Monster Company Tycoon - Chapter 6

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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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Monster Company Tycoon
Chapter 6
“There are two ways to do this. Either make them come to me on their own, or go out and scout them myself! But realistically, the second option’s out of reach, so I need to make them come. I’ll have to post a recruitment notice.”
“How do you post a notice?”
At my words, Brownie soared high into the air. Then, out of nowhere, he began shouting loudly toward the empty sky.
“Wind Sprites! I have a job for you!”
I watched quietly as Brownie did his thing.
A moment later, a breeze swept through our surroundings, and small creatures—as if wrapped in thin cloth—began appearing one by one. They were exactly the same size as Brownie.
“We’re recruiting new staff. Spread the word for us.”
“Pay up.”
“How much?”
“How far do you want us to spread it? The farther it goes, the more expensive.”
The Wind Sprites had rather prickly personalities.
Brownie turned back to me.
“How far should we spread it? If you leave it to these guys, they’ll spread the news that we’re recruiting staff far and wide. Of course, it’ll cost you accordingly.”
So these sprites were acting as a hiring platform.
“What’s the cheapest option?”
At my question, the Wind Sprites looked at me with an expression of disdain.
“Just this area. An hour’s walk from the Dungeon. That’ll be 1,000 Lang.”
“What do you mean by an hour’s walk?”
“However far you can walk in an hour.”
If I walked for an hour, I could cover roughly four kilometers. So they’d only spread the news within that radius. That was about twenty laps around a field, give or take.
Our Dungeon’s current budget was only 100,000 Lang. I had to spend it as carefully as possible.
“Alright then, I’ll go with the one-hour radius.”
“Pay up.”
Among the Coins that Brownie had given me, there were several with different materials and engravings.
They seemed to be coins of different denominations, but the problem was I couldn’t pick out exactly 1,000 Lang by myself.
I had no choice but to lay all my Coins out on my palm and speak to the Wind Sprite.
“Take what’s fair.”
The sprite flew over with an annoyed expression and picked up a silver Coin, cradling it in their embrace. Contrary to their expression, the way they held the Coin showed genuine affection.
The octagonal silver Coin was worth 1,000 Lang—confirmed.
“Next time you hire us, spend money freely. What’s a measly 1,000 Lang?”
“Once our Dungeon is thriving, we’ll spend plenty, of course! And you lot have been struggling to make money lately, haven’t you? Stop your whining and get to work!”
The grumbling Wind Sprites departed, and Brownie flew toward me, huffing indignantly.
“Those low-ranking sprites, acting all high and mighty when they can barely land decent jobs! The audacity!”
“Will they still spread the word properly?”
“Sprites always do their job for whatever payment they receive. They’ll spread the word.”
But then doubt crept in.
“Shouldn’t we put up a detailed recruitment notice? We only said we’re hiring staff—we didn’t mention the details. What if people come to apply and find the conditions don’t match, only to be disappointed?”
“Only low-level monsters would take seriously the rumors spread by low-ranking Wind Sprites anyway.”
Brownie made a gesture of crossing his short arms.
“If you really wanted to attract truly exceptional monsters, you’d need to hire at least high-ranking sprites. Those guys would charge 1 million Lang just for an hour’s radius.”
“So money really is everything….”
“Just wait one day and applicants will come flooding in!”
I gazed at the Dungeon’s exterior. At least the appearance was solid.
A Dungeon that looked good on the surface but was hollow inside, lacking substance…….
If I had to describe this Dungeon as a company, it was no different from a freshly launched startup.
Much worse than small or medium-sized, even.
I’d fled from X Corp only to land at a startup…….
‘No! Every major corporation started as a startup, didn’t they? I shouldn’t lose hope already.’
I organized in my mind the Dungeon management manual I’d learned from the sprite up to now.
A Dungeon needs to gather two kinds of resources.
One is actual operational money, and the other is fear that raises the Dungeon’s notoriety and strengthens the Demon King’s power.
Both resources can be obtained from Adventurers who challenge the Dungeon.
Therefore, I need to devise ways to draw Adventurers to the Dungeon.
“Will monster applicants really come flooding in?”
“Of course! This is a major Dungeon run directly by the Demon King himself. It’s completely different from those mediocre Instant Dungeons!”
Do monsters feel like this is a major corporation just because the Demon King runs it?
Or maybe, since the Demon King is the king of monsters… does that make this a state enterprise?
Brownie said that all I needed to do was wait about a day.
In the meantime, though the Dungeon was empty of everything, I’d examined every corner meticulously and drafted a plan in my head for how to operate this place.
I had to pull this off somehow. Thinking of ten billion won, I’d wring every last bit of effort from myself.
***
The first night on that dirt bed was nothing short of hellish.
“Ugh… once I start earning good money, I’m buying a real bed first thing.”
My entire body screamed in muscle soreness.
I’d set up my room in the back of the office. The layout was fantastically convenient — I could head straight to work the moment I woke up.
My old boss would’ve given me a standing ovation for such dedication if he’d known, but honestly, I’d had no other choice.
“I need to conserve the light…”
The light sources inside the Dungeon were limited. Torches hung at regular intervals, glowing softly against the darkness — apparently they’d come as a bonus when I’d purchased the Dungeon.
Interestingly, they were all conjured with magic, burning continuously without any fuel.
But their brightness was weak, unable to illuminate any great distance.
I took one of the torches hanging in the corridor and brought it into the office.
And to pull that light all the way into my room, I’d had no choice but to make my bed in the back of the office itself.
“Sleep well? Come on, get ready! Job applicants are waiting outside!”
“What? Already?”
Brownie had said applicants would come flooding in after just one day, but I never expected them this soon.
“If they’ve been waiting, you should’ve woken me earlier. Haven’t they been standing out there too long?”
“Heh-heh, you don’t understand. This is all part of the test!”
“A test?”
“Checking their adaptability! If they can wait a long time without complaining, then they’ll put up with overtime, unreasonable demands, and tough assignments later on, right? No point wasting time on someone who’ll cry and run away because work is hard.”
I stared at Brownie in disbelief.
Was this creature the reincarnation of my old company’s CEO? I felt like I needed to peel back its skin to find out.
“And if they can endure hardship, that just means they’re desperate enough. You could pay them pocket change and they’d work like slaves.”
The word “demon” nearly tumbled out of my mouth, but I barely swallowed it back.
“I… want to run this Dungeon — not a company, a Dungeon — in the most humane way possible.”
I was sick of toxic workplaces. I wanted to work at a normal company!
“Humane? What do you mean by that?”
“It means treating employees properly.”
“Yeah? But you only have a hundred thousand coins in operating funds. You already spent a thousand yesterday, so now it’s ninety-nine thousand.”
“…I’ll see the applicants. Let’s go.”
“No, you stay here. I’ll bring them in.”
Brownie tapped the desk twice and whooshed right back outside.
A moment later, murmuring voices and multiple footsteps began to echo from beyond the entrance.
“Everyone wait here! You’re number one, starting from you! When your number’s called, you come in!”
Brownie barked the order with full authority.
My hands trembling, I peeked through a crack in the doorway, then quickly shut the door and sank into my seat.
A swarm of grotesquely hideous monsters filled the space outside…. I was desperately wishing for gods I didn’t even believe in.
What happens if the interviewer faints at the sight of the candidate?
I was craving a calming draft. This world probably didn’t have one, did it?
“Ready? Should I send them in? Oh, I’ve collected all the applicants’ résumés. I’ll bring them in in the order they’re stacked here.”
Brownie set a thick stack of papers on the desk. There were quite a lot of them.
“Okay, okay…. I can do this. I have to do this.”
I took a deep breath to center myself….
“Ten billion, ten billion….”
I chanted ten billion like a mantra. Miraculously, my mind rapidly settled and grew calm.
“I’m ready. Send them in.”
The door opened in sync with my approval.
“Good afternoon. I am Dulgeulgeul.”
A skeleton clad in tattered armor creaked forward and bowed deeply at the waist.
I barely choked back a scream. An unnervingly realistic skeletal figure stood right before me.
…If this candidate in front of me had just a bit of muscle and skin attached, this would’ve been a perfectly ordinary interview.
With trembling hands, I picked up the topmost paper from the stack.

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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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