Mr. Kim Strikes It Rich with Auto-Hunting [Novel] Chapter 16

What happens when a unique skill rises in grade?

A great deal changes.

Starting with the skill’s performance.

[Summon Laborers (Grade: Silver)]

[Targets summonable at the current grade include all entities designated as high-grade or intermediate-grade.]

The summon pool back at Bronze had technically been high, intermediate, and low-grade.

Except it hadn’t really worked that way.

In practice, it was almost entirely low-grade.

High-grade had appeared twice.

Intermediate had shown up maybe six times at most.

Every other draw had been low-grade.

“Hmm… highest-grade isn’t in the pool.”

Then what about Robin’s summon restriction?

[Summon Fixed Team]

1. Arthur (High-Grade)

2. Robin (Highest-Grade) : 05 days, 17 hours, 27 minutes until summonable

3. Orc Pack (Low-Grade)

4. Rani (High-Grade) : Summoned

5. Empty Slot

Still a full week.

Bummer.

Maybe another grade up will fix that.

“Can I still summon the orcs because I slotted them into the fixed team beforehand? Looks that way.”

Now, that was welcome news.

Those orcs had grown stronger than standard intermediate-grades thanks to their training.

I’d definitely summon them from time to time to put them to work.

Keep up the good work, boys.

And what else changed?

The summon count.

[Daily Summon Count: 4 → 5]

It bumped up to five.

Now even with a full fixed team, I could summon each of them once.

And finally, the long-awaited highlight.

[New Function Unlocked: Laborer Training Center can now be opened]

A Laborer Training Center.

The name gave a pretty clear hint of what it was.

Let’s take a look.

[Laborer Training Center – A facility dedicated to improving the capabilities of laborers. High-grade laborers or the Manpower Office Director may participate in training as instructors.]

Me?

I’ll pass on that….

I’ll send Arthur instead.

He’ll love it.

He already enjoyed training the low-grade laborers anyway.

Wait, does this work differently from what we’ve been doing?

[Training inside the Laborer Training Center increases efficiency.]

Aha.

Reading further, yes, it did.

Not bad at all.

Doing what we were already doing, but with higher efficiency?

A fish in water.

The only issue….

Ding!

[Insufficient space to open the Laborer Training Center.]

“…….”

Tears of a semi-basement studio tenant.

Come on, that’s just harsh.

It was miserable enough having such a cramped room!

No choice now.

This leaves me only one option.

“We need to move.”

“Move?”

“To a bigger place.”

“Big house, good!”

Money?

More than enough.

Just in case, I’d been cashing in magic stones little by little.

[Balance: 67,230,000 KRW]

Plenty to rent a two-room place on a monthly lease.

If I sold the high-grade magic stone I got today on top of that, I could easily buy an apartment outright.

Still, I dismissed the idea.

I wanted to take my time and be thorough when buying a permanent home.

For now, a two-room monthly rental would do.

I already had a place in mind.

Time to head over and check it out.

*

In front of the Hwarang Guild building in Seoul.

A spot normally populated only by passing guild members was bustling today, packed with a loud crowd.

“They said the fifty-third floor is definitely getting cleared today. Is that even possible?”

“You think? Probably just talk.”

“They’ll probably fail the raid and pull that classic ‘we lost, but fought valiantly’ routine.”

Reporters from numerous networks — KBC, SBC, MBS, and more.

The reason they had gathered was simple: the raid declaration on the fifty-third floor by Hwarang’s Guild Master, Baek Hwarang.

“Even if they clear the fifty-third, wouldn’t they still be trailing Lee Bojun?”

“Come on, man. Is that something a reporter should say? If Lee Bojun is in a slump and Baek Hwarang succeeds, the entire narrative flips.”

“Well, that’s only if they actually clear it.”

“Fair point….”

Baek Hwarang’s declaration didn’t inspire much confidence.

In the first place, if the floor could be cleared right now, why would there have been a six-month slump?

Progress halted because climbing further was impossible.

“Ah! What if they managed to find that material they were hunting for?”

“Word is they couldn’t get it.”

“Hmm…. Then there’s really no way.”

What, so they didn’t even get new gear?

Then there really was no way forward….

The chances were hovering near zero percent.

Even so, what else could the press do?

To scrape together even a one-line article, they had to wait.

“Has it been about four hours since they went in?”

“Exactly four hours and thirty-one minutes now.”

Only one person in South Korea had cleared the fifty-third floor: the number one ranker, Lee Bojun.

The record?

Six hours and twenty-seven minutes.

Even with a clear, it would take at least that long.

A failure would take even longer.

“Looks like we have at least another two hours to wait.”

Just as heavy sighs rippled through the crowd—

“Ah, my apologies. I’ve kept busy people waiting for quite some time.”

Baek Hwarang stepped out.

Already?

Did the raid fail?

Questions buzzed in every reporter’s mind, but reflex took over their bodies.

Click! Click!

Cameras flashed first.

“Baek Hwarang-ssi, what was the result!”

“Was it a failure!”

“You emerged earlier than projected. Could you tell us why?”

……

…

A rapid-fire barrage of questions followed, all assuming failure.

Baek Hwarang’s answer shattered their premise.

“Failure? I came out after succeeding. I told you before I went in — I would clear the fifty-third floor.”

“Pardon?”

“A success… you say?”

A successful clear.

Meaning the fifty-third floor fell in just four hours?

That defied all logic.

“If any of the reporters here are Awakened, go ahead and check AwakenedNet. My floor record is set to public.”

Right.

Baek Hwarang operated under a real-name, fully public profile.

Could it really be true?

Several reporters swiped their hands through the air.

Moments later—

“It’s real?”

“Baek Hwarang. Current Tower floor: fifty-four. It really is a clear.”

“They cleared it…?”

It was the truth.

Out of nowhere?

How on earth?

Right then, a reporter spoke up.

“Wait, Baek Hwarang-ssi. Your sword looks different. Is that right?”

“Yes, sharp eye.”

A different sword?

Taking a closer look, it definitely wasn’t the old one.

Could that be the reason?

A question flew immediately.

“Did switching weapons impact your clear of the fifty-third floor?”

“Yes.”

It did?

Just what kind of options did it have?

Curiosity spiked through the press pool, but asking for item details bordered on bad manners.

While everyone was left wishing for a glimpse—

“Would you like to see it?”

They were actually offering?

“Yes!”

“Here, take a look.”

Baek Hwarang actually displayed it.

The name was… Wharuruk?

A peculiar name, but the unusual name barely registered.

“What on earth… these options…….”

“Wait.”

“This is on par with the Meteor Sword? No, it’s even better.”

“Incredible.”

“Could we ask where you acquired this?”

Clearing the fifty-third floor was great news, sure.

Finding the origin of this sword, though? That would be a massive scoop.

Every eye locked onto Baek Hwarang.

Baek Hwarang spoke.

“A benefactor known as the Manpower Office Director crafted it for me.”

*

Around the same time, the Awakening Management Bureau was in absolute turmoil.

“Which bastard leaked this?”

“What about Lee Bojun? Any word from Lee Bojun?”

“Not answering calls.”

“Go in person and handle it! Keep the reporters away!”

“Sending someone right away, sir.”

Lee Bojun’s slump and stagnation had been kept under wraps, yet the rumors had leaked out somewhere.

All at once, too fast to contain.

This was clearly a deliberate move….

“Meaning you can’t trace where it started.”

“Yes, sir. That is correct.”

“Phew….”

Tracking the culprit could wait.

Right now, fixing the immediate fire took precedence.

“What did the Americans say? Didn’t you mention a large guild over there having a crafter specializing in weapons?”

“We were turned down. Their commission slots are completely full.”

“Damn it…. Any alternatives?”

“We’re looking into options, but nothing yet….”

In the end, there was only one solution: hand Lee Bojun a weapon capable of breaking the plateau, and have the ranker conquer the fifty-eighth floor.

Except… there was no way to get a weapon like that.

“Hah….”

Heavy sighs filled the conference room.

Just then—

Clack!

Someone burst through the doors.

“The Manpower Office Director! We need to commission the Manpower Office Director immediately!”

What kind of nonsense was this?

“The Manpower Office Director? What are you talking about all of a sudden? Did a dungeon breach?”

“No! Look at this. Baek Hwarang just cleared the fifty-third floor, and the weapon used was made by the Manpower Office Director!”

A smartphone was shoved forward.

“What?”

What in the world….

The Manpower Office Director made that weapon?

“With performance like that, couldn’t we trust them to craft a sword for Lee Bojun?”

“It actually looks better than the Meteor Sword.”

Precisely.

“What are you standing around for? Call Lee Bojun right now! No, ready the car. I’ll go deliver the news in person.”

A way out of the slump had finally been found.

*

The Manpower Office Director — who was this person?

The snowball started by Baek Hwarang’s comment swelled at staggering speed.

[The Manpower Office Director was already famous on AwakenedNet, lololol]

Famous on AwakenedNet?

Why?

View counts skyrocketed in seconds.

The post was short and sweet.

——-

The Manpower Office Director was already famous on AwakenedNet, lololol

You know that monster who cleared an F-grade dungeon in thirteen minutes back then, and took down the Tower of Chaos 1st floor in a two-minute cut?

Pretty sure that’s this person.

They started popping up on AwakenedNet right after those articles dropped, so hunters already knew lololol

– Huh? How are you so sure it’s the same person???

└ Look at the records lol That Manpower Office Director wraps up any dungeon in under ten minutes.

└ ????????

└ Active hunter here, confirming this is legit.

– Saw them clear an A-grade dungeon in fifteen minutes the other day and cursed out loud at how broken it was lolololol

└ What is this now;;; An A-grade in fifteen minutes???

└ Just an utterly ridiculous person.

└ Think of them as a monster, plain and simple lol

——-

What on earth….

Was this real?

It sounded impossible, yet the evidence was too concrete to dismiss.

– Hello, this is KBC. We’re covering the Manpower Office Director. Would you be open to an interview?

– This is MBS.

Starting from the internet, reporters — and soon the Awakening Management Bureau and the Five Great Guilds — began desperately searching for one person.

*

Meanwhile, what was the man responsible for turning South Korea upside down doing?

The Manpower Office Director, Yoon Hajun.

[Summon Fixed Team]

– Arthur (High-Grade)

– Rani (High-Grade)

“Arthur, is here.”

“Rani too!”

“Good evening, everyone.”

What else would he be doing?

Summoning his laborers as usual, getting ready for work.

Moving to a new place required serious cash.

“Take a good look around this place, everyone. Won’t be seeing it in a few days.”

Preparations for moving?

All set.

The lease was signed.

All that remained was packing up and moving out.

Since that wouldn’t happen this very second, though… time to work.

“Arthur, go work?”

Good old Arthur.

Ready to set off immediately today, even without his usual coffee.

Maybe drink it after the job?

Just as Hajun went to nod—

“Director! Rani can make sword!”

“Huh? What sword?”

“Leftover materials from before! Rani make Arthur’s sword with those!”

Oh, right.

There were materials left over.

“Arthur, get sword?”

“Looks like it.”

That was our Rani for you.

Hajun pulled out the materials and handed them over.

Rani scurried into a corner and finished crafting in no time at all.

“Ta-da! Pretty, right!”

Naturally, coming from her.

Though…

“It says to name it again.”

“Hoooom…. Hwalhwal!”

“That’s right? Arthur’s sword?”

Arthur stared with longing eyes, but sorry, big guy.

The crafter gets naming rights.

Hwalhwal it was.

Now, what about the options?

[Hwalhwal]

– A masterpiece created by a skilled artisan.

– Adds continuous fire-attribute damage.

– Intense heat reduces enemy defense.

– Each time an enemy attack is blocked, the power of flames automatically counterattacks.

– Enables use of the special skill Blazing Flame Sword (烈火劍).

– Increases fire-attribute resistance.

Wait.

“Isn’t this even better than the one made yesterday?”

“Yep! Rani fixed what was lacking when making Wharuruk!”

Made it once yesterday, and already fixed the shortcomings?

Was Rani a genius?

With stats like this, even Arthur couldn’t complain.

“Take a look at this.”

“Sword! Good! Better than Arthur’s old one!”

“How about it? Don’t like Hwalhwal?”

“Hwaru-hwaru! Good!”

See?

Total satisfaction.

He couldn’t stop admiring and touching it.

Watching him sparked Hajun’s curiosity.

Arthur had already been strong, so how much stronger would he be with a weapon like that?

“Arthur, now that you’ve got a new sword, we have to test it out, right?”

Shall we visit the Tower for the first time in a while?

I’m curious to see just how strong you’ve become.