Mr. Kim Strikes It Rich with Auto-Hunting [Novel] Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Raiding the Tower of Chaos.

The last time we did it was before moving.

“It’s been almost a week.”

Is it because it’s been a while?

Everyone was fully motivated right from the start.

Among them, Arthur was especially excited.

“Alright, alright! Everyone assemble!”

He had been rolling around just a moment ago, but suddenly began to Clap his hands loudly!

“Assemble!”

Gathering them all in an instant.

“You all heard, right? We’re going to the Tower! Get ready, quickly! One! Two! Three!”

He immediately began warm-up exercises.

Look at how energetic his voice is.

He must have been really bored all this time.

“Alright, check your weapons! Good!”

“Good!”

Are the other workers feeling the same way?

Every single one of their voices was booming.

Even that Robin.

“…Good!”

“Safety good! Good! Good—!”

Yeah.

It wouldn’t feel right without her.

Our Rani also stopped crafting and began giggling in excitement.

“Oh… This is my first time seeing worker Rani put down what she was making.”

“Right? This is my first time seeing it too.”

Still, fair enough.

Rani has every reason to be excited.

She originally loves shouting safety slogans.

To the point that whenever she hears one while crafting, she bounces around in excitement.

She couldn’t hear it lately, so she must have felt disappointed.

Still.

I had no choice either.

Until the North Korea issue was resolved, I had to be careful.

Because it was dangerous.

I didn’t know when I might need the workers.

“Boss! Finished!”

Fast, so fast.

Preparations finished in an instant.

Then?

Time to go.

“We’re heading out, okay?”

“Sure, go ahead. But hold on a second.”

Before sending them off.

Let’s scan the area first.

Since it’s been a while, let’s play it safe.

[Work Site Exploration]

[Please select the desired work site.]

——-

[Tower of Chaos 1st Floor]

[Tower of Chaos 2nd Floor]

……

…

——-

Whoa there.

There are so many.

Just the Tower alone is 68 floors.

If you add the dungeons below?

Ugh…

Still, the 68th Floor is nothing.

I’ll find it quickly.

[Starting work site exploration.]

– Tower of Chaos 68th Floor.

After selecting it.

While the screen booted up, I began a brief briefing.

I received this through the Awakened Management Bureau a little while ago.

[Tower of Chaos, Guide for Floors 61–69]

The author?

Ralph Carter.

That’s right, Ralph Carter, the number one ranker in the United States.

They said he sent it to all five major powers, asking them to forward it to rankers.

“The stage for the 68th Floor is on the sea. The monster we have to hunt is an undersea golem, so let’s take a look.”

Bzzzzzt—!

Kya.

Great timing.

Right on cue, the screen expanded.

Whoooosh!

A violently churning sea stretched out wide.

“Whoa… There’s so much water!”

“Huh, Is this Rani’s first time seeing the sea?”

“Yeah! This is Rani’s first time seeing the ocean! So it’s super fascinating! Pretty! Like jewels!”

She loves it so much.

I should take her to a real ocean sometime later.

I wonder how the other workers feel.

“Boss! Monster? Undersea golem? Where is it?”

Well, Arthur…

Doesn’t have much of a reaction.

Then again, he has probably seen the sea plenty of times.

“The sea, is it… In reality, it is far more refreshing than that.”

“Really? Hearing Grandpa say that makes me even more curious! Whoooosh! I want to see it!”

“…….”

Master Unjang and Robin were the same.

They just smiled warmly.

Fair enough.

Seeing her jumping around in excitement like that, how could anyone not smile?

Then is Rani the only one fascinated by the sea?

“Ugh…”

“Huh?”

What’s this?

Why does Yeo Hae have that look on his face?

He looks pale.

“What’s wrong?”

“Th-that… seasickness…”

Pardon?

Seasickness?

“Come on, you sure know how to joke.”

Does that even make sense?

I chuckled, but then.

Ding!

[A worker’s trauma has been identified.]

[Yeo Hae (High Grade)]

[To create a pleasant working environment, the trauma must be overcome.]

[Overcoming the trauma will promote the worker to the next grade.]

Wait.

What the…

Why Is this real?

* * *

A message I’ve never seen before since awakening as the Manpower Management Director.

[A worker’s trauma has been identified.]

The target is the new Worker, Yeo Hae.

His grade is High Grade.

He has a rigid tone like a soldier and tends to get very nervous.

…I thought that was all.

“Good grief, seasickness of all things.”

What kind of Worker gets seasick?

And he’s not even just any ordinary Worker.

Yeo Hae’s other name is Admiral Yi Sun-sin.

He was in the navy.

Didn’t he even build turtle ships?

Then out of all our workers, he should naturally be the most accustomed to the sea…

He has trauma regarding the sea?

On top of that, he even gets seasick.

And he has to overcome it to rank up?

“Hmm…”

Come to think of it, there was something strange.

“No wonder there was no change even after equipping destined gear.”

Promoting from High Grade to Highest Grade.

I’ve done it for two people so far.

Arthur, and Rani.

Among them, Rani?

She accumulated EXP through continuous crafting.

And ranked up while making gear to give to me.

I remember it took a tremendous amount of materials back then.

What about Arthur?

His was simpler.

——-

[Destined gear has been acquired.]

[Accumulated EXP has reached its limit.]

[Requirement met.]

[The worker’s grade will increase.]

[Arthur (High Grade) → Arthur (Highest Grade)]

——-

Accumulate EXP through battle.

And once he equipped destined gear, he ranked up right away.

The problem is Yeo Hae.

If it’s similar to Arthur, the conditions should be EXP and destined gear…

For now, the latter condition was met.

The cannon that Rani made.

Because the material used was a fragment of a turtle ship’s cannon.

Even the message popped up back then.

[Destined gear has been acquired.]

The problem is probably that there was no change at all.

It didn’t even flash in the first place.

I thought something was off starting from then.

“I thought he just needed to fill his EXP, but it was because of the trauma.”

Well, okay.

All the better.

It’s better than having no hints at all.

Since I now have certainty that his grade will go up once this is solved.

The problem is.

“How on earth do we overcome the trauma…”

Let’s listen to the workers’ opinions first.

You never know.

An amazing method might come up.

* * *

“Boss! Leave that kind of thing to Arthur! Arthur knows well! Trauma? Method to overcome it!”

“Oh?”

Really?

Kya.

So there was an expert right here.

“What should we do?”

“Easy! Sea is the problem, so if you throw him in, finished! He can overcome it!”

“Um…?”

Did I hear that wrong?

Throw?

Where?

“Into the sea!”

Aha.

So we just throw him into the sea until he overcomes it?

Are you Crazy?

“Hey, you ignorant bastard…”

No.

This guy didn’t seem like this originally…

He’s getting more and more radical.

Wait, is he?

Was he always like this?

Who overcomes trauma like that?

It’s not like we’re in the Middle Ages.

Ah.

For Arthur, that might actually be the standard…

Still, it’s way too barbaric.

I was about to reject it for now, but—

“That is a great idea! I shall proceed immediately!”

Pardon?

Yeo Hae, why are you being persuaded by that?

I’m losing my mind.

“Director! I heard that if we go a bit north, there is an ocean! If you send me, I will return after overcoming it!”

Why is his initiative so high?

He looks ready to run off to the ocean right this second.

However.

“Why bother going all the way to North Korea? Once you go to the 68th Floor, a sea will appear, so you can just swim there.”

“Oh! As expected of the Director! Understood! Loyalty!”

What.

You’re really going to do it?

Oh, forget it…

I don’t know anymore.

[Worker Dispatch]

– Tower

I’ll open the door for now, so go ahead.

Whether you swim over there or hunt…

Figure it out yourselves.

* * *

Tower of Chaos 68th Floor.

Appearing monster: Undersea Golem.

A small island on the sea is the starting point.

Walking along the bridge stretched out from there will trigger the undersea golem to appear.

The strategy is simple.

Utilize the golem’s pattern where it turns back when getting close to the island.

Lure it slightly and whittle down its health with ranged attacks.

Once it’s reduced to a certain degree, charge to the end of the bridge.

Then?

Melee attacks can reach it too.

“Since you just need to deal maximum damage then to catch it, they say it’s best to bring as many offensive scrolls as possible.”

Actually, I wasn’t really worried in the first place.

Ralph Carter’s guide.

That would certainly be the standard method.

Unless you’re a summoner.

Otherwise, rankers usually clear it solo.

Then what about our workers?

They don’t need that.

A guide?

If you tell them that.

“Boss! That kind of thing is needed for weak bastards!”

They’d probably say something like that.

Our workers.

They are the absolute epitome of ‘if your body is strong, you don’t need a brain.’

To the extent that they just smash S-rank dungeon puzzles to pieces.

Guides and whatever, there are none.

In the first place, just pouring damage is all it takes.

On top of that, their balance of melee and ranged is perfect.

The undersea golem?

Well, Robin and Yeo Hae can blast away from a distance.

And once it gets close, Arthur and Master Unjang can deal damage and cut it down, right?

It’ll be easy.

—Or so I thought…

The reality is.

“It’s a complete mess.”

“Indeed it is.”

This isn’t even five minutes before a disaster.

It’s just a disaster itself.

No wonder Todd strongly agrees.

[Monitoring]

Taking a glance at the screen.

Just like what we saw earlier during exploration, a wide sea unfolds.

And right in the center, our workers stand!

Usually, once a raid starts, they would rush forward immediately, but—

“Ugh…”

Look at that.

Trembling all over the moment he sees the sea.

Up to this point, okay.

They said it was trauma, so that’s understandable.

The problem is the guy standing behind him.

“Newbie! Run! You can do it!”

Arthur, that guy.

Look at him poking from behind and telling him to jump into the sea.

Excuse me.

Didn’t you guys go to clear the dungeon?

What should I do with them…

“Haha. Director, do not worry. Is it not enough for us to clear it?”

“…Right.”

Phew.

Thank goodness we have Master Unjang and Robin.

“Okay…”

Still, what must be done must be done.

“Arthur, stop that and start the raid together with those two.”

“Understood!”

Fortunately, he listens well.

What about the last remaining person?

“Urp…”

Ugh.

It’s going to be tough.

Still, well.

Arthur, Robin, Master Unjang.

These three should be enough.

As for Yeo Hae?

“Mr. Yeo Hae, for now, don’t swim just yet and try getting used to it while looking at the water, okay?”

“No! I will overcome this without fail!”

Splash—!

Wow.

He was trembling all over, yet he actually jumped in.

I have to acknowledge his willpower.

But he’s turning pale immediately?

What if he faints like that?

“Todd, get ready. If that man collapses, you have to go rescue him.”

“Pardon? Me?”

Of course.

Naturally you should go.

Still, don’t worry.

Boom! Boooom!

Hearing the sound of arrows striking, it seems Robin went all out.

Fwooooosh!

Master Unjang also summoned the Blue Flame Dragon.

This is going to end quickly.

So.

“Hang in there, Mr. Yeo Hae.”

* * *

[Tower of Chaos 68th Floor cleared successfully!]

[Level has increased.]

As expected, the raid ended quickly.

Even though it’s the 68th Floor, rushing through with serious effort made quick work of it.

[New World Record Achieved!]

[Additional Reward – Chaos Key Fragment]

Kya.

I definitely have to grab key fragments too.

Now I’ll be able to know soon.

This key will definitely be S-rank.

I was curious about what the next rank would be.

Once we reach the 80th Floor, I’ll probably find out.

“Well, that’s something I’ll learn later.”

For now, I should check on that man’s condition first.

“Uuuugh…”

“Mr. Yeo Hae, are you alright?”

“Uh…, yes…”

“Boss! Newbie endured well, right?”

“Yeah, he endured well.”

He definitely isn’t a High Grade worker for nothing.

Even while continuously shivering, he gritted his teeth and held out in the water, right?

And for several tens of minutes, at that.

That shivering might just be from the cold rather than trauma.

“Th-that…, is, not true.”

Aha.

It’s not.

“So, was this method effective at all?”

This is what’s important.

Arthur’s barbaric treatment method.

From my perspective, it didn’t seem like it would work, but really…

“I do not know about that, but while staying in the water, I came to realize one thing.”

Oh?

One thing?

What could it be?

“Once my grade increases, I believe I will be able to summon a small turtle-shaped ship, even before worker Rani crafts one for me.”

If it’s a turtle-shaped ship…

A turtle ship?

Whoa.

That is something I really want to see.