah, simply put, you could call it their market value. Instead of receiving regular wages, they receive a signing bonus upfront.”
“So this is a kind of rank, and the more stars there are, the higher the signing bonus?”
“Exactly right.”
The woodcutters and miners were the lowest tier, their stars empty. The herbalist and carpenter seemed more valuable, their stars fully filled.
“Do the number of workers I can hire increase only when my Core’s rank goes up?”
“No.”
“No?”
“Yes. What matters is your Territory’s Reputation. The higher the Reputation stat, the more workers will take interest in this place.”
“I see.”
That made sense.
‘I should check the Reputation stat separately at the Core later.’
I made a mental note and opened my mouth again.
“Then, let’s hire everyone on this list.”
“Everyone? Thank you so much!”
Jack beamed at my words with a broad smile.
I nodded in response, then another question suddenly occurred to me, so I spoke again.
“By the way, don’t you receive regular wages?”
“Ah, I receive a percentage cut every time you hire a new worker! That’s why which Territory I go to is so important.”
“So that’s what it was.”
No wonder his expression brightened so suddenly when I mentioned hiring everyone under contract.
Jung Han-sung asked Jack again.
“Then when will the people I hired arrive? It’ll take some time, won’t it?”
“No, sir! All those hired through the Labor Dispatch Office can be summoned instantly to your designated location.”
“Oh, really?”
The Wandering Merchant snapped his fingers and brought goods instantly, but I’d assumed people would need at least some time. Apparently not.
“Wait, but you… didn’t it take you some time to arrive?”
“Ah, we have to pay to use spatial movement, sir!”
Ah. So he walked here because it cost money.
‘That’s fair enough.’
Jung Han-sung nodded and opened his mouth.
“So I can choose any location?”
“Yes! Just tell me your desired location and I’ll proceed with the summoning immediately.”
“Good. Then there. Summon them to that open space ahead.”
“Yes!”
Jack confirmed the location Jung Han-sung indicated, then retrieved the mirror he’d used to display the list and pressed its surface with his finger.
After a brief moment.
A brilliant light erupted—!
Bright radiance spread outward from the location Jung Han-sung had indicated. And when that light faded.
“Huh?”
“Wow.”
“Oh!”
A group of people materialized before us.
They looked around with bewildered expressions or uttered exclamations of amazement.
Then Jack spoke to Jung Han-sung.
“Shall we go, sir?”
“Yeah, let’s.”
Jung Han-sung walked out of the Labor Dispatch Office with Jack toward where the people had appeared.
The group huddled together immediately stiffened upon seeing Jung Han-sung and Jack approach.
Jack addressed them in a solemn voice.
“Everyone, pay your respects! This is the master of this Territory—Han-sung!”
“Ah, greetings, sir!”
“We’re honored to serve you!”
“We’ll do our best!”
The workers immediately bowed respectfully.
Jack nodded with satisfaction at their response, then turned back to Jung Han-sung and spoke.
“These are all people you’ve hired, so you may give them orders as you see fit. However, if you issue unreasonable orders, they may request a refund of their contract fee and terminate the agreement.”
“Got it. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Oh, and the workers will need lodging. They’ll also need food supplies.”
“I’m aware of that.”
As Jung Han-sung nodded again, Jack leaned in slightly and whispered softly.
I had already secured ample provisions through merchants.
I had also scouted the buildings in advance.
‘I couldn’t construct them beforehand due to the restrictions.’
Those restrictions were trivial.
It turned out that I could only build lodging facilities once the population within my Territory reached a certain threshold.
Since I had brought new laborers this time, I could construct several dormitories.
“Now then! Everyone, pay attention!”
As all eyes turned toward me, I finally felt the reality of operating a Territory.
I captured their attention before speaking.
“My name is Han. I look forward to working with you all. And….”
I chose my words carefully before continuing.
“I assure you, you won’t regret taking work here.”
My voice brimmed with confidence.
“This place will expand and grow stronger many times over.”
That was my ambition.
* * *
Managing the Territory consumed several more hours.
I hired people to satisfy the conditions, then constructed several lodging facilities.
I determined where each person would work, how much labor they’d contribute daily—all such matters.
I delegated the finer details to Baek-seol, which saved hours; otherwise, I would have remained far longer.
‘Still, the basic organization is complete, and I’ve identified what’s immediately necessary.’
There was nothing urgently needed for the Territory right now, but there was one thing that would be beneficial.
Namely, labor.
“It’s simply insufficient.”
Raising my Reputation would allow me to hire more and diverse workers, but that proved far from simple.
My current Reputation stood at merely 370, corresponding to Tier 2.
Even that was remarkably high for someone who had just established a Territory. Typically, new lords hovered between 10 and 30.
Yet I remained unsatisfied.
While I intended to raise my Reputation long-term, I separately pondered how to dramatically increase labor in the short term—and eventually discovered a solution.
“Undead.”
Precisely.
I could simply put undead to work!
That was why I had swiftly concluded my Territory business and returned to my Unique Space.
‘I need a floor where corpses remain.’
Depending on the floor, corpses either persisted or crumbled to dust after clearing.
In the former case, I could collect and take those corpses with me.
“Good. Preparations are complete.”
After a quick equipment check, I gazed upward into the void and requested entry to The Tower.
A brief wave of dizziness washed over me, and my vision shifted.
[Objective: Purify Recaldros’s Cemetery]
[Time Limit: 2 hours]
“Huh?”
I blinked my eyes.
The surroundings were dim. But after blinking several times, my vision adapted to the darkness, and I could make out the landscape around me.
“A cemetery?”
Indeed. The stage of the 43rd Floor was none other than a cemetery.
I scanned the objective again.
‘Purify the cemetery? What does that mean?’
As I pondered this question.
―Grrrraaahhhhh.
A ghastly shriek echoed from somewhere.
I immediately turned my gaze toward the sound.
Then I saw something staggering toward me.
‘A person?’
I drew my sword and looked more carefully.
“Ah.”
And I realized it.
It was nothing other than an undead.
‘And a low-tier one at that?’
I glanced around just to be sure, and the undead were not just one.
Only then did I understand what “purify” meant in the objective.
―It seems we’re meant to dispose of all these undead, Master.
Onyx, having realized the same thing at a similar moment, added his thoughts.
“Yeah, that seems to be it.”
But I didn’t stop there—my mind continued to work.
“But why ‘purify’ instead of ‘dispose’? There must be a reason.”
―A reason?
“What I mean is… all we need to do is make sure there are no more undead in this cemetery, right?”
At my words, Onyx paused to consider what I meant, then suddenly a thought struck him.
―You don’t mean…?
At that moment, my eyes gleamed with brilliant light.
“Let’s capture all of them.”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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