Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 12

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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 12

What do you do when a young girl is holding a hammer?
The answer?
You watch and wait.
Aren’t you supposed to take it away because it’s dangerous?
How would you take it?
She’s a Senior Worker, even if she looks like that.

“Hehe! Such nice materials! You guys, Rani will make them all pretty for you!”

Look at that.
She’s hugging the Iron-Shell Turtle Carapace tight like it’s precious.
Anyone would guess she’s a crafting worker.
Her name?

——-
Worker Resume

Name: Rani / Senior Rank
Specialty: Item Crafting
Daily Wage: 10 Mana Stones
——-

Rani.
She’s Senior Rank, no less.
The same grade as Arthur.
As for her wages…
Hmm.
More than twice what Arthur makes.
Those old guys really knew what they were talking about.
Skill is the future, right…

“Arthur, a sword? Can you do it?”
“A sword? Yeah, yeah! Rani can make anything!”
“Perfect!”
“Just bring the materials to Rani!”
“Ma, terials…? What’s that?”
“Rani can’t make anything without materials!”

Maybe it’s because she’s also Senior Rank?
She warmed up to us much faster than Robin did.
But…

“Rani? Can you really make a sword that Arthur could actually use, if you just have the materials?”

She’s Senior Rank, so her standards must be high.
The sword she usually uses must be pretty good already.

“Yeah! Should Rani make you a sword too, Chief? I can make one!”
“Arthur, you take it first! Chief, go ahead!”
“No… What would I even need a sword for?”
“Arthur, you should go first!”

Right…
You do it.
But no matter how I look at it, something doesn’t add up.
The height, the face, the way of speaking.
Just a kid, really….
And he’s saying he can make a proper sword for Arthur?
Look, look.
The way he grips the hammer—right up under his armpit.
And yet his hands are holding that hammer with surprising steadiness.

“Uh…. This is Rani’s, though…….”

No, no.
I’m not taking the hammer.
I was just watching.
Anyway.
So he can make a sword.
Can he make other things too?
I asked him.

“A really strong sword! Really tough armor! And…, whatever you need! If you tell me, Rani can make it!”
“Whatever I need?”
“Yeah! Rani can make everything for you!”

Hmph.
Still a child, no matter what.
Making grand promises about crafting anything I need—
And yet.

“You can’t make it right now, can you? Not enough materials.”
“It’s okay…. They’re really good materials!”

Iron-Shell Turtle Carapace shards and the core.
Good materials, he says.
Well, of course.
These came from defeating the Monthly Boss himself.
The problem is….
We don’t have enough of them.

“You said we need at least two or three, didn’t you?”
“Yeah!”
“Hmm….”

Two or three.
I could gather that eventually….
But right now, there’s nothing.
What to do.
His specialty is Item Crafting.
So without materials, he can’t do a thing, right?
Hmm….
Would a Fixed Team join if I asked?
I want to call them back once we’ve gathered the materials.
Okay.
Let me ask him about it.

“So, for today—.”
“Uh….”

What’s this.
I haven’t even finished speaking.
Why does he already look upset.
Huh.
I wondered what he was staring at—
His eyes are fixed on the Iron-Shell Turtle Carapace fragments and the core.

“But you said you’d give it to me! You said I could use it!”

Wait.
Now there are actually tears welling up in her eyes.
No, wait….

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t give it to you….”

I mean, I can’t even use this thing anyway.
I held it out tentatively.
Her face brightened again immediately.
Whoosh—she snatched it from my hands.

“Uh….”

Back to looking miserable.
What is with this girl.
Her mood swings are all over the place.

“Now that’s what I’d call a Senior Worker.”

I’ve only met two Senior Rank workers or above up until now.
The foreign gentleman, and Arthur—who’s Ppokulrom incarnate.
Robin, the laziness champion.

Compared to them, a pale pink-haired girl swinging a hammer?
It felt a bit underwhelming….
But yeah.
This familiar feeling.
This is what a Senior Worker is.

* * *

In the end, we came to an agreement.
The Monthly Boss materials—next time if we get the chance.
For now?

“I’ll dump everything from my Inventory, and you make whatever you can from it.”

Since she came all this way, I should see what she’s capable of.
I opened my Inventory right away.
Dump. Everything spilled out.
And Rani?

“Ooh! That’s great!”

She came over grinning, excited.
Then saw the contents and went silent.

“…….”

I’m sorry.
I didn’t know either.
A Bundle of Spider Silk, Broken Wolf Fangs, Wolf Hide….
Just junk items like these.
It’s not like I farmed these myself.
Other workers brought them and I just threw them in as-is….
But actually,

What could I possibly make with these…?

“Do you need anything, Director?”
“Hmm….”

Need anything.
It’s vague.
I’m not heading to a tower or anything.
If I had to pick something….

“Ah, my Quest Points are climbing too slowly. I wish they’d shoot up faster.”
“Quest Points?”

Well.
There’s no item that raises Quest Points. There can’t be.
No.
Even if there were, if you just gave scraps and asked me to make something, it’d be trash anyway.

“I was just asking what you might need….”

I’m embarrassed even saying it.

“Hmmmm.”

Good grief.
She’s actually giving this serious thought.
I’m not trash, I’m telling you….
I’m really just joking, so just make whatever you want.

“Director! Can I use up Rani’s Mana Stones too?”

Phew.
Problem solved.
A Mana Stone or two—no big deal.

“Sure. Use them if you need to.”

Right then, let’s go.

“Okay! Rani’s got this!”

She clamps her fist tight.
Gathers up the materials and heads to a corner of the room.
And then.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
A steady, rhythmic sound echoes out.

Could she actually make a proper item?
No way.
Not even if she’s a Senior Worker.
No way, surely not….

* * *

“Ta-da!”

Insane.
She actually made something real.

“Gloves? Wait—how is that even possible with those materials?”
“Rani, you really put in the effort!”

Mm….…
Anyone can see she worked hard on this.
So what’s the performance like?
Let me see.

[Spider Silk-Woven Wolf Hide Gloves]
– Crafted by an artisan of exceptional skill.
– Durable and comfortable to wear.
– Grants increased attack power when equipped.

Wait?
No, I mean….
It’s durable and comfortable, but it also raises your attack power?

“Rani, are you sure you’re a crafter and not a mage?”

How did you make something like this out of scraps?

“Pretty awesome, right!”
“Yeah….”

I felt it myself.
Huh.
Soft, yet strong.
How is that even possible?
This is genuinely fascinating.

“You satisfied?”

Arthur’s satisfied too.
Though….

“Arthur, look. This one’s even better!”

The pair I’m wearing now is better.
Well, I suppose.
These materials really were rather sparse.
So what do we do?
I don’t have any use for them….

“Chief! Why don’t we sell these and buy better materials!”

Sell them?
Rani, you’re a genius.
Materials from farming are ideal, admittedly.
Let’s list it for now — I’m curious what it’ll fetch.

[Item Trading]

I’ll go in and put them up for sale.
What about the price?
I’m not sure of the market rate….
Let’s just let whoever buys them decide for themselves.
We’ll do an auction.
The minimum bid….

“I think we could get at least twenty Mana Stones? Plus Rani’s wages!”
“Right! Rani worked so hard on these!”
“Fine!”

Set the price at twenty Mana Stones.
Once I close it, the listing should go live automatically.
I shut down the Awakened Network.

“Ta-da! I made this too!”

Huh?
Rani’s pushing something else into my hands.
What is this?
I took a quick look.

[Quest Point 2x Scroll (Single Use)]

Wait.
What?

* * *

Double Quest Points.
Honestly, I just threw that out there as a stream of consciousness….
And it actually worked?

[Quest Point 2x Scroll (Single Use)]

Sure, the downside is it’s single use.
But still.

“Wait, that can be made from those materials?”
“I used a little Mana Stone….”

Right.
She did mention using Mana Stones.
But if she only uses a few and I get doubled Quest Points, that’s an insane deal.

“How many?”
“Fifty!”

Did I mishear?
She just said fifty….
No.
She said she only used a little….

“Fifty’s… well, and! Right now I don’t have the materials anyway!”

My expression gave me away.
She’s already reading the room.

“No, it’s fine.”

She’s a Senior Rank, so maybe she has expensive taste in materials.
Yeah….
And anyway.
Honestly, it’s not a loss.
I’ve got stacks of low-grade Mana Stones piling up from taking contracts and running Dungeons every day.

“A million won for doubled Quest Points….”

No.
No matter how I look at it, it’s expensive.
Expensive, sure.
But not so expensive that I can’t make it….
In the end, there’s only one answer.

“Rani, if I had other materials, would it take fewer Mana Stones?”
“Yes! That’s right! Give me lots of materials, and I don’t even need Mana Stones! And if you give me better materials, Rani can do more attempts!”

Insane.
No, this girl is really incredible.
The more I listen, the more curious I get.
Practically crafting items out of trash.
Then what if….
Really good materials.
Especially if I made them from Monthly Boss materials?
Okay, decided.

“Rani, want to join my Fixed Team?”

A card I’d absolutely regret missing.
I didn’t even warm up—just threw it straight.
First meeting.
We’d barely talked at all.
She’ll probably refuse.
Sigh.
I was wondering how to convince her….

“Yes!”

What?
Just like that?
Why?

“Boss! Rani used Mana Stones and you didn’t say anything! And you’re gonna give me lots of materials! Rani loves making items with good materials more than anything in the world!”

[You have been registered as a Fixed Team.]
[Rani (Senior Worker)]

Huh.
Is it just my imagination?
She really seems to glow.
Yeah.
So what if my mood bounces around a bit!
Rani can be like that too!

“Just trust me! I’ll get you lots of good materials!”
“Boss, you’re the best!”

Of course, I’m not the one who’ll be getting them….
My friends will bring them.
For now, okay.
I’ve even got her in my Fixed Team.
I want to give her something to show my thanks….

Arthur likes coffee.
Robin was into meat.
What about Rani?
Something sweet, since she’s still young?

“Oh, that’s right.”

There’s a bag of candy in my pocket from the restaurant at lunch.
I pulled it out just now.
Ah….
Rice crisp candy.
Do kids even eat this stuff?
I don’t think we ate these back in my day….
Well.
This feels a bit off.
I was about to put it back.

“What’s that?!”
“Hey… it’s not yours, Arthur. I already gave you coffee.”
“Then it’s Rani’s?”

Her eyes light up.
I can’t really refuse when she looks at me like that.
Let me just give it to her.
If it tastes bad….
Well, I’ll bring something else next time.
I unwrapped it without much expectation.

“What is this?! I’ve never tasted anything like this before, master! My mouth is dancing!”

Hmm.
Her reaction is better than I thought?
If she gets this excited over rice crisp candy….
She’ll probably cry when she tries fruit candy.

“Master? What about Arthur? And Robin?”
“This one’s mine!”

I….
What kind of lives have you two been living, exactly?
All right.
No more fighting.
Starting tomorrow, I’ll bring candy for everyone.

* * *

The next day.

“Director! Rani’s here!”
“Arthur’s here too!”
…….

Rani arrived, and Robin called out at the same time.
Rani’s on standby for now.
As for the others.

“…A Rank?”
“Yeah. I think Robin and Arthur should be able to handle it together.”

Our target is an A Rank Dungeon.
Here’s what I know so far.
The higher the Dungeon Rank, the more Quest Points you earn.
D Rank gives 100, F Rank gives 30.
C Rank?
It went up to 200.
The frustrating part is I’ve never actually been to a B Rank Dungeon or higher.
No quest requests have come through.
So why did an A-Rank Dungeon quest suddenly appear today?
I can’t resist this.
I called Robin just in case, so there’s nothing to worry about.

[Quest Point 2x Scroll (Single Use)]

My first attempt at an A-Rank Dungeon.
And if I use the 2x scroll on top of that?
The rewards.
My mouth’s already watering.
So let’s go.

[Worker Dispatch]
– Dungeon

Arthur and Robin, departure.

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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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