Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 66

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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 66

America’s Number One Ranked Hunter.
The day after Ralph Carter reached the 70th floor of the Chaos Tower.

“Manager, what’re you doing today?!”
“Mm… I should head to the tower.”
“The tower?”
“Yeah. A notification popped up yesterday out of nowhere.”
“A notification? What’s that? Tell Rani too!”
“Sure, let’s do that.”

I was planning to explain it anyway.
Let’s get everyone together first.

“Yes, Manager. Everyone’s gathered.”
“This one has arrived as well.”

Okay.
Arthur and Rani were already here.
Todd, who was in the living room, and Unjang joined right away.

“…Me too.”

Robin slipped in quietly, and that made everyone accounted for.
Alright, let me tell you what’s going on.

“A system-wide notification came through yesterday, all of a sudden.”
“What kind?”
“To sum it up: the Chaos Tower’s difficulty is increasing, the clear time limit is being cut down to three months, and the Five Great Powers have to reach the 70th floor within a year. Something like that was the gist of it.”
“If the difficulty went up… someone must’ve reached the 70th floor, huh.”

Oh, look at that.
You caught on quick.

“You’re right, Unjang. That Ralph Carter—the one Rani made the axe and armor for last time—he’s the one who reached the 70th floor.”
“Rani?”
“Yeah, remember?”
“Yes yes! Rani remembers everything I made! Huuwoong and Kkwangkkwang!”

Right.
Huuwoong and Kkwangkkwang.
But here’s the thing, Rani—
That Ralph Carter fellow.
Word is he hasn’t revealed the information about the axe and armor yet.
Apparently he used to brag about stuff like that the moment he got it…

“Certainly… if equipment made by a Worker is in his hands, climbing would be much easier. It’s just the names that are a bit… difficult.”
“Huh? Why the names! Rani picked them so carefully…?”

Mm…
I’m going to say no comment on that.

“Manager?”
“Orc Worker, think so. Wheee-whoom sounds great!”
“Arthur?”

Sorry.
But what can I do when Rani looks at me like that, all bright-eyed and hopeful?
Right, Arthur?

“Wasser thinks the same!”
“And Arthur really does love the flaming ones anyway.”
“Yes! Huuwoong is good too! Kkwangkkwang is good as well!”

Right, as long as the person using it is satisfied, that’s what matters.
I’d bet Ralph is over the moon about it.
That man.
I heard he was stuck on the 67th floor for a while.
But the moment he got the weapon and armor, he cleared the 70th?
Anyone who’s not thrilled with that is a thief.

“Now that I think about it, Rani really is incredible. People don’t line up just to ask her to make a single weapon for nothing.”
“Yeah, right! Rani makes really good stuff!”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
“And…, and! Now that Rani’s gotten stronger, she can make things even prettier!”

The compliments have her all fired up.
Look at her bouncing around.
The rest of the world will never know.

– The Manager, what is he really? A monster? If you get a weapon from him, you jump at least three floors…
– That’s cheating, that’s what it is.
– Please, just give every household one Manager…

The internet, Awakener forums, news sites….
A legendary craftsman mentioned everywhere, every day.
And the reality is this tiny thing who loves strawberry candy.

“Hehe!”

And even more—
our Rani’s gotten stronger.
She was already reliable when she was Superior-tier.
Now she’s Highest-tier.
Her skill has naturally grown right along with it.

“I heard from the other Workers that Rani can now make 60th-floor-level materials perform using just 50th-floor-level materials.”
“Exactly! So the weapons we made for Goblin and Nol got better too!”

Weak but better.
What does that even mean….
Someone translate Rani-speak for me.

“Wasser understands! It means weak little things can use them without getting hurt, and that’s good!”
“Ah.”

Now that makes sense.
I saw C-rank dungeons just crumble once they got their hands on those weapons.
There was a reason.
But….

“Then shouldn’t we find time for Rani to refurbish the weapons for the Top-tier Workers? She made those when she was Superior-tier, didn’t she?”
“Um…. Yeah, but she can’t!”
“Why not?”
“Because Rani doesn’t have any Materials!”

Materials?
Ah.

“A Relic Fragment?”
“Yeah… Arthur, Robin, and Grandfather need that so Rani can make it pretty….”
“That’s going to be rough.”

Other materials wouldn’t give me a second thought.
I have plenty of Magic Stones and other materials—I can gather almost anything.
But Relic Fragments?
That’s the hard part….

“Fragments only drop from S-rank Dungeons.”
“That’s correct, Manager.”

Hmm.
This isn’t going to be easy.

“Well, if they do drop, clearing it shouldn’t be a problem….”
“Just hit ’em with the Dittan! Boom, done!”
“Arthur, that Dittan is a shield….”
“Manager, didn’t you see? When I hit ’em with the Dittan, those weak bastards go flying.”
“I mean, that’s true, but….”

Who uses a shield like that?
This blockheaded fool….
Anyway.

“The problem is finding them. I’ve only cleared five S-rank Dungeons since my awakening.”

Five in total since awakening.
And two of those were already registered before.
That’s how rarely they appear….

“And even when they do drop, there’s no guarantee I’ll get the specific fragment I need. It’ll be even harder.”
“Right… Rani can’t use other materials, no matter how good they are….”

Yeah.
I know that well.
That’s why all the useless materials just pile up like toys she never plays with.

Young Pasa’s Scales.
Kubera’s Golden Coin.
……
…

Things like that.

“There’s nothing to be done about it.”

Worrying over what I can’t have won’t help.
It only gives me a headache.
I’ll think about it later.

“Eventually another S-rank Dungeon will pop up somewhere, and I’ll get the right fragment from it. Besides, I’m already hunting as it is.”

I thought that settled it….

“Rest easy, Manager. Once you climb past the 70th floor, S-rank Dungeons will appear more frequently.”
“Really?”
“Indeed.”
“Ah… that’s good news.”

Floor 70, then.
Right.
We were going to have to go anyway, so this works out well.
Reaching floor 70 means we’ve met the condition.
And S-rank Dungeons drop frequently there too?
That’s perfect.

“By that point, Relic Fragments should be dropping, so we’ll be able to enhance weapons and armor again.”

Of course, I can’t guarantee that yet.
From what I’ve seen, the fragments—
they don’t seem to be completely random.
Still….

“Something will drop. Getting to floor 70 does seem like it’ll be a bit rough, though….”
“Heh. Don’t worry. With three Top-tier Workers, we shouldn’t have problems reaching floor 70 at minimum, should we?”
“That’s true, but like you mentioned earlier, they say the difficulty of every floor has gone up, so I can’t help but feel uneasy.”

Our Top-tier Workers.
Of course I trust them.

Floor 61?
S-rank Dungeons?
They pulverize them and walk out before an hour’s even up.
The problem is….

“Looks like the tower’s difficulty has climbed quite a bit.”

The world moves so fast these days.
The vanguard has already put out guidelines.

[Playing it safe → Drop 7 floors]
[Already pretty strong? → Drop 5 floors]
[Want to die? → Drop 3 floors]

That’s the idea.

——-
Name: Yun Hajun (Lv. 62) / South Korea
Job: Manager
Unique Skill: Worker Summon (Grade – Platinum) / Fixed Team Summon
——-

Yun Hajun’s current tower floor is 62.
By that standard, he should be targeting floor 57, or maybe 55….

“Washer, think about it! We can do it!”
“Floor 62?”
“That’s it, floor 62 for sure!”
“This mage agrees as well.”
“…….”

Robin nods too.
We’re all on the same page.
Right.
I knew they’d all say the same thing.
I was thinking along the same lines from the start anyway.
Dropping 3 floors or less? That’s suicide.
That’s the standard for ordinary Hunters.
But our Workers?
They’re monsters who clear S-rank Dungeons in thirty minutes flat.

“Still, we must never let our guard down.”

Yun Hajun, twenty-three years old.
Former construction laborer.
That’s why he knew better.
When you got complacent thinking something was easy, accidents always followed.

“Everyone, remember—safety first.”
“Safety fiiirst.”
“Safety, yeaaah!

There we go.
Good.
Always safety first.
And that’s why I prepared for this.

“We just freed up one slot in the Fixed Team, so why don’t we summon someone new and take them along?”

The Worker Summon had changed.
The summoning range was Superior-tier or Highest-tier.
If we added a Superior-tier or higher Worker to the current party?
There’d be no stopping this.
So.

“Worker Summon.”

[Summoning a Worker!]
[Rank – Platinum]
[Summoning Range: All Highest-tier and Superior-tier targets]

I’d been doing low and mid-tier summons a lot lately.
A truly random summon was a rare treat.
Maybe that’s why?
I felt oddly excited.
Who would it be this time, I wondered.
I could provide buffs myself, at least.
Hmm….
A mage or healer might not be bad?
Waiting with anticipation, just for a moment.

Flash!
Light blazed across the space.
Then a spirited voice rang out.

“Your orders, sir! Superior-tier Worker Yeohae, standing ready! I’ve rushed to answer your summons!”

* * *

The newly summoned Worker.
Rank: Superior-tier.
The voice was energetic, for one thing.
And seeing them snap to attention and salute the moment they arrived suggested a sound mindset too.
The problem was.

“Uh, forgive me, but… which direction are you actually saluting?”

What the…? Who is this person?
Why are they standing in empty air like that…?

“Oh! I apologize! Once more, with devotion! Superior-tier Worker Yeohae, reporting! I have come running at the Manager’s summons!”
“That… sir. That isn’t…”
“Huh? Rani isn’t the Manager! Our Manager is right here!”
“My apologies! I shall correct myself!”

Phew.
There we go.
Now they’re finally looking this way.
I was genuinely startled.
For a moment there, I thought I was seeing a ghost.

“So your name is Yeohae, correct?”
“Yes, sir! I am Yeohae, a Superior-tier Worker prepared for any task!”

But still.
That bearing, that tone of voice…
Are they military?
Wait.
Now that I look at the clothes…

“Rani saw this on TV! The clothes people wear when they go ‘Yes, sir!’ like that!”

Which means.
It’s like the kind of outfit you see in historical dramas.
Is that a traditional hat on their head?
Hmm.
Though it does look a bit different.
It’s got a rounder, gentler shape than a traditional hat would have…

“I believe that’s an official’s robe, sir.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I’ve been getting into historical dramas lately, you see.”

Ah.
So that’s the difference.
How intriguing.
But…

“Why so tense? You can relax and sit comfortably if you’d like.”
“Understood, sir!”

Creak, creak.

No, wait.
They said they understood.
So why are they still creaking even as they sit on the floor?

“Hah, quite a unique Worker you are.”
“Todd…”
“Yes, sir?”
“Never mind.”

As if a money-loving bear doll would say something like that.
Though by now I’m used to it.
Superior-tier and higher Workers are always like this anyway…
Right.
Compared to the other Workers, it’s…
Just a Superior-tier Worker who gets anxious quite easily….

“Nothing to worry about, then.”

Once someone’s Superior-tier or higher, their abilities are solid, at least.
So.
I should look over their resume first.

——-
Worker Resume

Name: Yeohae / Superior-tier
Specialty: Artillery
Daily Rate: 30 Low-Grade Magic Stones
——-

The name’s Yeohae.
Bit of an unusual name.
I wonder what the surname is.
And why the daily rate like that?
Usually the Highest-tier Workers go for 30….
Could the abilities really be that exceptional?

“So the specialty is artillery… Would it be alright to ask exactly what kind?”
“Of course! It’s this kind!”

Whoosh!

Something set down confidently—

“A cannon?”
“That’s right! I can hoist it up on my shoulder like this and fire it!”

Wait.
Artillery meant an actual cannon?

“Hmm….”

Suddenly I’m uneasy.
The newly summoned Superior-tier Worker, Yeohae.
Clearly seems like someone who gets nervous easily.
Fire a cannon, you say?
Should I really trust this?

“I’m confident about it!”

No, wait.
You’re not even looking at me.
Maybe I should get your glasses adjusted or something….

“No! I can see just fine!”

The voice is loud and spirited, though—that’s something.
Artillery as a specialty.

“Sigh…. Well, you’re Superior-tier, so….”

Guess I have to trust it.

“For now, I need to take the other Workers up the Chaos Tower. You think you can handle that?”
“Of course! I’ll give it my all, I promise! I swear it!”

Well.
The answer was good, at least.

“Right then. Let’s give it a try.”

I nodded.
I was about to open the door to the sixty-second floor of the Chaos Tower when—

“Manager, manager! I figured it out—Rani figured it out!”
“Huh? Figured what out?”
“This! That Yeohae person—we can use this on them!”

Huh?
Use what?

“This thing!”

[Turtle Ship Cannon Fragment]

A Turtle Ship Cannon Fragment.
A Relic Fragment I’d obtained from an S-rank Dungeon in North Korea.
If we can use that, then that means….

“Uh…?”

No way.
Really?

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