Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 3

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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 3

“…….”

Hmm….
What was it I said before I tore open the trial pass?
That’s right.
I’d wanted to hear something other than squeaking and shrieking from the monsters—something else.

“Boss?”

No.
This is pushing it even for me.
Bringing Bekulrom here—what was I thinking?
Who is he, you ask?
A foreign gentleman I spotted at a work site years ago.
He’s been in Korea for about a year, for what it’s worth.

“Boss? Your face looks stiff. Why won’t you greet me?”

His manner of speech?
Exactly like that.

“Me work good. Please give work many many times.”

Good grief. No, that’s not right.
Still, unlike the monsters, at least I can understand his words.

“Ah, hello there.”

Though, I’m not actually a boss.
I’m the director of a labor management office….
Sigh.
Is it because he’s human?
It feels wrong to speak to him casually like I would with orcs and goblins.
Am I the only one being careful here?

“Boss sir? Me want drink. Coffee? Duule-sset? You give that.”

Is this man seriously trying to send me out for coffee?
And in casual speech, no less?
Wait, aren’t I the boss here?
And besides.

“There’s no coffee. We’re on a rooftop.”
“Rooftop? Rooftop what? Rooftop not know. Korean hard….”

I know better.
Don’t lie to me.
You were speaking fine just a moment ago.
You know the magical ratio of coffee, cream, and sugar—duule-sset—and now suddenly Korean is too difficult?
Okay.
Now I get it.
Two can play that game.

“Seems you don’t understand yet. In Korea, the polite thing is to exchange names before greeting.”
“Name? Name…. Me know name. Arthur? Arthur, my name.”
“And Bekulrom?”
“Ppokkul-rom? What’s that?”
“It’s not… never mind.”

Arthur?
The name was kind of cute.
But was that right?
How could someone’s name be Arthur?
Come to think of it.

Ding!
Something like a status window appeared.

——-
Worker Resume

Name: Arthur / Superior rank
Specialty: Sword
Daily wage: 4 Low-grade Mana Stones
——-

What?
Superior rank?
So that’s why.
He didn’t seem transcendent-class, at least.
Not that I was thinking of that old guy Ppokkul-rom or anything….
But still.

“So it’s Arthur, not Arthur.”
“Oh! Boss, that’s right. That’s the one. Arthur?”
“Yeah….”

Anyway.
How strong would Superior rank be?
Definitely stronger than the orcs, I’d guess.
Curious, so I switched it.

[Manual Mode] → [Automatic Mode]

I changed the setting.

“Kyek!” “Kyek-kyek!”

The creatures that had been standing still began to stir.
So what about our Ppokkul-rom?
No, I mean Arthur?

“Boss? You want me to work?”

Well.
I must’ve switched to automatic mode because I wanted him to work.
I nodded.
But instead of charging forward, he asked another question.

“Tower? Tower what? I don’t know. Too hard. Coffee! Coffee, then I know.”

Hey, sir.
I never even mentioned a tower.

“Hmm….”

I had a suspicion.
Now I know for sure.
This guy IS laziness personified.

Classic foreigner on the job site: plays dumb whenever things get tough.

Arthur?
The blond layabout’s no better.
Well…

“Boss?”

The way his body’s twitching—like he’s itching to move—tells me he’ll figure it out on his own soon enough.
But if we’re both going to get something out of this, we’d better make it worth his while.
How?
Simple.

“Finish the job fast, and I’ll throw in a bonus.”
“Bonus? I know bonus. You give a lot of money, yes? Correct?”
“Exactly. But only if you finish the tower quick and get back. What do you say—you in?”
“Yes! Arthur, we finish fast and come back.”

A bonus.

“And here’s the kicker—Yari-kkiri rules, so the faster you finish, the sooner you clock out.”

An early leave promised on top of it all.
Perfect. Flawless.
At this point?
There’s no way they’ll slack off now.

* * *

Yari-kkiri. That’s labor site slang.
The meaning:
Work done, clock out on the spot.
And you’re offering a bonus on top of it?
It’s the kind of sweet deal most can’t resist.
The effect was remarkable.

“Alright! Gather round!”

Arthur, who’d been playing dumb and dragging his feet just moments before, suddenly burst into applause—clap, clap!
The goblins?

“Kyeak!”
“Kyeaek!”

They scurried into formation on the double.

“Everyone listening? Get ready, quickly now! One! Two! Three!”

And before I knew it, warm-ups started in cadence with Arthur’s count—now wearing a safety helmet.

“Check weapons! Good!”
“Kyeak!”
“Check safety helmets! Good!”
“Kyeaek!”
“Safety, good! Good! Good!”

After that, all the way through safety gear.
Preparations finished in a flash.
So?
Time to go.

“Boss! Heading out!”
“Fight on. Come back safe and I’ll make you some coffee.”
“Coffee? Coffee! One-two-three! Arthur, I’ll be back before it gets cold!”
“Kyeah!”

And he was gone.
His final words still echoing about the coffee.
Except I hadn’t even brewed it yet.
What does he think this is, some kind of historical epic?
Anyway.

“One-two-three is way too dated. Who makes coffee that way in a studio apartment?”

Well, whatever.

[Workers are entering the Tower of Chaos.]
[Automatic Hunting commencing.]

The workers had gone in, and Automatic Hunting had started. All that was left was waiting.

[Automatic Hunting in progress]
[00:00:37]

They’d only just entered, so it would take a while.

“Might as well look for a coffee pot.”

The guy was a bit rough around the edges, but we could communicate just fine.
Coffee?
I could handle that without a problem.

“Even if I can’t pull off the one-two-three bit, some instant coffee mix should do the trick.”

A coffee pot was essential student housing equipment.
Of course, I’d have to find wherever it was stashed.
But the place was small enough that I’d spot it quickly.
Let me head downstairs for a look.
I turned around, and—

“Boss? The coffee hasn’t gotten cold yet?”

I froze.
Wait…
This was a familiar situation.

[Tower of Chaos Floor 1 conquered.]
[Automatic Hunting terminated.]

Wow.
For real.

“Kyeah!”

[Clear Time – 00:02:17]

So what you’re saying is….
You cleared the Tower of Chaos in two minutes flat?

“Insane.”

[Tower of Chaos Floor 1 Clear!]
[Level Up!]
[Clear Reward — 20 Low-grade Mana Stones]

[Clear Time — 00:02:17]
[World Record Achieved!]
[Bonus Reward — Chaos Key Fragment]

Yep.
And it’s a world record, apparently.
What was the old record?

“One hour, twenty-seven minutes, forty-five seconds….”

Now I see it clearly.
The lottery ticket I pulled?
First prize.
And not just any lottery—the U.S. Powerball jackpot.
Maybe even better than that.

“Boss, you want some coffee?”
“Kee-awk!”

The coffee fiend who craves the stuff with suspicious intensity.
Kee-awk! shrieking goblins.
Listening to this bizarre harmony blend together, Yoon Ha-jun spoke his thoughts aloud.

“Long live Automatic Hunting.”

* * *

“Oh! Boss! What’s that?”
“Hot water. It’s dangerous, so stay back.”

Fair’s fair—I had to give something.
I’d left Arthur and the goblins up on the rooftop for a moment.
Now I’d hurried back with boiling water.

Want a cup yourselves?

“Want a cup yourselves?”
“Kee-awk!”

The goblins leaped back and crossed their arms in an X.
Okay, that’s a no.
The coffee fiend, though?

“What? Then I’ll give you more. One, two, three.”

Sure, you drink it all….

“First, I’ll send those guys off.”

[Work Complete.]
[Should I send the workers home?]

If the job’s done, they should go.
To send them off?
I have to pay their daily wage.
How much?
Let me check.

——-
Worker Resume

Name: Goblin Group (7 individuals) / Low Rank
Special Skills: None
Daily Wage: 2 Low-grade Mana Stones
——-

The goblins combined earn 2 Mana Stones.
Arthur, as I’d seen earlier, gets 4 Mana Stones.
Six Mana Stones total, plus bonuses for each—I handed them over.

“Boss? That’s… that’s way too many.”

Hmm?
Arthur suddenly raises an objection.

“Kyek?!”

Daring to question their meal ticket?
The goblins immediately glared, but—

“You lot—you see me right now?”

They were instantly suppressed with that single line.
Damn.
The guy’s got presence, no joke.
But why does he say it’s too much?

“This is the standard daily wage, isn’t it?”
“No. They didn’t do squat.”

Sir……
His accent just got way cleaner somehow?
I have no idea how he learned Korean, but his curses are absolutely flawless.

“I did all the work. Those guys? They just watched.”

Well, I suppose that’s true.
The whole thing wrapped up in two minutes, after all.
How much could there have been for them to do?
But…
Wasn’t the real problem that it ended before they could do anything at all?

“Kyek! Kyek!”

Poor goblins.
They keep shrieking, trying to say something.
Sss—
What’s this?
When did he take that out?
Arthur’s hand drifted to a sword he’d drawn without me noticing, and I gave it a light touch.

“…….”

Silence fell.
Law, it seemed, was less persuasive than cold steel.

“Boss makes good money. We call you lots. Lots. Why you not know?”

Ah.
So he had his reasons after all.
But still.

“You’ve got to take what you’ve earned.”

A few hours ago.
When that message had popped up claiming some “occupational perk” let me dismiss them without paying their daily wage.
I’d thought the same thing then as I did now.
You work, you get paid.
Doesn’t matter if the job finished fast.
The goblins?
Not their fault.
Just lucky, that’s all.

“So take it all.”

Let’s keep the math clean.
The goblins earned two Low-grade Mana Stones, plus one as a bonus.
Arthur, who’d done the whole thing solo?
For his effort: four Low-grade Mana Stones as base pay, plus three as a bonus.
Ten total—I pressed them into his hands.

“Boss? Loss? If you give everything, what’s left for you?”

What’s left.
Well, you all still get ten Low-grade Mana Stones.
Even like this, it’s a steal.
I didn’t do anything, and in two minutes I’ve got 200,000 won?
If that’s not sweet, what is?
So look.

“Stop arguing and just take it. If we meet again later, I’ll double it for you then.”

Of course, I’ll just be watching then too, like I did now.
Once more: long live Automatic Hunting.

“Squee!”
“Squeeee!”
“Thank you… Boss.”

Flash!
The goblins vanished along with the light.
Off to clock out and rest, I’d wager.
Which left our dapper one.
Well, Arthur.

“Boss? Me, I promise? Coffee, two cups? I get that for you.”

Huh.
Yeah, sure.
If it comes to that, I’ll treat you to a meal on the way out.
So just calm down a bit, you crazy coffee fiend.

* * *

The next morning, five o’clock sharp.

Most people would still be deep in sleep at this hour.
But someone working a construction site?
Time to get up.

Beep-beep-beep, beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!!!

“Ugh… Ah, why won’t it turn off… Huh? What is this. That’s not the alarm.”

I opened my eyes thinking it was the alarm and reached to silence it.
It was a call.

[Min-wook]

What’s going on at this hour?
I cleared my throat.
And answered.

“Yes, Min-wook.”
“Yeah, Kim. The whole site’s shut down today, so don’t come in. Just rest.”
“What? All of a sudden?”
“Tell me about it. Something about several buildings. Anyway, word is a dungeon showed up in the basement of the construction site.”

A dungeon?
Oh, that one.
But I already cleared that…

“I don’t know all the details, but the internet’s going crazy and reporters are flooding the place, so nothing’s getting done.”

Reporters too?
Do F-rank dungeons usually cause that kind of fuss?
I’m not sure.
I was still a civilian until yesterday, after all.
For now, I should play it cool.

“Oh no. What about tomorrow then? Should I go to a different site?”
“Nah. Just one day, they said. Let’s just get some good rest.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Alright. I’ll call you tonight and let you know where to wait tomorrow. Get plenty of sleep.”

Beep.

“Hmm, the internet’s in an uproar, huh?”

It must be that dungeon I cleared yesterday.
But why?
I was curious, so I looked it up.
The reason came up right away.

[Breaking News) The F-rank dungeon observed in the Cheongna district of Incheon was reportedly cleared in just 13 minutes-.]
[Is it possible to clear an F-rank dungeon in 13 minutes? We heard from an expert.]
[Tower of Chaos 1st Floor record broken. New record is “2 minutes 17 seconds”]
[Two miraculous records set in a single night — could they be from the same person?]
[Anonymous Awakening Management Bureau official: If it turns out to be the same person, we promise to offer them the same treatment as our top-tier hunters-.]
……
…

Yoon Ha-jun, twenty-three years old.
Notable circumstances: one day into his awakening.
In the span of a single night’s sleep, he’d become the celebrity everyone was searching for.

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