Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 51

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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 51

Breaking news that shocked the entire world.
Ralph Carter’s clear of the 67th floor.
Everyone tilted their heads in confusion.

– Out of nowhere?
– Didn’t he fail just the other day?
– Who cares about a few days ago? The guy’s been trying for over six months, lol lol lol

Beyond the 61st floor, every level is a wall of demons.
Six months is nothing….
It’s not even that long.
What matters is that he failed just days ago.
And yet?

– Didn’t he abandon that attempt after pushing for nearly 12 hours straight?
└ Yeah
└ And now that same Ralph Carter clears it in 8 hours??? Mind-blowing

The time dropped dramatically too.

– Could it possibly be…. the weapon?
└ People really asking this lol What other reason could there be lololol
– One weapon change, and that happens.
– Insane….

Hunters rarely leap forward overnight like that.
Especially not rankers?
That should be impossible, obviously.
But somehow he pulled it off…?

– Just how good is this weapon??
– I kinda get the vibe from seeing what Lee Bo-jun and Baek-hwa got….
– But those used materials from the 50th floor and this is from the 60th, aren’t they different?
└ We don’t know;;; But the Manager showed it off.
– One thing I’m certain of.
└ What?
└ This auction’s competition is gonna be absolutely insane lololol
└ Agreed lol If the guy can clear the 67th floor, he can pretty much do any lower level for sure lololol

The results were practically cheating-level.
How could anyone sit still?
The rankers won’t take it lying down.
Hell, probably not even the nations those rankers belong to.

– And since this auction’s open to the public, the viewing experience is gonna be even better?
– What are you guys doing, not ordering chicken?
– Got my popcorn ready, three bags lol

As expected.
The bidding turned fierce in an instant, just as predicted.

[Lucas Bolt (Germany)] – 47.
[Arthur Brandt (United Kingdom)] – 50.
[Lucas Bolt (Germany)] – 52.
……
…

The unit price crept upward, then suddenly broke past fifty pieces in the blink of an eye.
And then.

– UK lol Arthur’s throwing in materials AND adding High-Grade Mana Stones lololol
└ How many?
└ Was 200, now bumped to 300.
└ Well, he’s Ranking 1st so we gotta back him lol
– Insane lol Germany’s in too
└ These guys don’t mess around; threw 500 from the start lolol
└ Wow!!!

As governments from each nation joined in, the competition grew fiercer.
Materials from the 60s’ layers weren’t enough.
They threw in materials from the 50s’ layers, even Mana Stones.

Naturally, the attention of more people converged on the auction.
Their curiosity boiled down to one question.
How far would this auction go?

* * *

“Manager, I think those people are running low on materials. Look—they keep raising only the High-Grade Mana Stone count.”
“You’re right. They’ve even started throwing in materials from the 50s’ layers now…. We have stacks of those ourselves.”

Hmm.
At first they were throwing materials in without hesitation.
Now they’re hitting a wall?
Only Mana Stones coming up now.
Well, the numbers are decent enough.
Sometimes they jump a hundred at a time when they bid.
But still, what does it matter….

Ding!
[Conquest of Chaos Tower Layer 58 complete.]
[Auto-Hunting terminated.]

“Wassah, wassah!”
“Chwick! The Workers are here!”
“Boss, look at this! These Orc bastards dug up a ton of Mana Stones!”

Right.
We’re drowning in Mana Stones….

“Chwick! Leave the Mana Stone mining to our Workers!”
“Wassah will handle it!”

Our upgraded Orc Workers.
Their specialty is field operations.
Usually we harvest them from A-Rank Dungeons or the Chaos Tower….
The quantities are massive.
Just look at this moment.

“Boss, this Dungeon had lots of Mana Stones! Chwick!”
“Yeah, it sure looks that way.”

How many are there, really.
They’re carrying armfuls of them—both hands full?

“Thank you for your hard work, Orc Workers. But it seems you’re getting more efficient. The quantity keeps growing, doesn’t it?”
“Washer! The Workers are really doing good work now!”

Fair point.
At first they’d manage maybe seven or eight pieces a haul.
Now I can’t even count them all.
Eventually they’ll be pulling a hundred in a single run.
With output like that, who cares about Mana Stones?

“To be honest, Manager, even if you pooled together all the Mana Stones from Germany and the United Kingdom, they wouldn’t equal the value of a single Primary Material.”
“Hmm….”

That’s true enough.
A High-Grade Mana Stone at best runs about ten million won apiece.
Materials from floor sixty-one and above?
Those start at hundreds of millions, sometimes billions.
No point stockpiling High-Grade Mana Stones.
This won’t do.

“We need to change the rules. Auction prices should be calculated exclusively on Primary Material value.”
“Excellent idea.”

Mana Stones?
We don’t need them.
Materials from the fifties?
Same thing.
We’re only skipping them because Rani says she needs materials from floor sixty-one and up.
The rest we’ve got in abundance.

[Additional Notice: From this point forward, Auction prices will be calculated exclusively on Primary Material basis.]

In other words….
Stop bringing junk. Bring Materials only.
Preferably from the higher floors.

* * *

“Hello, it’s unusual to meet like this over video call. I’m Arthur Brandt from the United Kingdom.”
“Pleased to meet you. Lucas Bolt.”
“Ralph Carter. We’re all busy, so let’s get straight to the point.”

Tch.
The prickly bastard.
Arthur Brandt exhaled quietly.

United Kingdom’s number one Hunter and Member of Parliament.
Naturally, he wasn’t one to be brushed aside anywhere.
But against this man, there was nothing to be done.
He was number one globally, after all.
And right now, Arthur needed his favor, so he’d have to swallow his pride.

“I see. The reason I’ve gathered you busy people here is that this Auction has become increasingly fierce, and I wondered if we might consider stepping back at this point.”

The situation was straightforward.
Why fight unnecessarily?
After all, there were only three competitors worth mentioning.
What good did it do us to battle among ourselves?
We’d just be fattening the Manager’s wallet.

“So what you’re saying is, instead of tearing each other apart, we decide who takes it and minimize our losses?”
“Precisely.”

What’s already been put on the table can’t be helped, but….
What if we settled things here?
We could wrap this up at just the right level.
And next time, we funnel it to someone else….
If we keep rotating like this?
Done.
A perfect plan.
Of course, I thought everyone would accept it—

“Why bother?”

Huh.
A sharp reply cuts through.
Ralph, you again?
What’s your problem now?

“Just one question. I heard James participated in the auction too—so why didn’t you invite him here?”
“James…?”

Who’s that….
Oh.
The American Hunter climbing the 62nd floor?
Why would I invite him?
He’s not even in our league anyway.
If the rest of us really threw money around, could he even keep up?
Or are you just siding with him because he’s American too?
Best to tread carefully here.

“Ah, I thought you were the representative of the United States, so I invited only you.”
“Come off it.”
“Pardon?”
“We all know each other anyway—why dress it up? You could just say you didn’t invite James because he’s an easy mark.”
“Ha, ha….”

He asks while already knowing the answer.
I laugh awkwardly.
But Ralph continues.

“And here’s the thing—from where I’m standing, you’re all the same. I’m going to participate in the auction, and I have no interest in playing along, so if you’re confident, come at me.”

Then he does it.
Click.
Just says his piece and hangs up.

“What the….”

Arrogant bastard.
If you get one, show some restraint.
But no—he has to have it anyway.

“Well, negotiations have fallen through.”
“Do you feel the same way, Lucas?”
“What opinion could I possibly offer? If Ranking 1 is like that…. I don’t think I’m a match for him anyway, so I’ll sit this auction out.”

And he’s about to hang up.
This won’t do.

“Lucas, why don’t you sell me the Materials you’re holding? I’ll pay top price for them.”

Ralph, that infuriating bastard.
Thinks he can settle this with money?
Fine.
Let’s see what you’ve got.
I’ll scrape together every bid from Russia, China, Germany—whatever it takes to beat you.

* * *

“Manager, what are you up to?”
“Watching the auction. Come see—it’s getting wild right now.”
“Rani too! Rani wants to watch!”

Ever since the announcement that Materials would be the deciding factor.
The bidding had only grown fiercer.
Now it had surpassed sixty lots.
And that competition was—

“Oh, Ralph? He’s back again.”

Fair enough.
There were no restrictions on duplicate participation.
But does this man even have the Materials left…?
He’s already sent us sixty pieces—

“Wait, this is sixty-fifth-floor Materials?”
“Well… the Materials used when he received Whoosh last time would be from grinding sixty-six-floor runs.”
“Ah, I see. That makes sense.”

As for me, I climb in an instant.
But most Hunters—
they say they linger on a single floor for ages.
Especially the top-ranked Hunters above floor sixty-one. Even more so.
At minimum, six months, they say….
So these must be Materials accumulated over that time.

“The names keep going up and down! Fascinating!”

Rani seemed endlessly fascinated by the auction.
Her finger went up, then down.
She bounced excitedly, practically hopping.

“Huh?! There’s another Arthur over there!”
“Wasser, you’re here?”

Right.
You’re Arthur.
That one’s Arthur Brandt.
Say hello.
He’s someone we’re grateful to.
He’s been steadily driving up the auction price right now.
Anyone watching might think he’s a shill.

“Still, don’t you think the United States will win in the end?”
“You think so too, don’t you, Todd?”

There’s no helping it.
How are we supposed to beat Ranking One from the superpower?
If it were me, I’d have given up long ago….
Huh.
He’s raising it again?
If this keeps up, I’m golden.
Thank you, Arthur.

* * *

——-
Wow, the auction results just dropped—what a record-breaker lol

Ralph Carter wins lol
This guy just took a commission job recently, and now he’s placing another order.
Sounds like he’s going for armor this time?

By the way, you know what the winning bid came to per unit?
Materials from floors 61–65, a total of 174 pieces lol
Usually it takes about 10 Primary Materials to forge a single sword, right?
By simple math, that’s enough for 17 swords lol
And that’s not even counting secondary materials or metal components.
Just the Primary Materials alone, 174 pieces oo

– At this point I’m curious. What kind of options does Ralph’s weapon have that he’s throwing himself at it like this;;;;
└ I’m really wondering, but for some reason he won’t reveal it….
└ Maybe it’s because the name is weird?
└ Surely not lol
└ But look, when you compare it to the weapons Lee Bo-jun and Baek-hwa had lol

– The guy above is way overthinking it lol If he’s forging a weapon for the #1 ranked Hunter in the world, he wouldn’t name it like that
└ But it’s possible though….
——-

The fierce auction had ended.
The victor: Ralph Carter, from the United States.
He’d put up a staggering 174 Primary Materials.

– If they sold all of that….
– We couldn’t make that much in a lifetime lol
– My mood is absolutely incredible.

The spectators’ reaction was shock.
And envy.
My goodness.
174 pieces of materials from floors 61 through 65?
Wow….
I’m curious.
What’s the Manager going to do with all of that?

* * *

“Ha! Excellent! With this much, I can make whatever Rani wants!”

Make whatever she wants?
Rani’ll use it all, that’s how.

“Rani? Won’t this be more than enough, even if you go wild with it?”
“Hmm… no, that won’t be it!”
“What?!”
“What Rani wants to make—it needs a lot of good materials!”

No.
It’s Rani.
174 pieces?
By Rani’s standards, that’s over thirty weapons right there.
What exactly are you trying to make?
Curious, I asked.

“Well, this time I’m going to make something for the Manager!”
“Me? All of a sudden?”
“Yeah! If Rani makes it for me, I can go whoosh-whoosh!”

Huh?
Whoosh-whoosh?
Out of nowhere?
What in the world is that supposed to mean anyway….

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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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