Mr. Kim Strikes It Rich with Auto-Hunting [Novel] Chapter 60

Chapter 60

An S-Rank Dungeon had appeared in North Korea.

Its name was…

[Bizarre Goblin Cave – S-Rank]

In my experience,

a dungeon’s name usually showed its concept.

Just like this dungeon right now.

[Monitoring]

The dungeon entered by top-tier workers, the Bizarre Goblin Cave.

The moment I turned on monitoring—

“Whoa! Look at that! So sparkly and pretty!”

I had to admit it.

It was indeed gorgeous and pretty.

Even I had marvelled when I first saw it through Exploration.

First, your eyes were drawn to a magnificent mansion.

And in front of it?

A grand gate as ornate as an artwork stood boldly.

All around, goblin fires flickered blue like atmospheric lights…

Even that blended in harmoniously.

“Look at that! The door is super huge too! Just like grandpa!”

“Haha, this sorcerer is not quite that gigantic.”

Rani, who hadn’t seen the Exploration, was bouncing around in excitement all by herself.

What about the other workers?

They began moving forward slowly with cautious gazes.

“Everyone saw it earlier so you know, right? That grand gate over there is a fake. The real one is inside the trash heap behind it.”

“Course! Arthur saw it with Boss too!”

“Do not worry, Director.”

The S-Rank Dungeon, Bizarre Goblin Cave.

It was truly living up to its name from the very start.

The splendid front gate was an illusion meant for deception.

If you fell for it and walked in, a trap was probably waiting, right?

Yup, our workers wouldn’t be fooled.

“This way! Follow Arthur!”

The real entrance was inside the trash heap.

Huh.

Looks like that was an illusion too.

Look at it vanishing the moment it touched Arthur.

Whoosh—.

The towering pile of trash gently…

melted away, and there it was.

The entrance leading into the goblin cave.

Then in we go.

“All together, move in!”

The positions were the same this time too.

A sturdier Arthur at the front.

Followed by Guan Yu and Robin behind him.

When they all entered together amicably?

Fwoosh—!

“Gasp! Fire!”

Rani, correct.

The second area was a burning cave.

I had seen it through Exploration, but…

Maybe because the workers stepped into it,

it looked even hotter.

“Is everyone okay?”

When I asked,

“We are fine, this too is a falsehood.”

“Right! Get tricked, get hot! Arthur not tricked! Not hot!”

Aha.

Then there was no need to worry.

From the entrance to the end, the path and concept had all been scouted out.

“As expected of our workers, totally reliable.”

Worry? What worry?

Instead, I should buff them.

All right, safety helmet on first.

Megaphone ON.

Once I said a word?

[The workers gain vitality from the Director’s encouragement.]

Ah.

This was it.

Now then, our dear workers.

Wrap yourselves in buffs and let’s get down to business.

* * *

“Look at it living up to its name. It really is a bizarre cave.”

“Right?! That place is reaaally weird! One second it’s blazing, next it’s freezing! Look at that! Now it’s howling with wind!”

Tell me about it.

What in the…

First a sea of fire, then a few steps forward and it’s an icy hell.

A few more steps ahead and it’s packed with thorn bushes.

Now to top it off, look at typhoon-like winds blasting everywhere.

And in the middle of all that—

“Guests, we have guests!”

“All goblins, gather and greet the guests!”

Right.

It wouldn’t feel right without you guys.

The masters of the dungeon, the goblins.

Popping out just when you’re about to forget them to be a nuisance—

“Goblins! Too noisy!”

KABOOM—!

As if that would work.

“Arthur, nice shot.”

Though he was using his shield like a club.

Well, its hitting power was satisfying, so he passed.

“How dare you do that to our big bro!”

“Get them, boys!”

Like I said…

“As if that’ll work on them, you punks.”

Besides, Arthur wasn’t alone either.

Thwip—!

“Guh?!”

What was the point of charging in with high spirits?

They were done for before even reaching Arthur.

One got an arrow smashed right between his eyes.

The other?

Seeing him quietly get split in half—

“This sorcerer would feel left out doing nothing, so I shall lend a hand.”

Right.

I knew it would be Guan Yu.

“Everyone is super strong!”

“Of course, they’re all top-tier workers holding weapons made by Rani, so of course they’d be strong.”

“Hehe! Rani worked super hard making pretty weapons!”

That’s right.

Praise deserved.

Thanks to that, those guys became even stronger.

On top of that—

“To begin with, our matchup compatibility is overwhelmingly superior, so clearing it looks easier than usual.”

“I know, right… Looking at it, take away the illusions and traps, and this dungeon seems to be nothing at all, doesn’t it?”

“That is correct, Director.”

Arthur said so at the beginning of the dungeon.

Illusions only worked if you were fooled.

However…

“As you know, our workers are immune to most mental attacks, so dungeons like this are a breeze.”

Indeed they were.

Keep lighting fires and freezing things all day long.

Let’s see if that works on our workers.

“Easy, so easy!”

“Haha… Thanks to that, I feel quite reassured.”

An environment shifting every few steps?

They were practically enjoying it like an amusement park.

The cleverly hidden passages?

Yup.

They saw all of those before going in.

“Come at me, goblins! Sturdier Arthur is coming!”

The one standing out the most was our Arthur.

Ever since he got a scabbard, did he become even more aggressive?

Was this a dungeon clear or a bulldozer charge?

He just sprinted full speed and dashed with mighty momentum, completely unhindered.

Who could stop that, and how…?

“A wild boar of a guy is coming!”

“Brothers, trip his legs!”

Ah.

Goblins did occasionally pounce at him.

“Good! All of you come! Weaklings, Arthur will take you on!”

Yet, he didn’t stop.

Instead, he laughed excitedly while bashing them with his shield…

And if he took a hit in the process?

“Barrier? Use!”

“Is that the skill attached to the scabbard?”

“Right! Blessing? Barrier!”

“No! Protective Blessing! When you use that, even if Arthur gets stung, he won’t bleed and gets way sturdier!”

Is that so?

He was bleeding a tiny bit, but it was already gone.

“Man… Arthur’s just invincible.”

“Boss is right! Arthur is sturdy, no bleed now! And if hurt, recover!”

“True that…”

The synergy was ridiculous.

Others would call it a complete cheat.

And his shield wasn’t even his main tool.

Top-tier worker, Arthur.

His specialty was the sword.

A tank with crazy defense and brutal offense?

How could anyone stop this?

“Boss, see that? Just ahead is the end!”

“Yeah. I’m watching.”

Now all that’s left is beating the Boss.

Then let’s generously bestow the final buff.

Beep, beep—!

“Pew pew!”

That’s it.

Clocking out early today.

Slapped it on, and they marched inside with dignity.

Creak—!

“Haha, guests after a long time. You all went through a lot of trouble to reach here. Now I shall face you instead of my boys.”

“Shut up, fight!”

“……”

“A goblin chief, is it… Farewell.”

The Boss was the Goblin King.

Nice to meet you.

And, goodbye.

* * *

“Clear of the North Korean S-Rank Dungeon has been confirmed.”

“Whoa… By whom?”

“That is still unconfirmed… Informants stationed nearby were watching, but they say it suddenly vanished.”

“Then well, it must be the Job Center Director.”

Section Chief Yoon Ji-hyuk of Korea’s Awakened Management Bureau.

He nodded at the Bureau Director’s nonchalant reply.

In the first place… it was an obvious answer.

Who else was there right now capable of clearing an S-Rank Dungeon in North Korea?

Lee Bojun, Baek Hwarang?

They hadn’t even set out.

There hadn’t been any intention to send those two anyway.

How could they trust North Korea enough to send them in the first place?

Not that anything bad would happen to hunters who reached the 61st floor,

but nothing was guaranteed…

“We expected him to clear it, but to clear it this quickly means…”

“He either has no restrictions or very minor ones.”

They had anticipated it from the start.

An S-Rank Dungeon?

As long as one could clear it comfortably, it was a treasure trove itself.

No way the Job Center Director would turn that down.

“Hah, I really wish we just knew who he was.”

“Indeed.”

Any intention to exploit him?

Absolutely none.

Only an insane person would try to exploit him.

However, there was a feeling that they needed to protect him.

Whether for his safety,

or against shady schemes from other countries.

“He’s still remaining in Korea for now. But if guys from other countries make an offer that turns heads, whew…”

“Generally speaking, that won’t be easy. By now, the Job Center Director is someone who lacks nothing.”

“You never know how the world turns.”

So they had to care for him somehow…

Whether by protecting him,

or helping if there was anything to help with.

The problem was.

“We need to know who he is to do anything.”

“Precisely.”

“*Sigh*…”

Good news reached Korea on a daily basis.

Yet the sighs coming from the Awakened Management Bureau Director’s office only grew deeper by the day.

* * *

[S-Rank Dungeon raid successful!]

“Good job, everyone.”

“Was easy!”

Tell me about it.

It looked even easier this time.

[Clear Time – 00:27:18]

No way.

Clearing an S-Rank Dungeon in 27 minutes would make other people cry.

Then again.

Was it already too late for that?

I don’t know.

I should check the rewards instead.

[Raid Rewards – 170 High-Grade Magic Stones / 50 High-Grade Healing Potions / Turtle Ship Cannon Shard / Reinforced Mithril Ingot / …]

Huh.

Turtle ship fragment.

I know this.

“This is really famous, though…”

Wait.

When Guan Yu was roaming around in the past, internet comments asked

if Yi Sun-sin was going to appear too.

Hmm…

If it’s a Turtle Ship Cannon Shard,

will he really show up?

Suddenly I’m getting excited?

“Worker Rani. Since we cleared the dungeon, let me tell you about the weapon. The floor is late 50s. An Awakened of the magic class, and they say he uses flame magic, so please make one for him.”

“Yup! Just trust Rani!”

While I checked the rewards, Rani began hammering away.

Then as for me…

Let’s check the rewards again.

Originally, that was the end of the rewards.

However?

The missions remained.

[Mission List]

1. Complete 5 Requests (4/5)

2. Accumulate 5 S-Rank Dungeon Clears (5/5)

First, complete 5 requests.

Seeing the count go up by 1 meant the request received from North Korea was finished.

What remained was the request sent by Park Mu-pal.

Well, this too.

The dungeon was cleared, so the condition was met.

I could just hit complete, but I’ll hold off for now.

Consider yourself lucky.

Since I’m going to craft a weapon and send it to you.

Then next is the long-awaited second request.

“Whew…”

Checking the rewards.

[Mission Complete!]

[Accumulate 5 S-Rank Dungeon Clears (5/5)]

[Rewards]

– Unique Skill EXP

– Temporary Camouflage Ticket (24 Hours) * 10

Whoa.

Giving 10 camouflage tickets?

Those are pretty expensive.

Well.

That’s not the important part.

“The EXP is… Holy crap, it went up by 7?”

Original EXP, (10/20).

And now?

(17/20)

Maybe because it was a mission dragged out for over a month.

Quite generous.

Right.

This was how it should be.

Clearing 5 rare S-Rank Dungeons only to get 1 or 2 EXP would’ve felt disappointing, right?

Then all I need now is 3 more.

“Receive the weapon from Rani, send it over, and that’s another mission done…”

2 EXP left.

It’ll be soon.

Ah.

Even better news.

Since one mission ended, a new mission must have appeared.

——-

[New Mission]

[Use Potions on Workers (0/1)]

——-

“Huh? This is a mission I did before.”

Back then, it was on goblins.

Wonder if they’re doing well.

Maybe because I saw them a lot in the beginning,

I thought of them from time to time.

Well, anyway.

“Arthur.”

“Called?”

“You’re hurt, let’s apply medicine.”

“Boss, Arthur not hurt?”

No.

Apply it anyway.

Even a tiny bit will fill up.

[Mission Complete!]

[Use Potions on Workers (1/1)]

[Rewards]

– Unique Skill EXP

– 10 High-Grade Healing Potions

“Done?”

“Yeah, you can go now.”

Thanks to that, I completed a mission for free.

Since it was an easy mission, the EXP was 1.

The High-Grade Healing Potions…

I rarely used them, but straight into the inventory they went.

Now, let’s check the next mission.

——-

[New Mission]

[Crafting-Type Worker, Complete 1 Crafting (0/1)]

——-

Oh?

What’s this.

A total piece of cake?

She’s already making one right now—

Ding!

[Mission Complete!]

[Crafting-Type Worker, Complete 1 Crafting (1/1)]

[Rewards]

– Unique Skill EXP

– High-Grade Mithril Ingot

“Rani finished making it!”

Our Rani.

Speak of the devil.

How did she know to finish it with such perfect timing?

Thanks to that, EXP was at 19.

Now that only one was left…

“I can just name this and send it out.”

“Yeah! Its name is Ouch, Hot! Yup!”

“Right…”

Yeah.

That’s the spirit.

Rani was back.

Registered the name right away.

Can’t just send it off without looking, so I should check the options too.

[Ouch, Hot]

– A masterpiece created by an accomplished artisan.

– Bestows Blessing of Fire upon the user.

– Increases fire-attribute destructive power.

– Certain chance to cause additional fire explosions on enemies.

– Special skill ‘Torrent of Flames’ available for use.

– Increases fire-attribute resistance.

Wait.

She just whipped something like this up out of nowhere?

No matter how I looked at it, Rani was a total cheat.

“Still, wouldn’t sending this as is be too much of a loss?”

“Director, please trust me. On my name, I shall reap several times its worth.”

Okay.

If that’s the case, let’s send it right away.

Send it off smoothly via AwakenedNet?

Request complete.

And on top of that, the mission finished as well.

[Mission Complete!]

[Complete 5 Requests (5/5)]

[Rewards]

– Unique Skill EXP

– 30,000 Request Points

“Finally!”

With this, the EXP was maxed.

However, one wall still remained.

[Unique Skill EXP has reached the limit.]

[To advance to the next rank, you must overcome a trial.]

A trial.

I’d have to clear it this time too.

When advancing to Gold, it was clearing an S-Rank Dungeon.

What would it be this time…?

[Platinum Advancement Trial: Register 4 or more Top-Tier Workers in a fixed team]

Huh?

If it’s 4…

“Arthur, Robin, Rani, Guan Yu…”

With this—

[You have overcome the trial.]

[Unique Skill Rank has increased.]

[Worker Summon (Rank – Gold) -> Worker Summon (Rank – Platinum)]

Oh…

Nice.