Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 91

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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 91

A new worker, Baekho.
First impression.
What’s my immediate thought?

“It’s so tiny! So adorable!”

I’m voting with Rani on that one.

“Mew!”

Look at this thing.
Its white fur is all fluffy and soft.
Barely the size of a soccer ball, and it’s wriggling around like…
Something like a puppy.
Or come to think of it, maybe a baby bear.

“Manager! Manager! What is that?! It’s incredibly cute!”
“Ta-da—Rani’s new friend.”
“What?! Really?! For real?!”
“Yep, of course. By the way, his name’s Baekho, but doesn’t he kinda look like a puppy?”
“Mew?”
“Yeah, you.”

This one’s surprisingly sharp.
Look how he tilts his head when called.

“Manager, I don’t mean to nitpick, but wouldn’t Baekho be more of a cat than a dog?”
“Oh… yeah, maybe.”

That’s a fair point.
Baekho’s a tiger, after all.
And cats are cousins to tigers.
Wait a second.
Now that I mention it, it’s got little whiskers on its cheeks too.
Fair enough.
It’s a cat.

“Mew-!”
“Eeee! Manager! Grandpa! Komori! Look look! Its paws are pink! So so incredibly cute! I want to raise it! Rani wants to!”

Well…
Does it really matter?
Look at it yawning.
Either way, it’s cute.
That’s all that counts.

“Rani, you need to settle down first.”
“Yes, sir!”

She answers when told to settle, at least.
Though her eyes stay glued to the white furball.
One wrong move and she’ll pounce on it.

“Anyway, like I said, he’s a new worker. Specifically, a Growth-Type Worker, apparently.”
“A Growth-Type Worker?”
“Yes. Do you happen to know anything about them?”
“Hmm… I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ve heard of it before.”

So Todd doesn’t know either.
That’s what he’s saying.
Hmm.
What on earth could it be?
I can’t stand not knowing.
Let me check the resume first.
Tilting my head in puzzlement, I pulled out the resume.

——-
Worker Resume

Name: Baekho / Undetermined
Specialty: Undetermined
Daily Rate: 10 Low-Grade Magic Stones
※ Rank and specialty will be confirmed once growth into adulthood is complete.
※ Daily rate may fluctuate depending on final rank confirmation.
——-

“Hmm…….”

So, to sum it up in one sentence.

“You have to raise it to find out.”
“It seems to mean that the outcome depends on how you raise it.”

That’s right.
That’s exactly the feeling I get.
The rank appears based on the growth process?
What could that possibly mean?
If you raise it well, it becomes strong.
If you raise it poorly, it becomes weak.

“Then if I raised it wrong, could something below question-mark rank appear instead?”

Top-tier, perhaps. Or high-tier.

“No, surely not….”

It couldn’t be.
Well….
Even if it were.
As long as I raise it diligently, that’s all that matters.
But there’s something odd about this.

[Diamond Promotion Trial: Initial Summoning of ??? Rank Worker]

The promotion trial is still in progress.
I suspect the condition will be satisfied once I’ve grown young Baekho….

“The skill rank definitely went up.”

What’s going on?
I tilted my head and checked again.

[Unique Skill: Worker Summoning (Rank – Diamond / Temporary Activation State)]

“Huh? Temporary activation state?”

Ding!
[※ For the Promotion Trial, certain skills have been temporarily upgraded in rank.]
[Until you overcome the trial, skills of that rank can be used once per week.]

Huh?

“So you’re saying I can use a Diamond-rank Worker Summon once a week?”

That’s pretty good.
Yeah.
That’s right.
They had to give me a way forward, right?
Either I clear the trial or I don’t.

“I like that.”

So now I have two paths.

1. Raise Baekho properly.
2. Use Worker Summon once a week and pray a question-mark-rank Worker shows up.

Both are going to be brutal, obviously.
But still.
This is manageable.
At least I know what I need to do now.
Right.
First thing—I should try to talk Baekho into this.

“Baekho, want to come along with me?”

[Fixed Team Management]
[Register as Fixed Team – Baekho (Pending)]

“Krrooo?”

[On Hold….]

Seriously?
Why won’t you give me a straight answer? Why just tilt your head?

“Manager? Arthur’s thinking about it. But the white beast doesn’t seem to understand what you’re saying.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“Grrraaa—!”
“Doesn’t look like it….”

Yoon Hajun, twenty-three years old.
Already several months into running the Workforce Management Bureau.
What do our Workers think about?
I’m starting to get the hang of it.
Even with a Worker I’ve never seen before, I can read them to some extent.
This Baekho right now?

“It reminds me of when I first met Arthur.”
“What? Arthur was a good guy!”
“You’re the one who whined at him to make coffee.”

That white furball.
Playing dumb and ignoring me—that’s exactly what it feels like.

“Krrraaaa?”

Good.
I’ve got it figured out.
There’s a method for times like this.

“There should be some meat left over somewhere. Let me see.”

I slide the refrigerator open.
There we go.
Sure enough, here it is.

“Baekho, you see this? You know what this is? It’s beef. Want some, don’t you?”

Whoosh—
His head whips around.
Instant reaction.
Look at how fast he turns.

“Kwaaaang!”

I hold the beef up high—
His eyes follow, flicking upward.
Lower it?
They track back down again.
Yeah.
Looks delicious, doesn’t it?

Drool, dripping down.

No need to ask.
No point in asking at all.
Not when he’s drooling like that.

“Go on, eat!”
“Kraaaang!”
“Whoa there, you’ll choke yourself. Nobody’s stealing it from you, so take your time.”
“Kwang! Kwaaang! Kraaang!”

What’s he saying?
Oh.
Is he singing because he’s excited?
Looking at how he keeps lifting his front paws, I’d say that’s about right.

“Good, huh? Want some more?”
“Kwang!”

His cries are practically bouncing with joy.
And his expression?
Anyone can see pure happiness written all over him.

“You know what, Baekho? Beef’s tasty, but sirloin is even tastier! And when you grill it, it gets even better!”
“Kraaang?!”

Ha….
Our Arthur really knows how to build the appetite.
Good.
He should be coming around soon—

“So, how about it? If you want to eat delicious things like this whenever you want, you’d better stick with us, right?”

[Fixed Team Management]
[Registered as Fixed Team – Baekho (Undesignated)]

Beef in one hand.
Fingers wiggling in the other.
Coax it gently?

“Krraaang!”

[Successfully registered as Fixed Team.]
[Baekho (Undesignated)]

Easy.
Too easy.

“Boss, we did it!”
“Looks like we owe it all to you folks….”
“Ha, the other workers must’ve given the Manager quite a hard time.”

What?
Todd, why are you sneaking off?
We all know you go cross-eyed and start drooling the second you see Magic Stones.

“Manager, wouldn’t you like to run a quick ability test on the new worker?”

Oh, I see.
Change of subject.
But you know what?
Since you all work so hard, I’ll let it slide.

“All right. Let’s take a look at what our white friend can do.”

* * *

“One! Two! Three! Four!”
“Krraaang! Yelp!”
“Backo! Keep up with me! You can’t just stand there roaring! You have to train, get stronger!”

Starting right in like that?
How is Baekho supposed to do gymnastics, you idiot?
Arthur.
He’s been waiting for a recruit, and now he’s all fired up.

“Take it easy. This is Baekho’s first day.”
“Got it!”

With a command like that, he’ll understand.
I should prop the door open while I prepare.

Right now, the white one—Baekho—is basically just a pet.
The first stage to test its abilities?

[Worker Dispatch]
– Dungeon

[Angry Giant’s Dwelling – A-Rank. Will you enter?]

A-Rank.
This will do nicely.

“Safe! Good! Good! Good!”

Well, that’s done.

“Arthur, I’ve left the door open—you can head out as soon as you’re ready.”
“Got it! Baekho! We’re going for a walk with Wasser!”
“Screee!”

Pitter-patter-patter.
Look at that tail wagging as he scampers along.
No wonder Rani can’t take her eyes off him.

“See you later!”

[The Workers enter the dungeon.]
[Automatic Hunting begins.]

Good.
Entry complete.
Now then, let’s all watch.

“Alright, activating Monitoring.”

Whirrrr—.

“Baekho! Look over there! Giants! Do you see them?”
“Screee!”
“All you have to do is take them down! Can you do it, Baekho?!”
“Screeeee!”

His voice rings out loud enough.
But how much of a fight can that little furball really put up?
As long as he doesn’t get crushed by the giant, we’re fine.
Though, even so—

“Baekho. Arthur will protect you with his skill so you don’t get hurt. Don’t worry—do whatever you want.”

I didn’t send him along with Arthur for nothing.
A-rank dungeon?
Our top-tier Workers find it easy.
And he’s got a Protection Skill on top of that?
In that case—
At the very least, there’s no reason to worry about injury.
That’s what I thought as I watched without much expectation.

“Screee!”
“Huh?”

What?
He just vanished?

“He has moved behind the giant’s head, sir.”

Crack!

The head?
Don’t tell me that was the thing that just disappeared—

“No…….”

What did I just see?
So here’s the thing.

“The moment Baekho roared, it teleported behind the giant’s head and crushed its skull?”
“Indeed, Manager. You’ve grasped it precisely.”
“But… with that little puffball?”
“What even is that?”

Look at that thing.
Even Arthur’s bewildered.
I mean…
What exactly is that?
It’s still just a juvenile.
It’s supposed to grow, supposedly.
And it only earns ten Low-Grade Magic Stones a day…

“It seems incredibly strong, though?”
“Indeed it is. Heh heh… at that level, it rivals Ben Magician or the other Workers here.”

Really?
On par with Unjang and the other Workers.
Then that means…
It’s at least Top-tier level.
So what about Arthur here?
Looks like he won’t be an instructor this time either.

* * *

Growth-Type Worker, Baekho.
To grow?
Still a long way to go.
The crafting requests are now fully optimized.
Just collect the list once a day and process it—that’s all there is to it.
So then, time to get back to work.

“Hey! We’re going on a picnic!”
“Now now, it’s not a picnic—it’s a Catalyst hunt.”
“Yay! A Catalyst-hunting picnic!”
“Worker Rani is thrilled, isn’t she?”
“That she is.”

She’s got Baekho squeezed tight and bouncing on her toes.
You can tell she’s genuinely excited.
I suppose.
When everyone goes out together, it does feel like a picnic…

“It’s a shame we’re not taking a car this time.”
“We’ll be sure to arrange that next time.”
“Yes, I’m counting on you, Todd.”

Originally, I’d planned to buy a car and have it delivered.
But it takes quite a bit of time.
Cars don’t just materialize out of nowhere.
There are all sorts of procedures and paperwork.
Even used ones take several days, or so they say.
Who has time to wait for that?
What if someone clears an S-rank Dungeon in the meantime?
So instead, I rented one.

“We’re going the route that starts at Hyunchungsa, hits Admiral’s Tomb, Chungnyeolsa, and Chungmusa before heading back, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”

What was it called again?
Premium limousine bus?
Something like that, I think.
It’s certainly comfortable, though.

“Ha. In my twenty years driving buses, I’ve never seen a route like this. Are you folks a Admiral Yi Sun-sin fan club or something?”
“Ha… well, something like that.”

Not exactly.
A fan club, I mean.
Though the man himself is actually with us.

“Speaking of which, it’s been all over the news lately. They said Admiral Yi did something remarkable in Japan recently. Phew… it gave me such a rush, I tell you.”
“Hmm.”

Yeohae.
Clearing your throat won’t fool anyone.
You’re completely transformed thanks to the Fitting Room.
Right now you’re
just an ordinary man in his mid-twenties, not Admiral Yi at all.
Still, thank goodness for the Fitting Room.
Otherwise?
There’d be no way we could move around like this.
Our Workers would stand out far too much.
The stares would be unbearable.
Especially Unjang and Yeohae.
Those two.
They’ve turned China and Japan upside down—hardly anyone doesn’t know their faces.
Just look at us now.

“Tsk… Even in North Korea, Kim Il-jung punished that bastard. These days? What am I saying—I don’t even watch movies separately, because reality is the movie! It’s the movie!”

The driver.
Once he got talking, he really warmed up to it.
If he’d seen us in our real forms first?
He would’ve collapsed on the spot.
I’ve changed my appearance too, while we’re at it.
The Fitting Room is free anyway, so
might as well use it to the fullest.

Manager Yoon Hajun and his Workers?
Hardly.
We’re just an ordinary group of tourists, that’s all.

“Manager! Manager! Look at that! There’s Baekho in the sky!”
“Kyuuu?”
“Ha, how adorable. I have a daughter about that size at home—”

See?
Rani bounces around, and nobody thinks twice.

“Oh! Sir, there’s an excellent restaurant near Hyunchungsa. Shall I take you there once we arrive?”
“That sounds great.”

This feels unexpectedly cheerful.
Like we’re on an outing.
Are the Workers feeling it too?
Everyone’s in high spirits.

“Bus goes vroom-vroom! This is fun!”

Rani didn’t need to say anything.

“Manager! Is this dried squid? It’s delicious! You should try some too!”
“Heh heh… I would be grateful for a taste, Ben Magician.”
“I’d like some too, if I may!”

Arthur, Unjang, and even Yeohae.
Every one of them was beaming.

“…Me too.”

Right.
It wouldn’t be fair to leave Robin out of eating.
She’d been smiling out the window the whole time.
I guess getting out like this really does make it better.

“Purr.”

Even Baekho was excited.
You could see he was yawning at the warm sunlight, rumbling contentedly.
Everyone’s happy, so I’m in a good mood too.
Yeah.
Since we’re all out together for the first time, let’s really enjoy ourselves.

* * *

No.
I was sure we’d have a great time, but….
Things suddenly went wrong.

[Resonating with catalyst.]
[Altered form temporarily deactivated.]
— Yeohae (Top-Tier)

“Gasp…! Admiral Yi Sun-sin?!”

Hell.
What in the world is happening.

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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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