Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 8

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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 8

The first day of serious Tower climbing.
What was Yoon Ha-jun’s routine like?
The same as always.
Wake up in the morning, head to work.

“Kim, hold this for me, would you?”
“Yes, sir.”

Knock, tap, knock, tap.
Work.

“Good work today.”
“You too, boss! See you tomorrow!”

Clock out.
What about at night?

[Worker Dispatch]
– Dungeon

Automatic hunting begins.
That was the original routine.
Starting today?
One thing gets added.

[Fixed Team Summon]
– Arthur (High-Rank)

“Arthur, come forth!”

There he is.
Arthur’s here!
Now Arthur could be called once a day.
Robin, once a week.
He could summon them on schedule.

So then?
The Tower. He had to climb it for sure.

[Worker Dispatch]
– Tower of Chaos

“Boss? Arthur’s heading out. Waiting for the report!”

Waiting for what.
He’d be back in a flash anyway.

“Arthur, come forth!”

Look at that.
He’s back already.

[Tower of Chaos 4th Floor Cleared!]
[Level Up!]
[Clear Reward – 50 Low-Grade Mana Stones]

[Clear Time – 00:01:33]
[World Record Achieved!]
[Bonus Reward – Chaos Key Fragment]

The result was, predictably, a new record.
The next day, the same.

[Tower of Chaos Floor 5 Cleared!]
[Level Up!]
[Clear Reward – 60 Low-Grade Mana Stones]

[Clear Time – 00:02:30]
[World Record Achieved!]
[Bonus Reward – Chaos Key Fragment]

Another record.
Easy.
If I keep going like this, things should work out.

* * *

And the next day.

“Arthur, ready?”
“For sure! Let’s go, Tower!”

I called Arthur as usual.
I was about to send him into the Tower when I hesitated.

“Actually, what if we tried something different today?”
“Different? What? Arthur, don’t know?”
“Never mind.”

Yoon Ha-jun, a Korean obsessed with efficiency.
Wasted movement?
Unbearable.
Why send one at a time?
What if I sent two simultaneously?
Curious, I tried it right then and there.

“Huh?”

First, Arthur went without issue.
Next was what?

“Worker Summon.”

[Summoning a Worker!]
[Grade – Bronze]
[Summon Range: All Targets, High to Low Grade]

Whoosh!

“Grrrrr.”

A hyena standing upright?

——-
Worker Resume

Name: Gnome Swarm (4 individuals) / Lower Grade
Special Traits: None
Daily Wage: 2 Lower-Grade Mana Stones
——-

Ah.
So they’re called Gnomes.

So far, so good.
Now for the important part….

“This is where it gets good.”

[Worker Dispatch]
– Tower
– Dungeon

Two options.
I’d only ever opened one at a time before.
Can I open both simultaneously?
Tap, tap.
I pressed both.

“Oh, they opened.”

Two doors materialized.
The left led to the Tower, the right to the Dungeon.
Well, we should get moving, then.

Clap, clap!

“Alright, gather up!”

Arthur was leading again.
He clapped his hands sharply, and they responded.

“Grrr!”
“Yip!”

The Gnomes scrambled over eagerly.
Assembly first, then warm-ups.

“One! Two! Three!”
“Yip! Yowl!”
“What about you? You’re doing warm-ups too!”
“I’ll pass. I already went through them this morning.”

Too much effort….
I’ll just rest.

“Excellent! Good! Good! Good!”
“Yip!”

After finishing their chant with gusto,
they each headed through their respective entrances.
Arthur went alone into the Tower.
The Gnome Swarm trotted cheerfully into the Dungeon.

And me, left behind?
I uncapped the thermos I’d brought along.
After waiting a moment—

“Arthur, coffee for you!”

The coffee fiend with undeniable presence returns in just one minute.
Another record time.
He’s earned it—

“Here, have a cup of coffee.”
“Thanks! Ssajang!”

For the record, it’s not Kopi Luwak.
Apparently he tried it once and found it too bitter to drink.
And that stuff costs a fortune!
Of course, Yoon Ha-jun can’t stomach it either.

“This is why instant coffee is the best, I’m telling you?”
“Two-two-three! Perfect!”

It’s not “two-two-three,” you idiot.
Anyway, peaceful as always.
Coffee time is always enjoyable.
After this, it’s just clocking out.
Though today Arthur seems in no rush to leave.

“Ssajang? Look at them.”

Ah.
Monitoring?

“Sure, let’s do it.”

Bored, are we?
Though honestly, watching something while sipping coffee has its own quiet charm.
Arthur knows what’s up.

[Monitoring]

I tap the button.
Hum—
The play group appears on the screen.

Growl!
Screech!

An F-Rank Dungeon, a small spider den.
Or rather—
Should I call it a play den now?
The spiders are getting demolished…

“They’re doing well.”

True.
They’re the same Rank as those orcs, after all.
An F-Rank Dungeon should be simple for them.

“Isn’t it?”

Hmm.
Actually, maybe not.
Arthur’s expression….

“Those bastards are weak.”

Why does his pronunciation always sound so clean when he’s cursing?
And anyway.

“What choice do we have? You’re high-rank and they’re low-rank.”

The ranks are different.
Of course there’s a gap.
It’s not like they have any way to get stronger.

“Boss? From tomorrow? Arthur, I’m calling you. Hurry.”

Call him starting tomorrow?
I could probably get a doctorate in Human Arthur Studies at this point.
I understand most of what he says right away.
But….

“Huh? I can call you, but why?”
“Arthur, training. Weak bastards.”

What?

* * *

If he asked me to summon them, I should.
The next day, as soon as work ended, I started with Arthur.

[Fixed Team Summon]
– Arthur (High-Rank)

“Boss. Calling the weak bastards?”

Roger that.
First, let me scan.
Check the area around us.
Can’t have anyone else seeing this.
Okay, nobody’s around.

“Worker Summon.”

The reason he wanted me to call them so urgently.
He’s going to train the weak ones.
So, who’ll be the first one up?

“Shriek!”

Oh no.
Goblins.

“Squee! Squeeee!”

We’ve seen these before.
They look over at us and squeal happily, but—
Arthur goes silent.

“Go! Quiet! Did you come here to play?!”

No.
Where did he get that red hat from?
Beep! Beep-beep!
Now he’s even blowing a whistle.
This is completely….

“Boss! Arthur, you trust me! These bastards! We’re making them, my man!”

Those two aren’t actually human….
No, wait.
The look in their eyes says they’ll drag me along if I complain.
I should just keep quiet.
Let me see if anyone shows up to interrupt.

Beep! Beep-beep!

“Do it! Do it right!”
“Keek!”

I wasn’t sure how I’d manage to train them.
But it turned out to be surprisingly normal.
Basic physical conditioning is important, so mostly just calisthenics?
But would that even work….
I sent them to a dungeon with half-hearted doubts.

[F-Rank Dungeon Clear!]
[Clear Time – 00:08:37]
[Clear Reward – 20 Low-Grade Mana Stones]

“Keek!”

Insane.
It actually works?

“I mean, it’s not just working—it’s dramatically improved.”

Goblins are the weakest among the low-rank monsters.
What’s the usual record?
F-Rank, around fifteen minutes.
But today….

[Clear Time – 00:08:37]

Not even ten minutes—eight minutes and change.
A little exercise made this much difference?
Is it really the training?
If so, then what about Arthur and Robin?
I asked them about it.

“Arthur, you don’t know?”

Right….
I kind of figured as much.
That’s fine.
I’ll get the answer if I ask Robin—he’s basically a walking encyclopedia of information.
Anyway.

“We should keep training like this from now on, right?”
“Boss is right!”
“Yeah.

Every time I do this on the roof, I have a feeling I’ll get caught one day.
The thought hit me suddenly.
If I had a bigger place, couldn’t I do this indoors?
Maybe I should move….

Money?
I have enough.
Just the mid-grade Mana Stones alone go for fifty million won.
And low-grade ones are scattered everywhere.

“Let me count how many there are.”

Six hundred thirty-seven pieces.
Twenty thousand won each.
That’s twelve million, seven hundred forty thousand won right there.
I could easily get a two-room place and have money left over.

“You’ve got money, chief?”
“Not yet.”

I have to sell the Mana Stones first.
The problem is.

“To sell Mana Stones, I’d have to register them with the Awakening Management Bureau….”

I should look into it.

* * *

“Not complicated at all.”

How to report an Awakening?
Simple.
Go to the Awakening Management Bureau and file a report that I’ve Awakened. That’s it.
After that.
They measure your abilities by having you use your skills directly.
Then you get your Rank and you’re done.
It takes at most an hour, apparently.
But….

“It’d be awkward to do it now.”

The Awakening report itself isn’t the problem.
The problem is this.

——-
Monthly Boss Raid Update lol

Everyone knows the five major Guilds control the monthly bosses and keep the rewards to themselves, right? Even non-Hunters know that.
They say it’s fair on paper, but…
Anyway, turns out someone snatched one from them this time lololol

– Man, just hearing about it feels good
– But how’d they pull it off? With the five Guilds stacking their damage, there’s no way anyone could get #1 contribution…
– Rumor has it they burst out extreme damage in just a few seconds
– That doesn’t make sense lolol
– It’s real;;; that’s why the Guild is searching for whoever got the boss reward
——-

The rest doesn’t bother me.
In an age like this, gossip spreading on the internet is hardly worth—
Besides, I’ve lived through it once already.

“But wait. Who is Hwarang, and why are they looking for me?”

A quick search, and there it is.
Hwarang.
The guild founded by Baek Hwa-rang, ranked second.
Since the top-ranked one belongs to the Awakening Management Bureau, they’re practically first in terms of organizational power.
Hmm.
They’re looking for me?

“Why?”

I tilted my head, then froze.
Ahem.
If I don’t know, then I have no conscience.
That turtle shell and core I ate are still in the dungeon, completely intact!
This is bad.

“If I go to the Awakening Management Bureau and report my Awakening, word will spread immediately.”

Yoon Ha-jun, twenty-three years old.
I know what I know at this age.
The way organizations like that cooperate with each other?
It’s painfully obvious.
Not that I have a choice.
But I really don’t want to make that report….
Because that’s how I sell the Mana Stones!

“Is there really no way around this….”

* * *

In an era when dungeons appear across the country and Hunters are active everywhere.
The Awakening Management Bureau has its hands full.
Truly swamped….

“What? A six-minute clear today? I’m going mad! Why does it keep getting faster?”
“Because the level went up?”
“No, even so! It was eight minutes yesterday!”

Lately, there’s been no time for anything else.
The reason?
An unknown Hunter.
Setting a tower record once a day.
Clearing every dungeon scattered across the country.
And the records are absurdly fast.

From journalists to the high-ranking officials above.
Everyone asks about that Hunter whenever they get a chance—I’ve kept my phone off because of it.
And in the midst of all this.

“The Hwarang guildmaster keeps calling. Asking if we know anything about that Hunter, requesting we share any information.”
“It’s not just them. Baekho Guild, Magic Tower Guild, Iron Blood Sect, Sangun Guild—they all sent messages.”
“It’s absolute chaos.”

The reason?
There’s no need to ask.
Of course.
They’re trying to recruit him into their guild.

“Sigh… How would we know? If we’d figured it out first, we would’ve snatched him before they did.”

Still, the Awakening Management Bureau had the advantage over private guilds.

“He hasn’t registered yet, has he?”
“Certain. Among all the Hunters registered so far, we’ve never seen a Rank with that kind of potential.”

Registration was mandatory to work as a Hunter.
Information access was secondary.
Without registration, you couldn’t even sell Mana Stones.
And this Hunter?
He’d have Mana Stones piling up by now.
He’d come to register soon enough.
When he did, we’d know who he was.
Then I’d recruit him as a Bureau Hunter myself.
Without fail.

* * *

Robin, our walking encyclopedia of information.
A week passed, and the moment I summoned him, he delivered.

“So if you put low-tier workers like Orcs or Goblins in your Fixed Team and file for Awakening, it hides your true identity—is that what you’re saying?”
“…Yeah.”
“Damn, that’s seriously nice.”

The method Robin had taught me to hide my identity.
Put a low-tier worker like an Orc in the Fixed Team.

Then what happens?
On the surface, it looks like a Summoner-class job.
The Rank would come out around C or D.

“…Fine….”
“The low Rank? Well, I don’t think it’ll matter.”

All that mattered was being registered as a Hunter.
Next time, I’d make sure to buy beef instead of pork belly.
There was another question I’d asked.

“Since the low-tier workers got stronger from Arthur’s training, I was wondering if Arthur or Robin could too.”
“…….”

Rare to see him speechless.

“…Rank.”

Rank?

“Too low?”

He nodded.

So he couldn’t tell me because the Rank was too low.
But there was a method, then?
I’d have to look into it later.
Well, I’d asked about everything anyway.

“Since I’m already here, why don’t I clear the tower once, grab some meat, and call it a day?”

Another nod.
Time to open the door then.

[Worker Dispatch]
– Tower

Arthur cleared up to the ninth floor yesterday.
This time, the tenth.

[Tower of Chaos Floor 10 cleared successfully!]
[Level increased.]
[Clear reward – 110 Low-Grade Mana Stones]

[Clear time – 00:00:37]
[World record achieved!]
[Bonus reward – Chaos Key Fragment]

Insane.
Cleared it in thirty seconds flat….

“…Meat.”

Right, of course.
I’ll get it for you right away.
Just need to slot this key fragment in first.
Already got ten of them….
Wait?
They’re combining?

Ding!

[The Chaos Key has been completed.]

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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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