Mr. Kim Strikes It Rich with Auto-Hunting [Novel] Chapter 59

Chapter 59

A request that came through Awakened Net.

The commissioner is a North Korean Revolutionary Talent named Park Mu-pal.

What the hell is that….

Cock-eyed with doubt, I search for it, and results pop up.

“Aha, they call hunters ‘Revolutionary Talents’ in North Korea.”

That naming sense is so quintessentially North Korean.

The request is….

What the, there are two items on the list?

1. Clear the North Korean Rank S dungeon.

2. A weapon suited for a climber on the 57th floor of the Tower of Chaos (Optional).

Item number one is okay.

A Rank S dungeon?

I’d rather say thank you for that.

“On top of that, the North Korean government put in a separate request too…. Oh, they put up quite a lot on the line?”

Clear one dungeon and resolve two requests at once?

Killing two birds with one stone.

How could I possibly resist this?

The problem is the second item.

“Well, I can just accept the request and casually clear number one. It says number two isn’t mandatory anyway.”

A weapon suited for the 57th floor?

It’s not hard.

It’s over the moment Rani hammers it out in a flash.

Still….

“If you want a weapon, you ought to pay the proper price for it. Where do you think you’re getting a free ride?”

The only reason I even hesitated for a moment was because it was bundled with a Rank S dungeon.

Normally, it would be totally out of the question.

An instant, sharp rejection.

Even so, well.

Rank S dungeons are always welcome, so request accepted.

“Alright, everyone gather up! A nice job just came in for us!”

When I call the workers?

“Boss? Arthur here, did you call?”

“……I want to go too.”

“I was bored anyway, so this is quite well-timed.”

They gather immediately.

What the.

I thought everyone was resting well, were they all just bored?

That worked out just fine.

“You see the request here? They say a Rank S dungeon appeared in North Korea.”

“Ooh! Good! Arthur going to Rank S!”

“Isn’t this what the Director has been waiting for? I will go clear it right away.”

“Right. Clearing this is how we unblock our stuck mission. What’s more, double the requests! Imagine how many points that is, whew!”

Just thinking about it feels so sweet.

This won’t do.

Gotta head out immediately.

Ah, right.

Exploration first.

“Let’s do the exploration in the training grounds first and prepare to go to the dungeon.”

“Training grounds? Everyone assemble!”

The workers, who had been bored anyway, head straight for the training grounds.

Wait, one person remained?

Well, since it’s a teddy bear, maybe not one person.

Anyway….

“Todd, why aren’t you going and just standing there?”

“Um…, Director. It’s nothing else, but.”

What’s up?

Does he have something to say?

“Director, how about crafting this for him?”

“This?”

“Yep, Park Mu-pal? The commission this person put in. Seems pretty decent.”

Huh?

Our teddy bear, Todd.

His specialty is business.

He loves money and usually weighs the pros and cons very strictly.

Yet he says it seems pretty decent….

Does he have a hunch about something?

“Um…. Pardon me, but could I visit the subcontractor for a moment? I’d like to look into it a bit more before giving you a definitive answer.”

Subcontractor?

Ah.

He did say he was building an intelligence network.

“Sounds good. We’re going to do an exploration run anyway, so go and come back quickly.”

* * *

Truth’s Eye, Beijing Office.

The guild master, Kim Seon-woo, opened the safe with a bright expression.

“I was just waiting for you to arrive.”

My neck was seriously about to stretch out from waiting.

Inside the safe?

Piles of Korean won, US dollars, Japanese yen, gold, and gems.

“The mana stones you entrusted to me have all been cleanly exchanged.”

Pulling them all out right away.

He handed them over to the prime contractor manager, the teddy bear.

Slowly, multiple times.

The result of exchanging over a long period.

It was such a massive amount of money that his hands trembled as he handed it over….

“Haha, you worked hard.”

The teddy bear remained completely composed.

Look at him opening a spatial rift in midair with a casual flick and stuffing it all in.

Wait.

Not even counting it?

Do you know how much that is….

What if he comes back later claiming the numbers are off?!

“Th-, the amount is completely accurate. Excluding only the currency exchange fee, everything has been converted as requested.”

“I am aware, so do not worry.”

How on earth do you know that!

All you did was glance at it!

Though he couldn’t understand it, he accepted it immediately.

Come to think of it….

When has common sense ever applied here?

By that logic, does putting money into an inventory even make sense?

“As expected….”

No matter how many times he saw it, it was astounding.

“You have done well. This is given by the Job Center Director, so take it.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Another one?

Taking a peek.

Fifty high-grade mana stones once again.

Whew….

Jackpot.

“Wait, this much….”

“Did I not tell you? If you work diligently, you will be rewarded.”

Right.

That teddy bear calling himself the prime contractor manager did say so at first.

That if he worked diligently, he would be rewarded.

No, but even so.

Good grief.

Giving this much every single time?

Of course, he wouldn’t reject what was given.

Instead.

“I will continue to work hard in the future!”

“Haha, the Job Center Director asked me to convey that he trusts you.”

“Yes, sir!”

Whew….

Absolute loyalty.

A company that trusts and even rewards you?

You gotta repay that.

So he worked hard.

For example, something like this.

“This is the North Korea intel you mentioned just now. It’s real-time data received and forwarded by the Bureau of Immigration, so there won’t be any discrepancies.”

Opening it right up on the tablet.

When he handed it over?

“Hmph…, hmm.”

Swiping through and reading with stubby hands.

No matter how he looked at it, it was fascinating.

“Given the short time frame, it couldn’t have been easy. You must have put in quite a lot of effort to build this intelligence network.”

“Aha! You noticed right away! Of course, do you know how much we went through to break through this route—.”

About to chatter away, he paused.

Ah, was he getting too excited?

Still….

He really worked hard on this.

The order to build an intelligence network.

At first, he thought it would be easy.

Well.

It’s China after all….

He figured throwing money at it would solve everything.

However….

Opening it up, that wasn’t the case at all.

Fortunately, the current political climate was unstable.

If not for that, he might have ended up dead long ago.

Even so, he managed to secure a decent source of information.

“I can roughly tell without you having to say it. It certainly could not have been easy; you have suffered much.”

Recognizing his efforts.

And even rewarding him properly.

At this rate….

“Thank you! I’ll work even harder!”

Ah, and also.

“This is purely my personal opinion, but may I say something?”

“Go ahead and speak.”

What he realized this time.

Exchanging currency is easy.

Just a bit tedious.

The problem is the house….

“As you know, there are so many things to register these days that keeping it a secret is quite difficult, isn’t it?”

“That is true.”

“At first, I planned to put it under my name, but upon checking, it seems it would get caught in no time.”

“Hmm….”

Put it under another name, then?

That was also just a matter of time.

If someone dug into it, everything came to light.

So, the conclusion he reached.

“I thought having a bridge connected to the Awakened Management Bureau might be a good idea.”

“The Awakened Management Bureau?”

“Yes. Technically speaking, he is a hunter, and fundamentally, those guys are insanely good at supporting high rankers.”

To be precise, taking care of troublesome chores?

They were really good at that.

Well, if he refuses, I’ll find a way to buy the house somehow, but….

No matter how I think about it, this is the best option.

“Hmm….”

Todd rested his chin in thought.

The subcontractor boss’s words.

Made sense.

The reason the Director concealed his identity in the first place?

From what he heard before, excessive attention felt burdensome.

He planned to think about it once he adapted.

In the meantime, a lot of things apparently blew up.

What about now?

Now he’s fully adapted.

Then would he reveal it?

Hmm.

Hard to say.

Might not do it either.

Better ask first.

“I shall report this to the Director once.”

“Yes, understood.”

Time to head back for now.

Since the intel on North Korea had been acquired.

* * *

Squeak, scrub.

While the exploration was underway, the slimes were cleaning.

“Sparkle sparkle, good!”

“Agreed.”

A clean house every day?

This is the true healing life.

Rani would love seeing that too.

She used to giggle every day watching the slimes wriggle around.

Well….

Right now, she’s too busy hammering away.

Clang, bang, clang, bang.

“Lump of Luck, when finish?”

“Should it not finish soon? I believe she mentioned it would take about two days.”

“That’s right. As General Guan said, she said two days, so it should wrap up today or tomorrow.”

Indeed.

Our Rani, who has now reached the highest grade.

Even with relic fragments involved, she said two days would be enough.

Anyway.

[Worksite exploration has concluded.]

Exploration over as well.

Nothing special this time.

“Shall we head out slowly?”

“Everyone assemble! One, two, three! Do it!”

While everyone was warming up—.

“Director, I have returned.”

“You’re back?”

“Yes.”

Todd, who had gone to the subcontractor, returned.

Wonder if he found the desired intel.

Giving it a listen.

“So you’re saying a rebellion broke out in North Korea.”

“That is correct. The hunter named Park Mu-pal, who submitted the request to you, Director, happens to be their leader.”

Aha.

Still, would crafting a weapon for him be okay?

“Yes, absolutely fine. Please trust me and push forward with it.”

“To that extent…?”

If so, then sure.

Todd’s intuition.

Was spot on back during the China incident too.

Fundamentally, if advanced-grade workers or higher push for something, it’s trustworthy.

“Let’s ask Rani once she finishes crafting, then.”

“Huh? Did you call Rani?”

What the.

Why already?

“All done!”

“Already?”

“Yup! Rani got strong so Rani is fast!”

I did hear about it.

Still….

That’s seriously fast?

“Didn’t you start making it yesterday?”

“Uh-huh!”

“Arthur’s?”

“Yup! Right here!”

A scabbard held tightly in one hand.

Gotta give it a name first.

Wonder what kind of name it will be this time—.

“Umm—. Scabbard!”

“Okay, Scabbard.”

Nodding my head, then freezing.

Huh?

Did I hear that wrong?

“I think you just called it ‘Scabbard’….”

“Yup! That’s right!”

Eh?

What the.

You’re not Rani, are you!

“Lump of Luck, sick?”

“But, this one isn’t complete! It has a friend! When friend comes, it’ll go tada again!”

Aha.

Indeed, since it’s a scabbard.

There needs to be a sword.

Though upon searching, they did say the two were separate items.

Well….

Rani’s the one making it anyway.

Regardless.

A normal name registered for the very first time.

What about the options?

[Scabbard]

– The masterpiece of a master craftsman whose technique has reached perfection.

– Imbued with the power of a legendary figure.

– When health drops below a certain threshold, a powerful recovery effect activates.

– Special skill ‘Protective Barrier of Blessing’ can be used.

– When combined with its matching paired sword, a new ability is unlocked.

Indeed.

It really is different.

The legendary equipment that appeared so far?

Two skills were the standard.

This one?

“It only has one skill, too.”

Even so, well.

– When combined with its matching paired sword, a new ability is unlocked.

Since this is here.

I can look forward to it.

Combining with its matching paired sword….

It must obviously be the holy sword Excalibur.

Just how strong will it get once he obtains that too?

Could he really climb above the highest grade?

Wait….

“Protective Barrier of Blessing, what’s this? Is it similar to the one on Toughie?”

“A little different! When you use that one, even if it stings, no blood! And Arthur gets even tougher!”

“Arthur becomes more toughie?”

“Yup!”

Whoa….

Just how much tougher is he going to get?

It even has a health recovery effect.

Won’t have to worry about Arthur getting hurt.

Nice.

In that case.

“Arthur, here.”

“Thank you! Lump of Luck thank you too!”

[Acquired a weapon connected by destiny.]

[A portion of the worker’s latent potential blossoms.]

A brilliant flash of light even erupted, yet—.

“Still, nothing in particular changed….”

“It is likely because Worker Arthur only recently reached the highest grade.”

True.

How long has it been since he reached the highest grade?

Expecting more already would just be greed.

“Boss? Arthur fine! Arthur got stronger.”

“Really? Since you’ve gotten stronger, shall we go test it out? You saw it just now, right? The Rank S dungeon in North Korea. Let’s head out right away!”

Gotta clear that fast, and clear the mission.

Raise experience points….

And once I upgrade the unique skill grade and move?

The Job Center will probably open officially too.

Whew….

Looking forward to it already.

So let’s get going right away.