Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 13

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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 13

Hwaran Guild Master, Baek Hwaran.
I’d submitted a commission to the Personnel Management Director just yesterday.
What was the commission about?
Sell me some gear that the iron-shelled turtle dropped.
I’ll pay you well for it.
That was it….

“The commission was rejected, and then an item sale listing appeared under the Personnel Management Director’s name?”
“Yes, it went up last night.”
“Hmm, hold on. Let me check the options.”

[Spider-Woven Wolf Leather Gloves]

These must be it.
Registered by: Personnel Management Director.
That’s right.
And the options?

– Work of a masterfully skilled craftsman.
– Durable with excellent fit.
– Increases attack power when equipped.

Well, it’s decent enough….
But why this?
I suppose it’s possible.

“Isn’t he running dungeons constantly now that he’s taking on Awakening Management Bureau commissions? Didn’t he get it from there?”
“It’s a crafted item.”
“What…?”

A crafted item?
In other words….

“The Personnel Management Director made it himself?”
“We can’t say for certain. You know the Appraisal Skill won’t reveal that, no matter how high the grade.”
“Sigh…. So what does the appraisal tell us?”
“As I mentioned, it’s a crafted item. The defense is comparable to drops from the Tower’s 30th floor range. The additional attack power value is also quite high, according to the assessment.”
“Come again?”

Spider-Woven Wolf Leather Gloves, supposedly.
Spider silk, wolf leather.
Both from low-level monsters….
How could those materials possibly create a top-tier 30th floor item?

“Does that even make sense?”
“What’s more, he set the minimum starting bid at 20 Low-grade Mana Stones and opened the auction. It’s in complete chaos right now.”
“No wonder people are scrambling. What’s the price at now…. 300?”
“What should we do?”
“Try bidding up to around 700, and if it keeps climbing past that, back off.”

The average price for a Tower 30th-floor-range drop item is about 10 million won.
Considering the options, 700 is reasonable.
Anything higher?
No need to push it.
The gear we’re using now is better anyway.
The real problem is….

“Could our guild’s item crafters actually make something like that?”
“Of course.”
“No, I mean—achieving that level of performance from scraps like those.”
“Well… that’s….”

Right.
It would be impossible.

“Ugh, this is giving me a headache.”

The Personnel Management Director’s intention.
I’ve figured it out.

Sell the materials?
Why would I?
I can make them myself—that’s what this is really about.

Yeah….
I can accept that much.
But there’s a much bigger problem.

“Send word to the Masters of all Five Major Guilds. Tell them I have something to discuss regarding the Monthly Boss Raid.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll set up the schedule right away.”

I can make items. = I need materials.
That bastard, the Personnel Management Director.
He’ll definitely show up for the next Monthly Boss Raid.
Because he’ll need the materials.

“I can’t let him take what I know I can obtain.”

Can I stop him alone?
Absolutely not.
Given the damage output recorded in the last raid.
Hah….
I might need all Five Major Guilds united just to have a shot.
Let me bring them together first.
Then we’ll see what’s possible.

* * *

——-
A 47th-Floor Hunter Explains the Differences Between Dungeon Ranks

I covered up to B-rank in my last post.
This time, A-rank dungeons.
S-rank barely shows up anyway, so I’ll skip that.
Interestingly, A-rank actually has the lowest death rate overall?
Want to know why?
Most people just don’t attempt them in the first place lol
Even I climbed all the way to floor 47 without so much as glancing at an A-rank dungeon.
Anyway, since I only know what I’ve heard through the grapevine….
Level 50.
So basically, only people who’ve cleared up to Tower floor 50 are really worth attempting them.
By current standards in this country, that’s maybe the top 10 people?
……
…
——-

“—Yes! Yes! Yes!”
“…Yes.”

Whew.
Already prepared?
Time to shut down the phone.
I glanced quickly at the Dungeon entrance.

[Tomb of the Corrupted Wolf King – A-rank]

Hmm.
An A-rank Dungeon.
They say you need to be over level 50 to even attempt a Clear….

“I’m only level 10 right now?”

Right.
I’m not the one clearing it.
My workers are.

“A-rank? We can do it!”
“…Easy.”

They can manage it.
So I’ll drop the worry and just cheer them on instead.

“Go get ’em! Once you finish, let’s all grab something to eat together.”
“Eat together? What’s that?”
“You know—a place where we eat a lot of meat and drink a lot of coffee.”
“Oh! Sounds great! Arthur should eat together too!”
“…Meat.”

Simple people….
The moment I mention meat and coffee, they’re already rushing off.

[The workers are entering the Dungeon.]
[Auto Hunt is beginning.]

Arthur and Robin have gone in.
What about Lani?

“Hehe!”

She’s playing around with an iron tortoise shell and a pickaxe.
Does she really enjoy that so much?
Well, in any case.
Since it’s our first A-rank Dungeon.
I should see how it goes.

[Monitoring]

I tapped the button.
Whirrrr—.
The interior of the Dungeon comes into view….

“Ugh, creepy.”
“Scary!”

What? When did she get here?
I shifted over slightly to make room for Lani.
Looking at it again.
Chills ran right up my spine.

[Tomb of the Corrupted Wolf King]

The eerie wind sounds and the backdrop—it really did feel like a scene from a horror film.
The dungeon was living up to its name perfectly.

“Those two aren’t scared at all, are they?”
“I guess not….”

Even watching through the monitor, it gave me goosebumps.
If I’d actually been there?
Good grief.
I wouldn’t have been able to move.
They just walked forward without hesitation.

Screech! Howl—!

The dungeon’s masters were the monsters.
An A-rank dungeon, the Tomb of the Corrupted Wolf King, held?
Wolves with rotted skin hanging in tatters.
Corrupted wolves, no doubt.
Dozens of them charged at once.

Slash! Whoosh—!

Still they didn’t stop.
They kept walking, swinging swords and firing arrows—
And every wolf just fell.
The ordinary ones.
The slightly stronger ones too.
Even.
Roooaaaargh!
The boss, the Corrupted Wolf King itself.
The moment it emerged, it was done.

“…….”

An A-rank dungeon.
This easily?

“Hoo-rah, hoo-rah!”

[Dungeon conquest complete.]
[Auto Hunt terminated.]
[Clear Time – 00:15:26]

It was over.
That….
Long live Auto Hunt.

* * *

The dungeon conquest was complete.
Now for the rewards!
All right, let’s see what we got.

[A-rank Dungeon Conquest Success!]
[Clear Time – 00:15:26]
[Clear Reward – 15 Intermediate Mana Stones / Corrupted Wolf King’s Fang / 5 Intermediate Healing Potions]

Oh, the Corrupted Wolf King’s Fang?
Looks like a crafting material.
Let me show it to Lani first.

“Wow! Materials! Materials! This is such good material too!”

True to form, a materials enthusiast.
She’s hopping around excitedly.

Next is….
Healing potions.
I’ll set those aside for now.

“So… fifteen Intermediate Mana Stones.”

At 500,000 won each, that’s 7.5 million won?
Damn.
It really is different when you clear a high-tier dungeon.
But….
Something feels a bit thin.
If it’s got the same difficulty as the Tower’s 50th floor, this reward seems a bit….
Especially the crafting materials feel a little underwhelming….

“…materials, from the Tower….”
“Oh? The Tower gives out a lot of materials? Okay. I’ll remember that.”

That’s it for the dungeon rewards.
What’s next?
Better open up the Commission.

<Commission Complete!>

For you, our valued client from the Awakening Management Bureau.
What’s the reward?
20 Intermediate Mana Stones.
This side is definitely more generous.

“So from this one dungeon alone, I’ve made over 20 million won.”

Just from Mana Stones alone, 17.5 million won.
When you factor in the healing potions and the wolf fang too?
Wow….
So that’s why they always say Hunter, Hunter.
They’re just sweeping money off the table.

“Huh.”

Everything’s gone into my inventory.
Next up is the Personnel Management Bureau window.
This is the real core of it, actually.

[Commission Complete!]
[A-rank Dungeon, Tomb of the Corrupted Wolf King Clear!]
[Bonus Payment]
– Commission Points 1,000

Huh?
Base is 1,000 Points.
What if I apply it double?
2,000 Commission Points.

“Yes! Now that’s what I’m talking about!”

Low-grade Mana Stones? Materials?
Sure, those are useful.
But what I needed most right now?
Commission Points.

I’d been running Commissions constantly, putting off Tower exploration for this move, and—
I’d only accumulated 2,300 Points so far.
I wondered when I’d ever scrape together enough, and now I’m getting 2,000 at once?

“A-rank Commissions might be tough work, but the double payout is really sweet.”

I hope a few more A-rank Commissions come in.

“Director! The item Lani made—did it sell?”

Oh, right.
I should check on that.

“Hold on, let me look right now.”

I’d been so focused on the A-rank Dungeon that I’d completely forgotten about it.
I wondered how much had come in.
At minimum, twenty Low-grade Mana Stones.
Maybe a hundred at most—
or possibly even two hundred?

[Sale Proceeds: 1,000 Low-grade Mana Stones]

Sorry?

* * *

Lani’s crafted item had sold.
The price was
1,000 Low-grade Mana Stones.
Converting that to cash—
twenty million won.

“Wow.”
“What? Did we make a lot of money? Can we buy materials for Lani?”
“Well… yeah, we made quite a bit.”
“Amazing! Great! Buy Lani lots of materials!”

Bouncing with delight.
Materials?
Just name them.
I can buy anything!
How expensive could they be, right?
I searched with complete confidence—

[Item Exchange]

“Lani, maybe we should buy our materials next time?”

No.
Why are these materials so expensive?
A few hundred per unit is the baseline for anything halfway decent.

“Sigh….”

No point losing heart over it.
I don’t just need one or two materials….
A few hundred per unit adds up to bankruptcy, plain and simple.
Unless.

“Robin, didn’t you say materials drop frequently in the Tower?”
“…Higher floors.”
“Ah, the upper levels?”

A nod.

Okay.
So that’s how it is.
I was actually thinking about this lately anyway.

The F-rank Chaos Box.

If there’s an F-rank, there must be other grades too.
How do I get them?
It’s obvious.
I’d have to climb the Tower.
And naturally, I’d need to set a record.

“Watching you clear that Dungeon just now—I think you can manage it.”

An A-rank Dungeon said to have difficulty comparable to Tower Floor 50.
Arthur and Robin?
They cleared it with ease.
So, it’s worth a try, isn’t it?

If Arthur struggles alone, I’ll bring Robin along and we can climb one floor a week.
Then the odds of getting the Chaos Key are high.
And on top of that, I can stock up on materials too?

“Director, should we go hunt for materials?”
“Yeah, we should.”

Especially since Lani’s here—no question about it.
If I give her good materials….
I’m already looking forward to seeing what she produces.

“Arthur, swords!”

Right.
Of course I need to make gear for our workers first.

“Okay, decision made. We’re climbing the Tower too.”
“Awesome!”
“Lani too! Lani wants to come too!”

Hmm.
That won’t work.
You need to stay home and craft items.

“Arthur, you sit down too. We’re done for the day anyway.”
“Exactly!”

And even if it were tomorrow instead of today, we can’t hit the tower right now anyway.
We need to move first.
We’ve got to buckle down and earn Commission Points tomorrow too.
So.

“Let’s set aside all that for now and have a company dinner tonight.”
“A company dinner? What’s that?”

I already told you.
Lani, what were you doing earlier?
Oh.
You were too busy checking materials.

“A company dinner is a day where you eat something delicious.”
“Something delicious?!”
“I’m in!”
“…Meat.”

Everyone, just wait a moment.
We earned plenty of money today.
Your Bureau Director will set everything up perfectly.

* * *

The Awakening Management Bureau was more animated than it had been in some time.
Why?
Because their most troublesome recent problem had just been resolved.

“Personnel Management Director clears an A-rank Dungeon!”
“Now we won’t have to worry for a while about A-rank dungeons appearing!”
“If Lee Bo-jun had just stayed healthy, we wouldn’t have had this headache in the first place.”

An A-rank dungeon?
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t even be a concern.
Lee Bo-jun, the Bureau’s top tower raider.
If he went in, he’d finish it with ease.
But….

“What else could we do? Who would’ve guessed his weapon would suddenly break and send him into a slump?”
“At least the tower still has plenty of time left, so there’s that to be grateful for.”
“The dungeons are the real problem.”

B-rank dungeons were fine.
The issue was A-rank, the domain of top-tier Hunters.
Just because Lee Bo-jun was in a slump, was the Bureau supposed to abandon the clearance?
That was absurd.
If they gave up on that, public safety would collapse.
In the end, there was only one choice.

“I’ve lost count of how many concessions we’ve given the Five Major Guilds whenever we asked them to clear A-rank dungeons….”

They’d complained about special privileges every time.
And yet.
There was no alternative but them.

“Things should be easier now. We’ve got another option—the Personnel Management Director.”
“It’s a bit unsettling that we don’t know their identity, though….”

What can you do? It can’t be helped.
All we can do is trust.
The Bureau Director’s situation is too urgent to refuse based on not knowing who they really are.

“I just got word from the Bureau Director—we can increase the pay from here on out.”
“Oh, weren’t there more urgent Dungeons?”
“Two of them.”
“Let’s take on more Commissions then.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————