Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 56

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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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056

The item Rani had made for me. Manager’s Item.
Since I’d gotten it, I needed to check its performance first.
Under normal circumstances, I’d head straight to a dungeon.
But today?

“Arthur, we’re heading to the Labyrinth!”

That’s right.

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

I’d need to use this.

“Hm….”

Yun Ha-jun. Twenty-three years old.
A Hunter by profession.
I’d even quit my field work, concentrating on this full-time, and yet….
I still found it nerve-wracking to go in myself.
But then again.
Auto-Hunting usually handled everything for me.

“Boss? Getting nervous?”
“Ugh…. Even on my sixth run, I still get butterflies every time.”
“You got this! Arthur’ll protect the boss no problem.”
“Nice.”

That’s reassuring.
Right.
This is exactly how it should be.
With top-tier Workers around, what’s there to worry about?

“Got it. No more getting cold feet—let’s go.”
“Let’s do this!”

This key was Grade A.
In the list of Grade A dungeons….
Oh, there it is.
So if I just open the door and head in?

Ding!
[Chaos Key confirmed.]
[Moving to Chaos Labyrinth.]

We slip into the Labyrinth.
All of us together.

“Boss, which way?”
“This way, Manager.”
“Orc! Workers, cover us!”

There we go.
This is what I’m talking about.
The moment we step in, the defensive formation snaps into place.
And when Arthur plants his shield?

[Holy Aura shields you.]

Preparations complete.
Let’s head in.

“Since it’s a Grade-A labyrinth, the difficulty should be about S-rank dungeon level.”
“That appears to be the case.”

Our workers measure combat strength like a blade.
After seeing the last Chaos Labyrinth, they said so.
They figured there’s about one tier of difference.
Since this labyrinth is Grade-A, in dungeon terms it’d be around S-rank….
And the monsters coming out of it?

Mooooo-!

“A cow’s head sprouting from its head?”
“A peculiar creature indeed.”

Indeed.
It’s quite strange.
A bovine head with horns sprouting from both sides.
Massive frame.
Wielding a colossal axe in one hand.
That thing….

“A Minotaur?”

Reminds me of something I saw in a film—and it looks formidable at first glance.
And there’s not just one or two of them.
Counting roughly, I’d say dozens?
Since we’re only at the beginning of the labyrinth, more will emerge.
Truly S-rank difficulty.
But….
What happens if they keep coming in such numbers?
Our workers?
They’re the sort who can’t clear S-rank dungeons.
Let them give it a try anyway.

Whoosh, crack!

As always, Robin opens with a volley of arrows.
Each shot finds its mark between the eyes.
With such flawless precision.
And she isn’t just loosing a single arrow either.

“To think you can fire five arrows at once like that—your archery skill is truly exceptional.”

Of course.
I’m a top-tier worker, after all.

Mooooo-!!!

The enemies, of course, are dimwitted bovine beasts.
They don’t fall in one volley—they keep charging forward.

“Arthur holds the front line!”

On the front, Arthur stands firm.

“Heh, seeing those beasts reminds me of the beef the Manager bought us last time.”
“Should we stop and pick some up on the way back?”
“That sounds fine.”

Unjang was covering the other direction.
As for the Orcs?

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

“Mana Stone over here!”
“I see Mithril on this side!”

Right….
What else would they be doing?
Might as well farm materials while we’re at it.

The Chaos Labyrinth, A-rank.
According to the Workers, estimated S-rank Dungeon.
Yet somehow it feels so peaceful?
I suppose….
You really do feel it anew.
Long live Auto-Hunting.

* * *

Whoosh!

“Heh… those beasts just keep pouring in endlessly, don’t they?”
“Indeed….”

The S-rank difficulty is definitely something else, I’ll grant it that.
It’s not exactly hard, but….
These beasts just keep materializing without end.

“Robin, you holding up?”
“……I’m… fine….”

She says she’s fine.
But her face looks exhausted.
Well, I suppose.
Nearly twenty minutes of drawing her bow, again and again.
Much more of this and her arms will fall off.

“Yun Ha-jun, shall we begin?”
“Okay.”

We came to the Chaos Labyrinth for two reasons.

One: to farm rewards.
Two: to test out the equipment Rani gave us.

Normally I would have tested it right from the start, but….
Our bear doll.
It offered an opinion.

‘If you use it from the beginning, you won’t feel the difference. Wouldn’t it be better to progress awhile first, then try it?’

A good idea adopted unanimously.
Now that we’ve been at it for a bit, I think it’s time to give it a try.
When I touch my head.
Tap.
It’s exactly as Rani placed it.
Then, picking up the megaphone—

“I hear you, boss!”
“This mage hears it as well.”
“…….”
“Orc! The workers are listening too!”

Okay.
Everyone can hear me. Confirmed.
So now what?

“Hmm….”

Manager’s Encouragement is supposed to grant vigor….
Encouragement.
Just encouragement.

Is it something like this?
I tried it, but I’m worried.
Won’t something this plain actually drain their energy instead?

“Let’s do it!”
“Well said, sir.”
“……Let’s try.”
“Orc! The workers will do their best too!”

At least the response is good.
And?
Ding!

[The workers gain vigor from Manager’s Encouragement.]

“Huh?”
“Wait—Arthur’s shimmering!”

It’s not just Arthur, though.
Robin, Unjang, and the Orcs too.
Looking at how a faint glow swirls around all of them….
That must be the vigor.

“Boss, I feel so alive!”
“My body feels refreshed as though I’d awakened after sudden sleep. How marvelous indeed.”

Ah….
So the effect is condition recovery?

“Heh heh, Manager. This mage’s speed seems to have increased as well.”

Interesting.
Maybe this isn’t where it ends.

Whoosh—!
Sure enough, Robin’s arrows are faster too.

“Let’s go!”

Arthur’s got so much energy, he’s practically throwing the Minotaur around.
Then what about Unjang?

Slice!
Just standing there like always, but the monsters are getting carved up by his magic.

“Eek! Eek! Every swing sends Mana Stones pouring out!”

Wow.
Even the Orc workers are overflowing with strength.
The item Rani made for me—the Manager’s Item’s first option.
Vitality Infusion for the workers.
So this is what it feels like.
This is incredible.
Then next—

[Special Skill ‘Early Retirement Today!’ is now available.]

I’ve been genuinely curious about this one.
The name alone fits the Worker Management Office perfectly.
If I’m being honest with myself…

[Manager’s Encouragement grants vitality to the workers.]

This one.
The effect’s clearly powerful, I’ll give it that…
But honestly, it doesn’t resonate with me.
Why?

“Manager’s Encouragement? What the—”

Yun Ha-jun, twenty-three years old.
Former construction site worker.
When the manager gives encouragement?
All I could think was when’s that guy going to leave…
That’s all that ever crossed my mind.

But Early Retirement Today?
Now that—that just hits different.
Early retirement?
Nobody hears that and doesn’t feel energized.
So I used it right away.

“Early Retirement Today.”

I used it with anticipation—

Beep, beep!

A megaphone suddenly burst to life.

“Huh?”

Insane.
Right in the middle of the Labyrinth…?

“What are you doing, Manager?”

All the Workers looked over too.

What?
The monsters tilted their heads in confusion.
Drawing every eye toward it, a mechanical voice sounded.

Hmm….
Suddenly?
I mean, this aggro is way too intense….

* * *

An item Rani had crafted for the Manager.
Its very name: Manager’s Item.
The skill attached to it?

[Early Retirement Today!]

I’d been looking forward to it, given the impressive name….

Roooooar!

The aggro on this thing must be seriously potent.
The Minotaurs are charging like they’ve gone mad.
Well, then….
If a siren went off in the middle of a labyrinth, I’d probably lose it too.

“Wasser, I saw it on TV. Mad cows? That’s the thing!”
“Tick! Stupid cattle!”

Fair point.
No matter how angry they get, though….
A moment ago they were going after the Workers in front.
Now they’re charging straight for me alone.
Like our people would just sit idle then.

[Early Retirement is the strongest driving force in the world!]
[Workers’ stats temporarily spike dramatically.]

And these guys?
After hearing “Early Retirement today,” they’ve gotten even stronger….

“Boss, Early Retirement means going fast, right?!”
“…Early Retirement!”
“Tick! Workers love Early Retirement!”

What.
The siren ends and there they go, acting like they love it.
But even when they can leave, they don’t head straight back.
Hard to understand at first—then suddenly it clicks.
When you think about it….
On a rainy day, even if you can’t leave early, just being able to rest feels amazing.
Maybe it’s that feeling.

“Tick! Quitting time is great! Tick!”

Ah.
You two are the exception.
Anyway.
It was only a matter of time, but now that we’re stronger, well.
The outcome’s already decided.
One more word through the megaphone and we’re done.

“Come on, let’s finish this quickly and head out.”

* * *

[Chaos Labyrinth cleared.]
[Moving outside the dungeon.]

As expected.
The dungeon cleared in an instant.

[A-Rank Chaos Labyrinth Clear: Success!]
[Clear Time — 00:28:33]
[Clear Reward — A-Rank Chaos Box]

The performance is absolutely insane.
We were struggling for a solid twenty minutes, and yet…
The moment I used the ability, I just tore through in eight minutes flat?

“Thank you for your hard work, Manager.”
“The Manager’s here! Rani, how do you like your gift?! Have you used it? Isn’t it great!”

How do I like it?
I think I should answer with this.

“Bokdeong, come here.”
“Yes!”

I grab her with both hands and lift her up.

“Wheee! This is so fun! Rani’s flying!”
“Our Bokdeong is so adorable I could die. How did you even make something like this?!”
“Rani, Bokdeong! Next time I’ll make more pretty things for you!”

Wow, amazing.
Just hearing her laugh like that fills me with warmth.
They did say new functions unlock once we get more gear.
If that’s the case…

“I’ll need to collect a lot of materials.”
“That’s right!”

I lift her up and set her down a few times.
She just keeps giggling.
If she’s this happy just from this, she’d probably pass out from joy if she ever got to ride a real airplane.
Rani’s bucket list.
Airplane rides and an amusement park.
Okay.
The airplane might be a stretch.
But once we move to a new place and properly upgrade the Worker Management Office, I’ll definitely take her to an amusement park next time.
Anyway.
She’s tired now, so let me put Rani down.

“Based on how Unjang feels, it seems we’ve grown roughly one-point-five times stronger.”
“That would be correct.”
“How has Robin performed as a Worker?”
“…Much the same.”

From what I gathered listening to my Workers discuss it,
they reckon she’s grown stronger by roughly 1.3 to 1.5 times.
Good grief.
A 1.5-fold increase at our Workers’ level?
That’s a significant jump…

“If that’s the case, whether I go along or not will make a huge difference.”
“The problem is, if you go, Manager, you’ll likely become the target.”
“Hmm, I suppose that’s true, but…”
“Arthur opposes it! Arthur, look. If Manager uses that ability? The little bastards’ eyes go wide!”

That’s a fair point too.
It seemed like there was an aggro function tied to it as well…

“Wouldn’t that be problematic? Even if we assume the Workers’ abilities are sufficient for now, if we ascend past the 70th floor later, you could end up in danger, Manager…”

Fair enough.
The higher we climb, the stronger the enemies will become…
Hmm.
Should I just shelf it for now then…?
That’d be wasteful though.

“Well, we won’t find an answer thinking about it now anyway. Let’s mull it over as things develop. Still, I think our Workers alone should be enough for the 60th floor range.”

Let me open the box first anyway.

[A-Rank Chaos Box]

Last time it spat out nothing but Mana Stones,
but this thing tends to be quite rewarding.

“Wonder what’ll come out this time…”

With anticipation, I opened it.
Huh.
There’s a pill inside.

“What is this? Another Sub-ability Enhancement Elixir?”

[Sub-ability Enhancement Elixir]

Oh?
A new kind of pill.
Sub-skill enhancement…
So abilities other than Worker Summon?
Let me give it a try.

Gulp.

Down it went.
A message appeared immediately.

[One of the relevant abilities will be randomly enhanced.]
[List]
– Fixed Team Management (One additional slot)
– Request (Point reward increased to a constant 1.2x multiplier)
– Monitoring (Enables radio communication to liaise with the interior)
– Work Site Exploration (daily usage count increased by 1)
– Worker Training Ground (training efficiency increased by 1.5x when training at the facility)
– Mission (one additional quest slot)

Wow.
My mouth’s watering.
These are all incredible.
Still, if I had to pick one… it’d have to be Mission, right?

“Please be Mission. Please….”

Ding!
[Selection confirmed]
[The corresponding ability will be enhanced.]
[Monitoring]

Hmm.
I really wanted Mission….

“Damn.”

Crap.
I exhaled a long sigh, then froze.
Wait a second.

“If I can communicate internally through the radio function….”

Huh?
Could it be…
Would the item buff I just got apply to this as well…?

—————
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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