Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 59

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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 59

A request came through Awakener Net.
The requester was Park Moo-pal, a North Korean revolutionary talent.
What in the world is that….
I tilted my head and searched for it.

“Ah, so in North Korea they call Hunters ‘revolutionary talents.'”

The naming sense was so typically North Korean.
The request was….
Wait, there are two items on the list?

1. Clear North Korea’s S-rank Dungeon.
2. A weapon suited for someone climbing the Chaos Tower’s 57th floor (not required).

Number one’s fine with me.
An S-rank Dungeon?
I’m actually thrilled.

“Plus, the North Korean government submitted a separate request too…. Oh, they really put a lot on the line here.”

Clearing one dungeon clears two requests?
Two birds with one stone.
How am I supposed to resist this.
The problem is the second item.

“Well, I’ll just accept the request and quietly clear number one. Since number two’s not required anyway.”

A weapon suited for the 57th floor?
That’s not difficult.
Rani can knock it out in no time.
But….

“If you want a weapon, you have to pay the price for it. Don’t think you’re getting a free ride.”

I only hesitated for a moment because it was bundled with the S-rank Dungeon.
Normally, there’d be no way.
I’d refuse immediately.
But still, you know.
The S-rank Dungeon is a yes, so I accept the request.

“Alright, everyone gather around. We’ve got some great work coming!”

When I call the Workers?

“Boss? Arthur, what’s up?”
“……I want to go too.”
“Perfect timing, I was getting bored anyway.”

They gather immediately.
What’s this.
I thought they were all resting well, but they were bored?
Good timing either way.

“See this request here? An S-rank Dungeon has appeared in North Korea.”
“Whoa! Awesome! Let’s go for S-rank, boss!”
“Isn’t this what you’ve been waiting for? We’ll clear it right away and return, sir.”
“Right. Once I break this, the blocked quest will open up. And the reward’s doubled! Think of the points I’ll get, haha!”

Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
No point waiting.
I need to head out right now.
Oh, that’s right.
First, a scouting run.

“Let’s do a scouting run at the Training Ground first, then prepare to head to the dungeon.”
“The Training Ground? Everyone, assemble!”

The Workers, who’d been bored anyway, made a beeline for the Training Ground.
But wait—someone stayed behind?
Well, since he’s a bear doll, does that even count as someone?
Anyway….

“Todd, why aren’t you going?”
“Well, sir. You see, it’s like this.”

What’s this about?
Does he have something to say?

“Sir, what if we took on this request?”
“This one?”
“Yes, sir. The one Park Moo-pal submitted. It looks like a good opportunity.”

Huh?
Our bear doll Todd.
His specialty is business.
He loves money and, when it comes down to it, he’s usually pretty sharp about fair dealing.
But “a good opportunity”….
Is he picking up on something?

“I’m sorry to ask, but would it be all right if I went to check with the subcontractors first? I’ll get back to you with a fuller picture once I’ve looked into it more.”

Subcontractors?
Ah.
Right—he mentioned building up his information network.

“Sure thing. We’re going to do a scouting run anyway, so just come back quick.”

* * *

Truth’s Eye, Beijing office.
Kim Sun-woo, the guild master, opened the safe with a bright smile.

“I was hoping you’d arrive soon.”

I nearly died holding my breath.
Inside the safe?
Yuan, dollars, yen, gold, jewels—heaps of it.

“I’ve converted all the Mana Stones you entrusted to me. Everything’s accounted for.”

I emptied it all out right then.
And handed it over to the principal contractor—the bear doll.
Slowly, multiple times.
The culmination of exchanges done over a long while.
My hands trembled as I counted it out—such an enormous sum….

“Well, you’ve worked hard, haven’t you?”

The bear doll remained composed.
With a flick, it opened a space in mid-air and simply dropped the pile in.
Wait.
Didn’t it even count?
That was a huge amount….
It’s not going to claim a different story later, is it?!

“W-well, the amount is completely accurate. I converted everything exactly as it was, minus the exchange fee.”
“I know. Don’t worry.”

How on earth could it possibly know?!
All it did was glance at it with its eyes!
I don’t understand, but I accepted it immediately.
Besides….
When has common sense ever made sense in this place?
If we’re going that route, storing money in an Inventory actually makes perfect sense.

“Truly….”

No matter how many times I see it, it still amazes me.

“You’ve done well. This is a gift from the Personnel Management Office Director—please accept it.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Another gift?
I took a quick look.
This time, fifty high-grade Mana Stones.
Wow….
This is incredible.

“I-I can’t accept this much….”
“Didn’t I tell you? If you work hard, you’ll be rewarded.”

That’s true.
The bear doll—this contractor’s manager—had said something like that at first.
That if you work hard, you’ll be rewarded.
But even so, this is….
Good grief.
Does it give rewards like this every single time?
Of course, I’m not going to refuse the gift.
But in return….

“I’ll work even harder going forward!”
“The Personnel Management Office Director asked me to tell you that she has faith in you.”
“Yes!”

Wow….
True loyalty, this is.
A company that trusts you and rewards your efforts?
You’ve got to repay that.
So I worked hard. Take these examples.
Like this sort of thing.

“This is the North Korea intelligence you just mentioned. It’s real-time information that Lee Min-guk received and sent, so there shouldn’t be any errors.”

I opened it right up on the tablet.
And handed it over?

“Hmm…, well.”

He flipped through the pages with a thin finger, beginning to read.
No matter how he looked at it, it was remarkable.

“It must have been difficult in such a short span of time, but you’ve clearly put considerable effort into building this information network.”
“Wow! You caught onto it right away! Yes, you have no idea how much trouble we went through to open up this route—”

He started to go on at length before catching himself.
Ah, I got a bit carried away there.
But still…
I really did work hard on this.
The order to construct an information network.
At first, he’d thought it would be simple.
I mean.
It’s China, after all…
Just throw money at it and it’ll get sorted, he’d figured.
But then…
Once I dug into it, that’s not how it was at all.
Thank goodness the political situation is unstable right now.
Otherwise, I might’ve been dead long ago.
Still, I managed to secure one decent information broker out of it.

“I can imagine well enough without you saying it. It must have been far from easy—you’ve earned your rest.”

He understands.
He even made sure the compensation was solid.
With treatment like this…

“Thank you so much! I’ll work even harder!”

Oh, and.

“This is entirely my personal observation, but would it be all right if I brought something up?”
“Go ahead.”

Something I’ve come to understand through all this.
Converting funds is easy.
Just a bit tedious, that’s all.
The real problem is the house…

“As you know, nowadays there are so many things to register that it’s hard to keep anything secret, isn’t it?”
“That’s certainly true.”
“At first I tried putting it under my own name, but when I checked, that would be traced just as quickly.”
“Hmm…”

What about using someone else’s name instead?
That’s just a matter of time as well.
If someone wants to dig, everything comes out.
That’s what led me to my conclusion.

“I started thinking it might not be a bad idea to have a contact or two with the Awakening Management Bureau.”
“The Awakening Management Bureau?”
“Yes. After all, they’re Hunters themselves, and frankly, they’re remarkably efficient at assisting top-ranked Hunters.”

To be precise, handling tedious affairs?
They were really good at that.
Well, if you reject the idea, I’ll find some other way to get a house, but…
No matter how I think about it, this seems like the best option.

“Hmm….”

Todd rested his chin in his hand, lost in thought.
The subcontractor’s point.
It made sense.

Why had the Manager kept his identity hidden in the first place?
From what he’d heard before, excessive attention felt burdensome.
He’d planned to reconsider once he’d adjusted.
But plenty had happened in the meantime.
Now?
He’s finished adjusting.
So maybe he’ll go public.
Hmm.
Hard to say.
Feels like he won’t.
Guess I should ask him directly.

“I’ll report this to the Manager and see what he thinks.”
“Yes, I understand.”

Time to head back.
He’d gathered the information about North Korea.

* * *

Squeak-squeak.
While he’d been away investigating, the slimes had been cleaning.

“Sparkle-sparkle, this is great!”
“Agreed.”

A spotless home every day?
This was the life.
Rani would love watching this.
She’d giggle every time she saw the slimes squirming around.
Well….
For now, though, she was too busy swinging a hammer.

Clang, thud, clang, thud.

“Bokdeong, when will you be done?”
“Shouldn’t be long? I think she said it’d take about two days.”
“That’s right. Just like you said, it’ll take two days, so it should be done by today or tomorrow.”

Right.
Our Rani, now Highest Rank.
They said two days was all she needed even for Artifact Fragments.
Anyway.

[The work site investigation has been completed.]

Investigation’s done.
Nothing special this time.

“Ready to head out?”
“Everyone gather! One, two, three! Let’s go!”

They were all warming up when—

“Manager, I’m back.”
“You’re here?”
“Yes.”

Todd had returned from the subcontract work.
Hopefully he’d found the information we wanted.
So I asked him about it.

“So what you’re saying is there’s been a rebellion in North Korea.”
“That’s correct, Manager. The hunter named Park Moo-pal, who you entrusted with that request, turned out to be the leader over there.”

I see.
But would it really be all right to craft weapons for him?

“Yes, absolutely fine. Trust me and give it the go-ahead, please.”
“That’s all the assurance you need…?”

Well, then.
Todd’s instinct.
He’d been spot-on about China too.
Anything the senior Workers push forward tends to be reliable.

“Let’s ask about it once Rani’s finished making it.”
“Huh? Did you call Rani?”

What?
Why’s she here already?

“All done!”
“Already?”
“Yep! Rani’s fast because Rani’s skilled!”

I’d heard as much.
But still…
This really is quick.

“You started making it yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Right!”
“You want to see it?”
“Yep! Right here!”

A Geomjip clutched tightly in one hand.
First things first—I need to name it.
I wonder what it’ll be called this time—

“Hmm. Geomjip.”
“Okay, Geomjip.”

I nodded, then froze.
Wait.
Did I mishear?

“I think you just said Geomjip straight up…”
“Yep! That’s right!”

Huh?
What?
You’re not Rani!

“Does it hurt, Bokdeong?”
“No, but this isn’t finished yet! I have a friend! When my friend comes, I’ll do it again with a bang!”

Ah, I see.
Well, it’s a Geomjip after all.
It needs a sword.
Though when I looked into it, apparently there are two separate ones.
Whatever.
Since Rani’s making it anyway.
In any case.
The first properly registered item name.
What are the options?

[Geomjip]
– A masterwork crafted by a skilled artisan with perfected technique.
– Contains the power of a legendary figure.
– When Health falls below a certain threshold, a powerful recovery effect activates.
– Special skill ‘Blessing Shield’ can be used.
– When combined with its paired sword, new abilities are unlocked.

Right.
It’s definitely different.

The legendary equipment that’s appeared so far?
Two skills were standard.
This one?

“Only one skill.”

Still, though.

– When combined with its paired sword, new abilities are unlocked.

With this here,
I can afford to hope.
Paired sword… combining….
It’s bound to be the Holy Sword Excalibur.
If I get that too, how strong would it even become?
Would it actually break into the tier above Highest Rank?
But….

“Blessing Shield—what’s that? Is it similar to what Dandan has?”
“A little different! That one doesn’t draw blood when used, even if it stings! And Arthur gets even tougher!”
“Whoa, so he gets even harder?”
“Yep!”

Geez.
How much tougher is he going to get?
And it even has a Health recovery effect.
I won’t have to worry about Arthur getting hurt.
Nice.
So then.

“Arthur, here.”
“Thank you! Bokdeong, thanks too!”

[You have obtained a weapon touched by fate.]
[A Worker’s latent potential begins to awaken.]

Light flashed—

“Still, nothing’s really changed…”
“Arthur just reached the Highest Rank not long ago, so that’s probably why.”

That’s true enough.
He’d only been at the Highest Rank for a short while.
To expect more than that would be greed.

“Manager? That’s solid! Arthur, you’ve gotten strong.”
“Yeah? If you’ve gotten stronger, want to run a test? You saw it just now, right? That S-rank Dungeon in North Korea. Let’s go right now!”

Clear that quickly, finish the Quest.
Push the experience higher…
Raise the Unique Skill grade, then move?
The Personnel Management Office will probably open officially then.
Ah…
I’m already looking forward to it.
So let’s go right now.

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