Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 19

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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 019

[Breaking News: Lee Bo-jun Clears Floor 58 of the Tower of Chaos!]

The bulletin had exploded without warning.
Ranking 1st place, Lee Bo-jun’s clearance of floor 58.
The entire nation erupted into uproar in an instant.

“We’ve just received breaking news! Lee Bo-jun, who was reported to be in a slump, has just succeeded in clearing floor 58 of the Tower of Chaos—”

A news bulletin from the broadcast station.

[The Spectacular Return of Ranking 1st Place!]
[Conquering Floor 58, Breaking Free from His Slump! Lee Bo-jun Has Returned.]
……
…

Internet articles.

[Lee Bo-jun cleared floor 58 ????]
[Where did all those people go who called Ranking 1st place washed up lol lol lol lol]
……
…

Even posts from various online communities.
They all talked about the same thing.
What were people’s reactions?

– ???????
– Cleared??? Just like that out of nowhere?
– Wait, isn’t floor 58 the highest floor
– Huh???

Shock, and confusion.

– Seems like fake news lol lol
└ nah nah it’s official Management Bureau announcement
– He didn’t even have a weapon???
– What, how did he do that????

How all of a sudden?
He was clearly in a slump until yesterday….
The articles even came pouring out about it.
But now he cleared floor 58 all at once?
Without even a weapon?

Then, additional news came through.

[Breaking News: Lee Bo-jun’s new weapon from clearing floor 58 was crafted by Yun Ha-jun, it is reported.]
[Successful Comeback, We’ve Investigated the Route Through Which Ranking 1st Lee Bo-jun Obtained His Weapon.]
[Lee Bo-jun, “Yun Ha-jun Saved My Life.”]
[Lee Bo-jun and Baek Hwa-rang Achieve Consecutive Records Using Weapons Created by the Mysterious Craftsman Yun Ha-jun!]
……
…

– What, Yun Ha-jun again?
– I hear that name a lot these days.

Their face, their identity—I don’t know either.
But now their name is known across the entire nation. That creator.
Yun Ha-jun.
This time, the attention was particularly intense.

– They made end-tier weapons back-to-back. How is that even possible?
└ ㄴㄴ They have a crafting-related job, but after making a weapon for the 20th floor, they couldn’t make anything for a whole month;;
└ Who even is this person?
└ No clue. But one thing’s for sure—if you get gear from them, you hit the jackpot

Performance that defies all logic.
Two people have already reaped the benefits.
And they were Rankers climbing the Tower’s highest floors.
If you could entrust them with your equipment?

– Life reversal right there
└ Exactly

Don’t know their identity?
What does it matter?
They’re making gear like that….

– Just submit a Commission right away ㅇㅇ
– Hope they accept it….
– Me too….

And then, a day later?
Even more shocking news came through.

[Baek Hwa-rang, 54th Floor Cleared!]

News of Baek Hwa-rang’s consecutive ascent—he’d been stuck on the 53rd floor for over half a year.
And then.

[Lee Bo-jun, 59th Floor Cleared!]

Lee Bo-jun, who had been similarly stuck, climbed one more floor as well.

– ????
– Wait, what….
– Baek Hwa-rang’s incredible enough, but what is Lee Bo-jun even doing???

With the 59th floor cleared, the next is the 60th.
What does that mean?

– Just one more floor and we catch up to Russia, right?
└ Yeah
– So we join the Five Great Powers then???
└ One more floor and then stop, we become the sixth power. Go higher, we overtake Russia and join the Five Great Powers

Joining the Five Great Powers was within reach.
Could this really happen?
The problem was….

– But it’s going to be rough. The 60th floor is brutal.
– ㅇㅇ Why else would they call it the Devil’s Wall ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Yeah, makes sense. Only five countries in the world have crossed it….
– Lee Bo-jun will need a lot of preparation….

[The Devil’s Wall, 60th Floor. How many months will it take? We asked for expert opinions.]

It won’t be easy.
At minimum, several months of preparation would be needed.
That’s what the internet was saying, and the journalists agreed.
But then?

[Breaking News: Lee Bo-jun confident he’ll clear Floor 60 tomorrow.]

Lee Bo-jun could do it.
Floor 60 conquest declared.
Surely not….
Could he really?
All he did was swap out one weapon?
No, that’s ridiculous.

* * *

[South Korea’s Lee Bo-jun conquers Floor 59 of the Tower of Chaos! Immediately declares he’ll clear Floor 60 next! The Five Great Powers are within reach!]

South Korea was in festival mode.
But the Russian Awakened Management Bureau, located in Moscow?
It was undoubtedly a funeral.

“Ah….”

Yegor, director of the Russian Awakened Management Bureau, let out a heavy sigh.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.

“I could swear you said there was absolutely no way this could fail. Did I mishear?”
“No, no! That’s not it!”

No, he was right.
He remembered it perfectly.

“So how exactly did this happen?”
“Well….”

South Korea’s Ranking One received a weapon?
Okay.
That’s possible.
Clearing Floor 58?
Fine….
Even that was acceptable.
Half a year — sure, he was due to progress by now.
But then.

“Floor 60….”

Attempting Floor 59?
Does that even make sense.
I thought surely… but.

[South Korea’s Lee Bo-jun conquers Floor 59 of the Tower of Chaos!]

He succeeded.
And now he’s challenging Floor 60 next?
No.
He said outright he could clear it….
That idiot has no contingency plan whatsoever.

“What about Aleksei?”
“He’s still on the 61st floor.”
“Any chance he’ll catch up?”
“… I’m sorry.”

At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before he catches me.
There’s no way around it.
I need to change tactics.

“I should recruit that Management Bureau director. That man needs to be brought into the fold.”

Bring him to Russia.
If that doesn’t work, get him a weapon somehow.
I need to do something, or he’ll catch up.
I have to prevent such a disaster.

“Will recruitment even be possible? Even the Koreans don’t know his true identity.”

Ha.
Pitiful fool.
Calling that a question.
If only he weren’t a political appointee….

“When he accepts a commission for a dungeon, keep 24-hour surveillance around that dungeon. The moment you hear he’s taken a request, move on it.”
“Ah…!”

Now he understands.
That’s it.
First, identify who he really is, then devise a strategy accordingly.

* * *

[Breaking: Lee Bo-jun confirmed to clear floor 60 tomorrow.]

“Oh, straight through to floor 60? Our client sure moves fast.”

Yun Ha-jun, the Management Bureau director.
What’s he doing right now?
Reading the internet with a satisfied smile on his face.

“Rani, want to see this?”
“Wow, I can read Korean.”

Looks interesting?
Everyone wants to see it.
Right.
Let’s all look together.

“They say both of them are doing great with the sword Rani made.”
“Hey-!”
“Hwal-hwal’s amazing too!”

Ugh….
The commissions were already flooding in.
I even posted that I wasn’t accepting any fabrication requests for a while, but—

– Just this one, please.
– Master, if you just make this one, I’ll respect you my whole life.
– I really want to clear floor 30 ㅠㅠㅠ
……
…

The comments on that post had exploded too.
Sigh….
No choice. Drastic measures were needed.

[Commission – Not Accepting]

What about all those stacked-up commissions?
Rejected them all at once.
Of course, I had to finish the ones I’d already accepted.
So that meant….

“We’ve got that A-rank Dungeon we picked up before. You sure you can handle it solo, Arthur?”
“You bet! With Hwal-hwal, I can do it!”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Easy!”

Nice!
That’s reassuring.
Well then, let’s get going.

[Commission List]
1. A-rank Dungeon, Queen Spider’s Labyrinth
2. A-rank Dungeon, Great Golem’s Fortress

Which one first?
I glanced them over and decided.

“Let’s start with the first one. We’ve got to clear both anyway.”
“Sounds good!”

Arthur was on board too.
Ready to head out right now?

[Worker Dispatch]
– Dungeon

[Queen Spider’s Labyrinth – A-rank. Do you wish to enter?]

No way.

“Yes! Good! Good! Good!”
“Yay!”

That one chants the battle cry with an oddly perfect accent when he goes in.
But why’s Rani copying him?
You going too?

“Good! Good! That’s so fun!”

Fair point.
It’s genuinely addictive.
Even I feel the urge to join in when I hear it….
Still.

“Rani, you stay here. Arthur, move out. Finish quick and come back so we can take it easy with some coffee.”
“Coffee? Sounds great!”

[Worker entering Dungeon.]
[Automatic Hunting initiated.]

Okay.
Arthur, let’s go in.
As for us….

“Let’s watch.”
“Sure!”

Whatever else, we should at least observe an A-Rank Dungeon.
Just to be safe.

“And we need to see Hwal-hwal in action!”
“Fair point.”

That’s valid too.
Last time?
We didn’t really see anything.
The enemy was too weak.
This time should be different.

[Monitoring]

Let’s see what happens.

* * *

An A-Rank Dungeon he once said he couldn’t handle alone.
Now that he has a new blade and Hwal-hwal….
How would it go?
I watched with anticipation, and—

“Wow, that’s insane….”

Queen Spider’s Labyrinth.
True to its name, a dungeon brimming with webs.
What happens when you set it on fire?
Exactly.

“It really burns bright.”
“Right! That’s why it’s called Hwal-hwal!”

That logic doesn’t work.
So does that mean “Spark” is called Spark just because it’s sparkly?
Anyway.
It burns well.
Does it only consume the webs?
Not quite.

Shriek!
A spider the size of a massive hound charges in ferociously.
Whoosh!
Flames engulf it instantly.
Then Arthur flicks his hand, and—
Crack!
One monster gone.

“It’s completely different now.”

This doesn’t feel like clearing an A-Rank Dungeon—it feels like clearing a C-Rank one.
The boss, the Queen Spider, was no different.

Screee—!
Massive in size, its fangs and claws dripping with venom.
It looked deadly, but….
When Arthur brought his sword down,
Whoosh.
Flame erupted from the blade,
and the spider was split cleanly in half.

“That’s the Flame Blade!”
“Ah, that special skill?”
“Yeah!”

[Dungeon cleared.]
[Automatic Hunting terminated.]
[Clear Time – 00:13:39]

Wow….
When I went with Robin, who’s top-tier, it took fifteen minutes.
Arthur alone cleared it in thirteen?

“That’s absolutely insane.”

One weapon makes this much of a difference?

“This is amazing! I love it!”
“Rani made it!”
“What a gem!”
“Rani, you’re a treasure!”

Right.
It would be different if Rani made it herself.
The Ranking 1 and 2 hunters got weapons from Rani too and they’re cruising along just fine.

But….
If Arthur, who’s high-tier, is like this, what about Robin?

“Rani, we still have materials left, right?”
“Yeah! Tons of them!”

Of course.
Our excellent customer Lee Bo-jun sent us plenty.

“Rani, will you make a weapon?!”
“Hmm…. We do need a bow for Robin.”
“Let’s do it!”

She bolts toward the workshop.
No, wait.
Not today.

“Let’s take a break today. You’ve been working hard lately.”

Besides.
We’re moving tomorrow.
Once we’re in a bigger place, we can make weapons with plenty of room.

* * *

The Management Bureau Director had cleared an A-Rank Dungeon.
There was one place waiting for that news more eagerly than anywhere else.
Moscow.

“The Management Bureau Director cleared an A-Rank Dungeon? That bastard?”

Unbelievable.
What kind of country was South Korea, anyway?
They produced weapons that top-ranking hunters across the world fought to obtain.
And now they’d just smashed through an A-Rank Dungeon.
No—worse still.

“Thirteen minutes and thirty-nine seconds? Is that even possible?”

Russia’s number one ranker, Aleksei.
He’d stalled out at the sixty-first floor, but even he could clear A-Rank Dungeons.
They usually took three or four hours.
But thirteen minutes…?
At this point, doubt began to creep in.

A long breath escaped.

The Management Bureau Director.
Could they even control a man like that if they found him?
What leverage did they have?
Equipment?
He’d make it all himself.
Money?
Would money even look like money to someone clearing A-Rank Dungeons in thirteen minutes?

“No. That’s not it.”

Get your head straight.
There’d be time enough for doubt after meeting the man in person.

“So what kind of man is he?”
“Well…”
“Don’t hem and haw. Out with it.”
“We couldn’t find him, sir.”
“What?”

Impossible.
He’d ordered round-the-clock surveillance, and they couldn’t even manage that?

“No, sir! We received confirmation of perfect surveillance. We checked all the footage…”
“And there was still nothing?”
“That’s correct, sir…”

Nonsense.
There were only two possibilities.
Either the surveillance team had blinked.
Or the Management Bureau Director had used some method they hadn’t anticipated.
Teleportation?
Concealment?
No.
Whatever method he used, they should have spotted him the moment he entered the Dungeon.

“What in the…”

It wasn’t as though he’d entered from some distant location.
Damn.
This is driving me insane.

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