Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 65

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

Episode 065

A world where towers and dungeons erupt from the ground, where Hunters roam and work.

[Chaos Tower Floor X Clear — Success!]

System messages like this are commonplace.
Every Hunter sees them daily.

But what about a Global Announcement?
Unlike ordinary messages, it reaches every person on Earth.
That’s why they’re so rare.
They only appear when something truly momentous happens.
Like thirty years ago, when the world began to change?

[Global Announcement: Ralph Carter of the USA is the first to advance to Floor 70 of the Chaos Tower.]
[From this moment forward, the world will be transformed.]

It was the same this time.
People tilted their heads in confusion.
Suddenly?
How would it change?

The mystery didn’t take long to solve.

Rumble—rumble—rumble—!

Soon the earth trembled, and towers wreathed in subtle black light began to rise in cities across the entire globe.

——-
This is insane;;; I was just walking along the Han River when that Global Announcement popped up and suddenly a tower shot up right next to me???? Is it happening in other places too????

– Can’t speak for other areas, but I’m in Beijing and one just rose up right now;;;;
– London too lol
– I’m on a business trip to the USA and a tower just shot up here too and everyone started screaming and panicking….
└ Where in the USA?
└ Washington
——-

Seoul, Washington, London, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo—and more.
Chaos Towers rising above the capitals of the world.
It was unmistakably an alien sight.
Why?
The original towers had always been in the sky.
They were like mirages—untouchable and without substance, visible from anywhere on Earth yet never drawing near.
But now?
They soared to a height where no summit could be seen.
Yet they could be approached. They could be touched. They had become solid, real.
Did they simply appear for no reason?
Something didn’t feel right about it….
While everyone stood bewildered.
Another announcement arrived.

[Global Announcement: Humanity has passed the First Gateway.]
[From this moment forward, the Difficulty of the Chaos Tower will increase, and rewards will be substantially raised.]
[Additionally, the Clear Time for all towers will be reset and reconfigured to three months.]
[Should you fail to Clear within this time limit, the region in which the tower stands will be erased from existence.]

This has to be insane.
The announcements kept coming, one after another, each more shocking than the last.
The whole world fell into panic for a second time.

No.
The deadline for clearing the Tower was being reset entirely—compressed to just three months?
And if a region failed to clear it within that window, the region would vanish?

– What is this even…
– Are they insane?
– So what about the countries that just climbed to the highest floor last week;;;;;
– This is completely unreasonable.
– Oh come on…

The method for clearing the Chaos Tower.
It was the same across the entire world.

1. Climb as high as possible and raise your Level.
2. If you hit a wall? Farm the floor below repeatedly and boost your Specs.
3. Then attempt the highest floor again.

That was the order.
Why?
Because if you pushed too hard and slipped, everything fell apart.
Especially if it was the highest floor.
Naturally, most nations were currently camping at the highest floor they could reach.
But now they were being told to ascend within three months?
And if they failed, their capital would disappear?

Unreasonable.
Impossible.

Those were the words that formed unbidden. And yet it wasn’t over.
There was more.

[Global Announcement: Preparations for the next Gateway are commencing.]
[Target Nations: Those currently at Level 60 or higher in the Chaos Tower (USA, Britain, Germany, South Korea, China)]
[Should these nations ascend to Level 70 of the Chaos Tower within one year, the next Gateway will open.]
[The Clear Time remains fixed at three months until this condition is met.]
[※ After achievement, the deadline reverts to the standard two years.]
[Failure Penalty: Random nations’ Chaos Tower regions will vanish (Number of nations failing to meet the condition × 10)]

Nations with Chaos Towers at Level 61 and above.
Five great powers—the nations usually called superpowers—must raise their Tower Levels to 70.
Within one year, no less.
If they failed?
Random nations’ capitals would vanish.

Every person on Earth had the same thought.

“We’re finished.”

That was it.

* * *

“So it’s begun…”

The number one Ranked Hunter in the USA. The strongest man in the entire world.
Ralph Carter pressed his hand to his forehead.

[Global Announcement: Humanity has cleared the first gateway.]
[From this moment forward, the Chaos Tower’s difficulty increases, and rewards are substantially enhanced.]

The cascade of messages hit like hammer blows, each one more staggering than the last.
This can’t be happening.
This is all wrong.

“Rising tower difficulty, three months to clear… regional annihilation if we fail….”

That alone would be catastrophic enough.

[Target Nations – Currently at Chaos Tower Level 60 or higher (USA, Britain, Germany, South Korea, China)]
[Should these nations reach Chaos Tower Level 70 within one year, the next gateway will open.]

The audacity of it made his head spin.
Ralph Carter. The only Hunter in the world who’d ever climbed to Level 70.
Which meant he knew better than anyone how impossible this was.

“One year? Not a chance in hell….”

One person.
Excluding the Manager.

“The USA and South Korea should be fine, at least.”

The Americans were already climbing.
South Korea was just a matter of time.
But the others…
He’d grant, generously, that Britain and Germany might pull it off.
But China.
China’s lost all its top-ranked hunters by now….
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

“And all that blame’s coming straight back to America.”

Damn it all.
I should never have gone up in the first place.
Level 70, for God’s sake?
I never even thought I’d make it through.

[Chaos Tower Level 69 cleared successfully!]
[Level increased.]
[Clear Time – 11:47:44]

And Level 69 alone took nearly twelve hours of straight fighting just to barely scrape through.
Without the full backing of a superpower like the United States, it would’ve been impossible.

“And I burned through a considerable chunk of my own wealth doing it.”

Buff Scrolls, Potions, gear…
Everything had been consumed.
And Level 70?
That was just greed.
The honor of the United States on the line…
Wasn’t there a point of pride in reaching the gate before the Manager did?

“Hah. I just wanted to get a taste of it….”

Clear it?
I never even dreamed it would come to this.
Just wanted to see what it was like.
Even if I couldn’t clear it, I could at least leave my mark on the 70th floor first, right?
With that thought in mind, I stepped inside.

[Entering Chaos Tower, 70th Floor.]
[Defeat Vampire Lord Malinu (0/1)]
[Time Limit: 12 hours]

Okay.
Up until that point, things were fine.
Vampire Lord.
Didn’t look like it’d be easy, but still.

“I didn’t come here planning to clear it anyway.”

Let me just get a look at what kind of monster it is first.
If things go south?
I’ll just run.
That’s why I spent good money preparing an Emergency Escape Scroll just in case.
So.

“Let’s do this.”

The structure of the Chaos Tower is simple.
Start at the Safe Zone, the starting point.
Once you step outside, the clear attempt begins.

“There’s a castle in the distance, so the Vampire Lord should be over there.”

Let me head over carefully.
With this casual thought, I took a single step outside the Safe Zone—

Ding!
[Global Announcement: Ralph Carter (USA) has become the first to advance to the 70th Floor of the Chaos Tower.]
[From this moment forward, the world will change.]

That’s when I felt something was going wrong.

“Huh? The world will change?”
“That’s what it means, from now.”
“Who’s there!”

Right now, this place is the Chaos Tower.
It shouldn’t be a place where I hear other voices, yet I’m hearing one from above?
I quickly raised my axe—

“Hasty temperament.”

Along with a calm voice, the blade stopped.
What in the…
I definitely swung the axe.
So why?
My eyes could still move at least, so I glanced around quickly.

“The Vampire Lord?”
“That’s right. Pleased to meet you. I’m Malinu, the Vampire Lord.”
“Insane—how are you even talking…”

Hanging upside down from a tree.
A vampire lord leisurely waving his hand in greeting.
Ralph blinked.
A monster that speaks?
He’d heard rumors about it.
What was it again?
They said it happened sometimes in S-Rank Dungeons.
He’d naturally assumed it was just gossip….

‘And it’s not like I’ve never been to an S-Rank Dungeon.’

Ralph Carter, Ranking 1 in the USA.
Had he never been to an S-Rank Dungeon?
He’d been at least three times.
Of course, he’d never encountered a talking monster.
And besides.

‘That vampire lord is impossibly strong.’

He could tell the moment their eyes met.
This was not an opponent he could face.
How to put it.
Like that feeling when you first encountered a monster right after your Awakening?
The moment your eyes lock, your body freezes—how are you supposed to fight that?
There’s….
no answer right now.
He had to get out of here, somehow.
Fortunately, he’d only stepped one foot out of the Safe Zone.
If he just pulled back to return, he could safely forfeit—
First, he’d step back and think.
Think….

“Insane.”
“Why? Why not take a shot?”

It was enough to make a ghost weep.
The vampire lord was still hanging upside down from the tree, and yet….
His feet never left the ground.
What in the world….

Meanwhile, the vampire had descended to the floor.
Thud, thud.
And now he was walking slowly toward him….
Pure terror incarnate.
Fortunately, with trembling hands, he barely managed to grab it from his pocket.

[Emergency Escape Scroll activated.]

Flash—!
Light blazed as the scroll was used.
He exhaled in relief, thinking he’d made it—

“Let’s meet again soon.”

He returned to reality hearing that horrifying voice.

[Global Announcement: Preparations for the next Gateway are beginning.]

The message that appeared immediately announced preparations for the next Gateway.
Five nations, seventy floors—an absurd condition.
And if he failed to achieve the condition?
The very region where the Chaos Tower stands will be erased from existence.
What are the conditions for the tower’s establishment?
I looked it up quickly.

“The capitals of various nations….”

That makes the damage far worse.
Assuming China is out of the question, we’re looking at the capitals of at least ten countries vanishing.
Who bears that responsibility?
The USA, entirely.
Or rather—Ralph will bear it.

“Damn it… Why did I go up there….”

I regretted it over and over.
But it was already too late.
Once an announcement rings out, it doesn’t disappear.

* * *

The Chaos Tower with its difficulty raised.
The shockwave continued to ripple across the entire world.

[Breaking news! Due to the sudden increase in Chaos Tower difficulty, Hunters are reportedly dying en masse around the globe—]

– Is the tower difficulty increase real?
– Hello, this is someone from the USA climbing floor 53. After seeing the alert about the difficulty increase, I went to floor 52 and barely escaped with my life.
– I’m a floor 47 climber, and I just barely cleared floor 40.
– Ugh, I was so happy clearing floor 10 yesterday… then I heard I should go down at least 5 floors, so I went to floor 5 and barely made it… Do I need to go down to floor 7?

At least those who attempted it later fared better.
Thanks to the pioneers who risked their lives, rough guidelines emerged.

Safe bet: go seven floors below your previous level.
If you’re confident: five floors.
If you’re going three floors or lower?
Write your will.
Go in prepared to die.

– Our country’s #1 ranked Hunter is dead;;; What do we do?
└ What else;;; We have to clear it within three months, so we’re screwed;;; Or complain to the USA.
– But is there even a country that can clear this within the deadline? The difficulty is insane
– The deadline is bad enough, but the real problem is those top 6 countries. If they fail, unlucky nations just lose their capitals.

Difficulty that had climbed to an absurd degree.
And clear it within three months.
As the entire world began to despair over these impossible conditions.
News of a breakthrough came from South Korea.

[Chaos Tower Floor 62 Cleared Successfully!]
[Chaos Tower Floor 63 Cleared Successfully!]

Two floors cleared in a single day.

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