Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 54

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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 54

I’d been curious about this for a while now.
The Labyrinth of Chaos, that is.
Every ten floors, the rank climbed by one grade.

Floors 31–40 were Grade C.
Floors 41–50 were Grade B.
And so on.

The key I’d obtained before clashing with China was Grade B.
The rewards from a Grade B labyrinth weren’t much to write home about, though.
Anyway.
If the pattern held, floor sixty would yield a Grade A key.
By the time I reached floor seventy, I’d expect a Grade S key….
So what comes after that?

“I had a hunch something new might exist, and apparently I was right.”

When you’re curious, you ask.

“Todd.”
“Yes, Manager.”
“Arthur brought something like this back. Do you know what higher-rank dungeons are?”
“Hmm….”

Todd, our information broker.
I’d figured the answer would flow right out—
Wait.
He can’t seem to answer.
Must be hitting some kind of rule or something.
Can’t be helped.
Still, at least I know they exist, so that’s fine.
I can piece together a rough guess anyway.

“Since they said the Tower of Chaos generates Grade S dungeons once you climb past floor sixty-one….”

Probably a similar pattern, right?
The way to find out is simple.
Floor seventy.
Climb it and see.
That’ll tell me everything.

“By then, I wonder if Arthur will have grown stronger too.”
“Arthur?”
“Yeah, you.”

Yun Ha-jun, the young man who’d kept his distance from studying.
Those guys had made me study everything.
One fact I’d learned because of them.

Unjang = the Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
Just like that, Arthur too apparently had an iconic weapon….
Its name was Excalibur.
So what was this fragment I’d just obtained?

[Fragment of Sacred Sword Excalibur’s Scabbard]

That scabbard?

“Hmm….”

Maybe it was the fact that higher-tier dungeons existed.
It made me uneasy for no good reason.
No.
That’s not it.
Arthur is already top-tier.
I thought that was the end of it, but new things keep appearing?
And Excalibur at that?
They said it was Arthur’s very symbol….
If he obtains it, something must change.

“Maybe there’s another rank above top-tier…?”
“Boss, if you keep thinking about it you’ll get a headache. Want to grab a drink?”
“Thanks.”

Right.
True enough.
There’s no point worrying about it now.
We’ll find out once we go anyway.
Okay.

“By the way, can we use this scabbard fragment too?”
“Arthur doesn’t know? Rani knows?”
“Right…. If we show it to Rani, we’ll get the answer.”

That’s the real answer right there.
With Rani around, why would I worry?

“When’s she going to finish all that, anyway.”

Now that I think about it, I feel a pang of regret.
Our Rani.
She’d be jumping for joy when she heard about the higher-tier dungeon.
The material supply and all that.
The key rewards coming from a higher-tier dungeon?
How could she keep it together.
I’m already looking forward to it myself….

“Arthur aside, I bet Unjang and Robin have other equipment too.”
“You mean the mage?”
“Yes sir. I suspect there’s something else besides the Green Dragon Crescent Blade.”

One hundred percent.

“Equipment like this staff and such. It’s exciting.”
“That it is, quite exciting.”

Our top-tier Workers.
Even now?
Absurdly strong.
But if they grow stronger still?
Hm….
I’m both eager and curious to see it.
If I’m curious, I’d better go check.
Okay.
Decision made.

Droplet Shining in Darkness

First, I’ll store this carefully in my inventory.

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll climb the tower properly. My target is the seventieth floor. Ideally, higher if I can manage it.”

* * *

“Hmm.”
“You seem to be in high spirits today, sir.”
“Do I?”
“Yes, sir. You look happier than you have in quite some time. It’s putting me in a good mood as well.”
“Ha ha.”

Arthur Brant, ranked first in the UK.
His secretary’s observation was accurate—he was in excellent spirits.
Why?

“I suppose the thought of tackling an S-Grade Dungeon after so long has me excited.”
“It was an S-Grade Dungeon that nearly brought China to ruin not long ago, wasn’t it? Though the difficulty would be the same, it’s remarkable that you can handle it so readily, sir.”

An S-Grade Dungeon.
To nations without the capability to manage it—like China—it is a catastrophe.
But for the UK?
A treasure trove.
Well.
The base rewards aren’t particularly impressive.
It’s the artifact fragments that come with it that matter.
More than that.

“I heard this dungeon is called the Lake of Darkness with Mystical Water.”

The dungeon name confirmed through the Awakener Network.

Lake of Darkness with Mystical Water

The moment he saw it, he felt the tingle of recognition.

“Ah… A lake? Could it be the one from the Arthurian legends? Where King Arthur received Excalibur?”
“I suspect that’s exactly what it is, sir.”

That was his own thought as well.
The legends of King Arthur.
No Englishman could be unfamiliar with them.
The mystical lake was no different.
King Arthur obtained the Sacred Sword Excalibur there, after all.

“Congratulations, sir.”
“Ha ha. Nothing’s confirmed yet, after all.”
“Still, a mystical lake surely means Excalibur, doesn’t it?”

Quite right.
He would have to obtain it.
A fragment of Excalibur.

“Will you be departing at once, then? Let me check your schedule.”
“I should make some preparations first.”
“Of course, sir. It is an S-Grade Dungeon, after all.”

Arthur Brant was currently climbing the sixty-fifth floor.
I’m strong enough to clear an S-grade dungeon, that much is true.
Still, I need to be careful.
One misstep in dungeon clearing leads straight to death.
One slip and you’re done.
And if I die?
The whole country goes down with me.
Like China did.

“Come now, with the Minister here, surely the UK won’t fall to that fate!”
“China was fine when Wei Jin was alive, after all.”

The problem is what comes after death.
Look at what happened after Wei Jin died during his sixty-second floor climb.
The S-grade dungeon broke free.
A snowball effect took hold, and the whole nation descended into chaos.
So I need to prepare thoroughly.

All manner of buff potions, debuff scrolls.
Even an Emergency Escape Scroll I was lucky enough to obtain before.
If I prepare for every contingency?
Preparation complete.
I thought I was ready to go, but then….

Ring-ring-ring!

“Yes, this is the secretariat. Yes, yes, yes? The dungeon’s been cleared? But the Minister is here with us right now?!”

No.
What am I hearing.

The dungeon was cleared?
That can’t be….
I shook my head and checked the Awakener Network—

“Insane….”

The S-grade dungeon had vanished from the dungeon list.
Which meant it was cleared.
Just like that?
Who on earth could it be…?

“It can’t be any domestic Ranker….”

Arthur Brant.
The UK’s only climber above the sixty-first floor.

“And there’s no record of Rankers from other nations arriving.”

If there had been any movement, I would have received a report. But there’s nothing.
Which means….
It has to be one of two things.
Either a new Ranker suddenly appeared in the UK.
Or.

A low groan escaped me.

“That bastard, the Manager….”

Skipping tiers and clearing dungeons like it’s nothing?
There’s only one person in the world who does this.
The Manager.
You’re going to skip all the way to an S-rank dungeon?
That’s crossing the line, isn’t it?

“Even if a dungeon has no owner, surely there are limits….”

That was true.
A dungeon had no owner.
Whoever cleared it, cleared it.
But.

“Still, it’s an unspoken rule that an S-rank dungeon is cleared by that nation’s Rankers….”

To cross that line?

“Is this about what the head of the Manpower Management Office said? How could we formally file a protest with Korea?”
“It won’t work.”

What would we even protest?
No evidence, but somehow the Manpower Management Office director should take responsibility?
That kind of response doesn’t make sense on a national level.
It infuriates him.
Still.

A heavy sigh escaped.

For now, this had to be swallowed.
The timing wasn’t right.
Meddling with China?
Would America really be ignorant of it?
They certainly knew.
If he pushed too hard now, those cunning bastards might leak information to gain the Manpower Management Office director’s favor.
To win his goodwill.

“Let’s let this pass for now.”
“But….”
“It’s all right. Whatever he obtained from that lake will eventually come back to me anyway.”

Arthur was certain of it.
The Manpower Management Office director?
Whatever he gained from that lake would inevitably return to him.
The legend had spoken so.

An ancient prophecy, passed down through the ages.
The great King Arthur was betrayed and fell.
His spirit then departed to the Isle of Avalon and found eternal rest.

“When Britain falls into peril, he shall return and save Britain.”

This prophecy.
Who could be its protagonist?
Arthur Brant, who had inherited the name of the great King Arthur, of course.

Dungeons emerged, and the Tower of Chaos had to be climbed in this strange world.
Awakened, one of the world’s most renowned Rankers—and his name was Arthur?

“This cannot be coincidence.”

When that prophecy became reality, Excalibur would be in his hands.
Just wait, Manpower Management Office director.
I will repay this grudge when that day comes.

* * *

[Tower of Chaos Floor 60 — Conquered!]
[Level increased.]

Straight shot all the way to floor sixty, like always.
Still.

“It’s definitely taking a bit more time as we climb higher, isn’t it?”
“Well, we’re still comfortably ahead of schedule.”

Fair enough.
We’ve got room to spare.
We’ve even set a world record.
And with the key fragments dropping—
This makes ten pieces. The key is complete.
Which means?

[The Chaos Key has been assembled.]

Excellent.
The key’s done.
Let me take a look.

[Chaos Key]
– Grade A Chaos Key. Can open something.

Right.
I figured it’d be Grade A.

“Tomorrow we should give it a try.”
“The labyrinth? Not interested.”
“What’re you talking about? We ran through something like that before.”

That Grade B key we got climbing up to floor fifty.
First time we got something that felt pointless.
Just piles of magic stones….
We don’t need magic stones.
Our orcs duplicate them infinitely…!
Still.
We got the bad luck out of the way. This time should be different.

“Honestly, I was hoping we’d get something like a boost to unique skill rank….”
“Ha, Manager….”
“Maybe you’re being a little greedy?”

True.
But grinding rank through quests is such a grind. How long would that even take….

If we just keep climbing steadily, one floor after another, it won’t take long, right?
I just wish there was something I could do to help….
Is there anything I can actually contribute?
I’ve thought about it, but there’s nothing.
Staying out of the way like this is how I’m helping….
What can I do about it now?

Not a combat-related Awakening either.
If there were a way around it, that’d be one thing.
But if there isn’t….
It’s a shame, but when something can’t be helped, you accept it gracefully.

“Still, I wish there were some way to make it work.”

A real pity.

* * *

The next morning arrived.
I gathered the Workers right away.

“We’re heading into the Labyrinth of Chaos today.”
“This mage is ready whenever, so we can depart at your command.”
“Arthur’s good too!”

Alright.
Everyone needs to warm up first.

“Here we go, let’s begin! One! Two! Three!”

Our Arthur.
As always, he stepped forward and started the warm-up routine.
Normally I just watched from the sidelines—

“One, two! Three!”

But today I joined in.
It’d been quite a while since I’d been out in the field, and I was feeling stiff.
So what’s next?

“Safety! Good! Good! Good!”

Right, we need to shout the chant.

“Good! Good! Good!”
“Hey—! Love it—!”

Wait, what?
It’s Rani!
I turned my head to look.

“Ta-da! I finished the armor!”

Our little treasure.
She held up the commissioned armor with a radiant smile.

“Already? You finished it that fast?”
“Yep! This time the materials were easier than that last project, so I knocked it out!”

I see.
Now that she mentions it, that makes sense.
The materials that went into that last one were from the sixty-sixth floor.
This time?
Materials from the sixty-first through sixty-fifth floors.
Even that difference seems to matter.

“And! Now that Rani’s gotten better at making things! I’m faster!”

Hmm.
Not bad, actually.
Right, I almost forgot.

“Rani, take a look at this.”

Tada.
So what exactly did we manage to haul back?

[Fragment of Sacred Sword Excalibur’s Scabbard]

“Wow! Please give this to me, Rani!”

Of course.
Naturally it goes to Rani.
And then there’s this.

“I’ve got one more thing.”

[Droplet Shining in Darkness]

“Hmm…? This isn’t a crafting material, so Rani can’t use it…”

Right.
It’s not a material.
But still.

“Aren’t you curious about those higher-ranked dungeons they say exist?”
“Higher-ranked dungeons?! Then better materials drop, right?!”
“Stands to reason.”
“Wait, really? Then Rani wants to go too!”

No.
You can’t go, Rani.
Instead, I’ll have the other Workers head in and dig up something nice for you.
For now.

“You’ve worked hard enough making that armor, so go grab some candy over there and take it easy for a bit. I’ll go explore the Labyrinth of Chaos again.”

Our obedient Rani.
Heh, understood! I figured you’d say that.

“Ummm…”

Hmm?
Funny—today she’s shaking her head like that.
What’s wrong?

“No wait! Right now Rani’s going to make something for the Manager! Hold on, hold on! I’ll bring it real quick!”

Oh…?
Right now?
What’s she making?
Alright, sure.
Let’s wait and see what it is.

—————
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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